The fact that Sklonda casually knows about the Society of Shadows retroactively makes Penny's whole dilemma in the Seven and all of Laertes' cloak and dagger shenanigans retroactively super funny. Like, she's having a whole existential crisis about never seeing her friends again and he's disguising himself as a scarecrow and a wooden duck and Sklonda is just like, huge air quotes, yeah the "SECRET SOCIETY".
My friend and I have decided to pretend date to mess with our friends of the same name who date because my friend and I (platonically) flirt a lot and if we got together, we’d have the exact same story as the other couple
seeing kristen's resolve strengthen with cassandra missing is heartbreaking. the nightmare king was created because she believed that being forgotten would make her stronger as the god of doubt. and now that she's missing kristen has no choice but to believe in her doubt.
and really, when cassandra was around, how could kristen truly know doubt? how could she worship a god of not knowing who she personally knows?
thinking about the bad kids slowly dying off, one by one.
thinking about them carrying the ashes of their fallen to the next funeral, and the next, till its adaine sitting on a pew alone with all her friends ashes, sobbing, realizing she is alone, she will be alone, that they're never coming back.
thinking about adaine, numb after the years, with tokens of her friends in her pockets.
kristen's hair ties: sometimes adaine washes her hair with shampoo that smells like she did, puts on her old tye-dyed t-shirts.
riz' necktie, it's threads coming unraveled at the worn edges. it used to smell like his cologne.
gorgug's playlists still comfort her, the uncompromising, screaming, yet somehow gorgeous music blasting. it drowns out all the years spent without him, takes her right back to the day they went to basrar's for the first time.
fig's guitar sits in her room. adaine tries to learn how to play, hears the echo of figs laugh through the strings. she takes up smoking cloves.
fabian left adaine all his gold jewelry, and she keeps a strip of his old battle sheet in her pocket. the elves in kai lumenera welcome her with open arms every few decades, the trees swaying with the memory of fabian's dancing, his lilting voice still carried in the wind.
"the bad kids," and yet, everything they had was so good: still, all lovely things must come to an end.
before adaine lays down for the last time, she pulls on an old IDK tee, now-long hair tied up just how kristen used to. it doesn't match, but she still ties riz' gregorian necktie, just slightly too tight. she's rusty, now— riz had her tie his tie once, but that was so long ago now. she puts in earrings, clasps a necklace, decorates her long, elven fingers with sparkling diamond rings. she plays an old, old song on bass. it's harsh, unforgiving metal, but beautiful and melodic to her ears.
thinking about their inherent tragedy.
aelwyn takes everyone else's ashes to the last funeral.
thinking about Buddy Dawn meeting helio in the afterlife. thinking about buddy dawn asking helio why betral happens. thinking about him (possibly) waking up to kristen, cleric of doubt and uncertainty, chosen of his god , who still doubted the church anyways, reviving him. Thinking about him waking up with the light of twilight and suddenly realizing that none of his frenids nor his god ever had his back.
suddenly realizing that bad things happen to good people. suddenly understanding that when you live your life with blind faith, your afterlife is disappointing, and your "frenids" slit your neck open.
Thinking about him going home to his (probably) ultra religious family knowing that helio did not save him or warn him about the knife at his neck, and maybe even resenting kristen a little bit becuse maybe the chosen one of the church would have been warned. asking himself for the first time why helio did what he did. wondering if this life was worth it.
maybe buddy dawn suddenly knows that this isn't the life he wants. Maybe it takes a whole ark for him to realize it. Maybe he takes revenge out on the rat grinders. maybe he takes his frustration out on helio. maybe he leaves helio for cassandra, letting himself revel in doubt and mistery, allowing him to question "why?" for the first time in his whole life. Maybe he leaves helio for ARNKANA, allowing himself justified rage, and getting the justice he feels he desrves.
god. fuck man. buddy dawn, i hope you find peace no matter what. and i hope you also meet your god and go, "He kinda sucks tbh" and you and kristen bond over that.
Ok but they could Not have done that math question without a calculator. The answer was 5:30 + 660/13 minutes, which, when adjusted for seconds, is 6:20 + 600/13 seconds