Seasonal Insanity, PG, Josef POV, Champagne Challenge #137

A place for LaughtersMelody's G to PG-13 stories
Post Reply
User avatar
LaughtersMelody
Freelance freshie
Posts: 242
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:09 am
Location: Somewhere in Colorado.

Seasonal Insanity, PG, Josef POV, Champagne Challenge #137

Post by LaughtersMelody »

Title: Seasonal Insanity
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own Moonlight, nor am I making any money from this, though I'm certainly having fun playing with the characters. No infringement intended.
Warnings: None in this one.
Summary: It happened every year. Mick and Coraline's rocky relationship in 1982, as seen through Josef's eyes. No slash.

A/N: Written for Champagne Challenge #137, March Madness. Story had to include the theme, as well as the words bracket, rebound, court, and cheer. This is my first time writing from Josef's POV, so I hope I did him justice. :blinksmile:

As always, I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is the source of all inspiration.

~*~*~*~*~

Seasonal Insanity

1982

It was March again.

To be honest, Josef didn’t really care. He’d been alive - and undead - long enough for March to come around exactly 383 times so far, and if you’d seen one, you’d pretty much seen them all.

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

The ancient words rang just as true in 1982 as they had the day they’d been written.

Still, no two years were the exactly the same, and the month had certainly gotten more exciting in 1939, when March Madness, as a sportswriter had recently dubbed it, had first appeared. Josef wasn’t much of a basketball fan, but he never passed up the chance to make money, and betting on the bracket had quickly become a high-stakes game he enjoyed.

St. Patrick’s Day was another bright spot. Irish charm, plus lots of drinking - both from the bar and the freshies on tap - he certainly wasn’t going to complain. Not about that, anyway.

Unfortunately, March had picked up another annual event, one Josef could have done without.

He liked to think of it as seasonal insanity.

Every March, like clockwork, Mick would wind up back with Coraline.

It never failed. Mick would start out the year with a resolution to stay away from her, insisting it was over, for good this time. The rest of January meant “Coraline withdrawal” - the severity of the withdrawal depended on the reasons he and Coraline had split in the latest round of their doomed little saga. Mick would usually stick it out until the withdrawal faded, and then he’d rebound. For the first couple weeks in February, he’d throw himself into the PI biz. But, right around Valentine’s Day, his resolve would start to crumble.

Josef had tried various ways of distracting his friend, throwing freshies at him left and right, taking him out to clubs…he’d even tried getting him away from LA once by setting up a bogus case for him to work on. Mick had figured out the ruse pretty quickly, though, and an irate Mick wasn’t any more fun than a depressed Mick.

Lucky him, Josef had gotten to see both that year, because depression - sulking, brooding, self-flagellation, whatever you wanted to call it - always showed up for the last part of February. Attempts to cheer Mick up then, if just for Josef’s own sanity, led nowhere.

Of course, once the depression set in, and March began, Mick would slowly get drawn back to Coraline - they were like magnets, those two. Headache-inducing magnets. They took love/hate to a whole new level.

The trouble was, if you mixed those volatile emotions together, there was bound to be an explosion. It was only a question of when.

And since sparks weren’t a problem for Mick and Coraline, Josef would put his money on sooner, rather than later.

Maybe very soon, if this year was any indication. March Madness wasn’t even over yet, but seasonal insanity was; Mick had been back with Coraline for a couple weeks.

Josef sighed, and put his feet up on the couch, glancing at the TV.

He watched the players running up and down the court for a moment, then scowled a little when he saw the score. His latest pick was losing. Badly.

Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.

That’s what made the game exciting. It was unpredictable.

Other things, however…not so much.

He caught Mick’s scent before he saw him, heard the quick, angry footsteps as he strode down the corridor.

“Trouble in paradise?” Josef called out as Mick burst into the room

The other vampire stared at him for a moment, his eyes stormy. Bruises and half-healed scratches covered his face. He and Coraline had apparently skipped over the petty barbs this time, and gone straight to fangs, teeth, and claws.

Mick seemed to know what Josef was thinking.

“Save the ‘I told you so,’” he growled, and headed for the bar. He poured a tall glass of scotch, downed it in a few gulps, and poured another one.

Josef sighed again.

It was a good thing he’d restocked.

Then again, he’d known he would need to.

After all, it was March.

Fin

~*~*~*~*~

A/N: The Bible quote, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun," is from Ecclesiastes 1:9. A couple interesting notes, the tournament we call March Madness really did begin in 1939, (Wikipedia entry can be found here) but it wasn't called March Madness by the general public until 1982, when a sportswriter used the term (article here). :blinksmile:

I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think!

-Laughter
Last edited by LaughtersMelody on Fri Oct 02, 2015 12:45 am, edited 4 times in total.
Image

My Fanfiction Office.

Jesus is Lord.
User avatar
francis
100% Moonlightaholic
Posts: 11556
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:45 am

Re: Seasonal Insanity, PG, Josef POV, Champagne Challenge #1

Post by francis »

I really like Josef's voice here, you really got him. He seems to both enjoy and loathe the show.
March Madness Mick - like some kind of hayfever, same time next year. :snicker:
User avatar
allegrita
Moonlightaholic Admin
Posts: 45960
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:22 am
Location: Snuggled under the brown afghan, watching the fire

Re: Seasonal Insanity, PG, Josef POV, Champagne Challenge #1

Post by allegrita »

Poor Mick. He's stuck in a perpetual motion machine, isn't he? Of course Josef would both hate it and enjoy watching it... and you've captured that really well here. I love his long view of things--he knows that everything stays the same, while never really being exactly the same... and he's there to offer Mick consolation and maybe a little bit of distraction when he needs it... if he'll allow that. But in a few years, Josef is going to learn that where Mick and Coraline are concerned, things can change--in a really spectacular way! :gasp:
Image
jen
Cleaner
Posts: 6411
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2009 12:11 am

Re: Seasonal Insanity, PG, Josef POV, Champagne Challenge #1

Post by jen »

Laughter

This was wonderful!

You have touched on something we all have known, that Mick and Coraline went through this cycle on multiple occasions, and have shown us Josef being Josef throughout one cycle.

Great characterization! You have really captured them well!

Thank you!

Jenna

:hearts: :flowers: :hearts: :flowers:
Last edited by jen on Sat Mar 24, 2012 4:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mick and Beth--two of the lovely faces of Moonlight
Image
Beautiful banner by the Fabulous Phoenix
User avatar
Marigold
Courtesan
Posts: 2482
Joined: Sun Oct 02, 2011 5:57 pm

Re: Seasonal Insanity, PG, Josef POV, Champagne Challenge #1

Post by Marigold »

Great response to the challenge, Laughter! :flowers: You did a wonderful job of writing from Josef's point of view. :twothumbs:

I like the idea of Mick giving up Coraline for a New Year's resolution, but then not being able to stick with it for more than a couple of months.

I also like the title - "insanity" is a great way to describe Mick and Coraline's relationship.

Thank you! :hearts:
Image
Fantastic banner by Kath40! Thank you!
User avatar
librarian_7
Forever Moonlightaholic
Posts: 23481
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:21 pm
Location: wherever Josef is
Contact:

Re: Seasonal Insanity, PG, Josef POV, Champagne Challenge #1

Post by librarian_7 »

I do like this, because I can easily see Josef watching that annual trainwreck from the sidelines, disapproving, but there to pick up the pieces when his friend needs it. This is the sort of experience that really bonds their friendship.

Good challenge response!

Lucky
User avatar
cassysj
100% Moonlightaholic
Posts: 12740
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:58 am

Re: Seasonal Insanity, PG, Josef POV, Champagne Challenge #1

Post by cassysj »

You've really captured Josef so well. The more things change the more they stay the same. except sometime soon Coraline is going to going to cross the point of no return. Well done!
Image
User avatar
LaughtersMelody
Freelance freshie
Posts: 242
Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:09 am
Location: Somewhere in Colorado.

Re: Seasonal Insanity, PG, Josef POV, Champagne Challenge #1

Post by LaughtersMelody »

I've already said it in PMs, but I just wanted to thank eveyone for the kind reviews! :flowers:

-Laughter
Image

My Fanfiction Office.

Jesus is Lord.
User avatar
cassysj
100% Moonlightaholic
Posts: 12740
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:58 am

Re: Seasonal Insanity, PG, Josef POV, Champagne Challenge #1

Post by cassysj »

I do like this because it is so Josef. Had to give it a bump.
Image
User avatar
diane31
Fledgling
Posts: 470
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:01 am

Re: Seasonal Insanity, PG, Josef POV, Champagne Challenge #1

Post by diane31 »

:rolling:

I looooooove the way you portray Josef's thoughts, so witty, so snarky, just perfect! :thud:

And, ok, I know I should feel sorry for our Mick because he is definitely not having fun, but really, Josef's humor is too infectious! And he sure needs it having to witness this for thirty years! :banghead:

Fantastic fun fic! :snicker: :hearts:
Image
User avatar
allegrita
Moonlightaholic Admin
Posts: 45960
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:22 am
Location: Snuggled under the brown afghan, watching the fire

Re: Seasonal Insanity, PG, Josef POV, Champagne Challenge #1

Post by allegrita »

Another wonderful March Madness Challenge entry. :clapping: I really enjoyed this view of Mick's cycle of on-again, off-again with Coraline through Josef's eyes. Poor Mick--he really took a long time to break free. :Mickangel:
Image
Post Reply

Return to “LaughtersMelody's Office”