[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

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon melts into the kiss, raising a hand to brush his fingertips over Riley's jaw.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley relaxes into the kiss, into Deacon, his eyes lulling. He tugs him closer, humming softly.]

[ersatzeverything]

[This is good. Riley is good. Too good for the likes of him, but maybe, if he's real lucky, some of that goodness might rub off on him and he'll be able to look at himself in the mirror now and then and not hate what he sees.

And in the meantime, the kissing is fan-fun-tastic.]

[inhonorof]

[After the kiss tapers off, Riley murmurs against his mouth,] C'mon. Let's go lay down. [It takes more effort than it maybe should to pull away from Deacon. He has to remind himself that it's just for a moment, just a moment, and then they'll be right up against each other. Still, his hands linger.]

[ersatzeverything]

Sure thing, boss.

[His fingers drag lightly along Riley's throat and then away.]

...

...Knock knock.

[inhonorof]

[Riley grins.] Who's there?

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon gives Riley a broad smile and opens his mouth to answer.

From outside, Hal shouts.]

Raiders!

[inhonorof]

[Riley can't help but groan. He reaches to grab the combat armor Deacon helped him take off to hurriedly throw it back on.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon reaches for the clasps to secure Riley's armor in place.]

Just so you know, that was totally not how the knock-knock joke is suppose to go.

[inhonorof]

[He flashes a grin.] Yeah, I didn't think so. [He leans in to kiss Deacon's cheek. Outside, the sounds of combat have already grown closer, and something Riley hears makes his blood run cold. A familiar warble of robotic voices.]

[ersatzeverything]

Uh...since when do raiders have robots?

[The average raider barely has enough computer skill to turn on a terminal, much less keep a combat robot working.

He takes up his sniper rifle and looks through the scope as soon as he's out of the trailer and out of Riley's way.]

[inhonorof]

They sound like the ones that almost killed us, [he says, as he grabs his laser musket by the door. He's already cranking it before he steps around the trailer, trying to find the source of the combat. It isn't hard to find, but what he sees -- ] Oh, god. [These robots don't look identical to the ones they fought near Homer, but they're very similar. He raises his voice to shout to the others as he runs towards them.] Don't let them get close, they self-destruct!

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon wishes he could hold Riley back with him. Running towards gunshots and laser blasts always seems like a really bad strategy for personal survival. He prefers to pick off enemies from as far away as possible. But Riley's laser musket doesn't have that kind of range and he knows Riley well enough to know that he's not gonna hold back when other people are in danger. That's what he likes about him. ...loves about him.

So he'll do what he can to cover for him. He takes careful aim at one of the robots through the scope of his sniper rifle and fires.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley's first shot collides with the shoulder of one of the little yellow floating bots, sending it spinning off-course and its laser shot, intended for Hal's back, goes wide.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Hal glances at Riley when he hears the distinctive sound of the laser musket, but his attention immediately returns to the attacking raiders and robots. A damaged yellow 'bot spins close and, thinking of Riley's warning about them self-destructing, he runs to put some distance as he fires at it.]

[inhonorof]

[As Riley starts to get a look at the robots, they're markedly different from the ones they'd fought before. They're -- well. For lack of a better word, raider-y. He catches glimpse of spikes and even a skull somewhere. So these raiders likely aren't the ones responsible for those particular robots, but that's all the time he has to think about it right now. He finishes cranking his musket and fires on that yellow robot again, hoping to bring it down before it can finish its self-destruct sequences.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[O'Hallan charges past them both, ensconced in his power armor. If he can draw the raider's fire, it will give his squad a chance to regroup.

He slams at full speed directly into the lightest armored of the raiders he can see, tramping the man underfoot, and starts firing.]

[inhonorof]

[And the cavalry's here. Riley almost feels sorry for the poor raider who O'Hallan stomps across, but there's just no time to think about it. He cranks as fast as he can so he can join back in the fight, focusing on the raiders at the edges, the ones least distracted by O'Hallan's entrance.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Hal steps up to Riley's side and fires rapidly while Riley's cranks the musket. Once Riley is ready to fire, he'll stop and reload. If at least one of them's shooting at all times, that should help keep the robots at a distance.

On O'Hallan's other side, Anthony covers for Everett while Everett readies a pulse grenade.]

[inhonorof]

[With everyone organized, Riley feels a little bit of the terror that first gripped him when he recognized the robots settle. This isn't going anything at all like last time. They're better prepared, they're regaining ground. They're going to be okay.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Everett hurls the pulse grenade towards a cluster of robots and turns his eyes away from the flash. Two robots crash to the ground with the pop and sizzle of shorted out electronics.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley can't tell if that cleared the last of the robots, but he thinks so. He thinks he sees more humans than robots, and a little more of that terror fades. He focuses his fire from the edges inward as the raiders farther out begin to drop.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[O'Hallan is taking heavy fire, bullets pinging off his armor, but it's holding up and he's not worried yet. Still, he begins to step backwards as he fires, getting some extra distance between him and these strange raiders.]

[inhonorof]

[These raiders are tougher than usual ones, but this is a Brotherhood of Steel squad. The raiders are dropping at a noticeable rate, but it still takes concentrated fire to make it happen. Finally, the last one drops, and no more come out of the woodwork to provide back-up.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[O'Hallan gestures to Anthony, who immediately sets to checking that all the raiders are truly dead. The dying are given a quick mercy killing. In the wasteland, it's rarely practical to try to take prisoners.

From far back towards the center of the trailer park, Alex comes running up to the others.]

What the fuck kind of raiders are these? Robotics school drop outs?