Opinion Piece - JDF, the true villain. [Event Article]

[[ At the top of the page is grainy footage that depicts a group of people in colorful, blood-stained clothes facing off against a giant, flayed-looking lump of flesh, a mad scientist’s attempt at a minotaur. A purple mist surrounds a girl in a red jacket as he launches a kick, then white-feathered strands coil at the mutated hulk’s legs. For a moment, the camera’s blocked by the back of a male UA student as they step forward to defend the camerawoman. When it clears, a masked woman in a black bodysuit has jumped in front of the beast’s charge, some sort of bone blade in her hand--and the minotaur’s chest. The footage blurs, then ends. ]]


Take a look at the footage. It looks like what we were promised, right? Costumed heroes in service of the government, banding together defend us from monsters. Now look again. What if I told you none of those men and women up there are Pro-heros? The only person in that shot working for the military, to preserve the safety of our country, is that poor monster. And between you and me? I don’t think it had a choice in the matter. Neither does any neuro scientist we managed to get expert opinions from. Citing Neal O'Connor, Neuroscientist at Tokyo Virtual Reality, or TVR..


When the government launched the hero program earlier this year, it promised us a new era of opportunity for quirk-enhanced individuals. That instead of being criminals, people who wanted to use their quirks in service of law would have a chance to do so legally, with the protection, support, and aid of the Japanese government.
I’m pretty sure no one could've expected these turn of events.

[[Another, closer shot on the minotaur, focusing on the obvious pain it is in. Ragged muscle hangs loose from open wounds, torn open from overstimulation of its quirk.]]

It seems evident to me, that the promises made to quirk users, were not intended as 'Pro Heroes.' as much as 'Mindless Foot soldiers.' 


But what about that small staff of lucky ex-vigilantes that were pardoned and accepted as government-backed heroes? I hear you asking, over a breath of scepticism. Well, would it surprise you if I told that the majority weren’t there when the conflict erupted. They only arrived after most of the violence had been dealt with, contacted so late in the process, that most regular personnel - police and firefighters - were already on site, dealing with the problem.

Then who actually helped defend our sons and daughters against the military? Who went through this lab:

[[More photos. Flesh cysts, hanging from the ceiling. Bodily fluids coating the floor. A sticky webbing of meat. Soldiers lockers and operating tables. A gruesome fire, a gruesome beast.]]

-and ended these horrors?
Students. Their janitor. And a criminal, known as The Painter. Protecting civilians with and without quirks, ordinary folk, like you or I. Two of the people in that video I linked above, Naoru Kehai and Kogami Shibuya, are UA students. How are they going to go to class, surrounded by empty seats of injured and dead friends, and train to work for the safety of our innocents, when the military will do this to them? Through reliable sources, withheld for their protection, one of the other individuals - the female wearing a mask and lighting up as a lightshow, has been identified as The Painter. A violent woman spreading propaganda against the government, against Yuuei. After an interview with Kasey, it has been confirmed that The Painter is behind the murder of an innocent girl, plus openly attacking the Yuuei students admist this chaos. Even so, the students made it out alive, having prevented this outbreak from spreading. Even their janitor, Kasey, showcased more heroism in these moments, protecting the children and guiding them forwards.

Still, the students were not without flaws. There were many strategies, opportunities and moments, where the students acted like just that. Students. They were afraid, insecure, fighting an unknown enemy which was simultaneously penetrating their minds to make them into monsters - like the taurus showcased earlier. Despite this, they managed to act and move forwards. We cannot expect students to be perfect, only to do their very best. In this, I honor how far Kogami and Naoru have come. I hope to see them continue to evolve at Yuuei, and I hope to see them protecting Japan's Son's and daughters in the future. Because it is clear to me, that no one else will.


The JDF, the practices at Semper Fi, the public debate in the media ever since this horrible event took place..? We were promised heroes. The belief at camp was, that the poor, broken man or woman behind those torn muscles, was a hero. In my opinion, the real heroes were the ones who became forced to put down this miserable creature. The JDF gave us QED, a drug designed to turn quirkers into slaves, mindless soldiers for the army to use - a scare tactic to keep a population in check. Even if they deny involvement, that doesn’t make it better--how can we trust the JDF when they don’t notice something like this in one of their Training Camps!? 

If we can’t trust the JDF, we--the people-- those of us with quirks and those of us without --will choose our own heroes. And today, I know who mine are. Yuuei, you have the full support of the quirked community. May these words shield your spirits from breaking in the coming time.



[[The article ends with a series of photos, though they’re all blurry, and the two alleged criminals are masked.]]



Mr Yatsuhara Shida, President of the Quirk Anti-Defamation League