Home on the lake [OPEN as open can be! come visit, Heroes!]

[sugegasa]

Who: Shunsui Kyouraku and anyone willing to walk half an hour west of Caissa to his new house!
When: a few days after the Grantebryncge Library dungeon!
Where: half an hour to forty-five minutes west of Caissa
What: Shunsui got a house and is going to go try to make it livable!
Rating: None, it's an open house log. He might try to smooch people on the forehead and there could be blood when he tries to decorate, but otherwise we should be good.

OOC note: Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion) in Kyoto is meant to serve as inspiration, since the house is close to it in style! It's not nearly as big or ornate, though, and probably not...gold.

The home was more than he'd been expecting, even having toured it several times before applying for his permit and making the purchase.

It consisted of three levels and sat on a lake, reminding Shunsui of the Ugendou. That fact made him a bit sad, but it was nice to have all the same! It was a happy yellow color, and he liked the way the sun seemed to make it shine.

The first level consisted of a large kitchen, lounge area, bathroom with large tub and shower, library/reading room and guest room. It had access in several places to the wide deck/porch surrounding the entire house, upon which rested a small sunroom that he was excited to fill with plant life!

The second level housed three bedrooms, of good size with small study nooks in each. While there was only one bathroom shared between the three, it was quite large and rather nice, in his opinion! The bathing and toilet areas were separate, which was nice since that was what he was most familiar with. He did worry since one of the occupants - or at least, so he hoped! - was a young lady, but there was nothing that said she needed to take a room on that floor. They did have plenty!

The third and final level consisted of a master bedroom, a medium sized office, and a bathroom with shower. All three levels boasted balconies with railings, and he'd made sure to outfit those with comfortable chairs and tables to rest drinks or books on!

It had been rather expensive, but Shunsui had been doing many of the jobs he'd found posted in this world, and for all his carefree attitude, he didn't spend a great deal of money on himself. Never had, really, and now that his drinking had all but stopped...well. He did visit restaurants and bakeries regularly, but he'd managed to charm so many of the cooks that he often spent next to nothing anyway!

Once the furniture he'd ordered (simple but of good quality, beds and desks and sofas and tables!) had been delivered and set up, he decided it was time to open the place up to visitors and guests!

The main door was open, and visitors could walk through the garden he'd started to get to the house. There were many refreshments in the sitting area and kitchen, and plenty of space to relax! Including many, many cushions on the floor, both inside and on the dock.

Comments

annd late again whoops

[sugegasa]

Koumei himself may have preferred not to dwell on it, but Shunsui found it comforting that this man was able to understand that sort of balancing act. It was one thing to fill oneself with as much light as was possible, but far, far another to actually embody that in the day to day. He tried, oh how he did, but it still constantly an act of balance, and knowing that there were others in such a predicament - because it really could be, at times, as much as he'd gotten used to it over the centuries! - was comforting.

But he could easily let the event fade, should that make Koumei more comfortable. It had never been his intent to try to make him feel out of place or put upon by the act, and he was worried he may have caused their budding friendship to take a bit of a hit with his actions.

"Ahhh, you'll find that despite outward appearances, I do very much value my solace and peace in a comfortable quiet place. A friend of mine had a home on a lake, and truth be told I bought this house largely due to that. And there are always wagons and horses about should I wish to go to town! Half an hour's walk never hurt anyone, either."

Although he'd likely complain about it, when he needed to actually make the trip! Still, with his training cut drastically short here aside from the hours he put in of his own accord, the walking would do him good!

And he would very much enjoy the candles! Plum wine and sandalwood were some of his favorite scents!

[dishevelment]

Splitting apart the different emotions alongside their contexts and compartmentalizing them into different places in the intricate threads of his thought processes had been the only way Koumei had maintained himself during those darker times-- and that same tactic was how he didn't appear to be terribly bothered by the intensity of their last encounter. Whether it had been as simple as a handshake or as passionate as their kiss, it was all in the past now. Koumei, after a few long years of making peace with himself, had finally learned how to live for the present.

Not the past, and not the future.

...And the present, he decided, was much better than either of the alternatives.

"Hm...no, it hasn't." Koumei agreed, understanding where Shunsui's sentiments had originated from. Even Koumei himself could tolerate such things, although there had been a point in his life when he was loathe to do anything other than reading his beloved tomes in either his private quarters or the expansive library underneath the palace in Rakushou. "And the piece of familiarity must be a small comfort in this strange place.

I admit, I still find myself lost with the differences in customs here. Discovering the library and giving nuts and seeds to the pigeons in the city are how I've been able to get by thus far."

[sugegasa]

The present was definitely better. Shunsui had always lived his life according to that premise, but it had been so much easier when he'd been able to share that with his best friend, and with the man he knew as his father. Now that both were gone, he found himself living in the past far too often for his own tastes, and knew it was a pointless activity to begin with. Juushirou would be angry at him for it, as would Yama-jii. One did not neglect their present duties nor their present happiness in order to live in memories or in dreams of what may come.

"The pigeons, eh? I haven't fed them myself, but I do tend to talk to them when I go to the city! Brave little things come right up to my feet, they must know I'm a bit of a soft heart for animals."

He had to chuckle a bit self-deprecatingly at that, bringing a hand up to ever-so-lightly stroke the wings of his carrier Pretty, who sat, as was her usual method, on his shoulder close to his face.

"But yes, the customs can be rather...well. I don't want to say vexing, since I've only really been acquainted with the customs where I come from, but I do like to study the habits and mores of other lands. The library here is good for that, although I do admit to spending a bit too much time in the romantic fiction area."

[dishevelment]

"There's nothing wrong with wiling away your hours with 'light reading,'" Koumei said, a small smile playing on his lips at the thought of a boisterous man like Shunsui reading a silly love story. Koumei hadn't had time for such frivolous pleasures for years until recently-- and even now, it still felt strange to take his time to enjoy them.

"I've found that studying the cultures is only a small help, for I still never know when a new acquaintance will want to shake my hand or bow, or when someone will chide me for being too polite."

He had never heard of being 'too polite' until he came to this country, after all. The fact that such formalities were considered odd truly baffled him.

gah all the lateness

[sugegasa]

"Ahhh, I hope not! I do enjoy a good romance tale."

He neglected to mention the epic romance love series he was authoring, since Koumei didn't seem the type to appreciate such a frivolous hobby. But Shunsui loved it, and the Rose-Colored Path was near and dear to his heart, even if the majority of Sould Society seemed only to tolerate its inclusion in the Seireitei Communication. He wasn't at all bothered by its less than lukewarm reception, though! Still, it didn't seem a good way to woo the highly intelligent and tactical man before him...

"Hmmm. In those cases I tend to simply mimic what I see, it's served me far better than being my usual self! I find I'm far too friendly for the great majority to be comfortable with upon first meetings, even in my own home..."

He might have been a little sad about that, but shook it off! Etiquette wasn't something he cared much for. Respect, surely, but all the strange rules and rituals made him feel too micromanaged.

Koumei being "too polite" wasn't something Shunsui would have accused him of, although he did think that the man could stand to loosen up a bit! Then again, he really wasn't one to go by...

Its okay~

[dishevelment]

Any sort of hobby that Shunsui had would have been worth listening to-- after all, though Koumei was indeed a tactician, he preferred being able to wile away his hours with books and his beloved pigeons.

"Ah, but I've tried mimickry as well, but it never has it's intended effect. Rather, it tends to make people more unnerved than they would have been otherwise."

After all, he didn't consider himself unapproachable. He was merely a quiet individual who treated everyone with the same manner: humble, respectful, and honest.