#also ruining mickey and mandys relationship??

[themoonandthedogstar]

i hate john wells for so many things but him going from PADDY MAGUIRE WHO LOVES HIS DAUGHTER (MANDY) MORE THAN ANYTHING AND HAS A GAY TWIN BROTHER WHOSE WEDDING HE HELPED PAY FOR AND BOUGHT MICKEY A BRIGHT PINK LIMO to TERRY MILKOVICH WHO IS A LITERAL NAZI AND SA’D HIS DAUGHTER AND TRIED TO KILL HIS GAY SON (MICKEY AND MANDY) I CAN NEVER FORGIVE

[iangallagherisadeadman]

shameless hot takes

i kind of dig the way lip ended up as a failure. i know a lot of people hate what the show did to him, how he never lived up to his potential (the same way they do it to rory gilmore) but like. that happens. lifes just like that. sometimes people who have had everything to live with grandiosity end up ruining everything up, and lips life was HARD and it SUCKED so him failing its kind of expectable i think. and its not like lips life ended, mans not even 30 and hes not just smart hes a genius, he will end up turning the table and coming straight to the top, i believe so.

frank doesn't love his children. i know people like to think frank was somewhat nice sometimes and that he was troubled but he loved the gallaghers his own way but i dont think he really did. he didnt even knew them. he was just too selfish and a narcissist and not even once a "act of love" was genuine or didnt have a gain for him or was somewhat for his benefit or interest.

of all plots, i believe gay jesus was the worst. i tried to remeber every other plot of the show and dont get me wrong the frank and his buddy pal mickey oshea SUCKED and i love ian hes my favorite character but what the fuck was that. the idea is really nice but it took so long to convey this arc of mania of him and it just was really badly written and executed and later it doesn't have importance to the plot. no surprise cameron monaghan wanted to skip shameless after that.

gallavich is not a healthy goal relationship. i mean yeah, they do love each other and they are good to each other, and i will excuse them for all the shit they did as teenagers cause they seemed to forgive each other and grow from it and i dont think they knew best but as adults they dont fucking communicate and mick broke ians leg like common. also most of time ian just seems to regret having married mick is really frustrating. i genuinely dont understand how that happened cause gallavich was all the writes had to milk and serve for the last seasons and they still fucked it up.

debbie is a rapist. she just is. just like sheila is too, i believe, and frank, and mandy, and jody, and estefania (i dont think jimmysteve is tho). they practiced nonconsensual sex and thats rape, end of story. i know the deborah debate is kind of hot ground and everybody has a different opinion about it cause she was young and didnt have the proper sex ed. but she did it not once, but twice AFTER facing consequences and getting to educate herself about what she did and why that was wrong, and i believe she would do it again if she had the motivation like she did on those circumstances. not saying matty or derick were cool guys, fuck them, matty wanted to go out with an underage girl when he met debbie and he kept going out with her after knowing she was much younger than he first thought and derick know that having sex can lead to having a baby and he and his family should have tried to be better to franny, but still they didnt deserved to by lied and abused by deb.

the gallaghers house should be debbie and carl's to decide what to do. the house is in fionas name, that much is true, but it is clear they kept contact with fiona at the begging of season 10 as she calls debbie to know about freddie and at that hall of fame episode too, so that much wouldn't be a problem. also, as fiona left, she left debbie in charge of the house's finances, and i believe the responsibility of what to do with the house is left with debbie too. i dont think fiona would be thrilled with the wouse being sold but she moved on and if her siblings are up to moving on too i dont think she would be opposed to it. that said, she would let the house deed on debbies hand i believe. taking up the fact that debbie is a mom with a little child and no other place to live, the fact she doesnt want to sell the house is comprehensible and i dont think any other gallagher can say its not, even more so lip. they tried to make the decision voting, letting the majority determinate what to do, but i dont think thats fair since lip could very easily get a house to himself and ian and mickey too, they had the money. now, about carl, is simply cause he paid for the house, therefore he should had a say on it. season 6, when the house was going to be sold, no other Gallagher than fiona was really trying to make to money to buy it. when she couldnt, carl saved the day and gave the money, and fiona was reluctant but she had no other option than to accept it, otherwise they would lose the house. even though the house is in fionas name like she likes to make it very clear, it is carls, and if he wanted to he could have put it in someone elses name, not lip cause he's in debt cause of the credit cards he has gotten to pay college, but he could have made it ians or anyone elses. he didnt cause he respects family and he respects fiona. since the house is his, and he also didnt really had any other place like debbie, they both should make the decision together.

fiona fucking sucks. i know a lot of people hates her and a lot loves her, and theres people in here that knows shes middle ground just like basically everybody on the show, which is called SHAMELESS for a reason. and i can agree with everybody. my point here is that she did nice things and stupid things and i dont hate her or love her for them, nor do i think all is forgiven because of her trauma or that shes number one worst character of the show. i think she sucks, think that she was wrong for all the liam shit, that she is an agent of chaos, that she was a bad girlfriend for all of her boyfriends just like they were bad for her (except mike he rocks), i think she make some of them worst really; i understand her desire to grown and be someone but i think it was risky to put the gallaghers house on the line so she could open the laundry (even more so cause i dont really consider it hers but carls), i understand how at some point she wanted to grow and take care of herself and be less of an parent in her sibling's life cause if she took care of herself since she was nine i think her siblings could try and take care of each other and their own ass a little so she could start living but the way she didnt really helped ian, the way she shut down debbie and was sad when debbie shuted her down, the way she left carl to his white boy fase without as much as trying and the way she said to them put VERONICA and KEVIN first at their emergency call before her was insane and she should be dragged for it idc. she was always mean to her siblings romantic interests too and that really bugs me cause mandy put lip in college and mickey cared for ian.

lip fucking sucks. most people here think the similarity between lip and frank starts and finishes on alcoholism and appearance but i think its more than that, i think both of them are narcissistic motherfuckers. i cant think of a single time lip put effort in anything for any other reason than to satisfy himself. it is the most evident when you think about his relationships SPECIALLY tami and fred, but if you think about his desire to be a father, the way he treated fiona when she was down, the whole sierra fiasco and how he treated her sons daddy, the karen ian thing; he even said that he helps his alcoholic friends because he thinks that if they cant do it then certainly lip himself won't be able to do it. i cant hold ian to the same parameters, i only think deb fiona and carl are really there for each other but ian gets a pass cause hes just selfish to some extent. he is bipolar and shit went down when he was still a child; still, joining the army and sending no news was a dick move and when he was good and on his meds and working as an EMT i think he wasnt really there for his family, tho he cared for mandy. cant really say much cause most of the time he was out of himself or in jail.

[moonschocolate]

I NEED THESE SPIN-OFFS RN

Frank's past - we got to see how he is right now, so basically a degenerate father who doesn't do nothing, or at least not if there's any money or alcohol involved, but before meeting monica he was so much more than that, and honestly i want to see young frank and then his encounter with monica, and maybe something about his family too becaue we also know about how terrible his mom was to him, and how his dad made him wear dresses because he wanted him to. He did a lot of shitty things, but I still can't say I hate him, he still has some (0.00001% of him) good in him.

Gallavich years later - We've got a lot of Gallavich content (NOT ENOUGH) but what about Gallavich adobting a baby. What about Mickey being an INCREDIBLE father to the baby (not that Ian wouldn't cause we've seen him with Yevgeni but MICKEY??!!? He'd be a great father if he'd care about the baby, he didn't like yevgeni because of the way he was born), and yeah. Just gallavich as 30 y/o men raising a boy. i need this + them when they find out he has a girlfriend like- "we raised you better than that" HWHDHHHQHQAHHSHAHAHAH

Whatever the fuck was up with Mandy - WE. DIDN'T. SEE. HER. ENOUGH. We should've known more about Mandy and that BITCH she "was with". How he treated her. Why he treated her that way. How it affected her. NOTHING. Just some frames of her injured with Ian worrying about her. NADA.

Milkovich past - We get many hints about how shitty Terry was but what about seeing little happy Mickey and Mandy having their mood ruined by Terry. What about how they reacted. If they've never tried to talk back or if they were always silent recieving "what he had to give." Especially Terry r*ping Mandy. (yes I love angst) (yes i want even more reasons to be mad at terry)

Fiona in the future - Where is she? Does she have a boyfriend? Is she married? Has life being going okay? Has anyone been visiting her? is she still talking regularly with V? I know that Emmy left, but it still makes me mad how she was barely mentioned in two whole seasons.

Monica's past - Has she been like that since her teens? What was her relationship with herself being bipolar when she first found out? Was her family shitty like all the people's families in the show? Did she love Frank too? I need answers.

Thank you for listening to my yapping session. :)

[queer-whatchamacallit]

Alright so I’m on season 4 of Shameless and have officially accepted its hyperfixation status

So here’s my incredibly detailed thoughts on some of these jerks, enjoy

Lip

He’s the whole reason I got into Shameless. I’m trying to go for the full Jeremy Allen White IMDb page (11/27), so I was instantly attached to him, he’s my little shithead

He wants to take care of his family so so bad. He’s insanely loyal to the little ones specifically, but he doesn’t care about the long term, he’s more terrified about the short term. That’s why he’s so against college for a while: his absence would set them back for years before it ever gave them a leg up

Yes he’s absurdly knowledgeable, but until he knows he’s in real shit, he just digs his claws into whatever he wants to do. I’ve been thinking of it as a lack of impulse control, but he can shut it off, cut the smartassery, even the anger issues he can manage to some degree, but if he thinks he can dodge consequences, he’ll be as destructive as he wants

If he’s given a responsibility, he’s going to take care of it. That’s why early on, he dodged things about college and gets annoyed by Fiona trying to put that on him to support the rest of them, but eventually, he accepts that if he wants good things for his family, that’s the way to do it. It’s also why he goes all in, dropping out and everything, when Karen’s pregnant because he thinks it’s his responsibility.

He’s so so latched on to Karen in a way that’s really interesting to me. It’s clear he wanted an actual relationship with her, but her turning around and fucking Frank really did mess Lip up as Kevin said. He went so all in with the baby and that loss fucked him up so bad that it instantly gives him commitment issues. He didn’t seem bothered by Mandy until Kevin called her his “ghetto wife” and Lip freaked out and tried to get as distant from her as he could

But now in season 4, he takes taking care of Liam and the other kids as his responsibility along with going to MIT to support everyone financially. He puts his everything into those too, but I’m wondering how much responsibility he can take before his destructive impulses ruin something for him

Debbie

All of you need to calm the fuck down, she’s my baby

She cares too hard. She hasn’t started hiding it like her older siblings have, and it hurts to watch her forgive and forgive and forgive until she’s beating the shit out of Frank with a bag of bar soaps, and then start forgiving again but never really getting over it

She wants to follow in Fiona’s footsteps so so bad, destroying herself for others when she’s still so little

She babysits the whole summer then gets outcast the whole school year. It’s a lot to have on your shoulders, and I almost get relieved when she complains about boy problems or not getting her period yet because that’s her getting to be a normal preteen girl

It’s always fascinating to me when she gets violent. We think of sensitive as being nonviolent, but people can hurt her more easily than they can others, and it’s not great, but it’s understandable to want them to hurt back

She changes a lot for season 4, but even in trying to distance herself from Fiona, she’s still following in her footsteps. After so many years of rejection, she needs to be wanted so so bad by whoever will give it to her. One of the only characters I actively hate is Matty for pulling some will they won’t they shit with her. Please just cut her off dude. But I can see her starting to fake nonchalance toward her family while reaching out for anyone to give her what they won’t, and it’s devastating what everything is starting to do to her

Ian

He’s kind of best to talk about before and after he left home

Before, he sort of got lost in whatever came up to him. Kash wanted him, so he became loyal to Kash, always trying to be more mature than he should have to be and being a pillar of support for him at 15. Then, Mickey comes along, and he gets pulled into him too, fighting to get closer and closer. Happens with Ned too I think when Mickey’s in juvie for a bit, playing mature again. To be a Gallagher is to be desperate, and Ian wants sex from whatever guy will have him

In his family, he’s much more quiet, always standing beside Lip and letting him do the talking. Even if he flips him off whenever he can, Ian doesn’t really fight back against Frank. He never tells anyone what’s going on with him because he knows everything is kind of a mess, and doesn’t want anyone to tell him to stop. He doesn’t want to go against what his family wants from him so he hides it when he does

Something I really like about his earlier seasons characterization is that he’s kinda rough and tumble manly army guy that mixes perfectly with his being gay. Watching him be with someone that’s a lot like him, that he gets to roughhouse with and share this particular brand of strength and masculinity or die type of culture, is so fascinating to watch. To quote Jeremy Allen White, “Whenever they beat the shit out of each other and then fuck, that’s like- that’s awesome.”

And then, when Mickey gets married and he only learns about the engagement from Mandy, that everything he put into Mickey gets fucked over, and the only person he’s ever felt this connected to has rejected him. He can’t deal with seeing him, so he does anything he can think of to get himself into the army and away from everything here that has hurt him

Now for season 4 Ian. He’s been so quiet, so bound to never disappointing anyone that when he starts experiencing bipolar symptoms, he leans hard into it right away. He tries to steal a helicopter, he’s done being controlled by others, he’s going to run away and be as free as he can get

He wants sex, so he’s going to have as much of it as possible. He feels in control even if he isn’t. He goes and goes and goes. He works out all morning then fucks all night, he’s high out of his mind, and he still has too much energy. He decides this is what freedom is

When his family and Mickey start trying to drag him back home, he tries to dig his heels in. He feels good and in control here, so why should he go back. When he finally does head home, he tries to keep his rush going, going for runs and making pancakes before the sun comes up, but when he sees Mickey with his son and his wife, he starts to spiral

Ian wants him to be free like he is, to feel as good as he did

Mickey coming out was a massive risk, much bigger than it ever was for Ian, and that sacrifice gets Ian to set aside his betrayal again and protect Mickey. With all his army muscle and manic energy, he goes apeshit on Terry Milkovich, not holding back in any way

But the next day, his months of going and going and going finally catch up him and throws his ass fully into a depressive episode

So yeah, I want to do tier lists with them, but no categories fully describe my feelings toward them. I worry about them. I care about them. I’m scared for the next time they’ll fuck up. The most interesting thing for a character to be is desperate, and they all need something so so bad, even if it’s just enough money to keep the lights on. I’ll probably do more characters, they’re all fascinating

[evie235x]

Gallavich fic suggestions!

All of these can be found on AO3, most are NSFW and have some pretty mature/triggering themes so tread with caution. I will add a note to check the tags if this is the case. Also most of these are pretty long so I will specify if it's just a one shot!!

❤️ = Favs

o ❤️ Like Real People Do by grayola- really fluffy, online relationship

o Redheaded Stepchildren by ZebraWallpaper- focuses of Debbie and Ian's relationship at the end of season 4

o ❤️ Irish Twins by ZebraWallpaper - sequel to Redhead Stepchildren although can be read without the first part, focuses on Ian and Lips relationship. Check tags.

o ❤️ This is the Road to Ruin by bricoleur10- Canon divergence, hurt/comfort, good brother lip, check tags.

o Everything About You by grayola- Ian's perspective of Like Real People Do, incomplete

o Teenagers Scare The Living Shit Out Of Me by Mellow_Yellow- serial killer au, fluff and angst, check tags

o You Are My Peace, You Are My Prayer by cosmicayan- hurt/comfort, good boyfriend Mickey, oneshot

o Friends by zankiefanatic- best friend au, check tags, incomplete

o One Milkovich at a time by Yeoldfandomsofmine (dreamerbydawn)- small series, Ian trying to bond with the Milkovich family, funny?

o the ground will swallow us anyway by infiniteoceansofblue- check tags, hurt/comfort, hurt Ian, good brother lip, one shot

o Come On, Tough Guy by Whoareyou0000Come On, Tough Guy by Whoareyou0000- fluffy, Ian's broken leg, proposal

o Peep Show by themetalmotel- ballerina Ian, adopted Mickey and Mandy

o The Perfect Tree by Gallavich_Kismet- check tags, angst with a happy end, Christmas, one shot

o Shit Mickey Needs by Whoareyou0000- fluffy, Domestic Mickey, one shot

o hey, honey mine (i was there all the time) by servetas- soft Mickey, accidently coming out, one shot

o Hurt by jdf1973- Hurt Ian, hurt/comfort, check tags

I haven’t read Gallavich in a minute so I chose longer ones I remember enjoying with a few one shots. I’ll probably add more in the future but let me know if you want more recs!

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

In what ways do you think Mickey and Mandy are similar when it comes to attachment/relationships? In what ways are they different?

i let this ask get a week old and i’m disappointed in myself because i’ve been thinking about this constantly.

both of their love languages are acts of service. mickey: getting shot TWICE for ian, coming out for him, caring for ian, paying for ian’s vitamins, researching bipolar, going to prison for ian, almost dying/killing for him several times, etc. mandy: helping ian by pretending to date him, applying to colleges for lip, letting lip crash with her, acting like lip’s wife and doing everything for him, making that pedo teacher leave chicago, etc.

they attach themselves to their lover, and when they get attached, they’re VERY attached. mickey took a while to show it openly, but he attached pretty quickly. once he got out of juvie he went back to ian, which says enough for me. and mandy attaches herself easily, ian stood up for her once, and mandy, who clearly had never had a man show her kindness, attached herself. they attach themselves, then destroy themselves over it.

mickey can hide it better, and mandy can’t. that’s how they’re different. but mickey had to hide it, and mandy didn’t. this makes mickey bottle everything up and ruin himself, and this makes mandy more vulnerable, ruining herself.

mickey doesn’t really take the same shit that mandy does. mandy will take anything. you can scream at her, insult her, hit her, do anything to her and she’ll allow it. mickey, at least early seasons mickey, wouldn’t put up with shit. he certainly didn’t put up with ian in 10x08 or 10x09.

also, i found kenyatta and byron a bit similar. like, they were very different, but mandy/mickey used them to make their partner jealous, except, mandy got stuck and was hurt by him (physically and emotionally), and mickey left byron in a second for ian.

i think that they, as well as every other character, was hurt so badly as a chid, and was never shown proper love, that they didn’t know how to love or how to be loved. mickey’s figuring it out, slowly. mandy never did, but hopefully she will.

i hope this is a good answer but idk lol

[zutaralesbian]

Since you’re the most prominent Karen fan I know of, here are some questions about Karen! 😊 1. Why do you like Karen?, 2. Favorite Karen ships?, 3. What would you have liked to have seen happen with Karen if she wasn’t written off? Or what do you think would have happened?

Awww thank you! Very okay with being known as a Karen fan 😊

To answer your questions:

1. Why do you like Karen?

I always have a habit of loving female characters that most of the fandom hates 😭 (Though there has no been a small surge of Karen appreciation in the fandom as of late, which I’m happy about). But other than that, I like her because just like most Shameless characters, she’s complex. She’s rough around the edges but I also also find her to be very kind in certain ways. This is especially prominent in her relationship with Sheila. She probably does have resentment towards Sheila for failing as a mother. But she very rarely actually voices that out loud and is very sweet to her most of the time and defends her from people that make fun of her agoraphobia.

I also feel for her. I think she’s sort of like Mickey and Mandy in the sense that she thinks she’s “tainted” as a person and in result, can’t be good. I think her father contributed a lot to that, considering her breakdown after the purity ball disaster. It’s probably a big reason why she rejects Lip so much in S2. (Until they throw the characterization/writing of that relationship completely out the window in S3).

I can go on but I don’t want this to be a million words long.

2. Favorite Karen ships?

Well, Karen/Mandy as a ship for fics. I know it never would have been feasible within the canon of the show, but I think they had potential if the writers weren’t misogynistic. You can see more of my thoughts on that ship HERE

I also have a soft spot for Karen/Lip even though I think they were ruined in the end. I think Karen is the closest thing Lip ever had to an equivalent of what Mickey was to Ian when they were young-a love that’s dysfunctional and in ways toxic but you just can’t quit them. They even had that same foundation of being friends when you look at their S1 dynamic. I also don’t believe Lip has really truly been in love with anyone else within in the timeline on the show. Not even Tami.

3. What would you have liked to see happen with Karen if she hadn’t been written off? What do you think would have happened?

She and Mandy both ditch Lip and become a toxic yuri dynamic

In all honesty, I just would have liked to have seen her develop further as a person. To come to that realization that she CAN be good and that the way she was over-sexualized as a child doesn’t mean she’s tainted.

I think realistically, there would have been a lot of focus on her relationship with Sheila. And while I do think Sheila was a pretty awful mother to her, they did love each other. I think I would have been okay with that as long as the end result was them both healing and forming a healthier mother/daughter dynamic.

In a better show that actually takes sexual trauma seriously, I think it would have been nice to see both her and Ian realize they were groomed as children and maybe bond a bit over that.

Thanks for the questions!

[theyaremycrocsyoudonut]

Yes yes yes. And not only this but he would have been 22 when Forest Life came out. Which means he was listening to Trees. Hold on this needs a bigger analysis than I imagined cause Trees is SUCH a Gallavich song.

This is the song for anyone who has no idea what I'm talking about:

LISTEN TO THOSE LYRICS IT'S LIKE A PERFECT DESCRIPTION OF GALLAVICH:

"Slept in your room with your friends on the inside"

Two interpretations of this: 1) Season 4 when Mickey slept in Ian's room with all of his brothers inside because Terry was in prison and he wanted to spend as much time with Ian as he possibly could before he came back and 2) That first night when they sleep in their new apartment on the West side and Mickey can't sleep cause it doesn't really feel like his room and his bed you know

Which brings me to my next point:

"Needed some air so I slept on the outside"

When Mickey leaves their apartment on the West side and goes to sleep in the Gallagher house, which is in ruins but it feels like home, it feels like there he can be himself and breathe

"Down by the couch with your boyfriend I need this, the smell of his hair and the taste of his lips "

Again all those nights Mickey spent on the floor cause he wanted to be with Ian, just exist in the same space as him. He missed everything about him when he was gone, the smell of his hair and the taste of his lips, and he wasn't letting go when he came back. Sleeping on the floor is a small price to pay to be this close to the person you love.

"I hide in the closet but I'm not a faggot"

Everything about Mickey's storyline up until he came out SCREAMS this lyric. He couldn't admit that he was gay even to HIMSELF. And even when he came out he was so adamant about not fitting to some stupid gay stereotype because he didn't want people treating him like Terry treated him. This one speaks for itself actually.

"My friends never found out, my mom was a Christian"

This one applies a little less than the others but it still portrays the angst of being closeted in a place like this you know? And I do think the friends Ian and Mickey had in like high school never did find out about their relationship.

"My dad is an alchie, I bet that he kills me"

Oh this one hits the spot exactly. The alchie part applies to Frank and somewhat to Terry and the second part. Holy fuck. Chills. Mickey mentioned it in season 2 episode 8 that if his dad ever found out about him and Ian he would have killed him. And he was right. Terry tried to murder him multiple times throughout the show for being gay. He beat him up, he pistol whipped him, he had him raped at gunpoint, he shot at him after the wedding. He killed his soul and crushed his spirit a million times.

"I don't know how God thinks but god, do you love me?"

This one represents Ian's gay Jesus ark. After Mickey left, Ian had a great internal battle regarding religion. Granted a good chunk of it was due to him being manic, but I believe he had actual theological questions and that is very clearly visible when he thinks The Shim stopped talking to him. Also that was the question that was raised after everything that went down in season 8. All those kids forced to go to conversion therapy, being told how their existence is immoral and they will burn in hell if they don't change. So yeah we don't know how God thinks but does he love us?

"She said I need a certain satisfaction kind, it's something you could never give to my type"

This could also be interpreted in many ways. This could be Mandy to Ian or Svetlana to Mickey or maybe even Ian to Mickey(if you replace the she with he) right before he came out cause he just wanted more than he was willing to give at the time.

"Just burn my pants, I'm such a freak, a fucking faggot that never sees"

This is both Ian and Mickey at times but it's much more relatable to Mickey's situation. Especially those first few episodes of season 4 where he tried so hard to deny how much he missed Ian but he failed so miserably. This one specifically reminds the scene where he fucks that random redhead in the Alibi bathroom and you can see his face is full of remorse, sadness and self pity.

Anyway, as soon as I saw this post I needed to analyse trees because ever since I heard it for the first time it's been brewing inside of me. Please give me more interpretations I fucking love relating songs to characters.

Mickey was 19 when the album beachboy came out.

So, in conclusion, mickey was listening to this.

[gallavichfanficlibrary]

Any fic recommendations where apart from Ian and Mickey, Lip's relationship with someone is also well explored?

This is what we could think of :) You probably meant romantic relationship, but we included a couple of fic with Lip and Mickey being friends. 

the luck you got - s5 rewrite that explores a different path for lip and amanda as well as the other gallaghers/milkoviches

this is the road to ruin - lip and mandy’s relationship goes through different stages in this s3 canon divergent fic 

our stubborn love - lip and mandy come to an understanding in this post-5x12 canon divergent fic where ian and mickey find their way back together

how to bond with your sorta sister in law - ian and tami talk some shit out. tami reflects on her relationship with lip.

feeling sun (i'm no longer one) - lip and mandy briefly reconnect as ian and lip consider their past mistakes with the milkoviches 

easy to remember - lip and mandy face the fallout of ian’s decision to join the army in this post-3x12 canon divergent fic

Where Is My Mind - Early seasons Lip’s POV that explores his relationship with Karen and his reaction to finding out about Ian and Mickey.

to stop our hearts from drowning - lip and mickey’s friendship becomes important for them both in this post-5x12 canon divergent fic

i don't know where i'm going but i'd like to be by your side - lip and mickey’s friendship is the catalyst for mickey’s relationship with ian in this AU

Recs are welcome, because we’re not extremely well-versed in the fics that focus on Lip! :)

[gardenerian]

Hello love 🥰🥰🥰🥰 thinking about Iggy and Mickey

- argue about EVERYTHING. They just like to be loud and opinionated and scream at eachother pointlessly. A good way to get anger out without using their fists

- P R O T E C T I V E. ALWAYS ready to go to bat for one another. If someone fucks with Mickey's dumbass brothers -- any of them, Colin and Joey are included, Iggy's just the one who gets himself into bullshit because Colin and Joey have kinda fucked off into the woods at this point -- Mickey will ruin their life.

- if someone fucks with Mickey, not only will Iggy try to kill them, he'll call their brothers and they will return from the woods

- learned a LOT from Mandy about feminity and women shit. Mandy gave them hell every month until they became the fucked up feminists we know and love

- they like long car trips together??? They're surprisingly calm there's little fighting, just shooting the shit, smoking weed, and Aggressive Air Guitar™️

- Iggy gives the worst noogies ever he digs his stupid bony elbows in and Mickey complains visioucly but if he goes too long without a noogie he goes to see his brother and endures one

- LISTWN THEY WRRE SO UNDERRATED OKAY I WANT MICKEY TO HAVE B R O T H E R S-

BROTHERS, SO TRUE! i love that they were so willing to roll with him in 2x08, and i wish we could have seen more of those relationships! i think we build mickey and his siblings up to be a lot closer than we got to see on the show, but i think we are so right for that. i want mickey to have that! i also love jamie in 10x12, showing up for mickey like that. i hope later in life they come back together and find some common ground again 🥰 they all deserve that closure! i would watch the milkovich family cathartic road trip any day of the WEEK, like little miss sunshine style askjdf

[seeker-of-stories19]

Found this article about things Ian did wrong in Shameless and I’m not saying he’s perfect but this didn’t even make sense so I’m fixing it. (Part 1)

20/20

Okay so you’re saying it’s messed up that a fifteen year old was sleeping with his married boss? No it’s messed up that a married adult man is having sex with his fifteen year old employee, consensual or not he’s the adult in the situation. Also Ian did think it was wrong and opted out of their weekend together when he was presented with the presence of Kash’s family life. And I’d like to just add that while this was a bad decision He didn’t exactly have many options as far as expressing his sexuality, throughout the show it is clear that the southside isn’t exactly excepting.

19/20

Seriously? You’re not obligated to come out to someone just because you care about each other, sexual and romantic preferences are personal to some people and it’s not something you’re required to share. Not to mention there are plenty of reasons Ian may not have come out to his family, maybe he was scared or maybe he wasn’t ready but that’s his decision it has nothing to do with Lip.

18/20

Mandy reacted well because she’s a good person and she wanted her best friend and her brother, two people she cares about, to be happy. That doesn’t seem weird to me? I mean really it’s not her job to dictate who either of them can date and she doesn’t which is a sign that they have a genuine friendship. Not to mention Ian didn’t tell her because Mickey wanted it to be private which again is his decision.

17/20

First of all I don’t think Ian was indecisive I think it was awkward to tell your gay boss you’ve been sleeping with that you’re not interested in a relationship while he’s trying to impregnate his wife. Also one again Ian is being blamed for something that could be better pinned on either other character, Mickey shouldn’t have antagonized Kash and Kash obviously shouldn’t have shot Mickey because he was jealous (it’s not like he could’ve thought they’d be together forever.) Finally Ian really wouldn’t have helped either of them by going to the cops. Kash was engaging in an illegal affair with a teenager and Mickey probably would have been killed by his father who is a known homophobe if the truth got out.

16/20

Yeah an insane homophobic ex con thinks you got his daughter pregnant when you’re actually sleeping with his son and he was the one who impregnated his own daughter, why would you try to protect the people you care about and save your own life? Also Mandy and Mickey would be pretty relieved that their dad was locked up a while longer.

15/20

Why would Ian tell Jimmy? It’s not like they’re incredibly close and as far as the fact that Ned is married he shouldn’t be dating a teenager. Now I’m not saying this was rational or ethical behavior but I do think that Ian behaves in some questionable ways romantically throughout the beginning of the series but he never had a good role model in this department and he’s really just a kid who makes some stupid decisions and figures it out later on. Finally I’d like to point out that Ian had never had the opportunity to be in a relationship where the other person isn’t ashamed or afraid of being with him and he even confirms that this is why he’s with Ned when Mickey asks, which in my opinion is more sad than anything else.

14/20

He didn’t get tired of waiting to enlist he watched his boyfriend get raped by a Russian prostitute while they were both held at gunpoint and then watched him as he was forced to marry her since she was pregnant with his child. As for the rest of it, being bipolar is hardly something you could blame on Ian.

13/20

Seriously? For starters they didn’t know he was bipolar because he wasn’t there and they weren’t looking for him, even later in the season no one other than Mickey expressed more than basic concern over his behavior. I’d also like to point out that he’s spent his entire childhood watching Monica struggle with this disease. He knows what it does to people so of course he wouldn’t except it instantly. Even under normal circumstances denial in these type of life changing circumstances is normal. As for the rest of it he did care about his family enough to take his meds even though they made him feel so horrible he eventually stopped. And his relationship with Mickey was so sex based for so long that not being able to perform sexually only made him feel more insecure about a disease that he’s already watched ruin his family’s life. As a bonus I’d just like to throw in that all these criticisms are based on the effects of a mental illness he has no control over.

12/20

One again this behavior was caused by a mental illness he didn’t have any control over, and as hard as it was to watch Mickey be so heartbroken they persevered like they always do. Also, you can understand why Ian would feel babied or crazy by Mickey���s sudden careful and loving behavior, he’s not in the right mindset to accept the genuine change in his long time partner as anything other than a response to his bipolar disorder.

11/20

Honestly I’m getting sick of making the same point over and over again. He’s mentally ill, he isn’t thinking clearly, he’s afraid and in denial, and he doesn’t have control over any of it. Seriously the judgement against him for having a mental disease in this article is infuriating. Not to mention the fact that both Ian and Yevgeny are alright which I count as a win considering the circumstances.

Hopefully you enjoyed this or at least found it interesting even if you didn’t agree on the whole thing. I’d love to hear people’s thoughts as I put a lot of time into thinking about these points. Part 2 will be posted soon and will be a continuation of this because I hit the 10 image max. I obviously don’t own the article and it is posted at the bottom to give full credit to the writer. I only own my opinions.

Part 1/2

[ohkate]

M8TE by gallawitch. ABO fic but not tacky. Ian and Mickey meet on a dating app just for a one time hookup during Mickey's heat, but it's ends up meaning so much more. Love this fic. You Are my Wednesdays by ermete. Ian is still an EMT but he also became an escort on the side to try and pay substantial bills. He's taking care of Liam full time and trying to cover the mortgage. Mickey is a rich CEO of a security firm who is dealing with some family and personal demons and hires Ian for what was supposed to be just one night... This is one of those stories that... it has some grammar/spelling issues and a lot of cheesiness that can sometimes ruin a fic for me because it's SO out of character. But I love this fic so much that I honestly don't care. It's one of my favorite stories. I read the whole thing like once a week. 2. This motherfucker right here. This is so good I'm angry I didn't make it. 3. Mickey being a great piano player. That his mom was in a band and that's why she was never around. She was a drug addict. The last time she was clean he was 9 and she taught him and Mandy to play. Mandy didn't really care for it and lost interest but Mickey soaked it up like a sponge. He was a real prodigy. She fell off the wagon and died, and he kept her keyboard. It was all messed up from years of travelling. She'd painted a few of the keys with nail polish. He loved that keyboard. It was all he had left of her. And he played every night until he was a teenager. When he was 14, he had detention and had to meet his teacher in the auditorium. She was late, and he started playing the piano. She recorded it and sent it to a friend of hers who was a scout from Julliard. He told her he was one of the more naturally gifted players he'd seen. She went to Mickey's house herself to try and talk to Terry about letting him study it but of course he thought it was 'faggy' and wasn't going to lose his little criminal cash cow. The next day he pulled Mickey out of school. And then Terry pawned off the keyboard. Mickey doesn't play anymore, and doesn't talk about it. Maybe Ian finally gets him to play again. 4. I think this is cute. Ian teaching Mickey to swim. Sorry I have no idea who it's by. 5. More music videos. I've only done one because fuck me they're time intensive. 6. I've never liked AU fics in any fandom I've ever been in until now. So far they tend to be my favorites here. I read a story called Flower U Up where Mickey is a flower shop owner. Now this in something that my pre-this-fandom brain would not normally let me even contemplate because it's so ridiculous. But turns out I actually like AU when it's done well. 7. Well written mpreg fics. I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea. I tend to read ABO because there just aren't enough mpreg. But I don't want anybody pooping out a baby. A genetic mutation some men have to justify non stop smut is enough for me. c-sections are fine. Nothing crazy. No man boobs. No fucking twins or triplets- just fucking why?? ABO fics can be fun but also can really go off the goddamned rails. 8. Seasons 10 and 11. I do agree with a lot of criticisms about them, though. I didn't like the buddy cop relationship the writers sort of made them into to avoid any intimacy/romance. But I loved that they were married, finally. 9. First, that Terry was raping Mandy and no one seemed to care. Second, that the Alibi was never cited or shut down for giving drinks to minors. Many, many minors. Literally all the time. 10. What I interpreted as Ian's suicide attempt on the bridge and the cries for help leading up to it. 11. I couldn't choose. There are too many. 12.I'd like to think Mickey eventually realized he wanted a couple of kids and they were able to do that. That their business took off and their doing well financially. They've learned how to fight like adults and also be more open about how much they love one another, making their insecurities about that fall away over time.

Totally optional, fun Gallavich questions if you feel like answering….

Answer one or a few or all, whatever you feel like! No worries if you don’t want to play 💖 but if you do, let’s talk Gallavich…..

What’s a fic you’ve read more than once?

What’s a gifset you always have to reblog?

What’s a headcanon you can’t stop thinking about?

What’s a fanart you love looking at?

What’s an idea you’d love to create if you had the time/inspiration?

What’s something you’ve discovered since entering this fandom? A new trope you love? A different analysis of the show? Something else?

What’s an underrated trope or concept you’d like to see more of?

What’s your favourite season? And has this changed after multiple rewatches of the show?

What’s a plot hole you wish had been answered or resolved?

What scene or moment do you feel isn’t discussed enough?

What line/dialogue/description from something else (a poem, a book, a tv show, a movie, or something else) do you feel describes Ian and Mickey’s relationship?

What do you think is next for Ian and Mickey post-finale?

Tagging: @sgtmickeyslaughter @bawlbrayker @shippergirl121fic @neanerbean @miilkoviich @deepeststarfishsong @golden28s @krystallouwho @m4ndysk4nkovich @joanna-olson @gembu-tortuesouscafeine @iris-writesx @redshirt2 @cal-tastrophe @midwestclover @tanktopgallavich @wh0lemilk0vich @jademickian @such-a-barbarian @zutaralesbian @transmickey @dynamic-power @milkovichrules @iansw0rld @crestfallercanyon @scurvgirl @thereyoflights @gallavichonly @redwiccanrobin @ohkate @astaraels @swiftfootedachilles @sam-loves-seb @jrooc @secret-gallavich @c0ffee-gh0ul @l0st4l1fe

And please feel free to tag others!! (I want to tag everyone in this fandom but that’s a bit much so I’m hoping people will answer and tag others) Also, please feel free to just jump in and answer the questions even if you haven’t been tagged! Can’t wait to read everyone’s answers 💖

[dreamylyfe-x]

[TW: abuse/domestic violence]. I always see people ask you things so I wanna ask you something too!! :D What do you think goes through Mickey's head when Mandy is in an abusive relationship, while he's building his own relationship with Ian? At one point he tells her she's not married to the guy, she doesn't have to put up with that. He also watches Ian threaten the guy but he himself doesn't seem to do much to confront him. What do you think he thinks?

Oh, I love how you put that up against the fact that he's figuring out how to be with Ian at the same time. That's an interesting comparison point. Because while Mickey and Ian get into it sometimes, it's not presented as abusive.

(I better clarify what I mean by that. As much as I find it personally frustrating and unfun to watch, it's not presented to us as a cycle. It's actually hard to put any pattern on it at all.)

Mandy and Kenyatta ARE presented that way. We aren't told much about that relationship outside of the fact that they fight and he hits her and breaks things. And a lot of the story is left out -- like there are multiple deleted scenes from season four about Mandy and Kenyatta.

Among them is a deleted scene where Mickey's the most progressive person at The Alibi on the topic, and it explicitly says that Mickey got into a fight with Kenyatta (from which he seems to have emerged from reasonably unscathed. Given that Kenyatta is two Mickeys tall, that is impressive.) I think we can say "He's against it." But what's interesting to me is that he doesn't push Mandy that much about it.

Most people inevitably have to watch someone they love in a relationship where they're being treated horrifically. It's frustrating, enraging, draining and devastating. Ian reacts in a really natural way by giving Mandy a place to escape to and then getting very, very upset when she goes back to Kenyatta anyway. But Mickey does something else. He makes his opinion clear -- that Mandy can and should leave this guy -- but he mostly lets her be. I think for Mickey, stepping into Mandy's relationship is rooted in how Mandy feels. If Mandy tells him to back off, he does. And that's... interesting.

Because Mickey has been abused, too, and I think he knows a few things about what is happening between Mandy and Kenyatta. The first, is that there's nothing he can do. He can point out its toxicity. He can tell her she deserves better. But there is nothing harder in life than getting someone to leave a bad relationship before they're ready.

I think Mickey also knows very well that, by engaging with Kenyatta, he stands a good chance at making things harder for Mandy. Kenyatta is going to take some degree of their conflict out on her. So he seems to reserve his comments for her and he's careful about them. I think he feels pretty helpless in a way he wouldn't if Mandy just wanted Kenyatta gone.

The thing is... Ian's response is the one everyone relates to and I think it's the natural reaction. But supporting someone in an abusive relationship usually means doing the opposite. The stat I always hear is that it takes an average of seven attempts to get out before people actually leave. And if you look into what to do to support someone in leaving, a lot of it is rooted in empowering them. Because abuse ruins your self-esteem, and when people tell you things like "he's TERRIBLE. You need to leave!" it creates pressure, but it's also a judgement on the person's choices. So the person often retreats from their well-meaning friend of loved one (and is usually also being pulled away by the abuser) because their well-meaning advice is making them feel worse. What is usually suggested is pointing out how abnormal the behaviour is in a non-confrontational way. Letting the person know you think they deserve better without creating the expectation of immediate action.

We get lots of indication that Mickey feels something like that about Terry. That he doesn't want to hear some outside opinion about this relationship with his Dad. That he's protective and conflicted and that he wants to hold on to the parts of the relationship that he likes. He cares about his father being proud of him. He likes how that feels.

They never really show us the upside of Kenyatta, but I imagine there is one. It's probably manipulative as hell but I imagine there are times he makes Mandy feel beautiful and desirable at a time when she really, really needs to feel like someone wants her. I don't even know if it's conscious but I feel like Mickey gets the pattern she's stuck in because he's been stuck in it, too. Hell, in 4x12 he's literally JUST out of it. And the way he left it involved an enormous amount of pressure coming at him from multiple sides. So I think he has sympathy for that. For other people's expectations about what Mandy should do and how suffocating that can be.

Anyway. Ultimately, Mickey isn't able to help Mandy. He does end up modelling a different sort of relationship for her, whether he means to or not. I think Mickey and Ian are probably pretty happy in the space between season 4 and 5. And Mandy leaves before things get messy. She ends up leaving Kenyatta at some point in the next year. And maybe watching Mickey and Ian had something to do with that. Maybe it was something else entirely. But something allowed her to walk out and I can completely see the idea of her violent, aggressive, closeted brother falling in love with someone who loved him back sticking in her head. Just that if he could have that, she could have something better than what she had with Kenyatta.

We can't know, but it's nice to think it made a difference.

[mmandymmilkovich]

#LauraMilkovich4Lyfe

Haha you thought I was done?? (part 1) (part 2)

She’s good at math, especially for someone who never graduated 7th grade.

She’s got ✨clinical depression ✨ but do you think she knows that? Nope.

Her dad used to do some work in Sears Tower and after 9/11 she spends weeks pretty sure he’d get blown up. She’s more upset about it than she’d ever admit. Her dad used to call her “my love”. (He’s still the worst though, don’t fall for it.)

She’s big on old sitcoms and movies, like the kind of stuff they play on TV in the middle of the day.

She has a lot of nicknames for people she loves, and people who annoy her, like Mickey does in the show.

Obviously she swears a lot.

“I’m 13 but I’ve seen everything” (source)

“It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” and “American Girl”

Questionable but effective Mean Girl parenting.

I don’t think her Ukrainian is very good, and it just gets worse and worse over years of lack of practice. She’s not too bad at cooking traditional Ukrainian cuisine though.

A C A B

She thinks there’s a lot of problems with Terry, but his looks aren’t one of them.

“I’m on his nerves, I’m pissing him off and ruining his day.” (source)

“You want your stupid eggs or not, dad?! Stop being such a prick, I’ll even make you sausage.” (x) & “Get out and help me push, tough guy.” (x)

Loathe to admit it, but there were positive qualities of their relationship... Food in her belly and a roof over her head. Protection. Mickey and Mandy and the other kids (family). Having a “place”, like being able to walk into any room Terry’s in and being able to put her arms around his shoulders and belonging somewhere (Mitski’s “Me and My Husband”).

“I am a house gutted by fire“ - Rainer Maria Rilke

I thought I’d be all about ice or the drowning motifs for her (The Mountain Goats’ “No Children”) but really songs about arson just connect to Laura so well.

“She Used to Be Mine” - Waitress 

Sometimes I imagine she haunts 1955 Zemansky Rd. In season 11 when the house is foreclosed on because the meth lab in the basement blew up? That was her 👻your fave could never. (Did she also possess that nun and murder Terry the day after she herself died 13 years prior? Yes, yes she did.)

It's a sad song / It's a sad tale / It's a tragedy / It's a sad song / But we sing it anyway / 'Cause here’s the thing / To know how it ends / And still begin to sing it again / As if it might turn out this time - Hadestown, “Road to Hell (Reprise)”

Like, she’s this tragic figure, almost mythical, pinned down by fate. But there’s also all these forks in the road and opportunity that at every step you have to hope things go differently. That’s why she’s so well suited to AU stories. Like in every universe Ian and Mickey find each other and fall in love. In every universe we as readers want to spare Laura, but we also want Mickey to live.

“Family’s Family” That motto Mickey repeats in different ways isn’t a Milkovich trait, it’s a Laura trait. You can’t tell me that Terry would have fostered that sort of devotion and loyalty in his kids (Cousin Joey, Sammy, Aleks, & Zofia are willing to shoot themselves rather than help Terry). That ride or die, get-Lip-into-uni, what-we-owe-to-each-other mentality is Laura, and it sprang up as a response of her not wanting to be like her own parents.

In an alternate universe, we’re all fans of the show “Dysfunction” 😆it’s darker than Shameless but still a dramedy.

Mickey and Mandy graduating high school is important to her.

Laura takes over Terry’s drug business. Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss. She gets out of it eventually though.

Once upon a time there was a picture of the Milkovich house with a cat on the front porch. Do you think I can find it now? No. But anyway, this can adopts Laura.

Terry’s birthday, Father’s Day, the day Terry died... these dates continue to haunt Laura (mostly because of her terrible in-laws, but also a desire not to have her children have terrible daddy issues).

A lot of Laura’s main story would be about women’s trauma, especially the unexplored “Shameless” trauma and abuse of its women characters. Ethel, Sandy, Mandy, Molly, the Russians, Karen, and how all of this connects to Laura as she desperately tries to hold things together and deal with her own trauma.

EP 3x03 would have been a bigger storyline as Laura beats on predators.

At the end of S4 she does see the Levchuks again.

She joins PFLAG and then is like... “what do you mean we don’t threaten or beat up anybody? What’s the point of this? If we’re going to get rid of conversion therapy we have to electrocute someone.”

She can be soulmates with (Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s) Charlie Peters as a treat.

She likes Lip way more than she likes Ian. More Lip and Mickey scenes. More Mickey and Gallagher scenes tbh.

Laura, Lip, and Brad should do the motorcycle thing together with the Russian prostitutes. 

Of course Lip would have a crush on Laura at some point because he’s dumb.

She’d accidentally enter that throuple with Kev and V and none of them would know how to break up with each other. 

She would not just lose track of Mandy(!!!!!!!!!), and Mandy certainly would not have left in S5 with Kenyatta, Jesus Christ.

More dumb Iggy and Colin foolishness.

When Laura talks about her kids with strangers they assume they’re in the single digit age bracket.

[somestansomewhere]

Shameless - Dysfunctional Family Roles

When taking a closer look at the Gallagher family there becomes a clear semblance of character traits used to build the dynamics between family members. More times than not, there is a specific pattern in “neurotic storytelling” used to explore families that deal with addiction and poverty. When you look at the character of Frank, it is extremely obvious that he represents “The Addict” within the family. Frank is the one that often causes the most conflict for the family, making him the catalyst for his children to fill the following roles:

Fiona’s role of “The Caretaker” is another that was strikingly obvious to me. It is due to Frank’s neglect and narcissism that she then becomes the one to take on all of his responsibilities in order to keep the family functioning. As a child she wants to make Frank happy, and as seen in S1E1 she wants him to acknowledge her for all that she has done for him and be proud of her. However, when we look at her character arc in S4 this becomes much more obvious. In her relationship with Mike, we see how attracted to chaos she really is. Fiona likes to solve other people’s (Frank’s) problems. She gets bored and thus cheats on him with Robbie as a way to reinsert herself into a problem to solve. This happens throughout the series as she needs adventure in order to “feel needed”, (also stated in the Pilot). She is drawn to Sean because of his addiction. She goes into Ian’s lawyer meeting in S9 when he requested her not to.

Lip at first struck me as “The Hero” but ultimately I feel as if he is “The Scapegoat” in the family. He has all the wisdom and potential to “get out” of their situation but ruins all of his chances. He acts out for attention and is defiant, often participating in illegal scams. When Lip goes to college he instantly feels out of place, in his conversation with Helene in “Southside Rules” we see that he won’t rat out Kev because: “Southside Rules”. Part of the problem here is that he has an extreme amount of hostility towards Frank which is why Lip tries hard to not become like him and diverts all of his attention away from Frank. Lip develops his own alcohol addiction and ruins his chances at achieving any extreme goals. Lip also falls into the trap of a “trickster mentor”. Youens is arguably just like Frank. He is intelligent, but also a drunk, so Lip is drawn to him to be “the father he didn’t have”. This is why it hurts when us, as well as Lip, are let down by Youens in court, and when we learn Lip wasn’t the only student he catered to.

Now, I’d will to return to Ian in a bit and first talk about Debbie who takes on the role of “The Hero”. Debbie is extremely self sufficient and we see that in the later seasons she attempts to fix the dysfunctional home life. For example, in S9 she begins to do home renovations. And in S10, while she did act a lot like Frank, by getting debt cards for the family, and having a budget, along with a chore list, it shows that she is reaching for some form of normalcy to pull the family up. I personally think she appears to be doing this more for herself but, without Fiona she does try to be the one running he house. In earlier seasons she is over-responsible for her age and wants to be treated like adult, all while catering to Frank.

Carl to me is “The Mascot” to Frank. He is “the dumb one” and that is played for comedic relief. In the earlier seasons, Carl is the one that constantly helps Frank. The family roles are devised in relation to Frank, and Carl is one of the last kids to see him for what he really is. While Carl is violent he also has such love and compassion for his siblings, telling Debs not to wear white when she gets her period, taking care of Liam, and even though he really wanted to go to the West Point mixer in S9 he offered to stay home with Lip, when Lip was going through a tough time. Carl’s generosity and commitment/praise to Frank shows that he tries to lesson the burden that is Frank’s addiction, all while assisting Frank in his schemes.

Now, Ian and Liam share the same role of “The Lost Child”, but in different ways. Ian is the third kid in the first half of six, and Liam is the third child in the second half of six, so it makes sense. Ian is the middle kid (and also technically not Frank’s), who separates himself from the rest of his siblings. Ian’s story arcs have always been with outside characters to the family (with characters such as Mandy or Mickey). In S1E7 the family is faking Frank’s death, Ian is not a part of that plot line till the very end because once again, his His storylines are separate. He is on his own, being independent. When Monica returns in S1 the family deals with it together, however Ian runs to Mickey. Ian also searches for a purpose (like the military, EMT, gay Jesus) to strive for so that he won’t feel so lost. Ian is extremely goal oriented. Another point I would like to bring up is his relationship with Monica. She is “the runway” and he feels the same. Being bipolar also makes Ian feel isolated because he worries that his family will view him like Monica. He is the only one dealing with it as well and instead of wanting to change, he wants people to accept him for who he is. Liam on the other hand fills this role because in the later seasons he begins to fly under the family’s radar. He deals with the repercussions of all of his family member’s actions and is often roped into Frank’s bullshit scams even while growing up. Liam was “a prop” at first and now is all alone with much older siblings. In S10 Lip asks Liam where everyone is, and Liam says that he misses having everyone around. He is lonely.

Keep in mind that these are my opinions and if you have any thoughts or disagree, I’d love for you to send me an ASK so we can discuss it!! I Find this really interesting and if you do as well, look up “ Dysfunctional Family Dynamics”, loads of info will pop up! I have much more to say for specific characters (even Sammi who acts out in rebellion wanting boundaries in S5a) but this was just my “quick breakdown”. If you made it through this whole thing, you’re the best. Thank you! 💙

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

I know you talked about Sandy and Debbie before; but I avoided it because I didn't want to be spoiled too much; but I finally got to that and!! I don't really like Sandy?? I have abandonment issues too so I totally get Debbie and am on her side so maybe I'm biased but like Sandy's lack of communication really frustrated me + then her response to Debbie's emotions and insecurities being "you're a psycho" also frustrated me and overall I feel like Debbie deserves someone better than Sandy; fuck what Frank said

but I know you like Sandy and Debbie together so do you mind explaining why? maybe im missing something; and if youve talked about this before, you can just link me to that!

wow i love this ask so much

so i like them together, but once 11x05-11x08 hit i don’t really. i’m surprised i havent talked about this more, and if anyone wants me to i will, but sebbie and gallavich have so many parallels so i think that a part of why i liked them was because they’re very similar to gallavich.

^ and much like gallavich, they SERIOUSLY struggle with miscommunication. this is what ruins them, and this is what nearly ruined gallavich. one thing about them is that the way they were raised fucks with a lot of it. i think this applies to every single relationship every gallagher has been in (especially gallagher x milkovich ships, like gallavich and whatever lip x mandy was called) struggles with miscommunication because the way milkoviches are vs how gallagher’s are is very different. debbie was raised by frank, monica, and fiona. her perspective on what love was was seriously warped because she saw frank and monica’s love which was… well, you know, and then fiona and her many boyfriends who treated her like shit. on top of this, she has serious abandonment issues and is still yet to learn how to cope with them. in sandy’s case, we don’t know much about her childhood other than the fact that she was basically raised as mickey’s sister and got into a serious relationship with an adult at fifteen, so i don’t think it’s too absurd to assume that she didn’t have a great childhood.

sandy is more comfortable with leaving and has a hard time expressing her emotions. debbie doesn’t want anyone to leave her, ever, and can express her emotions but probably not in the most “healthy” way.

i think that i’m biased too because i also have abandonment issues so i get it. but idk.

they had potential, for sure, i think that the mere possibility that debbie could have a girlfriend who validated her emotions and stayed with her was great but unfortunately, it didn’t work out. that devestates me because i’ve talked about this many times, but i’ll say it again, debbie’s trapped in this endless cycle of attaching herself then being left, over and over again. it is literally her entire storyline.

i think that debbie’s feelings about not knowing a lot about sandy’s life were valid, i don’t know if i’d fully defend tracking her but hey, gallagher’s have done much worse- i don’t really blame her for wanting to know if her girlfriend was cheating on her or living a double life or what (*cough* jimmy-steve *cough*). but also, if i were sandy, i would be pretty pissed about that! regardless, why didn’t she tell debbie (her girlfriend of like, nine months at that point) where she worked or where she lived? i get that she was embarrassed but that’s your girlfriend, man. invalidating her feelings on that and calling her a pyscho wasn’t cool, but again, i’m biased and if i were her i wouldn’t be very happy. we have to remember the severity of debbie’s abandonment/attachment issues and how she thinks that’s okay and normal. she reached this point of feeling dependent on sandy and it makes sense that she freaked out the way she did.

but god, i hated 11x07. i mean, i loved it, but i hated it. i think it was a really realistic depiction of abandonment issues, and it was amazing for it’s awknolegment of debbie’s trauma (i wish we got more of that and i wish that people fucking listened to that part). overall, that was a very debbie-centric episode so i loved that, but god, the fight they had.

i have more to say but idk how to say it here, but i really liked sebbie in the sense that i thought they had potential, more potential than anyone else debbie had been with, but their ending was bullshit and i really don’t like the things that went down.