LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City / Episode 28: Run, Bryce Run!

Summary

LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City
Episode 28: Run, Bryce Run!
Release Date: April 29, 2025
Hosts: Natalie Jean and Jackie Zebrowski

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Episode Overview

In Episode 28 of LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City, hosts Natalie Jean and Jackie Zebrowski delve deep into the climactic moments of Sarah J. Maas's beloved adult science fiction novel series, Crescent City. Titled "Run, Bryce Run!", this episode focuses on the intense final chapters where protagonist Bryce Quinlan faces life-altering challenges and emotional reckonings. The hosts provide a comprehensive breakdown of pivotal plot developments, character arcs, and the overarching themes that culminate in a heart-wrenching conclusion.

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Detailed Plot Breakdown

The episode begins with Bryce Quinlan grappling with the aftermath of a catastrophic missile launch threatening Lunathe. As the situation spirals, Bryce finds herself in a dire predicament, attempting to perform "the drop" to save her city. Natalie and Jackie meticulously navigate through the sequence of events leading to Bryce's desperate plunge.

• Hunt's Sacrifice:
  At [02:35], the hosts discuss Hunt Athalar's heroic act of jumping out of a helicopter to protect Bryce from the explosion. Jackie humorously remarks on the physical aftermath of Hunt's sacrifice, saying, "Yeah, my face, but not my chest, because this is just so pristine" ([03:18]).

• Bryce's Descent:
  Bryce's journey into "the drop" is described as a perilous descent where her soul must navigate through unknown realms. At [12:08], Natalie explains Bryce's attempt to communicate through the disc, hoping to anchor herself with the help of others. Jackie adds a humorous take on the complexity of AI assistance in their analysis ([05:21]).

• Emotional Climax:
  The emotional weight of the episode peaks as Bryce confronts the possibility of losing Hunt. Quotes like "You do it for nothing. None of us are happy with what you did" ([57:22]) underscore the intense emotional bonds between the characters.

• Final Moments:
  As the countdown to Bryce's potential demise ticks down, the hosts highlight the suspenseful moments leading to her fate. Natalie captures the tension with lines like, "The summit crew themselves, as they watch, aren't optimistic" ([50:21]).

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Character Insights

• Bryce Quinlan:
  Bryce's resilience and determination are central to the episode. Natalie notes her willingness to sacrifice herself for the greater good, emphasizing her growth from earlier in the series ([22:42]).

• Hunt Athalar:
  Hunt's transformation and ultimate sacrifice reveal deeper layers of his character. Jackie reflects on his journey, stating, "Hunt's not dead" ([61:57]), highlighting the unexpected turns in his storyline.

• Danika:
  Danika's presence as an anchor for Bryce introduces a supernatural element that is both comforting and tragic. Natalie expresses the emotional complexity of their relationship, "She just has to get back" ([56:07]).

• Supporting Characters:
  Declan, Jesiba, and Sabine play crucial roles in the summit's efforts to understand and potentially save Bryce. Their interactions provide insight into the political and mystical structures of Crescent City.

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Themes and Insights

• Sacrifice and Heroism:
  The episode underscores the theme of self-sacrifice, particularly through Hunt's actions and Bryce's willingness to undergo the drop. Natalie and Jackie explore how these sacrifices impact both the characters and the narrative's progression.

• Love and Connection:
  The profound bonds between characters, especially between Bryce and Hunt, highlight the series' exploration of love's enduring power. Jackie remarks, "Through love, all is possible," reinforcing this central theme ([55:09]).

• Mortality and Immortality:
  Bryce's descent into the drop raises questions about life, death, and what lies beyond. The hosts discuss the metaphysical aspects of the drop, comparing it to experiences like DMT trips, and how it serves as a metaphor for confronting mortality ([37:55]).

• Friendship and Loss:
  The episode poignantly portrays the depths of friendship, particularly through Bryce's relationship with Danika. Their interaction in the void symbolizes the struggle to hold onto cherished relationships even in the face of loss.

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Emotional Highlights

The episode is laden with emotional moments that resonate deeply with listeners:

• Bryce and Danika's Farewell:
  Natalie shares, "She takes that mental run to the very edge of the Runway and uses all of her might to fling herself upward" ([56:11]), capturing the bittersweet farewell between Bryce and her dear friend.

• Declan's Realization:
  Declan's astonishment at Bryce surpassing his expectations adds a layer of disbelief and hope, as he exclaims, "He's running" ([56:34]).

• Final Ascension:
  The culmination of Bryce's efforts, aided by Danika's lingering presence, brings a sense of closure and triumph. Natalie describes the moment poignantly, "As she pulled back to see Danika perfectly as she was" ([93:05]).

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Notable Quotes

• Hunt Athalar:
  "You do it for nothing. None of us are happy with what you did."
  ([57:22], Jackie Zabrowski)

• Bryce Quinlan:
  "I need someone to anchor me so I can make the drop."
  ([13:06], Natalie Jean)

• Danika:
  "Light it up, Bryce."
  ([25:31], Jackie Zabrowski)

• Host Reflection:
  "Through love, all is possible."
  ([55:09], Jackie Zabrowski)

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Themes and Conclusions

Natalie and Jackie wrap up the episode by reflecting on the emotional and thematic depth of Crescent City. They emphasize the series' ability to intertwine fantastical elements with relatable human emotions, creating a compelling narrative that resonates with fans. The hosts also touch upon the significance of friendship, love, and sacrifice in shaping the characters' destinies and the story's resolution.

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Final Thoughts

Episode 28, "Run, Bryce Run!", serves as a poignant exploration of Bryce Quinlan's final challenges and the emotional toll of her journey. Through engaging discussion and insightful analysis, Natalie Jean and Jackie Zebrowski offer listeners a rich understanding of the novel's concluding chapters, celebrating the intricate storytelling and character development that Sarah J. Maas masterfully delivers.

Quote:
"Through love, all is possible." – Jackie Zabrowski ([55:09])

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Join the Conversation

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Note: This summary intentionally excludes advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content sections to focus solely on the episode's substantive discussions.

Transcript

[Natalie Jean]

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[Jackie Zabrowski]

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[Natalie Jean]

Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Discover is accepted at 99% of places.

[Natalie Jean]

That take credit cards nationwide and every.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back.

[Natalie Jean]

Welcome to the Now It Pays to Discover. Learn more at discover.com credit card Based.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

On the February 2024 Nelson Report, we're excited to announce that we're going to Prythian and Valbara and Bezgaeth.

[Natalie Jean]

If you're nasty and you can too.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Join us in spring of 2026 at the Dreamers and Readers Festival. A three day event chock full of choose your own adventures, multiple Fae balls, fashion shows, photo shoots, Hoteez, Everybody.

[Natalie Jean]

At least 15 different events at the otherworldly Gaylord Texan Resort that you can customize to make the perfect trip fit your Fantasy Dreams.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Visit fantastiquecollection.com and use our code Faybayes at checkout to receive $10 off of any of these events.

[Natalie Jean]

Dreamers and readers Night 1 and 2.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Mythical Creatures, Masquerade, Fantastique Starfo Ball and the Farewell Fae Bash.

[Natalie Jean]

Not only that, but if you use our code faybays at checkout for those events, you will receive an exclusive swag bag from the Weeknd.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'll do anything for a swag bag, Natalie.

[Natalie Jean]

Give it to me.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, that's right. Use our code Faybase F A E B A e [e-mail] to get your $10 off of any of these events.

[Natalie Jean]

Dreamers and Readers. Baby, I cannot wait for this.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Gimme gimme.

[Natalie Jean]

Give me that SW.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Welcome to Crescent City with your hosts Natalie Jean and Jackie Zabrowski oh, we're sad. Oh, we're sad. Oh, we're sad. Oh, we're sad. I'm a man now without a wing. I am a man. I'm not an angel anymore. How can you be an angel? Angel without wings.

[Natalie Jean]

Very helpful to costume putting on, though.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, it really helps that and also not having to deal with my slave tattoo really makes things very easy over here, living that hashtag huntlife. And I guess it's better than living that hashtag cunt life. But it depends on whether you like smiling or not.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, serving cunt is always approved in my book.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, especially when you're an angel person whose wings have been ripped off. But I'm not a sleeve no more. Ready to murder. I like it because my face is dirty, but my chest isn't dirty. And for those of you that are wondering, yes, I am wearing my big fake chest, but I did have to buy a separate big fake chest because the other big fake chest, I've already tiger striped to be, like, very in. And what am I gonna wear a tiger striped?

[Natalie Jean]

Well, it would take me out of the day, right?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'd be like, who am I? What am I? Am I a man or am I a mayor? And I'm neither. I'm an angel. You.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, exactly. Hello. You're an angel without wings.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you. And it's very difficult living this life. But don't worry. Meen melotnin mei and melotnin komendre.

[Natalie Jean]

I am Ghost Danika.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Ooh, I like this.

[Natalie Jean]

We're running short on characters at the end of the book. Yeah, we'd have to sort of start being inanimate objects or something. Unless we just reimagine some of the characters we've already done.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Please give me a reason to be a clock man. I am a clock man man. Don't come at me. My name is Giuseppe. What was his name? Giuseppe.

[Natalie Jean]

Giuseppe.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Giuseppe definitely wasn't Hispanic.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, you talk about for Beauty and the Beast.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. Cogsworth.

[Natalie Jean]

Cogsworth.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Cogsworth. Just like Giuseppe. They both roll off the tongue.

[Natalie Jean]

I think one is a reference to being a clock and one isn't.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Interesting. Or have you thought maybe Giuseppe just like means the coils within?

[Natalie Jean]

Honestly, it could. I have no idea.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't know what Giuseppe means, and.

[Natalie Jean]

I will not be checking.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. What do we have these, you know, forever boxes in front of us that we can find out this information? Hell, no.

[Natalie Jean]

That only ever tells the truth.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes. Thank you, AI. Thank you, Google search.

[Natalie Jean]

And AI is not there.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's not right. Don't trust the AI, everybody.

[Natalie Jean]

Don't do it. Don't look things up using AI.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Apparently, though, everybody says that you can. And specifically Jade, from our beautiful chat, you can write minus AI in your Google searches to make sure that the AI does not come up because they lie. And I have been given wrong information when I was being lazy and I didn't continue to look after I read the AI overview. And don't pretend like you haven't done it yourself. You know you have.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, yeah. I mean, there was already. Nobody's reading past the headlines in the first place. Now a computer, a robot, is just making whatever they wanna make whatever they.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Wanna, and nobody's gonna check.

[Natalie Jean]

So, yes, Giuseppe does mean the wheels of a clock.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you. And I am a man inside of a clock. I wish. I am much littleer than I was before. Where is my penis?

[Natalie Jean]

I think the penis is like the pendulum.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, that goes back and forth. I will say. Yeah, they weren't talking about his penis very much in Beauty and the Beast.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, I don't know which one you're watching, but wasn't mine.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Whoa. Cogsworth. More like Cogsworth. Thank you.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Dang. Thank you. Because that's not what I was gonna say. And what you said made a lot more sense.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, the really sexually active one in that mov was the candelabra, and I don't know where his is. Maybe it's one of the sticks.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, it's the flames.

[Natalie Jean]

Ouch.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah. Better watch out. You're gonna get burned.

[Natalie Jean]

Seems like that feather duster didn't mind.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, I don't.

[Natalie Jean]

No kink.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Shane. Is that who he was banging? He's banging the feather duster.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, yeah, the beautiful French feather duster.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, I forgot. Oh, my God. I did want to lick that feather duster.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, that was one of those cartoon objects that I always thought was, like, so hot.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Whoa. That you just blew my brain open.

[Natalie Jean]

Dud have been built by you before.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, my God. Oh. Because they were both French. And isn't that nice that they found each other even in inanimate life.

[Natalie Jean]

I think they were all supposed to be French, but because it. It took place in France originally, but I guess everybody didn't want to have French accents.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, you didn't want to see a little dumb idiot teacup Chip? I hated Chip.

[Natalie Jean]

Chip's pretty. I wanna bash him against the, like, the Scrappy Doo of the. The movie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, at least Scrappy Doo was a dog. Chip was just a Nothing. And he had the chip and I just was like, oh, you want to be called gash instead? Slice. My slice. Maybe this is all just coming for you know what? I was like, just a slave. All right? It's difficult for me living this life, all right? Like, my bitch is all upset and she's all like ghosting out somewhere and she's being doing her thing because we are at the nut end of this book. And yet still SJM just shut, like opens up the throat and just like, oh, you want more plot?

[Natalie Jean]

There's a little plot coming. And there's gonna be a lot of loose ends. But that's good for a second book.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, it is. And I'm ready. I need.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, yeah. So this is after Hunt has jumped from the helicopter.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Like ramb.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes. It's not a tumor.

[Natalie Jean]

No. Like maybe. True lie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

True lies. Dana, jump. I'll got you. I. I do quote that line, even though it's not a line anybody quotes from. True lies. I got you. But also I. You know, it doesn't matter how strong your husband is. I would not trust Jeff. I'm sorry, Jeff. I'm a say I wouldn't trust you to jump. Carry like catch me if I jumped out of a helicopter into helicopter. I don't.

[Natalie Jean]

That's reckless. That's reckless.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

J. Curtis did it.

[Natalie Jean]

That's true. It's cuz she was in the arms, the loving arms of that bow hunk D. So this is a little bit of the opposite. Oh, Hunt is jumping to protect Bryce. Because again, we're in a very sad, upsetting part of the book. There is a missile launch that is about to explode everything in Lunathe.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

All of this is happening. But also, guys, there's also a missile being launched.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes, there's a missile coming. And so the last we left, Hunt had just jumped out and covered Bryce. Which is why your face is dirty.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, my face, but not my chest, because this is just so pristine.

[Natalie Jean]

Is that to say you landed face first, Hunter?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Face first. Right into her breasts. And it was delicious.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, that's a nice way to go.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. Suffocated by breast. Oh, we could all be so lucky.

[Natalie Jean]

That is. I'm sorry, Earmuffs. Jackie. That is Henry requested to be killed if he's. If he is a. If he is a few days left to live.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I do understand and I see that for him. And I hope that you're able to give him that. Natalie, it's his dying wish.

[Natalie Jean]

He's 110.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, he's gonna make it to 110. I just imagine Henry's gonna start, like, I feel like he needs to be, like, shooting up, like, fish scales or whatever Tom Cruise is doing. You know, I'm not saying Henry, fish.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, Tom Cruise is shooting up fish scales. But I don't know if it's helping him to stay younger.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't think so. And I mean, his body's not aging, but that face is saying something else. Even though he's trying to stretch it out to such an extent that he's like, I am not. I am just a child of mine.

[Natalie Jean]

Really don't want to ever get to the point in my life where I want to stretch my face. You know, I. I don't care if you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I guess I have to die now.

[Natalie Jean]

But, like, it never looks right. No, it makes your mouth go like this.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, it makes you. It gives you joker mouth.

[Natalie Jean]

It gives you joker mouth every time. Guys.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

I get. We all. I love. I love doing med spa stuff. I love it. But that doesn't do anything positive.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Also, recently, I forgot what celebrity it was. They. They have such an obvious facelift, but it looks like they got. It's like a neck. And it looks like their neck is actively being shoved into the back of their face at all times. And every time I looked at her, I was just like, you don't look good. You look upset. And you paid a lot of money for that.

[Natalie Jean]

I think old school neck lifts where.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You just put it.

[Natalie Jean]

You put a clip in the back.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah. Make that neck title.

[Natalie Jean]

But also, hey, just think about neck care. Young. If you're out there, you gotta be putting the sunscreen on, you gotta be moisturizing, and you gotta get your hands.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Don't forget sunscreen on your hands. Back your hands on your hands. It's.

[Natalie Jean]

It's easier than having a chip clip on the back of your head at all times, you know?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. And that's if you haven't bashed that little teacup against the wall like he deserves.

[Natalie Jean]

Whoa.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Give you a chip clip and it's a. Oh, my God. I'm sorry. I'm not going to shoot him. I'm not going to shoot him. I'm sorry. I said it as he was coming out of my mouth was like, jackie, that's too mean.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, I guess Hunt's in his battle mode, because.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm sorry. That's what it is. I'm in battle mode, guys.

[Natalie Jean]

At the top of chapter 91, Bryce is just realizing that she somehow didn't die. So we're with her just moments later.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Awesome.

[Natalie Jean]

After gathering her senses, she realizes that a gray feather is floating by her head, and she panics.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

It's just like the beginning of Forrest Gump.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you for knowing my reference.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, I know, I know, I know.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't think it's the same kind of feather, though.

[Natalie Jean]

No. Or maybe it was. Maybe that was an angel.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, my God. It's all linked together.

[Natalie Jean]

Maybe that feather was an angel exploding, dude.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And it's all because of Forrest Gump.

[Natalie Jean]

Yep.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Think about that.

[Natalie Jean]

I think it's probably more from Jenny. She's the sinner.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Jenna. You don't kill the angels.

[Natalie Jean]

Okay, so we can go. She's right. She is right to freak out, because as she gets her body to work and shakes off some of the shock and rubble off of her body.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Hell yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

She sees that Hunt has somehow appeared and covered her body from the explosion. So she has no idea that Hunt was even above her in a helicopter or anything. Suddenly, Hunt's just there, which is crazy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

And unfortunately, he is just shredded apart from the explosion.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm sorry, because I'm at the gun show. Yeah, I'm shredded. Oh, you know, shredded. No.

[Natalie Jean]

We're in a sad moment. Jack, stunned, having no idea why he's there. She wails in grief and gently turns him over. He is bleeding out. He's still breathing, but he has. His limbs are shredded. Everything. Yep. He's barely alive. She pulls his head into her lap and sobs, crying out for help over and over. But there just isn't any to be had. There's nobody around. Even with his crown removed, his crown of thorns, and his full power back. The Brimstone missiles have a compound that slows veneer healing, and he's just not recovering fast enough. We cut over to the copter, which has crashed with the explosion. But thanks to Fury's boss ass nature, she has managed to keep them all alive and in the descent towards the ground. So she managed to, like, keep control over the copter as the like, like, exploding. And then she saved everybody because Fury's a badass. We're with Run, and he's noting how, though everyone's banged up, they've all survived. You okay?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, I just really didn't understand. I was really kind of losing my mind of why I couldn't find where you were, and it's because I had the next episode up and not the one that we're currently in, so. Everything's fine, guys. Everything is absolutely fine. We figured it out.

[Natalie Jean]

We're with runes POV at this moment. He's noting though how. Though everybody's banged up, they've all survived, the radio is still working, and they get intel that Bryce has lived and Hunt is holding on but unlikely to survive.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But how? My chest is so pristine.

[Natalie Jean]

Even clean chests can die.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, you told me the opposite. And right now you're being really bad at being a ghost bitch.

[Natalie Jean]

Okay, I know ghost bitch is supposed.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

To hook up up or in reality. Okay, I know because I have sex with them in the sims.

[Natalie Jean]

Ah, right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So that I'm aggressing towards you. Natalie. I'm just saying that, you know, I'm sorry.

[Natalie Jean]

So they have the radio intel. Because if you remember, there's still people back at the summit watching on all the cameras.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah. But also at that. I mean, it's like, dude, can you imagine just sitting there watching? I. I guess if it's. It's so insane that you can't be pulled away from it.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, especially if you're having to do intel, like, as the person who's in charge of reporting, and you have to look at it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's like, don't put me in charge.

[Natalie Jean]

But, like, wouldn't you rather be there than in the helicopter?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. I mean, technically, it probably want to be anywhere that wasn't having a missile being launched at it, right? But, yes. Second. Second option would be in the copter.

[Natalie Jean]

Second option. Copter.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

Got it. Roon tells the others in the copter he's headed for Bryce. They understand why, but they all know that they need to get hurt and get out as fast as possible. Without, there's no plan. The gates are still open, and they're all at risk of dying. Like every second. Demons stay everywhere. Back at Bryce, she's quietly crying and whispering to Hunt, very likely saying her goodbyes to him. But she isn't ready to give up. It was worth it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Was worth it.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, that's what I would say.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

If I was hunting, I was dying in her groin. Because his head is in her groin right now.

[Natalie Jean]

I think right now he's too close to death to even talk.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Not even any death rattles.

[Natalie Jean]

He's just breathing.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

All right.

[Natalie Jean]

I think maybe he's unconscious. She tells him she believes they met for a reason. This thought leads her to place him down gently and walk towards the hard gate. She has very little left to lose, and she wants to try whatever she can contemplative. She places her hand on the disc that used to serve as a communication device on the arch and is now a tourist trap. She recalls how she and Danika went here their last night together, which we witnessed at the start of the book. They worked as communication hubs previous to them being Taurus traps because they sit on leylines that create a matrix. Oh, don't tell the podcast bros.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The matrix is here. No, man. If they knew about this, maybe they would all be reading sjm.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, or if they understood the Matrix was written by two trans women about transitioning. But they won't. They can't come up with their own culture. But anyway, I digress.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What about Marty Scorsese? That's the culture right there.

[Natalie Jean]

You know, I feel like they'd be better off.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They don't.

[Natalie Jean]

None of them ever understand the Godfather also, which is not a Scorsese, but the Godfather is also not a podcast bro thing. The Godfather's like a. Like an emo character.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. Obviously misunderstood. And you don't get it.

[Natalie Jean]

Anyway, we're done screaming about podcast bros because it's podcast hoes today.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

So it's time to try everything you can.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I guess you're more podcast.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, my God.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Are you saying oh, my God? Because I just said the best joke of all time. You're welcome, everybody.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. I am a ghost.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Wasn't that delicious? So good.

[Natalie Jean]

Your bill, ladies.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I got it. No, I got it. Seriously, I said I insisted first. Don't be silly. You don't be silly. People with the Wells Fargo Active Cash credit card prefer to pay because they earn unlimited 2% cash back on purchases. Okay. Rock, paper, scissors for it. Rock, paper, scissors. Shoot, shoot. No. The Wells Fargo Active Cash credit card visit wells Fargo.com ActiveCash terms apply. The kids are still at practice, and I have no idea what's for dinner. You can get a rotisserie chicken and two sides for just $15 in as fast as an hour with Walmart.

[Natalie Jean]

Who said that?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Who's in my house?

[Natalie Jean]

Don't play with me.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Cause I'm not the one. It's just your friendly Walmart announcer. This is a commercial.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, okay.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You were saying dinner for a family was just $15?

[Natalie Jean]

Yep. It'll be at your door by the.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Time you get the kids home from practice.

[Natalie Jean]

Order now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Welcome to your Walmart. Subject to availability restrictions and fees apply.

[Natalie Jean]

Now that was a helpful commercial. Bryce, knowing the horn is activated in her back, and we know that every veneer who touches the Arches keypad gives a tiny little kernel of their power to it whenever they touch it. She wonders if there's a way to make enough power Happen by reaching into it. So Bryce begins to talk into the disc. It was a communication device, so she tries to communicate into it. She asks if anyone is there and can hear her. When she gets no response, she begins to explain herself to whomever may be listening. She gives her name and tells everyone who is listening that she has an idea of how to stop what's happening. She implores someone, anyone, if they can find the strength to go to one of the gates. Through the fear, through the suffering. She needs them to touch the archway she swallowed. I need someone to anchor me so I can make the drop.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The words whispered out into the words.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, snap. She's going to attempt to make the drop.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's like, bitch. What? You could have made the drop any other time. You're gonna make this all about you. I know that's not what's happening, but it is kind of funny to, like, victim blame her, you know?

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, she needs her moment now. Oh, she's not getting enough attention.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, great. Because. Oh, you've got the idea. I. You know, I just love to roll my eyes every once in a while at a Bryce. Because she has all of the answers.

[Natalie Jean]

She does.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But somebody's got to have all the.

[Natalie Jean]

Answers, and somebody's got to take the mickey out of. Tear the mickey out of her. Out of her.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What is the mic like, that kind of Mickey.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm trying to think of a phrase that means, like, you got in the river.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Ah, yeah. Take the piss out of her. Sure.

[Natalie Jean]

That one.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. Ring her out.

[Natalie Jean]

She is going to try to make the drop if she can. Perhaps the horn combined with her immortality will give her enough strength to close the gate. Not just that, but she thinks maybe making the drop, holding onto the gate will send her first light out to the other gates, which will help them close.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, it's a pretty good idea.

[Natalie Jean]

It is, Especially because she already managed to close the one, but her human body wasn't gonna be able to have the power to do the rest of them. So she's like, gotta make that drop. She might feel like this might kill her, but she's like, you know, she's Bryce, so she's like, I don't care. I can close them.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Mm.

[Natalie Jean]

So.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, also, especially as she's, like, watching Hunt die, I'm sure that's like, well, why would I want to be alive? I'm just gonna do this, and I need to save everybody.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. So she pleads out, and only silence fills the world around her.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Silently, she prayed for any one of those six other gems to light up, to show that just one person in any district would answer her plea. But there was only the crackling nothingness.

[Natalie Jean]

She looks out for any of the gates to respond by lighting up as a response to her Minutes go by, despair filling her. She decides to spend what might be Hunt's last moments holding him, speaking to him, telling him the lies that he wants to know in those last moments that they're going to go home soon, that Searinx is waiting for them, and they're going to have their lives to start together, that help is coming any moment.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

His breathing rattled in his chest, a death rattle. She bent over him, inhaling his scent, the strength in him. And then she said it. The three words that meant more than anything. She whispered them into his ear, sending them with all she had left in her oh, what'd she say?

[Natalie Jean]

Invest in apple.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

My lightning. I will be able to retire someday. And that is what the goal has been for Hunt this entire time.

[Natalie Jean]

So the words seem to send him into a calm and his breathing slows. She lets her tears fall as she watches over him, counting the breaths.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Light it up, Danica whispered to her into her heart.

[Natalie Jean]

She begins to speak to this memory of Danica. She hears her voice and and Bryce tells her she tried and failed. Danika's voice only says light it up. Over and over. Her voice becomes more urgent inside of Bryce. Bryce looks back at the gate, watching for any sign of any acknowledgement of this voice, of the sound of Danica, of anything. There's nothing happening. She waits with bated breath. Light it up.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The words filled the old square, filled every square in the city. Bryce whipped her head around to look at the gate as Danika's voice sounded again.

[Natalie Jean]

Light it up, Bryce.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The onyx stone of the Bone Quarter glowed like a dark star. I will say it is interesting because that was like their phrase like as their friendship. And I was just thinking about like what if like this is Holden on the other end and he wants me to scream oh no Topo Chico. Which is what we yell every time we drink on Jacken with the holdies every Friday. And I just imagine him me gripping onto my life and him just going say oh no Topo Chico.

[Natalie Jean]

That's not really an instruction is that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean maybe it would be. Maybe I need to look to the Topo Chico's maybe because those are the seltzers that hurt my belly the least and maybe he knows I need to look there for a reason. There's something about the malt it's something about the malt.

[Natalie Jean]

This is the alcoholic Topo Chico's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

Got it, got it, got it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, maybe that your lives have been drawn towards that for this entire reason, because you're going to have to.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Save Los Angeles by getting drunk on Topo Chico's and Fireball, and.

[Natalie Jean]

Or maybe you make a Molotov cocktail out of it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Out of the Fireball. That would be such a waste of Fireball. You're right. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. I'm just glad we got down to the brass tacks of that.

[Natalie Jean]

At chapter 92, Bryce seems to understand the voice is not coming from in her, but outside of her body. That it is somehow Danika.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Then Bryce was laughing and sobbing as she screamed, light it up, Danika. Light it up. Bryce slammed her palm onto the bronze disc of the gate, and soul to soul with the friend whom she had not forgotten, the friend who had not forgotten her even in death. Bryce made the drop, and she and Danika's her anchor. And how. What does it mean, how Danica's dead? How is she her alive anchor to make sure that she doesn't die while making the drop? That is exactly what's happening right now.

[Natalie Jean]

That's one of the parts in the book that usually makes me tear up a little.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes. Oh, yeah. No, Very, very. It gets you.

[Natalie Jean]

It's just SJM is so precious about her friendships.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

She just writes friendships, like love stories a lot of the time. And this just. Very touching.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

So we cut to the Summit conference Room, where Declan, Jesiba, Sabine, and others still sit, assisting however they can with keeping tech and comms running. Sabine's not helping, but she's obviously. She's there. We're watching this play out in utter shock. Jesiba, stunned herself, tells the room that the under king has told her previously that a kernel of Danika still exists in the Bone Quarter. But regardless of that, no one in the room thinks that this kernel of a dead person can serve as an anchor. Certainly no one's ever tried it. And it's so wild. Again, I've brought this up before, that there's just, like a thing across the river from you that is what death is. And you all just have to be like, go over there. There's just the mysteries of the afterlife over there. So nobody look is.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's crazy because it's just a big gaping place, but everybody knows about it.

[Natalie Jean]

And I have to just pretend.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Just a part of life, I guess.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Or are you not as scared? I mean, I guess if you're in the world of veneer, because it's like, not as something that people are as scared of.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, probably also like. Like Jessiba. Is it from her. She went over to the house of. What's it called? The scary house.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The scary one. Darks and shadows, mists and beasts. The house witches and.

[Natalie Jean]

No, she left the witches. Right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She left the witches to go to the other one. The eternal dead. Z's.

[Natalie Jean]

Jesiba left the house of the witches to go be with the creeps and in the freaks. And so she talks to the under king.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What is she? It's not Earth and blood. Don't see the AI. What it says up top.

[Natalie Jean]

AI's wrong. See, look, we googled something about Crescent.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

City, and they were wrong up top. So just letting everybody know. Did not trust join the house of Flame and Shadow. It was flaming Shadow.

[Natalie Jean]

She joined the house of Flame and Shadow. Thank you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you. And is the Under Kings emissary.

[Natalie Jean]

So she talks to the king of the dead. So she knows something about it, but they still don't know enough about it, really. To understand how Danica could possibly be helping Bryce.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Right.

[Natalie Jean]

But because the drop is so central to their world, they are able. They have technology to track the descent on one of Declan's computers. They do whatever drop tech.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They have their beat boops. Maybe it's a DOS program.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, maybe.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. Right. I feel like they would have weird technology in the world where veneer exists that, like, they're gonna have obviously invest in Apple. They're gonna have iPhones and things like that. But I. I would assume that, you know, all technology has got. Maybe it's a little stilted because of all the magic.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Did I just pull that out of my. Yes, yes, yes. But I.

[Natalie Jean]

So you think it's like 80s technology. They've like, floppy disks.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Exactly.

[Natalie Jean]

Hell, yeah. So they get their floppy disk out about the drop technology, and they say.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

How do I make it hard? Yep. Bang it against the table. That's what I've heard.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, that would work for some people.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It depends.

[Natalie Jean]

So they have the technology to watch someone's power as they descend down into the drop, and they can see them going down. They kind of rate the system as they drop, and then they. They wait the six minutes before they have to die to make the ascent back up. They all get tested when they're young, if you'll recall. And Bryce's power was pointed to be pretty small, relatively speaking. But as they watch her drop down, she's not slowing down at the rate she tested at. If she were, her ascent would begin shortly after. So basically, it's like taking a little mini bungee jump. And it would have already been back up, back up.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I remember when I read through this the first time, I had to read it multiple times. I was like, okay, so what? Wait, so, okay, it depends on how much power she has. That means how far she will fall. So they think she's not gonna fall that far. They think she's gonna come right back. She's gonna boop boop and come right back. But she's falling much further into the nothing than they expected.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Because whatever their testing system is can give you, like, a bri. Like a. A rough range of where showing your powers, the well of your power, is inside of you when you're young. And then they expect you to just, like, fall somewhere in that range. But instead of, like, her dropping down into, like, a pond, she's, like, dropping down an ocean. Yeah, but obviously, this is all. This is like, obviously this is all. This is all her.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Tell them, Natalie. Tell them obviously what they should be thinking.

[Natalie Jean]

This is the. The soul. It's like the soul is doing it. Her body is just on the touching.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Touching the thing. And so essentially, her soul has to go back up into her body to make sure she doesn't die or she's trapped there forever.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I think she just dies. Yeah. And so she is going a lot faster and a lot farther than they anticipated. And the drop that she's making is a one that only usually a very powerful veneer would make. But then Hypaxia, who's in the room with the summit people, begins to speak. She doesn't think the archway gemstone pads are part of a memorial. Like, they had all been led to believe that the arches aren't just this tourist trap. They are part of a blessing. She thinks the blessing. The blessing, grace. She died 30 years ago.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I pledge allegiance to the flag.

[Natalie Jean]

Not that kind of blessing.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Quoting Christmas vacation. Sorry.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. So all the power, all of the veneer who have gone up to this Taurus trap and touched has now accumulated inside of these archways. And it's as if somebody left these here to wait for the right person. That's sort of what Hypaxia is saying. So it seems that person is Bryce. Like Ruhn thinks. It's as though for hundreds of years, millions, maybe, I don't know, hundreds of thousands of years, people. It's like if all of these hundreds of thousands, millions of people Threw a coin into the same fountain. It's millions of drops of power. They all watch slack jawed as her power drives deeper and deeper.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The court's gates across the city began to glow red, then orange, then gold, then white. First light erupted from them. Lines of it speared out in every direction.

[Natalie Jean]

The glow creates a six pointed star through the ley lines and then explodes to the walls of the city in a perfect circle. A Hexagol, I think.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Is that what it is?

[Natalie Jean]

A pentacle.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh. But a hexagonal.

[Natalie Jean]

A hexicle. I don't know if that's a real word, but I. That's what I'm calling. Because a pentacle is a star with a circle. An inverted pentacle is the you1 usually see for like say Nateral in the title.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Look at me. I know a thing.

[Natalie Jean]

Although everybody's saying tear it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Now who is saying tarot?

[Natalie Jean]

Which talk and stuff like that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Why are they saying tear it?

[Natalie Jean]

It might be right. I don't know.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I just. I feel like it's like, can we just keep. Can we just keep it?

[Natalie Jean]

Nope.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Can we just keep it the way it was? I mean, I do love witch talk and I do love the world of witch talk where like you have to like part of it. I've been trying to enact it in my own home, which is putting the home to sleep at night and waking it up in the morning and like closing all of the curtains and like saying goodnight to the house and in the morning, waking it up to like open up your energy every day and. And like, and like closing it in around you to keep you safe at night. And I've been doing it and thank you. Witch talk. So maybe I like witch talk. And I guess we have to start saying tarot.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm sure we're gonna get a lot of emails about how this is both right and wrong.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's gotta be. I mean, I don't know.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm gonna ask a. Hi.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Don't. Natalie. Don't.

[Natalie Jean]

See what it says. How to pronounce tarot turret.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, AI is not giving me great tarot. You. The computer says here's a stero. And you know you can't trust the computer, but for right now we have to.

[Natalie Jean]

It has a mouth, which is scary.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. And I said yes. Make the. Make the words even bigger mouth. We're talking about the. The one in the Google, not mine. I'm fine.

[Natalie Jean]

Okay?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm just a man angel that is starting to die.

[Natalie Jean]

Okay, so death rattle.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Death rattle. Who's the baby now.

[Natalie Jean]

So as this is happening, as she's making her descent, her power is coursing through all of the archways. It's as if somebody left these here intentionally for this purpose.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, my God, Natalie. What?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, what?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's almost like these books all have. That were foretold or some.

[Natalie Jean]

A lot of foretelling.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What?

[Natalie Jean]

And still Bryce falls. We go back and forth between Bryce and the summit during these couple chapters, and we briefly here get a POV of her falling with Danika by her side, both of them laughing and whooping it up. Bryce's being is filled with joy and she can only feel happiness in this moment. If this is all she gets, she is at peace with it. So she's kind of gone to this other place and is just in the moment with her best friend and kind of doesn't care so much about the rest of the world.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I get it. I mean, there's a reason why people use dmt and it is not just, you know, what is released in your brain as you die. Because apparently it's a quite a ride.

[Natalie Jean]

Seems like it could be dangerous if you want to just only live inside it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, no, I'm fine with waiting for the end to get just experience, then I'm fine with that. But I feel like this is where she is right now. I feel like this is the DMT portion. Like, the drop is a DMT world for her right now for sure. Because I imagine it's probably like, if you think about it, the drop's probably very scary because you have no idea how far you're gonna drop. You have no idea how it's gonna go. And I mean, is that not unlike of what I've heard of a DMT trip that is apparently, like, very scary? Very scary. But then I've asked people that have done DMT before, and I'm like, what is it? What does it feel like? It's like you are everything. You. You are a part of everything and you feel that. And it's like, that's. I mean, it really gives you a different perspective, apparently afterwards. But that sounds very scary. And I was like, but isn't it scary? And they're like, you can't feel fear. But what does that mean? And don't get me wrong, I love a drug, but I. I just. I get scared.

[Natalie Jean]

One of our friends did a toad licking.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Which I changed their life. I forget what that drug is called, but she described kind of the drop and she said it was awesome in the most terrifying thing she's ever gone through, and it felt like she was skiing down a mountain with, like, no way to stop.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, that's. I mean, but also very alluring to me.

[Natalie Jean]

She said it, like, it helped her in all this, and I was like, I don't know if I need help that much. Yeah, I mean, I do. I absolutely do need.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Apparently, toad. Toad venom is. It's like cousin of dmt.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, okay. Okay.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So learning. Everybody learning.

[Natalie Jean]

Nobody go out there and lick them toads.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And also. Yeah. Make sure. Or at least you're. Make sure you're part of a ritual. Make sure that you're, you know, with people that are getting the toads in the right places. Because I've also seen things about, like, toad trafficking and stuff like that. It's actually. Yeah, it's very. They've really hurt a lot of the, like, toad population. And not that I'm talking about the people that use it for ritual, realistic uses. I'm talking about the idiots that just go out and go, oh, this looks like a toad. I'm a lick it. You know, and then.

[Natalie Jean]

And then. Those toads did not consent to that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Nah. And, I mean, I want it written in ribbits. I want. I want them to ribbit it down, and I want to make sure that that toad looks me in the eye and I go, you're not a prince, right? And he goes, maybe. And I'm like, oh, well, I guess I'm gonna lick you. Don't tell Jeff.

[Natalie Jean]

Whoa.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I lick every toad I see from amphib A to amphib B on.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, thankfully, there's not a lot of toads in Los Angeles, because I don't know if that's a good idea.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. Yeah, it would be difficult tech.

[Natalie Jean]

So that's where Bryce is right now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

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[Natalie Jean]

Back at the summit, they watch as she passes Rune's power level. She bypasses him. Declan can hardly.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

Where was Declan's? Pov. In this moment, he can hardly believe his friend's little sister, who he thought was his cousin, has descended past Ruhn, the crowned prince of Valbara.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Crown prince of Valbaran.

[Natalie Jean]

Thay they've all really had a day today, huh? He watches as she gets near the Autumn King's power level, a level hardly ever surpassed in the entire world. Finally, she begins to slow down, keeping one eye on Bryce's graph. He also takes glances at the surveillance cameras in the city to find that the hell creatures are fleeing back to the portal. What over risking being trapped in the walls of this hostile world. The sequence was created after Sarah J. Maas. We've talked about this in other. I think maybe the Acotar episode, that she was listening to a song called Shenzhou from the Gravity soundtrack. If you want some mood music for this scene when Bryce is with Danika in this, like, other realm, it's very. The soundtrack is beautiful and emotional and. Did I get teared up listening to it while I was rereading this app? I did.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

How does it go? Is it like I'm Sandra Bullock and I'm in space? I wish I could get back to the earth and live alone. And is that. Should I keep going? That's not okay.

[Natalie Jean]

No.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But I would understand if you would tear up to that because like, like.

[Natalie Jean]

You'Ve seen Gravity, right? Yes, it's very. That movie is so good and.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, I know the soundtrack is very beautiful and moving.

[Natalie Jean]

I did go after this, after I read this section with the music playing and I went. Watched the scene in Gravity and I absolutely cried cuz the whole thing.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Had you seen it before?

[Natalie Jean]

Oh yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay.

[Natalie Jean]

The. The whole movie of Gravity is about death and, and loss and then like being reborn. And it makes sense that she would hear this and then kind of create this scene.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

And so I recommend if you haven't seen Gravity for stuff, watch it. But also if you want to listen to that little piece of music during the scene, it will probably make you emotional.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The voids between Midgard and hell began to shrink. As if the light itself was abhorrent. As if that pure, unrestrained first light could heal the world. And it did. Buildings shattered by brimstone slid back into place. Rubble gathered into walls and streets and fountains. Wounded people became whole again.

[Natalie Jean]

The demons scrambled towards the shrinking portals. The summit watchers astounded.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The voids between worlds became slivers, then nothing at all. The gates stood empty. The portal's gone.

[Natalie Jean]

And then Bryce stops falling. Her power level nearly identical. To her arrogant fathers.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Daddy, what do you have to say about it?

[Natalie Jean]

Declan finds time in the wonder to be petty and wish that Ruhn could see his father's face at the moment when. When he realizes that Bryce has reached his own level.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Dude, dude, he dessert, bro. How upset are you, bro? What?

[Natalie Jean]

You should be proud. But you're not.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But you're not. Because you're a bad daddy.

[Natalie Jean]

But the Autumn King snaps that it won't matter because there's no way for her to make the ascent back.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You'd love that, wouldn't you? Dirty.

[Natalie Jean]

It's interesting. In this moment. So Declan realizes in the. In this moment that he has forgotten that Bryce may as well be at the bottom of the ocean without a submarine to take her back up because he was so in awe of what was going on. He's like, oh, right, she's being anchored by a ghost. And they've never done that. And there's no way to actually, like, bring her back that they knew of.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Right. Is that probably because they need the life to strap her basically at, like.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, they're like the lifeline, like, the person.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You're a ghost, Danica Ghost. What do you have to say for yourself?

[Natalie Jean]

We just have to wait and see, won't you?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, my God. You did what you had to do. Oh, my God.

[Natalie Jean]

So Declan looks at the Autumn King and is surprised to see him react with something like sorrow in this moment, because you would assume that we know. It's so hard to get a read on the Autumn King still, like, who is this guy? Because he's so mean. But then Declan sees regret on his face, realizing Bryce isn't going to be able to come back up, and it's not what you'd expect.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And the way that he describes how Autumn King had said it, like, it could have been seen as like a. Oh, there's no way for her to make the ascent back up. But it's actually him being like, there's no way for her to make the ascent back up.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Like somebody who can't express emotions. Well.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Feels. Feeling something.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. The room watches Bryce's body fall to the ground and die, an important part of the drop. From that moment, her soul will have six minutes to return to its body before it can't anymore.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Scary.

[Natalie Jean]

Declan's tech begins the clock countdown, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it. Then we're with Bryce at chapter 93. She's floating in time and space with Danika. She doesn't care because she's holding her best friend, physically holding her for the first time in two years. She pulls back to see Danica perfectly as she was. As though she were living in front of her. Danika smiles back at her when Bryce asks with hope if she's alive. No, no, she says. This is just a projection of what was left of her in the Bone Quarter. But Bryce doesn't care. She tells Danica she's staying here with her and it's enough. Danika does not accept this.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Of course not. Look at what she's doing for you.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. She asks why Bryce wants to stay, and Bryce's pain pours out of her. It's too hard without Danica by her side. Life is too hard. Danica looks at her with disappointment, telling her this isn't the Bryce she knows stronger than that. That she can't just languish with this little piece of her left in this void. Bryce begins to cry as Danika tells her that she's watched her and expresses how proud she is of Bryce. Bryce wants to know why she lied about the horn, and she tells her it was to protect her. She then teases Bryce for offering up her spot in the Bone Quarter, calling her an asshole because essentially, because she thought, like, you didn't think I was gonna make it. Like, why would you?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She didn't know. She didn't know.

[Natalie Jean]

But this is the only person who can really get through to Bryce in a lot of ways.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Danika tells her the wolves are with her in the Quarter, and they have all watched her bravery. When Bryce still looks like giving up, Danika asks. Asks about Hunt.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Who, me?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, I'm dead.

[Natalie Jean]

No, not yet.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Dang.

[Natalie Jean]

Actually, she's. I think she's already healed you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, cute.

[Natalie Jean]

She tells Bryce it's okay to want to go back for a guy. That he isn't just some guy to her.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. I'm an angel.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. And then she reveals the news. Bryce has healed him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

With her descent, Bryce's breath shuddered out of her. Her. She'd done all of this for that wild hope.

[Natalie Jean]

But with her heart on her sleeve, perhaps the last time she'll ever get to talk to Danica. She tells her something she'd never admit to anyone. She's scared.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Danika grabbed her hand again.

[Natalie Jean]

That's the point of it, Bryce. Of life. To live, to love. Knowing that it might all vanish tomorrow. It makes everything that much more precious.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She took Bryce's face in her hands and pressed their brows together.

[Natalie Jean]

She breathes in Danica's closeness.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Whoa. I bet you smell weird as a ghost.

[Natalie Jean]

She said she still smelled the same.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, but I doubt it. Ghost smells.

[Natalie Jean]

Maybe it's just her brain tells her it does.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, I thought you were gonna say maybe it's her brain oozing out of her ears.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, maybe.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Maybe that smells good. Maybe we don't know what our brain smells like.

[Natalie Jean]

It's true. And she admits she doesn't think she'll ever be able to make it back in the time she has left. Try. Danika says yes, bitch. That she'll always be with Bryce.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You can do it, Bryce. Come on, Bryce.

[Natalie Jean]

Bryce looks at her friend one last time and tells her she loves her. Danica seems to sense urgency and tells Bryce she has to go now. Back at the summit, they watch the timer ticking down. Now There are only 2 minutes, minutes left before Bryce won't be able to come back at all.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Man, how many people died before they figured out it's like, oh, it's six minutes, not five minutes. Like, I feel like you go in thinking, like, it's probably five minutes, probably badish. And then they figured out it was six minutes and they probably were surprised.

[Natalie Jean]

Probably a lot of people died. Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

The summit crew themselves, as they watch, aren't optimistic. Declan recalls his own drop and how scary it was, even with Flynn, his bestie, anchoring him. The Autumn King, of course, knows that many people have tried many, many times to do what he calls artificial power, and none of them have survived. Not that he tried it or anything. Wasn't trying to, like, game the system.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. Lord knows he would never, never do it.

[Natalie Jean]

But apparently a lot of people in the past have tried to create extra power in their drop, and it never, ever works. Works. But no one's ever used the arches for this purpose. And she also wasn't trying to do this.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No.

[Natalie Jean]

But Jesiba seems to concur with the Autumn King beyond going well past her range. She's using a ghost as an anchor, which to me sounds pretty badass, but I guess I'm the dummy. But it seems like maybe you get ghost powers, right?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You, like, float in the sims, when you go and you put your ghost power into. And then if you want to fuck a human, you turn the human temporarily into a ghost, and you both inhabit, like, a desk or something. And you inside of the desk. Obviously, Sims ghost rules. You scared of that? You saying you, as a ghost, don't want to turn a human into a ghost? And then you both inhabit something and then you inside of it.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't I don't know. Have. I don't know how to answer that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, you know, I think you need more years as a ghost, and then. Then you can figure something out. Yeah, they got to have girls does want to have fun.

[Natalie Jean]

Are they having intercourse somehow in the object ghost?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Of course.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, but like, what's going into what.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Who knows what happens inside of the object? We don't see any of that. You just see the object moving around, and then you come in the end and a bunch of sparks come up and it's like a big coming heart. So their ghosts are inside of the objects. You don't really know what's going on inside. Why do you looking at me like. Like I'm scary. Why are you looking at me like I'm scary? Yeah, I make the ghost fuck.

[Natalie Jean]

I just have. Okay. I just have questions. It's not that I'm against it. I just have so many questions about what's happening in there.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah. Well, I'll. I'll have to show you if you ever want to come over, because again, you are trying to become the grim reaper as well as you are a master vampire, and you're turning a bunch of people in the town into vampires against their will. But you're also going to. You're also striving to be the grim reaper. And you've got, like, really big dreams.

[Natalie Jean]

Wasn't somebody else trying to be the grim reaper?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, we had already. Amber was trying to romance the grim reaper, and she did, which is technically against the game, but I used a bunch of cheats, and she romanced the grim reaper. Then she had weird children with him. And then we aged up the children to get them out of the house so that they could just fuck willy nilly.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, I assume they were gonna go cause a bunch of crimes. It just seems like those would be evil children.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, I mean, Amber's a celebrity chef in this world, so I don't think she could really get away with that.

[Natalie Jean]

We know celebrity chefs never do anything bad.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Nope. Mario. He's got Italian hands.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, God.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

All right, we don't need to talk about Mario Batali.

[Natalie Jean]

Anyway, so they watch the clock ticking down to one minute. Bryce's soul hasn't made a move on their text. She's still at the bottom. She's talking to Danica through this. Surely it must be impossible. And it is. Bryce dies. The end of the book.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's not what happens. Get your head out of your ass.

[Natalie Jean]

Declan begins to accept the inevitable. As the seconds tick down to single digits, 1.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The milliseconds raced toward 0. True death. The clock stopped at 0.003. A red line shot across the bottom of the illusion system's ground, along the Runway toward oblivion. Declan whispered, she's running. Which I still don't quite understand. I don't really get it, because in my head, she's dropping through water, but now she's running. So in my head, this whole thing was happening. Like, they weren't actually talking, but they were like, mind talking through water. And then this part broke open my brain, because that is not what I was seeing at all. And I was like, what is that mean? But I think I just needed to, like, change the perspective in my brain. You know what I mean?

[Natalie Jean]

I think it's the idea that Bryce is having a lot of this manifest in her own brain.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

So she's manifesting this Runway that I guess a lot of people doing the drop see, which is, like, visualization of.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

A way to get back to their body. Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

So she sees this Runway, and behind.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Forrest Gump is really getting real now. Run, Brass, run. But she. She doesn't have the things on her legs.

[Natalie Jean]

That's probably better, right?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I get. Well, I mean, not. Not if she's Forrest Gump, but, I mean, Bryce doesn't need them on her legs. So I think.

[Natalie Jean]

Behind Price. Danica screams, encouragements to run as the ascent begins. Many people, like we were just saying, see a sort of Runway, a place aiming towards the surface. And this is where Bryce is aiming now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Bryce ran. Ran and ran and ran, arms pumping, gritting her teeth. The odds were impossible, the likelihood slim. But she tried. With Danica beside her this last time, she could try.

[Natalie Jean]

She knows now, with all of her, that Danika is always by her side. Yes, badge.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, badge.

[Natalie Jean]

And that she can do life.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

She just has to get back.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

She takes that mental run to the very edge of the Runway and uses all of her might to fling herself upward. Back at the summit, Declit can't believe what he's seeing, her force launching upwards. The Autumn King is incredulous, asserting there's no way it's possible. But Sabitch points out to the little kernel of energy that flanks her and then fades away. Declan knows that it's Danika.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Damn.

[Natalie Jean]

That the little piece of Danika is now gone from every plane of existence. Distance Bryce's tracking on Declan's tech shows she's shifting rapidly between veneer forms. All those who gave a drop and were reminded of the scene under the mountain with Feyre. Not only with the drops of others, but with the prime speaks that Sabine can't believe what's happening. And it's something that she'll never understand. She'll never understand it that she's ascending with the most powerful source of energy for those brave enough to open themselves to it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What is it, Natalie? It's love. She has love. The lover's back. You'll never understand Sabine. You've never been loved in your life, and you never will.

[Natalie Jean]

Never. Well, she's getting closer and closer to the surface, but she's slowing down and not quite back yet. Then Declan sees movements on the phyro surveillance camera. It's Hunt. He's healed.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What?

[Natalie Jean]

Hovering over Bryce's body, administering chest compressions. He's shouting at her. Declan can hear. He heard what Bryce whispered to him about his investments. What, you waited to admit until I was almost dead? You fucking coward.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

His lightning surged into her, sending her body arcing off the ground. As he tried to jump start her heart. He snarled in her ear.

[Natalie Jean]

Now come say it to my face.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sabine whispered a sentence to the room, to the Autumn King, and Declan's heart. Rose Hearing was the answer to the Ancient Prime's words, to the Autumn King's question of how against every statistic blaring on Declan's computer, they were even witnessing Hunt Athelar fight like hell to keep Bryce Quinlan's heart beating. Through love, all is possible. It's like she was telling her the entire time. But, you know, it's hard to just find love, Danika. Okay, I know through love, all is possible, but wouldn't that just be easy if I go down to the store and pick it up?

[Natalie Jean]

That's why it is so precious. Because you can't do that. And you also have to be brave enough to accept it, because it's hard. Hard to accept love and to love people.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You're right.

[Natalie Jean]

Which is why the worst people always end up dying alone.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Alone.

[Natalie Jean]

Even if they think that they're special little boys that won't save them in the end.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Who's special little boys?

[Natalie Jean]

I'm thinking about all the people who are ruining the country.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, you're thinking of those special little boys. I knew you were thinking of some actual special little boys, but Sabine's got none. And that's what happens when you push your wolves away and the wolves don't want to come help you anymore because you're just a mother.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Wow. Man.

[Natalie Jean]

So I cried a lot.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I really thought Hunt was gonna die. I really did.

[Natalie Jean]

I Mean, you never know with this woman.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Ever know with sjm. Yeah, I don't trust like that. And this is coming from a person who I will say I did cry during D and D this week because our Goblin Ward got murdered. Like, he died for us at D and D. I cried at D and D because Mud Bag got killed while trying to save us.

[Natalie Jean]

They're gonna make a no girls allow sign for you. You got it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know. And they were all. And Henry was, like, laughing, and I was like, tell him we're with him. Tell. Because I was in another. I was like, on a different part of the battle, and Henry was with him. And I told Henry, and then I was like, tell him that it's okay, that he's not alone, that he did it for us. And Henry just, like, laughed at him as he died. And he was just like, you did it for nothing. None of us are happy with what you did. And that was the last thing Mudbag heard before he died. And you think about that when he's so sweet with your Wendy and your Carmy. And you think about how he yelled at Mud Bag as he died.

[Natalie Jean]

That's not me.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

When he saved us, he was saving us, Natalie. And I know he was a goblin, and everybody says the goblins aren't the same as all of us because, yeah, maybe I'm a barbarian, half elf. And maybe he's not as strong as we. We are, but he helped.

[Natalie Jean]

I think he deserves love.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you.

[Natalie Jean]

You're welcome.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And Jeff had a cute little voice for him, too. And now he's dead.

[Natalie Jean]

What was his voice like?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I ain't talk like this. He was very, like, Rizzo the rat.

[Natalie Jean]

Ah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And I was the only. Even though I'm, like, the big bad barbarian, like, I always, like, would make him feel a little bit better.

[Natalie Jean]

If you're confused, we're talking about Dungeons and Dragons here, because this is. This is a very confusing conversation.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, he's.

[Natalie Jean]

That's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, I'm sorry. I thought. Everybody lives inside of my brain. And I know that I'm always now thinking about DND as a side.

[Natalie Jean]

Most people know what D is, but just in case it's a game, it's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

A made up magical world. Anyway, Mud Bag's not real, and he never was and he never will be. So get that into your dumb little female brain. Jackie.

[Natalie Jean]

No. Jackie. Kick out of D and D. Actually, it's probably not good to, like, be in a level of mental state where you think he is real. So maybe I shouldn't encourage that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. And I shouldn't be crying at D and D probably because it's just a madeup game.

[Natalie Jean]

It's okay.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I, it's.

[Natalie Jean]

I think it's healthy to cry at characters.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you.

[Natalie Jean]

It's a way to process emotions and.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We have to process here. So. Hunt's not dead.

[Natalie Jean]

Do you remember the first movie you ever cried at?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I remember the first. Specifically you asking me this. I remember.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, I did.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, no, no, no, no. I meant like in you asked me this. The first book I ever cried in was Harry Potter when Cedric. I mean spoiler. When Cedric dies. That was the first time I had ever cried in a book book.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh really?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Ever? Yeah. Cuz I, it came out when I was that age so I was like reading it at that age and I cried and I cried and I cried.

[Natalie Jean]

I, I was in my twenties when I cried when Dumbledore died.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, I cried hard.

[Natalie Jean]

But also her. But Dumbledore. But Dumbledore is pure.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes. And now just do what I do and every time I, you know, buy things like butter, beer, popcorn, just donate to a trans organization. Just remember to support if you, you know, need to try the Butterbeer popcorn like we did, then just support. Support a trans organization.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh yes. I already have tickets to Epic Universe for August this year.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So you'll be donating and I will be donating. You will be donating.

[Natalie Jean]

I will go to Harry Potter land forever. I. The rides are too good. I'm sorry. But I will always counter donate when I go.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's what we got to do. That's all. What's about everybody? And don't forget, through love all is possible.

[Natalie Jean]

We'll be back next week with the.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

End of the episode. Episode. Not episode, book. Please read through the end of the book for next week.

[Natalie Jean]

It uh.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, the last cookie. You can get a new box of cookies in as fast as an hour with Walmart Express delivery. Are you my guilty self conscience? No. I'm the voice offering you promo code Express for free delivery on your first order.

[Natalie Jean]

Hey, who ate my cookies? You mean these cookies?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

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