Please talk about Noah/Danse/Preston particularly in regards to how Danse and Preston interact because this is a pairing I didn't know I needed until you talked about it and omg now I'm in love
WOW I TYPED A LONG RESPONSE ONLY TO LOSE IT ALL WITH THE STROKE OF A K E Y im weak but omg im gonna try and type it all again cos i love them so much <333
OKAY SO. With Preston Noah sees a lot of Nate, at first glance. Nate wanted to be a hero and do the right thing but felt like he failed constantly. He tried to channel Nate, too, thinking that’s what Preston would like; but Preston isn’t ignorant and he saw through that pretty clearly and called BS on it. He shamed Noah into taking back his identity. After that it was easier for Noah to be himself and to learn he wasn’t as bad a person as he thought, under it all, and it was very easy to fall in love with Preston because he was so refreshingly honest and open compared to so many others. There were no ulterior motives - if he needed/wanted something he was open about it and willing to work for it. It was nice to see those kinds of people continued in the Wasteland.
For Danse it was a little differently. He was deeper into his sorrows by that point - at the point where Preston was hitting to, already at the ‘not caring about oneself’ point. He felt it was easier to stop caring about himself or worrying about his own health and safety, that it would help him be a better commanding officer if he didn’t let things effect him, but he took it to an extreme and neglected himself. A few months after the truth of his identity was revealed he went back to Noah and admitted he felt like he didn’t deserve to be with him and Preston, saying that he felt like he’d deceived them somehow. He wanted to break it off because he felt they deserved better than what he could offer them because he could only really offer himself at that point, and what he was wasn’t worth anything.
That’s when Noah sat him down and told him the truth about himself. He told Danse he was worth more than he would ever know to both of them, that he would never stop fighting to help him realize that or to keep him safe. It wasn’t an instant fix, but it helped a lot. It was a start.
As for how Preston and Danse act to each other... once he’s been away from Brotherhood indoctrination long enough, Danse feels more comfortable admitting he admires Preston. He feels comforted, too, when Preston admits to him that he felt close to being how Danse was, that had Noah not shown up he would’ve become like that. Danse sees Preston as being invincible and immune to those sorts of things, like the bad in the world can’t touch or hurt him. Knowing someone as strong as Preston could feel as weak and powerless as he did makes him feel less guilty about his depression and his ptsd.
Preston also helps Danse work through the trauma of losing so many people and his identity. Encourages him to help out around the castle - as Noah is overprotective, he won’t let Danse leave till he secures some form of immunity for him against the brotherhood, fearing he’ll be killed due to so many of them crawling the city ruins. He wants Danse safe and that’s what matters. Preston agrees that’s better but tells Danse that by no means implies he’s useless or a burden to them or anyone else and helps him get through it all.
Danse in kind is VERY protective of, if not them, their legacies. He thinks the world of them both and especially of Preston; he won’t listen to people trash talking him and when his anger and worry gets the best of him, he’s gotten into fights with people. He just wants them safe, too, and he’s always there to offer his shoulder even if he has nothing by way of comfort for them. He takes care of them in his own way from the Castle.
As for all together, well, it works. It works really well. It starts with Preston and Noah and moves to Danse developing crushes on them both, being super jealous till they invite him to join them one night. From there it becomes unquestioned. And no one - no one - is allowed to insult either of his partners in front of Noah, or they get a throat full of fist and maybe an ass full of boot to go with it.
so here’s some Noah backstory that I’m typing out bc i actually just ended up deleting a WHOLE reply (to christine askin about noah/danse/preston orz im working on it now im sry) and this was a huge chunk of it. Plus this’ll be an easier ref for people wanting to know more about Noah.
This also (I hope) will be a good explanation as to why Noah fucking hates himself so damn much, ya.
Noah Caen was born in 2041 in Barrow, Alaska. By that year, in this verse, Barrow had become a thriving scientific community; Noah’s mother was a scientist originally from Detroit who was working on developing alternatives to the quickly depleting fuels of the world. Noah wasn’t as scientifically inclined as his mother and father, who spoiled their only child to bits; he enjoyed fighting and hunting and woodworking, that sort of stuff. He was handy when it came to building parts and machines but not doing experimentation himself.
So he found a better calling in Sitka, which had a thriving tourist trap by giving people ‘the real hunting experience’. A camping trip, hunting animals specifically bred for these things, and Noah loved it. His boyfriend at the time, Ken, the love of his life, opened a bar that Noah would often direct them to when they were heading out or if they needed a place to grab a drink. They lived pretty happily.
Then the invasion came. Sitka wasn’t a primary target; Noah managed to keep the town safe (with some of his coworkers) by showing the occupying soldiers through the cave systems in the mountains and continuing their businesses like nothing happened. Noah picked up a good deal of Chinese this way, helped protect the town til the liberation, and earned a good chunk of change.
Well, when that did come, things weren’t perfect. He was out on the outskirts of town while Ken was in town, and was taken to an American army camp a few miles away to wait out the fighting. It took a week before he was allowed to return and he desperately searched for Ken only to learn he’d been killed - he was told outwardly that he was a victim of the fighting, accidentally killed, but a surviving coworker spilled the truth that soldiers had tortured him to death mistaking him (due to his appearance, as Ken was half-Chinese, and his last name which was Wu) for one of the invaders. It was a difficult mistake to make and Noah held a grudge for that, hating the army and any soldiers he met pretty much without question.
Well, a few more years passed and he met Nate. Nate was a soldier but they hit it off based on the fact they closely resembled each other appearance wise. They became good friends and Nate offered to take Noah back to Boston with him when he was discharged. Noah accepted.
Well, one evening Nate asked Noah for his help navigating the tunnels and passes through the mountains to reach an allied French camp on the other side. Noah agreed. At some point, Noah’s jacket became damaged and Nate lent him his, which held his IDs; this became an issue when they were attacked by enemy soldiers on the other side and Noah was the only survivor, having watched Nate and the rest be killed. He stumbled down to the camp on his own where through a series of mistakes became identified as Nate, and was sent home having accidentally taken Nate’s identity.
By that point he was intending to just disappear, done with everything and angry at the loss of his best friend and yet another loved one. This is where he met Nate’s ex, Nora, who came to see ‘Nate’ and check on him. They had broken up because the real Nate’s personality grated with hers, but she ended up falling for the ‘new’ Nate. He fell in love with her and ended up continuing the theft, telling himself he’d tell her and that it was just a rough patch and he wasn’t really in love.
Except that he was, and he repeatedly attempted to confess to her only to break down into a deep depression. He continued to be as good a husband to her, continued to love her and dote upon her and war with himself. When she asked for a child he agreed, tho unlike in canonverse this version of Shaun was conceived by artificial insemination - Noah couldn’t ever bring himself to sleep with Nora even though he loved her and wanted to, telling her that ‘something had happened’ during the war that made it impossible for him to have sex comfortably. She respected that, researched her alternatives, brought this up to him and they agreed to it.
He kept waiting for ‘the right time’, finally deciding on Oct. 21st that he would tell her after Halloween. He obtained divorce papers just in case, wanting to give her the choice - he didn't want to lose her or their son, but he wouldn’t force her to remain with him after his deception, and would take whatever she chose to charge him with for it. Only the bombs came not long after, and the rest played out as it does in game.
He still feels awful about it, especially wrt how many people survived where he died - Ken, his parents, Nate, other friends of his, likely everyone he knew in Sitka, Nora... when he first left the vault, the only reason he didn’t off himself immediately was because of Codsworth.
He did end up telling Codsworth the truth, after Codsworth admitted he found the papers in the drawer. He explained why he never told him and what had really happened, why he couldn’t sleep with her, etc. Obviously Codsworth was shocked - and hurt - but was grateful Noah was going to reveal it, even if he never got the chance.
He hates the Institute because they killed Nora and because of what they did to Shaun. He hates the Gunners, and the raiders too.
Did they find romance in the commonwealth? Who are they with?
He fell in love with both Preston and Danse. Luckily they were both open to being with him and each other c:
What do they love the most about their romantic partner(s)?
It’s a little complicated. At the top he loves Preston’s willingness to do the right thing and how he seems to be absolutely good. Preston is strong and protective and he’s one of the bravest and most protective people he’s met. With Danse it’s also his bravery and his loyalty; he’s also clever, and craft and resourceful. His mind is built for the technical and he’s so, so brilliant. But there’s also other things that he slowly falls for. The way Preston is always friendly, always chatting to people; how he cracks jokes very casually and a lot of the are so cheesy but so nice. How Danse looks when he laughs at one of those jokes, how he has no issue putting himself between the other two and any kind of danger even without his power armor, how the thought is always to protect without worrying about what’s to come. How Preston doesn’t equate being open with being weak and how Danse slowly learns there’s nothing shameful in being vulnerable with your partners. He loves how they lie together with him and with each other and how easy it is to fall asleep with one or both, so long as he knows they’re safe and unharmed. It’s just so nice, to him.
16. Which faction/group(s) are they affiliated with, and why?
The Minutemen. Something in Preston reminds Noah too much of Nate to let it go and he keeps returning to the Minutemen and doing the quests. Hearing Preston tell him how much he did, how much better he made his life, how he saved him - he falls in love like he fell for Nate. He briefly joins the Brotherhood but the minute Maxson starts calling for Danse’s head he skips out and leaves them. Also helps out the Railroad, when he can; at first that was just pure, raw interest, wondering why they would risk their necks aiding synths, but it became about him genuinely trying to help.
1. What is their name? Do they go by the same name they did pre-war?
Noah Caen :3c in a sense, kind of; he was born Noah Owen Caen, but through a series of really horrible things ended up accidentally assuming Nate’s identity. He goes by Noah post-war.
23. Describe their butt. You heard me.
Second best butt in the group after Paladin Danse.
30.Who is their bff post-war?
Surprisingly? Hancock lmao. Hancock taught him how to make grape mentats.
Kind of on the deep side but not too heavy, not too booming. He can command a room if he needs to but he doesn’t stand out.
10. What is their weapon of choice?
He likes the combat shotgun and he likes the bladed knuckles, also carries a machete. He’s also fond of the minigun, but after accidentally shooting Maccready w/ it he refrains. He named his shotgun A Fighting Chance, his bladed knucks are Prizefighters and the machete is Gentle Persuasion.
15. Describe their morality. Is it black & white or are there grey areas?
A bit of both but he leans towards black and white. Some things are just too clear cut for him (minutemen good, institute bad)
20. Do they suffer from any mental health issues?
Noah has PTSD and bad anxiety issues because of it. because of it. He survived the occupation and then the liberation of Alaska while the man he loved was slaughtered, survived several attacks between, survived the ambush that killed his best friend years later, survived the dropping of the bomb... he’s very much got survivor’s guilt all over esp wrt Nora and Ken. It also bleeds to being overprotective especially with his lovers. If Preston hadn’t been there and if Danse wasn’t going to be upset over it, he’d have attacked Maxson the minute he even breathed ‘kill’ in Danse’s direction.
40. Who do they think is indisputably the most important person in Vault 101: He who shelters us from the harshness of the atomic wasteland, and to whom we owe everything we have, including our lives?
2. What was their relationship like with their spouse?
Noah loved Nora so much. She was the best thing that had happened to him in years. He always wanted to tell her the truth about himself but he never could work up the nerve, but he doted on and adored her.
Describe their most fond pre-war memory?
A toss up between Shaun being born and the time he and his first partner/lover Ken went out of their way to secure a remote cabin so they could have a weekend of nthn but sex but ended up having way too much fun doing other things and only banged once lmao
