#these people are literally shameless

[guinevereslancelot]

society if employers didn't treat employees like shit by default and expect you to thank them for it

[mickeym4ndy]

3x06 breaks my heart for a million obvious reasons but I think one of the many reasons it hurts that isn’t talked about that much is how innocent the whole thing starts out.

So much of their lives forced them to grow up way before they should’ve. Ian was being groomed by predatory men since he was 14 and Mickey was abused his whole life. That and a million other things forced them into adulthood so much quicker than they deserved.

But then they get this night.

Then they’re together and even amongst the chaos and the awful shit in their lives, they get this little glimpse of a normal teenage relationship. Everything about it sounds so typical. Mickey’s parents are away for the night so he asks the guy he’s seeing over. Ian is so excited because he gets to sneak out of the house to actually spend the night with his maybe boyfriend that can be so distant and hard to read but has now actually invited him over to spend the night (and kissed him!!)- that has to mean something right?

They stick on a movie and sit together on the couch sneaking glances at each other wondering when the other is going to make a move. They’re both so nervous but so excited but trying to play it cool to the other. They laugh and joke together and spend time together before they have sex in an actual bed for the first time and actually spend a whole night together. Mickey made Ian food and they got to wake up together and eat breakfast together.

Up until a point, the entire situation is just so typical. They got to be normal teenagers on the cusp of their first real relationship for one night.

Then the next morning all of it was taken away and their entire lives changed forever.

[themoonandthedogstar]

“mickey milkovich x female reader” i’m hiding in ur walls with a machete

[kandyzee]

Ian and Debbie were both adorable kids like we all know that but when they grow out of that childish look it's only really Ian who people keep sympathy for.

Debbie has an awkward phase of finding herself. She wears mandys clothes and has a questionable hair style. She doesn't automatically fit what most people would deem attractive. It's like people only care about female characters if they fit into the box of "cute" or "hot." In s4/5, Debbie doesn't fit into any of these boxes, but she's going through some very similar things to Ian (like being groomed)

When Ian stops looking so childish (after s1) people still care about his problems. They still know that what kash was doing was wrong. Maybe apart of it is because of how Ian doesn't have as much of an awkward phase as Debbie. He's sure of himself in a way that she wasnt.

In s3 when Debbie is creeped on by the guy on the bus it's so easy to see how that's disgusting. In s1 when Ian is fucking kash it's easy to see how that's disgusting. Why does it stop being easy to see things as disgusting when Debbie gets older but not Ian??

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

and if i said that i’m on lip’s side in season 4?

[inkblackorchid]

So... about season 3 Aki.

Ok harsh contrast to my previous, excited post, but I did say I had more to yell about episode 75 and I need to get this off my chest anyway. Plus, I remember mentioning in a post that I need to talk about season 3 onward Aki anyhow, so might as well do that now! I am thinking Big Thoughts and I need to Scream.

Long, incoherent, unhinged rant incoming because I have 100 things to say and 100000 screenshots to post, but I am also tired and my brain is mush.

Can we please talk about all the jarringly unfulfilled setup the start of season 3 did for Aki? Because I'm starting to feel an urge to claw at the walls. I'm gonna go through this, piece by piece of damning evidence, because I need to vent my utter confusion and frustration somehow, I guess. Okay. So.

After giving us a bit of time to settle in after the timeskip into the pre-WRGP stretch of things, the itty-bitty portion of the story Aki occupies at this point starts off arguably strong. Yusei gets kidnapped, everyone's in a frenzy about it, but Aki's especially worried.

Then this. Funky new signer powers! Nobody's been able to do this before! I wonder if they're going to do something with that! (Spoiler: They're not.)

Then Aki "no sense of self-preservation" Izayoi gets herself in a bunch of danger trying to rescue Yusei and we get this:

Oh! Wow! Aki can control her powers now! (Which: how. Why did they never show us this. That alone could have made for a whole mini-arc. Why waste that????) That would give the writers so many cool opportunities to let her use them! I wonder if they're going to do something with that! (Spoiler: They're not.)

(Side note: I love this scene. I love it to death. They're both ride-or-die "who cares for my safety when yours is on the line" for each other and I love them.)

Of course, shenanigans then ensue, leading up to Sherry's marvellous introduction.

(Mwah. I blow her a little kiss.)

And it is at this point that Aki Has An Epiphany.

And to top it off, she gets some interesting interactions with Sherry, too!

So Aki resolves that she wants to become a turbo-duellist, too. And the thing is, this isn't a little one-off thing or something they never deliver on. They end up building this up for several episodes, bit by bit. First we get another mention of it at the pre-WRGP press thingy they all attend:

Then it's brought up again when Yusei accepts the first duel against Bruno/Antinomy:

(Also, side note again, but can I just mention that Aki also gets this moment the episode before:)

(Where she literally puts herself directly in harm's way in a public setting to protect people with her powers??? Like, I'm sorry, pinch me or something, but how does that not scream "badass good girl setup"???? HOW?)

So we get at least three episodes worth of buildup where Aki agonizes over becoming a turbo duellist to understand what her friends (but especially Yusei) are feeling when they duel like that, and then they finally deliver on it and episode 75 has her getting her license. And it's fantastic. Seriously. That episode is golden. Not just because it delivers on this promise, not just because it has a really cute moment between Aki and Yusei in it (regardless of how you read their relationship dynamic), and not just because it (as per my last post) showcases how much the rest of Team 5Ds cares about Aki (by literally building a runner for her and accompanying her to her exam and don't even get me started on Jack beating up those jerks trying to make her crash unprompted) but because it gives us just that smidgen more detail about Aki's character, too. Because the thing is, at first, she majorly sucks at driving.

And not only is this realistic to a degree (learning to drive is hard, regardless of what you're learning to drive), it's also great, because you know what Aki's response to it is?

She keeps going. She doesn't let it get her down, she gets back up and tries again. (And from a writing standpoint, this is lovely because that stubbornness is great in situations like this, but you could easily turn it into a weakness in a different scenario if you wanted to.)

And not only does Aki learn driving the hard way here, she also finds herself confronted with jerks who don't want her to succeed,

(Ruka, sweetie, I love you.)

and she makes an absolute rookie mistake during her exam by trying to play a speed spell when she doesn't have the necessary speed counters.

And feel free to disagree, but I think this is also great. Because honestly? While driving a really damned fast motorcycle that I'm not super used to yet, and being expected to make solid tactical judgements in an overcomplicated card game—the rules of which are slightly different when you're playing it on a motorcycle—at the same time, I would likely also mess up like that and accidentally try to make an illegal play. But the thing is, the episode rewards her for sticking it out anyway by letting her pull off a really complicated driving manoeuvre to save herself from her envious turbo-duelling-license colleagues' cheap tricks, and by letting her score a really nice win from a tight spot, much like any of the boys would have in her position.

(Take that, you jerks. Dumbasses only get blurry screenshots.)

So Aki gets her license and is welcomed by the team as a fresh turbo duellist. Hooray!

(I love them all so, so much, help me.)

And we also get this:

Wouldn't you know it! Sherry's been watching Aki get her license with interest! And she seems to be mighty pleased with the result!

So. After all that, I don't think you could blame anyone (it's me, I'm anyone) for getting really excited about what Aki's gonna get up to from this point outward. Aki can control her powers now! And she got her turbo duelling license! And we've got a new, enigmatic side character who seems like she could have super interesting interactions with and play off Aki! I wonder what they're gonna do with all that.

*deep breath*

Sigh.

Seeing as I already know this show like the palm of my hand, I kind of dreaded getting past this episode because I know exactly what happens to Aki from this point out: Nothing. A whole lot of nothing. Okay, well, no. See, I went back and checked all the episodes I have left, just to make sure, just in case I forgot something (very likely when you've already watched the show three times, I know).

From here on out, during the entire pre-WRGP, WRGP, and Ark Cradle arc, Aki gets exactly three things to do:

She uses her shiny new turbo duelling license to fill in for Crow at the Team Unicorn match because he got injured. Which, on paper, is a perfect way to let her have the spotlight for a moment. Except, the only thing she gets that spotlight for is to last a hot four turns in the duel before losing spectacularly to Andre and literally never turbo duelling again for the rest of the show. (Like, yes. The moment where she summons Stardust Dragon is chefs kiss and legendary. But in light of the surrounding circumstances, it feels like a consolation prize to make up for the ensuing character trainwreck.)

Since Crow is technically still injured when they're meant to go up against Team Catastrophe, Aki trains to fill in for him there again. Except! They intentionally make her crash right before the duel, putting her in a short-term coma! And as the icing on the cake, when she wakes up, it also turns out she lost the powers she was only just able to control for absolutely. no. reason. None. They never bother explaining it, they don't even try to hint at why they might have vanished. (I have my own theories for why they had to let her powers vanish and they all start and end with the words "we couldn't be bothered to figure out how to write this character".)

At the very end of the show, the very end, after temporarily fridging Sherry, too, they dig both girls back up in order to let them participate in a three-way final boss duel with Crow. (Which is a fantastic duel, I love it to pieces. Genuinely.) You could argue that they tried to cash in on all the intrigue they set up between Aki and Sherry here, but—come on. At the end of the show? Seriously? Oh, and did I mention that for some reason, Aki's powers mysteriously reappear after this duel? For no reason? Again?

I just. It does not compute. They went as far as doing all this setup, letting Aki get the hang of her powers, letting her get her license, making her part of Team 5Ds, even giving us a new character that seemed like the perfect fit to let her bounce off of—and then, like some sort of kafkaesque reverse-miracle, they somehow managed to take a sharp left into "whoops, don't care about this character" and nearly wasted the entirety of that setup in one fell swoop. If it weren't for that finale saving at least a smidgen of it, I'd be holding a torch and a pitchfork over here. (Hell, I might, even knowing that Aki's final duel in the show is kickass.)

Please tell me if this is just me (15 years after the show released, I know, leave me alone), but this feels like they were literally loading Chekov's gun directly within view of the audience, only to later procede to toss the damned thing into the sea instead of firing it.

Okay. Okay, I think I'm done. For anyone who actually bothered with the whole post, first of all, thank you for your attention, secondly, sorry, but this does, indeed, still bother me ten years after I first found this show, so I had to get it out or it would have eaten at me forever. God damn it.

Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to writing fics where Aki actually gets something to do right this second. If anyone's interested in giving a fic series where Aki gets a separate character arc that tries to stay mostly canon-compliant after the defeat of the dark signers a go, you can find my stuff here.

[ninoochat]

just watched 7x10 and im???

long hair mickey??

the fingers grabbing ian’s collar??

"i have a boyfriend" yeah right bitch shut the fuck up lmao

noel you whore what else that tongue do??

the tiniest "fuck" as ian brushes mickey’s neck??

that belt snatching??

THE HAND HOLDING??

the upside down kiss??

"let’s ride"

[lupeloto]

you wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me

[ozarkthedog]

Has anyone figured out yet how to get people to reblog their posts?

[hella1975]

are you guys thinking about touya todoroki today because i am

[mickeym4ndy]

can we please stop with the ‘Mickey is objectively a bad person’ shit PLEASE.

I get it comes from a place of holding him accountable for his actions which is fair but going straight to “he’s a bad person” just completely disregards so much of his growth and development, and the nuances of the show.

I get Mickey fans got a reputation in the past for excusing everything he does and yea that’s annoying. But to counteract that by saying “he’s objectively terrible!” is so one dimensional and also completely goes against everything that shameless is about.

the point of shameless isn’t that all of these people are terrible, it’s to show the effect living in poverty has on a person and the lengths that are necessary to go to survive in that life, and the mistakes that ultimately causes people to make along the way.

no shameless character is perfect. that’s the point. even some of the worst things that characters have done have been because they are victims of their circumstances and situations. they are nuanced complex characters that can’t be put into boxes of good and bad

they’ve all done things to hurt other people and themselves. but the point is is that most of them have good within them, but all the factors against them make it harder to let that out.

“He’s a bad person” is a lazy reading of the show that completely lacks nuance in my opinion

[gourde]

Just to clarify, I don't hate Palworld just cause it's clear a fair amount of the designs are stolen assets/AI generated, it's also cause it's got racist adjacent content. That bothers me the most, really. And also people saying "It isn't confirmed that the designs are AI generated" when ummm. Just look at them. There is near no thought put into them with random little "bits" slapped onto them for detail. It's just marketable. That or they steal fan designs. Also the developers previous projects include NFTs and unfinished games, one of which being a BOTW clone. Like IDK the game may be fun but I wouldn't want to support it at all???? I don't get people ignoring all this just cause it's "fun" and 4chan levels of edgy.

[kandyzee]

As much as I am a Debbie, karen, and mandy Defender and Lover, some of you need to be more considerate of how u talk about sa.

You can talk about how they all had bad experiences with sex and how they are victims themselves without saying or insinuating that what they did was okay. I get that it can be hard sometimes to affectively add context and understanding around what they did without sounding like ur forgiving the action, but u should try. Saying "they're just teenage girls" "they didn't know what they were doing" "you can't blame them" "it wants their fault" or anything along those lines as an excuse to why it's okay is so insensitive. If ur going to talk on those storylines, please do so carefully <3

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

every single character in shameless is shitty, yet people who like mickey or carl, for example, don’t have to constantly explain why they like those characters. i’m so done constantly having to justify my love for debbie gallagher, i’m tired of people telling me she’s a shitty person (even when i’ve already talked about the shitty things she’s done). do you ask mickey fans why they love someone who used to be a nazi and who literally took peoples lives? do you ask carl fans why they like someone who used to be a racist and said and did very offensive and harmful things? no, because they’re funnier and are men. and “those things are in the past”, yet y’all can’t accept me talking about season 11 debbie because of her actions in season 5. she isn’t even the only character who raped someone, and what she did to matty is much more justified than what other characters did (mandy, karen, frank, sheila, jody, etc.)

[swiftfootedachilles]

So excited to see what you post for kinktober this month!!! I know you said it may not be much but I love your writing and will love every single work you post!

i have wonderful news for you then 🫶🫶🫶 The Submission and Will That You Bring Me by snowypatches aka me

[gottaarc]

I love just scrolling canon x oc tags because I love seeing art of characters I enjoy and I also love seeing people's ocs. It's like the best of both worlds