[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]

[Riley edges over to him so he can whisper and be heard.] I'll go first, try to figure out what it is.

[gallifreynpcs]

I'll cover you.

[He steps to the side and has his gun ready to aim at the first sign of trouble.]

Be careful. I don't want you to die on my watch.

[inhonorof]

[Riley simply nods in response. There are too many people who would be affected by something happening to him. He can't afford to be reckless, even if he was inclined to be. He lets his laser musket fall back on its strap and draws his combat rifle in its place, since it's better for close quarters. He creeps up to the ramshackle shelter as quietly as he can, rifle up and ready. But before he even gets close to the entrance, the growling gets louder, and the source emerges -- a mutant hound, lunging for Riley's legs.] Shit -- [Riley yelps as he jerks out of its way, too surprised and off-balance to immediately start firing back.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Everett starts firing his laser rifle. The smell of burned skin fills the air and the beast yowls but still isn't stopping.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley gets his feet solid under him and starts shooting, peppering the beast's side with bullets. It throws its head back in the mutant hound's signature howl, the sound reverberating in Riley's bones from being so close to it. He thinks he can hear the others shouting -- and, likely, headed this way.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[With two of them wounding it, the creature is starting to weaken. It limps as it moves and shakes its head wildly in pained confusion. They've almost finished it off.]

[inhonorof]

[The hound tries lunging at Riley again, as the closest one, but its injured leg gives out underneath it and it partially collapses on the ground instead, making it easy for them to finish it off. There aren't any other sounds of other hounds or super mutants. It must've been the last one. Even as he works on regaining his breath, Riley feels a niggling in the back of his mind.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Everett slowly lowers his laser rifle.]

Damned hounds. They're almost worse than the mutants. At least the mutants are easy to see coming.

[inhonorof]

[Riley is frowning, and doesn't immediately respond.] Why was it over here by itself?

[ersatzeverything]

[Everett shrugs. It's dead now and that's really all that's important.

Meanwhile, Deacon barrels up to them, jumps over a log, and only stops his mad dash once he's by Riley's side and can see that he's unhurt.]

Okay. Wow. Good to know that you two didn't suddenly decide on a duel to the death or anything. And also good that you're not dead. Shit, that freaked me out.

[inhonorof]

[Riley turns his head as he hears someone running towards them. Oh -- Deacon. He holds his hand out for him, settling it on his side once he comes to a stop.] I'm sorry. There was a mutant hound. But we're okay. We didn't get hurt. It's okay.

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon glances at the body of the mutant hound.]

Yeah, there's an AKC champion right there.

[It's hideous. And also...]

Uh, is it just me or is that mutant hound totally sporting some doggie D-cups?

[inhonorof]

[Riley frowns again. That wouldn't make sense, unless...] ... do they -- breed? [There's a sinking feeling in his chest. All the signs are pointing to... Riley starts back towards the shack the hound came out of.]

[ersatzeverything]

Sorry, I've never watched the National Geographic special on mutant hounds. But I'm guessing...yes?

[inhonorof]

[The moment Riley can see around the wall, his fears are confirmed. He covers his mouth with a hand.] Oh, no. Oh, no, no...

[gallifreynpcs]

Come on, Riley, deal with them and let's go.

[Everett shifts impatiently.]

[inhonorof]

Deal wi...? [Riley tears his eyes away from the puppies huddled together to stare at Everett in shock.] You can't be... Why? They're just puppies.

[ersatzeverything]

Puppies that are going to grow up to be monsters.

[Deacon strolls towards Riley's side.]

I hate to say it, but Everett might be right. They're-- [And then he sees them.]

Oh my god, look at their cute little wrinkly faces.

[inhonorof]

[Another horrible thought strikes Riley and he closes his eyes slowly.] God... The mother called for help. She could've tried to bite me more than she did, but instead, she was calling for help. [He feels sick.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon rests his hand on Riley's arm.]

Even if she was protecting her pups now, she was raised by muties. There's, like, basically a zero percent chance that she hasn't killed people and she'd kill people again if she'd lived. We would've had to put her down.

The puppies, though...maybe they can be saved.

[inhonorof]

[Riley breathes out shakily and nods, opening his eyes.] Yeah. I don't know... anything about their behaviors, so I don't know how different they are from normal dogs. But -- I... I can't just -- [Kill them. He slowly approaches the shack, lowering himself into a kneel. His voice goes soft.] Hey, babies... [God, he feels horrible. He slowly reaches out to brush his fingers down one of their backs. It squirms and whines, and his heart squeezes. They're young, really young, but their eyes and ears are open. He scoops his hands up underneath its belly and picks it up. It's heavier than it looks, and it starts squirming again as it feels him pick it up. It swings its open mouth around, but its teeth are still small, and not all of them have grown in. Riley brings it up into the crook of his elbow and slowly stands up.] Shhhh, shhhh, [he tells it as it starts squalling in distress, stroking its back with his free hand.]

[ersatzeverything]

I've never heard of anyone trying to raise mutant hounds, but that doesn't mean it's impossible.

[Deacon takes Riley's place kneeling by the three remaining puppies and tentatively pets one of them behind the ears. It yawns, showing a tiny pink mouth and tiny puppy teeth.]

This is crazy. We're on a mission. And what are you going to do after the mission is done? You can hardly take them back to the Prydwen.

[inhonorof]

I know. If we tried that, they'd kill them. But... [Riley's brow furrows. He glances to Deacon.] Do you think we could get a message up to Sanctuary? [He doesn't know how he feels about asking Barbara, Codsworth, and Irene to do this, but it's just temporary, until they can come back for them.]

[ersatzeverything]

Sure. I've got some pals that run up there all the time.

[Using the dead drop system as a puppy adoption network would be an abuse of resources, but he really does have some non-Railroad "pals" (people who know him by another name, another persona) who'd be willing to deliver an innocuous message to Sanctuary. Since Zetta's work on the town, it's become a northern hub for caravans and scavvers trading and resupplying.]

[inhonorof]

If we can get Codsworth to run down here and pick them up, then at least they'd have somewhere out of the elements to stay until we can pick them up. It's not like Dogmeat ever actually sleeps in his doghouse, anyway. [He's probably been sleeping in their bed since they've been gone.]