So let's say I had a Disgruntled Chef (ST, response: after a character leaves play, disgruntled chef gains combat until the end of the phase) in the story phase and my opponent has some characters out. I kill one of his characters with an effect, giving my Chef an additional combat icon. My opponent proceeds to kill the chef with another card effect, so I play Unspeakable Resurrection and bring my chef back into play. How many combat icons does my chef have?

She definitely doesn't have 4, because she can't trigger her response to her own death--only cards that make specific reference to being in the discard pile can trigger abilities when destroyed. My instincts say she only has 2, because it seems like response style buffs should probably end when a character enters the discard pile, and so even if she had 3 combat icons when she entered the discard pile, she should come out of the discard pile with 2. But I couldn't find anything in the rulebook to support this idea (or contradict it). So my question is this: do temporarily added icons (ones that will last until the end of the phase or the end of the turn) stay on a character when that character is put into the discard pile? I see three ways this question could be resolved, and I have no idea which one is correct: 1) As soon as a character leaves play, it loses all duration icon buffs forever, and does not get them back even if it re-enters play before the duration of the buff expires. 2) Duration buffs remain on a character until the end of their duration, regardless of whether or not the character is in play, in the hand, or in the discard pile. 3) Duration buffs stop functioning if the character they target leaves play, but resume working should that character return to play within the duration. The practical difference between 1 and 3 is very small--the only card I can thing of off the top of my head that it would matter for is the black bordered Ithaqua, who allowed you to return to play a character in a discard pile with fewer arcane icons than Ithaqua.

I should also make it clear that by "duration buff" I mean things like Disgruntled Chef's response, Working a Hunch, and Fist of Yog Sothoth (as well as mass target things like The Hall School I guess), not permanent buffs like those of the Mi-Go, Sledge Dogs, and Sarah Van Shaw

 (2.8) Zones of Play