[closed]

[messianic]

WHO: Joshua and Minato
WHERE: The Town, but the edge of the woods where Joshua is being Sketch.
WHEN: April 28th, sure
WHAT: There's never a bad time to add new skills to your knowledge. Probably even these skills.
WARNINGS: Joshua is just really sketchy.

[Wanderings in the early evening around the fringes of the forest is probably really none-too-wise, but Minato's had a lot on his mind lately. The shadow situation had been pretty nasty before it had faded into nothingness, and while Minato still caught himself twitchily looking towards his shadow when he thought it moved inappropriately...

So far, everything's been fine.

Still, pacing and wandering is a better way to get his mind in order than to remain cooped up in the house he's staying in, especially with Vriska still a statue (horrifically so).

That's why he's out there, for better or for worse--but at the very least, spying Joshua is a good distraction. Probably. So he'll naturally approach, lifting a hand from his pocket to wave.]

Joshua-san...?

Comments

[whereabout]

[ Joshua's shadow had been...surprisingly tame, compared to most. Or maybe (he finds this more likely) it just knew it didn't really need to try that hard to sabotage him, considering how good he is at sabotaging himself.

Example: the fact that he's really having a hard time not overthinking the fact that there are things in the forest that have no trouble hijacking his mind as easily as Weissmann did. He hasn't been sleeping that well since the forest, and despite his attempts to downplay it, he's pretty sure that if he doesn't actually start doing a better job of sleeping soon, he's not going to be able to convince Estelle that seriously, it's no big deal.

(The fact that she'll probably get more concerned if she knows he's toying with the idea of whipping up some mild soporifics should probably be weighing a bit more heavily into his thinking.)

So it's a good thing that if somebody catches him out here, that it's Minato. Minato is...weirdly chill about this stuff. ]

Hi.

[ Nothing...to see here...really? ]

[messianic]

[Joshua... should probably be more concerned with all of those things, yeah. For Minato's part... he's curious, admittedly, but not too bothered.

Joshua is, after all, ninja anime batman, so of course he's doing shady things at the fringe of the woods.]

Hello... is everything okay?

[What... is exactly happening over here, Joshua.]

[whereabout]

Mmhmm.

[ That is...kind of hard to tell whether it's supposed to be affirmative or not, actually? ]

I just wanted to see what was growing out here.

[ Considering that they're standing around a bunch of plants that look decidedly not like they're much good for eating, he apparently has a purpose for this that doesn't have much to do with the food situation. ]

[messianic]

[Yeah these plants look particularly Not Edible.

And Joshua's out here alone, at this time of the day... Hm.]

For what purpose, exactly, if you don't mind me asking?

[He'll just come right out and ask bluntly.]

[whereabout]

[ Minato does have that way of just cutting straight through the crap when he thinks someone's In A Mood, doesn't he? ]

I was thinking of mixing something up.

[messianic]

[He sure does.... and it seems like there was a good reason to be concerned, too.]

... "Something"...?

Like what?

[whereabout]

Just something to help me get to sleep.

[ That sounds better than saying "sedatives," right? ]

[messianic]

[............ uh.]

Made out of...plants?

[whereabout]

Yeah. I mean, if these have the same properties as the ones from home...

[ He crouches, staring down one plant in particular. ]

...and if they even do anything, like this. [ Colorless, he means. If food doesn't taste, does that mean drugs...won't drug? ]

[messianic]

[That's...fascinating and all, Joshua, but--]

Why are you making sleeping drugs out of plants, Joshua-san?

[whereabout]

It's not a big deal, I've just had a little bit of insomnia lately.

[ This is completely normal and not to be worried about!! ]

[messianic]

[he's kind of worried about it!]

So your first choice is to make some drugs out of plants for it?

[JOSHUA...]

[whereabout]

It's fine, really. I know how to dose this stuff properly.

[ He is very precise! Do you doubt his precision, Minato. ]

[messianic]

I'm not really worried about that... more like your thought processes and why you're doing this in the first place.

[He doubts the man, not the method!!]

[whereabout]

[ Harsh. ]

I'm taking the most direct solution available to me to solve a problem. There's nothing wrong with that.

[messianic]

[........]

Well... no, but... why are you having troubles sleeping, Joshua-san?

[whereabout]

Overthinking things, probably. I'm good at that.

[ Come on Minato this is where we laugh it off and move on to other things!! ]

[messianic]

[Nope.]

Does Estelle-san know about this?

[whereabout]

[ Awkward. ]

She noticed I'm not sleeping that well. If I handle it, she won't have to worry about it.

[messianic]

So in other words, if she knew you were drugging yourself to sleep, she...

...wouldn't be happy?

[HUH, JOSHUA?]

[whereabout]

[ WHY DOES MINATO MAKE IT SOUND SO BAD ]

It's not as bad as you're making it sound.

[messianic]

[BECAUSE IT IS BAD.]

If you say so... I think I should probably let her know then.

[how's them apples, Joshua.]

[whereabout]

Has anyone ever told you you're completely ruthless?

[messianic]

[A peaceful, innocent blink.]

No.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[THAT ALL ASIDE--]

If you don't want to talk to Estelle-san about it, will you talk to me about it?

[whereabout]

[ Bullshit, Minato!

...but he knows protag determination well enough to know that he's not getting out of this now. ]

It's complicated.

[ Which is not a refusal, so much as a "let me figure out how to explain myself." ]