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You know... Mickey’s got a small D. But Ian likes Mickey’s D. In that deleted scene from S10, he teases him about it, but it’s just because he finds it adorable.

Ian probably thought that way ever since they were kids. Even 15-year-old Ian probably thought Mickey’s D was fucking adorable.

To Ian, Mickey became more and more small in that way. (Not just his D, everything about him 😂)

It’s fucking adorable. Ian finding Mickey adorable is just fucking adorable too.

Damn I seriously can't stop loving these two. It's kind of a problem.😢

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You're not crazy for admiring Ian and Mickey

People don’t admire Ian and Mickey because their relationship was healthy. Because let’s be real: it wasn’t. It was chaotic, it was violent, it was toxic at times. These are not healthy people. They’re not models for romantic stability. But the reason people still root for them, the reason they hit so hard, is because no matter what, they were equals.

They grew up in hell. They were raised in violence. That doesn’t excuse anything, but it explains a lot. They learned love through survival, through fists and silence and fear. And when you grow up like that, you don’t just magically learn to say “I love you” and communicate with emotional maturity. That’s not real life.

They didn’t start off soft. They hated each other. The Gallaghers and Milkoviches were basically the Hatfields and McCoys. Remember when Mandy ran out of the Gallagher house in Season 1 and it was “who did what to Mandy Milkovich?” Everyone knew what that meant. You didn’t mess with the Milkoviches.

And yet... there was something. There was tension—sexual, emotional, dangerous. They weren’t dating, they were fighting, sleeping together, avoiding feelings, and hurting each other. It was messy. But that’s how it started. Their love wasn’t rushed. It grew out of violence, confusion, denial, and real-life trauma.

And then, slowly, they actually started dating. And that’s when the shift happened. That’s when the love started blooming. And no, the abuse didn’t disappear overnight. And yes, we can admit it was abuse. But little by little, they grew. Together. Ian gets admitted to a hospital, and Mickey—who originally tried to stop it because he was scared of losing him—eventually becomes the one who makes sure it happens. Because Mickey realized that loving Ian meant doing the hard thing, even if it hurt.

That’s huge. Especially in the time Shameless aired, when mental health stigma was brutal. This wasn’t a world where people were casually open about bipolar disorder. And yet Mickey, a gangbanger who was raised by a monster, put his fears aside and got Ian the help he needed. That’s growth.

And here’s the part that a lot of people don’t pick up on, but it matters:

The softest we ever see either of them—especially Mickey—is with each other.

In the outside world, Mickey is dominant. Violent. Aggressive. He leads with rage because that’s what kept him alive. But with Ian, he lets go. He lets himself be held. And that is not a small thing.

Watch them closely. Mickey is almost always the one being held. He’s the little spoon. Ian’s the one with his arm around him, the one kissing his temple, brushing his hair back, holding him like he matters. Like he’s not just useful when he’s angry. That’s safety. That’s softness. Mickey’s never had that, but Ian gives it to him. And Mickey accepts it.

You don’t let someone hold you like that if you don’t trust them. Especially not when you grew up like they did. That kind of vulnerability is massive.

And yes—even in the bedroom, that dynamic continues. This might go over some people’s heads, but when we see them together, Mickey is often the one receiving. And no, this isn’t about “bedroom roles = personality traits.” That’s not the point. (Also look at his smile).

The point is that Shameless chose to show that side of Mickey specifically with Ian. It adds to the vulnerability. It adds to the trust. Especially in that dugout scene where Mickey initiates, but still gives the power over to Ian. He’s literally and emotionally putting himself in Ian’s hands. That isn’t just about sex. That’s about trust.

This isn’t something we see with Mickey and anyone else. It’s not something we see from him in public. This is sacred, private, and honest. And again, it’s soft. That softness is only for Ian.

Also no, this is not me saying “stay with your abuser.” Don’t romanticize the pain. That’s not what this is.

The point is that Ian and Mickey were on level ground. They both hit, they both bled, they both loved. They weren’t a healthy relationship, but they were a powerful one. The growth, the loyalty, the raw adoration—that’s why people root for them. Not because it was perfect. But because they earned it. Every inch of it.

They started off enemies. Then came the tension. Then came fear. Then came love—raw, stubborn, blinding love. They didn’t run. And because they didn’t run, they got the chance to actually heal. Together.

So yeah. I’m only on Season 7, and I’ve been spoiled to hell and back. But I don’t care.

They earned that ending.

Because in the end, they were each other’s home.

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Sometimes I get sad, but then I think that Mickey Milkovich is out there, happy with his husband Ian Gallagher, delivering legalized marijuana, drinking a beer, smoking a cigarette and fucking a lot.

Sure, I'm still sad because my life is complex, but who cares? Mickey is finally happy and that's all that matters.

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- " Sometimes when people love each other very much, they need time apart. So when they come back together, their love is even stronger. "

- Don't do this... - Not everybody just gets to blurt out how they fucking feel every minute".

- Can I go in with him ?

- You don't owe me anything. - I love you. -What does that even mean? - It means we take care of each other. It means thick and thin, good times bad times, sickness, health, all that shit... What the hell is wrong with you ? -Too much! Too much is wrong with me. That's the problem isn't it? Too much is wrong with me and you can't do anything about that, you can't change it. You can't fix me because I'm not broken, I don't need to be fixed, okay? I'm me". - This is it. This is you breaking up with me. - Yeah. - Really ? Fuck...

- You're under my skin man. 'The fuck can I do? Mmh, what can I do?

- I Mikhailo Aleksandr Milkovich take you Ian to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward for better or worse, richer or poorer,in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish you until death do us part.

-I, Ian, take you, Mickey, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish you, until death do us part.

- I now pronounce you husband and husband.

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You know... it took me a while to realize this, but they were already having face-to-face sex back in S2.

There’s never been a time I wanted to have Frank’s eyeballs more than that.🥲

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Sometimes I find myself wanting a three-way showdown between Mickey, V, and Svetlana. Actually, to be honest, what I really want is a five-way face-off between Mickey, V, Svetlana, Ian, and Kev. I’ve always wanted to see Svetlana walk into the Alibi with that smug look on her face and say, “Hello, my ex-husband and ex-wife.” If V and Kev hadn’t moved away, this would’ve totally been my post-season headcanon. Such a shame!🤔

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“tell me goodbye” while unbuckling his belt was wild

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Watching Season 1 again, I can’t help but realize that the relationship between Kash and Ian was textbook grooming. When Lip finds out and gets upset, Ian tries to defend it by saying it was all his choice, that he even gave Kash gifts… but in reality, it was grooming, plain and simple. And later on, Kash gets jealous of a seventeen-year-old who slept with Ian and actually shoots at him. It’s the definition of pathetic.🤦‍♀️

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I feel like one day, this scene might turn into something involving Ian, Mickey, and Yev. Maybe it’ll all begin because one of Yev’s friends asks if he’s ever thought about looking for his biological dad.

I’m not someone who’s particularly obsessed with Mickey and Yev’s relationship, but I do think they could reunite in this way at some point. Sort of like… a parallel? I just think it’d be fun.

I like the relationship between Ian and Clayton—the kind that technically exists, but has absolutely nothing in it. even the fact that Ian doesn’t consider Clayton his real dad.

Just like with them, a reunion between Mickey and a 15-year-old Yev would be super awkward and probably not very emotional. But I still want it to happen!

I bet Ian would be the one trying to ease the ridiculously awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere. Just imagining it sounds fun.

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* I originally meant to write a reflection on Trevor, but somehow it turned into a reflection on Ian’s S8 story arc.

** But you know what? I really only watched Season 8 half-heartedly.  So honestly, all of this might be totally off. lol. Just think of it as a whining and read it. 🤪

 

Let me talk about Trevor. This will probably be the first and last time I write about him. (Maybe there’ll be one or two more posts, but still, lol.)

I think Trevor can be summed up in just three ways.

1. He’s a “good person.”

2. But he’s not a “good character.”

3. And most importantly, he’s not a “good boyfriend for Ian.”

 

Sometimes (really, very rarely), people say things like, “Trevor and Ian should’ve been endgame,” because “Trevor is a good person and had a positive influence on Ian.”

But I think those people often confuse two separate ideas: being a good person, and being a good boyfriend for Ian. Those aren’t the same thing.

The reason I don’t think Trevor could’ve been a good boyfriend for Ian is simple: he only liked Ian’s “good” sides. He had a tendency to avoid or ignore Ian’s darker parts. A lot of people criticize Trevor over the “Monica incident” (which, yes, is one example of that tendency), but I want to talk about S8.

I’ll put it simply, and honestly, you all probably know this already. Trevor barely cared about Ian’s bipolar disorder. He noticed Ian was becoming manic but didn’t do much about it. As someone who claimed to love Ian, he should’ve had honest conversations with him, grounded him, and helped him find stability. But the most he did was ask if Ian had taken his meds and vented to Fiona about how hard it was to be with him.

(Oh right. And Trevor suggested that Ian cope with the grief of losing Monica by crying in the arms of a chubby guy—and Ian actually went along with it. So yeah, things were already getting... pretty weird. Whether or not they themselves thought it was a good idea, objectively speaking, it really was. Now, I don’t think Trevor was in the wrong here. In his own way, he was just introducing what he saw as the best coping mechanism to an ex-boyfriend who had once cheated on him. But still... yeah. It’s weird, isn’t it? It really is.)

 

He knew Ian had bipolar disorder. At some point, he clearly saw signs of mania, but instead of helping, he just slowly grew disappointed in Ian. Eventually, Ian blew up a car, and even then, Trevor wasn’t really worried about Ian’s well-being—he was worried about his charity being ruined. He told Ian to turn himself in and then completely left.

Of course, Trevor didn’t do anything wrong! If my partner did something that reckless and ruined my work, I’d probably react similarly. (Though, maybe I’d be more concerned if I already knew they were bipolar?)

Anyway, if your partner commits a crime, encouraging them to turn themselves in is the most ethical thing to do. That’s what makes Trevor a “good person.” But it’s also exactly why he couldn’t be a good boyfriend for Ian.

Ian inevitably needs emotional support—not physical, but mental.

As I said earlier, Trevor loved only the “good” sides of Ian. His looks, masculinity, sense of justice, gentleness, willingness to learn and grow... basically, the Ian we all know when he’s stable.

But what about the rest?

To be extreme, just on this point alone, Trevor might be worse than Caleb. (Though I get that opinions might vary here.)

To simplify even more. Ian has done plenty of reckless things in his life, but the only time he ended up in prison was while dating Trevor. Of course, that’s not Trevor’s fault!🤪 But as I said earlier, Ian needs care, and Trevor didn’t provide that. So yes, he may be a good person, but he couldn’t be a good boyfriend for Ian. 

(Actually, maybe Trevor did take care of Ian as much as he could within his own limits. Considering how much he was involved in the Gallagher family affairs, that interpretation might seem reasonable. But when it comes to what Ian needed most critically, Trevor was almost completely unable to provide it. This, too, is connected to what I’ll talk about later.)

 

Even if they had stayed together, Trevor still wouldn’t have been able to handle the darker sides or mental health struggles of the person he loved. He already had too many people to care for including himself. That’s something people often miss,Trevor also needed emotional support like Ian. Just because he ran a charity doesn’t mean he was emotionally healthy and stable. Trevor carried a lot of emotional complexes about his identity. Even so, he tried to overcome them and worked to help others like himself. That’s why his partner—especially his romantic partner—needed to be someone who could support him unconditionally, no matter the situation. Even if Trevor himself didn’t realize it, that was the kind of person he truly needed. Not someone he had to take care of, but someone who would take care of him. That’s what he expected from Ian, and Ian knew that and tried to match it. But Ian couldn’t. He wanted to, but he just couldn’t. It was inevitable. And the same goes for Trevor in return.

 

Trevor is a “good person,” and Ian is someone who “wants to be a good person,” but they both have emotional vulnerabilities. Maybe not to the same degree, but I think Ian also only liked the good parts of Trevor. So Ian may have admired and liked Trevor, but I don’t think he ever felt intense love for him. People might disagree, but I personally think they had some fundamental similarities, and that’s exactly why they couldn’t last.

Honestly, if Caleb hadn’t cheated on Ian for such a ridiculous reason, Ian probably would’ve stayed with him longer than he did with Trevor. (Don’t get me wrong—I don’t even like Caleb. Seriously.)

 

Let’s talk a bit about Ian in S8. At the point when he had permanently lost both Monica and Mickey, it was painfully clear that his mental state would become deeply unstable. And Trevor… well, I think he ended up being a kind of emotional scapegoat for Ian at the time.

While Monica was dying, Ian was on a road trip with Mickey, planning to go to Mexico. But in the end, he didn’t even cross the border—he left Mickey behind and came back home alone. The guilt and longing Ian felt were layered twice over, if not more. And he desperately needed something that could help him withstand that emotional weight.

More than that, he needed proof that coming home had been the right thing to do. Proof that saying to Mickey, “This isn’t me anymore”. He needed to ease the guilt of turning his back on Monica and walking away without a proper goodbye.  had been the right decision. Proof that he was now living a “normal and righteous” life. And conveniently, right nearby was someone who could serve as that proof a “good instrument.” yeah. Trevor.

What Ian needed was something—or someone—that could provide emotional stability and reaffirm his belief that this new path he’d chosen was the right one. And to me, that’s the heart of S8. Put differently, I think Ian didn’t truly love Trevor at that time—he used him. Or more precisely, he inflated whatever feelings he had left for Trevor (which were probably still there in some form) and lied to himself. That’s what I think led to the spiral—the mania, the cult behavior, the car explosion. It was his overwhelming need to believe he was right that turned into something destructive.

Anyway, you could say that Ian didn’t deserve to date Trevor. (Honestly, that sentence is kind of funny in itself. But at the same time, it’s not wrong.🫠)  Trevor was a “good person,” but Ian simply couldn’t meet him where he was. He was barely keeping his head above water, just struggling to breathe. And Trevor had no idea that was the case. Because he had no idea at all, then yes—he probably would have suggested that chubby guy bar. yeah. definitely.🤪 It was the same when he looked at Ian’s relationships with Monica and with Mickey. He never really understood the depth of Ian’s feelings for them, and I don’t think he ever truly tried to. Trevor just doesn’t understand the depth of the darker emotions Ian feels. So he comes up with solutions based on what would seem “normal” to most people. (well, though I’m not sure a chubby guy bar is exactly normal, but still. Yeah.) And that’s why I believe Ian and Trevor’s relationship in Season 8 was flawed from the very beginning.

Looking back at S7, if Mickey (and maybe even Monica) hadn’t shown up, Ian and Trevor might’ve been able to continue their peaceful and gentle relationship for a little while longer. (That doesn’t mean they would’ve been endgame. I've already explained all the reasons why above.) But Mickey did show up, and the relationship got derailed. so I think the ending we saw in S8 was ultimately inevitable. In a situation where things were already broken, there was no real momentum for them to rebuild what they had. Why? Because they only loved the good parts of each other. The relationship they restarted in S8 was already built on Ian’s “dark side,” and that’s why it was never going to work.

 

 

p.s. what I wrote above isn’t just an interpretation limited to Ian’s story arc. I think the writers probably felt the same way. After completely breaking Ian and Mickey up, they seemed to believe that Ian needed a totally new turning point. They had to prove that separating Ian and Mickey was the right decision. (They had been trying to do that since S6, but failed every time.) So they brought Trevor back and tried one more time, but it didn’t really work. Personally, I think Ian’s downward spiral in Season 8 reflected the writers’ own thought process. They tried to make things work between Ian and Trevor again, they put in some effort, and even managed to create a few good scenes. But in the end, “it didn’t go well.” So, in S9, they had to bring Mickey back—again. And that’s what ended up giving S8 the meaning it holds now. Maybe the writers never intended for Ian’s new love interest—that is, the “new character introduced in the later seasons”—to be explored in depth in the first place. That might explain why none of Ian’s later partners ever truly confronted his darker side (like his bipolar disorder). I’m not sure. In S5, they poured so much emotional weight into Mickey as the one who embraces Ian despite his bipolar disorder, only to send him away abruptly in S6. Maybe that left them with a sense of narrative fatigue. It’s clear they still wanted to explore Ian’s bipolar arc, but perhaps they didn’t want to get new love interests too deeply involved. Maybe because the story would’ve become too deep, too complicated… So that’s possibly how the S8 storyline came to be. Honestly, even just looking at the ending of S8, it’s hard to understand Trevor’s return from an external, narrative-driven perspective. Was he really just a device to push Ian into becoming the so-called “gay Jesus”? If the writers truly wanted to prove that “Ian can be okay without Mickey,” wouldn’t it have made more sense to introduce a completely new love interest and let Ian start fresh? Like they eventually did with Tami, for example. Or if they were going to bring Trevor back, shouldn’t they have explored his relationship with Ian in more depth…? But they didn’t. So... I really don’t know!

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It’s striking, really—almost admirable—that Mickey never got Ian’s name tattoo removed, even after fleeing to Mexico. He must’ve been asked about it more than once while sleeping with other men. Sure, he probably just told them to shut the hell up each time.

he must have seriously considered getting it removed. And yet, he never did.

Maybe it was because he couldn’t get Ian’s “I love you” from the border out of his head. Maybe Mickey didn’t keep the tattoo out of stubbornness, but because Ian had finally admitted he loved him. That’s also why Mickey chose to go back to prison because Ian said he loved him.

That’s why the goodbye scene at the border is so unbearably brutal and so painfully, devastatingly beautiful.

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I don't know if I ever shared this thought with all of you. But have you ever thought about how much of a shock Mickey must have had literally every time he left and came back to Ian looking complete different? Like... look at this (under the cut)

S1, he last saw Ian looking like this:

S2, he comes back and this is what greets him:

ok, so then we get through S2, right, and this is the last time he sees Ian:

He's gone for a few months.... comes back and finds THIS:

well damn, his not-boyfriend had a bit of a glow-up, huh? But ok, then S3 they Ian walks away from him looking like this:

S4, he goes searching for him, and finds THIS:

so this time they manage to stay together for a little bit, Ian grows and changes a bit more as teenage boys do. S6, this is the last glimpse he has of Ian:

he's kinda looking like a grown-up now, huh? But skinny and pale from the meds and everything he's been through. So, Mickey, understandably concerned, eventually breaks out of prison and goes searching for him... to be met with this:

And it just doesn't stop there! They have a few great days together, another heartbreaking separation, and Mickey last sees him looking like this:

Time passes, Mickey hears his man is in trouble, so he comes home... and this is who he finds:

I mean, come on.... no wonder he kept coming back. Every time he left, Ian grew and got hotter somehow.

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now that’s a glo up

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I sometimes wonder how smart Yevgeny will grow up to be. Svetlana was, quite literally, a genius when it came to numbers, she was cunning, and calculating in everything she did. In terms of business, Mickey was almost the same. The Milkovich exes weren’t just good with numbers; they knew how to spot opportunities and turn them into profit.

Whatever happens, I’m sure Svetlana will raise Yevgeny with everything she’s got. She’ll send him to a good school, and she won’t hold back when it comes to giving him opportunities. Yevgeny and Mickey have become pretty much strangers, and even in my headcanon, I don’t think they’ll reunite.(Maybe once, like Clayton and Ian did.) But even so, I’m really curious about how Mickey’s biological son will turn out…including how he looks. Just thinking that he might grow up to be a blonde Mickey makes me feel happy.

When Yevgeny is in high school, I can imagine Svetlana sometimes thinking of her gay ex-husband and letting out a dry little laugh. Yev won’t know why she’s laughing, but he’ll probably think it’s a good thing. because his mom is smiling.

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I really wish that married Mick and Ian had a kid

I know that people might say ‘oh, they’d be awful parents!’ And to that I say, ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Would they make mistakes? 100%

Would they do their absolute goddamn best with that little fucker? 1000%

Kids getting bullied? We’re having a ‘chat’ with the bully’s parents.

Kid wants to drop out of school? Hell no, you see what happened to your dads?

Those two would be such caring parents and I just wish they’d gotten to have a kid in the show

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The night before their wedding anniversary, Ian must’ve been filled with a mix of excitement and nerves, wondering if Mickey would actually remember the date. The Mickey he knew wasn’t the type to put much weight on anniversaries. Even if he did remember, he’d probably pretend he didn’t or act like he didn’t care—classic Mickey.

But still, they were married now. And Ian couldn’t help holding on to that faint hope.

Mickey, of course, didn’t give the slightest hint—even as he drifted off to sleep. And Ian, quietly disappointed, tried to comfort himself with the thought, “Well, the actual day is tomorrow. There’s still hope.”

But as the day went on, Ian’s disappointment slowly grew. He knew Mickey wasn’t into romantic gestures, so even a small, private celebration would’ve been enough. Even if Mickey had forgotten entirely, Ian might have been okay with it—as long as Mickey cared when reminded, as long as he showed it meant something. But Mickey? Up until the very moment he opened the door to the Alibi Room, he acted like it was just any other day. Like, “Anniversary? Who gives a shit? Let’s just grab a beer.”

Ian nearly cried. No, he actually did cry. He might’ve even had that childish thought: “I guess I don’t matter to Mickey anymore.”

But the second that door opened, Ian fell in love with his husband all over again.

I really wonder what will happen on each of their anniversaries from now on. Mickey has basically given Ian an “anniversary romance unlock order,” so they’ll never play coy again when it comes to spending their anniversaries meaningfully.

And I have a feeling Ian’s already dreaming up something truly special for their second anniversary. Just to give back a little of what he felt that day.

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Imagine someone just staring at you while you sleep, that's true love.