LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City – HOSAB 33: “Pieces of She”

Hosts: Natalie Jean & Jackie Zebrowski
Date: January 20, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City dives into (mainly) chapters 65 and 66 of House of Sky and Breath (HOSAB) by Sarah J. Maas, exploring new reveals in the hunt for the truth behind Danika’s secrets, Sophie’s code, and the core crew’s next high-risk, high-stakes plan. As always, Natalie and Jackie bring signature chaotic, hilarious tangents, wild theorizing, incisive critique of character motivations, and a lot of very explicit jokes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Banter, AI vs. Magic & Pop Culture Tangents

• [02:37–13:00]
  • Natalie and Jackie riff on everyday magic vs. AI, with some classic “Beauty and the Beast” references and a detour into Elon Musk’s Grok AI.
    • Jackie: “Are you bringing him [Elon Musk] into our magic world?” (03:25)
  • The meaning behind Palantir’s name and problematic tech overlords.
  • Extended riff on cryogenics, Walt Disney’s urban legends, and “juice on tap” (a running joke about what happens if you only save one body part in cryo).
    • Jackie (about Walt Disney’s remains): “Just leave just the penis working. And it’s on a continuous pump. It’s like a spigot. And you go, you don’t want to know what happens when you get to the bottom of that well.” (06:42)
  • Jokes about sex, ‘69’ and ‘420’ codes, the energy and workload involved, and why sex is (sometimes overlooked) work.

2. Recap and Literary Analysis – Danika’s Secrets

• [11:50–16:31]
  • Natalie recaps where the story left off: Bryce revealing the truth about Emil, new “brother,” to her friends.
    • Jackie: “She’s really making choices for other people.” (12:49)
  • Discussion of Bryce’s tendency to choose for others: “Let him pick his own new name!” (Jackie, 12:54)
  • Review last episode’s cliffhanger: Baxian claiming he is Danika’s mate.
  • Amusing aside on what constitutes “princess behavior.”

3. The Big Baxian Reveal: Is He Danika’s Mate?

• [17:35–27:29]
  • Walkthrough of the tunnel conversation: Bryce, Hunt, and Baxian.
  • [18:46] Quote: “I met her two years before she died,” he said quietly, which is very sexy. (Jackie)
  • They compare the trope of revealing major secrets at inopportune times (“It’s like releasing a bunch of files on Christmas Day.” – Natalie, 14:12)
  • Bryce is furious and refuses to accept Danika would keep this secret.
    • Jackie: “You realize you are very self involved, right, Bryce?” (14:44)
  • They analyze the dynamic: Danika’s legacy is a web of secrets. The possibility that Danika masked her mating bond due to bloodhound abilities.
    • “She hid it from everyone.” (Natalie, 23:58)
  • Critique of the “I can fix him” romance trope (Natalie, 24:44)
  • Extended, very explicit and playful tangent into man-shaped sex dolls, their stats, and what “Spartan Lover” or “Ethan” might offer to the lonely masses.
    • “They’ve come very far and they come very far.” (Jackie, 20:04)

4. The Danika–Sophie–Baxian–Secret Number Connection

• [27:29–38:30]
  • They piece together the significance of Sophie’s carved code and Baxian’s knowledge of it.
  • Discussion on whether wolves and dogs mating is “incestuous,” running joke becomes whether “wolves are just advanced dogs.”
    • “Wolves are advanced dogs... maybe they would be scared of fucking somebody so far in the past.” (Jackie, 26:25)
  • Examine Danika’s investigation into old bloodlines and rare shifters—what spooked her into secrecy?
  • Theorize the political dangers of wolf succession and why Sabine would want to keep all this buried.

5. The Number Sequence and its Meaning

• [36:32–38:30]
  • Sophie’s coded numbers: Baxian instantly recognizes them as Asteri archive room codes.
    • “It’s a system of numbering rooms used only in one place on Midgard, the Asteri archives.” (Natalie, 37:13)
  • Baxian’s origin story: He memorized the code after seeing Sandriel shaken by whatever she saw.
  • Suggestion that Danika’s mission—and what Sophie found—concern core secrets that could undermine all of Midgard.

6. The Crew’s Next Step: Hacking the Asteri Archives

• [38:30–51:27]
  • Declan tries to hack the Eternal Palace system.
    • Jackie: “Are we two computer heads? Basically Angelina Jolie.” (44:49)
  • The news’ coverage of the recent attack, and the political spin in play.
  • Insight into the camaraderie of the core group as they share info and strategize (“I would do anything to have a gaggle of fire sprites... roll up, be like, oh, Jackie and her fire bitches are here.” – Jackie, 47:58)
  • Declan unable to fully hack the archives, but gains access to security cameras: they see Sophie entering and leaving the secret room—visibly changed.

7. Planning the Heist: “We need to break in.”

• [53:06–54:11]
  • Bryce declares: “They need to break into the Eternal palace and get in that damn room.” (Natalie, 53:45)
  • Debate the possible dangers, logistics, and which connections they need to leverage to even attempt this.

8. Emotional Fallout, Relationships & Closure

• [54:18–59:59]
  • Check-in between Ethan and Tharion: “bro-coded” talk over videogames about nerves, love, and accepting risk.
  • Strong vibe of “get your affairs in order before bad shit goes down.”
  • Joking comparison to Twilight and imprinting.
    • “I guess I’m the Renesmee.” (Jackie, 57:33)

9. Jackie’s Dating Sim Announcement

• [59:47–61:18]
  • Plug for Jackie’s voice acting in upcoming dating sim/visual novel “Slash Fic,” with all the murder-or-kiss energy fans love. “I play one of the characters you can get killed by or romanced by, and yes, I will be a Harlequin clown of sorts...” (Jackie, 59:48)

10. Fury’s Role & The Palace Blueprints

• [61:22–66:44]
  • Bryce meets Fury at a bar, asks for Palace layout help.
    • “Bryce said simply, we want the truth.” (Natalie, 65:29)
  • Fury agrees to help, and to get Juniper/Syrinx out of the city for safety.
  • Riff on what the archives’ secret room could actually be: maybe just “playing Two Girls, One Cup on a big projector”?!
  • Dog vs. wolf hair-splitting continues in full comedic force.

11. Tharion Calls Off His Engagement

• [66:44–69:36]
  • Tharion has a frank, overdue, and awkward breakup with the River Queen’s daughter.
    • “He tells her he does want to end the betrothal.” (Natalie, 68:15)
  • They debate if the move is noble or self-serving.
    • “It feels like less like amends and more like I’m getting this off my own chest.” (Natalie, 68:59)
  • Discussion of how SJM handles “male stupidity” and her “one smart male per series” policy.

12. Ethan Faces Sabine & the Prime

• [74:44–80:52]
  • Ethan and Hypaxia march to confront Sabine & the Prime about the shifter in the astronomer’s tank.
  • Prime’s reticence, Sabine’s sneering. Ethan appeals to the Prime’s Alpha pride.
  • [80:10] Quote: “Because Sabine is not the only Fendir heir.” (Natalie)
    • Jackie: “Where you sticking that dick, Prime?” (80:17)
  • Suggests a new legitimate alternative heir exists—high stakes for the wolf pack and Sabine’s hold on power.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On tech overlords:
  “Peter Thiel named his company Palantir after the evil in Lord of the Rings. Oh, I thought it was like when you cry during a palindrome. Like you have a Palantir.” (Jackie, 03:49)

• On Walt Disney’s remains:
  “Just leave just the penis working. And it’s on a continuous pump. It’s like a spigot. And you go, you don’t want to know what happens when you get to the bottom of that well.” (Jackie, 06:42)

• On Baxian’s confession:
  “I met her two years before she died,” he said quietly, which is very sexy. (Jackie, 18:46)

• On the sex doll search:
  “They’ve come very far and they come very far.” (Jackie, 20:04)

• On wolf/dog politics:
  “Wolves are advanced dogs, and maybe they would be scared of fucking somebody so far in the past.” (Jackie, 26:25)

• On their own podcasting style:
  “Almost like — sounds like you’ve done 600 episodes together.” (Natalie, 27:38)

• On hacking:
  “Are we two computer heads? Basically Angelina Jolie.” (Jackie, 44:49)

• On Bryce’s determination:
  “They need to break in to the Eternal palace and get in that damn room.” (Natalie, 53:45)

• On teamwork:
  “I would do anything to have a gaggle of fire sprites that I roll with... Oh, Jackie and her fire bitches are here.” (Jackie, 47:58)

• On romantic closure:
  “Fuck off. Yeah, it feels like less like amends and more like I’m getting this off of my own chest.” (Natalie, 68:59)

• On SJM’s male characters:
  “She has openly said, like, I make all the scenes fun for the women. And then my notes always come back: you have to make the guy do more than just be like, duh, I’ve been an idiot. Oh, God.” (Natalie, 72:28)

• On wolf succession:
  “Because Sabine is not the only Fendir heir.” (Natalie, 80:10)

  • “Where you sticking that dick, Prime?” (Jackie, 80:17)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 03:25 – Why AI is not “magic”; Elon/Grok/Palantir riff
• 06:42 – Jackie’s take on Walt Disney cryo-urban legends
• 11:50 – Recap: where the plot left off
• 18:46 – Baxian’s big confession: “I met her two years before she died...”
• 23:58 – Danika hides her mating scent (“She hid it from everyone.”)
• 24:44 – “I can fix them” romance critique
• 27:29 – Danika’s research, wolf lineage
• 37:13 – The code is for an Asteri archive room
• 44:49 – “Are we two computer heads?”
• 53:45 – Bryce declares: “We need to break in”
• 65:29 – “We want the truth.”
• 68:15 – Tharion calls off his betrothal
• 80:10 – Prime: “Sabine is not the only Fendir heir.”
• 80:17 – Jackie, re: Prime’s sexual history

Tone and Style

Natalie and Jackie keep the energy wild, irreverent, smart, and unfiltered—living for detours, savvy cultural critique, sex jokes, and heartfelt (if rowdy) analysis. Their comedic commentary and on-the-fly theorizing make for a take both raucous and insightful, for readers looking to laugh, think, and revisit the Crescent City world in good company.

Summary

This episode progresses the plot deeper into Danika’s enduring mysteries, intertwining relationships, and the “heist planning” energy that defines the late stages of HOSAB. Amidst their signature comedic digressions (cryogenics, man-shaped sex dolls, “advanced dogs,” and pop culture lore), Natalie and Jackie carefully parse character motivations, new clues, and the emotional burden of leadership, love, and legacy. The crew preps for their boldest move yet, Fury is roped into aiding them, and a major secret about the wolf pack is dropped—hinting at even more fireworks to come.

Fans of the book will benefit from both the sharp analysis and the humor; those who haven’t listened will feel ready to jump into these crucial chapters, with all the context and snark they could want.

Next reading: Up through Chapter 69 – Nice. (Instructions given at [80:56].)

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