#saltsealed

The next moodboard I made is @saltsealed​‘s wonderful Mal. Mal normally gives me all the trouble in the world, but this one was actually quite easy. And, oof, the 1 luck man. Hopefully that doesn’t screw us over later lol.

—–

Thank you :D <3 Does this count as whump? I don’t know

---

He’d ignored it at first. Taken the proverbial high road. They were little smears, after all. Possibly accidents. Not everyone in the Commonwealth had an appreciation for the finer points of dialect.

Maybe, when they implied Mal was a tramp, a scavver, they only meant it as a profession. Not everyone looked down on scavvers. Some claimed that proudly. Lots of folks wandered with no real home. The open road held appeal. Its own culture. Nate didn’t really believe them to be offering a compliment here. But a General couldn’t go around with a lack of self-control. 

Benefit of the doubt.

Benefit of the doubt. 

“Price is the best mechanic in a hundred miles of here.” Nate offered, and wondered if the person would recognize it for the lifeline that it was. “Impatient or not, if he bothered to give you advice about fixing your generator, you were lucky.”

“Pah!” They sneered.

Nate smiled without warmth. 

“Haven’t you been listening, General? I know what I’m doing better’n that shitheel. His advice isn’t worth the breath it took to repeat.” 

A blink of a pause. “Mal’s been my lead mechanic since we took the Castle back. You shouldn’t sell him short.” Warning had crept into Nate’s tone.

“Sounds like the Minutemen need a real expert.”

“I think I know well enough whether he’s doing a good job.” Nate wasn’t smiling anymore. “I’d thank you to speak more politely.”

The man lifted both hands and snickered, “No offense, General, but I suspect you don’t know enough to see you’re being cheated by that scavver, if you really think he knows jack shit. I’ll charge you fairly for it. Whatever he’s taking from you, he’s stealing, I guarantee it. Probably filching your supplies too to line his pockets.” 

Nate hadn’t fully formed a fist before it collided with the other man’s jaw. Something snapped. A loud, splintering pop reverberated through Nate as one of his fingers malformed and the man hit the dirt.

Staggering back a step, Nate tried to stretch out his hand - which hurt - and grimaced. Just pain. Hardly worth considering in the defense of Mal’s honor. God, though, he’d have to explain this to Mal later.

Swearing and snarling, the man tilted a bloodied face back up in sheer shock. “You-”

Nate’s teeth were bared back, fist clenched again in warning, in spite of the sting and the bruise already forming. “Try it again. See what happens.”

----

1. Closet door open or closed?

I already answered in detail earlier, but the closet door must be closed.

10. Zodiac sign?

I’m a Cancer, born mid-July.

26. Favorite Tumblr blog?

That’s... a hard one to answer. (Other than yours) I’d say my top five are @vimesbootstheory @lookbluesoup @tarberrymentats @garrus and @crenarei

53. Would I rather carve pumpkins or wrap presents?

Carve pumpkins. I don’t know if I have some sort of higher brain function that shuts down when presented with wrapping paper and tape, but I am physically incapable of wrapping a present and not having it look like a three year old on cocaine did it.

9. How much do they care about their outer appearance? What’s their “beauty routine”? How often do they shower/ bathe?

id say they care quite a lot about their appearance, its the one thing they really put effort into tbh. they shower and bathe as often as possible (because getting sand in ur nasty bits isnt fun) but neglect brushing their teeth most of the time. they chew mint gum a lot to combat their bad breath

20. Do they have any hobbies? What are they?

who DOESNT have hobbies? i think hiking is probably their favorite thing to do, alongside pranking people. is pranking a hobby? either way, they also enjoy gambling, and on occasion will ask someone to read a book for them (because u know with that 1 int they cant fucken read well)

36. Their thoughts on power armor?

Heya! Thanks for the ask! :D Yep, @saltsealed and I have been RP’ing out daily prompts from the October lists all month, focusing on Nate and Mal in a bunch of different AUs! We miiiight publish some as fics after the month is over on here, pillowfort, and/or ao3 (for fandom universes)

It’s been a wild month too. Getting to cover so many genres has really brought a lot of their stories to life and uncovered some fun themes. There’s whump, smut, fluff, hurt/comfort, cowboys escaping a lynching, synths fighting over macaroni, 76ers adopting a sect of mothman cultists, vampires being sexy, superhumans battling trauma, aliens falling in love, just off the top of my head hahaha

We’ve written over 60k words for October, and have several other longer fics from previous months exploring the relationship between these two beans in their different incarnations. It’s been a lot of fun and I’d be excited to share more about them! :D 

//soft gasp

Did

Did u know

....

Did u kno i also

Have a crush on you

ljkhjlkshadkjlkjlhsdaf

sCrEAMS YOU CANT COME HERE AND SAY NICE THINGS LIKE THAT AND EXPECT ME TO REfRAIN FROM KEYSHAMSHING ;A;