LPN Deep Dives: HOSAB / Episode 28: Queen Doctor Witch: Medicine Woman

Summary

LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City

Episode 28: Queen Doctor Witch: Medicine Woman
Hosted by Natalie Jean & Jackie Zebrowski
Original Air Date: December 16, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this highly animated episode, Natalie Jean and Jackie Zebrowski continue their in-depth and irreverent trek through Sarah J. Maas’s “Crescent City: House of Sky and Breath.” The hosts don their best deathstalker attire—complete with chaotic wigs and questionable masks—to dissect chapters 54–58, focusing on evolving power dynamics, character development, and the ever-growing political and magical threats haunting Bryce and her friends. As the title suggests, themes of identity, royalty, and the double-edged nature of “being chosen” or “forced into greatness” hover over the discussion, especially as Queen Doctor Witch Hypaxia enters the spotlight. The episode fizzes with witty banter, cultural detours, and heartfelt moments as the hosts explore both plot and subtext.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Aftermath of Rune’s Confrontation and Bryce's Burden

• [10:29] Natalie and Jackie pick up after Rune's humbling confrontation with Zay, riffing on the term “chopped” and its generational/language gap, and what this says about Rune’s privilege and self-awareness.

  • “He got nipped. And he agrees, actually, but is quite butthurt about it, because that’s mean. It hurts.” — Natalie Jean [11:22]

• [11:58] The story shifts focus onto Bryce in her office, grappling with emotional fallout regarding her friend Connor/Emil and Ethan’s spiraling character arc. Natalie highlights the emotional layering:

  • “He’s been through a lot of drama, and now he’s been given a new family without his consent. It’s fine.” — Natalie Jean [14:10]

• [15:40] Bryce is interrupted by the sudden, intimidating arrival of her estranged fae father, the Autumn King, signaling a confrontation that further complicates her identity and allegiances.

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2. Royal Power Plays: The Autumn King’s Machinations

• [16:01] The Autumn King's interrogation centers on Bryce's mating bond with Hunt and her use of the family name to gain leverage, ultimately resulting in her being “officially” renamed as a princess. This sparks an impassioned exchange about control, legacy, and entrapment:

  • “While obviously changing her name is disgusting, I do think she should not have used his name for leverage.” — Natalie Jean [22:04]
  • “Change my name and I will kill you.” — Bryce (as recounted by Natalie) [22:56]

• [24:07] The Autumn King’s threats and hidden motivations come into question. Natalie and Jackie dissect whether his gestures of protection are self-serving, manipulative, or if there’s any kernel of redemption.

  • “He’s trying to say, ‘I didn’t like seeing Micah hurt you and that he loved your mother deeply.’ Is this going to be some kind of magic switch him up?” — Natalie Jean [20:56]

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3. Secrets, Numbers, and the Truth

• [24:39] The Autumn King pauses over mysterious numbers found on Sophie’s body, refusing to explain but implying a connection to the Asteri and “the truth” with a dramatic exit.
  • “I know what it is you’re searching for. I’ve been seeking it for a long, long time.” — the Autumn King via Natalie [25:30]
  • “The truth.” — Autumn King [25:41]

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4. Bryce’s Isolation and Search for Comfort

• Bryce faces layer upon layer of rejection—from her father, ballet class peers, and even herself. A low point arrives as she’s shunned at ballet, her solace shattered by community gossip.

  • “That’s rough though… Like, I know she did this, but that sucks.” — Natalie Jean [27:32]
  • “That was her solace. Like, it was her ballet class was the thing.” — Jackie Zebrowski [27:44]

• She reaches out to Hypaxia, the Witch Queen, seeking not only comfort but also a practical model for coping with unwanted royalty.

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5. Queen Doctor Witch: Hypaxia’s Perspective

• [29:50] The hosts delight in Hypaxia’s entrance, with Jackie drawing out themes of found family, duty, and power. Hypaxia’s backstory as a healer emerges, and her struggles with family and political expectation parallel Bryce’s own.

  • “She tries to just be a normal person herself. And it’s partly why she came to Lunathian to be a Medwich for the first time.” — Natalie Jean [35:13]

• Delving into the witches' internal politics, Hypaxia shares the burden of leadership, loss, and secrecy regarding the Asteri’s use of souls (Second Light).

  • “She had to make a bargain to make it so that her mother wouldn’t end up there in death.” — Natalie Jean [55:07]
  • “Where did the dead go before the Asteri arrived?” — Bryce [56:35]
  • “No, but they told me it was good. Peaceful.” — Hypaxia [56:44]

• The meeting cements a bond between Bryce and Hypaxia as two “not like the other girls,” forced into (and chafing against) roles of power.

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6. Deathstalkers Attack: Chaos and Teleportation

• As Bryce, Hypaxia, and Ethan leave, they’re ambushed by Deathstalkers—dangerous demonic beasts not seen in Lunathian for centuries.

  • “The beast. The demon ripped out Ethan’s throat, tipped back its broad, flat head and swallowed the chunk of flesh between black, curved fangs.” — Jackie Zebrowski [61:03]

• Quick thinking leads Bryce to request Hypaxia’s magic; under duress, they discover Bryce can teleport via magical power transfer.

  • “She says to Hi, Baxia, try it with your healing power now... That bitch done teleported.” — Natalie Jean & Jackie Zebrowski [65:34]

• Teamwork prevails as Hypaxia finishes off a demon with a knife to the skull, and Ethan is rescued—though, not without injury.

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7. Aftermath: Blame, Theories, and Friendship

• Hunt arrives to survey the carnage, and the group untangles possible culprits:

  • Was the attack another test from the Prince of the Pit (Apollyon)?
  • Could Hypaxia’s own coven be targeting her for being too progressive?
  • “A wolf and shield.” — Jackie Zebrowski re: Ethan’s accidental usefulness [70:57]

• The group learns of Bryce’s new teleporting ability, leading to a lighthearted but poignant argument about protection, autonomy, and the absurdity of Bryce’s new “princess” status.

  • “You’re now officially a princess.” — Natalie Jean [73:15]
  • “She’s just a cute girl. Just a cute girl. Don’t you just a cute girl at me, bitch.” — Jackie Zebrowski [73:22]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Method Acting:
  “Why doesn’t anybody ever method act being a nice person? It’s always... to be a huge piece of shit.” — Natalie Jean quoting Robert Pattinson [08:20]

• On Parental Gifting:
  “Surprise, there’s a thing you take care of for the rest of your life.” — Jackie Zebrowski (re: Bryce’s family adopting Connor) [15:33]

• On Witch Lore:
  “Queen Doctor Witch Medicine Woman. God, that’s awesome. But that’s like a lot of schooling, right?” — Jackie Zebrowski [35:19]

• On Banter:
  “We would make such a crazy kill team. We would have so many laughs though.” — Jackie Zebrowski [60:01]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [11:58] — Bryce’s call with her mother about new family dynamics
• [15:40] — The Autumn King confronts Bryce; name change
• [24:07] — The Autumn King’s motivations & mysterious numbers
• [27:32] — Bryce’s isolation at ballet class
• [29:50] — Bryce meets Hypaxia; “Queen Doctor Witch” discussion
• [35:13] — Hypaxia’s background as healer and new queen
• [55:07] — Revelation about the afterlife, Bone Quarter, and “Second Light”
• [61:03] — Deathstalker attack; Ethan is seriously hurt
• [65:34] — Bryce teleports with Hypaxia’s magical help
• [70:57] — Aftermath: Hunt arrives, theories about the attack
• [73:15] — Revelation of Bryce’s official princess status

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Tone, Style & Takeaways

Jackie and Natalie bring signature irreverence, dark humor, and a blend of critique and empathy to their analysis. The conversation is peppered with digressions—ranging from medical drama puns to Skarsgård thirsting to references about adulting and changing one’s name at the DMV. Despite all the snark and zany sidebars, the hosts underscore the emotional reality of isolation, forced leadership, and the cost of secrets in “Crescent City.”

Key Themes Highlighted

• The loneliness and stress of leadership (for both Bryce and Hypaxia)
• The weight of legacy and the manipulations of elder figures
• The struggle to do the right thing amidst social pressure and dangerous secrets
• Resilience, found family, and learning to trust unexpected allies
• The show's running fascination with trauma, recovery, and irreverent support

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Next Week

Cliffhanger / Assignment:
“Please read up until chapter 59 for next week.” — Jackie Zebrowski [73:35]

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A quintessential LPN Deep Dives episode—chaotic, thoughtful, messy, and very, very funny.

Transcript

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[Jackie Zabrowski]

Year.

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[Jackie Zabrowski]

We're excited to announce that we're going to Prythian and Vaalbara and Basgaith.

[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 some 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 Fayebaes at checkout for those events, don't you will receive an exclusive swag bag from the Weeknd.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

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

[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. Give me that swee. Welcome to Crescent City with your hosts Natalie Jean and Jackie Zabrowski. Two sides of the same coin we are. Oh I think. I think that we are doing two interpretations of the same character.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm assuming that'd be funny if you weren't.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It would be very weird. Especially since we both have, like, the mouth thing going. Even though you can't really see our mouths yet. But you know what? I think it's kind of nice that both of us see a deathstalker and we both. It's like we're not bringing our biases with us. Isn't it so beautiful that I see demons in no color and I only see them in bones?

[Natalie Jean]

Bone color.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I see them in bone color because underneath our skin, it's all bones. I guess I can't even say that for a deathstalker. I don't know. Maybe they're more gelatinous in nature.

[Natalie Jean]

It seems like with their movements, they must have bones. Right? They're not slithery.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, but at the same time, who knows how bones move in a different dimension, in a different realm? Like, what if maybe, like our bones are jelly in other capacities, but then they solidify when we need a spring.

[Natalie Jean]

Get it? Stop with the science talk. Okay, Sorry.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I have. I've been reading recently. It's like, you shouldn't let a woman.

[Natalie Jean]

Do that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Giving me all these ideas. You know, what's next? I'm going to put rocks in my pockets and I'm walking out into the ocean. But you can't take down a demon stalker.

[Natalie Jean]

That.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That easy, deathstalker. That easy. We're not demons. We're deathstalkers. I think that they're, I guess, demon in nature.

[Natalie Jean]

Do they identify as demons? I'm not sure.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think you should please ask each individual one.

[Natalie Jean]

All right. That's true. They're not a monolith.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We're not here to just assume. All right. No, we're not all one brain. We're not plurbed over here. No, thank you. Get your plurb out of here. I've been really enjoying Pluribus.

[Natalie Jean]

What's that?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's a show. It's a show. It's an Elliot show, and everybody loves it.

[Natalie Jean]

All right, I'm taking this off.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Why, Natalie? See, I like my mask the most because it keeps. It's like burrowing into the sides of my eyeballs. Kind of like I feel like I've got little crabs in there, going, I think I might squeeze them further, you beautiful woman. And I'm like crabs. You get out of my eyes. Which is very funny that we both did the same thing. Cause I didn't want to look just like a robber.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, no.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Did you bring a wig? So, yeah, yeah. Not only did I bring, you know, I got this wig. I don't know if you guys remember this is my Cormac wig, but I thought that it would really bring a lot of pizzazz to a. To a Death Star also, because I do have a robbers make robbers mask on me too, but I didn't know what to do with the face.

[Natalie Jean]

A lot of decisions were made.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You know, it's one of those things when you look around your. Your home that has a lot of wigs and you go, ah, this and then this thing, and then I put this mask on. Yeah, that's a. That's a deathstalker for you.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I same. I sort of went, this looks upsetting.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You're giving daddy scars guard right now.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, really? I thought this looked more like a Ben Franklin or like a colonizer. Oh, I thought was scary.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, no, I was seeing, like, Ian McKellen. Like, I'm seeing, like. No, yeah, I'm see. And like, oh, yeah, let's. Let's float it.

[Natalie Jean]

Let the record show I'm Jackie's type.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, man. I think. I think that the hair is really doing it for me. I think that it's like, oh, yes, let it free. At least I'm not looking at this way going, yes, you look.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, you look like you're very cool in like, a 2010 Harmony Corinne movie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You think so? I'm the gummo now, dog. Oh, let me be gummo. Natalie, are you saying.

[Natalie Jean]

Come on.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You know, I was reading the whole Sarah. No, it wasn't Sarah Paulson who was just talking about that. The fact that, like. Oh, is Kirsten Stewart. Kristen Stewart talking about that? Only men do, like the Method acting, that she's like, name women who. What woman has the time for the Method acting? I don't know why I got lost in that, but maybe it's because I do live this life. Kristen Stewart, and maybe we need to talk about this. Well, actually, should we not be doing this? Is this not. Oh, hello. Uh. Oh, somebody just showed up. Get me my ice Capades outfit.

[Natalie Jean]

I kind of like this.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I do kind of like this. Oh, my God, am I giving right now? This is like I'm giving Betty Draper. Hello. I'm reading. I'm watching Mad Men for the first time.

[Natalie Jean]

I like your. Your eye decisions.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you. I'm tortured.

[Natalie Jean]

I can tell.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Give me a cigarette. Oh, that's what they don't tell you about Mad Men, man. I haven't craved a cigarette in many Years. You put on an episode of Mad Men, I'm like, I could have one of those. Why aren't we all smoking cigarettes all the time? Oh, my God. Let's take it back. Let's take it back now, y'.

[Natalie Jean]

All.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And by that I mean nicotine addiction.

[Natalie Jean]

I was going to mention before the Mad Men's spin off that there's a.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Spin off Mad Women and what are we gonna do about it?

[Natalie Jean]

You mentioned Kristen Stewart. And then I was actually just. I heard a quote from Robert Pattinson about that recently that he said, why doesn't anybody ever method act being a nice person? It's always. You always have the guys doing method acting to be a huge piece of shit.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Right?

[Natalie Jean]

Like, it's never somebody, like, I need to be more kind. And I'm going to work through this, like, character who's like, very, you know, self, you know, who gives and who's. Who's selfless. It's always the.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's always the opposite kinds.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm a grabber.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah. You know, the.

[Natalie Jean]

The Jared Leto of it all.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Somebody put him back underground. Man, what a beautiful time period at the beginning of the COVID experience that we all had to have when Jared Leto was underground for so long that he didn't even realize that Covid was going on because that's where his cult was living. And I think that they should go back.

[Natalie Jean]

They should. I think they should go back down there.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But also not to bring up Robert Pattinson again. It is kind of fun. He also self identifies as a zoomer and I think it's very funny. Did you see that clip? I think, I think about. I think about it a lot. I like self identifying. It's like, actually I'm 23 years old and said.

[Natalie Jean]

He said, I think in that same interview he said he likes taking jobs from 17.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Some 17 year olds and he wants to continue to take jobs from 17 year olds.

[Natalie Jean]

And I love that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think it's a great journey for him.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, I love him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes. But you know what? Neither one of us are going to get him looking like this, I tell you what. Or do you think maybe we could.

[Natalie Jean]

He might be into it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Maybe we could. Especially with this updo.

[Natalie Jean]

Sloppy, sloppy Three Stooges.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. I think that I was given a little harpo. Am I given a harpo right now?

[Natalie Jean]

I don't know.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's all I remember from a harpo. He didn't talk. You want me to not talk for the rest of the episode? Yep.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, these two. These two stooges. Are going right back into lunatic into.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The health dimension where they belong.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, first, before we get to our story arcs as Death Stalkers, we last left Rune getting called. He was chopped by Zay. No, I'm a zoomer.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, okay. I thought you. So I took it. The old person. I was like, wow, he's really stretching himself.

[Natalie Jean]

No, that means that you have been degraded. Oh, yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You got chopped just like a salad. Do you have to, like, expand on it? Chopped up just like that chain of salad places where they put all the stuff in the bowl.

[Natalie Jean]

But I like, that's a compliment.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. Or you've been diced down to size. Delicious size.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I think that's what it is. Bite sized. Aww. She's been bite sized. He was bite sized.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm not fat. I'm fun sized.

[Natalie Jean]

There you go.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Like Henry and I's favorite Alvin or Theodore meme.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes. Just like it. She basically calls him a nepo baby who's never felt pain and you just got nipped. He got nipped. And he agrees, actually, but is quite butthurt about it, because that's mean. It hurts.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

My daddy was a bad daddy. You don't understand what my daddy did.

[Natalie Jean]

And she basically says, you don't even know what suffering is, you little nepo baby. Get out of here. And he's like, him down.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Dress him down.

[Natalie Jean]

And then he was like, I kind of agree. I'll leave. And she's like, wait. And he was like, bitch.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Nah, Nah.

[Natalie Jean]

So now we're with Bryce at chapter 54. She's in her work office, and she's talking to her mom on the phone about Connor. Nay, Emil. I don't know if that works, but.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh. Oh, yeah. Yes. Nay, Emil. I just got excited because I thought it was a little Cormac intro, and I was like, oh, my wig is here. Oh. Teleported right through the fuck dimension. Oh, no, he's not having sex right now. He's heartbroken. Jackie, Cormac is not having sex.

[Natalie Jean]

He is. Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm just thinking all sexy about boys because I started watching Heated Rivalry, the Hockey Fuck show, and now I'm just thinking about boys kissing and.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, all right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, yeah. So I guess I'll just be sitting here with a stupid smile on my face, dreaming of boys. What's happening? Oh, my God. I do have a smile on my face, but it's a scary smile.

[Natalie Jean]

It is a little bit peeling off.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Which is already peeling off. Which I'm so upset because I need everybody to know. Last Week I had set up with this outfit on.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

With a different. Different tattoo on. Because I didn't know that Natalie wasn't going to be able to make it. And that tattoo, I had to scrape. Same place I got this tattoo that is immediately falling off my face. The other one was on. I took pictures late that day. It was on all day.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm so sorry.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's okay. I just don't one. You know, it's interesting how from one smile to another, some of them are more tentative than others. And you don't know. You don't know where the smile is coming from.

[Natalie Jean]

You don't know when your smile is gonna peel off.

[Commercial Announcer]

No.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And every woman feels that way. I'm just waiting for the smile to peel right off my face. It's fine. I think. I think it actually makes it scarier that it's peeling off my face because it's like, what's wrong with that Death stalker.

[Natalie Jean]

It's a little scary. It is a little scary. So she's is talking to her mom on the phone about Connor, who was Emile, and now he's a Conor. He was retitled Connor, unfortunately.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Good. Give the boy with the dead brother even more fucking issues. Great, great, great. Dead sister, dead. No dead sister. Talking about Ethan. Talking about. Just sounding like, you know. Sounding like, you know. I feel like bringing all that in is the last thing that we need is even hearing that we don't need the name. He's already trying to go back to hell to bring his dead wolf brother back. We don't need extra pain.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. It's just. Yeah, it's a lot. We don't. There's a lot going on. We don't really need this on top of everything else, but. Okay. Her mom says that he is getting settled in. Well, as well as could be hoped for. He's been through a lot of drama, and now he's been given a new family without his consent. It's fine. They bicker in a mom daughter sort of way about how Connor should be handled and treated, whether Ember should push him to open up or give him space to be ready to talk. Randall loves having a kid around and showing him the lay of the land.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, my God, Randall, you're perfect. Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

Bryce earnestly thanks her mom for taking him in. And Ember says it is a gift to her and Randall. They are making plans that's, like, even worse than when people give a puppy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know. I just feel like. It's just.

[Natalie Jean]

It's just. It's like.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. It's a gift. Like, yeah, we were retired and we were going to, like, we got an RV and we were going to go through all the lands. But you know, don't worry, it's better this way. We are ready to be a parent again.

[Natalie Jean]

Surprise. There's a thing you take care of for the rest of your life.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And he's young and he's got a lot of trauma.

[Natalie Jean]

So they are making plans for a family winter trip together. When Bryce feels a surge of power rush through the building. She ushers her mom off the phone, saying she has to go to work. But in reality, it's because she wanted off the phone before being confronted by the source of that power. The Autumn King.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Daddy time. Move over, Mommy.

[Natalie Jean]

Move over, Mommy. It's bad, Daddy. He asks an irritated Bryce when she was planning on telling him that she had mated with Hunt. He says he didn't realize it goes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Back to all the sniff test. It just always like, oh, I love it when daddy sniffs me and knows I'm making with my boyfriend.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I imagine he sniffed her, but I think he came because somebody told him, oh, fine. And then he's like, excuse me. Oh, you want to be my dad now that I'm grown?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Surprised it wasn't just a phone call, Daddy, but I guess it has something to do with all my like public engagement or whatever.

[Natalie Jean]

I get a sense it's like intimidation a little bit.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, of course. That's all the. He's just such a worm. Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

He says he didn't realize half breeds could attain this. It's like, whatever, get out of here. You are obviously in love with the human. This is some ugly ass copium and insecurity saying slurs like that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, do you think he was in love?

[Natalie Jean]

I think that he was fat.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think that's why he was so upset.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't know if he can love, but I think he was infatuated. I think he was fixated, almost like obsessive. Like, that's mine.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay, gotcha. And didn't want to share.

[Natalie Jean]

But like, maybe we don't know enough about him yet. Maybe he is willing, especially because like.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

A human, it would. He would see it as like a pet.

[Natalie Jean]

Except Ember's special. She's not like the others.

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[Natalie Jean]

So they snap at one another. The Autumn King insisting that he chose Cormac for Bryce's best interests. She's like, it's for your best interest. Please. Besides, if she has now made it, it doesn't matter.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Matter. Daddy. Sorry.

[Natalie Jean]

He gives her a veiled threat about how the island of Allen, that Cormac lives on, offers protection from certain threats with its mysterious myths. And he's like, I was trying to help you by putting you on the island. She balks, and he reminds her that she killed an archangel, and it's probably on a bunch of people's shit list. So he's like, see, I was trying to protect you, girl. Which is, you know, she is on people's shit lists. But Bryce doesn't believe he's looking out for her, and neither do I.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, I don't. I don't know. Sorry. I'm giving myself a soul patch. I realize it's like, you know what this smile needs? A little soul patch action.

[Natalie Jean]

I agree.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

All for you to say what it is.

[Natalie Jean]

There we go. Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Giving a little Sister Hazel.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Everybody remember that band everybody's always thinking about? Sister Hazel.

[Natalie Jean]

Which one's that?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's like a small. Not. Nobody's ever thinking. I. I think of Blues Traveler Sister Hazel in the same nut casing. They're like a couple of peanuts.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, in the same little shell.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. Sucking the salt off each other. And they're like, how'd you get salty in your hair? And it's like, oh, it's because it got all sweaty in this shell together. And they start. Then tongues come out. It's heated. Rivalry's fault.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, you're the hockey.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's the hockey show's fault.

[Natalie Jean]

There's a lot of different ideas coming out at the same time. Trying to keep up. Trying to keep up. All right, so we strangely, the Autumn King. Almost as she's pushing back on this idea that he was trying to protect her, he like kind of sighs and sits across from her and tries to appeal to her and we see a sort of 10% more humble version of the Autumn King. And as I read this again, I'm not sure what to take away from this interaction because he's so cruel so often and we know him to be violent, but here he's trying to tell her that he didn't like seeing Micah hurt her and that he loved her mother deeply. And is this going to be some kind of magic switch him up that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We don't understand yet, or we don't trust him?

[Natalie Jean]

No, especially because he scarred Ember's face. He pit her enough that she has a scar and like, he burned Rune's arms and stuff. So how are we gonna get out of that one? I think I'm more perplexed by the notion that he's trying to show that he cares for her, not that he secretly, like. I believe he has a deep fixation on Ember. I just don't know what he's trying to do by saying, I care about you here.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Manipulate her. Use her.

[Natalie Jean]

But he never does that. He always goes further in the other direction. So we don't know what this means yet. In any case, Bryce is not buying it and tells him so. This angers him and he smugly says that she doesn't seem to mind using his name to get favors. To her horror, he calls her Princess Bryce Dann. Whoa. That's not her name.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Not her fucking name, bitch.

[Natalie Jean]

He. He's like, well, you pulled leverage with the ballet and also to cover for stealing four of the astronomer slaves. So. Okay, your name is officially changed.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Damn.

[Natalie Jean]

While obviously changing her name is disgusting, I do think she should not have used his name for leverage.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, he is a little bit like, oh, okay, fine. You want to use the name? Well, then that's your name. I do kind of get that a little bit. Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Obviously don't agree with him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, he's not.

[Natalie Jean]

But she shouldn't be swinging that around. You know how distrust. Like, you shouldn't trust this man. Why would you use his name? Especially showing again, why meddling in Juniper's career was a bad call for a number.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, if you had thought about it for a second. Bryce again. These are all of these decisions. This is why people get upset with you.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. He tells her the paperwork is already signed and she is now officially a Royal Fae princess. You change my name, and I will kill you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Starlight flared at her chest. Oh, good one. Good one, Bryce.

[Natalie Jean]

I will get it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Good one.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm gonna get you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You're gonna. I'm gonna be really mad, Daddy, if you do that, because, like, I know that I am a princess, and how dare you call me my. By my princess name.

[Natalie Jean]

He's. Yeah, she's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

This is annoying. I hate the Autumn King, and this is still very annoying.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes, I understand that. He scoffs and tells her, oh, you're.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

This. You're still a part of a royalty, you know, it's like this is all backwards thinking. Yes. And being sold off. Yes. Backwards thinking. But isn't all of your royalty bullshit kind of backwards thinking? Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I understand a little bit with the. With this fire sprites, like, trying to do what you could to keep them from being pushed back. Technically Ethan's fault, but you shouldn't be meddling with princess shit like, you just shouldn't. So he scoffs and tells her threatening the king is punishable by death. She tries to rebuke him, but the damage is done. Rebuke. Rebuke. No.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No.

[Natalie Jean]

As he gets up, he wonders aloud what Ember will think about her name changing.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Just being a little.

[Natalie Jean]

And there is a truth in that. That part of this act is to torment his baby mama. I do think that part of this is because he is scorned by Ember, because that was his possession. And he's like, now I'm taking your daughter from you. And I do think that there's this other backstory, which I do want to hear. All of Ember. And he is obsessed with her, in my opinion. They continue their argument as he begins to leave, but then suddenly, he stops, his eyes on the paper on Bryce's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Desk, his eyes narrowed.

[Natalie Jean]

What is that number there?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She flipped over the piece of paper on which she'd written the sequence of numbers and letters on Sophie's body. But despite her rage and disgust, she managed to ask. You know it.

[Natalie Jean]

He doesn't answer her, instead warns her against acting reckless, against the Asteri, that they will quote, go straight to Nidaros, meaning her mom. But this only leads more questions, because when he answers that, he's alluding to that having something to do with those. The letters and numbers having something to do with the Asteri. Yes, but doesn't expand, of course. But what does he know? What does that mean? And what does he mean about this being connected to the gods?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But he paused on the threshold attention going to the star on her chest.

[Natalie Jean]

I know what it is you're searching for. I've been seeking it for a long, long time.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, she sneered.

[Natalie Jean]

And what is that?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The Autumn King stepped into the dimness of the stacks. The truth.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, why does he have to be hot, man?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And you know, he's like, you know, he smells good. Like, you know, he smells too good. That you're just like, I know how evil you are because you smell so seductive that I don't trust you.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. This section leaves a lot of things to consider. Like, perhaps, is there something redeemable in the Autumn King? No, probably not. But maybe there is.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We don't even know.

[Natalie Jean]

Weird turn of him saying, like, I didn't like to see you get hurt, because he's never shown an ounce of consideration for her. We cut to a little later, and Bryce is not having a good day. She went to her ballet class, but the whole class has turned upon her because they all know about what's happened. Because obviously, even if she wasn't going about telling people that she did this.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

People are gonna find out. Of course. That kind of tea. Are you kidding?

[Natalie Jean]

I know. My God, the gossip. Oh, and June hasn't shown up at all to class because she's probably doesn't want to see Bryce. She can hear all of them whispering about her, very Reddit style. Can you believe how entitled she is? She is such a brat. Oh, my God. I can't believe she'd even show up here today.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm gonna puke in her shoes. Whoa, whoa. That's really. You gotta take it up. I feel like, you know, I imagine it's, like, always right there. Especially if you're about to go dancing anyway. You don't want to eat before. Yeah. You want to get it out.

[Natalie Jean]

Certainly I did for a long time.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, Natalie, no.

[Natalie Jean]

So during a brief break in the class, Bryce just slips out and doesn't return. Just, you know, why'd you want to stay if everybody's talking about you like that? That's rough, though.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That sucks.

[Natalie Jean]

Like, I know she did this, but that sucks. So that's. That's a lot.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's very mean girl. I know it's not okay, but in a small community, for you to throw your weight around like that, it's kind of what you deserve.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. It's sad, though, because that was her solace. Like, it was her ballet class was the thing.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And why did you need to control and manipulate that? And maybe you should think about that for a second. Right?

[Natalie Jean]

She should think about that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She should Think about that.

[Natalie Jean]

Why did I need to take control of that situation?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That had nothing to do with me.

[Natalie Jean]

And she did think she was doing it out of defense of her friend and. And knew that her friend was getting slighted. But not your place.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Not your place.

[Natalie Jean]

She finds herself in Oracle park, and as she sits on a bench, she thinks about the events of the day. Before. She had left for class, a package had arrived to her office that contained all of her new paperwork with her new name on it, including a black card from Daddy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, if someone's gonna change my name without my permission, at least give me a big old fun credit card to use. Sure.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, if you're already just gonna, like, put the collar on and be let around, just.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'll use your card.

[Natalie Jean]

Also, if somebody did all the paperwork for her. Yeah, yeah, I don't have to do any. Maybe you could change my name. I don't have to go to the. I don't have to go register for stuff and, like, do paperwork.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's literally why I haven't changed my name to my married name. It. It. Like, I. It takes so many. You gotta go to so many places.

[Natalie Jean]

So many lines to start at the Social Security office.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Like, who wants to start any project at the Social Security office?

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No.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So, Bryce, at least you didn't have to do the paperwork. Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Bryce feels like a big idiot and wishes that Danika was there. None of her girlfriends were available for her in that moment because she's had. She's in fights, she's in tiffs. And while she knew Hunt would always be there for her. She wants some girl time. She needs girl time.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Whoa.

[Natalie Jean]

Yep.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She dialed before she could second guess herself.

[Natalie Jean]

Who's it gonna be? Who'd you call? Who do you think it is?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know who it is.

[Natalie Jean]

We're gonna find out immediately.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, that's fine.

[Natalie Jean]

We cut to a little later, and Bryce is leaning on a counter at a pizza place holding a beer.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The witch queen entered so casually that Bryce might not have noticed if it hadn't been for Ithan's presence. He sat at one of the small tables in the alley, clad in an old sunball T shirt and track pants, looking for all the world like a guy out to meet a friend. Except for the outline of the handgun tucked into the back of his waistband, the knife she knew was in his boot.

[Natalie Jean]

Get that knife out of your boot, boy. Why is there a knife in there?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But also, Bryce, if you gotta call up a witch queen to, like, have a kiki. To have A girl. Kiki, think about your life choices. You know, you gotta be a friend to have a friend. And she's feeling real lonely right now. You know why? Because she hasn't been a good friend.

[Natalie Jean]

No, of course not.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And she thinks she's being a good.

[Natalie Jean]

Friend, but she's not for sure. And she. I think she does realize she's fucked up royally. Royally.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Because they're kind of forgetting.

[Natalie Jean]

But I will say that calling somebody else who has a royal decree upon their name, I know there is a camaraderie that could potentially happen there. Maybe she needs some help figuring out, like, how do I be a princess?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Also, the Witch Queen is really hot and really cool.

[Natalie Jean]

So, like, you know, Ethan, here's your chance, guys. We believe in you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Do we?

[Natalie Jean]

We're going to show the world what you're capable of by being this bodyguard.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And what is it that you're capable of?

[Natalie Jean]

We're going to. He's going to do it. I believe in him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay. Okay.

[Natalie Jean]

This is of course, Ethan taking on his role of bodyguard to Hypaxia as she has asked Rune to help with protecting her while she is in Lunatheon. Ariadne is not visible at the moment, but is perhaps hiding in the shadows as a lookout elsewhere because that was the other bodyguard that had kind of been forced onto the guard. Bryce is slightly amused that Pax is dressed down so casually in jeans and a blouse. And Pax explains that it is in order to hide and play in sight a little better. So, you know, people aren't going to stare as much that if she was wearing like robes and a beautiful gown. After Hypaxia order something, they perch together on the counter that opens out into the alleyway where they watch the bustle of the people passing by. Bryce thanks her for responding to her phone call. She's hoping for some advice as Hypaxia responds kindly that she had hoped to see her again. Bryce is flooded with memories that it was this witch who had freed Hunt from his halo and truly had ensured their survival. She is overcome by emotion and thanks her for what she did the previous spring. Hypaxi only smiles and says, I smell your juices, girl.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They're all sniff testing her, basically saying, I smell.

[Natalie Jean]

You've made it. Congratulations.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yucks me out.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, especially because I think the connotation you would think, like, does it smell like cum?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know, I know it doesn't smell like cum, but like, it just makes me think that they all smell like old crusted love cum. And they're like, this cum is different than other cum because it's made out of love. And it's like, ew. Does that make it more viscous? Because if it does, I don't want it more briny. Oh. Oh. But if you could start brine and things with it.

[Natalie Jean]

Pickling.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, Pickled nuts.

[Natalie Jean]

So after a little chatting, Bryce reveals what happened with her father and her name change. Hypaxia says she can sense that Bryce is not happy about this news. Bryce explains that she knows Hypaxia was born into the queen role and that Bryce doesn't mean to compare. She doesn't know if she can handle the role of royalty.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

However, we're having a big Megan Markle, Kate Middleton moment right now.

[Natalie Jean]

Really are.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And. And is this going to like, are they going to shine together or are they going to fall apart?

[Natalie Jean]

Did they do you think?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Falling apart?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, they fell apart, right?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They're falling apart.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, they fell apart a long time ago.

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[Natalie Jean]

Done.

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[Natalie Jean]

Bryce tries to hold back her tears as Hypaxia looks at her with compassion. Hypaxi explains that she tries to just be a normal person herself. And it's partly why she came to Lunathian to be a Medwich for the first time. She was allowed to because, remember, we first met her when she was being a doctor.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We didn't know.

[Natalie Jean]

We didn't know anything about her. The witch Doctor Witch Lady Queen Doctor Witch.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

God, that's awesome. But that's like a lot of schooling, right? Queen Doctor Witch.

[Natalie Jean]

I do watch that on like an abc.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, my God. Medicine woman. Yes, Queen doctor Rich Medicine woman.

[Natalie Jean]

So they talk briefly about her upbringing, and she reveals that her ghost tutors are family to her.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh.

[Natalie Jean]

Though they can't leave the property where she was raised. They are her companions and advisors. Maybe the only people she can count on now that her mother has died. Bryce gently brings up, well, you have a sister right behind.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Uh, yeah. And if you fucking met her. Which, I'm surprised, is not what Hypaxia says in this moment.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, but Hypaxia.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, I'm sorry, my big fucking huge bitch sister. But she doesn't say that.

[Natalie Jean]

She actually also has never met the hind.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Still. Right. So.

[Natalie Jean]

But we all know.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But we all know that she's a. And I want to get to know her.

[Natalie Jean]

No. Hypaxia quickly tells her she doesn't consider her can. She tries to be cautious. Trying to.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm saying, a hell can.

[Natalie Jean]

That's on my can.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And yet she's. Honestly, I think if she had that kind of like, almost like Alana Del Rey's husband kind of accent, I would be very into it. I'd be like, I don't know what you do back there in those bayous, but I know it is scary.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't mind a swamp boy, but here in Lana Del Rey's husband immediately takes me out of.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know, but I'm thinking of her as, like, a swamp witch. I mean, like a Cajun swamp. Like.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, good.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Give me, give me, give me puffs.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes, please.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh.

[Natalie Jean]

Trying to be cautious. Bryce mentions that she and the hind don't look alike, which leads. Basically, she's trying to, like, get gossip out of her, it seems like. Which leads Hypaxia into talking about their ancestry a little. She reveals that the Heinz father was a powerful stag shifter and that the hind has inherited his powers, not their mother's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She ain't no witch, so they're different in many ways.

[Natalie Jean]

Because of that, she was sent to her father at the age of three. She doesn't know why her mother chose to breed with this shifter. Bryce thinks in revulsion that her own mother has fought to almost the death to protect her. Even at the age. Thinking about the age of three, like, how different those fates where the hind was just, like, given away.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

If you're a deer, get over there. Oh, you're gonna be a stag bitch. Get out. Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

And that how Bryce's mother basically fought almost to the death to protect Bryce from her father.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Ember, you're all of our mothers.

[Natalie Jean]

It's interesting to Think about the stag connection with her other books. I'm wondering if there's a connection there.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Not only that, but also like, I feel like the whole idea of like, like the med witches and like the witches that work together, you know, I mean, not say that. It's just like, you know, with all of the like, medicine stuff, I feel like that comes up in other series of hers as well. And I'm so fascinated by all of them.

[Natalie Jean]

And the hide with her blonde hair too. Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Up in a chignon. And how many times I've had to look up what a Cheyenne is?

[Natalie Jean]

Is that how you say it?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I. I mean, I. I think, I believe it's a. Is a French. I don't think it's chignon. Look at that. With her jig not on her head.

[Natalie Jean]

Maybe.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm thinking about all these Cajun med witches right now and I'm looking. Oh, I'm getting lost up here.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Lost in that southern sauce. And I think it's boot. Also the hair. It's. It's really the. I. I think lots.

[Natalie Jean]

There's a lot of I'll make you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Dinner, but then I'm gonna suck you with my big, wide skull sized mouth. Do you like it? I'm smoking cigarettes while I do it.

[Natalie Jean]

What's that have to do with being Cajun?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The hair, it was with a Betty Draper. Oh, I don't know. It was a lot of ideas mixed into one. No matter what, I don't think any person wants to come home to this. Just like steering a bowl of cookies.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't know. I kind of like it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Should I put it up in the shing now?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. You know, she lets the shing down occasionally.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, she does. Yeah. You gots do also. That just means your hair's up in hairdo, by the way, for those that don't know and. Or give a shit. It's a hairdo.

[Natalie Jean]

It's like a low bun. I think kind of. It's like a bun more than anything.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

A knot or coil of hair arranged in the back. Well, yeah, it's a fucking bun. That's just a bun.

[Natalie Jean]

I think it's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Call it a bun.

[Natalie Jean]

I think it's supposed to.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, I think it's a bunch of.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes, that. It's like, it's like, It's a shape. It's like. Oh, she put like a shape. Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's not. Because chignon does mean bun. So it. But it is a specific style of a bun.

[Natalie Jean]

But French.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, it's. It's a yeah. So it comes out the ass.

[Natalie Jean]

Why?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't know. I think it's because. It's because as I was reading it, I. As I was saying it comes out the ass is because I was reading the line signifying a low bun worn at the nape of the neck. And I just imagined it was as if the nape of the neck. This is where my brain went. Nape of the neck, asshole. As if this was the gastrointestinal system up inside your skull. Your brain is the gastrointestinal system. And the nape of your neck, that's where the asshole would be. And so it blossoms out of the nape of your neck like it's a big old log of shit. That's why I thought. Do we need to talk your asshole? Do we talk? As if you and I sick? Do I have a problem?

[Natalie Jean]

Is this the Christmas crazies?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think I've got it. And I'm sorry, everybody. And I'm sorry that Natalie's given so much daddy scars. Guard that. It's crazy. You are really.

[Natalie Jean]

That's only just more indication that something's going on with you, because I do not.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's the air. It's the hair. It's because of that one. Oh, God. With the hot guy in Disney. And it's the prequels to the Star Wars. It's not. It's not that other guy.

[Natalie Jean]

Folks, if you end up watching this, I want to just like, I want to hear your opinion on whether you think this is a sexy look that I have on right now. That's like a daddy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You look great. And. Or I was thinking of him specifically in and. Or I'm gonna show you this picture. And you'd be like, oh, my God, you're so right, Jackie. You'd be like, oh, wow, that's so crazy.

[Natalie Jean]

Don't.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You look like him. You look like him.

[Natalie Jean]

Okay. The hair is similar.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You look like him.

[Natalie Jean]

The hair is similar.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Literally, him in Andor. Stellan Skarsgard looks just like Natalie. And Natalie looks just like Stellan Skarsgard.

[Natalie Jean]

Both of us are equally insulted.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think that. Honestly, I think. Who's gonna be the most proud? Your husband. And I think he should be.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. I mean, making that Star wars money.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Go get it. Go get it. I think the scars guard. I don't think they gotta worry about money. No. Pretty sure. But Alexander Sky's God. You can come sit by me.

[Natalie Jean]

You are apparently sitting right next to him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I want to sex with your son. Can I have sex with your son? Yeah. I'll have Sex with you, too. I'll have sex with any of them. Yeah, give me one. Just. Yeah, come on, catch one. Like, I'm the. I'm the.

[Natalie Jean]

The fish now, dog.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm the tortellini when you throw rings. What are you talking about? Am I wrong today? Did I wake up weird today? Am I different? What is tortellini rings? It's the. It's the wig. It's the wig. It makes me crazy. It makes me crazy. Oh, it's my Cormac wig. It's not my fault. I'm sorry, everyone.

[Natalie Jean]

The hide. Okay, so when we left, where we left off was the chignon of it all. So the hind is with the father, the stag father. Because of that, she was sent to him at the age of three. And that makes Bryce think about how her own mother protected her at 3, which. What it must have been like to have basically your mom ship you off forever like an afterthought. Makes you a villain.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, a hot villain.

[Natalie Jean]

She feels shame again for besmirching all of her mother's carefully devised plans to keep her safe. And at the end, she still became hoodwinked by the Autumn King.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He's a lot older than you, you know.

[Natalie Jean]

Hypaxi continues that whatever pact her mom had made with this shifter, they had agreed that whatever powers showed up, the child took on those powers. That's who would raise the kid. So this is a going parent traps method for raising your children, I guess, where you just never see one again. You just pretend like the other one doesn't exist.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Kind of great. I mean, if you have multiples, like, why do you have to do more than one?

[Natalie Jean]

Maybe the parent. Oh, we can't parent trap the parents now because the mom died. Hibaxia reveals that she is going to meet, yes, meet the hind, who was sent away before Hypaxia was born at this upcoming ball.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Hey, mister, she's my sister.

[Natalie Jean]

That's what she's gonna do there. If I'm recalling correctly, Hypaxia is supposed to be in her late 20s in this series, and the hind is in her late 40s, so they would have not crossed paths at all. But then Hypaxia redirects to Bryce, so she kind of, like, goes off on a tangent about her own family, and then she's like, actually, Bryce, what are we doing here? Your request for advice about what to do with your father. Hypaxi says, unfortunately, probably the only people who can change course on her dad's decision are, in fact, the Asteri So basically not going to happen. She's not. Because, you know, Bryce is like, could you help me change my name back? Or, like, fight against. Is there something I can do to.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Someone to help with the paperwork? That would be great.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, you go to the DMV for me.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, my God. If someone could do it in their.

[Natalie Jean]

Stead, can you hire somebody to sit in line for you?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, I straight up had my mother sit on the phone with the DMV for me this week. So you can sometimes pull in some reserves.

[Natalie Jean]

Finally putting that mom to use.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

My mom was like. She's like, I've got the time. She said, put me on the phone with them. I was like, thank you, Bob. I can't deal with the DMV right now.

[Natalie Jean]

That's a mom move.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's a mom move, right? I mean, honestly, it is giving Ember. I feel like Ember also would sit at the DMV for Bryce and be like, I'll go try and figure it out. And it is crazy that. Yes, I am 38 years old and sometimes I go, bob, I don't know what to do. I had to sit on the phone. I don't know how to get it done. We all.

[Natalie Jean]

We all need it sometimes, baby.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oops, I'm a baby. In total control of herself.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Bryce is bummed but not surprised that the nobody can do anything about her father's decisions. And she laments over having to tell Hunt. Hypaxia asks won't he be happy to know his new status? Which causes Bryce to almost choke on her beer when she realizes her new status makes Hunt a prince.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He's a little prince. Like a little dressage horse. Prince all about Prince, Prince all about. He would be so cute turned into a horse that did dressage.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Like, with the lightning all around him. But he keeps zapping the jockey. It would be cute, but, like, in a fun way. Like, all those people that all do the coming on the horses. Everybody says they're coming on the horses. They say, get your pussy up on that horse and you're gonna come on the horse. No, that's what everybody says. I've never been on a horse before, but that's what they say.

[Natalie Jean]

Don't cross these streams. Horses are not for sexing.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, you don't have sex with a horse. You just accidentally come on the horse.

[Natalie Jean]

Sometimes people do.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know. It's not their fault. It's just body function.

[Natalie Jean]

The horse on the horse as well. It's the people.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, I blame the Horse.

[Natalie Jean]

You blame the horse.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, with your galloping all about true. Yeah, I see what you were trying to do.

[Natalie Jean]

It's why she's not allowed on any horse ranches in Los Angeles.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

There's a picture of me at the front of every ranch. Do not let dress like this. It's like a boomerang of me. Don't let this woman remorse.

[Natalie Jean]

They finish up their food and decide to walk together for a bit and talk. Bryce sees Ethan following a bit behind. But still no sign of Ariadne anywhere. As they walk, Hypaxia laments over the state of the witches. Bryce knows about it from Rune. She catches herself before she says she had dreamed of being with a certain person. So Bryce knows about what's going on with, like, the witches sort of rebelling against hypaxia, which is why she was like, asking for the protection in the first place.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And because they don't like that she's a necromance.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes. And they don't like that she seems to want to become more progressive or, like, remove themselves from the. The leash of the hysteria a little bit. Where the other witches are like, we.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Want to bend the knee, stay in line.

[Natalie Jean]

Because we're losing our magic and we need their. Them to still like their pick. Me's a little bit.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I would be too, if it had to do with my magic.

[Natalie Jean]

I know, but I. I think Hypexi's right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Of course she's right. But it's also very scary to be like the head of something. Be like, I think we should change all of it. And all the witches are like, you're in your late 20s and we've been kind of doing this for a while.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, it's true, but.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So I get it. But she is right.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. So as she's talking about this with Bryce and they're walking, she. Hypaxia almost says something and she kind of catches herself that she had dreamed of being with somebody. And Bryce got enough of the sentence to be like, oh, you. There's another. There's a person. Even though your betrothed to my brother. Hypaxia doesn't deny it. There's another lover. But she says she had to end it because the other person required it. Like, apparently there was some, like, love Lorne kind of drama going on.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, my God. I could never hear the top of this story and then be like, okay.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, great.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Wow. No, tell me, tell me. Give me. I need more of it. Tell me every single detail. Tell me every detail. But she can't I know that she.

[Natalie Jean]

Can'T tell me everything, especially because she's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Go off, go off, Tell me, tell me, tell me.

[Natalie Jean]

Engaged to her brother, though.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But, like, also at the same time, though, Bryce is also engaged to Cormac. And we know that that's not working out. So I feel like we could talk.

[Natalie Jean]

About this for sure. But obviously my back is not going insane. And Bryce feels bad in that moment, for she's like, kind of like, oh, poor Rune. Even though she knows, like, Rune didn't really choose this. But Hypaxia points out that, you know, he didn't really want to marry her either. And Bryce still feels bad for both of them. And Bryce. You guys, I got distracted.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sorry. I was groping my eye. I forgot that I have this, like. Like a 19 pack on this suit.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And I just noticed it, and I started grab. Because I realized if I had this pack, I'd probably be grabbing on myself.

[Natalie Jean]

Ah, sure, go ahead.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I feel like, how else are the deathstalkers supposed to, like, prepare themselves for.

[Natalie Jean]

What they gotta do, you know, piping themselves up.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, yeah. You've got this. Look at that big mouth of yours. You know, they're gonna be scared. You know, they're gonna be like, please don't. Even though you're tired, you didn't want to come to work today, but you. You put on that mouth, you get out there and you suck some soul. This is a good speech. Thank you. Yeah, I'm ready to be.

[Natalie Jean]

At that point, I feel motivated.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Do you?

[Commercial Announcer]

Wow.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm gonna go kill. Although if you are given, like, Stellan and Andor, I feel like, technically, you might be, like, a rebel of some sort that's trying to.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, like, I'm a good guy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Like a good guy pretending to be my brethren. And I don't know if I trust you right now, me. Because it seems like you're pretending behind that beautiful hair of yours to be something that you're not. No, I'm bad.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm bad. Never mind.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You did say that you're bad, and you do sound very bad.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. So, you know, there's. This is a big old mess.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Bryce. Yeah, it's crazy.

[Natalie Jean]

Bryce feels bad for both of them. And really, you know, the whole situation kind of sucks. But she assures Hypaxia that, you know, maybe they didn't choose this, but Roon is an incredible guy. You could do a whole lot worse than him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He's really hot.

[Natalie Jean]

Just sort of. Yeah, just sort of hyping her up on him. Plus, she Says they're both hot, so maybe it'll work itself out. She also reveals that the witches are losing their power over the generations, that Hypaxia is saying this and they don't really know why. They're not sure why. The power is, like, draining out of them, and it's causing her coven, like we just talked about, to want to demure to the Asteri even further, which is not what Hypaxia wants. This causes Bryce to contemplate whether Hypaxia could potentially be a rebel. But she can't just ask her, and.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She'Ll never, ever be any good.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. It's clear she doesn't approve of the witch's desire to kneel to the Asteris. So she's like, maybe she's in on it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay, okay. We're sussing.

[Natalie Jean]

She tries to ask without asking because she can't say it, but wondering if her tutors were summoned from the Bone Quarter by Hypaxia's queen mother, because she wants to basically know if Hypaxia knows about the Second Light situation. Hypaxia quickly asserts that when the time her tutors were summoned, there was no Bone Quarter. They predated the Hysteri even.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Maybe we should be talking to them.

[Natalie Jean]

I know, right? She names one of her tutors Polanya, who was a teacher in Parthos before Parthos fell. So this was her ancestor, or her. Her ghost tutors basically were the original planet. They were, like, before the Asteri came. So she then reveals she knows of what actually occurs in the Bone Quarter and the other spirit holding facilities. And so she also knows that you. You get ground up into soul meat for the siphoning to suck off of it. This startles Bryce, and Hypaxia goes on to explain that she had to make a bargain to make it so that her mother wouldn't end up there in death. So her mother was not turned into Second Light, even though that meant Hypaxia could no longer have contact with her. She finds the grinding of spirits as Second Light too gruesome to allow her mother to endure as a fate. Her coven was not happy about this choice. Bryce asks why she doesn't tell everyone about the Second Light. Like, why doesn't Hypaxia be like, hey, this is not good?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, why don't you, Bryce?

[Natalie Jean]

Well, Hypaxia.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, I just. I just feel like it's one of those. Like, I know she's also, like, a queen, but technically you're gonna be one too, so Right.

[Natalie Jean]

Hypaxia points out, reasonably, that she and the witches would be punished. First off, the hysteri.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And she doesn't even have the support of the witches. Bryce, get the head out of your ass. I know that you can only see your machinations, and I'm sorry. Looking at you, Natalie, because you're not Bryce, but I'm yelling at you as if you're Bryce, but get your head out of your ass.

[Natalie Jean]

I do look like Bryce currently.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You do? You do? Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, basically also saying, we'd probably all be killed if I tried to do that. And also, she doubts anyone would believe her. That's a big falsity that The Asteri have fed the world for a long time. It's sort of like the idea of, like, the Illuminati and, like, all of that stuff. Like, they have all these conspiracy things that nobody would ever believe. You'd be like, oh, you're crazy. They don't. They don't. They don't turn us into a. We don't make.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We're not ground meat. No. Bryce halted by the rail overlooking the night dark river.

[Natalie Jean]

Where did the dead go before the Asteri arrived? Did your tutors ever tell you that?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Her mouth softened into a smile.

[Natalie Jean]

No, but they told me it was good. Peaceful.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, God. I'm not gonna bring up Buffy right now. I'm not gonna bring up Buffy, but let's just say that it's just in season six of Buffy, and it's just there's a lot about. Like, about what happens after life, and if it's good or if it's not. And if it's that Hell is really just being alive.

[Natalie Jean]

Wow.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I get why everyone's obsessed with Buffy. All you got to do is get to season six, and now you're just like, I understand. Like, I feel like I've been. Like, I've had a blood transfusion, but it's just Buffy that lives in my. In my body now. It's good writing, you, Joss Whedon.

[Natalie Jean]

So here's a look into what actually did it. Is that a bad. Did he do a badminton?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Don't they end up doing that so much, man, it's great. So here's a look into what actually is at stake for the citizens of Midgard. It's literally life and death.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You hear this? Ethan? Ethan.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, right. Ethan's here. Ethan.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Somewhere here, either. Do you hear it?

[Natalie Jean]

So, yeah. Could you stop checking now? So, yeah, essentially, what hypaxi is revealing is that. Yeah, there Is like an actual peaceful after something. But the Asteri prevent that from happening and they turn you into meat instead. And so this is literally what's at stake in Midgard. Hypaxia says she doesn't know if the harvested souls, the ones who turned in Second Light, ever end up at the Good Place. Which is a bummer. The two of them commiserate a not being like the other girls.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh my God. Honestly, this is the most not like the other girls conversation that could happen in any of these books.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, but they actually aren't. I guess technically, since they've been sort of shoved into these governing roles, it's almost as if monarchies are stupid.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What?

[Natalie Jean]

Hypaxia tells Bryce that she's glad to have her as a friend.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Cute.

[Natalie Jean]

Bryce is too. She turns to address Ethan, who is behind them.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Will you give it up? I'm sorry. But at that moment, a massive scaled gray beast leapt over the quay railing. And everybody said, who are those bitchy but beautiful death stalkers? Are they here to suck? Are they here to fuck? And before Bryce could shout, it barreled into Ethan and closed its jaws around his throat. Gah, gah, gah. And he'd be like, why do you kind of look like Gormak? And be like, ah. And I'm smoking a cigarette. And they're like, how many references can you make? We're not really going to quite sure what you're doing here. And you're just behind, just going, we're gonna bite you. We're gonna bite. We're doing good deathstalker. Bad deathstalker.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. And I go, oh my God. Kyle, stop. Let them go. Just kidding. You don't look like a horse.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We would make such a crazy kill team.

[Natalie Jean]

It really would.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We would have so many laughs though.

[Natalie Jean]

Bring us to your finest horses.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, we're ready to come upon them.

[Natalie Jean]

Chapter. Then we're at chapter.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's what we do as villains. We just come on the horses. Natalie, you're a villain. You can't be sorry about it.

[Natalie Jean]

I just feel I'm sorry for the horse. Community. Community.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We can't be.

[Natalie Jean]

This is the horses who are listening to the show right now. I am sorry.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you, Natalie.

[Natalie Jean]

Chapter 55 is not like chapter 55 in a court of Mist and Fury, unfortunately.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, give me that. Chapter 55 though.

[Natalie Jean]

You know, chapter 48 might be my favorite. But that's not for right now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Natalie, swing.

[Natalie Jean]

Bryce stares in horror at the beast which has tackled Ethan.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The beast. The demon ripped out Ethan's Throat tipped back its broad, flat head and swallowed the chunk of flesh between black, curved fangs. And I think that's a soul patch for some reason. Yeah, for some reason. That's me playing harmonica.

[Natalie Jean]

That's me. That's you swallowing it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, no, not the soul patch.

[Natalie Jean]

The chunk of flesh.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, okay. I also thought the harmonica. I thought you. I imagine you would be upset with me. Take it out of my hands and swallow it as well.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, I thought I'd be pulling it out of your throat because you accidentally swallowed it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, that's nice. I'm surprised you would want more harmonica from me. I think that's the first time it's ever happened.

[Natalie Jean]

It would just be like.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And then become the world's most annoying death. Soccer. Get it out. You just hand down my throat. I can't hear it any longer.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, Ethan immediately. Immediately just fucks up.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Maybe it's for the best, you know? Take out his throat. We don't want to hear it anymore.

[Natalie Jean]

Just first instance. Just drops the ball.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Just bad at it.

[Natalie Jean]

Bad at it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I didn't even see it. Where'd it come from? How do you find us? Somebody should be looking out for these things. Somebody should be looking out for these things. So. Oh, man. Oh, dang it, Ethan. Oh, you really muffed it up again, Ethan.

[Natalie Jean]

Bryce is frozen in. In fear and in shock. It's as though she's living through her past once again. This demon even resembles the crystal with its gray scales, muscular, low body. It's got milky eyes, yes, but this has a long tail with the spiked end.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh.

[Natalie Jean]

From somewhere far away, Bryce can hear Hypaxia shouting at her to move. As panic breaks out in the surrounding streets. She hears another growl.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Grr.

[Natalie Jean]

And turns to find a second demon.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Hello? Is it you? Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

Of the same species approaching. The second one shook her out of her shock, realizing.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And you going. I'm here to also fight.

[Natalie Jean]

Realizing they are approaching Ethan to finish the job, Hypaxia shouts for the two of them, her and Bryce, to get back to back. Hypaxia with a knife in her hand.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Cool.

[Natalie Jean]

Now, with clarity, Bryce assesses the situation and sees they only have two girls, one knife. Whoa. There's a gun on Ethan's body, but she's not going to be able to get to it in time.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Ethan, you were supposed to be watching out.

[Natalie Jean]

You know that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He was just sitting there listening to the conversation and not paying attention because.

[Natalie Jean]

He was thinking about Connor. Because he's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Of course he's thinking about Connor. And he's probably thinking, couldn't they have chosen a different name for the little boy? Why did it have to be Connor? I know that it was probably like a respect thing, but, like, I wish they hadn't done that.

[Natalie Jean]

I wonder if Connor can go to the good place Hypaxi's talking about. I gotta find him and ask him. So then he gets tackled. The only gun that's available is now with the Deathstalkers. And great. So now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And I don't know how to use it. Just playing with it.

[Natalie Jean]

But you can't have it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You're never gonna get it. I imagine us like Thing one and Thing Two in this situation.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Thinking quickly, she asks Hypaxia what kind of magic she possesses. And she tells her healing wind and necromancy. Hypaxia is confused why she's asking, but Bryce tells her there's no time to explain that she needs to try to shoot her power into Bryce. Oh.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh. She wants to see if it works with another power because Bryce is now.

[Natalie Jean]

In this moment of panic, just being like, well, if Hunt can supercharge me, charge me up, maybe the other stuff can. It's a big thing to try in the middle. I mean, I guess there's no options. She says to hi, Baxia, try it with your healing power now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Bryce shouted, and Hypexia whirled, shoving a shining palm to Bryce's chest. Warmth flowed into her, soft and gentle, and stars erupted in Bryce's mind. Supernovas. Ethan. It was as easy as taking a step.

[Natalie Jean]

That bitch done teleported.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Swing, swing, swing. It's not just for fucking.

[Natalie Jean]

It doesn't only have to be teleported.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Cool.

[Natalie Jean]

It seems like maybe some kind of heightened emotions also seem to help it. Like maybe her fear and panic and the magic helps her, like, figure that out faster a little bit. Her movement of the teleportation confuses the demons for a moment. In that time, Hypaxia pushes off her broom. So basically, in that moment, she. The demons are like, what? What? Where'd that go?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, two stooges. Slowly I turn.

[Natalie Jean]

Is that a sound they make?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah. I always. Man, Mo was always pulling that one out. Never. It scared the other two.

[Natalie Jean]

So Hypaxia pushes in that moment, she pushes on her broom button. The broom comes up and she mounts it, flying into the sky. Bryce grabs Ethan's gun because she went right to him.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Somebody has to Ethan and start shooting.

[Natalie Jean]

Shooting. The first one goes down instantly. As it wasn't expecting this turn of events.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, come on.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't know which one it is of us.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's probably me.

[Natalie Jean]

The second one takes longer. Now Bryce realizes Hypaxia has taken to the sky to act as a lookout and shouts directions at Bryce, who uses all of her power to teleport around the beast. It dodges many of Bryce's shots. So is it because she's like and the demon's like kind of now figuring out I have to gauge these movements. But then it seems to have anticipated Bryce's last move and it's however, too focused on her to notice Hypaxia barreling out of the sky above. She lands on its back and her knife goes into its skull.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Cool.

[Natalie Jean]

With the beast felled, Bryce catches her breath shaken and scraped. But then she turns to the mangled Ethan and Paxi is already running to him, reminding Bryce that she is a Medwich. So basically they're just taking care of Ethan now, right?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm so glad you were here. Yeah, thanks.

[Natalie Jean]

Thanks so much, Ethan. In those moments, the Ox begins to arrive and Isaiah reaches Bryce first, scanning her and asking where Hunt is.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm here, Hunt said from the darkness, landing with enough force that the ground shook. Lightning skittered over the concrete. He assessed Bryce, then Ethan, the wolf's body glowing under Hypaxia's hands.

[Natalie Jean]

He sees the two creatures and pulls Bryce into his side. He tells the group what we the reader might have already guessed. They're Deathstalkers, the beings that Celestina and Hunt had researched. They seemed to be showing up in surveillance cameras in Nina. Well, now they seem to also be in Lunatheon. Hypaxia steps away from her security after healing him, though he's still unconscious. She asked to take him to the witch's embassy so she can tend to him, and the Ox agrees to it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, Ethan, always taking care of you, boy. Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

We cut to Hunt's POV in the aftermath, and he's cursing himself for not acting on the Deathstalker sightings earlier, though.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He'S Hunt, there are a couple of things going on.

[Natalie Jean]

A lot of stuff's happening. Though he's relieved Bryce isn't hurt. He waits until they're in the witches embassy before asking her to explain what happened. Ruhn, Flynn and Declan are also present, having helped escort Ithan to the recovery room, she excitedly tells him that she has teleported. She asks him where Ariadne was this whole time because. Right, she never showed up. And Flynn reveals that she agreed to do lookout duty and then the moment she was alone had fled.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, dude, Wouldn't you?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You've been kept inside of a ring for a long time. She's a dragon.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Flynn is angry, but Bryce is more understanding of Ariani's decision. She has been enslaved for eons. Why would she want to be indebted to another bunch of rich? It's kind of shitty. She left them high and dry. But I understand Bryce's point.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She doesn't owe them.

[Natalie Jean]

No. Bryce and Hunt moved to a corner to discuss further. Bryce wonders if this was another stupid test by the Prince of the Pit. Hunt thinks that it was because, like, okay, the Hell Princes seem to be wanting to align with them, but.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And help them. Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

But then they're doing all of these things. Like, did they send them on purpose or.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Right.

[Natalie Jean]

Being tested still. Or did something else happen? Hun ponders if they actually had been summoned somehow by Hypaxia's coven to take Hypaxia out.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Whoa.

[Natalie Jean]

He hypothesizes that they could use the guise of Hypaxia being with Bryce as an excuse and put the blame on hell. He doesn't think Sabine summoned the demon and that Ethan was simply in the way.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh. Almost like he always is.

[Natalie Jean]

So I guess in that way, he succeeded by being a human shield.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you. I guess, for that.

[Natalie Jean]

A wolf and shield.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes. So it's either Apollyon gauging whether Bryce is a worthy ally.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay.

[Natalie Jean]

Or Pax's Cup.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I can't say what I just wrote in there.

[Natalie Jean]

Or Typaxi is Coven trying to kill her. I'm not gonna say what I wrote there. So.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Whoa. Oh, is that a big. Is that like a big reveal? No, it's. Oh, that one. I thought you meant.

[Natalie Jean]

I made it very.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I thought you meant Star Trek.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, I just taste. I made a distasteful joke. There's somebody who's being. Whose company's being accused of maybe taking a hit out on him in someone.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That I might think that maybe was a Star Trek reference. Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

So.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Takes her hand out. I thought I was like, oh, dude, is that a big spoil? Oh, does that happen sometime in the seventh trimester? What are they called? What are they called? The Star Wars.

[Natalie Jean]

Star Trek trimesters.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Whatever they're called.

[Natalie Jean]

The others.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Generations.

[Natalie Jean]

There you go. Hunt takes her hand and tells her, bryce, you need to start carrying at all times. You can't. They're gonna. People are going to be coming after you constantly. The others join in. The other boys and ask Bryce to tell her teleporting story again. Hunt starts to set up, watches on Bryce between the fan. The ox and Bryce starts arguing, being like, you don't need to do this. There doesn't even be a guy following me around all the time. As they bicker run begins to laugh, confused. They look at him. He tells him, oh, I was on the odd. I was on the phone with the Autumn King right before you called me over to this Chaos Inn. He calls the Autumn King, Hunt's father in law. Hunt's like Bryce grimaces and says she's working on stopping it. Hunt asks what the f they're talking about. Ruhn's like brother. He explains what happened.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Hunt gaped at him. Ruhn was completely serious.

[Natalie Jean]

Bryce blurted, did you ask him about Cormac? The Autumn King insists the engagement is still on.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Ruhn's amusement faded.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't see how it could be.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm sorry, hunt cut in, but what the fuck. His wings splayed.

[Natalie Jean]

You're now officially a princess.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Bryce winced.

[Natalie Jean]

Surprise.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She's just a cute girl. Just a cute girl. Don't you just a cute girl at me, bitch.

[Natalie Jean]

She is a cute girl at me.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Please read up until chapter 59 for next week. This is Comedy Bang Bang the Podcast the promo and in 30 seconds I'm going to tell you why. You should check out the show. I the host Scott Aukerman have a light hearted conversation with famous celebrities like Jon Hamm, Alison Williams, Phoebe Bridgers, Jason Alexander, Natasha Lyonne, Bob Oden, Kirk, just to name a few things go a little off the rails when different eccentric characters and oddballs drop by to be interviewed as well. Each week is a blend of conversations and character work from your favorite comedians as well as some new hilarious voices. Comedy Bang Bang the Podcast Listen every Monday wherever you get your podcasts.

[Natalie Jean]

America, America.

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You used to be so fun but now you go to bed at night scrolling on your phone. Well listen up America. Carnival is here with world class brew and ropes course too. And comedy and snorkeling and dining like everything from sea to shining sea.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Find your fun [e-mail] Carnival is calling.

[Commercial Announcer]

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