Very often do I see the assumption that Dennis was scared off after Mac came out purely because Dennis is closeted/in denial about his own feelings and sexuality. This is markedly not true, made even more apparent as of season 16 with his SINNED system and the fact that he has clearly tested said system himself, but Dennis has always been implicitly queer, right from episode one*↓ and specifically pushed Mac to come out and admit to being attracted to men in the first place.**↓
Dennis has known that Mac was gay and specifically in love with him since season 4. It's not as simple as their relationship being redefined as soon as Mac begins openly identifying as a gay man, because Dennis went into the relationship already knowing this, and is irritated that Mac refuses to acknowledge this fact. His disdain for Mac starts to shows up before he comes out (9x05's "You know what I really hate? Is Mac." and 11x05's "because I hate you"), and is at least partially spurred on by Mac's denial. His issue with Mac being closeted is really more to do with the fact that he's a gigantic fraud who pretends to be competent, reliable, and straight, but is in fact none of these things, with the additional annoyance of him repeating homophobic rhetoric.
It's easy to assume by looking at Mac & Dennis Break Up that Dennis must have panicked and gone into "no homo" mode once Dee points out their relationship, but Dennis suggests them pumping the brakes because he realizes that he and Mac have become codependent, not because their relationship exists in the first place. This leads him to try spending time with Dee, and later with Charlie, but of course he and Mac have their own shared idiosyncrasies and rituals that can't just be passed off on his other friends. It's also clear that Dennis specifically enjoys domesticity with Mac, but is wary of being tied down, hence the pushback against Mac's obvious possessiveness & jealousy re: Dennis talking to the video store clerk, recognizing that the check-ins are excessive, his comment about feeling like he's not "flourishing", and the break up itself, which has Dennis trying to hang out with other friends he's been sidelining. At this point Dennis still believes that Mac is dependable, and the two work well in tandem, something that is reinforced at the end of the episode.
This illusion is broken in 9x05, and only gets worse as Dennis starts to realize that his blind trust has allowed Mac to mislead him.
After Mac comes out, he immediately starts to push for a sexual relationship with Dennis, not content with their previous arrangement (functionally married but still banging other people -> "I sleep with women, but I'm emotionally involved with Mac") which puts a strain on their relationship as a whole. Dennis is uncomfortable with Mac pursuing him not because he's closeted and afraid of being outed/confronting the nature of their relationship, but because he doesn't want to have sex with Mac. I believe this is the reason that he created Johnny; keeping Mac satisfied sexually, taken, and diverting his focus away from Dennis so that they can cuddle up on an inflatable couch without Mac trying to "trap" him.***↓
There's also the fact that Dennis outright tells Mac to stop assaulting him in 13x04, which is yet another breach of trust, doubly so for a CSA victim who has recently (11x04, 12x07) been retraumatized.
Looking at the difference between SINNED and DENNIS systems, we can also see that he designed SINNED to secure a second date and has no mention of sex (specifically noting that Engage physically should be appropriate to – in this case – the public setting), wheras DENNIS specifically avoids the date entirely (considered a waste of time) and ends after he's had sex with them. There is no correlation between sex and romance, this is why the systems are set up like this.
Dennis treats sex exactly as he describes above. Taking power. And so if he and Mac are to have sex, he knows it will be Mac taking the power. This is why Dennis targets young, naïve women. In a situation fabricated to be entirely within his control, he thinks he cannot be "abused, violated" or taken advantage of. This is ultimately proven untrue in 12x07, where Dennis realizes that whether it's a bunch of MILFs or college girls, women or men, they are still capable of objectifying him (note that this is the word he chooses when speaking to Mac in 13x04), assaulting him, and stripping him of his power. This is what Klinsky did to him, this is what Dennis does to women, and this is what Dennis thinks will happen if he does not rebuff Mac's advances.
Dennis is trying to restore his and Mac's close, nonsexual intimacy because this is what he is most comfortable with. Every single time Mac pushes boundaries, Dennis has more reason to distrust him. He has actively tried to repair their trust, their equality, he wants Mac to be able make his own choices so that he'll be there to catch Dennis if he falters,****↓ instead of defering to Dennis. To be someone he can rely on again. Dennis is fully supportive of Mac sleeping around and attempts to help him find a boyfriend multiple times because it returns them to how they've always been; domestic partners.
And because it keeps Dennis safe.
*Being the only one of the gang to immediately realize terrell was gay, flirting with men in the very first episode, clocking the man interested in buying paddy's as gay – and saying he was "totally cool with that, to each his own" – and then further explaining terminology to a completely clueless mac and frank, intimate knowledge of what a glory hole entails followed by a fixation on anonymous sex ending in jan thinking this was all because dennis was clearly implying he wanted to have gay sex, "a twank versatile! i wouldn't be able to satisfy him," his college picture getting vandalized with I Chug Dick, the joke he makes in bathroom problem about being a "straight man" immediately followed up with comments about how getting caught in the rain flattens his hair and ruins leather (and you guys know how great he looks in leather – as a gay man, mac does), knowing about the Rainbow, the fact that he was going to have sex with the golf caddy (and mac vic, who has no commitment), he and mac both getting tarred and feathered for being sodomites, British Dennis. his rant about mac's mindless adherence to labels in s15 that very clearly implied dennis himself preferred to remain unlabeled which is not the same as being closeted even if some of y'all treat it that way, I Could Go On.
**Although he notably halted this in 10x06 and suggested the gang Not Ask Any Questions and Mac go about his business which is reminiscent of his pointed "shhh" in 16x04, this is less about remaining closeted and more about not being pressured to put a label on it right then. As we see later, Mac actively being in denial is still something Dennis attempts to combat.
***Note that Dennis is upfront about the trap while Mac refuses to call it what it is. This is particularly interesting as it displays exactly why Mac is untrustworthy in Dennis' eyes; even if Dennis is doing heinous shit, he will call it like it is, especially when discussing it with the gang. Mac is far more covert and unwilling to admit he is an active party in their plan, and also reframes it using more neutral "romantic" language. I'm also unconvinced that this double mixup wasn't part of Mac's plan from the start and he actually intended to get Dennis to sleep in his room with him, further evidenced by 12x10 where he attempted to force Dennis to sleep with him by not furnishing his own room, and 16x05 making it explicitly clear that Mac is the one in control of their relationship and Dennis remains unaware as he frequently underestimates Mac (seen in these script excerpts where Dennis doesn't realize what's happening until it's too late).
****Have you listened to Dennis' speech in 8x09 and realized he's giving a detailed list of everything he wants Mac to be for him. The things he appreciates him for just a few episodes before those rose-coloured glasses get shattered for good. Jesus Fucking Christ. The world is a safer place when he's around. He's the kind of man who gives Dennis courage. Knows exactly who he is. A strong man. A brave man. Faces his challenges. Yeah, all the things Dennis is consistently mad at Mac for NOT being in 9x05 and 14x04 and 15x08 and
iasip stills requests: mac mcdonald—master of karate🥋 (and friendship for everyone)
glenn howerton in minecraft
glenn howerton in minecraft sunday
happy glenn howerton in minecraft sunday
yet again it is glenn howerton in minecraft sunday
happy glenn howerton in minecraft sunday tysm everyone for 1k notes here are some new minecraft glenns i made to celebrate
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happy sunday
Glenn Howerton in Minecraft Sunday
Close to you
Own this thing!
what I see when I look down at my petri dish <3
i know macden are touching tips every other episode but still one of the gayest things dennis has done to me is in Hundred Dollar Baby when he asks charlie to "go put on those little short shorts". not only does he want to see charlie in little short shorts, but the word "those" implies dennis is referring to a specific pair of shorts he's seen charlie wear and he's taken notice of. why are you as a man keeping track of your boy best friend's wardrobe and filing away which clothes you think he looks good in. gayass
I want my gay rights now! - Marsha P. Johnson (NYC Pride Parade, 1973)
Do not erase her!!
dinner in america posting
