#[ answered ] paladin danse

[theggning]

i peeled him

PUT THAT THING BACK WHERE IT CAME FROM OR SO HELP ME

[gobald]

Careful, Rhys, that smells strongly of jealousy.

[acorncoffeeformysweetheart]

AAAH HELLO!! :]

Wow Im excited to see your excellent art that will happen from these requests!!

You like ghouls! I like ghouls! What do you think Danse would look like ghoulified ? (Power armour is absolutely optional!)

Thank you!! !

Hi))

Oh my poor boy… I wouldn't want him to become a ghoul. I don't think he can handle it, he doesn't have the right type of character. I tried my best, but I'm not sure about the similarity. All his prominent features - thick hair, wide eyebrows, full cheeks and large lips - will not be preserved in the form of a ghoul. So in my AU, after breaking up with Sole (they remained friends and comrades) Danse stuck with the Minutemen and slowly started to recover and search for his own way. Maybe he will find significant other later. I wish all the good things for him.

[bretonalchemist]

do you think the sole survivor would ask Nick and Danse questions like "do you poop ?"

bc i sure would

[blindbetrayal]

clean, refreshed, in his element, wearing the tackiest shirt caps could find. he's doing great. a post-brotherhood world is a happy one. general garvey and the followers welcomed him with open arms

[repconnaerospace]

muse: paladin danse

[blackmoonowl]

Separation anxiety

Fallout 4 companions really not liking being away from you, their partner - headcanons.

Slight triggers warnings for death and suicidal ideations.

A/n: Life isn't doki doki rn chat.

Cait:

❤︎ Cait doesn't like other people all that much. There's also not a whole lot of people like her, especially due to her selfish and often rude personality.

❤︎ At first she becomes angry with you. She doesn't understand why the hell you're leaving her behind. Did she finally upset you? Did her attitude push you away? Cait wants answers.

❤︎ Not above demanding to go with you. She finally has someone that cares about her, a decent life. She'll be hard to deal with the entire time

❤︎ Cait spirals back into some bad habits in your absence, even when she tries not to. She spends a lot of time at bars, drinking away her sorrows and worries.

❤︎ Generally becomes a big pain to deal with to other people. She snaps a whole lot more and becomes more anxious and irritated. She's stuck between being angry with you and missing you.

❤︎ Has no idea how to act when you come back. On one hand she wants to give you a smack upside the head and yell at you, on the oher she wants to just sink into your arms and not let go again.

Curie:

❤︎ Curie doesn't understand what she's feeling fully, but she absolutely hates it. It feels like a bucket of ice cold water has been poured directly over her synthetic heart.

❤︎ Handles a bit more mature than the other companions on this list. She keeps a cool head, but she's still grappling with the newfound emotions brought into the situation.

❤︎ Curie doesn't really think to argue, but pleads for you to reconsider. When she realizes it's futile, she just tries to prepare you for your trip. She packs you stimpaks, purified water and anything else she can find.

❤︎ Takes your absence hard. She finds herself near tears for the first time in her life. Nothing is comforting, she can't focus on her work for more than a minute before thoughts of you creep in again.

❤︎ Finds herself among the items you left behind. If you have a home in a settlement, she'll spend practically all her time there, moving all her research there.

❤︎ Frantically checks you for any injuries as soon as you step foot through the door. After all your wounds have been treated, and you settled in, she finally calms down.

Danse:

❤︎ Danse had everything stripped away from him. Even though he won't fully admit it, in his eyes you're his sole reason for existing, his purpose. He has gotten so used to being there with and for you that he can't imagine it otherwise.

❤︎ So when you tell him you have to part ways, he feels his heart sink. He was a Brotherhood Paladin, he thought he was above the feeling of insecurity that washes over him. He wonders if you changed your mind about keeping a synth around, not that he'd blame you.

❤︎ He won't fight you on it, even if he wants to. Instead putting on a brave face and wishing you good luck. He'll part with a tight hug, pleading for you to be safe, that he can't handle losing you.

❤︎ Nervous wreck the entire time. Part of him wishes he had just gone with you regardless. He keeps to himself most of the time, not really socializing and staying near your home.

❤︎ Goes through his entire training to try and keep his cool. He's never felt this kind of unrest in his life. He'll occupy himself by repairing his power armor over and over again, as well as physical exercise.

❤︎ The decorum goes somewhat out the window when you come back. Danse takes you into his arms, taking a moment to feel the comfort of your body against his again. Next time, he's coming with.

Deacon:

❤︎ Deacon's responses are cryptic and suspicious from the start. He doesn't fight you going, taking the hint when you say you have to go alone, but that's not the end of it.

❤︎ Deacon knows this game, having vanished on people, including you for the safety of everyone involved. Railroad work is rough, and the last thing he wants is to compromise your safety.

❤︎ That doesn't mean he's going to sit by idly, though. He's well aware he can't follow you himself. He's way too closely connected with you, and you'll definitely notice if he follows you. You know him too well for him to be able to pull that off.

❤︎ So he connects with every tourist and Railroad agent he can find. Preferably the ones you don't know as well. Every single move is tracked so he knows where you're at, ready to step in should the need arise.

❤︎ Deacon's behavior around other shifts only slightly. He'll keep up his usual appearances and antics, but he does seem a little more distracted than usual.

❤︎ Waiting on you when you come back. He casually welcomes you back with a hug and kiss, saying he knew that you'd make it home safe. But as soon as you turn your back on him, he breathes a sigh of relief.

Gage:

❤︎ Gage almost gets annoyed with how the news of you leaving upsets him. He tries to reason it's because you're the overboss, and the place would fall apart without you to lead it. But he can't deny the dull sense of panic welling up in him.

❤︎ This raider doesn't go without a fight. He'll become angry. He's your right hand man, he's supposed to stick by your side. He has no idea why he's acting like this. Last thing he wants is to put himself in needless danger. But he can't stand the thought of you walking out into the wasteland alone.

❤︎ Tries to come up with any rational conclusion he can find. He wonders if you are planning to turn your back on him and the raider gangs, he certainly feels betrayed by you leaving him behind. You'll have to firmly remind him that you're still the boss of him before he even considers backing down. Though that doesn't mean he appreciates you holding rank above his head.

❤︎ Struggles keeping the raider gangs together in your absence. At any given moment he feels like there's going to be a revolt, leading to his own death. Part of him resents you from putting him in this position.

❤︎ At his lowest point, he found himself sitting on your side of the bed, stroking his fingers over an article of your clothing. When he fully realized what he was doing, he tossed it aside, trying to convince himself you haven't affected him.

❤︎ When you come back, he keeps his feelings to himself as you deal with the leaders of the other raider gangs. But as soon as the two of you are alone. He gives you a scolding for leaving him behind, with you in the comforts of his arm.

Hancock:

❤︎ Hancock is the last person who wants to curb your freedom, but he's also keenly aware of the danger you're putting yourself in. You've made quite a name for yourself in the Commonwealth, and as his partner, you have an even bigger target on your back.

❤︎ He asks you what's going on. If you're in trouble with some gang he can find a way to make them either back off or disappear entirely. Goodneighbor can survive without him, he's not so sure about you, though.

❤︎ He'll get frustrated if you don't give him a straight answer as to whats going on, and you're better off just telling him how you feel. Just tell him exactly where you're going and what you're going to do, just so he knows where to find you.

❤︎ Reluctantly lets you go. He swears to himself that if you're not back at a certain time, he's going out himself to come looking for you and bring you home.

❤︎ Finds a lot of comfort in chems, obviously. He finds being sober rather unpleasant when he doesn't know where you are and if you're even alive, mentally beating himself up for letting you.

❤︎ Probably high as hell when you come back. He's not lucid enough to fully grasp that you're home alive. When he wakes up that night he immediately reaches out for you, praying your return wasn't a drug infused hallucination of what he wanted.

MacCready:

❤︎ MacCready lost someone he dearly loved, he can't bear the thought of it happening again. The mere idea of you going off without him there protect you, makes him sick to his stomach.

❤︎ Argues at first. He is angry, he wants to stay by your side. What's so important that you had to leave him behind? His voices raises and his voice begins to crack.

❤︎ Then begins the bargaining. He knows he can't force you, but dammit he needs you. He wouldn't be able to take it if he lost you as well. so just let him go with you just in case. You hired him to watch your back for crying out loud, why are you being so goddamn stubborn?

❤︎ Actually fighting to keep himself together in your absence. He drinks, smokes and tries whatever he can to calm himself down. He thinks of every horrible way you could die without him there to save you, and it kills him. He failed to protect his wife, and he can't stand not being able to protect you too.

❤︎ Just like Cait he is irritable and unsociable. He snaps at people, his attitude is even worse than usual. MacCready has absolutely zero patience and he feels he's gonna lose it at any given moment. Keeps to himself as much as he can. He's neck deep in denial with how much he lays awake at night, instinctively reaching out for you, only to realize you're not there.

❤︎ As soon as he sees you walking back to him, he's on you within seconds. His arms wrapped around you as he fights back a few tears of relief. He'll let his hands roam all over your body, letting the reality sink in that you're back safe. Just so you know, you're not going anywhere for the next few hours.

Nick Valentine:

❤︎ Thinks you've utterly lost your mind. Going out into the Commonwealth alone is something only people with a death wish do. Or those too confident in their abilities.

❤︎ Given his nature as a detective, he tries to get to the root of your decision. He'd rather be there to watch your back in case something happens. After all through his detective work he has seen the absolute worst of the wasteland.

❤︎ Part of him wonders if you're concerned about him breaking down. It doesn't really matter to him, he would rather lose a limb or two than lose you.

❤︎ Just like Hancock he wants to know exactly where you are going, why and who you might be with. It helps him calculate the dangers. Worst case scenario, he'll know exactly where to start looking if you go missing.

❤︎ Takes on more cases to distract himself, convincing himself you're smart enough not to take stupid risks. Though his deduction skills are greatly reduced as he is occupied with worry for you.

❤︎ Stands at the entrance to Diamond city when you come back. Turns out he stands out by the gate every evening to see if you come back. He'll welcome you with a kiss to the forehead, wrapping an arm around you to pull you close.

Piper:

❤︎ Part of Piper feels annoyed that you're leaving her out of your adventures. She doesn't need to be protected, she can handle herself just fine.

❤︎ Like Nick Valentine, she wants to find out exactly what's going on. Nothing should warrant you leaving her in the dark, or behind for that matter.

❤︎ Doesn't willingly let you go, but doesn't actively prevent you from going. She is worried to death that something will happen to you. That you'll get taken out by raiders, super mutants or god forbid the Institute. Hell, she thought a synth might have replaced you. The real you would never leave her behind!

❤︎ As soon as you're gone, just like Deacon, she begins to dig. She tries getting Nick to help her out with tracking you. She'll be two steps behind you if she can. And if she can't follow you, she'll try getting informants.

❤︎ She feels bad about stalking your moves, but she needs to know why you left her at home. And if you're safe. She can't help how nosy she is. If you bit the big one she'd never recover.

❤︎ Once she hears you're on your way back, she makes you promise to never ditch her again. She also wouldn't complain if you bought her a drink as compensation.

Preston:

❤︎ You aren't just Preston's partner, you're his hero. You're the general of the minuteman, you brought his whole reason to live back. He truly sees you as a knight in shining armor.

❤︎ Last thing he wants is for you to end up like General Becker. For the minuteman to end up like they did after he died. Last thing he wants is to lose the person who was always there for him, his closest friend and his partner.

❤︎ As your loyal right hand man, he respects you greatly, and he doesn't want to fight you on this, even as he feels his heart go numb with fear.

❤︎ The minutemen heavily relies on you, he relies on you. He can't handle it if his world comes crashing down on him a second time, if he had to lose everything he thought for, and the person he loved more than anything.

❤︎ Tries his damned best to make you proud by keeping things going. He has some minutemen keep their ears open and report back any news on you. Keeping everything you fought together to build running brings him a bit of comfort.

❤︎ Actually sheds a tear or two when you come home safe, clutching you to his body as he buries his face in your hair. It feels like he can breathe again, and he takes an evening off so you two can spend time together.

X6-88:

❤︎ X6-88 doesn't fully understand why you wouldn't want the help of him, an Institute courser. Surely it would be a lot safer and easier if you just took him with him.

❤︎ He takes the order without a fight, just with a few questions as two why he can't join you, and when you'll be back. He makes you agree that if you haven't returned on the agreed date and location, he'd come looking for you himself.

❤︎ The synth isn't good with emotions, greatly lacking most of them. The dull sting in his chest isn't something he thinks deeply about. Instead he pushes the physical discomfort away and continues his duties as usual.

❤︎ He finds himself checking the approaching date of your scheduled return over and over again, calculating the time you had left before he would assume something had happened.

❤︎ When more than a couple minutes ticked past your supposed return, he was more than ready to start a full on search for you through the Commonwealth.

❤︎ Told you not to keep him waiting as soon as you returned. Outwardly he looked just the same, but he wondered why that ache in his chest had stopped.

[nukaposting]

i think it's about time we had a sexyman poll for the fallout side of tumblr. above is a list of all the fallout sexymen i could think of; if you think i missed anyone, i probably did want to add them, but polls only have ten answer slots. i may make a part 2 if there are enough characters left over, then pit the winners against each other in a final poll.

cast your vote, and may the best sexyman win.

[chadfallout76podcast]

what made you put nora x danse together in death shroud? i was surprised considering nora x hancock shippers seem to be the loudest/most popular ship in the fandom!

That's a great question with a complex answer. Sometimes writers write from instinct without a lot of thought in the moment. At least for me anyway, it's very stream of consciousness and I let the great whatever kind of guide me, in the moment not really thinking too much...just mentally playing out scenes in my head, letting the characters interact and then I transcribe what's in my head to the page. I had to think about your answer and why I put them together.

I know people LOVE a Nora/Hancock ship, but I looked at it through the lens of grief and loss. When you lose the love of your life, a part of you dies with them. Imagine a perfect morning, your husband, your child shattered in just minutes. MINUTES. In minutes everything you've ever known is gone. Then seemingly minutes later you watch them killed. An empty death. A pointless death, seemingly without reason or justification. And then, boom...you are thrust out into a harsh, unforgiving, broken world mirroring the shattered part of your soul. People bend, but they rarely break and even when they do, the road you take may grow dark, but at the end of it even in the deepest part of you, the heart YEARNS for what it lost. Nate went to war because he felt a deep sense of duty to his country and to his family, however misplaced this may be in the grand schemes of suits, politicians and madmen. Soldiers always pay the price for their kindness, willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and represent the last true measure of devotion and faith in an idea. I think Nora would've loved that about him.

Danse, while completely different, is a blurry shadow of Nate. The dedicated soldier, whose ideals and life were built around the idea of what the Brotherhood should be (perhaps not what it was under Maxson). I would argue that many of Danse's actions fly in the face of how Maxson would do things, and yet he clearly skated reprimand as the ends always were satisfactory. There is a nobility in that fact, as Danse isn't motivated by power, making many of his decision altruistic to a degree. His arc however SIMILARLY to Nora leads to a cataclysmic loss of everything he's ever known. His entire identity, his "family", his entire life shattered in minutes. Danse is a widower to the person he was, Paladin Danse DIED that day. Danse is who survived.

Sometimes soulful love is born from a shared journey in healing. For Nora, Danse is a reminder of the man she lost...never, ever to be replaced or forgotten but honored. There is so, so much of who Danse is that is a shadowed remind of what she fell in love with in Nate, enough to be comfortably familiar while also different. For Danse, Nora is the suture of a wound as deep as the soul, not born into, but made...not created by Man with 1's and 0's, but through choices and actions that represent the truth of sentience. They very much needed each other. Healing journeys can create friction. People are complex. Guilt, doubt, regret, fear of being wounded again all can push people away from each other. And yet, in due course, the heart wants what the heart wants. Nora and Danse found their way back to each other, and for me, would've remained following the events of Death Shroud.

Although for more on what happens next...you'll need to wait a little bit. ;)

[slocumjoe]

ways people write the companions that make me go hmmm

Gage excluded because I haven't seen enough portrayals of him

Cait; Poor Cait has such confusing, odd writing choices that I can’t blame anyone for doing this, but...when she’s boiled down to either Tough Irish Gal or Traumatized, with little dimension. Again, Bethesda does this themselves in text, depending on ??? so it’s not, like, a big deal. My advice for writing Cait is to remember that she exists outside of being Irish or Traumatized. She’s read/read about Freud, for example. So, she presumably learned to read, likely self-taught. If she read something psychology related, she must have taken an interest in it. That sort of thing. The best way to write Cait is to not take the obvious answer, because Cait’s depth itself isn’t obvious.

Curie; When people write Curie as a stupid, horny, smol bean 2 gud 4 dis world, i throw up in my mouth. Same as Cait, this is Bethesda’s fault. They have a habit of going for funny dialogue instead of sensible. There is no reason for Curie to say half the shit she does, she says it because someone thought it was funny, or worse, sexy. I’d recommend going through Curie’s likes/dislikes and dialogue even more so than I do other companions. Curie has a lot of edges if you go looking for them. Y’know Covenant? Curie supports Covenant. Also, she’s literally a robot in a human body. She’s 200+ years old, too. Make her fucking weird. Y’know how elves/fae are? Like that. Bonus if you make her friendliness off-putting. Being friends with a doctor gets annoying, speaking from personal experience. Also, being a doctor, she knows all about sex and sexual pleasure. She’s not confused what a dick is

Hancock; please acknowledge other aspects of his character beyond horny, sad, or high. He has them, I swear. Do you even know his parents’ names? No. You care only about ghoul dick or stoner jokes. He’s not even a stoner, he does the Fallout equivalent of meth/adderall. Much like Deacon, he does and thinks about other shit. I joke with Hancock as well, but you might notice that none of my actual reacts/headcanons open and close with shit like “he huffs some jet with one hand, fingers you with the other, and thinks about how he sucks”

Danse; i promise you, Paladin Danse is not hypervigilant of people’s asses/tits/dicks/whatevers. He’s not imagining having sex with your busty Sole every time he looks at them. That’s not just not Danse, it’s also very creepy and dehumanizing to both Danse and Sole. Is Sole not more than their tits? Other companions get the too-horny treatment as well, but I see Danse getting it worse of all. Sometimes he’s written as absolute manchild regarding sex, knowing literally nothing, same as Curie. I say Danse doesn’t know what jerking off is as a joke, but he probably knows. But Chronic Virgin Danse is usually a light-hearted joke, Hypersexual Danse is just fucking weird. It gets into unhealthy territory. Like...Danse wouldn’t want to fight people flirting with his crush. He wouldn’t even get aggressive if he was dating Sole. He’s not a hotheaded asshole. Annoyed at best, rude at worst. It’s giving Fifty shades/Twilight/After. 

Deacon; You guys know that when Deacon takes a shit, he isn’t dedicating it to Barbara, right? He isn’t dedicating it to his own redemption, or saving synths? He isn’t thinking up a cool lie to make about the shit-taking? When he has a drink of water, he isn’t like, “Barb used to drink water.” or “The U.P Deathclaws drank water” or “I’m gonna say I killed a behemoth with a water bottle!” Deacon has other thoughts and motivations beyond the meme or the sad. I can’t judge too much, because Deacon himself would approve of being thought of like this, but good god. Just let the dude be a dude sometimes. Let him shit in peace. 

MacCready; might be because he’s the most solidly written, but very few complaints with most MacCready stuff. Him being a little perverted is in character, he’s 22. However, I have seen people straight up forget Duncan and Lucy. It’s okay, though. So did Bethesda.

Nick; Also usually solid, the most common crime is that aforementioned After Shades of Twilight writing. Nick is not a possessive dude. He’s even less likely than Danse to get aggressive over his partner. Yeah, sure, he’s a cop, but is that really the fantasy you want? Really? 

Piper; I have...famously strong opinions on Piper, but good god. Blue this, Blue that, I’m gonna write about this, this’ll look good in my paper, I’m putting this in the news. Oh my God. You’d think Sole was a fucking SMURF with how many writers call them Blue. You’d think Piper dragged her writing press behind her like Sisyphus heaving his boulder along. Same as Deacon and Hancock, SHE DOES OTHER SHIT. People bend over backwards trying to work in the fact she’s a reporter. Same as Cait, the obvious is not interesting. 

Preston; fuck the settlement jokes, I hate it when Preston is turned into an UwU soft boy baby cinnamon roll 2 gud 4 dis world UwU sunshine sweetie pie cutie. Whenever someone does this, they don’t actually like Preston. They have no thoughts, no feelings, they just...I don’t know, want to be contrarion to Preston haters? “Imagine not liking Preston, couldn’t be me ;333″ you realize this is racist, right? Like, you know infantilizing black men is racist? Oh my God you don't know this is racist

X6-88; SPEAKING OF FUCKING RACISM. The highest discourse I’ve seen around X6 is calling it ableist to HC him as autistic, but that is NOT the biggest issue with X6 writing. X6-88 is best described as, like, a very expensive, very spoiled cat of a rich, Old Money asshole. You know the Evil Stepmother’s cat in Cinderella? That bitch. That’s X6 in a nutshell. That’s how you write X6. I’m not even going to get into the racist ass portrayals of X6 because fuck is it tiring, just gonna leave you with this; X6 is best when you see his character for the humor and genuinely interesting philosophies in it, and not when you see him as a BDSM hardcore porn big dick sex god dominant daddy who likes spanking. 

[boltlightning]

do you need someone, do you need a new me?

Once-Paladin Danse joins the Minutemen. fallout 4, post-blind betrayal, a handful of missing scenes. one-shot, ~2k words

Danse does not know how to answer that. “It — it smells. The water.”

“…yes.”

“But does it actually smell?” Danse leans back, glancing aside at Preston, who crouches curiously beside. “Am I merely experiencing the olfactory sensors using processing power to tell a chip that it smells? Do I like the smell, or am I remembering that I liked it? Did I make this call? Did someone else?”

Preston wrinkles his nose — a very human gesture. Even before the revelation, Danse had been told he did not emote near as much as his comrades. He assumes this observation would count among those offenses and quietly tucks it away for himself.

“It smells,” Preston declares, “and you’re thinking way too hard about this, Danse. Everyone’s got sensors and processors and all that, just…made of different material.”

(read on ao3!)

[sweetcocopowder]

Pitch Black Dahlias Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Pt. 4

Synopsis: Danger comes into the picture and Nate wants to finish the job

Word Count: 1K

Pairing: Paladin Danse / Male Sole Survivor (Nate)

Notes: Like I said in a previous post, I'm posting more frequently on ao3 and there's already six chapters to this fic on there. So if you want quicker updates, head over there ahha

The SuperMart comes into view in all its run-down glory. Nate lets out a long, loud exhale that has Danse chuckling softly under his breath. The trek had been a long one that had taken almost the entire day. The sun sets low in the sky and cast an orange shimmer across the wasteland sky. It gives a soft warmth to Nate’s dark eyes that only someone like Danse would notice.

“Let’s get in and out, it’s later than I expected,” Nate comments as he moves quick. He takes large strides across the court yard in the Lexington, the grass a green grey that crunches under foot.

An old factory shadows over the buildings on the block and hides half of the setting sun. Beams of light shine off the metal structure that reflect onto the copper green statue in the centre of the courtyard. The sun blinds Danse and he can’t get a good look at the factory unless he’s squinting and shielding his eyes and-

Danse stops in the centre of the yard next to the statue. He peers over at the factory with a deep-set frown. He squints his eyes a little further to spy what he thought he saw. If only the sun wasn’t in his face, he’d be able to spot the moving mass a little better.

“What are you looking at?” Nate asks, coming up behind the former Paladin.

As if answering the survivor, a loud, quaking roar vibrates the air. Danse recognises it immediately, his blood running cold through his synthetic veins. Now that his eyes have adjusted a little to the blinding light, he can make out what he’s looking at. The huge, massing muscle of the creature swings the fire hydrate into the factory with a powerful crash that leaves the ground shaking underfoot. The raiders that have taken refuge within the factory shoot and throw everything they have at the thick wall of mutated skin and teeth. But some gunfire falls silent as the creature grips the fighting raiders within its thick fingered grasp.

“Behemoth,” Danse utters out.

He suddenly feels very exposed, out in the open like with only a few guns. The Behemoth is only a block away from them up on the hill. The sun had blinded them both so that they wouldn’t spot the creature moving in the shadow of the factory. Was Danse so in his own head he hadn’t noticed it!? Hadn’t heard the chaos that the creature leaves in it’s wake.

“We need to go,” Danse fumbles out as he grabs onto Nate’s upper arm.

He begins dragging him away from the SuperMart that has Nate digging in his heels. The survivor yanks his arm from Danse’s tight grip and takes a few steps away from him. Fury ignites like a gas fire inside of Danse just as quickly as it evaporates. He stares wide eyed at Nate, the only emotion he feels now being one of confusion. He can’t understand why Nate can’t see what he sees. They’re out gunned and out matched! Can’t he see the danger right in front of them in bold super mutant green!?

If they turn their back on the Behemoth for even a second, let it out of their sight for a mere moment they’re both dead. Danse can’t have that. Not when Nate has fought so hard for both of them to be here.

“The SuperMart is right there,” Nate confronts firmly. “I’m not just up and leaving without finishing the job.”

Danse swallows thickly. He wouldn’t normally high tail it like a cowering dog, but he’s seen firsthand what a Behemoth can do to a simple man without the right equipment or artillery. Danse’s heart beats within his chest. The mere thought of seeing Nate underfoot of the Behemoth sends a violent shiver down his spine. He doesn’t think he could live with that. He steps towards Nate again with an outstretched hand, but he stops himself short.

Nate’s dark blue eyes stare at him with such an intensity that Danse forgets for a moment where they are. He also forgets what Nate was. A soldier. From a time before Danse could even imagine of. Where things were green and lively with the constant threat of nuclear annihilation on the horizon. And it had come. That threat had turned to punches being thrown and Nate had seen it all.

Nate reaches for Danse’s outstretched hand, interlocking their fingers together. A million expression must have washed over Danse’s normally stoic features ‘cause he notices the survivor’s own expression soften. The ground shakes underneath them and the Behemoth roars loudly, a deep sound that vibrates the air. Danse wants to look, be blinded by the sun once more but- yet the way that the sun catches Nate’s eyes. He can see the colour they truly are when Nate is staring directly into the light. Such a deep blue that even the sun has trouble lighting them up.

“Do you trust me to do this job, Danse?” Nate asks, his voice soft yet firm at the same time.

Only two word falls from Danse’s mouth. He doesn’t hesitate nor does he think of any other answer, almost forgetting about all the worries he was fretting over just mere moments before. He would be lying if he didn’t say it.

“Of course.”

A wide smile spreads across Nate’s handsome features. He looks over Danse’s shoulders to the Behemoth, hoping just like the ex-Paladin, that once it’s finished with the raiders it doesn’t wonder over here. They need to deliver the package and go.

Nate lets go of Danse’s hand, but he keeps it outstretched as he takes a few steps backwards. He speaks firmly next, one that reminds Danse on just how Nate has survived this long in the wasteland. A man out of time.

“Follow me. We’ve got a package to deliver, and we’ll be gone before that big bastard even knew we were here.”

And Danse follows with his gun cocked in hand, the ground shaking once again as the Behemoth brings its fire hydrate down into a screaming raider. The former Paladin doesn’t even glance a look over his shoulder. His eyes are on Nate and only Nate.

-

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[typosandtea]

Got tagged by @irradiatedpiratebooty (Thankyou!) to post some wips…. 😅

No pressure tags for: @sirmanmister @acorncoffeeformysweetheart @charliesvarietyhour @fuzzydreamin @bokatan :]

I’ve got so many abandoned sketches / concepts and very few wips that make it past that because usually by the time I’ve hashed out the sketch I’ve figured out if I like it and if i have the ability to pull off what I am picturing yet ahahah and the ones past sketch are often abandoned for ‘I cant figure out why I don’t like this’ rip

(I’ve also tacked a half written danse fic on the bottom!)

Some active wips✨ (Danse like its 2015, silly comic based on this post, sketch of Murphy and Nathan)

Some I’ll hopefully come back too??????????? (Tacky mug, Danse and Frankie in Far harbor (based on Night Letter by @/watchyourdigits, I paused for falloutober and never picked up again sorry :/ ), Sweetbrew fallout 76)

Proper abandoned rip (Danse as a dnd paladin (a request that I didn’t finish since the vibes are bad, sorry @/never-gonna-danse-again :/), and a silly comic based on this screenshot of mine)

And some writing since I’m trying to figure out how to do that yay ⤵️

(Untitled, unfinished) Danse, 2nd person, Danse is kinda oblivious, ‘How does Danse deal with loving and being truly loved by a railroad sole, even after the events of rr fallout 4.. (poorly)’

Dawes, Worwick, Brach and now Keane. All good soldiers dead too soon, too young, under your command. With a heavy heart you know now that soon you'll watch as you lose Haylen and Rhys too, before succumbing yourself to the ever growing tide of ferals that has been ebbing closer over the course of the battle, it feels like an eternity has passed since you saw Keane fall to the abominations, time seemed to have broken, though you know that its only been half an hour at most. If you survive the onslaught you'll have to organise a proper memorial.. if..

Reload. Aim. Fire. Assess the situation, update tactics. Breathe. Reload. Aim. Fire. Godless heathens! Rhys is injured! Breathe. Reload. BREATHE. Aim. Fi- Fire rains down on the ferals from outside the compound. Reload. Update tactics with Haylen, while more gunfire and another molotov begins to part the irradiated sea of scum. Aim. You catch a glimpse of them. Fire. The remaining abominations are dealt with swiftly, and while thankful for the well timed assist you can't help but to be cautious of them after all of the opposition your team has faced in the commonwealth. You ask them about themselves and they ask about you in return, thinking back you never got a straight answer out of them but no time to think about that now. Leading the way, you fill the silence with a debrief of Gladius' disastrous mission here, after all they had seemed interested in the Brotherhood, even if the sunglasses clad man with them had frowned. Arcjet brings more surprises, in both the unwelcome form of gen 1 synths, and the strangers' apparent combat effectiveness and familiarity with facing them. Between both of your combat prowess, the dilapidated laboratory is soon devoid of any synthetic 'life'.

Choosing to debrief outside you stumble through attempting to compliment their outstanding combat abilities, for a civilian. You part ways after gifting them Righteous authority and an accepted invitation to join the brotherhood, much to the dismay of their companion it seems. On the walk back to the station you realise that you feel lighter than you have in months, if just a little bit crispier too.

Months pass and things have been going well for the soldier, their already good combat skills have been steadily improving, Maxon has promoted them already! They are turning into a model knight, albeit with some unorthodox choices sometimes, but you want them to succeed you know they can!

After a particularly gruelling day of clearing out yet another super mutant nest you mutually decide to camp out in a suitably defensible old house, "you're quite the soldier" you say for not the first time, casual conversation comes easily with them, easier than it has for you in years you realise with a pang. And so you tell them about Kreig and how you are pushing them the same way he pushed you, to grow into the potential you see in them, and then you apologise. For being like Kreig, pushing too hard without explanation or reward. The soldier is silent for a while, before replying, but you see a new glimmer in their eyes, of understanding. They take first watch, and you drift off to sleep easily for the first time in recent memory.

Much progress has been made in the brotherhood's hunt for the institute, with the both or you being assigned more missions near constantly it seems someone has noticed your effectiveness as a team. You've heard whispers of rumours and caught the occasional stares drifting around the prydwen, but you pay them no mind, speculative gossip has never been of any interest to you, especially not something so obviously false as those rumours, that would be inappropriate after all. Your thoughts drift to the soldier, and realise just how much they have come to mean to you and how little you've told them anything about you, how could you have been so selfish after they have bared so much of their soul with you? Their life prewar, the death of their spouse at the hands of the cruel institute mercenary, the hunt for a way into the institute and their overwhelming fear at what they will find there. How much pressure they feel from everyone to be the perfect soldier, you sigh internally thinking about that, you owe them an apology it seems. With your mind made up now you just wait for them to return and for a suitably private moment to present itself. The opportunity arises later that day, they have just returned to the prydwen after a week away, and much to your surprise beeline straight for you with a smile before even turning in their documents or missions. They seem to be oblivious to the stares and raised eyebrows of the mess's other patrons, and a round of suitably authoritative glares ensures they will remain so. Brandis just smiles, damn him.

You warmly accept their request to join them on a routine acquisition for Haylen, but you know by now that no mission will ever be ‘routine’ with them, not that you mind the challenge. En-route to the target zone you cant stop thinking about what you are going to discuss with them, how will you open such a sensitive topic with them? Its been a substantial period of time since you’ve spoken to anyone about back then, not that you could ever forget him, after all how could you when he haunts your sleep like some sort of sorrowful spectre of loss, guilt and pain.

Lost in your ruminations as you are you nearly walk right into the Soldier as they signal ‘hold’ and ‘danger’. Snapping back to reality while cursing yourself for your inattentiveness internally, you spot the obvious threat almost immediately: a roving band of super-mutant scum and worse yet, a suicider. Outstanding. Your friend signals for stealth and for a flanking manoeuvre, you never did understand their insistence on such quiet methods when you both have access to power armour, but you’ve seen enough of their handwork enough to trust their tactics, even with their continual overestimation of your lacking stealth capabilities. As quietly and you can in full power armour you move into position on the opposite side of the pack to them, shoulder your rifle and wait for their signal. You can feel your heart rate quicken in time with the warming thrum from your charging laser rifle as the anticipation and adrenaline flips the switch to combat mode. They don’t keep you waiting long as a well placed laser volley from them sets off the unsuspecting suicider right in the middle of the pack. As the stragglers stupidly turn in the direction of the apparent danger you fire on their backs with deadly accuracy. With the element of surprise now used to its fullest, you charge into optimal combat range as one of the remaining brutes correctly picks you as the bigger threat, Good. Its better if you are the target. A few more well places shots from the both of you and its over as quickly as it started, “Outstanding!” you complement their marksmanship and tactics as they walk over. You notice of the charred abominations still writhing nearby and you put it out of its disgusting misery with a well placed stomp.

The Soldier shows you the location Haylen specified on their pip-boy, its just on the other side of this small commercial district, if the mission goes smoothly you could be back on the prydwen by nightfall, sharing a whisky to chase away the taste of messes’ latest attempt at dinner. You both freeze as you hear the distinctive sound of laser fire nearby, one look and you both move towards the commotion weapons hot. At the first sign of creepy plastic and blue lasers you charge with an “AD VICTORIAM!” but you barely get a round in before mini-gun fire tears through the remaining machines. After ensuring that they were in the clear you join the soldier as they approach the heavily armed newcomer. You meet the strangers glare with a level one of your own, before they can say anything your friend asks what they are doing here, “kicking ass, though it looks like HQ messed up scheduling again” the stranger answers. Ah this must be one of their minutemen acquaintances, you had heard they were getting more active lately, and poor organisation is expected from the civilian militia. The strangely dressed silver haired minuteman explains that the subway has been overrun with gen 1 synths, your friend offers to help, “it would be an Honor to assist in exterminating these abominations” you agree, though this earns you a strange look from the minuteman. No matter. Unbeknownst to you the Soldier and the minuteman share a significant look behind your back. No pathetic synths stand a chance against the three of you as heavily armoured as you all are, you briefly considered extending the minuteman an invitation to join the brotherhood, though you reconsider when they lament the ‘deaths’ of the machines, such a naive outlook would never be allowed to continue in the brotherhood, don't they know how dangerous synths are? With the battle dust settled, “damn!, you’re one ass-kicking angel of death” the stranger compliments your friend as you all backtrack to leave the dingy subway, “agreed, outstanding work as always” you contribute, they are positively beaming at the combined praise. The minutemen leaves with more crude but positive words, its good to see that the minutemen have at least some capable fighters on their side, it is a noble cause.

The target artifact is soon acquired with minor resistance from some more mutants, but the hour is too late to return to the prydwen now. They suggest that a settlement nearby will be a safe place to camp for the night, you agree, and privately hope that the arrangements will be secluded enough for the difficult conversation you have planned. A short walk in the dark later and you both arrive at the small nursery and are immediately accosted by a group of hysterical settlers. Eventually the soldier calms them down enough to learn the location of the kidnapped one, an older man. The mutants are just across the road as it turns out, why on earth they have tolerated living a stones throw from these monstrosities for so long is a mystery, but at least the proximity makes for a brutally quick rescue, you both use the night to you advantage and the monsters are dead before they can even take up arms. The man is injured so you carry him, trusting your friend to have your backs on the way back to the settlement. You mentally resolve to make significant note of how much mutant and synth activity there is in this region in the next mission report. With the settler returned, sustenance and a semi-secure place to set up camp for the night acquired (to be continued oops, 1/4 affinity talks written, the 4th being romance dialog)

[danses-with-dogmeat]

🦀👑 'was that your first kiss?' for Danse please 🥺

You are a GENIUS

I love this so much, I actually can't--

Thanks so much for giving me an excuse to write this 😅

I hope you love it!

"Here. I wanted you to have this."

Danse's voice was low as he reached towards you, a parcel in his hands that he'd produced from behind his back. It was a medium-sized box, carefully wrapped in newspaper, with a tidy silver bow on top. You grinned at him as you took the gift from his tentative grasp.

A blush was slowly spreading across the ex-paladin's cheeks, but you tried not to make it obvious that you'd noticed this evidence of his nerves.

"T-thank you, Danse, but... What is this for, exactly?"

You'd only come home from a minuteman assignment, only been gone a little over an afternoon. It wasn't your birthday, or any other significant holiday, as far as you knew.

"Well, I... It's just a 'thank you,' of sorts, I suppose." One hand went up to scratch at the back of his neck as Danse's eyes refused to meet your own. "I wasn't sure how to repay you-- if I ever even could, for everything that you've done for me all this time. This was just a way, I thought, to let you know how much I appreciate it all."

Your smile only broadened at his words, but still, you didn't move to open it quite yet.

"I don't need you to say thank you," You told him gently, "I would've helped you. No matter what, I hope you know that."

Danse swallowed hard, his dark eyebrows knitting together over his downturned gaze.

"But still," You continued, moving a hand to lightly touch his forearm, "I do appreciate it."

He stiffened a bit at the contact, but nodded in understanding and didn't pull away completely.

"Now, come here. Might as well make ourselves comfortable instead of just standing here in the doorway." Your hand slid down to grasp with his gingerly as you pulled him to the living room couch to take a seat, setting the giftbox onto the worn coffee table in front of you.

"Alrighty, here we go." Your fingers twiddled with excitement as you removed the paper from the box with as much care as you could muster. You didn't want to ruin his perfect little wrapping-job, after all.

You could swear Danse held his breath the whole while, even as you pried open the edges of the carboard box within, and pulled out the... piece of metal?

"I... I love this, Danse, I really do." You said slowly as you turned the thing around in your hands, your gaze studious as you examined the strange item. "I just..."

You were at a loss.

"Um... what is it?"

When you turned to him, Danse's eyes were wide.

He swallowed hard again, and cleared his throat before answering.

"It's a... a modification. For Righteous Authority. I noticed that you still tend to use the weapon quite frequently, but that you hadn't made any changes to it over the time it's been in your possession." His fingers began to fidget as his eyes wandered to and fro, still avoiding your own like they'd set him ablaze if he looked too long. "And... I also noticed that you tend to use it as more of a ranged weapon than I did when I modified it for myself, so... in your hands is a fine-tuned beam focuser, which allows for better range without sacrificing accuracy and keeping recoil relatively mild."

You blinked at him as Danse reached forward for the box.

"A-and still inside is an overcharged capacitor. Which will give you much greater power and ammo capacity. I can install them later, but... I wanted to surprise you while not leaving you unarmed."

"Wow, this is... I really do love it, Danse. You know what I need more than I do." You chuckled as your fingers pressed over the shiny, cool metal, admiring the way it shone in the dim light of the room.

"Well... The same could be said about me." Danse said quietly, "When you helped me through... well, everything. When I'd thought of every option, or believed I'd considered every course of action that was possible, and then you showed up, and... You changed everything. Made the impossible, possible. You saved my... My life." His voice began faltering slightly by the end of it as he continued looking down between the two of you, his gaze resting on the couch cushions below.

"This was a small token of gratitude to say the least, but... It's what I could offer. I just hope that it's enough to express how grateful I am. How much you... you mean to me."

Slowly, you set down the... capacitor? Or was it the focuser? Either way, you set down the specialized piece of laser rifle modification back onto the table, freeing your hands as you turned on the couch to better face your companion.

You waited until his gaze finally tore away from the couch, and slowly, jerkily, made its way up to meet yours as he took in your movement; and then reached out your arms and steadily moved forward to pull him into a tight embrace.

All movement from the ex-paladin ceased as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders. It was like hugging a warm statue, with how stiff and still he was throughout, and yet, he made no move to pull away.

A moment passed, and briefly the thought of releasing him passed through your mind, but just as the consideration entered your consciousness, Danse's hands raised to return the tender gesture, and you felt him release a breath, relaxing into your contact as his fingers tightened over your back and shoulder.

"You mean a lot to me too, Danse." You whispered to him through the hug.

"You have for a long time, and... I know this has all been difficult-- beyond difficult, since everything happened, but I want you to know how strong you've been. It's... been an inspiration to me, and to Haylen, and Preston, and countless others."

He released another deep breath, this one shakier than the last, as he clung to you even more tightly.

"And I can't tell you how glad I am that you're here. That you made it through all of that, that you stayed in the Commonwealth... Stayed with me. I know it can't be easy..."

"You... you make it easier." Danse said back, his voice barely more than a breath. "Sole, truly, I could have never made it out of this alive if it weren't for you."

He pulled away now, carefully unwinding his arms from around you, but allowing his fingers to drag lightly over your skin as he sat back to look you in the eye.

His own were almost glossy with emotion, and you felt something in your chest jump at his expression. At the affection you found there, the appreciation, the...

Am I just seeing things?

You blinked, but when your eyes opened again, that emotion was still there, strong as ever.

It was the way Nate/Nora had looked at you so often, the way your family looked at you when you returned home, the way your own eyes appeared when looking down at a peacefully sleeping Shaun.

At least, you could swear, you saw love in his expression.

And god... did that mean... could he see it in yours? It must have been there. You'd been in love with the man long enough to know he should be able to see it, but as tactically perceptive as Danse was, emotions weren't always his specialty.

Without a second consideration from the sane part of your mind, you leant forward, closing your eyes as your hand fell to his wrist, and as your lips touched his.

Danse's pulse was racing beneath the touch of your fingers, and just as had been true with the hug, he was still as stone as you pushed further into the kiss, the softness of your lips a stark contrast to the firmness of his own. Like a gentle wave meeting a rocky shoreline, slowly, the feeling seeped through the cracks and sunk into him, and Danse finally reciprocated. He tilted his head opposite yours, experimenting almost awkwardly, still with stiff lips and a clumsy movement of his hand reaching up to hold the base of your neck mechanically. You allowed his touch to pull you in further though, your lips kneading against his, coaxing the rigidness out of them as best you could, in an attempt to communicate every feeling that had just passed through you, and trying to get him to do the same. All of this whilst earnestly hoping that you hadn't misread things between the two of you.

Your head jolted in surprise, as you heard a soft sigh escape Danse's throat, something heating deep within you at the pleasured sound.

Then, just as soon as you began it, Danse ended the kiss, pulling back swiftly as he regained himself.

Your eyes blinked open, an apology ready and waiting on your tongue, before it was swept away by the shear redness of your companion's face. His blush would've put a tato to shame, and the wideness of his amber eyes resembled that of a pair of melons. Now, it was all you could do to keep from laughing at the absurd look.

"Is everything okay? I... I mean, was that alright?" You managed to ask without too much levity in your voice.

Danse was petrified, his mouth still partially open as his eyes stared at some nothingness, far in the distance.

"Danse?" You tried, and some semblance of the ex-paladin seemed to return to him at the sound of his name.

"I, ah... ahem." He shook his head, almost comically, before clearing his throat for the umpteenth time since the start of this talk of yours.

"What... did we?" He began, but never quite finished the question, just looked at you in confusion.

"I kissed you, yeah." Now it was your turn to blush, as your eyes failed to meet his. "I'm sorry if that wasn't what you were expecting, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything, I just..."

"No!" He said too quickly, too loudly, cringing instantly as he realized the way the word had left him. "No. It didn't. I was a little surprised, yes, and maybe reacted differently than I would've like to, but... It's only because, well... I've never really... um..."

He trailed off, and suddenly a light clicked in your mind.

"Wait, Danse... was that your first kiss?"

His eyes widened again, the flushed look of his cheeks that had began to slowly vanish redoubled in their efforts to turn the whole of his face that deep crimson once more.

"I-I-- Well..."

You smiled at him, feeling relief on your end that any perceived awkwardness on his part perhaps merely came from inexperience, and not from the possibility that he hadn't wanted to kiss you at all.

"It's okay, it's... I shouldn't have asked it like that, I'm sorry."

He seemed to relax a little at that.

"And I shouldn't have done it so abruptly, I just... I've been holding onto my feelings for you for so long, and I just couldn't seem to bottle them up any--"

"Y-your feelings for me?" Danse interrupted, but his voice stayed soft, non-accusatory, more... curious. "But how... With everything you know about me, about who-- what I am, how could you still..."

"Love you?" You finished for him.

Danse's eyes widened again, almost as if he was just realizing exactly what you were getting at.

As if you hadn't been trying to communicate it for weeks leading up to this.

You shook your head slightly, an evidence of your own disbelief, and smiled at him.

"With everything I know about you, Danse, how could I not?"

[plushyvi]

"hard luck, blues!" — prologue!

game: fallout 4

character: arthur maxson

summary: searching for his parents’ killer, arthur maxson escapes vault 49 with vengeance in his veins. meanwhile, you’re busy trying to keep the commonwealth together through the brotherhood of steel. while your goals are completely different, your lives converge, and it seems like fate chose it to stay that way.

warnings: afab! reader, she/her pronouns used, second person pov, spoilers for the bos and main timeline in fo4, main masterlist here

taglist: @hrefna-the-raven

you stare at the vault dweller, who clutches onto his pip-boy quite tightly around the various power armour wearing knights surrounding him. he stood at 5’10 with a dirty blue suit that anyone could recognise here in the commonwealth. you didn’t know what kind of stupid he was wearing that in public.

not only that, but he had this look in his eyes that was shadowed by hatred. it just screamed that he has never stepped outside before. surely he had convinced a few people he was a local wastelander, but you were not so easily fooled.

your trusted soldier, paladin danse, stands at your side as you watch a knight, out of armour, brings him down to his knees in front of you. the dweller lands with a grunt and tries to yank the knight off of him.

“he was caught by scribe haylen, ma’am,” danse informs you, “while going to recover the power armour you sent us to find, we stumbled upon this individual taking it apart.”

the man doesn’t even attempt to reject that idea or defend himself.

“what’s your name?” you question him as you tilt your head. the veritbird behind you blew wind into his face and made your long leather coat flow against you.

“why do you need to know?” he spits back.

“because i need to know the name of the roach who tried to steal power armour from one of my soldiers,” you respond. he glares at the ground. “answer now, or i will strip you of all your weaponry and technology. my scribes would have a field day with that pip-boy of yours.”

he looks up at after that threat. a scar adorns his cheek, slightly covered by the beard he was growing. by the crease of his brows, you can tell that he’s been through some tough stuff. you recognise the look in his eyes as that of a man on a mission.

“afraid of what we’d find on there?” you chime. the man furrows his brows. “hand it over.”

the knight attempts to unlatch the pip-boy from the man’s wrist, but the dweller only fights back. he manages to hook an elbow around the knight’s head and flip him over. in the rush, he draws his gun and aims it at the knight’s head. you hold up a hand to stop the guns from shooting towards him.

that only solidifies your hypothesis on who this man was. everyone has heard about him by now.

“knight rhys!” danse shouts as he holds up his laser rifle. he waits for your command.

“you hold no cards here,” you explain with a huff, “what do you gain out of killing one of my soldiers, other than becoming an enemy of the brotherhood?”

“i don’t even know who you people are.” he tells you.

“you’re the vault dweller that killed kellog,” you speak up. the man freezes as his eyes widen a little at you. “you are, aren’t you? diamond city quick to spread the news around.”

“i was justified,” he claims as he slowly stands up and puts his weapon in its holster. the knight lifts himself up and holds his shoulder as he steps away. “you don’t know what he did.”

“kellog has been on my record for years now,” you explain, “and you suddenly brought an end to him? i have a hard time believing i shouldn’t pay attention to you.”

“my name is arthur maxson,” he tells you in a loud voice for all to hear, “i’m after the institute.”

“then we have similar goals.”

there’s a silence between the two of you as your soldiers lower their weapons. you’re considering what you should do with him. but you look to danse.

“paladin, what do you think of his fighting? i’m sure you’ve had time to evaluate,” you say to the man in armour, “what is your verdict?”

he doesn't seem surprised by your question. the brotherhood knew you as one of the more lenient (as much as you could be in your position) elders of the brotherhood. anyone you deemed fit enough, you would allow them to prove themselves in the brotherhood.

“he is an exceptional fighter. we were caught by ghouls and instead of running away after he got caught, he stayed and fended them off with us.” danse briefly explains to you.

“would you sponsor him?”

“if he abided by the laws of the brotherhood and were more cooperative, perhaps.”

“hm,” you hum out with your hands in your coat. you purse your lips, not impressed. “i suppose this is a waste of time, then. if you aren’t able to follow instructions, then you are useless to our cause. gather the armour, we are heading back to the prydwen. i want a sample of his remains for proctor quinlan to assess — those vaults are crazy. and i don’t condone stealing from the brotherhood.”

you order everyone. they begin to file into their respective vertibirds. some of the knight raise their weapon, safety off.

“i cannot work with someone so… unhinged.” you sigh as you step onto the vertibird.

“wait!”

you glance to maxson. the knights stop closing in.

“bring me with you.”

you raise a brow at him. the man squared his shoulders and clenched his fists.

“i promise that if i am with the brotherhood, i will help you take down the institute. i have gotten further than i believe anyone else has to uncovering their secret,” he claims. he says it with such certainty that you’re almost sure of it yourself. “you need to find them too, right? we should work together.”

you sit on the vertibird and consider it. he seemed to be dead-set on finding the institute and he was right — no one else has ever got as close as he has. looking at him again, you could picture him as a member of the brother of steel. but your doubt outweighs it.

danse, who sits in front of you, clears his throat to grab your attention.

“if you allow me, elder,” he speaks up, “i will have him under my supervision. it was me who brought him to you, so i feel so responsible.”

“hm, you’re lucky, maxson,” you turn your head to the vault dweller who stands there nervously, “paladin danse is a well-respected soldier of mine. if he didn’t vouch for you, i’m afraid you would’ve been left here in bones.”

maxson swallows his fears as he waits for your response.

“i will take you in as an initiate, and you will be allocated to paladin danse’s team,” you explain to him with crossed arms, “i will be watching you closely, soldier. don’t disappoint me.”

he lets out a short breath as he nods his head. knights then escort him to your vertibird as ordered to. you have this condescending smile on your face as he sits across from you. danse stands at the mounted gun.

the vehicle lifts off towards the prydwen, the metal ship in the sky that awes maxson. he’s never seen something so amazing. not even 200 years ago. you watch him as he gawks at the ship.

“the prydwen is where i am situated most times,” you tell maxson with a leg over your knee, “i was only on the ground since paladin danse told me to go for evaluation. consider yourself blessed."

he couldn't make up your character even if he wanted to. someone so patronising and vain was able to reach such high ranks (maxson didn't even know what you were) of some big organisation? he could hardly believe it. he first thought danse was the leader.

you watch him scan his surroundings before he holds onto his seat as the vertibird is latched to the prydwen and was pulled up.

although you'd never admit it, you were... intrigued by the vault dweller. it was like a new experiment for you, having him join the brotherhood. you smile to yourself.

you hear danse get off the vertibird and do so as well. maxson is hesitant before paladin danse commands him off of it. you march towards your own second in command on the prydwen. he salutes you before his eyes fall on the blue-wearing man behind you and in front of danse.

"elder l/n. it is good to see you return."

"thank you, captain kells." you respond with the nod of your head, “this is arthur maxson, he is our newest initiate. paladin danse is keeping an eye on him.”

your captian doesn't look surprised in the slightest at your statement, but it's when his eyes land on maxson's vault suit that he tilts his head. kells stands up straighter, gaze hardened. you nod your head and begin on your way to your office.

“i have some things to discuss with the proctors. kells, if you will, help maxson get familiar with the ship.” you order as you walk passed the new soldier.

"welcome aboard the prydwen," captain kells says to maxson as other soldiers begin to file onto the ship, "and welcome to the brotherhood, initiate."

maxson looks around at the security and the scribes working on the deck. it looked strong enough to hold everyone in the air, but it was also a mechanical feat on it's own. he’s never seen anything remotely like this. captain kells clears his throat.

“are there any questions you have for me?” he asks.

“where can i get power armour?” is the first thing maxson asks.

“only knights have clearance,” kells responds, “and you are not yet a knight. until elder l/n grants you that rank, you will not be allowed power armour.”

“i will be keeping a close eye on you for that reason, soldier,” paladin danse claims as he glares down at maxson, “per elder l/n’s request, you are under my supervision for the time being. your actions will affect me as well. think about the brotherhood before acting.”

maxson only nods his head before he follows the captain into the prydwen. it’s much warmer than outside and maxson can feel the heaviness in the atmosphere. the knight that stood outside your office and scribes did check ups on the walls to see how it faired on the trip to the commonwealth. paladin danse excused himself to talk to you about the plans with maxson.

on the way down the stairs to meet kells’ team, the new initiate watched you. you tugged on the buckle at your front as you sat on one of the seats in your office. danse, in his power armour, stood before you. with a leg over your knee and crossed arms, you talk to danse.

your attention set on him only. maxson watched as you spoke silent words about him. if anyone else was doing so, he’d have their head.

maxson is given a tour of the prydwen and the proctors (teagan finding it funny how he was caught stealing power armour and now could possibly own one). meanwhile, danse finishes giving you a more detailed report.

“i heard that you came across a deathclaw before finding maxson,” you say as you toss him some purified water, “and i see that you’ve found something special in that initiate. you haven’t sponsored a soldier before.”

“yes, that is correct. i believe that maxson could be a great asset with his fighting,” danse responds as he holds the bottle, “i just have questions about his emergence from the vault.”

“as do i,” you sigh out. you stare outside the window. “not many people are willing to help vault dwellers — and even less number of dwellers are willing to leave their homes. i want to know why he is after the institute.”

“do you believe he has ulterior motives, ma’am?”

“possibly,” you state, “i would like to hear it from him first. regardless, you are to monitor him. i would like all information, paladin.”

“understood, elder l/n.” he responds before leaving you alone.

you stand up and press your hands against the rails in front of yours windows. you could feel the enemies of the brotherhood lurking beneath. super mutants, synths and ferals running rampant. when you were given this part of the wasteland, you vowed to do your job, no matter what it takes.

if you had to use a singular vault dweller to do that, so be it.

who knows — maybe he will prove to be more useful alive than in a ditch lifeless.

you hear back from the other scribes on the ground throughout the rest of the day and gather all your intel. you begin to map out all the camps of super mutants, raiders, synth locations and other enemies to keep in mind for your next move. it’s late into the night and you’ve sent all your commanders to their quarters and the night soldiers from kells’ team overtakes to keep the ship security.

so you think it’s strange that when you head towards your quarters, you see movement in the power armour bay.

“maxson,” you sigh out as you cross your arms over your chest, “i believe i made myself clear on my rules on power armour.”

the vault dweller steps away from danse’s armour. you watch him carefully push the fusion core back into the slot and walk towards you. he stops a few feet away as you hold up your pistol towards him.

“i want your full story, now,” you demand. he hardens his glare towards your figure, which makes you roll your eyes and sit yourself down on top the weapons bench. “you tell me what you’re doing in the commonwealth trying to find the institute, and i won’t empty a mag in you.”

he hesitates to come closer once you take off the safety on your weapon. you tilt your head at him and wait for him to start.

“the vault i’m from performed an experiment to see how we would fare against wasteland creatures,” he explains to you, “ever since the bombs dropped, families were kept inside and acted like it was a normal vault. but then, when i was just a kid, we were locked in large portion of the vault where mirelurks and deathclaws were released.”

you knew those vaults were crazy, which is why you never allowed any of your soldiers to go down there unless necessary.

“those vile creatures loomed down every hall, and at the start, so many of us had died. we had to go from vault dwellers living the lavish life, to fighters in a night. it was the biggest and fastest change we have ever had to make.”

he stares at you and how your gun doesn’t falter. you hold it up against him and listen.

“there were no weapons, other than steak knives. we had to create our own,” he informed you, “we had to learn how to defend ourselves from the onslaught of creatures that multiplied as the days went on. last week, the doors opened on its own and i was the only one who survived the first day.”

“that doesn’t explain your connection with the institute,” you state, “if you’re looking for vengeance, vault-tec barely survived themselves. i’d say to let it go and focus in yourself.”

“no, not vault-tec,” he spits back, “my parents suddenly went missing a year after the experiment began. the only reason those doors opened was because we had killed every single mirelurk and deathclaw in the vault and ‘passed’, and once we gained access to the security cameras, i saw kellogg’s face clear as day. i got all the information i needed to decide that it was the institute that took them. for whatever reason. and i plan on finding my parents and finishing the institute off.”

you stare at him for a few seconds before you let out a sigh and slide your pistol back into its holster. maxson feels a weight be lifted off his shoulder.

“i’ll help only because we share the same goal,” you state, “but you need to prove yourself to be an asset to the brotherhood. if you cannot, i will let you go, but know that you will be constantly monitored. refusal to cooperate then will deem you an enemy, and i will still look forward to dissembling that pip-boy of yours.”

he braces the technology against his chest as he nods slowly. a smile dawns on your lips.

“it’s good that you can listen.” you hum out. he clicks his tongue and looks away. “now, go back to your bed, initiate. i can assure you no harm will come to you if you sleep; i keep my soldiers in order.”

you stand up straight and rub your neck.

“sleep well, initiate,” you say, “i have an important mission for you in the morning.”

he doesn’t say anything back to you as you walk back to your room. you didn’t ask him to move first, not even thinking about maxson going to attack you. did you really have that much trust in him already?

he does as you say, though, and he walks back to his bed. there are sleeping scribes surrounding him, and a few knights stand at attention at the higher and lowest levels. maxson can't help but feel in danger as he lays back down. these people could attack him at any moment, at your command. when he finally feels his eyes go heavy, it's about an hour after you talked to him.

he can't get the image of you out of his mind.

it wasn't infatuation — it was fear.

[hrefna-the-raven]

Heart of Steel

Fallout masterlist - main masterlist

Chapter 1 - 2

Song for this chapter:

Summary: your first mission for the Brotherhood, you were hoping to be assigned to Paladin Danse but instead you were paired with a high-ranking mysterious Paladin...

Warnings: violence, blood, mild swearing

Notes: sorry this a longer chapter with some canon divergence concerning the "show no mercy" mission^^

Chapter 3 - Show no mercy

"Feels like you can take on the world in there, doesn't it?", Danse chuckled.

You walked around in your new power armor, moving your fingers and checking the settings appearing on your visor within the helmet.

"This is not my first time but damn this thing has improved a lot since I last used it", you exclaimed excitedly.

"Well let's get you on the flight deck, vertibird's waiting."

The paladin headed towards the door, holding in open for you as you stepped through.

"You're joining without the armor?"

"I'm not joining at all, I've been assigned to remain on the Prydwen for now."

Danse shrugged as you approached the vertibird stationed at the end of the flightdeck. It felt strange to see him without his armor after spending so much time together at the police station. Without it, he seemed incomplete, like a turtle stripped of its protective shell. Before you could ask about your fellow soldier on this mission, your eyes caught sight of an individual donning a T-60f power armor standing in the doorway of the vertibird. This particular suit of armor stood out from the others you had encountered on the ship thus far. Its surface was covered in scratches, with blood-red accents carefully painted across its black exterior. The emblem of the Brotherhood was proudly displayed on the chest plate in bold white. Despite wearing an armor yourself, you suddenly felt small standing in the presence of this soldier. With a wave of his hand, he gestured for you to find a seat inside the vertibird. Nervously settling into the designated spot, you stole a glance back at Danse, who offered you an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up as the vertibird began its ascent. As the Prydwen gradually disappeared from view, the paladin clad in black armor finally broke the silence.

"So you're the new recruit, the lady out of time. Freshly arrived just yesterday."

He sounded young despite his voice being distorted by the tech in his helmet. You simply nodded, allowing him to continue speaking, hoping to gather some insight before having to say anything yourself.

"I caught a glimpse of you scrubbing the latrines this morning. What did you do to piss off the Elder already on your first day?", he jeered, the visor of his helmet fixed on your figure as he leaned in closer.

"I gave him the wrong answer", you nonchalantly shrugged, "what did you do to piss him off?"

"What makes you think I did?", the paladin cocked his head slightly, displaying a hint of confusion.

"You seem to be one of the higher-ups, yet here you are, babysitting the new recruit on her maiden mission", you challenged him, your amused grin lost behind the metal plate of your helmet.

"Quite observant, timeless lady", he burst into laughter, "but you're mistaken, I'm not punished. I'm just here to make sure the muties don't kill you on sight. Courtesy of the Elder, not every fresh recruit has the pleasure of my company. You must be pretty special."

He extended his arms, tilting his heard slightly down in a mocking bow. You were starting to like whoever this was and made a mental note to dedicate some time to find out his identity as soon as you were back. However, your thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the whizzing bullets that narrowly missed the aircraft, some of them making contact with its metal surface with a loud clink.

“Time to wipe those dirty mutants from the face of the earth”, the Paladin bellowed as he aimed down with his gatling laser.

That sentence struck a nerve but before you could dedicate another thought to it, a bullet grazed your helmet causing you to instinctively grab the minigun and unleash a barrage of gunfire. More and more super mutants gathered in front of the large building.

"Shiiiit", you shouted in shock, your eyes darting to another mutant towering over the many others.

You had seen the first super mutants around Diamond City but this one was huge. A bone-chilling roar erupted from the creature as it through boulders towards the aircraft, one of them hitting the tail. The vertibird wavered mid-flight and began its descent. Fortunately, the final super mutant collapsed lifeless onto the ground just as the landing gear touched down.

"I gotta hightail back to the Prydwen for repairs", the pilot shouted from her cockpit.

"Send reinforcements, we'll secure Fort Strong and the armory", the Paladin responded, gesturing for you to follow.

A tense silence settled over the outskirts of the fort as the aircraft vanished into the sky. Your grip tightened on your gatling laser as you trailed behind your superior, muscles taut with anticipation, scanning the perimeter for any potential threats.

"First Behemoth?"

You almost jumped at his unexpected question interrupting the fragile silence.

"Yes", you sighed, "to be honest, my first encounter with a deathclaw was less frightening. But then again I was standing on a roof and it didn't hurl boulders at me."

The paladin chuckled, giving your armor a playful pat before coming to a halt at the front entrance.

"Watch your step in there, danger lurks around every bend", he warned you as his hand moved towards the door.

"Wait!", your fingers wrapped around the metal plate on his arm, preventing him from entering, "you never told me what I should call you."

He seemed to ponder for a moment as if he was not sure how to respond before he finally spoke up.

"Humour me. What would you call me?"

"Pendragon", the name slipped from your lips before you even had a chance to think about it.

"Explain", he now turned towards you, curious as to why you'd choose such a mythical name.

"I don't know", you shrugged, "it's the first name that came to mind. Back then at school, before the Great War, I was fascinated by the legend of king Arthur, his full name being Arthur Pendragon. I can't quite explain it, but my intuition tells me it suits you."

"I like it", he chuckled genuinely before entering the building.

You released a trembling breath and activated the radio on your Pip-Boy, which you had connected to your armor. Whatever awaited you inside, music would help alleviate the nerve-wracking tension.

Well, you can fly through the clouds, sail on the sea

No matter what you do, you'll never get away from me

Because I'm right behind you, baby

I'm right behind you, baby

I'm right behind you, baby

And you're never gonna get away

You were greeted by a few angry super mutants and their ferocious hounds. It proved challenging to navigate the room while confined in your power armor; the helmet provided protection but also limited your field of vision, making it difficult to evade the barrage of attacks from the enemy. Painfully slow, the Paladin and you fought your way up to the top floor, only pausing briefly when the final mutant fell lifeless to the ground. The building was all too quiet now, almost eery, with only the occasional creaking of decaying floorboards beneath your feet breaking the stillness. Your stomach churned as the ghostly quietness transformed into a foreboding premonition.

"I don't trust this", you whispered.

The Paladin turned around, raising a finger as if he wanted to point out something when a ghastly growl reverberated from the doorway next to him. Before any of you could react, a mutant burst through the door, the wood splintering into thousands fragments, and it lunged the Paladin, forcing both of them on the ground. With an eerie, creaking sound, the floor beneath them gave way, and they plummeted to the level below. You rushed towards the hole, trying to not fall yourself as peered over the edge. A gasp escaped your lips as you witnessed the subsequent floorboards break apart, sending the Paladin and the mutant hurtling even further down into the basement. The Paladin's cries were abruptly silenced as his head collided with the unforgiving concrete floor, his immobile armor bearing witness to the impact. Before the mutant could gather itself to resume its attack on your fellow Brotherhood comrade, you jumped down the two floors through the same hole, your feet landing next to them with a metallic thud on the solid concrete, whirling a cloud of the centuries old dust that had settled. You launched yourself at the mutant, hurling him against the close-by wall, your fist punching continuously into his face, ceasing your assault only when nothing but a bloody pulp remained and the mutant's lifeless body slumped on the floor.

You rushed towards the Paladin, calling out to him while tapping in his helmet but you didn't get any response. You decided to lift him up and turned the wheel at the back, opening the armor to get him out and check for any serious injuries. Your breath got caught in your throat as you recognised the limp body that slid out from within the protective shell.

"Elder", you whispered as you gently placed him on the ground.

You got out of your own armor, sitting down in front, leaning your back against the cool metal of the leg plate as you pulled Maxson towards you, carefully cradling his head in your lap. He looked almost peaceful, his characteristic stern expression washed away with his muscles fully relaxed and the creases in his face gone. It was the first time you truly noticed how handsome and youthful he actually looked. Your fingertips traced over his features, a smile forming on your lips as they brushed against his surprisingly soft beard. Just as you were about to examine his scar more closely, he stirred, his brows furrowing and a strained grunt escaping his throat as his eyes slowly fluttered open. He blinked several times in confusion before his gaze settled on your smiling frame.

"Are you alright?"

He huffed in response, lifting his upper body up with your help, burying his face in his hands, grumbling in pain as he stood up. Noticing his shaky legs, you quickly positioned yourself beside him, gripping his torso to provide support until he seemed steady enough to stand on his own.

"I feel like I've been trampled by a pack of deathclaws", he groaned, rubbing his neck.

"Oh, it was just a super mutant throwing you two floors down. Nothing to worry about", you chuckled, shrugging your shoulders innocently.

Maxson offered you a faint grin, too exhausted and sore to maintain his usual demeanour. His eyes darted towards the headless mutant corpse and then to the glove of your armor where he spotted some blood and brain matter still dripping down from.

"You punched it to a pulp?", the genuine surprise in his voice amused you.

"Couldn't let it kill the only other soldier on my very first mission, it wouldn't look good on my record. And besides, I'm relieved that you're awake and relatively unharmed. I was starting to worry that I'd have to report to the Brotherhood that their leader had perished on a mission with a rookie recruit."

The Elder huffed out a laugh you hadn't heard from him yet. Without the distortion of the helmet, it sounded jaunty, its unburdened joy echoing through the room.

"So, shall I still call you Pendragon or are we back to Elder?"

Maxson noticed the mischievous gleam in your eyes, a sight that held a beauty which would most certainly haunt him all night.

"No need for me to hide my identity any longer", he shrugged as he got back into his armor, the metallic plates closing with a whir and a resounding click, "so you found and secured the armory. Now we only need to wait for the others."

"Well technically, Elder, you found it first by crashing through the ceiling", you joked as you got into your own armor again.

"You're right, we have our new weapons all thanks to my full physical effort, Knight", he threw his arms in the air.

You snorted, unable to take in that this was the very same man who condemned you to clean the latrines for not agreeing with him.

"That fall must have been really bad if you of all people are cracking jokes, Elder", you said until a sudden realisation hit you, "did you call me Knight?"

"You deserve a promotion after today's performance even if I couldn't witness the best part of it. And don't get too comfortable with my jokes, once we're back on the Prydwen, you'll respect the hierarchy again. Are we clear, Knight?"

His tone shifted towards the same stern annoyance it carried yesterday.

"Yes, Elder", you replied, a smile creeping across your face from beneath the protection of your helmet.

Chapter 4 - Someone's gotta give (18+)

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