Author's Note: Happy New Year! Wow a new decade. Who knows what could happen in the next few years? A Final Fantasy VII remake for the PS3? Lol, one can only hope. Anyway, here's some extra notes and fun stuff about the story I took down as I wrote. Yea, I guess I thought a little too deeply about everything xD And there's also a preview for a future story I might write at the end of the year.


~An Advent Carol Fun Facts~

-This story turned out to be much more serious than I originally intended. The final chapter hopefully makes up for it.

-All the random names, like Cloud's mother's, are from A Christmas Carol. If you read closely there is actually a "Valentine" mentioned in the second chapter.

-Denzel and Marlene both take over Tiny Tim's job. Denzel has the disability (geostigma) while Marlene is the pure wise-for-her-years voice that reminds everyone what Christmas is all about ("God bless us, everyone" lol)

-My favorite line from my story is in the second stave where Cloud and his mom are making paper snowflakes: "And as a plus he'd get to cut stuff." Typical Cloud xD And my favorite line from A Christmas Carol is "The curtains of his bed were drawn aside; and Scrooge, starting up into a half-recumbent attitude, found himself face to face with the unearthly visitor who drew them: as close to it as I am now to you, and I am standing in the spirit at your elbow." I'm not gonna lie, that creeped me out when I first read that.

-The teenagers having the snowball fighting in Edge were my OCs. The redheaded girl was Megan, the main character in the group, and the one hit with the snowball was Mike.

-The buster sword cracked in three large pieces in dedication to the owners of the weapon: Angeal, Zack and Cloud, signifying their passing and the end of the sword's era. The third missing piece was Cloud, since his destiny was uncertain.

-I created a few scenarios in respect to the Spirits. Originally I had Sephiroth, Aerith and Zack as the ghostly visitors, since they are all deceased and had a connection to Cloud. But I there wasn't a good enough correlation for the time periods, so I messed around before getting the final combination. Vincent can't stop dwelling on the past, Yuffie doesn't care about consequences and lives in the now, and Cid dreams about accomplishing his life's goal of one day being the first man in space.

-Vincent's form fluctuates just like the Ghost in the novel, and they are both "young and old". I didn't want to add the flame of light on the brow in order to stay close to character, so I just had his eyes bright and constant.

-Yuffie matches up to the jolly giant of Christmas Present. It's impossible to make Yuffie more cheerful and excitable than she already is, so I made her intensely strong and heavy as if she was as big as a giant.

-Cid… well, Cid was kind of my idea of a joke. I didn't want to make the "future experience" super depressing, so I needed some comic relief. This ghost is sometimes associated with the grim reaper, so I thought Cid's weapon appropriate.

-Scrooge vs Cloud: Well, obviously Cloud isn't shutting himself up in an office counting gold and plotting ways to foil innocent bystanders' happiness. But these two men share a similarity in their destructive physical and mental states, their distancing of themselves from others who want to be with them and their overall dejection towards the Christmas spirit. While Cloud isn't "bah-humbug" about the season, his indifferent and self-wallowing attitude is just as bad and needed intervention to sort through. Cloud isn't going to be chained up to wallow in misery when he dies, he will suffer a grim end –and a grim end for the world as well- if he didn't pull himself together. How would Advent Children have ended without our hero, after all? The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come showed one likely scenario.

-Geostigma: The geostigma serves the purpose of the embodiment of Cloud's weakness. Ebenezer had his money, which consumed his thoughts and led how he focused on the world. Cloud is in a similar destructive rut, only his problem is opposite in respect to Ebenezer, since the spiky-headed swordsman is trying everything he can to vanquish his obsession. The physical pain he feels symbolizes his mental strife and also is a constant reminder of his goals, which seem to be virtually unattainable. In the beginning of the story it seems Cloud wants to find the cure to heal himself, but farther along we find out he initially started his journey to help Denzel.
At the end the cure for geostigma is not magically obtained. But was that the point of the Spirits' visitations? No, the spirits came to give Cloud the boost to continue moving forward and help him find his hope despite the daunting task. Cloud decides to return to Seventh Heaven to be with his friends and family to celebrate Christmas Day. Hopefully Cloud bolsters the faith and fortitude not to give up. For faith is truly what the holiday is all about.

-As I was writing the section with Rufus and the Turks, I couldn't help but think about how much Rufus had reformed between game and movie. Was it just the glimpse of death that made him want to turn over a new leaf, or was it something more? Rufus would make a fantastic Scrooge, right? That's why I'm thinking about writing an accompaniment of An Advent Carol involving the Shinra crew for next Christmas. Here's a quick preview:


~An Advent Carol: Second Verse~

There was another knock on the door and Rufus gritted his teeth. Truly, how hard was it to follow one simple instruction?

"Boss, you have a visitor," called Reno.

"For the last time, I'm busy. I don't care who it is, send him away."

The Turk actually had the gall to enter his office, even if he just stuck his face through a small crack in the door. "But sir, it's Tuesti. And I don't think he's leaving until he sees you."

How dare that fool show his face. He shook his head at the former Director of Urban Development's cheek. Did Tuesti expect a warm welcome after he spied and plotted against Shinra with that band of miscreant lowlifes who ended up spelling the end for his company?

The president's eyes narrowed and the redhead gulped. "Tell him he can either leave willingly or be thrown out."

Reno nodded and went to leave, but Rufus delayed him with a curt "Wait." On second thought, this wasn't some simple-minded cretin he was dealing with. Tuesti wouldn't be deterred, and if he was tossed into the streets today he'd be back again tomorrow. Or worse, he'd send one of those ridiculous toy cats that would somehow sneak past his security and harass him. No, he had to handle this personally.

Rufus considered whom he would be dealing with. Presenting a kind face to the world until he could attack from a secure location later; that was Tuesti's way. He loathed men that couldn't fight face to face, couldn't stand their ground in front of an opponent. They were weak.

"In the spirit of the holidays, why don't you show him in," he replied to Reno with a smirk.

The president appraised the man as he was escorted into the room a moment later. Reeve Tuesti appeared to have aged dramatically since they last met, with a weather-beaten face and tired eyes that had been opened to the true horrors of the world. Rufus suppressed a snicker. Ha, it was about time this fool saw the inaccuracies of his idealistic views. The world was cruel, and you either push others in the path of the zolom or be eaten yourself.

"Mr. President," greeted the man with a bow.

"Tuesti," Rufus replied. He signaled to Tseng, who quietly left the room. "I'd invite you to sit, but I'd rather you tell me why you're here first. That way you can turn and walk out the door if I find my time would be otherwise better spent."

Reeve's jaw tightened. Interesting, you've developed a backbone, Rufus noted. A point to you, then.

"Sir, you of course know that I am currently establishing an organization with the purpose to help the population recover from the Jenova War and provide assistance in the construction of-"

"Yes yes, your little club. Get to the point," interrupted Rufus.

"The World Regenesis Organization is vital to the survival of the Planet. But we're in desperate need of funding."

So the man was here to pick his pockets, was he? Ruin his family's empire and then come crawling back pleading for assistance. Rufus sneered at the man in contempt. "I think I've heard enough." He reached up to the right corner of his desk and pressed the red button.

"Hold on!" demanded Tuesti, looking frantically over his shoulder as two black-suited Turks entered the room. "You can't just turn your back on all the suffering that is occurring in this city, under your very window! You have a debt to the world, Rufus!"

"Oh do I? Find someone else to preach to, Reeve. I've heard enough. Good day," he ended nastily. With a quick hand motion he ordered the man to be escorted from his presence.

Once the door closed and he was alone once more, he swiveled his chair and stood, walking over to the expansive window and gazing out into the scrapheap that was Edge. "The fool," Rufus muttered. It was his money and he would do with it what he will. Certainly none of the disgusting rats that Tuesti seemed in such desperation to help actually deserved his aid. It would be a cold day in hell before Rufus Shinra looked after anyone but himself.


Thank you all for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed it!