[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 starts laughing.] Oh, come on. That's not very nice. So, extremely accurate, [Zetta drawls, making Riley laugh more. (She awards herself a point. He needs this.)]

[reformedcriminal]

There must be something that could make him crack.

[Ferran's never met the man and he's immediately intrigued by the possibility of a challenge. Pity he so spectacularly blew his brief cover with the Brotherhood.]

[inhonorof]

Oh, don't, [Riley says, still giggling against Zetta's shoulder.] He's been married almost as long as we have. [He gestures between himself and Zetta.] Like that's ever stopped him before, [Zetta points out fondly.]

[reformedcriminal]

His wife would be invited too, if he wanted.

[capcious]

[Riley keeps on giggling. Zetta speaks over him.] Even if you ever did manage to pull this off without getting shot on sight, you'd have to be careful, [she drawls.] You wouldn't want to get yourself adopted by another couple. I don't particularly feel like having to trade off when you sleep with us and when you sleep with someone else.

[reformedcriminal]

Don't worry, you'll always be my favorite couple.

[He snuggles closer against Riley as if to demonstrate.]

[capcious]

[Zetta hums in contentment as Riley turns his head to nuzzle against Ferran's jaw.]

[ersatzeverything]

Ahem, don't you mean your favorite...triple? I mean, I know I'm stealthy and all, but seriously I'm right here in bed with you.

[capcious]

[Zetta laughs.] There's really no good word for this situation, is there? [Riley squeezes Deacon's hand tight.]

[reformedcriminal]

[Ferran rolls his eyes.]

Fine. You're my favorite harem. Better?

[capcious]

[Zetta laughs again.] I don't know if the implications of that are accurate.

[ersatzeverything]

Yeah, we're totally obviously Zetta's harem.

[Zetta was the one to pull each of them in, one by one.]

[capcious]

[Zetta snorts, and Riley starts giggling.] I don't think I can argue that.

[reformedcriminal]

I suppose I can accept that I'm your concubine, so long as you swear to me that I'm the prettiest of your concubines.

[capcious]

Mmmm, I'm not allowed to pick favorites, and you know that.

[reformedcriminal]

Oh, I don't need to be your favorite. Just the most attractive.

[capcious]

That goes without saying, gorgeous. [Zetta reaches over Riley to tap her fingers under his chin.]

[reformedcriminal]

[Ferran smiles smugly and tilts his head to kiss Zetta's fingers, since they're right there.]

[redefinitions]

[It's at the time the door to the room opens, and Shaun appears in the doorway. When he gets a good look at them, though, he stops short, his expression going immediately blank.]

Perhaps I should return later.

[reformedcriminal]

[Ferran rapidly rolls out of the bed, putting a respectable distance between himself and the others.]

Not at all. Have you come to visit your mother or is there news? Either way, you shouldn't be obligated to wait.

[redefinitions]

[Ferran goes from pressed up against his side to gone in no time at all, and Riley shivers reflexively. But he's right; whatever Shaun is here about, this isn't really... appropriate for it. Riley sighs and sits up, rubbing a hand down his face.

Shaun's eyes flick from Ferran to Riley, taking in how obviously drained he looks. He looks back to Ferran and clasps his hands behind his back as he replies.] Neither. I came with the intention of collecting a report of the Brotherhood situation. But, if there is nothing critical to discuss, I can return later.

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon looks to Riley. He just can't give an intel report to the Director of the Institute. He can't bring himself to do it. Also, Glory would totally kill him if she ever found out. He'll let Riley do the dirty work.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley runs his hand through his hair and fights back a sigh.] No... No, it's okay. There's no real reason to wait. [He feels Zetta settling a hand on his lower back, and he feels steadied by it. There's a quiet surge of love in his chest, and he rests one of his hands on her knee, thumb brushing.] We were assigned to a new squad, one that had the mission of clearing Fiddler's Green and Fort Hagen. Apparently, Maxson specifically wanted me in that group because they knew I was stationed out of Hagen after Anchorage. The paladin in charge didn't know where they got that information from, so we'll have to look into it ourselves. That, and... why they didn't tell me about it on assignment. While we were at Fiddler's Green overnight, we were -- [Here, he hesitates, because he realizes he hadn't told Zetta about this yet. She's... not going to be happy.] We were attacked by raiders belonging to a group we didn't recognize. They utilized customized robots -- [Zetta sits up.] What?! -- and wore armor made out of robot parts. [He squeezes Zetta's knee.] We didn't get hurt. We figured out where they were based out of, over at the satellite array. So... After we checked out the fort, we went over to clear the raiders out of the array. It looked like they were still getting set up there, so they weren't too deeply entrenched. They call themselves the rust devils.

[reformedcriminal]

As if raiders weren't bad enough, now we have raiders who pun.

[Ferran murmurs. But his thoughts are focused more on two critical details. 1) The Brotherhood has information on Riley. 2) These rust devils might be the people who maimed Zetta, and therefore must be eliminated.]

[inhonorof]

We also... [Riley hesitates again. Shaun has been listening patiently, expression attentive, but neutral. He can't tell what he's thinking.] At Fort Hagen, we also... found something. A body. I... [... even talking about this is hard.] ... it had... been there a while, [he says haltingly, getting more quiet as he goes.] ... and... ... the Brotherhood has the technology in Kellogg's implants, [he finally finishes lamely. He doesn't look at any of them as he says it, staring at some vague spot on the wall near the floor.]