video. username: ilikehorses

[shoplifter]

[There is a mildly anxious child on the feed, sitting on the edge of the community building roof as she munches down on some potato chips; this child's diet is 1000% on point. But more importantly, she flashes the video feed several stories below toward some of the trees. The little accent is full of confusion:]

They are dying. What are they sick with?

Shouldn't someone do something to save them? ¿Dónde está el jardinero?

[Seriously, nobody seems concerned about the leaves all falling off. Or them turning odd colors.]

Comments

[shoplifter]

But aren't you above everyone when you're in a ship, looking down at a planet?

[Space is still a mysterious subject for her, okay.]

[nostalgiabomb]

Not— exactly. I mean, well, technically yes, because yeah, you’re above everyone, sort of, but—

[ How can he succinctly describe the wonders of space travel to someone with almost no frame of reference for it?

... Badly, probably. ]

What’s the highest place you’ve ever been?

[shoplifter]

[She gives the roof's edge a nice pat-pat-pat.]

...

I can try to go higher, though.

[nostalgiabomb]

No.

[ And the answer is near immediate, and if he were on camera, Laura would be treated to the way he sort of jolts at that answer. ]

No. Nah. You’re good there. Don’t go any higher.

[ A pause, and he briefly throws himself off the track of his own line of thought. ]

You didn’t actually climb up there, did you? You at least used the stairs, right?

[shoplifter]

I usually do.



People would be annoying if I climbed passed their window.

[nostalgiabomb]

... I guess that’s fair.

[ Another pause as he mulls over whether or not he really wants to get into the pros and cons of Laura perching in high places like a tiny gargoyle, but he shakes his head. ]

Anyway. What I was gonna say was like— okay. So you’re up there, right? And it’s sort of like you can see everyone, but if they’re far enough away, you can’t really see them. Like, you see that they’re there, but you couldn’t pick anyone out of a crowd, right?

Now imagine going higher, and everyone is just specks, right? Like ants. Then you go higher than that, and you can’t even see them at all. Then you go higher than that, and everyone practically disappears. And then you go higher than that, and everyone’s so far away that you forget they’re even there. You don’t even think about them, because it’s just you and the stars and the planet spinning beneath you.

That’s what being in space is like.

[ Tah-dah. ]

[shoplifter]

..................





That sounds terrible.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He snorts out a laugh. ]

It’s better than I’m making it sound.

[shoplifter]

[AN INTENSE CHIP BITE AS SHE DOUBTS HIM.]

I heard you cannot breathe in space. Is it true?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ e x c u s e don’t be judgey ]

Yeah, that’s true. No oxygen in space, so you have to wear special space suits and masks if you absolutely have to be out of a ship.

[shoplifter]

[YIKES I'M JUDGING]

It reminds me of home.

A place so big, and you are trapped in a small space.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ That makes him fall quiet for a second.

And, yeah, Peter’s pretty sure that anyone who pilots a ship has a special brand of agoraphobia, where staring too long in the dark expanse of space makes a guy realize just how fucked he is if everything separating him from the void fails. When he first started piloting, Peter tried his best not to think about it.

These days, he has about a million other reasons he avoids that particular thought, very few of them he’s willing to speak aloud. ]

It’s like this. Space is dangerous, yeah, and it’s not really for the faint of heart, but it’s like— if you get over that hurdle, if you ignore the risks, you really can go anywhere.

[ A beat. ]

Assuming you have the means and the technology to get you where you wanna go, anyway.

[shoplifter]

... You can go where nobody can follow you?

Somewhere safe?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ A hesitation, then, ]

If that's what you wanted, yeah.

Like you said, space is a pretty big place.

[shoplifter]

... Then I guess it's not so bad. If you get your freedom.

What places do you like? Out in space.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He breathes out a laugh, and while his smile may not be visible, it's audible in his voice. ]

It's better than "not so bad," but you'll have to take my word for it.

There's this one planet, Xandar. It's got this big city kinda like this place, but huge. Like, if you took New York City and Los Angeles and London and all the biggest cities you can think of and crammed 'em all together.

There's this one restaurant, and they've got this stuff. It kinda tastes like hot chocolate, but, like, more cinnamony? Kinda.

It's really good.

[ Peter likes sweets okay. ]

[shoplifter]

[She has no comparison for city sizes dude, but good try.]

... I'd like to go there.

Are they nice people?

[nostalgiabomb]

Kinda?

I mean, most of them are cool.

... Or, well, maybe just some of them.

[ A hesitation, as Peter tries to establish a more concrete percentage of cool to uncool people. Then, ]

Some of the cops can be pricks.

[shoplifter]

Some cops can be pricks.

[She nods.]

Those are people who make others follow the law, yes?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Oof. That's probably a bad lesson to teach a child, so Peter winces and adds, ]

Some. Some of them can be cool, but, yeah. Some of them can definitely be pricks.

[ ... no. This isn't much better. Maybe Peter isn't the best person to talk to about the law, considering he spent most of his life on the wrong side of it. ]

They're supposed to, you know. Protect and serve. Help people. Go after folks who break the law, that sorta thing.

[shoplifter]

[She looks unimpressed as all heck.]

They never helped me.

[Hardly fair considering she was a secret, but hey.

Then again, a lot of people don't seem to appreciate mutants, either...]

Do cops like you?

[........ Also, she sounds so skeptical that they do. Haha.]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He lets out a scoffing sound. ]

God, no.

[ the very idea, Laura.

Then again, a handful of cops like him. Like, maybe a dozen on the Nova Corps, when he sweet-talked his way out of a ticket, or charmed them while they were tossing him into lock-up. Some of them treated him like a celebrity, for the frankly miraculous stunt he pulled on Xandar, and the rest treated him like a petty criminal in spite of the stunt on Xandar. ]

Then again, I try to deal with cops as little as I can.

[ as a rule. ]

[shoplifter]

That sounds like a good idea...

I'll avoid them, too. I can handle things on my own anyway.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Not for the first time, it occurs to him that maybe he's losing the reins on this conversation. ]

... Don't get me wrong. I mean, obviously you should still, you know, follow the law. Like, don't steal. Don't hurt anyone. Stuff like that.

[ A++++ job as a role model, Quill. Don't quit your day job. Jesus. ]

[shoplifter]

[When he says 'don't hurt anyone', she can't help but glance away, thinking of the hospital fiasco.

She tried her best, alright? She didn't want to be -- like that.]

I am working on it.

[It's not easy, following rules and laws.]