[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

[inhonorof]

No, sir. [That really is all they should need. ... except for maybe how long it's going to take to get to Hagan, for Deacon's sake, but Riley can ask the lancer that. ... god, this is going to be rough on Deacon. Riley hopes they dig up a bottle of alcohol today so Deacon can have the help winding down once they're camped.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[O'Hallan doesn't waste any more time talking. He tromps off towards the few vertibirds on the runway.

Knight-Captain Norris speaks quietly to Riley before he follows.]

O'Hallan's not big on talking. But he's a good commander. You'll get used to him.

[inhonorof]

[Riley offers him a small, but genuine smile.] It's alright. I don't really mind. [Riley offers a handshake.] Hi. I'm Riley. [He knows it's not necessary for another introduction, but... It's more personal.]

[gallifreynpcs]

Anthony. [He shakes Riley's hand.]

And that's Everett [He points at Wynter.] and that's Henry but we all call him "Hal" [He points to Saller.]

O'Hallan doesn't believe in first names.

[Hal leans close to faux-whisper.]

It's 'cause his is "Archimedes."

[Deacon laughs loudly. Loud enough for O'Hallan to turn to see what's holding everyone up.]

[inhonorof]

[Oh, no. Deacon did not need to know that. Riley quickly schools his expression into something neutral as O'Hallan turns.] Come on. [He nods towards the vertibird; it'd be best if they went so they don't risk getting in trouble. And Riley can linger so he's behind the others, so he can take Deacon's hand.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon clasps Riley's hand, grateful for the comfort. And totally never going to admit it. If asked, he's totally the one comforting Riley. Yeah.]

Paladin Archimedes O'Hallan. [Deacon whispers to Riley, snickering. Oh man it's a good thing he doesn't actually want to rise through the ranks of the Brotherhood or anything. He's gonna get so many reprimands for conduct, and he doesn't need Mamma Murphy or P.A.M. to tell him that.]

[inhonorof]

Be nice, [Riley whispers back, unable to keep from grinning at him.]

[ersatzeverything]

I'm nice. I'm totally nice. Honest. Like, I would never tell Moe Cronin that a "strike out" meant that at the end of each inning the worst player on the team was struck with stones until they died. I'd never say that, 'cause I'm nice.

[inhonorof]

[Riley starts giggling.] Oh, come on. This is totally different. He can't help his name.

[ersatzeverything]

Sure he can. He could always change it. Easy-peasy.

[That's what Deacon does, after all.]

[inhonorof]

[They've caught up now, so Riley can't reply. He has to let go of Deacon's hand to haul himself up into it, but then he's turning to offer Deacon both of his hands to help him in. They're going to have to be less... obvious, he guesses. He doesn't want Deacon to feel embarrassed about being scared on top of everything else. But it isn't as though Riley isn't going to try comforting him all the same.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon feels like he's about to embark upon his greatest lie yet. This deception is more monumental than pretending to be a ghoul, or a woman, or a protectron. For the next hour or so, he needs to pretend to be a person who's totally okay with being thousands of feet in the air with only a little bit of thin metal working with 200 year old tech to keep it aloft.

Let's do this thing.

He takes Riley's hands and pulls himself into the vertibird.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley probably shouldn't do the belt for him this time. When it's just them and the pilot, it's one thing. He probably shouldn't hold Deacon the entire ride, either. The most they can get away with is hands, he thinks. At least it's better than when he was in power armor and couldn't do anything at all.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[The pilot glances back to make sure everyone's on board, but his eyes harder as he sees Deacon.]

That Enclave shithead better have his ass on a pike for grounding us or I'm gonna make it turbulence all the way. Fucker stole my favorite 'bird.

[inhonorof]

[Riley knows that voice -- oh. This is the pilot who took them out to Fort Strong. He goes ahead and takes Deacon's hand, threading fingers.] He didn't willingly help, [he says quietly.]

[gallifreynpcs]

Yeah, but he was the one who brought in the asshole who fucked us royally up the ass. I sure as hell hope you at least got something good out of it.

[He hates Ferran, but he he'd hit that if Ferran weren't an Enclave-Institute spy. What a goddamn waste.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley frowns deeply. He can't tell if it's out of reflexive protectiveness over Ferran, or Deacon -- because their cover story is a lie, but the pilot is still being vindictive despite knowing it, and being furious at someone for being manipulated -- even though it's not real, he... ... he needs to let Deacon handle this, because he doesn't know what to do. He squeezes Deacon's hand tight.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon assesses the pilot, decides on an approach.]

I only wish I were that lucky. I got screwed and not in the fun way. Being a prisoner of the Institute is seriously not a good time.

[inhonorof]

[This isn't how Riley hoped they'd make a first impression with the new squad, but this is where they are now. They're just going to have to do what they can with it. Riley kisses Deacon's temple, closing his eyes. This should help the story, but Riley also just wants to do this.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Norris leans forward to speak up to the pilot.]

Lay off, Reyes. We all fucked up. The scribes should have had better encryption on the terminals, the knights should have been watching the cell better and the lancers should have been watching the vertibirds better.

[inhonorof]

[Riley feels an almost overwhelming surge of gratitude. With this one move, he already feels like they can trust Anthony. He breathes out a soft sigh.]

[gallifreynpcs]

He's just pissy because he had to go a whole week without flying.

[Hal adds.]

If Elder Maxson says you're good, you're good.

[inhonorof]

[... well, that punctures it a little.] That's still... ["A bit much for just not being able to fly," Riley almost says, but decides against it. And Maxson isn't exactly a measuring stick he wants to use to judge people by. He decides to go on a different track.] I'm just glad I was able to get you out of there. [He kisses Deacon's temple again.]

[ersatzeverything]

Me too. I wasn't looking forward to Institute hospitality.

[Where Riley sees the reference to Maxson discouraging, Deacon sees it as an opportunity to pry.]

So, tell us about Elder Maxson? Like, we've met him, of course, but how'd he get to be Elder? Being...uh...not very elderly.

[O'Hallan speaks up first.]

He was appointed Elder after Elder Owen Lyons and then his successor Elder Sarah Lyons died. The title is an honorific acknowledging the person's wisdom and stature, not literal age.

[inhonorof]

[... this... makes Riley realize something. He doesn't know what Maxson's age actually is.] How old is he?