This story was absolutely amazing! The plot was beautifully crafted, the characters perfectly captured in dialogue and unspokens, and the words used just a delight to read. If I put every compliment in the "Nice Things to Say About a Story Dictionary" in this review, it still wouldn't express how awesome it was! Thank you so much for sharing!

this was so thoughtful and detailed and achingly gorgeous... i just read it in one go and can't wait to read it again for the brilliant characterisations and turns of phrase. thank you so very much for sharing this!

Excellent plot and characterization.

Great ending to a fantastic story!

I can't believe I never reviewed this before! This was seriously one of the most amazing things I have ever read. Your style and your mastery of vocabulary is amazing.

Wow. I don't even have words to express how much I loved this, how well it is written, the depth of the characters, the mystery, everything. You even had me thinking Gideon could be the unsub. brilliant job. Thank you.

i loved this story, it was an amazing read.

WOW! Can I just say how beautifully written this first chapter is? Stunning!

Best story I've read in a very long time. Thank you.

This is the most amazing fanfiction I've read in a while.. just stumbled on it. I want to say the writing and the story were incredibly good, like mind blowing good! I feel like I saw a real episode of the show and if it was it would probably be on the top of my favorite episodes. It was very original and I enjoyed it ALOT. I love you for sharing it thanks

I loved absolutely everything about this. Thank you.

"These are Gideon's children. And this is Gideon's legacy. Rossi doesn't think it often, but sometimes he feels a little like the estranged uncle who showed up at the funeral of his brother only to discover he'd been given custody of the kids. Kids he didn't even know existed."

Man, that has to be one of my favorite paragraphs in fanfic in a while. You managed to perfectly capture the essence of ~1 season post introduction Rossi. I love how it's not outright, but through little details like this that you beautifully frame exactly when in canon the fic takes place. So many authors just pick the Reid, Hotch, Rossi, Prentiss, JJ, Morgan cast because it's the most consistent and keep the characters flat but you do a great job at playing with the particular point each of them are at in their development. It brings life to this fic even beyond the great mystery and whump you have going!

This captures the heart of what Criminal Minds once was. Thank you for that. I like that you have Reid responding to Gideon like a mature human who has grown up without and beyond his mentor, rather than acting like a petulant five-year-old in response to him. You really showed how Reid's compassion and depth have become more pronounced in contrast to Gideon's isolation and doubt. Really shows what Gideon missed out on.

Seriously, you should write nobels. Your writing style is intricate yet flawless. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your work.

You have written a literary "Masterpiece".
I thank you for sharing it with us.