[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

[reformedcriminal]

You'd better, or else who will keep Zetta and I out of trouble?

[Ferran says it lightly, like it's a joke, but he thinks about what it was like before they met Deacon and before they had Riley back.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley knows better than to take it as a joke, knows the impact his loss had on them. Well... He doesn't know, but -- He knows them, and he remembers that day when they walked into the house and saw him alive. He... knows enough. He gently holds the knuckle of a curled forefinger under Ferran's chin and kisses him gently.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Ferran closes his eyes and melts into Riley's kiss, memorizing the feeling so he can hold onto it when Riley's away.

By Zetta, Deacon watches and smiles wryly.]

Think they'd notice if I dropped my pants and mooned them right now?

[capcious]

I'd give you about a fifty-fifty shot. Nudity generally catches Ferran's attention quick, but you have a Riley to compete with.

[reformedcriminal]

[Ferran languidly raises his hand in their direction...

...and gracefully curls in all fingers but the middle digit.]

[capcious]

That proves nothing, darling. Someone talking shit about you is guaranteed to get your attention.

[reformedcriminal]

[Ferran's hand goes to Riley's cheek to rest his palm as he deepens the kiss. Just because he's paying attention doesn't mean he has any intention of stopping. At this point, he's almost been dared to not pull away from Riley.]

[capcious]

[Zetta can't help but laugh -- at both of them, really, because Riley, as always, is helpless against Ferran's affection, especially now that he's doubling down.] This is almost my favorite game, [she drawls to Deacon.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Just when Deacon's in a moment of feeling uncertain about Ferran's loyalties and moralities, he pulls entertaining or affectionate shit like this and makes Deacon glad for his presence on the team.]

More fun to watch than baseball.

[capcious]

You only say that because you haven't seen a really fuckin' good game. I'd put them on equal ground, depending who's playing. [Zetta may or may not have stayed in the living room to watch the game while Ferran and Riley fucked in the kitchen. They tried to distract her. She told them to keep it down. She really likes baseball, okay. Riley starts giggling, even though he doesn't break from the kiss.]

[ersatzeverything]

[From Riley's reaction, Deacon guesses there's a story or two to go with that statement.]

Yeah, I tried to get a game going in Diamond City once but, like, the houses and stuff get in the way.

[capcious]

We need to put together a new field, out at one or two of the settlements that has that kind of space. Get together the people who actually learned how to play and teach everyone else. Fuck Moe Cronin. This is Boston, dammit, we need to bring fucking baseball back.

[ersatzeverything]

That's an Old World past time I can get behind. Oo, can I name the teams? Like, the Grey Garden Mole Rats. And the Sunshine Coop Reactors. How about the Jamaica Plain Assaultrons. Too much?

[capcious]

Only that last one. The others are fine, love. Although I'd think the Graygarden name would call back to the Mr. Handies, somehow. Or maybe it should call back to the whole television theme the AP have going.

[reformedcriminal]

[Ferran ends his kiss abruptly and turns a narrow gaze to Zetta.]

I don't want to hear another word about bloody baseball.

[capcious]

[Zetta raises her eyebrows and doesn't look at him, just grins at Deacon and keeps going.] I suppose I'll have to referee, all things considered, but once everyone gets the hang of it, I want to be a coach.

[ersatzeverything]

Yeah, I mean, I know the gist of it, but I'm pretty sure no one in the Railroad would accept my calls. It's like they think I might not be honest about the rules or something.

[On the other side of the room, Ferran has had enough of this. Staring straight at Zetta, he begins to unbutton his shirt.]

[capcious]

[Zetta can see the motion out of the corner of her eye, but she keeps on ignoring him.] Exactly. I'm pretty sure the only others that might work for refs are Pre-War ghouls. [Riley's shoulders are shaking as he tries not to laugh.]

[ersatzeverything]

I bet Daisy would totally ref if we asked her, if we held a game close to Goodneighbor.

[Deacon is taking his cue from Zetta and doesn't turn his head to look at Ferran, no matter how much he wants to.

Ferran shrugs out of his shirt and starts on his trousers.]

[capcious]

I don't think there's enough space downtown, but we could probably put a field north of there, maybe up by County Crossing, y'know, thereabouts. [Her tone is overly casual on purpose, just exaggerated enough.]

[ersatzeverything]

Good location. Central.

[Ferran kicks off his shoes and pushes his trousers down and slithers out of them, too. Naked, he drops himself in Riley's lap, wraps his arms around his shoulders, and dives in for a sensuous kiss.

There's no actual baseball game to distract Zetta, just talk. And Ferran is determined to get her to look at him.]

[inhonorof]

[Oh. Riley had been expecting Ferran to go and squeeze himself between Zetta and Deacon, or something -- Not come to him. And now he has a very naked Ferran in his lap, kissing him like that, and he can't help but moan softly. ... he lost track of what Zetta and Deacon were saying in his surprise. He hears Zetta say,] We'll need to put another field further north, probably somewhere around Sanctuary. I wish we could feasibly put one farther south, but I'm not sure where we could find that would be both dry enough and safe enough.

[reformedcriminal]

[Look at him, look at him, look at him. He's naked and gorgeous and irresistible, look at him.

He trails kisses along Riley's jaw until he's well positioned to whisper in his ear.]

You don't mind that we have an audience, do you?

[An audience that isn't watching and should be. But the words aren't for Zetta and Deacon, they're for Riley.]

[inhonorof]

[Riley's breath hitches, and not for the first time, he thinks not fair -- He almost wishes it wasn't such an easy switch for them to flip. ... but only almost.] N... N -- N-No. [His hands are on Ferran's thighs, up near his hips, and he squeezes gently.]

[reformedcriminal]

Good.

[Ferran licks around the shell of Riley's ear before glancing back to Zetta and Deacon to see if they're paying attention yet.]