#Gallagher theory

[asakenajustexistshere]

so, i have a theory who Gallagher really is.

We know that Penacony was played a Gallagher for us, but what if i tell about person, who used Penacony to create him new self?

I'll be straight. It's Tiernan. Now hear my thoughts.

Gallagher and Misha have been connected, by last time their relationships were father/son. We now know that Misha is Watchmaker himself, specifically a representation of his childhood, actually. So Gallagher was representation of Tiernan.

Both friends, both cops, both knew what happened. We saw the Tiernan's soul(?) with Acheron, and the whole scene when he finally understood that he was dead. After that Gallagher finalised his wishes and died too.

When we look at their looks from light cone, we see how similar hairstyles are, and they both are "guardians". Gallagher talked about astral express "to share an information with databank" as he was Nameless too? And that he watched Express the whole time. Like it's not actually cause he's History Fictionologist, but had been Nameless in the past.

He had been dead and he wanted to help Misha, what actually happened. Until he realised that he was gone too. Acheron made him realise and she saw all his identity thanks to nigility. And also the second screenshot?? Drinks and memories?

I thought ALL THE TIME like "WHY we saw those scenes? Why it was Tiernan? For what?" until i realised it was to show Gallagher's side. We saw the story about Watchmaker and his friends, but also it was about Tiernan too!

And also he said he used the Stellaron to create the Memory Zone. How could he know that how to use it? He added that it's wery difficult.

Like there have to be more examples to connect both of them but I'm a bit forgetful lol. The main point was from 2.2 quest.

also sry if my English was fucked up it's not my native and i was fast af. 🤞🏻🫶🏻

[b1adie]

regardless of whatever canon turns out to be, i really enjoy the idea that both robin and firefly approached gallagher and asked him to get his weird creature to kill them in front of someone else. he’s not sure why they know about it, or why they want that, but he’s fascinated that TWO women approached him in one day asking him to sic his fucked up dog on them.

firefly: hey. see that person with the grey hair over there? the one i was just on a date with? i need you to summon the beast and have it brutally murder me in front of them. like, really brutal. make it look like it hurts. maybe toss my fatally injured body at them afterwards. can you do that for me?

gallagher: (thinking of how robin asked him to do pretty much the same thing like 6 hours ago) you kids these days sure have some weird hobbies. sure what the heck why not

[hunny-pp]

PENACONY 2.1 SPOILERS /

[basically a more elaborate version of my twt thread on this]

I don't think I'm the first or only person to say this, but I do think Gallagher is v likely a memory zone meme

EDIT: heres pt 1.2 with additional evidence

Sunday deduces that Gallagher is an amalgamation of fifty-one Family members, who he's inherited physical traits from to create the appearance he has now.

Gallagher alludes in his own story that he may not be human

In short, Memory Zone Memes are amalgamations of multiple fragments of the Memory Zone, all have reflections of different memories, cognitions and emotions.

A meme in definition is when something, usually ideas, culture or behaviour is passed to another person through imitation or non-genetic means.

It makes sense for Gallagher, as he mimicked the physical traits of Family members without taking them or that trait away - these NPCs are very much fine and you can interact with them. It's more like a copy-paste onto himself.

Other little details include: -This could change in the future depending on if we get any fire units, but for Gallagher specifically, he takes the Raging Heart materials - which is harvested from a Memory Zone Meme-type enemy. This one's a bit of a stretch but it fits nonetheless

-His signature colour is magenta - shown in his clothing, his marketing materials and in the VFX of his attacks, his claw and his brew. This colour is specifically his and not something he had inherited from someone else.

Memory Zone Memes, especially "Something Upon Death" have stark magenta/purple/pink eyes and cores. When seen from afar or at least in a general sense, the shades are similar enough

-The writing style of Gallagher's stories feel strange, like different aspects of Gallagher's personality and life are on the outside looking in. Akin to a reflective surface giving off different reflections from different angles of the same subject. It adds to the idea that there are multiple aspects and fragments within Gallagher all looking within each other.

Mixology and The Dreamjolt Hostelry:

Gallagher's main interest outside of work is mixology. Like any culinary craft, there's an inherent science behind it, and it takes a lot of work and knowledge to craft well constructed cocktails and drinks. Symbolically, mixology complements Gallagher, as he himself is a combination of a diverse range of people. When you view these inherited traits isolated, you know they come from someone real - but when put together, they form One Complete Gallagher - cohesive and seamless.

While you can say the same for different branches of culinary arts, mixology in particular symbolically represents Gallagher the most. This is just from a layman's perspective but when I view the same with cocktails - from a general inspection it's one cohesive drink even if from taste or watching the process, I know it's all made with different components.

Notably, when Gallagher talks about mixing drinks, he describes it as akin to combining different emotions, experiences and memories into a singular cocktail and it's reflective of both customer and bartender's own current state of being.

His philosophy on mixology links back to the concept of Memory Zone Memes, manifestations of fragmented memories, emotions and cognitions nestled into a vessel.

The reason why I bring up the Dreamjolt Hostelry is because of the Vignettes in a Cup event (spoilers for it). It's not explicit in his stories or voicelines, but going by the Trailblaze quest, it's implied that the Dreamjolt Hostelry is the lounge/bar he regulars for a drink or to hone his craft as he's v friendly and familiar to Siobhan and is seen in the 2.1 trailer to be serving a Dreamjolt Domescreen (whether it's Lady or not doesn't matter).

Dreamjolt Hostelry is in the sealed off dreamscape Reverie, where the corrupted Dreamjolt Troupe monsters and Memory Zone Memes reside. Notably, where you encounter Something Unto Death in key moments of the story.

I'd like to believe Gallagher is very comfortable with the company of monsters, going by the fact that he himself is non-human.

In Vignettes in a Cup, Siobhan explains that the reason why she mixes drinks for the Dreamjolt Troupe monsters is that it helps regulate their emotions - since the dreamscape is falling apart and in turn they have become unstable.

Gallagher himself in one of his idle animations drinks an unknown concoction from his hipflask once his scar starts acting up - in which it settles back down. It's hard to discern in this point in time how long this has been going for, but as a non-human entity (meme or not), the dreamscape's decay is also likely affecting Gallagher and thus he has to regulate himself.

Why Do The Heathen Rage?: In the mission "Why Do The Heathen Rage?" we learn a lot of the Watchmaker's secret history as well as a general run through of Gallagher's own personal story.

First off, a lot of Penacony's trailblaze mission titles are references to songs, literature and media relevant to the themes of Penacony and/or by American classical authors or poets (ie Heaven is a Place on Earth, Cat Among Pigeons, The Tell-Tale Heart).

Why Do The Heathen Rage is both based on Psalm 2.1 Old Testament, but also it's a fragment of an unfinished novel by Flannery O'Connor. Fragment of a novel -> Gallagher is made of fragments of different people -> Memory Zone Memes are fragments of (I'm booed off the stage for being a broken record).

The story tells of a man called Walter Tilman who lives on his family's farm. There he starts to write letters to different people - particularly to Oona Gibbs, a black civil rights activist. However, he writes to her under the guise of a black man, and writes with the intention of testing the commitment and integrity of her beliefs.

Going with what we know in hindsight, Gallagher is masquerading around as a human, likely as a Memory Zone Meme as we've realised hopefully by now that they're the monsters most likely to pull something of Gallagher's calibre off.

This is all I'm gonna talk about from "Why Do The Heathen Rage" mainly because my additional theories are based off leaks and are more speculative.

Bonus section: "Something Unto Death" When it comes to Gallagher's connection to the Memory Zone Meme "Something Unto Death", a lot comes from his many symbols of death. This is just a bit of a bonus since we're talking about Gallagher likely being a Memory Zone Meme, we might as well address the elephant in the room as well.

For brevity, we'll call the little guy "Death Meme". Death Meme is a Memory Zone Meme created from the Dreamscape's fear of death and murder as "death" shouldn't be something that can happen in the dreamscape.

Gallagher has a FUCK ton of symbolism and nods to death. The most striking is that Gallagher's iconic "I'm Thirteen", which is the number for the Major Arcana "Death". (For additional reference I also think Thirteen could be the amount of Amber Eras he's lived in, or that he's at least 1300 years old. Also since he has a lot of dog theming, 13 dog years in human years is around 60-80 depending on the dog's size).

Additionally, thirteen is a common number to represent bad omens and misfortune - namely the well known Friday the 13th superstition, amongst other things.

When Gallagher makes you a drink, no matter what choices you make - the cocktail will have a memento mori/death/morbidly themed name and he will accompany most of them with a sardonic toast.

Gallagher's eidolons are names of different cocktails which fit his mixology theme. However, Corpse Reviver, Last Word, Death in the Afternoon and Blood and Sand are all death centric names, as if he couldn't get edgier enough.

There's also the call into question his playstyle, where he's a much more aggressive battle healer than the likes of Luocha and is the first abundance character to provide debuffs on the enemy, and derives healing through damaging opponents.

Conclusion: If you've read this far then I'm assuming you're as normal about Gallagher as I am. But yeah, there is so much to him I haven't touched on, his connections to the Enigmata, my continuation on this theory based on leaks and his shared past with Mikhail, what I think he'll do in the plot moving forward. This patch and its characters are themed around hiding secrets and that there's more than meets the eye. Gallagher in particular has proved to be the most mysterious of the trio, as while we've gotten a clear enough picture of both Acheron and Aventurine but there's still enough intrigue to keep them going, Gallagher's just given me more questions than answers man.

[littlekiara96]

It's them.

I'm telling you.

These are Razalina, Legwork and Tiernan.

Also known as Glaux, Mikhail and Hanunue (a.k.a. "Gallagher").

Update (spoilers):

Wrong. I mean, the Glaux and Hanunue parts were wrong.

(Though I did think Razalina could be Glaux because of the "ruler" pattern on her jacket, and she did help create the Dreamscape through memoria, but I ended up mentioning it only to my Bro...)

[tthelady]

Has Gallagher been watching us from the beginning?

(2.1 spoilers ahead)

There is an achievement in star rail called "Zoologist in Fiction," where you have to find 5 hound statues throughout penacony.

These statues can be found in Golden Hour, The Reverie (Dreamscape), A Child's Dream, Dream's Edge, The Reverie (Reailty).

The statues can't be caught once you investigate them they disappear, but each time its unsettling. This is some of the dialogue that you get once you investigate the statues.

The staue also seem to be aware of you, and once you get close to them and move around, the statues head will move to follow you where you go.

The statues are constantly watching everything and everyone around them. They are put in places where they have a large view of everything. One of the statues, the one found in The Reverie (Reailty), is found in the Trailblazers room.

How is this connected to Gallagher? Well, for one , we know that Gallagher is a bloodhound and is associated with a hound and its imagery. In the Harmony Trailblazer splash art, he's even depicted as a hound.

In Gallagher and Sunday's confrontation, Sunday accuses him of "killing" Robin. And in the last cut scene, Gallagher supposedly "kills" Sunday himself.

This isn't really a theory but just an observation. The satues like I said before are observing everything and probably saw a lot, if not everything, and the MC even picks up some feelings from the statue itself. Knowing Gallagher association with the hound imagery, could it possible he was using the hound statues to keep watch of everything happening in Penacony. If Gallagher truly is the murderer "killing" all these people or at least helping their "deaths" happen in some way then he probably already knew about all the pratys involved plans or atleats had some ideas how them. That also means he probably knew everything that happened even before the MC met him and told him.

[shadowingfas]

Ok, here's an actual theory.

Spoilers for the 2.1 ending ahead ⚠️⚠️⚠️

Continue at your own risk!⚠️⚠️

Trailblazer is from Penacony.

Who else has a watch?

Boom!

Misha!

Suspicious…

Considering we don’t know a thing about him.

Who else do we not know a thing about? Trailblazer. Sure, we know about the Stellaron hunters; but nothing beyond that.

I'll go ahead and recommend this specific video. gallagher is a memory zone meme (AND MORE !!!) // HONKAI STAR RAIL THEORY VIDEO ESSAY (youtube.com) Seeing as it's an interesting theory and is a good video! Doesn't necessarily have anything to do with my theory. Could! could not. idk lmao

Everybody knows about Gallagher at this point. So, I’ll just be straight up. Gallagher took traits from the family to create a good disguise, right? Well, let’s just take a look at something real quick.

They look similar, no? not one on one, but similar. Minus the bangs. the front has a similar look to Stelle and the back? To Caelus. Hell, even Stelle's back hair is still slightly similar to his.

The rest? most likely similarities to the other family members. Grey hair and Gold eyes? Maybe the Oak family. 🤔

Other similarities? the straight face. Even. their. humor.

No one is surprised at Stelle at this point (youtube.com)

Gallagher is 13!? | Honkai Star Rail (youtube.com)

Besides that, the theory that nobody besides us can see Misha? I think is true. Gallagher also has a voice line about Misha. I don't even think Acheron has a voice line about Misha. Which means Gallagher can also see Misha.

Then why can Gallagher also see Misha? I believe that he truly is a child of the watchmaker. Made by the watchmaker himself... You can see where I'm going with this right?

I believe Trailblazer is made by the watchmaker and that Penacony is their true home. Whether which trailblazer is cannon doesn't matter. At least I don't think it does, because I think both trailblazers are cannon.

Also. Misha has an express badge while Gallagher doesn't from what I see. Which I think is from the fact that he 'betrayed' the watchmaker somehow. Only the watchmaker's most 'loyal' creations get one.

Because from what I remember. Didn't Trailblazer have this since the beginning of the game? Even when they weren't part of the Astral Express; and Misha... who's said to WANT to go out and explore, but never has. Has one as well? Based on the light cone that has Misha in it receiving one that kinda looks like Trailblazers. I believe so.

Maybe Mishsa's new Badge color is because Gallagher gave him his? Maybe the color changes based on who gets it? or maybe Misha gave Gallagher his original one, but Mister Dog-Man refuses to wear it? idk. I'm just making shots in the dark on this one, but maybe it's true? After all, Gallagher has said he feels he betrayed the watchmaker by doing nothing.

Also by the end of the story of 2.1; didn't Acheron and Aventurine also say that they had found out who 'Miss Stellaron's' and 'Mister Stellaron's' identity was? Bold thing to say considering nobody else knows by now. I think this theory shows what they possibly know.

[One coincidence that I also think is neat. Both trailblazers have gloves. Just like most of the people on penacony. (This one's not that important just thought it was a neat coincidence :))]

[yellowymellon]

I BROUGHT YALL ANOTHER CRAZY THEORY

not mine actually it's from tieba, ppl are theorizing that sunday is possibly going to get recruited by elio. fascinating yet crazy right? LEMME LAY EVERYTHING DOWN

okay so sunday's design is very much inspired of ena, both his old one and the new one. it has many eyes, the halo, the golden accents. not to mention his personality that resonates with her path.

this will not make sense if u dont pay attention to elio's concept art (most likely will change by the time he appears but) here it is :

notice the amount of eyes, the sun and the similar patterns, a picture of ena for reference :

they also said that ena seems to be holding a puppet string and it could be related to "destiny's slave", i dont completely agree but it's A COOL THEORY!!

i've always assumed elio to be an omen vanguard of terminus the aeon of finality. since he has blessing/curse of seeing the future unlike finality followers i believed he might be our first finality emenator BUT! emenators could follow a different path, it's so interesting to think he could be a finality emenator but an order follower, and it makes sense! who would greatly seek to stop nanook and restore balance? well hooh too but ena would very much dedicate themselves in stopping nanook. now ena is debatably dead but paths don't disappear. but keep in mind we actually don't know which aeon gives the stellaron hunters powers.

so far we don't know what the stellaron in penacony does, it doesnt seem to be the threat itself but the one who obtains it might be dangerous. that's why elio wants the nameless to go after the stellaron. but that doesnt make THAT much sense either, why wouldn't the stellaron hunters themsleves do the job? they're already capable. if u ask me penacony feels the best place for kafka/SW instead, it might be easier for us to obtain it if we help the family but anyways- we can go on forever abt why it's not right so lets force this theory to make sense tehee~

i talked abt how sunday might learn a truth after his "death", gallagher's voice line abt him is "He reminds me of the "Odes of Harmony," but I caught a whiff of something behind the facade he puts on... something real." the odes of harmony is basically a song praising xipe, he means sunday being a reserved religious saint like person, is a facade and gallagher saw something real. based on my post where i discovered that i'm a follower of nous after all (i'm not-) https://www.tumblr.com/yellowymellon/746431759854551040/you-know-it-would-be-funny-if-the-actual-villain?source=share

gallagher might've caught on it earlier and targeted sunday from all the family heads, if he was going to kill in any case he needed the best victims that could give him the break through he needed, robin might've been just the stepping stone to kill the oak family head (important) who conveniently might be the one to side with him (YALL IM COOKING AND IT'S BURNING)

sunday is described as perfect on the outside but secretly a freak, he shows no mercy to what he thinks is wrong and doesn't compromise. but i don't trust him with what he thinks is wrong. he might be shrewd and manipulative fitting for a head, but still young and emotional to make absolutes (judgements). see, the family is a perpetrator to many MANY evil stuff that shouldn't be in his book (literally lol)

u see where i'm going? me neither elio could potentially need to ally with sunday if his stance changes after learning the whole, purest truth

[anoddworld]

SPOILERS FOR 2.1 STORY QUEST AND PENACONY

hey…. Remember how Gallagher said that Mikhail, the Watchmaker, died obscurely? And the first time we entered the dreamscape? And the first time we entered the dreamscape hotel? And how Misha was calling out to Mikhail, begging him not to leave? Yeahhhh…

I am, like, 99% sure Misha was the last person to see Mikhail alive. And that hurts my heart bc… LOOK AT MISHA!! HE’S JUST A LITTLE BABY TT^TT

[winter1234lo]

Recent hsr update spoiler alert

These are just my thoughts, guys

The fuck was that?!!

First aventio aventioed better then I expected (I mean. The nightingale pun. I bet my money that aventurine was the one who made up tht mathematician joke ratio tells us)

But then

Ratio pulled a "nice try but I'm not on ur side" (I think there was a popular meme about tht. From another show)

So aventurine got the more lethal version of "liar liar pants on fire" cuz he lied to Sunday about his stone

Which really sounds like an angsty aventio fanfic

BUT IT TURNS OUT RATIO DOUBLE CROSSED SUNDAY (ratio I'm sorry for taking away all your relics)

Then I spent next few hours alternating between "what the fuck was that" and "WHAT THE FUCK"(my pillow suffered throughout)

In the end

Archeron slayed (literally)

And aventurine is free (not without a lot of angst though)(his backstory is killing me)

And it turns out that Firefly theory was through (so was that date part of elio's script?(Probably))

Also our "Thirteen" years old bartender is actually the baddie (or is he?)

And Sunday just wants to know why his sister had to die (in a villainous way)

Conclusion: there is none

[gallavichmeta]

thoughts on this parallel?

the presumed last time they'll ever see each other (mexico border) vs. when it all falls back into place (prison reuniting)

i Adore the choice to film behind mickey and capture part of his body to let the audience in on such an intimate moment and experience ian's reaction from his POV.

i watched the show once it was all out on netflix but cannot even begin to comprehend OG gallavich shippers excitement seeing the prison scene and i think it would've been enhanced more with this excellent parallel - tying their 'ending' and new beginning together <3

and not to dive TOO deep but this same angle is used during The breakup scene at the end of s5... i don't know much about film this is all just stuff i'm noticing so i hope it makes sense and you or someone else out there appreciates the thought!

This is a very interesting parallel that I, personally, hadn’t noticed! 💖Thank you for pointing it out!

What do we all think of the choice to film these scenes this way? How does it make us feel as viewers? What are you’re thoughts on these parallels?

[playingwithstarsabove]

Honkai Star Rail Spoiler Theory

I have a theory buzzing in my head right now that everything involving "Death" in Penacony is all some elaborate revenge plot against the Family for killing Mikhail and doing whatever to Misha, who was Mikhail's grandson and is (possibly) the Watchmaker's Legacy himself.

Gallagher, with his multiple Dog allusions and how he says "They don't even care if the person they're talking to is actually real.", is actually Mikhail's pet dog, being thirteen in dog years and loyal to Mikhail.

The reason Sunday is obsessed with the Watchmaker is not just because of his Sister's "death", but because he was involved in what happened to Mikail and Misha. The guilt is starting to catch up with him, first by taking out people associated with the Family then "killing" his sister.

Since the story arcs usually meet their end by the .2, we might have to wait and see if it all comes together.

[answer2jeff]

the fatherhood theory:

my take on lip gallagher finding purpose in parenthood.

First things first, I quickly want to congratulate the writers for beautifully articulating the accuracy of Lip's initial reaction to Freddy's birth.

Tami had an extremely complicated birth that resulted in her requiring surgery. Lip, both as a new father and as a boyfriend, was legitimately terrified. He couldn't decide if he should stay with Tami or their son. His thought process probably included the possibility of the mother of his child suffering, further trailing to the fear of fatherly absence. Naturally, considering Lip's lack of a genuine father figure, contributing anything remotely resembling neglect or failure to accommodate to his son feels like the worst and most unforgivable thing he could ever do.

Secondly, I want to say that although Tami is quite different compared to Lip's other love interests, I think she was relatively realistic at the time. She has drive and compassion, and Lip loves a good sarcastic girl who affectionately ridicules the guy she loves. She's abrasive in a way that is more meant to establish her intelligence rather than actually put others around her down. Tami is also terrible at accepting criticism, but doesn't respond in the explosive anger that Lip does. She's more passive aggressive than, well...aggressive aggressive. Even though it's not quite the healthiest, it's much more flexible than rage.

In short, Lip sees a lot of himself in Tami. But, she's a more put together, determined version of him. She's the star that Lip never really turned out to be, even if she's not absolutely perfect. Their relationship is accurate for the conditions of the show (and Lip's life.) Tami doesn't give Lip a lot of opportunities to self sabotage because she's pretty much dubbed herself the lead of their relationship.

(not ignoring the fact that she said he'd be a shitty father by the way. that crushed my soul and i'll never forgive her but that's besides the point.)

Having to decide to let professionals (doctors and nurses, who he notoriously does not trust (rooted by capitalistic healthcare environments and the need for independence due to his childhood trauma), try their best to help Tami when she was literally blue and unresponsive, was difficult and extremely scary.

However, once Freddy has been properly cleaned and prepared to be held by his father, Lip suddenly finds the answer to so many of his interpersonal questions.

"I seem to have ruined everything I was once good at. Is there anything I won't automatically ruin just because I don't think I deserve it?"

Fatherhood.

"Would I be any better at this than my parents were?"

Yes, with practice.

"Would I be able to break the cycle?"

Yes, with love.

"Is it necessary for me to feel so deeply about the world?

Yes. Even if it's painful.

"And was it ever worth hiding that with anger?"

To some extent, yes. You wanted to protect yourself.

"Am I, deep down, past my inevitable quickness to rage, a good person?"

Yes. You always have been.

In hindsight, his excitement for becoming a dad seems kind of obvious considering his overjoyed and emotional reaction. But I think we can dig deeper beyond this surface level impression. Even if it's genuine and ultimately very good at showing Lip's love for his son. Something that I think really prepared Lip for the complications of parenthood was the time period during his time as a college student taking care of Liam.

He'd been surrounded by family members for his entire life that he did not trust. When Fiona, his beacon of support throughout his whole childhoo despite their complicated sibling relationship, made such a grave mistake that reflected neglect, Lip felt unsafe. Both Frank and Monica were typical offenders of drug and alcohol abuse. And they regularly dabbled in allowing these substance issues to affect their children.

Now there was really nobody in his family he could trust. Lip would have to re-learn how to fend for himself and his family. He's had plenty of experience, but he had a support system. Even if it contained his own siblings who lived the same abusive life as he did. But now that he didn't trust anyone around Liam, he literally had to become his primary caregiver.

"You're the closest thing to a dad we've ever had," said Ian Gallagher.

Becoming Freddy's father was the love that Lip needed in his life. Girlfriends are replaceable. Lip has proven this. But he always believed that once you become a father, you do not have the right to back out. And he'd always hold himself to that standard.

This is your life now. Do it right, or go to hell.

People like Lip need to have people in their lives who unconditionally rely on them. His siblings have chosen many times (and rightfully of course) to handle personal matters without Lip's advice. He hasn't gotten to feel as needed or as important as he deserved to be. Having a child, though unexpected, was the missing piece to the endless puzzle that was his life's purpose.

Lip's desire to be a good father not only stemmed from the failure of his own parents, but the fact that guiding his siblings through life was the one thing that everyone around him that everyone was convinced he couldn't do better than anyone else. (Personally, I think Fiona did a great job as an older sister. I'm more speaking from the perspectives and opinions of his siblings.)

Lip will feel love for himself through Teddy. Once he can finally succeed for the long term, he will find peace.

Not to say that he's automatically perfect, because he's not (and no one else is), but he's ready to take on the challange.

Freddy is the love of Lip's life.

And he always will be.

[staliamazing]

Mickey's Coming Out (4x11) / Lover You Should've Come Over, Jeff Buckley 

I've always felt this song, particularly these couple verses to be quite queer-coded! I'm pretty sure this song is about cheating but, in these moments, we hear the singer talk about the sacrifices he would make for his lover and lament over what he believes to be the never-ending nature of their love. This sentiment can be echoed by the queer community, especially when considering instances in which people with homophobic/transphobic families have chosen to come out and jeopardize their past relationships to live as their truest self. 

So! How does it relate to Ian and Mickey, you may ask? Here's some examples below based specifically on Mickey's coming out scene in Season 4 episode 11, 'Emily'. You can listen to the song here. 

My kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder 

Mickey’s kingdom is his family. Seemingly dozens of Milkovich brothers and cousins and uncles can be seen at Terry’s homecoming party, all sharing a similarly violent and thuggish attitude to the patriarch himself. It was from these people that Mickey learnt his volatility and who bred his affinity for violence, making his declaration even more polarizing.  

"I'm fucking gay."  

Despite speaking with the patois of his family, by publicly sharing his sexuality Mickey essentially emancipates himself from the Milkovich’s. Based on his facial expression as he watches Ian begin to walk out of the door of the Alibi, he finds himself at a crossroads and faces losing Ian, or his family. In choosing to express his love for a man he forfeits his kingdom and the possibility of ever pleasing his father, something that despite not being verbally admitted to is undoubtedly a goal all Terry’s kids reach for, if not just to stop the abuse.  

The notion that the singer gives up their kingdom for a mere kiss, not even upon his lover’s lips but merely on her shoulder, provides us with an understanding of the devotion which they feel towards her. To give up so much for seemingly so little. This allows us to harness Mickey’s point of view for a moment; not only does he essentially give up his place in his family to stop Ian walking out the door and out of his life, but he burns it to the ground, all guns a-blazing. Milkovich-style, no matter what Terry will think of him after this. Ian is worth it to him.  

The use of 'kingdom' is an important lexical connotation here also as it could also refer to the kingdom of God aka Heaven in the Christian and Catholic religions, meaning that when individuals choose to come out they are abandoning his Kingdom to live freely and comfortably in their sexuality. Of course, I do not believe that homosexuality or queerness in any of its forms is a sin, I only add this as a footnote to further highlight the undertones of the song and add cultural meaning. 

All my riches for her smiles 

Whilst echoing the sentiment of the previous line about sacrifice for love, I’d like to touch an alternative perspective, being that the subject of the song represents Mickey’s wife Svetlana and his father Terry, as opposed to Ian. Over the duration of season four, Mickey grapples with gaining a wife and child, neither of which he consented to and having to develop a family life under these circumstances where at every turn he is denied his freedom and selfhood. In this case, his personal wellbeing (his ‘riches) are sacrificed to play house with Svetlana and keep his father happy. Based on the events of 3x06, the viewers are aware of Terry’s extreme, violent disdain for Mickey’s homosexuality and fear the possibility pf this cropping up again as much as Mickey and Ian themselves. Thus, from a storyline point of view, at the emotional climax of the pair’s storyline this season, it only makes sense that this elephant in the room finally blows its trunk. Besides Ian's ultimatum which leads to Mickey's coming out at one of many emotional cruxes of the episode, his unwillingness to continue living a manufactured life was undoubtedly a factor also. 

It's never over 

This scene is one of many in which the pair spend their screen-time blood-soaked. As previously mentioned, it was with almost sheer certainty that Mickey understood the physical ramifications that his announcement would have. Any booze filled Milkovich event is bound to have a tousle or two, so add a freshly freed Terry and an announcement of his very own son being gay? Bound to be a bloodbath. While the final iteration of "it's never over" remains the same lyrically, Buckley belts the line out. Metaphorically, Mickey does the same. By antagonizing his father while bent over a police car, (read: "Guess what we been doin', daddy? We've been fuckin'!) he acknowledges that yes, his father will always be a terrible man who will never accept him. Concomitantly, he comes to the realization that his phase of hiding is over, which gives him the gusto he needs to be so bold in the face of Terry after all this violence. 

All my blood for the sweetness of her laughter 

When Mickey makes Ian laugh, his eyes light up in a way that is not often seen in the show. For once, it seems, part of his shell has broken, and he is freer than we have seen him thus far in the show. To be able to sit there in such sorry circumstances and accept the physical affection he would usually meet with sharp rejection must certainly dull his pain and help him come to terms with the ways in which his life has been permanently altered.  

♡♡♡

@gallavichmeta I really hope you see this and have a read! I worked hard on writing this and stringing my ideas on the parallels between the song and the scene together :,)) Just a bit of fun to think about how seemingly seperate things can actually have common themes!

And a thank you to @iansw0rld for giving this a read-over and giving me a lil confidence boost too :) <3

Yes, Mickey would die for Ian. But here, he says: I will live for you.

[hunny-pp]

hsr spoilers // a video adaptation of my gallagher theories - some new stuff as well as some amendments :3

[littlekiara96]

Why are there so many little inconsistencies about Gallagher and who he is?

[Obvious spoilers for 2.0 Penacony content undercut, you've been warned.]

This reflexion of mine started back when I first saw him during the Penacony storyline and in that one occasion you can mention him to an NPC at Dream's Edge.

Let's talk about the first time we see Gallagher, and more precisely, how the two NPCs present react to him.

(Let's call them Taylor and Bob. Taylor uses a fem 3D model, but Gallagher keeps gendering both of them as men, so I'll roll with that.)

First, Taylor does not know Gallagher at all. Nothing strange there. The Families have a lot of members, it sounds believable. For now.

Bob, on the other hand, recognises him. But he seems to do so thanks to his appearance and his "trademark" features (brown hair and grey vest) more than because he actually knew him.

He also describes Gallagher as the "officer sent by the Family". Here, "officer" could either mean a worker for the Family, which is a given, or it could be an actual rank, which sounds more probable. He does wear what looks like a badge on his left lapel.

And afterall, Gallagher trained those two, so it surely means that he's of a higher rank than them-

Wait. He's training them?

Bob recognised him, technically, yes. But Taylor couldn't even tell who he was??

And "he's been training them"???

How does one of your trainees not recognise you on sight??!

And that's not the weirdest part.

So, Gallagher was specially sent by the Family to ensure the safety of the Charmony Festival, right? So, that sounds like he's kind of a big deal, right? Like... Other Bloodhounds would know about his presence, right?

Okay. Either the guy who won't let us to the secret place is lying as a means to do his job...

Or there's something wrong about Gallagher, actually...

Alright... What do we know about him, at this point?

Bartender and security officer. That makes sense for different reasons.

Coty and Woolsey, two other Bloodhounds, also explain the extent of the Bloodhound Family's job.

Coty puts it quite literally: they will help you manage your emotions. Because doing so is also part of taking care of safety issues, because of how the Dreamscape works and can be affected by said emotions.

And Woolsey is the NPC who tells you if there are people in the Dreamscape who still need such aid in managing their emotions.

Thus, Gallagher being security staff and a bartender makes sense.

Here's the citation from his reveal on the HSR Youtube channel:

"Making a drink is a sensory skill. In dreams, creating fizzy concoctions requires adding a bit of your mood. Heavier if you're troubled, a touch sweeter if you're in high spirits... It's not just about mixing beverages. It's about mixing the experiences of life."

And funnily enough, there's this no-name bar with a no-name bartender somewhere on the commercial street and uhh...

Yeah, that House-Blend sounds like something Gallagher could make.

Hell, it perfectly fits!

But let's go back to his "downloading" description...

Local of Penacony. Very knowledgeable, but also lowkey about it.

So, Gallagher is a discreet bartender with a discreet bar, and also a security officer of a high enough rank to be sent by The Family to secure the biggest event to them, and to have trainees...

And no one knows who this guy is.

Except Misha. Who doesn't even work directly with him.

... Am I the only one getting weirded out by all of this?

Bonus:

Have a lil' crack theory of my own. Because I'm silly, aha.

Gallagher and Firefly share the same shade of green with a "starry sky" pattern. He's not the real Gallagher, and the only things they actually have in common are the "brown hair and grey vest", but of course that's enough to fool everyone Superman-style.

The Bloodhounds are looking for a silver-haired boy, or at least, that's how "Gallagher" corrected them.

Is it Sparkle in disguise? Someone else? Why are they helping Firefly? Does she know them? I don't know, this is a crack theory.

Good night and have nice dreams~

ADDENDUM, because another post made me go "Waiiiit that is ALSO very weird:

Hey, remember the Pepeshi Club and its entry rules?

Cielo confirms that anyone (not just Sparkle) can change their "Dreamscape avatar" a.k.a. appearance. And the Dreamscape Pass serves as an I.D. to check someone's true identity, even when they are using an appearance completely different form it.

So uuuuuh...

Why didn't Gallagher just check Firefly's I.D.??? Wouldn't that be the first thing to do in the Dreamscape while searching for a stowaway who could change their appearance so easily???

No need to be uncourteous about it too, like Bob and Taylor were... Just a lil' "Excuse me, milady, may I have a look at your Pass, please?"

Would that have been too much??? Gallagher, dear, care to explain yourself???

[askbloatedbellyblog]

What about Gallagher's placement? C'mon he is a barman, is in touch with fizzy drinks all the time, he must have won and participated in a lot of burping contests haha

I will say that I'm not caught up with the latest patch or pulled for him yet, so this is also a bit of conjecture and going off the wiki.

First off, I will say I don't trust anything going on in Penacony at all. Not that I think you should blame me. When everything is based on dreams, illusions, The Gilded Age, the mob, Batman and more there's a lot that makes it seem like no one is as they seem or if they even exist.

With Gallagher and his history, hell I'm not even sure if he's alive or possibly one of the original settlers of Penacony (therefore old). It does seem that he's made an identify for himself. Plus he's both a cop/detective and a bartender. I'm not sure what the need is for both in Penacony.

I'm also VERY sus on what SoulGlad is to begin with as I think it's the cause of the mass sleep/dream and necessary for everyone to have the same dream and the real Penacony is possibly still the prison.

But let me tell you something stupid.

This, this right here, is stupid. SoulGlad is a carbonated soda, so not only is that soda going to spill and overflow that shaker, he's now made the drink flat. Plus it's dependent on his mood for the new flavor of the drink and with things all not what they seem with him, I'm not sure it's going to be a good taste. Now maybe this is different in Penacony because it's also a dream so anything that is eaten I'm not sure actually happens anyway and even one of the SoulGlad's flavors is only available in the dream.

So that being said, going to burps with him, I still think he's decent at them because yes he still drinks soda even when attacking and he 100% comes off as a sad drunk cop with a dark past so I'm sure that he has let some good burps fly. He probably even does do some contests with his other cops (which are probably much closer to Pinkteron's or mob enforcers than anything) and would still end up being the best belchers there.

However, if you're talking about his job and being in touch with the fizz, I'm not sure he's good at his job. He makes the fizz flat, as a bartender, he's more there to serve drinks and listen to others and stop others from arguing than participating.

So I still think he's a good burper with nice deep brassy belches and capable of them. But I also think he deserves some demerits because he does not know how to handle a soda.