Benjamin can say with reasonable confidence, thanks to the many hours he's spent touring museums, that things like this don't happen often. The rowdiest he ever sees it is during school trips, tiny hands linked together only when they aren't pointing at the displays, the crowd following behind their teacher like a brood of sugar-filled ducklings. There's no urgency in the other's movements, or in anyone else, so either Ben's the only one who's noticed, or the other really isn't crazy. "If I trust that, do I become an accessory to the crime?" He laughs. "In all seriousness and a little bit of curiosity, what are you doing?"

The comment and laughter elicited from the other put Ayaan at ease. It was uncommon they got caught fixing exhibits normally with the hours they worked, but when it was bothering them and needed to be fixed, it was usually a moment like this. So the positive response let Ayaan get comfortable and take their time coming out. "Someone moved a sign to where it shouldn't have been. It's one thing to not put the display out how I laid it out for them, but to completely mislable was bothering me."

"I have to admit, I was leaning towards crazy. Specifically, the idea that you got dared to sneak in and take something. It brought up the moral conundrum of if I should say something or pretend like I saw nothing," Kendra said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Hopefully I don't have to come up with an answer to that question. So if you're not part of the exhibit and not crazy, what are you?"

"I didn't think interactive exhibits were a thing just yet." Gus points out with a shrug and a laugh, gesturing vaguely towards them. "Let me guess, you work here and are just fixing something? Or have my deductive reasoning skills gone to shit?"

"If I got a grant for a few million dollars, then maybe." They replied, coming out of the exhibit as they spoke. "You are actually incredibly correct. It was a sign that went rogue. And we just, like, can't have that." They reasoned. "One of the perks of curation is also sometimes doubling as your own facilities crew."

go out and do stuff, winifred's therapist's voice rang through her head as she aimlessly glanced at yet another boring display - museums were never really her thing, but it seemed like a normal thing to do for people who really had nothing else going on - and she had nothing else going on. she moved on a moment later to the next display, wondering if perhaps she was supposed to be getting something from this, only to find somebody standing in the center of attention. "y'know if you stand still enough, you could get some laughs. or craps, i don't know. whatever you're more into." she shrugged, her tumbler of wine resting peacefully between her hands as she watched on. "everyone's crazy." she added a second later, not judging.

The idea of just standing in an exibit for a joke or to scary people made their nose scrunch up. It was hard enough to keep everything interesting enough being a free museum, they didn't need to think of making it like a sideshow. "I'm into neither, not really the vibe I was going for in this place." They stated, wiping off the sign they had been moving before coming out of the exhibit. "I'd like to think crazy is subjective, but clinical diagnosis are complicated and not the same thing. The depths people go when they are in a hole is this whole other thing compared to erratic behavior. that stuff, is what we call crazy."

Morgan pondered the question as if she wasn't really sure what her exact egg consumption was like. "If I'm really craving it, I can probably go through 6 a week? I like a fried egg on most things, or I'll make scrambled eggs for breakfast," she explained. "But also I always feel like I should have more just in case but then I also worry about the eggs going bad? And honestly, I don't even know how long it takes for eggs to go bad!" she rambled.

So, that was the essential question she had stuck in her ramblings right at the tail end. "Oh, well if that's actually your questions, a while. It takes like over two weeks. Plus, you put them in water and see if they float. If so, they are probably bad... But also just like, use your eyes and see if the sucker looks bad when you open it." Never ask Ayaan too much about obscure topics. They always did this sort of theorizing and fact check over most things, finding joy in the process of things.

open starter

Ayaan was sitting in the foyee of the museum where there was a few tables and chairs set up for those wanting a break to eat or sit as they usually did around this time of day. They were looking over an article they had been sent while eating their sandwich when someone came to join them at the table. They looked up, seeing if the other would make a move to talk to them or just abide in silence as strangers, Ayaan thought it would be the latter just when the other asked them a very straight forward question. “Oh, Uhm, you’re in the atrium for the Anthropology Museum. Do you know where you’re supposed to be going?” They asked, fairly used to students of all ages from the university getting lost around this time of year as new students arrived.

status: open starter @chqstarter where: famers' market

Ayaan loved the farmers market. This was the only place they could get a lot of vegetables in one spot at a good price. They were not a big spender for most things, but somehow they always got sucked into spending most of their food budget at the market every week from wandering stall to stall.