RE: your A/N -- I'll tell you a secret: I like backstories WAAYY better than smut! All the possibilities keep my mind whirling for hours. A sex scene is just ... a momentarily thrill of fulfillment, and then it's on to the next thing. Their *story* is what keeps me here, reading.

So, in short: definitely no rush on the smutty chapters from this quarter. I find, generally on this website, that the quality of the story invariably goes down just as soon as they start rolling in the hay. After that, it's like the author stops paying attention to the need for *Good* writing! Like they think the cheap thrill is enough to keep us reading (it's not).

Heh heh. I think I was ranting. Sorry for that! Back to the *review*, and off the soap box...

I was definitely hoping for a Queen v. King of the Cage battle from that first sentence where Rogue talks about The Pen. I loved the pic you painted of the woman she's become with the Marine twins' (& Toad's) reaction to her.

Logan's continual paranoid-sensei advice in her head was a really fascinating commentary, too.

But: You blew me away with that last scene! I honestly didn't think it would be *that* bad, what she'd done to him. And it's shocking b/c it's such an anti-movieverse Marie attitude ... just the opposite of what X1's Rogue would have done in that situation. And it's also an ironic reversal of Logan's first meeting w/young Jubilee. And STILL, even after I know what happened, I'm full of questions! That's the master writing technician's way to package the Big Reveal, sister!

You put so much info in so few words, here. It's a VERY short chapter, but it doesn't feel like it b/c it's packed with sentiment and subtext.

Author's Response: Sorry I didn't get to this before now - I've spent all week writing and rewriting C6, and it kind of ate my brain. Thank you so much for leaving such detailed feedback ... it's really, REALLY appreciated. I'm glad you are loving the backstory ... usually, I try to keep this focused and moving ahead, and I think its the security of knowing I'm not in a hurry that lets me indulge all those little sidetrips. I have a puzzle in my head, with a lot of pieces, and bit by bit, they'll all fall into place to reveal the full picture. Re the quality of writing going downhill with sex scenes ... sometimes. I think the trap is when people don't integrate the scene into the story, ie treat it almost as a standalone, that it can be jarring. I really try not to do that. I doubt it will be too long before it happens, though ... I can't help myself :D But I can tell you that it won't be at the end, in a "and they lived happily ever after *cue sex*" scenario. Finally, glad you liked the Big Reveal. I will admit to being a bit of a schlock merchant and enjoy writing things that make people sit up and take notice; and that's EXACTLY why this story is AU, rather than X1, X2 or whatever. Because this is NOT movieverse Marie; she never had the chance to become that, because another road was taken.

Yikes, those two did a number on each other. I don't know how you're intending this, but this Logan seems like what he could've ended up like if he hadn't gotten amnesia. Like the full weight of his history of violence, all that combat readiness right on his shoulders.

Anyway. Mm-mm. Bring on the fight smut!

Author's Response: Yep, they did a number on each other. But they were also damaged people BEFORE they were together, and sometimes, people do what they must to survive. I wasn't thinking of this as a pre-amnesia Logan, simply a Logan who had managed to straighten himself up (somewhat!) without the Xmen coming into his life. It lacked a heart, however, without Marie, and that makes him a darker, more ruthless individual.