Ian hangs his head as Mickey slips the cuffs on him, tightening them. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you...." Mickey goes through Miranda on autopilot. It's more for the suspect than it is for him, anyway. He turns Ian around once he's done cuffing him, so he can read him his rights face-to-face. When he's done, Ian is just staring at him, an odd smile on his lips.
"Y'know...." Ian says, swaying drunkenly into Mickey. Their hips touch and Mickey almost jumps out of his skin. "It's kinda kinky, how you put these cuffs on me. My safe word is Death Star, just in case." the guy is grinning like a loon, swaying his body into Mickey's as Mickey is just trying to do his damn job. He spins Gallagher around again, starts frog marching him toward the cruiser.
- - - - -
don't forget to leave kudos & comments when you read! xx
After another pause for the Kinktober, we’re back with the Writer’s Spotlight. And to kick-off the new batch of interviews, we have a fandom veteran(ish), the lovely Nadine (@crazynadine). She’s the one behind works such as Indelible, Secret Admirer, The perks of being a frequent flyer and several more Gallavich stories!
N: I started writing at a young age. About 8, I think? I have old notebooks of stories about real bizarre shit. I've always been creative. Beyond that, I work for a living in a paper mill, and find my joy where I can. Fandoms are a big part of that. Art has always inspired me, given me peace, solace in this world. So I work and I write and I consume art.
GT: Wow, 8? That's precocious! Were they already some sort of fanfiction or were they original stories?
N: Oh, I didn't even know fanfic existed until the dreaded days of Twilight. Ha. I was really pissed there wasn't more Jasper backstory, so I went looking for it. After that, when I found Shameless, it just seemed like the natural progression. When I was small, it was all original content. I put myself in a lot of the stories, bringing myself on a variety of wild adventures. My first and only foray into 'reader insert' in a way.
GT: When did you start watching Shameless?
N: Hm....around season 5, I think? We didn't have Showtime before that, but there was one of those 'free weekend' things. My fiancé actually got me into it, said something along the lines of 'these people are utterly batshit, and this looks like it's right up your alley.' -- neither of us had any idea how much of an impact that introduction would have on me.
GT: Hahahaha I love that. What was your favorite season overall?
N: Well, before the wedding, I'd have said season 3. Even though we got the evils of 3X666 (which I NEVER watch) - there is something to be said about young Gallavich. I loved them back then, feeling each other out, scared and skittish. And the storylines for the rest of the cast were amazing back then too. But now that the show's over, I really love the last two seasons, where we got to watch Ian & Mick really grow into married men. That was the thing I'd been waiting for since Ian first burst into the Milkovich house with that crowbar.
GT: I still can't believe we actually got married Gallavich to be honest. I was so sure it would never happen.
Do you have a favorite episode and/or scene?
N: Ugh, that one's tough. I love the dugouts scene, even though it still feels bittersweet. I also love the stargazing scene on the way to the border, even though that one gutted me too. If you're going to be a Gallavich fan, you have to love a side of angst with all your happy moment entrees. More recently, I love their post-wedding wake-up, right before the drive-by had them hitting the deck, that cute little convo between them, that little shout out to the fandom: Mr. Gallavich. I pretty much died. It was nice of them to admit people like me & all the fandom faithful had some kinda impact in the end.
GT: What would you have done differently if you were a writer for the show? I mean, lots, I'm assuming, but pick just one.
N: Hm, well, sticking to the final season... if we're being honest, I probably would have skipped the whole 'fucking other people' thing before their wedding. We already did that trope to death in past seasons. Ian got around a lot, and so did Mick. I didn't need to see all that again to believe they were in love once it was all over. We all KNEW that already. So if it were me, I'd have given them some other kind of focus. maybe not even a conflict between them. we've also done that to death at this point. the whole "i'm not worthy of love. you don't deserve my shit' schtick.... maybe give them an issue they could team up on, work together to overcome. I'm not even a kid girl, but I think the boys maybe being conflicted about having kids could have led to some real talk about Yevy. the kid mick already has that they writers just noped out of existence. I think the time spent on fighting, Cole and Byron could have been better spent with Mick & Ian confronting Svet, a united front, going after the son they both lost. I think that would have had more emotional impact, and would have been actual growth for both characters. and then, we all get gallavich as parents before the show wraps. That would have been sweet, I think.
GT: I love that answer, I would have liked that.
Who are your favorite characters aside from them? Do you write about them as well?
N: Man, my favorite non-gallavich characters? I'm partial to Milkovich kids. I've written a lot of Mandy, and I have a whole fic with Iggy as the main character. I don't think they ever got enough screen time, and I think they had a lot of story to tell. Besides that, I've always loved Sheila. another great character that had some epic storylines in earlier seasons. I miss that bitch so much, I made her a main character in my current WIP. I like to take characters that may not have been fully fleshed out in canon, and breathe some life into them. My favorite gallagher, besides Ian, is Lip. I think he's super layered, and he's always had so much going on throughout the years, that there is always something to dig into and add to an original story. Besides, I love the dynamic between Ian and Lip, it's never boring to explore that in a story.
GT: I'd like to have seen more of the Milkovich kids as well. I also wished they had shown more of Molly, it could have been a great storyline. Then again, it's Shameless, probably better they didn't. They couldn't even keep track of the other ones.And I love Sheila! Such an incredible character. And Joan Cusack is one hell of an actress.
Do you include OCs in your stories? How do you create them?
N: Oh, I include OC's. not in this most recent story. but in YCHL, Jack made a world for himself. got his own fans, even. I don't even know where Jackson Cauldwell came from, but there he is. and if we're talking about YCHL, we also have Lauren & Javier. Mick's besties. These three characters were all people I wished Mick had when he was alone. I wanted him to have support, so I created it. After that, I did a thing with The Man in 8C. I gave Mick & Ian more friends. Cal, Teddy, Fitzy, Theresa, Trent, Kenny ....these are the people I wish my boys had in their corner all along. I live and breathe my OCs. they are part of me. idk how other writers do, but i don't fuck around. Hell, I still love my OCs after the story's wrapped. How can you abandon your creation? I am always searching for a story for my OCs to reemerge. I don't want them to fade to black. not after all that love....
How do I create them? Not to get too morbid, but for Fitzy & Jack, I used the likeness of my best friend Mike, who passed away in 2008. I've said this a few times, but I need to credit him every time it comes up. My Bi Besty Mike. He was amazing and strong and smart and always supported my writing. He left me long ago, but still influences all I do. I'm sure that pleases him. and I don't mind. I like writing, and I like including Mike. So it's a win-win, no?
GT: Sometimes OCs are so good they deserve their own spin-off.
And that's a lovely way of honoring a friend, actually.
Do you find it easier to connect to Ian or Mickey? Or do you switch povs when writing?
N: I do switch POVs when I write. I'm gonna get a little personal here, but most of my fandom friends know this already, so whatever. I like writing from both Mickey & Ian's POV. I think Mick comes easiest to me, cuz he's more relatable to me? I grew up rough too. My dad was a bastard, and I still deal with that fallout now. So writing from the perspective of an abused kid trying to fake adulting through life is like slipping into a well-worn old sweater. It's kinda like Mick's an old friend at this point. But I can write Ian too, and fall into that easily. I'm not bipolar, but I've been dealing with my own mental health struggles since the mid-90s. so I can put myself in Ian's shoes. feeling like your mind is working against you. feeling like you'll never get better. I enjoy writing Mick more, but I think writing Ian might be more cathartic.
GT: I'm sorry about your childhood.
What is most difficult when writing Gallavich fanfiction, in your opinion?
N: Ugh, the most difficult thing? Keeping it real. I've been writing gallavich for years now. Canon compliant, AU, divergent, what have you. But no matter what you write, no matter where you bring our boys, it has to be gallavich. In the end, we need to connect to Ian and Mickey. So while I might drag them out of Chicago, or make them supernatural, or rich or famous or whatever, they still need to be Ian and Mickey. No one in this fandom wants to read about strangers with familiar names. so, as a writer, I have to keep Ian and Mickey true to themselves, while taking them on these wild adventures. That's hard, but I love it. I love the challenge of taking someone I love and thrusting them into a new world. I hope I do them justice.
GT: Where do you find inspiration for your fics?
N: Oh, everywhere, really. music, movies, TV shows, dreams. I've written so many stories based on song lyrics alone. Sometimes, something just hits you in the face, like 'write this.' - I think I'm pretty lucky to be able to look at just about anything and think 'there's another story to tell here.' The Order was inspired by Hemlock Grove on netflix. I have an idea in my Possible Fics Folder that I got from a damn PSA on tv.
GT: Walk us through your writing process, please.
N: Welp, first I got the idea. This can take a few days to process. it'll be a tiny smidge of a thing, and over a couple days, it'll grow into something a little more concrete. That's when the notes start. I'll be at work, most of the time, and plot points will come to me. I write them down on scraps of paper, or little pieces of cardboard. those go into a little pile under my coffee table. ha. Then, when I have enough notes and scraps to throw together a plot, I gather all those notes up, grab a notebook, and write the outline. I need an outline, to keep my works straight in my head. Once that outline is complete, the actual writing starts. A story can take me two days or ten months, depending on the kind of story I want to tell. I'm sure it's not unique, but it's always worked for me.
GT: Do you do any research before or while writing?
N: It depends on the story. if i'm writing a basic canon divergent gallavich fic, I don't need much research. I know the boys, I know enough about the south side and the environment they grew up in. so it's pretty much all there already. But for AU fics, or historical pieces, I do a LOT of research. I wrote a fic for The Umbrella Academy fandom about the Vietnam war. God, was that eons of research. I also do a lot of research for my supernatural themed fics, or other popular tropes. I am in the very early stages of an ABO fic, and the research for that feels endless. because even if it's totally made up, i want it to make sense, and fit in the universe as it's been laid out by fandom lore. I just like my writing to feel authentic, and that comes with making it feel as accurate as possible.
GT: I totally get it, I think it's something most writers feel, this need to make everything as accurate as possible even if it's an AU.
What are your favorite tropes, both to read and write?
N: Well, to read, I like a lot. I love vampires, zombies, apocalypse, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, historical, I'll honestly read anything if the writing's good and the story is compelling. As far as writing goes, I like a good horror story. I've written a couple vampire/werewolf AUs, and I have the beginnings of two zombie apocalypse stories going right now. I love the old classics too. like 'there was only one bed' or a good fake dating. old standbys that can be trite if done wrong, but incredible if done right. one thing I love, that you never see in the gallavich fandom, but that I'm desperate to try anyway, is the BDSM au. not just 'we like kinky shit' - but a society where people are born dominant, submissive or neutral, and all the chaos and bullshit that goes along with that. I really want to explore that with Ian and Mick, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.
GT: Oh, please let me know when you do, I'd love to read that!
What do you dislike in a fic, tropes or anything else?
N: Well, there's not much I don't like? One thing I do not ever do, and don't read is gender swap. It's just not my cup of tea, I'm not sure why, because I like writing all genders, sexual orientations, designations, what have you, and while I love reading mpreg fics, and I love ambiguity over gender and expression of such (Loki is an all time favorite of mine, and he's a gender fluid bisexual 1500 year old norse god) -- but the idea of taking Ian or Mick or even Mandy for that matter, and swapping their genders does not do it for me. I just have no interest in reading that. But all the power to people who do! That's the great thing about all this: no rules.
GT: Which if your own fics hold a special place in your heart?
N: Ooof, that's hard to say. I love them all. I'm one of those jerks who rereads her own work, like all the time. but if i had to pick one that i held above all others, i think it'd be a tie between You can't hurry love & The Order. YCHL was my first fic in this fandom, as well as the first story I'd written in well over 15 years;it was proof to myself that I was still a writer, still had something to say. But The Order was just so much fun, such a step outside my comfort zone. It was a labor of love, and it's by far one of my favorite works ever.
GT: You're not a jerk for it! I think that's awesome, really, wish I could be like that.
What other fics and authors in this fandom would you recommend?
N: Oh man. I love almost everyone in this fandom. The writing is amazing, and I've come to love and respect so many. Let's go back to when I first landed in this fandom: authors like @palepinkgoat, SaphireIsle & @goodkwuestion were some of my favorites, back in '15 & '16, when I first started looking to read in this fandom. Then we have people like @jackieq, Nicrenkel, anomalously, @thevioletjones, @damnnmilkovich, Ride4812. Then there are my friends, country13, cherrybomb14, @mysticallygallavich, Mrs_Monaghan, @captainjowl....god i have so many 35 pages of fics that i love, written by people I admire so much. I wish I could list them all.... if I had to recommend fics for a newbie? things you have to read....The Fight for You, by WishIHadWings is just amazing, a staple on my reread list. then there's the Escapar series, by lilbatfacedgirl. I love the old classics. things that remind me of why I joined this fandom to begin with. Everyone knows the ones we all 'have to read' --Increasingly Poor Decisions of Ian Gallagher, Sexual Harassments in the Workplace, Ransom. I love all those too, so it's hard to pick a handful for a newbie, although, I think Life or Something, by pink_ink should be on every gallavich shipper's summer reading list.
GT: There are some great recs there, thank you!
What connects you to this fandom? Why do you stay in it?
N: Well, beyond the incredible story and the characters, and the amazing fan works, the one thing that keeps me coming back is the people. I've made so many incredible friends in this fandom, people I talk to every single day. It's a real gift, since I don't have a lot of local friends. It's nice to be able to connect across the world with people you'd have never met otherwise.
GT: That's the true gift of fandom ❤️
Are you working on any fics at the moment?
N: Right now, I'm still slogging through The Stargazer, which has been giving me a bit of grief these past few weeks. but in my file folder, I have a follow up for my fic 'Bros before Hoes' - 'Zigzagging Toward the Light', and the outline ready to go for an ABO gallavich fic i've been planning, working title: 'SecGen Services'. Other than that I have a stucky zombies fic entitled 'Lean on Me.' and a Robin Hood inspired stucky fic working title: 'For You.' -- there are a few more irons in the fire, but these are the ones i've actually got text for as we speak.
GT: That's already quite a lot! We'll be looking forward to them!
Alright, that was it from me, thank you so much for accepting my invitation to participate in this.
Now please leave a message to those reading.
N: The only thing I can think to say is a heartfelt thank you. Man, I can't tell you how much this fandom & my readers have done for me since I stumbled into the gallavich universe all those years ago. Writing is the one thing in this world I feel like I'm good at, and to have real life people read my work and enjoy it is the most gratifying thing in the world. it's utterly humbling, and validating and amazing. So even if the show is over, there's still a lot of story to tell. So thank you for giving me a chance to tell some of those stories.
Thank you so much for all you're hard work ❤️ there is a fix I read and can't find anywhere, it's where mickey and his family are vampires and in the end Ian decides he wants to be a vampire and mickey reluctantly turns him in the end. Sorry its a bit vague 😅
Hi! I'm pretty sure it's The Order. Thank you for your nice words ❤️
