The Monster Who Painted Themselves Into a Corner – Can Tyranny Be Given A Way Out?

What happens when a monster paints themselves into a corner? The problem is this: when you have painted yourself into a corner, the way out is the opposite to how you got there.

In a time long forgotten, there lived a monster who was delusional. The monster had formed the belief since childhood that they could do anything they wanted at the expense of everything and everyone around them. Over time, the monster found itself in control of their community. A leader it would seem for the ages, but this promise soon turned to dust. However, that didn’t deter the monster from moving forward, because their childhood belief helped minimise the fear that was at the heart of their soul. They knew the only way to manage their fear was to control all around them.

Sadly, as a result of this fear, the monster one day found themselves painted into a corner. The monster’s beliefs had become so palpable they had promised their friends a grand empire based on taking over the neighbouring communities – a measure designed to keep the creeds of all “outside” communites away and one that was designed to ensure there would be immense spoils for the friends to share in, for ever more.

Like a self fulfilling prophecy the monster felt they had to keep that promise. After a few days of trying to take over the neighbouring community, the monster stared out from the corner. The friends were snickering – “gives us more.” “I will,” the monster replied. Irrational thoughts formed of how to crush those to make this happen.

On the sixth day of the conflict to dominate the surrounding communities (which wasn’t going to plan), the monster while trawling through the Interweb to verify their level of success, came across a post that asked the question: “Have you painted yourself into a corner?” Suddenly, the final words in this post rang out like a beacon across the monster’s soul:

Shortly after reading the post, the monster took a call from a friend. Well, it was someone they had an uneasy friendship with, but they knew underneath it all, this friend held a lot of sway. After taking the phone call, the monster decided they needed time out. Suddenly, while sipping on a luxury brand, sitting in a luxury exchangeable fur, other calls came in from leaders in faraway communities. The leaders said firmly, but fairly: “Your behaviour cannot be allowed to continue, but if you are interested, we can help you address your fear.” The monster grunted each time in response, but the knot in their stomach began to ease. The monster and the hangers on began to see what their actions had really done – so much hurt and terror to others, just to ease their own pain. The Monster then boomed out across the developing wasteland: “I was wrong, please help me.”

Allies, friends, member communities and those impacted by the Monster’s actions stopped for a moment. The door opened in the corner of the room the monster had painted themselves into, and without thinking twice, the monster stepped through it.