Suddenly Quirkless

The Arrogance of the Wise and the Silent

Alright, so, before I start this chapter, I'd like to say that most of the first section's dialogue and some of the baseline reactions will be derived from chapter 3 of My Hunter Academia. I already stated some of this on the disclaimer page, but I felt I should mention this one specifically as it is definitely one of the most clearly connected.

Sympathy was overrated.

It was entangled within the definition of what a human was meant to be, yet so many- villain and hero alike- disregarded it completely. 

The main difference between these two classifications wasn't their ideals or their morality, nor was it the methods they took to meet their goals. It was how well they appeared to suppress their virulent cruelty.

Heroes hid their mistakes and cruelty behind masks of concern. Of pride, happiness, and approachability that vanished the moment the crowds did. Their ire, according to the masses, could only be earned by a truly despicable beast; there was no consideration of the purity of heroes nowadays, when in all reality, they should be under more scrutiny than ever.

Disregard humanity, praise childish competition; save people only for the sake of your own reputation.

Villains on the other hand, externalized their carnage in a way that made the violence singing in their souls clear as day. They didn't bother hiding it, unlike their counterparts who pretended they were saints who could do no wrong; ironic, that honesty was employed more commonly by the blemishes of society than the shining examples of virtue.

That is not to say that none of the heroes cared about those they saved, but nor is it excluding villains from saving people, from feeling sadness and being human just as much as anyone else. The latter was shunned and their actions stigmatized for not fitting into the perfect vision of civilization that was driven by upholding the appearance of rectitude in public.

Appearing as solicitous made heroes into figures that normal civilians could imagine as just like them, human, but strong enough to persevere and use their quirks to protect instead of going on to live a peaceful life with their families. Heroes were placed upon pedestals, close enough to touch, however they were elevated to a stage where the civilians could convince themselves they were good and still be less so than heroes.

That stage just so happened to be godhood. Humans longed for validation, and to have an established connection- no matter how fake or insignificant- with someone they thought of as a higher being gave them that. Thus, ushering in an age of blind glorification and falsehoods so ubiquitous they were almost true.

And it was this setup that was tearing them apart from the inside. Heroes who buried their skeletons in secret and civilians who wanted to remain blind to their own flaws and villains too bitter to try to garner their own empathetic listeners.

Rest assured, this system would decay soon enough though, one way or another.

Sympathy was overrated after all, and humans foolhardy.

Well. Nezu was hardly human; he'd never understood the appeal of putting yourself in a position where you would attempt to connect with another, to become vulnerable on the off chance that it would result in a stable relationship. 

He never felt the urge to reach out to anyone due to any sort of emotional parallels, because the scientists from his youth had never alluded to the possibility that they respected him in the least, and to Nezu, that was one of the most important aspect of any bond.

For him, sympathy was a luxury he hadn't been allowed,  and had consequently never wanted. In his line of work, sympathy was often quite unnecessary as well.