EFNIR: Sailor Blue

[Sailor Kenshin]

6 hours ago, LizEF said:

Oh, very unhappy indeed.  He appears to be stretching up to full height in consideration of doing something about it, too!   Thanks, @yazeh!

 

Probably shouldn't tell a surly sphinx that you think he's cute - might get yourself fireballed!

 

As mentioned elsewhere, here's a map of the Wizardlands (with bits cut off, as the page was too large for my scanner; explanations follow):

 

 

Names of places / geographic features that have not been used in the story are subject to change.

• In the desert, there's an X where the "sphinx-trap" statue / structure is. I don't have a clever name for this thing.
• Below that and chopped off, there's a label and arrow indicating that further south, we have Sphinxland and some plains
• The letter "P" in a box indicates the location of a magical portal
• Toward the top right we have (partially chopped off) "Barrier Mountains" + "unenchanted lands" and an arrow pointing right, indicating these are both off the map to the right.

Happy to answer questions.  Things may not be to scale or at their proper relative distances...  I just wanted a rough map as I needed a new region for our upcoming story line and our adventurers had traveled enough that I felt the need to bound their world so I could stay consistent...

 

 

Like! 👌🏻

[InesF]

19 hours ago, yazeh said:

@LizEF as promised here is the sketch of a surly Sphinx after the meeting with the high wizard.

Diamine Vivaldi. There might be a hont of De Atramentis Artist  Orange in the wings  😊

+1 👍, 

[InesF]

12 hours ago, LizEF said:

As mentioned elsewhere, here's a map of the Wizardlands (with bits cut off, as the page was too large for my scanner; explanations follow):

WOW! That's great! 

I can't remember ... but, hmmm 🤫 ... it somehow reminds me on another book in some Middle Something Fantasy Land ... Looks like, we get a follow up!? 

 

But now a short review comment from a fanatic fan: Where are the Blanc Mountains? 😶 I guess, there can't be a Land Where Ink and (KWZ) Honey Flows without Blanc Mountains!  👆  

[LizEF]

9 hours ago, InesF said:

WOW! That's great! 

 

9 hours ago, InesF said:

I can't remember ... but, hmmm 🤫 ... it somehow reminds me on another book in some Middle Something Fantasy Land ... Looks like, we get a follow up!? 

That had certainly not entered my conscious mind, and my memory isn't that good - just went to see if any of my LotR books had maps and yes, one did, and yes, not terribly dissimilar.  I was consciously making some things vaguely reminiscent of Europe (and the British Isle (just the one)) because of all the European (and UK) ink names that I've used for place names...

 

9 hours ago, InesF said:

But now a short review comment from a fanatic fan: Where are the Blanc Mountains? 😶 I guess, there can't be a Land Where Ink and (KWZ) Honey Flows without Blanc Mountains!  👆  

Perhaps they're up in the Northlands, just before you get to the icefields...   At this point, the three areas off the map can be as large or small (and known or unknown) as the story ends up making them.  And only the Inky Stars can guess what's across the great ocean...

[RJS]

A lovely review, as always 😊👍🏼

 

It isn't an 'exciting' ink, but it's a very nice standard ink. Depending on the pen/paper it can look indistinguishable from Platinum Blue Black, I discovered a while ago when writing consecutive pages with the two inks.

 

I believe Sailor and Pilot use biocides like phenol in their standard inks not just because they protect the ink from more careless users (eg who don't clean their pens), but also because of the mechanism whereby specific biocides help ink adhere to paper to produce a degree of permanence.

[yazeh]

On 5/3/2024 at 2:51 AM, InesF said:

+1 👍, 

It could have been done by Essri's new camera, i.e. given to him by Mama Quinn 

 

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, RJS said:

A lovely review, as always 😊👍🏼

Thank you!

 

2 hours ago, RJS said:

It isn't an 'exciting' ink, but it's a very nice standard ink. Depending on the pen/paper it can look indistinguishable from Platinum Blue Black, I discovered a while ago when writing consecutive pages with the two inks.

That's interesting.

 

2 hours ago, RJS said:

I believe Sailor and Pilot use biocides like phenol in their standard inks not just because they protect the ink from more careless users (eg who don't clean their pens), but also because of the mechanism whereby specific biocides help ink adhere to paper to produce a degree of permanence.

It would not surprise me at all if the biocide was chosen as much for its chemical impact on the ink as its biological protection.

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

It could have been done by Essri's new camera, i.e. given to him by Mama Quinn 

 

[RJS]

39 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Thank you!

 

That's interesting.

 

It would not surprise me at all if the biocide was chosen as much for its chemical impact on the ink as its biological protection.

I concur. Do you agree the harsher/smellier biocides seem to be reserved for the most basic inks? That seems to be my observation generally. Maybe it's because they're older formulas? Or maybe they just think the basic inks are used by more casual and careless users?

[LizEF]

9 minutes ago, RJS said:

Do you agree the harsher/smellier biocides seem to be reserved for the most basic inks?

I don't know that I have enough experience to say.  Also, I cracked my head open eons ago, and the lingering effect is that my sense of smell isn't quite right, and is definitely not strong.

 

10 minutes ago, RJS said:

more casual and careless users

I kinda doubt they think about it this way.  I imagine they think in terms of both the chemical mixture required for a stable ink, and also shelf life and manufacturing needs (if they have a strong biocide going through the manufacturing equipment, they probably don't have to do as frequent deep cleaning and can just let production run).  But it's all guessing anyway.

[InesF]

43 minutes ago, RJS said:

I concur. Do you agree the harsher/smellier biocides seem to be reserved for the most basic inks?

That's generally right for all aromatic alcohols (not only phenol) which have their biocidic and anti-oxidant optimum at alkaline conditions. The so called carbol, which was formerly used to disinfect hospitals (as a solid, it was called carbolic soap), was a mixture of alkaline soap and phenol or cresol.

However, phenols are not specific to bacteria and fungi, they are also somehow toxic to humans. New biocides are specific (and do not smell so much).

[Olya]

Sailor no longer uses Phenol and I suspect neither does Pilot. They haven't for a very long time.

 

I was always suspicious of claims in the past that Sailor (and Pilot) use(d) Phenol, because their inks smell nothing like Parker Quink used to in the 1990s. Sailor and Pilot inks smell almondy (and always have to me, since I started using them around 10 years ago), Parker Quink I can't even describe, but I absolutely loved the smell in the 1990s and early 2000s (using 1990s stock likely!). Still love the smell when I come across vintage stuff....

[RJS]

1 hour ago, Olya said:

Sailor no longer uses Phenol and I suspect neither does Pilot. They haven't for a very long time.

Pilot Blue Black smells like phenol still, and has done for as long as I can remember. It's quite distinctive and I don't know any other current inks with such a specific smell as strong as that. Phenol gets a bad rep considering its wide uses, and is unlikely to be a risk in ink. Phenol is still used in commercial inks primarily due to its bonding properties. For what it's worth, I love Pilot BB but hate the smell.

 

Many Japanese inks do seem to use different biocides compared with EU/US inks, or at least some kind of unusual additive, that smells unpleasant to me.

[RJS]

2 hours ago, InesF said:

That's generally right for all aromatic alcohols (not only phenol) which have their biocidic and anti-oxidant optimum at alkaline conditions. The so called carbol, which was formerly used to disinfect hospitals (as a solid, it was called carbolic soap), was a mixture of alkaline soap and phenol or cresol.

However, phenols are not specific to bacteria and fungi, they are also somehow toxic to humans. New biocides are specific (and do not smell so much).

I wonder why the less smelly biocides haven't yet made their way into all best selling inks?

 

When certain manufacturers claim their inks are non/toxic, how are they judging that? Safe to inhale? Safe to spill on your fingers? Safe to drink?

[Lithium466]

2 hours ago, RJS said:

When certain manufacturers claim their inks are non/toxic, how are they judging that? Safe to inhale? Safe to spill on your fingers? Safe to drink?

They probably rely more on common sense and natural selection than European or American manufacturers, for example.

I wonder if the legislation in Japan allows them more liberty in chemicals used?

 

Sailor inks smell like the water based paint I was using in school as a kid, and using Sailor inks are often Proust moments for me.