All Comments on 'Two's a Crowd Ch. 12'

You can't make a smart guy that stupid and have it be believable.

Then again, after re-reading this story, I like it. It's weird and all over the place,

but yes, I still like it. (grin)

As I said a few times before, you're right, Duke. The story escaped me like a stampeding herd.

But I won't rewrite it. Thanks for reading and commenting.

The beginning of this story took off like a house afire. Sometime during its course the author let the firehose get away. There was a lot going on at once. It made it hard for me to focus.

The premise was very imaginative. With a more narrow scope it could make a real page turner. Keep it on simmer.

The main character is so stupid and weak. The problem with this story is everyone is completely unlikable by the end.

Ugh hated the twist and the ending too. Kind of ruins the whole story.

Erica got off too easy. I would have beat the dyke to within an inch of her life with a tennis racket in the Carribbean.

Really? How does Erica keep a 7 year affair with Myr a secret aa well as Myr's activity as a whore under Bruce's radar? That's ridiculous. What's even worse is Bruce ending up with Rachel. Erica introduces her to Bruce, they hit it off, then Rachel suddenly takes off after a month? She's obviously a whore just like Erica and Myr. Unless, of course, Erica tossed Rachel his way as a condolation prize for vlaiming Myr. Regardless, Erica got off to easy.

WTF? That was a crazy ending!

Whew, what to make of all of that? Very well written in the main, even if the storyline was somewhat convoluted, and I’m not sure about the last chapter - felt like it was a bit of a rush to just end it.

The start was fascinating, the marriage ending was traumatic given the callousness of her character coming through, the lack of actual feeling for him. Then the “split personality” stuff got a bit unfathomable, and his continued emotional infatuation was a bit of a struggle for me to buy into. Bruce’s discovery that Erica was Myriam’s dom and lover since year 2 of his marriage appears to have released him to move on at last, but what were the phone calls from the island ‘I’m dying’ about? Was she cat and mousing him at Erica’s direction, just to lure him out to revel in his final humiliation of the full reveal; or, was she still suffering some lingering aspiration to cling to her innocent Myriam persona, was there a remnant of conflict and remembered feelings for him, or worse was Myriam just torturing the poor sod out of her own malice?

I’m going to explore more of this author, because the writing is good (hence my 5* overall), but I suspect I’ll be further rendered baffled by the twists of this creative mind.

Jim

One comment thought all the characters being broken at the end was a negative. I thought it was brilliant. We’re all broken to some degree.

wow. i cant imagine a story like that. I dont know how something like that would come to mind. All I can say is you are a much better thinker than I ever have been. I must also be extremely innocent of the inner world of women, which isnt surprising. I have come to realize in my old age that all of the women I have known in my life that I really thought I knew. Well I probably only knew 10% of them if even that. Its really sobering to think how little someone shares their deepest self with another. Men I can see telling a woman 90% of themselves complete picture. Women however, probably barely scratch the surface with everyone except maybe 1 or 2 people in their entire life. they just have too many secrets they cannot even bare to admit to I suppose. Stories like this really show how much of a fool I have been my whole life. I am just an idiot.

I thought it was a very interesting story as I couldn't wait to get to the next chapter. The good guy doesn't always win and poor Bruce was taken for a sucker and used and abused. when compared to other stories in the Loving Wives category this was at least interesting. I never suspected Erica to be the Dom but nicely played. Last chapter was a little weird but hopefully Bruce does have a happy ending. Glad to see that angiquesophie is still monitoring this site. Too many authors disappear into the mist, or worse die.

I'm so sorry, Stubbyone, but I agree with you, as I said before.

Hope you liked the first parts, though (smile).

Booo Hiss. I guess you couldn’t figure out how to end this convoluted story.

It was good for a number of chapters, but the last 2 or 3 just rambled with no direction. At the end every character was unlikeable. They were all broken to some degree. Incredibly unsatisfying and Disappointing !

A horror story worthy of Alfred Hitchcock. And I have no earthly clue about that last bit. At least Estelle is not a mad slasher version of her mother. Also strangely getting vibes of Marnie? Vertigo?

This was a painful story to read but it was entertaining and I got through the end so hard to say it's was bad as it did it's job...

That said I'd love to see you rewrite the entire thing and if not that at least the ending to your a few things up.

It's been 15 years... time to rewrite this lackluster ending, angiquesophie!

My approach to angiquesophie’s creativity: I learn about it from the comments – this is very timesaving.

Vittorio Vittorossi

I’m disappointed.

Ed

All windup and a pitch that fell far short of the batter; too bad about such a stupid and truncated ending.

It was way too long. A muddled mess of confusion. The guy was a loser that couldnt think straight. I'd have killed them all in chapter 10 just to get it over with.

That's how it ended? First 11 chapters amazing! This ending I want to slit my fucking wrists

An interesting story that could have been far better - it needs so much work. It was twice as long as it should have been, due to long, bloated sections that beg for tighter editing. Too many of the ultimate twists and turns in the plot simply make no sense and are inconsistent with what came before. And the are way too many of these twists and turns. The author can’t seem to choose between a business intrigue story and a psycho-emotional mystery with its exploration of the horrific impact a serious multiple personality disorder can have on a relationship. Then toss in Dom-sub dynamics involving several major characters and the story just has way too much going on. Hugely ambitious story idea brought down under its own weight.

A superbly written dark, modern fairy tale complete with beautiful, tortured damsel in distress, courageous (if somewhat naive) besotted prince charming, heartless wicked witch and a host of nasty besuited troles.

Doesn't do much to restore your faith in human nature but brilliant all the same.

LA

Long drawn out to end in disappointment and the process of confusion. The text seemed to proceed like an ADDHD dance on steroids. Sorry I honestly was not looking for a happy ending but instead a fan ally….very disappointing.

Thanks, ErotFan, that's a nice new dimension to the story.

I think that of all the comments to your story a agree most closely with author *cloacas*.

Of my own reading I cannot get a read on any of your characters. Myriam's mother and aunt seem to be the only characters with consistent personalities. Aside from some of the John's. Myriam cannot have been Erica's subservient/slave since two years into the marriage and behaved in all those ways.

Chapter 12 was what? An attempt to make the reader believe that Bruce was on his way to Happy Ever After Land? Sounds like he was just as delusional at the end, seeing Estelle in every hooker in NY! MAYBE the whole story is about a schizophrenic Bruce and all these characters were delusions. The story would make some sense even at that!

Rachel was introduced to him by Erica....meaning that Rachel is definitely compromised and there for cannot be trusted. Poor Bruce is doomed every which way.

I've read this story at least 6 times and for the life of me, I can't figure out why all the scores are so low. Brilliant story.

I enjoyed this story. I think it got a bit long and I'm not sure why that last phone call from the beach happened but I kept reading just to see what you were going to come up with next.

Alright. You are a good, expressive and creative writer, able to turn a nice phrase. Your fundamental grasp of language is sound. But as to the story - not so much. It was too long by half. There were far too many plot twists. For our hero to be surrounded by this much deceit and manipulative malevolence would have driven any sane person to alcoholism, madness or even suicide. The story would have played better if it were just about the discovery of Myriam’s dissociative disorder. Wouldn’t that have been tragedy enough? But to have literally every person who was important to Bruce in his life somehow turn into participants in a convoluted, arcane conspiracy in which literally nothing was as he thought it was is simply way too much.

Poor darling! (smile)

Fucked up. Next time you are going to write a novel,warn us. It was hard to follow, but by the time it got to the end, i just did not care any more.

Thanks for your comment, 01jlandl. I think you're right. As I said in earlier responses, I have grown to dislike the way this story ends.

I thoughly enjoyed your story up until the last two chapter. Chapter 11 seemed like a total copout on the story line. It did not explain the telephone call or the insistence of love nor the reason for the inconsistencies of the lead character's personality

It should have ended a dozen times before it did. Very conviluted?spelling And lonnnng!

This wanted to be a Hitchcock thriller...and it ended up being a De Palma. Maybe at some point, you could take another stab at this, I actually was thinking after that last scene Bruce ends up in a straightjacket in a rubber room. He has to be one of the most abused of the abused husbands on this site.

Ambitious. I think most will want double revenge: now that the real target is Erica/Onslow, they have to burn, and no one wants Myriam back. That of course would be a much longer story. But I raise my glass to you for the ambition alone.

When I read the first meeting with Onslow, I felt it was a set up for Bruce to see his Wife cheating. I still believe that, but it's not clear who orchestrated the event. I would guess Erica, but don't see why Myr would want to save the marriage.

Interesting ending i still don't get the calls from the beach, neither her obsession with him.

Another reason to avoid them at all cost. Nothing is ever their fault. I pray for my son, he would not listen. Just kidding, she is a saint to put up with him. He is a handful, but she won’t be bored.

A good story even if there are a lot of holes init. The ending just didn't work for me though. The last part seems. Disjointed and almost a separate story with little relation to the previous ones. Maybe this is a prelude to a continuation? I hope so anyway

I will not comment on the ending as did many commentators, because the ending is the author's choice which we need to respect, or just not read stories by the author.

However, constructive criticism is the point of these comments and here is mine:

I read the story even though half-way through I recognized that the story was defective in failing to explain how a husband could spend 7 years not recognizing that his wife had a split personality or was having at least one affair, and then having multiple sextual econunders as Estella.

I could not understand why the husband was so clueless as to keep doubting the split personality problem, as that is a recognized mental condition.

I could not understand how Myruiam becam a "Boston socialite." It make no sense and there was no explanation.

In short, too many loose ends for this to bed a satisfying read.

i sadly agree with your comment, as i already admitted a few comments back.

i thank you for the effort of reading it twice. i would have chosen another path and another ending if i were to write the story now.

After going through all 12 chapters of this twice, it still concludes in one of the most dissatisfying endings I have run into in a while. It had potential, it let you down, it brought forth possibilities once more then ends on a ... lame note.

Sigh.

For a 12 chapter story the ending isn't satisfying at all.

On the island I expected Bruce at least to try to take over control of Myriam and with this to control Estelle and release her from Erica.

There is no explanation what happened with his boss, with his job. What happened with Erica and Estelle/Myriam?

Good story with an abrupt ending.

Sorry for writing as Anonymous. I'm trying to activate my account since July 2019, but didn't get support from LIT, Manu or Laurel. If you want to help me create a Thread in the Tech-Support-Forum, contact me: infosauger@gmx.at

This rivals any of the very best noir thrillers. This is my second reading and I'm surprised I didn't comment the first time. Convoluted and illogical it both makes sense and defies reason. Enigmatic and inscrutable until the end, Myriam/Estelle is a brilliant creation. Your story brings to mind Nelson Algren's "A Walk on the Wild Side" with Bruce Pierson as a corporate urban Dove Linkhorn. Why would he not be manipulated by the people and events surrounding his obsession with Myriam? Nothing has ever prepared him for it. Myriam herself doesn't understand any of it. They are two naifs moved around the chessboard by sophisticated and wicked players.

I'm baffled by the critics of this story. It's riveting, creative and erotic in a sensually sinister way. I thoroughly enjoyed it, heartbreaking as it is. I'm impressed with your skill as a writer and storyteller. I've learned that most of the best writers on Literotica are women and you're one of the best of them. I'll come back to read this again.

Thanks for sharing this story. I love it!

Liked the idea of the multi personalities, and the evil woman controlling them. And think perhaps too big a leap was made taking the hero from the cabana to the dressing room with his new fiancee.

We like happy endings so hate to see the bitch, who lied and misled him, win outright. I mean Bogie always comes out with his heart broken , but not his principles. Needed more of that , as the best parts of this story brought back strains of Bogart ,Lorre and Mary Astor.

Too much of a leap. And all windup and no pitch!

I am assuming something ties this chapter to the previous 11. The color of the mysterious woman with red or blonde hair?

Obviously you intend for us to infer, but there are too many leaps in logic, too many gaps, and I cannot read your thought bubbles.

We are not told, nor is it implied, what happens to Myriam/Estelle or Erica. Where is Rachel introduced?

Great story until this chapter. I consider this chapter an utter failure. Damn, and I was so hoping.

There was at least one.chapter that was simply brilliant. But the rest ranged from 4 to 1. I had high hopes for the last chapter, But like so many writers, you simply cannot bring a story to a suitable ending. You do have talent. I saw it.

waste of time to toil through this trash. I hope this writer has some much better ideas for future efforts. A disappointment: a real stretch to grant it even 1*

What a terrible piece of writing; plot, characters, structure all of it # 1--12.

I should have stopped reading after 2 or 3, but I was ill and wanted some fluff to read. This is the most confusing, disjointed story l have ever come across.

It makes Dostoyevsky seem like light reading.

What I cannot figure is why the author would spend time concocting this mess.

Better to have used the time reading some other author's decent work.

Don't quit your day job.

I rarely leave “nasty” reviews but I found your story a total waste of time. Your Bruce has to be one of the weakest, most disturbed and desiring of self inflicted pain of anyone I have heard of. I kept waiting for something to happen to brighten this tale. It was not to happen. A very depressing story with with no redeeming features.

Thanks for a good read. Thanks for the effort!!

you are quite right. this story has never sat right with me for a lot of the reasons you mention. it rambles and loses logic as it goes on. sorry for that, but i could never find the courage to take it off. thanks for your comments, i still hope it entertained you enough.

I don't often post comments but I felt compelled after this rather long story to say my piece. I was quite frustrated at the end as I kept waiting for the author to pull the story together . . . but he didn't. Based on the timeline in the story, Myriam and Erica meet two years into Myriam's marriage to Bruce and fall in love. For the next 7 YEARS Myriam escorts/whores for Erica. 7 years is a long freaking time! And during those 7 years, Erica, evil Erica, does nothing to force Bruce to "discover" his wife's activities so he will divorce her and Erica can have her?

One year later (or was it two?), Erica makes contact with Bruce and begins playing tennis with him to . . . what? eventually get him to spill his guts? Why? She's got the woman that, at the end of the story, is who she wanted all along. Why does she need to interact with him? If she needs him to run into Myriam again to get the corporate espionage going, wouldn't she "help" him run into Myriam again? Instead, he just HAPPENS to be at the right hotel, in Dallas, at the right time. And all the Estelle/Myriam, Myriam/Estelle crap seems pretty unnecessary to the story. Is Erica behind all the stuff Myriam is telling Bruce? Is she pulling the strings? or not?

While child sexual abuse is an abomination and can cause long term, significant mental health issues, it seems to be played here simply to distract from what's really going on. Why does the author keep have Myriam insist she still loves Bruce when it becomes quite clear at the end that she doesn't and hasn't for a long time? The corporate espionage hardly seems sufficient motivation for Erica and Myriam to keep playing Bruce as he really isn't necessary to resolve the whole thing.

As I said, I was quite frustrated at the end because there were too many loose ends. Not claiming I could do better as I am a reader, not much of a writer. But this started quite promising and ended with a whimper. Too bad.

I feel like Bruce.

The author being Myr/Erica/Orenstein/the rest of the fucked-up evil assholes. I feel I was roped in to what, in the end, was an extremely unsatisfying disappointment of a story I had given my ‘suspension of disbelief’ to - as any reader of fiction must do.

I’m left with nothing but regret for the time - and generosity - I provided.

Not ‘as if I’d been there’ but as a reader I’d been baited and used to no satisfying end. If the author’s goal had been to diminish my interest in Literotica stories, only that ‘achievement’ was reached.

Oh, by the way author; fuck you.

needs to die.

The story was very entertaining. Thanks for sharing.

Guys take it easy with the comments for a second. This is not a normal cheating wives story and even though there is so much evil in this story it is more than anything a really, really sad story that clearly ends the only way that is realistic. The little abused girl Myr was just too damaged by her childhood experiences and even though she did her best to fight the reality of her deep mental problems and she did love Bruce, there just was nothing to do. Very sad. The good and sane and the love for Bruce that is left in her deeply troubled mind is dying and dies probably completely in that last scene in the bungalow and she is still healthy enough to understand it (like a dying cancer patient) and the way it is all presented by the writer is actually very good. After that scene it is really sad to think of what was in the past, what could have been in the present and the future and what will now be with a sick, sick Myr under total control of Erica. You can just sense the death and madness in the air in this scene.

I have never read a story like this and in the end it was really, really good besides 2 completely unnecessary parts, chapter 12 and the whole conspiracy to get those papers from the Enthwistles. It is sad that she could not be saved, that evil won in this story, that she ended up the way she did even though the love between her and Bruce postponed the inevitable. Or was it inevitable.. I dont know. Can a mentally ill person like Myr love and be loved to the degree its presented in this story, its very unlikely but not impossible and the way it was written in this story was just really good.

I do have 2 questions though,

1) how is it possible that Bruce did not find out about her mental illness all those years, that seems totally unrealistic if they were both so much in love. What kind of love is that if you are not able to see and feel those kinds of things in the person you love. And if Myr still was not totally destroyed on the inside and really loved Bruce, why did she not try to tell him about her condition before he saw her with Kirchner. After all, time and time again Myr talks about being saved from the illness that is taking over her whole mind.

2) in real life, girls with a childhood like that, with mental issues like that, being used like she was by Erica and her job as a prostitute, girls like that are just done and finished and destroyed and probably also dead at a very early age yet Myr seems so charming and attractive besides the fact she seems to have some really stupidly looking boobs.

Once again, what a sad story that was.

A letdown from this author's other stories.

Too unbelievable. Too much going on. Too little resolution.

Nope. Not good.

And I feel terrble actually writing that as a comment. But fair is fair. If I give all the author's other stories a 5 then this one only rates a 1.

But the ending is shit. It ends with Myr being the amazing one while he proposes to Rachel? WTF? Showing his love for her has still not died. It would have been better to say, "not as amazing as you." Something as simple as that would have taken my 2 stars to a 3 or 4. Plus, the memory of her will always plague their future marriage.

Erica wants to have full control over Estelle/Myriam and could not do it because of the deal Myriam made with Estelle in college that Myriam will have control, but Estelle can come out now and again. So Erica uses Bruce's boss (Osgwold or whatever his name was) to happen to show up at that dinner at the hotel so Bruce can see Myriam with another man and that could cause a rift between Bruce and Myriam, the last barrier keeping from Estelle taking over.

The Estelle story makes sense even more so with the revelations in the last chapter. Erica is suprised Bruce shows up on the island. Erica obviously has control over Estelle/Myriam. So when Myriam was calling Bruce, again, she was reaching out for him to save her as she realized Estelle was going to completely take over and Myriam was going to 'die'.

Yes, Erica had control over Estelle since the second year, but as Myriam said Bruce's love was saving her from Estelle and Erica. It would have been to Erica's benefit to have Estelle completely away from Bruce and having full control over her, not to mention her making money for her full time working as an escort. But obviously Myriam had majority of the control, as she said she made a deal with Estelle that she Myriam would have control.

The funny thing is that take away the mental issues and say it was simply a wife you loved who was having people take her over and wanted to kidnap her, brainwash her and take her away from you. Then you would do everything you could to save her. But what if that wife has a mental illness so that she wasn't able to help you help her. I know someone with mental illness and it's the worst. She was the nicest, sweetest person before her mental illness hit her and then she became paranoid and normal talking to her to convince her didn't work anymore. She was put on medication, but those lapse as she doesn't take them properly.

Bruce was right in a way. He wasn't strong enough to save Myriam, so he was trying to save himself by ridding himself of any love left for Myriam. In a way he took the easier, the cowardly way out, to save himself and leave her behind and at the mercy of Estelle, and Erica and anybody else that would use her. Yes, it was an extremely difficult situation and not sure what else could be done short of him kidnapping Myriam himself and taking her away from everyone else. But as Myriam said, and Erica showed with the raid on the senator's house, Erica was a much stronger person. Bruce didn't have the strength, and maybe enough love for Myriam, to go "all in" to try to save her.

After all that... such a weak ending is beyond words. I can image a few other writers will request being able to write a few alternate endings.... and I hope they do as its a very good story set.

A collection of disjointed threads ending in a knot that is of a different thread.

Strobe effect in words done wrong.

Garbage....... just garbage

All that ......for that? Not worth the time! Bruce is just way too gullible and downright stupid but then so is this story! This whole story could have been told in 2 pages. Don't waste your time reading this. Gave it a 1.

At last he got on with his life good for him forget the old whore.

I feel dirty for even reading this. Those two women are pure evil and there is not a shred of morality or human decency in either of them.

All the characters in this story are candidates for commitment to an insane asylum.

Overall a really different and odd ball tale.

what life is all about, TK U MLJ LV NV

Some how some way , 3 wastes of skin need to pay.

You demoralized our poor "hero" to the point there's no way a new girlfriend woulda fixed him ....

At least give the guy his balls back

You could have had a better ending. But great build up

Not sure what you were trying but the ending just didn't work for me. Out of left field and didn't make sense. I typically like your work but this one wasn't quit finished I think.

A

I’ve waited to comment. It was obvious you wrote the plot as you went along. When you started the dual personality it started to get too complex with way to many characters to connect. Giving you a 5

Great story line...love the twists.

Just i felt the ending (12) was tacked on a bit.

And the ending does leave open a 13th chapter.

So friggin confusing....

Some of what angi was doing when he wrote this. Some weird shit.

Nuff said!

I am impressed. It's not perfect by any imagination but it is original and sexy. My congratulations and my thanks for a story well told.

Probably the best story I've read on Lit this year. Lots of twists and turns and well written too. Definitely a 5 all the way through, but ending was a bit abstract and an anticlimax. I was expecting something much better. So only a 3 for the last chapter Thanks, you have a really creative mind..

the bulk of the readership seems to exist in that strange universe termed the good ole US of A where everything has to be cut and dried; tied in nice, easily digestible, bite size pieces. There has to be a) Beginning; b) Middle; c) End. Good must triumph over Evil. And the two must be immediately distinguishable, and predictable. There must never be indecision. The Good must be an avenging angel who smites from his perfect position of godly righteousness. His vengeance must be soundly, and roundly, delivered with an accompanying fanfare of simplistic justification. Failure to adhere to this anodyne formula results in inarticulate frothing. Never mind the quality, feel the width!! The subject matter is all. You are/were (haven't seen any recent submissions) an exceedingly good author. You deserve a more enlightened readership. Thank you.

It was the best of stories, it was the worst of stories. It was hella long and over all too quickly. And it was quirkily and intriguingly captivating...try as I might to stop..I couldn't. Who knew...who didn't...who cared...who was cravenly immoral...who was saving whom and why...and why...and why?

And should I care

...hope Rachel is okay.

So many swerves it made me hurl, every character a user, I am sorry I kept reading. Especially with the ending "it was all planned years before..." swerve. Seriously, that's just a weak way to finish. Shameful end to the story.

It was good. It was meh. The first few were great. The end pretty much was a pretty down. So much potential to have it die like it did.

I hope u can understand some of your readers fustrations? I was very fustrated that this man had been used and abused repeatedly through the story only to have the story end with him finding out that he was used even more than he thought. Then to just end it with him with another woman shopping left much to be desired. Your whole story revolved around his love for Myr and in less than 200 words he's over her and ready to get married .... wow .

As an author, you must make your readers feel strong emotions. Congratulations! You made me feel stupid. I have no idea what you were aiming for here but you ended up with a confused mess. Your last chapter was muddled and weak. You never resolved the protagonist's emotional conflict and leaving the 'girlzz' on the beach was unconscionable. The boss situation also unfinished. Plot, character and conflict: all fails. Consider taking a creative writing course.

Still love it. Still five stars. Still a favorite. I am pretty sure she was off the beam, but the question still remains.

Bullshit

How he didn't leave Erica dead in that beach house was beyond me.

I agree. Such a waste of an hour.

I can't believe I just wasted an hour of my life on this tripe of a series.

This writer is sick, and I'll bet writing this put them in an asylum.

Good luck to you.

I kept hoping this Goddamn convoluted, wandering, piece of shit science fiction melodrama would find some sort of ending that would justify it's existence. It didn't and I am ashamed of myself for going this far.

Started off good then just became ridiculous.

The story was a little loose, but for a long one, you made me hang in there. I'm sure others did too.

Way too convoluted with not real payoff. Your villains are fake it's like watching cartoon cutouts. They have no real emotion or motivations to them just stark compulsion that push the story forward. Money, power, sex these are one dimensional and few if any can sustain that obsession. It makes them boring to read I keep expecting them to twirl their mustaches and cackle as they tie a person to the train track. Add depth to them, reason, emotion and conflict make them human.

If your going to write 12 chapters at least give a satisfying conclusion this was far from the mark.

There are at least 2 chapters missing between 11 and 12. Including the part where Bruce grows a set and takes care of the many many loose ends. What the hell happened and was said in that bungalow in St. Kitts? He could settle scores with his boss, Charlotte, and Erica. And come to final terms with Myr. Then at least a few paragraphs about meeting Rachel and healing. The way it is now, Chapter 12 is the last fart of air escaping the dying balloon. I cannot use my imagination to fill in those holes because every scenario is better than chapter 12. The end alone drops this to a 3 for the entire story.