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[everythinglost]

Call for a good time

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[crab_rangoon]

"But you have your childhood," he points out. Not a great one. Not with his mother, but there is one. "Does that make it easier or harder?"

[everythinglost]

"That what makes it more complicated. If I'd always been outside of time, than anything but personal chronology would've always been meaningless. I mean, just say '1948' or something and it's not like that means anything. But for me it means being twelve and everything that happened then as followed by 1949 and so on. Right up until years stop having that meaning because now 1948 is also being twenty-nine and fighting aliens in Australia."

[crab_rangoon]

"So you don't skip outside of your own timeline, then. You go back to it, cross into it. So does that mean that, in 1948, when you were twelve, there were aliens in Australia that you didn't know about? Or was htat a different -- place?"

The whole thing gives him a headache.

[everythinglost]

"Yeah, and I helped stop them from taking over the world, except I knew they didn't except they still could've." He shakes his head. "I'd say that's why I drink but that came way before any of this nonsense with time."

He hesitates for a moment.

"And it's gotten a bit more complicated, recently. Because I'm not entirely sure it still happened. My childhood, I mean. What with, ah, certain troubles. And it's generally fine because I'm planets and or centuries out, but just before I came here I was in 1937 and either right across the channel I was also toddling about even as I was also getting involved with the war, or I wasn't."

[crab_rangoon]

"Best not to think about it at all, then," he suggests. "And perhaps just have more to drink." Which is always his answer when he gets too deep into this.

"There's a reason I stick to the easier endeavors. Like running countries."

[everythinglost]

Having a bit more to drink is generally Fitz's response to whenever he accidentally thinks about any of this stuff, and he feels like it's a method that's always served him well.

"You do make it sound like you take the easiest approach to it, if you have to go about running a country."

[crab_rangoon]

"Drink and hide myself away for twenty years, making body doubles do things and never appearing on television? Yes," he laughs. "Isn't that what you'd do?"

Actually-

"What would you do? If I let you lead Kyrat?"

[everythinglost]

"Fake my death and flee the country." An automatic and very reasonable response to the word 'lead'.

He considers the question a little more, as he takes another drink.

"Hiding away drinking does sound like what I'd do, if I spent those twenty years massively depressed. Not that ruling a country sounds fun, but drinking alone isn't actually that high on my list of preferred activities either." He shrugs slightly, running a hand through his hair. "Honestly, running a country just sounds awful. All responsibilities and consequences - and even totally ignoring those, not really many appealing benefits."

[crab_rangoon]

His laugh is warm and friendly. "I considered it many times! But I had already run once."'

Even if Pagan had also spent those twenty years massively depressed. Not that he'd ever admit that to himself or anyone else.

"Running a country is- well, that's where we differ. There's nothing I'd rather do now. Not even retire."

[everythinglost]

He doesn't think that Pagan had spent the time in a great mental space, to use understatement he feels is appropriate, but he's certainly not going to bring that up.

"I'd definitely recommend not quitting to go into advertising, as you haven't sold the appeal." He laughs a little. "Though I'd probably be in demographics not even worth bothering with. Going around saying you don't want power tends to give people an impression I'm not trying for, but, in my experience with questionably charming dictators, part of the type of power that makes having a country appeal to them is a type that gives me hives. Definitely don't want a job where plenty of people are bound to hate you. Not that I want any job. Wouldn't want to be stuck in one place or have to listen to endless stupid shit or keep track of other stupid shit or give answers for never ending problems..." He shudders, only a little theatrically.

[crab_rangoon]

Wait-

"Questionably charming dictators? Fitz?" He puts a hand to his heart as if wounded. "So what you're saying is that you want no job, but if you must have one, then it should be one where you are always liked and are not asked to do a damn thing?"

[everythinglost]

"A scale of dictators I've met, if you feel that 'questionably' applies to you..." He widens his eyes in mock innocence, before falling back into a smirk. "The only 'job' that I've ever actually wanted - and traveling the universe on someone else's dime is still more appealing in practice - was to be a popular musician." He's pretty sure that's a short form of Pagan's offered job description.

[crab_rangoon]

"Actually, that wouldn't be terrible. Say, Fitz, how would you feel about owing your friend Pagan a favor?" he wonders, an idea striking him.

[everythinglost]

He gives Pagan a moderately suspicious look. "It would depend on the favor. And what I got in return for owing it."

[crab_rangoon]

He grins. "That depends on what you want. Teach me to play the guitar."

[everythinglost]

He shrugs, automatic paranoia at the word 'favor' gone so now perfectly pleased. "Sure, I'd be happy to."

[crab_rangoon]

He smiles. "It was something I always wanted to learn but, well, it certainly fell by the wayside."

[everythinglost]

"There's time for it here. I think that's pretty much the motto of this place." He leans forward a little, he likes teaching people how to play. "Have you done any other instruments?"

[crab_rangoon]

"A very long time ago, I learned the piano. But that was, god, Fitz, I was a child." He links his fingers.

[everythinglost]

"I started on the piano too. But, yeah, probably haven't held onto most of the stuff about musical notation and so on."

[crab_rangoon]

"Oh likely not. I could probably still play Bach if you asked me to," he predicts, trying to pull it back from sheer muscle memory. "Considering that's what I defaulted to when my mother asked what I was working on."

[everythinglost]

"Since I assume you probably don't want to learn guitar solely so you can play Bach there too, we can start from the beginning."

[crab_rangoon]

"It's something to do," he tells him. "And it's something I wanted. I might as well, like I said. So yes, we can start from the beginning. This the sort of thing you do? I'm not a very good student." He hasn't tried to do something new in a very long time.

[everythinglost]

"You want to learn, that's important when it's something like music. Probably in most stuff, really. And a lot of good songs for the guitar don't have the most complicated chord structure or whatever, so the rewards are obtainable quickly enough to help people keep going."

[crab_rangoon]

"I suppose I'll need to ask Lark for one of my own." Not that he likes owing the man favors, but this is something he doesn't mind. And he doesn't think Lark will give him much shit for it.