#p: rashid

[trinketfairy]

Looking snazzy

[emptyanddark]

hey one of my fav podcasts, American Prestige, has made available their specials with Rashid Khalidi going through the history of modern Palestine. There are 6 episodes available for free for this week.

[inorganicfaeries]

childhood illusion

alt versions under the cut. not sure if i like this but take it

[sins-of-the-sea]

BOOBIES EVERYWHERE. No, seriously, the ship is swarmed with blue-footed boobies.

"Of all ways to 'celebrate' National Boob Day, I wasn't expecting this."

"If we go further inland, we could be inundated with tits. As in the little passerine birds.~"

"You're both funny. In all seriousness, I'll gladly takes this over human breasts."

[refractedglade]

Tagged by @wordlesspoemtree to post some music we've been vibing with lately

Tongues & Teeth (The Crane Wives)

And I know that you mean so well But I am not a vessel for your good intent

Cenotaph (WOE.BEGONE)

and if I have to taste the blood under my tongue I will swallow it for as long as it takes to pass and I it means I’ll find a morsel of redress I will struggle with regret as long as it will hold

Up the Wolves (The Mountain Goats)

There's gonna come a day when you'll feel better You'll rise up free and easy on that day And float from branch to branch, lighter than the air Just when that day is coming, who can say? Who can say?

Tagging some others to hear their current music taste: @hsc-001 @dogbytez @wings-liker @solipsistful @navelgazed but also if you (🫵) see this and want an excuse to post music by all means do it and tag me in it lol

[cmsjnc]

Our Story : High Spirits on 67th Kannada Rajyotsava

VAISHVANI SINGH D, NOORANI On 28 October, the Government of Karnataka marked the pre-celebration of the 67th Kannada Rajyotsava in Kanteerava Stadium. It was an attempt to establish the name of the current state government into the Guinness World Record. Kannada Rajyotsava, also known as Karnataka Day, is celebrated on 1 November, every year, in remembrance of 1956 when all the Kannada-speaking…

[agent-on-your-nerves]

She's in the complex, the explosives are taken care of. Go South-West.

-R

Hang out time! Come on, I'm cashing in, lets go hang out!!! NOW!

Pick up you phone, I know you have it on you, I know you're at home, come on come on pick up!!! Pick up NOW!!

- Nim

.

[y2klostandfound]

BOSCO (fashion departament store) in Moscow, Russia (2018)

Design by Karim Rashid

Source:https://www.instagram.com/p/CyBs43uIuEB

[teecupangel]

Okay, okay, my brain did the thinking. I just skimmed over the ATLA ask and it got me thinking, how about like an actual ATLA AU?

Like in, ofc following Desmond (precious boy) and him bending water (and ice (and maaaayybee later blood?))

He grows up in the northern Water tribe, learns grows up etc. is still fed up with William, but can't really leave this godforsaken huge piece of ice swimming in the ocean, until at least the raid with the fire nation (and aang). Maybe he can convince him to just take Desmond with him (he doesn't really want to journey with them, he just wants to go somewhere else).

One way or another, he either finds himself in the earth kingdom, and meeting Connor(earth) and/or Ezio (dunno what kind of element he would be) or through some unlucky coincidence finds himself on fire nation territory. Here he could stumble upon Hama and maybe somehow convinces her to teach him some blood bending. Some time later he would stumble upon Altaïr, literally, because he runs from guards for stealing something and Altaïr just pulls him into the next best alcove so the guards won't catch Desmond.

Somewhere down the line they befriend each other, while Desmond is trying to find a way out of the fire nations territory (could be the reason for him to steal something and then the guards running after him) because being a waterbender there is kind of a death wish.

Long story short, Desmond finds a way, Altaïr sticks along and they meet Connor and/or Ezio again, at least Desmond meets them again and is ofc happy. I can absolutely see the rivalry between Ezio and Altaïr.

They all travel a bit and somehow meet the Aang-gang again. Desmond being like, what's up, while the others are like wtf, you know the Avatar? Yeah like, he helped me get out of this shithole called home.

Meeting Iroh for good measure.

Like all is fun and games, until they stumble upon a town or city who completely suffers under its ruler and commanders and they take it upon themselves to get rid of them (heh, there is no murder weapon if the ice melts).

And that kind of becomes their thing? Like, while the 'canon' plot from ATLA moves forward, they unintentionally help them and destabilize corrupt power (mostly inside the earth kingdom). Along the line they could also meet others like Clay, Lucy, Malik etc. who won't travel with them, but still join their cause (or some could join, I imagine Malik, who already wishes to slam his head against a wall after only one day with them)

And bam, brotherhood in ATLA, or something

If we stretch it towards Korras time, we could use the assassins from the newer generations like Basim, Eivor, Kassandra, Arno etc. who are the successors.

Okay, this got quite long, but I still have some thoughts:

- William could be like the head of the guard for the mother's Water tribe and as such pushes Desmond further and further (but Desmond knows he won't be happy just staring at Ice for the rest of his life)

- Some of the others out of the modern era could grow up alongside Desmond, maybe Lucy or Clay

- I would have really loved to give Ezio Air, but like... That won't be really possible. I can absolutely see him using his bending to let his hair be moved by a breeze, whenever he tries to flirt

- so Ezio would come from a kind of rich family (I don't really have more, I'm sorry)

- With Connor I actually don't really know, like he could live with his mother or tribe in the woods (kind of like Jet's crew?)

- Altaïr would probably be that kind of braindead genius, who saw Azulas Lightning bending one time (his grandfather, Rashid, dragged him to one of these highly important events, when the princess visited) and decided to learn it on his own (Malik is just kind of horrified, bc this Idiot simultaneously thinks and doesn't think enough)

- Rashid would definitely stand completely behind Fire lord Ozais visions

- and ofc AltDes, bc I'm a sucker and shameless :P

Anyway, it's good to hear you are doing well, many hugs and kisses

Have a great one and take care!

I’m unsure which ATLA idea you mean but here’s the Avatar AU ask that has both “what if Desmond and his ancestors were the next line of Avatars?” and “Okay, but what if, they were like… Pro-bending pros?” and the Pro-Bending AU idea expanded.

If you want to fuck with Desmond, you can make it seem like he’s a non-Bender. To be more exact, no matter how grueling the training becomes, Desmond could never bend water even to make ripples in a tea cup.

But Bill still persisted and kept on training Desmond until Aang came along and, in the confusion, Desmond manages to escape.

The truth is Bill was trying to force Desmond to learn how to waterbend because Desmond instinctively uses Blood Bending.

To be more exact, he doesn’t realize that people become weaker or slower when they fight him because Desmond is actually instinctively blood bending.

Bill realized this when Desmond was a child and had killed a beast that attacked him with blood bending. Desmond has no memories of such a thing, remembering it as his father actually using spear made of condensed water to pierce the beast.

But the beast exploded, not because of the water spear, but because Desmond had boiled the blood inside to the point that an internal explosion occurred.

So Desmond starts traveling, thinking that he’s a non-bender and he met Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton along the way, just, you know, helping out people and doing jobs here and there to have enough money for their travel expenses.

Ratonhnhaké:ton left his village to understand the world outside as part of his training to be the next chief of their village. Her mother is the current chief and they’re hidden from the rest of the kingdom. This travel is meant to give him an idea of how to protect their village and to ‘survey’ the outside world and the danger it possesses.

Ezio is actually looking for his family and he’s a member of the Southern Water Tribe. During an attack from the Fire Nation, he was separated from his family and he’s traveling to find them. He tries his best to believe that they’re safe and sound but, sometimes, he does worry…

Altaïr though…

Altaïr is on the run because he defied orders and got into Azula’s bad side. He was meant to be just a rank and file soldier under Azula (with Rashid ordering him to climb up the ranks) but his arrogance brought unnecessary conflict between him and Azula.

Azula tried to put him in his place by dueling with him, only to learn that he copied her lightning bending after only seeing it once.

The worst part is that he showed that he copied it after Azula tried to hit him with her lightning bending during the duel itself.

In her rage, she tried to attack him hard enough to cripple him (and if she wasn’t careful, kill him). Altaïr answered in kind and he was arrested for the ‘attempted assassination’ of Azula.

He escaped his confinement with a little help from another rank and file soldier, Malik, who suggested that he hides in the Earth Kingdom.

He meets Desmond and the others while they were hunting down a band of bandits who had terrorizing the road and they actually fought because they thought Altaïr was a bandit and not… the dude who took out the bandits because they tried to rob him.

He joins them because he had nothing else to do. (Ezio absolutely noticed that Altaïr was attracted to Desmond but doesn’t seem to realize it and he plans to enjoy the ‘romance’ between these two dense idiots. Ratonhnhaké:ton will not be enjoying any show but he will also not help because he believes romantic relationship should only be nurtured by the people involved and “no, Ezio, we are not involved in this”)

And then we have the great misunderstanding where Desmond and Altaïr look similar enough that wanted posters distributed by the Fire Nation included a drawing that can look like either of them.

So Desmond assumed he’s being hunted because he did kill a few Fire Nation soldiers when he ran away during all the confusion and he was pretty sure one of them was a high ranking official.

Altaïr knows this is Azula hunting him down because he tried to ‘assassinate’ her.

And they would talk about it in ways that made everyone believe that they’re the target (aka: Desmond believes Altaïr knows that Desmond is a wanted man, Altaïr believes Desmond knows that Altaïr is a wanted man, Ratonhnhaké:ton and Ezio both think that it could be either of them and assumed both Altaïr and Desmond are on the same page)

(It would absolutely be funny if the twist is that the wanted man is actually Elijah, Desmond’s younger half-brother, who did (1) destroy multiple Fire Nation ships and (2) killed enough high ranking Fire Nation officials to be counted as a dangerous ‘terrorist’. Desmond would be like “Elijah? No. He’s a sweet boy. He’d never hurt a fly.”. Cue Elijah using water bending to waterboard a Fire Nation official. Elijah shares the same mother with Desmond who is actually a blood bender. Elijah himself doesn’t bloodbend but he, their mother and Bill are the only ones who know that Desmond instinctively bloodbends. Shaun and Rebecca are his ‘handlers’ which doesn’t really say much because they can’t stop Elijah at all. They’re actually looking for Desmond because Desmond is the only person who can stop Elijah without even realizing how bloodthirsty his younger brother is.)

thank you! things had been a bit hectic at work and I'm really hoping that I'd be compensated for it hahahaha

[trinketfairy]

My little googaloo

[ddarker-dreams]

☾ book recommendations: *✲⋆.

my all time favorites:

the brothers karamazov by fyodor dostoevsky

notes from underground by fyodor dostoevsky

the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde

frankenstein by mary shelly

the plague by albert camus

we have always lived in the castle by shirley jackson

the seven who were hanged by leonid andreyev

blackshirts & reds by michael parenti

others that i'd recommend:

break the body, haunt the bones by micah dean hicks

tomie by junji ito

uzumaki by junji ito

berserk by kento miura

the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson

i have no mouth, and i must scream by harlan ellison

the tell-tale heart by edgar allen poe

the cask of amontillado by edgar allen poe

rebecca by daphne du maurier

wuthering heights by emily brontë

dune by frank herbert

a shadow over innsmouth by h. p. lovecraft

the color out of space by h. p. lovecraft

the dunwich horror by h. p. lovecraft

crime and punishment by fyodor dostoevsky

demons by fyodor dostoevsky

the idiot by fyodor dostoevsky

jane eyre by charlotte brontë

do androids dream of electric sheep? by philip k. dick

a long fatal love chase by louisa may alcott

the stranger by albert camus

the metamorphosis by franz kafka

the trial by franz kafka

dragonwyck by anya seton

discipline and punish by michel foucalt

the castle of otranto by horace walpole

faust by johann wolfgang von goethe

the fall by albert camus

the myth of sisyphus by albert camus

the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde by robert louis stevenson

blood meridian by cormac mccarthy (do look into the content warnings though, there's heavy violence/depictions of 1840s-1850s racism)

the death of ivan ilyich by leo tolstoy

the dead by james joyce

the overcoat by nikolai gogol

dead souls by nikolai gogol

hiroshima by john hersey

useful fictions: evolution, anxiety, and the origins of literature by michael austin

no exit by jean paule satre

candide by voltaire

white nights by fyodor dostoevsky

notes from a dead house by fyodor dostoevsky

the shock doctrine by naomi klein

the 100 year war on palestine by rashid khalidi

killing hope by william blum

the karamazov case: dostoevsky’s argument for his vision by terrence w. tilley

stiff: the curious life of human cadavers by mary roach

lazarus by leonid andreyev

imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism by vladmir lenin

the viy by nikolai gogol

dracula by bram stoker

carmilla by sheridan le fanu

nine coaches waiting by mary stewart

the phantom of the opera by gaston leroux

[inorganicfaeries]

friends!

alt versions under the cut

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Qasim Rashid at Let's Address This:

On Saturday, Trump and Musk escalated their reckless interference in federal operations by emailing all federal employees with an arbitrary Monday midnight deadline. The demand? That every worker report five things they accomplished this week and copy their manager. [See image of email below]. My sources inside the federal government tell me that they are asked to email HR@opm.gov. So, whatever you do, please do NOT email HR@opm.gov with sarcastic nonsense to troll their incompetence. That would likely slow down this fascist regime and make them waste time sifting through fake emails. We cannot possibly risk making the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) less efficient. [sarcasm] But once you’re done not sending a fake email to HR@opm.gov, also remember, this is not just bureaucratic foolishness; it’s a coordinated power grab that devastates the rights and safety of the American people, and we cannot stand by and let it happen unchallenged. Let’s Address This. [...]

Republicans Prove Their Own Incompetence

There’s a saying: Republicans claim government doesn’t work, then they get elected and prove it. Consider the mess they’ve already created just through MUSK’s “DOGE” Team:

DOGE demanded Federal employees snitch on their co-workers who are “engaging in DEI,” or face consequences themselves if they don’t snitch.

DOGE hired a white supremacist who condemns ‘race mixing’ and wants segregation reinforced. He was outed and quit, and then Musk rehired him despite knowing he’s a white supremacist.

DOGE hired a wholly unqualified candidate who had been fired from a previous job for leaking confidential information, and then proceeded to give this person access to our confidential social security information.

DOGE fired nuclear experts, then scrambled to rehire them after realizing nuclear experts are a tad bit important to ensuring we don’t mishandle nuclear weapons.

DOGE fired IRS experts, panicked because they forgot it is tax season, and thus tried to rehire them—only to realize they had canceled their IRS addresses and had no way to contact them because they didn’t have their personal addresses.

DOGE gutted numerous federal agencies and pushed out career experts—a list much too long for one article—and ensured a brain drain that will further cripple government functions.

And now DOGE is forcing people to report their work to some anonymous entity, or else, creating major opposition from Trump’s own handpicked appointees.

All of this means the American people suffer the most. It is no accident that 9 of the top 10 states that rely most on Federal welfare, have the highest poverty rates, have the highest per capita gun deaths, have the highest rates of infant and maternal mortality, and have the lowest life expectancies, are all GOP run states. The Trump MAGA movement now seeks to impose those failed policies on the Federal level. But moreover and to be clear, it would be a mistake to assume this is incompetence alone. While incompetence certainly plays a big part, the broader goal is to manufacture dysfunction in the federal government, then use that dysfunction as an excuse to gut agencies and further dismantle public services. This is the same playbook they always use:

Create chaos by dividing people in and out of government

Blame “big government” for the very problems they engineered

Destroy the very agencies designed to protect the American people (e.g. the CFPB, the CDC, the NIH, the SEC, and more)

Install oligarchs to privatize industries that should not be privatized, then centralize profit, power, and control beyond the next election

This is the autocrat’s playbook, and Trump is following it verbatim.

Many departments refused to go along with Elon Musk’s insane 5 bullet points email memo.

[neuroticbookworm]

Tag Game: On Repeat

Tagged by @my-rose-tinted-glasses here and @lurkingshan here, thanks peeps <3

Rules: Shuffle your 'On Repeat' playlist and post the first 10 songs, and then tag 10 friends to do the same!

I've been on a steady kpop kick for the past couple of months, with occasional nostalgia spirals, so this list is gonna be A Specific Vibe:

Beautiful Liar, MONSTA X

Kabhi Kabhi Aditi, Rashid Ali

HOME, BTS

toxic till the end, ROSÉ

Neruppu Da, Santhosh Narayanan

Miracle, TOMORROW X TOGETHER

Nalam Vazha, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam

Uravugal Thodarkathai, K. J. Yesudas

Moonstruck, ENHYPEN

Love Killa, MONSTA X

No pressure tags: @telomeke, @solitaryandwandering, @starryalpacasstuff, @colourme-feral, @impala124, and @italianpersonwithashippersheart and anyone who want to play, consider yourself tagged!

[scarlethero]

So like, hear me out. 👏🏼🤔

Armand & DM Theory

Paris:

Armond orchestrates *the play* and brings Lestat into it in Paris because he has convinced himself (through his perspective of Louis and their relationship) that Louis will never pick *him* over Claudia. Over Lestat.

So he gets pissed that Lestat (essentially, in his perspective) got one over on him *again* and decides fuck it- I’ll kill them all and finally Lestat will be as miserable and alone as me (also if he comes crawling to me for companionship in the future.. we could talk about it then).

So that’s why it seems there was no planned way to get Louis out of the death sentence. Perhaps Louis really was supposed to die with Claudia.

So then Lestat saves Louis and *just in his luck* Louis thinks Armand did it. And I mean, Armand is king of lies and deception so it’s easy enough to go along with it. *On top of that* he gets to be apart of Louis’ plan for revenge against Lestat. Armand is quite *literally* getting all of his dreams fulfilled.

San Francisco:

Only for the steam that was moving the spite train along (aka Loumand’s relationship) to slowly fizzle out and grow stagnant. Only for both Armand and Louis to be in a state a free fall. Louis turns to those boys he’d take back to his apartments and Armand, well, he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He got what he wanted, right? So what did he do now that it turned to ash in his mouth?

Enter Daniel and his cute-little, drugged-out face. Fascinating. Daniel’s reaction to Louis’ story causes the whole mess in San Francisco and he’s sent packing with altered memories.

Devils Minion:

But Armand doesn’t forget. And he kind of starts obsessing over it. Over Daniel. Louis’ words ringing in his ears. Words that Louis himself no longer remembers and therefore reverts back to how he was just before the interview. A pale shadow of his former self with no passion for Armand whatsoever.

So Armand starts tracking down Daniel. Just to get a glimpse of who he is and what’s so great about him. But it turns into full-on obsession and we get a version of the Devils Minion. They have a long, sordid and dark romance throughout the 70s *and* 80s. The details of the mind wipes can be any of the available options.

There’s some sort of breaking point and eventually Armand feels he has to erase all of Daniel’s memories of him and their relationship. Whether it’s to protect himself because he doesn’t fully trust Daniel yet, he thinks he might cave and make him a vampire, or he simply wants to stop being selfish in his love and wants Daniel to live a full, human life without his influence. Whichever reason he has for it- Daniel forgets it all.

Dubai:

Then *years later*, Louis eventually finds himself back at that threshold he was at in San Francisco and is itching to tell his story again. No matter Louis’ reasons for it, Armand sees it as a second suicide letter… but also sees it as the opportunity it affords *him*… To at least see Daniel again.

So they summon Daniel and Armand convinces Louis to go along with his Rashid disguise, saying it’s because of San Francisco when it’s really so he doesn’t trigger any DM memories in Daniel *and* to make sure Louis doesn’t hurt Daniel this time.

If all goes well after the interview, Louis and Daniel would get what they wanted out of it and Armand can see Daniel again without triggering his memories/ruining his human life and keep Daniel safe from Louis.

However, Louis fucks that up and Armand has to unmask.

From there on out, he knows Daniel is a ticking time bomb of memories and emotions and complications. And yet he involves himself in the interview, even when he doesn’t even want it to be happening in the first place. Because he knows how much it means to both Louis *and* Daniel. He tries to hide parts of himself, out of regret of what he did in Paris (cause he really does regret it knowing he misread his relationship with Louis) and so that the details of his life and of his true self don’t pop up and trigger anything in Daniel’s mind.

But then he realizes the Talamasca has gotten involved, being able to read at least Daniel’s mind if not Rashid’s. He knows his time with Louis is slowly drawing to a close, but he also feels like there’s nothing he can do to stop it. Not *really*.

So Daniel spills the beans about Paris. Lestat was the one to save Louis and wasn’t apart of the orchestration of Claudia’s death. And all the spite that fueled their union crumbles, and Armand is staring down the barrel of an eternity alone.

He’s not mad at Daniel, not really. It’s actually quite impressive that he got it all figured out and had proof.

But since Armand doesnt want to ruin Daniel’s human life- and he doesn’t want to be alone- he chases Louis.

Then as Louis is telling him not to touch Daniel- the reality of his life hits him. Armand has lived his life worshiping. Gods. Devils. Vampires. Lovers. That’s how he thought love worked.

And he knows full well that his relationship with Louis has never been about him. It’s been about Lestat. Of course he knows that. But the loneliness of that statement hits him square in the chest, looking up under his eyelashes at the vampire who has shackled them to each other and the boy who has always allowed him to be free. To be himself. To be fucked up and okay with it. The boy who he never worshiped in his love, for it was probably the purest of love he’s ever experienced.

Of course he’d never hurt Daniel. Not in the implied malicious ways that Louis means. But Louis wouldn’t know that. Neither would Daniel.

The Future:

So Louis leaves. Maybe it’s in Dubai or it’s sometime later in another place but Armand finds Daniel and tells him he knows what his doctors have been saying. Daniel’s dying. He doesn’t have much time left.

Something said in this conversation triggers another memory for Daniel. And he asks about it, and maybe a few others he got flashes of while in Dubai but didn’t tell Louis about. And Armand makes a decision. Daniel is dying, Louis is gone, and he will forever be alone.

So he gets selfish and emotional and full of love and gives Daniel all of his memories back. They spend time delving through all of it and Daniel asks him to stay with him, until the end. He family, his ex wives, his kids no where to be seen. He’s ruined the biggest gift he ever got from Armand- his human life. And now as he’s dying, he just wants Armand to stay. To finally say yes and stop running away.

And he does. Until the day finally comes- it’s a small shift but Armand knows what a body *sounds* like when it’s giving out. Dying out. He tells Daniel and tries to hold himself back from asking to turn him. And when the hour grows ever nearer… Daniel asks in a whisper, in a delusion, in a prayer.

And Armand falls to his knees, turning him before either one of them can think on it more.

After it’s done and Daniel has taken to vampirism like a champ… Armand realizes he can no longer hear Daniel’s thoughts. He knew it would come, as it always does, but the lack of insight (lack of control) hits him like a tidal wave.

And Daniel realizes some of his memories were not restored before, just by mistake, and feels relief at having all of his mortal memories back and all of the emotions related to it. But before he can talk to Armand, ask for guidance in this chapter in his un-life and delve further into their past, Armand leaves. Skips out.

And Daniel does the only thing he knows how to do. The only thing he’s ever been good at: His job.

Cut to that scene in 2x08.

*fin*

[nalyra-dreaming]

Good morning Nalyra! Hope you are not too tired and burnt out with everybody’s ceaseless questions already!

I rewatched S2E3 last night and honestly, I think it’s the best episode so far! There are two things I kept on thinking on but can’t find lots of discussions on,

1. Who is Santiago’s maker—lots of emphasis on this mysterious vampire still in the death vault. I see some discussion on the possibility of Lestat being his maker—hence mimic and can fly—and super strong. I mean it is not impossible, Santiago/Francis being a good actor/artist is a plus for him in Lestat’s book…what is your theory on that?

2. The “wife” who is buying the painting for “her husband” in Dubai—lots of setups and screen times went in there as well, who are the buyers? I thought it might be Jess —a la Talamasca’s rescue team coming for Daniel. Or the real Marius? Or Lestat? If he is not in a coma in the penthouse but somewhere else becoming a mega rockstar in realtime or it’s all red herring?

Hey!

Thank you I'm good, hope you're as well!

Yeah, I have seen the discussion re Santiago as well - but that would imply that Lestat must have left Louis and Claudia during the years they had thrown him out of the house, right? - and I cannot quite see that. Because Louis noted how the gifts came in waves, like the tides. So I think Lestat actually went and searched for gifts and tried again, and again, and again, and I don't think he went to New York and left his two (vampiric-wise very weak) vampires alone. ESPECIALLY since he knew Louis was healing and back on his rat diet.

OR it would mean that he had done that with Louis around? IDK. IF that's the twist they introduced, then they better make that solid, time-wise^^.

And as per the "wife" - I have reblogged a post a while ago that I also thought about - namely that wife being Pandora.

I mean... the triptych was not up for sale, right? So someone had to know they had it. And knew what he had to offer to rouse their interest at all. I'm not sure.

Someone is keeping an eye on Daniel in that penthouse, including on what is spoken. And I firmly believe that call from the lawyer was intentionally at that point to give Daniel a moment to look at the files.

I mean... it could all be a set up by the Talamasca as well of course - and then someone in the penthouse would need to spy for them.

But... I am of the opinion that real Rashid IS actually "real Rashid"... and if he is then he has a connection to Marius. I mean... what would the Talamasca offer any of the vampires in that penthouse? And the servants in there would always need to fear to be killed, and know that, too.

So... I don't think we can tell just yet?

But... I am very much looking forward to it clicking into place :P