Half-Price Sale in Polychrome Heroics

Probably not suitable for the prison, but gods Shiv would love that stuff. He doesn't know how to use a fountain pen, but should be able to learn -- easier for him, in fact, since he could feel the nib. You could always prompt for this later.

>> Ohhhhh, myyyyy, I hadn't even thought of that. Shiv is a big dude, or a shrimpy guy? I forget.... it makes a difference as to which pen we give him. <<

He is petite, slender, and pretty. It gets him in trouble, because he doesn't look like the amount of BAMF he actually is in a fight. People trying to romp him because he's pretty wind up severely injured.

>> (Noodler's makes four sizes of pen, the Nib Creaper, which is too small for even my wee paws, the Konrad, which is the medium and so far my favourite of that series, the Ahab, which is a whale of a pen (ahem), and then the Neponset, which is named after, and shaped like, a blimp, the Family Size pen... the Creaper has a #2 nib, smallish thing; the Konrad and Ahab have #6 nibs. <<

Either the small or the medium. Shiv's hands are probably a bit longer than mine, but still on the small end of the spectrum.

>> All three are split "flex" nibs, meaning you can press gently and get a medium-fine line, or you can step on it and get a big fat line. (Best done carefully...) <<

Cool.

>> The Neponset has a music nib; it's got a double split, and is designed for filling in quarter notes quickly under pressure, but if you don't press, it makes nice fine lines for verticals and sharps.<<

Fascinating!

>> And they are *all* *designed* to be tinkered with. All plastic except for the nib and the clip, which ...<<

Eh. T-America is not as fond of plastic as here. Fountain pens are more likely to be metal or wood. At least a couple characters have shown up with them, so they're probably more popular in general -- I suspect that the gizmology of it simply appeals to people.

>> I don't know if he has to *touch* the metal to work with it? *looks* none of the inserts has the nib touching metal directly, even on my Parker IM, which has a brass finger rest...) <<

No, Shiv can use his talent rather than his hands to control sharp things. In fact it might be easier for him to handle a bare nib and just use it as a dip pen -- if the barrel is nonsharp then it would be top-heavy for him. That could theoretically be fixed by sharpening the underside of the clip.

That's a possibility. Shiv would go for something in silver or pearl by preference, and black or blue if the former weren't available. I think he'd enjoy being able to handle different parts and assemble something for himself, especially after playing puzzles with Edison.

The warden has a fancy fountain pen that he's very fussy about, and I would bet that Shiv has been fondling it. One way for Graham to convince Shiv to quit doing that would be to offer him a different pen to play with. If Shiv likes that, then getting him a pen of his own could become a very nice perk for his six-months-free anniversary. They'll want something significant to mark that if he makes it, and fountain pens are often dispensed on important occasions. The warden's came from his promotion.

So if you like this angle, there are things we can do in the immediate future to set it up for later.

I perceive that Shiv is about to have a donkey problem. :D You know, starving to death between two bales of hay? Because he won't just be looking at the appearance, he'll be thinking that he could raise splinters out of hard wood, or sharpen the edges of the squares, to hold onto the barrel of the pen better. But I think he'll settle on the silver one, so I have saved it accordingly. Anyone else touching that will come away with a bloody hand.

Awesome! I have posted the remaining verses.

Gee, it's so much fun when the copy function refuses to refresh itself. That's an intermittent bug. >_< Try now, it should be the right link.