Crochet batman scarf

I went home to see my family for Mother's Day, and while I was there my oldest niece (11) was watching me crochet a summer cardigan I'm working on. She was super curious and started asking me lots of questions, so I grabbed my reference book and showed her a bunch of stitches. I even pulled out a skein of the good yarn I'm using for the project so she could mess with it a bit (yeah, I'm definitely the cool aunt lol) and managed to teach her a rudimentary chain stitch. The the magic words came out of her mouth: "Aunt jbnova, can you teach me how to crochet?"
YOU BET I CAN KID!!
So I said I'd put together a little kit for her so we can practice together the next time I visit. I want to make sure I'm giving her enough to get started, but not too much that if she decides it's not for her she won't feel guilty about it (I'll also tell her she can give all the stuff back if she wants). I have lots of scrap size 4 yarn, some hooks from the myriad of Woobles kits I did (although I think they may be too small so I may go buy a cheap one at Michael's), and one of my extra needles, but is there anything else that I should add? I figure I'll start by teaching her the chain stitch, and if she's feeling confident the SC in rows (basically get her to dishcloth/scarf making level). If she likes it we can go nuts later.
Thanks for any advice you have!

Hey Everyone! I've been asked to crochet a Harry Potter scarf by a friend but I'm still quite new to crochet (especially wearables) so not sure of a few things. The scarf itself is quite basic, its just blocking colours which I'm fine with, but I've still had a look for some free patterns.
The patterns I've found all seem to say use Medium Worsted / Aran Yarn with a 5mm hook - will this be OK? Most other scarf patterns I've seen called for Chunky / Bulky (I assume so it works up faster?).
I've only really used Acrylic Yarn so far - would Wool, an Acrylic + Wool Mix, or something else be better for a scarf project?
They've also asked if I can embellish their initials into the scarf - this seems straight forward enough using pattern creators (like Stitch Fiddle) to figure out where to do the colour changes but it's not something I've ever done before. The scarf patterns I've found use DC stitches rather than SC (I assume to make it loosehave a better drape?) - will this mess up the initials or make it look wrong/weird? Would I have to do C2C to make this work?
Sorry for all the questions - any advice / guidance is greatly appreciated! Thank you!!

I've got several scarves and afghans in the making, and while most are behaving so far, I'm absolutely going to need to block a Tunisian crochet scarf I'm working on.
But I just don't have the room to set it out on blocking boards, I don't have the money to afford blocking boards to begin with, and I've seen exactly one video tutorial that says ironing with a wet cloth between the scarf will work.
Given how badly this scarf is curling up, and that this is really old acrylic yarn ( it was called "Orlon" or "Dacron"?) I'm not sure if I should even consider this option.
Are there any other options for blocking large items?

So our friendgroup was sort of a quadrat, but one kinda committed suicide back in year 10 so we just became a triplet.
My friend, let's call him Bradley bc it makes me giggle.
we've been friends since year 9, we're all at the end of year 12 now. We were really close right up untill he went to college with my other friend (i stayed in 6th form), and I accepted it like he's a bad texter so ofc we're not gunna be that close anymore since he never texts me back or calls first or something, but it's the way that he will publicly post himself talking with other people and going out everyday and the only time he will ever call me is if he's drunk or high and our other friend refuses to pick up. I text the other friend everyday, we call and go out regularly despite both of us being busy w other subjects, we communicate. He doesn't do that. Whenever he calls me I have to wonder if it's because he's in trouble and needs help. One time we went out together to meet these people we didn't really know, and they were smoking weed, I told him not to because I had to leave early and I couldn't take care of him and he smoked anyway so I just left since I thought it would be fine, but later I get calls and texts from his mum asking where he is and I hadn't seen him in 11 hours at that point so I start calling and texting everyone else, thinking he's dead or something idk (my friend died, I got a weird thought process).
He's a very socially deprived person, so I feel like when he went to college and wasn't bullied anymore, he became so obsessed with being popular and his social image. He was abit like that before but now he's just a total dick. He will make fun of girls and everytime I do something that's slightly cringe or I'm just having fun, he'll make me feel bad abit it and call me cringe or make fun of me. Whenever I call him to say i miss him and just wanna talk, he doesn't really pay attention or talk much, like I'm being boring or smthn but maybe that's just me overthinking.
He's always making it out to be like he's a victim too. Okay I might be petty, but in the end of year 10 we were meant to be working, and he struggled abit with talking so I decided to work with him (we were meant to be doing a work shop for year 7s), and I did all the work and presenting, so idk maybe he got bored and started bothering other groups, and he got told off by both me, the teacher, and my other friend so instead of coming back to sit by me and just help me, he sat at a table, sulked for half an hour with his head on his arms and then left. And later I go up to the office because I'm concerned about him and wanna check up on him and he's crying in there next to the teacher, the teacher forces me to apologise and I just forgive it and move on. Kinda petty but I'm still mad ok. Also when it was the summer holidays, and this was the same year our friend killed herself, he decides to cut off speaking to both me and our other friend, for absolutely no reason. He's still online on insta too. He's still posting his chats with this other random girl so we're obviously like wtf. He refuses to speak to us and so I'm obviously very very concerned and think he's about to kill himself of something (wack mindset but I was like 14), so I walk all the way over to his house twice (my friend was away in London at the time but was still on the phone with me checking up on him) and both times he's sat in his room, doesn't look at me, doesn't speak to me, and at one point he started crying (??) So I just patted him on the back and left after abit.
He used to be a really sweet kid, I think he just became so obsessed with being popular and having fun, he's day drinking now and constantly posting about getting high and drunk because he thinks it's "cool", and I responded to his story, all I said was like "Bradly pls", because it is quite embarassing and he blocked me on that account.
That's another thing too, if I say anything that even slightly hurts his feelings he gets mad and doesn't let go of it, but whenever he says things that genuinley hurt me, he refuses to apologise so I end up having to just left go of it. Like when I had horrible body issues and always wore a jacket, until I took it off one day in class bc it was hot and he called my arms sausages. He also had body image issues and disordered eating so idk if he was like projecting or something ??
But I feel like I've just had enough now, I haven't spoken to him in months, I'm speaking with a girl now and she's great, we're going on a date soon, I'm doing well in school with a proper plan for uni and I feel like I'm just at peace with my life, but I can't just leave him because he's my best friend and he was THERE, and i can't just let him throw his life away because hes too busy having fun to go into his lessons and study, but it's impossible to help him, we've all tried, but like I can't just ignore that or forget about him, I think I can forgive all of this if he changes but it's doubtful he'll just suddenly change soon so I just decided to cut him out of my life, but everytime I see something like him using the scarf I crocheted for him or the handwarmers I made, or our pictures on his wall it just makes me feel so guilty and sad because it makes me remember how we all were together, and I miss that so much and I don't know how to get it back. But idk.

Working on my first bigger project, Sigoni Macaroni's infinity scarf on YouTube. As a beginner, I still work quite slowly, so these 15 inches of scarf took quite a long time. But they looked shit. Dropped stitches somewhere, tried to add them, started using stitch markers at the ends and still the number of stitches kept varying (like 34 on the even rows, 36 on the odd rows when it was supposed to be 35. How is that even possible?) Everything looked highly irregular and not like I would want to wear it in the end so I frogged the whole. Damn. Thing. Started over with 30 stitches and stitch markers every 10 stitches. If I keep losing stitches I guess I'm too stupid to crochet anything bigger than a bookmark. Yeah, I'm really frustrated right now. Thank you for reading. Rant over!

I’m really enjoying Tunisian. Currently making a sushi roll scarf!
I’ve been wanting to crochet decorative Christmas stockings but no “normal” pattern has ever felt right.
Does anyone have a Tunisian pattern?

It's been hard to find time to write this past week, but I'm chugging along, however sluggish. I also want to give a huge thanks to u/icallshogun for telling me how to use new-old reddit, because it's already saved me a bunch of time posting this single chapter.
I have a bad habit of last minute editing before I post chapters. I'll usually go over once or twice and switch up a few things. I didn't this time. Why am I telling you this? No idea. Enjoy.
A little PSA: if the next chapter button is missing, it's most likely in the comments (either that, or the next chapter isn't out yet), because sometimes reddit likes to say posts are more than 40k even when they aren't, making them impossible to edit. I just had this problem adding the link to chapter 12.
Many thanks to u/SpacePaladin for making NoP!
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Chapter 13: A million miles away
- Memory Transcription Subject: Arlene Brandy, Human Refugee
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 20th, 2136
The refugee center crested the horizon, with UN banners draped from the second story, and signs marking some of the nearby buildings as temporary housing. I wondered how exactly they convinced people to hand over entire buildings for use. One of them wasn’t even an apartment building, it was offices.
There were more humans around, of course, with the venlil population extremely sparse, only a few brave enough to be anywhere near the ‘den’. I grabbed the door, and opened it, revealing the main lobby, which to my utter surprise, had a venlil at the desk along with a human.
It feels so weird to point out when people are human or not, but that’s just how it is now. I ambled towards the pair, keeping my movements slow and calculated, not to scare the guy. He noticed, and let out a chuckle.
“No need to worry about me ma’am. I’m quite used to humans by now.”
I relaxed, blushing a little. “That makes sense.”
“What do you need?” The venlil asked.
“Oh, I’ve been meaning to get one of those datapads. I have family at home I need to get in touch with.”
“And you are?”
“Arlene Brandy.”
“Uh huh.” He clicked at the computer for a moment. “Well, you’re a little late to the party. We just got five hundred or so new residents, so we’re out of new pads, but I’m sure you can find someone willing to let you borrow theirs.”
“Shit.”
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience. You’re staying at Golden Ridge apartment 113, correct?”
“Yes, why?”
“I’ll have one sent to your door when we get a new shipment.”
“Thank you.” I turned to leave.
“Wait, we wont get more for a few paws yet. Why don’t you try asking to use someone else’s?”
I turned back around to the desk. “Can I use yours?”
"Sorry, mine doesn’t connect to the Earth networks.”
“Shit.”
“Please try not to swear so much, there are children around.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
The guy at the desk was so comfortable around me that it started making me uncomfortable. While the human at the desk didn’t even register me. I bet he was playing solitaire.
I entered the common room. People ambled, walked, teetered, and even ran around, from door to door and table to table. Seating was plentiful, but there weren’t any free spots, because the place was so packed. There really were a lot of them. Refugees, I mean. This was only a tiny fraction too.
How many more? Is there an end to it?
I searched for someone to approach, but found nothing. Everyone was grieving. I didn’t want to interrupt. I didn’t want to see it, I didn’t want to know it was there. My stomach turned in a horrible spiral, and I soon found myself bent over a toilet, ejecting breakfast. I was drooling over the bowl like a rabid dog, eyes watering and legs quaking. My diaphragm expelled one last gust of air, in a horrible coughing fit that lasted uncomfortably long.
I don’t know how I found the bathroom without help, it wasn’t marked very well. I’ve always been good at that sort of thing I guess, whatever ‘that sort of thing’ is.
On my way out, I washed my hands twice, not that it made a difference. The common room was still full of chatter and sobbing, quiet and boisterous both in their own right.
A man in a dress shirt sat alone at a table with his head in his hands. A mother cradled a baby in her arms, rocking him to sleep. In the corner of the room sat a group of people sitting on the ground playing monopoly. A boy ate a droopy sandwich next to a parent, munching listlessly. They all looked so tired. So tired that it could suck the breath right back out of you.
At one of the tables was a man with burns on his arms, and another bandaging him up. He winced when the bandages touched the splotches where blisters used to be, dry and scabbed. There was a good chance the burns were inflicted on purpose, by them. Monsters.
He locked eyes with me, his empty like all the rest. My head jerked away, embarrassment on my face like dye, the mask doing little to hide my frenzied posture. I power walked to another part of the room, behind a group of people conversing. I took off my coat so I wouldn’t overheat in the stuffy room… and also to blend into the crowd.
Staring at burn victims? What is wrong with you?
I looked down at myself. My boots were brown, my pants were black, and my shirt was as well, with a picture of an album cover on the front. My hands were twitchy, and my arm was still bandaged. I could’ve, should’ve lost the dressings by then, but I hadn’t got around to it. I put my coat back on
Since I wasn’t getting anywhere, I decided to take a trip down the hallways, into the dorms, where it was less crowded.
Down the halls, past a few turns, was an open door, with warm light spilling out, and cheerful discussion taking place inside. Taking a peek, I saw a group of 3 people, one of whom was a venlil, playing cards. The funny thing, is it was one of those grungy decks with pictures of naked ladies on them. Well, I don’t know if it was funny, but it stuck with me.
“Hello?” Spoke the venlil.
The other heads turned in my direction. I was discovered. A pang of cold crawled through my spine.
“O-oh, hi.” I tried and failed to act like I hadn’t been watching them for several seconds.
“Hey there, are you one of the new arrivals?” Asked the girl sitting next to the venlil.
“Uh, no, I’ve just been living in a different spot.”
“No wonder you look like shit.” Spoke a middle aged guy with scars. There was an ankle monitor on his leg, though I certainly wasn’t going to question him about it.
“Ben! Don’t be rude.” The girl replied.
“I’m not being rude. We all look like shit. Some of us are shit right now.” Ben mumbled.
“Well you don’t have to be so nihilistic about it.” She turned back to me. “Wanna join us? We could use a fourth.”
“No thanks. I’m trying to get in touch with my family.”
"Well if they’re here, I can find them. I know everyone here.” Said the girl, with a big grin.
"They’re on Earth. I just need to use someone’s datapad. The guy at the desk said we were out of new ones.”
“Did you break yours?”
A nervous laugh escaped me. It felt so weird to have a normal conversation. The last time I talked to a human was only a few days ago, but it felt much longer. Years maybe… or not. My shoulders felt tight, probably from the extra weight. I swallowed a lump that had been growing in my throat since leaving Earth, and my stomach got heavier as a result.
What did she lose?
I cleared my throat. “N-no, I never got one in the first place.”
“Well, no worries. You can use mine if you want. I’m Taylor by the way.” She smiled.
I didn’t smile back. The mask would’ve hidden it anyway. “Thanks. I’m Arlene.”
She handed me the weird alien phone, which I soon realized I didn’t know how to use.
The venlil piped up. “Want me to do it for you?” He stood up.
“Yes please.” I handed him the datapad.
He started tapping away at the device. “These things are super outdated. The interface is really clunky, especially the UN comms.”
I loomed over his shoulder, watching him type in a bunch of stuff into text boxes. “You have to login to make calls?”
“No, this is just the path the call will be taking. Where are you calling?”
“Wisconsin.”
“Where is that?”
“North America.”
*“*Okay, there we go.” He handed the datapad back to me. “Just type in the phone number and you’re good to go.”
“Thanks.” I started punching in the number.
“No problem. I’ve had to do it for Taylor a million times by now.” He chuckled.
“Hey, I know how to do it now!” She replied.
“Then why didn’t you show her how?”
Taylor snorted. “Because then you wouldn’t be useful anymore, and I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“Whatever you say.” He flicked his tail.
“Hey, enough with the snarky tail language.” She crossed her arms.
“What did he say?” Ben asked.
“He said I was a goober.”
I looked up from the datapad. “You have a tail sign for ‘goober’?”
“Of course we do, why wouldn’t we?” He shrugged.
Ben raised his eyebrows, and Taylor laughed. I was still wearing the mask.
"Hey, do you mind if I uh… you know.” I pointed to my face.
“Oh please, you couldn’t possibly be uglier than Taylor.”
“You better be careful Talnek. You’d get a beating if you insulted a lady where I come from.” Ben stated.
Taylor punched Ben in the shoulder. “He’s just messing!”
I removed the mask, and set it down on a table. “Is it alright if I make the call outside?”
“Sure, as long as you don’t manage to brick the thing.” Talnek said, sitting back down at his cards with a snicker.
Taylor shot him a dirty look.
“Thanks again Taylor.”
She grinned like a little kid. “No prob bob!”
I stepped into the hallway, holding the datapad up to my face, and pressed the call button.
It rang.
And rang.
And rang…
Until the display lit up with the face of my dad. My lips curled up in a smile.
“Hey dad.”
“Ope!” He flinched, then grinned. “Hey there sweetie. Havin’ fun up in space?”
“Nevermind that! Are you guys okay? Did Luke make it back alright?”
“Oh we’re doing fine yet. Luke got discharged because of injuries. He got pretty banged up in a crash, but he’s alright.”
“Is mom around?”
"Sorry kiddo, she’s out of town getting gas for the generators.”
My eyes widened. “Generators? Is the power out? Have you been able to get dialysis?”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh don’t worry yourself. We’ve got diesel running the place.”
My hands left marks of sweat on the device. “You are getting your blood cleaned, right?”
“Yes, I am. Even if I wasn’t, your pa’s still got some fight left in ‘em.” He patted his bicep.
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Jesus dad, you had me worried for a second there.”
He chuckled. “Don’t be. Try to have fun up there. No use worrying about somewhere you’re not.”
A sigh escaped me. “I’ll try.”
“That’s my girl! How are the aliens treating ya?”
I frowned. “Well, if I’m being honest, most of them are assholes.”
“That so?”
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve met a few that don’t mind me, but I can count them on one hand.”
“Well that’s better than nothing, ain’t it?” He raised an eyebrow in a joking manner.
I smiled a little. “I guess so.”
“So, tell me about these nice aliens then.”
“Sure- Hold on, is Luke there?”
“He’s sleeping right now. Doctor’s got him on the good stuff.”
“Is it that bad?”
He shouldn’t have enlisted. Asshole. He’s such an idiot. He could have died! “I wanna meet aliens” my ass.
*“*The doc says he’ll be up and at em in a few days, but the pain is still kicking him.”
*“*Is he alright? Like, is he shellshocked?”
Dad frowned. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask.” He looked past the camera. “He’s pretty bitter about the whole thing.”
My blood ran cold. I knew what it sounded like when he was downplaying something. “Dad. Is he gonna be okay?”
His expression softened. “Luke’s a strong boy. He’ll be okay.”
“He better. I’ll kill him if he’s not. You be sure to tell him that.”
Dad laughed. “Sure, sure. Back to the aliens, if you will.”
“My bad.” Warmth filled my face. “So there’s this guy who lives in my apartment building, right? I come back home after a day of trying, and failing, to get my hands on any materials, craft materials are super expensive here for some reason, by the way, and he’s coming home at the same time, so I say hi to him, and he jumps me!”
Maybe things would get better.
“Their claws are sharp! He scratched me up pretty bad, look.” I raised my arm to the camera, and my dad gasped in response.
"Whoa, that’s a lot of bandages.”
“Yeah, right? I may have put too much actually. Anyway, he charges me, and so I put him in a headlock, and I yell at him to calm down. It might have been a misplay on my part, I have to admit. What, with the venlil thinking we want to eat them and all that jazz.”
Dad nodded, eyes full of stars. This was nice.
“Well, he starts crying, and now I felt like an ass, so I try to calm him down, but he’s not having any of it. So I hand him a doll I made, but that didn’t do much either, so I ended up just having to leave him there. Would you believe it if I told you he came knocking on my door the next day? He wanted to learn felting!”
He burst into laughter, having to wiping a tear from his eye. “I have to say, you have the strangest way of making friends.”
Maybe I was worrying over nothing.
“Oh, I forgot to mention, so, I was trying to get wool, right? But there’s obviously no sheep here on venlil prime.”
“Oh, don’t tell me.”
“So I went around offering free haircuts.”
Dad started wheezing like he had sand in his lungs. He struggled to point a finger at me. “S-so…” He burst into another fit of laughter. “You went around with shears, offering haircuts to the fluffy aliens who think you want to eat them?”
“Yes, that’s exactly right. I give damn good cuts too.” I grinned, face full of mischief.
“So this friend of yours took you up on the offer? What’s his name?”
“Meba. And yes, I sheared him.”
“Okay, Meeh Baah? Are you pulling my leg?”
“Nope, that’s his real name. It means ‘little person’ in venlil, apparently.”
“You’re kidding! That is priceless! What happened then?”
“I sheared him, and then we went inside, and I taught him how to felt, and he got all flabbergasted when he saw me eat vegetables. He did this,” I held up a pointer finger, closing my eyes. “and then he said ‘You can’t eat vegetables, you’re a predator.’”
“Uh huh.”
“So after that, to skip to the good part, he has me follow him to work to *‘*protect him from humans’, and on the way back, just as we’re getting back to the apartments, he collapses in the hallway, hyperventilating and shaking.”
Maybe I could finally calm down.
“Oh no, was he okay?”
“Yeah, I brought him inside and calmed him down, but then the exterminators barged in! He stuffed me into a closet to hide me.”
Dad’s face swelled with disgust. “Ah yes, I’ve heard of them.”
“Well, they mess up the whole apartment, and they only leave because Meba is friends with their boss.”
“He’s buddy buddy with those folks?”
“Well, I don’t really know, but he used his connections to protect me, so I don’t mind. I was scared shitless the whole time. I barely kept myself still.”
“But you’re okay, right? They didn’t hurt you?”
"No, I was fine. I kind of blew up at him though. We made up though, and now he’s even comfortable around me with the mask off!”
“Mask?”
“The UN makes everyone wear masks in public so we don’t scare people.”
“I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“Yeah… it’s kinda scary sometimes.”
Home was still there.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure the rest of em will fall for your charm soon enough.”
“Yeah. After all, who could hate such an enchanting young lady?” I made a not so dignified face.
Dad shot a silly look right back, making us both laugh at our shared stupidity.
“So, since everything’s intact, when should I come home? I should be able to pretty soon.”
He smiled. “Hey, don’t worry about that. You should stay up there until the power comes back in… oh I don’t know, it should be on in a week or two. No reason to come back when the town is still out of whack.”
“What? But I can help out. Isn’t there work to be done?”
His eyes were warm. “Arlene, just have fun. We’ll be fine. Come home when it’s more comfortable.”
What?
“But I miss you guys.”
“I know, I miss you too.” He glanced off to the side for a moment. “But just wait a little longer. I want to roll the red carpet out for you. We’re not going anywhere.”
“Fine, but I expect a royal welcome.”
“Of course.” He grinned. “I better let you go, I have to make dinner.”
“Oh.. okay. I was hoping you’d be able to tell me about what’s going on in town.”
“Nothing crazy, just the usual but with flashlights instead of street lamps. Say hi to Meba for me.”
“Okay. Bye dad.”
“Bye kiddo. Try not to worry yourself so much.”
“I’ll try. I love you,”
“I love you too.”
He hung up the call, and home was gone again.
I popped back into the room to give Taylor her datapad back.
“How’d it go?” She asked.
“Good. I think.” I grabbed my mask, and handed her the device.
She smiled. “I’m glad. Want to stay for a bit? Today is pizza day.”
“I’m good. I should probably head out. Thanks though.”
“Wait a second, here.” Taylor handed me a card.
I turned it over in my fingers. It was off white with gold lettering. A business card. Very… eccentric.
“What’s this?”
“My info, so you can get in touch with me when you get a datapad. I’m kinda the self appointed caretaker of this place. If you need anything, anything at all, I’m your gal.”
I took another look at the card. “Thanks. It means a lot.”
“You’re welcome! See you later.”
“See you.”
---
I sat on the bench by the office, legs crossed, working on a mini venlil, my third one actually. Yes, I was building an army. An army of little venlil that I would use for… something. Each one measured no more than four inches tall, with floppy yarn tails, and bits of blue yarn affixed for eyes.
They say the one who folds a thousand paper cranes will be granted a wish. What do you get for one thousand woolen venlil?
“Arlene?” Meba was walking towards me. His eyes were unfocused, and his tail was motionless, like a doll’s. He dragged his feet on the ground, and his bag weighed on him like a heap of iron. To put it bluntly, he looked like shit.
“Oh hey there. Done with work?”
“Yeah. What are you making?” His voice was monotone.
“More mini venlil.”
He leaned over. “It looks like me.”
“It is made out of your wool. It would be worrying if it didn’t resemble you.”
“I guess. Does this one have a name too?”
“Not yet. Do you have any ideas?”
He thought for a moment, ears swiveling like satellite dishes. “Mulek.”
“Mulek it is. Is that a common name?”
“It was my father’s name.” He didn’t elaborate.
“Oh, speaking of which, my dad says ‘hi’.”
“He’s the… rancher, right?”
“Yeah.” I got up off the bench. “He’s not as scary as he sounds. If you met him, you’d realize his head is just full of muscles and fart jokes. Ready to go?”
He flicked an ear, and we started walking. The sheer complexity of venlil body language never failed to impress me. Not the ear flicks, those were easy, but the tail signals were insane.
“Hey, Meba?”
“Yeah?”
“What’s your job?”
“I’m a computer scientist. Why do you ask?”
“You look really tired. Six hours, sorry, I mean a claw and a half. It’s a long shift for venlil right?”
“Yes, but my job isn’t very physically demanding.”
“It isn’t taking a toll on you?”
“No.” He lied. I mean fuck, did he think I was stupid? I wasn’t, I think. If it wasn’t his job, it was something else.
“Really?”
“Yes, I just didn’t sleep well.” His eyes were drooping in real time.
Fine, be like that. If you won’t open up, I’ll just help another way.
“Do you want me to carry you?”
Meba stopped in his tracks. “C-carry me?”
“You aren’t very heavy. I could give you a piggyback ride the rest of the way.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“C’mon, I could use the exercise.” I crouched down, beckoning him over with my hands.
"Arlene, I can walk on my own.” He sounded offended.
"At least let me carry your bag.”
Meba sighed. “Fine.”
I stood up and grabbed his bag. “And away we go!”
We arrived at the station, just in time to catch the tube. Meba yanked his bag out of my arms to swipe his card through the terminal. This particular transport was packed to the brim with people, more than a few of them human. Meba visibly stiffened. He sat down, I remained standing.
“You okay?”
“Y-yeah. It’s just a-a lot.” He most definitely wasn’t, he was trembling like a leaf.
I stood between him and the crowd. “Better?”
“A l-little… thanks.”
“Hey, why don’t you work on the scarf, take your mind of things?”
“S-sure.” He grabbed the yarn ball from his bag, along with the crochet hook. Slowly, he removed the clip that was stopping it from unraveling, and stuck the hook through, starting right where he left off. He was definitely getting faster.
The tube rattled.
Outside, the city still breathed.
Kids coming home form school, people like us, coming home from work.
Same old same old.
In my mind, I pictured a fleet, swooping through star systems, making daring maneuvers, shooting down other vessels. So many lights. I imagined the metal stretching, and the hull creaking as it moved. I imagined the little people inside, scurrying around like ants, each wholly insignificant, but still, moving that massive shape.
I turned around to check on Meba.
He was still shaking, like a wet dog in the snow.
God, I miss Milo. Too bad they don’t let dogs on venlil prime.
I put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you gonna be alright?”
He looked up at me, with his funny little eyes. They were full of anger.
“Yes. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” He let out a breath, clenching his jaw. “It’s so s-stupid it makes me sick.”
“Sorry?”
“There’s no t-threat. I shouldn’t be scared.”
I gave him a gentle shake. “Hey, it’s no big deal. You’re doing well.”
“I’m doing h-horrible. I hate these stupid instincts.” He growled. “H-how is this supposed to be an evolutionary advantage? I can b-barely think straight.”
“Take a deep breath.”
“B-brahk this.” He muttered. “You k-know, we’re famous for being w-weak. The b-best in the whole brahking f-federation.”
I frowned. “Don’t say that.”
“We c-can’t run, and w-we can’t fight.”
“That’s not true and you know it.”
“I can’t even c-control myself. I h-hate it.” He let the scarf slide back into his bag.
“Meba, you’re the bravest venlil I’ve met.”
“What d-does that say about us? That I’m one of t-the ‘brave ones’? It’s brahking p-pathetic.”
“Don’t say that about yourself.”
“Brahk! What else am I supposed to say?” He hissed, head finding its way into his paws. “It’s horrible. Horrible, horrible, h-horrible.”
I sat down next to him, and put my arm around his shoulder.
“This is s-so stupid.” He muttered.
“Tell me what happened?”
“No.”
A sigh escaped me. This was exhausting. “Okay.” I pulled him close.
He removed his paws from his face to look at me. “How am I gonna t-talk to Gram’s friend like this? I can’t even h-handle being around a few random humans. How am I going to deal with him e-eating in front of me?”
“You saw me eating, didn’t you?”
“That’s… d-different.”
“We don’t have to go if it makes you uncomfortable. I’m sure they’ll understand.”
“N-no. I need to d-do this. I can’t keep b-being scared all the t-time.” He clutched at his fur.
I bent over to grab the work-in-progress scarf from his bag, and offered him the half finished garment.
Meba received the scarf, with eyes full of ash. “Thanks…” He continued weaving.
But before he could get into a groove, the brakes forced us to brace ourselves. We were home.
The ground still rumbled as we left the station, even with the rubbery pavement dampening the vibrations. The scent of rain was in the air, carrying with it a special tint from the alien soil. Wind was billowing now, whipping my hair and pushing against my thick greatcoat. Meba was somehow unbothered by this, thanks to his wool I assume. There weren’t clouds overhead, but that would change. My hands hid in their pockets.
‘Twas too cold madam!’ Said lefty.
‘Not for I! It’s simply more comfortable in here.’ Said righty.
We passed the yard, heading up to the second floor, and my apartment. I shivered.
*“*I think it’s gonna rain soon.”
*“*Huh? Why do you say that?”
*“*It smells like rain.”
He tilted his head, ears flopping along with it. “I thought human noses weren’t very strong?”
*“*Well, not for most things, but we can smell when it rains from quite a ways away.” I opened the door, and stepped inside, yanking my feet out of their shells. “Come on in.”
Meba followed with no hesitation, even when I deposited the mask on the coffee table. He plopped down on the couch, deflating for a few seconds before digging around in his bag for the scarf. I grabbed some snacks from the kitchen, and brought them to the couch. I plopped down beside him, and flipped the TV to a random channel. Hopefully lazing about would help both of us.
After a few minutes of zoning out to The Exterminators of all things, I managed to doze off somehow. Sights and sounds melded into goop, as my brain ceased exact function. Facts became obscured, no concrete understanding remaining. Static resonating with time stretching like putty, everything subjective, only in the moment.
A tower, in the desert, numbly stalking around crumbling balconies, arms like swarms, legs like chicken wire. No need to blink. Down below is something terrible, but it doesn’t matter. It is safe here. But snow falls, the sky tearing like an old t-shirt, is it? The weave becoming tighter, it stretches along the north, through to the south, a taut little line of cotton. Now I’m tearing too. The tower isn’t crumbling, but folding. ‘Here’s the sun’, I think, mind reeling back to wakefulness, a snout by my face. Milo?
“Who?”
“Huh?” I tried to sit up, bringing a hand to the kink in my neck. My mouth was dry with viscus saliva, the aftermath of a nap. When I made it about half way up, my skull collided with Meba’s freakishly solid face.
I fell back, gripping my forehead with a groan.
Meba jumped back, startled. “A-are you okay?”
"Ugh…” I curled up into a ball to further cradle the lump growing on my head. “Owwie…”
He started hyperventilating, almost jogging in place.
I grabbed him by the arm. “I’m fine. That just hurt like hell. What is it?”
The squirming stopped. “Sorry for waking you up. I just wanted to know if you think this is long enough.” He held up the scarf to my face, which was still partially covered by my other hand.
Jeez, more than enough. That thing must be at least 80 inches. How long have I been out?
“Yeah, need me to help you finish it off?”
“Yes please.”

I’m totally new to this actress/character. I’ve read it is a spinoff from another show. The reason I started watching was that she seems to have a mental state that is a step to the side of common society. Loved that she always carries a few totes and wears items which appear handmade. I kept expecting to see her crocheting while she is talking to people—I have watched all of the released episodes and it’s almost painful that I haven’t seen her making a single thing! It’s a huge gaping hole in the series to me. I have done a few basic searches online and expected to find droves of patterns for her hats/scarves/totes. All I have found is one pattern for her granny square scarf in the first episode. If producers would have her crocheting an item every time she is sitting or standing for even a minute (it would be in one of those totes) and post the patterns for her accessories, it would be a good social network community. Crocheting is coming back with 20-ish people (Gen Z) as a “mindfulness” exercise. The last group to crochet with earnest is generation X—Elsbeth’s generation.
Have I missed where anyone is posting patterns for the items in the show? About to make/post my own only because I can’t find them and they seem to be such an integral part of this character (even if the producers are ignoring it!).

TLDR- exactly what the title says. Do you have any tips or advice for freehanding and amigurumi, or a mosaic scarf?
The details- So, I'm by no means great at crocheting, but I have successfully made beautiful blankets, scarves, belts, jewelry, hats, and amigurumis. I want to make two gifts. One will be a character from Nanalan (a kids puppet show), and I want to try to free hand it because I don't see any patterns for what I have in mind. Do you have any tips on how to freehand amigurumis? Some simple tips on how to decrease/increase to create the tapering and rounding that I'll need to create the body would be very helpful.
Then with the mosaic....so I've never crocheted anything with an image, or so many changes in color. What are some beginners tips for mosaics, or do you recommend a different stitching technique? Do you have a favorite site that aids you with these types of projects? Is there maybe a YouTube vid you really enjoy for this kind of project? I'll be making an oversized scarf, and I want to put some mathematical geometric shapes on it. I haven't seen anything like it, so I'll have to make my own pattern.
Thanks so much!

How old are you? What's your gender? Give us a general description of yourself.
I don't feel comfortable sharing that information.
• Is there a medical diagnosis that may impact your mental stability somehow?
Not that I know of.
• Describe your upbringing. Did it have any kind of religious or structured influence? How did you respond to it?
• What do you do as a job or as a career (if you have one)? Do you like it? Why or why not?
I work at a fast food place. The jobs fine until I have to pretend to like and be respectful to those who don't respect me. I constantly come soooooooo close to losing my shit. I like most of my coworkers. One of them I'm not a big fan of because she doesn't pull her weight. One time I was restocking when the cook called "order up, eat in!" She wasn't doing anything at the time so I just continued stocking and assumed she would take care of it....she didn't. She stood there and stared at me. I didn't say anything because someone else called her out in it first.
• If you had to spend an entire weekend by yourself, how would you feel? Would you feel lonely or refreshed?
I'm honestly not sure. I'm usually forced to stay home a lot. I spend a lot of time researching on different theories. Like personality theory for example. I know a decent amount about the cognitive functions but I'm so stuck in overanalysis that I can't pin myself to any type. Anytime I come close to a conclusion or think I've settled on something another view point or angle to look at it pops up. My heads constantly going "well what about this? Did you consider it this way yet? Well you didn't look into this perspective enough try this. What if...?" And blah blah blah 24/7. I love it because I'm constantly coming up with new ideas and theories but it also gets really annoying because it makes it near impossible to come to any sort of conclusion!! Lol. I'm a huge nerd if you couldn't tell. I love things like cryptids and the supernatural. I love anime and cartoons. Gravity falls and my hero academia are my favorites.
• What kinds of activities do you prefer? Do you like, and are you good at sports? Do you enjoy any other outdoor or indoor activities?
I love researching and theorizing. I love writing, playing various instruments and singing. I love art (acrylic, watercolor, sketch, sculpting, carving, making prints etc.). Knitting, crocheting, I love daydreaming. I create a bunch of highly developed worlds and storylines in my head. I also love creating things. Ive always been a sort of experimenter and inventor. I make things like zip lines, (currently working on a new model that's safer and more portable. I'm making it out of pieces from my old remote cars. I need super glue. Gosh, didn't realize how many interests I had! I'm pretty cool! Lol, anyways. Ive been inventing and experimenting for as long as I can remember. Once when I was younger I found a huge box and decided to turn my bike into a mobile home...it didn't turn out to well but it was still really fun!! My mom had to put a lock on our pantry when I was little because I would still random ingredients to make my "potions" and "bake cakes." I did not have a natural respect for authority as a child. I just kinda did whatever I wanted without giving it much thought. I wouldn't actively go out of my way to defy authority thought...most of the time anyways. Ok, lost track again sorry. I love reading, making my own costumes for fictional characters that either I made up myself, or a from some movie comic book or tv show I like. I also remember I would try and make a parachute a lot when I was younger. I would test them by jumping off of roofs...they were sadly never successful. I'm surprised I've never broken any bones (knock on wood). The worst injury I've gotten is spraining my ankle while WALKING ON A FLAT SIDEWALK. WTF. Not when running through the woods, or climbing mountains and rock climbing without any gear. Oh no. Definitely not when I'm actually doing dumb shit.
• How curious are you? Do you have more ideas then you can execute? What are your curiosities about? What are your ideas about - is it environmental or conceptual, and can you please elaborate?
Yes, yes, yes, and more yes. I think the above paragraph that wrote explains this one pretty well too....but anyways. I have soooo many unfinished projects!!! It's insane!!! It's like my mind works SOOO much faster than my body (and money) can keep up!!!! So many unfinished ideas and projects, costumes, books, paintings, sweaters, scarfs, you name it I've done it I swear.
• Would you enjoy taking on a leadership position? Do you think you would be good at it? What would your leadership style be?
I always take up the leadership position in social situations, if there are no other ones willing to step up. In my friend groups though I tend to make all the decisions. I love volunteering at summer camps and leading groups of kids all summer. It's awesome!! Kids are awesome!! SUMMER CAMP IS AWSOME!!!
• Are you coordinated? Why do you feel as if you are or are not? Do you enjoy working with your hands in some form? Describe your activity?
I am very well coordinated. I have AWSOME reflexes. Super quick and super reactive( in a good way obviously). Thats why I haven't died yet my dudes. I've had so many close calls though not gonna lie. • Are you artistic? If yes, describe your art? If you are not particular artistic but can appreciate art please likewise describe what forums of art you enjoy. Please explain your answer.
Yes, I am artistic. My art is very colorful and stylistic. I'm not really sure what else to put here so moving on.
• What's your opinion about the past, present, and future? How do you deal with them?
I think the past is something we can learn from, but it's not good to dwell on it. Im not always super focused on the present moment. Even when engaging in activities my mind is always focused on something else unless I really try and focus. If I'm really into something though I hyperfocus and forget about everything else. Literally. I will not eat, sleep, drink, or bathe. I won't even notice if a have to use the bathroom. I love dreaming about the future. It's not like I have any detailed plans or anything, just vague ideas and possibilities. Ex: my goal is to be a hero, accomplish great things while helping others. I have almost no idea how to get there though. Or even really what that "great accomplishment" will be. It's kinda like I'll just know when it happens. I have plans to travel around the country with my best friend and live in a camper van.
• How do you act when others request your help to do something (anything)? If you would decide to help them, why would you do so?
If people request my help, I will help them. It's the right thing to do. Although I'm not sure I can really explain why. It just is.
• Do you need logical consistency in your life?
Heh??? I think I need some examples I'm feeling kinda dumb
• How important is efficiency and productivity to you?
Hmmmmmmm.......I procrastinate quiet a lot so I guess that speaks for itself. Unless I'm at work or If said thing is reeeeaaalllyyyyy important to me or someone else.
• Do you control others, even if indirectly? How and why do you do that?
Nope! Not that I'm aware of! ( I totally secretly mind control people to get what I want. Totally.)
• What are your hobbies? Why do you like them?
I'm not gonna list alllllllll of them again. There's to many. I didn't even list all of them before! I dabble in a bit of everything. And I mean everything. I enjoy my many very different hobbies because it provides spontaneity and possibilities and allows me to explore and try new things!
• What is your learning style? What kind of learning environments do you struggle with most? Why do you like/struggle with these learning styles? Do you prefer classes involving memorization, logic, creativity, or your physical senses?
I guess I learn best by doing or having some way to interact with the things I'm learning about. Lectures work fine to for things like science. But if I'm learning a new game, im only able to figure it out if I'm allowed to learn while playing so I can experiment and learn through trial and error.
• How good are you at strategizing? Do you easily break up projects into manageable tasks? Or do you have a tendency to wing projects and improvise as you go?
I have learned how to brake up projects into manageable steps. I honestly don't know how good I am at strategizing. I'm naturally a more "let's just jump right in and see what happens" kinda gal. I don't like planning. I think on my feet real quick. I'm great at multitasking and responding appropriately to situations quickly. It surprises others how good I am at this. I even surprise myself!
• What are your aspirations in life, professionally and personally?
Again, my aspirations are pretty vague. I wanna be a hero and achieve great things while helping others. It just feels right. I fell intensely passionate about these desires. I outlet these desires by volunteering for things like retreat centers and camps. I love helping people. I hate leaving others behind. I can NEVER leave another person In need. I will do everything I can to help them. Ive been left before, I know how it feels. I NEVER want anyone to have to feel what I felt. I've regrettably left people before out of fear for my own well being...I beat myself up about it constantly. I dont think I could live with myself if I made that mistake again.
• What are your fears? What makes you uncomfortable? What do you hate? Why?
Biggest fear: Being incapable or being seen as incapable.
Examples of this in action: When in groups, if I feel like I can be a capable leader, then I will boldly and confidently lead. If I don't feel that I can, if there is any doubt in my mind, then I will sit quietly in the back. I hate it when people underestimate me. I hate it with everything in my body. If someone tells me that I can't do something, you bet your ass I'ma prove them wrong. I once got in a fight with a guy because he told me that girls were weaker than guys "and there's no way someone like you could beat your older brothers in a fight." I won.
• What do the "highs" in your life look like? My highs look like I'm full of energy. Like an unstoppable force. Extremely passionate and determined. Full of ideas and childlike wonder.
• What do the "lows" in your life look like? Lots of emotional outbursts. Depressed. Rumination. Loads of self criticism. May cling to past traditions for comfort.
• How attached are you to reality? Do you daydream often, or do you pay attention to what's around you? If you do daydream, are you aware of your surroundings while you do so?
I daydream alllllll the time. I'm very in my head. However, I'm still somehow subconsciously aware of what's going on around me and am able to respond accordingly. It always surprises me lol.
• Imagine you are alone in a blank, empty room. There is nothing for you to do and no one to talk to. What do you think about?
I would retreat into my own little worlds that I have created in my head. I actually use these worlds and storylines to help me fall asleep at night because of I don't, my brain won't stop thinking about all the fun things, and theories and ideas. Once I get bored of disconnecting from reality, I would start singing and making music with my hands.
• How long do you take to make an important decision? And do you change your mind once you've made it?
It may take me a bit to make a. Important decision. I will always rely on my gut feelings when it comes to those. They have never lead me astray. Once I have decided, I rarely have any doubt.
• How long do you take to process your emotions? How important are emotions in your life?
It depends. Sometimes I process my emotions quickly, sometimes it takes me a while do decide what I feel about something.
• Do you ever catch yourself agreeing with others just to appease them and keep the conversation going? How often? Why?
Sometimes I do this, but only when I'm first getting to know people. I do this because I'm afraid of losing the chance to connect with them.
• Do you break rules often? Do you think authority should be challenged, or that they know better? If you do break rules, why?
I usually only brake rules when I see no point to them. I don't go out of my way to brake them. I don't immediately think authority knows better. I think the should be challenged. But I'm not gonna go out of my way to do that unless they're causing harm.

Hi everyone!
I am starting to crochet a scarf (https://makeanddocrew.com/chunky-crochet-scarf/) and have a question about turning. This is my first scarf - I've only done magic ring-based amigurumi before.
The pattern says, after you do the foundation chain, to do the first row, turn, then chain twice. It's written like this:
Foundation row: Ch 23
Row 1: Dc in third ch from hook (ch 2 counts as 1 sc), *sk next ch, sc and dc in next ch; rep from * until 2 ch remain, sk next ch, sc in last ch; turn. (21 sts)
Row 2: Ch 2 (counts as 1 sc), dc in first st, *sk next dc, sc and dc in next sc; rep from * until 2 sts remain, sk next dc, sc in ch 2 tch; turn.
My question is: does the instruction to chain twice at the start of the second row include the turning chain? Or do I do a turning chain at the end of row 1, turn, then chain 2 more times?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

I'm looking for an easy way to crochet on the airplane and I would love it if there was an app where you could view patterns and tutorials when not connected to the internet. Any recommendations?
Ideally I am looking for a simple scarf to work on

Hello everyone !
I am getting ready to make my first wearable that would not be a scarf. I saw a nice pattern for shorts made out of granny squares. The person said they used cotton and a size 3 crochet hook. I crochet quite tight, so I might need to adjust this.
The shorts are made of very colorful granny squares, each one different from the other. SO I was thinking about getting some embroidery floss, lots of little skeins from different colors, that I will later join with black.
I was wondering whether it was not recommended to crochet embroidery floss for some reason ? The separation of the strands might be a bit annoying...
What are your thoughts ?
Edit : Yeah, I think it is indeed a bad idea. I wanted to use these little skeins all cotton of cotton + viscose, but I think I should use crochet cotton for wearable instead. I really wanted to make something with left over yarn by purchasing left overs from people, but I think it might cost me more money than buying new. I mean, people sell their left over 3 x 50 g for 2.5 € each...