u/Redwing_Blackbird

Under what circumstances would you use "j'aurais bien du le faire" rather than "j'aurais du"? What difference does it make to the meaning? Thanks

Let us suppose that the ladies of London Below follow continental trends in fashion: this Dutch illustration from 1902 is much like the evening dress they'd wear at the time of our story. Let's suppose that the lady on the right's dress is irrigo rather than lavender, and let's imagine the bird that I don't have the skills to add (if someone can, I'd be so grateful! Perhaps a Beguiling Mask would improve the vapid face that this illustrator drew, as well.)

Her Irrigo Frock conceals a pair of Cosmogone Spectacles in a pocket and an Unassuming Paleontological Accessory in an ankle sheath. The flowers in her hair are secured with a Verdant Hairpin. Her fan is adorned with a Lucky Claw. On a delicate leash she holds a Forty-Nine-Voiced Warbler... (A live bird in a ballroom? I am drawing on a memory of one eccentric Edwardian lady who did this, and also on the fact that animal companions are so ubiquitous in the Neath).

This ballroom is undoubtedly supplied with mirrors to increase its illumination, especially since the huge windows that many other ballrooms were supplied with will be of no use for that purpose. All my Silverer needs do to change her appearance from one of powerful allure, to one of sheer power, is to take her Cosmogone Spectacles from her pocket and send for the Serpent-Headed Oneiropompic Staff she has entrusted to the cloakroom attendant.

(On a side note, until I looked at so many pictures of Edwardian gowns, it never struck me how strange the pigeon-chested bodices of that decade look. Well, fashion is fashion, and it usually doesn't seem remarkable at the time...)

https://preview.redd.it/b97qoo84eagh1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6aee82259e26a02b958a4d8b54337d6bfbe75fbb

I'm trying to write a formula for how to derive a certain number. x=4(20-y)z where y and z can be any positive integer; this isn't right because x must be a positive integer too, which it wouldn't be if y≥20.

I know there are a bunch of ways to write this ("20-y except that it must never be less than 1" or whatever) but what would you say is the most standard?

In programming, you could use max(1,20-y), but I don't know if that's the simplest.

\[Location: New York State\] I'm in a crazy situation and wondering how to get out of it with the least damage to myself. It's a long story but I'm only going to mention things that are clearly documented here.

I've been renting the half-basement portion of a split-level house for a long time and on the whole it's a great place, location especially; and my rent has hardly gone up while the rest of the city's gone sky-high. That's to explain why I didn't leave immediately when things started to get weird.

A few years ago the house was bought by a new owner, who began living upstairs, and I signed a new one-year lease with her at the same rent as before and everything seemed normal. I renewed the lease the next year.

The owner was reluctant to do repairs, put off a few things; and then she got unlucky and the drainage of this 1960s house failed and my apartment partially flooded. She paid for apartment repairs and some drain work. My lease was due for renewal after that and she never sent me the new one though I reminded her periodically; I kept paying the rent monthly.

Then there was a big flood, I moved out of my apartment temporarily, and she had to replace the entire drainage system at what I imagine was huge expense. I had some questions as to whether the people who renovated the interior had dried it out enough before replacing the wallboard -- conversations are documented.

Forward another few months, and I have a documented comment from the landlord that she would renew my lease last December, start date last January.

At the beginning of December, my heating system failed. The owner became extremely upset, said some things about how much expense the house was being, and gave me a space heater rather than thoroughly overhauling the heating -- the apartment probably was warm enough to meet legal requirements last winter, but my electric bill was enormous.

Here's where things get really weird. After our conversation about the heater, she moved out of her half of the house and I have not seen her since. She did not give me a new lease and she has not answered a single one of my text or e-mail messages; I only know she's alive because of a single communication initiated by her.

So here I am, paying rent although there's no lease, and unable to contact the landlord.

The last straw was, this summer the wallboard replaced after the flood began developing black mold patches. OK, I cannot live here until something is done about this.

Is it worth it to go to housing court as a month-to-month tenant to demand repairs? If (as seems likely) she has no intention of repairing the place and will simply declare it uninhabitable, what procedure does she have to go through to get me to leave? What should I do if she continues to be unresponsive? Will it hurt my rights if I move out before settling matters with her?

I was just contemplating the English greeting "I bid you welcome." It's formal, it's solemn, it's the kind of thing Elves say in Tolkien's writing where it's all a bit elevated above the ordinary. What are some greetings in French that have the same air to them?

So, today my housemate dropped me off at the park and I told her I'd take the bus home. I did that, got home and started making dinner. A while later she arrived extremely upset; she had called me, gotten no answer, leaped to the conclusion something had happened to me, and had been driving round and round the park looking for me. Well, all that happened was my phone was on the charger in the back room and I couldn't hear it ring when I was in the kitchen clattering dishes!

This sounds like a ridiculous isolated incident but it's not. I really WOULD like to be able to be in touch with someone when my phone's not with me or it's out of charge or something. So what gadget is closest to the following?

* Has two parts that communicate with each other long distance (cell or satellite I guess)

* Is small and wearable, say on a neck chain

* Has a long-lasting battery

* Might work like this: would have three buttons: one sends a signal that means "Where are you?" one means "I'm fine and will call you when I get to my phone" and the other would use a GPS locator and mean "I'm at [GPS location] and can't call, please pick me up."

* It could cost a couple hundred dollars including both gadget and cell or satellite subscription

The Dilmun Club wants me to meet a representative of the Court of the Wakeful Eye, which I can't do because the meeting's in the Labyrinth of Tigers, and I don't have access to the Labyrinth because I refuse to participate in Mr. Inch's cruelty to animals. Is there no other way to the Court? what are the further repercussions if I can't visit it? and are any other parts of the game that require the Labyrinth indispensable?

Looking for a noun referring to someone who has a bucket of money (at least temporarily!), enjoys spending it, and enjoys having everyone see them spend it. The word that popped into my mind was high-roller but that's not quite right because it refers to someone whose main expenditure is gambling big sums, though that's inevitably accompanied by lots of other luxe.

I've been trying to figure out the meaning of this term from the African-French vocabulary; it seems to be changeable.

In parts of Africa (Côte d'Ivoire above all, but also Cameroun and elsewhere) it refers to musicians of certain types of music who are strongly associated with a lifestyle of lavish, flashy display of wealth (recognizably similar to the phenomenon in some styles of hip-hop).

But what else? It seems to more broadly refer to a very rich man who shows off his wealth. Is it used in this generalized way in Africa or only in France? Does it have an association with musicians in France? And could you call a guy a boucantier if he's extremely rich but doesn't parade down the street in a Lamborghini?

Looking for a newer way to say "I'm gonna dress to the nines."