❧ Name: Declan Sullivan ❧ Nickname: Dec (“deck”) ❧ Age: 28 ❧ Gender: Cis male, he/him ❧ Orientation: Demisexual ❧ Relationship: Single ❧ Occupation: Teacher Assistant ❧ Residence: Commune ❧ Title: The Liability ❧ Faceclaim: Barry Keoghan
❧ Personality -
Friendly / Charming / Agreeable / Helpful Naive / Impressionable / Impatient / Forgetful
❧ Introduction -
tw: traumatic brain injury resulting in multiple disabilities
Declan liked to help his dad with his job in construction and often hung around construction sites with his friends, goofing off and doing normal teenage things. The paradox occurred his junior year, and it really put a damper on his plans for college and to follow his father’s footsteps in construction. Frustrated and annoyed, he went to the latest unfinished site in Huntsville, drinking and ranting to his best friend about how life ruined their plans for their futures.
Drunk and unstable, he tripped and fell on a piece of exposed piping, puncturing his skull. His friend helped him to the clinic, but without the proper equipment, there was nothing they could do but treat the wound and hope the swelling wouldn’t kill him. It was touch-and-go for a while before the swelling finally went down. The doctors decided to keep the pipe where it was, since that was safer than pulling it out and trying to repair the damage with limited resources.
Declan had to relearn how to walk and talk and use his motor functions. His memory went in and out and he suffered from hand tremors and seizures. He lost all his academic intelligence, only able to do simple addition and subtraction with a third grade reading level. He suffered headaches constantly, and the road to recovery was long and hard. His parents were amazing at helping him, though, and over time he got better.
Then one night his parents didn’t come home from work. He waited for them for days, until finally he realized what must have happened. Sheriff Henry moved him into the Commune, so he could continue to have support, but Declan can’t help but wonder if his parents chose to leave because they couldn’t take caring for him anymore. He was too much for them to handle, and he often wonders if that will happen again. That people would choose death over the difficult work of dealing with him.
As a result, he tries to be as helpful and agreeable as possible, never wanting to feel like a burden to anyone again. He enjoys working with Evangeline in her classroom, as it makes him feel useful and the kids seem to like him. He may never get better, but at least he can try to make life easier for other people.
