[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 chases the kiss and then it's gone.

Sometimes being responsible sucks.

He stretches his arms over his head and arches his back. Stiff muscles complain at the movement, but that's just too damn bad for them. Time to get up and get moving.]

[inhonorof]

[... wow, that wasn't distracting at all. Riley can't help but stop and watch as Deacon stretches. The temptation to glide his hands down his sides, lean over and kiss his stomach, is... ... no. No, they can't. Riley forces himself to stand up and go check on the puppies.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon rolls out of bed and slips on his shades.]

How are the little tykes doing?

[inhonorof]

[Riley is kneeling by the desk, reaching down into the enclosed space with one hand, brushing his fingers over them as they wriggle around.] They're okay, I think. I'm sure they're hungry, but... At least they're warm. And they should be able to stay that way in Codsworth's compartment.

[ersatzeverything]

And I asked Codsworth to bring some milk for them, so that'll totally help out with the hunger problem.

[inhonorof]

[He smiles softly.] Good idea. [He plants his other hand on top of the desk and uses it to pull himself back up to his feet. He picks up his combat armor chest piece and starts to shrug on the straps.] Did you sleep okay?

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon steps closer to help him with the combat armor.]

Slept fantastic. Waking up was even awesome-r.

[It was a super good way to wake up.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley settles a hand on the small of Deacon's back and kisses his forehead.] Good. You really needed the rest.

[ersatzeverything]

I wasn't the only one. You were the one doing the real hard work yesterday, pal.

[inhonorof]

[Riley shakes his head.] The vertibird flights are harder on you, and you still had to make up for whenever I'd mess up.

[gallifreynpcs]

[From the doorway, Alex plants his hands on either side and leans the whole upper half of his body in. He doesn't even care any more if there's dicks hanging out, he just wants them to move.]

Christ, let me make it easy on you: you both had an equally awful, terrible day yesterday that was healed by love and puppies and fucking kisses. Or maybe just fucking. That's your business. Now are you ready to go?

[inhonorof]

[Riley startles a little as Alex appears, but then he grins sheepishly.] Sorry. Yeah, we're ready. [He sneaks in a last kiss to tide himself over -- or maybe to mortify Alex, either way.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Alex throws back his head in frustration because they're still canoodling.]

Look, if you want to give me a show, I demand you wear a thong. Otherwise, go take care of your fucking robot.

[inhonorof]

I guess Codsworth hasn't made coffee yet, [is Riley's mild answer. It was just a last kiss, calm down, Alex. As much as he kind of wants to keep taking his time, he knows it's probably not worth it, so he just lets Deacon go and starts for the door.]

[ersatzeverything]

Or he has and Alex wants to be over there drinking it and not down here with us.

[Deacon's not sure Alex really needs coffee, though. He's got a restless energy fueling the impatience.]

[inhonorof]

[Codsworth is hovering around the center of camp, near where the fire had been kept. Riley knows him well enough to be able to read his body language as awkward, but he can't say he's very surprised.] Codsworth, [he calls as he heads his direction. The Mr. Handy's eyes swivel towards the sound of his voice, and he visibly perks up.] Oh, sir! It's so good to see you. [Riley rubs the back of his neck as he closes to conversational distance. He didn't come up with Deacon and Ferran to Sanctuary, so... of course Codsworth still would've worried about him. He can only imagine how anxious he is about Zetta.] It's good to see you, too, buddy. Sorry I haven't been by. You don't need to apologize, sir. I understand the circumstances have made it difficult to do so. [Riley thinks to himself that Codsworth is better at this whole "being careful about what to say" thing than he is.]

[ersatzeverything]

Hey, pal, how was your trip? Along the way, did you ever think about how funny mountains are? They're hill areas.

[Zetta would so kill him if she were here.]

[inhonorof]

[Oh, no, is the only thing Riley has time to think, and then Codsworth is brightening and responding, arms moving animatedly.] An apt description, Mr. Deacon! I must tell you, I had a strange encounter on the way. I came across two talking rocks. One was large, but shy. The other, though, was a little boulder.

[gallifreynpcs]

[Anthony's eyebrows slowly rise over the course of the exchange.]

Is this how they always greet each other?

[inhonorof]

Pretty much, [Riley confesses, sticking his hands in his pockets and grinning.]

[gallifreynpcs]

The robot even punned his name. [Hal says in horrified awe.]

[inhonorof]

[It takes Riley a moment to realize what Hal means, and then he doesn't know whether to be mortified or to laugh. He ends up doing both. At least Hal's assumption provides the others an explanation of their own making. He just needs to help it along.] It's kind of their thing, [he agrees. There. Nice one.]

[gallifreynpcs]

[Anthony laughs.]

I've never heard a robot make puns before.

[inhonorof]

Really? All Mr. Handies are programmed with an entire library of them.

[gallifreynpcs]

I've haven't met many Mr. Handies. The few I've met before tried to kill me, so I didn't get to jokes.

I think maybe losing their families drove a lot of them crazy. Proctor Quinlan says it's just programming decay after two-hundred years. But I don't know. None of the other pre-War robots glitched like that as consistently as that.