#declan the priest

[syndianites]

tom in a (season 1 centric) timeloop

thank youuu!

When I tell you that I've had an idea similar to this floating in my head for ages, let me tell you that unironically I have a whole lore for it. (Granted, it uses some of my more out-there Mianite headcanon and background lore for characters, so it'd get revised to be less ooc for the characters if I ever DID write that plot bunny. My similar thought centers on the idea of the crew coming out of the void post-s2 and getting stuck in the entire s1 plot again, except 1) the s2 crew is there and 2) no one seems to remember doing any of this before except for some brief deja-vu moments. The main POV would follow the s2 crew and the main plot twist would be the fact that Tom DOES remember what happened and has the powers of Dianite, but is trying his best to keep the events all together and maybe, possibly, save his Dianite. The ending is a secret tho)

Onto the fic

----

Tom felt the strain burn into his upper back. He was never the best archer- that solidly went to Jordan and his goddess' personal preference for bows- but at this close of distance and how big Dianite was, he knew his aim would be true.

He was conflicted.

Yeah, Dianite disowned him. Sure, he was acting absolutely batshit insane, trying to kill his own sister and fellow goddess. And yeah, Tom had decided he'd side with his friends, but a few swings against his god were nothing in the grand scheme of things. What was significant, however, was how worn Dianite was beginning to look. For all his godly might, Dianite had been deteriorating for months. Tom couldn't figure out why and any attempt at getting answers was met with harsh rebuttal, and by the time he started to get an inkling of what might be going down Furia had decided to start shit.

Looking at Dianite now, you wouldn't think he was a god. Maybe a tough, angry red demon, but a god? No, he was far too battered and bruised to attest to such divine birthright. Even as he expertly parried a strike from Tucker and ducked an arrow sent by Jordan, Dianite just barely managed to escape Sonja's quick slash with a shallow scratch. He was slowing down. Even more so after the crystal atop the pillar at the center of their arena had been broken.

Tom tracked the fight with his eyes, barely moving a muscle beyond the subtle shake of his arms. His bow was redied, his shot clear. Just a quick release of the tension built in his fingers and his arrow would hit home. Dianite's back was turned to him.

Why was he hesitating?

The wait was maddening. How much longer could he hold this position? How much longer until someone got the upper hand- who would it be? Would he be able to stand seeing his god cutting down one of his friends, so soon after Capsize's death? Would he be able to handle seeing his friends cut down his god, the very one that had taken him in, bloodied and bleeding and freshly pulled from the grave?

The choice was taken from him.

He didn't realize until the arrow was already in the air, too focused on the sudden chill that had taken into his fingers. Tom glanced at his hand in bewilderment, seeing the ghost of a dark energy- or was it a deep purple?- before his head snapped back up to Dianite.

To the arrow lodged in his back.

Dianite stumbled, sword clattering to the ground. Tucker and Jordan had stepped back, both with their swords still raised, and Sonja had an arrow knocked in the background, all of them clearly ready for some new power to burst forth.

Instead, Dianite's head turned towards Tom, eyes eerily blank.

They stared at one another as Dianite fell down to one knee, then both. A frown marred his face- not a sneer but something more confused. His eyes fell to Tom's hand that still prickled with cold like he'd just dunked them in arctic waters.

Tom's chest twisted like it was reading its own arrow.

"No." Dianite's eyes found his again. "Not like this."

Stuck in the god's gaze, Tom watched as a shadow seemed to lift from Dianite's eyes like he was gaining clarity. He seemed to wrestle with himself, teeth grit in determination and Tom wondered if he was going to strike him down for the betrayal.

But was it betrayal when Dianite had turned his back to him first?

Instead, Dianite gave a sigh, setting a soft look upon Tom. "Not for you."

Before Tom could react, before he could draw a breath, pain erupted behind his eyes. The world was swallowed in a blinding light- white, at first, then turning a deep, blood red, before fading to black.

Oh, Tom mused, he really did strike me down.

With that thought, Tom blanked out.

---

In a shocking turn of events, Tom came to with a stuttering gasp. His eyes flew open only to burn with the sudden onset of light. He squeezed them closed, hand flying up to protect his eyes. The sound of waves beat at his pounding head.

A groan sounded from afar. It wasn't himself, for he could scarcely manage a wheeze. There was a shuffling of sand, shoes crunching shakily on the uneasy surface.

Sand?

Gods know Tom wasn't the smartest, but after getting blasted by godly power and surely being killed so thoroughly he wasn't likely to get revived a second time didn't put him anywhere near sand.

He peeked an eye open from beneath his fingers as his mind fried itself trying to connect dots.

Smited by Dianite + horrible pain = brain exploded?

Brain exploded + waking up in pain = died and sent to hell?

From what Tom knew about the Nether, sand wasn't out of the question, perse, but it was usually accompanied by the screams and moans of the dead.

Wait, did his soul get sucked up by some soul sand?

As he tried to figure out the logistics of how souls even got stuck in sand, a voice caught his attention, "You alive over there?"

When Tom didn't reply, because surely they weren't talking to him, the crunching of sand got closer and there was a nudge at his side.

Startled, Tom dropped the hand from his face, squinting through the sudden pain and onslaught of light to see a man standing above him. As his eyes focused, the face because clear.

"Tucker?" Tom's brain tried to reboot, not comprehending why his best friend was also here. "Don't tell me you died too?"

Instead of a snarky remark, Tucker gave him a suspicious frown. "How do you know my name? Who are you? No, wait, what do you mean died? Is this the afterlife?"

The questions hurt caused Tom's brain to lag, trying to process the absolutely absurd shit coming out of Tucker's mouth. This was too much for him, honestly, between his brain getting exploded and waking up to his soul getting eaten by soul sand and- wait.

Tom sat up suddenly, head pounding at the movement. He was on a beach. There was a clear blue sky around him and a lack of sweltering heat. Either he was not in the Nether, or the process of getting his soul eaten by fucking sand made him hallucinate.

Rather than answering Tucker's questions, he swivled his head from side to side. He was on a beach, a hill stretching out behind him and leading to a solitary acacia tree. The dry looking grass was familiar, like the savannah grass their homes were all built on top of. If he squinted, he could imagine that mountain off to his side being where Tucker and Sonja's castle home was, and opposite of that he could almost visualize Jerry's Tree.

Tom frowned, looking up at the bewildered and agitated Tucker.

"I'm Tom, dumbass. Don't tell me that dying made you forget me?"

Tucker huffed. "Like I'd be able to forget a talking zombie. I'm pretty sure we've never met."

Despite his confusion, Tucker offered Tom a hand like it was second nature. He took it gingerly, eying his friend warily.

"Sure," Tom muttered, the gears in his brain clicking together like an abandoned machine that needed maintenance five years ago. "Doesn't this place look familiar?"

"Not at all. Don't think I've ever been to, what, a savannah? At least, that's what it looks like. Dry grass and all." Tucker frowned at the stalks coming up to his waist, twisting the top and watching it break under his fingers.

Tom didn't respond, instead opting to climb the hill to get a better lay of the land. There was a mutter from Tucker behind him and the sound of footsteps following him. When Tom reached the top he felt his abused brain step into overdrive.

This place looked familiar for sure. Three mountains surrounded the savannah plain, with a river cutting through it. If he squinted at the one on his left, he could almost see was looked like an incomplete version of Dec's house. To the right, he could imagine the Dianite head statue his friends had made, leading into what would be the Forest of the Abyss.

It wasn't until a flash of red caught his eye that Tom truly felt his mind break.

There was Dec, in his usual ragged get-up, waving in that same carefree way he always did. But instead of making some comment about how Tom looks like he lost a fight with a sand castle, or how Tucker looked like a half-drowned rat, he greeted them.

"Welcome! I haven't seen you all around before. What brings you folk out here to our lovely realm of Mianite?" Dec grinned at them, offering a hand to shake.

Tucker stepped forward to introduce himself, but Tom just stared at Declan.

This was almost exactly how his first day in the realm had gone. He'd washed ashore, met Tucker, and got the run down from Dec. Hell, if things continued he could easily imagine how Tucker and he would start gathering wood and trying to set up a base at the top of that stupid mountain Tucker had tried to push him off of as a joke.

No.

No, there was no fucking way.

Dianite had killed him.

But ghosts didn't feel pain. He'd asked Capsize and she told him as much. His head throbbed with the ache of getting smitted.

They couldn't feel temperature, but the heat of the plains was already seeping into his suit jacket.

Most of all, they didn't have a heart beat, and Tom could feel his barely there, defunct heart slowly but surely beating in his chest.

Something had went royally fucking wrong.

----

Okay, I could probably continue this, in fact I have a vague idea for how Tom's character arc would go for this and I 100% know how I would end it. If you want more, I can keep going, but I'd either need to separate it into it's own post or do a little planning to get the idea more concrete. Because this is honestly a banger ass plot bunny.

Thanks for the prompt!!

[riverstyxsarts]

I’m not afraid of god I’m afraid he was gone all along

[seaemberthesecond]

CSA survivor Declan, you will always be real to me.

[ronanlynchbf]

lynch brothers enjoyers u would LOOOOOOVE fleabag and her sister .👍

[graphicpolicy]

Preview: Timing/Luck

Timing/Luck preview. Gerry Duggan takes you along his journey through comic books and Hollywood. The book contains hundreds of photos over two decades #books

Timing/Luck Gerry Duggan (A/CA) Gerry DugganIn Shops: Nov 27, 2024SRP: $19.99 Gerry Duggan takes you along his journey through comic books and Hollywood. The book contains hundreds of photos over two decades in writing rooms, green rooms, and city streets around the world. Each photo tells a story, and collectively the book tells his. Timing/Luck is a mash-up of dark streets, bright minds, and…

[argikiya]

Bonus/Special/Extra chapters of some of my favorite books/series.

As most of my favorite series or books are getting a lot of bonus chapters but most of the time they are only available in certain special editions which is a true menace and impossible to get hands-on globally, I'm making a guide for the chapters as I've found a lot of helpful Tumblr users/readers already posted them in the internet. So I'll collect them, make a thorough list, and keep editing them if any new material is released. Feel free to comment if you want to add anything or let me know about any other series. I'm keeping the list under the cut to avoid spoilers for those who want to avoid them.

Red, White and Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston

The henry's pov chapter from the new Red White And Royal Blue collector's edition. - set after the incidents in the book

The Folk Of The Air Trilogy - Holly Black

The Cruel Prince Barnes & Noble exclusive short story - A Visit to the Impossible Lands

Some deleted scenes from TCP (AU)

Deleted scenes of The Wicked King from Barnes & Noble exclusive edition

Cardan's letter from Queen of Nothing -(read after finishing the series)

Deleted scene of The Queen of Nothing from Holly Black's newsletter.

Walmart exclusive The Stolen Heir chapters.

The Stolen Heir Barnes & Noble bonus content.

There are also additional Folk of The Air contents and a more detailed list - click here

Legendborn Series - Tracy Deonn

Selwyn's pov chapter and Bloodmarked excerpt - to read after the first book

The Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater

A Very Declan Christmas - Holiday Drabble

300 Fox way Holiday Piece - written as part of an event

A Minor Raven Boys Holiday Drabble -click here

Book #4.5 - Opal

The Secret Sanghai Universe - Chloe Gong

This one could be a little confusing as it is a really long universe containing two separate but interconnected series. So I'm making the list according to the timeline of the book's contents are in (not based on the timeline they were published/released) which list Chloe Gong once shared in her Instagram stories and also available on her website. (Check out her list for more detailed, less-confusing blurb on the contents of each bonus content and their timeline)

A RomaJuliette Christmas Special

The Benedikt & Marshall bonus - Barnes & Noble Exclusive Our Violent Ends Edition

The semi AU romajuliette + benmars fic - click here

Roma's Letters - Barnes & Noble exclusive These Vioent Delights.

Book 1 - These Violent Delights (Post TVD contents ↓)

5. Roma Gets a New Mug

Book 2 - Our Violent Ends

6. The Priest and The Shepherd (Set before Foul Lady Fortune but better if read after reading FLF)

Book 3 - Foul Lady Fortune

Book 3.5 - Last Violent Call

Book 4 - Foul Hearts Huntsman (Post FHH content ↓)

7. In True Delights - The Epilogue of all epilogues

Once Upon A Broken Heart - Stephanie Garber

The three different special edition epilogues of A Curse For True Love

The first epilogue

The second epilogue

The third Epilogue

Simon Snow Trilogy - Rainbow Rowell

My Rosebud Boy A Simon and Baz AU - Rainbow Rowell

This short story was written as a bonus for people who ordered Scattered Showers from the Bookworm in Omaha, Nebraska. It's an alternate universe story about Simon Snow and Baz Pitch, characters from Rainbow's Simon Snow Trilogy. It was printed by the author in a brochure format.

for everyone who's missing out on this cute little gem here is the google drive link - I found it from the tumblr comment section where a generous fan shared the link. Thank you.

All pic credit @pinterest

[nibblette]

Halloween Costume Ideas for Ronan-

-priest

-Biblically accurate Angel

-Stereotypical farmer w/overalls

-Edgar Allan Poe ( too easy?)

-Altar boy

- Declan (😅)

-Hippy (dreamer)

-Irish dancer

-Stereotypical psychic

-Tree/forest?

- Blue 😂

-Mormon missionary (couples costume with Adam)

-Gwenllian

-Drag Queen

-Cowboy

-Stereotypical teacher/professor (Adam is drooling)

-Roger Mallory

-His albino night horror (RIP)

-Hades

-Ares

-Odin (needs a second raven)

- A mechanic (Adam is confused)

- black Tentacle monster/ Make something to be the “Greywaren”

-Jareth The Goblin King

-Aragorn

-Marble statue

[canirove]

Rice, Rice, baby | Epilogue

Author's note: And we've made it to the end! 🙁 Thank you very much to everyone who has read and supported this story. As always, and especially with the ones about Declan since he is my fave, it means a lot. Hope you like this last chapter, and once again, thank you very much for reading! 💜

Previous chapter

Masterlist

A year later…

“Can you replay that bit?”

“What?” Declan says.

“The last five seconds of the video. Can you play them again?”

“Urgh” he groans. “I should have worn one of those clip on ties like the one Leo is wearing.”

“Declan, Leo is six and you are almost thirty. You have to wear a proper tie” I say while trying to follow the step I just watched. “Ok, done.” 

“Let me see” he says, checking himself in the mirror.

“You clean up quite well, Rice” I tease him.

“So do you, Miss Chapman” he winks, my face instantly starting to burn. Will that ever stop happening? Probably not.

“Yes… Umm… Let’s go, we can’t be late.”

“One last thing” Declan says, taking my hand as I try to leave the bathroom. 

“What.”

“I love you, Liv” he smiles.

“I love you too” I smile back. “Now let’s go.”

“Liv, did you just dodge me when I was about to kiss you?” he laughs.

“I did, yes. I can’t let you ruin my makeup. And, if we kiss, we will definitely get carried away and end up being late, and then Madders and Kennedy will kill us.”

“True” he chuckles. “Though now you owe me a kiss.”

“I won’t forget about it, don't worry. Now let’s go.”

“Fine” he sighs when I grab his hand and basically drag him behind me.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride” the priest says before Madders wraps his hands around Kennedy’s waist and kisses her, everyone cheering and clapping.

“They are so cute” I smile. “Don’t you agree, Declan? Declan?”

“Yeah?” 

“Oh my God, Declan. Are you crying?”

“What? No, no” he says, quickly wiping away his tears. “It’s just the sun and these gorgeous blue eyes you love so much. Sometimes they get too sensitive.”

“The eyes or the owner of the eyes?”

“Don’t tease me, Olivia” he says, pinching my butt and making me jump. 

“Declan!” I say, quickly looking around to see if anyone has noticed.

“You’ve been warned” he smirks.

“Idiot” I reply, hitting his arm. “But there is nothing wrong with getting emotional during a wedding, you know? And I have seen you cry many times before.”

“I know, Liv. But this time, I wasn’t crying.”

“Of course you weren’t” I say, moving my hands to my back so he doesn’t try anything again. But he has seen me, and does something worse. 

“I wasn’t” he whispers in my ear before giving it a little bite, the noise that leaves my mouth being the most inappropriate one ever, and one that the woman sitting next to me has definitely heard. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Hi! Sorry for interrupting!” Kennedy says from the stage where the DJ is playing. “Hello everyone. Are you having fun?” she asks, all the guests cheering. “Good, great!” she smiles. “I'm afraid we have take a little break from partying, because it is time for something very very important. Girls and some boys, assemble!”

“What did she just say?”

“Nothing, ignore her” I say, kissing Declan again.

“Olivia, I can see you!” Kennedy says. “Stop making out with your baby daddy and join the others!”

“Bloody hell” I whisper, resting my forehead on Declan's chest.

“What is going on?” he asks.

“Nothing.”

“Olivia Chapman!” Kennedy calls again, all the other guests definitely looking our way.

“Ok, fine!” I say, finally giving up. “But you and I…” I say, pointing at Declan. “We aren't done yet.”

“Oh, I know” he smirks. “And you still owe me a kiss.”

“Haven't we kissed enough already?” I laugh.

“Nope” he says, that smirk that makes my knees feel like jelly and my insides on fire, still on his face. 

I don't know what has gotten into us today, but we can't keep our hands from each other. Though that's a lie. In my case, I do know what has gotten into me: Declan in a suit. Well, he's not really gotten into me yet, but soon. And yes, that's a thought that has been almost said aloud more than once tonight. 

“Olivia!” Kennedy yells again.

“I'm coming!” I reply, joining the others.

I know what she's going to do. She is going to throw her bouquet at us, and whoever catches it will be the one getting married next. And I also know she is going to do everything in her power so I am that next person.

“Are you ready?” Kennedy says, turning her back to us. “One… two… three!” she screams before throwing the bouquet. 

I see it fly, the girls in front of me jumping to try and catch it, one of the boys holding the arms of the one next to him so he can't grab it. And then, I see it coming towards me.

The girl standing next to me pushes me to catch it, but she somehow steps on her dress, and makes us both fall. 

“Are you ok?” I ask her as I stand up. Thank God I had already gotten rid of my heels and I'm wearing my sneakers. If I hadn't, I'm sure I would have hurt my ankle.

“Yeah, yeah” she says, taking the hand I'm offering her and also standing up. “Though you are much better.”

“What?”

“Look” she says, nodding behind me. 

As I turn around, there he is: Declan in all his glory with his messy hair, the tie gone, the first buttons on his shirt undone, and the sleeves rolled up and showing his forearms. He looks hot, and handsome, and gorgeous, and urgh. Can you believe he is my boyfriend? The father of my child? Because sometimes, like right now, I still can't believe it. And what I can't believe either, is the thing in his hands.

“Is this allowed?” he asks, looking at Kennedy.

“Not really. But since I am the bride and this is my wedding, I say it is. Congratulations, Declan and Liv! You are next!” she says, looking my way with a mischievous smile.

“Great” I say under my breath.

“So…” Declan says, walking towards me once the music starts again. “Does this mean that now I have to propose? Or how does this work?”

“You have, yes” Madders says, showing up out of nowhere.

“Dear lord, James” I say, my hand instinctively moving to my heart. “You scared me.”

“Sorry” he smiles. “But yes, Declan. Now you have to propose and ask Liv to marry you, that's how the tradition works. Though since you were the one who caught the bouquet, maybe it is Liv the one who should propose to you?”

“I'm not proposing to anyone” I say.

“Don't you want to marry me, Liv?” Declan asks me.

“I do.”

“Oh my God” Madders gasps.

“That wasn't a proposal, James. Relax” Declan says. “The day I properly ask Liv to marry me, it'll be somewhere special and with a more romantic setting than a DJ blasting David Guetta. Something like that dinner we had in the Seine with the Eiffel tower behind us, but better. Is there any city you would like to visit one day?”

“I remember you once told me that one of your dreams was to visit Rome” Madders says.

“Is that true?” Declan asks me.

“It is, yes.”

“Then watch out, Liv” he says, moving closer. “Because any day now, I may fly you to Rome and ask you to marry me. You've been warned” he whispers in my ear before biting it like he did earlier, that noise leaving my mouth once again.

“Ok, I better go find my wife” Madders says, leaving us alone. “Enjoy the rest of the night” he winks. He heard me. He definitely heard me. Wonderful.

“You need to stop doing that in public, Declan” I manage to say while he starts kissing my neck, Kennedy's bouquet still in his hands as he wraps his arms around my waist. 

“Do what?” he says against my skin, the feeling making me shudder. 

“You know what.”

“No, I do not.”

“Declan…” I whisper.

“Yes?”

“Let's go to our room.”

“Already?” he says, moving to look at me and lifting one of his eyebrows.

“Yes, already.”

“Why?” he asks, now trying really hard not to smirk.

“I still owe you a kiss, don't I?”

“You do.”

“Do you want it?”

“Of course I do!”

“Then let's go” I say, taking his hand and dragging him behind me like I did this morning.

“So bossy, Olivia” he chuckles.

“This is nothing compared to how I will be if we get married, so you better get used to it.”

“Looking forward to it, Liv” Declan says, lifting our hands and kissing mine. “Looking forward to it.”

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

A couple of years later…

“I don't want you to go, mummy.”

“It'll be just a few days, Ollie” I say, while trying to comfort him.

“But I'm going to miss you! Why can't I go with you and daddy?”

“Because it is a holiday just for mums and dads” Declan tells him.

“Boring” he pouts.

“Next time you are coming with us.”

“Promise?” Ollie says, looking at me.

“I promise” I reply, kissing his forehead. “Now go get your bag, grandma is waiting.”

“Fine” he says before running away.

“He doesn't want us to go, but five minutes after we've left him at my mum's he will have forgotten we exist” Declan chuckles.

“I know” I sigh. Every time Declan and I go away for a few days to enjoy some alone time, it is the same. Ollie doesn't want us to leave, and when we arrive at our destination and call to check on him, he's so busy playing with whoever he is staying with, that he completely ignores us. 

“Mummy, are you bringing me a present?” he asks me when he joins us again.

“Of course. What do you want?”

“A zebra!” he smiles. “I'm missing one in my farm.”

“Take notes, Declan. A zebra. The one with black and white stripes” I tease him.

“I know what a zebra looks like, Liv” he replies, rolling his eyes. 

“Just in case” I say, trying to hide a smile. 

Ollie is obsessed with animals since my dad bought him a farm for his first birthday, and every time we go away or even just into London to do some shopping, we have to buy him a new animal for his collection. A couple of weeks ago Declan played in Barcelona and promised to buy him a shark, but he showed up with a whale because he somehow got them mixed, and that had Ollie crying for an hour and us checking if they had sharks on Amazon and could deliver them the sooner the better.

“Should we get going?” Declan says. “We can't be late for the airport, Liv.”

“Yes, of course. Ready, Ollie?” I tell him, offering him my hand.

“Yes!” he replies, doing a little jump and taking it.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Liv… Liv, wake up.”

“What?” I mumble, slowly opening my eyes.

“We just landed, Liv” Declan says.

“Oh, shit.” 

“Take your time, there is no rush” he chuckles. “And you can't go outside covered in drool.”

“I don't drool” I say, touching my face and noticing something.

“You were saying…” 

“Idiot” I reply, quickly cleaning my chin. Turns out that I actually drool. 

“Declan…” I say when we walk into the airport, his arm wrapped around my shoulders.

“Yeah?”

“Why is everything in Italian?”

“What?”

“And the people who just walked past us were speaking Italian too. Weren't we supposed to go to Paris?” 

Since we don't have a proper date to celebrate our anniversary, every year we try to save one of the trips we take just the two of us to spend it in Paris, always staying at the same hotel we did the first time.

“Change of plans” he shrugs.

“What?”

“Benvenuto to Rome, mon amour.”

“Declan, you just mixed Italian, English and French” I laugh.

“I am a man of many talents, Liv” he smirks. 

“You are, yes” I chuckle. “But why Rome?”

“Well, I thought we needed a change of scenery, and to change our menu. I want to try the real tiramisú, not that thing they give us back home.” 

“And then I am the one with the sweet tooth” I laugh.

“Meh meh meh” he says, pulling me closer and kissing my head.

After that, he keeps talking about other things he wants to do while in Rome, places he wants to visit. But my brain has got stuck in a memory, in something he said during Madders and Kennedy's wedding years ago: “Then watch out, Liv. Because any day now, I may fly you to Rome and ask you to marry me.”

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“And?”

“Nothing” I say, showing Kennedy my hand over facetime. Because no, Declan hasn't proposed yet, and today is our last full day in Rome. 

“Aww, Liv… Maybe he will do it tonight.”

“Maybe” I sigh. “Or maybe he won't because he doesn't remember what he told me at your wedding. Like, he's been acting so normal the whole trip, not teasing me about it or anything…”

“I'm sure he remembers, Liv” Kennedy says. “He may just be waiting for the right moment and doesn't want to ruin the surprise.”

“Yeah…”

“What are you doing tonight?”

“Going for dinner at some restaurant he got recommended, and then probably go back to the hotel before I fall asleep on the table.”

Because that's what I've done the most on this trip: sleep.

Declan's first idea had been to rent a vespa and use it to move around the city and avoid being stuck in traffic, but Arsenal weren't too keen on the idea since we could have an accident and he could get injured, and he ended up hiring a car with a tour guide as our driver. And what happens every time we are in the car going from one spot to the other? That I fall asleep, always having to be woken up by Declan when we arrive. And at night, it is more of the same. One time he even had to carry me to our room because I wouldn't wake up.

“Let’s hope you stay awake and you both get to tell each other what you have to. Because you haven't told him anything yet either, have you?”

“No, I haven't. And he is coming back, act normal” I say when I hear him opening the bathroom’s door.

“Ok” Kennedy chuckles. “Are you bringing me a present? Maybe some tiramisú?”

“Ha!” Declan laughs behind me. “I'm pretty sure Liv has eaten all the tiramisú in the city.”

“I haven't, don't listen to him.”

“She has” he says, sitting down next to me. “But if we are able to find some and she doesn't eat it, we'll save it for you.”

“Thank you, Declan” Kennedy smiles. “And I better go, you probably have to get ready for tonight. You don't want to be late for that special dinner.”

“We don't, no” he smiles back. 

“Yeah… umm… I'll call you tomorrow, ok?” I say.

“Have fun, guys” she winks before hanging up. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Liv, are you ok?”

“I'm fine” I say, struggling to take off my shoe.

“Then why have you been acting so weird the whole night?” Declan asks me.

“Because I'm tired.”

“You've been tired since we left London. And let me help you with that” he says, getting on one knee in front of me and helping me with my shoe. “Why are you laughing now?”

“Nothing, it's nothing. I'm just tired.”

“Liv, are you sure you are ok? You are starting to worry me” he says, easily getting rid of both my shoes.

“I'm fine, Declan” I say, forcing myself to smile. “I guess I'm just getting old.”

“Don't be silly, Liv.”

“Yeah, well” I shrug. “I'm gonna go take off my makeup.”

“Liv…” he says, taking my hand and stopping me before I get up. “If there was something going on, you would tell me, wouldn't you?”

“Of course I would.”

“Promise?”

“I promise” I say, caressing his cheek.

“Then why does it look like you are about to cry?”

“Because you just gave me the same look Ollie did before we left, I've thought about him, and… I miss him.”

“I miss him too. But we'll be seeing him tomorrow. I can already hear him screaming when he sees us both showing up to pick him up from school” he chuckles.

“So do I” I smile. 

“And my back can already feel him jumping at my arms and asking me to pick him up.”

“See how we are getting old? The thirties are coming” I tease him, making him roll his eyes. “And I better go get rid of all this before I start falling asleep.”

“Yes, of course” he says, helping me get up. “But Liv…”

“I'm fine, Declan.”

“I wasn't going to say that.”

“Then?”

“I love you, Liv. You know that, don't you?”

“I do” I smile. “And I love you too. Very much” I say, kissing his cheek before walking into the bathroom. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Liv… Liv, wake up.”

“Uh?”

“Wake up, Liv. C'mon” Declan says.

“What time is it?”

“Early.”

“And why are we waking up early?”

“Because we have a last minute place to visit.”

“What?” I say, finally opening my eyes. It still is dark outside and I feel like just two minutes ago I was getting in bed, disappointed and kind of mad at him because he hadn't proposed, but also feeling like I loved him a bit more after seeing how much he cared about me. 

“Pietro is already waiting downstairs, c'mon.”

“Urgh” I say, covering my head with the duvet.

“There is no time to be lazy, Olivia.”

“Declan!” I complain when he takes the duvet and throws it away. 

“You have five minutes, Liv. We can't be late.”

“This better be worth it” I say, giving him my most murderous look.

“It will. I promise” he grins, making me feel funny things in my stomach. How can I try to be mad at him, if with just one smile he completely disarms me? 

“Not fair.”

“What?” he laughs.

“Your face” I say, pointing at him as I get up from the bed. “It isn't fair.”

“I am extremely gorgeous, I know” he smirks. “Now stop admiring my beauty and go get ready. Five minutes, Liv.”

“Urgh” I groan, walking towards the bathroom.

This better be worth it. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Are we there yet?”

“Almost, miss” says Pietro, our tour guide.

“You need to be a bit patient, Liv” Declan says.

“What I need, is to go back to bed” I complain. “The sun isn't even out yet!”

“It'll be very soon, miss. Like Mister Rice said, you must be patient.”

“Urgh” I groan for the millionth time since Declan woke me up.

After a few more minutes walking in silence, Pietro suddenly stops. 

“We are almost there, miss. Are you ready?” he asks me.

“I guess” I shrug.

“Good” he smiles before turning a corner.

“Aren't we following him?” I ask Declan when he doesn't move.

“Yes, yes” he says, squeezing my hand and starting to walk.

“Oh my God” I gasp when we turn the same corner Pietro had just a minute ago.

“Surprise!” Declan smiles.

“Was it worth it, miss?” Pietro asks me after taking a photo of me where I will definitely show up with my jaw on the floor. Besides being our tour guide and driver, he had also been our personal photographer, taking the best candid photos of Declan and I.

“So worth it” I say, trying to process where I am right now. 

Due to it being one of the most visited places in the city, we had skipped going to the Fontana di Trevi. But there we were now, just us and a few other tourists, the sun starting to shine and illuminate it all. It was simply… breathtaking.

“Look at how awake she looks now” Declan chuckles.

“Oh, shut up” I say, giving him a little push while looking at every single detail in the fountain. 

“Do you want to make a wish, miss?” Pietro asks me, offering me a coin.

“Yes, of course!” I smile. 

“You must turn your back at the fountain, close your eyes, think about what you want, and then throw the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder” he explains.

“Ok. Done” I say, opening my eyes after throwing the coin. “Declan, now is your… Declan!” I gasp when I see him on one knee in front of me.

“Olivia… Liv” he says, taking a little box from the pocket of his jacket. It's happening. It is finally happening, oh my God! “I have rehearsed what I wanted to say so many times that now I've forgotten most of it, so I'll keep it simple. Liv… Will you marry me and make me the luckiest man in the whole wide world?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, that was fast” he laughs. “You barely gave me time to show you the ring.”

“Sorry” I apologise. “But that was the easiest question ever, I didn't have to give too much thought to my answer. Of course I want to marry you, Declan.”

“Even if I took you out of bed way too early?” he says with a teasing smile, getting the ring out of the box and taking my hand.

“Even so” I reply, my eyes fixed on what he is doing, on the gorgeous ring he is putting on my finger. 

“I love you, Liv. I'm stupidly and completely crazy in love with you.”

“And so am I, Declan. I am stupidly and completely crazy in love with you” I say before wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him, Pietro and the other tourists cheering for us. 

It happened. It finally happened. We are getting married. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

Declan's pov 

“You barely like the ring, don't you?” I chuckle once we are back in our hotel room to have breakfast, Liv admiring her hand and moving it so the ring catches the light and starts sparkling.

“It is so perfect, Declan. So so perfect… Who helped you pick it?”

“Kennedy and Olga showed me some examples of rings you had told them you liked, but then I designed it myself.”

“Wait, what?” she says, finally looking at me.

“Yeah” I shrug. “The most special woman I have ever met deserves the most special ring” I smile.

“Declan, that's… I… Urgh” she says, getting up from her seat and coming to sit on my lap before hugging me. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Liv” I say while hugging her back. “Am I allowed to finish my breakfast?” I ask her after a couple of minutes in silence where we just hug and enjoy the way our arms feel around the other.

“Yes, of course.”

“You can stay here, tho” I smile, not letting her get up. 

“I actually have something for you too.”

“A surprise?”

“Yep” she says, leaving my embrace before I can stop her. 

“Can't you find it?” I ask her while she turns her suitcase upside down. Guess there won't be time for some cuddles before leaving for the airport. We'll have to spend that time making her suitcase again.

“I know where it is, I just… Here!” she says, showing me what she was looking for.

“An envelope?”

“A very special one, yes” Liv says, handing it to me.

“Aren't you going to sit down with me while I open it?” I ask her, looking down at my lap.

“I'm fine here” she says, standing next to the table and playing with one of the napkins. 

“You look nervous, Liv” I chuckle while opening it.

“So did you earlier.”

“I was about to ask you to marry me.”

“And I'm about to tell you something important too.”

“Are you? Let's see…” I say, checking what is inside the envelope. A photo. A photo of Ollie doing a thumbs up with each hand, a big smile on his face and a t-shirt that says big br… “No!” I gasp, looking from Liv to the photo and back at her. “Is this real? Are you… Liv, are you…”

“I'm pregnant” she says with a shy smile.

“You… holy shit” I say, standing up so quickly that I hit the table with one of my knees and knock one of the glasses. Thank God it was already empty. “You are… You… How? I mean… When? We have been taking precautions!”

“Remember the game against Tottenham? The one you finished as a captain and where you scored?”

“How to forget it” I chuckle. “Your dad didn't talk to me for a week, and he threatened to not let me see Ollie ever again after we left him at their house for the night.”

“He did, yes” she laughs. “But I was talking about what happened after. About what we did when we made it home.”

“You mean… Oh…”

“Yes, oh” she says, closing the space between us. “The sun was starting to come up when we finally decided it was time to sleep for a bit.”

“It was a glorious day and night” I smirk, hugging her by the waist.

“And because of that night and, once again, your perfect aim, now our family is going to welcome a new member” she says, taking one of my hands and putting it over her stomach.

“I… I don't know what to say. I… Wait. Is this why you've been constantly falling asleep and taking so many naps?”

“Yep” Liv laughs. “I'm not feeling nauseous yet and I hope it stays like that, but I am so tired all the damn time…”

“And I've taken you on a holiday and made you walk for hours. I'm such an idiot.”

“Declan, it's ok. You didn't know” she says, caressing my cheek. “And the doctor said I could fly and keep with my life as usual if I was feeling ok. You haven't put us at risk.”

“Us…” I say, looking down at where our hands are resting together. 

“Declan, are you crying or are those beautiful eyes of yours being sensitive again?” Liv teases me while wiping away a tear.

“This time I am crying” I chuckle. “I just can't believe that, in the same morning, the woman I love has said yes to marry me and then told me that we are going to be parents again. I am so freaking happy right now, Liv. I feel like my heart is about to burst inside my chest.”

“Same” she smiles. “I love you, Declan.”

“And I love you, Liv. I've loved you since the day we met and you smiled at me while giving me that coffee, and I will love you for the rest of my life. Because I'm stupidly and completely…”

“Crazy in love with you.”

“Crazy in love with you” I repeat before kissing her.

━━━━❃━━━━ FIN ━━━━❃━━━━

[boydykedevo]

Looking into the etymology of some Ethersea character’s names for fun and. I’m just gonna share my findings real quick cuz I think its cool lol (sources used are mostly wikipedia and behindthename. I could be wrong about some of this idk)

Oksana/Oxana is a Ukrainian name. It derives from either the Greek name Xenia, meaning “hospitality” or the word Xenos, meaning “stranger”. (Its also spelled “Aksana”!)

Griffin says “Boyar” is a German word for the child of a baron when he names Hermine, but its actually an Eastern European aristocratic term (apparently it WAS used by Baltic Germans too? But as far as I can tell not IN Germany) Hermine IS German though, its the feminine version of Herman, which means “army man”.

Tolliver is an anglicized variant of Taliaferro, which comes from Tagliaferro, an Italian surname meaning “iron cutter”. The spelling Taliaferro probably came from a transcription error. I was very surprised to find out its unrelated to Oliver lol

Declan is an Irish name. The Wikipedia article said it is “believed to mean” either “man of prayer” or “full of goodness” but there was no citation so idk.

Damian is used in a lot of countries with a lot of variations, but it’s ultimately from the Greek name Damianos, meaning “(I) conquer/tame/overcome”. Also the name of the Antichrist in The Omen, which I can’t help but feel might be related to why Travis picked it.

Cern is a German surname meaning “carrier” (some sort of connection to Declan being the Ballaster of Transit? Idk that might be a stretch)

Phineas is the anglicized form of Phinehas, a priest in the Hebrew Bible. The spelling Finneas might be influenced by Irish names containing the element “Finn”. Cawl was hard to find a good source on, but it’s the name of a Welsh soup, and it might be related to the Scottish surname Cowl or the Gaelic surname Cawley? Definitely seems Gaelic, in any case.

Aloysius is a Latinized form of Aloys, which is related to the name Louis. In the US, it’s mostly used by Roman Catholics. As far as I can tell Supreme isn’t actually used as a surname, but it comes from the Latin suprēmus.

Ravi is a Hindi name meaning “sun”. Montrell is Spanish or Italian (sources vary) and ultimately derives from the Latin word “monte”, meaning mountain.

Tessellation is a word meaning a tiling pattern with no gaps, which I think fits pretty well with the concept of brinarr

Guthrie is a surname that comes from the Gaelic word “gaothair”, meaning “windy place”.

Orlean comes from the French place name Orleans, which is related to the Roman family name Aurelius, meaning “golden, gilded.” The spelling Orlene is a French girl’s name meaning “golden” as well.

Aaaand I think thats all the ones I was gonna do thanks for bearing with me if you read this far o7

[decladams]

rating: teen and up words: 6179 relationships: adam parrish/ronan lynch characters: ronan lynch, adam parrish, declan lynch, matthew lynch additional tags: priests, falling in love, catholicism, excessive religious references, au - no supernatural summary: Ronan goes to St. Agnes’ at night when he’s feeling untethered and lost. It’s the same as it always has been, a bit rundown, small, homey. He’s usually the only one there, that late, but sometimes there’s an older parishioner, quietly praying in the back. He hasn’t been in a few months, but he feels guilty about it.

to continue with my theme of being unable to be normal about religion, here's a priest pynch fic :)

[riverstyxsarts]

More Priest!declan this time with Ronan! Not sure what his deal is with the priest au but like. imagine the different sort of weirdness that would happen if declan was the more religious one….maybe he homophobic….maybe ronan doesn’t think he’s actually good enough to be a religious figure…..maybe declan is dream-phobic…. who knows

[parker2797]

So I have a theory regarding Tom in Mianite. So in the spin-off series Mianitian Isles it is revealed Tom’s character is the son of Declan aka The Priest who is a character that has appeared in all three Mianite series (S1, S2 & MI) and is a medium between the players and the gods of the server, the reveal came out during the funeral of Lord Hermod (Declan’s Brother). But how is this possible for Declan to conceive a zombie, but that is where my theory comes in, shifting to S1 of Mianite in the final episode the players travel to The End and met Ianite and she tells them for their help throughout the series she will grant them one wish Skipper Red beard & Captain Sparklez request she bring back Captain Capsize (Skipper’s Sister & Sparklez “Wife”), but she is brought back different she isn’t human but a zombie and Skipper is forced to kill his own sister, what if something like this happened to Tom & Declan, Tom died prior to Mianite S1 and Declan went to one of the gods to ask to bring back his son an attempt was made but like Capsize Tom came back as a zombie, but unlike Skipper Declan couldn’t kill his son, so Tom was left to roam the Overworld, eventually Tom regained his consciousness, but with no memory of his father.

[jamietarttsnorthernattitude]

I just put two and two together. The Higgins' son the priest? His name is Lindsay and he's very liberal.

Jason's sister the former nun turned mystic/spiritual teacher ? Her name is Lindsay.

A lot of characters are named after loved ones of show members! Off the top of my head (some I just assume based on the names):

Keeley Jones -> Keeley Hazell (Bex and writer)

Ms. (Leann) Bowen -> Leann Bowen (writer/producer)

Phoebe O’Sullivan -> Phoebe Walsh (Jane and writer)

Jamie Tartt -> Jamie Lee (writer)

Declan Cockburn -> Olivia (Cockburn) Wilde

Jan Maas -> Saskia Mass CEO of Boom Chicago

Sam Obisanya -> Sam Richardson (Edwin Akufo)

Jane Payne -> Jane Becker (producer)

Henry Lasso -> Henry Lawrence (co-creator Joe Lawrence's son)

Will Kitman -> William Lawrence (co-creator Joe Lawrence's son)

O’Brien, De Maat, Goodman, Kukoc are also named after family and friends or as tributes.

Bonus HC: Ms. Bowen is played by Ruth Bradley, so it keeps alive my thought of Roy’s sister being named Ruth.

[graphicpolicy]

Gerry Duggan captures the moment in the photography book Timing/Luck

Gerry Duggan captures the moment in the photography book Timing/Luck #comics

Iconic creator and writer Gerry Duggan is bringing his popular photography book Timing/Luck to comic book shops and bookstores for the first time since he launched a limited edition of the title with a successful Kickstarter campaign. Containing hundreds of photos taken over two decades in writing rooms, green rooms, awards shows, and on city streets around the world, each photo tells a story,…

[clotpolesonly]

I'm so curious about the Declan was abused by a priest au 👀

my friend Cami and i can't help it, we just look at promiscuous characters with intense trust and intimacy issues and ask "is anybody gonna hc a history of sexual abuse here??" and then don't wait for an answer adlkjfgh

this verse -- (dubbed "the Wesleyverse", after our OC priest, Father Wesley) -- began with "and i am not gonna think about the reputation the catholic church has for sexual abuse of young boys because i have already delivered plenty of trauma and angst upon my boys and it also it feels uncouth alkdfjhadgf 😅 bUT ALSO" which was met with a resounding "I WENT THERE TOO" from Cami, and it spiraled from there

i'm just saying, a quiet self-sufficient anxious boy with an unstable home life and who has already had the importance of keeping secrets drilled into him would be very convenient for a sexual predator. socially isolated and emotionally unfulfilled. the ignored child, the overlooked, no one's favorite -- desperate for the validation and attention that he doesn't get from his parents, at least not the way he wants it. resentful of his brothers and their specialness.

Father Wesley made him feel special. like he was the important one for once, more important than all the other boys, more important than Ronan who he could've chosen instead. Father Wesley gave Declan all the attention and praise and reassurance that he craved, and all it took was playing some private games. secret and unpleasant and ever-escalating "games" that made Declan feel bad in a variety of ways, but Declan was used to that. cleaning up after dad's and Ronan's dreams were games, according to Aurora, and those made him feel bad too. those were unpleasant too. those made him afraid too. those were things he couldn't tell anyone about too.

how is a 6yo supposed to know the difference between a secret that should be kept and a secret that shouldn't be? a game he has to play behind closed doors whether he wants to or not and a game he needs to tell a trusted adult about?

(there aren't many adults he trusts anyway. who is supposed to be more trustworthy than their priest? Father Wesley speaks for god, doesn't he? he's the highest authority. right?)

so anyway. all that lasted a while, maybe from ages 6 to 8, when Father Wesley stopped wanting to play with him. it took months for Declan to realize that he wasn't coming back, that for better or for worse it was over. (relieved, yes. hurt, also yes. abandoned. unfavorite. if Father Wesley doesn't love him anymore, does it mean god doesn't either?) he put it behind him, labeled it as over and done with, and he did everything he could to bury it and pretend it never happened. he never told anyone and he never intended to.

it's been 11 years since the abuse stopped, Wesley's been retired from St Agnes for 5 or 6 years, a whole lot of shit has happened and life has been very busy for Declan (set post-TRK, more or less lol). things are finally calming down a little bit. the Gray Man has the underground shit handled for the time being, he and Matthew are back in town (because reasons, don't ask about georgetown, it's not important) and his relationship with Ronan is stabilizing. everything is fine.

and then Father Wesley gets arrested.

Gansey forwards the article to Ronan. Ronan shows it to Declan when he's stopped by monmouth for whatever reason, like holy shit, this is crazy, can you believe this??? fucked up, amirite??

doesn't notice at first that Declan has gone completely still.

it isn't until he mentions that the police are going through all the evidence to see if they can identify the victims -- indicating that it's not just, ya know, possession of materials from the internet, but actual production, records of his actual abuse -- that Declan fucking bolts. and Ronan is like UMMM?? DON'T LIKE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THAT

and here's the thing about the Lynch brothers. they may not get along. they may have a lot of water under the bridge. they may be liable to attack each other at the drop of a hat. but the second someone else attacks one of them? they close ranks. Ronan may not like his brother all that much but it's still HIS brother, thank you very much, his family, and anybody who lays a fucking hand on him is gonna suffer the consequences.

he has to chase Declan down. checks his condo, checks his work, checks the Barns, even calls Matthew to ask if he's seen him. finally finds him at the absolute LAST place he expected -- the church. it's late afternoon on a tuesday or something and there's no one else there. it's just Declan, alone in the sanctuary, with a rosary that Ronan hasn't seen him actually use in years.

Ronan doesn't remember ever having seen Declan cry before, and he's not crying now but it's obvious that he has been. that he's fighting to keep control of himself now. says he came here to be alone.

Ronan says fuck that, he's not just gonna leave.

after a minute, Declan abruptly sits up, suddenly blank and businesslike and steady, and he tells Ronan to ask his questions. which is.........disturbing, for Ronan. because he's seen this face before. he's seen it a dozen, a hundred, a thousand times. it's the cool detachment that's always rubbed Ronan the wrong way, earned Declan accusations of being an unfeeling robot, someone who just didn't care as much as Ronan did about anything or anyone.

had this face always had all this under it? could he really just pull it on over top of.........of ALL THIS and pretend that none of those feelings were there?? hide them that well?? fucking hell.

Ronan refuses to ask any questions. he has plenty, of course, but he's not here to interrogate him. (he doesn't even know how to put his questions into words anyway, fuck, he's just trying to wrap his head around it.) Declan said he wanted to be alone, obviously he doesn't wanna talk about it, so Ronan is gonna sit here with him for as long as Declan wants to be here, and later if Declan wants to talk about it then, then they can talk about it, and if not, they won't, and that's it.

it's silent for a few minutes as Ronan sits stubbornly and tries not to look, but out of the corner of his eye he can see as Declan's face crumbles bit by bit. as he fights so hard to keep his composure and, without opposition to set himself against, fails.

(he's not used to Ronan not pushing back, not being combative or accusatory. he definitely never expected support. and it's hitting him that Ronan knows. that pretty soon, everyone in town is going to know. Henrietta is a small town, it's a gossipy church community, they're only a few years off from when predatory priests were headline news all over the world, this is not staying quiet. and there's evidence. identifiable evidence and a police investigation and calls being made to victims. there is no way that his name is staying out of this no matter what he does. the situation is officially outside of his control, and that's terrifying.)

he's never cried in front of Ronan before, not since they were very small children, but even his prodigious repression skills have a failure point and he's reached it. he's curled in on himself and there are gasping, gulping sobs in the silence of the empty church, and Ronan eventually throws caution to the wind and does what he would do if it were Matthew. he puts a hand on Declan's back, just maintaining contact, proving that he's there and he's not leaving.

........

SO ANYWAY

this verse goes on and on, my anon friend, this is the set up and we just kept spinning out the thread for literally a year at this point, i think it was jan 2023 that we started talking about this concept 😂 it's not always one linear narrative, we branch off into "ooh i wanna see when X happens" in a patchwork kinda fashion, just rolling around in the sandbox and exploring the premise and also all the relationships and the way this particular trauma interacts with all the other traumas and also Ronan and Matthew's traumas and all their dynamics with each other.

Cami and i lean toward the self-indulgence of letting the Lynches actually make the occasional healthy and productive choice, because there is nothing more cathartic and satisfying to us than having them actually talk to each other, so by god these little fuckers are communicating in a semi-functional manner most of the time. they love each other, goddamn it, they're gonna fucking act like it. also about 30k in we finally got Declan into therapy 😂😂😂 good god he needs it, lmao.

.......i also accidentally got REALLY INVESTED in an OC, Jeremy, who was Father Wesley's next victim, the one he moved on to after Declan. i did not mean to start shipping Matthew and Jeremy, but here i am, a Meremy stan. i love them. #otp

so. lemme know if you want more, lol. i've got so so much more alkfdjh

[angelic-writer]

Matt and Maddie Godrick - "A Eulogy Uninterrupted"

"We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of a kind and compassionate soul."

Madeline caught a few people murmuring in the crowd. "Yeah, sure. Kind and compassionate." She gripped the skirt of her black dress. Why did this have to happen? At her husband's funeral, of all days.

"The last few days of planning this service were... turbulent, but in the end, through the power of the Lord, Matthew Godrick will now be laid to rest."

The murmuring only got louder. "I hope God judges him for how much of a bastard he was."

"Silence! Speaking this way during the service is disrespectful!" The priest boomed. "If any one of you say one more word-"

"This piece of shit should burn in hell for wishing death to children! To animals! For being the spawn of Satan!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!!" He slammed his fist on the podium, making Maddie jump. "All of you, leave! You clearly have no respect for this man! Voice your complaints later!"

The vicars, priests and ministers grabbed the people that were becoming unruly and dragged them out the door. When one of them passed Madeline, he spat in her face. "May God forgive you for marrying such a wicked man!"

Soon enough, the church was empty, save for Madeline who still sat in her seat. She blinked her eyes, trying to hold back tears. That bastard Declan... He did this. He turned the entire city, no, the entire world against him. An innocent man who had done nothing wrong.

The priest ran his hand through his long curls. "I swear, not even a week of this "truthful news" getting out and they're treating this kid like he's fucking Hitler." He clamped his mouth shut. "Crap, I shouldn't say this in the house of God." He caught Madeline sitting alone and went over to her. "Hey... You doing okay?"

She sniffled. "I-I don't know... I'm still trying to figure out what the hell happened. He looked so happy on his way to work. We were planning dinner." She rubbed her stomach. "I was gonna surprise him..."

He put his hand on her shoulder. "I know... I know. I have no doubt this is very hard on you. With the media frenzy and people willing to believe Fox News over you..." He sighed. "Well, I guess it's just you now. You can go over and say your goodbyes whenever you're ready. You can stay as long as you want."

Madeline nodded and slowly got up. Smoothing the wrinkles out of her dress, she went to the coffin that had her husband in it. The man who she loved so much...

She closed her eyes. "Matt... I-I don't know if you can hear me, but... I just want to say... Thank you for being there for me. In my brightest days and my darkest nights, you were always there to make me happy. You never hesitated to help people in need. You even visited your sick cousin in the hospital when you had an important business meeting you had to call off. That's something only really good people do."

The priest nodded, smiling softly.

"When I first met you in high school, I thought you would be like any other guy I dated. But you surpassed them by miles. You made me laugh, smile, you took me out to places I liked... We even won prom king and queen. You made high school worth it for me. Heck, I still have the stuffed cow you won for me at the fair. I think I still have it in the attic of our old house. I wish I could've gotten it..." She sniffled. "Throughout college and even job hunting, you were always by my side. I don't regret marrying you, Matthew... And I certainly don't regret being with you one last time."

She laid the flowers down, finally letting her tears fall.

"I promise you, Mattie... I will live on for you. I will get revenge on that bastard for what he did to you." She laid her hand on her stomach once more. "For our little one."

The priest's breath hitched, then he sniffled, wiping his tears with his sleeve. This woman had gone through so much. To hear that her husband was shot down in plain daylight... If there was anything more he could do for her, he would gladly do so.

Sadly, he can't bring back the dead. He can only be there to comfort the loved ones, to help ease their pain for a little bit. He opened the Bible, flipping to a verse he had recited many times before. "In your hands, O'Lord..."