All Comments on 'What Would You Choose - Aftermath'

Philosophy is moving towards no free will, but in a different sense than most would see it. From what little I understand, it's more in the vein of, 'One can not help but to act in accordance with one's nature'.

Ay any rate, that was very satisfying (and happier than what I'd dreamed up). Good show!

He should in a loving way let his wife know that when times were hard she confided in brent and he knows how brent feels and he is grateful for her love and knows how some women may at that time succumb to weakness but she didn't or wouldn't. Do it where he shows love and appreciation and not come across as thinking she would or is capable of an affair.

But I would keep Emmy eye on Brent forever and I would NEVER leave these two alone as much as possible. No work trips, no late night meetings or dinners.

First part was kinda good, second, not so much. Guess I like things more clean cut, convolution is fine in a mystery but here it is just confusing. But that’s just me. Personally, would like to have seen option one take place and how he and Amanda and the kids overcame it and came out stronger despite Brent. Not a religious guy so the “gods” thing pulling the strings like a puppet makes me cringe. Shows how bad all religion really is.

Don't know why you added the part of dominate, submissive, BDSM porn. I like how she didn't cheat and I really think since he retains this memory and now knows how close she came he should tell her somehow that he appreciates her hanging in there when times were tough and he may have been rough and on edge. Also he can let slip in how he knows brent has always been very interested in her and he is aware of how Brent was making the subtle moves on her and his trust in her was never stronger. Hopefully his love for her comes across and makes their relationship even stronger. I am glad you ended the story in this way and not have her cheat.

I and many others talked about good vs. evil, and free will a lot more than your main focus. I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not. It's a fascinating topic. I don't see his options as being good nor evil. It really boiled down to something simple. Is human life moral, above the suffering? Your morality seems to imply that life is far more precious than quality of life. The wife living seems more important than her life being one without guilt and self loathing. And I still maintain that your point is debatable. You're not wrong, but not right either.

But your ultimate point was interesting. Problem is readers do what we do. If we thought another aspect was MORE interesting, that's what we'll jabber on about. What's interesting is a younger version of myself would agree with you emphatically. Now I don't agree with you, nor your reasoning. Too jaded. But at the same time, I see the merits of your arguments. But I'd probably choose to have the wife hit a tree. My therapist told me something profound. Relationships are a two-way street. If you're giving more love/attention than the other party....one of two things needs to happen. You communicate and hope they put in more energy, or you pull back. I'm not going to break my body/soul to make someone like/love me. If they start to pull back, that's on them. It's also on me how I respond. Basically love yourself. The husband choose to love himself less, give everything to his potentially self destructive wife that was thinking about cheating, and hope it all worked out somehow. That seems heroic, and it is. Heroes die. And the hero theme doesn't mesh well outside actual physical conflict. Betrayal seems to be a bad thing to mesh heroism with. It never works. Comes off feeling hollow. It may jerk out some tears, but ultimately you're left thinking, "why would anyone die for someone that probably felt nothing except animosity towards the hero?" and love just doesn't sound good anymore when you answer with it. "If love gets you killed for people that could care less about you, who needs it."

The only thing you really lose is your estimation of love itself.

It feels like the ending nullified part 1. Here we have the "guardian angel" saying "I was kiding! ha ha ha"

Turns out Amanda didn't cheat and from the sound of it, wouldn't have.

So what did we learn? Strange women, lying in ponds, distrubuting swords is no basis for a system of government.

Never trust a talking rabbit.

Next time a guardian angel wakes you up, throw him out and go back to sleep.

KB

The BDSM shit came out of nowhere! Poor Amanda, stuck with this asshole who repeatedly abuses her.

I now dislike Jack as much as the smug condescending "stranger".

Why did Brent the pedo suddenly stop lusting after Amanda's kids? He was all over her because he wanted her children, and then he suddenly decided to invest loads of money in Jack's business?

Every character seems to have switched personalities between chapters!

The ending was very good. I would like to know what the bet was.

The thought or conflict between good and evil, self sacrifice vs premeditated revenge. I liked it a lot. A different style of thinking. Keep writing. 5

I can do without the BDSM opening. It seems out of place in relation to the rest of the story. I'm glad you kept Amanda faithful to Jack and Brent actually becoming a good friend. The rest of the story was a little deep for me, but overall a good effort. Different, but interesting.

In the comments on your first part, you were a bit concerned about how you presented the options. Don't worry, as one Anony pointed out, readers will do what they will do. Even with the trolley question in philosophy, i and many others always looked for other options rather than having to make a difficult choice.

Now, you did present wiggle room, within constraints. The whole affair thing might not happen . . . but the wife's death thing would most likely . . . .the law suit reward was the wiggle aspect there with only the tiniest and most unlikely of chances that the other driver would not take his medication.

The choice is easy for non-misogynists and those who truly love their families. Most of us would always choose life for the spouse and continuance of most of the family, even at great loss to ourselves. The way you set up the story made it very difficult for BTB'ers (and those who have intrinsic problems with women) to choose the (innocent) spouse's death without showing some very distasteful true colors. The 1990's Outer Limits episode 'A Stitch in Time' (and at least one Time Travel oriented movie) approach the issue of preventing serious crimes by going back and killing convicted criminals before they commit their crimes.

So what do we see from readers here? First of course, it is the unsubstantiated conclusion that the boss must be very evil. If he turns out he was an ordinary decent fellow, who might or might not make mistakes later based upon his attraction to a woman . . . should he be punished? One commenter suggested killing the innocent boss (ironically thinking that somehow thwarted Satan). Going further, one changed Brent into a pedophile/rapist. The extremes to which the readers go to justify their feelings (perhaps in this case 'hatreds') can be quite revealing about their own emotional issues and abilities to reason (or lack thereof).

In my imagination, I had seen the possibility that Brent would, if he could check his emotions, marry someone else and have a child . . . but my darker take had him not exercising such control.

Now the wife is the secondary target. It's difficult to make her a 'cheating whore' before she actually is . . . and she's described as already showing great restraint, and part of the 'wiggle' room is that she might overcome desperation.

This story takes most control out of the hands of those whose definitions of love and hate are strongly dependent upon a sense of control and throws them into new decision-making territory. I think even those with fewer insecurities and control issues, while easily being able to answer "What would you choose?' are faced with second thoughts, and inspired to imagine all sorts of endings while trying to mentally reconcile this situation.

Thanks for this wonderful, provocative story, johnadp . . . incredible reasoning and imagination tool provided to stimulate the mind a bit. Nicely done!!

(I felt it better to issue these comments on Part I AFTER the conclusion was provided.)

Didn't do much for me, but the first half did. Thanks again.

he was given an option of death or divorce

not oh younreallyget to keep your wife but shes going to make you a cuck, which was your super secret fantasy buried so deep no one knew of it til now

you've inspired me to go vote the original story one star

Two people ask about where the BDSM came from so here is my explanation.

In part one the stranger alludes to Amanda submitting to Brent's wishes and she takes a submissive and passive role in her relationship with him, as she had with Jack. The Stranger predicted that Brent would become her man and she would go along with his wishes and allowed him to be the head of the family and make the big decisions, including passively allowing Brent to come between Jack and his children.

Not sure it succeeded, but initially the reader should have been thinking that Jack was watching Amanda submit to Brent. Her belonging to Brent was one of the possibilities if he chose Option One and the first part should have made the reader think that Amanda did actually leave Jack and she now belonged to Brent who completely controlled her. I think it shows an extra level of hurt for Jack with Amanda seemingly belonging so completely to Brent. And also it played on the LW trope of the cuckold watching the wife (assumed to be ex-wife) and her lover (now her husband).

Have to say that setting the ball up on the tee worked very well, then you had to swing and whiff. There was no emotion or tension in this conclusion.

I will not quibble and get into the details of why this is not a great story-other commentators have done that. But the philosophical topics you touch on are profound and introduced nicely in these two stories. Good job!

nor ability to alter their Fate. TK U MLJ LV NV

How can this second part, on top of the hype on the first part, generate so many comments, albeit overall positive?

I have read umpteen other submissions with more body to it than this one, with a dismal -10 comments.

Oh well, to each their own.

Frankly, I was a touch lost on the beginning, then I thought it was a fantasy meant to show that their love had actually grown, despite what the odd stranger had said. I really enjoyed this.

Why should he 'in a loving way' tell his wife something that isn't true? She did not weaken, and actually stayed loyal though times were harder for even longer than predicted. The stranger was wrong about the timeline, wrong about his wife's loyalty, wrong about Brent, and even admitted being wrong about Jack. Maybe these things can make car crashes happen, but they seem to know squat about human nature.

So you want him to 'in loving way' relay to his wife a bunch of bullshit from a stranger? If he did, no matter how 'lovingly' he tried to put it, she should simply say, "If you don't trust me and appreciate my loyalty, love, and dedication over the past few years . . . what's the point? I'll file for divorce tomorrow.".

After which, the stranger could appear to him and say, "Thanks you gullible patronizing idiot! I just won 20 bucks!!! Sorry about your marriage, but when you chose to ignore the vast preponderance of evidence and simply to believe all the obviously false predictions we made about human thoughts. . . and further, 'lovingly' caution your wife about something that never happened, well, we all think you deserve to lose her.".

He's very fortunate, with a wonderful wife, and her good boss and friend who carried them while Jack was screwing up initially. He has no place 'in a loving way' cautioning others.

The story could have went so many ways. It was a good quick ending. The story remained consistent just the husband and the guardian angel. Although as a reader I I always yearn for more of the story when its a good one. This ended very well.

Im looking foward to your next submission

As I was reading this, episodes of Ancient Astronauts was on the TV with stories about extraterrestrials guiding human events. Doo-doo-doodoo.....

This story was very cryptic up until the end of Chapter 2,and the whole Free Will premise,but looking at this now finished really does make you question your feelings and what you would choose if you were in the same situation.

Utimately Jack may have been a flawed human but when it came right down to it that man is a Saint among Men,and this story really was brilliantly written.I won't answer whether Jack should have chosen Option 1 or 2,but just read between the lines and you know my answer.

Finally at the end when Jack said "I Knew It" was one of two possible answers and again thats for you to decide.

Gods, angels, demons, higher beings...whatever he was, nothing and no one gets to smirk that damn much with impunity. Whatever else it was, it was a fucking asshole...

Unfortunately, every time the 'smirk' showed up, it took me right out of the story.

Understand why this two part story has such a low score so I'll do my part to change that. A different way to tell the story about a loving couple, a boss who does not seduce the wife and indeed falls for his own true love. Above all no cheating so no need for a Louisville slugger. I guess I'm not that jaded so how does it get any better than this? Signed: BTW

Yes, it was a happy ending. Not sure what the BDSM had to do with it. I felt like the whole center section was omitted. The part where Amandas seduction or the attempted seduction occurred. I dunno. Just felt it needed more in the middle.

Yeah, this is what I'd expect from gods. Just fucking around with the insects.

No idea but I liked it. Was definately a different read with a great outcome for the MC because he made a choice for the greater good. With all that said I am confused on the low score. Would the the score of been better is she was burned alive in a bus because deity said she was likely to cheat with option 1?

Either way great read thank you.

After reading Part 1 - I thought this was going to be a train wreck. I had been prepared for a full funeral. I was surprised and perhaps a little disappointed by the lack of emotion I felt after the build up of part 1.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed part two and that his wife never strayed, but I expected a lot more fireworks.

A good story and well done!

Very well done! Thank you

Brilliant story.

The BDSM angle didn't work for me