A/N: So, I just found this in my documents and I realized that I'd never posted it. It's just taking up space now, so here you go, enjoy :)
Wordsmith8
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"Why do people eat dessert?" The question came out of the blue while playing Max Mayhem, The Price of Dawn. I turned to Augustus, a questioning look on my face. "I was just thinking, if dessert has no benefit to our bodies, internally or externally, why do we eat it? The piece of cake that always sits in front of me at a dinner party has no reason to be there, and is giving me no specific reason to consume it". He nodded his head slightly, understanding my point of view.
"Humans are so fragile, that at the end of every meal, we feel the need to finish with something that makes us have a small sensation of sweetness, a well thought out ending to a particularly pricey meal" I added. "Was the concept of dessert developed simply for the people that had the money to waste a bunch of ingredients on a basically useless plate of so-called, 'food'? Or was it for the people that had a bit of flour and milk to spare?" As he said this, I watched him throw Max Mayhem on top of a group of orphans, saving them momentarily from a grenade before resulting in a huge explosion which was so graphically realistic as to add blood on the surrounding buildings.
"Where did the idea that dessert had to be sweet come from? Did the peasants that had flour left over also have sugar? Did they suddenly decide that it would be a good idea to add a bunch of random new ingredients to bread, then stick it in the oven to be precisely timed to be eaten after dinner? What would be the odds that this combination would taste good?" Augustus was reincarnated into the game, and proceeded to find another group of children that needed to be 'saved'. "YOU WILL NOT KILL MAX MAYHEM!" He ran through enemy territory, firing randomly into the crowd, only to stand in front of another group of children that were going to die anyway. The effects were very similar to the first time. "Temporary mission accomplished".
"Was it at some point a law that dessert be sweet and eaten after dinner? If so, the repercussions of that law would be endless. Rebels such as us would have to eat breakfast after six". I tilted my head slightly. "But who's to say what's strictly 'breakfast' and what's 'dessert'? I could simply say that breakfast was after dinner, and dessert was in the morning". Augustus didn't hesitate. "That is a very revolutionary idea, Hazel Grace, but the rest of the population would protest that there was nothing wrong with the names before we changed them. Some would even say they had significance. They would never be able to handle the change". I pondered this for a moment. "It all sort of leads back to the fragility of humans, and our need for everything around us to be controlled and understandable. The second that changes, all is lost". Max Mayhem paused mid-fire.
I looked over at Augustus as the on-screen character was shot to death. He had on his customary grin.
"Hazel Grace, I could never have said it better".