I like it. It's such a turning point for Rogue; until now she's been reacting rather than acting, just the way I imagine she would. This chapter is the first one where she's trying to really assert control over her own life. I like heroines with agency. :)

Author's Response: Yeah, she\'s been a bit of a brat. Who better than the Wolverine to put her in her place? She\'s treading a fine line between standing up for herself/making sure she doesn\'t get screwed over & ....well, being a brat.

Hey, you're not an a-hole of any flavor. Writing takes time. (Though I will admit that when I got the notice that you'd updated, I got very happy. :) )

And the piano scene seems to work fine to me. I like that you've left her an out. The relationship with Logan is building slowly, but to me it reads well: not too fast, not too slow. Nice!

Author's Response: You might want to re-assess that \"not an a-hole\" thing now that it\'s taken me a month to get back to you.......only to say that this in on hiatus for a bit. I will come back to it after I get real life issues straightened out. Promise!

Pfft, stop that. If you were a d-bag, you'd abandon this story with a rude note saying OMG I'M OUTTA HERE CAUSE YOU ALL SUCK AND I DON'T WANNA TALK TO YOU NO MORE ALSO BTW YOUR MAMA WEARS COMBAT BOOTS IN CHURCH, or something equally d-baggy. You can't help being sick. (Says the woman who had five, count 'em, colds, plus appendicitis, last school year. Being sick gets you a free pass, IMO.)

That said... yay, you're back! I like the chapter; great plot and character development, and I'm happy that Rogue finally admitted to Logan what's been freaking her out so badly. And I loved her parting shot to Xavier. That's gotta sting.

Glad you're feeling better.

Oh, one small thing that caught my eye:

Although his voice is noticeably softer, it still carries that distinctive rumbling timber.

That should be spelled timbre. It's not like theatre/theater, where one is British English and one is American. Timber always means wood; timbre refers to the character of a sound. :)

Author's Response: Oh mess. I feel like I\'ve been caught with my pants down. The spelling has been changed. Gracias! And muchas gracias for the kind review. It\'s always a super nice, decadent treat to find that people are still on board & liking the ride. Balancing development with what I hope is decent writing is tricky so I\'m glad you don\'t hate it ;) Hopefully my body is going to stop with this mutiny business and my muse will return to me in growly, feral, gold-hot pants glory!

And do you believe me that Rogue loves Logan every bit as much as she loves Victor?

Yes! I totally believe you! ;)

You've done a great job of throwing all of the films and some of the comics into a blender and coming out with something cool. I like your writing style and your depictions of these characters. Origins Victor is so much more interesting than X1 Victor, so I'm really enjoying how you're writing him. This is a great beginning. I'm looking forward to reading more.

Author's Response: Well, X1 Victor was like a were-lion, or something. So I decided to go with Origins Victor, but with his traditional comics look. Why? I don\'t know. Maybe it\'s because I went with comics-look Logan. Or because I think Sabretooth looks fiercer with his blond mane.Or maybe it\'s just because it\'s so rare for a girl to run across a real blond! ;)

Oh, this is marvelous. So very much worth the wait. The language is graceful and elegant; you never set a foot wrong. Thank you so much.

Author's Response: Yay!! Thank you for the lovely comments, and for being willing to finish this, despite the delay in posting. I can\'t tell you what that means to me. So just, thanks!

“This ain’t your usual kind of place. They have cloth table cloths and nobody’s screamin’ fer blood.”

*snicker* She's got him there. Fun chapter; thanks.

even Logan’s stomach gave a plaintiff rumble

(Psst... a plaintiff is the person who sues someone else in a civil court case. I think you wanted to say plaintive, which means pathetic or sad.) ;)

Author's Response: Holy cow! I can\'t believe I did that; I apologize for my mixed up words. I wish I could blame not speaking English as my first language, but really the truth is I can\'t spell. I have a horrid southern accent that screws with sounding words out and believe it or not that was the only thing spell check came up with. I will now go beat my head on the dictionary. I\'m glad you like the story.

As a buddy from grad school used to say, "Pant, pant." (I mean he would literally say it, not do it. ;) )

BTW, let me commend you for avoiding the dreaded word "ministrations," which I find to be the anti-sexy.

Author's Response: \"Pant, pant\" is quite a compliment! Yeah, I think we all have certain words that get to us in a very anti-sexy way. I was determined not to say anything about Marie\'s \"core.\" Usually I try not to actually name any genitals or parts thereof, but this smut called out for a little less propriety than usual.

Oh, good, so the ending itself won't be a thing of woe, just parts of the journey to get there. There's that. :)

Oh, harsh. Well done. I like where you're taking this.

Author's Response: Glad you enjoyed! I\'m thinking I might have to add \"dark\" to my category listings, because it certainly seems to be treading that path a little. Actually has precious little to do with me!

Absolutely worth reading. I like how you interleave back story with what's happening now. It's interesting to see the two different perspectives about how they parted: Rogue thinks she left Logan for dead, and he thinks she was lost.

So does Logan still have adamantium bones? He clearly still has the cladding on his claws, but what about the rest of him? Inquiring minds want to know.

Author's Response: Hmm. I think he must have somehow have had his adamantium restored in someway, but as yet I have no idea how :D I\'m sure it will come to me at some point ;) I\'m glad you are enjoying the back story, and the dual perspectives ... it\'s quite a common theme in my writing, that idea of the differing interpretation of events.

I really like your pacing here. It feels very deliberate. Well-constructed! The backstory really soars. Looking forward to the next installment.

Author's Response: I\'d love to admit to being that deliberate a writer. But I\'m not - what comes out, comes out. My only decision on pacing is that this is a long-haul kind of job, so I\'m in no particular hurry to get anywhere. There is a plot in the past, there is a moment in the present, and there are places to go in the future, so I need to move forward a certain amount, but am not in any particular hurry.

Hey, I forgot to mention that I appreciate the more nuanced portrayal of Jean here. I'm not a Jean-hater (I guess that puts me in the minority on this site, huh? ;) ), so it's nice to see this.

Author's Response: Glad you approve! I\'m not one for huge prejudices against any particular character, I tend to take it as it comes storywise, but I was surprised how sympathetic this turned out. She\'s horny, yes, but she is more than that, and maybe we\'ll see her rise to the occasion down the track in this story. But I reserve the right for her to be a total heinous bitch, too ... I\'m not always in the driver\'s chair when the bunnies bite!