#( literally no one can know the truth about g.allagher without him *ceasing to exist* )

[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.