[closed] the only constant is change

[capcious]

Who: the Fallout AU crew
Setting: the Commonwealth
Summary: BoS things, institute things
Warnings: Fallout warnings, smut
Other: [original notes] [first post] [second post] [third post] [fourth post] [fifth post] [sixth post] [seventh post] [eighth post]

- minor timeskip to when the BoS has its feet under it again, shaun asks riley to go up and keep an eye on them and deacon goes with
- they get assigned to a BoS squad composed of AU versions of chancellery guards (paladin archimedes o'hallan, knight-captain anthony norris, lancer-sargeant alex reyes, knight riley reynolds, knight everett wynter, knight henry "hal" saller, aspirant 'jack' "deacon" 'priest')
- maybe some minor quests involving getting to know them, gotta get some solid Bonding going
- sarrith (sarah, secret enclave remnant) and sal's romeo and juliet romance
- that one quest where you get the nukes from the glowing sea for the BoS
- wynter's mistake and gradual ghoulification and the position it puts the squad in
- blind betrayal

- shaun announces ferran officially as his successor
- ferran dealing with the short institute quests that result from that
- shaun discovering ferran's a slut and trying to talk to him about it
- zetta freaking out bc they're spending all this time waiting for her to recover and dealing with the BoS, and not having the time to try to figure out a way to save shaun
- zetta, in general, driving shaun slowly up the wall because she's cooped up and needs to be kept occupied or else Bad Things Start Happening, why is this shaun's life, this was not what he was expecting at all
- ferran going on missions with x6-88 / house divided, warwick
- nathan and zay's one night stand with ferran becoming not a one night stand any more
- at some point we need to have nathan call deacon a mongrel to his face so zetta can go positively nuclear
- zay finding out nathan is taking buffout

- build towards the railroad and institute being on better terms (not *stable*, but they need to be in a position where they're willing to make an alliance at the battle for bunker hill and afterwards to take the BoS down)
- probably need to do a meeting with dez and carrington, bc jfc (and ferran being the next director makes it easier to make negotiations on the institute's behalf though shaun probably doesnt fully trust him with that wrt the railroad yet, shaun needs to see ferran make decisions that benefit the institute OVER the railroad for that)

- mass fusion happens before battle for bunker hill, lighting a fire under the brotherhood's ass (still use it as the faction cut-off point?)
- at the battle, brotherhood wins -- keeping them a legitimate threat and serving as the push for the institute and railroad to work together against them

[image] [lyrics]

well, oh, it seems you're a lot like me
you dug yourself into places you never thought you would be
but don't you fret, and don't you mind
the only constant is change,
and you never know what you'll find

yeah, tomorrow i might wake up nice and clean
and i might believe the things i said i didn't mean
and this might turn and wind up just the way we'd dreamed
and i might become the things i swore i'd always be

Comments

a week later

[recalcitrare]

[It's been a busy week. Advanced Systems is working with Robotics and the SRB to get the frequency in the courser chips changed over to shake off the Brotherhood's hunt. Zay suspects the Railroad agent is doubly pleased by this turn of events, because not just one, but two of his enemies have been stymied by Nathan's actions, as SRB's activity has been cut down to a bare minimum during all this as well. But having Nathan back at his side at work keeps him steady in the face of the crisis -- and the Director hasn't spread the information that this crisis was accidentally caused by Nathan during his absence, thank God.

It's mid-morning when a system-wide message is issued from the Director's terminal. Zay is waist-deep in code when it happens, and he doesn't immediately check it as a result.]

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan does check the message immediately. He checks all his messages immediately. He's never shaken the habit of being on the lookout for orders coming down the chain of command. Even though here at the Institute, he tends to consider orders to be more like suggestions.

But the message isn't an order at all. It's an announcement.

Nathan goes very very still, his eyes darting over the screen. If he reads it again, maybe it won't actually say what he thinks it says.]

[recalcitrare]

[Zay, being engrossed in what he's doing, doesn't notice Nathan's stillness. He starts cursing quietly under his breath.]

[timesbureaucrat]

Precisely what I was thinking.

[Nathan says, his fingers clutching the edge of the desk.]

[recalcitrare]

[At that, Zay glances over at him.] What is? [he asks, assuming it's work-related and therefore relevant to what he's doing.]

[timesbureaucrat]

Swearing profusely.

[Nathan, meanwhile, assumes that Zay has seen the message that he has, and was swearing for that reason.]

[recalcitrare]

[Zay looks up from his terminal again, this time to stare at him, brow creased in confusion.]

[timesbureaucrat]

[Something is clearly getting lost in translation here if Zay is baffled by Nathan's desire to start swearing.]

What were you swearing at?

[recalcitrare]

Work. What did you think I was swearing at?

[timesbureaucrat]

...

["At the fact that you've fucked the new Director of the Institute and he's come on my face."

He definitely can't say that in public.

And probably wouldn't be able to get the words out even if they weren't in public.]

There's been a change in management.

[recalcitrare]

What? Where?

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan raises an eyebrow.]

New York. They have a new mayor. Ran an excellent campaign. Nice acceptance speech. [He replies, voice sharp with sarcasm.]

Here of course. The Institute.

[recalcitrare]

[Zay pinches the bridge of his nose two sentences in.] Where? What division?

[timesbureaucrat]

All of it.

The entire Institute.

Just read the new message on your damn terminal

[recalcitrare]

[Is that what that was about?] I've been rather busy, you know. [Zay sighs, saves his code, then backs out to check his messages. As he waits for the new one to load up, he reaches over to pick up his mug. He's in the process of taking a sip of coffee as he skims through the first few sentences. And then he chokes. He quickly sets the mug down before he spills it all over his terminal, barely managing it as he coughs violently.]

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan crosses his arms over his chest, smug. You see, he wasn't talking nonsense. And he was perfectly justified in wanting to swear.]

I gather you understand now.

[recalcitrare]

[Zay tries to stop coughing, but he can't. The coffee burns in his throat and might as he's trying to recover, all he can do is cough helplessly into his hands. Nathan Please He's Dying.]

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan hesitates a moment, then starts slapping Zay's back.]

I suppose I should have confiscated your drink as a safety hazard before I let you read.

[recalcitrare]

That -- [Zay manages to squeeze that word out before coughing some more. After another moment, he can fight it down. His throat still feels like hell, and his voice sounds pathetic, but at least he can speak.] That would've been helpful, yes.

[timesbureaucrat]

[Zay's breathing. He will live. Good. Now back to business.]

What are we going to do? [Nathan hisses.]

[recalcitrare]

[Zay rubs his throat, grimacing.] How should I know? [The single bright side of his choking is that he doesn't have to lower his voice at the moment.] Carry on? Continue to never mention it?

[timesbureaucrat]

What if he mentions it?

[recalcitrare]

Why would he do that?

[timesbureaucrat]

I don't know, I can't read his mind. Does it matter why?

[Nathan rubs his fingers together, restless and agitated.]

[recalcitrare]

[Zay reaches to intercept, slipping his hand between Nathan's and threading fingers.] What I mean is, [he stops to clear his throat, fighting the catch in it,] I don't see why he would. It's hardly as though he'd see point in embarrassing us. [A beat.] Publicly.