Rest in peace Those Who died deserves this honor of their names that's why this is Thursday edit April 18th to remember the legacy of the Angels that died Jesus healed them and they went on to heaven home in the sky
Rebecca Jeanne Riley, Sally Ann Chesebro, Jane Eilish Preston January 3, 2017 - October 3, 2020, Calla Adelaide Andrus, Gabrielle Renae “Gabby” Barrett, Lauren Victoria “Tori” Windsor Whetzel, Gabrielly “Gabi” Magalhães de Souza, Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, Terence Pinder the 18 year old that was shot and killed in 1800 block of Hicks Street, Star Hobson, Saffie-Rose Brenda Roussos, Lily Peters, Olivia Pratt Korbel, Elizabeth Shelley, Sara Sharif, Charlotte Figi, Jersey Dianne Bridgeman, Charlotte Bacon, Charlotte Louise Dunn, Emily Grace Jones, Ava Jordan Wood, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay, Emilie Parker, Jackie Cazares, Makenna Lee Elrod, Eliahna Torres, Nevaeh Bravo, Layla Salazar, Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, Jailah Nicole Silguero, Bianca Devins, Catherine Violet Hubbard, Taylor Jean Moore, Destiny Norton, Destiny Riekeberg, JonBenèt Ramsey, Kelly Ann Fleming, Judith and Maria Barsi, Heather Michele O'Rourke, Lucille Ricksen, Indie Rose Armstrong, Rachel Joy Scott, Skylar Annette "Sky " Neese, Tristyn Bailey, Olivia Dahl, Lily Rose Diaz, Riley Faith Steep, Rylie Nicholls, Ava Martin White, James Bulger, Amerie Jo Garza, Maite Rodriguez, Alexandria Rubio, Joan of Arc, Jimmy the Crow, Dickey Betts, Kinsleigh Welty, Gracie Perry Watson, Inez Clarke Briggs, Annie Kerr Aiken, Grace Budd, Sloan Mattingly, Audrii Cunningham, Happy Birthday Isabella Nardoni, Bella Claire Callaway, Calla Adelaide Woods, Rose Pizem, Riley Ann Sawyers, Riley Ann Fox, Anne and Margot Frank, Shan'ann, Bella&CeCe, Lallie Charles, Isobel Elsom, Jordan Rosales, Jeremiah, Ava Cole Nichols, Pauline Adelaar and Peter Fuchs, Anna D. Crnkovic, Irmgard Christine Winter, Olga Chardymova, Eliza Adalynn Moore, Lois Janes, Louis XVII, Sarah Payne, Alicia Lynn Clark, Mercedes Losoya, Norah Lee Howard, Sandra Cantu, Jessica Lunsford, Sierra Lynn Newbold, Samantha Bree Runnion, Samantha Davis, Dr. Jeremy and Avielle Richman, Beatriz Mota, Danielle Van Dam, Baby LeRoy, Shirley Temple and more kids
John is home on leave from the Marines and Clarice is home on winter break from grad school. While they used to date in high school, Clarice and John haven't been together in a long time... But it's Christmas time, and it seems like everything and everyone in their small, holiday-obsessed hometown is trying to get them back together. Modern Thunderblink AU!
FF.net | Ao3
"You've got a coffee problem."
"No. I don't."
"Do toooooo," Norah said, letting her voice travel up the scale and down as she leaned against the doorway of the kitchen. "Clarice, come on. That's your second cup of coffee, and you're going to get another one. You've got a problem."
"Hush, you'll wake up Mama D and Karl. Besides, I'm prepping. I'm not falling asleep in the truck," she mumbled into the travel mug, both her hands wrapped around it like it was a lifeline. Not again, she wasn't going to nap during the ride up to the tree farm. She shouldn't have fallen asleep last night, but she had been super tired. Even if she had to drink enough coffee to give herself a heart attack, she wasn't going to conk out in John's truck again.
Clarice shuffled over to the coffee pot and dumped the rest of it into the travel mug. It still dark outside the kitchen window. When she had said the butt crack of dawn, she had hoped that, you know, it would actually be dawn. Instead the sun hadn't even started to peek over the horizon yet.
"Damn John's early mornings," Clarice grumbled to herself, rubbing the corner of her eye. Even with all the coffee and extreme determination, she was worried she would be asleep before they got out of Westchester. She wasn't running on much sleep.
When she turned back toward Norah, her little sister pointed at a glass jar on top of the fridge. "I heard that."
Clarice narrowed her eyes at Norah and dipped a hand into her pocketbook. She scrambled around in the abyss that was her bag until she found a quarter. Holding it up to prove that it was, in fact, a quarter, she headed over and went up on her tiptoes to get the swear jar down. She plunked the coin in and set the jar on the counter for easier access. She was home and Remy and some of her other foster siblings might be home within a few days, so it was a good idea to keep the jar in reach.
Lights flashed through the living room windows as someone pulled up to the house, and Norah jumped toward the door. "They're here!"
"Yeah, I see that," Clarice said. She turned off the lights and grabbed her bag and a jacket before following Norah out the front door. John's truck wasn't the only vehicle at the house. There were two more, a small hybrid car and a Jeep Wrangler, both of them idling in the quiet street. Clarice held up a hand against the headlight glare as she and Norah headed over to get into the truck.
"It really is a party," she said as she climbed into the passenger's street, automatically putting her travel mug in the cup holder. There was already a mug there, a dark blue one with a Marines symbol on it.
John gave a half-smile. "You could call it that."
In the backseat, Norah was buckling herself in while Riley jabbered at her, the two of them excited about going to the Christmas tree farm. Riley was already talking about getting a giant tree, which made Clarice wonder how they were going to convince her that an eight foot tree was just as good as a monstrous twenty-footer.
"Are we going or what?" a voice crackled, "I saw Clarice get in, let's go. Damn, you're slow."
Clarice looked down at the handheld radio that was laying on the console, recognizing the cranky voice. Also, she recognized the radio. "Oh my god, these still work?"
"They're well-made," John said as he picked it up. "We're going in just a minute. Seatbelts are important."
Clarice reached over and plucked the radio out of his hand. "That's right, Lorna, don't you care about safety?"
"Hey, wandering traveler," Marcos' voice responded. She could hear Lorna cussing her out in a friendly, warm tone in the background. "How's it going?"
"Fine, just wondering why we're going old school with communication today," she said. She turned the radio over in her hands, running her thumb along a series of scratches in the hard plastic surface. That was from when it had accidentally fallen out the window one summer when they had been going to the lake. Luckily it had only hit the road and gotten scratched instead of falling under the tire. Even though these were hardy, there was no way it could've survived getting run over. John had gotten them for his birthday when they were sophomores back in high school. They were…ancient.
"Because old school works where phone signals don't," John said, taking the radio back from her. He pressed the speaker button. "Is everyone ready?"
"Obviously," Lorna replied.
The other response was a garbled mess of static and arguing. Clarice could pick out James' voice along with a few others, so she guessed it was the Jeep Wrangler crew. Most likely to not know how to work a handheld.
"James," John said, "You there? Or do I have to text you…"
"Here," James finally said, sounding exasperated. "This is dumb, over."
"You don't have to say over," John said as he put the truck into reverse.
"We're using radios, so we're using radio lingo," James said, "Over."
"That's stupid," Lorna put in, "Don't be a brat."
James' tone became lazy. "Are you done talking? You didn't say over so I can't tell. Over."
Clarice smothered a smile at John's longsuffering look as Lorna and James started bickering over the radio. Lorna and Marcos had always liked to tease James mercilessly when they were younger, and it seemed like things hadn't changed. James, for his part, always gave as good as he got.
"John, can we listen to Christmas songs?" Riley asked, "Maybe for part of the way there? Or all the way? We've got lots of hours."
"You would think it was Christmas or something," Clarice said, giving the little girl a grin. Riley beamed back, all bright-eyed and excited. She still had that little-kid love for the holidays, and it was sort of infectious.
John changed the radio station, switching it around until 'Frosty the Snowman' started playing. "Is this okay?"
"Yep, thanks!" Riley said, kicking up feet up onto the console. She had gotten her shoes off already and her little socks had reindeer all over them. Norah's feet joined hers a couple moments later, though she had normal purple socks.
"Five bucks they'll be asleep in thirty minutes," Clarice said.
"That's a bad bet," he replied with a small smile, "You're almost entirely guaranteed to win."
"We won't fall asleep," Riley protested, "We're awake."
"We could drink their coffee," Norah said with a laugh, "Then we'd be super awake."
"Can we have your coffee?" Riley asked, tapping her foot against John's arm. He reached over and squeezed her toes, getting a laugh out of her. She tried to pull her foot back, but he grabbed her foot and kept it in place.
"You don't need coffee, you've got enough energy for all of us," John said, shaking her foot, "You're the last person on this planet who needs coffee."
"But you just said I'd go to sleep!" Riley protested. She leaned forward and pulled at his arm, trying to get him to release her foot. "I need it."
"You need a nap? I wholeheartedly agree."
"I'm so confused," Norah said, "Are we sleeping or not sleeping?"
"Sleeping," John said.
"Not sleeping," Riley said at exactly the same time.
Clarice leaned back in her seat as the girls argued with John and he fought back with a playfully stoic expression, his eyes bright with amusement. He liked teasing his baby sister, and it was easy to see that she loved it too. There was something extra cute, she supposed, about seeing big, tough Marine John playing with his little sister. She had always thought that was sort of adorable how much he cared about his younger siblings and didn't care who knew how much he loved them.
They stopped briefly at a gas station on the outskirts of town to fill up and get snacks for the long ride. Clarice was immediately side-tackled by Lorna the moment she got out of the car and she flailed a little, caught off-guard by Lorna's baby belly.
"Wow, swallow a basketball, buddy?" she asked as she hugged Lorna back. Lorna wasn't terribly affection, but it had been a long time since they had seen each other. A somewhat violent hug was only natural.
Lorna socked her in the shoulder. "A beach ball, you ass," she said with a grin.
It was definitely weird seeing Lorna pregnant. If Clarice had chosen any of her friends to be the literal Mom Friend, it wouldn't have been Lorna, but she knew Lorna would be an awesome mom, complete with ripped jeans and combat boots. "Is Marcos completely smothering you?" Clarice asked, looking over at her childhood BFF. He was busy fending off Riley and Norah, who had gotten out of the truck and wanted to help gas up the vehicles. He gave Clarice an absent wave and went back to trying to keep the kids away from the pump.
"Pretty much," Lorna said, "But he means well."
"Always does," Clarice said. Marcos was a complete teddy bear, but she could see how he might turn into a worry wart when it came to Lorna's pregnancy.
"He hasn't wrapped me up in bubble wrap yet, which I'm thinking is a good sign," Lorna said with a smirk.
"Give it time," Clarice said.
Lorna laughed. "Hey, brats, let's go get candy!" she yelled. Norah and Riley looked at each other and then headed over toward Lorna.
Riley slipped her hand into Lorna's as they headed toward the convenience store. "Can we have coffee?"
"Heck no," Lorna said, "But you can help me find some salt and vinegar chips and peanut butter."
"That's an awful combo," Clarice said, and beside her, Norah wrinkled her nose.
"It's not my weirdest craving," Lorna said, "Have you ever tried those pizza-flavored Combos dipped in tartar sauce? It's amazing."
"That's…beyond disgusting," Clarice said.
In the store, James and his friends were stocking up on candy and snacks like they were going camping for a week in the wilderness instead of a day trip to a tree farm. There were four of them besides James, and Clarice recognized the little blonde that James liked so much.
"Hey!" Ali called to Clarice and Lorna as James held a packet of M&Ms out of her reach, "Morning!"
"Hey, Ali," Clarice said. She had babysat Ali some back when they were much younger; her dad had been overprotective and hadn't let Ali stay home alone until she was at least fourteen.
Riley and Norah disappeared into the shelves, probably looking for something extremely sugary. While the others picked out snacks, Clarice went to the refrigerated section. Absently, she grabbed a couple drinks and then rushed through the snacks section, collecting the girls as she went. Outside, Marcos was pushing the horn on the hybrid, so it was making plaintive little beeps to encourage everyone to hurry. The teens jostled each other as they bought way too much food and then hurried out the door, heading back to the Jeep.
"Riley, Norah, let's go," Clarice called as she headed to the check-out, stepping up behind Lorna. The dark-haired woman had an armful's worth of snacks spread out on the counter. Clarice raised an eyebrow and Lorna frowned at her.
"Don't comment on a pregnant woman's snack choices."
"I wasn't going to," Clarice said, allowing herself a grin. "I didn't say a word."
"You had a look."
"What, now I'm not allowed to have a look?"
Lorna jostled her with her elbow. "You know what I mean."
"I'm just saying, you have Ho-Hos and vinegar chips." Clarice reached over to touch the items she had mentioned, which made Lorna brush her hand away.
"It's a surprisingly good combination," Lorna said. She paid for her food and headed outside, two plastic bags hanging from her elbow.
The two girls raced up to the counter, both of them carrying more candy than Clarice was willing to buy. "We're not…is that an entire container of Reeses?"
"It's important," Norah said, "We need protein."
"Then get some jerky," Clarice said, taking the little carton from Norah. She set it on the counter, a little embarrassed by the exasperated look the sales clerk gave her. "Sorry." Neither of the girls looked very apologetic.
The bell over the door dinged as Clarice finished paying for the snacks that she was actually going to buy, and Riley shot over to John as he stepped into the store. "Clarice won't feed us."
"She's not obligated to feed you, squirt," he said as he reached down and ruffled her hair. He looked up at Clarice. "But it looks like she bought you stuff. Unless you're eating all of that on your own?" He smiled at Clarice, and she couldn't help but smile right back. An actual, true smile from John was something of a rarity.
"Yeah, this is all mine," she said, holding the bag close, "You guys can get your own."
Automatically the kids started complaining about how that wasn't fair and how they were going to starve and how it was too early to be mean to them. John laughed and hushed Riley before glancing around the store.
Clarice headed for the door, pausing beside him. "It's okay, I got yours, too. Coke, pork rinds, and sunflower seeds, right?" His tastes couldn't have changed that much, right? "Oh, and a reheated sausage biscuit."
John stared at her, and Clarice shifted from foot to foot, suddenly rethinking her actions. "I can put it back…"
"No, sorry, that's great," he said, shaking his head as if clearing it. "Thank you."
"No problem," Clarice said, wondering if she had made things weird. Luckily, John broke up any awkwardness by grabbing Riley and tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before taking the plastic bag from Clarice. Marcos was beeping the little hybrid's horn again, and John smirked as they all headed out.
"That is the sorriest excuse for a horn I've ever heard."
"Right?" Clarice said, grinning, "It sounds like its crying every time he hits it."
"I think it's sort of cute," Norah said, "Like it's saying 'eh,' 'eh,' 'eh.'"
"Or meh, meh, meh," Riley said, and both the girls giggled.
Once everyone got back on the road, it was about an hour down the road before the girls fell asleep in the backseat. John turned down the Christmas music as he glanced up at the mirror, making sure they were both out.
"Took longer than expected," Clarice said. She took off her coat and tossed it over Norah before snagging John's coat from behind his seat and draping it over Riley. The seven-year-old snagged the coat and snuggled up to it, halfway hiding under it.
"I'm surprised you're still awake," John said, glancing over at her.
"Eyes on the road," she said, making a face at him. "I drank coffee. I'm prepared."
"Must've been a lot of coffee," John teased.
She reached over and gently socked him on the shoulder. "It's none of your business."
John smiled and turned his attention back to the road. Behind them, the teenagers were following along in the Jeep and right behind them was Lorna and Marcos' hybrid. They were a little troupe heading down the road, enjoying the crisp morning now that the sun was officially out. However, some clouds in the distance made it look like the sunshine might not last.
"Is it supposed to snow today?" Clarice asked, briefly pressing her nose against the window. Fog clouded the window and she rubbed it away with her sleeve, pulling the end up over the palm of her hand.
"There's a chance," John said, "But it could happen."
"That'd be nice and cliché," she said, "Cutting down Christmas trees in the snow."
"Hey, I like this particular cliché," John said with a small smile, "Don't insult it."
"I didn't say I didn't like it," she replied. She reached for her bag and fished around for her phone, eventually finding it. After taking a short vid of the sky and blasting it out on Instagram, she set the phone on the dash.
The two of them settled into a comfortable silence, and Clarice reached over to turn the channel. While she loved Christmas music, it was tiresome after a while. Besides, the kids were asleep. She flipped through a few channels and finally found a rock station, one that John would like and she wouldn't mind. Outside, the woods were flashing by, bare-limbed tree after tree, as they made their way to the Christmas tree farm.
Acton, Lily
Adams, Lizzie
Adkinson, Sarah
Adshead, Norman
Adshead, Rose Ann
Aitken, Irene
Andrew, Dorothy Mary
Andrew, Joseph
Andrew, Mary Emma
Arrandale, Albert
Arrowsmith, Winifred
Ashcroft, Netta
Ashton, Dora Elizabeth
Ashton, Ellen
Ashworth, Ada
Ashworth, Brenda
Ashworth, Elizabeth
Ashworth, James
Ashworth, Sarah
Aveyard, Clara Ethel
Baddeley, Elizabeth Mary
Baddeley, John
Bagshaw, Bertha
Barber, Squire
Bardsley, Joseph
Bardsley, Lily
Bardsley, Nellie
Barker, Elsie
Barlow, Charles Henry
Barnes, James Edward
Battersby, Elizabeth
Baxter, William
Beech, Joseph
Bell, Norman John
Bennett, Ethel
Bennett, Frances
Bennett, Nellie
Bennison, Charlotte
Bent, Arthur
Berry, Irene
Bill, Edith Annie
Birchall, Mary Ivy
Bird, Violet May
Black, Alice
Boardman, Kathleen May
Boardman, Mary Louisa
Bogle, Geoffrey
Bolland, Alice
Bowers, Mary Elizabeth
Bradshaw, Miriam
Brady, Edith
Bramwell, Harold
Bramwell, Vera
Brassington, Charles Geoffrey
Brassington, Nancy Anne
Bridge, Doris
Bridge, Jane
Brierley, Albert
Brierley, Edith
Broadbent, Lily
Brock, Edith
Brocklehurst, Charles Edward
Brocklehurst, Vera
Brooder, Irene
Brookes, Lily
Brookes, May
Brown, Alice
Brown, Mary Alice
Brown, William Henry
Buckland, Edward
Buckley, Ethel
Burke, Elizabeth Mary
Butcher, Lydia Edith
Cains, Ida
Callaghan, Sean Stuart
Calverley, Edith
Campbell, Annie
Carradice, Marion
Carrington, Alice
Carroll, Josephine May
Cartwright, Hannah
Chadwick, Wilfred
Challinor, Ivy Elizabeth
Challoner, Genevieve
Chapman, Irene
Chappell, Alice
Chappell, Wilfred
Charlton, John
Charnock, George
Cheetham, Albert
Cheetham, Alfred
Cheetham, Elsie
Cheetham, Hena
Cheetham, Norah
Cheetham, Thomas
Chidlow, Amy
Clarke, Fanny
Clayton, Elsie
Clayton, Frances
Clee, Beatrice Helen
Clough, James
Condon, Thomas
Connaughton, Alice Hilda
Connors, Michael
Conway, Margaret Ann
Coomber, Frederick
Cooper, Ann
Copeland, Erla
Copeland, Sydney Hoskins
Couldwell, Constance Anne
Coulthard, Ann
Coutts, Mary
Couzens, Hilda Mary
Cox, Eileen Theresa
Crompton, Eileen Daphne
Crompton, Frank
Crompton, John
Crossley, Lily
Cullen, Lilian
Cuthbert, Valerie
Davies, Cissie
Davies, Eric
Davies, Fred
Davies, Miriam
Dawson, Fanny
Dean, Elsie Lorna
Dean, Joan Edwina
Delaney, Bessie
Denham, Christopher
Dentith, Frederick
Devenport, Ronnie
Dixon, Alice
Dobb, Edgar
Dolan, Ethel
Drinkwater, Alice
Drummond, Joseph
Dudley, Mary Rose
Dutton, Elaine
Earls, Doris
Earnshaw, William
Eddleston, Harold
Eddleston, Monica
Edge, Agnes
Evans, Bethel Anne
Everall, Hannah
Everall, Joseph Vincent
Farrell, Phyllis
Fernley, Marie Antoinette
Firman, Mary Elizabeth
Fish, Hilda
Fitton, Hilda
Fletcher, Dorothy
Fletcher, Elizabeth
Floyd, Arthur
Fogg, Leah
Foulkes, Edwin
Fowden, Thomas
Fox, Moira Ashton
France, John
Freeman, Harold
Freeman, Winifred
Frith, Hannah
Galpin, Minnie Doris Irene
Garlick, Rose
Garlick, Violet
Garratt, Mary Alice
Garside, Millicent
Gaskell, Marion
Gaunt, Mary
Gee, Nellie
Gess, Clifford
Givens, William
Goddard, Edith
Godfrey, Elsie
Golds, Annie Elizabeth
Gorton, Alice Maude
Graham, Edith
Gray, Rebecca
Greenhalgh, John Sheard
Grimshaw, Annie
Grimshaw, Muriel
Grundy, Donald Anthony
Grundy, Kathleen
Grundy, Nora
Hackney, Clara
Hackney, Clara
Hadfield, Violet
Hague, William
Hall, Josephine
Halliday, Frank
Hallsworth, Janet
Hamblett, Leonora
Hamer, Mary Emma
Hammond, Caroline Veronica
Hampson, Jesse
Hancock, Christine
Hannible, Elsie
Harding, Joan Milray
Harris, Charles
Harris, Harriet
Harrison, Christina
Harrison, David Alan
Harrison, Marion
Harrison, Muriel Eveline
Harrison, Samuel
Harrop, Elsie
Haslam, Mary Elizabeth
Hawkins, Sarah
Healey, Winifred
Heapey, Clifford Barnes
Heapey, Gladys
Heathcote, Irene
Heginbotham, Olive
Hennefer, Ellen
Hett, Mary Jane
Heywood, Ada
Heywood, Florence
Hibbert, Hilda Mary
Hickson, Robert
Higginbottom, George Eric
Higginbottom, Peter
Higgins, Barry
Higgins, Lily
Higham, Marion Elizabeth
Highley, Ruth
Higson, Ellen
Hill, Sarah Ann
Hillier, Pamela Marguerite
Hilton, Ada Matley
Hilton, John
Hirst, Emma
Holgate, Ethel Doris
Holland, Alline Devolle
Holt, Alice
Hopkins, Dorothy Doretta
Howcroft, John
Hulme, Hilda
Hurd, May
Iwanina, Jozef
Jackman, Harold Edward
Jackson, Maureen Lamonnier
Jackson, Nancy
Jameson, Ronald
Jeffries, Beatrice
Johnson, Norah
Johnson, Richard
Johnston, Leah
Jones, Alice Mary
Jones, David
Jones, Hannah
Jones, Ivy
Jones, Jane
Jones, Robert Edward
Jordan, Mary Ellen
Keating, Mary
Kellett, Ethel May
Kellett, Fred
Kelly, Ellen
Kelly, Moira
Kennedy, Alice
Killan, Charles Henry
King, Elsie
King, James Joseph
Kingsley, Mary
Kitchen, Alice Christine
Lacey, Renee
Leach, Florence
Leech, Edith
Leech, William Henry
Lees, Olive
Leigh, Carrie
Leigh, Joseph
Leigh, Wilfred
Lewis, Elsie
Lewis, Florence
Lewis, Peter
Lilley, Jean
Lingard, Robert Henry
Linn, Laura Frances
Livesey, John Louden
Llewellyn, Edna May
Lomas, Harry
Lomas, Ivy
Long, Dorothy
Longmate, Thomas Alfred
Lord, Jane Ellen
Lowe, Beatrice
Lowe, Esther
Lowe, May
Lyons, Eva
MacConnell, Charles
Mackenzie, Selina
Mackie, Christina McCulloch
Mansfield, Mary Ann
Mansfield, Walter
Marley, Martha
Marsland, Sarah Hannah
Matley, Maud
McDonald, Kathleen
McLaren, William James
McLoughlin, Gertrude
Melia, Joan May
Mellor, Elizabeth Ellen
Mellor, Samuel
Mellor, Winifred
Meredith, Oscar
Metcalfe, Margaret
Middleton, Deborah
Middleton, Mary
Mills, Samuel
Mitchell, Cyril
Mitchell, Wilbert
Molesdale, John Bennett
Morgan, Emily
Moss, Bertha
Moss, Hannah
Mottram, George Henry
Mottram, Hannah Helena
Mottram, Pamela Grace
Moult, Thomas
Mullen, Nellie
Mycock, Miriam Rose Emily
Needham, Nora
Nicholls, Violet
Nichols, Fanny
Nichols, Lily
Nuttall, Hervey
Nuttall, Norah
O'Sullivan, Thomas
Ogden, Mary
Oldham, Agnes
Oldham, Samuel
Oswald, Frances Elaine
Otter, Enid
Ousey, Margaret
Ovcar-Robinson, Konrad Peter
Overton, Renate Eldtraude
Oxley, Phyllis
Parker, Marjorie
Parkes, Annie
Parkin, Laura Victoria
Parr, Bertha
Pearce, Elizabeth
Pedley, Rosetta
Penney, Vara
Pickering, Leah
Pickup, Kenneth
Pickup, Mavis Mary
Pitman, Edith
Platt, Elsie
Platt, Marion
Pomfret, Bianka
Potts, Frances
Potts, Reginald
Powers, Annie Alexandra
Preston, Ada Marjorie
Prestwich, Alice
Proud, Ethel May
Quinn, Marie
Ralphs, Anne Lilian
Ralphs, Ernest Colin
Rawling, Alice
Reade, Audrey
Redfern, Tom
Renwick, Dorothea Hill
Richards, Jose Kathleen Diana
Richardson, Alice
Riley, Stanley
Roberts, Edith
Roberts, Esther Hannah
Roberts, Gladys
Robinson, Eileen
Robinson, Eveline
Robinson, Lavinia
Robinson, Mildred
Rogers, Elizabeth Ann
Rostron, Jane Frances
Rowarth, Dorothy
Rowbottom, Annie
Rowland, Jane Isabella
Royles, Elsie
Royston, Betty
Rudol, Ernest
Russell, Tom Balfour
Sankey, Margaret
Saunders, Albert Edward
Saunders, Gladys
Scott, Edith
Scott, Elsie
Sellors, Kate Maud
Sharples, Cicely
Shaw, Joseph
Shaw, Leonard
Shaw, Lilian
Shaw, Neville
Shaw, Susan Eveline
Shawcross, Edna
Shawcross, Ernest
Shawcross, Mabel
Shelmerdine, Jack Leslie
Shelmerdine, Jane Elizabeth
Shore, Lily
Sidebotham, Florence
Sigley, Elizabeth Teresa
Simpson, Kenneth Harry
Slater, Albert
Slater, Florence
Slater, Lena Norah
Slater, May
Smith, Alice
Smith, Dora Elizabeth
Smith, Emma
Smith, Kenneth Ernest
Smith, Margaret
Smith, Mary Alice
Smith, Sidney Arthur
Smith, Winifred Isabel
Sparkes, Monica Rene
Squirrell, Alice
Stafford, Harry
Stafford, Kate Elizabeth
Stansfield, Joe Ainscow
Stocks, Louisa
Stone, John
Stopford, Arthur Henderson
Stopford, Harriet
Strickland, Ruth
Sumner, Grace
Swann, Bessie
Swann, Robert
Swindells, Emmeline
Taylor, Caroline Mary
Taylor, Edna Mary
Taylor, Florence
Taylor, Lily Newby
Taylor, Mary
Tempest, Mary Ann
Thomas, Alice
Thomas, Sarah Ann
Thornton, Maria
Tideswell, Sarah
Tierney, Angela Philomena
Tingle, Walter
Toft, Beatrice
Tomlin, Mary
Townsend, Margaret
Tucker, Dorothy
Tuff, Mary
Tuffin, Winifred Amy
Turner, Frances Elizabeth
Turner, Irene
Uttley, Stanley
Vickers, Frederick
Vickers, Margaret Mary
Virgin, Lucy
Vizor, George Edgar
Vizor, May
Wagstaff, George Lawton
Wagstaff, Jessie Irene
Wagstaff, Laura Kathleen
Waldron, Margaret Anne
Walker, Edward
Walker, Ellen
Walker, Henrietta
Walker, Winifred Mary
Waller, Harry
Waller, Marjorie Hope
Walls, Mary
Walton, Sydney
Warburton, Ada
Ward, Maureen Alice
Ward, Minnie
Ward, Muriel Margaret
Ward, Percy
Wardle, Eric
Wareing, William Hill
Warren, May
Wass, Kathleen May
Watkins, Annie
West, Maria
Wharam, Ellen Frances
Wharmby, Lavinia
White, Mona Ashton
Whitehead, Amy
Whitham, Colin
Whittaker, Maureen
Whittaker, Violet Mary
Whittingslow, Vera
Whittle, Edith
Wibberley, Edith
Wilcockson, Joseph Frank
Wilkinson, Annie
Wilkinson, Maud
Williams, Albert Redvers
Williams, Emily
Williamson, Sarah Jane
Wills, Jack
Wilmore, Margaret
Wilson, Muriel Elsie
Wimpeney, Mark
Winston, George
Winston, Olive
Winterbottom, Mary
Wood, Annie
Wood, Charles Henry
Wood, Fanny
Wood, James
Woodhead, Joyce
Woodhead, Kenneth Wharmby
“Kids have low self-esteem, and then the peer pressures come and they go into a wrong crowd. That’s when all the bad stuff starts happening…”
— Britney Spears to Steven Daly (Rolling Stone, 1999)
PLUS pieces on...
• Swinging Blue Jeans (1963)
• Rolling Stones (1964)
• The Animals (1965)
• Otis Redding (1966)
• Donovan @ Saville (1967)
• Jeannie C. Riley (1968)
• The Kinks' Arthur (1969)
• Joni @ Isle Of Wight (1970)
• Funkadelic ban (1971)
• Al Green's Let's Stay Together (1972)
• Ace (1973)
• Todd Rundgren live (1974)
• Hot Chocolate (1975)
• Bonnie Raitt reissues (1976)
• Dwight Twilley (1977)
• James Brown live (1978)
• The Cramps (1979)
• Alicia Bridges (1980)
• Bad Manners (1981)
• Barry Manilow @ Albert Hall (1982)
• Malcolm McLaren (1983)
• Yellowman/Josey Wales (1984)
• John Fogerty (1985)
• Keith Jarrett/Wayne Shorter (1986)
• T'Pau (1987)
• Tom Tom Club's Boom (1988)
• The Jungle Brothers (1989)
• Mötley Crüe in Öakland (1990)
• Talk Talk (1991)
• Soul II Soul's Vol. II (1992)
• MOJO's launch (1993)
• Morphine @ Avalon (1994)
• Chris Whitley (1995)
• The Mike Flowers Pops (1996)
• Beck (1997)
• A Tribe Called Quest (1998)
• Trail of Dead @ Cockpit (2000)
• Def Leppard (2001)
• Dennis McNally's Dead (2002)
• Kevin Coyne (2003)
• Norah Jones' Home (2004)
• Rob Thomas (2005)
• Tunng's Comments (2006)
• Prince @ O2 (2007)
• Supergrass' Hoo Ha (2008)
• Hayseed Dixie (2009)
• David Bowie (2010)
• Suzi Quatro (2011)
• Lucky Luke/Trembling Bells (2012)
• Freemasons in jazz (2014)
• Gil Scott-Heron (2015)
• Chic @ Roundhouse (2016)
• Madonna/Sean Hughes (2017)
• Courtney Marie Andrews (2018)
• The Doors' Parade (2019)
I went and drew a fake comic cover for Hesitation which can be read here if anyone's interested! Its a rewritten version of one I had up a few years ago where [redacted] gets [redacted]
THE CHRISTMAS FIC!!! Okay, get ready for a lot of shorter updates as I try to finish this in like 3 days! :D
Ao3 | FF.net
"And here, take these over to Denise," Aunt Evelyn said, pressing a tin of cookies into John's hands. He was trying to get out the door with Riley and James but Riley was hunting for her favorite hat and James was actually refusing to wear a jacket. Which was ridiculous, it was gearing up for snow outside.
"Yes, ma'am," John said, holding onto the tin as he shot a glare at James. "We're going to be late and it's going to be your fault. We're not leaving until you put a coat on."
"You're worse than Aunt Evelyn," James said, leaning against the doorway that led into the den. "I'm fine, I've got on long sleeves."
"It's not here," Riley complained, her voice muffled since she was digging around in the coat closet by the front door. "I think it's lost."
"Can't you wear a different hat?" Aunt Evelyn said, "And James, go get a coat, it's freezing. See, John's not worse than me."
James made a disgruntled noise opened the closet wider so he could grab a coat.
"It's my favorite," Riley complained. She stepped around James and out of the closet, a pout on her face. "I don't want to wear a different one."
"Here, wear this one." James grabbed a black toboggan and plunked it down on Riley's head, pulling it down so it covered her dark brown eyes.
She immediately pulled it off and flung it back at him. "It smells like boy! I'm not wearing your hat."
"There's this one." James snagged another toboggan, this one with a massive pink pom-pom on it, and tried to put it on Riley's head. She shoved at his hands and then darted toward John, hiding behind his legs.
"You wear it!" she said, shooting James a frown. "I want my hat…"
John glanced at his phone and ran his hand over Riley's head, giving her braid a tug. "Kiddo, you might have to wear a different hat. I wasn't kidding about being late."
James shrugged on his coat and smirked down at Riley. "Pom-pom nightmare for you."
"You don't have to make it worse," John said, rolling his eyes as Riley stuck her tongue out at James.
Eventually they made it out the door and to the truck after getting Riley to accept a less-fantastic but somehow-okay bright blue, sparkly toboggan. They piled in and headed down the road, partially blinded by all the Christmas lights in their neighborhood.
"Wow, is that a whole merry-go-round with reindeer?" John asked incredulously as they drove past the Camerons' house.
"Yuh-huh," Riley piped up from the backseat, "And if you turn the radio, their house lights up with the songs. It's so cool."
"She's not serious," John said, looking over at James for confirmation.
His little brother smirked. "She's dead serious. Those people are more dedicated to their Christmas display than ever since Sarah went off to college."
"I like it," Riley said, leaning forward. "Can we go drive through the town to look at the lights after practice, John?"
"No, Riles, we're not feeding your addiction," James said. He put a hand on her forehead and pushed her backwards into her seat but she struggled against him.
"I didn't ask you, I asked John!"
"As long as it doesn't go too late and Ms. D doesn't mind if Norah goes," John said.
"And Norah's friend," Riley said, sitting back now that she had gotten some sort of agreement. She leaned against the window and drew little pictures on the foggy glass.
"Right," John said, wondering who exactly that friend was. Probably one of the other kids from the neighborhood. While they were at the Fergusons, he was going to have to ask when Clarice was getting home. That way he would have some time to mentally prepare before seeing her again.
The drive to the Fergusons was only a couple minutes since they lived at the end of the lane. John grinned as he recognized the fake reindeer standing in Ms. D's bushes as the same one that Marcos had shot so long ago. It had been before John had moved to town, but he had heard the story dozens of times. Cupid was wearing a Santa hat, and he had a big silver heart made of duct tape over the hole from Marcos' arrow.
Riley exploded from the truck when James opened her door, racing around the front and launching herself up the steps. John and James followed at a more sedate pace. John glanced at James, wondering why he wasn't arguing more about going to this play practice thing. Normally he would have refused to go, especially because Riley kept dropping hints about the play needing more people, which John assumed meant that the director might try to absorb them into the production. But James hadn't complained yet, so John was guessing that he had ulterior motives.
Riley was ringing the doorbell for the fourth time when John reached the door. He picked her up and shook his head at her. "Stop abusing the doorbell."
"I don't think they heard me," she said, straining toward the door.
"I think the whole neighborhood heard you," James said.
Finally, the door opened, jingle bells ringing as Norah appeared. She smiled and turned around, opening the door wider. "Riley's here!"
"Oh good," Ms. D said, walking out from the hallway that led to the kitchen. She glanced over at the stairs and then came to the doorway, waving her hands. "Come in, get out of the cold for a moment."
"Can't stay long, we have to go," Norah said.
John set Riley down, and she automatically raced over to Norah, grabbing her friend's hand. Norah was a few years older than Riley, but living on the same street and going to the same school had turned them into friends a long time ago. "I can't wait for practice!"
"Me neither," Norah said, but John noticed how she kept looking at the stairs, just like Ms. D.
John held out the cookie tin to Ms. D. "Aunt Evelyn sent those over for you."
"That was nice of her," Ms. D said, "Tell her thank you and that we'll be sending some back in a couple days."
John nodded, knowing that Ms. D would probably send a whole box of Christmas snacks back as a 'thank you.' She was really into baking this time of year. "I guess we should get going."
"We can't yet," Norah said, shaking her head, "We have to wait."
"They're going to start practice without you guys," James said, frowning.
"They can't," Norah said, putting her hands on her hips, "Or they won't."
John was about to ask why when he heard someone coming down the stairs. Must be Norah's…friend… His eyes widened at the sight of Clarice, her hand on the banister as she hurried down the stairs. She skipped the last one and came to stand between James and Ms. D, as if nothing about this whole situation was shocking. "Hey," she said breathlessly, "Sorry, I couldn't find my socks." She stuck out a leg and pulled her jeans leg up, showing off a tall evil Frosty sock. "The other one is an exploding reindeer."
"Clarice," John said, staring at her, "You…" He swiped a hand back through his hair, completely caught off guard. "Hey."
There was a tiny smothered giggle from Norah and Riley's direction, and he shook his head.
"I didn't know you were home yet," he said, gathering his composure even as he continued to simply look at her. Her hair was longer and dark purple, loose curls playing around her shoulders. She had on a hooded grey long-sleeve and dark jeans with worn patches, plus a pair of black Converses.
Clarice was beautiful.
"Just got in today," she said, looking back at him, dark green eyes as captivating as ever. He didn't fail to notice the blush in her cheeks, though that was surely from racing down the stairs, not because of him or anything. "Did you get even more muscles, Superman?"
"Maybe," he said, falling into a grin even as his emotions roiled. He was happy to see her even if it brought up a lot of memories he didn't want to face, like sitting on a bench in a park far away as she ended things.
James made a face. "Okay, let's go before you guys find some mistletoe for an excuse to start making out."
Okay, James was going to have to die later. "Wait, what about Norah's friend?" John said, tearing his eyes away from Clarice so he could fully glower at his little brother. Way to make things extra awkward.
Ms. D had a mischievous smile on her face, and Norah walked over to Clarice, taking her hand. "Clarice is my friend, she's coming with us."
Riley smiled at Clarice. "You can sit in the front seat, I'll make James sit with us." She pointed at James. "You're in the middle!" With a laugh, she grabbed Norah's hand and took off, darting out the door.
"Hey, no! No way," James said, going after them. He gave Ms. D a little salute at the door. "Later, Ms. D."
"Be good, James," she said, and then clapped her hands together as she looked at Clarice and John. "You two better go catch them before they destroy the truck."
"Right," John said, looking at Clarice again. "You don't mind riding shotgun?"
"As long as I get to pick the radio station, I don't mind."