I know you are on hiatus and this is an old story...but just kinda bothered by this chapter a bit. Cerberus putting her arms in chains and whipping her makes no sense. Viola would not have allowed that to happen...not because of the cruelty of it...but because it does not allow for control. Everything going about biotic power that I've researched says it needs to be directed. It would do Cerberus no good if Amber could summon her power if she did not learn to direct it. The only thing this method would do is satiate Fiske's sadism. Also...If pain was needed for her to summon her power that would be useless. Just saying...

I was finally able to finish this story an I have to say it was really well done. It's making me want to go back and replay my Mass Effect games all over again! I really like how you brought in some

I just had to review after reading this chapter... Wow.. I'm really choked up right now. There has been very few stories that have made me choke back on sobs and this is one, good job. I figured that Mel having cancer was a very real possibility so that didn't come as a surprise but the ending to this chapter was so beautifully heart wrenching I just had to say bravo. Off to read the rest.

Well! I started reading "Feathers", because a while ago I noticed that thedeadflag's reviews always seemed to pop up in my favorite stories. For some reason it took me a while to discover "Flotsam", but I'm so glad I did! It's great to read a pre-ME Shepard story told "as a story" and not just in flashbacks. Loved the impact the OCs had on young Amber... Melody in particular, but also Faridah, Heather and even Viola and Anderson.

Great work!

Oh my. :_(

"I could have loved you, you know." And with that very line, my heart broke D:
What an awesome story. LOVE IT.

Oh man... I was going to wait until the end to review this piece, but I just had to stop here, if only because I'm feeling much too choked up to go on for a little while.

This is an absolutely wonderful story. I had suspected something bad was going to happen to Mel when she started acting strangely, though I was wishing with my heart of hearts that I was wrong.

You are a fantastic writer. Your descriptions of these places and events are incredibly vivid, and I really feel the emotions of the characters... which makes this chapter all the more powerful.

Amazing stuff. I can't wait to read the rest.

Absolutely wonderful story. I enjoyed the entire thing. It was very creative and made a ton of sense with the ME canon.

Feathers definitely has a lot of "oh yeah" moments after reading this and so glad I did.

Bravo!

Uggg the tears ... make them stop. :/ I knew something bad would happen.

Beautifully written.

Going to find tissues ...

One minor comment here only because I absolutely have to.

Your description of the food and the entire process of Amber and Mel eating real food was amazing. It was reminiscent of how George RR Martin describes food and caused my mouth to water. Well not the part about the paste but the burger and pizza. ;P

Nice, and the biotics rupture! Such a great twist of events going on ... anxious for more of course and its actually nice to know its there waiting for me to read already. :p A perk indeed!

I still am really enjoying the affection between Mel and Amber. It really so touching and their growing closeness is sweet as can be.

Reading ... more ... ! :D

Wow. I have just started catching up with this wonderful piece of work, sorry for sure it took me this long.

Amazing. This entire piece has been a great story full of vivid details and the horrors of Amber's life up until this point. Her friendship with Mel has been refreshing and real.

But this entire chapter had me on the edge of my seat and only at the end did I realize I had been clenching my back muscles from the excitement!

Looking forward to finishing but I wanted to leave my thoughts now as well. Amazing.

Did Shepard zone out when she talked to Anderson in chapter 6? He clearly mentions that some children get cancer after eezo exposure and that it was mostly treatable if caught early enough.

You would not believe how little time I have to read any fanfics anymore. Jeez.

Anyways, just thought I should let you know that I thought you had an uncommon idea that you developed realistically and well in this chapter (sexual assault). I also appreciate the gradual realization that Faridah is going through, because, yeah, figuring out your sexual orientation generally doesn't happen right away. Overall, good chapter and I'll review more WHEN/IF I HAVE TIME. Urgh.

Some small things I caught. I don't know if you've already fixed them, but here they are.

‘Can I tear apart her family just because he tore us apart?’

Think you meant she. Unsure which chapter this was. Was a while back when I caught it.

“You realize you're coming off like child fucker, right?”

Missed an article between ‘like’ and ‘child’.—Chapter 16

Wohoo! You finished just in time!

Great chapter and a worthy conclusion!
I'm not too sad about Viola but glad that Fari and Amber had their goodbye.
Also, if Ambers performance is anything to go by - poor, poor Dr. Chackwas. I see hectic days coming for the good Doctor.

Now, I've seen that you already have posted the first chapter of the sequel AND I noticed the main characters there... So Amber hates the colour blue? Yeah, guess someone will have to screw her head on right. Looking forward to it! ;)