i have read this fic like ten damn times since I finished Ride the Storm and every single time it just Fixes that need that the book left us with. i know we have Siren's Song now (and Brave the Tempest finally god bless) but this, this is still my canon. you wrote such amazingly solid character fic here and every time I just fucking love it okay like. every time I read this i tell myself I'm gonna leave The Perfect Review but like let's face it i have zero eloquence and a mighty need to thank you for this fic so that's just what I'm gonna do. thank you for this fic it is Perfect and Exactly What I Needed.

Great job! I’m greedy, so I wish there was more, but that is my only complaint. You are awesome!

I really enjoy the series but reading this makes me realize how much the books could use a little downtime. It is so nice to see them have conversations and play and be normal people. Love your writing!

“John paused and looked over at the bathtub. He thought about swinging one leg over the edge and then the other. He envisioned himself slipping and falling on his face, resulting in embarrassment and grievous injury. Discretion, he told himself, is the better part of valor.”

- Great bit of humor here! I feel like the characters are spot on.

I love this story so much! It captures the characters so well. I keep rereading it. It's comforting. Thank you for giving us this lovely experience to revisit whenever we want/need to.

Here are the notes i took while reading this chapter, in lieu of a proper review:

fave green shirt , is that for ME, fond smile back at her, tami harrumphing, "his voice was detached and he was proud of that" the bitterness in her tone made him feel queasy even now. oh GOD my HEART totally irresponsible adrenaline junkie and his incubus side and his heart agreeing WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME AUTHOR

CALLBACK TO CHAOS IS LIKE JUMPING OFF A CLIFF OH GOD HOW DARE YOU

ahhhh thank you for this. It's beautifully written, in the sense that you touch on the little things that add so much to a fic - 'in the beseeching tone...", the flashbacks through present eyes and the double layers of the memories, little details of how he gets his head straight, his magic and how it's altered now, the musical element, just these DETAILS that enrich stories - things you don't notice when they're not there, but when they are, they make a fic feel so much more rich and vibrant and ALIVE.
It adds up to make this feel like a continuation - all the elements are there, the rude interruption because when can there EVER be a moment of quiet lmao, trauma via nakedness, pritkin and his jogs and some backstory behind it GAH perfection. I love how this is more introspective because it's pritkin, not cassie, it fits, and i want to hug this fic in thanks. (hi i just binge-read the series in like a week send help)

This is so wonderful. I love rereading it.

I have read this piece several times over the months. It's like a visit with Pritkin and Cassie and the gang. I think a lot happens between the characters, and I love it.

This time I finally slowed down enough to appreciate the writing. The language is especially fine in the first half, but it is quite good throughout.

Thanks for writing and sharing it. I'm looking forward to more.

Lots of favorite scenes in this, but I'm pretty sure my favorite line is, "Needs more glitter."

I absolut love it. Full stop.
Thank you!

Oh my god, please do a follow up. This was amazing

Thanks! I needed that.

Seriously. wonderful!

I love Pritkin's 'caviar tastes' – the whole question of how he's going to cope with feeding/sex after the events of RtS is one that's been on my mind a lot, and it's nice to see him catch a break, so to speak, but mainly I just love the idea that Cassie has ruined him for everyone else xD I also just had to squee at that little interaction about the food. I love Casskin feeding each other, I love her excitement – "Is that for me?" – and the domesticity implied by that 'of course'. And him smiling like an idiot over Cassie is just the good and natural world order tbh. Long may it continue. In fact there are so many tiny and perfect moments of characterisation here I don't think I can catalogue them all – but special props go to Pritkin's instinctive fear of accessories related discussions and 'I serve at the pleasure of the Pythia', because they made me laugh.

Also, beyond all the Casskin goodness, I liked the rapport that Cassie clearly has with her little initiates I died at 'That's my girl' bcs I adore maternal Cassie about as much as paternal Pritkin.

On the more plotty side of things, it's cool that you're really going into the possibilities that are now open to Pritkin. I hadn't even thought of how the lifting of his interdict might open up new abilities for him - or rather give him access to lost ones. I also really enjoyed your version of how to handle the blackmail issue. I think calling Mircea's bluff is the smart move and more than that, Pritkin has understandably been very much inwardly focused for a long time – hard to look outwards when you're in that much time – so it's good to hear him talking about the good he can do, rather than obsessing about the wrong he's done. I think your grasp of his character and motivations is so spot on!

BRUH it's like you're in my head, I swear, I literally have had that headcanon about Pritkin being able to see Billy now pretty much ever since I read the book. The way you write Pritkin's interactions with every other character is so true to life (well not real life, but book life. You know what I mean), I can tell you're really inside his head. And that conversation between him and Billy was so much fun, they're such a great combo because they both care about Cassie's welfare so deeply but their personalities are so opposite in so many ways, there's bound to be sparks. I liked how Billy bulldozed through Pritkin's knee-jerk tendency towards self-blame and I like the kind of fragile truce they reached.

I just finished reading Ride the Storm, and this fic was iexactly/i what I needed, reeling in the aftermath and craving more Cassie/Pritkin time. It's also a great way to put off my real life responsibilities. :) Thanks for writing!