2025-10-15: Doom and Other Study Practices
- Log: 2025-10-15: Doom and Other Study Practices
- Cast: Minako Arisato, Suzume Fukura
- Where: Iwatodai Dormitory, Portl Island
- OOC Date: October 15, 2025
- IC Date: July 26, 2012
- Summary: While trying to study, Minako and Suzume discuss recent events and life -- and wonder about the true nature of Mitsuru Kirijo.
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Uuuuugh.."
It's with that low, groaning protest that Minako Arisato's studying comes to an end. She falls forward -- face-first -- and into the open notebook she has. It is after exams, which means that studying is onto the next one. The rather last-minute studying, at that.
And this one is in literature, a subject that Minako is rather unsure of.
"I'm doomed," she declares to the not-as-empty-as-expected lobby of Iwatodai dormitory.
The co-leader of SEES is many things. A dedicated student is not one of them.
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Last night, Suzume (along with several other members of SEES) went to Taro's Atelier in search of answers, or at least in an attempt to investigate. That she did it during exam time was... perhaps slightly inadvisable, but not as much as going to Tartarus would be - she hadn't had to stay up past midnight to do it.
But that means she has to get back on the exam train. Her worst subject (math) has already had its exam pass; her better subjects (English, history) are the ones upcoming, which means she (hopefully) is going to do better from here on out.
Still, she skipped her workout today to study a little more, Just In Case. She is coming down the stairs, having changed out of uniform and into her Hanshin Tigers T-shirt and a pair of jeans just in time to see Minako faceplant.
"Damn, I didn't think it was THAT bad," Suzume says, sympathetic. "Did Kirijo-senpai get to you too?" Suzume may be admitting she already spoke to her once about exams...
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Not yet, but the wheels of destiny are in motion," Minako groans, still with her face inside her notebook. After a second, though, she sits up -- there's a bit of a 'sproing' to how she does so energetically. She lifts a hand in a wave. "It's the literature exam. I'm no good with that."
She hesitates for a second, noticing the Hanshin Tigers shirt -- nice mascot, good team, she thinks -- and then she cracks a smile. "What about you, Fukura-chan? How's your exams going? Especially with... that investigation you and the others did."
She heard about it, even if she didn't go.
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Suzume is a well-known (well, if you pay attention to that kind of thing) fan of the Tigers. She has occasionally put on a game on the television, which frequently also attracts wild Junpeis, but this isn't the first time she's shown up with the shirt either.
"Literature sucks," Suzume says, dropping her books on the across from Minako. "Not as bad as math at least, but I'm not gonna say I'm looking forward to it." How's she doing? "...Well, I'll be glad when I don't have to study any more." Suzume is not a horrible student, but she's not a great one either, and she's kind of dropped off this year. (It's not SEES related. She started to underachieve before that.)
She seats herself a moment later, falling into the seat with less grace than usual. "And I'd say 'don't ask about the investigation', but that just makes people more likely to ask, so... it was a circus. There were clowns. That is all."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Yeah. The older classics are hard and reading them takes forever," Minako says. She isn't a big fan of the more archaic literature -- or trying to figure out what it says, much less what the teachers and researchers think it says.
She looks up, then, and she cracks a smile. "Me too. We only have a little bit to go, right?"
She listens, though, to the explanation of the Atelier. That--that is not what Minako expected from the Atelier. She isn't sure what she expected, really...
"Clowns? A circus?" she asks, dumbfounded. "Were, uh. Were they dangerous? That sounds creepy."
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Suzume is pretty sure the teachers are in on it and making up what you're supposed to learn from some of those books.
"I hope so. It's always guessing, what they want you to put down about the writing." Suzume leans back in her chair. Minako was one of the girls she didn't mind in SEES, though it's not like she knows her terribly well; she's friends with her brother, though, so there's a certain bit of... vague familiarity, in that she's seen the two of them together before. So she relaxes a bit, tilting the chair in a way that looks slightly dangerous...
...so she can reach into her bag she set down on the floor and pull out a can of Moonkist, which gets placed on the table. "Little bit," she says. "There were some carnival games, though they were rigged. A ride," she adds, a little grudgingly. She did not like the ride at all. "And a Humour - like a Shadow - at the middle. I want to look up the kinds, they reminded me of something Edogawa-sensei said." Well, that (sort of) explains the book she pulls out, which IS history, but is from the library - something about the Greeks.
"I'd be way happier if I got, like... extra credit for that. Or Mementos. Do you think I'd get it if I asked?" Suzume is not serious. How could she possibly ask? None of the teachers know about it!
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Yeah... no kidding. It's all relative," Minako says with a sigh. She shifts a little in her seat -- and there's a moment of seeing how Suzume leans back in her chair. Is she about to tilt? No, she saves herself -- and she fetches that drink.
"That's intense," Minako says. A moment later, then she smiles brightly. This isn't unusual for her. "That sounds pretty intense. And weird. I'm used to places like Tartarus... and Mementos."
She shakes her head. Then, she blinks.
Minako laughs, sheepishly, and she tugs at her collar. "We~ell, I don't think you can ask. That stuff is super secret, you know?" she says. "Unless you ask... uh... indirectly. But you can't mention Mementos or this Atelier place. Edogawa-sensei doesn't know what that is."
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
"I'm not *stupid*, I know I can't tell him," Suzume grumbles with a hint of sharpness in her voice, as she pulls out a SECOND book - this one the history she's actually supposed to be studying. Even she doesn't know which one she's going to spend her time with first, not yet.
Both of them end up stacked neatly next to her and she opens neither of them. "I'm still gonna investigate Mementos," she says. "If you want to come, you're welcome. But I'm not doing any of that tonight, obviously. It can wait until after we're done with exams."
A pause as she opens her can of soda. Then: "Speaking of, I heard if we do well, Ikutsuki-san might be planning something. But I dunno what it is. Have YOU heard anything? Or from Kirijo-senpai either." She wouldn't tell Suzume what she was planning and didn't know what Ikutsuki was, or claimed not to.
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Sorry, sorry... I just have to make sure," Minako says, holding up both hands -- showing the undersides of her palms -- and then shakes her head quickly.
"I definitely want to come," she says. "I'm curious about Mementos. I mean... after we found you and your friend there, and the handful of other times I've been. After exams, sure, but..."
She shakes her head. "I feel like there's something to it, somehow."
She doesn't explain more. Then, Minako blinks -- the question about the plans of Ikutsuki and Mitsuru gives her pause. She glances to the side, then she shakes her head. "I'm not sure... something post-exams, probably," she says. "They didn't mention anything to me, but--uh--they don't tell me everything."
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
"C'mon, give me SOME credit..." Suzume huffs. "Relax. I wouldn't tell him. And even if I did, he wouldn't believe me - well. Actually of all the teachers, he might, I suppose. But I won't. You don't have to worry about *me*."
As for Mementos: "There's definitely something to it," Suzume agrees. "I volunteered to lead some groups to find out what we could. I'll let you know next time, since you're still interested. We didn't get much deeper, though I did get some stuff out of it... and Tartarus. I didn't know there was *treasure* in there like that."
They don't tell her everything... "Me neither. I kinda wish they would, but on the other hand I'm just as glad Kirijo-san doesn't spend too much time thinking about me. Brr. She makes me nervous and I don't know why." Because you misbehave, Suzume. That's why. "So not even our team leaders know... huh. I wonder..."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"I'm glad," Minako says. "And I believe you!"
She tilts her head to the side -- and then she cracks a smile. "Yeah. The treasure is kind of weird--my brother says it's like a game, but I didn't play those," she says. She shakes her head, then. "I've found some neat stuff there. And... uh, stuff I could sell for extra yen?"
She shrugs.
"It was kind of weird, but neat," Minako says. "And--uh--yeah, she can be intense. But... I think she's a good person. She just doesn't let on much, and she can be... really intense." Minako laughs sheepishly.
"Whatever it is... I hope it's cool!"
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Suzume, who *does* play those, agrees, "Yeah, in a treasure chest and all. I would've been REALLY suspicious if I'd gotten, like, a suit of armour out... How would it know how big to make it, or what we could wear? I'm not gonna do anything in chain mail or anything. Or weapons - "
She pauses. "Well, I got my tonfa from Mementos, so maybe that one does happen." It's not like she had anything before them.
Suzume finally flips her book open. She doesn't really start to read it, though. "And the yen, yeah... I don't exactly have a LOT, so I'm not gonna complain about that. I made like five thousand yen the time we went down last, since we found a bunch of money... I could've bought a game with that."
A pause. "I didn't," she adds, hastily. "Just to be clear. But it would be nice. I can afford to get dinner out sometimes for the cost of Shadow bits. And yeah, it would be nice if it was something cool. Hitomi-chan guessed that it'd be, like, some cultural trip to a theatre or something, if Kirijo was interested."
Last connect was from c-69-138-215-77.hsd1.md.comcast.net on Wed Oct 15 14:48:13 2025.
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"I'd take a weapon," Minako says. "But armor? Or clothes? That would just be sort of weird. Though... I guess, if it's a cognitive space, maybe it responds to what we're thinking or wanting? And then the armor just resizes itself?"
She scratches her cheek.
"That is weird, but maybe cool," she says. Then cracks a smile -- and she nods. "Yeah. I used it on some train tickets to Tokyo, coffee, and some shopping. No judgment here."
She hesitates, then, at what Hitomi guesses. Then, Minako nods. "You know, something kinda high-brow... that does sound like her."
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Suzume scowls at the thought. "I don't think I want my clothes to cognitively resize themselves," she says. "Well, maybe if I could just do it in my bedroom and make sure it stayed put... that'd be convenient if you need a weird size or something. ...though I'm fine. But I DEFINITELY don't want them to cognitively resize themselves if someone else is around! So I think I'll stick with weapons and stuff."
'Stuff', like the headband she's currently got from Tartarus. Some members of SEES have already seen it...
"I never liked shopping much," Suzume admits. "It's a lot of looking at things you can't afford, and then you just want them. Coffee's okay though. And Tokyo. I want to go to Tokyo again sometime soon, I haven't been in a while - just Sumaru. But I'm definitely not going until after exams."
That sounds like her... "Yeah, unfortunately it does," Suzume says, with a sigh. "I don't want to go to the theatre. That's like school."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"I thought of it more like... you open the box, and it's magically the right size. But if it changes later, that'd be weird," Minako says, with a frown -- and then a shake of her head. "Weapons and stuff seems like the way to go."
She smiles, then. There is an understanding nod on the topic of shopping. "Yeah, shopping can be like that. Sometimes it's fun to see the really fancy stuff but wouldn't drop that kind of money -- or cool things I can afford, when I can afford them."
She sighs. "Yeah," she agrees. "Not until after exams... it's a shame, I wish I could." She tilts her head. "The theater could be fun, though. It depends on the show, I feel like."
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
"See, I thought you meant it changed the way you wanted it," Suzume says. "Which sounds great, until SOMEONE thinks too hard on an operation and you have your very own armoured bikini. And while I've seen those in video games, you couldn't PAY me to wear one!"
She's flustered herself, somehow, and she takes a long drink before she says anything else. "Yeah, well. If you can afford them." Suzume's family is not wealthy - rather the opposite; by the standards of Gekkoukan, her family is on the poorer side. Her father is blue-collar. She seems to realize this - though it doesn't show in her current outfit, some of her clothes are a little shabby.
Suzume snorts. "Theatre's for rich boring people," she says. "Or literature class, which you already complained about. Now, if we were going to a movie..."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Yeah, we'd never have to do something like that in SEES!" Minako promises. The future, meanwhile, trembles.
Minako pauses, when Suzume says that. And while she has had difficulties in her life, money hasn't been one. Quite the opposite, her parents' money has been a source of conflict with her family. She smiles, after a moment.
"Sorry," she says. "I should have been more thoughtful."
Then, she laughs -- and there's a nod. "Yeah, that's true... I'd be curious to see what kind of plays. But... it's probably the boring kind, not the movie kind."
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Suzume's future remains uncharted.
"It's *fine*." Though despite her words, Suzume doesn't meet Minako's gaze for a few moments, looking down at her (now-opened) textbook instead. Though she's not really studying, sh ejust needs to put her eyes somewhere, and not at Minako, for a couple reasons.
She's happy to change the subject: "Yeah, like... what if it's in French? I don't speak French. I don't know why she uses it, ever, nobody understands what she's saying..." She lets out a breath. "Well, whatever. I guess we'll find out. Or enough people will do badly that we won't get whatever it is after all, if there even is anything."
She groans. "I just hope it's not because of me. I don't think I could TAKE that."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
Minako notes that glance downward. There is a pang of guilt... but she files it away. Something to know and learn better about, in the future.
"I'm not very good at French, admittedly..." She trails off for a moment. "...I think it might be a style thing? Or maybe if she grew up in Kagurazaka or something?"
The part of Tokyo that is, essentially, 'Little Paris.'
Minako sighs as Suzume raises the specter that one person could be at fault. And considering her notebook -- and the looming literature exam -- she screws her face up, then nods. "Only one thing for it, then... we better hit the books!"
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
That's not even the entire reason Suzume avoids Minako's eyes for a few moments. BUt she's back to her usual reasonably good humour, at least, after a short period of time.
"I figured she got raised in some fancy place," Suzume says, because she frankly doesn't think a whole lot about Mitsuru and it was literally the first thing that came to mind. "Or here. Her family owns the school, anyway."
'We'd better hit the books...'
"Yeah, I guess," she says with a sigh, pushing aside her extracurricular reading - the bit on Greek philosophy. "I told her that I wouldn't be the one failing. And I know I don't have the worst grades," thanks Junpei, "but I'm not gonna drag the group down, at least."
"You mind if I stick around when I do? I'll behave." By which she means, 'not distract Minako too much'.
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Probably so," Minako says, with a nod. "Tutors, I bet."
She glances at the reading on Greek philosophy -- and then she looks back up and smiles. "Yeah." she says. "I don't want to, either. No way I'll be the worst, though!"
A beat, and then Minako adds: "Yeah, of course! I don't mind at all."