Final artpiece by Acotama for their youkai project, based here on Utagawa Kuniyoshi's The Origin Story of the Cat Stone at Okabe. You can find here the presentation of this piece and here the WIP of the big nekomata.
I already share two of those doll monsters (depressed pumpkin ghost / fox-deer-faced discarded hakama), but Acotama made 140 of those creatures, and some will be sold this Winter, so be sure to follow their page if you are interested :D
I was rewatching Mononoke 2007 and a thought came to me, specifically about The Medicine Seller (of Ri)'s personality.
!! Spoilers for episodes 9, 10, and 11 of Ayakashi; Samurai Horror Tales and TW for mentions of non-con!!
My dad had already seen both the movies (I made my parents watch them for my birthday), so I was showing specific arcs of the show to my dad since he agreed to watch it with me (ty Dad ^w^). Because he didn't want to watch the OG and get stuck reading subtitles for most of the episodes and missing visual details, I put it onto the Dub. Now, personally, I am not a Dub girly, but I did find myself enjoying it just because I was realizing that there was certain jokes I wasn't getting due to me not being a native Japanese speaker. All of that got me thinking about The Medicine Seller's actions and words choices, specifically his attitude towards humans.
In the show, The Medicine Seller really seems to have this, almost disdain for the living humans that are connected to the Mononoke, with the exception of a few humans he seems to like; for example, Kayo. That being said, unless you are someone like Kayo (someone who really doesn't have much to do with the creation of the Mononoke and was unfortunately caught in the crossfire), he really seems to have this barely contained dislike of humans. It's never really explained or expanded upon, but neither really is anything else about him and it's consistent enough throughout all of his appearances that it could very easily just be a personality trait of his, but I'm not 100% sure.
Since I was rewatching the 2007 Mononoke show, I figured why not revisit the place where The Medicine Seller of Ri is first introduced; the final arc of Ayakashi; Samurai Horror Tales, and it was there that I really got this thought from. I actually think that this original Bakeneko arc was what caused Ri to have such a disdain for humans.
!! There will be spoilers beyond this point !!
In this arc, the Sakai family are being haunted by a Bakeneko resulting from the grudge of a woman one of the men of the family kidnapped and kept hostage. By the end of the episodes, we learn that the woman (named Tamaki) was caged, abused, and s3xually used by multiple men in the family. While captive, Tamaki managed to find a kitten, which she nurtured secretly until she eventually starved to death and her grudge then passed to her kitten, which then became the Bakeneko.
Throughout these episodes, The Medicine Seller is quite a bit more expressive than in the 2007 show; he's more animated, he actively voices his anger and disapproval when the humans say/do/attempt to do something stupid, he reassures Kayo when she is scared, and he makes a lot more dry jokes. We watch him get hurt, we watch him mess up, we watch him get knocked out and temporarily lose. I think the biggest difference between his Ayakashi depiction and his 2007 depiction, however, is probably his face. He grins, he scowls, he expresses visible shock and pain, his nose wrinkles in distaste, etc, etc; all these things that he doesn't really do in the 2007 show.
The part where that changes, however, is after finding out the Makoto and Kotowari; the Truth and Reason. After he learns about what actually happened, why the Bakeneko came into being, that previous expressiveness kind of shuts down. We watch Kayo sink to the floor in tears and Odajima (another character who didn't actually have anything to do with Tamaki's abuse) cover his eyes as if he was going to be sick. But The Medicine Seller? He just stands there.
If you watch through the credits, there's a bit at the end where they wrap up the arc, Kayo saying she's going to go back to her parents house, Odajima not knowing where he's gonna go after, yada yada, and there's a part where The Medicine Seller has to talk with the main abuser post slaying of the Bakeneko. The Medicine Seller looks so, disgusted by the man, he really just looks like he wants out of there ASAP. His behavior then mirrors his 2007 counterpart for the rest of the final episode, a lot more unreadable and flat.
And this is where I tie back to my original thought; I think that this specific mission might be the reason he holds such a disdain for humans, specifically human men (there are very few women he dislikes or shows outward animosity to in the show). He's clearly much younger during the Ayakashi Bakeneko arc than he is in the main show, his powers aren't as refined, and he makes a few incorrect guesses and mistakes, which can absolutely explain why he's so much more expressive. That being said, The Medicine Seller of Kon is also expressive, but his powers are very strong and refined, so I think the main reason why the Medicine Seller of Ri is the way he is is because he'd seen the ugliness of humans at a much younger age than Kon; it's why he's so much less likely to deal with people's bullshit than Kon would be.
Anyways, that's it! Just a thought I had.
summary: You try to retrieve your stuff from Logan's place.
tags: NSFW, hate/disgust, scent obsession, begging, longing, mixed emotions, conflicting feelings, physical anger, makeup sex, mating press, wrap it before you tap it psa, breakdown
Logan woke up at the alarming banging on the front door. He'd wasted yet another night drinking, his eyes adjusting to the new view he found himself in. His coffee table was decorated with brown bottles before him, the comfort of his couch not aiding the noise.
He pushed himself upright, pulling his stomach sideways with a groan. Logan managed to stand up, knocking over a few bottles from the table before going to the door.
You tried your best to find the most unappealing clothes to show up in, but it wasn't helpful that you managed to find the flannel you chose was, in fact, Logan's. As the door swung open, you dropped your extended fist to cross your arms.
You hung your head low, only looking at Logan's dirty jeans. Cocking your jaw, you glanced up at him and met his eyes already on you.
"I'm here for the rest of my stuff," you said, adjusting your eyes over Logan's shoulders to take in the state of the apartment.
You pulled your concern back, knowing it wasn't your place anymore. And it wouldn't be after today.
Logan's eyes took you in, his hand bracing the doorknob. His mouth opened, ready to say something, but stepped aside for you to come in.
You managed to slide past him and inside, narrowly avoiding his body. Logan didn't bother to hold himself back, leaning in to catch a whiff of your hair.
"I've tried calling you," Logan tried, watching you pause at the dining table. It was still dressed the way you'd left it on that disastrous day.
The flowers in the vase were wilting, the petals scattering around the table. Truly a testament to your relationship.
"I know," you responded softly, migrating slowly to take in the living room.
You nodded, your mouth open in disbelief of his coping method. Glaring over your shoulder at him, you scoffed and dropped your arms.
Logan shut the door after you, staring at the back of you as if he could will you to turn around. His mouth stuttered open again, wondering what he could say to get you back to him.
He reached out to touch your elbow, but you immediately shrugged your arm away. You hid a disgruntled shudder, stifling your chest readying with sobs.
"I've been..." you began, only to stop yourself as Logan stepped up behind your back, "busy."
Logan leaned in to smell your hair, his eyes rolling at the familiarity. His hands migrated to your hips, guiding you back into him. You tilted your head, attempting to avoid Logan's hot breath that rolled down your neck.
"I've missed you," Logan huffed, tempting his nose to your ear.
You shook your head, shutting your eyes at remembering your final moments here. Jerking out of his hold, you drew your hand up and swatted Logan's hands away.
"Fuck you," you spat, rushing your way into the bedroom.
Walking through the doorway, you were overcome with the events again. Once again, you felt Logan's breath on your neck. Once again, you felt his body over yours, his words worming into you and making your warm.
You felt his kiss on your mouth, catching yourself to shield it with your hand. Logan lingered where you left him, looking after you once again.
He walked after you, itching to touch you again. His lips tingled at the thought of your lips, watching you walk to the closet. To pause, he sat on the edge of the bed and stared at you, pondering his next move.
You stifled a breath, tearing open his drawers to empty your items to the floor. Your socks tumbled to the hardwood, rolling away in misshapen balls. Your pants, skirts, pajamas, all flowed to your feet unceremoniously.
All of your clothes were before you in a heap, all except your underwear. When you opened the top drawer, expecting your bras to be the separation between your panties and Logan's boxers, you were slightly disheartened at the emptiness.
Logan froze at the questioning look on your face, knowing that you had found something most unpleasant. Or not found something.
You side glared at Logan, wondering it was that he could've hid them. With a deep breath, you parted from the dresser to grab a trash bag from the kitchen.
"Wait, wait, wait," Logan pleaded easily, blocking your exit of the room. "Sweetheart."
His arms were readily held open to embrace you, something tempting to stop the ache within you. His coaxing was always reassuring enough, and this wouldn't be any different.
You held your hands up, attempting to avoid any touch of Logan's. He was venomous, willing to tighten around you to make you his prey. "Logan, please."
Your eyes threatened to water, your teeth gritting as you turned away from him. "I can't, I can't."
Logan witnessed the grueling emotions warring on your face. As he stepped towards you, you wandered further into the room so long as it was away from him.
He didn't say anything else, holding his arms out to welcome you in though not cornering your to do so. Your hands found their way into your hair, slowly feeling the facade of coldness evaporate the more time you spent in a room with him.
You tried to regain yourself, eyes boring at Logan while they burned in anger. Dropping your hands, you pointed at him from your former bedside.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, hmm? You can't fuck me over like this and then want me back!" You yelled, reaching for your pillow and tossing it over at Logan.
He ducked narrowly, allowing your pillow to flop behind him. With glancing behind him at it, he missed ducking the second pillow hurled at his head.
"You're the fucking worst, Logan. I hate you, I hate you!" You bellowed, hoping that speaking the words aloud would rekindle the burn within your chest.
But doing so only threatened more tears, making your nose sting. You gulped, soothing your hoarse throat for a moment as you lifted your chin.
"I'm sorry," Logan said, speaking more into shoulder after being hit with the pillow.
He glanced down at your pillow before his feet, the pillowcase sliding to reveal your hidden underwear.
"I'm fucking sorry, okay?" Logan grit, lifting his head to meet your eyes. "I regret it. I deserve this, I do."
You struggled to blink as Logan cut the distance to you. He grabbed onto your hands, bundling them into fists. "You wanna hit me? Do it. You wanna fucking scream?" Logan leaned into your face, his nose tempting against yours. "Do it. I deserve it. I deserve every fucking slight you have against me, everything..."
Your fists tightened in his hold to a degree you threatened harm to your own hands. His hands held at your wrists for a moment longer, staring down at your lips before letting you loose.
You shut your eyes, slighting your nose away from him. Your fists battered at his chest, giving your all though you felt tired in doing so. When your fists ached, you palmed his chest and shoved him away.
"Fuck you, Logan," you said, quickly eyeing his chest. His beater revealed the slight smattering of his chest hair. You ignored it and shoved him again, a bit harder and wavering his stance. "Fuck you. Fuck you!"
Logan withstood your berating, staring down at you fighting against him with no fight back. He held his hands out again, taking soft grip of your elbows.
"Fuck you, fuck you, I hate you, I hate you!" You repeated, trying to remain tough though you were losing all fight. Your tears finally broke, blinding your fury and making you pause while taking grip of his shirt.
You cried, letting him touch you with gentility you remembered. Your stance wavered, curling your head against his shoulder as you chest heaved.
Logan sniffled in response, his heart stinging at your breakdown. He deserved worse, he knew, ready for you to batter him down and kick him still.
You tilted your head to look up at him, hiccuping more cries back. Logan angled his chin down to look at you, his eyes taking in your ruddy face. This was the worst, witnessing your hurt so openly.
He deserved nothing less than your leaving. He didn't understand why he'd done it, but if he could go back, he would've.
Still, he tried to lean in again, holding his breath as his nose brushed against yours. You whimpered, your eyes fluttering to succumb to his kiss. It was warm yet bitter, the stale beer on his breath nothing less than comforting.
Logan's hold on you tightened, bending to your whim while selfishly taking more of you. He sat, leaving you to follow into his lap. Your knees slid onto the bed, sitting on Logan's lap as your tears tainted your kiss.
He paused, allowing you to breathe, to think about what you were doing. But you eagerly followed after his mouth, squeezing your eyes tighter to will yourself to stop crying.
Logan grimaced, feeling your chest heave against his; you inhaled a sharp breath, biting back another whimper. His hands carefully stayed at your elbows, not wanting to scare you away.
You tugged at Logan's shirt, silently willing him to undress. He did his best, taking his hands back to peel his shirt off. It was a quick break away from your lips, which you made up as soon as it was off.
Logan's hands held at your elbows again, feeling your hands migrate over his shoulders then down to admire the hair on his chest. He expected you to regain your senses, to bite his lip and scramble off of him.
You reached for the buttons of your flannel, tugging the shirt open before shrugging it off of your shoulders. You redirected Logan's hands under your sports bra, instructing your to knead tenderly as you reached to peel it off.
Tossing it behind you, you pushed Logan back onto the bed then went to undo your jeans. Logan looked down your body, following your lead but slower. He watched as you peeled your jeans from your hips along with your panties.
Logan gulped at the sight of you again, his eyes raking over your body in admiration. He wasn't sure what this would mean after, but he hoped that he could make it up to you.
You stood to take off your pants, allowing Logan to do the same with minor hesitation. You paused at the sight of his hardened cock, flopping against his stomach. Your chest burned anew, less with hatred and more with desire.
Climbing back onto the bed, you knelt over Logan while you stared down at him. It felt that you two were crossing a point of no return; your body was hot with the temptation to cut and run.
But you took grip of Logan's cock, noticed his soft seethe at your touch, then slipped his cockhead between your slickened lips.
You lowered onto his cock, a hand bracing out to his chest to meter his length into you. Logan bit back a snarl, tilting his head back to grunt.
He tightened his hands into fists, held them to the bed to not chase you off. Your fingers twitched on his chest, looking to meet his eyes though he was squeezing them shut.
"L-Logan," you whimpered, begging his attention with a slight buck of your hips.
Logan growled, opening his eyes to glare at you from under his brow. He couldn't deny you anymore, grabbing your hips and turning you over on the bed.
"I-I'm sorry," he apologized, nudging his nose against yours while his hands found the backs of your thighs and pushed them up. "I love you."
You gasped as your knees met your sides, angling your ass up for Logan to deepen his length into you. Your hands went for the sides of Logan's face, outwardly moaning against his lips.
He exhaled deeply, growling at the heat of your walls begging him deeper. Logan planted a knee to the bed, rolling his hips into you and earning a pitchy whine.
He started a careful pace, long and hot with his breath wafting down your neck. Logan rested his forehead against yours, squeezing into your thighs while you two shared a few pants unevenly.
"I love you," you declared softly, moaning when Logan stroked deeper.
Your hands circled around his back, digging your short nails into skin and earning his muted grunt. He deserved none of this, ready for you to disconnect from him in retaliation.
You met Logan's deep brown eyes, nudging his nose to kiss him again. You moaned into him, pushing him further into you. Logan lost himself in you, minding his strokes to keep you both engaged.
Your walls clenched around him, taking his kiss harder while you tried to hold on. Your hands slipped down to his ass, gripping him to beg him further in.
You came undone quickly, parting from his kiss to cry out in moans. Logan's name was on your lips, nothing less than pleads of more.
Logan's top lip curled, wanting to snarl but ducking his face into your neck. He came soon after, your needy walls begging his release. He opened his mouth and cried, actual tears dotting your blazing skin in the heavy sighs of euphoria.
"Every day," Logan began, his voice trying its best to not break. "I will make it up to you. I am so sorry. I'm so sorry, baby."
Your eyes fluttered slowly as you stared at the ceiling, the feelings you harbored earlier rushing back to make your eyes water. You choked them back, folding a hand to your mouth as you tried to go back to your hatred, to your disdain, though it faltered as Logan's warm body lay over you.
"I love you," Logan said, raising his head to see your holding back of tears.
He peeled your hand away from your mouth, leaning in to kiss you. "I love you."
You broke into tears again, biting away from his warm lips to turn into the mattress. "I-I..."
Logan understood, overly blinking his eyes before ducking his head to your neck again. "I know I don't deserve you."
Your chest wracked with a sob, one that Logan felt against his.
"But I'm willing to try and make up for it," Logan tried, kissing at your neck.
You tried to relax, only gasping to breathe before Logan's arms curled around you. "I can't say it enough, baby."
He pulled out of you, turning you both on your sides as you curled up before him. Logan ran a hand over your thigh comfortingly, knowing that this wasn't close to forgiveness.
