I know that this fanficition is literally from when i was 2 MONTHS OLD but I have to say, this is one of my favorites I've ever read in the star wars fanfiction community! It's fascinating that this was written before aotc because i fell as though you captured the characters in a great way without seeing anything beyond tpm. i love how you added the feelings that each of the characters had where they wished they could have a normal life with a normal family like those outside of the temple. i'm sure you'll never read this review, as its been 16 years since it was uploaded, but if by some chance you do, i just wanted to tell you that this was superb and i'll definitely be re-reading it at some point.

One of the first stories of this type I've read- and I'm definitely not dissapointed. In fact, you could say I've fallen in love with it. :D
The first thing that fell on my mind when I read ch. 18 was "I wonder what Vader's reaction to the article would have been...", or simply, what would Vader do if he somehow crossed paths with Orti. Any hopes of getting some their interaction soon? ;)

Ah, what a delight this story was. It's virtually typo-free, your grammar and punctuation are flawless, and each of your characters had a personality that had strengths and flaws that were completely true to canon. I loved this so much – it will certainly be going on my favorites list!

Eryn :)

What a brilliant story ! I really enjoyed the plot and the characterization.

Nice ;)

This was great. I liked Daj- I think this was the first time a Niemodian has been presented in a positive light.
Any chance that Luke somehow ends up on Malkiri and meets Daj?

I loved this entire thing! It was amazing to read, and you wrote it wonderfully! Amazing!

I just wanted to say this was a really incredible story. It pulled together the three of them without making it seem out of character; the mission was at once frustrating and altogether too real - hence the frustration; the interactions and the subtle ways that you characterize your original characters is fantastic. I know this was posted years ago, but I was recently recommended it - thank you so much for posting.

"They call me Sticks." He pointed to the others with him, another human and a young Wookiee. "Those two are Jams and Hairball."

"He's Jams," the human said, jerking his thumb at the Wookiee.

Hah! That's adorable. Perfect cap on a great story.

Wow. I loved this story so much. You are such an amazing writer in this fandom ~ I came across "Father's Heart" years ago on a different website, and it has stuck with me all these years. This story was equally graceful, and even more emotionally intricate. I really, really love the way you write Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship, and the way you handle Anakin's moments of wrongdoing and anger without dehumanizing him, showing that underlying, blazing sense of outrage at injustice that drives him and occasionally endangers him. I love him so much as I see him through your eyes, I love the way he struggles with his own flaws. He's always been my favorite character, long before the prequels came out, and it's a delight to find stories that create such an earnest, funny, *real* voice for him and Obi-Wan. And I enjoyed your treatment of Siri very much, too, you really rounded her out and showed how she and Anakin found certain reliefs and comforts in recognizing each other's imperfections as well as in promoting each other's strengths. I think they are both a little intimidated by Obi-Wan's seeming perfections every now and then, though clearly they both love and respect him.

Some of my favorite small bits:

*Anakin's Janus-faced sculptures ~ troubling, yet beautiful

*Obi-Wan and Siri's sniping at each other, balanced out by their lovely last conversation

*Anakin's defensiveness of Obi-Wan ~ so endearing!

*"Do you feel that I rob you of things you enjoy?"/"No."

*"You aren't bad at improvising, you know."

*"I'm not happy you stopped me yet."

*"You don't hate anyone."

I'm so glad you wrote this. Thank you!

As someone who only is now getting into the Star Wars fandom (and so far only made it to the prequel trilogy and wookieepedia/ wikipedia), I seriously commend you on writing such a well-thought out, grammar-oriented, in-character story. I LOVE how you portray the father/son relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin, and I love how the entire plot of this story makes sense. Most of all, I love how in-character this is. You truly are a great writer. Once again, GREAT job on this! bd

I must say, absolutely brilliant from start to finish. You got the mystery part of the story down pat, I kept trying to figure out who could have done it. Never would have suspected the father, though Sith involvement wasn't exactly accounted for either. I do generally prefer a bit more action, but this more than made up for it with it being written so well. Going to have to check out your other stories. Later.

Marvelous article. I read Portrait some years ago on TFN but never here and am glad that I visited today in order to find this ending. Someone new to SW fandom, Mathematica here and Albumsontheside on LJ, wrote a piece on Anakin and Obi-Wan and I couldn't think of a neater, more succinct take on their father/son/sibling relationship than your survey for Saga Journal in '05.

Sincerely,

pronker

This article is great! Seriously, I recognized the name Tomik instantly and grinned to see where he had ended up. I loved that Daj had such an influence on him.

I found Daj's view on the Empire to be quite interesting. In a way, he was right; he just didn't grasp that, being governed by the Sith, the Empire would never truly work itself to a good role. He brought out some interesting arguments, notably the one regarding how quickly they've stabilized the trade routes and bring order. But the price that is paid for such stability...

I forgot to mention how touched I was by Anakin's "defense" of Obi Wan before Yoda. -

My favorite part of this chapter was undoubtedly the end, where Anakin considers the lessons that Obi Wan has for him.

Daj turned out to be a great character, I'm so glad for the role he played in this fic.

And then Siri, and forshadowing her choosing Ferus for a padawan...it was good to see her come to terms with her role in the Order.

This chapter neatly tied the loose strings. I think the only thing we don't know is what ultimately happens to Zio's parents, and what was the result of the trial.