CPT archive pagination problem using HTML5Blank slate, and other qualms

I’ve been pretty idle in terms of WP development for a long time now, the last whole theme I made was probably a couple years ago, and here I am trying to put together a really basic theme. I started making it using HTML5Blank theme as the base, now I’m thinking I should maybe switch to _s or something… Missing the content templates in HTML5Blank.

Anyway I’m just doing this because I want something like styleless, just super minimal and practical, and as of now I have next to nothing to even put on here — I just want an index of my CPT ‘work’, and like an about page, and contact. I don’t think that quite warrants a whole page for each, but I would like a solid sans-js backup in place before I go all AJAX.

Please see here for more details and my code, if you’d be so kind:
https://wordpress.stackexchange.com/questions/166772/custom-post-type-archive-pagination-with-html5blank-theme

Then there’s also the question of CPT index/archive MENU ITEMS. This is really bugging me. Surely someone here must know a good way of making them available to menus?

Thanks much.