this damned town’s only got one watering hole. so it’s no wonder, the one time clem’s here without manny to pay her tab, that blend of cardamom and bergamot wafts through the door.
“ look what the cat dragged in, ” clem hums without turning to meet the individual who’s moved to occupy a barstool close by. she raises whiskey to her lips and sucks a good half of the liquor down. “ here t’arrest some day drinkers, are ya ? ” a pause. ruby red lips tug into a satisfied smirk. it’s now she turns, eyebrows liftin’ in cillian’s general direction.
“ good thing you ‘n i both know i’m a fan of those cuffs. ”
he doesn’t drink a lot. not unnecessarily, he supposes. not as much as some people. often enough, however, that he can walk into the bar, gesture with nothing more than a nod, and have his drink right in front of him by the time that he reaches his stool. cillian takes a seat, paying no mind to his surroundings because after the day he’s had? well, he couldn’t care less if bonnie and clyde were sitting right next to him.
then he hears that voice and the grumble of discontent that escapes his lips is entirely beyond his control. of course she's here. why wouldn’t she be? as discreetly as he can manage, cillian glances around them, surveying the vicinity for clem’s new toy, manny as he’s apparently called. he knows clem can’t see him but man, he swears that woman has some kind of sixth sense because she just knows.
he can’t see the other man, so he begins to visibly relax slightly, shoulders dropping from their previously hunched position. “off duty. ain’t my problem,” is his brief reply, taking a long sip from the pint of guinness in front of him. “so if you’re gonna clout someone upside the head with that stick o’ yours, now’s the time to do it.” if cillian isn’t careful, that someone will be him and he knows it. “you were a fan of these cuffs, yeah. what’s up, has your new toy got a better set of ‘em or somethin’? guess he must be tryin’ ‘em out without ya, since uh...” he scans the bar again, before shrugging, “he ain’t here.”
( sam claflin, human, he/him & cismale ) is that ( the boys are back in town ) by ( thin lizzy ) playing? ( cillian james o’connor ) must be nearby! heard folks say the ( twenty-nine ) year old ( police officer ) was not at the letum falls thanksgiving fair because ( he’d been called elsewhere on a different job ). as a result, they weren’t present during the glitch but ( he’s haunted by the guilt of being unable to save everyone who died ).
𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍
born 29 years ago in dublin, ireland, to john and ellen o’connor, cillian was the second-born of three sons, although middle-child syndrome is a totally foreign concept to him.
school was a pretty easy ride for him but he tended to get bored because he liked a challenge, something more hands-on and interesting.
the rest of his childhood was relatively ordinary, until the age of eleven when his parents moved to letum falls, taking him and his brothers with them, in search of ‘the american dream’. if he was honest, he couldn’t put his finger on how he felt about the move. on one hand, he was thrilled at the idea of a fresh start, the chance to be whoever and whatever he wanted to be. on the other hand, the thought of leaving every single friend he’d ever made was nothing short of terrifying.
it was tough for cillian as an irish boy going through american schools, but he was grateful for his brothers to help him through it. nothing too horrendous happened to him, he just felt like the odd one out, never quite fitting in with everyone around him.
he had a small but solid group of friends, but a few more certainly wouldn’t have hurt.
he got through more than his fair share of exes, people seemingly fascinated by his accent amongst other things (as though they’d never heard a different accent before), but usually managed to end relationships on relatively good terms.
days after his twenty second birthday, cillian moved out of his parents’ and worked towards his freshly realised goal of becoming a police officer. years of training later, cillian is now an officer at letum falls police department.
up until the thanksgiving fair and the chaos that ensued, work had been just about the only part of his life that he had all figured out, as outside of work, he’s always been a ‘go with the flow’ kinda guy (he blames it on his whole life being uprooted at the age of eleven and not even being able to have an opinion on the matter).
his parents and brothers still live relatively local, though all three boys have now left the family home.
originally, the o’connors had arranged to meet at the thanksgiving fair and spend the day together, however, as he was unable to get the time off work, cillian missed the family get-together and was instead sent to investigate a case elsewhere.
it was a minor petty theft, but it was during this time that the glitch happened and things at the fair went haywire. luckily, his family weren’t severely harmed during the chaos but cillian can’t forgive himself for not being there to protect his family and all of the casualties that happened as a result of the glitch.
in his heart, he knows that there was likely nothing he could’ve done, even if he had been there, but as a member of the town’s law enforcement, he feels obligated to protect the citizens of the town and as a result, feels that he let everyone down and failed at his duties.
all that continues to play through his mind is what if i’d lost my family? and all he can think about is how many people did lose their family.
even worse than being unable to protect everyone, he has no idea what even happened and that makes him feel even worse than useless. he’s entirely convinced that it’s something beyond the realms of human understanding though, and is certainly fascinated by the countless cases that have been labelled by the police as freak accidents.
𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢
cillian can come across as being quite confident, but he lacks self-assurance and masks his true feelings a lot of the time.
externally, he’s amiable and warm but inwardly, it’s a bit of a different story. not only does he find it difficult to tell people about himself, but he often fails to see the purpose of doing so.
he’s incredibly laid back and sees no point in wasting his energy worrying about things that don’t matter or that he can’t change. he has a ‘big picture’ approach, focusing more on the end result of things and situations rather than the details along the way – he’ll cross those bridges when he comes to them.
cillian likes to think of himself as pretty charming and easy-going, determined to make people like him. its his naturally easygoing nature which makes him easy to open up to and confide in, even if this isn’t reciprocated.
when it comes to his work, cillian is a different person. he’s focused and driven, determined to get the answers people need and deserve.
however, because of this, he can often take his work home with him and mull over cases while he’s off, particularly those unrealistically labelled as freak accidents.
he’s torn between his loyalty to his job, and his belief that people deserve the truth so for now, he continues to investigate and peruse cases alone without divulging too much incriminating information to others.
if ever anyone encounters him staring blankly into the distance, chances are he’s lost in his world of work again. he loves what he does, because he loves knowing that he’s helping people.
he’s sensitive to other people’s emotions and patient regarding differing opinions – definitely more of a mediator than an argumentative type of person, however this can translate as indecisiveness at times (don’t ask him what flavour cupcake he wants, just give him one, he’ll be happy with whatever you choose)
𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜
friends w/ benefits
Dodgy People™️ who’ve had run ins with the police
unlikely friends
enemies
exes/previous flings
literally anything and everything
yes i did copy/paste this section from billie’s intro and no i’m not sorry
