[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

[capcious]

This is it? Really? [Zetta doesn't know if she wants to laugh or... well. Not cry. She doesn't do that. But...] I'm so glad I'm the one who came, and not Riley. [It's difficult not to look around too closely as they pass through the main floor. Just over there, that's where Deacon found those godawful hats. Which means not far from there is the case of sunglasses Riley found for him. And back that way are the dressing rooms... The memories still feel so bright that Zetta can't help but shudder. She doesn't notice that she's drifted to walk closer to Deacon than she had when they first entered the building.]

[ersatzeverything]

Yeah. I mean, what's next, a Courser at the zoo?

The Railroad: creating traumatic memories one building at a time.

[Deacon's arm brushes against Zetta's shoulder as they descend to the lower level. As deserted as the main floor is, the basement is the opposite, bustling with activity.]

[capcious]

[Zetta wants to lean into his touch so badly, but she doesn't have the time as they enter HQ proper. She takes a moment at the bottom of the stairs to look around. They're making good use of the space -- but then, they made good use of the space available in catacombs, so that's not really that surprising. She still sticks close to Deacon, though. She's not immediately picking Dez out in all that mess, and has no idea where she might be.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon takes care of that by shouting out into the space. ]

Hey, Dez! [He takes a hold of Zetta's wrist.] She followed me home, can I keep her?

[capcious]

[She's glad for the contact -- That's her first thought. But then Deacon opens his mouth again, and Zetta rolls her eyes at him.] Good lord.

[ersatzeverything]

[Desdemona steps forward, a smoldering cigarette hanging between her fingers.]

Deacon, this is no laughing matter. You know the risk we're taking letting you both come here.

[But Carrington had said it was essential, and when both her advisers were adamant about something, she had to at least find out what it was about.]

[capcious]

You say that like it might get him to stop, [Zetta drawls.] He's cracked puns about graveyards while we were trying to get him to stop bleeding out. I don't know if anything can get him to stop.

[bostoncrossing]

That's certainly true. [Carrington snips, stepping up behind Desdemona. Nervousness has made him particularly irritable.]

[capcious]

[At least his attitude is putting him in agreement with what Zetta just said, instead of making him truly target Deacon with anything. New allies or not, Zetta's still not gonna tolerate him trying to actually dig in on Deacon.]

[ersatzeverything]

Okay, but...can you answer the question?

[He says it all as a joke, but he never has told Dez how very serious his relationship with his Pre-War vault pals has become.]

Also, you got a private office in this place? Or, you know, somewhere we can talk privately?

[capcious]

[There's a warm stirring in her chest. God, Deacon. He probably knew she was unnerved, and is playing that up like a joke for her sake. ... though, it's possible it's not just for hers. Given how much he's playing up his obnoxious act in general, it's probably for his, too. And it boosts her confidence to know that even if Dez said he couldn't keep her, he'd do it anyway out of spite.] Something tells me you don't want us airing shit out in the open.

[bostoncrossing]

This way.

[Carringon leads the way to a hidden room in the corner.]

The room is soundproof. [Not that he really believes that any of the agents would eavesdrop but it's reassuring to know that no agent could accidentally eavesdrop even if they started shouting.]

[capcious]

Jesus. What was a clothing store doing with a soundproof room? Actually, we probably don't want to know, do we?

[ersatzeverything]

But it's super good to know about its existence.

[...he means for people to hide in if attackers come, of course.

The room is more than large enough for all four of them to fit in it comfortably and Deacon takes a seat on the edge of the desk.]

[capcious]

[Zetta's mind almost strays towards that day they spent with Deacon back before the war. She forces it out of her mind. She resists the urge to hover near Deacon and instead leans up against a wall, folding her arms across her chest.]

[bostoncrossing]

[Dez prefers to stand, so Carrington takes the chair. Someone might as well use it.]

Now that we're all here, tell Desdemona what happened.

[capcious]

[Zetta resists the urge to smear her hand down her face. Instead, she takes a deep breath.] Well... The short version is, I've got a group of Enclave remnants who agreed to do my evil, evil bidding in the wasteland. [Yeah, she's just gonna start with dropping that out there. Like pulling off a band-aid.]

[falloutpslnpcs]

[Dez takes a puff of her cigarette, breathes out the smoke.]

You've been spending too much time with Deacon. What's really going on?

[capcious]

[Zetta's irritation is already spiking, but she supposes she should've expected this.] I just told you. The only thing off about that statement is the me being evil bit, though I'm sure some people wouldn't think so.

[falloutpslnpcs]

[Dez drops the cigarette into the ashtray on the desk. This conversation is going to need her full attention.]

I'm going to need a lot more details. How did this happen? I didn't think there was any Enclave presence in the Commonwealth.

[She glances at Deacon. If there were Enclave here, why didn't Deacon tell her before now?]

[capcious]

They've been pretty motivated to keep their heads down. I can't possibly imagine why. We met this guy back in Vault 81 a while back, one of the scientists working there. He had useful scrap 'n' shit, so we'd swing by semi-regularly to trade and have somewhere relatively safe to sleep. And he went and got attached to us -- [She manages to stop herself here and admit a little more of the truth.] Alright, fine, to me, and I managed to get his story out of him. He used to be an Enclave captain, and when shit went down in D.C., he gathered as many people as he could and got the hell out. And with the Brotherhood in town, he wants to contribute to fucking them up, and so do the rest of his gang. So they had us meet up with the lot of them and they voted to hitch their wagon onto mine.

[falloutpslnpcs]

Attached? What kind of attached?

[If this Enclave captain fancies himself in love with Zetta, there's a serious danger of this blowing up in their faces when he realizes that she's not about to return his affection.]

And how large is this gang?

[capcious]

[At the implications in Desdemona's tone and question, Zetta screws up her face in disgust as if she'd just suggested her brother had a crush on her.] Familial. Absolutely not romantic. Jesus. Gross. I can't even think about it. No, he's got a boyfriend he's totally smitten with. God. There's... what, seven? Eight? Not sure how to count the boyfriend in all this. He's a vault dweller, so his only horse in the race is his choice in romantic partner. [And that leaves that number ambiguous enough that it may or may not include a certain doctor.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Dez relaxes marginally. At least that's one potential problem they won't have to worry about. Now there's just everything else about the Enclave to be concerned with.

Deacon's laughing at Zetta's reaction.]

You seriously don't have to worry about him going all spurned lover on us, Dez. Like, seriously. He and his boyfriend can barely pry their lips from each other.

[capcious]

[Deacon, you're not helping as much as you're pretending you are.] It's kind of disgusting, honestly. They are sickeningly in love and everyone around them really wishes they'd get on with it in private and leave the rest of them out of it. [Yes, she's picking on Nathan when he's not here to defend himself, what else is new?]