[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

[ersatzeverything]

I could totally pretend that this is our first time.

[He circles his thumbs.]

Only with way less...uh...hard-to-get on my part.

[capcious]

[Zetta grins.] That would be a fun game. You up for it?

[ersatzeverything]

Oh yeah. So what's the scene? Taking shelter from a rad storm? Bunking together at The Third Rail?

[capcious]

Rad storm sounds good. Nice and simple.

[ersatzeverything]

Rad storm it is. [Deacon reluctantly draws away from Zetta so he can dim the lights to a weak glow like sunlight trying to make its way through heavy clouds and filthy windows. He wishes there were a way to tint it green, too, but he's not sure how.]

Radiation's a bitch.

[capcious]

[Zetta watches him go through half-lidded eyes. She immediately misses his hands on her, her hands on him, but she can make herself slow down, back up, start back over. From here, in the dim lighting, she can appreciate the shape of him.] Isn't it, though? I should've packed for a storm, but it caught me completely off-guard. We should probably get out of these clothes before we catch a cold. [... if only it wouldn't have taken too much prep for them to have actually wandered over and stood in the shower to drench their clothes through. Ah, well.]

[ersatzeverything]

Not to mention we're still soaking in some rads just by being clothed. Makes you appreciate the practicality of nudist colonies. Except for the impracticality of, like, everything else.

[Deacon slides off his wig and sets it aside, then, with less care, strips off his plaid button-up, then the T-shirt and drops them on the floor.]

[capcious]

[Zetta finishes unbuttoning her shirt (god and it's good to use both hands for it) and shrugs it off, letting it hit the floor. (In the next room over, she can hear Riley murmuring to Ferran. She has no idea what he's saying, but it's probably a stream of sappy emotional nonsense.)] I hate to break it to you, but I'm pretty sure nudist colonies had nothing to do with practicality.

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon pulls off his sneakers without untying them and then starts unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans.]

Really? That's all my assumptions about nudist colonies ruined.

[capcious]

Honestly, I don't know much about them. But if practicality had anything to do with it, I'd be shocked. [Her bra comes next, unclasped and also shrugged off. She takes more her time with her jeans, though, stripteasing for him while pretending that isn't what she's doing. After taking him back to the Switchboard to meet with Enclave remnants, she feels like she owes him as many lies as she can give him, and this is one she's absolutely certain he'll appreciate.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon takes peeks of Zetta undressing while pretending not to take peeks because even though he's allowed to peek now, he's pretending that it's then. He drops his jeans and steps out of them. A scatter of clothes surrounds him on the floor.]

I could totally see the appeal in the summer. But this time of year, yeah, there'd be problems.

Uh...speaking of, downside of stripping is that although we're safe from radiation, we're gonna freeze if we don't get under some blankets, like, now.

[The Institute had perfect climate control, but he could pretend that it was a chilly autumn evening and they were in a drafty old house.]

[capcious]

[Zetta puts on a sigh as if this is somehow something regrettable.] Yeah, you make a good point. [And then, for a reason for her sigh:] Guess I'm not gonna get any work done on my new gun after all. [She steps out of her jeans and towards the bed, with nothing but her underwear on.] Come on, then.

[ersatzeverything]

[This is soothing, recreating a time when, okay yeah there were problems to be solved but those problems were of the normal "we need to help a synth out of the Commonwealth" kind and not "we need to somehow defeat the vastly superior army of the Brotherhood of Steel" kind. After so much tension from being at Switchboard again, this is helping him put his head back on straight.

Therapeutic lying. Don't knock it til you've tried it.]

I'll try to keep things entertaining. Not as good as a new gun but, you know, it's something.

[capcious]

I'm sure if you tried really hard, you might be able to match it. [An innuendo for both the lie and the truth. It isn't as though they didn't flirt at all before they got together -- especially after that kiss in the Third Rail, so it's appropriate for the lie.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon flashes a gap-toothed smile at the wordplay and climbs into the bed.]

I can do hard.

[He scoots close, like they're huddled for warmth. His dick is still half-hard from all the playing earlier but he doesn't try to pretend it isn't. Hell, it's totally reasonable that being practically naked in bed with Zetta would give him a boner, even before they started fucking. It can be incorporated in the game.]

[capcious]

That was terrible, [she informs him, grinning as she slides into the bed. God, she fucking loves that smile. It makes her want to break the game and lean in and kiss him. ... though, she doesn't think he'd let it break the game. She thinks he'd keep it going. So, at least, if she can't manage to have self-control, it won't completely ruin things. But she absolutely refuses to be ruined by a stupid smile, especially not one he made right before he also made a stupid pun. She cuddles up next to him and pretends she doesn't notice that he's half-hard.]

[ersatzeverything]

Hey, you provided the set up so the blame's at least...uh...23% yours.

[He trembles slightly and tries not to rock his hips against her. No matter how much his dick wants to be rubbing up against something. Or in something.]

[capcious]

What? Nuh-uh. I'm not responsible for whatever comes out of your mouth. [They're close enough she can feel him trembling. It makes her want to roll over on top of him and grab his hips and... no. She can't do that (yet). This is approaching almost as frustrating as back when they actually were holding back, back when she was scared of breaking what they had despite how difficult it was to resist him. And knowing that she is going to have him before too much longer? ... makes the tension delicious. Makes it a thrill. Makes her want him more.]

[ersatzeverything]

Okay, but what about...what goes into my mouth.

[He waggles his eyebrows, then pauses before continuing.]

By which I totally mean dinner, of course. I think it's your turn to cook today.

[capcious]

[She hates him. She musters up a groan.] Do you really want that? Do I have to remind you about the last time I cooked?

[ersatzeverything]

Yeah, okay, good point. I'll cook.

[He grins.]

So does that mean you're going to put something of mine in your mouth?

[capcious]

[She's going to hurt him. She raises her eyebrows at him.] If you keep this up, I'm going to think you're actually asking me to suck your cock. [Which, back in the day, would have been her not so steathily hinting that she'd absolutely do it if he'd commit to the idea.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Back then, this'd be about the time he'd laugh and dodge the implicit offer, leaving both of them unsatisfied.

Good thing this is a fantasy version, super improved, way better than the actual past.]

I wouldn't say no.

Like, we've been dancing around this for a while, yeah? But only if you're interested. You wanna keep things the way they are, I'll do that.

[capcious]

[Zetta grins, wide and predatory.] About fucking time. [A beat.] I wouldn't offer if I wasn't going to go through with it. I'd hope you'd know that by now. [She can touch him now, more directly than just being pressed up against each other. She lightly traces a couple of fingers up from his knee towards his hip.]

[ersatzeverything]

I figured, but it doesn't hurt to ask directly.

[In this circumstance, Deacon would ask, so asking is part of the game.

He lets himself push his half-hard dick against her now. God, it feels good.

Almost on cue, Ferran moans loudly from the other room. Deacon has to hold back from laughing. Can't break scene.]

That's some wild wind out there.