[ Has Joshua's ability to be shady in weird ways ever been in doubt?

He leads the way to the kitchen and steers Minato into the nearest chair before he starts rummaging around. ]

Are you okay with tea? I can just put it in water but I don't really recommend it.

[ More for "it tastes awful" than for any reasons related to the chemistry of all. ]

Anytime.

[ Seriously. It's not like he isn't used to doing things for people at weird hours, and this is much nicer than the kinds of things it used to be.

He gets some water started, and then gets everything ready in a cup while they're waiting for it to boil. ]

Do you know if anyone else has been having the same problem?

Like most things here.

[ He gives the cup a stir and slides it across the table as he sits down. ]

You might want to give that another minute or two. [ Or he might not. Joshua ain't gonna tell him how to take his tea.
But anyway - ]

It seems like a great deal of what we face is...very tailored to us. The forest expedition was proof of that, but this...and some of the quest rewards, too. [ Can he just burn those fucking dresses. ]

[ ...hmm. He lets that sit for a moment, before he picks up. ]

So were others here in our place, the town or whatever force is responsible would know about them, not us. And from that, it would likely follow that we, personally, were not deliberate choices, but random ones, or choices of convenience. Is that where you're going with this?

I hadn't thought too much about the monsters, but that makes sense, too.

After the forest, I thought that maybe someone was deliberately putting obstacles they knew would be difficult for us, personally, in our paths. But the more happens, the less it feels like someone is making deliberate decisions about everything at all. More like something...reacting to us.

[ He leans back in his chair and folds his arms. ]

After that last trial - Estelle and I both succeeded. We both got things that would've been nice, except for something else. Something that I would've found useful, except it had one trait that would make me not want to use it. Something she's excited about and would always love to get, except it was in horrible condition.

That sounds reasonable, yes. Like it's reflecting what we want, but the mirror is cracked. [ A brief pause. That sounds like something broken that requires a targeted effort to fix, but there are two directions this hypothesis can go, on further thought. ] Or if it's about how much power it takes...maybe it's something that'll right itself depending on how much we accomplish here.

[ As measured in how much color is restored. ]

[ A nod and a sigh. ]

I think it'd be hard to ascribe a logical motive for one person to do all of this. Something reactive makes more sense to me.

Something like that.

[ But hey, Minato seems...well, more tired, if that's even possible. ]

Talking about it probably isn't making sleep any easier, is it?

[ Joshua could read a bedtime story or count some sheep to him instead...? ]

[ ...MINATO, NO?

Joshua was halfway out of his chair to haul him onto the couch or something when Minato crashes, and then...stares for a moment when he sits up again. ]

Are you okay?

[ He's not sure what he expected, but it definitely wasn't that. ]

It's...not looking like it, no. And you really don't want to overdose with that.

[ Even if just doing it over and over again hoping that five seconds would add up to something eventually wasn't going to be tedious and ineffective as hell, there's no way anyone should ever take that much of this stuff, unless they want to maybe die.

(Joshua knows how to dose this stuff. He's a professional.) ]

Do you want to lie down, anyway?

[ Because that headache doesn't look fun, either. ]

[ Don't forget to eat your veggies and drink eight glasses of water a day. ]

You definitely shouldn't try to walk home like that. It's right over here.