[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

[timesbureaucrat]

Are you saying you want me to forbid you from carrying out the experiment?

[capcious]

I'm just saying I thought you were more stubborn than that.

[timesbureaucrat]

I'm smart enough to know when to quit. [Except he isn't. He's still arguing.]

[capcious]

[Zetta barks a laugh again.] No, you don't. Otherwise you wouldn't still be chomping at the bit to take the Brotherhood down.

[timesbureaucrat]

[The warmth vanishes from Nathan's eyes.]

That's different. That's survival.

[And a cold lust for revenge.]

[capcious]

[Alright, maybe that was the wrong choice of joke material. She tries to save it by acting like she has him where he wants him, quirking her eyebrows up and tilting her head.] So that's it. You giving up on it is actually you encouraging me. [She starts to grin.] I'm so telling.

[timesbureaucrat]

[A flicker of confusion crosses Nathan's face, like he's lost track of what mood the conversation is in and has to find it again.

And then he's back to sparring.]

Yes, it's true, the idea of lobbing grenades at those power armored boy scouts appeals to me. But that's not the same as encouraging you towards rash experimentation. It's just that if you're going to be hopelessly reckless anyway, at least it's for a good cause.

[capcious]

[Zetta waits patiently for him to get back on track, and once he's there, her chin tilts up slightly. There he is.] I'm pretty sure that counts close enough to "encouraging." It's dangerously close to "permission," even.

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan snorts.]

It's most certainly not permission. I've simply concluded that trying to talk you out of it would be a waste of time. I don't have the authority to order you, and even if I did you'd probably run off and do it anyway as soon as my back was turned.

[capcious]

Not gonna lie, if you actually tried to order me, it'd guarantee that I'd have to do it.

[timesbureaucrat]

You wouldn't have fared well in the--

[They're in public. And his prior affiliation isn't supposed to be public knowledge.]

--in my old organization.

[capcious]

There's a reason I actively avoided working for the government. [1. That's not the real reason, but it's true it would've been a problem if she had, and more importantly, it works for this conversation. 2. If asked, she'd say it's the best personal example she has of an organization with a strict heirarchy (but she's not actually thinking about whether or not she should say that).]

[timesbureaucrat]

Quite a loss for them. Your intelligence would have been a valuable asset.

[If it weren't for the inability to follow orders (and general objection to all Enclave ideology), Zetta would have made a brilliant Enclave scientist.]

[capcious]

Yeah, that should've taught them. If they hadn't been such fucks, maybe they would've gotten a valuable asset, [Zetta drawls, unable to help herself.]

[timesbureaucrat]

[One eyebrow goes up.]

I thought the issue was your inability to follow orders.

[capcious]

Who said there was only the one issue?

[timesbureaucrat]

There was only one that we were discussing.

[capcious]

Well, now we've got more. Do try to keep up.

[timesbureaucrat]

If you weren't so inconsistent I wouldn't have to.

[capcious]

If that's an insult, you've failed to offend me. But I prefer to call it "keeping you on your toes."

[timesbureaucrat]

So you aggravate me for my own good, is that it?

[capcious]

If you want me to admit I care, you can just ask. [Zetta flutters her eyelashes. It's a trap.]

[timesbureaucrat]

Why ask when I'm sure the answer is "no?" [Zetta fluttering her eyelashes--fluttering!--gives Nathan the kind of sensation one usually gets upon hearing a rattlesnake rattle and knowing that it's ready to strike.]

[recalcitrare]

[Zay reappears at this moment, one eyebrow raised in exasperation.] Sorry to interrupt, [no he isn't,] but apparently I must remind you we've work to do.

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan flushes again, remembering Zetta's suggestion from a few minutes earlier.]

Work. Of course. I'll be right there.