Blorbos From My Shows

Or, Characters I Have Crocheted Amigurumis Of That I May Give Them The Hugs They Richly Deserve And Desperately Need

[crochetedblorbos]

Characters To Crochet Amigurumis Of That I May Give Them The Hugs They So Richly Deserve And Desperately Need

This is the list I’ve been keeping. I will probably be constantly adding to it (and of course I always welcome suggestions). Crossed off names have been completed.

You can also find all of these characters here.

Joseph Teller (Chapter & Multiverse) (X)

Mini Smithson (Chapter & Multiverse) (X)

Adeeb Bin Yeslam (Chapter & Multiverse)

Blodeuwedd Morgan (Chapter & Multiverse)

Dr. Aster Huxley (Mnemosyne) (X)

Victor “Vic” Algernon (Mnemosyne)

The Audio Tour Guide (The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality) (X)

Jonathan “Jon” Sims (The Magnus Archives) (X)

Martin Blackwood (The Magnus Archives) (X)

Timothy “Tim” Stoker (The Magnus Archives) (X)

Sasha James (The Magnus Archives)

Gerard “Gerry” Keay (The Magnus Archives) (X)

The Distortion (The Magnus Archives) (X)

Michael Shelley (The Magnus Archives)

Sasha Racket (Rusty Quill Gaming)

Zolf Smith (Rusty Quill Gaming)

Azu (Rusty Quill Gaming) (X)

Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan (Rusty Quill Gaming)

Cel Sidebottom (Rusty Quill Gaming)

Oscar Wilde (Rusty Quill Gaming)

Melvin Blevins (Old Gods of Appalachia)

The Man from the Railroad (Old Gods of Appalachia)

Lochlan “Lockie” MacGregor (The Secret of St. Kilda)

Mathias (The Secret of St. Kilda)

Hari (The Secret of St. Kilda)

Cecil Gershwin Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale)

Carlos Robles (Welcome to Night Vale)

Isadora Ravenwood (Realms of Peril & Glory: Vael) (X)

Maerydyth Wynvere (Realms of Peril & Glory: Vael) (X)

Torbrennan Crag (Realms of Peril & Glory: Vael) (X)

Zongroff Gral’shak (Realms of Peril & Glory: Vael) (X)

Pyrex (Realms of Peril & Glory: CY_BORG) (X)

Kei Hera (Realms of Peril & Glory: CY_BORG) (X)

Mongtomery “Three-Card Monty” Barker (Realms of Peril & Glory: Liminal London) (X)

Declan Buchanan (Realms of Peril & Glory: Liminal London) (X)

Dr. Annie Walker (Realms of Peril & Glory: Liminal London) (X)

Margaret “Mags” Holt (Realms of Peril & Glory: Liminal London) (X)

Alice Dyer (The Magnus Protocol) (X)

Samama Khalid (The Magnus Protocol) (X)

Gwendolyn Bouchard (The Magnus Protocol)

Maddie Townsend (The Holmwood Foundation) (X)

[crochetedblorbos]

"Get a personality, not a husband!"

Character Name: Maerydyth Wynvere

Fandom: @realmspod: Vael

Played By: Laura Gerling

Yarn Used: Skin: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Taupe Boots: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Black Dress: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Reef Hair: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Pale Yellow

Basic pattern here.

Maerydyth really does need all the hugs…she brings a lot of it on herself, but by the gods, she’s trying. She’s grown up a fair bit over the course of the podcast—you know, in that vague way teenagers do—and it isn’t always her fault that things don’t turn out the way she assumes they will. (The dice are bastards sometimes and I feel for Laura when poor Maer fluffs it in a catastrophic, hurt-your-friends kind of way again.) Thank goodness she’s got her friends there for her.

Maerydyth differs from the base pattern as follows:

Boots: I went off the official art for the podcast for this, which shows Maerydyth in calf-high rockstar boots. To that end, I just extended the top of the shoes up a bit further and added a cuff, then left her either bare-legged or wearing tights.

Dress: I gave Maerydyth underwear just in case, but her skirt stays down pretty well. She seemed like the asymmetrical hem type, so I did a chain of 40, then did a long wave of trc-edc-dc-ehdc-hdc-sc to make it shorter on one side and long on the other. When I got to the end, I went around to the other side of the chain and did sc all the way around, joined with a sl st, and then sc’d until I judged it was long enough to join to her torso and continue. I also tried to do a plunging neckline with a low-cut back, but I’m not sure I succeeded.

Head: Obviously she has to be perfectly made up on stage, hence the hot pink lipstick. As for her hair, I remembered something from the end of the first campaign about Maerydyth having done her hair in that half-shaved undercut style, so I left one side of her head with just the scalp and traced the hair around the line where the undercut would be, then filled in the other side. I love the way it turned out.

Arms: Maerydyth goes for the cheeky strap sleeves, so I just did her arms bare all the way up. I left them unstuffed about halfway along so she can give hugs better, whether Zongroff anyone wants them or not.

I didn’t have Isadora around to reference when I was sewing her arms on, but luckily, the Dream Sisters can in fact hold hands…although right now they just want to hug.

[crochetedblorbos]

"Oh, God...higher than I thought."

Character Name: Zongroff Gral’Shaak

Fandom: @realmspod: Vael

Played By: Liz Campbell

Yarn Used: Skin: CraftSmart Value - Curry Shoes: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Black Trousers/Shirt: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Navy Armor: CraftSmart Value - Charcoal Lettering: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Black; Loops & Threads Impeccable - Soft Yellow Hair: CraftSmart Value - Burgundy Sticks: CraftSmart Value - Burgundy; Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Black; Sculpting Wire

Basic pattern here.

Poor Zongroff. She really is overworked (even if most of that is her own doing, let’s be honest), and she takes on so much—responsibility, guilt, you name it. If ever a character needed a hug, it was her, even if she rarely accepts them. Especially after the way the beginning of Campaign Two has gone!

Zongroff differs from the base pattern as follows:

Legs: Zongroff is an Orc, and she’s usually described as being tall, so I made her legs maybe a little longer than I usually do. Other than that, I made them the way I usually do characters with cuffed trousers.

Armor: The official art has her wearing a breastplate. I interpreted it to be somewhat akin to the bulletproof vests most police officers wear (at least in the US) and ran with it. The most important alteration I made is that, when I got to the round where I decreased the waist in slightly, at each decrease I chained 5 and then worked the next stitch (no skips), creating a little loop on either hip…to be holsters for Zongroff’s sticks. (I don’t remember if it’s been established that she wears them on her back or hip holsters, but shh, let me have this.) At the neckline, I stopped the armor color and switched back to the navy for her uniform shirt for a couple rounds before switching to the neck color.

I also, after I was done stitching, decided that official Guard armor would probably indicate as such, so I did my best to embroider “NHG” (for New Harbor Guard) on the back, in black outlined in yellow so it would be reflective. This is not a detail that has ever been established in canon, but it also hasn’t not been established in canon, so suck it.

Head: One of these days I’ll actually get the spacing on the hairline right, but this is apparently not that day. Oh, well, it works well enough. Zongroff has her hair up in a ponytail in the official art, so I just looped in the hair all around her hairline and drew it up together, which gave me exactly the effect I was looking for. I was trying to crochet fangs on either side, but it didn’t work out the way I wanted it to, so sorry about the wonky tooth.

Weapons: I had to do something a little different for Zon, like I do for everyone else, so I decided to give her her sticks. I’m actually really proud of how they turned out for as simple as they are. I took the same sculpting wire I used for Bags’ legs, made a loop at one end to both anchor the yarn and give it a handle, and then tied the yarn to the loop. I actually did the foundation of the sticks using a “cast on” technique from knitting! Once I’d done that all the way to the tip, I wrapped the yarn back around over the cast on until I got back to the initial knot and tied it off to the tail. I then tied on a bit of black and wrapped that around the handle for the grip. Later I will probably seal the tip with hot glue, but for now, I think they look pretty good!

[crochetedblorbos]

"I think this choice...might not be as binary as it appears."

Character Name: Isadora Ravenwood

Fandom: @realmspod Vael

Played By: @maddyisabstract

Yarn Used: Skin - Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Soft Grey Shoes/Dress - Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Black Hair - Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Purple

Basic pattern here.

Isadora Ravenwood, anxious goth and only necromancer in the whole world! I knew I was going to love Isadora from the minute she opened her mouth (actually, I knew I was going to love her the minute Maddy said they were playing her, but shh), and I was right. She’s taken some knocks over the years, but after the first episode of Series 2? Yeah, I knew for SURE for sure she needed all the hugs. Luckily I already had her in progress! She didn’t necessarily turn out exactly how I might have wanted, but she came out quite well, all things considered.

Isadora differs from the base pattern as follows:

Shoes: In the official Realms of Peril & Glory merch artwork, Isadora is wearing boots, so I went with that. I made them as normal, extended them up an extra row, and then did a row of fpdc at the top to extend them out. I then fastened off the tops of the boots, joined the skin color in the back loops of the last row of sc, and went the rest of the way up the legs as normal.

Dress: Because I was doing Isadora’s legs as skin color and she’s always in a dress, it seemed…wrong to keep the skin going like normal, so I fastened off the tops of both legs, joined on the black, and gave her a pair of shorts/underpants underneath the dress. I went up to just R38 in the base pattern, then stopped and fastened off and did her skirt as follows: Hem: Ch 43. Sc in second ch from hook, (skip next 2 sts, 5dc in next st, skip next 2 sts, sc in next 2 sts) 5 times, skip next 2 sts, 5dc in next st, skip next 2 sts, sc in next st. Turn row upside down (30 dc, 12 sc). R1: Ch 1, sc in back side of first ch (joining hem into circle), sc in each ch around, sl st in first sc (42 sc). R2: Ch 2, hdc in back loop of first 40 sts, inv dec, sl st in first hdc (41 hdc). R3: Ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st in first hdc (41 hdc). R4: Ch 2, hdc in back loop of first 39 sts, inv dec, sl st in first hdc (40 hdc). R5: Ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st in first hdc (40 hdc). R6: Ch 2, hdc in back loop of first 38 sts, inv dec, sl st in first hdc (39 hdc). R7: Ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st in first hdc (39 hdc). R8: Ch 2, hdc in back loop of first 37 sts, inv dec, sl st in first hdc (38 hdc). R9: Ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st in first hdc (38 hdc). R10: Slide skirt over doll’s waist and line up. Ch 2, hdc in back loop of skirt row & front loop of waistband in each st around, sl st in first hdc (38 hdc). R11: Ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st in first hdc (38 hdc). R12: Ch 2, hdc in back loop of first 36 sts, inv dec, sl st in first hdc (37 hdc). R13: Ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st in first hdc (37 hdc). R14: Ch 2, hdc in back loop of first 35 sts, inv dec, sl st in first hdc (36 hdc). R15: Ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st (36 hdc). R16: Ch 2, hdc in back loop of each st around, sl st in first hdc (36 hdc). R17: Ch 2, hdc in each sc around, sl st in first hdc (36 hdc) Continue pattern from R49 as normal.

Head: I had to give Isadora eyebrows to make her look anxious. I just had to.

For her hair, I did it the same way I’ve been doing it. It came out with a nice layered effect! I think she looks really cute with her hair pulled back, honestly, but I’m not sure she wears her hair that way, so I left it loose. It still looks cute, to be honest.

[crochetedblorbos]

"I don't think I can go into machines."

Character Name: Kei Hera

Fandom: @realmspod: CY_BORG [Podcast]

Played By: Zack FG

Yarn Used: Shirt/Shoes: Loops & Threads Brushed Rainbow - Black Trousers: Loops & Threads Brushed Rainbow - Baby Breath Skin: Loops & Threads Brushed Rainbow - White Right Hand/Skull: Lion Brand DIY Glow - Natural

Basic pattern here.

The boy with the glowing brain—and hand! I was going to say “it’s fun to hear Zack on the other side of the table”, but CY_BORG was actually the first campaign I listened to for Realms of Peril & Glory (I think I started listening to Vael immediately after hearing the first CY_BORG episode, but I might have waited until I had listened to the second), so funnily enough, my first experience of Zack was him as a player, and I then got to pivot to listening to him as GM. I have never regretted either of these decisions.

Kei is honestly so much fun. He’s, well, a teenage boy, and as such can be a little shit at times, but his heart’s in the right place and he does genuinely care about Pyrex (and Blythe…and, in his own way, I’m pretty sure he cares about Edge too, even if it takes a near-death experience for him to come close to admitting it). And his powers are pretty freaking epic too.

He differs from the base pattern as follows:

Legs: I think I intended for his pants to not quite meet his shoes, and that to be bare skin in between, but I’m not sure if it comes across. Anyway, other than that I did them exactly the way I do for most characters with cuffed pants. What I did do that I don’t normally do, however, is that when I hit the top of the pants (i.e. the waistband), I fastened the yarn off.

Torso: Kei is always described as wearing an oversized hoodie, and I wanted to try something here. So I chained what I considered a reasonable length around for a baggy, oversized hoodie, did a row of hdc (I think it wound up being 40 sts around), joined the row into a circle, and then did about ten rounds of sc before sliding it up Kei’s hips and doing the next round through both loops of the hoodie and the front loop of the waistband. It came out actually looking pretty good, if I do say so myself! I then continued up the torso as normal, extended the neckline up an extra row, and did a row of hdc in outer loops only before fastening off, joining the skin color, and crocheting the first round of the neck into the inner loops behind the collar. I also understuffed him a little so that when you hug him, you can feel that there’s a bit of extra room in there.

Head: Kei is explicitly bald, so I didn’t have to change color for his scalp…except that I did. Because when Kei uses his Nano powers…

…his skull glows. (And so does his right hand, now.)

To kind of emphasize that the hoodie was oversized, I actually switched to a smaller hook for this part (I think I usually use an I hook and I used a G hook for his head). The neck and chin are in the regular skin color, and then I switched to the Glow yarn for just the back of the head until I got to about the top of the jaw, then started using it all the way around. I did switch back to the regular yarn for his nose so that it wouldn’t glow in the dark to give it that cool skull effect. Kei is also described as having an elongated skull, so when I got to the decreases, I added a round of straight hdc in between each one until I decided it was tall enough. I think it does exactly what I was hoping for.

Arms: I did the circle-with-magnet-inside thing I did for Mini and Pyrex, again using the G hook for the hands and wrists. Then I switched to the bigger hook, did a round of hdc with increases for the cuffs, and went up the rest of the way as normal. Again, I didn’t stuff his arms too much to emphasize the skinny nature.

I also made sure his hands were on his body in such a way that he could easily hold hands with Pyrex when either or both of them need the comfort.

Hood: I needed Kei’s hood to actually go over his head, so I looked up a pattern. I actually found a pattern here and adapted that a bit. Basically I marked where I wanted the stitches to go, attached on the yarn, did a row of increases in each stitch, and then followed Mataya’s pattern. I did end up going a bit too far, I think, and took it to a point on accident, but it worked out well overall!

[crochetedblorbos]

"HAVE AT YOU, INFERNAL CLOCK!"

Character Name: Torbrennan Crag

Fandom: Realms of Peril and Glory: Vael [Podcast]

Played By: Pip Gladwin

Yarn Used: Armor: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Light Grey Accents: CraftSmart Value - Charcoal Skin: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Peach Hair: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Butter

Basic pattern here.

The second I heard Pip open his mouth the first time I listened to this podcast, I knew I was going to adore Torbrennan with my entire, and I was so very, very right. Brave, kind, big-hearted, that special blend of optimistic and naive, and just the teensiest bit stupid at times, Torbrennan is pretty much exactly how I would play a Paladin if I ever played one and I kind of want to be friends with him. He’s been through so much and he truly deserves the world.

He differs from the base pattern as follows:

Legs: I tried to make the boots pointy by shuffling around the decrease pattern and putting a single crochet between the decreases at the toe, but I’m not sure it really worked all that well. Still, they came out well enough. For the tops of the boots, I did a round of fpdc at the top, then worked the legs off the inner ring. Torbrennan is a Dwarf, so I made his legs the same thickness as usual but stopped at R20 (I think it was R20). At the very end, for the kneepads (that’s what they look like in the official art, anyway), I joined on the accent color on a row that looked good and: R1: Ch 1, sc in 3 sts across, turn (3 sc). R2: Ch 1, 2sc in first st, sc in next st, 2sc in next st, turn (5 sc). R3: Ch 1, sc in each st across, turn (5 sc). R4: Ch 1, dec, sc in next st, dec, turn (3 sc). R5: Sl st into sts of leg. Fasten off.

Breastplate: In the official artwork, Torbrennan is…square. I decided the best way to convey this was to get to the waistline and then, rather than decrease on either side from 38 to 36, increase on either side to 40. To mark the bottom of his breastplate, which is where I did the increase, I did a round of hdc in front loops only, then a round in the back loops of those loops to make sure the stuffing wouldn’t fall out, then did my round with the increase. I pretty much took it straight up until the shoulders and then decreased. I did manage to get his neck down to 18sc, so there was that. To make the bottom of the armor, I joined the accent color to the ridge created by the hdc at the center back and then: R1: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (38 sc). R2: Ch 1, sc in first st, [sl st in next st, sc in next 2 sts, hdc in next 2 sts, dc in next 2 sts, trc in next 2 sts, dtrc in next 2 sts, trc in next 2 sts, dc in next 2 sts, hdc in next 2 sts, sc in next st] 2 times, sl st in first sc (8 sc, 8 hdc, 8 dc, 8 trc, 4 dtrc).

Head: I did not decrease his neck to 12 like I normally do. Torbrennan has a short, thick neck (again…Dwarf) and I wanted to reflect that. I did one fewer round of straight sc on either side of the nose to make his head a little more blocklike, and I think it worked; I did the cluster stitch for the nose instead of the puff stitch for the same reason.

Arms: Again, square and blocky boi. I actually started his hands at 6 stitches instead of 5, increasing out to 18. After R7, I joined on the armor color and did a round of fpdc to make the cuffs of the glaives. When I did the round of sc behind the fpdc, I decreased down to 15, then did the next round through both rows to make it clear these weren’t rolled cuffs. I went up to R25, then added the accent color, did another round of fpdc, and did a round of sc on top of the accent only to try and make the pauldrons. I like how it came across!

Hair: Look at that mustache. I am so proud of that mustache. I’d pulled a loop of the hair color through the stitches just below the nose early on to mark the spot and give me an anchor. When I got to this point, I wrapped the yarn around my phone widthwise a few times, slid the loops off, tied them together in the middle, then slid the whole bundle through the loop I’d previously made and secured it in place. Once I was sure nothing would pull loose, I cut all the loops to make it bushy. I can’t make the hair on the top of his head swoosh the way it does in the official art, but I like the way it came out anyway.

[crochetedblorbos]

"I am not a who, Archivist. I am a what. A who requires a degree of identity I can't ever attain."

Character Name: Michael Shelley | The Distortion

Fandom: The Magnus Archives [podcast]

Voiced By: Luke Booys

Yarn Used: Shoes - CraftSmart Value - Reef Trousers - Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Light Pink Shirt - CraftSmart Value - Fiesta Skin - Loops & Threads Classic - Peach Hair - Loops & Threads Classic - Soft Yellow Mouth - CraftSmart Value - White

Basic pattern here.

When I originally put Michael on this list, I was specifically thinking of the version from “Awake and Unafraid” by @blasphemous-lies-and-deceit, but when I actually got to him I knew I had to do the actual Distortion version. So, sorry about that, maybe I’ll do the Michael Shelley version later…

Anyway. Michael was a lot of fun to do, for a lot of reasons, one of which is that I knew if he came out looking wonky I could point out that he was supposed to be distorted, so it was fine. Luckily for me, he came out exactly how I wanted! He varies from the base pattern as follows:

Shoes: Fan artists always draw him with long pointy shoes, and often floating or seeming to float, so I decided not to do the boots/shoes I usually do. I also decided that, since Michael belongs to the Spiral, I would, well, crochet him in a spiral rather than joining at the end of each row and chaining one! So, to start off each leg, I chained 2, then: R1: 6sc in second ch from hook, tighten (6 sc). R2: 2dc in each st around (12 dc). R3: Sc in front loop of each st around (12 sc). R4-7: Sc in each st around (12 sc). R8: (Sc in first st, dc in next st) around (6 sc, 6 dc).

Trousers: I mostly did these the normal way, except that they were only 12 stitches around rather than 15. For the first round after joining the trouser color to the shoe color, I did the inverse of R8 (dc in first st, sc in next st), then just did straight sc all the way up until I decided they were long enough. I didn’t count rounds really. I wanted it to be a little uncanny.

Shirt: I was really, really, REALLY excited about this. I wasn’t sure how a variegated yarn would work up in this case, but evidently having made him, essentially, six stitches skinnier than usual at the start made this yarn spiral perfectly. I did the tunic exactly how I usually do the torsos, just skinnier; the only other variant, apart from continuing in the spiral pattern, is that I did visible decreases instead of invisible ones. They’re still not super noticeable, but I figured for the Distortion, it would make sense to have these jarring “wait, he visibly got smaller there” stitches.

Head: I did his head in fours instead of sixes to make it longer and skinnier, and I think that worked out well. I also did his nose as a cluster stitch rather than a puff stitch—(yo, draw loop through st, yo, draw loop through first 2 loops on hook) three times, then yo and draw through all loops on the hook—and I think it made it enough of a noticeable variant from usual that it was good. I also discovered that crocheting in a spiral rather than the join-and-chain method, while it does eliminate the ladder at the back of the scalp, makes the rows just uneven enough that it’s slightly noticeable the eyes don’t line up. Which, again, works well for the Distortion. I also didn’t do his scalp in the hair color, but as thick as his hair is, you can’t really tell.

Mouth: I wanted an uncanny valley “too big for his face” kind of grin, so I doubled the yarn and knotted it, then embroidered what I hope came out looking like sharp teeth. I don’t know why I always headcanon Michael with sharp teeth. Maybe it’s the fanart. Anyway, it’s sufficiently unsettling, I think.

Arms: Look at these hands. I am so damn proud of these hands. They’re different, partly by accident and partly by design, but that really adds to the feel, doesn’t it? The pattern was more based on vibes than actual counting necessarily, but basically, I chained 4, turned, sc in second st from hook, sc in next two chs, and then made the fingers by chaining until they felt long enough, turning, and slip stitching down the inside of the chain until I reached the foundation stitches, then added another sc and repeated. Pretty sure it was 4-6-7-9 for one hand, but I didn’t really pay attention to what I did for the other.

I then joined the shirt yarn to the foundation chain, 3sc in first st, sc in next st, 3sc in next st, sc in next st, for a total of 8 sc around to form the cuffs. Then I just…spiraled up, eight stitches at a time, no increases or decreases, until the arms were long enough. I attached them slightly lower on the body than I normally would, but only slightly.

[crochetedblorbos]

"If you really think that we're a better class...why don't you join me?"

Character Name: Margaret “Mags” Holt

Fandom: Realms of Peril & Glory: Liminal London

Played By: Liz Campbell

Yarn Used: Shoes: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Black Pantyhose: CraftSmart Value - Mocha Dress: CraftSmart Value - Tomato Skin: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Peach Hair: Lion Brand Basic Stitch Anti-Pilling - Nutmeg Wolf Head: Lion Brand Basic Stitch Anti-Pilling - Ebony

Basic pattern here.

Mags. I love Mags so goddamn much. She honestly puts up with so much, between the Lambeth Cooperative and then…well, Monty and Declan. She’s also such a badass when she wants to be and I love that for her (and me, honestly). I couldn’t very well do the rest of the cast and not include her. They need her to keep them in check. Originally I was going to do Mags in her work clothes—in fact I had already crocheted half a leg in grey as a pair of business casual trousers—but then I thought, why should Annie be the only one who gets to look pretty?

Mags differs from the base pattern as follows:

Shoes: Mags is described as a small woman, so I made the base chain for her foot one stitch smaller and adjusted the pattern accordingly - meaning she’s not skinny, just petite. Her shoes would be high heels, but, you know, it’s hard to do that in yarn, so. As for the legs, I thought about it and decided that Mags is probably one of those people who just grabs the first set of hose she finds rather than trying to match them with her actual skin tone, so they’re a bit darker than the rest of her.

Dress: Literally made for her by tiny magical mice (suck it, Zack, that’s canon now), so it of course fits her perfectly. I did the same front loop/back loop zigzag I did with Azu, Alice, Pyrex, and Maddie. She was already a few stitches skinnier than usual, so I decided to give her a bit of an hourglass figure that she probably hides in off-the-rack clothes. I did two decreases on each side to pinch the waist in, crocheted a straight round, and then did two increases on each side to open it back up again. I also figured the dress wouldn’t be too low-cut, so while I did switch to the skin a bit lower than usual, I didn’t give her a plunging neckline or anything. I think it worked. For the skirt portion of the dress, I joined to the sticking-out loops and crocheted as follows: R1-3: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), dc in each st around, sl st in third ch (32 dc). R4-6: Ch 4 (counts as first trc), trc in each st around, sl st in fourth ch (32 trc). R7-8: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), dc in next 3 st, hdc in next 6 st, sc in next 4 st, hdc in next 6 st, dc in next 6 st, trc in next 4 st, dc in next 2 st, sl st in third ch (12 dc, 12 hdc, 4 sc, 4 trc). I decided to give her a fancy waistband, too, partly because it seemed to fit and partly because I envisioned the dress as a sheath dress and didn’t like the obvious skirt. I joined the yarn to the top of the skirt and: R1-3: Ch 1, (sc in next 2 st, ch 7, skip next 6 st) 4 times, sl st in first sc (8 sc, 28 ch). R4: Ch 1, (sc in next 2 st, ch 3, sc around all 3 chains below, ch 3) 4 tmes, sl st in first sc (12 sc, 24 ch). Fasten off.

Head: In keeping with the “small woman” theme, I stopped one round of increase early, did two straight rounds, added the nose, and then did three straight rounds before I started decreasing.

Arms: I made her arms a little smaller to match the rest of her—starting with a round of 4 instead of 5 and keeping decreases down to match. I also tried crocheting in a spiral rather than joining at the end of every round and, reluctantly, I think I have to admit I like it better. At the top, I attached a length of red yarn, chained eight, stitched it to the other side, and then finished the neckline in a whip/blanket stitch before repeating over the other arm and along the back.

Hair: Naomi and Liz described Chantal as giving Mags a fancy updo, so I tried to convey that here. For…reasons, it ended up set a little further back on her head than I meant, so on a whim, I grabbed a scrap of the red yarn I had trimmed off and whipped up a little rose for her hair. Shockingly, that pulled it all together, I think.

Now. Underneath the hair…

Wolf: I am so goddamn proud of this.

Basically, what I did is I made a cone similar to the way I did her hands, kept it small, and then opened up into a big circle. I made the face mask in the round, expanded the sides out a bit, and squared off the bottom to align with the neck. For Mags’ hair, I turned the face inside out, pulled up long loops of brown yarn around the edge, and hooked them over the inverted nose. Once I’d gone all the way around, I stitched a loop of black yarn in to hold it together. Then I turned the face side back out and sewed it to the edge of the hairline (which I stitched in black rather than the brown of her hair).

At that point, it could be flipped back and forth easily. I’m SO happy this came out the way I wanted it to.

[crochetedblorbos]

"So, my proposal for you is this: Either kill me or fuck off."

Character Name: Tim Stoker

Fandom: The Magnus Archives

Voiced By: Mike LeBeau

Yarn Used: Skin: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Taupe Hair: CraftSmart Value - Black; CraftSmart Value - Burgundy Shirt: CraftSmart Value - Eggplant Trousers: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Light Grey Shoes: CraftSmart Value - Black

Basic pattern here.

I love Tim so goddamn much. And after what I did to him in my latest fanfic, I felt like he really, really deserved a hug. He worked up a lot faster than I expected, too - I guess I’m getting better at this pattern, which means (if the variations aren’t TOO out of this world), I can finish one in about a week! And this despite half the games this week getting rained out…

Tim varies from the standard pattern as follows:

Shoes: I didn’t forget to do the soles a different color; they’re dress shoes, so the same color black sole as upper. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Trousers: I did Tim’s trousers the same way as usual, really. (Okay, so it was a while before I got to the variations. Sue me.)

Shirt: I mostly followed the standard pattern for Tim’s shirt, up until the top. The first thing I did was wait until the very end to decrease his shoulders (I meant for them to come out more square than they did, but here we are). The second thing is that I decreased his neck down to 15 instead of 18 to make it a bit thinner. I decided I wanted Tim in a polo, so when I hit the top of the neck, I slip stitched around to just to one side of the neck, then chained 3, dc in front loop of next st, hdc in front loop of next st, sc in front loop of next 9 sts, hdc in front loop of next st, dc in front loop of next st, fasten off. It actually came out like I wanted!

Head: This may be the first time in a whilA close-up of the doll's face, highlighting his eyes and smilee I did the stitch count exactly right, so go me. Anyway, I did Tim’s scalp in black and then looped in the hair like usual, with occasional burgundy (auburn) highlights because that was how I described him in Forget. (I also deliberately made his smile the mirror to Gerry’s.)

Arms: I decided Tim was wearing a polo shirt, so I did his arms more or less the same way I did Gerry’s - following the base pattern with the skin color up to R20, then R21 in the shirt color in hdc, then finishing out in the shirt color in sc before stitching on.

And yes, I did his arms on purpose so he could hold hands with Gerry.

[crochetedblorbos]

"Actually, it’s not fine at all, but we’re all in the same horrifying boat together at this point, so…"

Character Name: Madeline "Maddie" Townsend Fandom: The Holmwood Foundation [Podcast] @theholmwoodfoundation Voiced By: Rebecca Root Yarn Used: Hair: CraftSmart Value - Butter Skin: CraftSmart Value - Peach Dress: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Aqua

"I think I would very much like a friend in all this. It is nice not to feel so alone."

Character Name: Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker Fandom: The Holmwood Foundation [Podcast] Voiced By: Rebecca Root Yarn Used: Hair: CraftSmart Value - Burgundy Skin: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Taupe Dress: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Navy

Basic pattern here.

Look. I didn’t necessarily PLAN to do Maddie and Mina so early, but the one-year anniversary of the pilot dropping was last month and it seemed fitting. Plus it’s the start of Dracula Daily season, so here goes nothing. Anyway, here’s our girls!

For anyone who hasn’t listened to the pilot of The Holmwood Foundation, or isn’t familiar with the premise, Maddie Townsend, former history teacher, is a junior archivist at the Holmwood Foundation, an organization founded by Arthur Holmwood (Lord Godalming) and Mina Harker to study vampires, especially Dracula (the book really happened, just…slightly differently than their friend Bram wrote it, with their blessing). Something goes catastrophically wrong, and long story short, Maddie is possessed by the ghost of Mina. (Her cranky, crotchety wet cat of a boss, Jeremy Larkin, is possessed by Jonathan Harker and is rather pissed about it.) I wanted to find a good way of displaying that, and since I don’t think I can adequately do one of those turn-me-inside-out toys, I figured this would do.

Obviously, Mina and Maddie are wildly varying from the base pattern! I modified it as follows:

Maddie: I actually went top down with her, so inverted the pattern starting with 6sc in a circle and proceeding in reverse from R77 to about R36, except I never increased to 38sc. When I hit that round, I did the same thing I did with Mini, Azu, and Alice and crocheted the round in front loops only. I did her hair with the same method I’ve been using for long hair since Gerry, except that I gave her a side part like in the official art.

Mina: I let Mina have a high collared blouse, which seemed appropriately Victorian/Georgian, and basically did her according to pattern starting with R37, in the back loops of the previous round. (I’m not sure why her face came out more angular than Maddie’s.)

Mina’s Hair: I wanted to give Mina a classy turn of the century updo, so I made the strands twice as long as I would have expected and stitched them around the outer edge of the scalp, then took the long ends and crossed them back and forth over the head to form the hairstyle. I actually really like how it turned out! (I also untwisted one of the bits of yarn in the front to give her an errant curl over her forehead.)

Skirt: I did Mina’s skirt first, not for any real reason other than I was at the ballpark and only had the navy yarn with me rather than the aqua. It went as follows: R1: Join yarn to middle back of R36, ch 1, sc in each front loop around, sl st in first sc (36 sc). R2: Ch 1, sc in back loop of each st around, sl st in first sc (36 sc). R3: Ch 1, [sc in first 4 st, 2sc in next st, sc in next 4 st] 4 times, sl st in first sc (40 sc). R4: Ch 1, [sc in first 9 st, 2sc in next st] 4 times, sl st in first sc (44 sc). R5: Ch 1, [sc in first 5 st, 2sc in next st, sc in next 5 st] 4 times, sl st in first sc (48 sc). R6: Ch 1, [sc in first 11 st, 2sc in next st] 4 times, sl st in first sc (52 sc). R7: Ch 1, [sc in first 6 st, 2sc in next st, sc in next 6 st] 4 times, sl st in first sc (56 sc). R8: Ch 1, [sc in first 6 st, 2sc in next st] 8 times around, sl st in first sc (64 sc). R9: Ch 1, [sc in first 7 s5, 2sc in next st] 8 times around, sl st in first sc (72 sc). R10: Ch 1, [sc in first 4 st, 2sc in next st, sc in next 4 st] 8 times around, sl st in first sc (80 sc). R11-R13: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (80 sc). R14-R17: Ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st in first hdc (80 hdc). R18-29: CH 3, dc in each st around, sl st in first dc (80 dc). Fasten off.

I then flipped her over and switched to the aqua for Maddie’s skirt. I wanted the style to be a little different (in the official art, it’s a tea-length skirt, but I had to make it go all the way to the ground to cover Mina’s face), so I did as follows: R1: Join yarn to middle back of loops from inner skirt. Ch 3, dc in each st around, sl st in first dc (36 dc). R2: Ch 3, [dc in first 4 st, 2dc in next st, dc in next 4 st] 4 times, sl st in first dc (40 dc). R3: Ch 3, [dc in first 2 st, 2dc in next st, dc in next 2 st] 8 times, sl st in first dc (48 dc). R4: Ch 3, [dc in first 5 st, 2dc in next st] 8 times, sl st in first dc (56 dc). R5: Ch 3, [dc in first 3 st, 2dc in next st, dc in next 3 st] 8 times, sl st in first dc (64 dc). R6: Ch 3, [dc in first 7 st, 2dc in next st] 8 times, sl st in first dc (72 dc). R7: Ch 3, [dc in first 4 st, 2dc in next st, dc in next 4 st] 8 times, sl st in first dc (80 dc). R8-10: Ch 3, dc in each st around, sl st in first dc (80 dc).

At this point, I decided to do a bit of a fancy pattern for the rest of the skirt. To do this, I did a triangle pattern. The first round I did it in dc and did it too narrow - a “V” of two dcs crocheted together like a decrease (dc2tog) followed by 2dc in the same stitch - but that didn’t math right, so following that I did it triple crochet and did three stitches crocheted together (tc3tog) followed by three tc in the same stitch, as follows: R11: Ch 3, [dc2tog, 2dc in next st] 26 times, dc2tog, dc in next st, sl st in first dec (80 dc). R12: Ch 4, [tc3tog, 3tc in next st] 20 times around, sl st in first tc3tog (80 tc). R13: Ch 4, [3tc in first st, tc3tog] 20 times around, sl st in first tc (80 tc). R14-15: Repeat R12-13. R16: Hold both layers of skirt together. Ch 1, [sc through first st on both skirts, sk 3 st, 7dc in next st through both skirts, sk 3 st] 10 times, sl st in first sc (10 sc, 70 dc). Fasten off.

[crochetedblorbos]

"Well, that's the real question, isn't it? Does my desire not to actively promote evil outweigh my fear of disappointing my parents?"

Character Name: Samama “Sam” Khalid

Fandom: The Magnus Protocol [podcast]

Voiced By: Shahan Hamza

Yarn Used: Soles: CraftSmart Value - White Shoes: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Black Trousers: CraftSmart Value - Cornflower Jumper: CraftSmart Value - Ivy Skin: CraftSmart Value - Coffee Hair: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Black

Basic pattern here.

Oh, Sam. Talk about being doomed by the narrative…our poor boy. After Episode 29, I was trying so hard to get him finished in time for the finale. Didn’t quite manage it, but I at least got him done before Season 2 starts. And, hey, at least on my side of things Alice can give him a hug. (Side note: I’ve actually had him done for WEEKS, but I messed up his mouth and had to fix it…a thing I definitely forgot to do until now. Which is why I’m posting him several weeks into S2 despite having him done well before the hiatus ended!)

Sam differs from the base pattern as follows:

Shoes: Hey, I remembered the different-colored soles again! Anyway, I figured he would wear basic trainers, so I did them the same way as I did Joseph’s.

Trousers: Sam strikes me as the kind of guy who dresses as casually as he can get away with in the office, unless something big is happening…like, say, a certain big-shot MP coming for an inspection. (Projecting? Me? Onto my blorbos? Surely you jest.) Anyway, I gave him a pair of nice, comfortable light-washed blue jeans.

Jumper: I decided to give Sam a turtleneck, only partly because I only had the jumper yarn with me and didn’t want to stop yet. He just seems like a turtleneck kind of guy. Anyway, the way I did that was to just continue with the shirt color up to where the chin starts, then switch to skin color and do the next round in back loops only.

Head: In the grand tradition of “Ollie overcomplicates everything”, I decided to give Sam curly hair. To do this, I used a popcorn stitch. Basically, for every other stitch on Sam’s scalp, I did four hdc, dropped the last loop, inserted through the first stitch, and pulled the loop through. It’s a cool effect, but good God, it took forever. For the bangs at the front, I decided to give him a few corkscrew curls, which are pretty easy - you just chain however many stitches you want to do, and then do a series of fans up the chain. I did some in sc and some in hdc. It was more or less random, I’m afraid, but I like the effect! I'm not super happy with how his mouth came out, but it's definitely better than my first attempt, and I'm not changing it again.

[crochetedblorbos]

"Do you think Bags cares about us? I didn't program that."

Character Name: Pyrex

Fandom: Realms of Peril & Glory (@realmspod) , CY_BORG campaigns [Podcast]

Played By: Shamini Bundell

Yarn Used: Skin: CraftSmart Value - Coffee Clothes/Hair/Bags: Loops & Threads Soft and Shiny - Onyx Rainbow Circuits: DMC #G168

Basic pattern here.

Our beloved little orphaned gearhead (NOT a hacker). Pyrex is just one of those characters you instantly want to wrap up in a warm blanket and keep safe from everything - including, let’s be realistic, herself. She’s so delightfully awkward and earnest and I just love her. (I don’t think Shamini is capable of playing a character I hate.)

Pyrex differs from the base pattern as follows:

Trousers: I gave her stirrup pants. I don’t know why. I just felt very strongly that Pyrex would have stirrup pants and bare feet for some reason. So I stitched the first round of the leggings in the front loops of the last round of her feet, then slip stitched to a point that looked like the right place and did a chain until it was long enough to go under the foot and slip stitch back into the other side of the cuff, at which point I chained one and continued as normal.

Tunic: I was going for a baggy, sort of oversized top for her, so I did the ridge at the waistband like I did with Mini and Azu. After I finished the rest of her torso, I went back with the yarn and added the long part. I took a week off in the middle of working on Pyrex to make a baby blanket for a friend who was moving and wouldn’t have a fixed address for a while, and because when I went back to her I still had the stitch I used for that in mind, I decided to do a Catherine’s wheel stitch for the bottom (which is a bitch and a half to do in the round, just FYI). The pattern was as follows: R1: Join yarn to loop produced from flo/blo stitching in center of back. Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (38 sc). R2: Ch 1, sc in next 9 st, 2sc in next st, sc in next 18 st, 2sc in next st, sc in next 9 st, sl st in first sc (40 sc). R3: Ch 1, [sc in next st, skip next 3 st, 7 dc in next st, skip next three st] 5 times around, sl st in first sc (5 sc, 35 dc). R4: Ch 1, 4dctog. [Ch 3, sc in next dc, ch 3, 7dctog] 4 times. Ch 3, sc in next dc, ch 3, 3dctog, sl st in first 4dctog (5 sc, 5 7dctog, 10 ch3 sp). R5: Ch 3 (counts as first dc). 3dc in same st. [Skip ch3 sp, sc in next sc, skip ch3 sp, 7dc in next 7dctog] 4 times. Skip ch3 sp, sc in next st, skip ch 3 sp, 3dc in first st, sl st in first ch (35 dc, 5 sc). R6: Ch 1, [sc in first dc, ch 3, 7dctog, ch 3] 5 times, sl st in first sc (5 sc, 5 7dctog, 10 ch3 sp). Fasten off.

Head: Pyrex was described as having filaments and wires across her face, presumably wiring her RCA (and, as we later found, her connection to Bags). And, well, I had a whole bunch of leftover metallic thread from a cross-stitch project I did for my brother that I swore I would never use on aida again. (Someone on the Old Gods of Appalachia Discord server referred to it as “the devil’s asshair” and I have not been able to think of it any other way since.) Except that I ended up buying silver metallic thread specifically for this project that worked a lot better. Anyway, I really like how that came out. For her pigtails, I used the same method I’ve used since Alice to put hair in around the outside edges of her scalp, then also in two lines down the middle back for the part, and then looped a few more in the middle to fill it out. They turned out cute!

Arms: I used the same technique I used for Mini’s hands - just stitching around the magnets - for Pyrex’s. Partly that was because I forgot to bring any stuffing with me when I got to her arms and I didn’t feel like going top down, but mostly it was because she just struck me as the skinny sort.

Bags: What would Pyrex be without her spider robot companion?

I probably overcomplicated this a lot, but basically I just crocheted a rectangular cube, put a big red eye on one end, and made his legs with sculpting wire and yarn. I crocheted a line of single crochet around the wires, then stitched them to Bags’ body. He doesn’t stand up as well as I’d like, but he turned out pretty good!

[crochetedblorbos]

"I am not now, nor have I ever been, adorable."

Character Name: Jonathan Sims, a/k/a The Archivist, a/k/a The Ceaseless Watcher’s Special Little Boy, a/k/a Snoop God’s Favorite Kid

Fandom: The Magnus Archives [Podcast]

Voiced/Written By: Jonathan Sims

Yarn Used: Shoes: CraftSmart Value - Dark Almond Trousers: CraftSmart Value - Taupe Cardigan: CraftSmart Value - Olive Shirt: CraftSmart Value - White Skin: CraftSmart Value - Coffee Hair: CraftSmart Value - Dark Chocolate, CraftSmart value - Grey Glasses: Ashland Decorative Wire - Black, 12 gauge

Basic pattern here.

Look. How can you NOT love this pathetic wet cat of a man. (And like most cats, he is also a bastard at times.) He really went through the wringer over the course of the podcast, both physically and emotionally. Thank God he had Martin there for him.

Jon differs from the base pattern as follows:

Shoes: I actually remembered to do the soles in a different color this time! Other than the color, they were done the same way as Joseph’s.

Trousers: I accidentally shortened them. I did not mean to shorten them, but frankly, I miscounted on the first leg and only realized it halfway up the second, so I stopped them at R27 instead of R29, so he’s just a tad bit shorter than normal. (Which is fine, and fits my headcanon for Jon.) I also…well, I’ve finally thrown my lot in on the Great Archival Ass Debate on the side of the Assless, so in R32 (what would normally be R34, but again, everything is two rows lower than normal), I put the decrease in the very back, rather than on either side of R41 as usual. Other than that, they’re the same as Joseph’s.

Cardigan and Shirt: I more or less used the same technique I used for Hux, except that I started a round lower (I think) to make the V deeper. I switched fully to the white for R50 (R52 in the base pattern), then did three stitches on either side of the center stitch of R51 in back loops only to give myself something to hook onto. I then went back later and stitched a collar by making a simple triangle in the front loops of those stitches. I also skipped what would have been R54 in the base pattern and, when I switched to the skin color, I went straight for the decrease to 12 sc around. I was hoping this would make his head less floppy.

Head: I used the loop method again. It’s just easier at this point, especially since Jon canonically has enough grey in his hair that he looks older than thirty. I gave him long hair and left it loose, but at least I got it the right length this time (sorry again, Hux). I was going to give him ears, but honestly, I made his glasses small enough that I didn’t need to. I didn't necessarily plan on giving him buck teeth, but I was in the middle of a D&D session while I was working on his face and white yarn was the only thing I had to hand, so rather than run back to my room for black or dark brown I just went with it.

Arms: When you’re crocheting a character who canonically has a very nasty burn scar on one hand, you have three choices. You can ignore it, you can attempt to replicate it in variegated yarn, or you can crochet a hand and set it on fire. And, well...

...I have a lighter and very poor impulse control. [Side note: I mentioned this to an IRL friend who also listens to TMA, and they said brightly, “Just like the Archivist!] (For the record, burning acrylic yarn doesn’t actually smell as terrible as you might think.) I also decided to cut out the final increase in his hands to make them long and thin. This also means I didn’t decrease for his wrists, which was fine, because I gave him shirt cuffs folded over the end of his cardigan as follows: R9: Join shirt yarn, ch 2, dc in outside loop of each st around, sl st in first dc (10 dc). R10: Ch 1, sc in outside loop of each st around, sl st in first sc (10 sc). R11: Join cardigan yarn, ch 2, hdc in back loop of each stitch in R9 around, sl st in first hdc (10 hdc). Continue rest of arm as normal.

Glasses: These definitely did not turn out like I expected, but eh, they work. I bent the wire into square spectacles and stuck them on. As mentioned, I did them tight enough (accidentally) that I didn’t even need the ears.

Bonus: I deliberately did Jon’s hands so he can hold hands with Martin, or tried to anyway. I realized only after he was complete that I matched the magnet in Jon’s right hand to the one in Martin’s right hand, and there’s not really room to turn them around. I might try pulling Martin’s arms off later and switching them around, but for now…well, at least they can hold hands the other way around.

[crochetedblorbos]

"Sorry, Elias, I can't hear you. There's a door in the way."

Character Name: Martin Blackwood

Fandom: The Magnus Archives [Podcast]

Voiced By: Alexander J. Newall (@rqbossman)

Yarn Used: Shoes: CraftSmart Value - Dark Almond Trousers: CraftSmart Value - Coffee Jumper: CraftSmart Value - Cornflower Skin: CraftSmart Value - Peach Hair: CraftSmart Value - Clay Ombre Glasses: Ashland Floral Wire - 22 Gauge/Iron/Silver

Basic pattern here.

Martin. My boy Martin. First character I put on this list before it was an actual list. (Why didn’t I do him first? Look…by the time I realized I had to actually do this, other podcasts were still ongoing and characters actively needed hugs.) It has been a long time since I have identified with a character so hard, and I love him so much. I couldn’t wait to get to hug him.

He differs from the base pattern as follows:

Shoes: I gave Martin loafers, or at least that was what I meant to give him. Therefore, I stopped with the shoe color at R6 (the final decrease) and switched to trouser color. I also knotted a small scrap of brown yarn on the tips and tied them in bows.

Trousers: So here’s the thing: Martin is fat. I know there are people who want to argue that the podcast never explicitly says the word “fat” - just things like “a bigger guy” and “roomy” and the like - and that that could mean he’s just tall or broad or muscular or whatever, but for fuck’s sake, there aren’t that many fat characters out there that aren’t punch lines, let me have this. Anyway, I am also fat, so I admittedly based a lot of my alterations on, well, me. And the first thing I decided was that Martin, like me, has trouble finding pants off the rack that fit him properly because everything that fits his waist has too long of an inseam, so I decided to give him cuffs on his pants by doing R7 as hdc in front loops of R6 only, then R8 as dc in the back loops of R6. I then continued as normal up through R17 and: R18: Ch 1, [sc in next 2 st, 2 sc in next st] 5 times around, sl st in first sc (20 sc). R19: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (20 sc). R20: Ch 1, [sc in next 4 st, 2 sc in next st] 4 times around, sl st in first sc (24 sc). R21-29: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (24 sc). After completing second leg, sl st to middle of inseam. Ch 4 and join to middle of inseam of opposite leg. R30: Ch 1, [sc in each st around leg, sc in each ch across] 2 times, sl st in first sc (56 sc). R31-32: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (56 sc). R33: Ch 1, sc in first st, 2 sc in next st, [sc in next 3 st, 2 sc in next st] 2 times, sc in next 32 st, [2sc in next st, sc in next 3 st] 3 times, 2sc in next st, sc in next st, sl st in first sc (62 sc). R34: Ch 1, [2sc in next st, sc in next 2 st] 4 times, 2sc in next st, sc in next 32 st, [2sc in next st, sc in next 2 st] 5 times, sc in next 2 st, sl st in first sc (72 sc). R35: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (72 sc).

Jumper: Let the record show that I bought this yarn specifically because it was the exact color I always had in mind in leaves when I referenced “the jumper Jon once offhandedly complimented him on”. I did it the same way I did Joseph’s hoodie, fpdc around each st in R34 and then continuing in sc, but I also decided to make his stomach a bit bigger as I went. Beginning with R39: R39: Ch 1, [sc in next 5 st, 2 sc in next st] 3 times, sc in next 32 st, [2sc in next st, sc in next 5 st] 3 times, 2 sc in next st, sc in next 3 st, sl st in first sc (79 sc). R40: Ch 1, 2sc in first st, sc in next 78 st, sl st in first sc (80 sc). R41-42: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (80 sc). R43: Ch 1, sc in first 2 st, inv dec, [sc in next 4 st, inv dec] 3 times, sc in next 32 st, [inv dec, sc in next 4 st] 4 times, inv dec, sc in next 2 st, sl st in first sc (72 sc). R44-45: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (72 sc). R46: Ch 1, [sc in first 4 st, inv dec] 12 times, sl st in first sc (60 sc). R47-48: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st (60 sc). R49: Ch 1, [sc in first 3 st, inv dec] 12 times, sl st in first sc (48 sc). R50-57: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (48 sc). R58: Ch 1, inv dec around, sl st in first st (24 sc). R59: Switch to skin color. Ch 1, sc in back loop of each st around, sl st in first st (24 sc). R60: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (24 sc).

Head: I decided Martin has no neck really, but a slightly square head/jaw. (It came out a bit chinless, honestly, but it works for him.) So the pattern went as follows: R61: Ch 1, [sc in front loop of first 3 st, 2sc in front loop of next st] 6 times around, sl st in first sc (30 sc). R62: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (30 sc). R63: Ch 1, [sc in first 4 st, 2sc in next st] 6 times around, sl st in first sc (36 sc). R64: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (36 sc). R65-R82: Continue as in base pattern. I also gave him ears like I did Alice. For hair, I did the loop method again, just…significantly shorter, so I had to do more of it. (Which was fine, really, it kept me occupied on a long car ride…)

Glasses: I didn’t wrap these in thread this time, but I did cut the wire long enough that I could double it up the whole way across, so it works well, I think.

Arms: Like with the legs, I decided to make Martin’s arms fatter than usual, so at R12 I chained 2 and then did a pattern of (hdc, 2hdc) around to open it up to eighteen stitches from twelve. I also extended them to 33 rounds to fit better with his body.

[crochetedblorbos]

"I was wondering if you...would...help me kill someone."

Character Name: Dr. Annie Walker

Fandom: Realms of Peril & Glory: Liminal London [Podcast]

Played By: Shamani Bundell

Yarn Used: Dress/Shoes/Hair: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Black Skin: CraftSmart Value - White Lips: CraftSmart Value - Tomato

Basic pattern here.

I have yet to hear Shamani voice a character I didn’t want to hug at least a little bit, and Annie is no exception.I have yet to hear Shamani voice a character I didn’t want to hug at least a little bit, and Annie is no exception. She's just been through so much and she doesn't deserve any of it, and every time it looks like she's going to get at least something approximating a happy ending...ugh. At least she got one dance and one kiss, right?

Annie went WAY off the beaten path, and deviates from the standard pattern as follows:

Dress: Okay, this was actually a lot of fun. For the first time, I did the skirt part first! I wanted it to be a kind of classy, elegant ballgown of the sort that Annie’s goth little heart would thrill to and Chantal’s innate fashion sense would approve of, so I used a shell stitch. The pattern is as follows:

Skirt: Ch 79. R1: Sc in second ch from hook, [skip next 2 ch, 5 dc in next ch, skip next 2 ch, sc in next ch] 12 times, skip next 2 ch, 5dc in next ch, skip next 2 ch, join to first sc (13 sc, 65 dc). R2: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), 4 dc in same st, [skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next sc] 12 times, skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, sl st in third ch (13 sc, 65 dc). R3: Ch 2, [hdc in next 11 st, inv dec] 6 times, sl st in first hdc (72 hdc). R4: Ch 1, [sc in first st, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next st, skip next 2 st] 12 times, sl st in first sc (12 sc, 60 dc). R5: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), 4 dc in same st, [skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next sc] 11 times, skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, sl st in third ch (12 sc, 60 dc). R6: Ch 2, [hdc in next 10 st, inv dec] 6 times, sl st in first hdc (66 hdc). R7: Ch 1, [sc in first st, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next st, skip next 2 st] 11 times, sl st in first sc (11 sc, 55 dc). R5: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), 4 dc in same st, [skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next sc] 10 times, skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, sl st in third ch (11 sc, 55 dc). R7: Ch 2, [hdc in next 9 st, inv dec] 6 times, sl st in first hdc (60 hdc). R8: Ch 1, [sc in first st, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next st, skip next 2 st] 10 times, sl st in first sc (10 sc, 50 dc). R9: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), 4 dc in same st, [skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next sc] 9 times, skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, sl st in third ch (10 sc, 50 dc). R10: Ch 2, [hdc in next 8 st, inv dec] 6 times, sl st in first hdc (54 hdc). R11: Ch 1, [sc in first st, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next st, skip next 2 st] 9 times, sl st in first sc (9 sc, 45 dc). R12: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), 4 dc in same st, [skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next sc] 8 times, skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, sl st in third ch (9 sc, 45 dc). R13: Ch 2, [hdc in next 7 st, inv dec] 6 times, sl st in first hdc (48 hdc). R14: Ch 1, [sc in first st, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next st, skip next 2 st] 8 times, sl st in first sc (8 sc, 40 dc). R15: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), 4 dc in same st, [skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next sc] 7 times, skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, sl st in third ch (8 sc, 40 dc). R16: Ch 2, [hdc in next 6 st, inv dec] 6 times, sl st in first hdc (42 hdc). R17: Ch 1, [sc in first st, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next st, skip next 2 st] 7 times, sl st in first sc (7 sc, 35 dc). R18: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), 4 dc in same st, [skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next sc] 6 times, skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, sl st in third ch (7 sc, 35 dc). R19: Ch 2, [hdc in next 5 st, inv dec] 6 times, sl st in first hdc (36 hdc). R20: Ch 1, [sc in first st, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next st, skip next 2 st] 6 times, sl st in first sc (6 sc, 30 dc). R21: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), 4 dc in same st, [skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, 5 dc in next sc] 5 times, skip next 2 st, sc in middle dc of shell, skip next 2 st, sl st in third ch (6 sc, 30 dc). R22: Ch 2, hdc in front loop of each st around, sl st in first hdc (36 hdc). R23: Ch 1, sc in back loop of each st around, sl st in first sc (36 sc).

Bodice: I picked up the pattern as if R23 was R42 at that point and mostly continued as normal. I did try to give her a sweetheart neckline, though, so when I got to a point where I judged the plunge of the collar would come in, I switched to the skin color, did 3 sc in back loops, switched back to the dress color, 1 sc, back to skin, 3 sc in back loops, and resume dress color for remainder of round. The next round I just did expanded the stretch of skin by one stitch on either side and continued to do so until I reached the natural end of the dress.

When I reached the neck, I actually stuffed her from the bottom up. I then sewed on a base that was, essentially, your basic circle with a ripple effect on the outer rim because I had hoped it would make the skirt appear to billow. I don’t think it worked exactly the way I intended, but it works well enough.

And speaking of things that didn’t work exactly the way I intended but worked well enough…

…I put a magnet in Annie’s right shoulder blade, so she and Declan can share a dance in the closest approximation of proper ballroom frame that can be achieved through half-remembered long-ago lessons and a single YouTube video tutorial.

Head: I did what I did with Alice and stitched Annie’s scalp in her hair color, then used the loop method to attach hair all around her hairline. Once I had done that, I experimented with gathering it into a bun but settled for a high ponytail because it wasn’t quite long enough. I tried to give her a little bit of blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth, too. And the eyes…red (well, dark pink) just seemed too clichéed, so I went with gold.

Arms: You know those frilly off-the-shoulder sleeves you see on fantasy ball gowns? That’s what I was going for here. I did the arms in the skin color all the way up, but I did the round next from last in front loops only and the last one in back loops only. I then joined the dress yarn to the front loops of that round, sc in each loop around, joined, and then did two shells, one on either side…more or less.

[crochetedblorbos]

"Closure's for movies, mate. All we get are manky holes."

Character Name: Alice Dyer

Fandom: The Magnus Protocol [Podcast]

Voiced By: Billie Hindle

Yarn Used: Sandals: CraftSmart Value - Coffee Skin: CraftSmart Value - Peach Leggings: CraftSmart Value - Ivy Tunic: CraftSmart Value - Turquoise Mint Hair: CraftSmart Value - Curry Stripe: CraftSmart Value - Purple Mouth: Loops & Threads Soft Classic - Neon Pink Glasses: Ashland 12 Gauge Decorative Wire - Gold + Aunt Lydia’s Crochet Cotton - Wasabi

Basic pattern here.

Look. You can’t NOT love Alice. It’s basically illegal. She’ll be the first to tell you so, actually. I didn’t expect to love her as much as I do, let alone for her to be the first Protocol character I crocheted, but here we are. I’m working my ass off to get her done before the next mid-season hiatus, but we’ll see; I’m writing this paragraph after having only finished the first leg. Goddamn does she need a hug, though. [Crafter’s note: Not only did I finish her in time for the public release of Episode 20, I finished her in time for Pride Night at the local ballpark, so go me.]

I wasn’t entirely sure how I was going to do her, actually; the podcast is still relatively new and we don’t know anything about her physically other than that she’s trans, so I’m still getting an idea in my head for how she looks. Or I thought I was. But as I crocheted, a design…emerged. She differs from the base pattern as follows:

Shoes: I decided to give Alice sandals. (Was I thinking of a clip I saw from an old game of Super Password where the clue someone gave was “those ugly shoes that lesbians wear” and the other person immediately got that the answer was “Birkenstocks”? Mmmmaybe.) They…didn’t turn out necessarily as well as I’d hoped, but they work. Sort of. Anyway, I stitched two stitches in the brown on either side of the toe, then at the top of the foot did an ankle strap to tie it all together. Should have given her painted toenails, in retrospect, but eh…

Leggings: Alice’s attire could go two ways, in my mind. She could wear neat, tailored, neutral-colored business attire at all opportunities, or she could be an OH THANK GOD THERE ARE ACTUAL COLOR OPTIONS IN MY CLOTHING kind of trans woman, and frankly I crochet enough neutral business suits. Besides, she very much gives off “what are you gonna do, fire me?” vibes, so she’s not going to worry about if there’s a dress code in the office. So, bright green leggings! I gave her a row of skin between the ankles and the leggings, but other than that they’re done exactly like Joseph’s pants.

Tunic: Okay, it’s somewhere between a tunic and a dress, but whatever. I did R36 in the front loops of R35, then R37 in the back loops of R36, then continued the same as normal for the upper torso. I did give her a little bit of a V-neck in the last couple rounds. The hem was done as follows: R1: Join yarn to middle back of R36, ch 1, sc in each front loop around, sl st in first sc (36 sc). R2-3: Ch 1, [sc in first 6 st, hdc in next st, dc in next st, trc in next st, dtrc in next st, trc in next st, dc in next st, hdc in next st, sc in next 5 st] 2 times, sl st in first sc (22 sc, 4 hdc, 4 dc, 4 trc, 2 dtrc). R4: Ch 1, sc in first 9 st, hdc in next st, sc in next 17 st, hdc in next st, sc in next 8 st, sl st in first sc (34 sc, 2 hdc). R5: [Sl st in first 9 st, ch 1, dc in next st, ch 1, sl st in next 7 st] 2 times. Fasten off.

Head: I caved. I didn’t want to bother with the fur stitch, so instead I just stitched her scalp on as normal and then went back and used the loop method to hook in individual colors. On the other hand, doing it that way meant I could give her some funky stripes in her hair, so I gave her a purple streak because why the fuck not. I also gave her ears so her glasses would stay on. Basically, I did two chains on either side of the head to anchor them, then did three hdcs in each ch, then sl st the outside edges and joined the lobes to the head. (Also, just as a side note - the mouth is technically the same yarn as the rest of Alice; it’s the Michaels store brand, essentially. They rebranded their yarn a couple months back.)

Arms: I was trying to give her bell sleeves, but I don’t think they turned out quite the way I had them in mind. Anyway, I worked her arms in the skin color up to R12, then switched to the tunic color and did R13 in front loops only, R14 in back loops only, and continued up the arm. Once they were done, I went back to R13, joined the yarn back onto the loop, and: R1: Ch 1, sc in front loop of each st around, sl st in first sc (12 sc). R2: Ch 1, sc in first 2 st, hdc in next 2 st, dc in next 4 st, hdc in next 2 st, sc in next 2 st, sl st in first sc (4 sc, 4 hdc, 4 dc). R3: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (12 sc).

Glasses: They’re…wobblier than I would have liked, but that’s just because I was working with the wire for the first time and I kinda cut it shorter than I should have. (I wanted them to be square.) Anyway, I had skimmed a book of various doll parts that I will likely be obtaining at some point (it had a pattern for a wheelchair in it even!), and its suggestion for glasses was to make them out of wire and then wrap them in embroidery floss. I’m not sure what happened to my embroidery floss, but I have lots and lots of crochet thread handy leftover from last year’s still unfinished whoops shut up temperature blanket, so I grabbed one at random. It happened to be Wasabi, so Alice has green glasses and y’all are just going to have to live with that.

[crochetedblorbos]

"Stay safe out there."

Character Name: Mistholme/The Audio Tour Guide

Fandom: @the-mistholme-museum [Podcast]

Voiced/Written By: Dom Guilfoyle

Yarn Used: Body: CraftSmart Value - Black Interface: CraftSmart Value - Heather Gray Voice: CraftSmart Value - Black Headphones: CraftSmart Value - Black

Basic pattern here.

Do you have any fucking idea how much it sucks wanting to hug something that not only literally but canonically doesn’t have a body? A lot.

Oh, my sweet, innocent, naive, trusting little Guide. Never lose that childlike wonder, no matter how much about the world you learn. And never lose your love of storytelling. I had hoped to finish Declan and the Guide before the finale of Mistholme, but I figure I finished close enough to the end that I can still ride that high. (Also, if you haven’t listened, go listen. Now. If you liked TMA’s format of “seemingly unconnected/only loosely connected stories that slowly coalesce into a coherent storyline that can, will, and must break your heart a thousand times over and have you begging for more”, you’ll love it.)

The Guide went through a lot of transformations over the course of the show, both in terms of personality and in terms of…existence, I guess. Without spoiling too terribly much, I rather got the impression at the beginning of the podcast that there were physical audio tour guides you would pick up at the entrance to the Mistholme Museum with the latest version of the Guide on them that you would then turn in before leaving, but by the end, you could—and frequently did—download the Guide directly to your phone. So how do you convey that as something you can give the hugs it so richly deserves and desperately needs?

This is a fun one to write up, because…well, for the most part, I didn’t vary the basic pattern. As mentioned, the Guide doesn’t have a body, but it does have a personality, so I just made a black, person-shaped void to be its “body”. Where it varies, though…is the head.

Interface: I wanted this to look like the display screen of an audio tour guide, so I stitched in the back loops only of the stitches forming a square where a person’s face would be beginning with R60 and ending on R71. Then I embroidered a sound wave onto it. Simple enough to describe. Surprisingly only slightly more difficult to execute.

Headphones: You’ve probably figured this out by now, but I will absolutely make my life as complicated as possible in order to avoid having to sew too many pieces together. I think these turned out pretty damn good, though! Pattern is as follows:

Earpiece 1:

R1: 6sc in magic circle, sl st in first sc (6 sc). R2: Ch 1, 2sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (12 sc). R3: Ch 1, [sc in first st, 2sc in next st] 6 times around, sl st in first sc (18 sc). R4: Ch 1, [sc in first two st, 2sc in next st] 6 times around, sl st in first sc (24 sc). R5: Ch 1, sc in first st, ch 2, skip next st, sc in next 23 st, sl st in first sc (23 sc, 2 ch). R6: Ch 1, sc in first st, sc in ch sp, [inv dec, sc in next 2 st] 5 times around, inv dec, sl st in first sc (18 sc). R6: Ch 1, [sc in back loop of first st, inv dec] 6 times around, sl st in first sc (12 sc). R7: Ch 1, inv dec 6 times around, sl st in first st (6 sc).

Sl st up to ch sp.

Headband:

R8: Ch 1, 2sc in ch sp, sc in next 4 st around gap, sl st in first sc (6 sc). R9-17: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (6 sc). R18-22: Ch 1, sc in first two st, hdc in next st, dc in next two st, hdc in next st, sl st in first sc (2 sc, 2 hdc, 2 dc). R23-27: Ch 2, hdc in each st around, sl st in first hdc (6 hdc). R28-32: Ch 1, sc in first two st, hdc in next st, dc in next two st, hdc in next st, sl sti n first sc (2sc, 2hdc, 2dc). R33-42: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (6 sc). Fasten off.

Earpiece 2:

R1: 6sc in magic circle, sl st in first sc (6 sc). R2: Ch 1, 2sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (12 sc). R3: Ch 1, [sc in first st, 2sc in next st] 6 times around, sl st in first sc (18 sc). R4: Ch 1, [sc in first two st, 2sc in next st] 6 times around, sl st in first sc (24 sc). R5: Ch 1, sc in first st, ch 2, skip next st, sc in next 23 st, sl st in first sc (23 sc, 2 ch). R6:    Ch 1, sc through first st and first st of end of headband, sc through ch sp and second st of end of headband, inv dec through end of headband, [sc in next two st, inv dec] five times around, sl st in first sc through end of headband if necessary (18 sc). R7: Ch 1, [sc in back loop of first st, inv dec] 6 times around, sl st in first sc (12 sc). R8: Ch 1, inv dec 6 times around, sl st in first st (6 sc).

Sl st down to bottom of headpiece.

Cord: Ch 34. Sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next 5 ch, sl st into next ch, turn. Sc in back of ch 6 times, sl st in first sc. Ch to desired length.

Join to head next to interface.