#I also just wanted to test my fountain pen

[artfartt]

I had this idea bc it snowed where i am today

[relax-and-read-on]

I have not made made a generic hc post about the primarch in a LONG time. I miss it, and it's good for the warhammer tumblr ecosystem. So, without further waiting....

Primarch, and the absolutely shitty gifts they give each others for a White Elephants gift exchange

Roboute: A classic coffee mug (primarch sized!) Filled with sweets and a indestructible fancy fountain pen. The mug say "World Most Okay Dad" on it, and he joke that it apply to them all.

Lion: a stuffed bird. The number of eyes on it is vaguely unnerving. It's unclear wich way is the head suppose to go, and all agree that it's probably an awful mutant bird. Lion is too proud to admit that it's just a really shotty taxidermy he made himself.

Alpharius Omegon: They give a series of mysterious CD in blank case, wich is a very rare and hard to read format on most ship! It's the entire series of MLP:FiM, famous lost media in the 30th millenium.

Rogal: A thick, sturdy, and perfectly elegant multi bit screwdriver, with extra standard bits put in the handle. Give a proud presentation on it, explaining it's superior design and all it's ergonomic features. It's 45 min long.

Perturabo: it's a coupon that say "one (1) construction from me and my legion, free of complaining. Valid until the 31th millenium." It's the most popular gift of the night.

Corvus: slipper and kigurumi, all crow themed. They are *adorable*. Sadly, the size is a bit tight and vaguely indecent on the more muscular primarch.

Lorgar: a traditional colchian tea set, with hand dried craft teas! The set is beautiful, and the teas prove to be only mildly hallucinogenic.

Konrad: A very, VERY pretty embroidered set of throw pillow! They have delicate pattern of flower and nature imagery... And are made with human hair. Konrad is very proud of himself, and even more of the absolute bloody screaming his gift create when he explain it.

Sanguinius: put out by Konrad's gift, but he also made a pillow, but this one filled with his own feathers. Has surprising property against nightmare.

Vulkan: He was actually sweet, and brought homemade hot sauce, his mother's recipe! The problem is that the stuff is so strong, it's considered a dangerous chemical in most of the galaxy. Can be used as jet fuel.

Horus: Edible sexy underwear. Insist that whoever gets it has to wear it, and jokingly say that, if they are too shy, he can do a demonstration himself.

Mortarion: a succulent growing kit. Even his most dumbasses of brother should be able to keep a succulent alive, right? Doesn't mention that it's an highly invasive species that will colonise the entire ship of his poor victime.

Jaghatai: a foal. Yes, he carry a whole ass live animal to the gift exchange, and keep insisting that it's an appropriate gift. The horse is chewing on Magnus' hair.

Leman: Mad that he didn't think of bringing a puppy, but he has the most amazing looking collection of smoked salmon, caviar and preserved fish to offer.

Magnus: his patience is wearing thin, but he still offer a perfectly beautiful robe, that act as an honest to good mood ring and change color depending on the person's aura.

Fulgrim: A painting of himself! Wich is actually a joke, it's just a thin and hand painted decorative paper covering the true gift: a painting of all their family, together. Get called a try hard.

Ferrus: a collection of very pretty crystals and fossils! Wich he arranged in a chocolate box, and explain that those are his favorite flavors.

Angron: A punching bag that even *he* find durable. He made sure of it, by thoroughly testing it before giving it out, wich explain it's used appearance.

I know exactly who gets what..... Yall want to know in a part 2 ;)?

[ghostgirl101]

Hi! I saw you did a obsessed oliver quick, would you consider doing the same for felix catton?

Dating Felix Catton Would Be Like This...

A/N: I would absolutely consider it, and here you are 😎 also if anyone has any oneshot ideas for Oliver or any of the other Saltburn guys then drop them in my inbox, I wouldn't mind writing a proper imagine scenario for them too 📩 next up is more Oliver Quick stuff anyways, so go crazy. Also, why did I find this kind of hard to write? Maybe I'm just used to Oliver's craziness and not this pretty little aristocrat's 🙃

🍾• Contrary to Oliver, Felix's type of obsession would be less murderous and delusional, more realistic, kind of vain... he's a Catton, a rich boy everyone knows and loves, who wants to be him or be with him. He's used to getting his way, learning new things about people until they get boring or get on his nerves, and then life goes on.

🍾• Not this time.

🍾• You'd meet at Oxford, either by coincidence, or by getting in with his clique of friends somehow. Chances are you helped him out on a test or covered for him in a class, and so he calls you over in recognition next time he sees you, to hang out with him and Farleigh and the rest.

🍾• There's something about you that gets the pretty aristocrat interested. Maybe it's just your charisma, your beauty, some definition that makes up you. You're different from his other friends, don't follow the crowd, have a different mind, a worldview he doesn't get. And he likes it.

🍾• So prepared to be hounded with questions over a drink at the pub after classes, all curious but friendly eyes following yours as you summarise yourself, your background, your ambitions. And what are his? Well, he lives in a beautiful estate with his high-class family, goes to Oxford because he can... I never really saw that he made any plans for himself in the film, so my guess is that he's not all that bothered about it. He's got money, he's got connections, he'll do what he wants, like always... so long as it meets the Catton expectations.

🍾• Assuming you don't have the same outrageous luxuries as Felix does, he wouldn't see the need to impress you or get your attention at first, because his status is a given around school and everyone's after him. But if you're not the same as the other girls who crowd around him when they're given a good enough chance, he'll find himself keeping on calling you over, wanting you around for your input on things they do.

🍾• Probably shows off his wealth - unknowingly or not - by buying you something for an unnecessarily high price, like a designer fountain pen when yours runs out in English, and he'll shrug and smirk softly, because it's nothing, don't worry about it.

🍾• Farleigh will undoubtedly be interested in you, but I see him warming up to you instead of being mocking and sceptical like he was with Oliver. Probably because you give off a lot better vibes than Ollie, and treat his friends like normal people, not tiptoeing and aweing of them because they're all rich and popular, but getting on as well as you can. There's something special about you that Felix saw to try pulling you into his circle, so you don't have to do anything but be yourself.

🍾• And when the summer break does come by, you're invited to Saltburn with his closest; a dazzling, rare invitation from the young Catton himself, probably away from others in a nice spot around campus. He'll give you his charming smile and warm eyes as he tells you to come along with them, that his mum will like you because you're beautiful, and that he really wants you there.

🍾• Expecting you to go all squealy and eager with a dozen yeses - if you can manage it, hold that all down to give him a nod and a shrug with a light smile as you agree calmly and casually instead, because that's a whole new response he'd never expect from any lucky person he shows an interest in. How come you're not falling all over him like the whole of Oxford does just by him being there?

🍾• You'll definitely be showered with attention at Saltburn. Elspeth will marvel over your complexion or your eyes or your hair or your outfit (or all of the above). Venetia will probably be grateful to have someone around who has a proper personality that she can talk to and will make friends with you fairly easily.

🍾• You'll catch onto Felix's jealousy over the attention you get pretty quickly, because he doesn't even try to be subtle about it. He'll just shamelessly approach you and complain in his own way that you're his guest, and he brought you here so you two could hang out. His sister's annoying, Farleigh's a troublemaker, so you should probably just stick around him, right? Makes sense, doesn't it?

🍾• Sure it does, Felix.

🍾• He's a nice guy really, kindhearted and sweet enough, but at the end of the day, the world is his to play with, and so are its people. He just needs to understand that you're not a toy... you're an individual, and so if it's going to be anything like his other "relationships" where he gets bored and leaves them to it without a second thought, you're not interested.

🍾• Which is all shock and horror for Felix Catton, because is this really what a proper relationship means? Proper thought and feeling 24/7, staying with that one person instead of having flings with whoever whenever he feels like it?

🍾• So just give him a hot minute to sulk about it over there while you have a good time with his other friends and Venetia, because the more he sees you hanging around with others and being true to yourself, adjusting to Saltburn's black-tie standards but not letting it shape or belittle you, Felix has to actually realise that he hasn't got a whole lot of depth or meaning to his life if it doesn't involve you somehow, in the closeness that he wants and needs it.

🍾• Okay. Convinced. He'll give it a shot.

🍾• I think that Felix would expect it to be difficult for him, because he's used to his carefree, no-strings-attached game of life instead of anything serious. But it'd come easier than he'd think. Other people just don't interest him as much as you, simply because they're not you. They don't have the same little... thing. Girls trip over his feet and cling to him, everyone wants to be his mate, to try to fit into his rich lifestyle, but you do it all effortlessly, and it's puzzling.

🍾• And so hot

🍾• Felix would be casual and open with PDA, since everyone will come to grips with the two of you being an item after you've been dating for over the span of a few solid days. An arm slung around your shoulder, messing with your hair with a fond, teasing look, linked fingers under the table. Nine out of ten times, he'll beat you to it and reach out to you first, because whatever he says, there's a needy boy in him somewhere 😏

🍾• This guy was a complete playboy before you, so needless to say, when you're getting real close, Felix has a pretty good grasp of what he's doing, and he'll do it right. Petnames too, of course, Surprisingly - but unsurprisingly - things like darling and beautiful, but he'd probably try to make a nickname out of your name and shorten it to give you one, finding it funny if you give him a mildly annoyed and amused look because it sounds weird.

🍾• He'll be all bright eyes and grinning proudly as he takes you to his parties, to have dinner with his parents, who get on with you wonderfully, because you're polite but not a suck-up like everyone else, and can hold a good conversation with them while looking over their shallow spins on things.

🍾• Honestly though, from what I saw of Elspeth, she made me laugh out loud a good couple of times from watching, so being friends with his mum wouldn't be a bad thing at all. And Felix would like to see you getting along with his family, because it just proves that you're a perfect fit, like he knew you were.

🍾• You'd make a friend for life in Venetia if you tried to comfort and genuinely help her with her insecurities and problems, not play her like the rest... I felt so bad for her tbh

🍾• You'll never want any material thing ever again, because his money can buy pretty much anything you want. I'm pretty sure his family would give you some kind of allowance when you're serious with Felix anyway, since they can see it in him that he's serious about you too, and the whole relationship is a great step he's made in his life. Any financial support you need, you've got it. Don't even mention liking the look of something in a shop window, because chances are you won't get the item, you'll part-own the store 😭

🍾• So, basically, you don't just get a gorgeous young aristocrat who finds every little unique, original thing about you fascinating and attractive, you get the whole of Saltburn as your second home. Just try to make friends with Duncan, and you'll probably get all the dirt on them too lmao- he'd get on better with you than he did with Oliver anyway, since he apparently was the first and only one in the household to realise that there was something off about Oliver.

🍾• Ohhh, and if we're getting to the twisted-up subject of Oliver Quick...

🍾• Let's just say that it could go two ways. Either he'll be obsessed with the both of you, and treat you the same way he treats Felix, looking up to him with intense, wide ocean green eyes, shadows after him in the hallways after dark. Or, once he's done destroying Felix... his obsessive, delusion-spiked gaze will flick straight over to you.

🍾• Either way, steer clear, that's all I can tell you.

[jamiebluewind]

Eclipse the kitten update

(please don't glitch tumblr it's the tenth time I've tried!!!)

Previous post

Welp! Winter's boy has a respiratory infection. It was causing him to wheeze so to the vet we went! Luckily it wasn't a diaphram issue (which had us worried because of his umbilical hernia). His hernia also came up normal on his x-rays.

(X-rays left out because might bother people, but I can send them on request)

He's on meds several times a day and taking them like a champ, but had to be put in a pen with limited free playtime (because nothing will stop Mr Indestructible from running around the house with all the grace of a car with no breaks). We DID get a reply after just a week from a really nice person who was going to give us one (shocked us let me tell ya because it was BIG dog sized). Unfortunately, they left it outside for us to pick up and someone else just... took it. Right out of their yard. And since all we had was a small cat carrier to keep him in (which was kinda cruel for more than a day or two tops), we ordered a cat playpen that we got for a decent price. We kept looking until it got here, but no luck. Still! It's a nice playpen and we have it set up so he doesn't have to jump if he doesn't want to (plus more vertical to enjoy later on). Sarah's mom also let us borrow her water fountain!

We went to a new vet as ours was booked up (and he had already been wheezing a day). Everyone basically fell in love with him instantly. He left with a little toy from the tech, they gave Winter a jar of honey (one of the people in the office has bees and they wanted to give her something for caring about a kitten that most wouldn't have despite him having a treatable condition), and they've been checking in on how he is recovering (very well since I first typed this actually). He's basically got an entire vet office wrapped around his little paw.

Also, the non-profit we're taking him to for his surgery had a cancelation and his got moved up to the 12th! Counting down the days yall.

Because I gotta kinda mention it, this hit us where it hurts. Between the vet visit and testing, the pen, and the estimated cost for the surgery and followup, it's gonna cost us more than $2k (as long as nothing ELSE goes wrong). We're lucky that we're all super careful with our money, but there's only so much we can save up with three people below the poverty line. Still worth it though. I mean, look at this doofus

He is so stubborn that we can't leave scratch posts upright because he keeps doing THIS! XD

I'm linking Winter's paypal, but I 1000% understand if you can't help out. Still, a reblog and a word or three mean a LOT to all of us so if you got a minute, I'd love some new post additions to show Winter.

(Truth be told, the only reason all the updates are posted on my tumblr is because I'm the longest winded out of the three of us and I take like 5 billion pictures. XD )

Speaking of, there WOULD be a bonus pic of him and his sister (Melanite, aka Miel) playing under my chair as my cat (Danny) looks on from a safe place, but tumblr kept glitching when I added it.

Edit: surgery update

[acheronist]

sending u good vibes on your edible & also just. a deep commiserating sigh of understanding <3 also if you want to answer:

what is your most favourite fact about That Dead Guy, and/or if you could magically bring him back to life for a hot minute. what modern thing (invention, food item, tv show, meme, etc. anything goes, so long as it didn’t exist during his lifetime) would you need to show henry peglar first?

favorite fact..... is that even though he stopped going to school when he was 12, that he still taught himself how to write backwards in a secret code for privacy aboard a ship...... and then he spent pages and pages of this coded diary just talking about the crazy parties he attended when he was 23 instead of explaining about what was happening to the franklin expedition......

i would love to show him a lot of things but namely i really think he would get a kick out of the little pad of paper in art stores where you can test out the pen ink and it becomes an anonymous graffiti trap. i think showing him how the wallet in the RMG looks now dr.who van gogh episode style would be fun and emotionally devastating for the both of us. i think he would love the concept of a climbing gym. and multivitamins. and modern brewery pub appetizer snacks. and edibles. and the spiral jetty landscape art piece in utah. and lamy fountain pens... carhartt jackets... fun desk lamps... spirography toy sets.... union laws..... rainbow colored carabiners.... i want to show him how to play the megamillions..... youtube livestreams of turtle aquariums.... the poetry section of a public library...... and also i want to show him how many fucking emails it took to get the HQ version of one page from the rmg. oh my god and crossword puzzles. i really think this dude would have loved to do a crossword puzzle.

[mysticdragon3art]

Faebruary 2024, days 1-9. Experiments in learning to draw chibi Ballister Boldheart fairy.

2 days ago, I finally remembered the Faebruary drawing challenge, which I always look forward to (because I like drawing butterfly fairies), but I always forget (because it's February). So I tried to cram in a bunch of catch-up drawings.

Every Faebruary, I draw chibi butterfly fairies of my current OTPs. This year, it's Goldenheart.

But I still need to learn to draw both Ballister and Ambrosius. And I'm still testing out which of my Copic colors to use for them. I'm especially having trouble drawing Ballister's hair, from a front point of view. I keep wanting to draw the upturn at the back of his hair, even though it's not visible when he is facing directly straight ahead. It's really hard to not draw the upturn, after those years of drawing Claude von Riegan.

This time, I've chosen real life butterfly wings to base theirs off of, instead of making up my own designs. Because Ballister's comic book name is "Blackheart", I'm basing his wings off the "Uranothauma nubifer" or "black heart" butterfly. Ambrosius Goldenloin's wings will be based on the "Wallace's golden birdwing" butterfly, because that was the first butterfly with the word "golden" in its name that appeared in Google search.

The problem is that I think I might have referenced the wrong pictures for the "black heart" butterfly. A Google search shows many different looking "black heart" butterflies. It's difficult to know which pic to reference. I initially went with Wikispecies's pic, since it was specifically labelled "Uranothauma nubifer". But it's also labelled "Uranotauma nubifer, as Lycaena nubifer Trimen", so it might be a different variation of that butterfly. Maybe??? I went with the mostly solid brown wing from Wikispecies's reference, since that would be easier to draw/color. But I later found several other websites specifically labelling photos of the "black heart" butterfly, which look completely different from Wikispecies's mostly solid brown wings. They're mostly gray and tan speckles on white. So I tried to stylize a design based on the more speckled "black heart" butterfly wings. I'm still trying to simplify it in a way that is easy to draw. And I'm still trying to figure out colors that don't get confusing when juxtaposed by Ballister's skin or clothing.

I usually draw my fairies without shoes, but I wanted to practice drawing Ballister's (and Ambrosius's) full outfits, since I'm just starting to learn to draw them. Also, their regular clothes are close enough to the "medieval fantasy"-inspired fashion that I usually draw my fairies in.

I was unsure about adding Ballister's cybernetic arm. How would a fairy get a tiny cybernetic arm? Does their hidden fairy society in the woods, have a whole system of technological equipment and supplies? Does a human use magnifying glass spectacles and miniature cybernetics to make a tiny robot arm for him??? So I skipped the whole subject by not drawing his robot arm.

2/8-10/2024. No pencil underdrawings. Platinum Preppy fountain pen, using Noodler's Ink. Colored with Copic markers and a Daiso Fluently marker. Some corrections made with white-out, Gelly Roll white gel pen, and digitally with Krita.

[journalsouppe]

Casltevania (NES)!! Omg i loved this game so much, but that shouldn't be surprising since The Adventure of Link is my fourth favorite TLOZ game ahdjfskl

I wanted to test the waters with the series early but plan to actually start my playthrough once I finish my Zelda journal which will be sometime this year. I also want to try a new journaling style with using fountain pen art but I'm still experimenting with pens and the style itself so don't expect spreads to look like this in the future lmao

The journal is from Copticore on Etsy!! I also made a post reviewing the journal (it's one of my favorites that I own ^-^)

Writing typed below!

Rating: 8.5 Played: Fa 2023 Port: Steam, Anniversary Edition Language: English

Comments:

LOVE the music

hehe pot roast

really enjoying the gameplay

i have no idea why the chest spawned in stage 5

evil that I cannot set an item to a button and have to press up plus whip

it's always the damn flying enemies T^T

trying to understand the family tree/timeline

these environments fuck!!! T^T <3

I really like both of simon's designs

love the stained glass with medusa

i like how simon and the early belmonts have an iconic walk

(switched to energel due to dip ink bleed)

the pride of frankenstein sounds so cool

the grim reaper hallway is so long T_T_T

NOT THE MEDUSA HEADS T-T-T-T

DAMN THE HOLY WATER DESTROYED IGOR AND FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER

i forgot hearts are tied to items T_T

death is so hard T_T

really loved the video that went over the history of this game's speed runs

THE COGS ROOM IS SO COOL

oooo i like how similar the thunderbird and dracula boss fights are

omfg dracula's head in the floor

DRACULA'S DEMON FORM IS CRAZY LOOKING

i can't express enough how much i love the ost - I bought i vinyl of it ^^;

CHRISTOPHER BEE, BELO LUGOSI, BORIS KARLOFFICE, LOVE CHANEY JR... SCREAMING T^T <3<3

absolutely love this game so much

Summary:

To start: I am still figuring out a journaling style so all my early spreads will be a little rough. That being said, I love this game so soosossososo much. This is everything my little universal horror heart could ever want. I knew I'd enjoy the gameplay since I really loved the gameplay of TAOL but the monsters and level design and music just made me have even more fun than i was expecting. The game is very straight forward and nowhere near as cryptic as TAOL, both are very charming but at least you can play castlevania without a guide. The environment designs are unbelievably gorgeous. I would love to draw them someday. I really liked not only Simon but his mechanics. He has a slow, burly gait and wields a whip-- very different from Joust moving link with his sword (joust the game). It ensures you aim your whip properly as enemies have to maintain contact with the end of the whip. The boss fights were also diverse design and attack wise, it was nice trying to figure out new strategies. I loved so much about this game, I just gave it an 8.5 since there's no major story. However, I love that this game was a catalyst for the whole series plus anime adaptations. I am sooo excited to play more of the series, esp Super Castlevania IV!

[ktchewy]

A comparison of some pens I'm currently using and some new pens I acquired

Pens used:

- Uni-ball One P 0.38mm - LAMY Safari <EF> - TWSBI Eco <F> - Pilot Capless/Vanishing Point <F> - Pilot Kakuno <EF> - Ancora Ginza custom pen <MF> - Sailor Hocoro <M, F, fude> - Kakimori brass nib dip pen - Matsubokkuri glass pen

Lengthy review under the read more 🙈

The Uni-ball One P is sort of like the control for the comparisons? Idk LOL we know for sure it's 0.38mm so we can estimate how much thinner/thicker the other pens are. This pen is my go-to for quickly jotting things down, I highly recommend the Uni-ball One series of pens to anyone looking for a gel ink pen! It writes super smooth and has never smudged for me, the way the pens from the P series (P for pocket!) look is also super cute. After using the Uni-ball One pens, other non-fountain pens just don't hit the same. When I was filling out forms during check-in at one of the hotels in Japan, the staff gave me a regular ol' ballpoint pen and after one stroke, I went "nah I'm not writing with this" and grabbed my own pen from my backpack.

The LAMY Safari and TWSBI Eco are both a constant for me, they're always filled and hanging out in my pen case. I know some people don't like LAMY Safaris or TWSBI Eco's because of inconsistent nib qualities from the former and cracking issues from the latter but both of these pens have been pretty solid for me, never had any issues with them (knock on wood! 😳) I included them in this just to compare them with the new pens I got.

I am super in love with the Pilot Capless/Vanishing Point, probably my most favourite purchase of the trip! I used to think my TWSBI Eco wrote smoothly but the Capless straight up gliiiides across the paper. I picked this up in Itoya Ginza and had the chance to try out the EF as well and I think because that one was so thin, there was a bit of feedback so I didn't like it as much. I love writing with this pen so much, it sparks joy!! The retractable mechanism is very convenient for quickly putting the pen down and picking it back up again. Super recommend it to people who are looking to try a higher budget pen. For comparison, this matte black version sells for $275 CAD locally and I got this at Itoya for ¥18,540 (tax free hehe), which equals to about $175-180 CAD.

I actually already have a Pilot Kakuno with an M and F nib in my collection and I wanted to try a thinner nib but for some reason, just the EF Kakuno was super hard to find locally. I forgot to write on my sheet that it's currently filled with Sailor Shikiori Yamadori, because of the thinness though it's hard to see the turquoise colour of the ink haha. I think this size would be perfect for writing in the condensed space of my Hobonichi Weeks, I'll have to test it out in the weekly pages once the proper dates roll around.

The Ancora Ginza pen is also another pen I was looking forward to get, only because it was almost like going to Build-a-Bear but for pens LOL If you want to search more about it, you can try the official Japanese name of it: アンコーラMy万年筆. The model of the pen is a Sailor Profit Jr. and cost ¥4,400, I did research prior going on my trip it used to be ¥3,800 at some point 🥲 You can pick between a regular steel MF nib or a fude nib but I already have a fude Profit Jr so I picked the MF instead. My friend also commented that she thought I would be making multiple pens but I'll be saving my second custom pen for another time just so I have an excuse to go back to Ancora again >:) This nib also feels really nice to write with; no feedback, very smooth. I'm trying to limit my number of inked pens so this comparison was only done by dipping the nib in ink, I do want to fill this pen properly and try journaling with it soon! The only complain I have for this pen is that the cap or body feels a bit squeaky scratchy when I screw them back together, it's most likely just the part I grabbed but the quality might be hit or miss with them. The pen that my friend made is completely fine though! I think it's worth it to get your own pen made because it's such a unique experience.

If you're looking for a dip pen to play around or swatch multiple inks at once, then you'd have to try the Sailor Hocoro dip pen. I previously ordered the fude nib one online and I loved how convenient a dip pen is in general. But because of the nature of a fude nib, it took some time to get used and having to write at a specific angle to get the line width I wanted would sometimes give me wrist pain lmao :') Then not too long ago, Sailor announced that they were releasing a M nib so I added that to my mental list of things to buy, and then seeing how cheap stationery were in Japan, I picked up an F nib (no pen body) and the extra "feed" parts too. The feed isn't necessary but I like that I can write for way longer as opposed to not having it (check out this demo from Yoseka) In hindsight, I wish I had gotten the grey body in Japan. I do like the white body but I just want to keep the bodies with their respective nibs that I got them with and I feel like I might have mixed them up while swatching inks the other day LMAO

The Kakimori dip pen has been in my wishlist for a super long time and I'm very glad I held off from buying it locally in Vancouver or ordering it online. The sakura wood nib holder and the brass nib are listed on a local shop's site for $49.95 and $64.95 CAD respectively, on Kakimori's online shop they're ¥4,520 for the nib holder and ¥7,430 for the nib. In Kakimori's physical store, I got the nib holder for ¥2,970 and the nib for ¥4,950, with the conversion rate, that's like $27-28 for the nib holder and $46-48 CAD for the brass nib!!! 🥴 Price aside, this dip pen is another tool you can use for swatch inks or just drawing/doodling with it, I love the super thick line you can get when you hold it at a low angle, it's how I swatched all those lines in my Hobonichi Weeks. I've always read about how the stainless steel nib is harder and feels scratchier than the brass nib and after having tried both in stores, I do prefer the brass nib a lot more. The stainless steel nib felt like it didn't want to be written with, it just didn't feel pleasant imo. Some people might like feedback in their pens so I do recommend testing the pens out if you're able to before buying them.

This glass pen by Glass Studio Matsubokkuri ガラス工房まつぼっくり is my very first glass pen and I only chose this one because 1) the body is simple and short, I don't like the crazy swirly glass pens I commonly see 2) the triangular body means it's less likely to roll off the table 3) it was easily found at Ancora Ginza LOL I first discovered it when I was watching this youtube channel doodle/swatch inks with it. On Matsubokkuri's own website, they have F, M, and broad listed but there was only one size available at Ancora. I think mine is a F nib but I don't have any other glass pen to compare with so it's totally a guess, I'm just comparing it with my F fountain pens 🤔 The staff at Ancora gave me two pens to test out before purchasing since glass pens will have slight differences between them. They both wrote fine, I only picked the second pen I tried because the swirls in the nib of the first pen looked wonky to me.

If you made it this far down the post, thank you! I just wanted to share my thoughts on the pens that I have and hopefully this can give a little insight and help someone on their own pen journey!! 🫶

[pink-tonic]

This is How You Do It🔪

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Warnings: None

I make my way to the drama clubroom, and I go inside of it. Inside the clubroom, I see Kizano waiting for me.

"Just the man I want to see!" Kizano exclames as he makes his way over to me.

"Did you bring the paper?" I ask him as I place my bag down on the ground.

"Of course!" He tells me as he reaches into his bag and pulls out a set of light pink writing paper.

"Good. You should start writing your letter."

"Oh, but Ayato! How am I supposed to put all my love into words! What if I say the wrong words to him and he ends up throwing the paper away, or he thinks it's a prank? I can't let my prince reject me!"

I grab the pen from his hand, "Let's make a draft until we have the one you want to give to him."

I sit together with Kizano and make multiple drafts of the love letter. We waste one-third of the stack of paper, but we eventually have a final draft.

The bell rings as we put the letter into a white envelope.

"When do I give it to him?" Kizano asks as he goes to grab his bag with the envelope in hand.

"Right now. I'll make him go to his locker during lunch so he can get it," I answer as I also go to grab my bag.

"Perfect! I can't wait to have him in my arms!"

I walk out of the clubroom, and I go looking for Taro. I assume that he's already in class, so I decide to go there.

When I reach the classroom, I see Taro sitting in his seat and reading. I approach him, and I see his attention shift away from his book to me.

"Hey, Ayato. What happened?" He asks me as he closes his book and places it on his desk.

"I need you to do a favor for me," I tell him.

He lets out a sigh, "What is it?"

"When lunch starts, I need you to find (Y/N) and tell him you saw someone put a note in his locker," I explain to him.

"Fine. Where can I find him?" Taro asks, willing to go through with my second favor of the week.

"He should be in his clubroom or near one of the vending machines."

"Alright, I'll go."

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Lunch ends, and I go to the drama club. I see Kizano inside, waiting for me.

"What's the next step?" He asks me with eagerness.

I pull out the headset I brought and give him the earpiece that goes with it. He looks at it with intrigue.

"You're going to wear this, and I'll use this," I pull out my headset and show it to him, "I'll be hearing everything and giving you advice."

"But I'll still have my moment with him, right? I want some private time with him."

"I'll give you that time on Friday, but we should focus on making this work first. Let's start heading over to the fountain."

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

We are both able to make it to the fountain before (Y/N) arrived. Kizano walks over to the front of the fountain and waits. Before going to my hiding place, I go over to the rose bush and get a rose from it. I grab a pair of scissors that I brought with me, and I start to cut the thorns off of it.

When I'm done, I head over to Kizano, and I hand it over to him.

"Oh! A rose! Why didn't I think of giving him one?" He asks himself as he takes the rose.

"That's why I'm here. Let's test out the headset," I tell him as I start to walk away.

"Where are you going?" He asks me as he watches me walk off.

"I'm going to be behind this tree and watching you two. Now put the earpiece in," I tell him as I get into position.

He puts the black earpiece in, and I start to talk into the headset.

"Can you hear me?" I ask him as I peek a bit from the tree.

"Yes! And I see him coming!"

[goldenstorm0]

Went antiqueing today!

My sister was looking for Christmas decorations, I was looking for a new cup for matcha

I also looked for fountain pens. There was a sheaffer school pen, but in a color I already have, so I passed on it today. I think the was a sheaffer pencil, but the tip looked busted up. There was also a pen made from a bullet or made to look like a bullet, kind wished I looked closer at that but maybe next time.

There was this lovely lantern, and it looked to be in really good condition, but it was waaay out of budget ($45, I only really had $15 to spare). I'm pretty sure you can find similar quality for cheaper? but I'm not very versed in lantern lore so it could be a steal

There was also this cute end table. I knew a family who's toilet paper golder was a statue of a gnome holding his nose, I think these would go cute together

There was a couple of mimeographs! I could get one to turn, but the other one wouldn't, I didn't push too it too far though. It smelled weirdly wonderful though, like old ink (obviously). I think it would be fun to get one and fix it up, use it to make fun flyers or something, sadly that is also out of budget but maybe one day...

there were embalming funnels...

MOOSE

There were 3 different singer sewing machines, and a universal sewing machine. They were absolutely lovely, plus I think the universe is trying to convince me to take up sewing. It's on my magically list of things I want try, but right now getting a rigid heddle loom is a bit higher

But I did get my cup! It came with a matching saucer. I still need to test it for lead just incase, so sending good vibes to the universe, please, I want to feel cute while I drink tea. I tried to get a picture where it looked like my cat was drinking out of it, but she wanted to play instead

I also got this nice leather book cover, it should fit standard a5 notebooks. I need to replace the trimming on the edges, but I think it's rafia so it'll be an easy fix. Please ignore all the random stuff on my bed, I may have spilt coffee in my bag and had to get everything out lmao

[mslullabies]

Idk why I'm posting this, I'm not trying to say anything about what should or shouldn't happen or have happened or anything like that. I guess I just want to state for the record that I'm sad.

A Treatise On Breaking and Repairs was the fic I turned to while I was grieving when my sister was sick and after she died.

Make Your Bed and Lie In It was the fic of the pandemic for me, it was like the epic poem of the essential worker - I could feel the palpable exhaustion in every word of it just resonating off of my own constant, unending exhaustion, every time I re-read it these last 3 years.

I had scribbled out the first part of a fic inspired by For Safekeeping in the aftermath of the loss of Roe v Wade - not deliberately mind you, I was just seized with a writing bug, and it all poured out of me like a waterfall, and it wasn't until that flow stopped that I realized that I was writing about the horror of existing as sentient livestock.

I have a penchant for weird little acts of fannishness, usually not posted anywhere, they're just for me, usually combining the fannish thing with some other hobby of mine. I want(ed?) to make a Lego diorama of a scene from sanguine. I've sketched out the scene a bit, I've looked at acquiring/customizing more 212th minifigs. I'd been looking for a work to copy when playing with my fountain pens and inks and practicing my handwriting - mountainofink always copies jrrt's work when testing inks for example - and I finally settled on sanguine, like last week. I'm still doing these things, but the context in which I am doing them is different now. This is melodramatic to say but I can't think of another way to describe it - these works now feel slightly ghostly, the thing they are trying to interact with and respond to is no longer alive.

I still have the comments I left on these fics and the always kind and gracious replies glimmerglanger sent, in the form of email notifications, so I'm glad I never delete anything I guess.

I also have copies of most of their works now, thanks to the very generous and kind curators who put lists and dl links together. Even with rec lists though, the odds of new fans, or fans new to fic, finding their works is now enormously decreased. Their work is not part of the active flow of the fandom anymore, it's separated in a way that I'm struggling to articulate. Even though I have these fics and can continue to engage with them, and to engage with Star Wars through them, that engagement now feels confined in some way. It feels ghostly.

[andithewhumper]

Hannah (2)

Wow, finally an update! I've been sitting on this for a while and even though I'm still not happy with it, here it is. I am excited to be able to introduce all of my ocs.

Masterlist - Prev

Content: Vampire thralls, vampire carewhumper, past referenced abuse, human whumpee, nonbinary whumpee

The sound of the clock was loud in Quinn’s ears. The waiting was destroying them and they had to fight not to fidget with more than their hands. Their new Master was sitting with her back away from them, writing something with a fountain pen. The room was much like the rest of the house, scarily fancy. Quinn hoped that they wouldn’t need to touch anything. It all looked so expensive. Their old Master was fancy, sure, but Quinn never saw much more than his basement where they were kept. 

It had been quite a shock to come to this huge house, bustling with activity. Quinn had already seen six vampires, including the ones that brought them here, and several more humans walking around, all seeming too busy to spare them a second glance. Thankfully, out of all the vampires they had seen, Master’s friend had not been one of them. Everytime Quinn was around him, they were tied up. In fact, they were restrained for a lot of the time with their old Master; not that it was needed. They were always weak from lack of blood, it was weird now that they didn’t have that same lightheaded feeling. Quinn knew they would have to savor the strength for as long as they could. When their new Master chose to feed from them the feeling would come back and they would be as weak as ever again. 

They stared at the ground, finally getting the shaking under control. They forced themself into a posture they thought would be proper for a family this fancy. Their old Master never cared how they presented themself as long as their neck was easily accessible, but Quinn suspected now would be different and they didn’t want their Master thinking they were as useless as they really were. 

When they heard Master turn around they froze their fidgeting and tried not to move too much. They knew the vampire could hear their heartbeat so they tried to calm their breathing, not quite sure it was working. 

“So you were Joshua’s thrall, huh?” the vampire asked. Quinn swallowed hard and nodded, then remembered they had been told to respond verbally.

“Y-yes, Master.”

“You should be grateful, he was going to give you to Edward. That bastard goes through thralls like they are testing mice.” Their Master’s voice was filled with irritation. 

“I-I am grateful, Master. Th-thank you for taking me. I’m sorry for any trouble I’ve caused you.” Quinn kept their eyes on the ground. Their voice was quiet and respectful, but it still shook to their dismay. Their new Master must be so disappointed that she had to take such a useless thrall. 

“Look at me when you speak, thrall,” their Master ordered. Quinn’s eyes shot up immediately. They were ashamed that they had done yet another thing wrong. 

“I’m sorry, Master,” they forced out. Their Master didn’t look disappointed, though. In fact, she nodded in approval. 

“Good. Now what is your name, thrall.” 

“It’s Quinn, Master.” They wondered why their new Master cared about their name. Their old Master just referred to them as ‘human’ or ‘thrall’ and so had the vampire in the office. 

“Good, Quinn. Like I am sure you heard when I was speaking to my father, I do not need you for blood, but I will drink from you. I also will make use of you in my lab from time to time. Do you have education, Quinn?”

They expected it, but hearing that they would be used in the lab was terrifying. Quinn’s eyes flicked around the room before landing back on their Master. 

“I-I went to school until I was taken by my past master four years ago, Master.” 

The vampire nodded. “Then you will learn. I’ll start you out with something simple, but once you learn how to use the machines I’ll get you to do something more complicated. My father, annoyingly, is correct that I could use some help in the lab, though I have little use for a human test subject.” Quinn listened to Master’s musing with relief. They were more than willing to do whatever task was asked of them, especially if that meant they wouldn’t have to be a subject. 

Quinn wondered what Master was testing. They thought it was rare for women to be scientists, but they supposed, maybe Europeans did it differently. Master had a strange drag to her voice that Quinn couldn’t place, but they were sure it wasn’t American. 

Master stood and stepped closer to Quinn. 

“Now if I am going to deal with you, I will put you to good use. Stand up.” Her voice was smooth with authority and Quinn stood immediately. They felt strange, standing so close to their Master and they had to resist the instinct to kneel. Their old master would have struck them down if they ever dared to stand in his presence. 

“Now follow me quietly,” she ordered before turning away and walking out the door. 

---

Kairos was surprised by the thrall. They seemed to be very well behaved, though scared. She knew she shouldn’t be too surprised by that, of course. She knew that Joshua was severe to his thralls. Such cruelty quickly stamped out any resistance from humans. Their posture was atrocious for a thrall of the Orfeo household, but that could be remedied. Kairos couldn’t help feeling annoyed that she would have to be the one to teach them. Kairos learned very early in her death that it was in her best interest to stray as far away from the thralls as possible. They were all snitches and functioned only as extra eyes for her father. This thrall would be no such thing and Kairos found herself smirking at the thought that her father would not be able to squeeze any information out of the thrall that he gifted her himself. 

Quinn followed dutifully behind her. They trailed back a few steps and kept their eyes on the floor. Kairos strode quickly through the hallways, not caring if the thrall struggled to keep up with her. She held her head high and other thralls bowed and stepped aside when she passed. She was almost to her lab when she ran into her younger sister, Hannah.

“Oh, Kairos. I apologize. I didn’t see you.” Hannah’s voice was calm, but strong. Out of all three of her sisters, Kairos liked Hannah the most. It was in part because she knew Hannah the least. Hannah was turned only a decade before Kairos moved away from her father’s household. She was a dark skinned Romani woman with striking golden eyes, though whether they looked like that before she had died, Kairos was unsure. She was kind and while her two other sisters would poke Kairos with sharp, barbed words, Hannah was more gentle. Kairos wasn’t sure if it was because she genuinely liked her or that she was just too polite to act otherwise. 

“No worries, I’m just showing my new thrall to my lab.” Hannah’s eyes twinkled a bit at her sister’s words and she peered behind her to look at the thrall that had retreaded behind Kairos in a way that made her feel a bit possessive. She was glad that the thrall sought her for safety, however unconscious the action was. 

“Well they look gorgeous, Kairos. What made you take a thrall?” Hannah turned her attention back to her sister and Kairos could feel the human relax infinitesimally behind her. 

“Father didn’t want to reward Edward by giving him a thrall. This one came from that friend of his, Joshua.” 

Hannah made a face of disgust before nodding. 

“Well I agree with his judgment. Edward certainly needs no more encouragement to surround himself with those sorts of people.” Hannah smiled with a nod before slipping past her. Kairos glanced back at her thrall who looked nervous but not too overwhelmed. 

“Come now, we have things to do.” 

Next

Taglist: @cupcakes-and-pain @whumpycries @a-formless-entity

Lmk if you want to be added. :)

[themetalvirus]

Do you have any recommendations for fountain pens? I was looking at some but i dont know if the ones i was looking at are any good lol

OH YOU ASK BISCUIT ABOUT HYPERFIXATION? YOU ASK THEM AND ARE GENUINELY INTERESTED? HUG FOR LIBELELLE. HUG FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS. you will regret this i am so sorry in advance

anyway, the most recommended beginner pens are the lamy safari and pilot metropolitan. i personally don't like the metro (the grip section is slippery and makes my fingers inky, and the ink capacity is tiny teeny baby size), and i have never owned a lamy safari, but some people hate the triangle grip. their nibs can also vary greatly in quality, so buying one is a gamble, but a lot of people seem to like their safaris (and metros, some people swear by the metropolitan)

if you just want something cheap, you can try the platinum preppy - they're reliable for the price. the catch: the pen body will crack after about a year. they are not built to last, but if you wanna just test out if you like the (BEGINNER) fountain pen writing experience, then they're a fine choice

personally, i'm a big fan of the twsbi eco, but they are also prone to cracking over time and they get into a lot of shitty corporate slapfights with other pen companies who make piston fillers (my favorite kind of filling mechanism, so much ink capacity [but harder to clean!]). their nibs are reliable and juicy. you can also try the twsbi swipe for a very similar experience with a... cheaper price and look to match. the swipe comes with the same awesome nibs though

there's also the kaweco sport, which a lot of people swear by, but i've never owned because i personally find it ugly and unappealing (SORRY). it's a pocket pen, which means it's tiny when closed but full length when posted (when you put the cap on the end), making it a versatile everyday pen for people who have, like, jobs and stuff. i haven't heard many complaints about the quality control with the sports' nibs. i personally don't think it's the best pen for someone JUST starting out because of its status as a pocket pen, but again, lots of people swear by it. the ink capacity is piss tiny

there's also, of course, the pilot kakuno! cheaper than the pilot metro with what sounds like a reliable nib. i've never owned one, but they seem good for students and the like. it has a fun little smiley face on the nib =) because it's a pilot, the ink capacity is PISS TINY. but it's a good pen.

a word of warning. do NOT buy the ooly splendid. i repeat, DO NOT BUY THE OOLY SPLENDID. cleaning it is a NIGHTMARE because it has a little wick in the nib. like a marker. imagine trying to get all the ink out of the tip of a marker. it is a nightmare. do not buy the ooly splendid it sucks it doesn't even have a good seal so all the ink gets all boogery on the nib. bad

SOME NOTES: lamy and pilot use proprietary cartridges/converters, which basically means you can only use their way of refilling your pen. converters let you use whatever ink you want, which i greatly prefer. kaweco uses international standard short cartridges and converters, which gives you more options for cartridges if you choose to go that route. twsbi uses the piston fill mechanism, which has the most ink capacity by far, but it's harder to switch colors because of the way you have to dismantle the pen to clean it

ok. one thing to note is that these pens will either come with one (1) cartridge or no ink at all. so. what ink do you use?

WELL! one thing that is important to stress is to not use india ink. it will clog and destroy a fountain pen. make sure you only use inks that are clearly labeled for fountain pen use - any other ink may damage your pen.

in any case, i really like waterman intense black for a nice black ink that's easy to use and clean out of pens.

don't use any piddly shit they sell at michael's, it sucks (know from experience)

for any other colors, some brands i can fully endorse are diamine (cheap AND very very reliable!!) and pilot iroshizuku (more expensive, but the ink writes wet [more ink flow] and is vibrant).

brands i would warn against for ink are... NOODLER'S. the owner of noodler's ink is a rabid trump supporter and conspiracy theorist, and with ink names like "1984" and "censor red", i'm surprised more people don't know/care. another is ferris wheel press just because their shit is overpriced and underperforming compared to most other brands. if any ink is more that $40 it's basically a scam

also, shimmer inks are NOT for newbies; they are prone to clogging pens and ruining them. no glitter for new people you will regret it

UHHH OKAY THATS ALL MY BEGINNER ADVICE. SORRY ITS SO MUCH. GOOD LUCK OUT THERE SOLDIER

[scaryfangirl2001]

"Kiss Test" - Young Sheldon fanfic

There's always the kiss test. Sheldon frowns as he keeps rereading the same line from Leonard's chat transcript. He'd told his pen pal about how Missy believes Sheldon has a crush on Paige since he has all the signs of a crush in her magazine's quiz.

Leonard had replied with suggestions from his sister Angie's experiences. He'd described the kiss test as kissing a platonic friend while in the same vicinity as the potential crush. Sheldon has two issues with the test: 1. he only has 3 friends and 2. hygiene.

He can handle the hygiene issue if he and his friend either brush their teeth or pop a mint directly before and after the kiss. But then there lies the issue of having a friend. The Sparks siblings are his neighbors but neither is a friend. And Missy is his sister. He can't kiss Paige since she's the potential crush. And he can't kiss Leonard because they live many miles away halfway across the country.

When he and Missy run into Paige the following day, Sheldon admits that he might have a crush on her, and he invites her to have lunch with him at the university library courtyard. She claims that she might have a crush on him also, agreeing to meet him.

Shortly after, he calls his third friend who is still in high school.

"I require a participant in a scientific experiment on the effects of physical touch on oxytocin levels? I am studying the impact of kissing on hormonal responses, and I would like to invite you as a volunteer for this research project. Would you be comfortable participating in a brief kissing experiment as part of my study?"

There's an awkward beat on the other side of the phone. And then...

"You want us to kiss for science?"

"Yes. Preferably during lunch at the East Texas Tech library courtyard this afternoon."

There's another short silence and then, "Okay."

Several hours later, Paige finds Sheldon sitting on a bench near a fountain. He's reading comic books with an older boy, and they glance up when she approaches.

"Here I am," she announces like something should be happening, "where the data led me."

"Is that our cue?" Tam asks, directing his question to Sheldon instead of Paige.

"I believe so," Sheldon answers.

He closes his book without further acknowledging Paige's presence. He and Tam turn to face each other, and Paige watches in disbelief as their faces move closer. Sheldon closes his eyes as his lips meet Tam's. It's a soft, hesitant touch, both boys unsure what to do next. Sheldon can feel his cheeks burning as he pulls away, his heart pounding erratically.

Tam's eyes flutter open, a blush coloring his cheeks as he looks at Sheldon. "That was... interesting," he says softly.

A small smile dances on Tam's lips. Sheldon nods, his words failing him as he diligently tries to process the mix of emotions swirling inside him.

Next to them, a permanent marker clatters to the ground, and the boys sharply turn their heads toward the sound. They'd forgotten about Paige, and she gawks at them.

"I thought you'd never kissed anyone," she tells Sheldon in an accusatory tone.

"And now I have," he responds, feeling his face turn red. "Paige, meet Tam. Tam, Paige."

They wave at each other, unsure what to say. The experiment was a success. Sheldon definitely has a crush. It's just not with Paige.

inspired by

[lorrainesletters]

The Battle of the Note-taking Apps - Who Will Come Out Victorious?

Review article by Mariz Lorraine | Edited 27 September 2023

Has the wave of digital notes have officially engulfed you and now you are stranded in the middle of a sea of note-taking apps? You convince yourself to do some research but take 2 scrolls on any social media app and you will then be recommended to choose either the free and Microsoft-based OneNote or the holy grail Goodnotes 5. As a loyal Goodnotes 5 user (buyer, let’s be frank) for 1 year now, I have some tea to spill about this blue app.

Key features

I, like many others, move to digital notes for a plethora of reasons, however nothing ever beats the feel of writing with pen and paper. Goodnotes 5 offers 4 types of pen styles that users can easily change with one tap of a button: Fountain pen, ball pen, brush pen, and highlighter.  Organizing notebooks and pages in Goodnotes 5 can also be done easily with folders and page outlines so that your math notes are easily distinguishable from your english notes. Notability, Goodnotes 5’s main competitor, on the other hand, has a revolutionary feature called “study tape” that allows you to cover certain key terms on your notes that can be opened with a tap so that you can easily revise them. Truthfully, you can do this in Goodnotes 5 with a highlighter and the eraser but it is not as convenient as Notability’s study tape. 

User-friendly

Just like most iOS apps, Goodnotes 5 is renowned for its user-friendliness. The easy-on-the-eye user interface combined with the easily tapped “New Notebook” or “Trash” buttons make the app superior to Microsoft OneNote’s hidden side tabs and dimmed pen options. Goodnotes 5 also offers tutorials and guides on how to maneuver the app when you just download it. 

Customizability

Despite being as plain as a sheet of paper when it comes to user interface, Goodnotes 5 is completely customizable when it comes to note-taking. A new notebook’s cover can be changed either by choosing between pre-made notebook covers or by uploading your own covers. For decoration aficionados, Goodnotes 5 allows you to import sticker packs and custom page templates. I utilize these stickers to avoid drawing benzene structures in chemistry and to add cute characters around my boring calculus notes. Yet Goodnotes 5’s customizability is still inferior to its younger sibling, Goodnotes 6. Goodnotes 6 offers full customizability of folder icons and colors on top of the customizability offerings of Goodnotes 5. However, if the default blue folder icon is fine for you, Goodnotes 5 is still the better option. 

Price

Unlimited access to Goodnotes 5 is priced at Rp.169,000 as a one-time cost for users. However, limited access to the app is free for all but users can only make up to 3 notebooks. Unlike Notability which is a subscription-based payment of Rp 89,000 monthly, Goodnotes 5’s one-time payment is better for users that want to test the waters first. 

Importing files

My personal favorite feature offered by Goodnotes 5 is the importing PDFs feature as it allows me to easily annotate my digital coursebooks and do past papers. Importing PDFs and annotating them in Goodnotes 5 is not just eco-friendly since you won’t have to print pages and pages of paper, but it is also much more convenient since you can easily erase, highlight, and move elements around. 

Exporting files

If you can share paper notes with your friends, you definitely can do so with digital notes as well. Users can easily share their notebooks to other Goodnotes 5 users to make it collaborative by sending them a short URL link or by sending an invitation to their email. But how about non-Goodnotes 5 users? Unfortunately you cannot have collaborative notebooks with non-Goodnotes 5 users but you can share PDF or JPEG versions through emails or messages. If you are like me and you are afraid of suddenly losing your files, Goodnotes 5 reassures us with the option to automatically backup your files to your preferred cloud between Google Drive, OneDrive and iCloud. 

Technological advancements

Shifting to digital notes is a sign that the world is becoming more tech-reliant and softwares like Goodnotes 5 have to keep on advancing to follow the status quo. Optical Character Recognition (or more known as OCR) was added to Goodnotes 5 in 2019, allowing people’s messy handwriting to be identifiable by the app when you look for a certain term. As recent as January of this year, Goodnotes 5 added the voice recording feature so you can easily take notes as well as record your teacher’s voice to listen back to when revising. This feature is shared by both Notability and Goodnotes 5 however OCR is a Goodnotes 5 exclusive, so if you are looking for the app with the nerdiest feature out there, Goodnotes 5 is for you. 

Conclusion

If you are confused about which note-taking app to use and are just looking for something easy-to-use and simple, Goodnotes 5 is definitely the best option for you. Its many pen types, countless premade page templates, unlimited storage, and the ability to import and annotate PDFs are the key points for beginners in the digital note space. Its similarity to physical note-taking with the many pen types and page sizes also make the shift from pen-and-paper notes to screen-and-stylus notes a lot easier. 

[zmaragdos]

i have read your tags about why fountain pens are better and i agree. unfortunately i have not been using them because stuck with a bunch of moleskine notebooks (they were gifts) and the ink bleeds through the pages :( so i just wanted to ask what kind of notebooks do you use

I almost exclusively use Rhodia brand notebooks and notepads! All their paper is "fountain pen friendly" (i.e. no bleeding) and comes in a variety of different sizes (A4-A7), "types" (i.e. lined, graph, dotted, blank, etc.), bindings (glue, sewn, spiral, etc. in paper, soft, and hardcover), as well as two different paper colors (cream and white), so it's easy to find a notebook/notepad that suits whatever project I'm working on! (I'm also one of those people that keeps a daily journal, and for that I especially like the Rhodia goalbook [bc it has a printed index section and printed page numbers], although I am thinking about switching to a Leuchtturm1917 dot grid hardcover for my next journal [it also has printed page numbers]...)

I'm also partial to Clairefontaine brand notebooks (which don't have quite the same variety as Rhodia, but often come in more fun color/pattern combinations for their covers and have the same paper quality), as well as Fabriano brand notebooks/notepads (their EcoQua line is especially economical! And while it does have some "show through," I've never had any problems with bleed through.) If you're looking for a non-European brand, I highly recommend Midori (which does not have "fun covers" but does have truly excellent fountain pen friendly paper and a lot of variety of "types" (sketch, blank, dot grid, lined, etc.) as well as many fun "daily journal" type notebooks.

As far as specific paper types go I am extremely partial to loose leaf Tomoe River paper, which is onion-skin thin but has absolutely no bleed through and hardly any show through for its thinness. I love it for letter writing because it is lightweight and so silky smooth. It also really lets fountain pen ink show off its shading and coloration.

Because I live the USA, my preferred online fountain pen & ink and fountain pen friendly paper shop is JetPens.com, which I truly cannot recommend highly enough for their immense selection and thorough testing and information!!

Thanks for asking :)

(also: I really feel you with the Moleskine plight -- their paper quality really went downhill about 5-10 years ago when they started exclusively manufacturing overseas :( they're otherwise such fun little notebooks)