The sadism of humans

Back in the present, Iori scowled in silence as Mimoko began to frown and tremble.

"And that's the stage for how I became a political mess. Thanks to Imelda, I was now brainwashed and beaten onto the path of becoming a mindless political asset for the Broadstone family. Suddenly my unruly hair was straight and mature, my playful eyes now glaring and soulless, and my mischievous smile, now a disgruntled scowl. I still held on to some form of sanity, or perhaps insanity as every day after acting like a soulless political robot, repeating the drivel like a broken record, I'd break down and smash my head repeatedly into my dresser mirror. If my hair wasn't naturally a reddish shade, folks probably would have realized what I was doing, but no one ever found out, except... Christian..."

"Christian?"

"My boyfriend- Well, guess he wasn't my boyfriend yet at the time. He had stuck up for me on my 1st day at school when I ended up getting my teeth kicked out for not following the Broadstone-endorsed code of conduct, and as a result, he was expelled. When I met him again, all I remember was crying. Crying, just crying into his chest. Next thing I remember I was at his place. Everything was warm and cozy, and after a cup of warm milk, I finally broke free of the shackles binding me. Maybe he was the very reason I held on to hope. Unfortunately, that hope was only momentary. Before I had a chance to catch my breath, Imelda was at the door of his place with a mob in tow. As the mob began breaking in, Christian shoved me into a hidden passage under the floor while he called the police and stayed behind to ensure I could escape. I naturally refused to leave without him, even when he locked the door shut. Since there was a peep hole, I stayed behind and watched, hoping he'd be fine, but instead I bore witness to his horrific execution. Those monsters jeered and laughed as he screamed in pain. Christian really was an idiot, trying to save the girl he loved by sacrificing himself... Idiot."

Tears began to pour out of Carol's eyes as her hand began trembling.

"How... How could they be so cruel?" Mimoko trembled.

Iori somberly smiled and leaned back. "Simple, for the same reason I was gleefully grinning as dead slut had her skin melted off; humans are sadistic."

Lightning flashed as Mimoko stared in shock. "What do you mean?"

"Humans are sadistic. We take pleasure in putting down others and making them bleed. That's why so many stories have characters suffering, because it scratches that sadistic itch humans have deep within. But some humans can't control their sadism and seek to inflict worldwide pain in order to satisfy it. Sometimes, they even become so sadistic they cross over into masochism. Though masochism is just being sadistic to yourself, so the point stands; humans are sadistic. We love making ourselves feel better at the expense of others. Our sadism is so strong that it's like a daily necessity to make someone else's day miserable to make yourself feel powerful. This is why bullying will never go away, why wars will always be raged, why opposing sides will never see eye to eye. Because we are all sadistic. Who cares about right or wrong, all that matters is asserting dominance and degrading your victim to shit. Happy endings? Nah, people want to see characters suffer because it excites them. They say the only constant in life is change, but I say human sadism is the other constant. You say there are heroes that seek to save the day? Nah, they're just culling their sadism by bashing monsters and demon kings. Then there's politics. Nothing but a sadist slug-fest. "Craft better policy for the good of the populace"? Nah, more like pass OUR policies to make the other side miserable. After all, to the victor go the spoils and the power to subject the losers to hell for pleasure. Sadism is an innate human trait. Even babies can be sadistic at times, and only get more sadistic as they age. And no matter what path they take or how their life goes, there will be looming sadism. Vengeance itself is rooted in paying back those that were sadistic to you with even greater sadism. We claim to cheer for a bullying victim beating the shit out of their bully, but in reality, we're cheering because we're sadistic and we love seeing people bleed. Then there's games. They're nothing but ways for humans to soothe their sadism either by beating other humans or NPCs. Chess just so happens to be one of the most sadistic games out there due to it being purely skill-based and cutthroat. As such, the results of the game can land a critical hit on someone's mental state. More so if you beat them in the most humiliating fashion. Sadism will always be within every human, even if you actually do show someone compassion, in the back of your mind, you'll be thinking, "What if I kicked them while they were down? Would it feel great? How hilarious would it be to watch them die in agony?" Sadism is inescapable for humans. The only question is how much they let their innate sadism leak out and control their life."

Mimoko went quiet as she struggled to digest Iori's speech. Carol on the other hand, somberly nodded her head.

"Iori's got it right on the money. What she described, was exactly what I saw that night. There was nothing but glee and sadism. "Party of compassion" my ass!" Carol fumed as she slammed her fist down on the floor.

She then slowly took a deep breath before continuing her story. "After that incident, I managed to flee to Grampy's place in LA, where I changed my name. It wasn't easy, given my mother forbid contact with him, but I managed to find his place. The Broadstones probably knew I survived, but they officially claimed I was killed in the fire Imelda and co set to Christian's place. Since then, I was unbothered, though still felt uneasy, so finally given the chance, me n' Grampy bought a place here in Japan and moved out. I felt things would be fine so long as I never messed with them, but I guess now the unofficial truce is over. Iori, were you really streaming back at the mall?"

"Considering the challenge, yeah. Last thing I'd want is to just record and have a security guard force me to delete everything because of the rules. Was that-"

"No, it's fine. They've already declared war on us, so no need to worry about the stream incurring us any further trouble."

"So we're at war with a politico family. No mercy," Iori scowled.

"Iori-chan... It's rare to see you so serious. Did her story remind you a bit about yourself?" Mimoko asked.

"Yeah, we both had our lives upended by shitty politicians in more ways than one. And there's nothing I hate more than a shitty politician trying to mess with my life."