[Ban appraised Papyrus once, before sighing and moving on. The tone of his voice was lofty and bored. Sobriety wasn't helping him in the least. Leaned back, he moved with a heave into the story.]
There was a woman named Roxanne. Rich and intelligent, she was the envy of her town. Rumor had it, that she fancied torturing and killing children--but, no one cared to accuse her or bring her to trial. She was rich, beautiful and fortunate. No matter what she did, everyone would love her and protect her. That was how the world worked.
One day, a boy decided to take on a job to steal from Roxanne, alongside his mentor. The boy had nothing in the world but his name and the clothes on his back. His mentor warned him to be careful before their burgling-- getting caught would be dangerous. The boy, desperate to impress his mentor, snuck in ahead to try and steal from Roxanne before his mentor arrived.
His mentor never came, but it wasn't as if the boy blamed him. When he got caught, the boy was beaten. He was poor and alone, so no one in the world would come to his defense and he knew it. He ruined his chance to impress his mentor, who he didn't blame for leaving, because he had made that mistake for himself. It was his mentor's fault that it went wrong--it was the boy's. He barely escaped from death, coming to understand what had gone wrong.
He was born to the wrong parents, at the wrong time and in the wrong place, but he knew it didn't matter. If he stole from Roxanne, she would be hurt. She would suffer, in a way, so that he could be happy. If he succeeded, it wouldn't have been any different. It was easy to figure out at that point. He understood why everyone hated him.
Everyone else was poor. They wanted enough to survive, but then they also wanted even more. It was because he targeted Roxanne that he realized this. If he stole from one person to just eat, then that would be survival. Stealing from the richest person in town was the same as coveting fame and glory. He wanted much more than food in his belly. He wouldn't have been that way if he weren't a little skilled and arrogant.
It wasn't as if he asked others what they thought of stealing, though. He saw how men and women coveted food, riches and lovers. They way people looked at each other told him that there were thin threads stopping others from gutting one another in the street all the time. The only thing stopping people from committing crime was fear or being caught and imprisoned. Fear was the only thing that made people act decent.
No one was any different than Roxanne. If they were as rich as her, they would do cruel things and feel no remorse. Even the boy realized that if he had that sort of power, he'd be happy to use it. When he realized that much, it was only natural that his conclusion was so simple: that even orphans, weak and pathetic, could be beasts like Roxanne.
Any human being could be a beast with the right security. Even the boy.
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There was a woman named Roxanne. Rich and intelligent, she was the envy of her town. Rumor had it, that she fancied torturing and killing children--but, no one cared to accuse her or bring her to trial. She was rich, beautiful and fortunate. No matter what she did, everyone would love her and protect her. That was how the world worked.
One day, a boy decided to take on a job to steal from Roxanne, alongside his mentor. The boy had nothing in the world but his name and the clothes on his back. His mentor warned him to be careful before their burgling-- getting caught would be dangerous. The boy, desperate to impress his mentor, snuck in ahead to try and steal from Roxanne before his mentor arrived.
His mentor never came, but it wasn't as if the boy blamed him. When he got caught, the boy was beaten. He was poor and alone, so no one in the world would come to his defense and he knew it. He ruined his chance to impress his mentor, who he didn't blame for leaving, because he had made that mistake for himself. It was his mentor's fault that it went wrong--it was the boy's. He barely escaped from death, coming to understand what had gone wrong.
He was born to the wrong parents, at the wrong time and in the wrong place, but he knew it didn't matter. If he stole from Roxanne, she would be hurt. She would suffer, in a way, so that he could be happy. If he succeeded, it wouldn't have been any different. It was easy to figure out at that point. He understood why everyone hated him.
Everyone else was poor. They wanted enough to survive, but then they also wanted even more. It was because he targeted Roxanne that he realized this. If he stole from one person to just eat, then that would be survival. Stealing from the richest person in town was the same as coveting fame and glory. He wanted much more than food in his belly. He wouldn't have been that way if he weren't a little skilled and arrogant.
It wasn't as if he asked others what they thought of stealing, though. He saw how men and women coveted food, riches and lovers. They way people looked at each other told him that there were thin threads stopping others from gutting one another in the street all the time. The only thing stopping people from committing crime was fear or being caught and imprisoned. Fear was the only thing that made people act decent.
No one was any different than Roxanne. If they were as rich as her, they would do cruel things and feel no remorse. Even the boy realized that if he had that sort of power, he'd be happy to use it. When he realized that much, it was only natural that his conclusion was so simple: that even orphans, weak and pathetic, could be beasts like Roxanne.
Any human being could be a beast with the right security. Even the boy.