#mechanicaltrickster

God I feel your pain. I summon more Berserkers and Casters than I know what to do with. 

- At first, Mash and Romani are somewhat concerned with how calmly and casually Master interacts with Berserkers. They know that in the depths of madness, Servants like that can harm even the one who they’re contracted with. 

- While Romani has cautioned Master in a more practical and straightforward lecture, Mash was more emotionally honest. She admitted to being quite concerned for Master, and she wishes she could stay with them whenever they’re spending time with the more intense sorts. 

- Master assures her though that they’re alright, and they have their command seals should worst come to worst. Mash still isn’t fully convinced, but other than peeking around corners to watch, there’s not much she can do.

- Mash will grow a little less tense though when she sees how Master handles the Berserkers. They know that even madness has rhyme and reason. It’s simply a matter then of keeping a level head and navigating what the Berserker in question finds agreeable and what will set them off. They always do their research on the Berserkers they summon, and if possible ask any Servants who knew the zerker in life for more information. 

Moritaka: that can't be true-

Toji: watch this.

Toji: Hey player! Race you downstairs!

sdfghgfd god I always struggle with pick you own requests because I have to stop myself from just going ahead and picking my favs lmao. But this was too cute not to do!!! gotta love some fluffy scenarios. (Also you’re a way better person than I am when I do that I go for the cheek and neck cause the reactions are hilarious)

--------

Hephaestus

Coming to hang out with the crafters it’s hard to stay in one place - there’s so much stuff to get distracted by and so many things to pull your attention away (all of which you attempt to touch because why wouldn’t you? It’s fun to find out what they do!). Which is exactly why you find yourself wandering around the place, running all around the outside of the building and only occasionally dipping in to check up on the stuff that’s happening indoors before going back out to run around again. Musashi’s usually doing rounds around this time too (despite how little fighting the guild actually sees) so you end up hanging around him for a little bit on one of his checks before it gets too cold for your liking and you decide to take shelter back inside, teeth chattering from the lack of winter-appropriate attire as you head inside the main building.

By the time you’re back down into Hephaestus’ workshop you’re still chilly. You guess that because Heph (and Talos, by extension) has a naturally higher body heat than you he doesn’t notice just how chilly his workshop can get sometimes, especially during the winter months. You’re rubbing your hands together, bringing them up to your face to puff hot air at them in a bid to warm them up as you trot over to where Heph’s standing. He spins around to greet you, expression lighting up at the sight of you approaching him, but you beat him to the punch with a “Hey, Heph - check out how cold my hands are!” and proceed to reach down for his hands, taking one of them and cupping your hands around it. 

You’re right about the difference in body temperature - it feels as though you’re holding a mini heater in your hands, though it’s not an overbearing warmth in the least, and you could almost swear that the skin gets just a little bit hotter than when you’d first grabbed his hands. The rush of added heat is just what you need, and you let out a blissful sigh as you feel the energy seeping back into your fingertips, fingers flexing free of the previous stiffness thanks to the weather. 

See, at your comment of feeling cold, the first thing Heph wants to do is find something to warm you up - he’s not going to let you just stand there and freeze and would probably end up swaddling you in blankets until you felt warm again. But at the same time, he does not want you to let go of his hands at all (you can’t convince me he isn’t touch starved to high heaven - he’s desperate for affection but doesn’t wanna ask for it). So there’s a few seconds where he flounders, looking around and hoping to find at least a blanket or stray coat nearby for you to wear; thankfully, Talos is always nearby on hand, and upon spotting the scene unfolding comes in prepared. The android bursts into the moment with a fleece blanket in tow, and while Hephaestus is miffed at him for interrupting the moment it doesn’t last long as the blanket’s draped over your shoulders and you lift up the one side as you move one hand away, offering it to Heph and telling him to get under with you so he can warm up too. You’re sure that the flames on the side of his face burn brighter as he tentatively leans in so you can slide the other end of the blanket over his broad shoulders.

Jinn

Being able to stay warm no matter the weather, Jinn fares better during the winter months than some of the other teachers, which sometimes means that some of the outside lessons often get delegated for him to oversee and teach. And he love the opportunity! It gives him more time with his students and he gets to be a little more active in their education; though it seems as though his students are feeling the chilly turn in the weather a lot more than he is. When you come jogging back over to one of the benches for a quick drink break you’re rubbing your hands, cussing out the cold but too stubborn to make the trek all the way back inside to go put something warmer on as you drop onto one of the benches and make a move to look for your drink. When Mr. Jinn comes over to check on you, you can't help but note how he doesn’t even seem to be feeling the cold - especially because his usual outfit hasn’t changed (seriously, you think you’d freeze over if you tried to pull off his typical clothing style).

Jinn’s ridiculously warm thanks to being a smoke genie, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t just about jump when you grab his hand out of nowhere, grinning up at him as you exclaim “It’s so cold out my hands are like ice - here, feel em!”. He fumbles a bit over his next words, cutting them off with an awkward cough into his free hand as you squeeze his other one. By comparison to the heat radiating from his body you are significantly colder, which is what ends up turning his attention away from the fact that you’re grabbing his hand and focusing it onto the fact that you’re right - your hands are like ice.

Not wanting his student to get cold however, he ends up lending you his signature jacket to warm up with - after all, what good teacher would he be if he didn’t help you warm up when it was so chilly outside! His jacket’s surprisingly thick and insulated, so it warms you up in no time as soon as he slips it over your shoulders and lets you put your arms into the sleeves. Burying your hands into the pockets you burrow into the item of clothing and give Jinn a grateful smile as you thank him, and he swells with pride at the praise, his demeanor visibly brightening. 

He’s so chuffed that he ends up letting you wear it for the rest of the class - even after the class, because by the time everyone heads back inside to go to their last lesson for the day the fact that you’re wearing his jacket has completely slipped his mind until Mr. Mononobe points out that he doesn’t have it with him. The two of you just about end up slamming into each other, as at the same time you’re on your way back to return it to him, Jinn’s rushing to retrieve it before the final bell; you narrowly avoid barreling into one another, but Jinn manages to catch the two of you before either of you fall. He’s still surprised to see that you’re wearing it, and almost doesn’t want to ask for it back because of how snug and content you look wearing it, but you end up sliding it off of you when you realize you’ve found him, offering him thanks for letting you borrow it as you hand it back to him.

Kyuma

Being cooped up inside for a while makes it easy to forget that everything is getting colder sometimes, which is exactly the case for you when you finally decide to go out and spend some time with Kyuma. Given how long it’s been since the two of you have last seen each other, Kyuma’s understandably looking forward to the meetup - you don’t get the chance to spend time together often, so when you’d gone out of your way to ask to hang out with him he’d been excited to take you up on the invitation. Kyuma’s more dressed for the occasion than you are, with him being bundled up with a jacket and David decked out in a fluffy scarf to keep warm; it makes you wish you’d came out in something warmer, but that thought soon goes to the back of your mind when the two of you start walking around together.

It’s only when the two of you stop looking around the shops for a quick break that you realize just how cold your hands are, as upon walking into the shopping centre the wave of warmth that hits you is enough to make your cheeks sting from the temperature change. You bring your hands up to rub your cheeks, only to pull them away upon feeling just how cold your hands are. Upon noticing your reaction, Kyuma turns to you and asks what’s wrong, perplexed by your reaction. In response you shrug and hold up your hands, commenting “Yeah, my hands are just cold as hell - here, feel how chilly they are!” 

As soon as the words leave your mouth you reach down and grab Kyuma’s hand - he’s kept them stuffed into his pockets while you’ve been walking around together, so they’re warm to the touch the moment you slip your hand into his, and you immediately feel a little bit warmer from the contact. The second he feels the cold contrast in your hands he yelps at the frigid skin, instinctively moving to pull his hand away with a yell of “Ah, cold!” when he realizes that it’s your hand that’s holding his. 

OKAY ONCE AGAIN I’M GOING A LIL OFF ON THIS BECAUSE THIS IDEA IS JUST 👌👌👌👌👌 so as you can probably tell in some parts I definitely rambled lmao. I do hope I do it justice~!

And for anyone wondering the original request can be found here!

---------------------

Things had gotten too much. You were so fed up with all the stares, all the sympathetic glances burning holes into the back of your head and all of the whispered words of gossip and speculation like you were some hot topic or reckless wild child who couldn’t be trusted. Everyone was acting like you couldn’t see or hear them, which somehow just made it feel even worse; it was driving you up the wall, even with all of your friends standing by your side the moment you were accused it was hard to ignore everything that came with it. You were pissed, hurt, but the betrayal stung the worst out of everything that had happened so far - you’d put your complete trust in your teachers, looking up to them oh so confident that they’d believe and protect you should the need ever arise, because you genuinely believed that they saw the best in you, even in spite of your faults and encounter track record. You guess that just wasn’t the case though, as that encounter in the staff room still makes you feel sick to your stomach, thinking about the way those same teachers you trusted looked at you with pity and still deemed you guilty of something you so viciously denied. 

They still look at you with pity - Mr. Triton and Mr. Jinn don’t even try to hide it, maybe not even realizing that you’re looking at their expressions when they’d tried to start up a conversation with you. It frustrates you, because it feels like they have no right to pity you when they were the ones there in that meeting and they didn’t try to vouch for you. They didn’t even listen when you told them you were innocent! Surely they have enough faith in you to believe in you, right?!...right? Whatever the case the whole situation has you dreading coming into school everyday, and as the days pass you’re more and more convinced that things would be better if you could just get out of going at all - there’s plenty of other things you could be doing where you wouldn’t have eyes watching your every move, nor the weight that comes with them.

You don’t know if it’s luck or sheer irony that the teacher responsible for picking you up from class is late one day, but it’s the final nail in the coffin before you decide ‘fuck it, I’m out of here’ and skip class. For the past few days you’d felt pinned, suffocated with eyes constantly on you from the moment you step onto school grounds to the moment you’re out of sight, which makes it oddly freeing to be able to run around without those disapproving gazes - but you don’t want to waste time and risk getting caught, not when you’re so close to skipping and being free for at least a single day. Consequences be damned, you don’t care anymore. Even though everything is still weighing heavy on your mind stepping out of the grounds feels...liberating, and you only dare a glance back once you’re out of the school gates, catching sight of students still in their classroom completely oblivious that you’ve disappeared from their ranks. Telling the teachers where you were going was the last thing on your mind, but you at least have the foresight to send a message to the Summoner’s group chat before you turn off your phone and bolt from the premises, letting them know that you were going out for a day to clear your head. 

It was only supposed to be that one day, you swear, but things have never really had a penchant for going your way. If you had stayed just a few hours longer you’d have learned about the person clearing your name; you’d have seen the teachers’ mad dash through the school when they’d realized you weren’t in any of your classes; you’d have watched the outroar as the Summoner’s learned of the truth in your stead. But you’d missed it all, and spent the day wandering anywhere and everywhere instead - wherever you could go where you wouldn’t risk running into any faculty you went, stewing in thoughts and trying to forget just about everything that had happened for as long as you could before you were inevitably brought back to the school. 

Only that didn’t happen; you were able to crash at a friend’s house on the first night, called in a favor with a nearby guild for a place to sleep on the second night, and the hours in between were spent either wandering or getting dragged into fights - how ironic that even now you couldn’t avoid getting involved in other people’s problems even if you tried - it was seriously getting old. In the meantime, the Summoners are the only ones who get word about what’s happening, but even then you keep it vague so that you don’t worry them, not to mention you don’t want them to needlessly lie if they get questioned by the teachers concerning your whereabouts. Which is exactly what happens; the teachers are all worrying themselves sick by the time the third day rolls around without hide or hair of you, and it’s clear that there’s regrets voer what had transpired over the whole week. Jinn’s rolling your last encounter over and over in his head, wondering if there was something that he could have said that would have made you decide to stay put - maybe letting you know you had someone on your side - but the what-ifs won’t change the fact that you left. Triton’s still cursing how long it took for the news of your innocence to come to life, the thought of how you must have felt being looked at with such suspicion making guilt crawl up his spine and settle in his mind. And Mononobe doesn’t stop looking for you for a second - even if you scream at him or scold him or ignore him completely he needs to see that you’re okay and doesn’t want your last conversation with him being left on such bad terms. One thing is for certain though; they need to find you, and soon.

Things finally come to a head on the third day. Usually during after school hours you’d try to make yourself scarce in the area, but this time you weren’t so lucky. All too quickly you’re dragged into a spat with someone itching to boost their ego with an app battle, and though it was clear they’re all bark and no bite it’s tedious and you want it over with quickly. You just wish it was that simple, as the moment you ready your sacred artifact, watching your opponents prep to set up a battle zone, two figures block your view, standing almost protectively in front of you as they activate their respective sacred artifacts. You don’t even have to see them to recognize them - Mr. Triton and Mr. Jinn are both loud as they declare their presence, stepping into the fight in your stead. Before this week you would have laughed seeing the two of them standing side by side talking big about protecting you; but now? You feel your heart sink into your stomach - this could not have been the worse time to see them.

Mercifully, the battle staves off the inevitable conversation for a little while longer, as the three of you have to focus back on the fight at hand; your teachers are skilled, or at least driven by something to end the battle, and you aren’t willing to play around just to avoid what comes next, so it isn’t long before the person who challenged you and his friends to all back off, releasing the battle zone as they flee back into the crowds to nurse their mental wounds. You almost want to disappear into those crowds with them before you can get caught again, however the moment you turn you’re immediately accosted by Jinn and Triton, the two teachers fighting over each other to get the most concerned word in - where have you been? Why did you run away? Are you hurt?! Their concern is sincere, you can tell as much from their faces since hiding their emotions isn’t exactly their strong suit. And right over their shoulders you can see Mr. Mononobe too as he approaches to join the three of you, having not been involved in the battle zone for obvious reasons; but the sight of all three of them in the same place reminds you so much of that day you’d been accused and the emotions burn in your throat like poison.

There’s venom laced in your tone as you ask them why they stepped in, effectively silencing the two teachers as they share a brief glance and answer simultaneously. Hearing them talk about teachers protecting their students you have to bite your tongue because surely they know how hypocritical that sounds, right? But they keep talking, rambling on about making sure you’re safe and protecting you when you need it and it’s like a trigger, sending everything frothing to the surface. You laugh, bitter and sarcastic before asking if they’re serious - they've gotta be kidding - but you don’t even give them a chance to respond before your words claw their way out into the open and you just about lose it.

You don’t care about mincing your words as you practically bare your soul, everything that’s been welling up finally boiling over. You yell and scream and shout until your voice is hoarse because you’re so pissed that they have the audacity to talk about protecting you when they couldn’t even protect you from those accusations, from all those people thinking you destroyed something just because you could. They have no fucking right to even consider themselves your protectors when they looked at you with those same eyes full of pity, now turned to guilt in light of the truth that had come far too late, and you’re gonna make damn well that they know that you aren’t someone to be pitied - you’re vindicated, seething, and feeling so betrayed by the few adults that you were so sure that you could trust. But that trust was shattered - and that’s exactly why you left, because why would you want to be surrounded by people who couldn’t trust you?!

The emotion behind your voice is raw, and Jinn, Triton and even Mononobe seem to be at a loss for words - no words of reassurance, no advice, no words of wisdom - and that just twisted the knife in deeper when you’re met with no resistance whatsoever. You honestly don’t know what you expected - some kind of fight or rebuttal would justify these feelings that you have - but when you receive nothing of the sort in response you lose the wind in your sails and you choke on your shouts. Your words fail you, turning into sputtering and sharp gasps when you finally buckle and sink to your knees, wiping uselessly at your face as your eyes burn with the sting of tears - a feeling you’ve gotten so familiar with this past week it makes you loathe the feeling. If you could you’d still be yelling, but you just can’t bring yourself to do it - you’re tired, whittled down to your bare bones and you don’t even have the energy to be angry or care that you’re having what you’re pretty sure is a breakdown that wasn’t in the safety of your dorm room. You want to just curl up and disappear - just for a few days, that would be okay, right? Just until you can feel something in your chest that didn’t hurt like hell. The Summoners would understand, you think, they always did - they’d trusted you at least, when it felt like most didn’t. Why could they have been the ones to swoop in and help you? It’s a silly thought, but you feel like you at least wouldn’t be bawling like you are now if it had been them instead of the teachers; you can just imagine how they must be watching you cry in front of them.

Damn, this whole thing really was just a mess....