RE: The Cockroach Rules: Finish the Story Contest #45
It was a one-sided romance.
Uggh! As though they could sense your revulsion and decided to do their best to change your mind. 😱
Your story went somewhere unexpected and was delightfully gross! Thanks to your bits of info before the story, we're given an understanding of roaches natural appreciation for things we find disgusting. The icky details that follow then become more integral to the story beyond simply shock factor.
Instead of commiserating with Tres Culos, I felt bad for Luis to be denied that tasty bit of hard-earned roast beef. Instead of suffering the indignity of being spat out in silence, the crafty bugger executes a victorious attack with a massive army of loyal comrades in punishment for the Thing's transgressions! You had me cheering for the roaches, Agmoore! (And happy to have been only reading this instead of being a bystander. 😁)
Also, I loved that you included more fascinating tidbits in your ending notes! Thank you.
Hi Brisby, I appreciate your kind appraisal of my story. After I wrote it I thought of a psychoanalytic theory called reaction formation. According to this theory, you overcome a profound fear by adopting the opposite view. People who are afraid of flying, become airline pilots, for example. Next I'll have to pretend to climb cliffs, eat dirt...oh dear. So many fears. So many opportunities for story writing :))