LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City
HOSAB / Episode 19: More Danifacts?!
Hosts: Natalie Jean & Jackie Zebrowski
Date: October 14, 2025
Episode Overview
In this lively and irreverent episode, Natalie and Jackie return to break down a pivotal stretch of House of Sky and Breath (HOSAB) from Sarah J. Maas's Crescent City series. The focus is on the major bombshells and character confrontations around Danica’s parentage, new secrets, pack hierarchies, and the escalating mess of feelings among the main cast. The hosts, in their signature comedic style, weave genuine insight with fan banter, veering into personal anecdotes, raunchy humor, and plenty of fandom in-jokes.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Sabine vs. The World: The Apartment Showdown
[12:12 – 31:11]
- Natalie and Jackie act out and analyze a major scene: Sabine barges into Bryce's apartment, resulting in a tense, multi-character confrontation.
- Sabine is angry and confrontational, Ethan is defiant, and Bryce steps into leadership.
- The scene reveals to Bryce (and others) that Mordoc is Danica’s father—a truth the listener already knows, which is now revealed in explosive fashion.
Insight:
- The girls discuss Sabine’s appeal and motivations: power, trauma, daddy issues, and self-destructive patterns.
- Jackie jokes, "I try not to kink-shame, but like, yo, you, Russ, really have some problems. I think you might need to talk about a couple of them if that's what you’re choosing." [15:58]
- They riff on Sabine’s potential for BDSM, and question pack politics and the consequences of toxic leadership.
Notable Quotes:
- Jackie: "It's a bit of a wolf sledgehammer, you know?" [14:21]
- Natalie: "She made some choices. She made some to beg for attention. Also, self-destructive. Yeah. We're therapizing right now." [17:28]
2. Danica’s Deepening Mysteries & Bryce’s Betrayal
[19:43 – 34:00]
- The emotional fallout for Bryce as she learns another Danica secret—the real identity of Danica's dad, and that everyone but her seemed to know.
- The hosts highlight themes of betrayal, friendship demotion, and the limits of loyalty.
- They share personal stories about outgrowing friendships and reflect on how Bryce and Danica’s friendship hits the rocks with every new revelation.
Notable Quotes:
- Jackie: "I feel like there is the point when you’re just like, I guess she's not my best friend, and I guess she never was." [32:51]
- Natalie: "It does feel like that. But there’s these other elements..." [33:02]
3. Pack Politics: Could Ethan Be Alpha?
[34:00 – 41:55]
- The group speculates about Ethan’s potential as pack leader, Bryce’s attempt to maneuver Sabine through veiled threats, and Ethan’s own emotional growth.
- They joke about who should actually lead, highlighting Ethan’s youth and reluctance.
Notable Quotes:
- Natalie: "Isn’t it sometimes who the leader should be—the person who never wanted to have the power in the first place?" [26:47]
4. Baxian’s Surprise Appearance & Plot Mechanics
[27:57 – 45:53]
- Baxian, a wildcard angel shifter, enters the crowded confrontation armed, diffusing tension with Sabine.
- The hosts discuss Baxian’s role, the presence of guns in a fantasy world, and Hunt’s emotional state as a jealous partner.
- Discussion turns comically to gun safety—“nothing is taut in your body when the gun goes off”—and how Hunt’s libido is interfering with his awareness. [28:42]
Notable Quotes:
- Jackie: "All the blood is in his dick, Natalie. It's not his fault." [29:42]
5. Hunt & Bryce: Processing Trauma and Connection
[45:53 – 49:41]
- Post-showdown, Bryce and Hunt reflect on Danica’s secrets and their own vulnerabilities in love.
- Emotional exchange as Hunt affirms, “wherever it is, he wants to go be there with her.” [47:17]
- Natalie and Jackie digress with earnest, comic longing about 'Brian Adams songs' and mock the trope of the epic love declaration.
6. Norse Lore and Vanir Etymology
[49:42 – 51:44]
- The hosts sidebar with a deep dive into the Norse etymology of "Vanir" (the magic/fertility gods), contrasting with "venereal" (related to Venus/love/STIs).
- Revel in Maas’s habit of borrowing names and elements from myth, with playful confusion about Feyre and other Maas characters.
7. The Mind-Bridge: Rune & Daybright’s Intimacy
[51:44 – 65:00]
- Deep analysis of Rune's mind-bridge rendezvous with Daybright (now a seductive, fainting-couch-loving entity).
- They read subtext as overt flirting/sexual tension, and draw real-world parallels to late-night texting and inappropriate work communications.
- Daybright reveals her lack of friends and sadistic father, ruling out her being an Asteri. There’s mutual trauma-bonding.
- “Special feelings” (read: sexual energy) surface; Natalie points out the careful escalation of intimate stakes.
Notable Quotes:
- Natalie: "Their shared misery gives Rune special feelings." [59:11]
- Jackie: "It's ratcheting up. There’s an interesting erotic tension." [59:25]
8. Ethan’s Big Crush: The Bryce Backstory Reveal
[66:06 – 80:49]
- Extended segment delving into Ethan’s point-of-view: his long-hidden, deep, angsty pining for Bryce, beginning as a high school crush on his brother’s crush.
- Natalie and Jackie share their own ‘inappropriate crush’ stories, drawing teen parallels and laughing at the universality and cringe of falling hard at a young age.
- Reflect on the awkwardness of friendships with tangled feelings, and how Ethan’s new move to Rune’s frat house is both a relief and a sign of maturity.
Notable Quotes:
- Jackie: "He’d been struck stupid. She was the hottest person he'd ever seen. No joke. Her smile had warmed some God's forsaken place in Ethan's chest that had been icy and dark since his parents had died." [69:43]
- Natalie: "His little heart was broken, but he just pretended that he just saw Bryce as a friend." [72:31]
9. The Bone Quarter & The Mystics: A New Plot Thread
[80:53 – 85:24]
- Ethan pitches to Tharion: "Can you get me to the Bone Quarter?"—hoping to connect with Connor’s spirit, despite Tharion’s warnings about the risks.
- They pivot to plan a trip to “The Mystics”—a shady, mystical alternative that might give them answers, setting up the next arc.
Notable Quotes:
- Natalie: "But can you?" / Jackie: "How many times do I have to tell you? It doesn't work like that." [82:26]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
On Sabine and Mor-dog’s Appeal:
"No, he's gross. Like, he's yucko. But, like, Sabine, man, I try not to like kink-shame. But like, yo, you, Russ, really have some problems." – Jackie [15:58]
On Nail Fails:
"Nails are just flying, y’all." – Jackie [10:43]
"They're just going to pop off. But I wanted you to at least see them, everyone." – Natalie [04:39]
On Friendship Demotion:
"I feel like there is the point when you're just like: I guess she's not my best friend, and I guess she never was." – Jackie [32:51]
On Ethan's Teen Longing:
"He’d been struck stupid. She was the hottest person he'd ever seen. No joke. Her smile had warmed some God's forsaken place in Ethan's chest that had been icy and dark since his parents had died." – Jackie [69:43]
On Gun Safety (and Fantasy Realism):
"I don't think you should hold a gun the way you just were ... Nothing is taut in your body when the gun goes off. So then you can roll with it the way a drunk driver does when they crash the car." – Natalie [28:42]
On Vanir and Norse Lore:
"Vanir seems to be a reference to the Norse word describing a group of their gods ... the more romantic, like fertility, like magic ones." – Natalie [49:48]
On Daybright and Rune’s Mind Connection:
“Special feelings? I mean… have special feelings? He doesn’t say he’s getting sexually turned on, but, like…” – Natalie [59:14]
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Timestamp | Topic/Conversation | |-----------|-------------------| | 02:51 – 04:57 | Hosts’ banter, Sabine cosplay and nail mishaps | | 12:12 – 19:43 | The Sabine apartment showdown (Bryce, Ethan, secrets spilled) | | 19:43 – 32:51 | Processing Danica’s secrets, betrayal, and friendship demotion | | 27:57 – 31:11 | Baxian’s appearance, threat escalation, guns and power dynamics | | 41:55 – 49:42 | Hunt and Bryce: processing, comfort, Brian Adams digression | | 49:42 – 51:44 | Etymology/geek sidebar: Vanir, Venus, Norse roots | | 51:44 – 65:00 | Mind-bridge: Rune & Daybright, trauma-bonding and intimacy | | 66:06 – 80:49 | Ethan’s pining: flashback, heartbreak, growing up, moving out | | 80:53 – 85:24 | Ethan’s plan: Bone Quarter, The Mystics set-up |
Tone & Style
- Comedic, irreverent, and horny: Natalie and Jackie bounce between literary analysis, raunchy jokes, and sincere fandom.
- Pop culture savvy: Frequent digressions into personal anecdotes, references to drag culture, MMA, Brian Adams, League of Their Own, and more.
- Queer & feminist lens: Commentary on power, pack politics, friendship, and female rage.
- Relatable yet analytical: Despite the laughs, both hosts offer genuine insight into Maas’s worldbuilding and character psychology.
Summary for New Listeners
This episode contains a comprehensive and hilarious breakdown of escalating drama in Crescent City, especially around the tangled secrets of Danica’s parentage, Sabine’s pack politics, Ethan’s unrequited love, and Rune’s curious mind-bridge dates. Jackie and Natalie bring their own experiences to bear, unwrapping the text through personal stories, feminist takes, and unfiltered humor. The result is both a cathartic discussion for longtime fans and an engaging recap for newcomers wanting to stay up to speed with the juicy plot twists and emotional underpinnings of the Crescent City saga.
Next Reading Assignment: Read up to Chapter 39 for the next episode!