❝𝘿𝘼𝙍𝙇𝙄𝙉𝙂, 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍𝙀 𝘼𝙎 𝘿𝙀𝘼𝘿 𝘼𝙎 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘿𝘼𝙔 𝙄𝙎 𝙇𝙊𝙉𝙂. ❞
↣ A PARADOX IN WHICH
a girl rises and falls
like the Empire of Rome,
knowing not of
what she has gained,
but instead of what
she has los...
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『 Chapter 17 』
⤐ ♤ « 〚♞〛 » ♤ ⬷
The human psyche is an odd phenomenon.
Humans ferment bread to make a liquid poison just to forget something. They stare at exploding balls of gas trillions of light years away and draw patterns of animals. They splash in puddles and knowingly get soaked just to satiate their inner child. They dress themselves in silk and lace and spin around a room until they get dizzy. They worry over whether their exposed bones are white enough or straight enough in their mouths. They jump from building to building in search of income gained by sav—
It's the silly things that heroes to that set them apart from the average man, isn't that right?
I mean, how powerful do their legs have to be to vault halfway up a skyscraper? How trained do their lungs have to be in taking in as much air to supply their muscles for long periods of time? They must be a relatively good public speaker, because that's a given. Their costume must be colorful and original, filled to the brim with life and vigor. Their personality must be child friendly and noble, virtuous.
But their ability to save people? Now that's self-applicable.
Why does society think this way? Why is it so important that humans place professional heroes on a pedestal for doing the right thing? Is it their quirk? Their drive? Because in the world of heroes, certain ones definitely lack in those two departments.
Again, the human psyche is odd.
Sometimes, we as people make very questionable decisions about the youth. We display hero academies as catalysts for amazing heroes when all they do is boost the egos of those who are more fortunate with their quirks. We sexualize teenagers in tight costumes as if they were an adult with the ability to consent to their own choices. We force them in a desk and teach them how to dislocate shoulders and how to break eye sockets.
We force them to fight in a colosseum in the name of entertainment.
Now, it's true that countless people do oppose the Yuuei Sports Festival. Online groups band together and nitpick every word and every move year after year. They criticize the hosts, the medalists, the fightings, the preliminary rounds, and just about anything they could think of. But how much influence do they really have on the sports festival? It's an easy question to answer: none. They're a minority opinion that preaches for the safety of young teens, but, of course, they're written off as crazy and over sensitive.
It does seem a little odd now that you think about it, right? Two hundred students are put through grueling tasks and are forced to fight their friends. They gain bruises after bruises and sore limbs, hairline fractures and concussions. All of this so they could show off their strength in an attempt to climb the rankings of possible future heroes; in the idea of selfishly getting offers for internships and showing off in front of ones peers.
