[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

[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.

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan's hands still, and cling to Zay's.]

Embarrassment could be a side effect but not the goal. What if he wants to boast? Or...or what if he simply gets drunk and excessively chatty at a holiday party?

[recalcitrare]

I imagine he already has boasted to his marriage partners. But he doesn't strike me the type. He's got far too much a collected image for that. No... I think we should be alright.

[timesbureaucrat]

[Zay's answers are rational. They make sense. Nathan begins to feel calmer.]

And what if he's interested in an encore?

[recalcitrare]

[Zay's lips thin. He hasn't forgotten about Ferran's "next time" comment. His eyes dart around them, but everyone else is just as busy as they're supposed to be and is leaving them alone.] I suppose the real question is whether we'd be tempted.

[timesbureaucrat]

...and...if we are?

[Nathan knows he is, as much as he doesn't want to admit it.]

[recalcitrare]

[... which means Nathan is, otherwise he wouldn't have said it, which means Zay's resistance will crumble soon after. Damn.] Then we might still have a problem.

[timesbureaucrat]

Lovely.

[All right, back to pretending that he doesn't want it. Because not wanting it would make everything so much easier.]

[recalcitrare]

[Trying to keep an affair with the Director-to-be quiet would be hard enough. Trying to keep an affair with the Director -- Zay turns back to his terminal and the message on it.] Do we know yet when he's meant to take over?

[timesbureaucrat]

Not yet. I imagine that the Director will gradually transition authority from himself to Mr. Raines...or is it Mr. Reynolds now? Anyway, I assume that the shift in power won't happen all at once. And when Mr. Reynolds is ready [It should probably be strange to refer to a person who's come on his face by his last name, but he had practice in the military.] then the Director will retire and let him officially take his place.

[recalcitrare]

Hopefully he's ready sooner rather than later, then. It'll make it easier to be clear about which Mr. Reynolds we're referring to, because one of them will be Director Reynolds.

[Yes, that's looking on the bright side, Zay thinks dryly.]