Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Marilyn Darling Show—today I’m reviewing another blue ink, and this one is Robert Oster Australis Hydra. It’s a really pretty tealish, turquoiseyish blue, and I swatch it, test water resistance, and then run my two “toilet paper chromatographies” (one with water and one with rubbing alcohol) so we can see what’s hiding underneath. Water resistance isn’t amazing, but I was pleasantly surprised that a little bit stayed behind—enough that I’d consider it for the outside of an envelope. Then I put Australis Hydra through a big paper lineup, and whew—this one was feathering like a chicken on a lot of pages. I saw plenty of ghosting, and on several papers it flat-out bled through, even though the color itself is gorgeous and the shading can be really pretty when the paper behaves. The winners for me were papers like the Pelikan Hub notepad, Hobonichi Morning/Evening notepad, and Midori MD—those gave me clean lines, nice shading, and minimal drama. My takeaway: stunning teal-leaning blue, but pick your paper carefully, because on the wrong sheet it’s just too bleeding and too ghosty.