#kaneko's crib notes

[kanekocribs]

KANEKO'S CRIB NOTES LXVI: A RACIST (?) METAPHOR FOR VENGEANCE

I'll be honest with you all, we're running out of cribs. Who knows what the landscape will look like next year. Only one thing is for sure: Kaneko's bare, spooky carcass will be on full display at least once more by our fine friends at Colopl.

LEPRECHAUN: An often controversial design because "why is an Irish fairy clad in a Union Jack boot, isn't that a bit insensitive to Ireland? "; however, Eirikr puts that argument to rest with an exhaustive look into the design's context. And yeah, Leprechaun's "scandalous" boot is clearly cribbed from the one used by the Spice Girls' Geri Halliwell.

HOMO GORLEO: There are two things to say about Metaphor's human designs. The first is that most seem to be inspired by the works of Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch, like Gorleo here, which iterates on a figure found on the center panel of Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights triptych.

HOMO AVADES: The second thing we can say about the Metaphor humans is that we're frustrated by the lack of transparency regarding who designed them. One would assume that would be Shigenori Soejima, but Atlus has been less than forthright about something so apparently obvious. For the time being, we'll just have to credit them to "Studio Zero Art Team." Avades itself is at least more clearly adapted from the central figure of the the right panel of Bosch's Garden.

NYAMI NYAMI: We've made light of Doi in the past for over-relying on Wikipedia as a source for things, and, hey, it happened again for Vengeance's Nyami Nyami, this time an image of a wood carving of the deity used on the JP Wikipedia page that Doi clearly saw while researching and used as a reference, not that we're faulting him for it!

AMABIE: A design actually borne out of Atlus piggybacking on a Japanese Amabie meme during the Covid-19 pandemic, Doi's Amabie is based on a 19th century woodblock print that's the genesis for virtually all modern depictions of her.

[eirikrjs]

Have you seen this alchemical engraving of a chimera from Cabala, Mirror of Art and Nature? I'm convinced it served as an inspiration for Master Therion, but I fail to see the connection between the two other than both belonging to Western esotericism.

Yes, I think so, too; it's actually the second entry of Kaneko's Crib Notes:

I think the image itself is more pertinent than the "Cabala" subject or the context around it. Because the truth is with a lot of Japanese books (and those from elsewhere) is that images can be used without being properly sourced or credited--if at all.

A couple examples:

This is an entry on Stonka from "World Yokai Picture Book" by Jaguar books, a series of books Kaneko loved. Note of course that this is not artwork of Stonka itself but rather the work of Marc Saint-Saens arbitrarily recontextualized to illustrate the entry.

I first saw the Cabala beast on the cover of this book (not recommended, quite rudimentary); I don't think it is otherwise mentioned or detailed in the book itself.

So I can't say we know exactly where Kaneko saw the Cabala beast, just that I feel confident in saying he did see it before designing Master Therion for SMT2. It could have literally been anywhere--and such a serendipitous glimpse is sometimes all that's required to provide the spark of needed creativity.

[omgjasminesimone]

Running Part 3

Colt x MC (Ellie)

Previous Part: Part 2

Next Part: Epilogue

Author’s Note: Last part! Thank you to all who read, liked, commented, and reblogged this story. Parts of this chapter are NSFW

Summary: After eighteen months of searching, Colt has finally found Ellie. 

Rating: NSFW

Word Count: 4000

“You can let go of me now.” Ellie informs Colt after several minutes have passed in a tense silence. He’s given her no indication that he plans to release her anytime soon.

Colt arches a brow. “Can I? I’m not so sure about that. You have this bad habit of running away from me.” His eyes narrow, piercing her with his fierce glare. “I don’t like it.”  

Ellie lowers her gaze shamefully. “I promise I won’t run.” She swears.

Colt pauses for a few seconds, seemingly thinking it over. “I guess I’ll trust you, even though that’s more than you ever gave me.” He says bitterly, loosening his hold and allowing Ellie to step away.

Ellie wraps her arms around herself, having trouble looking at him. She wasn’t expecting to have to do this today. She wasn’t really expecting to do this ever. She assumed he would stop looking for her eventually, and she and her son could quietly settle down somewhere. “What are you doing here?” Ellie asks softly.

His ire flares as he looks at her sharply, that familiar fire in his eyes. “What am I doing here?” He repeats incredulously.

Maybe she should rephrase that. He’s obviously here because she’s here, because their baby is here. “I meant, how did you find me?” She clarifies.

Colt scoffs, crossing his arms across his chest to temper his urge to grip her wrist roughly. He’s unconvinced she’s not going to try to make a run for it. “With a lot of difficulty.” He answers shortly.

“Colt, I told you not to look for me.” Ellie admonishes softly, finally meeting his gaze.

“And I told you I’d keep you safe, that I’d take care of you, both of you. I guess neither of us knows how to listen.” Colt retorts.

Ellie sighs, not knowing what to say to him to make any of this better.

“I want to see them.” Colt demands.

“Hmm?” Ellie asks, unsure who ‘them’ is.

“My child. I want to see my child.” Colt clarifies in an exasperated tone, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black jeans.

Oh, of course that’s who he meant. She feels another pang of guilt when she realizes Colt doesn’t even know the gender of their baby. She had debated sending him a picture of the infant after she gave birth, but her Dad talked her out of it. Ellie knows Colt won’t take no for an answer, he is the father after all, so she nods. “Of course, I’ll take you to your son.”

There’s a pause, a soft intake of breath from Colt. “A boy?” He finally chokes out, voice thick with emotion.

Ellie nods, offering him a sad smile as her eyes tear up. She retreats back to her basket because turning away from him prevents her from full on bawling in front of him, thinking about all the moments with their son he has already missed. Colt follows behind her, keeping her within reach. He’s still worried she’ll run. Ellie gathers her produce and turns towards the house, sliding open the glass backdoor. She takes off her shoes at the door and Colt follows suit. She leaves her basket on the kitchen table, and Colt continues to follow her up the carpeted stairs, turning into a room painted candy apple green.

Tears well in his eyes as Colt enters the nursery, laying eyes on his son for the first time. He’s in a dark blue onesie, dark brown eyes open and alert as he babbles, trying to get his clothed foot into his mouth. He doesn’t have much hair yet, but the few tufts on his head are dark black like his own hair. The baby is his spitting image, but he’s got Ellie’s fuller lips.

Colt has never held a baby before, and he hesitates as he grips the crib bars. He wants to hold him more than anything, but he’s afraid. He feels like he could unintentionally hurt this small fragile thing, so easily that it terrifies him. Maybe Ellie was right to keep him away. 

Ellie notices his hesitation, so she reaches into the crib for their son. “Hold him just like this, support his head.” Ellie instructs, laying the wiggling bundle into his arms.

Colt stiffens, afraid the baby will start crying, or he’ll drop him, or maybe he should be providing more support to his head…

The baby smiles up at him, just two teeth in his gummy mouth. Colt can’t help but smile back, and a few stubborn tears roll down his cheek.

“What’s his name?” Colt questions softly, eyes fixed on his son as he softly sways back and forth.

“Colt.” Ellie answers, watching the moving reunion and feeling guilty for keeping the two apart for so long. “I was going to name him Asher, Asher Joseph Wheeler, but he came out looking just like you.” Ellie pauses before adding, “Also, I was pretty drugged. And I really missed you. So I named him Colt Teppei Kaneko.” Ellie explains.

Colt swallows back the emotion that brings up in him. A namesake, for him, and for his father. He clears his throat, trying not to cry. “Your dad must have loved that.” Colt says sarcastically, hoping she won’t notice how his voice is wavering.

Ellie chuckles, fidgeting as Colt’s watery gaze leaves the baby and fixes on her. “He had gone down to the cafeteria. If he was in the room, he definitely would have tried to stop me. He loved the name Asher.” After a few moments, Ellie adds. “He was really pissed when he found out.”  

Colt nods, now having confirmed that Detective Wheeler got to witness his son’s birth while Ellie denied him that opportunity. Another thing to add to his list of reasons why he and Detective Wheeler are never going to be remotely friendly. And what kind of pretentious name was Asher? Clearly something that asshole would like. “Having two Colts around is going to be confusing. How am I supposed to know who you’re talking to, or calling for?” He questions.

Ellie tries to ignore the implications of that statement. Does he really think there’s a future for them as one big happy family? “Well, when I speak to him, it’s like this.” Ellie rubs a finger down the baby’s soft cheek. “Colt, Coltie.” She calls sweetly, and the baby gurgles happily. Ellie turns her gaze up to the older Colt Kaneko. “When I’m calling out for you, it usually sounds more like this. Colt!” She calls out impatiently, as if she’s annoyed with him about something.

Colt laughs, for the first time in a long time. “That’s not the only way you say my name. That’s not the way I love. The breathy little moans of my name as I make you cum. Aahh…Colt…don’t stop.” He imitates, head falling back with eyes closed and mouth open in an imitation of her orgasm face.

Ellie blushes. “Don’t say dirty stuff like that while you’re holding my son.”

“Our son.” Colt quickly corrects. “And sex is a natural thing. It’s how this little guy got here.”

Now that sex has been implicitly mentioned, Ellie is suddenly aware of the heat building between her legs. She hasn’t been with anyone since she left Colt, and the chemistry between them is as strong as ever. She wants him, needs him, even though she knows she shouldn’t.

Ellie looks him over as he coos at the baby, bouncing him gently. His hair has grown a little longer in the time they’ve been apart. It’s slicked back now instead of gelled up. He also has a beard now, trimmed short and tidy around his chin. It makes him look older, like a man instead of a boy.

Her eyes leave his face to look over his body. She misses the leather jacket, but he’d be melting in the New Mexico summer heat if he was wearing it. His tight white shirt, sleeves rolled up, shows off the impressive physique beneath. She can see the outline of his abs and his pecs. Her eyes go lower, to his groin, knowing what lies beneath those jeans. Knowing exactly what he can do with that appendage when he swivels his hips just so.

Her dirty thoughts are interrupted when their son starts to cry, at a medium volume. She’s started to become proficient in the language of Colt Jr.’s cries, and this one means he’s hungry. She holds her arms out to Colt, and he reluctantly hands over the baby. Ellie takes a seat in the rocking chair in the corner of the nursery, tugging down her sundress to expose her left breast. She raises the baby to her nipple, and he immediately latches on and starts to suckle.

“He’ll be at it for a while.” Ellie informs Colt, making herself comfortable in the chair.

Colt stands before her, watching as she feeds their son. The intensity of his stare makes her a little uncomfortable. She took off before her body changed. Her breasts are a lot larger now, engorged with milk. Her areolas are huge and dark from the hormonal changes. She’s a little worried he’ll be turned off by the sight of them.

She shakes her head, chastising herself for even caring what he thinks about her breasts. This is what they’re supposed to do, their biological purpose, nourishing her child.

But her fears are unwarranted, because Colt simply looks intrigued as he watches. “Do you have any bottled milk?” He asks.

Ellie thinks on it, and remembers she pumped yesterday when the baby was sleeping and she felt particularly engorged. She nods. “Yeah, downstairs. Do you want to try to feed him? I can go heat it up.” Ellie offers, standing and handing him the baby. She pulls her dress back up and turns towards the door, but Colt stops her with a hand on his shoulder.

“I want to learn how to do it.” He reveals.

Ellie swallows, unable to ignore the fact that he clearly intends to stick around, to raise their child together. Can she deny him that, after seeing how his namesake has already warmed to his father? The baby is usually fussy around the select few other people he interacts with, even his Grandpa Wheeler. But he’s clearly comfortable in his father’s arms.

Ellie pushes all the problems with allowing Colt back into their lives to the back of her mind, nodding and letting him follow her back down the stairs. She shows him where the milk is, teaches him how to heat it up and test the warmth against his wrist. Colt takes a seat at the kitchen table, bringing the bottle to Colt Jr.’s lips. The baby suckles happily, and when he’s done Ellie shows Colt how to burp him. The baby spits up on him, but Colt doesn’t seem at all upset. He simply grabs a paper towel and cleans the spit up from their son’s lips, not even bothering to try to clean his own shirt.

Ellie shows Colt the mat where she lays the baby for tummy time, and the teething toy Colt Jr. likes the most. Colt Jr. doesn’t seem interested in the toy today, so Colt reads a story to him instead, doing different voices for all the characters as they baby cuddles into his side.

The stench in the air notifies Ellie it’s time to change the baby’s diaper. Colt takes the lead, but she has to show him how to properly secure the taps after he does it too loose. Afterwards, Colt makes himself comfortable in the rocking chair, gently rocking the freshly changed baby to sleep.

As Colt Jr.’s eyes flutter shut, Colt slowly gets up and gently transfers the baby from his arms to the crib.

“You’re really good with him.” Ellie observes softly.

Colt’s fists clench on the crib. “Are you surprised?” He asks testily, his back to her.

Ellie steps up to him, cupping his cheeks and forcing him to look at her. “No, that’s not what I meant. I always knew you would be a good father Colt. I just didn’t think I could be a good mother while knowingly putting my child in a dangerous situation.”

“Our child.” He corrects, again. “I never would have put our child in a dangerous situation, he would have been safe. I still can’t believe you left me. You said you’d always choose me….it’s been almost two fucking years Ellie.”

Ellie swallows. “I can’t choose you over him.” She admits softly.

“I’m not asking you to.” Colt insists. He removes her hands from his face, walking away from her and staring out the window. There’s not much to look at. This house is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by arid desert.    

Ellie hesitantly approaches, hugging him from behind and trying to ignore the way he stiffens at her touch. “I missed you.” Ellie reveals, getting on her tip toes to place a kiss to the back of his neck.

“You could have come home at any time.” Colt bites back, but he makes no move to remove himself from her arms.

Ellie sighs. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I’m sorry I hurt you, but I still think I made the right decision. It was hard for me too.”

Colt laughs humorlessly. “You’re absolutely infuriating, you know that?”

Ellie’s hand slips under his shirt, fingers lightly tracing over his abs. His muscles clench under her touch. “I know a way we could work out some of the tension.” She whispers suggestively into his ear.

Colt turns quickly, capturing her lips roughly and demanding his tongue’s entrance into her mouth. She happily obliges as he lifts her, and she wraps her legs around his lean waist. He presses her into the wall, removing one hand from her leg to grasp at her breast through the thin sundress. He squeezes roughly and she moans.

“I’m still mad at you.” He reveals between greedy kisses, leaving marks all down her neck.

“I know.” Ellie responds, nails raking down his back.

“And we need to talk.” Colt adds, free hand squeezing her plumper post baby bottom.

She rolls her hips against him, delighting in the groan that elicits from his kiss swollen lips. “We can do that later.”

“Where’s your bedroom?” He questions.

“Down the hall, to your left.”

Colt carries her to their destination before rather unceremoniously tossing her onto the mattress. He remains standing at the foot of the bed, regarding her somewhat coldly despite the desire evident in his deep brown eyes. “Take off the dress.” He demands, and Ellie is quick to follow his instructions. She tosses the dress in the general direction of her dirty laundry bin. She doesn’t bother with a bra most days, since she rarely leaves the house anyway and it’s more convenient for breastfeeding, so she’s left in nothing but her cotton panties.

Colt looks over her nude form appreciatively. Her post pregnancy body is curvier. She has rounder hips and fuller breasts now. Ellie feels self-conscious about the few stretch marks that mar her stomach, and instinctively moves to cover them. Colt shakes his head and she freezes, allowing her arms to fall back to her sides.

Colt slowly disrobes until he’s left in just his briefs. He crawls onto the bed and sprawls out beside her, looking at her with an eyebrow raised. Normally he would take the lead, but it seems like he wants her to initiate what she wants.  

Ellie straddles his hips, hands tangling into his hair and kissing him until she has to pull away for air. She peppers kisses down his body, rising onto her knees and crawling down the bed as she goes. She kisses the trail of hair just below his belly button, looking up at him through her lashes.

He smirks at her, so she palms his hard length through his briefs, squeezing not so softly until he lets out an involuntary hiss. She reaches for the waistband of that last barrier, and he raises his hips so she can pull them off.

Her hand wraps around him, thumb brushing over the tip. Colt’s eyes close as she takes him into her mouth. Ellie braces her hands on his thighs, slowly taking him in as deep as she can without gagging. Ellie moves her head up and down, sucking and coating him in saliva before sitting up, replacing her mouth with her hand. Her strokes gradually increase in speed, and Colt writhes in pleasure. “Fuck Ellie.” He exclaims when she bends back down, licking slowly from the base to the tip of his cock. She swivels her tongue around the head before taking him back into her warm mouth.  

Colt abruptly pulls her off, tugging her on top of him so they’re face to face. He kisses her forcefully, biting her bottom lip fairly hard before he pulls away, flipping them over so he’s on top in one fluid motion.

He quickly tugs her panties off, tossing them over his shoulder. He kisses her inner thigh, and then the other inner thigh gently. His hot breath ghosts over her center, and she tangles her fingers into his hair, lightly pushing him down to her wanting sex.

He abruptly pulls his mouth away, rolling onto his side. His movement forces her left leg open, and he gently inserts a finger inside of her. “You’re so wet.” He observes, coating the tip of his finger in her juices before pushing two fingers all the way in.

Ellie’s hips arch off the bed as he adds a third finger, hooking them and pumping several times before retracting them. Ellie moans as he rubs his thumb over her clit. He leans over to place a kiss near her belly button, and she waits in anticipation for him to put his mouth where she wants it most.

Instead of kissing his way down, he kisses his way back up to her mouth, his calloused fingers continuing to push in and out of her, faster and faster. “I’m close.” She informs him, eyes closing as the pleasure builds. Her eyes shoot open in surprise when he slowly pulls his fingers from her, inserting them into his mouth and slowly licking them clean as he stares into her lust blown eyes.

Ellie realizes he’s punishing her, refusing to let her cum, refusing to eat her out since he knows how good he is at it, how much she wants it. He must really be angry with her.

Ellie sits up, pushing him onto his back and straddling his waist. If he won’t give her what she wants, then she’ll have to take it. She guides him to her entrance, slowly lowering herself down onto him. Ellie is overwhelmed by the feeling of fullness, of completeness. She slowly swivels her hips, watching as Colt licks his suddenly dry lips. She increases her pace, bouncing up and down while bracing against his chest. Colt can’t hold out for long, giving in to what they both want. He thrusts in time with the rhythm she’s set, hands wandering from her hips to her ass so he can speed up their pace.

“I almost forgot how good you feel.” Ellie mumbles breathlessly, pleasure and tension building as she feels herself getting close to her orgasm.

Colt growls, slamming into her roughly so she cries out his name. “You’re never going to forget again after I’m done with you.” He promises.    

“Ahh…Colt!” She calls out as she climaxes, milk leaking from her full breasts onto his stomach as her walls clench around him. He continues to thrust as she rides out her orgasm, falling against his chest. He grunts as he reaches his peak as well, spilling inside of her in several long spurts.

She rolls off him, kissing him gently as she slowly comes down from her sex induced fog. Colt wipes a finger over a drop of milk on his stomach, bringing it to his lips tentatively. “Hmm…it’s sweet.” He informs her once he’s had a taste. “Does that always happen?” He asks.

Ellie glares at him, offended he would even ask. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t been with anyone since I left you.”

Colt nods, relief flooding through him having that confirmed. “Me either.” He offers, wanting her to know she’s the only one he wants. “Can I….” He stops, suddenly shy.

Ellie thinks she knows what he’s getting at, and she nods, rolling onto her back to give him easier access.

Colt tentatively takes her right nipple into his mouth, the one his son wasn’t recently feeding on, Ellie notes, swirling his tongue and sucking until her milk starts to flow. He caresses her other breast, squeezing and kneading the tender flesh. After a few seconds, he releases her nipple, rolling on top of her and capturing her lips. She can taste her milk on his lips as he enters her again. It does taste sweet.

…

..

.

After round three in the shower, Ellie is halfway to sleep when she hears Colt’s phone ping, a text message.

He removes his arm from around her and reaches for his jeans on the floor. He takes his phone from the pocket and glances at the screen, nodding curtly. “We still need to talk.” He declares as he types out a response.

Ellie sits up, keeping the blanket over her chest to protect her modesty. “Okay.” She responds, resting her head on her knees and looking at him warily.

“Here.” He hands her his phone. She sees the alert was a picture from Ximena. It’s Kaneko Autobody Shop, engulfed in flames. Colt has simply texted back ‘Good.’

Ellie’s eyebrows furrow, giving him a confused look. “I burnt down the shop. So we can start over.” Colt explains.

“But it’s been in your family for generations. And you worked so hard to reopen it. You said it was your legacy.” Ellie responds, baffled by his sudden 180 degree turn.

Colt gestures toward the nursery with a tilt of his head. “He’s my legacy. That was just a building. Now we can collect on my fire insurance policy and start over. I was thinking Charlotte, North Carolina. My mom is out there. And it’s 2,500 miles from your dad.”

“I don’t understand.” Ellie reiterates, handing him back his phone.

Colt tosses it onto the nightstand, turning in the bed to face her. “I wanted you to feel secure. I can’t go back, there’s nothing to go back to. I set things right with anyone mad enough to come looking for me across the country, they’re all paid off. I’m in this with you Ellie, 100 percent. I’ve saved some money, I know of some investment opportunities in North Carolina. I’m done with crime Ellie.” He patiently explains.

“But you love the crew. You love the lifestyle.” Ellie insists.

“I love you more. I love my son more. I could have had it all if you would have just let me, I know I could have kept you guys safe. But since you won’t let me have both, it’s not a hard decision. I choose you. I’ll always choose you.” Colt swears, taking her hand in his.

Ellie smiles, tears welling up in her eyes again. “I love you too.” She admits, pulling him into a passionate kiss. “You know, insurance fraud is also a crime.” She informs him when she pulls away.

Colt rolls his eyes. “Okay smart ass, after I collect the insurance money then I’m done with crime. For good.”

Ellie laughs, kissing him again. “Are we really doing this? You can forgive me? We can start fresh?”

“I can forgive you, but I won’t forget. You have to talk to me from now on, give me the fucking ultimatum if something is a deal breaker for you. Don’t pull some shit like this ever again, you hear me?” Colt demands, that fire in his eyes again.

Ellie nods. “I hear you, and I’m sorry. I love you Colt..”

“I love you too.”

They probably would have gotten lost in each other a fourth time, but Colt Jr.’s cries come through the baby monitor. Ellie automatically starts to get up, but Colt gently pushes her back down into bed.

“It’s my turn, for like the next year.” He informs her, heading out to the nursery.  

…

..

.

Author’s Note: The End! But I feel like I have a pretty flushed out epilogue for this one, so that’s probably coming at some point. Thank you for reading!

@brightpinkpeppercorn @choicesarehard @lovehugsandcandy @desiree-0816 @regina-and-happiness @iplaydrake @hazah @sibella-plays-choices @maxwellsquidsuit @eileendannie @liamzigmichael4ever @lady-dianelewis @client-327 @cora-nova @umiumichan @angrypainterfarmopera @badchoicesposts @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction @sparklinglilac @pixel-thirsty @mrskaneko 

[larrue]

Source; https://kanekocribs.tumblr.com/post/122909561421/kanekos-crib-notes-xxvi-bodyconian-the

[mendelpalace]

Just saw you posted on eirikrjs' blog never knew you were a fan of SMT. What games have you played and what are your favorite demons?

I actually haven’t played any SMT games, sorry to say. It’s been on my radar for a while now, but I’m terrible at actually getting around to games (something I’m working on). I’ve been following eirikrj and the Kaneko’s Crib Notes blogs for a bit though, because I love seeing how the series interprets pop culture/religion/folklore for the demons and such. 

Of the demons I’ve seen I like a lot of the odd pop culture referencing ones like Betelgeuse (the Beetlejuice/Tim Burton Batman one), Hell Biker (Ghost Rider) and Chris (Carpenter/King’s Christine).

Other one’s I like are the Poltergeist, Dybbuk, Cosmo Zombie, Gnome (specifically the Strange Journey version, where he’s a weird lava man hatching from a geode). 

And I like the popular ones like the Jack Bros. and Mothman. 

[kanekocribs]

KANEKO’S CRIB NOTES LXV: SEVEN SEAS OF CRIBS

Halloween is on the approach, and what could this mean? Tricks, treats? Skeletons, witches, draculae? A child's laughter sounding lightly through the autumn leaves? No, it doesn't mean any of that GARBAGE- it's time for the annual outing of KANEKO'S CRIB NOTES! Please enjoy this smattering of delirious cribs that will make you think "damn, that's the thing that the other thing is based on".

NEZHA: The modern pop sensibility of Soul Hackers is on display in Nezha's Astro Boy inspired design, drawing a parallel between the two "rebuilt" child heroes. It's evident from the twin spikes and whatever the fuck that is, you know, his metallic underwear I suppose.

CHERUB: Following the probably erroneously designated 'Ophanim' from SMTII, and playing on Kaneko's documented fascination with angelkind as spacecraft, this Devil Summoner take on Cherub pushes the concept even further, borrowing a look from the cover of ancient alien classic The Spaceships of Ezekiel by Joseph F. Blumrich. Compare the cover to the Japanese edition that Kaneko was more likely familiar with!

SERAPH: The composition of Seraph's four heads and crossed arms is a likely homage to the iconic cover of 1974's Queen II. Slap that shit on your dorm room wall for a change!

TITANIA: Titania's appearance in SMTII is a slightly embellished take on this Brian Froud illustration of the ghostly Glaistig of Scotland. Thanks to Psiguy for originally sharing this ID from @yen_den, based on a post uploaded to the @theavalonians twitter account!

FIONN MAC CUMHAILL: In the spirit of equanimity, a last addition to the DOI'S CRIB NOTES series: Fionn Mac Cumhaill appears to be inspired by the dress of legendary illustrator J.C. Leyendecker's 'Cu Chulainn Riding His Chariot Into Battle' (1911), from the rectangular pattern of his mail-coat down to the telltale 'X' meander that runs along the fringe of either cloak.

[eirikrjs]

Lemur likely cribs Pigman from Ultraman

Iagree,and you'll see it in a future kcnvolume

[eirikrjs]

UPDATE 9/2/23

Wow, it's almost fall and I'm still kickin', so here's a proper update about what's been going on with me. I do feel great most days, and with Halloween in season around the US, it makes me very happy. As far as stroke recovery goes, my leg has a newly made brace and my walking in general has greatly improved the past few months. I really don't roll my left foot anymore, in other words, my foot can go flat instead of landing on the ankle and possibly causing injury.

My arm is still mostly nothing but a couple weeks back I was able to move my shoulder again so there's hope. I also got a home electrical stimulation device so I give my arm and hand a jolt for an hour everyday. With time, I feel confident i'll recover.

A great help with my recovery has been the amazing @dagdasgoddess , a fellow young stroke survivor who has been watching out for me and offering encouragement every day for a couple months now, exactly when I needed it. Mentally, stroke recovery is pretty damn tough but most days I feel positive about it, with great thanks to her.

And now on to some business. Shortly before my stroke I was planning on celebrating the 10th anniversary of my blog (which would have been in December of last year, but I was still in the hospital, obviously...) And one of the things I was going to do was photograph and review all the smt demon figures I have, using my special diorama table. I got around to starting the project a couple weeks before the stroke, naturally starting with the Leonard figure. Here's one of the pics:

I also made something of an anniversary banner, just because, I guess:

I also want to talk about some milestones reached, starting with some follower counts. By December last year I finally surpassed 2k followers, so thank you so very much. This is after Kanekos Crib Notes quickly dwarfed my own blog followers shortly after its establishment in like 2014. But now my own blog is even ahead of kcn, as undoubtedly its current annual schedule limits its growth and reach. (But hey, it's almost October, aka KCN MONTH)

The last milestone is above: my Stealing Knowledge blogger has reached half a million views! Unbelievable, thanks for reading and sharing over the years! Identity crisis part 3 remains the most viewed, with over 50k on its own.

Finally, I want to talk about the future. Another 10th anniversary plan was to try and monetize the blog somehow, probably via a Patreon for new articles and such and many other ideas, maybe even doing YouTube videos to answer asks instead of them being all text. I have lots of other ideas too, but they'll have to wait until my arm works again. So instead of monetizing the future, for now I'm just going to ask y'all kindly to chip in for the blog's past. I'm amazed at how much activity the blog still generates from--let's call it "legacy content".

To that end, I have set myself up a kofi account where you can show your appreciation for that "legacy", kuwabara, kuwabara, if you'd like. All money earned will go towards paying down bills accrued during my recovery, like my hyperbaric treatments. In perfect honesty, it's been around 3000 US dollars so far. Don't feel obligated to contribute and thank you all for still sticking around with me despite my relative inactivity. And if course, continue keeping @sorenblr busy if you wish.

I would also not expect my own recovery before next year, that's just stroke for you. Thank you all!!!!!

p.s. I was featured as a stroke survivor again on another therapy facebook post:

[kanekocribs]

KANEKO’S CRIB NOTES LXIV: KANEKO’S BIZARRE CRIBS

Our most monochromatic volume yet! Hirohiko Araki and his magnum opus Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure have achieved critical levels of popularity and cultural cachet worldwide and the demand is only going to get frothier thanks to the smooth animation of David Production and seamless distribution from Netflix. Kazuma Kaneko? Obviously a hip cat like him was into Jojo before it was cool. So like how David Production and Netflix keep killing it, you could say the same for Megaten; only Kaneko drew all these before Doi murdered him with an ORA ORA ORA from Amon’s horrible arms.

OCELOTL: Also known just as Ocelot, this is one of the jaguars that ate the giants of the First World in Aztec myth; being a cat, Kaneko molded the design around a then more contemporary former feline (who loves Yoshikage Kira): Stray Cat.

BS RECONSTRUCTION SOLDIER VULCAN: These ne’er-do-wells from Maken X’s London stage don’t just borrow Stroheim’s chest-gun: when they fire it in the game, they pose like him, too!

ACHERI: This obscure Indian ghost of a little girl follows quite literally in the footsteps of Alessi and his shadowy Stand, Sethan!

IXTAB (PROTOTYPE): Seen in Devil Summoner World Guidance, this male design for Maya suicide goddess Ixtab went unused for being too blunt a depiction of the subject, despite wearing the Stone Mask of vampiric immortality. The latter artifact was likely chosen as an accessory because of its origin from the proximate Aztec culture.

+PLUS: Our previous Jojo crib featuring Thanatos and Okuyasu’s father! & Special thanks to @dijeh for assistance with this volume!

[kanekocribs]

KANEKO’S CRIB NOTES LXII: HEARTFELT EROTICISM

It’s Halloween. No, it’s the Halloween before Shin Megami Tensei V. That means it’s time to remember Kazuma Kaneko. He was a good artist before he was KILLED. Yes, that’s right. He was MURDERED. If you’ve seen him recently it was just a body double. Once Kaneko became old and worthless, Masayuki Doi touched the barrel of a gun to the back of his head execution style, said, “Move over for a new generation, motherfucker,” and pulled the trigger. Kaneko’s brains splattered all over his PC. Doi fucking blew his brains out. Brains. That’s a Halloween thing. Like zombies. Spooky.

Have fun this holiday season comparing details of the above images!

MOTHMAN: According to Kaneko, not only is Mothman intentionally furry and fuzzy like a moth, he’s influenced by Obake no Q-Taro’s cylindrical Doronpa, an American obake in the manga/anime. It’s mainly in the head. If you don’t know Q-Taro, he’s the inspiration for SMT2′s Ghost Q! Kaneko also described Mothman’s silhouette as heart-shaped, so no wonder he’s so beloved!

KHONSU: Damn, this fun Halloween mummy is doing a “Vogue” (ヴォーギング) move as popularized by Madonna! Kaneko cites the famous ‘Vogue Dance’ as inspiring Khonsu’s fabulous pose here, illustrated by this model working it in approximate fashion. Man, mummies are scary, like Halloween! This crib is a fucking slam dunk!

GIRIMEKHALA: 32-bit-era Giri is influenced by the 1969 Toei animation The Wonderful World of Puss in Boots and its Lucifer’s brief appearance as an elephant. Evil elephant, evil source influence I suppose. Giri builds upon details like Lucifer’s spiky crown and skull pendant! 

LHAM DEARG: This supremely Scottish ghost is based on supremely French actor Christopher Lambert in his iconic role as THE HIGHLANDER (1986)! Lham Dearg has clearly met a grisly end on the battlefield, but Connor MacLeod is eternal except in the cartoon where he dies almost instantly.

ARTEMIS/DIANA: De-nippled for your protection! It's common knowledge that these two are take-offs of the Artemis of Ephesus statues. However, it's no longer believed that those statues' multitudinous prominences are breasts but rather ornaments such as bull testicles or gourds. So honestly, the de-nippled Artemis and Diana are more accurate... if you're thinking bull testicles.

[eirikrjs]

Hi, I’m the guy who submitted the Janus crib. I really admire your works and I’m happy that I could contribute in some way. Keep up the good work!

It's a beauty! Thank you and thanks for submitting!

[eirikrjs]

I was watching to know Japanese science fiction movies, and I found a call: Uchūjin Tōkyō-ni Arawaru, this is Decarabia origin?

Yes!

https://kanekocribs.tumblr.com/post/93999150911/eirikrjs-kanekos-crib-notes-part-iv

[kanekocribs]

KANEKO’S CRIB NOTES LXI: DEAD MAN’S UNREST

Things I love in October: Jesus Christ, Hot Dogs, Chevy Trucks, Yankees Eliminated from Postseason, Kazuma Kaneko. And since we are nominally involved with the art of Kazuma Kaneko, certified Dead Guy, here’s some new material, i.e., stuff you WILL reblog over and over again so we can finally both crack 1000 notes on a post and surpass 2000 total followers. You’ll never read this text either so GO TO HELL; if you do read, you will GO TO HEAVEN

ANGEL: Before he died, Kaneko loved French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, who provided costume design work for 1997′s The Fifth Element, like Jovovich’s Leeloo here, whose costume Kaneko 100% stole for Angel’s Nocturne update. It’s a cycle.

XUANWU: The turtle-snake’s alt names are tagged but we’re gonna pretend they don’t exist. Anyway, during his alive days, Kaneko was totally into this Xuanwu art. I really miss that dude.

EMPUSA: This scaly nightmare is actually “Lamia” from the bestiary History of Four-Footed Beasts, yadda, yadda, Kaneko then used it for Empusa, though it’s better for her anyway.

SURT: Kaneko’s life can be divided into two periods: I. He watched Clive Barker’s 1990 film Nightbreed; II. He passed away. Thus, here’s a Midianite who appears for like three frames and has the same volcanic conehead as the two Surts.

BELOBOG: Yes, it’s fan-favorite Belobog, now compared to Golden Bat, the kamishibai superhero. This is the cover of a magazine tie-in to the '60s movie, but Golden Bat generally looks the same wherever, with that cloak & collar and scepter that suspiciously also belong to Belobog. Thanks to that one Golden Bat video, via @caligulasterrarium.

[eirikrjs]

If you're every thinking about making another Kaneko's Crib Notes, Oumitsunu reminds a lot of Daimajin, a stone-armored giant from an old series of kaiju movies from the 60's

Yeah, this one has been on the list for a while. Just haven't gotten around to it because, uh, we want to make sure we have enough KCN material for once a year for many years to come!

[eirikrjs]

I didn't see an entry on it in Crib Notes, was there ever any explanation as to the SMT2 design of Mercurius by Kaneko?

Indeed!