chapter 106 of hnk dropped and its reminding me that 1) ive been reading/keeping up with this manga for three years 2) it was on ch95 and on hiatus then... its been three years, SEVERAL hiatuses and only 11 chapters sometimes i wonder why i even bother
there's something deeply gutting about being a writer right now. watching studio execs brag about starving people like you out of your very house just to not pay you anything above the pennies you currently make. watching some people cheer over AO3 being targeted for a DDOS attack. the complete lack of profitability of writing commissions or writing in general in transformative spaces, especially in contrast to fanart. the pivot of so many social media platforms to be video and image based near-exclusively.
I don't know. it just makes me sad to know that the hobby that kept me alive while growing up homeschooled with dial-up internet and local antenna TV... is only ever gonna be a side job with minimal engagement. I know this site is good about supporting libraries and the concept of books but, do me a favor? Reach out to a writer friend you know. Leave a comment on your last five read stories on your favorite website.
I am going to make this a separate post, since the other one got so long.
So, like I mentioned there, I sent my grandma's granny squares off to my Loose Ends "finisher" with the intent of giving my mother the blanket when it was complete. I had NO thoughts in my head at all for saving something for myself.
When I received the box in August with the completed blanket, it had two additional things in it. It had a letter and a bag. The bag had two and a half skeins of left over yarn (please peep the picture of all they yarn I sent this lady, I was SO surprised she was able to use so much of it!) my grandmother's crochet hook, and a single granny square. In the letter, my finisher, Katherine, wrote that she set aside one of the original squares my grandma made--she specifically said the one she guessed may have been one of the first--in order to put it in a central place in the finished blanket. But then she forgot about it when she went to put the blank together, so now there was one left over. She said she sent it along with the blanket, hoping it would still find a home.
So, like I said in my last post, I gathered up the blanket and brought it to my mom....but I kept that lone granny square for myself. I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it:
I bought this little shadow box on Amazon, pinned in the granny square, and added my grandma's hook. I plan on hanging it in my little crafting zone in my apartment ❤️
Just another reason why the Loose Ends Project has my heart in a chokehold. There was so much thought and kindness that went into what Katherine did--for both me and my mom.
Small but significant character moments that I actually really adore are from both the times we see the boys as tots. There is a reoccurrence that happens in both of them that I find so incredibly interesting.
For the turtle tot short, Splinter leaves the boys with weapons. In the short, Raph is the one who suggests they do “what Lou Jitsu would do” and Leo is the one who takes point when Splinter comes back to reprimand them. Leo, in taking point, is the one to defend them and get Splinter off their tails.
And then, in the flashback regarding the Kuroi Yōroi helmet, Raph is the one who grabs and throws “Skully” as a way to replace their missing ball which breaks it into pieces, but Leo is the one who speaks for the group and rushes into action to fix the teapot.
I love this for multiple reasons, but the biggest are how it shows that Raph has always been inclined toward the bold and fun and making the plans to include his brothers in what he loves and believes they’d love, whereas Leo has always been inclined to be the “Face” of the group and shoulder the attention even if it’s potentially negative all while coming up with on the spot attempts to fix the situation.
Kinda wish that people would be giving the same kind of criticism and scrutiny to Internet Historian that they have been giving to James Somerton. IH is a much bigger and more well known channel and his cave video got a lot more attention. Like I know his video got taken down, and he's only done this to one video (that we know of) but he employed the same sort devious tactics to try and hide his plagiarism, so would be nice to see the same sort of outrage for him too.
… and i’m *not* supposed to think they’re girlfriends?! aerith literally fell for her! they are the girlfriends ever! (aerith’s little fall was the cutest thing i’ve ever seen though!!! i’m crying!!!)