coatls | [closed] the only constant is change

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Zetta, who knows his role better by now, snickers. But he's at least right in that he doesn't make the bulk of the decisions. Just heavily influences a lot of the critical ones.]

Well, this isn't one I'm willing to make for you, or else I would, [she drawls.]

Guess I'm just gonna be stuck here indecisive then.

[He snuggles against her shoulder. Deacon practically never relaxes entirely, but the extra tension that built during the meeting is starting to fade. Enough that he can talk about it.]

If I were a replacement, what would you do?

[Zetta's hand pauses, and her arm tightens around him again.]

Fucking tear into Shaun, [is the first thing that comes to mind. That's the easy answer. She doesn't think she'd be able to look him in the face without screaming at him. It'd ruin the fragile thing she's been trying to build between them.

But she knows that isn't what Deacon's looking for. She lets out a heavy breath.] We'd have to be practical, first. Figure out if they forced some Institute loyalty bullshit into your head. But... [She traces her fingers along the back of his head.] I still have trouble imagining a replacement Deacon would be willing to sell the Railroad to them. It's too much of who you are. Even a replacement with a loyalty to the Institute would be trying to do what we're doing, trying to save everyone.

And I know Riley would accept you, no matter what. [Still not answering everything. But she doesn't have an answer for herself on a personal level, not right away.]

[The thought that, if he were a replacement, he'd be doing exactly what he's doing now isn't reassuring. But--]

I don't feel any loyalty to the Institute as far as I can tell. I don't want to murder them all if we can avoid it, but I still think they're mostly all assholes.

[... yeah. He really did take it straight to heart. Motherfucker. She should go back downstairs and break Dez's nose. Or maybe Carrington's -- If that test was his idea... Even if he suggested it to prove to Desdemona that Deacon is himself, fucking hell, he didn't think about how it'd affect Deacon. If she's honest, though, she isn't sure which would've been worse for him, the test or exile.]

I'm certain if they'd replaced you, they'd want you to feel a stronger connection to it. You not wanting them all to die has more to do with your morals than any real attachment to it.

Besides, the Warwick synth knew he was a replacement. And from what I understand, so does McDonough. So if you were a replacement, I'm sure you'd know.

Maybe. [But he's not sure.]

Barbara didn't know.

[Zetta sighs through her nose.]

I know. [Her hand settles on the back of his neck again, protective.] But we don't know what her deal was. She was just a caravanner, right? Seems... weird.

Maybe an early experiment in making perfect replacements. [He's wondered why for over twenty years and never figured it out.]

If so, then it obviously didn't work out, since the repalcements since then have been aware of what they are.

As far as we know. But if there were replacements out there who weren't aware of what they are, how would we know about them?

[His paranoia has dug in and can't let go.]

[... she is going to break Dez's nose.]

You're right. But then we're back around to what the Institute would angle for if they did replace you. And you don't feel any compulsion to protect the Institute or do their bidding. You wouldn't have given Shaun so much hell when he was in Sanctuary.

And they wouldn't be able to perfectly replicate the way that you kiss. [She kisses his temple.] That's not something you could describe. And if they'd gotten a hold of you, I'm absolutely dead certain that even if they broke you open, you still would've fed them some bullshit specifically so that the replica would tip us off. You'd figure out a way to make sure we knew.

[Deacon grins as Zetta gets to the end of her argument.]

Awwww, that's the best compliment anyone has ever given me.

[And it does make him feel better.]

[Zetta is relieved to see him grin -- with his sunglasses off, it's easier for her to tell that it's genuine.]

Your number one talent is being a stubborn little shit. And they'd unlock every ounce of spite you have, trying to break you. [She holds him tight-tight-tight.] Like I said. I'd know.

[Hers.]

[It's weird--nice, but weird--having someone know him well enough to know if he wasn't him. No one in the Railroad could. Hell, he's changed his face, his voice, his mannerisms and the Railroad just shrugs and goes "There goes that freak Deacon again, doing his freak thing." None of them knew what was essential Deacon.]

And if you ever did notice anything different, you'd tell me, right?

Once I figured out how to, yeah. You'd deserve to know, if you didn't. [She strokes her fingers along his jaw.] The tricky part would be making sure you didn't promptly kill yourself to keep yourself from betraying the Railroad.

[Because he's already tried that once. She wouldn't want to risk it happening again.]

And you'd help keep me from doing that, yeah? Betraying the Railroad?

[He meets her eyes, no sunglasses in the way.]

[Zetta doesn't shy away from his gaze, and she doesn't hesitate in her answer.]

Yeah. And I'd find a way to keep you alive in the process.

[closed] the only constant is change

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