19573/Don't Rob Museums

Don't Rob Museums
Date of Scene:	29 November 2024
Location:	A Dive
Synopsis:	Where in Longshot is the Luckiest Man Alive and Stirling is the Most Patient Man Alive.
Cast of Characters:	Stirling Winchester, Longshot

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Stirling Winchester has posed:
The bar Stirling works in is nothing special. It's a little run down, but still clean. Mostly the kind of place that, at least this time of day, is populated by heavy drinkers looking to drink alone in public. Usually. Today there's an exception. An older fellow, probably over 70, is at the bar with a pitcher of beer and a glass in front of him. He's got one of those hats on that old veterans wear, this one showing a Vietnam War Campaign Ribbon.

The old guy says to the less aged, "When I wasn't out on a patrol I was on the range. Shot out the barrel of my CAR-15 in about seven months, we were going through so much ammo." Both men chuckle.

Stirling tops off the other fellow's glass from the pitcher, "Yeah. I love the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge, but its so hot that it goes through barrels fast. And makes them so hot that if you do too much trigger pulling too fast they heat up and you start throwing rounds everywhere. They're great for long range applications, even if I did build one with a short barrel for reasons."

The two guys clearly have something in common. They're just chatting away happily.

Throughout the bar there are a few TVs. They usually play sports and the news, with one being on some type of combat sport whenever Stirling's working.

Longshot has posed:
One of the TVs set to the news hum with complaints of various super-related activities as usual, flicking briefly to the destruction of two exhibits at the Museum of Natural History earlier in the week. The Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda that housed the dinosaur replicas and the Mammals of Asia exhibits were almost completely destroyed. Footage of a battle between an actual dinosaur, a demonic figure, and a lone blonde man in leather were caught by security footage and had been replaying most of the week. Apparently, a series of artifacts were also stolen by the man, good shots of him had been taken, but no information as to his identity had been dug up by authorities all week and he remained at large. Information as to who was investigating or what was stolen had not been advertised, but tips on the stranger's identity would be compensated. Since then, he had been spotted at multiple places around New York, openly showing the artifacts to citizens, and yet, he remained unidentified and had yet to run into any related to the authorities trying to apprehend him.

The news conveniently changes to cover something else as a blonde man in leather walks into the bar with a spring in his step. Longshot has had a mostly great week! People have been very kind and giving to him in general, and though he has yet to return a single item he stole from the Museum of Natural History to their owners, he has learned a lot about his situation.

THIS is not just New York. This is the planet Earth. New York is one of many places human-peoples live. And other peoples, but mostly Human-peoples. The human peoples like him! No surprise there, but pointing out the number of fingers someone has sometimes makes the humans like him less and he shouldn't do that! More importantly, a few people have called him a 'mutie', which is odd and untrue. What it means and why it is untrue is unclear to Longshot, but he's not one to dwell on these things.

"I will not mention your fingers if you could help me get some directions! I seem to be turned around!" Longshot waves brightly as he approaches the bar, beaming at the two old-timers already sitting there, "Sorry, forget the fingers, I mean-I'm super lost! Where is somewhere that might have maps? Like not of the city of the Earth! I need a map of addresses!"

Stirling Winchester has posed:
"I tell you one thing, I don't miss the heat and humidity," the oldest guy says with a chuckle. Then the cell phone on his hip starts making noise and so the old man excuses himself to take the call.

When he sees the newcomer Stirling stops moving for a moment. Not only was this the guy from the boxing event he'd seen talking to the Juggernaut, this was the guy who vandalized and robbed a museum. Is he some kind of superpowered criminal, too?

The fingers get a glance and a shrug, folks can't help stuff like that. Stirling says, "You're probably looking for a library. That's where you want to start when you're looking for information most of the time."

The bartender lifts his chin in an upnod, "I'm Stirling. I remember seeing you at the boxing event the other night. Can I get you anything to drink?" From under the bar he produces a bowl of pretzels for the new arrival.

Longshot has posed:
Longshot had learned about 'addresses' recently after failing to mail a set of artifacts back to their owners. Once the patience of the postal worker had run thin, Longshot had been sent on his way knowing he needed money to mail things and addresses to ensure the package would arrive at the correct location. Who is Longshot to argue with rules like these? He might not yet have a firm grasp on 'money', but people having places to be made sense to him.

Thank goodness people keep offering Longshot food! Not having or understanding money might have a less lucky man starving, but as it stands he will grin and nod at the offer of food and drink, immediately swinging his backpack off, stowing it under a seat and plopping down at the bar.

"Thank you kindly! That's so nice of you! I'm not sure about the library though, they only have books there and when I asked them about getting a GED, they didn't have those either." Longshot hums brightly, "Yeah! I was there to help a friend! Great show that, but I didn't get to see all of it. I'm Longshot! Great to meet you! I'm sorry I don't recognize you, I don't have the best of memories."

Stirling Winchester has posed:
Stirling's doing his best to play it cool and keep things chill. No need to reveal he's been looking out for this guy for a little while, on account of the crime. When the introduction is given the bartender will nod his head deeply and smile, "Longshot is a very cool name. And there's no reason for you to recognize me, we didn't meet there. You're just..." There's a little pause, "You stand out in a crowd." Another pause, "But in a good way."

"What exactly are you looking for, anyway? I might be able to help. I mean, the internet is a very powerful tool if you know how to use it."

Longshot has posed:
A pretzel popped into Longshot's mouth with a grin, "Ya? I have been told the camera loves me!" His eyes moving up to all the fun things that drinks are named and he points at one with the most fun name, "I'll take one of those please!"

Any unease on Stirling's part is completely missed by Longshot, but at the offer of help, the already bright smile grows, "Really? Hey man, that's amazing! I'd love some help! But internet? What's that? I think someone said to go 'look up' things on a net, but all my looking up, it was always just the daystar and then the normal night stars, I didn't learn anything from looking up, you know? Was I on the wrong net? I stood there for a while!" As he speaks, he snags another pretzel and pulls up his backpack. Out of it he produces an ancient vase, easily recognizable as one of the artifacts missing from the museum. "This one is super loud and really wants to be buried again with it's owner. Incredibly offended and it's hard for me to think sometimes with how loud it gets-"He produces a smaller object, a thin clay tablet, "This one wants to go back to-I donno what it's called, they don't speak so much as -feel- a lot."

Stirling Winchester has posed:
"I got your drink coming right up," Stirling replies as he starts grabbing the stuff necessary to put together the cocktail. He is not the best bartender, but he gets the ingredients right.

"The internet is a series of tubes, I guess," the barman is not the best person to have asked this question to. "It's a thing where you can access pretty much all the knowledge our species has accumulated if you know what you're doing and you have enough money. You can get information on almost anything you're interested it, though." Stirling looks at Longshot for just a second, "Do you understand the word 'digital'? Also, where are you from?"

And then the stolen artifacts come out. "Well." A head shake as realization hits him, "Oh. You poor confused son of a gun."

Longshot has posed:
Another two artifacts are pulled out and the line up on the bar would likely give any archaeologist or historian a heart attack. It has not occurred to Longshot that carrying things around in his bag for a week might not be great for preservation, if he was aware that was something to be desired. Lucky that someone was finally willing to actually ask him what he needed help with, huh?

"Digital?" Hmmmmm, after a brief ponder, Longshot shrugs again, "Not really, I know someone has said the word in the past week at some point, but people say things I don't understand all the time. The tubes-net sounds really useful though! If I'd know that I would have probably had a much easier week! Where do I go to look up on the tubes to learn everything?"

A brief flash of confusion crosses Longshot's face, "I'm not a gun, or a son. I don't know what I am or where I'm from. I don't remember anything from before a week ago." Longshot pauses and leans forward, momentarily serious, "Do you know where I'm from or how I got here?"

Stirling Winchester has posed:
"The internet can be accessed through all sort of electronic gizmos, like this thing," Stirling produces his phone and slides it across the bar to his customer. "Its locked now, so only I can use it, but you can use the internet on one of these if you get one set up for you. And I'll look stuff up on my device and show you if we need to do that."

When corrected, the bartender will nod his head deeply and says, "I apologize. It's an expression." His hands are flat on the surface of the bar so he can put some weight on them, "I know nothing about where you're from or how you got here. We got some stuff to figure out." He gestures at the ancient artifacts, "These things told you to take them, you say?" He's not disbelieving. "Weirder things happen, I guess."

Stirling grins for a second and then says, "Um. So you took this stuff from a place called a museum. Things in a museum are there because they're being shared by everyone, so anybody can look at the stuff and learn from it and study it. The owners of everything in museums either want their stuff to be there or they're dead and its archeology and not theft. I think they have to be dead a certain number of years, though, so don't just be going to wakes and taking the flowers."

Longshot has posed:
The disappointment that Stirling doesn't know him is palpable, Longshot deflates, sighs heavily and will sip his drink. This is enough to perk him back up. Funny named drink tastes fun, great how that works out! More drink and pretzels and Longshot will check out the phone curiously, "Where would I get a phone from? The internet?" This sounds like the most useful net Longshot could imagine and he really needs some. One. Whatever it is.

As the topic shifts back to the artifacts, Longshot will sigh again, "Sort of talk. Sort of feel. I can read objects that have, I don't know, been loved? Been important? Not everything is like that, but a lot of things are. That museum had a LOT of them. These ones didn't want to be there. I am trying to get them all back to their owners, but I'm having a hard time. I've been asking around a lot, but none of them know where their owners are, just where they were. And they don't really give me firm names? Just memories and I don't understand all the words in the memories."

Longshot will return to munching on pretzels, a frown flickering across his face, "I was told museums are full of stolen things. Also, if the vase wants to be buried in the ground with a dead person, why are the living people upset about that?"

Stirling Winchester has posed:
"I'll help you get a phone if you want," Stirling offers. "In fact, I think I should probably try to get someone to cover the rest of my shift so I can just generally try to help you get sorted out."

"Okay, so objects of personal significance or importance? Makes sense, all things considered. And whether or not museums are full of stolen things is debatable. I think a lot are, but legally they're not doing anything wrong. And its not that people are upset about where the vase wants to be, its that they don't know what they vase wants. Most folks don't get any feelings or anything from objects, no matter how important they are."

Longshot has posed:
As per Longshot's charmed existence, it is incredibly fortunate that it is Stirling that Longshot has run into. Someone that is willing to stop everything and help Longshot rather than attempting to arrest him for his recent crimes. Oblivious to how luck has smiled upon him again, Longshot will hum with a slight worry, "To be clear, I didn't steal any flowers. But people do know important items feel things, don't they? Why else would tokens of affection or thanks exist? People are what Make the item important. Surely when everyone agrees something is important, that is enough, isn't it? Does it help if I tell the museum that the vase wants to serve it's purpose and be buried with it's person. Not any person, the one it was made for. It's a grieving gift of some kind."

"But I would appreciate the help with a phone if you have the time, that's very kind of you." Longshot will tap the other objects, a slight nervous appearing, "Do you want me to give them all back? It seems like some people have been really upset with me about the whole thing, I wanted to apologize to Mr. Roosevelt about the dinosaurs that were wrecked in the fight, but they tried to arrest me."

Stirling Winchester has posed:
"So, because of archeology, the vase is important to more than just the person it was buried with," Stirling explains. "The vase is now important to everyone who comes into the museum and sees it. Its doing more good with them than stuck in the ground or a crypt or something where, if it hadn't been found by archeologists, might have been taken by regular thieves who would have sold it for personal gain."

He chuckles softly and shakes his head, "People don't know that important items can feel. I didn't know that they could until this very conversation. I'm suddenly hoping that my stuff isn't very important, though." A big grin at that remark.

"I would like to help you return the items," Stirling tells Longshot. "I think it would be best if we tried to consult a person called an attorney, maybe." Then a little break, "You broke Roosevelt's dinosaurs? Theodore or Franklin?"

Longshot has posed:
"Theodore's." The guilt crawling under Longshot's skin is clear as Stirling's words seem to settle and be understood, he shifts uncomfortably and down's the rest of the drink, "I didn't mean to, one of the ladies kept trying to eat me. But not all items really feel in the way you and I do, it's more like reading all the feelings people have had about them and fulfilling their purpose and I don't know, it's very inconsistent and depends on stuff. Some of your stuff is important, being important to just you is enough usually." Longshot frowns at the artifacts and taps them all again.

"I don't know Stirling, maybe if I did do a bad thing I should let them arrest me. Me not knowing doesn't make it not wrong."

Stirling Winchester has posed:
"The good Roosevelt? Jeez, he'd be upset about his dinosaurs if he weren't long dead," Stirling tells Longshot with a nod. "Great conservationist, believed strongly in protecting nature for future generations to enjoy. Something I'll tell you about him, though, was he'd be okay with breaking a few dinosaurs if you put up a good fight protecting yourself. Teddy Roosevelt was a warrior of much renown."

The bartender shakes his head, "You might end up getting arrested, but the law is not necessarily everyone's friend. That's why you need a lawyer, to make the law work right for everybody. Don't ever say anything to the police without your lawyer present, either."

Longshot has posed:
The brief crushing fear that Longshot's destruction of dinosaurs has killed a great man is replaced with equally massive relief, "That is amazing to hear. Thank goodness, that's very lucky that of all the people, at least I didn't mess that one up!" This Roosevelt guy sounded pretty great, much more like the hero Longshot would like to be.

Longshot seems to settle on a course of action and the smile returns with a nod. He stands and starts putting the artifacts back into his backpack, "Things usually work out for me, but if you say so, I won't. Can we get an lawyer and an attorney and a phone in the same place?"

Stirling Winchester has posed:
"Yeah, Teddy Roosevelt tried hard to put good into the world. There's even a type of bear named after him, I'll introduce you to one some time," Winchester says with a smile before he starts messing with his phone.

"I've got someone coming in soon, but we'll need to go different places. Phones we can get at a lot of locations, but lawyers and attorneys are the same thing and we need a thing called a Bar Association to find one of them. The phone will let us contact the Bar Association. I'll show you how to do all that."

As the artifacts start going into a bag Stirling says, "Maybe, instead of a bag, we can put that stuff in my locker? I think its better if it doesn't get moved around too much."

Longshot has posed:
"There is so much know and so many things have such complicated stuff around them!" The exasperation is brief, Longshot stopping his packing up and nodding, "Okay, yeah! That's a great idea! I only took the loudest things that I could carry. Where do you want them?" It's a good thing Longshot ended up at the Natural History Museum and not the Met or he might have taken a lot more.

"Are you from here? Can I ask you a stupid question?" Pretzels will be finished off and Longshot's smile shifts to a more embarrassed one, "If you're not from here, it's okay, I've just noticed something that's kinda weird about here, not Earth, I've mostly been in New York. About New York."

Stirling Winchester has posed:
"Yeah, any time you end up in a new place there's a lot to learn," Stirling says knowingly. He reaches forward to help pick up some of the stuff if allowed, "It's behind the bar. You can just follow me back and we'll get it squared away.

"I'm told there's no such thing as a stupid question," there's a laugh. "Whether or not that's true, go ahead and ask. I'm as much from New York as I am from anywhere."

Longshot has posed:
Longshot will not stop Sterling and will follow him with the remaining few items, putting them away where indicated. He taps them each one more time before backing off and letting Stirling do whatever he needs to.

"Why are there so many people here in New York who are unhappy to be here? It's been a really amazing place, but a lot of the people I've talked to or hear about-They do a lot of complaining about it." Longshot offers an apologetic smile, "I don't mean to be rude, but why are there so many people here who don't want to be here? Why don't they leave? If Earth is as big as people have said, surely there are other places where they can be happy? Why are so many people okay with being unhappy all the time? Is it really New York that is making people unhappy? Is it all the crazy things that happen all the time? Doesn't that happen everywhere? I just-I don't understand why there seem to be so many people here that so sad. This seems like a really great place to live, to me. I don't know much, and I know things always work out for me, but it seems to not make sense."

Stirling Winchester has posed:
"They take it for granted or stop seeing the city for the buildings, you know?" Stirling asks as he gets his stuff together. It doesn't take him too long to get ready, most of his belongings go in a backpack that gets taken out of a pretty large locker the ancient artifacts get locked in. "They're used to all the amenities of the city, they just don't like many of the other aspects of city life." His shoulders shrug, "Most people are stuck where they're at geographically for a lot of reasons, not least of which is money. It's expensive to move. You ask good questions."

Longshot has posed:
Longshot absorbs this quietly, but the last words will pull his brain away from the musing, "Money! I really that for some reason!" As he says it, one eye glows and an audible sound is heard from the bartop as the cash register inexplicably fails, dings cheerfully and opens on its own. Longshot does not appear to notice, continuing on this line of thought, "Everywhere I go I'm told I need to trade for 'Money' and when I don't have it, usually it's fine but sometimes I get it, then I'm told that wasn't right either! There is a right and a wrong way to get money, I get that, but I don't understand which one is which and why pieces of paper matter so much!"

The glow in Longshot's eye vanishes as a bad shot at the quiet pool game across the bar somehow bounces out, rocketing across the bar and hitting a line of glasses behind the bar. The pool ball somehow only shatters one glass, but a second glass teeters, then tumbles and falls onto the now open cash register. The fall hits the edge of the cash register drawer at just the right angle to send unsecured bills flying out like confetti in all directions.

It all happened in the matter of seconds, between Longshot's breaths, but now he stops, glances toward the mess, a single dollar bill floats down between them and Longshot catches it, holding it out to Sterling to see, "This is what I mean-It is just paper, right? I'm always going to end up with it when I need it, but I don't understand how the right way to get it goes."

Stirling Winchester has posed:
What just happened? Stirling is very much aware of the things that transpired, just has a bit of difficulty digesting that the sequence of events did, in fact, occur. Yep. Longshot is now holding money, there is cash kind of going everywhere and there's a glass in the cash register. The bartender points a knife hand at the pool player and says, "You're cut off!"

"Okay."

"Yeah, money is used to exchange for goods and services. Most people need it to get by." The explanation isn't anything too in depth, but hopefully it clears things up a bit. "If you need money people generally trade their time and services for it through a thing called a job." He goes about picking up the bills, aside from the one Longshot caught.

Longshot has posed:
The offending pool player croaks a brief protest that is hushed by his fellow players. A soft argument on if he gets to try the shot again or who should go ask Stirling for the offending pool ball back is stifled by someone providing a different ball. Most other people in the bar seem equally stunned, but seem to accept this and quietly shuffle back to their business

To be apologetic does appear to slowly dawn on Longshot, "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-Here I can help clean up!" The offending dollar will be put down on the bartop and he'll start assisting in collecting the rest of the scattered green which has settled down like a nice snow across the bartop, floor and cash register. "Where do I get a job? I'm good at most things, but I wanna help people!"

Stirling Winchester has posed:
"Whether or not you meant to do it, it's okay," Stirling says as he tries to wave off Longshot's help. He doesn't try too hard, though, seeming thankful for the assistance.

"A job is a hard thing to come by sometimes, but I might be able to help you out with something to get you started. Have you ever had to clean a boxing gym?" The question is asked seriously. Who's to know what the answer might be?

Longshot has posed:
Longshot will help, not in sorting the bills, that there are different numbers on them doens't seem to register, but in the collection and cleaning, he is there!$r$r"Boxing gym, ummmm, no, I don't think so? But I probably can if taught!" When it comes to marketable skills, Longshot is lacking in the job department, but happy to try anything that will stop the constant problem of money from being a constant problem.

Stirling Winchester has posed:
"Well, if you're willing to learn I can help you," There's a big grin on Stirling's face. "Do you have a place to stay? Do you know anybody?" His brow is furrowed with concern. "We'll have to figure some of that out, too."

Longshot has posed:
Longshot is the luckiest man alive that of all the people he could have met to finally ask him what his problem was, it was Stirling. Of all the people to offer help, it's one that is so nice and patience and answer stupid questions and isn't upset about there being money everywhere and wasn't going to arrest him. Longshot doesn't know this, but will beam at Stirling all the same.

"That'd be great! I've got lots of friends! The lady at the library! Cain! Um-You! I didn't get many of their names actually. I met Dazzler! She spoke to me!" This is a problem, Longshot should start asking people their names. Vampire and demon ladies do not count. "I don't really have a place, a nice lady let me crash with her a few days, but she said her husband would be upset if I was there when he got back from some trip and I shouldn't come back, but she was my friend! And since then I've been mostly staying at a house near the park when there is an open bed for me!" The workers at the shelter keep reminding him it's purely luck if there will be room, but he has yet to have been turned away.

Stirling Winchester has posed:
"Alright," Stirling says with a big, affirmative nod. "Cain. Hmm." A beat. "Yeah, Dazzler is so cool!" Then some nodding as he digests the rest of the information. "Well, we'll get you a more permanent place to crash if we can. I feel like you should probably be somewhere like a University or something where they can figure out where you're from and all that stuff. I have no idea where to start with finding that, though, so lets get you a phone and a lawyer in the meantime. Lawyer might have some ideas, too."