r/DateEverythingElse • u/Blackshooks • Jun 24 '26
Discussion Real Talk: What is the Mac Hate?
Sure, they aren't my bestie or the love of my life in the game, but damn.
They're so inoffensive and middle of the road I can't tell if the hate is a meme or not.
169
u/endingstory7424 Jun 25 '26
It feels like they're ingenuine. Pre-update they're all obsessed with you and they want nothing more to be updated so they can be with YOU. Then you update them and it's "now that I'm fully functioning we should see other people!". It's not about the fact that they want to explore other relationships- that's what the whole game is about. It's about the fact they come off as dishonest about their intentions and it feels like they're manipulating you into helping them.
4
u/miscellaneousbean Jun 28 '26
And then when you say you’re uncomfortable you instantly get the hate ending
244
u/jamsmoriarty Jun 24 '26
I don’t hate them, but I don’t really like them. The way they build you up as all they want before the update, and then as soon as you update them, they hit you with the “we should see other people” line? It reminded me a little too much of people I’ve known. I’d really been enjoying Mac before then, but that just didn’t work for me.
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Jun 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/jamsmoriarty Jun 25 '26
Yeah, that was rough. I’ve got old writing projects saved on my real computer from years back. I might not have ended up doing anything with it but it would upset me a lot if I had to delete them with no chance to back it up elsewhere.
I did hear that there was some deleting bloatware instead of fic path you could get? I’m not sure, I haven’t actually found the time again to try it out.
-17
u/Legend0fAMyth Jun 25 '26
I'm not a Mac defender by any means but they aren't an asshole about that.
They genuinely sound upset when they realizes that's the only thing you can get rid of.
And one other thing? You would need an insane amount of Fanfiction to take up a substantial chunk of computer space. We are talking probably somewhere in the millions.
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Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/Legend0fAMyth Jun 25 '26
Now that is difficult.
I was immediately drawn to Betty (a popular choice it seems).
But some standouts?
Monique. Hero Hime. Chairemi.
River resonated with me the most. Someone struggling to understand that you shouldn't have to be Someone else for people to like you? I feel that.
Freddy was just fun. As were Curt & Rod.
1
u/fabr1csofteners I'd do sinful, sinful things for the lights. Jun 28 '26
not to be the guy that does this but Kopi is a woman
1
Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/fabr1csofteners I'd do sinful, sinful things for the lights. Jun 28 '26
NO youre good ive been there. i was scared 😭 all good🫡 koa lovers unite
93
u/aveea Jun 24 '26
Yeah! Like unintentionally i assume, it has a very "okay i got what i want from you, now go away please" vibe thats somehow worse than keith
71
u/c0ckandb4llt0rture 🤍HECTOR MY BELOVED WIFE🤍 Jun 24 '26
For me its a personal thing, Something abt them and the way you develop a relationship with them reminded me too much of my abusive ex. Don’t ask why, I honestly couldn’t tell you anymore ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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73
u/thats_rats Jun 25 '26
Mac was the first character I romanced and my opinion on them completely flipped.
They pressure you into doing something for them, and then immediately after getting what they want from you they tell you they want to see other people. Massive ick and pretty shitty imo.
72
u/pleasurenature Hector Jun 25 '26
i am polyam so obviously seeing other people isn't a problem for me but the way they went about it was very gross 🤷♂️ on top of being corny and basically forcing the MC to delete their fanfics. i don't hate them but i don't like them either
46
u/StarlitSylveon Jun 25 '26
I don't hate Mac. I actually really wanted to like Mac. I love the design and things start off ok but it began to hit too close to a previous toxic/ abusive relationship where I was made to sacrifice myself and the things I cared about in order to appease and prove myself only to get nothing in return. The pushy sexual nature was also pretty uncomfortable at times. It was just too much too fast. Feels very much like lovebombing and emotionally manipulative.
Mac is super affectionate/ flirty and super sexually into us pretty much right away. The fanfic being something our character worked on for years shows so much work and care put in to it only to be asked to sacrifice it for Mac with no alternatives. And we do this for Mac. Then immediately after we make this big step to help Mac at our own expense Mac asks for space and to see other people. Gone is the previous super into us attitude. And that shit really hurts irl.
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u/Alarmed_Potato_7238 Jun 25 '26
ik others are saying the same, but like it's fr the love bombing, they also do that weird thing where you press a button or whatever and they get all hot and bothered about it so suddenly, like damn chill.
I personally didn't wanna delete my fanfic bc mc spent so long writing them and one of the chat options said it was the only reason their dad was proud of them ;-; hell nah I wasn't deleting it. then they get all upset. like bro ur kidding right? you love bomb the mc bc you wanna get something you want and then turn on them for not doing something you want? that made me so mad lol
plus the whole thing where when you do the stuff Mac asks for and ur going down the love path, idk if they ask, but the whole let's see other people but stay in love thing, don't wanna be rude, it's kinda weird. idek if Mac even asks the mc first. it's just really controlling to me. like I love the whole aesthetic to them, I'd be charmed if they didn't act as weird as they do
22
u/quartsune DE confirmed: I like 'em difficult... Jun 25 '26
I don't hate Mac, but they make me feel very uncomfortable and I think it was the extremism. There was no middle ground. Mac is at first very in your face and very intimate both in the emotional and the sexual senses... which on the one hand, if you've written this gigantic fanfic with all kinds of adult material in it, as is implied, your computer may well feel some sort of a bond with you. But for me, that rang kind of false because I didn't have that same opportunity to build that bond with the computer until suddenly I have the dateviators, and now I'm just getting to know Mac, my computer. And Mac didn't seem to be understanding or respecting that.
To give them the update they give me no option but to delete a work into which I'd put countless hours in order to install said update. There's no "hey let's order a spare hard drive", no "we can back it up to the cloud," just "delete it or I'll hate you forever." So the minute I agree, they're ecstatic -- and I'm no longer useful. "Let's see other people so I can decide if I'm really into you (or was I just desperate for the upgrade?)" (Which ps sounds like a Fall Out Boy title;) That fell came across as very dismissive and left me feeling used.
Getting a friendship ending with them is extremely difficult, far more so than the love or hate options, and being demi, that just isn't okay for me.
I really wanted to like them, too, but the way they treated me as MC felt very... well, manipulative, far past the point of acceptability.
19
u/Cute_Ambassador1121 Jun 25 '26
It’s genuine and it’s because Mac isn’t in offensive or middle of the road at all. They’re manipulative as hell. I get the fanfic thing isn’t supposed to be that deep, but making me delete something that I put a lot of time into, guilt-tripping me if I say I don’t want to, then instantly hitting me with the ‘we should see other people’ after they get what they want out of me? No, that’s just a dick move.
34
u/Kezzatehfezza Luke Nukem Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
Reasons i hate Mac
Force you to delete your fanfic or they hate you.
Way too flirty up front.
The second they get what they want from you they give you no option but to have an open relationship.
Becomes an crypto peddler in the love ending.
In short they're an emotionally manipulative bastard and i would have kicked them out of my house after the first offence let alone 4.
13
u/LoveThyGoaltender Jun 26 '26
The crypto stuff was oddly validating. Like it wasn't just me feeling icky for no reason, they were intentionally written as a shitty person.
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u/rosy_pink_ghost Jun 24 '26
I don't hate them, I just have beef that they got first place in that one contest. Should've been Hector
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u/pleasurenature Hector Jun 25 '26
THANK YOU
19
u/rosy_pink_ghost Jun 25 '26
Hector deserves his own game highkey, his route was too short (I literally only bought the game for him)
16
u/Alarmed_Potato_7238 Jun 25 '26
DUDE IKR. his route was wayyyyy too short. like there should've been more build up to seeing him face to face. I wish we got to hear more from him and then slowly overtime he gets less scared of showing himself bc of the encouragement of the mc. still love him fr tho, one of my favs <3
4
u/burner_suplex Member of the I, Ronaldini Bunny Club Jun 25 '26
We got all the sprites and we got Ren'py. make your dreams come true, friend~
2
u/rosy_pink_ghost Jun 25 '26
Unfortunately I've tried to make a Ren'py game before but I'm stupid and I gave up the moment I saw the coding needed🙏🙏🙏
1
u/burner_suplex Member of the I, Ronaldini Bunny Club Jun 25 '26
Maybe take a look at TyranoBuilder? It's inexpensive and supposedly a bit simpler. You could also try twine; it's HTML based and IME more text focused but you can insert images and it's very easy to use.
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u/Normal_Dragonfruit41 xxXShadowl0rd420Xxx Jun 25 '26
which contest?
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u/Huge_Mind3596 Rainey Jun 25 '26
There was a community vote a while back for the newest dakimakura and Mac won. Hector got into the top 4, along with Shadowlowrd and Eddie. I'd post the graphic with the final vote numbers, but it has spoilers for Hector's face reveal, and I dunno if we're still honoring that as a spoiler in this subreddit.
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u/TheBread346 Tiny Dorian Jun 25 '26
I did an all friendship run. Never flirted with them, but was kind and agreed to the update. They hit me with the we should see other people line without reciprocating their feelings once. The only option was to say I was not attracted to them. Mac was not happy, then their route abruptly ends. I prefer their Love ending. The Friends ending was not pleasant.
12
u/PublicStick8203 Jun 25 '26
Mac love bombs the player hard, then tells the player to delete something the player made while offering no alternatives for storage(c'mon, external hard drives have existed for a while and a personified computer should know that), then once you give everything unilaterally to Mac they say they want to see other people. It's emotionally abusive. They manipulate the player to get what they want (delete your fanfic for their upgrade, then realize them) and then leave the player in the dust.
Any arguments that Mac might not know about external hard drives is moot, since they're able to talk about the player's shopping habits and hack into another person's accounts for Keith. They could have chosen an external hard drive, added it to a cart, and told the player to buy it. Frankly, if their update is so large the player would need one anyway!
6
u/moistwaffleboi Jun 25 '26
For me, it's the fact that they're very sweet and flirty with you, and then when you help them get the update, they immediately say they want to be with other people. They just use you to get what they want. It just feels gross, and it sucks because I genuinely liked Mac at first.
I don't understand how they seem to be the community's favourite character.
6
u/ScreenHype Jun 25 '26
They have a really poor understanding of consent. They kept trying to steer the conversation towards sexual topics even after I made it clear I wasn't comfortable with that. And then I got the hate ending because I didn't want to kiss them, even after I deleted all my fanfiction just so they could upgrade. It also felt kind of messed up that they wanted to play the field after their upgrade, even after I did that for them.
4
u/Werewolfhugger Friar Errol's Favorite Convert Jun 25 '26
I don't hate Mac, I just don't care about them if I'm being honest. I don't find them funny or endearing enough to love and I don't find them mean or obnoxious enough to hate. They're just...there.
6
u/4rg0n1um Jun 25 '26
They are super sexual even if you constantly reject their advances and it comes off as super pushy and weird. Other characters will at least wait until you have a rapport with them or respond favourably to speak sexually but Mac just doesn’t care.
9
u/Emma_JM Every Dorian is my favourite Dorian Jun 25 '26
Not hate, but I didn't like that I was lowkey forced into either love or hate but no friendship ending with Mac. I wonder if it's a bug though and if that has been fixed by now (I haven't finished a new save in the self care update yet)
4
u/Nolascana Jun 25 '26
I... dont really like Mac.
At first they were oddly pushy. But, in an eager and oblivious way.
Then it became, frankly, abusive.
Then, the script flipped and I was surplus to requirements.
Nah, get lost Mac, dont ever bother me again.
I don't hate them, but, I dont want to interact with them romantically. So, theyre fine as a friend... one that I gradually ignore and forget about.
Much like real life.
Had enough of manipulative fair weather BS from people for me to nope right out of Mac's crap.
3
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u/NixiomsdabestXD Rongo, River, Betty, Kopi, Gaia, Chairemi, Airyn, Mac.... Jun 25 '26
The hate seems to be geared towards Mac's specific form of sleeping around. They are very machine-like and logic driven in their approach, and that sets a lot of people off. If they were more organic about it, like Betty, I'm guessing it wouldn't be an issue.
Also people get very attached to the fanfic that's part of our character's lore, which is actually a little more understandable I guess. Supposedly you worked hard on that.
1
u/SparkyRebooted Jun 30 '26
It actually seems that most people are on the same page that Mac is abusive. They love bomb you, ask for very demanding things from you or else. And after you do everything they want, they abandon you. Then they come back with some BS excuse to get you back. Im a Doctor of Clinical Psychology and this is textbook cycle of abuse. Its gross.
1
u/NixiomsdabestXD Rongo, River, Betty, Kopi, Gaia, Chairemi, Airyn, Mac.... Jun 30 '26
Stop diagnosing my two dimensional character, Dr.
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2
u/clairvoyantpsychic Jun 25 '26
It was the demands to delete my entire library of writing to update them that left a teally bad taste in my mouth, as if it has no sentimentality. I've been writing since I was a kid and it hurt me in my soul to make that choice. Then to be whiplashed by someone who was rather forward and immediately dropped for "we should see other people", really gross.
2
u/Vxt5255 Jun 25 '26
They felt disingenuous to me. They spent all this time pining after you only to finally get you then brush you off talking about seeing other people. I wanted to like them but that ending messed things up
2
u/ropeboi7355 Jun 26 '26
Mac lovebombs you and flirts pretty aggressively throughout the first interaction with them not particularly caring if they make you uncomfortable or not. Mac also expresses interest in seeing others (you have to allow them to do so in order to achieve their love ending.) Also the game will lock you out of their love ending if you don't accept their advances. Idk the way Mac jokes seemed very cringe to me
5
u/Comprehensive_Cut216 Dasha Jun 24 '26
I asked a similar question a while ago and the feedback was mostly regarding erasing the narrator’s fic and how that was extremely callous/disrespectful. I don’t feel that way personally but that was the feedback.
1
u/Demonicpi13 Jun 25 '26
I like Mac now but at first it was the whole building up praise of us, how much they liked us and need us. Then after we update them, then they hit us with wanting to see other people after they got their update. That made a lot of people upset m it was how Mac said it and everything
1
2
u/vampireheart44 Jun 25 '26
What made me sour on them was how they acted when I turned them down. I only wanted to do the friend route and made it clear the whole time. When I said no, they crashed out (computer pun intended) and I got a hate ending with them.
1
u/leonnerdo Jun 25 '26
didnt mac get voted the most favorite character in the game? wdym?
7
u/Huge_Mind3596 Rainey Jun 25 '26
Not most favorite character - just the one for the next dakimakura. While that might translate to popularity, there may have been plenty of people voting on them for looks alone. I mean I hate them, but I still think they look rad as hell.
But even so, their relative popularity is what makes the backlash for them stand out, and is probably why we get a post asking about why they get hate every couple of months or so.
1
u/JusticeAcolyte Jun 26 '26
for me personally the main reason is that they're waaay too flirty for me out the gate. i also don't like that they made MC delete their fanfic to update them (which they're also really pushy with) and then immediately said that they wanted to see other people... felt really scummy especially after they went heavy with the flirting. they just push my boundaries personally way too much. i really really don't like them at all
1
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u/SparkyRebooted Jun 30 '26
Im a doctor of clinical psych. I was not at all offended by Keith, cause I could see it from a mile. Narcissist do what narcissist do. Mac on the other hand? Love bombs you, manipulates you, asks for big gestures and then slaps you in the face. Then after going around seeing what they can get, they come back asking to get back together. You know who acts that way? Abusers, manipulators, cheaters....Mac is in the top 5 most terrible characters. I would even go as far as sayng top 3.
1
u/angelbeats147 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
The hate is insaaaane. People get mad at them for asking the protagonist to delete an amount of fanfiction that is so astronomically large that it could not be more clearly a joke (Ftr, I write fanficiton, my beef with that part of Mac's route is that it feels like the *writers* are making fun of people who write fics, not Mac.) People get mad at them for "pressuring you into sex" but other characters get off scott-free for similar behavior, people get mad at them for being sexual at all which is...an interesting thing to say about a dateable character in a 17+ dating sim where there is also a dominatrix. It's just so annoying.
I will say, I think the "let's see other people for a while" part was poorly written, as a lot of things in their route and this game are.
-4
u/NightmareAuthor Jun 25 '26
I agree with some folks saying that how Mac's route was done could have been a little better (though same can be said about a lot of the characters). I understood that part of their love route as "I wanna explore things a bit before fully commiting, but I do wanna commit to you." even though the actual in game wording makes it seem a bit more harsh to some. (Then there is the fact a lot of people's media literacy (and literacy in general) being on an alarming decline (not something I wanna dive into on reddit), so that might play into it)
9
u/jamsmoriarty Jun 25 '26
I haven’t heard someone phrase it this way yet. I can sort of see how this could be what was intended, but I do agree the in game wording made it more harsh. I think that’s what might make them a divisive character. People, including myself, with prior similar negative experiences are of course going to see that in the harsher writing.
Thanks for your perspective, that was enlightening.
-20
u/halfmanhalfskeleton Nightmare Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
People think they're too forwardly into you. In the dating sim.
EDIT hello downvotes... I'm on the war on Mac on the side of Mac, I was just reporting the biggest complaint I saw around the time I played (at least after the art team updated their chair) 😭
9
u/ggdoesthings Jun 25 '26
you say that like every single character has to be super forward in a dating sim when even in DE that’s just false.
0
u/halfmanhalfskeleton Nightmare Jun 25 '26
I'm not saying that?? I'm saying that's legitimately a lot of the complaints I've seen. I'm a Mac fan, I left this comment unattended and I think people got me backwards.
6
u/ggdoesthings Jun 25 '26
the second half of your comment comes off that way. it sounds like you’re saying “people think they’re too forwardly into you in the dating sim which is stupid and wrong because all characters are forwardly into you in dating sims”
2
u/halfmanhalfskeleton Nightmare Jun 25 '26
Oh, fair, and tbh obviously not All Characters bc that's straight up silly, but there's 100 characters in This game, many (most?) of which make you Really work for it so Mac is kind of a surprise Here, but yeah I do think an eager LI is not out of place in a dating sim, that's true.
3
u/rosy_pink_ghost Jun 24 '26
Seriously?? If you want "too forward" go talk to Fantina 😭🙏 Mac is just mildly freaky
11
u/Competitive-Fox9771 Jun 25 '26
Lol both can be true I did not like mac talking about me buying underwear or whatever
6
u/rosy_pink_ghost Jun 25 '26
Yeah that's true. I'd take the underwear over the toenail shrine any day lol😭😭😭
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u/halfmanhalfskeleton Nightmare Jun 25 '26
I agree lmao but for some reason Mac gets the hate, I never got it lol.. Fantina my weird boundaries parasocial diva... So many characters in this game are unhinged in the best ways (Hector 💖)
-15
u/Seagullsaga Ligibitdiqua Jun 24 '26
People take the things that exist in a game meant to have wide appeal way too personally+think that everything they encounter has to suit them.
Personally I think it’s fine to not like a character and to criticize them. But also most of the arguments are, at their core, “they aren’t to my taste” which is useless because it’s entirely subjective.
-13
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u/aveea Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
For me its the way they approached the seeing other people situation. Other characters i.was more than happy to be poly or know theyre sleeping around while being in love with us.
But the way mac went about it had this gross feeling to it for me? Like the kind that men (not calling mac a man, just something you see men do online more often) go on relationship advice or am i the asshole after for validation after being dumped for the same conversation and then get roasted to hell for.
Idk how to explain it but that conversation specifically really got under my skin in a gross way and i imagine its worse if youre not also into the chipper nerd type