Formally, ask-tpom-park-avenue, now Crystal Volcheck's tpom side blog. For Park Avenue related things check the Park Avenue page and for everything else tpom related, simply enjoy!
canon is what happens in the text. e.g. merlin tries to poison morgana
a headcanon is a fact that you have personally made up as an elaboration of canon. it is your invention. e.g. i think morgana and gwen had a teenage lesbian situationship before the events of canon. or, i think modern morgana would love evanesence.
an interpretation is how one reads the existing text. it is not an invented fact nor is it a headcanon, it is a reading. e.g. i think merlin tries to poison morgana out of misplaced self-hatred. or, i think that one line was delivered with suppressed malice and shows a nuanced relationship.
fanon is the general fandom’s accepted headcanons and interpretations that elaborate or recontextualize canon. e.g. merlin is a badass waif and morgana is a bitch.
these are all different words with different meanings.
Okay. I was on my beloved AO3 and I saw something that made me do a double take. So, now I really want to know…
What is your AO3 user ID?
I’m an OG user 5 digits or less
Six figures baby!
I’m in the millions…
Voting ended onJul 27
I’m so curious to see how long people have been on AO3! I know some people have been on there since beta/invite only, but I would love to see what the number is on tumblr!
some of you weren’t around for the fan fiction dot net purge of 2002 (when they banned explicit content and mass-deleted thousands of fics) and the livejournal purge of 2007 (when they deleted hundreds of blogs, disproportionately targeting queer & kink content) and it shows
I've decided to share my headcanons (things that haven't been confirmed canon, but haven't been disproved either, and I have evidence for them so it feels like they're more like theories but I'm probably gonna use them in fanfics if/when I write one and some of them are not that serious, i just found them funny) for Private (TPOM), most of these are based on canon or semicanon stuff. (The Episodes/Movies/Specials which I got the idea/evidence from are in these brackets)
WARNING- YAP SESSION BELLOW THE CUT
1) Low-Key Genius, but keeps it on the downlow- he knows the secret ingredient for a love potion (Madly Madagascar- Valentine's day special), he somehow knows exactly what is needed to make an antidote for the super ray (Mort Unbound- tpom episode), he made makeshift TNT with nothing but candy (When The Chips Are Down- tpom episode) and he built an entire mech suit (Untouchable- tpom episode) with lots of tech stuff and it hasn't turned evil, so far better than whatever Kowalski makes, however it did get dismantled by wasps (Siege the day-tpom episode)😕, also there was a commentary where the movie!penguins' VAs were discussing over the 1st movie and Private referred to himself as "the codes guy" and Skipper told him not to brag or something similar, I can't find that commentary right now but I remember watching it and saving it in a youtube playlist, but it's since been privated or it's not available in my country ig (Commentary On YouTube by The Movie!Penguins, which may or may not be hidden in your country)
2) Bipolar- this one is purely based on the comment Cupid made- "We want to be bipolar" (Merry Madagascar special), but it also fits him weirdly well, however I am not a psychologist/therapist or anyone who has studied this particular subject so I can't exactly provide commentary
3) Forced Personality- [now I just wanna clarify that this isn't character bashing, he's my fave] He usually forces his personality into a one dimensional box, when he's Private, he's cute, when he's Mr.Tux, he's charming, he mostly does this to avoid getting backlash from the other characters,"You sure shattered my dreams","I like all my men one-dimensional" (Mr.Tux- tpom episode), also he got stabbed by Skipper for quoting Shakespeare (Operation Break-Speare- tpom episode) and sure, the sword was fake but Skipper didn't know that when he stabbed my boy [that was metaphorical, I'm younger than Private, who's canonically 20 in the show]
4) Hates Manfredi & Jonson- You expect me to think he tried to smother both of them after 'hearing only the first half [of the order]' (Maurice at Peace- tpom episode), mind you he has disobeyed orders before- multiple times "Private, slap yourself!", "No!" (Cute-Astrophe- tpom episode), "No Sweets", Private then proceeds to sneak sweets to recon (Skorca!- tpom episode), and he has questioned orders a lot more (Truth Ache- tpom episode), don't you think he would've doubted the order or asked for clarification or something? Cause the way I see it, he tried to murder 2 of his teammates on the base of an order which he didn't think twice about, he thought the whole team was on-board, so clearly there's one conclusion- he hated them and thought the team hated them too.
5) Every Time He Curses, The Universe Breaks- "In the event of a water emergency, place the vest over your head, then kiss your *pop* goodbye" (Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa), the universe censors him in unconventional ways, sometimes the safety vest pops, other times lightning strikes- it depends on the swear word, and the world doesn't like when he swears, that's why Private swearing can have the most disastrous of consequences, and he will be using that as a weapon in the future and maybe destroy the world in the process
6) Guilt-Related Hallucinations- he has had those in at least 2 instances, 1st- when he thinks he killed Mort, where he hallucinates Mort's ghost (The Penguins Stays In The Picture- tpom episode), and when he thinks he doomed his friends [although that's more of an auditory hallucination but same difference] (Private and the Winky Factory)
7) Anxiety- he sleep walks in one episode for a few seconds, until he bumps into Kowalski which wakes him and prompts him to yeet his sleeping mask [yes I still use yeet, sue me] which can be a sign of stress or anxiety (Invention Intervention- tpom episode)
8) Lots Of Exes- "Mr.Tux left nothing but a trail of broken hearts and shattered dreams" (Mr.Tux- tpom episode), I swear there's more to that quote and I'm gonna make it up [why do you think I gave him so many exes during tpom ship week 2026?]
9) Gambler, Alcoholic, ect- there are no hints to him being an alcoholic but I like to give him more problems [DRINK RESPONSIBLY], we already know the story Private gave us, but there has to be more to his backstory, if it was just a friendly competition at mini golf, The Amarillo Kid wouldn't have set the base to explode, also we saw that King Julien was gonna lose everything to The Amarillo Kid, so clearly this is more than just a game of skill, it's taking a risk with your money [I DO NOT CONDONE GAMBLING, IT'S A BAD ADDICTION, I AM JUST SPECULATING A FICTIONAL CHARACTER'S BACKSTORY, WHICH MAY INCLUDE BAD HABITS], and clearly it was a game that was deciding who wins or loses it all, and after Mr.Tux left no one was willing to bet on anything with the Amarillo Kid, he was almost out of everything he owns and without anyone else wanting to take a chance so that The Kid could win some more things, so he needed to find Tux again, ...but where and how? (Mr.Tux- tpom episode), later The Amarillo Kid comes seeking help, people finally decided to play the games of skill with him, but he lost, and now two brothers want to take his armor and use it as a guacamole bowl, alas those are the risks of gambling [DON'T GAMBLE, I SAY AGAIN, GAMBLING IS VERY BAD], (Showdown on Fairway 18- tpom episode)
That's all I have for now, I'll see later if I have more ideas
I have the last two(?) ship week themes to post but theywill have to wait until tomorrow or Thursday. Ended up pretty busy with work, class, and a dentist appointment today so I wasnt online much.
Private was low key a pessimist in all the movies, I mean in the first Madagascar movie he straight up said Antarctica sucks, in the second Madagascar movie he cursed out Darwin and the passengers too ig, in the Penguins of Madagascar movie he was moody the whole time, like he's about to "die" by a laser and then deeply sighs because someone said being cute is all he has (which might be a reference to the show since it came out before the movie, specifically the episode "High Moltage" where Private himself states that his cuteness is all he's got, at least we know who put that in his head), in the third mada movie he was bummed out about not being able to become president, like there's been times in the show where he's pessimistic but that's when it's really wrung outta him, just imagine how done with life he has to be in the movies. Like in the movie specials he's fine, but like damn the movie cast is really horrible to him sometimes aren't they? I mean when he gets the chance to lead the team he immediately forces them to do push-ups (yes, I consider that short a part of the movie verse cause of the desings), that's brutal... Or a power trip, at least that's semi-consistant throughout the movie and the show. I just love how nuanced Private is, that's why he's my favorite character, also the angst potential, so much angst potential, why aren't there more fics with Private angst, I need them. If you have any please reccomend them, they're very hard to find, trust me I've tried, also I'm writing this while I'm very tired so if there's any mistakes it's probably because of that.
If Private is the straight one, what is everyone else?
This comes up every few years and it changes every so often but current headcanons:
Private is 100% heterosexual. He has a slight panic over Archie, but figures out it was just hero worship thanks to Julien and Rico.
Kowalski is somewhere on the ace spectrum, most likely demi. His 'crush' on Doris is him overcompensating for the fact the he's never looked at someone and felt sexual attraction.
Skipper is bisexual, but he doesnt really label himself this until much later in life. He didnt realize that being attracted to both men and women wasnt a universal experience until Marlene.
Rico is pansexual. I used to depict him as bisexual, then considered just having him be gay, but since my headcanon for Julien changed over the years, pan is most fitting. Basically Rico is into the wine, but not the label.
All four them are cis.
Also going to toss in a few others:
Julien is trans and pansexual. Had some very risky top surgery IN A CAVE before ever encountering the penguins so most people assume that he's just a really feminine gay man at a glance.
Marlene is cis and straight, but is the one who helps Skipper come to understand his bisexuality.
Hans is cis and gay and very proud of Skipper for figuring out that being bi is a very real thing.
Big Kico fan here and a fan of your fics ❤️❤️❤️ Just wondering if you have a set idea for how Rico and Kowalski get together?
Aww, I always love hearing that my fics are still getting read <3
I've explored almost every path to Kico at this point and have been basically avoiding just how I want it to happen for the Park Avenue verse.
In part because I didnt have a good feel for the series until a few years and fics in. Theres a few fics I acutally ignore as part of the series because I just dont like them anymore. But more its that there are also so many stories to tell that fitting ships in that make sense/add to the plot is tricky.
For example Rico and Julien dating the last few stories works to add a little more weight to certain actions/character motivations. For them to break up and have Kico become canon has to make sense in the overall narrative. Plus it's been estsblished that Kowalski is obsessed with Doris so somewhere along the line that narrative has to be played through as well. Its kinda like at somepoint Kitka will have to come into play as Skipper's girlfriend for a bit, but what brings his and Marlene's relationship to an end? Where does Hans fit in all of that mess?
Currently the "official" get together is as follows:
Julien and Rico end up dating for quite sometime (at least a year) and things naturally fizzle out between them. Once it fizzles Rico is painfully aware that he is into the walking disaster that is Kowalski, but doesn't say or do anything about it because....While that's going on Kowalski and Doris become a thing so Kowalski can have his sexuality crisis. Their relationship ends pretty quickly, but it doesnt mean that Kowalski realizes he's got a thing for Rico. Pining idiots and miscommunications are abound.
Ideally, I want to bring in a oc that was mentioned in earlier fics (a blast from Rico's past) that is the catalyst needed to awaken Kowalski's feelings. Things get messy and ugly FAST.
Later after the dust settles and no one is on the verge of death Kowalski decides to lay all his cards on the table and they quiety get together one late night when neither of them can sleep. Ultinately they decide to keep their relationship to themselves so can figure out how it changes their friendship. Plus Kowalski is a rank above Rico so their romantic relationship isn't allowed according to CENTRAAL rules and they could loose their placements on the team.
Which actually connects to the one story I started but never continued because its so far ahead in the timeline.
Not really. There's just not many characters that he's up against that have the ship energy I look. The closest would be with Amarillo Kidd or Archie, but but havent really found a ship that I like with him if that makes sense?
The show makes him seem young and I follow that feeling so I kinda see him as getting the occasional crush, but it never really goes anywhere and he's okay with that. He's young, lives a semi-dangerous life, and knows that one day he wants to settle down and have a family. He just isnt sure who he'd end up having that life with and isn't in a rush to find it.
However, I will say that I find it hilarious to have Private as the only straight man on the team so if I do end up shipping him with someone it'll be one of the few female characters that exsist. Like maybe if he runs into an older Hunter down the line, that could be a thing.
Disclaimer for anyone not familiar with what I write, since I've been in this fandom for 10+ and grew up with the show, not the movie, so I follow show canon. Which means if I'm not shipping Rico with Julien, then he's absolutely being shipped with Kowalski. If that makes you uncomfortable, maybe skip this one.
“Please tell me at least one of them knows,” Marlene begged no longer able to stay silent about the obvious pining that had been unfolding in front of them for the last hour. It had been cute at first, seeing Rico stare at Kowalski with heart eyes every time he thought the man wasn’t looking or paying attention. But it had become fascinating when Rico got up and Marlene caught Kowalski watching the other man with some degree of longing. Since then, it had become downright painful to see them steal glances and practically melt into each other’s spaces as the night went on.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
You can also find it below
“Please tell me at least one of them knows,” Marlene begged no longer able to stay silent about the obvious pining that had been unfolding in front of them for the last hour. It had been cute at first, seeing Rico stare at Kowalski with heart eyes every time he thought the man wasn’t looking or paying attention. But it had become fascinating when Rico got up and Marlene caught Kowalski watching the other man with some degree of longing. Since then, it had become downright painful to see them steal glances and practically melt into each other’s spaces as the night went on.
“Nope,” Julien replied as he set a new drink next to her. “You’re more than welcome to join the betting pool.”
“There’s a betting pool?” The idea was tempting, but also how many people were seeing what she was seeing for one to exist. “Just how many people are aware of…that.”
“It’s a hefty pot so just about everyone who has ever seen them together,” Julien leaned against the bar top. “However, I am not allowed to join which is like totally unfair.”
“Because it’s a conflict of interest and you have an advantage.” Skipper cut in glaring at the other man as he rejoined Marlene at the bar.
“Ugh, Rico and I broke up like forever ago. You can’t keep it against me.”
“I can and I will as long as you two are still attached to the hip.”
“Wait, is that why you broke up?” Marlene turned away from where Rico and Kowalski were talking to Roger. “Does he not know?”
“Honestly, there is very little difference between a Rico who fully trusts you and a Rico who is in love with you,” Julien explained. They had both felt the shift in the relationship when mutually slipped out of a romantic love and into a platonic one. It still didn’t stop them from being flirty or touchy with each other, which certainly didn’t help the situation. “But Sky Spirits only know if Rico can tell the difference at first. We’ve had some interesting conversations though, both of us wouldn’t mind taking a drink of that glass of water.”
“Which is exactly why you can’t be in the betting pool.” Skipper tried to block the mental images that followed Julien’s statement. “Honestly, the better question is, does Kowalski even know he’s not straight?”
“How would you know he’s not straight?” Marlene couldn’t help but argue. As painful as it was to watch the two, she couldn’t help but play the devil’s advocate. “I’ve only heard him pine over Doris.”
“There is one straight man on the team and he’s over there.” Skipper inclined his head to the other side of the room where Private was talking to Bada and Bing. “Point is, both of them are completely oblivious, and it’s going to take one of them to nearly die to realize it.”
“I don’t think it has be to that extreme,” Marlene started but her attention has pulled back over to the pair when Kowalski’s laughter filled the air. She turned just in time to see the genius grab onto Rico as he cackled at something that had been said and Marlene was willing to bet that the flush in his face wasn’t just from his drinks. She turned back to Skipper and Julien shaking her head. “Maybe just some more liquor and then lock them in a room together.”
Skipper snorted at the suggestion and then sighed. “Unfortunately, no outside interferences. They have to figure it out for themselves, which is why I’m doubling down on a near-death confession.”
“I’m going to be less pessimistic and say they’ll figure it out between Christmas and New Years.”
“With or without alcohol?” Julien grinned and opened up an app on his phone.
Marlene glanced at the pair once more before deciding. “Alcohol, I’m not that optimistic that they won’t need a nudge. They’re too oblivious.”
Turns out penguins aren't the only animals with a natural affinity for rocks.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
You can also find it below
Part of Skipper’s job was to notice things. Typically, this meant things like trip wires or snipers, and after years of constantly having to be aware of things, it meant that he noticed things even when his life wasn’t on the line.
Case and point: the rocks that had started to accumulate on the bookshelf in Marlene’s apartment.
It had started with one barely the size of a quarter, but it was such a rich blue that it caught his eye immediately. A few weeks later another stone was also rather small, but a rich green with white bands. The next few that followed her decidedly plain compared to the first two. It wasn’t until he saw a glittering chunk of purple that he dared to ask.
“So, what with all the rocks Marlene?”
“Oh, it’s kind of embarrassing,” Marlene started, feeling her face flush as she watched Skipper examine her collection.
“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen victim to new-age hippy tactics.”
“No, nothing like that...or maybe a little like that but not in the way you think. It’s more the new age mindset of healing your inner child.”
“Explain.”
“As a kid I collected rocks, which I get is standard and not all that special, but I was obsessed and wanted to take all the rocks home. Especially if it was a type I hadn't seen before. Not only would I fill my pockets, but I’d also cuff my pants to try to bring more home with me.”
“I bet that made every trip to the park fun.”
“My parents hated it. It’d be a full shakedown before I was allowed in the car or house. They let me some fossils on occasion to help curb the habit, which worked for a while, but I was still a menace. If I wasn’t allowed to go out and hunt rocks, then I was reading about them and became even more fascinated by the ones used for pigments. It was bad, for a while as a teenager, I kind of bought into the crystal energy mumbo jumbo.”
“Now that is embarassing considering you’d argue with me that ghosts don’t exist.”
“Because they don’t,” Marlene crossed her arms and glared at him.
“We’re not starting this again. Keep telling me what went wrong with your rock collection.”
“Long story short: High school girls are mean and my parents told me that if I wanted the bullying to stop then I needed to get rid of the rocks.” There was no hiding hurt in her voice. Even 20 odd years later it still stung that her parents had sided with her bullies instead of encouraging her to be herself. There had been harsher words exchanged that day, and sharp comments about geology being a waste of a career. “So, I tossed all of my collection outside and buried it.”
Skipper picked up the small blue stone and looked at Marlene with pride. “Good on you for rebelling against your parents.”
Marlene laughed a little at the comment. It was hardly her first act of rebellion at this point. Considering how unhappy her parents had been when she decided to pursue a degree in the arts and the outright disappointment when they caught a glimpse of the tattoo along her ribs.
“They’re used to it by now.”
“So, what’s this one?”
“Lapiz Lazuli: the original source for ultramarine and one of the very few sources for a naturally occurring blue.” Marlene gently took the stone from Skipper. “However, that’s not why I bought it. I just so happened to be going to that ‘hippy’ you love.”
“Ugh, I loathe that place. You and Rixo always come back reeking of patchouli.”
Marlene rolled her eyes and continued her story as she put the stone back on the shelf. “Anyway, I wanted to restock some incense when I spotted it. You were on the mission at the time, and I hadn’t seen your weeks and the second I saw the stone it reminded me of your eyes.”
Now Skipper could feel the tips of his ears burning, and he tried to play off the way his heart had started to jackhammer. “So, you started picking up pebbles because you missed me?”
“I mean, you are a penguin,” Marlene teased and leaned against him as she looked over various rocks and semi-precious stones. “But I also just missed my collection. Feels like I found a part of me that was missing. This time it’s just more meaningngful."
Skipper wrapped an arm around her and vaguely recalled some documentary saying that there was something about otters having favorite rocks but chose not to voice the potential comparison. “Tell me about the others.”
i know you ship Julien/Rico, but what about other Julien ships like Julien/Clover or Julien/Skipper?
I'm still mad about Clover marrying Sage. I mean I completely understand the direction that the show went with and why, but Clover and Julien were so perfect for each other.
Julien/Clover is what actually ended up making me ship Rico/Julien, because Clover had this wild side underneath the formalities that reminded me of Rico. Unfortunately I also never saw this ship as one that would last, because Rico would always have feelings for Kowalski and Julien would always have feelings for Clover so even if they love each other, their hearts aren't fully in it at times.
Julien/Skipper I don't ship and can't get behind shipping, mainly because Julien is far too annoying. And I actively try to write Julien based more on the AHKJ version so he is as least annoying as possible, but it wouldn't be enough to ship him with Skipper.
I also don't ship Julien with Private, Marlene, Mort, or Maurice. Kinda think I would ship him with Sage though... maybe a little OT3 action? But for me Julien needs to be paired with someone who can match his freak and so far I think that falls on Clover, Rico, and in a pinch Kowalski.
How do you feel about Kowalski/Doris or Kowalski/Dr.Blowhole?
Great question!
I'm pretty neutral when it comes to Kowalski/Doris (Koris?) like it's cute, but we never got enough Doris for me to really feel strongly about it one way or another. Plus, it might just be the die-hard Kico shipper in me I really can't see it being a relationship long term. She rejected him so many times it's hard to not see it as a pity date when they actually do start dating. It gives 'maybe if I just date him a bit he'll stop being obsessed with me' vibes.
Now looking at Kowalski/Blowhole, I can't ship it or understand shipping it. They are both geniuses with egos and I don't see how it wouldn't become toxic. They are too similar for it to work and they just don't have the flirty chemistry energy that other sworn rival pairings like Hans/Skipper or Private/Amarillo Kidd had.
I'll also throw in that I adore Kowalski/Julien as a pairing, but that it wouldn't be a lasting one either, mainly because Julien's heart totally belongs to Clover, but they had some cute moments in the show.
in your response about shipping kico you mentioned penguin pairings you dont ship- which ones and why?
okay so way way back in the day...
Rico/Kowalski was easily the most popular ship among fans when it came to the core 4, but the second most popular had to be
Skipper/Private, which wasn't my jam, but the show had it's moments with them and I may? have written a fic or two with them back when I had time for fic requests. I personally don't ship it, but I understand the appeal if you're into a older/younger man combos or mentor/mentee ships like obiwan/anakin
Skipper/Rico and Skipper/Kowalski were definitely rarer pairs, but you'd be more likely to so see Skipper/Rico over Skipper/Kowalski (which was very enemies to lovers given the animosity that came up in the show). Of course the show certainly teased some Skipper/Rico here and there. And let's be honest they are two peas in a pod when it comes to being rough and tough. Again I don't really ship either, but see the appeal.
Other combos like Kowalski/Private and Rico/Private were even rarer but not unheard of. I also may? have written a Private/Kowalski one-shot request but I'd have to go spelunking on fanfiction.net to be sure. I personally don't see the chemistry or appeal in either combo.
Poly-penguins I only came across a few times and it was always fun. I personally couldn't ship it because I ended up seeing Skipper as more of a father figure to the others (mostly Private and Rico).
Of course as more characters got introduced we started to get a lot more pairings in the fandom and people branched out with Skipper/Marlene, Kowalski/Francis, and Rico/Julien. Eventually, with more ships and the natural shrinking of the fandom once the show ended, a lot of the penguin shipping was kinda lost. Even more so when the movie came out and switched up dynamics a little bit.
