[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

[falloutpslnpcs]

[Dez purses her lips, her fingers twitching, wanting that cigarette back.]

I would have preferred to be kept in the loop before all this was decided.

[And would have liked it if at least one of her lieutenants could have been honest about his past, but in an organization like this she can hardly blame them for secrecy. And both of them were with the Railroad and saving synths before she was.]

But I can't stop you from making alliances.

Here are my ground rules. No intel sharing. They can't know anything about Railroad routes, safehouses, or procedures. Present company excluded. And I want to know where they'll be operating so our runners and agents can avoid them.

[capcious]

Well, no shit. Some of them are alright, but there's no way we're willing to risk the shitheads finding out about anything that'd put Railroad ops at risk. I'm not fuckin' stupid. [... she's still on edge. But at least Dez isn't fighting them on it, or giving them hell.]

[falloutpslnpcs]

[Dez frowns.]

This is a serious matter and I think it's best if expectations on all sides are made clear. There needs to be no room for misunderstandings.

[capcious]

[She has a point. Still, Zetta sighs in frustration.] Yes, alright. For the most part, we weren't intending on getting them involved with Railroad shit. They're most interested in taking down the Brotherhood, so that's probably where we'll be focusing them. ["Probably," because Zetta still isn't sure what to do with them.] But I've been thinking about fixing up the National Guard Training Yard for them to operate out of. [A beat.] And... I trust Lone enough that I think if he sets up there, then the place might not be a bad option for a waystation. [And now it's time to brace for impact again.]

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon jumps in to make the case before Dez can veto it outright.]

It'd just be a waystation, and have no contact with any safehouses or anything. Just a spot where we'd be able to take shelter and resupply and not have to worry about whether a pack of raiders or muties has moved in.

[capcious]

Lone's stubborn as a mule, but he's gotten better about synths in the short time I've been talking to him. And he'd know that fucking things up there would fuck things up with me, and he's not going to turn on me.

[bostoncrossing]

He understands the value of an alliance. [Carrington adds.]

And I've known this man since he was a child. He's not a backstabber. If we treat him fairly, he'll do us the same courtesy. It would be foolish of us not to use this resource that's made available to us.

[capcious]

[... and Zetta might have a personal reason for it, too. If Nathan sees the way synths are on the surface, sees the fear... It'll make the slavery situation more real to him. And maybe that'll also work on knocking Zellweger's head out of his ass about it, too.]

[falloutpslnpcs]

I can see when I'm outnumbered.

[From Dez, a small breath of amusement, an almost-laugh.]

I'd be afraid of a mutiny if I refused.

[capcious]

[Zetta blinks a couple of times, then breathes out heavy through her nose, some of the tension leaving her shoulders.] Honestly, we'd probably still do it anyway, [she admits, shrugging one shoulder.]

[falloutpslnpcs]

And that's why I'm not bothering to forbid it. I'd rather you do it openly so I can at least know what's going on.

[And they've already done it anyway, without talking to her, so it would be that much harder to undo it now.]

I see you share Deacon's philosophy of asking for forgiveness rather than permission.

[capcious]

[She snorts.] Forgiveness? I was gonna do this shit without saying anything, but apparently that was a bad idea. [No, she wasn't. But she can't say what she's actually thinking. Well, I"m engaged to him, I'd think that'd say something to how much time I spend with him. ... but it's not like Zetta wasn't already like that to begin with.]

[ersatzeverything]

Besides, forgiveness would mean that we actually feel kinda guilty about it or something.

I know you're pissed, but this really could help us get the Brotherhood off our backs. Like, a lot. And you know my paranoid face wouldn't support this if I didn't think the risk was low, and also worth it.

[Once the Brotherhood finds out that there's an Enclave squad out here, they'll be dedicating all their efforts into finding that secret hideout instead of the Railroad's secret hideout. And although he can't tell Zetta this, if the Brotherhood massacres someone Deacon would rather it be the ex-Enclave members than Railroad HQ.]

[capcious]

We know what we're doing. [#helping]

[falloutpslnpcs]

I hope so. We don't have room for mistakes.

[capcious]

You don't think we know that? We're not playing this high stakes shit for fun.

[ersatzeverything]

[Deacon lays a hand on Zetta's shoulder. He's not surprised she bristles at Dez. If there's one thing Zetta hates, it's people telling her what to do. Especially when it's something she already knows.]

Dez is just asking us to be careful.

[Deacon turns to Dez.]

And yes, mom, we'll be careful. We won't play in traffic and we'll make all the Enclave soldiers in power armor look both ways before they cross the road. Did you know one of them has a Gauss rifle? One of them has a Gauss rifle.

[capcious]

[Zetta wishes Deacon had never decided to make that rule against "office" romances, because goddammit, she really wants to lean towards him. She has to fold her arms instead to keep herself from doing something stupid.] I don't think either of the power armored ones are gonna listen. The shithead one is gonna be like, "I'd win a fight against a car," and the other one would be mad you tried to tell her what to do.

[ersatzeverything]

Okay, yeah, that's true. But I'll tell you, and you'll tell the Captain, and he can tell them.

'Course, by then, they'd already be in the street, but honestly? I think power armor really might win against a car.

[Carrington pinching the bridge of his nose like this whole conversation is causing him pain gives Deacon a bit of joy.]

[capcious]

[Listen, Carrington, this is Zetta coping right now. Let her cope.] Yeah, but then we'd have to deal with the lawsuits. Is it really worth it?

[ersatzeverything]

You're right. Better tell the Captain preemptively to keep the crazy kids out of the street.

[capcious]

It'd definitely save a lot of time. Not to mention, someone's poor car. It didn't do anything to anyone.

[bostoncrossing]

Might I remind you that there aren't any functioning cars in the Commonwealth so the entire issue is moot?

How are things progressing with the Institute?

[Please let's get back on topic, agents.]

[capcious]

[Make her. Except mentioning the situation with the Institute is unfortunately always a really good way to put a damper on Zetta's mood. So... it works. Dammit.] Slowly. But they're going. Shaun's gotten kind of over-protective of me, but it hasn't exactly made him listen to me any better. He's really taken a shine to Ferran and Riley, but he's been pretty preoccupied with the Brotherhood situation lately. [... Zetta is realizing she doesn't know exactly how much Deacon has relayed back to them. Carrington knows that Deacon's been returning to the Institute, has been allowed to, and that's an obvious secret, but what about the rest of it? The fact that Shaun came to the surface is also a secret -- she knows that. But does that mean she shouldn't mention her injury and the way it grounded her, too? Shit. She should've asked Deacon about this before they came here.]

[falloutpslnpcs]

What are you three up to?

[The Institue being focused on the Brotherhood and not on them is good news. And Deacon had told her that the Institute would no longer be targeting safehouses, although he didn't get into specifics.

Now was the time to get those specifics.]