[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]

Beautiful and devious. How'd a guy like me get so lucky?

[Deacon grins at Zetta and brushes his thumb over her cheek. God, it's good to see her.]

Question is, where do we want to point them to?

[Ferran smooths a wrinkle out of the sleeve of his shirt.]

We could have a courser play "renegade" and run around the Commonwealth to give them an authentic trail to follow.

[capcious]

[Zetta tilts her head into his touch, contentment in her eyes.] That would be perfect. Give them something concrete to chase, guarantee they buy into it. [Riley turns towards Ferran when he speaks up again, and holds his hand out to him, wanting him closer.]

[reformedcriminal]

[Ferran unfolds himself from the chair and pads over to Riley to take his hand. And then takes a step closer and sits behind Riley to drape himself over Riley's back, arms around his waist and chin resting on his shoulder.]

Deacon, since you know where every safe house is, every place we'd want to keep the Brotherhood far away from, I'll let you choose the route of our renegade.

[inhonorof]

[Riley leans back into Ferran, his eyes lulling closed and the last of his tension finally bleeding out of him. He settles an arm on top of Ferran's and leans his head against his. Zetta is nodding.] Then we can present the plan to Shaun complete, so hopefully he's less likely to change it.

[ersatzeverything]

So our end game's just distraction, right? Not ambush.

[Deacon pauses. He knows Riley would hate the idea of killing. And keeping prisoners of war isn't an option. There's no place secure enough that would hold Brotherhood soldiers except the Institute. And the Institute doesn't keep the people it seizes as prisoners.]

[capcious]

Right. It'd be more useful to bleed them of resources than to give them more fuel for the fire. [Which setting up an ambush inevitably would do.] So the more tempting we can make this, the better.

[ersatzeverything]

You got it. I'll drag them to all kinds of places that seem like they could be totally tech-y. Like the renegade's got a super special secret plan that he's carrying out that Maxson would just die to know about.

[capcious]

Perfect. And we can have the courser sprinkle clues behind it as it goes. [Her eyes flick to Riley, whose eyes are still closed, and his hand keeps rubbing circles against Ferran's arm. She looks back to Deacon questioningly, brow furrowed. Is he okay?]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon shakes his head slightly. No, Riley's not okay. But he will be.

Deacon hopes he will be.

Ferran nuzzles Riley's shoulder.]

[capcious]

[Zetta exhales heavily through her nose. Dammit. She glances to Ferran and Riley.] You guys should go lay down, get some rest. [Her voice is equally pitched to Deacon.] You sure as hell deserve it. [Riley makes a quiet noise of complaint.]

[reformedcriminal]

[Ferran presses his cheek against Riley's.]

You can't say that sleeping in a proper bed again, after all that time spent camping with the Brotherhood, isn't appealing.

[inhonorof]

[Riley sighs.] It is. But... what I want... I want it to be everyone. I want to be with everyone.

[reformedcriminal]

We can push a few of the hospital beds together. It's not entirely private here but I can tell Dr. Volkert to stay out for a while.

[And until Zetta recovers from her surgery, that's the only way to have everyone.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley relaxes again, and he nods.] Yeah. Yeah, that'd be... perfect. [He shifts so he can kiss Ferran's cheek.] Thank you.

[ersatzeverything]

[Ferran runs his hands over Riley's arms, kisses the top of his head, then gets up and leaves the room to give Volkert his orders.

Meanwhile, Deacon looks to Riley.]

Guess that means you and me are on bed moving duty.

[inhonorof]

[Riley misses Ferran already, even though he only just left and is going to be gone just a short time.] Okay. [He gets up to start it. He wants it to be done by the time Ferran gets back, so they can settle in immediately.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon trots over to the nearest bed and pushes it up against Zetta's.]

So, how long until you're busting outta this joint?

[capcious]

I'm supposed to get a sling the next couple days. I think I finally annoyed enough shit out of Volkert that he's letting me out. [And she may have been behaving during physical therapy, encouraged by the promise of freedom... and by Ferran slipping his fingers or face between her legs if she played nice.]

[ersatzeverything]

I'm surprised it took this long.

[Bed in place, Deacon climbs up into it to lie on his side next to Zetta, arm slung over her waist.]

Hope you don't care about keeping these sheets white. [His clothes are dusty and his shirt grey-er than usual. At least he doesn't have blood stains.]

[capcious]

I think Shaun wanted to make sure I wasn't gonna run off or get myself hurt again. He took some convincing. Yeah, like I give a fuck. [She holds her hands out to Deacon and Riley. Riley immediately climbs up on Zetta's other side, pressing himself up against her and burying his face against her neck. Zetta wraps her arms around both of them as they get settled, holding them close. She kisses Riley's forehead.]

[reformedcriminal]

[A few seconds later, Ferran returns and closes the door behind him.]

I see you've started without me.

[He claims the space on the bed next to Riley.]

[inhonorof]

Just a little. [Riley smiles, snuggling happily into both Ferran and Zetta. Zetta sends Ferran a meaningful glance, ending with a flick of her eyes towards Riley. He's not okay.]

[reformedcriminal]

[Ferran gives Zetta a tiny nod in reply. Message received.

He plasters himself up against Riley and weighs the options. Distract Riley from whatever happened with the Brotherhood or get him to talk it out.]

I'm sorry I can't help out on this undercover mission.

[inhonorof]

[... Riley closes his eyes and doesn't immediately respond.] You don't have to be. It's... not your fault.

[reformedcriminal]

[Ferran huffs quiet laughter against Riley's neck.]

I don't have a martyr complex. I'm not about to claim unearned guilt.

[Unlike some other people he knows...]

I just mean that I have ample practice at it. I know it isn't easy. [Especially for someone like Riley, who doesn't like to lie to people.]