MAC POLYAM HEADCANNONS MAC POLYAM HEADCANNONS!! :DD pookies or romantics (If someone asked this before mb, if not, hope mod have fun writing those ~)
//: AHAHAHA YES. No one has asked me this, but canonically, we know there are "dalliances" and I have spent an ungodly amount of time considering who they'd be-
anyway.. short bit first
Mac as a polyam lover; they'd be so sweet.. So sweet. And would have spreadsheets for days to keep track of their partners interests, hobbies, birthdates and favourite foods. They're the kind of polyam person to have a number of shared calendars to keep track of their dates and when they're spending time with their lovers too. Periodically, they'll send invites out to their partners "My loves! dinner Friday? :)"
I don't think they'd be actively looking for closed polyamory either. I imagine they're more interested in kitchen table poly, or 'the sitcom special' where all of your partners are living nearby and convene for cuddles, meals, and sex.
As much as they tease the player for trying to have a harem of 100+ lovers in fiction, it seems after some careful thought that it's possible to juggle at least a tenth of that. They say they aren't romantic, yet all of their partners find little handmade gifts randomly (on top of birthdays and cultural celebrations) on their doorsteps. They're never signed, but Mac's pixelated font choices, and green and black wrapping paper always makes it blatantly obvious who is responsible, and of course they're ever so attentive to their partners interests, needs and wants.
They're very physically affectionate, but they'd rather be derealized than ever step a second over a boundary. I think at the beginning of any new relationship, they'd sit their new partner down and get them to outline any and all hard limits (not simply physical ones either), and do the same with theirs.
Every little thing is noted, both as a computer but also as they're realized- I imagine they have a part of their phone locked to gather memories, details about their loved ones, and candid photos (with prior consent, of course).
How did they know one of their partners was menstrating this week and needed extra chocolate and a stuffie? Sometimes it's better not to ask-
Or that week there was a suspiciously adult shaped parcel sitting on their doorstep wrapped in green and black ribbon? Again, not asking...
Now.... Because I know a lot of you lovelies are asexual, or aromantic, I have some headcanons especially for you.
Ace first- they Do Not Care that you're ace. I imagine Mac considers sex enjoyable and fun, but they're fine if any of their partners didn't want it. Sex favourable? Awesome. Sex neutral? Chill. Sex repulsed? Fantastic. They'd track that information down somewhere (or ask), and find out what that looks like for you- do you still experience a little sexual attraction? Do you like sex? Do you hate it? Are you kinky but prefer not to have clothing come off? Do you write lewd fanfic but can't stand the idea of acting on it? What level of flirtatious commentary do you enjoy, if any? What compliments make you feel best?
They'd be there with all of the questions to try to figure out a relationship map that suits you both.
Mac won't, and doesn't care. They love you, in their mind sex is just another way of showing that, they're not losing anything by not doing so with you. They still think you're downright gorgeous and lovely.
Onto aromantic partner hcs!
Seriously Mac's just like "oh what, you're telling me that normal people actually want to go on dates and do cutesy things-? Ew. I thought that was only a book thing-" this is the moment they realise they aren't as alloromantic as originally suspected. š«”
longer bit, dynamics...
A friend and I spent.. eep, far too long discussing this the other week, some of these thoughts were prompted or enabled by them :) <3
In my headcanons, Mac's always sat in the awkward position of struggling to differentiate between platonic, romantic and occasionally sexual attraction (*hc them as demirose and/or greyrose (rose = romantic and sexual)), which... well, to say it complicates things a little would be an understatement.
the list of characters i think they're crushing on (in the 'i cannot tell if i just want to befriend this person or whether i would like them romantically or as fwb-' way) is kind of long.
Characters I suspect they had 'Dalliances' with during their storyline are marked blue :)
Chance: has been explained in the early days of the blog, but they're freaking nerds okay, there's no way those two haven't freaked out about GNG together. I think Chance is too shy to have actually acted on those feelings, though, and Mac would've been too hesitant about oversteppingā¦ Basically, those two would need a third wheel for it to turn into anything more than respectfully distanced platonic with a bit of unspoken attraction.
Skips: these two have entirely messed around with one another, no questions. I suspect it happened accidentally too, hanging out as friends; Skips was on a forum, Mac half-asleep watching him typeā¦which turned into a more alert, flustered, 'oh, that- that feels nice-', and Skips, playing innocent, kept teasing until Mac starts begging. All over from there. They don't talk about it afterwards; the two pretend it simply didn't happen (but alone at night, they both think about it a lot- Mac's never bluescreened like that before, and Skips finds himself blushing furious shades of gold at the memory).
Mateo: Mac can't tell those warm fuzzies they feel every time Mateo is around is due to his nature as a blanket, or whether it's a little more than enjoying his company. They don't question it much.
Eddie & Volt: okay, hear me out. The breaker box boys, or Volt at least, ends up with a working relationship with all the electronics. It's mentioned/implied somewhere in their storyline that Volt can feel when something's switched on, or drawing power, and Mac is perpetually plugged into the grid.
Volt knows about all of those late night study sessions; the way the electricity draw changes when Mac's powered on and how the draw stutters when the homeowner double clicks. Volt works out what's happening relatively quickly and can't help himself from teasing Mac next time he sees them. Mac is done for - they always thought Volt was attractive, but considered him significantly out of their league, and there was always Eddie. They really do assume that Volt & Eddie aren't available, nor interested, and that Eddie's general demeanour is a No go...
Despite everything, here's Volt, holding a hand out, saying they're pretty, that him and Eddie aren't romantically involved, and asking them to dance after spending hours on the internet learning how to adapt ceroc (dance style like west coast swing and modern jive) moves to a wheelchair user. How can they ever say no?
Eddie is less flirtatious, but I can see him asking Mac for pointers while trying to fix the fluctuations.
They end up genuinely good friends; Mac's supportive and straightforward, Eddie admires that, finds them grounding (pun intended), and over time he opens up about some of his fatigue, the way his hands shake when he's trying to fix the wires, how he struggles with interaction, and Mac knows those feelings, all too well (even if they hide them better). They spend hours talking about it, Mac offering suggestions, resources and a listening ear, Eddie asking questions, learning, and for the first time since Volt split, he doesn't feel so alone. He wasn't expecting asking Mac to go anywhere, let alone to find someone else who not only understands what he's experiencing, but has lived something similar, and helps without expecting anything in return. He's thrilled, in his own quiet way- and tells Volt the morning after.
It's not long until the three of them are hanging out in the office after hours, laughing, chatting, and playing games. Mac teaches Volt how to use the internet for advertising without being obnoxious, Eddie finds out he enjoys playing chess (and is constantly beaten by Mac's predictive algorithms, much to their amusement), the pair get Mac to try a few different cocktails, mocktails and other drinks - after all, they'd only ever heard about how they taste, rather than tried them, (Volt considers this a tragedy that must be remedied as soon as possible). Mac finds out they're quite fond of dessert wine and chocolate liqueur, much to sarcastic comments about being a lightweight from Eddie- as much as he laughs at the way Mac splutters taking shots, he can't help how warm Volt and Mac make him feel, nor how easily he sleeps when they're both nearby.
Their friendship slowly melts into more - Eddie knows it, Mac knows it, Volt knows it, but they never name it. They're comfortable as they are, friends... but... a little different :)
Mac being perpetually connected to the internet eventually finds a term, and plucks up the confidence to bring it up with Eddie and Volt- suggesting that perhaps a queerplatonic relationship might be the best way to go about āWhatever This Is.ā
Rebel: IM NOT SORRY. Rebel is freaker than Mac is, they find that immensely hot. Particularly if they can get past Rebel's defensiveness. We know Rebel interacts with them when hunting for their family, and that we [the player] don't hear anything about Rebel's searches, as their privacy settings were set to āFuck Offā
If you say that you're worried about Rebel, Mac returns it with "I'm worried about them too." There are feelings there, at least a little care on Mac's end. Rebel lists empathy as one of their greatest kinks.
"They're sure a fiesty one, you wouldn't think rubber could fly that fast" and how would you know š¤Ø I think they've at least taken the kink test together...if not entirely worked out how a rubber duck and a computer fuck (and regularly...)
Also worth noting that a lot of programmers use rubber ducks to explain their code aloud. It's known as 'Rubberducking.' Mac explaining code to Rebel- Rebel cursing them for being so nerdy but Rebel would be lying if they tried to hide how into they're it they are.
Mitchell Linn: another hear me out. The homeowner has snacks at the desk, and they left them behind one day. Mac and Mitchell get chatting after it. Mac's tired, their expression heavy, and Mitchell does what he does best- comfort through food....well, food videos. They end up very friendly afterwards, despite the fact Mitchell gets in their keys (in more ways than one š).
Daemon: okay so this drastically depends on how you look at Daemon's interactions with others and whether he [Daemon] can interact with other dateables. Assuming she [Daemon] can, then Mac and it [Daemon] end up having some incredibly...unusual...interfacing. Mac's scared of them [Daemon], for sure, but also incredibly intrigued.
Mac's seen and arguably experienced how bugs and glitches feel- In that way, Daemon freaks them out.... Yet, from everything they've seen, they're harmless, just...silly, and Mac admires that silliness in a way that makes their CPU flutter and their task manager stutter.
Bodhi: similar to Zoey later on, Mac helps out with adjusting to his new time period...however, in Bohdis case, it goes a little beyond friendship. They freak out about 80s tech together, Mac attempts to help him up to speed regarding LGBTQ identities...slow burn, very slow burn, but.. they definitely end up giving sex a shot.
Ben Hwa: they've fucked. Mac is a freak (pos) as is Ben Hwa, it was only logical Mac gets their wires twisted. Need I say more?
Barry: they bond over shared neurodivergence :]
Betty: canonically challenging, when Betty is upstairs...but they'd be so cute together. We know Betty is a super sensual person, Mac would find that off putting At First, she'd find their weak spots though, call them sweet names, and they would fold.
Lyric: how else do eReaders exist?
there's a few more characters I think they'd be friends/friendly with but wouldn't get confused about whether they like them romantically or sexually
Anyone in the office, basically
Rongomaiwhenua
Dasha
Jerry
Penelope
Shelly
Vaughan and Mac have a bit of a fraught friendship but I think they get along eventually.
Zoey: until she gets an ending with the player, she can't really be seen by others, and logistically speaking, Mac would struggle to get up the stairs (not that Keith's storyline seemed to care)...but after Zoey gets an ending, Mac helps her to adjust to the difference between the 2020s, and the 80s...which ends in Zoey, forgetting she has a human-like body again falling asleep at the desk. Mac, being who they are, ruffles a hand through her hair, makes sure she's comfortable...and that's the beginning of a very warm friendship.
I think Amir and Mac would get along too, but maybe that's because Amir gets along with everyone š
there are MORE I promise there are more. I am working on a VERY LONG document going through my headcanons for interactions between Mac ALL of the other characters, but it's going to take me a while to do it. The posts will be going up in chunks š
