Uhm, interesting points.. let me start from the end.
I have to read through the subtleties of the details and the dialogues again, because I was distracted by the scene at the end.
I tend to agree with that but I don't want to sound conceited (but since you wrote it..).
Mainly this short story may and should be read as an allegory. What I described is already happening in a more subtle but equally material way.
This is the beauty for me of the horror genre which is capable, through fiction, to convey signals of alarm about the true and deepest horrors of every day life.
You can see that my piece, that is only apparently based on a couple's dynamic, is not strictly finalised to "shock the reader with a higher level of sensational" but instead is aimed to the opposite: reveal in a fiction piece the abyss of addiction in which we're slowly falling. Other themes were inspired by Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, the correlation between a private and a cosmic tragedy (the fractals symbolise this), the sense of horror coming from belated recognition. On another note, consider that @dirge gave us a theme around which develop the story. Again, the theme is not taken from a contemporary b-movie but from the Sparagmòs Dionysian ritual. Furthermore, eating yourself symbolises not only a consumption coming from the outside but also - and primarily - from the inside of our darkest nature. In general, I always avoid to write horror for the sake of disgusting/impressing someone: I consider that quite an empty exercise (but if this story remained glued to your skin like an unpleasant ooze, then I cannot help to declare myself satisfied).
@f3nix
My teachers of Taijiquan has told me this on several occasions. Fiction in general. It is a way to get to the subconscious mind without having to tell or get someone to see the "truth." He has me reading different fictional works at this time.
Your martial art teacher must be a valuable person. I like his holistic approach, not stopling to the mere practice. I'm a karateka and know that those rare moments enlightment, may come in many different ways.. Fiction for me is never just fiction, a bit like dreams are never just like a sequence if images.. Thank for your interesting contribution!
:) Please, do that, because that's what you've achieved.
I was probably mad at "you" because I felt sad and horror reading this story. Of course, this is not directed against you - you know that, don't you? Give me some credit as I was trying to manage to distance myself from what I've seen. I was hesitating the bathroom because I was afraid of what could happen there. lol.
I did acknowledge though, what else your story was causing and how one also could give further interpretations and personal thoughts to.
Can this story of yours be understood as a critique towards the extensive usage of media and how people fall for it to get over their pain and become addicted to distraction and self betrayal? Is it a form of a dystopian future vision, where the masses are dominated by a single media corporation?
Reading the story again, I would like to acknowledge your use of words and how you mixed them together, like in this scene:
It is that you have interwove devices with human emotions and their physics.
The dialogue at the table and the body language of the family members you captured really well as to tell the reader: Look, that how it feels and looks like when people are not authentic. You observed their facial expressions and included all these little hints to perceive uneasiness and being not aligned with one another.
I'm grateful for your sincerity and I give you lot of credits, my friend. I know you're not mad at me and don't worry, I'm a really easy going guy overall 😉 I think that I shouldn't have talked so much of this little piece, though. I'll add that yes it's a dystopic .. present. I mean.. it's happening imho. Also, I liked to put this in a sort of twisted Eyes Wide Shut. But let's divert from the story.. here's an interesting article: the emerging crisis in critical thinking.