naturallywavy | [ FUTUROLOGY ] ✖ IC CONTACT

[ Pinky swears is something she knows from her sister and the orphans back in Houndsditch. Alice leans down with a soft smile playing on her face, linking her finger with his. ]

Pinky swear it is, then.

[ She didn't absolutely trust him, but she trusted him more than anyone else in their odd group. She shuffles back into her seat with the book in her hands, tightly secured in her arms. ]

Did you eat anything else other than cookies?

_{[ Gintoki, however, admits defeat to the floor with a soft thud, lounging on his back. Isn't this a familiar circumstance? ]}

Cake. I had cake. Some candy. Honey. I haven't been able to find good ice cream yet.

_{[ Would you believe it? His eyes are falling shut. ]}

I see. I hope that they were good for you, then. Were they? They must have been, with how tired you are.

[ Alice peers over, looking at him with a soft smile. It's almost like the orphanage, all over again with the children and nap times. ]

I had meat and bread -- I think that was the most meat I've had in a while.

[ She sounds relatively content at that moment, swinging her feet in the seat being small as she is. All is quiet until she blurts out- ]

That man from before cooked food for children and he stole clothing from the castle and gave it to them. His name is Ban. Isn't it odd? For someone so terrible, how can they have the capacity to be generous.

_{[ Ban. He recalls a Ban. Somebody named Baaaaan or something of that sort threatening to tip over the outhouse— expose his manbits.. something like that. Gintoki doesn't say anything, but he is listening. After a moment of silence, Gin has rolled over onto his side, back facing Alice like before when they were outside. ]}

People choose their own path and their perception of justice can be screwy at times. _{[ It isn't odd. Gintoki has done horrible things and then pure things in his life. He has committed sins for the greater good in the end. ]}

I respect him for that. _{[ Choosing his path, he means. ]}

I suppose so, yes. But the same can be said of those will ill intent. They'll convince themselves that what they do is good and a service to others, when in reality, it can be the most horrific thing imaginable.

[ It was a little too late to be having conversations about morality and motives. Alice found herself more bothered by it than she let on. She curled up in her seat. ]

He's a menace, though not a monster, so far.

[ And Alice wasn't sure what to think of him anymore. ]

He's tried to take my knife and threatened me, yet he offered me food. He broke in here and then offered up his neck to me to cut it.

[ And yet- ]

So why is it still so infuriating and pitiful?

_{[ A menace— not a monster. What did she mean by that? Countless people have called a Gintoki a 'monster' by his fighting style. Some people— some of them lived and some of them now dead— caught a glimpse of just how absolutely terrifying Gintoki can be once his trigger was pulled.

This kind of whiplash Alice was experiencing with this guy reminded him slightly of one of his classmates— somebody who just wanted to destroy. Somebody who wanted to see the shogun's head roll and flood the country in fire. ]}

Some people are selfish. Some people just want to see the world burn.

_{[ Takasugi was crazy. Gintoki was crazy. Even Katsura— well. Katsura was crazy from the start but in a different kind of way. Whatever was Ban's issue, Gintoki didn't care. But his unpredictable behavior put Gintoki on high alert.. for himself, for other people, for Alice.
Gin is quiet for a moment before he grunts and sort of flops around on the ground until he is comfortable. With a rather sleepy tone: ]}

Oi. It's cold. It's rainin'. I'm staying here. _{[ It wasn't.. raining. But this was his excuse to camp out here.
It was his excuse to invite himself to live here without saying it. From this day forth, this is the place he was going to call his 'room' and if Alice ever told him to leave, he would say it's raining. ]}

Doesn't look like it's going to light up anytime soon— probably never. Guess I have no choice. _{[ Do you get his drift? ]}

[ That was odd and Alice doesn't know what to make of his statement. She leans up from her seat to gaze out the window. It seems to fly over her head, at first. ]

What do you mean? I don't see anything.

[ Or maybe she was seeing what she wanted to see. Her mouth hangs open at the thought. The usual pit of self doubt swallows her. Alice settles back down with the book on her lap, staring at the cover. It's only a few minutes later she finally understands it. ]

Well-

[ She's used to people wandering in her room -- children or other patients back in the asylum. Eventually, she comes to the conclusion she doesn't have the heart to shoo anyone out. ]

Being as mad as I am, fine, you can stay.

It's fine. You're in the same kind of company. We gotta stick close— birds of a feather and all of that. _{[ He doesn't know her story— why she just calls herself mad— and again, he doesn't find it right to just pry into it. Gintoki was a rather secretive individual— he knew he felt uncomfortable and wanted to avoid discussions when pried at. Why should he bother her? Gintoki didn't hallucinate, but he did have frequent nightmares; he did have frequent outbursts of anger. He did have that frequent feeling of guilt as the days went on and he lived his life. It was something he would carry until he died.

He wanted to live a beautiful life to have a beautiful end.

Anyway, a hand lift up and rakes through his curly hair, and then a passing thought as he closes his eyes: ]}
Especially if you're going to be making cookies.

_{[ See that? it's a soft smile. ]}

Edited 2015-11-25 00:00 (UTC)

[ Alice has opened up her book, only this time to look at the pictures instead of actually reading it first. It's just something she can fill in the silence and her own racing thoughts regarding her sanity. She manages a breathy response, something close to laughing for her. ]

I'll make you cookies, you needn't worry there, though you may have some competition from little mouths.

[ Another few moments pass and Alice is left in silence again, before she blurts out, looking down at him- ]

What do you think? Is it wrong to steal clothing and food for others when they're in more need? It's not, is it? Well, I think it's not and they told me he was going to lose his head.

[ God help her, she's actually upset with it. ]

_{[ Geez. He's been hit with a lot of profound questions lately from several people. Alice probably hears him yawning as he lies there on his back, one leg lifting so the ankle rests on his knee.

With a disgruntled expression, his hand goes to his mouth, pinky finger picking at his teeth. ]}

If somebody's soul is pure, whatever their heart tells them is right — is right. Whatever their heart tells them is wrong — is wrong.

The problem is.. not everybody has a pure soul; not everyone has a heart that actually speaks to them.. so they do whatever the hell they want.

So, then, it's not always wrong.

[ She could understand anyone stealing for the sake of surviving or selling themselves for money. Between the asylum and Whitechapel, London, she understood how far people would go to just stay afloat. Society could condemn them all they wanted, but in the end, society made them that way, Alice would say. ]

He could have left those children starving there and he didn't. The most noble and esteemed men in all of London wouldn't dare sully their hands feeding and clothing children, and yet, he did.

[ He threatened her when she gave him thanks. Eventually, the only conclusion she could draw he was more pitiful than she thought in the first place. ]

I'm sure he'd threaten me if I told him I was grateful for it, too, for him helping those children. Some days, I don't even feel like myself, so how can I take care of them?

[ Silence falls as Alice looks down at her book, staring down at the images of King Arthur, as if that would provide her answers. Eventually, Alice just blurts it out, she comes out and says it. ]

He doesn't deserve to die.

Isn't it what Robin Hood did or something? Give to the poor. Hey, I'm poor— people should give me stuff too. _{[ I mean, he's not wrong, but now wasn't the time for that— stop, Gintoki.

Anyway, Alice is musing things that she should probably keep to herself and Gintoki is merely listening it, logging it away. She's asking questions Gintoki asks himself— when he doesn't feel like himself and his money is tight.. when he's not sure if he can take care of people who are important to him. What does he do in those situations? Well, to be honest, he merely just kind of drinks, so he can't tell her to go out and drink. Gintoki is a little bit mindful of how he should role model himself for people like Alice. ]}

How can you take care of them? You give up whatever the hell you can. That is the right thing to do because most people wouldn't give a shitkicking damn. Sacrifice yourself, if you gotta.

_{[ and then, in response to that last statement: ]}
If somebody is doing good for others to redeem themselves, they only deserve only a crown to wear. _{[ The world is too corrupt otherwise. Pity he doesn't listen to his own words a lot of the time. ]}

Edited 2015-11-28 05:08 (UTC)

Give them what I can?

[ She could and would do such a thing for orphans. Her lips pressed into a thin line, she debates it, she really debates telling Gintoki why she's so upset. It bounces in her head for a bit -- but then, what would he say if she turned a blind eye to children? ]

It's not that easy, it's-

[ Alice wouldn't really dare steal anything, especially that much like Ban did. She couldn't do what Nanny did, either, but she understood it and often wished that Nanny didn't result to such a level of selling herself. She grows more anxious at the thought, and decides not to mention it, altogether. ]

It's not only the right thing to do, it's what I should do, it's my penance and I'm not very good at it. I don't always feel well.

[ Well, she's not lying and she's not admitting to hallucinations, either. ]

_{[ A penance and not very good at it. I don't always feel well.

Gintoki can associate, in a way, with what she is saying. Gintoki rolls up from lying down to a seated position, watching Alice in the chair dully and wordlessly. She's suffering. Something about her is suffering— Gintoki wondered if sometimes he looked this way to other people and he hopes that the doesn't.

Finally, he gets up and walks over to the chair, placing a firm hand on Alice's shoulder. Then, he crouches, so now he is eye level with her in the seat. ]}

There is always a way of escape with whatever obstacles you face. You just gotta be stronger. Nobody said that was easy, either... but it's unreachable if you don't even try. Don't let anything stop you— not even yourself— from doing what you believe is right and what you know you should do.

[ That almost sounds a little like what her father would say. Encouragement is one thing, but the physical gesture of it is another. Alice, who is so unused to touch and comfort visibly flinches from his hand. As much as she dislikes touch and she has already violently lashed out against Ban and Gilgamesh for touching her, Alice refrains from the knee jerk urge of kicking him away.

Once she realizes he's not making a motion to harm her, she can breathe, just a little. Though, Alice remains very tense, her green eyes boring into him, waiting for the slightest sign that the gesture is going to be anything but kind.

It's been a while since someone has touched her for the sake of comfort, and not the other way around. Nervously glancing her eyes back down to her book, Alice nods. She doesn't have a lot of faith in herself, but she can't tell him that. ]

I will try. I will make amends with my errors.

_{[ Gintoki doesn't even think or dare to do anything harmful to his friend. Her words— they remind him of what he says to himself over and over in his mind. He does good to maybe redeem the feeling of wrong that he still has lingering in his golden heart.

His hand removes from his shoulder and he gives her a warm smile. ]}

I know you will.
_{[ —make amends of your errors, but you're free to interpret that as 'I know you will at least try' if you so wish.

Gintoki stands up again and turns around to head back to the floor, arms stretching before releasing a loud yawn. ]}

That said, I gotta go piss.

Edited 2015-11-30 05:47 (UTC)

You're a good man.

[ Much like her father, in some ways. Lost in the thought of her father, Alice starts to really cradle that book to her chest, thinking of him. She didn't intend for the mood to turn so somber in the room for that matter. But she would try, she would do whatever she could for the children here.

But, oddly enough, what happened to Ban will likely make her very sleepless tonight. ]

Well, ah- go. I won't keep you from whatever you need to do of that nature.

[ Awkwardly shuffling, Alice props open her book, gazing at the pictures, this time. ]

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