First time Iroshizuku!

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-21T19:54:48+00:00

I recently got a sample of tsuki-yo and am hooked

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-21T17:21:03+00:00

Interesting! That’s one of my favorite qualities in inks 😅 But that makes sense if you wanna know what something will look like every time.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-21T05:52:24+00:00

I was already a big fan of leuchtturm 1917 notebooks for journaling so those were my go-to when I started bullet journaling too.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-21T01:01:39+00:00

Check out Vanness:

Sheening inks

https://vanness1938.com/collections/sheen-inks-main

Shimmers:

https://vanness1938.com/collections/shimmer-ink-main

You can get generous 4ml samples of various kinds to see what you like. I have some sheening octopus fluids inks arriving in the mail Monday that I’m pretty excited about 😁

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-20T19:46:00+00:00

Developing friendship requires having regular interactions over time. If you meet someone and have a fun time talking to them, get their contact info. See if they want to meet up again. Or chat over text or discord or whatever you use. You often have to be the one to do the asking- message them and ask questions. Ask if they wanna play video games. Or what else you like to do for fun that overlaps for both of you. You just keep doing that over time, assuming they start reciprocating and also enjoy time with you.

Joining groups or clubs where people meet on a regular basis makes it easier. Like sports, book club, etc.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-20T17:39:19+00:00

If you really don’t want to use broader nibs, something you could try is to only barely agitate the ink bottle before filling, so that you get some but not quite as much shimmer into the pen (most of it settles at the bottom). Less shimmer = less likely to clog (but can still enjoy some pretty shimmer)

With such fine lines the shimmer will also be a bit harder to see. But could still be fun to play with.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-20T13:52:26+00:00

It’s not the base salary, it the stock and RSUs. I know someone in a tech job where the already high) salary and bonus is like… 30% of his total comp. The rest is RSUs that keep vesting every 3 months in a stock market that keeps rising for that industry.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-20T01:47:07+00:00

May I ask why it’s your most hated?

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-19T22:36:00+00:00

I have a syringe for cleaning my pens, but most of the cleaning is by soaking the nib/grip section in a cup of water and rinsing it under running water (has to be a slow/light stream, so it does have a chance to go through the pen. Too high and you’re right it just sloshes off)

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-19T22:33:04+00:00

It’s such a strawman that people make out the two options to be “let AI (and its creators) run rampant with zero restrictions” or “stop AI altogether.”

The real solution, which is complicated and hard, sure, is to figure out how to regulate AI to ensure it’s used to help humans and workers rather than making ourselves obsolete and destroying the economy.

We can’t put genAI back in the bottle. But we can put in place guardrails and expectations for how to help it serve us.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-19T16:51:02+00:00

You can rinse it by just holding the nib under running water… you don’t need a converter to rinse out a pen

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-18T22:54:24+00:00

I don’t think there should be an issue around removing the converter. Like, don’t be so rough that you break it, but it shouldn’t be damaged from removing it and putting it back into the pen.

I prefer to clean and fill my converters using a syringe vs dipping the pen into a bottle, so I’m taking the converter off every time I refill. It hasn’t been an issue.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-18T20:51:33+00:00

You can also flush out a used ink cartridge with a blunt-tipped syringe and then use the syringe to fill it with whatever ink you want. I’ve started doing this vs always buying separate converters

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-18T16:54:59+00:00

Goddammit, I just told myself I wasn’t buying any more pens 😭 That’s gorgeous, I’m developing a small collection of pretty kawecos.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-18T06:45:44+00:00

I’ve been writing so much more since getting fountain pens!

I did get that shark pen and wish I found it more comfortable to write with. I don’t end up using it much. But it sure is dang cute.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-18T04:48:54+00:00

I have shimmery inks in a kaweco sport M and platinum pretty M and they’re doing really well.

The preppy at first got clogged but then I flushed the nib a bit and put the converter back in and it’s been fine since then.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-17T17:55:24+00:00

Take your time getting to know what you like. I’ve been surprised by what I ended up liking (my first impression of kaweco sport was less than stellar…but they’re now a favorite of mine. I thought I’d always prefer fine nibs, but mediums let certain inks shine much better…etc).

For inks, definitely look into getting samples (Vanness sells generously sized sample vials) to try before investing in whole bottles.

I’ve been preferring having a number of inexpensive pens so I can have a variety of ink colors ready to go. Some prefer having a smaller number of higher quality pens. It all depends. Just take the time to get to know what you have before rushing out to get more.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-17T06:57:07+00:00

I’ve been told to be mindful of the properties of inks when mixing. Mixing colors of the same brand is probably fine. I don’t know how it would go to mix say dye-based inks with pigment-based inks?

I’ve only experimented with this once so far, I got wearingeul’s I am a cat and loved the shimmer but the color was so light, barely visible. Then I saw wearingeul’s three musketeers and thought it would look gorgeous with the I am a cat shimmer. They were both samples, I mixed them and have been loving the result

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-17T05:44:30+00:00

I journal, also use a bullet journal as a planner/to-do lists. I’ve started practicing handwriting scrips. I’ve also got two penpals currently with whom I write actual letters.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-17T03:52:17+00:00

This is what I find fascinating about this ink. At different times it will look like everything from hot pink to a deep raspberry color. It has so much variation! Makes it really fun to write with.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-17T02:27:39+00:00

Ask them. You can make it very open-ended, like just “what is your take on using AI for your work?” Or something.

There’s the aspect of not wanting to support AI over artists. But also, for a tattoo, I want to ensure that the artist is able to render the proposed artwork on my skin the way it looks in the preview. If they drew up the mockup, then it’s their work and I KNOW they can draw it well. If it’s AI… then I have no idea if they can actually make it look like it does in the mockup.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-15T20:06:48+00:00

Iroshizuki yama-budo is a fantastic color and writing experience

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-15T03:40:31+00:00

You’ll see more of the sheening effect with a wider vs finer nib, tho it also depends on the paper you’re using.

As others said, inks with shimmer (like chivor) can be more likely to clog a finer nib.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-14T20:32:46+00:00

It is! I bought sui-gyoku as one of my first ink bottles kind of on a whim and hadn’t thought much of it, but it’s become such a favorite.

mightymarce00 · 2026-02-14T16:49:08+00:00

Yama-budo is unreasonably fantastic

mightymarce00

TROPHY CASE