#i liked the theory of 'what if the sosu was replaced with a synth'

[battyslimes]

:(

[fallout-drabbles-n-stuff]

I remember a comment I read that brought up the question if there ever was an “original Danse”. Like the Danse you first met at the police station was the actual human Paladin Danse. But he was eventually replaced by a copy after he and sole survivor departed after the call to arms quest.

It was pretty spooky and I wanted to find out if the theory was true. So when I replayed my first meeting with Danse, it was also the first time I ever killed him.

Danse was always a synth: found the synth component on his body.

It was a pretty crazy mind fuck. Imagine if there actually was two Danse’s? What if the original Danse was still around? What if you met the original Danse after the main game’s ending as a random encounter?

It’d be crazier to meet the original Danse who vaguely remembers you. You, some random vault dweller that helped him and his crew out, and whom he offered a sponsorship to.

That’s all you were to him, that’s all he remembered. Just a helpful stranger with potential.

It’s synth Danse that you’ve developed an intimate relationship with, not human Danse who’ll be extremely confused by the whole situation.

Not to mention his former siblings of steel are all hostile to him cause he’s been labeled a traitor and was banished from the BOS. They wouldn’t know the difference between the two Danse’s and original Danse probably doesn’t know what’s happened since his replacement.

This’ll probably cause synth Danse to go through another existential crisis again.

This is such a scary thought (and good fic idea 👀) but all I can imagine is romanced sosu going up to him and giving him a kiss or something and Danse being Danse- is just shell shocked and probably confused as hell but then..synth! Danse pops up and just blows a gasket right then and there. He’d probably have the synth equivalent of a stroke on sight.

[hvmanmachine-archive-blog]

~Happy End~

First thing first, as we all know this blog is canon divergent, while I try to make it seem like “yes he might have been this or that way when younger” there are also a lot of changes because of his younger age. In the general Fallout timeline AND in his personality etc. So I do not think any of this would work with a 60 Year old dying Shaun. And if you see this in the Fallout tag or anything pls move on and do not reblog *gunfingers*

How to get a canon divergent happy ending with the Institute

First thing first: This path is only open to a SoSu that mainly works with the Minutemen. This would be determined by who you make the most radiant or general quests for. So if you made a lot for the Brotherhood or for the Railroad... you either are locked out of this ending or you can grind Minutemen quests etc to end up with more for them than the others

(He might comment on you having had a change of heart on your travels though)

Next is you need to get on Shaun’s good side. There are many ways of doing that:

Loves:

Doing Institute quests (duh, but this will lead to the normal ending/quests so maybe wait on those))

Praising things about the Institute (saying “___ is a great invention” counts, you don’t need to like everything the Institute does, but don’t mention that too early)

Praising him

Going through the Silver Shroud Quest In Character (he is a nerd with a thing for old world heroes)

Retaking the Castle

Rebuilding/decorating his room in Sanctuary (maybe cause I do that. First I build a perfect room for a toddler, then I change it to a room for a kid with lots of cool toys.)

Likes:

If you give him/the Institute technical documents instead of the BoS

doing quests for the Minutemen

In general doing things that restore his hope into the people on the surface

giving him comics >_>

talk to him, treat him like your son and not like an enemy

after a certain affinity is reached: make suggestions to improve the Institute. ONLY on logical ideas. If he feels like it’s only “stop being a meanie :c “ he’ll just =I 

Doing quests for Valentine

Dislikes:

being pitied

talking about the Institute badly

calling him/the institute a monster

trying to change him too early on

Using chems around him

running around naked in the Institute (or in general)

doing things that could worsen the view of the Institute even more

Hates:

Doing Railroad quests beside trying to get their help or for a later quest (I’ll explain later)

Doing Brotherhood Quests

Siding with the Raiders

Saying he is not your son

There will be affinity conversations but they will not inform you about how he feels about you in a direct way.

In the beginning, it is [Father liked/loved that]. That is the neutral or negative relationship. At one point it will change into [Shaun liked/loved that]. From here on you can try to make suggestions about improvement for the Institute. As long as it is based on logic and not only feelings. (Most morally better decisions would actually HELP the Institute, so wrap them into logical arguments)

This can already lead to him treating Synths better and start looking into other options.

You know you reached high affinity when he comes to you asking for your opinions. Anyone played Mass Effect? Edi asks Shepherd about how she should reprogram herself to deal with certain things, you can make her more human or less. It’s the same here, give him certain arguments and answers and he will move away from the “programming” of the Institute and change accordingly.

If you did everything right he’ll ask for a bit of time and that you maybe do surface stuff for a while. You won’t be able to enter the Institute for a while, one month actually.

Gen1 and Gen 2 Synths seem to disappear slowly and you receive a message that you can return now.

There is kind of a confused atmosphere when you return. There seem to be some who are really unhappy and some that seem to actually be in a better mood than before.

The Synth creation laboratory is under construction and closed down for the time being. (only the Gen3 one tho). Ayo is in a really bad mood, etc.

Shaun decided to actually try and give humans another chance, to try to see Synths more as people etc. But this isn’t the end of the Quest line.

He WILL ask you to still get the reactor plans and to get scientists join the Institute. (He even might reinvite Virgil, not for the sake of the FEV program, but the opposite IF he was healed). You just need to trust him.

Next is he will ask you to “destroy” the Railroad. And he might leave the death of everyone an option. But he’ll actually ask you to make the Railroad stop doing what they are doing, and instead rather help Synths being accepted in society... and tell him where the Synths they mindwiped are. He promises he’ll not harm them but they are in need of certain medical care at least once in a while AND should know what they are. Most likely you need to make quests for the Railroad to gain their trust, but only do those that are not about Synth “stealing”. If you can get Desdemona to change her ways and give the Institute or probably rather YOU a chance you succeed this quest. Shaun will not betray his promise, not hurt anyone but still retrieve Synths. Who when they see the whole picture are allowed to make their own choices now. 

So there is no need for the Battle of Bunker Hill or go much differently. (There might be Synths who don’t believe the changed ways so there still might be force needed. The Institute won’t go from Zero to 100 all at once.)

You are already a Brotherhood enemy at this point, most likely. And Shaun WILL ask you to take the Brotherhood down or.. make them harmless. You can choose to somehow evacuate the blimp before destroying it, and somehow destroying their weapons and storage etc. So there are less dead, but the Brotherhood is really weakened. (There might also be the option, if a Maxson were up to it, to change the Brotherhood to at least leave Synths/the Institute alone from now, but I feel that’s near impossible ID )

In theory, you can always say no to that BUT, that will lead to the Institute staying under the surface, create paradise there while the surface can rot in their opinion. And not produce Synths anymore but besides that... fuck the surfacers. 

The last quest is about you needing to save Shaun from those in the Institute that hate the sudden changes and consider the change as him growing weak. There might even be some Synths that were programmed to go against Shaun etc so battle ensues. You save him and he asks you to be the voice and face of the Institute. To use your settlements to help to make research on crops etc and in general to spread the information that they have changed etc. This would be the After Game quests etc.

The New Institute - Science is for the People

They’ll still be secluded and only share a few of their inventions etc, because they don’t trust the surface entirely yet.

They will keep producing Synth Gen1 and Gen 2 and not consider them people. You will not change their mind on that. They are the Institute’s defense, without them you just have lots of squishy nerds with lots of enemies... 

They’ll treat Gen3 better, but it won’t be perfect instantly, Shaun will probably always have a tendency to treat them like children, but they’ll get a chance how they live, and if they want they can help improving themselves with updates. Which too is a choice.

If the Brotherhood was destroyed they’ll work on helping the surface heal, with more power they might even be able to teleport further and learn how to copy the clean Water of Washington etc

Those Synths that live in hiding might either stay there or have the option to get their face changed and become their own person. (It might traumatize the Warwick family if they learn that their father/husband only changed because he was replaced etc)

Shaun will ask the Sole Survivor what name they'd give a second son. He will rename Synth!Shaun into that, change himself into “Brother” and the SoSu to mother/father, but only if they want to. If the Institute keeps testing and researching how to improve Synths they might allow him to age etc.

If you helped Virgil heal they might try to find a way to change all Supermutants back, most likely would still be violent etc but much less dangerous and easier to kill and get rid off.

Bees, Synth Bees.

Not everything is perfect yet, not inside the Institute, not with other factions, but it’s a good start.

NOTHING of this would work with a dying old Shaun because he’d be too old. bitter and hopeless. But even old Shaun tells you to lead the Institute how you want so these changes might happen after his death anyway.

There are also lots of places where one could fuck up. Like too early doing too many quests for the Brotherhood or Railroad, or even too many for the Institute since it will lock you into the normal ending.