Discussion: Mack Thomas

Good evening, all! 

If you noticed, I’ve shifted the schedule quite a bit. Instead of cramming two posts in one night, I decided to have Sunday as dedicated to Mack’s Discussion post. Watch out for the shifting of layout in a few hours! We’re getting pretty close to the end of the month, and this time we’re heading into Squad A territory. 

For this post, we’ll be talking about Mack Thomas. Similar to in Jian’s case, his name pretty much remains the same. I’ll be using the same system as last time—come the concluding segment of the post, I’ll put “Coa” or “DNAU” in front of Mack’s name to prevent confusion on which Mack is being discussed. 

As usual, if you’re interested in getting to know both versions of Mack, then feel free to click the “read more” link down below! 

"Do enjoy your stay."

…so, a bit of a warning here. While I won’t delve too much into spoilerville for Coa!Mack, I will be mentioning some integral parts to his backstory that DNAU!Mack didn’t have. Coa!Mack’s backstory is one of the sadder ones concerning his sexual orientation, and if you feel that this would hit too close to home, then feel free to check out any of my other posts! I promise not to hold it against you. 

DNAU!Mack was introduced as the newest member of Squad A. Touta picked him up from another forensic laboratory, convinced him to join Headquarters, and instead of being assigned to their own laboratory, he was made to join Squad A immediately. Things picked up since then, and despite Squad A initially believing that they were made to be a three-man gang, DNAU!Mack fit in perfectly and completed whatever holes or aspects that they lacked as an overall team. His very first appearance on here was on this post, and that was pretty much enough to scream his role in the squad, what more the entire story. For a while, his entire identity revolved around him being their lone forensic scientist, before particular personality traits started to trickle in here and there. 

Aside from DNAU!Mack’s being a forensic scientist, he’s also pretty much known for being snarky and sarcastic, even more so than DNAU!Peters and DNAU!Aether. Knowing the latter two, that pretty much means a lot given DNAU!Aether’s dryness as well as DNAU!Peters’ general sarcasm. DNAU!Mack, however, took it to an entirely different level. The reason for his extreme dryness was not explained at all, and we were pretty much left to accept that this was merely a part of his given personality. 

In terms of plot, his story picked up once DNAU!Jian was introduced. I already explained how the two of them are involved, but in case anyone needs a refresher, the two of them met at DNAU!Jian’s work area and ended up sleeping with one another a couple of meetings after. This ended up with DNAU!Jian freaking out the following morning and leaving without so much as a goodbye. Following that, DNAU!Jian barely contacted DNAU!Mack, leaving the latter to (bitterly) assume that DNAU!Jian might not have wanted much to begin with. The rest of Squad A speculated the cause, and they all came to the conclusion that he wasn’t worth chasing after. DNAU!Mack, however, had other ideas and did his best to look for DNAU!Jian. 

Now, let’s cross over to Coa!Mack. 

"It's...been tough."

Cos!Mack still retains the integral parts his older counterpart had; the forensic scientist, the dryness and sarcasm, all of that; at this point, though, there’s much more of a reason behind it. Mack’s general cynicism and tendency to view the world in a much more negative light compared to Coa!Aether, Coa!Peters, and Coa!Tad stems from events that had happened back when he was younger. 

To explain: if you’re not aware, Mack is gay! Mack discovered his sexual orientation while younger and struggled with it for a few years before sincerely accepting himself and seeking for the same acceptance from others. To his dismay and disappointment, he found his own peers less accommodating…and yes, this extended to his own family as well. The general lack of acceptance combined with his feeling of being choked in Manchester was enough to push him towards moving out and transferring to the United States. While some characters would rise from this hope, Mack was unfortunately not one of those people. He came to the United States in hopes of finding a better place and finding a new home, but his experiences hardened him and left him a much jaded person than his younger self expected. This pretty much contributes to his personality in Coalesce, as much as it stings to admit. 

With the above mentioned, it also contributes to how deeply he feels about the whole thing with Coa!Jian. It’s important to note this change in Coalesce: if in DNAU, DNAU!Jian left DNAU!Mack after one night, then Coalesce has the two of them sleeping together many times before Coa!Jian snaps, freaks out, and leaves without so much as saying anything. This leaves a deeper wound in Coa!Mack, as he believes that Coa!Jian was genuinely interested in him and possibly wanted to start something. After Coa!Jian’s leave, however, Coa!Mack ended up feeling just as rejected as he did many years back. 

(…yes, I might have told you guys the main “conflict” come Mack’s arc, whoops!) 

Lots of Mack’s character as well as what he goes through is one of the “less intense” conflicts in the entire story, if that makes sense? This is not to put his at a lower ranking than that of the others’, definitely not—but considering what he goes through, much of the conflict is something internal and involves less collateral damage. At the same time, what he goes through and the hardships experienced is valid. Mack’s background is something that is unfortunately real, and I hope it means something to anyone out there. 

That's all for today! Look out for the layout. 💙