Afternoon at the Museum

[ohgoodgrief]

Who: Yang... and you!
What: It's time for a field trip to the Musée de l'Armée in Paris, France. The afternoon is in the museum. But Yang took everyone at like 10 AM as an excuse to get out and see Paris.
Where: Paris! And at the Army Museum.
When: February 25
Notes: The following prompts are if you want to interact with Yang directly! Otherwise, please feel free to use this as an excuse to do threads in Paris! Yang's taking basically anyone -- heck, even other teachers, TA's, and RA's -- because he really just wanted an easy field trip after grading all the papers and despairing over the fact he might have made his courses too hard.

A. WE'RE ABOUT TO HAVE PARIS RIGHT NOW

[The helicopters have landed at Charles de Gaulle airport, everyone has bused into the city center, and it's now about 11:00 in the morning. They aren't supposed to be at the museum until two. Thus, standing in front of the crowd, Wen-li Yang...

...is due to give a speech.]

So, Paris! It's a pretty big deal.

[Hm, what else is important...]

Meet at the Army Museum at 2! And try to not get in too much trouble. Have fun!

[He'll hang around for a second in case anyone has questions.]

B. AND NOW: OLD STUFF!

[At about 1:57 PM, Yang comes running up with a sandwich still in his mouth and a paper cup with tea in it in hand. He skids to a stop in front of the museum's steps, looks around, and... peers at the people waiting for him.

Then, sheepishly, he waves.

The museum is much too big to do a guided tour. However, unlike the free roam period in Paris, Yang is actually a good source of information here. He roams between the different groups of students, answering questions, providing historical detail, and showing that he isn't actually terrible at his job all of the time.

He'd be easy to approach during any of this.]

Comments

[prisoneroffate]

Do you mean neapolitan ice cream? That's different.

[Also Ren's barista senses are mildly offended]

[yokeye]

Yes! So they have nothing to do with each other, then~! Wait! Like his actual horse, like those hunting trophies where they all have creepy glass eye replacements but the rest of them is like old dead skin!?

[Museums were horrible in so many ways.]

[prisoneroffate]

That's what I hear. His tomb is here too.

[yokeye]

[Uhh. Why.]

Okay, then~! Let's go see a corpse~!

[prisoneroffate]

Of course. You seem to be feeling better.

[yokeye]

[He's just going to pick a hallway and hope it's the right way to the tomb.]

Is it just Napoleon, or are there more bodies on display!? Do you think they're mummified, or skeletons?

[prisoneroffate]

I think he has some of his buddies there but as for the body, well... there you go.

[The tomb is quite ostentatious and flanked by four smaller tombs. No visible bodies though.]

[yokeye]

That's awesome~!

[The tomb is much more interesting than a coffin with skeletons, which is what he was picturing. He climbs over the stone half-wall thing to go take a closer look.]

[prisoneroffate]

[As Toki makes to climb, he'll feel a hand on his shoulder. Should he turn around, he'll see Ren attempting to restrain him, and also, quickly approaching, some security guards.]

[yokeye]

[And he doesn't make it all the way over, because Ren's holding him back. He looks over his shoulder, half-way over the little wall.]

What? We can't go look at it!? Why would they put it so far away in a big open space with elaborate floor tiles if we weren't supposed to go in there!?

[Those are security guards. Oh shit. Toki quickly gets off the wall and attempts to hide behind Ren and let him deal with it. He didn't actually get over the wall, technically like one foot maybe, but that doesn't count.]

[prisoneroffate]

[Ren sighs and goes to talk down the guard, speaking rapidly in French. For whatever it is worth, though, he and the guard are at least too distracted to watch Toki]

[yokeye]

[Ren and the security guard seem to be having a nice conversation, there's going to be no problems. But the tomb is right there, and he could get there and at least touch it. It's tempting. It's like the ghost of Napoleon himself is sending out these vibes to approach. He's going to get nothing out of this museum visit by reading plaques. Things must be experienced by touching. Really, he would at most be thrown out of the museum if caught, right? It's not like he was ever intending to come back here. And because it's a one time deal, he's going for it. He will touch Napoleon's tomb.

With one last glance at Ren and security guards, he vaults over the barrier and runs to the tomb, skidding a bit on the slippery floor. People definitely didn't come out here much. But there it is, shining in the glow of the museum lights. It's cold to the touch, as a tomb should be, he thinks. Should he climb it? Maybe take a picture from on top? Yes. Those were both good ideas.]

[prisoneroffate]

[Ren keeps talking. If he's cognizant to this, he may be doing Toki a solid. That does, however, come with the feeling of accruing debt.]

[yokeye]

[There are good angles for climbing; and it doesn't take him long to get to the top. He takes a few pictures of the statues and floor design, then one selfie with the victory sign. He must prove he got there, after all. Task completed, Toki climbs down as quickly as he can and runs back to where he and Ren had been standing before. Ren is still with the security guards. They couldn't be that interesting.]

Ren! Are you ready to go yet!?

[prisoneroffate]

[Ren bids the security guard farewell before walking back to where Toki is. His face clearly says "you owe me"]

[yokeye]

[That expression. He can't quite place it.]

What?

[Oh, he was...]

Did you distract them for me~!? That's amazing~! What did you say? Did you make up some elaborate story to keep them guessing and then at the end just ask where the bathroom is!? Oh, and just so we're clear on the circumstances here, I didn't ask you to do that, so~ I feel that this is not some bartered exchange and I, in fact, am not required, or even shall we say compelled, to perform any task or grant any favors for you in a false perception of a debt incurred for actions that were solely at your own discretion!

[prisoneroffate]

I asked him about the exhibits and assured him our professor was nearby and there was no need to tell him his student was trying to sneak onto the tomb.

[He gives Toki A Look]

I was correct that Professor Yang doesn't need to know, right?

[yokeye]

[He doesn't know Professor Yang that well, so he can't judge what's likely to happen if he finds out.]

He does not need to know~!

[prisoneroffate]

I hope your pictures turn out.

[He'll leave it at that for now.]

[yokeye]

[He's not going to worry about it. As far as he's concerned, he can't possibly have anything that Ren wants, and is completely unreliable for any potential favors.]