Daniel Dace is a character from my fanfic "You Rascal You".
Also known as "Danny," he’s King Dice’s ( legal name Kaleb Dace in the story ) father and the main source of his son's optimism and comfort. His first name was inspired by Danny from Cats Don’t Dance. Personality wise he's a mixture of the aforementioned character and Waymond Wang. When it comes to his looks Harold Lloyd was a major source of influence. And when it comes to his skill of dance he's inspired by the Nicholas Bros and Fred Astaire.
He was a stevedore ( eg longshoreman ). It was a common profession for men in the 1900s and his place of birth was along the eastern coast of the mainland.
This line of work is a tradition in Daniel's family. Stemming back from his Irish roots and hinted within his surname. In French, the surname refers to the fish and is allegedly a nickname for fishermen. Implying his family was once fishermen.
Despite the hard labor he endured, Daniel wasn't like most other men on the docks. His nature was affable and friendly; always eager to assist and took pride in his work. Because of his reliability and friendliness, he was often second in command on the docks; teaching new recruits and directing the flow of work where needed. This was a rare accomplishment for his time as die were seen as untrustworthy and prone to gambling.
He never partook in the vices many of his coworkers dabbled in after hours. Smoking, drinking, gambling, and lechery weren't his fancy. This is in large part due to Daniel's abusive and absent father. He'd work long and hard but often squandered the money on such affairs. Daniel, being the eldest of three, often picked up the slack and took the brunt of abuse to spare the rest of his family.
Daniel's commitment to being an available father and husband was adjacent to his commitment to honest work. His joy stemmed from the time spent with his family and the activities they did. Albeit he wanted to be anything but his father. This sometimes caused Daniel to soften his approach to issues and dismiss his well-being to a fault.
Even though he endured abuse, there was one familial bond and that was through tap dance.
His father at one point was a skilled dancer who taught his three children the art. In earlier years it was a fun endeavor. But as his father's drinking and abuse worsened, it became a form of escapism and income. Until Daniel came of age to work the docks he'd do menial tasks. Dance was often a way to gain potential clients' attention for jobs ranging from bootblacking, hauling goods, to pedaling.
Daniel worked around the docks as a young child, helping with securing parcels and cleanup. Upon turning eleven, Daniel performed more laborious chores alongside his fraternal twin brother and father.
At some point, his brother became embroiled in a scandal involving a mistress. He ran off with her and was scarcely heard from.
This left Daniel and his father to continue working. His father persisted as a stevedore until he died from liver failure. But Daniel's family was alive and local for part of Kaleb's life until the age of four or five. It was around this age that Daniel's mother died from pneumonia and his young sister married and moved further north.
Daniel met a female die named Dahlia in his prime. A young woman of higher class, she moved into the area on account of her working in a local theater as a singer with her father and mother paying for her stay. It was on occasion they talked as she passed through the docks, but this soon grew. Especially since it was rare for die being within the mainland so this chance encounter sparked their curiosities of one another.
They admired one another's passions. It was because of his encounter with Dahlia that Daniel stopped working as a stevedore. Instead, he worked as a backstage hand for her stage productions in musicals and plays. After two years of working together, they married.
Although their dream was to progress in the ranks within the theater, reality sunk in. Dahlia was pregnant and potentially having twins. Something common for die people. Dahlia began work as a singing teacher while Daniel resumed work as a stevedore due to better pay.
Life though not what they expected, was good. They enjoyed lower-middle-class activities and luxuries and enjoyed time together. That was until a workplace accident, which was no fault of Daniel's, caused him a broken hip and leg.
This injury made Daniel bedridden. Not only that, but the medical expenses and lack of income were putting them into debt. His eldest son ( Kacey ) and his youngest ( Kaleb ) began working as bootblacks on the docks to help out.
It was during this time that Kacey, more aware of the situation than Kaleb, snuck out one night to get more hours in to help pay for an upcoming medical bill.
As he worked, someone stabbed Kacey for reasons unknown by the docks. Though the wound was severe, Kacey became aware and began crying out for help. A passerby found the boy and attempted to help in the early morning hours.
Despite his attempts to rescue the child, Kacey died.
Cops notified Daniel and Dahlia and they rushed to the morgue. Daniel demanded an investigation. Due to prejudice from cops, however, they denied his request. When pressed they scoffed, presuming Kacey was gambling.
This enraged Daniel; getting him into an altercation. Annoyed, the cops beat Daniel and arrested him for the night, causing Dahlia to pay bail. This incident is the cause of the characteristic crack in his glasses.
After failed attempts to work on the mainland at his old job and his sullied reputation, Daniel applied for work elsewhere, managing to get a job as a stevedore on Inkwell Isle.
Daniel, Dahlia, and his son Kaleb move to the island into a lower-income area.
His best efforts to maintain his optimism and his family's morale proved weak as he and his wife grow further apart. So much so that they feign intimacy in front of their son even though Daniel's desperate for it. This is due to Dahlia's resentment towards her current life. Her belief that Daniel's allowance for Kacey to work around and on the docs was what caused his murder. Especially since she wanted neither of them there as she knew the dangers.
Upon Kaleb turning ten, Dahlia filed for divorce. She's granted this due to Daniel having a one-off affair after years of emotional neglect. Something he admitted to prior during one of their fights.
Dahlia and Kaleb move back to the mainland and she remarries into the upper-middle class. Her husband is an investor. This allows her to work again as a performer and for Kaleb to attend better schools.
Kaleb sharpened his natural skills for tap dance and singing in his youth. As he matured he studied to become an accountant, pressured by the demands of his stepfather, while attending college.
Due to living across the sea and Daniel's poverty, Kaleb visited his father twice a year. Once during a chosen holiday and the other during summer break. Staying with him for a week or so at a time and writing him weekly when away.
By the time Kaleb's in his twenties, Daniel became a shell of who he used to be. Financial struggles and chronic depression took their toll on his entire being and shattered the facade. Daniel was now an alcoholic and paid prostitutes to quell his pain. Although when his son would visit, he attempted to keep up appearances. Kaleb, saw the breadcrumbs of his father's habits, and mentioned them but to no avail.
Despite this, Daniel continued to be a doting and loving father through his letters and in person. Proud of his son's success.
In Daniel's final year, Kaleb wrote him of an upcoming play he'd be performing in.
He was aware of Kaleb's small theater roles thanks to his mother and stepfather. But this particular letter was an invitation to Kaleb's first leading role. Within it was the play's flyer and money covering the expenses for Daniel to attend.
The sight of his son with his ex-wife and her second husband caused Daniel to break down. All too aware of what he'd lost and how he failed to provide and make them happy.
Daniel wrote a letter, leaving it on the dresser, and after a week of deep melancholy, he took his life.
Kaleb became worried when his father didn't attend his play. This escalated when he never returned his follow-up letter.
He's soon informed of his father's suicide by officials. Regret and sadness make Kaleb go to his father's estate on Inkwell to handle his affairs. It's here he meets up again with his childhood friend Horace.
The two men reconnect and Horace sells the idea of working at a "joint" upon learning of Kaleb's accounting profession. Little does Kaleb know but that "joint" is a speakeasy run by a well-dressed black goat of unknown origin.
~ FUN FACTS ~
Daniel's full surname is "O'Dace" but was Christianized to "Dace" when they came to the mainland in the mid-1700s.
Members on Daniel's paternal side have names starting with "M". His father's name is "Murchadh" which is Irish/Gaelic in origin meaning "sea warrior". Most people call him "Murdo" as a nickname. Daniel's brother's named "Murray".
Members on Daniel's maternal side have names starting with "F". His mother's name is "Fiona" which is Irish/Gaelic in origin meaning "white" or "fair ( skinned )". His sister's named "Finna" which also means "fair". Her brothers and mother affectionately call her "Fin".
"Ó Murchadha" is the surname on his mother's side and was Christianized to "Murphy". Because her husband's given name is the same, he boasted their marriage was fate.
Daniel, despite his outward chipper demeanor, has extreme anxiety concerning abandonment and not living up to others' expectations. This is due to years of physical and mental abuse from his father combined with his naturally kind and affable personality. Because of this, he'll often overcompensate. The welfare and wants of others almost always come before his own as it was the only way he knew to obtain any modicum of love.
Daniel's name was inspired by his mother's deceased brother of the same name.
Both he and his sister were fraternal twins. Unfortunately, his youngest sister died shortly after childbirth.
