Thread; Roman - Blog Posts

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“Whatever lifts the weight off your conscience is enough, I’m sure,” Román mused without much attention diverted from his slip of paper, before he realised he was being stared down quite pointedly. He looked up, the mask blank as ever, hiding the quirked eyebrow underneath its untelling face. “That’s why anyone donates, isn’t it?” A cynical way of thinking, but one he’d adopted about a decade ago now, anything to ease his conscience. “No good deed goes unpunished, and all that,” Román said, “Personally, I hesitate to donate to most charities, considering how much of the money usually goes into ‘administrative costs’.” He glanced over at the woman on the other side of the table, and smiled politely as ever. She probably heard. Oops.

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Leo nodded, liking the way this stranger had articulated the reasons to donate and ultimately why not to donate. Leo found himself sharing more of the same ideals, which made him understand his own resistance. from the moment he stepped into the opulent ball, he could see  where the money had truly been going to. Plus Leo had actual experience with being one of the children that the charity was supposedly helping. he straightened up, abandoning his slip and pen on the table. “The conscience thing is what I’m sure keeps churches’ lights on.” He offered, letting the other masked man know they were on the same wavelength. When it came to administrative costs, the other had hit the nail on the head. “No, I think you’ve got that completely right.” Leo said, not catching on that what was being said was in front of a woman who was probably benefiting from those administrative cost. The polite smile that the other had thrown her way was lost on Leo. Which was obvious with the way he kept on going. “I especially hate it when charities showboat like this, when the money could go straight to their cause and not some ball.” His hands opened in front of him, gesturing to the spectacle of their setting. “Is my money going to the kids or to the bar? Cause I’m likely to donate to the latter, I must say.”