[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]

Perhaps our new friends in there hired a maid service. [Ferran speaks quietly so the people ahead won't be alerted to their presence. Even in a friendly meeting, having the element of surprise when making an entrance is useful.]

[capcious]

[They can do this. They can do this. ... she can do this. God, she doesn't want to have people actually fucking following her. There's a reason she refused to accept the General mantle. Officially, it's going to be all of them -- she knows that. But she also knows that Riley is going to try to become a part of the wall, and Ferran is going to be content to sit back and snark occasionally, and she won't be able to keep her mouth shut. She's going to end up taking point. And... fuck. She takes a second to turn and press her face into Deacon's neck for a moment. Fuck, she doesn't know if she can do this. She breathes him in to try and calm down. She feels Riley's hand smoothing down her back.]

[ersatzeverything]

I got your back. [Deacon whispers to her, squeezes her hand.]

Just remember that we're interviewing them. Lone requested this meeting. He reached out. It's up to us whether we want to accept them or not and if it looks like it's not gonna work, we can totally turn them down.

[He kisses the curls of her hair. The meeting's probably more reciprocal than what he's claiming but he's so not bothered about lying about it.]

[capcious]

[She takes another deep breath. Right. (She knows Deacon's lying to make her feel better, but she's going to let it work. She needs it to.) Control is ultimately in their hands. They have the power to shut the Enclave out. ... okay. Okay. (God, she loves him so much.) She drags her thumb along Deacon's knuckles, nice and slow, then pulls away. She can feel Riley's worried gaze more than she sees it, with her own eyes pointed down the hallway. She... can't answer him right now. She should reassure him, but -- That would require her to be softer than she can allow herself to be right now. She stacks her walls high, draws herself up, and begins to march down the hall, chin high.]

[falloutpslnpcs]

[At the sound of footsteps in the corridor, John moves out of the doorway to let them enter. Too late for Singh to escape now.]

Gossip time's over.

[Then, as the Old Worlders arrive, John straightens his spine and stands tall, chin up and arms at his sides.]

AtteeeeeeeenTION!

[He snaps a salute and watches as his soldiers do the same. Nice to see they still remember the basics. Sara's salute is perfect. Even Singh is saluting now, their time together perhaps reminding him of his roots.]

[crowspy]

[Bellamy still doesn't salute. Much to his amusement, though, one of Nathan's Old Worlders does. The woman -- as short as Bellamy is, with an arm in a sling and a shock of dark curls for hair -- gives him an exasperated but fond look. The man -- must be the Brotherhood infiltrator, Nathan had said he used to be an honest to god soldier Pre-War -- immediately looks embarrassed, but doesn't fall out of it right away.]

[falloutpslnpcs]

At ease.

[The Old Worlder's salute doesn't go unnoticed. Regan is eyeing the man with open approval. One simple action has her already halfway convinced that he, at least, is worthy.]

[capcious]

[Zetta doesn't immediately notice Carrington, thanks to Riley's salute. Once that whole... bit was over -- which was weird, having them snap into a salute as they walked in -- She glances over the group briefly, but with Carrington sidling away, she still overlooks him. Her eyes settle on Nathan, and for a second, she feels a flash of relief that he's alright. But then she sees who's standing behind him.] Jesus fucking christ, Nathan, not only did you pull this stupid risky stunt, but you dragged him into it, too? Zetta, [Riley starts softly. At the same time, Zellweger is puffing up indignantly. But Zetta ignores them both and barrels on.] Are you kidding me? I bet you didn't even fucking scout out the location first. You could've brought a fucking untrained scientist into a hellhole, you fucking idiot.

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan draws himself up for a fight.]

Really, the chances of someone not only finding but also successfully hacking into a DIA installation are infinitesimal.

And when I arrived, Dr. Singh was already here, and alive, so clearly there wasn't an immediate threat. [Nathan gestures towards Singh.]

[capcious]

That doesn't negate the -- [She glances towards this "Dr. Singh." Her brain stops, and her mouth hangs open for a good moment. And then, reflexively, she looks to Deacon.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon's expression is as opaque as his sunglasses, his face turned towards Carrington.]

Yeah. Totally non sequitur here, but I had this boss...okay, sort of boss. Not really my boss, but he totally thought he was in charge, and he was, like, always complaining about me having secret identities and not be open about my past and stuff.

That's bullshit, right? You guys agree with me, yeah?

[capcious]

[Don't grin. Don't laugh. Don't give it away. ... although she's pretty sure if Nathan's group has any amount of brains, they'll be able to figure it out. And only Nathan and Zellweger know Deacon is with the Railroad. (Or so she thinks.) She lets herself laugh.] Absolutely bullshit.

[timesbureaucrat]

[Nathan glances between Deacon, Singh, and Zetta as the pieces all fall into place. He whirls on Singh.]

You're with the Railroad?!

[capcious]

[Well, so much for that. But it was Deacon's choice to expose him, so it should be fine. Also, it's undoubtedly pissed Carrington off, so: worth it. One of Nathan's brood starts laughing, too, a wild cackling kind (but one without the kind of inherent menace Zetta's cackles usually carry).] No wonder you freaked out and wanted to bail on this, [he says to Carrington.]

[bostoncrossing]

[Carrington is distinctly less amused. He glowers at Deacon and crosses his arms.]

Hello, Deacon. I trust you can keep this to yourself. I'm sure one more lie won't bother you at all.

[capcious]

God, no wonder you asked about when E1 showed up in Enclave armor. Which, by the way, now that the cats are out of the bag, that was his fault, [she nods to Nathan.] That was his armor. Which is also why we had to get it back.

[falloutpslnpcs]

This is going well.

[Louis says dryly. He turns his attention back to the Old Worlders.]

You appear to already know Dr. Singh. Hello, I'm Louis Williams, infiltration operative, currently based out of Bunker Hill. This is my wife, First Lieutenant Regan Williams, infantry, and my brother, Second Lieutenant Torvald Williams, also infantry.

[inhonorof]

[Riley moves instinctively to offer him a handshake.] Good to meet you. Specialist Riley Reynolds. General, darling. Oh... Oh -- Right. [Riley rubs the back of his neck.] Uh... I guess, General Reynolds. Of the Minutemen. But Pre-War, I served in the 2nd Batallion, 108th Infantry Regiment. This is my wife, Zetta, and my husband, Ferran, and... [He glances at Deacon, too, like Zetta did, for guidance. With Carrington here, he doesn't know if it's okay to introduce Deacon as their fiancé. He doesn't know if it'd be okay even if Carrington wasn't here.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Louis shakes Riley's hand while Deacon takes over the introduction Riley started.]

I'm Deacon. Just your typical wasteland drifter.

But what Riley's leaving out is that Zetta is a pre-War scientist and Ferran worked for the American government. You know, if those sort of things matter to you.

[He knows how much they mattered to the Enclave of old.]

[crowspy]

["Typical wasteland drifter" who totally blew Singh's cover... while not mentioning at all that he's the guy who recruited Bellamy into the Railroad as a tourist.

N i c e.

Bellamy grins.] Doesn't matter to everyone here. I, for one, couldn't give a rad-rat's ass.

[ersatzeverything]

Okay, how about...Zetta is crazy smart and terrifying and Ferran has been chosen to be the next Director of the Institute. Maybe that's more interesting to you.

[crowspy]

Absolutely. See, those things are way more important.

[He looks to the Old Worlders.] Hi, I'm Bellamy. [Same name he gave as his Railroad name, because, well. Bellamy is his cover name. He wonders if Deacon will pick up on that, especially given this next bit of info:] I worked for the Secret Service before everything went under, infiltration, like Louis.

[reformedcriminal]

[Ferran scans Bellamy with a cool, assessing gaze.]

I imagine that background made it much easier to adjust to life outside a bunker and without a strict hierarchy.

[Unlike Nathan who appeared to go right to the first hierarchical underground facility he found and stayed there.]

[crowspy]

You have no idea. I already had a firm cover in place and connections and everything. Still booked it the fuck out of D.C. with everyone, but the connections made it possible for us to get out fast and with supplies.

[falloutpslnpcs]

The others fled Adams with nothing but what they had on them at the time. But Bellamy and I weren't there when Adams fell, so we were able to get food and clothes for everyone. And helped them...uh...stand out a bit less.

[With the right clothes, they made a pretty convincing looking caravan. Power armor disassembled and hidden in the brahmin cart, laser weapons replaced with some ordinary ballistics. He even convinced Captain Lone to let a little bit of stubble grow out to aid in their disguise.]