InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "i miss corbis!"

Seymour Birkhoff (bestnerd) wrote in madisonvalley,
@ 2018-01-16 23:04:00

Entry tags:

!closed, !complete, !log, !match-up, ~2018 january, ~50 points, ~~seymour birkhoff (bestnerd), ~~sheriff stilinski (alwaysmoral)

WHO Birkhoff & Stilinski
WHAT ~~Miracles!~~ Chatting
WHEN Tuesday night
WHERE Lou's
WARNINGS TBD, it's Birkhoff so who knows
STATUS MATCHUP | Closed | Incomplete (1/31)

Birkhoff was in way over his head. He was just barely keeping his head above water at work, sober enough to do his job and do it well, but everything else was kind of a mess. He didn't know what Mal was doing most of the time, honestly wasn't even sure if she was going to school or not. Well, aside from the fact that she'd been there long enough to get the sex ed permission slip. He'd read it, he wasn't stupid, but he still wasn't sure if opting her out was the right thing to do. Birkhoff just knew he sure as hell didn't want to talk to her about sex and he was pretty sure she already knew a thing or two. What did she need a class for?

He was soothing his worries at Lou's with his usual whiskey. Tonight he was sitting at the bar instead of tucked away in one of the corner booths. It was Birkhoff's way of taking a step toward being back to normal. It wasn't the best step nor the healthiest by any stretch, but it was a step all the same and he wasn't going to be afraid of Harley waltzing into the bar. No sir. He punctuated that thought by finishing off the whiskey in his glass and gestured at the bartender for a refill.

"Hey man," Birkhoff said, realizing there was someone sitting in the seat next to him. He wondered how long he'd been sitting there. "Want another?" He would definitely pay for a round.

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alwaysmoral
2018-01-20 04:22 am UTC (link)

Stilinski wasn't much of a drinker, but when he did have that "hey I feel like having a drink" urge, Lou's was pretty much his go-to given circumstances. So he was at the bar, nursing a drink for a little while.

He'd finished it off just as the younger man spoke, though. "Yeah, sure." Two was going to be his limit, but why not have that second one in something approaching someone's company? He could be reasonably social, or not. Depended.

"Thanks, by the way."

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bestnerd
2018-01-21 12:09 am UTC (link)

"And one for this guy here," he added, gesturing to the guy sitting next to him. The bartender was totally unfazed though and got him another of the same he'd had before. Birkhoff turned to face him and raised his glass of whiskey once they both had their drinks.

"No problem," Birkhoff replied. "Cheers, man." Since that shit was supposed to be the thing to do. "So, what brings you to Lou's? Haven't seen you around here in a while." Because, of course, Birkhoff was there all the time.

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alwaysmoral
2018-01-24 01:35 am UTC (link)

"It's what I have to do if I want to drink, pretty much," Stilinski replied. "Living with an alcoholic means I have to take that into consideration."

He could be an asshole on the matter, but that'd be a real quick way to drive Mason and Jordan out. Besides, that just wasn't the sort of person he was. "And Lou's seemed as good a place as any, since I haven't been in here in a long while."

Sound reasoning, though not the longest explanation in the world. Sometimes you just didn't need that.

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bestnerd
2018-01-25 04:03 am UTC (link)

Birkhoff thought that was way too boring. "Well yea, that's one way to do it. Better'n me though. I offered Alex beer a couple'a times not realizing. That's how drunk and how out of it I was. Sort of still am sometimes." He was mostly just drinking now because he was used to it, not because he needed to numb everything ever since Harley left and then came back without remembering. Function alcoholic table for one, right here, please.

He took a healthy swallow of his whiskey and sighed happily. "Ahhh, that's the spot."

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alwaysmoral
2018-01-29 01:24 am UTC (link)

"That's... definitely another way to do it," Stilinski said, as diplomatically as he could. It wasn't his place to say anything, not without being asked.

At least, not yet. Not until the guy did or said something spectacularly damn stupid, and he hadn't gotten there yet. Might, though. Seemed like that kind of guy.

"Why are you still like that sometimes?" he asked after taking a minute to figure out how he wanted to put it that wouldn't be ridiculously nosy right off the bat. Let him save the nosy for a little bit later.

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bestnerd
2018-01-29 05:14 am UTC (link)

Birkhoff didn't think anything of the way the guy commented on his behavior. It really wasn't something he should be boasting about honestly, but he wasn't really at the point where he cared enough to be better than that. He didn't think he was better than that, not anymore.

"Drunk? Cos it's easier that way," he replied with a shrug. He didn't really like to analyze it too deeply. "That's just the way things are. Sky's blue, grass is green, and I'm drunk or buzzed or just generally out of it in some way. Why go through life feeling shit when it makes you feel like shit?"

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alwaysmoral
2018-01-31 12:27 am UTC (link)

"Because going through life like this makes other feel just as bad," Stilinski replied. "Just because you're fine doesn't mean everyone else is. Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything."

Dealing with Mason's alcoholism hadn't always been a picnic, not at first. And he'd heard the stories, the ones from before he'd shown up in town. Rough on people was a bit of an understatement.

And he thought easy was the coward's way out of a situation, personally, but there were some things you didn't say to a guy you'd just met. At least, not yet. Save that for later, along with the nosy.

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bestnerd
2018-01-31 12:53 am UTC (link)

"Dunno. M'fine. Alex has her life with her boyfriend. Mal's okay. We're good." He knew it was a lie even as he said the words, so he finished off his drink to wash away the taste of the lies he was telling himself. Once it was gone, he gestured for the bartender to fill him up again.

"Anyone else? Not really my concern." He didn't think anyone else really mattered or cared about him and honestly he was pretty sure that Alex would be better off without him. Mal too, but he tried to do what he could for her because she was such a troubled and misguided kid. He knew what it was like to be on his own as a kid and he didn't want the same for her. Drunk as a skunk or not.

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alwaysmoral
2018-01-31 02:45 am UTC (link)

"Forget everyone else, then. Think about the people that do matter," Stilinski said, looking at the other guy. "Can you say without a doubt that you don't matter to them? That you drinking this much isn't going to bother them? Or is it that they're not allowed to care about you anymore now that you're like this?"

He didn't know why he cared. He didn't know this guy worth a damn. All he knew was that something about the entire situation was sitting wrong with him.

Shaking his head, he just took another sip of his beer.

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bestnerd
2018-01-31 06:14 am UTC (link)

It took Birkhoff a minute to focus on what the other guy was saying. He even squinted a little to see if that would help. He was thinking about the people that mattered. Nikita wasn't here. Alex was happy. Mal had her friends and that Quill guy was better for all of them anyway. She'd be 18 soon enough though, so what did it matter?

"What does it matter?" he asked, because he honestly didn't know. "This place doesn't matter. It's not real. It's some bubble universe holding cell that isn't going to make one bit of difference once we're back in our own worlds." The words had started to slur together towards the end there as his voice rose a bit louder. What did any of it matter if it wasn't going to last?

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alwaysmoral
2018-01-31 01:41 pm UTC (link)

"So... you want to possibly make people as miserable as you can for as long as you can, then, is that it?" Stilinski asked, looking at Birkhoff. "Bear with me, I'm just trying to figure this out here since your logic is so completely beyond me. Either you're a tortured soul or you're a complete asshole, and I don't have it in me to assume that any more people in life are complete assholes right off the bat."

Plus it just wasn't ringing quite true, the other man's reactions. He seemed a little too upset for it to be simply that. Not that Stilinski knew what was causing it, but there were always the likely culprits. And in this place, you could narrow it down pretty quickly.

Either he'd lost somebody or he'd gone home and learned something unpleasant, most likely the first one.

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bestnerd
2018-01-31 06:05 pm UTC (link)

Birkhoff looked about as angry as he felt, but he kept his mouth shut as the other guy just kept on talking. "I'm not making anyone miserable, Jesus Christ," he said as he rolled his eyes. "I'm just existing. I don't make waves, I don't cause trouble, and I sure as hell don't stick my nose into other peoples' business." This guy was a real piece of work for getting a free drink out of it.

Disgusted at how completely ruined his whole night was now, Birkhoff called for the bartender to close him out. "I mean seriously, what the hell do you care for? This is what I get for trying to do something nice."

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alwaysmoral
2018-01-31 11:08 pm UTC (link)

"I care because my best friend's a recovering alcoholic who walked out into traffic, broke both legs, and spent two months in rehab. Including when they flat out refused to let him go anywhere. Not a path I want to see anybody travel towards."

He shrugged. "But if you're okay with the way you're doing, hey. I do apologize. I just have a tendency to want to help anyone who looks like there's a problem."

Well, that much was the truth, at least.

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	bestnerd 2018-01-31 11:44 pm UTC (link)
	Birkhoff had definitely heard enough. He wasn't this guy's friend, wasn't interested in what was going on, so he was done. He signed the bill and stuffed his credit card into his back pocket. "You know what? Go fuck yourself, dude. I hope you choke on your beer." It was bullshit that this guy had ruined a perfectly good evening. Not cool at all. [ooc; and wrap!] (Reply to this) (Parent)