Dead Man's Party --PG 13 (My Gala Entry)

[LaughtersMelody]

I was so sure I had reviewed this one, but somehow, it seems I hadn't.

This is one of my very favorite Josef fics! I've gone back to read it whenever I'm in the mood for a fic about Josef's past. I loved how you handled his conversation with Beth at the beginning - calling the freshies his "pantry" was great! It's a funny remark, but even though he cares for the girls and treats them well, there still is some truth in that statement.

I especially love his visit with his family. There are so many great moments in it, from his unfriendly interactions with his brothers, to the warm yearning he felt towards the woman he once loved. It's all so wonderfully poignant, and his realization that he's no longer a part of their world is heartbreaking.

Absolutely wonderful work!

-Laughter

[allegrita]

So good to revisit this old favorite. I love young vampire Josef.

[francis]

How can it be that I never commented on this story?
As a non-native speaker, I have a few difficulties with the slang and a few of the vocabulary. I guess it's Irish. Nonetheless, the atmosphere captivated me as soon as I stepped out of the present with Mick and Beth and went into the past with you and Josef.
I love the atmosphere of longing for what can never be again. Josef and Siobhan are so well depicted in their relationship. As well as Josef and his brother. The father seems quite accepting of what Josef is now, cursed as he may be.
I heard of Samhain, but this is a great take on the whole dead-coming-back thing. Love it.

[allegrita]

I always loved this story, not just because of the wonderful writing and the fact that it's about Josef, but for all it says about toxic family relationships and the need to leave them behind sometimes. For Josef, it's a fact of (un)life that he must leave his family, because he will long outlast them. But in this story, he revisits them after a long absence and sees them with new eyes. And I think that helps him make a conscious decision to move on from them into whatever the future holds for him.

I'm lucky enough to have a family that, for all our difference and (myriad) ups and downs, is basically a bunch of nice, loving people. But I know quite a few people who aren't so lucky. And I think this story helps tell their stories, too. Family isn't just about DNA, as Beth told Mick. Sometimes we need to make our own families. And in Mick, Josef has found a brother who is much more worthy of his love and admiration than his brothers by blood.

I don't know if Lucky had any of this in mind when she wrote this wonderful story, but I think she would like this interpretation. I miss you, my non-DNA sister. But I'm so grateful that I can reread your stories, and hear your voice in my head.

[Ella713]

Holy smokes I miss Lucky!!! She was one of a kind!