unrepentantweirdo

[unrepentantweirdo]

I need a little help here

[unrepentantweirdo]

maccready sketch bc i love him so dearly

[unrepentantweirdo]

Spread the word.

[unrepentantweirdo]

maccready when the sole survivor brags about being a war veteran or whatever 😒

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He is so precious!!

[unrepentantweirdo]

I think there's something to be said about this line and Danse's worldview during his tenure in the Brotherhood.

He's someone who was promoted to Paladin under Elder Lyons. Paladins are held to a much higher standard than Knights regarding ethics and conduct. Elder Lyons shifted the East Coast Brotherhood away from preserving technology and more towards actually helping the people of the Capital Wasteland. Danse has shown that he does, in fact, care very much about humanity, and this was probably what made him stand out and be promoted under Lyons. The Brotherhood may not have been perfect, but their cause under Lyons was noble.

There's no reason to think Danse joined the Outcasts who split due to ideological differences with Elder Lyons. He was on his own mission as a Paladin elsewhere when the assault on Adams Air Force Base happened and Kreig (his mentor) was killed. Danse most likely genuinely believed in the Brotherhood's mission under Lyons.

Once Maxson became Elder, the priorities of the East Coast Brotherhood shifted more in line with the West Coast's BoS in preserving (hoarding) technology. This is what helped Maxson broker a peace with the Outcasts. Because of this, the Brotherhood took a much harder stance not just on technology but also on civilians. They're not a charitable organization anymore.

This was probably a difficult transition for Danse. He probably still very much wanted to believe in the Brotherhood's mission, but he still needed to be convinced. Maxson and those aligned with him justified their stance by amping up the strong man rhetoric while doubling down on getting technology out of the hands of the people. Danse reluctantly took to it. What else could he do? Maxson was the Elder now. For him it was the same Brotherhood as before. He wanted to believe in the Brotherhood so he chose to believe in Maxson.

Danse still clings to an outdated version of the Brotherhood. He knows the BoS is capable of immense good because he's seen it. He's one of the old guard who remembers what it was like under Lyons. The problem is it's not the same Brotherhood anymore.

The thing about Danse is, as much as he tries, he's not a true believer. He'd probably never admit it, but he's not loyal to Maxson. He's loyal to the Brotherhood. Unfortunately, with Maxson's cult of personality, Maxson IS the Brotherhood of Steel. Some of the indoctrination did slip through and took hold of Danse, make no mistake. But every once in a while, that little bit of doubt creeps up.

The first instance is when he tells the Sole Survivor about Cutler. If you tell him he did the right thing putting Cutler down, Danse says it's what he was taught. He doesn't know if it was right. If you walk through the Prydwen with Danse as a companion, he expresses his discomfort with having children aboard an active war vessel but concedes, saying Maxson thinks it's important to train them under fire. (Siding with the Institute or the Railroad more or less proves him right for being concerned.)

Make no mistake, Danse bought into the rhetoric because he wanted to. His biggest character flaw is that while he has a very strong personal code of ethics and strives to be an honorable person, he still chooses to go along with the Brotherhood even when he doesn't agree with it or knows it's wrong. While I think he'd still hold the same prejudices towards synths and ghouls outside of the Brotherhood, it probably wouldn't be any more than any other (presumably) human wastelander would have. It certainly became more pronounced because of the Brotherhood. (This isn't to excuse it, but more to illustrate the effect that indoctrination has had on him)

By remaining loyal to the Brotherhood above all else, he's betrayed his own ethics. He's become a hypocrite. Danse is a very good example of the phrase “you are the company you keep”. You can have your principles, but when it's attached to an organization that does bad things, it ultimately reflects back on you.

There's probably a part of Danse is very jaded under Elder Maxson. There have probably been several instances over the years where his personal morals were at odds with Maxson's orders and he chose to follow orders every time. During Blind Betrayal Danse says “After all I've done for the Brotherhood... all the blood I've spilled in our name, how can you say that about me?” I can't help but wonder if Danse has regrets.

So when he mentions the lion being a noble and majestic creature, it's a shame they're extinct, I almost wonder if that's Danse expressing his own disillusionment. Seeing a lion reminds him of the previous Elder and a time when the Brotherhood was a force for good. Too bad that doesn't exist anymore.

[unrepentantweirdo]

need need need need everyone to see this graph i just encountered

[unrepentantweirdo]

I just think MacCready would teach himself to play guitar

[unrepentantweirdo]

DATC Chapter 7

peers head around corner

Hi everyone! I am crawling out of my pit and slowly starting to get my creativity back. (Praise be to the art gods.)

I mainly came to tell y'all that the next chapter of Defenders At The Crossroads is up on AO3. So if you're interested in a slow burn romance between MacCready and my (hopefully more realistic) female Sole Survivor, come check it out!

Chapter 7: A New Beginning

There are only a couple of more chapters before Cassie and RJ meet, and I am so ready to get to writing it I might scream.

Hope everyone's doing okay, and I'll (hopefully) update soon! Love you all.

-Kate

[unrepentantweirdo]

Not being able to draw my favorite character the way I envision them in my mind

[unrepentantweirdo]

[unrepentantweirdo]

look out! general's got drip

based on this, all the way back from January (whoops!)

[unrepentantweirdo]

I am so normal I am so normal I am so normal I am so-

[unrepentantweirdo]

Waiting for SoSu to get back from the institute for the first time

[unrepentantweirdo]

bits and bobs from last month i hadn't shared here yet.

[unrepentantweirdo]

what if he had horrible eye bags