Seven

Whataboutthat on ao3! If I had a nickel for every favourite character of mine called either John or David I'd have like, four nickels. Which isn't a lot but damn do they keep getting slashed or shot in the throat!

[iansnusualfascination]

A little something I drew of Ian and Mickey✨💚💙

[jackabbot]

i know i say this often but i cannot say it loud enough: people who comment on fics, people who reblog posts and engage with fanworks are the people who generate community and without them fandom would be nowhere, so truly thank you for your presence, you make the world go 'round <3

[saintjock]

I'd love to hear some more of your thoughts on the elder gallagher trio vs younger trio based on canon, the sibling parallels are soo interesting to me, and I'm so swept away by the family connections (the behaviour modeled from their adult influences) you can make across the monica-frankness all their kids display to their moments of 'going fiona', but the ways the 'adult' trio being the primary caretakers manifests in the kiddos... so much to dig into

yes, there’s sooo much here…when it comes to monica, i think it’s imperative to realize that the elder gallaghers had to learn for themselves who their mother is, while the younger kids are told/taught who she is. monica’s been in and out of their lives the whole time, but fiona/lip/ian have the most ‘experience’ with her. my blogger in arms dershoimvik has a really great write-up on monica; i’ll also add my thoughts :3 i think part of why fiona & lip are so frustrated with ian’s continual relationship with monica—to the point in s5 ian tells monica the others don’t know that they are still in contact as much as they are with each other—is that fiona & lip think ian should know better the way they ‘know better’ when it comes to monica. they’ve been burned by her again and again, and can’t understand why ian willingly puts himself back in her orbit; which ian does because he’s put up such a convincing front within his family, he seeks his mother out because he seeks to be seen and understood by somebody. usually, when ian wants this he seeks out mickey, but the contradiction here is that mickey knows ian too well, and although monica can offer specific commiseration mickey can’t (like their shared disorder), she doesn’t and can’t truly know him as a result of her prolonged absence.

within the family unit the gallaghers have created, ian is further on the outskirts—older enough to share responsibility for the house with fiona/lip, but without all the decision-making abilities the two of them frequently butt heads about. fiona & lip make up the defecto ‘mother / father’ roles, but fiona leans more heavily into her role than lip, for obvious reasons. fiona is more frequently having to make the harder decisions and hurt more feelings as their guardian, while lip is more comfortable in a wise elder brother role where he does do his share in caretaking, he is rarely made out other be the ‘bad guy’ towards the kids. debbie/carl/liam do look up to fiona and lip, but i think they (especially debbie/carl) find the most solace in ian, ironically. i say ironically because they ian appears to be a calming, responsible, and fair presence, and although he does possess these traits, he’s also hiding most of his personal life from everyone! lip meddles past what ian does confide in him, but fiona is largely unaware of what ian gets up to. part of ian’s secrecy is his own inclination from his personality and it’s an effect from his circumstances (he’s a middle child who never has anything of his own, so he creates his own life outside of the house/his family); but he almost never asks for help/advice—especially about his relationships. he gets so close to telling fiona about ned, but ultimately backs down until he has to offer some explanation after ned mistakes lip for ian in 304. even though the elder trio tries to put on a united front, ian finds it hard to open up to fiona (either from ian’s usual reservedness or because he wants to lessen the worry from everyone else towards him), and although ian does open up to lip he has made it clear that he does not approve of ian’s continued relationship with mickey—what i find really interesting is that ian continually confides in monica! specifically about mickey! she remembers him as ian’s boyfriend when he brings him up in 511! it makes me wonder how much ian brought him up during their s4 stint, or if he did at all…

even if frank had more of physical presence around the kids than monica did, the younger kids take after fiona/lip/ian more often than frank or monica…and the older kids end up emulating more of frank/monica's behaviors! of course they all have their frank/monica moments, it’s illuminating to see parallels between the older and younger gallaghers…it’s easy to make the lip-liam connection from their shared intelligence, but i notice a lot of ian within liam…industrious, conscientious, ambitious…and liam shares ian’s internal approach to turmoil. remembering when he spends all day by himself trying to figure out where he’s going to live if/when they sell the house :( and lip didn’t tell him he’d move in with him and tami because he thought that was obvious! very similar to ian’s stubbornness to try and figure everything out on his own/not wanting to burden anyone else with his troubles

i do have Serious Thoughts about the comparisons that can be made between fiona & mickey made obvious by my blogging LOL but mickey does share a lot of traits with lip, too! i think ian finds a lot of solace and familiarity within these shared traits of fiona/lip within mickey, especially in the beginning…mickey shares a lot of the familial responsibility that fiona does, and shares the astute hustling qualities lip exhibits. an awesome thing about analyzing a well-and-intentionally written long-running show like this, is there’s sooo many parallels that crop up that offer really great insight into not only characters singularly, but relationships between characters as well! yay tv

[mutationgirl]

(having a good week) that’s right. the goal is to increase my baseline. make the spirals shallower until they spin lazily on the surface of the water, lose their suction. im not trying to fix it all at once, im trying to incrementally improve my way into something tolerable. and once im there maybe i can shoot for good

(having a bad week) and in my terrible forge i will temper the flames of ruin

[thebreakfastgenie]

Quand il faut expliquer la pâtisserie à un Américain: imaginez un hamburger

[dershoimvik]

do u have any aspects of ian and mickey (or any of the other characters tbh) that you feel were glossed over or just wish were explored more? both in canon but also the stuff that's already there but flies under the radar for a lot of fans perhaps?

not really much in the realm of like-- attributes, which is kinda great bc it means i still get to make stuff up sometimes :3

oh i wanna take the opportunity to talk about carl. carl carl carl..... this is going to be a really basic overview bc it's too much to go into ep-by-ep or season by season but i always go back to the meta sort-of line about carl in the finale when frank writes "i never quite figured you out..." and every time im like.. well thats meta af because they could've just committed to an archetype for carl, and they didn't. so the question now becomes: does carl know who he is?

as a basic aspect of building story with conflict and resolution, everyone has something that "drives them" and an obstacle that keeps them from achieving/getting it. carl seemingly... does not (other than his obstacle being "being stupid." but the point is that he's not really aspiring to any life goal for a long while.) im leaving out liam here bc hes essentially consciousless for like 8 seasons

fiona wants independence through financial success but is beholden to be the caretaker of the family and distracts herself with relationships that play on her parental issues. lip is blessed with the intellect to succeed but is too disillusioned by higher society and self sabotaging to play into the systems of academia. ian is the reverse lip: he believes more in the meritocracy but lacks the skills needed to truly "get out" (barring his actual mental illness as an obstacle). debbie rushes to grow up and has such bad abandonment issues that she manipulates the people in her life in an effort to trap them (which pushes them to leave). and carl is... seemingly all over the place.

i have to start with carls position in the sibling order— fifth of six, but second of the second trio of children. HOWEVER there’s also a sizable gap (around 7 years) between him and liam. we do know that carl’s pregnancy was unwanted by monica and frank did keep her drugged up and basically confined until she was too far along to abort, which makes us question how neglected he may have ended up in his infancy if monica initially did not want him. carl and debbie were left in the care of frank and monica for the duration of the school day from the age of 0-4 (because fiona is 11 when carl is born and does not drop out until she is 16).

when i ponder the age gap between the sets of gallagher kids, it sort of makes sense to me that frank and monica feel that they have already "failed" with lip, ian, and fiona, and they--mostly frank-- seek to "try again" with debbie and carl (and later, liam). but franks idea of "success" is selfish and conditional- he only likes the kids as much as they respect/obey/do things for him. monica's said to be in and out in general, but she runs out for good shortly after liam is born. so, carl’s had plenty interaction with them in a parental capacity to have core traumas at the foundation of his personality. however, the bulk of his adolescence and later childhood is under the care of the older siblings, meaning he is influenced by both sets of "parents."

we meet carl as a bully who tortures other kids-- the show kinda positions this as a debate between if carl’s actually psychotic or if he’s taking his emotions out physically. i would argue it’s more of the latter. carl has this really incredible Iucidness in general, which lends itself to a sort of self awareness and honesty-- carl is very aware that his behavior is bad. what he struggles to understand is why being bad is so... bad. what are the consequences, really, if there's nothing he wants in life and if his parents and siblings all act badly too?

it's kind of inevitable that carl will be overlooked by the family in some ways-- the rest of them have their own shit to worry about. plus, once liam comes into the picture, the focus is on taking care of him because he's an infant. so carl, under-stimulated, fills his days by doing whatever he wants. which usually involves a stunt or experiment of some sort, and getting into trouble. it's a bonus if the trouble gets him attention, but that's not what he's angling for.

frank neglects carl, but not with cruelty as he does with ian-- with indifference. perhaps he realized that carl lacks both the intellect and the physical strength that lip and ian have respectively, and therefore he sees only the value of recruiting him for quick schemes because he's agreeable. frank pours more emotional effort into debbie, because that's what keeps her under his control (until the popsicle-stick house incident).

...until season 3. carl's scheming is mostly comedic or related to frank. but then, frank tells him he has cancer and he's dying. and while that is a scam on frank's end that ends up not working out, carl is never let in on the lie. so, it gives carl a reason to be deeply loyal to frank-- he saved him from cancer. this is also why when fiona refuses to donate her liver to frank despite being a match, carl cant see her reasoning. frank saved him, so why shouldn’t they save him back?

we also see that he does listen to and respect ian and his use of tactical/"badass" skills for non-delinquent reasons (s3-- ian's knife). later, we hear a story about how carl and ian ran away from a foster family and lived under a bridge in a homeless encampment for a few days (presumably pre-series), and i would assume ian's "survival skills" kept them in decent shape. in season 4, with ian awol, carl coming into adolescence, and frank dying, he seems to oscillate between being totally checked out and trying to solve different problems. namely, getting frank a new liver. then, liam ods, fiona's in and out of prison and fighting with lip, and ian's back but he's... different. so we do see clear evidence that his violent outbursts are the direct result of emotions coming to the surface (him beating up those kids from the bus). there is this baked in idea of “justice” in it too, because the kids were making fun of liam in a way that also made carl afraid that liam had lasting brain damage.. so he is starting to be drawn to the idea of “having authority” (because bullying kids is a way of having "authority" over them) but again, cannot understand why being bad is bad.

i gotta skip way ahead for length sake but the big turning point for carl is juvie and nick, because carl finally sees real consequences. i really want to do a full length post on just this bc the way he gets into crime is really interesting too but after nick, carl sees that a lifestyle of crime/thug behavior does involve legitimate traumatic violence. the trauma of seeing a child beaten to death over "just" a bicycle, and the total lack of remorse on nicks part (ownership of his behavior and dread for his lack of future, but not necessarily remorse) drive him in the opposite direction: law and order. and once again, he is guided by a male mentor. if frank/g dogg were his mentors in delinquency, luther is his mentor in justice. there's also an element here of reverting back to childhood after trying to grow up too quickly, and then trying to rebuild himself as a teenager with the "correct" habits.

carl is also shown to be very affected by monica's behavior in particular-- less her leaving, more her mental episodes. it genuinely scares and upsets him. he tells the story about her climbing to the top of the house and almost jumping to mickey in 5x06, and we do get a poignant shot of him staring at monica in the jail cell while she rages in 2x10. he also sustains a pretty gnarly injury from that incident. this hesitation with being witness to mental episodes extends to ian too. he also can only stare silently when he sees ian (the sibling that, other than debbie, i'd argue he's closest to) immobile in mickeys bed; debbie does all the talking. and later, he tries to "cure" a numb ian with shock therapy in the pool.

when it comes to how carl reacts to things, i notice that he's reeeeallly internal and quiet. my mind bounces immediately to this bit of characterization in the pilot script (there was lots changed from the script to screen but overall it remained intact + the detail of the headphones/earplugs stays on screen)

eavesdropping on the real world is a hobby he tends to avoid.

all of the gallaghers have a typical way they react to trauma: fiona holds onto anger ("going fiona"), lip casts blame immediately then turns to substances to numb himself, ian seeks adoration/comfort from outside partners, debbie has emotional outbursts (crying primarily. lol she even says to cry on command all she has to do is remember anything from her childhood), and carl goes completely inward, even dissociative sometimes. i feel that this lends itself to his kinda "adaptive" nature as another anon pointed out. carl doesn't know who he is, or what he wants, because he separates himself from his own experiences. but he knows what success and failure look like, and that's why his outburst in season 9 about kelly/west point is so shocking. he's never really reacted that way nor acknowledged how he's probably just waiting for addiction to catch up to him.

i gotta wrap this up lol but carrrrllll carllll ... specifically that s6 arc the way they put him in wills bed (with kid sheets) after he comes to sean's and he sees fiona crying because she lost the house and he just looks off. and of course then he ends up digging up his "getaway" money for her. yeah okay owwwww . where this puts carl in the verrryyy end is that he's not really satisfied with his job as a cop, and he's not really looking for love.... he's still kinda aimless but he's def a lot closer. i don't see him staying a cop, but i wont get into the rest of my post-canon hcs for him bc of fic im working on.. but carl i see you and i understand you...

[whatthebodygraspsnot]

[cottagewench]

“gallavich on my fyp in the year of our lord 2026?” yeah babe, keep up, there’s about 30 of us on tumblr passing the meta ball around and we’re having a great fucking time

[greelin]

can you just be a man and kiss another man already. I don’t have time for this

[cottagewench]

[tatatasoma]

[oathkeptroxas]

I think the importance of Mandy and Mickey's relationship to each other growing up isn't talked about enough. Mickey is introduced as the protective big brother who wants to give Ian a beating for messing with his baby sis. We see Mickey and Mandy playing video games, and they are both good so they must play together often. Mandy is angry at Kash for shooting Mickey.

We see in s2, they share a big hug and are close. We know Mandy often visits Mickey (even sending him porn etc), and she says she's worried about the good ones fucking up their lives "like Mickey." We see Mickey freeze and look really upset at Mandy being injured due to Kenyatta in s4, and then he takes her to the Gallagher house. I think we can hc that Mickey partially can't stand Lip because of what he did to Mandy (and subsequently drove her to want to leave Chicago). Mandy probably would have called Mickey in s6 had he not been in prison. (Mandy could easily be angry at Mickey for fucking up his life by getting sent to prison).

I guess my point is, I don't buy that Mandy and Mickey don't love or care for each other. They are just two traumatised kids who don't know how to live a normal life. don't know how to be normal siblings.

The fact that they show physical affection to each other suggests that their ability to love and be gentle with others (Ian and each other) is because of each other as they certainly didn't learn affection like that from Terry.

Mandy and Mickey are so similar, and behave and love in similar ways, and I love them so much.

What do you think?

I've made a few meta posts about Mandy, and how Ian kinda saved both Mickey and Mandy by loving them both. (I'm on mobile so I can't link anything right now, but you can check my 'Mandy Milkovich' or 'gallavich meta' tags if you want!)

But ultimately, I agree with everything you said!! It's not a traditional sibling dynamic, and not like what we see with the Gallaghers, but it's not for lack of trying.

I think they were both ill-equipped to be what each other needed, but they wanted to. They hadn't grown up in an environment where affection and emotional support was readily available, so they don't really know how to navigate the situation when one or both of them are vulnerable. But I do think there's a lot of love there.

I've seen people suggest they don't care about each other because of a few off-hand comments they've both made. Like when Mandy suggested nobody needed a reason to pistol-whip Mickey, or when Mickey doesn't lie for Mandy when Kenyatta goes looking for Lip but tells him "if you're gonna beat every guy Mandy's been with your arms will get tired". But I think these comments are just that - off-hand. They're flippant because violence and sex and crime are things they've grown up with to such an extent that they're largely desensitised to it.

They say these things like people say water is wet. They're not angry at each other or taking shots. They're just traumatized kids who have grown up in such a way where these things seem normal. Like Mickey being beaten is an everyday occurrence, and Terry doesn't need a reason. Like Mandy sleeping around and seeking validation from men who only hurt her is par for the course.

But we see them be more vulnerable with each other than anyone else in their family. When it really comes down to it, they will have each other's backs. They did what they could within their means and within the boundaries of what would be acceptable within their environment/household.

I think Mandy knew that Mickey wasn't what Terry wanted him to be. I'm not saying that she knew about his sexuality, because I don't think she did. But I think she knew that he wasn't this raging bigot like Terry tried to make him. Before she found out he and Ian were together, she knew they were friends. They worked together. They asked about each other. And though Ian wasn't out publicly, his friends and family knew. So it's not unreasonable for her to believe that Mickey knew/was told by Ian at some point too.

When Ian asked how Mickey was in juvie, Mandy suggested that Ian visit him. And yeah, you could say she was getting a little frustrated at being the go-between, and she had her own shit going on, but I also think the suggestion was genuine.

Maybe it was just in Emma's delivery, but when she says the line "you should visit him" it sounds soft, a little cautious, almost hopeful. It doesn't sound dismissive or annoyed.

Especially when she immediately asked "Did you?" when Ian says he can't visit because Mickey thinks he pussied out of something. She's curious and isn't surprised that Ian and Mickey have seemingly had some kind of altercation that has led to an apparent rift. She clearly saw them as being friends with each other at least by this point.

And I think a part of her wanted her best friend and brother to try to maintain the friendship they'd built. Ian had become a huge part of her own life and had helped her gain more confidence and given her support, and I think she's probably wondering if Ian can do the same for Mickey too. She obviously knows Ian got Mickey the job.

I think that Ian (and by extension the Gallaghers) showed her what a supportive family unit should be, and I think she wants that for Mickey too.

Maybe they couldn't always be what each other needed, and didn't know how to communicate or be emotionally available for each other, but Ian has been a positive influence on her life, so she encourages Ian and Mickey's dynamic, or at least supports it. Even before she finds out the truth.

I also think that Mandy calling Mickey a pussy for not fighting for Ian is also supportive in its own twisted, sad "Milkovich" way. Because Ian challenged Mickey to kiss him, Ian knew that to get a rise out of Mickey to get what he wanted, he'd have to poke the bear a little. So he basically says "if you won't kiss me, I know other guys who will."

So when Mandy says "That's all you're gonna say to him? You're a fucking pussy." Yeah, she's upset on Ian's behalf 'cause that's her best friend and she loves him and doesn't want him to get his heart broken, but it's also a case of her seeing Mickey unable to fight for something that they both know is worth fighting for. She knows that poking the bear might get him to actually do something about it.

Ian tells Mickey "You love me and you're gay. Just admit it." Mandy tells Mickey "You're a fucking pussy." But they're both basically saying the same thing. They're saying "You are the only one who can change things. You are getting in your own way. Why won't you fight for this?"

But somehow *cough* misogyny *cough* Mandy is vilified for what she says.

Like, Mickey just found out his sister knows he's gay, but she doesn't even react. She doesn't confront him about his sexuality. She doesn't put words in his mouth. She just tells him she can't believe he won't fight for Ian.

And I think that's very in keeping with how they were raised to handle their feelings, but it's also very telling of how supportive Mandy is within the context. Like she doesn't give a fuck if he's gay, he doesn't need to talk to her about it if he doesn't want to, but she does give a fuck that both her best friend and brother are now both heartbroken because her brother is too afraid to change anything, even though they all know it would make them happier. Like, she thinks that Mickey doesn't have to talk to her if he's not ready, but he should at least talk to Ian.

Their family has been so abusive and controlling for their entire lives, and they're both kind of realising (through association with Ian) that they can maybe break the cycle. It's hard for them, and they don't always get it right or do enough, but they at least TRY.

[dershoimvik]

gallagher house linoleum print

[contemptible-scoundrel]

Ccan i hit?

I would parry every blow?

[ao3feed-gallavich-fics]

by Whataboutthat"The fuck are you doin'?" He asked, sandwich half lifted to his mouth. Ian had already slipped the tube back in his pocket by the time he got the ability to form (non-judgmental, knee-jerk) sentences again."Finishing lunch?" Ian replied, raising an eyebrow and waving the crumpled paper packaging of his own sandwich."No, the fucking lipstick or whatever the fuck you just took out," Mickey said. Leave it to Ian to ignore the obvious fucking thing he was talking about."My chapstick?""Your what?"Ian just laughed slightly. "There's no way you don't know what chapstick is."- Or, Ian starts wearing chapstick and Mickey can't stop looking at his mouth.Words: 4834, Chapters: 1/1, Language: EnglishFandoms: Shameless (US)Rating: MatureWarnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive WarningsCategories: M/MCharacters: Ian Gallagher, Mickey MilkovichRelationships: Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Ian Gallagher & Mickey MilkovichAdditional Tags: Ian Gallagher Loves Mickey Milkovich, Mickey Milkovich Loves Ian Gallagher, Ian Gallagher and Mickey Milkovich in Love, Married Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series Finale, Post-Season/Series 11, POV Mickey Milkovich, Gallavich, Mild Language, One Shot, Married Life, Domestic Bliss, Intimacy, Making Out, Kissing, Rough Kissing, Light Smut, not that bad, Implied Sexual Content, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Making out on the couch oh yeah baby, This was written by a sex-averse asexual so I hope it's okay I can't really tell when I write these things, Ian wears chapstick and Mickey can't stop looking at his mouth

by Whataboutthat

“The fuck are you doin’?” He asked, sandwich half lifted to his mouth. Ian had already slipped the tube back in his pocket by the time he got the ability to form (non-judgmental, knee-jerk) sentences again.

“Finishing lunch?” Ian replied, raising an eyebrow and waving the crumpled paper packaging of his own sandwich.

“No, the fucking lipstick or whatever the fuck you just took out,” Mickey said. Leave it to Ian to ignore the obvious fucking thing he was talking about.

“My chapstick?”

“Your what?”

Ian just laughed slightly. “There’s no way you don’t know what chapstick is.”

- Or, Ian starts wearing chapstick and Mickey can’t stop looking at his mouth.

Words: 4834, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Shameless (US)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Ian Gallagher, Mickey Milkovich

Relationships: Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Ian Gallagher & Mickey Milkovich

Additional Tags: Ian Gallagher Loves Mickey Milkovich, Mickey Milkovich Loves Ian Gallagher, Ian Gallagher and Mickey Milkovich in Love, Married Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series Finale, Post-Season/Series 11, POV Mickey Milkovich, Gallavich, Mild Language, One Shot, Married Life, Domestic Bliss, Intimacy, Making Out, Kissing, Rough Kissing, Light Smut, not that bad, Implied Sexual Content, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Making out on the couch oh yeah baby, This was written by a sex-averse asexual so I hope it’s okay I can’t really tell when I write these things, Ian wears chapstick and Mickey can’t stop looking at his mouth

[rowanisawriter]

that “negative kudos” poll really got me lol i have a full time job and a family. do you know what that means lol. I don’t think many people know what that means? it means i have maybe 1 hour MAYBE 2 hours a day that are mine unless i sacrifice sleep. and i use them to write fic most of the time and then i chose to post it online. And there is a subset of people that exists out there that thinks they can and should be able to publicly dislike or negative kudos your fic if they don’t like it instead of just continuing to scroll or hitting back. man no wonder so many people are so easily turning to AI, this unfeeling unflinching thing that just gives and gives more and more slop but who cares about the quality or the person who made it as long as you can just demand more and more and be given more and more. Fic and fanart are not products, you do not get to “review” them. We call it commenting because it’s not a review. And kudos doesn’t reflect on quality, it means thank you for sharing. if you feel the need to complain about something someone used their precious and rare and still valuable time to create for you for free, keep scrolling or literally just die

[n0kiwiz]

[paladinofvengeance]

Terry and Mickey’s relationship is an odd one in the early seasons, because honestly I feel like this is where the evidence is that Mickey is his favourite son. Mickey is the one who goes to collect Terry from prison in season one. Right after he and Ian hook up, he’s playing cards with Terry in the background. Terry tries to get him a job tarring roofs in season two. It’s odd. I’ve seen the idea that Mickey models himself on Terry and therefore is Terry’s favourite and I think that’s true. He grew up dreaming about being King of Southside, being like his father. He had plenty of older brothers, it’s not like he didn’t, but it was him who was the brains of the operations nine times out of ten, so Terry must have treated him like his heir. It would also explain his total desperation for Terry’s approval. He can get it. His father can look proud of him so he’s desperate for it. Like Frank, who takes pride in his children because they remind him of himself, Terry can take pride in Mickey because Mickey reminds him of himself. It’s sad, but it also makes sense. Mickey values loyalty, Mickey values family, he values competency and value. Much like Terry. Terry values Mickey’s loyalty, and his intelligence, therefore he values him. He’s a capable member of his family-run cartel so he’s still valuable. Like that scene in season ten when he decides to send Mickey to Canada because he thinks the police are after him. It’s such a strange relationship. It’s so horrible. Terry doesn’t love Mickey because he’s Mickey. He treats him like a weapon-hones it, polishes it, treats it with some form of respect that Mickey interprets as fucked up love, and maybe it is. Terry loves Mickey the way you love a valuable weapon. You discard it when it no longer has a use, like Terry did to Mickey. Meanwhile Terry treats Mandy like a trophy, something to be displayed but also kept safe, for your own satisfaction. It makes more sense then, that Mickey has more love for Terry than Mandy. Mandy is an object with no use but her glimmer to Terry. Mickey is an object with exceptional purpose so when that object, that weapon fails in his eyes, he becomes angry. It’s strange and fucked up and sad.