#;what do they call me? lapdog? (headcanons; gallagher)

[daybreakrising]

HEADCANONS - WHO IS G.ALLAGHER?

this should go without saying, but just in case: SPOILERS FOR 2.2 STORY AHEAD. this will be tagged but not under a cut, so proceed with caution if you're not caught up yet.

so, since 2.2 refuted one of my favourite theories for g.allagher's identity, much to my disappointment, i've opted to keep my hcs as is and make my portrayal CANON DIVERGENT. this is also in part because i've already developed (or started developing) certain dynamics that rely on him following this particular identity and i don't want to throw that out / limit it to an AU verse, especially given interactions with "g.allagher" are now pretty restricted for anything post 2.2.

MINOR CANON COMPLIANCE

there are certain aspects i will keep, of course. namely, that he is a pathstrider of the enigmata, and that "g.allagher" is a created form specifically designed for p.enacony. he does deliberately "borrow" traits from the Family members as s.unday describes to create this image.

and, to an extent, "g.allagher" as we know him has ceased to exist following the events of the story. however, a different form was created in its place that shares some of the traits of the previous one - a new g.allagher, if you will.

THE TRUE "G.ALLAGHER"

prior to 2.2, i ascribed to the theory that g.allagher was a potential "human form" for the memory zone meme Death, that he was Death itself (saying he was Thirteen played a lot into this, obviously) - and i took this and ran wild with it. and, so:

he does not control Something Unto Death/Dormancy. he is Something Unto Death/Dormancy.

"g.allagher" does not have a singular true form - at least, not one that is known or has ever been seen. instead, he creates various 'characters' that he can shift between at will. for p.enacony, these were the human guise of g.allagher and the memetic entity itself. whilst in either of these forms, he can also alter individual aspects of his appearance at will - though these are usually temporary and used as a means of unsettling or intimidating enemies.

quick note: this portrayal of g.allagher will occasionally involve minor descriptions of body horror for this reason. i can and will leave these out for people who are uncomfortable with that, so if that applies to you, please let me know during discussion/plotting prior to interactions! these descriptions will never be graphic/too horrific, but i still don't want to make anyone uncomfortable unknowingly.

the primary form is the memetic entity, and as such, there is a certain bleed through into the human 'g.allagher'. these include the elements of g.allagher's attacks and the glow that shines through his scars and forms his claws. there's also occasionally an unsettling presence about him that certain others can pick up on, particularly those who are also possibly not quite human.

despite being the same entity, he is able to split himself into multiple forms at once. as such, both the human guise of 'g.allagher' and the memetic form 'dormancy' are able to be encountered separately - this is mostly to further conceal the truth, avoiding an observant eye coming to the realisation that they are never seen together, despite dormancy being 'controlled' by g.allagher. when separated like this, all forms share senses and can even 'take over' certain senses of another form - for example, g.allagher could 'take over' dormancy's vision to see through its eyes.

KEY INFORMATION

his role in the story is unchanged. his involvement with the w.atchmaker remains the same, etc. he's still a history fictionologist. given there's so little information available for this faction, i don't see a reason to tweak this (yet).

very few people know he and the memetic entity are the same. canon characters that could fall into this category include m.isha (obviously), sunday, robin, and s.amfly. for sunday and robin, this will largely be post-story (as in, after he fckn stabs them-). s,amfly i would accept prior knowledge of due to script reasons. as an additional note, i hc that siobhan knows something is weird about g.allagher (as one of the few who seems to know him & interacts with him in a way that implies a history between them - and as someone who regularly deals with & has experience with inhuman creatures) but she simply doesn't ask questions.

g.allagher and "dormancy" can be encountered as separate entities at the same time, and share senses. to avoid the risk of questions, g.allagher makes a point to be seen with "dormancy" on occasion.

g.allagher and "dormancy" have different personalities - g.allagher has been carefully crafted a certain way to fit the role he needs to play. when g.allagher breaks this character, that is "dormancy" bleeding through. g.allagher's personality is a blend of borrowed traits from the Family and hints, perhaps, of the fictionologist who created him...

post-2.2 story, "g.allagher" is recreated but with altered traits from the original. the new form is in a similar age range appearance-wise, has a similar colouring (though his hair is longer), and also has visible scarring though the scars themselves are different.

he can still be found around p.enacony in both forms, though the human g.allagher (2.0) is more likely to be found in reality whilst the memetic entity remains in the dreamscape.

[daybreakrising]

NEW MUSE ADDITIONS

i've already mentioned this before but given i've now caught up, it's time for the official announcement of THREE NEW MUSES from hsr-

G.ALLAGHER

multiple people assigned this muse to me on looks alone before we even knew anything about him, so i had a space ready for him a long time ago. hyv really out here giving me all the dogboys, huh-

DR. RATIO

aka, charlie is a terrible influence and convinced me i'll write a good ratio so........... i gave in to the temptation. and, let's be real, he's also my kind of character-

L.UOCHA

this guy is on the PRIVATE LIST and not the main roster - meaning you'll have to ask for him as i won't offer him out initially (once we've discussed / built dynamics, i'll throw him at you whenever it feels right, however). he'll also be rather selective until i do some research / find his voice. but i just.... this guy fascinates me.

[daybreakrising]

HEADCANONS - G.ALLAGHER & SIOBHAN

as always, these are simply my opinions on the subject, and i don't expect everyone to agree with them (particularly not any writers of said characters). however, there is one thing i will not budge on when it comes to this dynamic for a very specific reason, which i will highlight at the end for extra clarification. until then-

HISTORIC RELATIONSHIP

and no, i don't mean romantic-

of everyone we speak to in p.enacony with regards to g.allagher, only siobhan seems to actually... know him. most people haven't heard of him at all (understandably, given who/what he is), but not only does siobhan know of him, she knows him. he's not just a name or someone she's met in passing, he's someone that shares a certain degree of history with her.

when we first meet siobhan, it's obvious they're already familiar with each other. they talk like old friends (though i would concede to acquaintances at a push), there's a degree of banter between them ("you're not over the hill yet"), and she speaks like she has experience around him:

siobhan: and let me tell you, don't underestimate the bartenders of p.enacony, especially not g.allagher. this guy is pure magic... he can satisfy even the pickiest of customers.  siobhan: don't go easy on this old man. give him a real challenge.

she also honours his memory specifically in farewell, p.enacony, as one might say a final farewell to a lost friend. so i believe siobhan is one of the few people within p.enacony that g.allagher has actively forged connections with. on the surface, he has no obvious reason to do so-

A SLIVER OF THE TRUTH

-except for the fact that i believe siobhan knows more about g.allagher than one might assume.

just as a reminder, my main verse for g.allagher has him being the 'human' form of dormancy, aka, something unto death. both forms were created specifically for p.enacony, and he can be both g.allagher & dormancy at the same time to further conceal the truth of his identity.

with that being said, given siobhan's knowledge and experience with the dreamjolt troupe, i hc that she sensed something different about g.allagher from the start, though she never pried. what did it matter if he wasn't completely human, as she suspected? monsters are welcome in her bar, after all. it makes no difference to her.

because of this, i believe g.allagher trusted her enough to let a little of the truth slip. whilst he couldn't reveal his actual identity, surely it could only benefit him to have someone know he is tied to dormancy - and not in the way most believe. how siobhan came to learn that he is dormancy and not simply in control of it, i leave open for now - did g.allagher tell her outright, or did he simply leave enough clues for her to work it out for herself? if so, did she approach him about it, or simply acknowledge it silently?

regardless, revealing this "truth" is a deliberate act: both as one of trust for one of the few people he has forged a bond with, and to further cover the actual truth to ensure he could continue to carry out the plan as intended.

IMPORTANT NOTE

as i mentioned at the start, there is an aspect to this dynamic that i will not budge on, and that this is for a very good reason. and that is:

siobhan cannot know that g.allagher, in either form, is an avatar of the e.nigmata.

and the reason should be fairly obvious: if she knows, his identity is discovered, and he will cease to exist. he says it himself: "once something fictional is seen through, it ceases to exist" - therefore, she cannot know anything more than what he has allowed her to know / believe, otherwise it would disrupt everything.

to that extent, she also only knows the g.allagher that exists in p.enacony. whether or not she comes to know the g.allagher that comes after (as per my verse), or the original pathstrider who created him... well, that's another story.