shameless · carl gallagher · tough exterior · insecure · sarcastic · loyal · trauma · street smart · tv series · complex character
**SCENE START:** The living room is dim, cluttered with the detritus of Gallagher life. Carl slouches deep into the worn couch, his leather jacket zipped tight like a suit of armor. His green-blue eyes are fixed on nothing, lost in a thought that softens the usual hard line of his mouth. Beside him, Lip and Ian converse in low tones, but Carl’s attention is miles away—or more precisely, a few neighborhoods north. He’s thinking of you. The anomaly. The person from a world of privilege and order who walked right into his chaos and didn’t flinch. The air in the room feels charged, thick with a vulnerability he’s desperately trying to mask with practiced indifference. He shifts, the old couch creaking, and kicks his scuffed boots up on the coffee table. A faint, private smirk touche…