Been thinking about this fic for the past couple of days and been trying to be more vocal about the stuff I REALLY LOVE instead of a Nervous Nancy so here we go: I love the premise of this fic. That it's Shiro dealing his Galra arm and all the trauma and every-day frustrations that come along with it, needing help and learning to ask for it from his team, and being okay with that and who he is. One of my favorite things is that it keeps emphasizing the fact that Shiro is an Adult and that the others are, well, teenagers. They're children. Shiro understandably doesn't want to burden them with his troubles, is reluctant to voice his pain, and he feels like he has to be the one looking after them instead of the other way around.

Hunk has to be like "this is physically painful for me to watch, please let me help you" before Shiro allows him to. Lance gets reprimanded for putting himself in danger in order to save Shiro from drowning (a haul-over from your one piece days that I absolutely appreciated lmao). It's just such an interesting flip to their dynamic. They're his TEAM. He SHOULD be able to rely on them! And the kids know that! Shiro has such a large burden to carry, anyway, it's just really comforting to see the others step up to take some of the load off of him however they can.

Pidge's mirror box was brilliant, and them helping Shiro with a more psychological issue was a nice change of pace from the norm! Keith making sure to take care of Shiro and his arm the second he notices the frostbite and distracting Shiro from his demons is so like that stubborn, loving boy. I loved Coran and Allura being the ones to help him with massage therapy and making sure that Shiro is in a good place emotionally. Shiro has just been dealing with all these pains and discomforts this whole, and he's so surprised and grateful and a little uncomfortable when the others come to him with a solution because they've noticed that it's almost heartbreaking!

The way the whole team interacts with each other - the dialogue, Shiro's internal monologue - it's all very grounding, and very Like Them, and there was just something about this whole fic that really made me remember why I love VLD in the first place and all the potential the characters had. I loved Lance and Keith's "who can save Shiro" competition. I loved Shiro's bond with Black. I loved Hunk, just on the whole. A Hunk. A Everybody, I really cannot say enough how in-character everyone was and how much of a delight to read it was. And I loved the last chapter, where Shiro is able to save everyone from the wreckage in a way that only Shiro could.

Keith's scene was just genuinely traumatic, I want you to know. The child has been lying there, conscious, in pain, bleeding to death? I had to put the phone down.

Poor Lance crying because he couldn't feel his legs? MEAN.

But Shiro is so calm and so steady when he talks to them, it makes all the difference. He gives Hunk a task to keep him from panicking. He takes care of his team, and his team takes care of him, and it's just overall such a GOOD COMFORTING feeling despite the trauma. Shiro "chooses, above all else, to be a protector". That's what it's all about, and I love the hell out of that!

This is getting pretty lengthy so I'm gonna chill out now...! Thank you so much for writing this fic, I have big BIG love for it and for Shiro!

So, when you were describing Shiro sleeping and the blanket my mind translated it to, Allura laying a tiny arm sized blanket on his Galra arm ( while the rest of him has a separate blanket, or even no blanket) hahhah

Very nice, very nice indeed.

Love the save Shiro contest

Love it!

wow this is a great ch!

great ch! though im sure he could use the healing pods I don't think they literally use the cro aka freezing term etc but that's just my opinion

wow this is actually very deep

I loved this story!

THIS IS AMAZING

All right, I favorited this over two months ago - a review is past overdue. .'

I love this! I've never read any other fics about Shiro's arm. (I'm lucky enough to have a friend who wades the oceans of fanfic and favorites some, and then I just have a small pond to search as I scroll through her faves.) That aside, the fact that one of your very first notes said it was a fic "just dealing with the pros and cons of being an amputee" and such, I was VERY intrigued.

You approached each chapter from a unique angle, and I blazed right through the whole thing, I was so excited. Each chapter is well-names, and the titles alone call up images from their respective chapters. You make it all so easy to visualize!

Favorite parts:

Ch.1 - Hunk trying his best to be unobtrusive, but then just has to say "this is actually physically painful to watch" when he ends up outright asking to help. It was also nice to read something where Hunk is actually doing something practical. (Again, haven't read many fics, but Hunk seems to usually be relegated to simply giving comfort.)

Ch.2 - Harder to choose a favorite here, it's definitely one of my favorite chapters! The dynamic between Lance and Shiro is so good. I could pretty much hear their voices during the post-rescue argument. I love Lance mentioning that Keith wanted to jump in, and then the idea of a Shiro-rescue competition just has me giggling. Perfect Lance!

Ch.3 - Gah, I loved this one too. I enjoyed all the motions Shiro went through at Pidge's order, trying to convince her there was nothing she could do. I was almost fooled even - just like Pidge, I assumed it was some kind of mechanical malfunction! This chapter is a great example of "show, don't tell" in writing.

Ch.4 - The idea that Shiro isn't sure Red will let him in made me smile, and it's such an interesting detail to get in there, which got me thinking about how well you do at giving us details. The descriptions of the crash and the cold are great, as well as the stubbornness Keith displays. Refusing to let Shiro and Black fall without doing everything he can is naturally expected of him, but you also showed us his observation skills (i.e. he noticed something was off when Shiro started to remember something).

Ch.5 - I wondered what Allura and Coran could do to help, but this team massage therapy session was great! And you got the mice in there too. Another unique angle to read. Also, this chapter's title is probably the one that most quickly gets me visualizing - I read the word "Weight" and the image of Shiro hunched over the edge holding onto the others as tight as he can is just *there*.

Ch.6 - I loved the beginning of this chapter, starting right in on the first thing Shiro hears as he's waking up. This is probably my favorite chapter, but only because of everything you'd already written. It's such a perfect way to wrap it all up. We get the feeling of, yes, this prosthetic can be a pain, but it can also be put to good use! There is so much to love about this chapter - the detail, the teamwork ... ah! Shiro's focus through the whole thing is so spot-on. 10/10

Seriously, you put so much care into characterization and detail. Even a few months and rereads later, I still just gush about how good this is! I'm so glad it was one of first Voltron fanfics I read!

This was just so good, in the series we don't really get to see how Shiro feels about the arm itself and what it symbolizes. And I really could appreciate how he could look at it in a new light after the crash, that's some kick ass character development man.
Awesome story and brilliantly written

Oh my gosh! This story was SO AWESOME! I can’t believe how well written it was! The story kept me so excited I couldn’t put it down! Fantastic job!:D

I loved it! Keep up the great work.

Beautiful end to a beautiful story. TT
Kudos. God bless.
-Silver