riverview | video; @star.lord

[ INT. Shared Housing, Floor 13, Room 4 – Very Late Night.

We open on a shot of the living space in one of the many shared housing units. It's dark in the messy room, with a couple of red jackets tossed onto the backs of chairs. Nearby, soft snores are audible.

In frame is a small, wooden creature, his giant eyes squinting with concentration as he stares at the screen. An old, beat-up mp3 player and a Sony Walkman sit beside him on the coffee table. The little creature mumbles a tiny, irritated— ]

I am Groot?

[ —in the same tone of voice someone else might use to ask, “How the hell do you work this thing?” He pokes at the screen fruitlessly for a while, but soon enough, his eyes light up as he shoves his hand forward one last time.

Suddenly, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” by the illustrious AC/DC shrieks over stereo speakers.

DONE. DIRT. CHEAP.

Sorry about your beauty sleep, Floor 13. And probably Floors 12 and 14.

The sapling yelps, scrambling and panicking to figure out how to stop this crazy thing, just as a sleep-tousled Star-Lord stumbles into frame, flicking on a light. Barely audible over the music, ]

Groot, what are you—?

[ Busted.

Peter picks up the device, sees that it’s recording, and he grimaces. ]

Oh, son of a—

[ Which is when the feed and the music both cut out. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Yyyep. That grin is coming out in full force, now. Sorry, Rey. ]

That’s so awesome.

Does that mean you have a lightsaber?

[Rey takes it in stride, albeit her smile is more sheepish than anything.]

I wouldn't call it 'awesome,' but it's...pretty cool?

[A nod of her head.]

Yes, I do.

[It was Luke's...well, technically Anakin's...but it's hers. It called out to her.]

Did you want to see it? [Not that she'd let him touch it--he could hurt himself with it--but she's willing to show him.]

Uh. [ And he laughs incredulously, in a way that asks, “Why is this even a question?” ] Yes? Absolutely.

[ He’s going to just go ahead and assume that asking, “Can I play with it?” is probably a bridge too far, but this is the next best thing. ]

[Because she doesn't want to make assumptions! It's rude and wrong, and can lead to things, like war.

Rey takes out the lightsaber from her side, rising to stand up. She's shorter than Peter, and probably younger than him too, but she had been through enough that's aged her mentally. Using the Force, she let's the lightsaber float above her hands and slowly turn around to let him see it's design.]

I'm not going to ignite it, if that'll be your next question. You don't want to lose a limb.

[ Okay, well, on the one hand, this is a seriously impressive display, and it's so cool what the hell.

But on the other hand, he definitely wanted to see the lightsaber, like, deployed? Is that even the right word? Because he totally wanted to know if that thing made the whoom whoom KSHHH sound like in the movies. ]

Aww, c'mon.

What if I stand, like, a few feet back?

[There was a hard stare from Rey.]

I'm not asking you show off any of your weapons Star-Lord.

[She's just being stubborn about it--and also she doesn't want to cause any harm to him or Groot in case he got curious too. She brings the lightsaber back to her and holds it in one hand.]

It's not a toy, you know.

You could, if you wanted.

[ He does, in fact, have a pair of blasters holstered to his hips and a metal trigger behind his ear for his mask – never leave home without them! – but admittedly, they’re not nearly as cool as an actual, literal, lightsaber. ]

I mean, I don’t mind doing a cultural exchange.

[Well, she wasn't expecting that answer. He was being stubborn though, and a bit persistent. If she were to show him, what could possibly go wrong?

Aside from him losing a limb.

Or accidentally starting a fight.

Or both.]

Not interested. You have, what? Blasters?

[She wasn't really interested in weapons, more so of ships and creating new things.]

You basically aim and pull the trigger, that's it.

You say that like there isn't an art to it.

[ He's one hell of a marksman, if he says so himself. ]

Sure, anyone can pull a trigger. But that's like saying "anyone can use a knife." Sure, it's true, but that doesn't mean you do it well.

[ But he shrugs after a second. ]

But, hey. What do I know? I mean, I've only been using these guns for, like, two-thirds of my life.

[A roll of her eyes.]

There isn't much of an art to them. [Especially when the Stormtroopers using them couldn't hit--which is a good thing. Just, better someone aim away from her and her friends.]

So...you're been using it for twenty years then?

[Is she calling him old? ....Possibly. Just...maybe.]

Do you know how to use anything other than blasters?

[ Yeah, a lot of his initial excitement is slowly wearing off, the longer this conversation goes. ]

Guns are sort of my thing. I can basically use whatever you put into my hands.

[Peter's excitement may come back in full swing if Rey showed him the lightsaber...she had ruled it out, but she was becoming curious about the weapons he used.]

Uh-huh. [Yeah he's not getting his hands on her saber.]

But they're very.....one note? [Kind of? At least from what she's seen.

Okay, they should do a cultural exchange. Start with weapons and then work to...food maybe.]

Okay maybe if you show me what you can do....I'll do the same.

[ He looks a little skeptical for a second. But, well, he always takes his chance to show off, which is why he unholsters the blaster from his hip. He points the barrel skyward, his finger resting against the trigger guard to avoid any accidental firings. ]

Main barrel is plasma. Bottom barrel is electricity. I can fire them off individually with these two triggers— [ And he indicates them with his free hand. ] Top one’s lethal force, bottom is for stunning, obviously.

But I can use both triggers if I’m facing someone really nasty. The shots pack a bigger punch, that way.

[ He’s not going to fire the guns off in a public park, though, which is why he returns the blaster to his holster. ]

I’ve been trained with rifles and blasters basically all my life. I’m kind of an expert.

[Rey's curiosity is peaked when Peter shows his blaster. It's much different than she would've thought. Easier to grip and move around. Two different functions--and is it bad she wants to see the inside of it and find out how it really works?]

Interesting... [And the way the blasters are designed make it easier to grip, hold, and probably a lot more balanced than just a single point-and-shoot weapon.] How often do you have to do maintenance work on it?

[Rey is a bit of a skeptical on Peter being an expert, but he has a far better grasp on it than she would. She had her staff for the longest time, and now she a lightsaber...]

I'm used to using a staff to fight, but I learned how to make this work. [She gestured to the lightsaber, still holding it and debating if she should ignite it. He did show her his weapons after all...and if he tried anything, she could use the Force to stop him or throw him back.

She moves back a little bit, placing some space between them and finally ignites the lightsaber. See Peter? It does make the noises and lights up considerably.]

It's a lot different than anything I've held before.

video; @star.lord

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