Danse

Soldier Boy

"Lieutenant Maverick"

> "*He's an idiot. But he's a noble idiot who strongly believes in something, and that makes him someone to be reckoned with.*"
> ― Star Paladin Grimes
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**Paladin Danse***,*serial number DN-407P, is the commanding officer of the **Brotherhood of Steel** recon squad Gladius and one of the main characters of **Fallout 4 Novelization**.

## Background

> "*I like to think I had an easy childhood. Many people have had it worst, at any rate. The Capital Wasteland wasn't that bad.*"
> ― Danse's opinion on growing up in the Wasteland
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Danse was born and raised in Washington, DC, currently known as the Capital Wasteland. When he was around ten years old, he found and joined the settlement of Little Lamplight. That's where he acquainted Robert MacCready and Cutler, the latter becoming his fast friend. When Cutler turned 16, he and Danse left Little Lamplight and moved to Rivet City to make a living selling junk. At some point, they were contacted and offered to join by the Brotherhood of Steel.

## Appearance

> "*He couldn't be more than a few years older than me - thirty, at the utmost. Black hair - messy and tangled at the moment - dark brown eyes and thick eyebrows, a scar over his right eye.*"
> ― Nora is surprised by Danse's age
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Not many details were given in the book as to most characters' appearance, but it was stated that Danse was a fairly muscular man, quite handsome (as several female characters, including Haylen and Piper, notice). He had dark hair which Nora initially mistook for dirty brown, later revealed to actually be *"jet black, much like [her] own."*

Danse had a small scar over his right eye, as well as a large one on his torso, spanning from the right shoulder to the breastbone.

He usually wore a full suit of **power armor**, causing him to appear much more intimidating and dangerous. Even Nora noticed that, stating that *"it made him well over seven feet tall, and the metal helmet almost made you forget that there was an actual person inside."* When he wasn't engaged in combat or due to other circumstances wasn't using the power armor, Danse wore a standard dark grey Brotherhood of Steel officer's uniform and a bomber jacket. In chapter 13, he gave the jacket to Nora.

## Personality

> "*Danse was a man who had turned down a promotion because he wanted to stay in the field - of course he wouldn't stop just because he was ill.*"
> ― Nora learns about Danse's PTSD
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Danse was a practical, single-minded person and a very skilled officer, leading to him having the rank of Paladin at the young age of thirty-one. He's shown from the beginning as highly intelligent and well-informed, as well as as an amazing tactician. He focuses mostly on reason and tries not to let his emotions influence his actions. Danse has a strong sense of morality and justice, causing him to ruthlessly butcher the super mutants at Fort Strong, which he justifies by the fact that he "can't find mercy for those abominations."

Danse is wholly devoted to the Brotherhood of Steel and Elder Maxson, even to the extent that he lets Maxson psychologically abuse him, believing that the Elder can't be mistaken. Even aside from that, Danse is shown to have an exceptionally low self-esteem, often questioning his own actions and feeling direct responsibility for the deaths of all soldiers under his command.

Even though he's a good leader, Danse's social skills don't translate to interpersonal communication. He doesn't know how to act in casual settings and usually utilizes a military way of speaking. He's shown as socially awkward, especially around women, and often stammers or doesn't finish a line of thought when talking to one. Despite that, he managed to create a close friendship with Nora and even fall in love with her. Whether she returns those feelings is still unknown.

Danse has a habit of not talking about his feelings directly, instead using unnecessarily complex and lengthy examples or descriptions. Even when encouraged to get to the point, he doesn't know how to phrase his feelings. This may be due to a condition known as alexithymia.

Danse has a strong sense of duty, not wanting to stop fighting even when he's badly injured or otherwise. Somewhere during his service in the Brotherhood of Steel, he got post-traumatic stress disorder, causing him to have recurring nightmares, insomnia, and common migraines. Despite Knight-Captain Cade's suggestions, Danse refused to retire and decided to stay in service.

## Relationships

### Nora

> "*You're right. But if one hair drops from her head, you're a dead man. This woman is under my protection.*"
> ― Danse threatening the Compound not to hurt Nora
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When they first met and she helped save his life, Danse highly regarded Nora as a skilled and cooperative civilian. He was so impressed by her quick tactical decisions that he decided to become her mentor and sponsor her into the Brotherhood of Steel. When she joined up, Danse became much colder and distanced, trying to push Nora to her full potential. Seeing that she didn't become angry or tired but upset, he confronted her to apologize for the way he was treating her and offered her his bomber jacket (which Nora jokingly called a 'peace offering'). From that moment on, their relationship grew in the right direction, soon escalating beyond the mentor-student dynamic and setting into a very close friendship. It's clear that Danse has romantic feelings for Nora. Whether she returns those feelings is still unknown.

### Elder Maxson

Having grown up together, Danse and Maxson knew each other very well and had a clearly strong bond. Danse always looked up to Maxson and admired him as both a soldier and a person. When Maxson became the Elder of the Brotherhood, that admiration grew into something that was almost worship. Maxson seemed to be aware of that, though he didn't exploit it.

Although they had been close as teenagers, the two seemingly had drifted apart because their relationship was fully professional later on. Despite that, Maxson still highly regarded Danse as one of his best field officers while Danse admired Maxson's leadership, even to the extent that he believed him to be unmistakable. This was probably amplified by Danse's low self-esteem, which he seemed to have transferred onto Maxson.

Danse clearly held Maxson's opinion very important, and was hurt whenever he denied him something or shown disapproval.

No psychological abuse had been directly stated in the book, although it had been pointed at.

### Paladin Krieg

> "*No, the problem was that he wanted me to be better. 'Train harder, Danse. You'll make a good soldier yet. You just have to work more.' I always felt that I had to give it a hundred and ten percent to satisfy him.*"
> ― Danse about his relationship with Krieg
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Paladin Krieg was Danse's sponsor and mentor when he first joined the Brotherhood of Steel. Danse always felt like Krieg was expecting too much from him and wanted him to push himself too hard. Despite that, Danse had a deep respect for the Paladin and was crushed by the news of his death. It wasn't until years later, when Danse found himself mentoring Nora, that he understood Krieg had been so hard on him because he wanted Danse to harness his full potential.

### Piper

> "*Your bad. I like soldiers. I like... the devotion and all that shit... Alright, he's just cute, that's all it is.*"
> ― Piper acknowledges Danse as a possible love interest
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Danse's demeanor towards Piper was ultimately indifferent from the moment they met. He ignored or didn't catch her romantic advances, leading her to give up flirting with him. Danse initially only let Piper join their party because of Nora, but as they continued to work together and get to know each other, he grew to recognize her as an integral member of the team. Though Piper often teased Danse about even the most trivial things, seemingly without a reason, their relationship remains friendly.

### Cait

> "*They seemed to get along surprisingly well. Actually, I wouldn't call either of them an easy-going person, but somehow, they managed to be this friendly after knowing each other for only two days.*"
> ― Nora analyzes Danse and Cait's relationship
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Danse was drawn to Cait from the very beginning, being protective of her even though he didn't know her, and persuading Nora and Piper to let her join their party. When they disagreed, he was enraged, stating that they *"have no idea what it's like. To be in her place,"* suggesting that he had been through similar events. Cait recognized Danse as an ally and saved Nora only in consideration of him. Danse was happy to learn that she was alright and that she had joined them. Later on, he bought Cait a new, warmer, jacket and taught her how to shoot a shotgun. Despite the relatively small age difference (12 years), they formed a very close father-daughter relationship. Cait turned to Danse whenever she had problems and rarely did anything without consulting it with him beforehand.