#i'd say puck as well but i end up liking so much of puck's story and it's one or two aspects that still land him at the bottom of rankings

[thursdayinspace]

20 questions for 20 writers

tagged by @thatfragilecapricorn30 @randomfoggytiger and @baronessblixen thank you!! <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 21

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 70.063 -- this is my new AO3, so that's why it's still so low, haha.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Only X-Files now.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? spectacular (glasses sex!), it's the day the world didn't end, from this morning forward (that makes me so happy), got you covered, wild side

5. Do you respond to comments? yes. if I ever don't, I'm sorry, it's not because i didn't love your comment, but i just don't get around to it right away sometimes. but i try to reply to every single one because i love them all.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? ohhh. i don't write super angsty endings . . . I guess mend into pieces bc it's season 2 and they know they're making a mistake, but we all know they'll figure it out eventually, so.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? they pretty much all end happily. i'm going to more or less randomly pick five ways to say i love you. because i loved writing that ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics? so, okay. there are two stories here i want to tell from an old fandom. one is funny. one is kind of great, really?

the funny one: i got a looooong comment on a fic, like several paragraphs long, going into great detail about why the fic sucked and why i sucked and why i had personally offended them by writing fic at all. they obvs meant to comment anonymously but forgot to log out. by the time i got to my computer, they had deleted their entire account. of course i had their name in the ao3 email. i laughed so hard at that.

the kind of amazing one: i got a very rude anon on tumblr, and i responded by saying i'd be happy to discuss their criticism, but i wasn't going to have a conversation with a hockey puck with sunglasses, and asked them to come off anon so we could talk. and they did! they showed up in my dms a short while later. we solved nothing and did not part as friends, but i actually have mad respect for that. wherever they are today, i hope they have taken some anger management classes and are doing well!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yeah, i certainly do. idk what kind? the porny kind? lol no i mean it's kind of lame but fun.

10. Do you write crossovers? i wrote a stargate atlantis/firefly crossover centuries ago but that was it. or maybe start trek with sth else, i don't remember.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? i don't think so, no.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? yes! it's so much fun and i would do it again.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? mulder and scully!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i plan to finish all of them.

16. What are your writing strengths? it used to be dialogue but i don't think it is anymore. idk? i think i can create an atmosphere?

17. What are your writing weaknesses? i tend to repeat myself a lot and then skip over other things completely. i'm not good with transitions between scenes.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? i haven't done it, but if it would make sense for a fic, i might do it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? stargate atlantis. i was very late to the fanfic party.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? it's called 'ellipsis' and is still with the beta. but of the ones i've already posted, either from this morning forward or yesterday's future.

Randomfoggytiger added additional questions:

1. Is writing a hobby or way of life? i mean it's a hobby but it's definitely also a way of life. there isn't ever a time when i don't think about writing and everything all the time connects in some way to a thing i'm writing and i can't imagine what i'd do without writing.

2. A journal full of writing notes or a clean, completed manuscript? completed manuscript! or notes? uhh . . . both?

3. Who (or what) is your writing inspiration? everything. random things. i can't think of one specific thing, it can be literally anything.

4.Which is worse: someone you "idolize" reading your first draft or listening to you sing? both thoughts are equally awful lol

5. Has writing from someone else's POV ever changed your own perspective? yeah, i think so. not in any big way, but about smaller stuff, just the way i look at certain things? yes.

6. Tumblr, AO3, LiveJournal, or FFN? ao3!!! my tinkerbell brain loves the comment section, haha. also it's just so much nicer to read on ao3 and there's the download option, so also as a reader, def ao3.

7. AO3 wordcount, and are you satisfied with it? 70.063 - no, i'm not satisfied with it. i used to write multi-chapters with more words. but it's a new account so yeah starting small again.

8. What movie/book/fic gripped you irrevocably? jasper fforde's 'thursday next' series. it's where i stole my name from. literary detectives? oh man. it's the kind of story where you wish you'd had the idea first. go read it!!!!!

9. What's the highest compliment you could ever be given, and have you been given it? i am really really lucky to have been given so many amazing compliments and i appreciate every single one. i couldn't say what means the most to me . . . probably when it's personal to the commenter? when someone tells me sth i've written touched them in some way. bc that's what i want to achieve.

10. What defines your writing style? lol idek man pretentious purple prose? i think i live somewhere between overuse of metaphors and focus on the rhythm of a text. i love writing in english bc it flows so nicely. idk is trying to make it sound nice a style bc then that's at least what i'm going for.

who hasn't been tagged? no pressure tags for @backintimeforstuff @nachosncheezies @actual-changeling and everybody else who wants to!

[13eyond13]

Hey! What do you think about Berserk’s secondary characters? Such as Judeau, Luca, or Skull Night? Who’s your most and least favorite?

Ooh, thanks for asking! THOUGHTS ABOUT THE MORE MINOR BERSERK CHARACTERS:

BAND OF THE FALCON/HAWK: So the members that made the biggest impression on me aside from Guts/Casca/Griffith, in order of how much I liked them, were:

1. JUDEAU: he was probably my next most favourite member of the Band. I thought he was pretty kind and emotionally intelligent - I liked his loyal/thoughtful/peaceful mediator vibe, and I always wanted to hear what he had to say about everybody else. I'm still not ok about what happens to him in the end, it was one of the most emotionally upsetting parts of The Eclipse to me for sure...

2. RICKERT: He started standing out to me way more post-Eclipse as a character when he starts having to make more decisions on his own. I love the ways he's dealing with his grief and I was very proud of him whenever he stood up to Griffith, hahaha. I'm really interested in seeing what part he's going to play in the finale of the story, too...

3. PIPPIN: the only scene I can really remember about Pippin now is when he literally picks up Guts and drags him down to force him to hang out with everybody else, which was great. Hahaha I liked him, but I don't remember a whole lot else about him other than that? I think that he was pretty quiet most of the time.

4. CORKUS: He's probably the one you're kinda supposed to not like as much as the others in the group, as he's pretty abrasive at times. He added some spice to things for sure, and I could see why he might feel negatively about Guts, and some of the stuff he says made for interesting contrasts to the positivity/comradery going on otherwise. I didn't feel a ton of love for him at any point, but also I don't think he deserved what he ended up getting in the end either, of course...

BLACK SWORDSMAN PARTY:

1. PUCK: I'm attached to him quite a bit simply because of how much he was with us in the beginning / during the parts where Guts was wandering around all surly and angry and alone. I think he sort of gets reduced to only comic relief a bit much in the later parts of the story, but he definitely kept me going through some of the darker and more nihilistic parts with his cuteness and kindness and the way he always pointed out the stuff that was at times bugging or concerning me about Guts, hahah. Also, I love whatever weird thing he has going on with the Behelit, hahaha. It's like his little pet... feeding it cheese...

2. SCHIERKE: OK so I was kind of like OHHHNOOO at first about the kid characters permanently joining Guts traveling party, because I didn't really want the story to start attempting to pander to kids a bunch when it's so clearly adult in subject matter and themes and tone much of the time. But Schierke definitely grew on me more over time, especially in the scenes where she's interacting with Guts alone - I think her witch powers are pretty impressive, her quiet/nervous personality is usually cute, and her crush on Guts is endearing as well, haha - the way she's self-aware that it's because "he's an adult who paid attention to me, and I liked it" reminds me of the kind of things I would've been saying at that age myself. I was always trying to be serious and sensible and cautious and adult all the time as a kid about such stuff, too...

3. FARNESE: She had some of the most dramatic and interesting character development of any of the characters in the entire series, I would say. Thinking about who she was when we first met her versus who she ends up becoming later on is pretty impressive. I especially like how hard she works at humbling herself, learning new things and opening herself up to new people and new ways of thinking and being, even though she also feels completely useless and incompetent at it much of the time.

4. SERPICO: I feel almost like I'd have to reread the story to really get a handle on this character better, because he often slipped into the background for me? I think his fights with Guts were pretty interesting, but otherwise he just didn't really resonate that strongly with me or stand out to me that much, and I never felt that attached to him at any point tbh

5. IVALERA: sassy and cute, but I don't have that much else to say about her

6. ISIDRO: My least favourite of the bunch, because he often actively irritates me whenever he's on the page, and the comic relief he's supposed to provide never really hits the mark for me. I feel like he just throws off the tone of the story a lot with all the loudmouthed insecure spunkiness, like he's out of place and was meant to exist in a Shonen series like Naruto or something else instead, haha. IDK... maybe I'd warm up to him more and see why he's necessary to include more upon a second read...

OTHER NOTABLES: 1. SKULL KNIGHT: I love him a lot, haha. He's got such an oddly chill and polite vibe for what a dramatic and scary-looking presence he has. He definitely can feel very plot-devicey as a character at times, but it doesn't mean I'm not always glad to see him whenever he shows up, and I think his personal history with the Berserker Armour is pretty interesting as well

2. NOSFERATU ZODD: I like him quite a bit too... definitely the most chill of the monsters to me, haha. Chill is almost always a plus to me, especially when the character is otherwise a bit larger than life

3. LUCA: I liked her! One of the more palatable characters in that arc. Was glad she was watching out for Casca like she was...

4. CHARLOTTE: I worry about her, but I feel for her too! The fanart she kept making of Griffith made me lol tbh.. I hope nothing too bad happens to her now that she's actually hitched to him...

[harmonyckrs]

Don Lothario, Hermia Capp and Vidcund Curious

Inserting the replies as asks to myself so there will be no renmants of the post when I eventually decide to delete it lol @npenguinc

Should note that I don't play much Pleasantview and I don't think there's much to Don but I enjoy all the theories that people come up with. I've seen two separate stories where he was innocent in regards to Bella's disappearance and decides to search and both of them were great. Also he is fun to play which is the most important part imo so I'd probably rank him either mid-tier or a bit higher if I were to rank him among other Pleasantview premades

I think he's probably just a fuckboy and there's nothing more to it but I do like the deeper characterizations that people give him. I also do think he's probably smart since he's in med school, and Cassandra seems like the type to be drawn to intelligence esp since she's working in the scientist career. Either way I would probably avoid him, but I don't think he'd be too scary as I feel like he would probably back off if you say no to him and find someone else

---

(lol got a bingo)

Hermia is a bit complicated because she was one of many Veronaville premades that I did not care about when I first started playing (and I really did want to like her because she has my favorite design out of all of the premades there) but I think she's alright now. There's not much going for her by herself but she meshes well with the other Veronaville sims

There's little things here and there that I can overthink (like how she's best friends with Juliette and implied to be her confidante by the family image, has a decent relationship to Tybalt despite her bio saying that she doesn't understand him, her mutual crushes on both Puck and Mercutio alongside Romeo wanting to flirt with her most of the time when you first play) but at the end of the day I have no clue what was intentional and what was a coincidence

Feels like she plays the role of both the Nurse and Rosaline (considering Romeo has a want to flirt and she's technically a relative of Juliette like Rosaline was to Juliet) so I think there's a lot of things about her that I can theorize about. I think we would be good friends if she was real, I feel like we'd have common interests and we're similar personality-wose

---

As for Vidcund I was one of numerous people who got into the Sims through CallMeKevin, with his Sims 2 playthrough being what made me want to try playing it. As a result I have a soft spot for him, he may be the most morally questionable out of his brothers but I think he is capable of changing as a person

I do get annoyed with stuff that gloss over the fact that he got mind controlled in the PSP game and pretend that he willing sold Tycho, especially when the same people are willing to acknowledge that Circe was mind controlled when she "had an affair" with Newlow. Because of that I usually remain in my bubble and look at stuff through tags rather than following specific ppl, but I think it's reasonable to dislike him for other reasons

Also the fact that he starts off being best friends with Lazlo is p interesting considering their opposite personalities but extroverted people who share a common interest with you are usually easier to talk to as an introvert since they can carry conversations and you can talk about the common interest. Reminds me of how I make most of my friends irl lol

I think we would get along horribly if he was a real person as he seems like the type who would be way easier to talk to once you get to know him, but it'll also be a pain to get to know him because he'll reject most of your efforts to do so and then proceed to complain about how he can't make friends. However he usually does mesh well with most of my sim OCs and makes for good enemies to lovers material because of the telescope thing.

[b0kksu]

" if you think that story is crazy, you should hear the story about the time i got sent to the emergency room due to a puck that got stuck in my mouth - apparently the puck smacked something in my mouth that caused my jaw to lock, it was painful," and yet there'd be a smile as he told the relatively short story, phone's clock brought up to check the time as he was waiting for his train. in such moments, he had urged the other to stay awhile, keep him company whilst catching pokemon on his phone.

a quick swirl of his thumb and - miss! " dammit." cloud flew on the screen, the swede losing his current catch streak, what a shame!

"it works just fine now though." there'd be a small bite at the air, andrew's gaze shifting with a tilt of his head as he'd turn to gojo. "takes more than a single puck to shut me up, but i wouldn't recommend taking pucks to the mouth - now, tell me you've got a spare of that pokemon i just lost. i want it. "

        “Are you serious?” long legs that cross over each other, he listens with intrigue, bottom lip held tight in between the clutch of his front teeth. What is it with life on the ice that always amounts to an unfathomable amount of pain? Well, with the exception of knee guards && copious amounts of rhinestones to replace such a thing. He should leave, that was the retort, always there but hardly tangible. It was the request that caused him to contort his features for a moment, softening, as if he couldn’t say no out of the genuine need to connect. The enigma who preferred to speak through skill alone or mutter cryptic things in brief public appearances. “How is your mouth still working after that? I’d be scared to even just smile again!” Though he is no better, one injury that counts into another, head first && head strong, unable to give less than perfection when the blade cut into crystal && he no longer felt tethered to this existence. A hunger that cannot be sated easily, passion, madness, whatever anyone called it even retirement was gnawing at his ankles.

       Sprained ankles && bruised knees, a fractured wrist && broken nose, maybe he was just fulfilling a death wish like a sadist. Black rimmed glasses on the edge, pale blue eyes that flicker, he can understand the pain && the need to get back out there all too well. “I'm not afraid to admit the first time that would have happened to me? I'd flat out cry, press be damned, you're a lot braver but eating spare hockey parts sounds like a terrible diet” now he sounds like his friends, all nagging, he wears too much of his perfectionism on his shoulders && every responsibility like a crux, he’ll burn out one day.

        The dimpled grin forms, mischievous as he coos, “What would ever make you think that?” oh, because Satoru always does. A geek to the very end as his platinum brow wiggles, taking out the rose gold phone with too many neon charms, plastic beads that jingle with initials, boyish underneath his devil may care exterior.

         “First, say please, second you better take good care of them. Do you know how many hours I’ve put into this game? So demanding, surviving stray pucks, dare I say - you’re too cool” 

[alovelyburn]

I already asked someone similar question but you are awesome too and I love all of the best berserk blogs equally. Which of your theories turned up to be true? Was it many? How did it felt? What did you didn’t predict? Would you change those? Anything made you almost quit? Favourite moment?

Baww, all the blogs love you back.

LETS SEE.

Which of your theories turned up to be true? Was it many? How did it felt? Well... I try to avoid predicting things for the most part, for various sundry reasons. So I guess my most well-confirmed theories are mostly related to my particular interpretations, which were then confirmed through interviews and etc.

ALL THAT SAID. I can think of two offhand.

-The Moonlight Kid being the baby and also sharing Griffith's body. This one was really popular though so its not like I'm alone here.

I think my less common prediction to come true was: -that Casca wouldn't end up joining the party and would instead end up sidelined again. It seems like most people (at least that I've seen) thought she'd wake up and become part of the team and go after Griffith with them, but that never felt right to me for reasons I have previously discussed (basically just that it would make the story about Casca to a larger degree than it was seemingly intended to be).

Now, I had two main theories on what might happen to take her joining them off the table, and one of them was...

That Casca would end up with Griffith somehow. Now, this one always kind of bothered me because I don't necessarily enjoy the idea of Casca going back to him willingly after the SA (although in fairness I guess going with Guts wouldn't be that much better). But nonetheless it did sort of "seem" like something that would happen when I thought with my writerly/plot analysis brain instead of just kind of wincing at the idea on a personal level.

Now, let's be clear rofl, I did not expect him to abduct her lmfao like that was surprising. Still, I did think there was a good chance she'd end up with him SOMEHOW, it was just a bit of a mind bender because I was hoping she wouldn't like, go join him but I wasn't sure how else she'd get there.

So yeah, that ended up being right although the specific mechanism was more mysterious to me.

As for how many things I was right about, well, so far I haven't been explicitly wrong about anything in terms of the interpretation theories. But that's just reading comprehension. Having that stuff validated felt pretty damn good, not gonna lie.

What did you didn’t predict? Would you change those?

Going back to the other possibility on why Casca would end up not traveling with them, I thought she might decide to retire and live in peace instead of going after Griffith with Guts. This was a thought I had because she is repeatedly shown telling Guts that it's okay to give up and run away and stop fighting, and because the conflict between them during the escape section of the story revolved around his refusal to back down even when it was extremely dangerous whereas she preferred to run or withdraw. That was the case with Wyald for example, and then also with the very concept of dissolving the Hawks. Given Skull Knight's comment about what he wants not being what she wants necessarily this was a pretty good bet. ...obviously it was wrong, though. I think I preferred this idea over the Griffith thing, but I couldn't say whether I'd change it because it's too early to judge the plot turn since I haven't seen its outcome yet.

THE OTHER BIG THING WAS

I did think Puck had a good chance of being gone after Elfhelm collapsed. I also wondered at the time whether Elfhelm disappearing had a wider effect on the world, mostly because I couldn't (and still can't) figure out why the hell Isma disappeared if it was just the Elfhelm residents that went. As it turns out it does seem to have just been Elfhelm (plus, uh Isma for some reason), though, which is fine.

Anything made you almost quit? Well, the very first time I tried to read it I dropped it sometime during Black Swordsman so maybe that counts. But after that? Nah. Not for a single second. I'm ride or die for Berserk to the end.

Favourite moment?

Didn't even have to think about it.

[tuiyla]

for a spicier take, who's your least favorite glee boy out of the s3 members?

Well you're really not wrong Anon, that is spicier.

I'm gonna get bogged down in the details and ponder what, exactly, least favourite means. Because if it's who I care the least about, it's Rory and Joe but that's obvious. Talking just about the main characters, I'm mostly neutral on Artie like my previous list showed. It's not that I hate him, I just rarely vibe with him and the occasional weirdness (i.e. misogyny) doesn't help. Rewatching season 1 I liked him more than I remembered I did but we'll see what I say after season 6.

Least favourite as in, "pisses me off the most"? Finn. Finn Hudson makes me mad like no other Glee character could ever begin to. And again, I don't hate him as such but he often makes it very, very difficult to like him. Artie I just don't care much for but I certainly feel something when Finn is on screen, most of the time. I've begun forming new theories as to what it is exactly that he bothers me because it's certainly not a single thing (so it's not just you know what) but I don't like to focus too much on negatives. I mostly try to either not think too much about Finn or think about him in s4 and where he could have gone from there. Sadly he never did.

[eph-em-era]

When I was at high school we did a version of Joan of Arc that was set at the end of the world. A dystopia, about a burning world and royalty and love. That play would have probably done damn well with a non-binary Joan actually, because so much of that narrative was about bodily autonomy, about being forced to be impregnated, to carry on the population. About forced femininity. A Joan who doesn't feel right in their own skin already, even before the whole dystopia thing - it would have worked.

I'm saying this cause this story has been adapted for years and will continue to be adapted long after you're gone. There's been at least seven films and presumably countless other pieces of media about her.

Hamlet, Othello, Lear, Macbeth, Malvolio, kings and queens, Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, Coriolanus. Royalty, historical icons, real or not. They've all been queered or cross-cast. All their stories have been told in beautiful, different, interesting ways - ways that have unlocked discussion, created different narratives, explored their worlds in a way that makes them feel more alive than just some sentences on a page. How does Malvolio become more sympathetic as a woman? What does queering do to the story of Macbeth? What happens if Puck is non-binary?

Adaptation brings stories back to life, and reignites passion in a subject.

Hell, I've played a crosscast Prospero on stage. Taking a role that's historically masculine and splitting it between two (then) cis-identified woman actors? That's giving characters layers you didn't expect.

I, Joan is not erasing the historical woman. It's providing a different angle on the story. Y'all sound like those guys who get mad when there's a lead woman in a video game by whining about the character using they/them pronouns and having complicated gender feelings. Oh no, one portrayal of a person is doing a different thing? Shock horror. The world's going to end. Fucking get over yourselves.

No real person ever is going to google Joan of Arc and think "omg she was non-binary" because of this play. it's not erasure, it's adaptation. it's expression, it's THEATRE, not the real world. it's not "literally 1984". - because a) most of yall who say something's like 1984 have never read it, and b) people aren't trying to tell you that Joan of Arc wasn't a cis woman. They're saying "if you think the abstract concept of Joan being non-binary is interesting, come and see this play". And I do. I find that idea very interesting.

If anything, a young person seeing this play could very easily become interested in the real Joan of Arc's story and seek it out after seeing the play.

Adaptation breeds discussion and creativity. It interests audiences in things that they mightn't have cared about. I'm not going to see a play about my hometown's history because I don't really care about it, but I'd see a play that discusses the queer icons that grew up here, cause there's something relatable to latch onto.

TERFs, radfems, whatever the fuck you call yourselves now - you're not helping. You're not making theatre better or art better or making the world safer or standing up for women, you're harming people.

Cis women get thrown out of toilets all the time because y'all get in a moral panic about tiny genetic factors - shapes of noses, length of hair, omg she has broad shoulders thus she must be a trans spy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - and trans and cis people die because you see gender as a strict line rather than a series of complicated biological factors that have always been more than just two options.

Get the fuck over yourselves. Stop whining and clothing your rhetoric in proto-fascist buzzwords.

With this much internet attention, the show's going to sell out anyway. :) In theatre, any publicity is good publicity, and I certainly hope it gets a repeat season and a digital release.

[spaceorphan18]

Can we talk about how damaged Kurt is? I'd say he went through the most on the show. Kurt's mom died, he was bullied, sexually assaulted by Karofsky, received death threats, he was beaten up, Blaine's cheating, his dad nearly died twice, his brother died, and there's also the fact that he was underestimated by everyone. He didn't get Tony, didn't get into NYADA, and was rejected by June Dolloway. Can we talk about how he went through hell and back and still managed to be a kind, decent person?

Well, I’m not sure I would call Kurt ‘damaged’ per se -- I think characters like Quinn and Puck end up more damaged due to their toxic upbringings.  

But!!! Yes - the show did throw soooo much at him, didn’t they? I wish I remember the phrase used back in the day -- like gay tears or something.  It got to be an issue that people would nag the writers about letting something good happen to Kurt! 

But yeah - I agree that through all of that, he managed to be a rather functional and kind person, which I think is totally cool for his character and story.  He isn’t the epitome of dark and depressed, and his story ends on a happy note! 

One thing that I also like is that Kurt’s story lead to the fleshing out of Blaine and Santana (and every other queer/LGBT+) story that was on the show, as well as being a stepping stone for queer stories to be normalized in media.  So, yeah, Kurt’s story was rough -- but that doesn’t mean the next teen show with a queer kid has to be -- and the more normalized it becomes, the less marginalized queer people become.  All good things! :) 

[gamebunny-advance]

I'd like to read more about your personal interpretations of Pac & Watch. Your drawings about them have so much personality... apparently Pac is still married? May you please expand about their relationship? (Pac's, Ms.'s, and G&W's)

Huh, I don’t usually (if ever) get asked about my headcanons like this, but I’ll be happy to talk about them! 

I guess since you’re asking about all three, I’ll tell ya everything, but it’s probably gonna be a long and boring read. I’m not really the fanfic writing type, so this might also kinda be disjointed. Sorry in advance!

Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man

Pac-Man (real name “Puck”) met Ms. Pac-Man (real name “Pepper”) in Pactown when she was a showgirl.  A long time ago Pepper used to live as a man (deadname *“Otto”), but after hearing about the adventures of “Pac-Man” (I consider this to be more of a title than an actual name. There have been many Pac-Mans over the years, and Puck is just one of them) decided to adopt the title for herself as a performer. Soon word of “Ms. Pac-Man” spreads far and wide, eventually reaching Puck who decides to check-out the Pac who’s also claimed his title. Upon his arrival to Pactown from Pac Village, he’s attacked by the ghost gang who is also attacking Pepper. Together they fend them off and gradually fall in love. Eventually Pepper retires from being a performer to settle down and raise a family with Puck (adopting two kids: Junior and Baby). Occasionally they cross paths with the ghost gang and other evils, but they’re happy with having a simple home life together.

Relationship-wise they are very much in love with each other. Despite being older (over 30) they still act like newly-weds, always holding each other’s hands in public and calling each other pet names and kissing. Lots and lots of kissing. It embarresses their kids to no end. When Pac-Man went to join smash for a while, they both got kinda lonely without each other, but Ms. Pac-Man still visits often and when she can’t she sends lots of letters and homemade meals to him.

*This part is inspired by real life. I figure it’s a well known story among Pac-Man fans, but the original Ms. Pac-Man game is actually based on a ROM hack called “Crazy Otto”. I believe what happened was that Midway (The NA distributors of Pac-Man) bought the ROM then converted it to be a direct sequel to Pac-Man. I thought that it would be interesting to incorporate that history into Ms. Pac-Man’s backstory. Originally I didn’t even headcanon Ms. Pac-Man as the same species/race as Pac-Man because the original sprites are so different, but I decided that that was a little too complicated for something like this. ^^;

Ms. Pac-Man’s previous job as a performer in the big city is based on how she was depicted in the original ads for the game, usually being shown as a glamorous figure with a strong attitude. Pac-Man coming from a small town is mostly based on the Pac-Man World/Pac-Man the New Adventures canon, where it looks like the Pac family is based in a rural/suburban town. I wanted there to be a more natural progression from Ms.Pac-Man’s original “independant woman” attitude to becoming a domestic housewife. She still has all of her original spunk (she’s even still a little flirtatious out of habit), but they’re still completely devoted to each other and would never assume that the other is being unfaithful in any way (and neither ever have been).

Pac-Man and Mr. Game & Watch

When Pac-Man joined smash, he kinda felt a *little* out of touch everyone. Although there have been modern Pac-Man games most of the Pac-Men(?) in those games are actually different people. Puck is the “Classic” Pac-Man and doesn’t really have the know-how of his more modern colleges. He even finds it difficult to relate to Mario who is only a year younger than Pac because their experience gap is so large. 

Although originally puzzled with meeting someone who is still 2-D, when Pac-Man meets Mr. Game & Watch, he feels an instant sense of nostalgia and they both bond over their mutual out-of-touchness. However, Mr. Game & Watch isn’t just out of touch with the times, he’s out of touch with how to function as a normal person. Despite appearing humanoid, G&W is very alien to this world. How he even crossed dimensions is a mystery even to himself, but now that he’s here, adjusting has been difficult. 

He hasn’t fully developed a lot of concepts like good and evil. Basically, he has trouble with any intangible concept and has a very black and white way of thinking. He isn’t emotionless per say (he knows when he’s happy or when he’s upset someone, etc.), but there’s a lot he doesn’t know/understand about feelings and morality. He lacks tact and is bad at communicating with people, so he doesn’t have very many friends among the smashers. This gets Pac’s dad-instincts to kick in and he eventually starts trying to help G&W learn how to properly express himself (a task that’s being shared with Princess Peach).

Once when Ms.Pac-Man came to visit, G&W got curious about their relationship. Although he was kinda familiar with the concept of “love”, having heard about it from Peach, he had never seen it expressed in such a way before, so he began emulating the Pacs to test out his new concept of “love” (mostly the kissing). G&W has a habit of emulating anything that interests him to gain experience, so he wound up making romantic gestures to anyone that he “loved” (which is anyone who he considers even remotely important to him, including Pac-Man). Of course this isn’t appropriate in most situations, but pretty much everyone knows that he does it because he doesn’t know any better, so no one takes it seriously. After being taught about the different kinds of love and how to “properly” express it (specifically the difference between romantic and platonic love), he determines that his feelings for most of this friends is actually platonic, but is still happy to have made any friends at all. There is one person that he has romantic feelings for, but that’s a different story.

Since then their friendship has been riddled with discussions of the good old days with the occasional snarky banter. They get along pretty well and Pac-Man has learned to accept most of G&W’s quirks. Even after learning about his involvement in the Subspace Army, Pac is still happy to be friends with G&W. What happened happened, but right now they’re best friends and it’s gonna take a lot to change that.

So yeah, that’s the gist of it! I don’t really ship a romantic Pac & Watch because I feel like it messes with established canon too much (namely that Pac-Man is married and has kids), but I do like the idea of them being very close to each other. They both have relationships with some of the other smash characters, but you only asked about the Pacs and Mr. Game & Watch, so I’ll leave it at this for now.

If you want to know anything else, then feel free to ask me.

[tuiyla]

Just out of curiosity, which Glee characters do you think are objectively the most well written?

I'm gonna do a big disclaimer and say that I can only be so objective when, well simply put I'm not lol and I have so many personal feelings about Glee as a show. But I'll try put my media studies lens on and consider from that angle. Even then, most well written can mean many different things so let's establish the following, still pretty vague terms: consistency, development, and well-roundedness. I say they're still vague because to do this ~properly~ we'd have to give actual definitions to those terms and then look at what they mean with each ch.

But this would just be a roundabout way of reaching much the same conclusion, which is that Kurt doesn't have all that much competition in that department. He ticks all the boxes and is a character where you can feel that genuine care went into developing - and portraying - him. He's very consistent not just by Glee standards but in general while also having solid development from baby gay to proud and confident, courageous young man. His family life is one of, no, the most well-developed what with his relationship with his dad and we have a solid idea of who he was before the show and then see him change. He's flawed but he's firm in his virtues and represents much of the show's core ideology, which of course helps make him a better-developed character. His storylines feel unique to him, not just C and D plots given to him by chance and he has one of the show's strongest romantic relationships and arguably the strongest friendship. Again factors that certainly help his case. One could also argue he gets a bit lost in Hummelberry and his dynamic with Rachel but I'd still consider him to be the best-written ch even with all that. He actually feels like the character who was the least sidelined in favour of Rachel.

You said plural, and though I think Kurt pretty clearly stands above the rest there are runner-ups. I'm not just saying Santana because of my pretty obvious bias, I'm saying her because she has a monumental rise from background to the spotlight, her early characterization retroactively makes more sense, she has one of the most well-written arcs in her season 2 story, and develops into a very solid character with her own distinctive voice and overall arc. Where she loses to Kurt is easy to see: the writers didn't truly know what to do with her after absolutely butchering her coming out (i.e. Outing) and when she does get an arc in New York in season 4, it doesn't actually go anywhere. Season 6 drops everything New York had been building in favour of closing her story with Brittany and that general arc with her sexuality, which is a good watch but makes her inconsistent with what's been happening. The show also rarely ever truly centers her in her own story, unlike Kurt, so it's hard to say. Look no further to what I mean by that than bane of my existence, IKAG. I also don't wanna give the writers too much credit when it comes to what made Santana great because it was less genuinely good writing and more a combination of pure dumb luck and Naya's force.

The other two who come to mind are Rachel, as the ultimate protagonist, and Puck, who had a very strong arc but then he graduated and they dropped the ball. Rachel suffers from being handed so much because she resets almost as much as Quinn does and it takes until the very end of the series for her to really learn her lessons. Just because she gets to most it doesn't mean that's always in her favour; most of the time, she could use a little less screentime and a lot less favoritism. She also suffers from being hailed as the ultimate underdog even after her dreams keep coming true and then her endearing ways come off as irritating. I think she has a better-developed character than most give her credit for but far from being the best written.

And Puck, well to put it briefly his story had a surprising amount of care put into it from the beginning and though he had inconsistencies because this is Glee, his growth was gradual and compelling and he developed more than most other ND members by the end of season 3. If Glee was only three seasons long he'd honestly be up there with Kurt, albeit with less screentime, but I can't ignore the fact that they do not know what to do with him in season 4 and it dilutes the previous good stuff. Season 5 is better but by that point we're grasping at straws and in season 6 he's just... there. So I can't in good conscience say he's all that well-written but he's still among the best. Better than Rachel, overall, but the two are in very different ch categories.

[tuiyla]

Just curious as a genuine question, why don’t you go as hard for the Glee boys, what’s the obsession with the girls?

Lmao I do appreciate the genuine question Anon but kinda laughing at "obsession" with the girls 😂 Don't get me wrong I'm actually really flattered by that but I don't feel like I quite live up to the Glee girls blog label people seem to have assigned me. I do love them and I like being known for loving them but I'd say, based on my blog and reality, I have more of a Santana obsession with a side of appreciation for the girls.

To answer this second half first, then, I must say it's not a conscious thing. I didn't go into Glee wanting to love the girls and mainly the girls. It just so happens that most of the characters I find interesting and likeable do happen to be the Glee girls, basically the OG 6 and the season 4 newbies - no hate against Madison or Jane, either, they just didn't get much in the show. I prefer their stories, I prefer them as performers, I find their characters were compelling in some way or another. And you know I should start being more vocal about all of them but really it just boils down to... I like them. We could list reasons for a long time but at the end of the day I just think they're neat. There are still different levels in my appreciation for them but generally speaking, it's fair to state I like and prefer the girls.

I don't hate the guys or anything, I think your phrasing is probably the best way to put it: I just don't go as hard for them. I've talked about the guys before in this summary post and do on occasion go in-depth about what like about them. In particular I've written more about Kurt, Blaine, and Artie before than I think I have about Tina and Marley. My bad on those last two, I do actually have thoughts. But yes, point is, I always feel the need to state that I do generally like the guys as well and it's not like I'm going into it with active misandry lol.

With the guys, I either don't have that strong opinions no matter how I try or my feelings are a bit too complicated for the lighthearted appreciation I afford the girls. Klaine are probably the most compelling and least conflicted in that way, and then I really don't have strong feelings on Mike, Sam and Artie other than "they're fine". I could and have talked about them but they're ultimately not like the girls for me where it brings me joy. And then Puck and Finn are very complicated feelings territory, especially the latter, where I do appreciate so much about concepts of the character but for some reason or another can't wholeheartedly love them. So that again defaults to not going nearly as hard as I do for the girls.

I think the best and maybe most diplomatic way to put it would be... I don't get it. I appreciate pretty much all aspects of Glee, all chs anyway, but when it comes to the guys in general I just don't get it. I don't feel it on a cellular level like some do. And that's okay! I'm sure lots experience something similar with the girls. Favourites are favourites because we put them above something else and it's all relative. I'd like to think I show appreciation for many things simultaneously, but even I tire at such a large cast of characters haha. Levels exist and it happens to be that for me the girls fall into the "going hard" category.

Really, at the end of the day it's just plain preference innit. And to be clear I like the Glee girls not because they're the Glee girls but because they happen to be the most compelling to me, personally. I could and in fact wanna elaborate on why, but it really just boils down to that preference. The gender divide was coincidental, unless you count me generally gravitating towards female characters, but then that's not a Glee thing.

[tuiyla]

for send a character: Ms. Quinn Fabray!

My fave walking Greek tragedy!

favorite thing about them

Is it weird if I say all that she goes through? Like, sucks for her but it makes high-stakes television. I suppose I love that there are so many readings of her story and sure, that's because Glee's inconsistent and they legit hated Quinn but let's look on the bright side. I particularly like the queer reading of her story. And then when it comes to her character I just find it inspiring that she keeps on going. She makes tons of mistakes in the process, sure, but Quinn always stands up. Sometimes literally after mere weeks of having been hit by a truck.

least favorite thing about them

She really does make a lot of mistakes though, huh. I suppose, even though it's juicy on a narrative level, I don't like how reverts back to her old ways as a sort of defense mechanism and how it involves her shutting people out. Nooo Queen Bee Quinnie don't do that. Like remember when she came back to Lima for Thanksgiving, Santana expressed concern about Marley and Quinn went "yeah well I'm fucking my professor and also you're an insecure little bitch haha." Like, girl what? Chaotic queen truly. One step forward two steps back with her.

favorite line

I find this one to be quite underrated:

This freshman just gave me a hug and told me to ‘never change.’ Poor thing is too young to realize that change can be so good.

brOTP

I just wish her all the friends in the world but I'm partial to Quinncedes and the absolute tragedy it was to just ignore them post season 1. They're forever besties in my heart though. I also really like Quartie.

OTP

Honestly just any person (cough woman cough) who makes her happy and she can maintain a healthy relationship with. I really don't see Quinn ending up with anyone from the established cast but I like Faberry and Quinntana in fics. My ultimate Quinn OTP is her and therapy though. Oh and Quinntina is a really good crackship.

nOTP

I do like the themes and idea of them with what Glee was going for but in practice Quick is just... no. No. Nope, they can remain friends and maybe help with each other's issues but Quinn should not be with Puck.

random headcanon

Hmm well I've written before about what kind of mom she'd be and how I think she had a girlfriend at Yale. For this I'd probably say something about her home life, like her sister Frannie reaching out to her around graduation time or later, full of regret for having lost touch for years and wanting to reconnect. It's a strenuous relationship because when Quinn got kicked out Frannie didn't so much as call and that wasn't very sisterly of her but they eventually learn to make something of the bloody mess that is the Fabray family. It takes Quinn years to truly be able to look at Frannie as a big sister she can trust.

unpopular opinion

Once again what is unpopular lol. Let's see, people throwing the phrase pretty privilege around without showing any understanding of how it applies to Quinn is quite exhausting. I dislike when people dismiss or diminish her trauma in any way whatsoever; I don't consider myself someone who goes ultra-hard for her but I won't have that. And, despite the flimsy canon, I do not see how anyone could view her as straight. Sapphic UHT rights in this house.

song i associate with them

Madonna songs, I think Papa Don't Preach is soo underrated. But I also love love how Keep Holding On is like, her song, despite not singing on either version. Brutal also has Skank Quinn vibes.

favorite picture of them

Dianna Agron is like a marble statue of a Greek goddess so you know, any picture but I do like her season 1 Cheerios look and the season 3 short hair. And who could forget Skank Quinn, we hardly knew ya. Let's go with this one:

[tuiyla]

I know you closed the discussion but just for your recent ask, it’s unfair to say Blaine gets the brunt of criticism, because I see Puck crucified and Brittany as well. Just depends on your fandom space I giess but just in general I wish people could stop saying “this isn’t talked about enough” or “people only call out this character” etc because 99% of the time it really is not true.

I'll post because I agree on your conclusion. Truth is, fandom is less tangible than even NFTs and it might be that, based on our own limited perspective, we see a lot of something or the opposite, we feel like something isn't talked about enough. I guess, at the end of the day, it really is about curating your own space and fandom experience. It's impossible to be aware of every single aspect of fandom so I agree, general statement should be avoided.

Just as a last note on this convo in particular, I think I've seen every character crucified for just about everything lol. That's why I vibe with last anon because sometimes people get so carried away they forget that these are fictional characters and the story they're in is much better when viewed just like that, as a story. Sure we could crucify Puck but I'd much rather point out how messed up it is that the writers didn't see what he did as wrong. There's no point in calling out Puck the character, is there? How about we use it to kickstart a convo about media literacy instead, hmm.

[tuiyla]

Sorry me again! Maybe there is just less to be said about the boys other than Klaine - or their stories are interwoven with other characters?

Like a lot of Sam’s story is his various relationships with Mercedes, Rachel and Brittany, and his friendship with Blaine. Again, Artie had some plot in season 1, but he was very much a support throughout to other storylines, such as Tina, or director, or seasons 4/5. Finn - well I don’t think he’s a well liked character here for obvious reasons - and his story is with Rachel’s. And people like Puck or Mike or others have less to do as the seasons go on. I keep meaning to write more about Sam, and maybe even Artie. But I have mutuals who follow the guys and often talk about them. Maybe there’s just more to write about the various girls?

Yes, input, please!

That's a very fair point about Klaine, especially if we're gonna divide the cast along gender lines.

I think we have to keep in mind that not everyone had the same amount of story on Glee and therefore not the same amount of material to work with. Out of the guys, Kurt ended up with the most plotlines and development. And you're right that even though Finn was one of the beginning pillars of Glee, a lot of his story did focus on Rachel and their relationship. I actually think there's a lot to say about Finn and his themes and all but he's just a bit too frustrating to wholeheartedly dive into. Poor Mike barely had anything and though he's very well-liked, there's just not much to say. I think there's more with Puck but people understandably have a complicated relationship with his character and he all but disappears post-graduation.

Klaine are the standouts among the guys but if we're talking overall, Santana, Quinn, Rachel, and potentially even Mercedes get discussed more than the rest of the guys because, with the exception of Finn, they just have more of a story. Quinn for example might only truly be a character in the first three seasons but there's so much there even in just the inconsistencies of the writing and everyone interpreting that differently. It's all fascinating stuff to think about imo.

I personally find I could muster the least about Sam and Artie so I'd be super interested in anything you have to say about them!