#i'm resolutely avoiding spoilers for the rest because i want to see the light leave his eyes when The Tone Shift happens

[deadmomjokes]

Getting the spouse to read The Thief and Y'ALL

He's too smart for this.

He's calling it! All of it!! He's picking up the hints and clues the first time thru with zero context!!!

I mean, there was this moment y'all may have seen, but also, just this morning:

"So, the magus is ethnocentric as heck and that whole scene was really gross, but also.... Gen is actually the King's Thief of Eddis, right? That's obvious? I feel like we were supposed to be distracted by all the storytelling and racism, but like.... It's not even subtle at this point."

and

"Obviously Ambiades took that food, right? My only question is why Gen let him get away with it...."

And the speculations are off in the right direction, too!

"So why is Gen here instead of with the King in Eddis? He was in prison for a while but nobody seems to be concerned or even aware that the King's Thief is missing from Eddis--at least the magus didn't, and he seems pretty aware of current events. But Gen isn't here on business, because what would Eddis want with Sounis's king's seal? So why is he here and not there...?"

I'm not saying a dang word, yea or nay, and he knows it. He's just speculating out loud, and I quote, "Because I need a witness to having called it when I turn out to be right." (And also because he likes watching me squirm when I'm forced to keep my mouth shut and put on my overdramatic poker face.)

I mean, he's been wrong, too. He's leaning towards "the woman who fell out the window" being a caretaker instead of his actual mom, or the alternate explanation that it was his mom and Gen's family had to flee Eddis for some reason or other, which is why nobody's worried he's gone. But he's also "keeping his thoughts open to new clues." But he's still been on the right trail more often than he's been wrong.

I'm gonna bust a blood vessel over here. He's too smart, guys. He's gonna figure it all out the first run through and I have no idea how.