[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 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.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley's shoulders hunch and, again, he's silent for a long moment.] ... yeah, [is all he says when he finally does respond.]

[reformedcriminal]

[Well, this is backfiring tremendously. He nuzzles Riley's shoulder and when he speaks it's soft and gentle.]

If you need to talk about it--not just a mission report--talk about how all this is making you feel, you know we'll listen. You don't need to hold everything in. Not with us.

[inhonorof]

[Riley's heart shakes.] I... [He doesn't say anything for a while, just lays there, hunched up. Zetta starts to stroke her fingers through his hair and he closes his eyes.] I don't want to -- [He hesitates, or maybe, chokes up.] I don't know if I can... That squad -- They're not... They're not bad people. I...

[reformedcriminal]

Do you think you can convince them to defect? Join the Minutemen, perhaps?

[This is exactly what Ferran was afraid of. Riley just doesn't have the temperament needed to royally screw someone over. Now he's befriended their enemy. Which is great for getting intelligence out of them, not so great for Riley's conscience if they have to kill them later.]

[inhonorof]

I don't know. [His voice is very quiet.] I want to. I'm just... I don't know how. Half of them... Their families have been in the Brotherhood. One of them -- One of them lost his family to the Enclave.

[ersatzeverything]

Once they see that the Brotherhood of Steel isn't what it used to be, that they're now doing the same shit the Enclave used to do in the Capital, maybe that'll place some doubt in their minds. We've just gotta show them that the Brotherhood isn't just about clearing out muties and ferals and raiders anymore, and it sure as hell isn't about making life better for the average citizens of the Commonwealth.

[inhonorof]

[Riley reaches out across Zetta for Deacon, wanting -- needing -- to touch, to feel him.] How?

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon sees what Riley's asking for and takes his hand.]

I don't know. But they aren't going to get it at Fort Hagen. I think they need to go talk to the people who actually live here. Find out first hand what the traders and settlers and townspeople think of the Brotherhood's arrival. They think they're, like, the heroic saviors of the Commonwealth come to free us from the big, bad Institute. They don't get that to the rest of us normal folk, they're just offering to trade one smug superior high-tech overlord for another.

[inhonorof]

[The hard part is figuring out how to make that happen, since they aren't in control of their movements. ... but...] Maybe we can set up trade between on the Minutemen and Fiddler's Green.

[ersatzeverything]

Oberland Station's probably the closest settlement, but it's on the other side of the river. Graygarden's a little bit further, but it's right along the road which makes for a nice easy trade route.

[inhonorof]

What's at Fiddler's Green? The Brotherhood want to turn it into their own settlement, grow food there to support Hagen. Setting up trade would be useful another way, then. Once we push the Brotherhood out of the Commonwealth, it'll be easier to integrate it into the Minutemen network.

[ersatzeverything]

Actual Brotherhood members won't do the farming at Fiddler's Green, of course. That's probably beneath them or something.

[inhonorof]

Which... worries me. I don't want them to coerce people into doing the work for them.

[ersatzeverything]

I'm guessing that they'll offer protection in exchange. Hell, if they claim that they can protect people from the Institute, and people believe 'em, they might not need to coerce anyone. There's people out there that would give up a lot of freedom just to feel safe. And the Brotherhood, with their super shiny weapons and hulking power armor look like the kind of people that maybe really could take on the Institute.

[Deacon hates the Brotherhood, but he's not blind to their obvious military superiority.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley relaxes a little. ... but then tenses right back up.] The hard part about setting up a trade agreement with the Brotherhood is... getting Maxson to take me seriously as the General.