The young woman with very pale gold hair turned around, and very prettily did she do so, it had to be said. Her dark brown eyes crinkled in a genuine smile to see who had addressed her so politely, in a voice as smooth as the flowing waters of Coerthan rivers.
“Why, my lord Aubemarle! This is a most pleasant surprise. What brings you to the Crozier?”
The tall Elezen before her, grey eyes twinkling, bowed in greeting. “I have an appointment with Lord Gerraldieux, but I am not one to turn away such a fortuitous meeting as this.” He cast his eyes and an equally pleasant smile upon the lady’s companion: an Elezen with elegant posture who was still too young to rein in the annoyance radiating from him. “Good afternoon, sir; I don't believe I've had the pleasure. Vouloix de Aubemarle, at your service.”
The young man returned a polite, if stiff nod. “How do you do? Francquet de Imbertain.”
Vouloix dipped in an elegant little bow before turning to the lady he'd addressed. “And has anything caught your eye in particular, my lady?”
Her brown eyes gleamed. “I must admit, not precisely. There is so much to see, after all, and new wares come in each day. Heavens help the woman who knows not her own mind with such bountiful choices.”
“Or the man,” replied Vouloix with a grin. “And yet the fewer options there are, the more one laments the lack of variety.”
“Such changeable creatures we Spoken are,” said the lady with a shake of her head. She looked at her companion with a smile. “Do you not think so, my lord?”
Francquet cleared his throat. “Changeable and contradictory, yes; not knowing what we seek yet not seeking what we know.”
Vouloix chuckled at that. “Well put, my lord. A fortune indeed, Lady Philomene, to have such a conversationalist at your disposal.”
Philomene's sharp eyes threw him a meaningful look, something akin to a warning of some kind, above a genial smile. “Yes, Lord Francquet has been delightful company, and kind as well since he has faithfully accompanied me on my meandering strolls through the market.”
“Dear lady, how could anyone wish for anything but to meander with you?” said Francquet with a large smile, sincere enough for anyone watching.
Philomene’s laugh was a touch too quick. “Flatterer!” And when she glanced back at Vouloix who only smiled inscrutably, the laugh extended just a little too much. “Oh I do beg your pardon, my lord; we're keeping you from your errand. Pray do not hesitate to name me as the reason you are late; I shall certainly apologise to Lord Gerraldieux next I see him.”
Vouloix laughed softly, admiring such an accomplished dismissal. "He would be thoroughly appalled if I used you so badly. Could I instead give him your regards rather than any unnecessary apology?"
Philomene's warm smile returned at that. "Yes, with all my heart."
He bowed courteously, matched by a curtsey from Philomene and a bow from Francquet. “Then I shall accept that commission and bid my lady and my lord a good day.” When he straightened, he added, “May what you seek find you without delay.”
And because the twinkle in Vouloix’s eyes was pronounced, Philomene couldn’t help herself, saying just as he was about to step away, “Then shall I expect you at the Quiloud’s ball tomorrow?”
The smile grew slightly softer at that hint. “You can, if I may reserve a dance with you.”
“What if you may not?”
Vouloix didn’t trust himself to look at Francquet’s face, not that he wanted to take his eyes away from the delightful challenge in Philomene’s expression. It would be the height of scandal if he were to kiss her face right in front of Francquet, right there in the middle of the Crozier – but by Halone, the temptation was ever growing. Three summers since their first meeting, and he still hadn’t found anyone who tempted him this way.
He lowered his voice, meeting her eyes directly. “Then I will endeavour to be more delightful company till I am worthy.”
Philomene pressed her lips together. That gaze he’d just levelled at her was unfair. “Good afternoon to you, Viscount Aubemarle.”
“And to you, Lady Philomene,” he murmured, pleased to see a flash of colour rise to her cheeks. With another nod to Francquet, whose face was becoming redder by the moment, he sauntered off.
Philomene breathed in quietly, determined not to watch him go. Beside her, Francquet had no such compunctions, making a scoffing sound as he made sure Vouloix wouldn’t turn back. “Finally - thought he’d never leave. What cheek to bother us whilst we are on a pleasant walk. And to practically press a promise from you, my lady; such nerve. 'Tis a marvel how well you turn off unwanted attentions.”
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Philomene took a moment to arrange a smile on her lips before directing it at him. The colour in her cheeks had also receded. “Do you truly think so, Lord Francquet?” When he affirmed it enthusiastically, she nodded. “Then I shall practice it more often. Perhaps today. Let’s continue our walk, shall we?”
@brilliantyears replied to your post “Filed under: yes, Japan really looks like that. ...”:
Love the pics but isn't that crane just a grey heron? 😅
See, my English is generally decent, but it's my second language and while I learned a lot of my history and linguistics and discourse in English, I learned my (very thorough) biology and botanics and bits of medicine in Polish. The way my English education went, they assumed that we'd never need the more complex distinctions and every big wading bird was called a crane. I'd never mix a żuraw with a czapla, but damn if I can tell which is which in English. Just... my brain doesn't work that way.
(My botany is Even Worse. I'm a competent amateur herbalist in Polish but you can't tell because English plant names just don't stick and every time I need to look it up that yarrow is krwawnik and mugwort is bylica and the freaking English have three different common names for a tree that's just a topola to me, how the fsck am I supposed to tell if it's an aspen or cottonwood or poplar? Don't get me started on mushrooms, I can tell apart dozens in Polish and know maybe three English names.)
Fsck me, I finished carving this mug before I realized I hadn't left a good place for the handle. Do I make it a tumbler or cover something up? What can be covered? Arrrrgh!
Do you understand filesystems these days? Are there any resources that are good at explaining what's going on inside ext4? i'm trying to build enough of a mental model to understand how the fsck to fix my /home partition, or at least recover my .local/share/Steam directory. (yes, this is my fault for not doing frequent backups)
Do you understand filesystems these days?
Somewhat better than I used to.
Are there any resources that are good at explaining what's going on inside ext4?
No idea :V
i'm trying to build enough of a mental model to understand how the fsck to fix my /home partition, or at least recover my .local/share/Steam directory. (yes, this is my fault for not doing frequent backups)
Yeah sorry I'd be absolutely lost and I don't even want to tell you where I'd start because I might fuck it up and give you """advise""" that just ends up shrecking everything.
A is for awk, which runs like a snail, and
B is for biff, which reads all your mail.
C is for cc, as hackers recall, while
D is for dd, the command that does all.
E is for emacs, which rebinds your keys, and
F is for fsck, which rebuilds your trees.
G is for grep, a clever detective, while
H is for halt, which may seem defective.
I is for indent, which rarely amuses, and
J is for join, which nobody uses.
K is for kill, which makes you the boss, while
L is for lex, which is missing from DOS.
M is for more, from which less was begot, and
N is for nice, which it really is not.
O is for od, which prints out things nice, while
P is for passwd, which reads in strings twice.
Q is for quota, a Berkeley-type fable, and
R is for ranlib, for sorting ar table.
S is for spell, which attempts to belittle, while
T is for true, which does very little.
U is for uniq, which is used after sort, and
V is for vi, which is hard to abort.
W is for whoami, which tells you your name, while
X is, well, X, of dubious fame.
Y is for yes, which makes an impression, and
Z is for zcat, which handles compression.
-- THE ABC'S OF UNIX
How is free space management implemented in Linux?
Free space management in Linux is a critical aspect of the filesystem's functionality, ensuring efficient utilization of disk space. Here’s how it’s typically implemented:
Space Management Strategy in Linux
Linux employs several strategies to manage free space within its filesystems. Each filesystem type, such as ext4, XFS, or Btrfs, has its own method for handling free space.
Block Allocation: Linux filesystems use block allocation techniques to manage free space. They keep track of free blocks (chunks of disk space) and allocate them to files as needed. When files are deleted or resized, the freed blocks are returned to the pool of available space.
Bitmaps and Lists: Many Linux filesystems use bitmaps or linked lists to track free blocks. For example, ext4 uses a combination of bitmaps and group descriptors to manage and allocate space.
Space Planning and Management: Advanced filesystems like XFS and Btrfs offer sophisticated space planning and management features. They include dynamic inode allocation, extent-based storage, and support for large files and filesystems.
Defragmentation: Linux filesystems periodically perform defragmentation to optimize space utilization. This process reorganizes fragmented files and free space to improve performance and reduce fragmentation.
Space Utilization Analytics: Tools like df, du, and lsblk provide insights into disk usage and free space. For more detailed analysis, software like ncdu or baobab can be used to visualize and manage disk space.
Space Management System and Software
Linux provides various space management systems and software solutions to handle disk space efficiently:
Filesystem Tools: Utilities like fsck, tune2fs, and xfs_growfs help manage filesystem integrity and space allocation.
Disk Usage Analyzers: Tools such as ncdu, baobab, and kdirstat offer graphical and command-line interfaces to analyze and manage disk space.
Role of Quantum Strides LLC
At Quantum Strides LLC, we understand the importance of effective space management for optimizing performance and storage efficiency. Our expertise in Space Management Software ensures that your systems are equipped with the latest tools and strategies for managing free space, enhancing overall Space Utilization Analytics, and ensuring robust Space Planning and Management.
For tailored solutions and advanced space management strategies, contact Quantum Strides LLC to leverage our expertise in optimizing your storage infrastructure.
Feel free to reach out if you need more detailed insights or specific recommendations on managing free space in Linux!
To what extent does your OC function as a mouthpiece for your own views when it comes to describing their opinions or reactions? Do you quite like exploring how someone with very different values to your own might respond to a situation?
Thank you for the ask, and for creating the list of questions in the first place!
~~
In the comparatively little time I've RP'ed them, I'd say they're a mouthpiece about... 75%? of the time. Just that the way they express the opinions are different simply because I am neither as calm as Oudine, nor as conciliatory as Remont nor as daring as Philomene. Whatever they say or however they react is quite possibly an ideal of how I might react in that given situation.
Then again, I've also only been actively RP'ing as the twins; more so with Oudine who, in general, is the kind of person I would like to be when I grow up. So all the things she does and says are things I think would be an ideal form of reaction from my perspective. In general though, I think we share rather similar values and beliefs (for now anyway - I know characters take on a life of their own once we give them enough time).
Philomene is the one whose attitude and opinions are way more different than my own, and - as of right now - more unpredictable than her kids. I do find her fun to write though because 1) she has no more fscks to give and 2) there are any amount of older women to draw from in my experience: countless jade-wearing matriarchs from HK dramas, lots of dowager empresses from other dramas, Geraldine McEwan's version of Miss Marple, Granny Fa from Mulan, the Dowager Countess from Downton Abbey, Lady Danbury from Bridgerton, that One Old Lady Who Didn't Give A Shit in Georgette Heyer's novel, Lady of Quality, Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Pride & Prejudice - and probably many more. And all of them DGAF in their own wonderful ways.
...no wonder the Dowager is unpredictable AF. Anyway, channelling a mix of them into Philomene is always fun. I also personally fear for her and the consequences she might incur upon herself after she mouths off in public, because someone has to and it sure as hell isn't going to be her.