Mac/Dennis

Mac/Dennis Reynolds is a slash pairing of two of the main characters on the FXX tv show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The pairing is also known as MacDennis and it is the largest pairing in the fandom.
== Canon ==
Dennis and Mac are best friends, and roommates on the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. They have known each other since high school, when Mac was a drug dealer and they spent most of their time under the bleachers with fellow classmate Charlie Kelly. They are co-owners of Paddy's Pub and other characters often comment on their codependent relationship. Dennis listens to all Mac's phone calls, while Mac insists that Dennis calls him to check in when he's out. They have been living together for 15 years, and have weekly movie nights and monthly dinners at a local restaurant.
Their relationship has been fleshed out over the course of twelve seasons on the show.
==Fandom==
The It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia fandom did not always have MacDennis as the main pairing. 
 
In brief, multishipping was very common, but CharlieMac was the most popular ship until mid 2014. A representation of the ship distribution in the fandom and attitudes towards pairings in 2013 can be found here.
By 2014, many other fans had carved out a niche where they could ship pairings that were viewed as 'problematic' (i.e. any pairing involving Dennis) without too much judgment. MacDennis began to grow in popularity, especially after Dennis's issues with mental illness were so interesting and prevalent during season 10. 
 
While Dennis's mental illness did not make this pairing less problematic, with copious warnings still attached to works, writers began to view their codependent relationship more sympathetically, with Mac often portrayed as a stable force in Dennis's life. A year after that, the episode "Mac and Dennis Move to the Suburbs" gave life to the pairing again.
In season twelve, the fandom experienced another surge of growth when an influx of Sherlock fans/Johnlock shippers migrated into the fandom started to speculate about 'The MacDennis Conspiracy.' See The MacDennis Conspiracy for more information. 
The Prophecy is the name commonly given by fans to The Chardee Macdennis Prophecy, which claims that Charlie/Dee and Mac/Dennis will become canon before the end of the series. Other fans refer to the prophecy as The MacDennis Prophecy, not concerned with Chardee, or believing it less like that ship would become canon. Though the prophecy did not occur (and Dennis left at the end of season 12) the shippers remained dedicated and, in fact, the shipping community grew. In May of 2017, the first MacDennis fic exchange occurred.
==Fanwork Tropes==
The top six most common tags on ao3 are (in descending order) internalized homophobia, angst, fluff, mental health issues, alcohol, and eating disorders.MacDennis works on Ao3. This appears to have been accessed on 5 June 2017, based on the date this edit was made to the page. Most common tags have changed since then. 
In 2017, a parody, EVERY MACDENNIS FIC EVER was written by haemophilus.
* Pre-canon - Fics involving high school are very common, especially fics that involve Mac selling Dennis weed under the bleachers. There are currently over 40 fics about Mac and Dennis in high schoolWorks including High School element in MacDennis tag on Ao3. Fics where the two begin a sexual relationship as teenagers are often tagged as High School AUs, while others are considered canon compliant as any sexual experimentation is often brushed off by at least one of these two characters.
* Get together - Much like many other fandoms, get-together fics are very common. In keeping with the tone of the show, many get together works involve emotional manipulation, or hooking up to win an argument or prove a point.
* Internalized homophobia fics commonly overlap with Mac identifying as Catholic. As of 2018 this is the most common tag applied to MacDennis works on Ao3
* Mental Health Issues - In general, the character with mental health issues is Dennis. It is common to deal with this aspect of his character.
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanfiction===
*Mac and Dennis Conduct an Experiment by pavonine (2016)
*The Inevitable by runningwafers (2015)
*mac gets a boyfriend by dothraloki (2013)
*each the other's world entire by quixoti (2014)
*the spell that you've created by peskyfeelings (2014)
*domesticity and other cults by lagaudiere (2016)
*The Gang Learns to Exist in the Moment by mxingno (2017)
==Archives & Fannish Links==
*Mac/Dennis Reynolds tag on Archive of Our Own
Tumblr
*MacDennis tag on Tumblr
Canon Resources
*Dennis and Mac page on the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Wiki
==References==
Category:It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Category:Slash Pairings