#mack puckerman

IN CHARACTER INFORMATION

CHARACTER NAME: Mackenzie Blair Puckerman; They/Ze CHARACTER AGE & DATE OF BIRTH: 32; April 11th OCCUPATION: Cashier at Drama Book Shop, Sex Worker, Poet FACE CLAIM: Katie Findlay HOMETOWN & CITY WHERE LIVES NOW: Canton, Ohio > New York City, NY SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER: Queer, Nonbinary RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single POSITIVE TRAITS: Creative, Driven, Independent NEGATIVE TRAITS: Stubborn, Isolative, Jaded CHARACTER QUOTE/LYRIC: “Show me someone who says they got no baggage, I'll show you somebody whose got no story.”

↪ HEADCANONS:

triggers: abuse, child neglect

Mack never met their father. The man was present the day they were born and forced from their life by their mother afterward. So while they bear his last name, it’s the only connection they remotely have to him. They don’t particularly care to change that.

Mack spent only the first seven years of their life with their mother in Canton, Ohio where they were born. Shortly after they were born, their mother met their first step-father. He was an abusive man who had no care for Mack and did their mother dirty. As a case for abuse and neglect was built rather quickly by concerned neighbors and teachers, their mother lost custody of them and, due to their father being unreachable, Mack was sent to Texas to live with their aunt.

Growing up, Mack was a hardheaded, determined, and creative soul who refused to let anyone get in their way. They knew what they wanted and weren’t afraid to fight to get it. Mack did everything from sing in the choir to stage work and beyond. They loved performing, but what they loved most was poetry. They wrote and performed their own work a handful of times, using it as a way to cope with the life they’d been handed.

Just prior to starting high school, Mack’s mother was granted custody of them after years of supervised visits and finally getting her life back on track. This led to a move to Akron, Ohio, where Mack’s mother was living with her third husband, and Mack’s second step-father, a gentle man with kind eyes and a sweet soul. They attended Carmel High School, becoming an immediately active member of Vocal Adrenaline and establishing a name and place for themself. They thrived in the cutthroat environment, all too used to taking harsh criticism and giving it back just as well.

After graduating high school, Mack went on to attend Harvard, earning a degree in comparative literature. They hadn’t entirely wanted to attend college at all, knowing that being a poet didn’t take things like degrees, but their innate interest in learning and a full ride scholarship became the driving force behind such.

Mack found out they were pregnant just prior to graduating from Harvard. Knowing they were in no position to raise a child on their own and fearing they might end up like one of their parents otherwise, Mack gave their son up for adoption. It’s the one regret they have in life, despite knowing it was entirely for the best. They still keep up with Xander, as his parents are still good friends and it helps assuage the guilt, to an extent, being able to be in his life and care for him, if not as a parent would.

Mack left Boston after the death of their Nan, their uncle’s mother who had been an important part of their time in Texas, when they were just 23. They travelled the country, living and working in various places, including performing as a poet and self-publishing a couple books, until eventually settling in Washington Heights in Manhattan at 30. In their roughly two years in the city, Mack got a job at the Drama Book Shop. They also continued to get more and more poetry readings, are in the process of publishing another  book of poetry, and have fallen back on sex work to make sure they’re getting by alright.

↪ IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS:

Joseph Puckerman - Birth Father (Estranged): While the man was present at their birth, he never played a role in their life, their mother quickly cut ties with  him and as far as Mack is concerned, he doesn’t exist.

Maria Delgado - Mother (Estranged): Mack has never had a healthy relationship with their mother and as such went no contact with her when they were in college and especially after.

Pedro Delgado - Father: While Pedro is Mack’s stepfather, he’s the only one of their mother’s husbands that Mack has ever liked and they consider him their father. While they’re no contact with their mother, they do keep up with Pedro.

Noah, Sarah, and Jake Puckerman - Younger Half Siblings: Mack has never actually gotten in contact with their younger half siblings because they don’t know they exist.

Xander Jackson - Son: Mack loves their son. He’s their entire world and while they know having him be adopted was the best option for him, they’ve struggled with guilt over the fact. They speak with him often and visit him when they can.