All Comments on 'For the Greater Good - Conclusion'

Interesting take on the subject. I still don't like the practice of finishing other people's stories unless it's a collaboration of writers before the fact! You're a good writer and should write your own stories.

4

Very artificial setup - like the original. But entertaining.

I like your ending. Thank you. 5 stars.

Like most of what you write, but this story was nothing but stupid. It is hard to start with a story theme so ridiculous and make anything of it that flows logically. Bottom line is I did not enjoy it because the "getting unstuck" mantra was nothing but silly.

This was written well, but I just didn’t like where this ending went. Ashley finishes this version as a totally unlikable narcissistic character. Tom is as mentally sick as he was physically. His parents seem too image conscious in their damage control mode. That Kurt and Melinda survive and end up together still doesn’t justify their adultery, though they certainly made all the hard sacrifices and supported their original spouses in every way possible. I hate reaching the end and not liking anyone left standing. Thus, I gave it a 4 as one version too many.

It was going to be a 5*, reconciliation or divorce, but the swapping left a bad taste in my mouth.

It was done well so I'll give it a 4.

Beltran lives untouched…!? The whole RCA affair should have been pushed on the media after the divorce with Tom or a book from MC to put shame on Ashley. Sour taste left in my mouth.

And it’s all because the MC wouldn’t consider counseling

This wasn’t a bad story, but it had some hiccups (they were going to do a separation right after she got back, but then didn’t do it until she brought it up again?)

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My issue is that imhapless wrote a semi autistic incredibly structured weirdo wife.

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All the follow up versions don’t have the same feel. You and the others did give headnods toward this but darn it, it just doesn’t feel the same. A quibble but not insurmountable.

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I am not sure I could do any better.

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But this MC ‘got’ that weirdo in ways she hadn’t been understood before. That is why she married him. You correctly understood that Ashley and Tom wouldn’t last at all. So well done there!

I don’t know why it is scoring so low

Ummmm irinmike you don't know what you're talking about. As a woman with three concurrently earned BS degrees in sciences, two awarded MS degrees, and a Ph.D. with enough work and experience for an MD degree (I can't deal with blood or vomit), all earned within a single 10-year span, I could fully identify with Ashley and her needs. I would get 'stuck' myself. I have been fucked in broom closets, labs, over desks in my office, and several libraries (both in the stacks and in study rooms). I have a very uber sex drive (common for very high IQs), and yes, I am on the spectrum, and yes, I am married, and no, it was not always the same person. I am not proud of it, but it was what I needed to move forward and get my subconscious back in the game. Whatever else this ending had, the founding idea of a need to get 'unstuck' is a real-life possibility.

This is a hard story to read in part due to some the terminology used. Can't figure out what STUCK is in reference to.

Seems to me that if she REALLY wanted to save her marriage, she would have put her career second behind her husband.

Ashley is a fucking whore. She had the ability while at RCA to just call her own husband for her relief and didn't do that. She thought she was a God, and could do what ever she wanted. She destroyed her marriage with her selfish attitude. She just another whore. Her ex should make it all public what a whore she is. 5 stars to CWG for his Great Writing, Thank You Sir. You got everyone to feel the pain of this heartbreak. Thks, Buster2U

Kinda went of the track and out into the bushes. This story turned out good but that degenerated.

She immediately starts traveling and Kurt does not go along. Neither is really trying to get over anything. In the original story his business would have allowed him to work remotely but he did not choose to do that. After the first few days if he wanted even a whisper of a hope to reconcile he'd have her home or with him.

When they try to have sex he sees Beltran, yet he let Beltran off scot free. Perhaps if he had nailed Beltran hard like telling his wife etc, it would have gone a long way for Kurt to get over some of his feelings. I put that down to seeing Beltran replaced him, his wife's choice etc. And he regrets rolling over. That alone makes him feel worse- him thinking of himself as a pussy for not fighting.

His brother Tom's actions were repugnant as were Ashley's for succumbing. It really became a double issue.

And for Ashley to suggest a separation, trial or otherwise was just ending the marriage right there.

I really wanted to give this 5*, but it just didn't make to bar.

Good story, too much "whoe is me" from the husband.

Yeah it was a lot to get through and, let's face it, the original premise--really intelligent wife has a problem that requires sex to solve--is kinda out there. and then why wouldn't she call her husband, if getting UNSTUCK was really the motive. I know I don't call others for sex because I know my wife wouldn't appreciate that.

So, on one hand, the wife is very smart. But on the other hand, the author made her stupid and not very intelligent. And, how do you sleep with a family member? That's just Ratchet!! She's a slut, first and foremost. All these attempts to make her NOT a slut have fallen short.

When a writer can get my guts all churned up I have got more than my moneys worth. That is the case here.

Would I change the story line and plot, damn skippy. But it is not mine to do. Well written story and very deserving of a five

What a twisted bunch of people!

Nah I'm afraid I was realling enjoying that story until the ending I was rooting for Ashley and Kurt to sort it all out.Instead she hooks up with his brother after everything!Brother or not I would have battered his head in for lusting after my mrs and I certainly wouldn't of seduced his wife that's just as low as you can go .I was so invested in these characters until it turned into a sick perverse family musical chairs.The ending just ruined it for me left a bad taste.

I found this tough to read. Picked it up and put it down several times.

Ending seemed hollow.

Well written, true to the original story.

I wasn't sure where this was going. I remember reading the original story and feeling quite upset at the ending. From memory the two main characters were deeply in love but she made a huge error in doing what she did. When this ending came up and I saw who wrote it, I was hoping for a happy ending but I felt it was spoiled by the ridiculous pairing of the brother who was saved and the genius wife. I also think the MC was a moral man in the original who would never sleep with his brother's wife. I still have a 4 because the writing was, as usual, very good.

Did not like this one. As my grandmother would likely have told Kurt, “Boy, either shit or get off the pot”. Awful lot of complete and repetitive inaction in this one.

All four of them are thoroughly unlijeable people who deserve each other.

Awful. Why Kurt ain’t go after her colleagues

Dislike the marriage swap at the end IMMENSELY.

The most ridiculous ending to a story that was already stupid!!

Sorry but this was a great big ball of shit, down to the dad getting involved and the Mc being a spineless bitch like in the original.

Good story but there is a problem because in the original story the father dies of the same cancer. I liked the story but because of this mistake it's hard to see it as a sequel to the original.

All that drama!!! When got cheated on get divorce no exceptions. Cheater didn't respect you enough to stop him or herself so let go that poison hand

What an awful and unbelievable ending. Took a good story and lead up straight to Hell. 1*

Awful story.

This tale has its genesis in another very similar story l read here on Lit in 2020. I remember the story well. That story was vastly superior, in that it was told better. As l recall the original tale didn’t require a completion, it was a finished product that ended with the good doctor being divorced as well.

Scores 3/5.

“Stuck…unstuck…idiosyncrasies…

At 82 years of age I find myself to very naive….

WTF ?

Wow! What a bittersweet ending. Nice job at keeping the personalities of the original cast. I don’t think there is any way to bring the beginning of the story to a “happily ever-after conclusion”. Nice job. Thank you.

Ed

This just didn't seem true to the characters from the original.

Left me feeling kind of disgusted and like I need a scalding shower but it was well written.

WAAAAAAY to LONG!!!!! Totally unrealistic. If that was my dad that slapped me and was telling me how to run my marriage I would punch his lights out. HORRIBLE story. If I could give a -1000 I would.

Okay, here's the problem; I read the first page and the last page, and had absolutely no problem in knowing what was going on. That's a bad thing.

Completely went off the rails on the last page. Went from being a strong, character driven story to a hot mess.

Idiocy, and plagiarism if you didn't have the author's permission. The others did, and said so.

This was actually the worst of the sequels to a story with a crappy premise. You are a pretty good writer but not much there this go round. I mostly enjoy your stuff and I guess the fact that I never like any incarnation of this idea might have dulled the story for me. I do thank you for writing and ask that you continue sharing your talent with us.

I liked this better. Reading the original it was apparent (4 times) Ashley was inflating herself. Tom was a dope. Only aspect of Ashley’s’s life I would have enjoyed would have her alone snd miserable for years. I agree with the comment that you would do great writing your own stories…

Thanks for sharing...

It’s a very unlikely scenario & in the end Kurt never really made a decision for himself ,he just went along with others expectations of events. Fair enough considering you gave him a happy ending. Or did you simply suffice to his expectation? 5*

They should have sued RCA for allowing it to happen. Evan though she found a cure for the cancer. They also should have outed Ashley afterwards. So the world knew her part in breaking up all the families with her bullshit excuse. Kurt should have divorced her straight away because of her lies in the relationship. Sometimes a plaster needs removing fast to lesson the pain.

It seems impossible for authors in this category to create a MC that is decisive, ‘I’ve got a lot to think about’. Like fucking what? Of course the blessing of a character with a spine is that the story would probably have only been one page, so…silver lining or what.

As with February Sucks the alternates for this one cannot put a shine on the turd that is the original.

Good until the end.

Unimaginative, boring. But what do you expect...

My conclusion is the main character should have kicked the wife to the curb with complete BTB after his brother's treatment. Then sued the ever loving crap out of RCA with a story to the media. The treatment would have been a success one way or the other.

SerradaC - I hope you have an understanding with your husband because otherwise you come across like another selfish, narcissistic slut and a bitch. You, like Ashley, clearly have this sense of entitlement when it comes to being 'stuck'. You clearly feel you are entitled to become unstuck with anyone you choose and not care about the feelings of your supposed lifemate.

I guess I don't see as becoming unstuck as an emergency situation that has to be addressed immediately with whoever is at hand. That's pure BS.

Shame that Kurt never bothered getting therapy. It might have helped him get past his issues with seeing the asshole doing his wife, and enabled him and Ashley to regain their physical intimacy which might have repaired the mental intimacy.

FD45 wants to know why this is scoring so low...Because it's a crock of shit just like the last one Einstein tried writing. Could you possibly gather more wimpy cucks in one family???

Technically speaking the story was well written with no obvious issues my poor literary knowledge could catch. But there is something about the story that hangs in the air like smoke from an ill fire. It doesn't sit well, it is a sense of lament for what should have been.

Ashley was a likeable character and it is a bit grieving that she abandoned her logic and succumbed to her biological chemistry to deal with a problem. All she had to do was pick up the phone and make a call. "Kurt, it's Ashley. I'm stuck and I really need you! You know what I mean. Get here as quickly as you can!" If she had done that Kurt would have burned through the atmosphere like a incoming ICBM. A 3☆ for me.

Horrible original story that you managed to make even worse. Hard to believe that was possible. Unfavorited.

Nonsense. Way too long and unrelatable ending.

Right. Family spouse swapping? Laughable.

And SerradaC. Nice. Way to admit to being a total whore and a cheating slut for thousands of us to know. I'm sure you are proud. What a great family you must have.

High IQ and being on the spectrum are no excuse for being a horrible person. Go get yourself "unstuck" if you catch what I'm saying miss high IQ.

Hi. Firstly, the actual writing was very good. The twists and turns in the story, not so much.

Yes, she was weird and did a stupid thing. What was worse is that her husband Kurt, was so wishy washy, weak and pathetic that it bordered on him being retarded.

He, like any person cheated on, was very upset. But he refused to do anything to help him deal with it. A therepist or whatever.

Plus, if him and his wife were so well-off financially, when she was doing all that travelling with his arsehole brother, why didn't Kurt hire a PI firm to do spot checks? Instead, pussy boy warns his wife and his brother, at the urging of his Melenda but never follows through with checking. Kurt sleeps with an escort to see if everything still works but never deals with his mental condition. Really, the swapping thing was ridiculous.

I read this all the way through even though there were many times i wanted to stop

So in conclusion i wish i had bloody stopped!

This was way too long for the ground it covered. It's better than the original in that it actually has an ending, but it's just not a very good story. Instead, it was frustrating and not well thought out.

OK but not great as even in this version he stuck it out. But what gets me is why he cared about his fathers solution? Just tell the world what Ashley did and how he is divorcing her. The world would not care in anyway as they have some amazing cure that a pharmaceutical company will be selling. The fact a slut developed it is irrelevant.

This was a real good sequel to the original story, until…..

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After he gave Ashley his written list of “demands”, the story went south. First, Kurt just seemed to step away and let it just play out. Why? Why wouldn’t he particularly encourage her to quickly satisfy the counseling one, and for that matter get some help himself? Instead, literally MONTHS go by with these 2 in some sort of weird standoff.

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It appeared obvious that Ashley was dishonest. Her behavior post the 4 fucks reinforced that. It might be argued that she was as dishonest with herself as she was with Kurt. But in the end, her inability and/or unwillingness to confront her own demons mightily contributed to the disaster.

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But Kurt was at fault as well with his insipid behavior — ending up in an affair with his brother’s wife !? Stupid.

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Sorry, CWG…you are a really good author, but the direction this took in the last couple pages just didn’t work…IMHO.

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4 ****

I am happy some guy fucked his brother's wife. Damn, you are a good writer!

yeah 5*

He should have fucked Beltran's wife.

Nope. Weeks and weeks went by. She left and came back. They fucked. And no therapist, to consideration, no investigation, no insight into her underlying condition. She continued on unchecked involving more and more people. You shot yourself with Chekov's gun and bled out on the floor.

To long and not very good story telling. Tough read

I had to actually think about this one before I commented. While I usually like your stories and their abundance of words, this one didn't go down well because of what everybody chose to do in reaction to Ashley's cheating. It seemed odd that she forgot about her husband after all the times he "unstuck" her. Either she was an odd duck or she had a screw loose. I understand Tom's attachment to Ashley because she saved his life and sometimes that can be an overriding factor in a person's decision making. I understood Melinda's reaction to her husband pulling away from her and their children. I even understood Mom and Dad getting into the middle of things with their attempts to right the ship and help their children. But, in the end, they ALL turned out to be bad people. Ashley for being a cheater and having a "God complex". Tom for deserting his wife and family and chasing after his brother's wife. The parents going where NO parents should ever go and thinking that it was their business and that their solution to the problem would fix anything. And his solution was to be with Melinda (his brother's wife. What is it with these two brothers?). The whole thing seemed improbable and then unbelievable. Why wouldn't he simply divorce Ashley, expose Dr. Beltran and SUE the Cancer people? He gets a ton of money (retirement money), ditches his ego-driven, self-centered wife, loses his family and moves away to led a happy life after starting over? You like words a LOT. Most times, I enjoy that facet of your writing. This time? Not so much. End of rant - even though it's "just a story".

Total and complete waste of time !

"Life isn't really that strange when everything works out in the end."

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LLOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!

Ashley is the poster child for "Too smart for their own good!"

Intelligence without character is just another arrogant asshole.

In the original Kurt’s dad died from the cancer that Tom had. Did you bring him back to life?

Really liked it until the last 1.5 pages... then not so much.

5 stars! It was a long but enjoyable story about how things go ever more wrong when a man doesn't just end an already poisoned relationship.

Nudging give stars, but not quite. Four stars for this effort. Too many incongruities throughout, and especially at the denouement.

JPB

That was a well-written, logical 5* continuation.

Wow!

I really, really liked this one.

As Turning pointed out below, Their dad was dead so he couldn't have solved the problems. There are other alternative endings which I am going to look up and re-read. Kurt should have just divorced Ashley right away.

I have far more sympathy for Ashley than Kurt. Maybe Ash should have driven home or asked Kurt to visit her, but brilliant people sometimes are clueless in problem solving. On the other hand, Kurt lacked any understanding or empathy, and had pretty much so cemented his opinions that there was no way back. Sometimes we have to accept some human foibles, but Kurt was not able. That is the character that the author displayed and I did not like him.

I also did not like the brother fucking sister-in-law. That is very unusual and there was really no development of that relationship.

First let me say I am a big fan of CWG, but I can’t say I like what you did with this story. Granted the MC ended up happy with his former sister-in-law, but the whole inter-family dynamic was a cluster fuck. He should have just dumped Ashley and moved on. She fucked Dr. douche at least 3 too many times, fucked his brother and god knows who else. No salvation for her.

You know what? Women give women a bad name............In my younger years I would have loved to have found a woman with 'idiosyncrasies". take one for the team. I was having a religious discussion one day when I was asked would you give up you life to save the world? I thought about and knew that would never happen but answered yeah, I guess. My muse remarked 'That makes you just as good as Jesus then". I don't know about that I said. But then that does pertain to this story of in a round-a-bout way if you think about it.

Women, you can't with the them...................

All the "For The Greater Good" follow-ons have been excellent, this one among the rest. A good amount of credit should go to the original author, for his interesting characters and compelling situation.

Nice work.

I’m not entirely happy with the conclusion, but it’s hard to imagine one that is both credible and happy. Ashley on her own does make sense. Her with Tom doesn’t at all. Kirk and Melinda seems a bit forced. All that said, the author did a great job, up until the end, in portraying the anguish of the various participants. So, with the benefit of the doubt, five stars.

Like all your other work, "What Tony The Tiger says." Keep it up!

Great follow on. You did a great job picking up from a plot that is so unlikely that it's hard to suspend disbelief while reading your follow on. But you did it, really a great job. Thanks!

Good writing but an unduly long, repetitive take that doesn't work as an alternate "ending" to this story. Among other things, what adult in his late 20s/early 30s lets himself get walked over by his father and mother like the MC does? And the answer about "the greater good" only has one answer in a marriage, "Cheating is unforgivable." Finally, the whole Tom cheating with Ashley is never made believable. "Tom" is just a name and there is no reason that he would be going to all sorts of medical conferences just because he was the first patient to be cured by the new treatment. Even if there is an explanation for his attendance, there still is none for why he takes up with his brother's wife nor why she goes ahead and has sex with Tom. By the way, as to the asshole father, Ashley divorcing the MC and marrying Tom is a bigger story than her just fucking other people. Dad's family will look pretty awful whatever the story is. The only way this story would have resulted in a satisfying ending would be if MC and Miranda cut off all contact between the grandchildren and MC''s parents. 3*** because the writing is good but the story sucks.

Doesn't matter how you rewrite this story it is still just another story about a pussywhipped cuck.

Found it too long. With all their meetings to discuss issues I would think something should have been resolved. Dad died from cancer previously did he become resurrected? 4 ****

This may be one of the dumbest fucking alternate endings I've ever read, and that's saying a lot. Your parroting sycophants don't have a fucking clue.

Excellent story!!!! Great alternate ending!!!

Congratulations!

Very well done... though it seems odd that after that one small conversation, the brothers never really talked. Even the big night when the father changed everything, they just walked away from each other. With as much as the father was worried about preserving "the family", it seems he would have demanded those two hash it out.

You violated one of the primary rules of writing a continuation: you contradicted the original story by bringing Kurt's father back to life. The original clearly states that he was killed before the story started by the same cancer that threatened Tom. Thus, 1*.

I used to date someone like Ashley. Very smart, at the top of her field, utterly narcissistic, and couldn't keep her legs closed.

Being single is better.

I only have one question. Why did Kurt not get any counselling???? You mentioned Ashley seeking professional help, but nothing from of for Kurt. Apart from that I liked the story you concocted.

Perhaps those who rise from the dead have supernatural powers of control over others

That would be the only explanation I can imagine as to how the MC accepts his reincarnated father's intrusions into his marriage and his life. The MC had said nothing to his mother to warrant a slap to the face at the extended family meeting called by the parents. By his action, the father showed himself to be a weak, insecure man who had learned to cover for his shortcomings by being a bully. Itis illogical that the MC would have the strength to confront his wife but not have the ability to stand up to a father who held no financial control over him as an adult. To portray an abusive father as the source of the resolution of this cluster fuck is simply wrong on so many levels that my faith in CWG's judgement as an author is sadly shaken.

The only real flaw in the story is why they let it drag on for so long? That, and of course the asshole Beltran apparently getting away Scott Free. I don't begrudge Ashley for being a selfish arrogant bitch, as long as she keeps delivering the medical cures. Keep the cures coming and fuck anyone or anything she wants. And she finally admitted to herself that absent her medical genius she's otherwise a pretty worthless human being. Hell, she couldn't even arrange to have her spectacular DNA passed on to her offspring. Now THAT would be doing something for the greater good; selfish bitch.

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Glad her dumb cuck ended up with a better woman and a solid family. Couldn't give a fuck what happens to the saved asshole Tom, but wouldn't it be funny for Miracle Cure Boy to die of Covid or something? Just a thought. Overall a much better ending that the pathetic dreck the original author left hanging in the wind.

Great until you hooked Tom with Ashley...3*

I’m only halfway through, but it’s really starting to drag. I like stories that examine the emotional costs of infidelity from both the cheater and the cheated in’s perspective. But somehow the author seems to have exhausted it halfway through it? I’ll keep going but am hoping the intensity of the conflict picks up soon.

I tried, I really tried to get through it. The first half was just plodding and a little boring. The second half was just absurd. Like Fonzie it jumped the shark. 2*

Not sure how Kurt’s dad came back to life for your version but considering all of the ways the characters changed for the never ending supply of stories revolving around “February Sucks” it can be overlooked.

Several times I was ready to quit reading because everyone was a complete hypocrite telling him how they would divorce their cheating spouse before begging and trying to bribe him to reconcile and keep everything a secret from the world.

Kurt definitely should have outed the cheating to asshole’s wife or included in his list of demands for Ashley was she and John meet asshole’s wife and Ashley confess the cheating in person.

Once it got to Kurt and Melinda having sex and the creepy wife swap I really regretted that I finished reading the story.

Stupidest fucking ending I have seen. He should of beat Tom's ass, divorced the whore and slapped the shit out of his father and sister after they slapped him.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The original premise is so ridiculous, you're doomed before you start. Still, you tried hard.

3 stars as the BS swap at the end was ridiculous.