LPN Deep Dives: HOSAB / Episode 9: H-E-Single Hockey Stick

Summary

LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City - Episode 9: H-E-Single Hockey Stick

Release Date: August 5, 2025
Hosts: Natalie Jean and Jackie Zabrowski
Presented by: The Last Podcast Network

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Episode Overview

In Episode 9 of LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City, hosts Natalie Jean and Jackie Zabrowski delve into the intricate layers of Sarah J. Maas's popular adult science fiction novel series, Crescent City. This episode focuses on key plot developments, character dynamics, and fan-submitted theories that enhance the understanding of the series' complex narrative.

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Chapter Summaries

Chapter 13: Morning Confrontations and Hidden Agendas

The episode begins with a detailed analysis of Chapter 13, where Bryce faces personal turmoil after discovering her surprise engagement to Cormac. Natalie recounts, "She was mad about the engagement and more upset that Bryce hid it from her" (22:08). The discussion highlights Bryce's strained relationship with her mother and the tension it brings to her interactions with Hunt.

Jackie further elaborates on Bryce's internal conflict: "Bryce is being a bit of a Krabby Patty and tells Hunt she forgot and to stop acting territorial," emphasizing Bryce's struggle to balance personal relationships with overarching responsibilities.

Chapter 14: Training Grounds and Tactical Tensions

Moving to Chapter 14, the hosts discuss Hunt's feelings of dread as he supervises ox training alongside Isaiah. Natalie paints a vivid picture: "Hunt is tormented by his increasing feelings of dread and doom as he and Bryce fall down another pathway to destruction" (56:33). The conversation underscores Hunt's guilt over the potential consequences of Bryce's actions on their old friend Isaiah.

Jackie adds depth to Hunt's character by referencing his PTSD: "The PTSD of the isolation of being captured... He knows his heart and doesn't want to dismiss her need to help Emile" (33:27). This segment emphasizes the psychological burdens carried by the characters amidst escalating conflicts.

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Character Analysis

Bryce Quinlan

Bryce emerges as a complex character grappling with secrecy and emotional strain. Her interactions reveal a reluctance to share vulnerabilities, as noted by Natalie: "Bryce is a secret keeper. She and Lin from Throne of Glass have that in common" (31:13). This trait complicates her relationships, particularly with Hunt, who struggles to understand her motivations.

Hunt Athalar

Hunt is portrayed as deeply loyal yet burdened by past traumas. Jackie mentions, "Hunt remembers Isaiah's warnings from centuries ago," highlighting his internal battles and responsibilities that weigh heavily on him. His relationship with Bryce is tested by external pressures and personal regrets.

Danika Firo

Danika's mysterious background becomes a focal point as the hosts explore fan theories. Natalie relays an email from a listener, Emily, discussing the anatomical features of mares in their true form, drawing parallels to cinematic references like The Shape of Water. This segment enriches the lore surrounding Danika, adding layers to her enigmatic presence.

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Fan Emails and Theories

The episode prominently features fan-submitted content, enhancing the discussion with fresh perspectives:

• Emily's Insights: Emily provides a detailed breakdown of mare anatomy, referencing Deep Water series by Emma Hammond and I Married a Merman by Regene Abel. Natalie appreciates Emily's contribution: "Thank you so much, Emily. I love a wreck" (12:25).

• Ashley’s Revelation: Another listener, Ashley, shares breaking news from Sarah J. Maas about Therian's unique genitalia structure. Jackie humorously engages with the content: "Do we have to say mer man instead of merman?" (13:11).

These interactions not only validate fan engagement but also deepen the communal exploration of the series' intricacies.

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Host Insights and Reactions

Natalie Jean and Jackie Zabrowski infuse their own experiences and humor into the discussion, making the episode both informative and entertaining. They share personal anecdotes, such as struggles with adopting new habits like tea drinking, which mirrors their adaptability in dissecting complex book themes.

Natalie expresses appreciation for deep dives into character psychology: "Sometimes we just gotta be publicly talking about the pros of crack... we're not gonna be doing that here" (03:47), showcasing their candid and relatable approach.

Jackie emphasizes the importance of camaraderie and shared frustrations: "Sometimes you have to gossip a little bit with your friends. Get it out of your system. That's what friends do" (41:54), highlighting the supportive dynamic between the hosts.

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Notable Quotes

• Bryce on Secrecy:
  "She is a secret keeper. She and Lin from Throne of Glass have that in common." (31:13 - Natalie Jean)

• Hunt’s Internal Struggle:
  "Hunt is tormented by his increasing feelings of dread and doom as he and Bryce fall down another pathway to destruction." (56:33 - Natalie Jean)

• Fan Contribution Praise:
  "Thank you so much, Emily. I love a wreck." (12:25 - Natalie Jean)

• Character Relationship Dynamics:
  "Sometimes you have to gossip a little bit with your friends. Get it out of your system. That's what friends do." (41:54 - Jackie Zabrowski)

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Conclusion

Episode 9 of LPN Deep Dives: Crescent City offers an engaging and comprehensive exploration of Sarah J. Maas's intricate novel series. Through chapter summaries, character analyses, and active fan participation, Natalie Jean and Jackie Zabrowski provide listeners with a deep understanding of the narrative's complexities. Their blend of humor, personal anecdotes, and insightful commentary makes this episode a valuable resource for both avid fans and newcomers to the Crescent City universe.

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Transcript

[Natalie Jean]

Morning. One sausage McMuffin with egg, please. Okay, your total is. Wait. Let's negotiate. How's about you throw in hash browns for a dollar? Well, yes sir, that price is already a dollar. Take it or leave it. Take it, I guess. Buy one, add one for a dollar on sausage McMuffin with egg, hash browns and more with McValue. Most locations open 5am or earlier. Price and participation may vary. Limited time only. Valid for item of equal or lesser value. Ba da ba ba ba. We're excited to announce that we're going to Prythian and Valbara and Bezgaeth.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

If you're nasty and you can too.

[Natalie Jean]

Join us in spring of 2026 at the Dreamers and Readers Festival. A three day event chock full of choose your own adventures.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Multiple Fae balls, fashion shows, photo shoots, Hoteez, Everybody. At least Fey. 15 different events at the otherworldly Gaylord Texan resort that you can customize to make the perfect trip fit your Fantasy Dreams.

[Natalie Jean]

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

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Dreamers and Readers Night 1 and 2.

[Natalie Jean]

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

[Jackie Zabrowski]

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

[Natalie Jean]

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

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sweet sword. Give it to me.

[Natalie Jean]

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.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Dreamers and readers, baby. I cannot wait for this.

[Natalie Jean]

Gimme, gimme. Give me that sweet. Welcome to Crescent City with your hosts, Natalie Jean and Jackie Zabrowski.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The world is too little and is a vampire. It looks like you have a little tin of chew. Are you starting to chew?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. I thought that I should get a cup and start shucking my suckabouts in there.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, I thought so. I was gonna mention it to you.

[Natalie Jean]

Does it make me look younger?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Do you want to try? Yeah. Generally people chewing look very youthful. Oh, you keep it in your upper lip?

[Natalie Jean]

No, in my forehead. Where would you keep it? I guess. No, everyone's doing zins now. I think everybody zins now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't even know what that is.

[Natalie Jean]

It's a tablet that you put. I think it's rather than like loose chew. It's just a tablet that you put in that also People get obsessed with. And I think it's also another, like, gives you, like, a little high, like a little bit of a buzz that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Doesn'T seem like it'd be satisfying at all.

[Natalie Jean]

But also, then you get. See, my. That's the thing. My problem was that I love to smoke.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh.

[Natalie Jean]

Same.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's why I love cigarettes.

[Natalie Jean]

I liked smoking cigarettes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I smoked cigarettes for 10 years, and I. That was what I loved. I loved the motion of it.

[Natalie Jean]

And you're. Take the smoking part of it away. But then.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Then, I mean, Hunter Biden just told us that. I don't know if you saw that interview.

[Natalie Jean]

Whoa. But he has to smoke cigarettes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He's talking about the oral fixation of smoking and why smoking crack is so fun.

[Natalie Jean]

Man. You know what? I never thought about it that way. Think honestly.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You know, Honestly made him super likable. I'm not gonna lie.

[Natalie Jean]

Wow. Yeah. Sometimes we just gotta be publicly talking about the pros of crack. You're right. We're not gonna be doing that here. But I imagine somewhere, you know, there's a Hunter Biden I can't offer as.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I've actually never smoked crack, unfortunately.

[Natalie Jean]

No. I guess I'm gonna say it, Natalie. Fortunately, neither one of us have.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. I feel like I. I fear I would enjoy it.

[Natalie Jean]

I fear I may have, and I just don't know. But I feel like it's one of those that. You can tell.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, I think so.

[Natalie Jean]

I think I would know. I think I'd know. I remember one time when a. Someone was smoking something and it smelled like actual toxic plastic as they smoked it. I just remember being like, I don't know if you should be smoking whatever that is.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think that's what crack smells like it is.

[Natalie Jean]

So I've been around it, but I ain't doing it. Y' all look at me, all right? I'm the campaign. This big, thick, throbbing angel laying in bed next to you, Natalie. Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't know if you can see my incredible. My incredible screen print that I just put on.

[Natalie Jean]

You did such a great job. Natalie is currently getting high off of the markers as we sit your Nidaros Community center camp. I love this summer.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

15,023.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. And I was going to just be wearing Jeff's underpants, but he did watch me taking underpants out of his drawer. This. As I was gathering things, and he's like, what are you doing with my underpants? I was like, I'm gonna wear it for the show. And he's like, you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What?

[Natalie Jean]

You. Why do you have to. And I was like, oh, I'm in bed. So I imagine you'd be wearing underpants. Not publicly wear my underpants on the show.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Wow.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh. And I'm like, what else you need to ask me for?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I guess your husband's gonna stifle your art now.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. And so you don't even know what kind of panties I have on. But technically, I put on the shortest little shorts that I had, because in this brain, you know, I'm saying Hunt's brain, I feel like he would, like, he might put, on, like, a pair of her Sophies and be like, ew. Whoa. Oh, my God. I can't believe they fit over my thighs. Do you see how big and rippling my thighs look in these little shorts?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, that's so funny. We both selected to choose no pants outfits.

[Natalie Jean]

No pants separately Outfits. Yeah, we're taking our pants off. Everybody take your pants off.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I am currently wearing pants because in the scene, she's wearing a thong, and I feel like I shouldn't put my bare ass on this seat. At least not for free.

[Natalie Jean]

Natalie, I feel like. I feel like you're not giving yourself over to the character.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know you'll never fully believe I'm Bryce right now.

[Natalie Jean]

Mm. Mm. And I'm like, wait a moment. I mean, I will say. I mean, Hunt has a thong on right now, so.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But you have a thong over.

[Natalie Jean]

You have something over the thong over the shorts? No, I have the thong up over. I was like, you know what? I think it looks better this way. He was like, why give him the whale tail? Just the top. Give them the whole whale.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Wear it over your shoulders like a monokin.

[Natalie Jean]

Like a Continental soldier. Do your ears hang? Whoa. They don't.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's different.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. I was thinking of. I always think of the joke. My mom always said, what do Germans call a brassiere? And she always would say, brassiere. An over the shoulder boulder holder.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's from Beaches.

[Natalie Jean]

Wow. Called out my mother.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It is called out my mother.

[Natalie Jean]

It's my mother's joke now, all right? She ripped it out of Bent Midler's. Fucking beautiful hands.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Do you wear a tit sling or do you wear a brassier?

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, are you not a Beaches girl? You know, I have watched it a couple of times, but honestly, you know, I have. It's not that I have too many feelings. It's that I have big feelings, and it just hurt me too much. Oh, yeah, of course it hurt me too much.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's supposed to.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Cut to the core. Of you.

[Natalie Jean]

They only watched it once, surprisingly. Because you know how many times I've watched Dear Zachary? Like, I like to watch sad things over and over again.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

How many times have you watched Dear Zachary?

[Natalie Jean]

I watched it last year on my birthday.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Are you insane?

[Natalie Jean]

Yep. I made Adam and Sam watch it with us. We, the four of us, watched it. And I was like, this is how I get everyone to watch Dear Zachary with me. I was like, it's my birthday and I want to be sad. And then we. I think we ate a bunch of Taco Bell. And I was mo. Well, me and Sam, we both. We cried a lot. And Jeff just kept going, like, why do you want to watch it again? And I just kept being like, well, I don't want to say the line because it really.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Please don't.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't want to say the line that ruins the movie. Good Lord.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't think I could ever watch that again.

[Natalie Jean]

Gotta sit in your own sad.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

This is one of the saddest, worst things I've ever seen in my life.

[Natalie Jean]

Puddle yourself.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, my God, you're just. You're knocking me over right now.

[Natalie Jean]

Speaking of puddling yourself, we are here.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You can watch Dear Zachary repeatedly. Not Beaches.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm just. Because of the rose. I can't hear the Bette Midler's. Even though Bette Midler. Get off of Twitter, all right? Nobody wants to fucking hear about anything you've got any thoughts on. Let me just listen to the fucking rose, okay? Can we please not hear from you anymore?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Twitter just really ruined a lot of people.

[Natalie Jean]

It's just, I think that, you know, in the way that I don't want to say, like, ages of like, oh, at this point, you shouldn't da, da, da anymore. I just feel like at some point you should take the tweet away from some of the fingers, okay?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Push back. Some very elderly people are great on Twitter.

[Natalie Jean]

I know that. That's why I'm saying I don't think it should be an age, because it is. I think it shouldn't be an age, But I feel that there should be some sort of measurement or guide of, like, if you can't do this, I don't think if you can't, they don't even at all stop driving.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They still don't give people driver's licenses.

[Natalie Jean]

I know. Oh, they just shuck them out there, baby. But, you know, I am really not getting to the main point of why we're here today. And we received this email, and I have been.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We received several emails about this, by the way, thank you guys for writing in.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm over the moon. I have never. I've never been so satisfied with a response about mayor fuck capabilities.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Now, listen, the one I sent you or the one in the script?

[Natalie Jean]

I didn't see the one in the script, but I know I was the one you sent me this morning. It was. The first thing I read this morning was an email from Emily who has done research. Would you like me to read this or do you want to? I didn't read what you said. Up top. You're.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, you can if you. If you feel that this is important to share, please.

[Natalie Jean]

I. It was so important to share that I was upset that poor Adam had to hear me say the fact multiple times just because I needed to say it. Emily, thank you so much. We now know, according to their research, there is a cockpocket on a mare when they are in their mare form and it extrudes when it is hard. The movie the Shape of Water is another good reference. They referenced Deep Water series by Emma Hammond, Sleep and shape of water. Oh. I mean, I have been canonically against the movie shape of Water just because while I am a monster fucker, I am not a fish fucker. But then that's the question, Jackie. Does that take away your want to fuck a mayor? I think my phobia of water. I shouldn't say phobia. I'm scared of water. I'm scared of water. I'll get in a pool, you know, give me a noodle, I'll get a pool. That's why I don't want to say phobia. I think that would keep me from mere sex, really. But if they could give me like the bubble like they have in this world where you can breathe fine and I don't need to worry about the anxiety of running out of oxygen.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Which world are you speaking of?

[Natalie Jean]

The underwater. The mirror.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, I didn't know if you wanted to reference the book she.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh. Deep Water series by Emma Hamm and I Married a Merman by Regene Abel. But also they referenced the movie the shape of water, which, yes, I was against Fell asleep is another good reference here. In the Deep Water series, they have two penises, one on top of the other, but they do not have a human form. It's all mare all the time. But in I Married a Merman, he had a humanoid form. And if I rem remember right, they do it as mayors as well. But also. Emily, thank you so much. In case anyone is wondering, spider shibari Rex, they say Ensnared by Tiffany Roberts and the Mabon or the Mabon Feast by CM Nascusta.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's so many good wrecks right at the top.

[Natalie Jean]

Thank you so much, Emily. I love a wreck. You can always send in your rex, guys. Lpnromantasy gmail.com please. Always down to hear them.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And also. Okay, before we get started, I also wanted to give a shout out to another person. One of the other people who sent mermaid merman facts to us. Ashley actually wrote and said, this is breaking news. Sarah J. Maas said in a live stream that Therian has a pouch for his genitals that opens like a clam.

[Natalie Jean]

It's like when you're doing clam shells, like in an exercise class, but just think of that. But while fucking a merman.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I guess so. And I kind of like it because it's a bit of. It's like a bit androgynous because clam is generally a vaginal reference and then it's like a vagina that opens up into a penis.

[Natalie Jean]

Do we have to say mer man instead of merman? Because then it sounds like we're fucking Ethel Merman.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What's wrong with that?

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, I'm down. I guess it just depends on like, I guess how you feel about that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm fine with fucking up I had a dream. Yeah, please.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm not gonna get into that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Also, all of our. All of our listeners definitely know and think about Ethel Merman constantly.

[Natalie Jean]

Right. While you're thinking about having sex.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

All the 75 year old women who listen. I mean, if you're 75 and listening. I love you.

[Natalie Jean]

Also, we're talking about Beaches. Natalie. What are you talking about? You think if we're talking beaches, you think that they don't know Ethel Merman?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They might like the Big Bang Theory.

[Natalie Jean]

You know, I mean, bazinga. I know that one. I know that one. I don't. I've never actually seen an episode.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, I haven't either. And I probably never will.

[Natalie Jean]

No.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay. Chapter 13. It is the next morning from awkwardly sleeping next to one another. Oh no, your wing is falling.

[Natalie Jean]

My wing? Don't look at me, Bryce.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

When I first wake up, your wing's cockeyed.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm sorry, babe. Sometimes, yeah, it comes out cocked. A couple other things come out.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Is it like when a dog sleeps on its face and it's its mouth looks all side. Is that what happens to angel wings? That's cute.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh my God, they're all scrunched. Yeah, I Just need to get out my shellac so that I can pin them back down. Baby, don't worry. My feathers will be glistening before you know it. Oh, good, Bryce. Oh, you got pants on, girl.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Don't look at my knee. You better. I hate that you have pants on. I came here in character, Natalie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Is there some thing I'd be violating? Wearing my ass out in a closed room with our engineer?

[Natalie Jean]

I think in a public chair. Like, I feel like sitting on a chair. I would be against it because, like, other people got. Although it's not like you're pressing your face up against it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, I will say nerd of mouth when they film in here. When I come in to record my other show, Humidity Damp.

[Natalie Jean]

They.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They scream a lot. They're very passionate about It's Passion Comic.

[Natalie Jean]

That's what it is. It's passion. Yep.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And they are legitimately wet to the touch. The. The headphones to your face.

[Natalie Jean]

Honestly, Adam has now got to work that we now have our own separate headpieces because they were so sopping.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So maybe I shouldn't be wearing pants on this chair.

[Natalie Jean]

Take your pants off. And qed. Take your pants off. Come on, guys, a little bit of math for you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

All right? If we get through enough of this, maybe I will.

[Natalie Jean]

Okay? We're getting through more today. All right, I'm zip. I'm zipping.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Next morning, they're both thinking, you know, they're worth Bryce, but they're both thinking like, oh, that's so crazy. I'm sure she is thinking about how she had to try to lay next to Hunt. Not doing anything. And.

[Natalie Jean]

Did you feel me ripple, baby?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No.

[Natalie Jean]

Sorry, I have to do this. At least during this. Do you want to feel it? I can make a move. I can make a move.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, they can't.

[Natalie Jean]

Is that how you move your abs?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They can't. I don't think you can.

[Natalie Jean]

My abs move.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't know that you can. I mean, you can do belly dancing.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Thank you. You're welcome. And that's what I'm doing next to you. I'm pliantly using my stomach to gyrate. A sexual attraction.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Gotta get through this first paragraph. Okay, so she's thinking about how overwhelming it was to sleep next to him. Even though they're obviously got a lot going on. They got into a kind of a fight. They're still holding off on physical touch.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, you want to hold on to something.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And so she is, you know, she didn't sleep. She was just staring at the Ceiling. She's sort of thrilled, but is also aware that they haven't resolved any argument. Stuff about a meal from the prior night. Remember, we're all now discussing. They have now been thrown back into the trenches with another big problem that the Asteri is not going to care for. And that is they're trying to locate this missing Thunderbird. Couple of kids. So she hasn't slept much when she walks into the main area of the apartment where Hunt and Ethan are already getting their day started. At the beginning of this chapter. Unfortunately, her mother calls her before she can even get coffee in her system relatable. But she knows she's got answer. As soon as she picks up the call, she realizes she's wearing nothing but a T shirt from her youth that.

[Natalie Jean]

Says Nidaro's Community center camp summer summer 15,023. Sorry, I didn't know if it was like, you wouldn't say 15. Like.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We don't know because we've not gotten to that time. The year of our Lord, 2025 is only now, technically. We should just change it over to, like, using a different day, in my opinion, because we'd like all on the, you know, like, Jesus. We're on the Jesus years.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We should just change it to, like, the year that they found a certain fossil of something.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. You mean spackle some science on there.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, put some science in it.

[Natalie Jean]

When will we know? Before Christ made a Christ. Things happen.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't know. I mean, how are we gonna know other than this?

[Natalie Jean]

I don't know. Start basing off. Yeah. Based off the wizard of Oz, you know. Oh, yeah, that would be fun. Of like, before pre and after wizard of Oz.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So that's in the 30s, I think. Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

This is great.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So we're only living 100 years. We're like, in year one.

[Natalie Jean]

We're not even.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We're like, in. We're like in year 95 or whatever.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. And I guess it wouldn't be 50. I feel like they would say 1523, but I feel like that makes it seems like it's 1523 when it's 1523.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think they say 15,000. Maybe they have, like.

[Natalie Jean]

Because we very rarely go 2025. I can see something. All right. Anyway, we're continuing.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We'll have to figure this out. So she's only wearing that shirt in a purple thong. I'm not wearing a purple thong. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one. But just imagine I am. Yeah. Think about it.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, Natalie. Natalie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I admire how carefree she is about her body sincerely. Because I don't feel as though I could walk into a room of just random acquaintances, just have no pants.

[Natalie Jean]

I know that we even.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We go on trips together, and I've never done that.

[Natalie Jean]

No, I mean, you know, don't get me wrong. We definitely sometimes will change in front of each other because we've known each other for a long time. But, like, usually, very rarely. If I'm, like, hanging out, you know, with the last podcast boys, I don't usually just show with my ass hanging out. In fact, I wore a bathing suit I started wearing. I tried to get a bathing suit that showed more behind.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh.

[Natalie Jean]

And I don't usually show more behind. And I will say it is difficult to not think of it as a thong, because then I just kept feeling like it was just gonna ride up my ass. But I felt very nude, even just having more of my butt show. But, like, I felt weird being at a party with all. With everybody from the network. So I was like, oh, my God, I can't have my butt. But Also, Jackie, you're 37. Nobody's looking at your ass. It's fine.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's not true. Everybody's ogling you.

[Natalie Jean]

Everybody look at my fly ass. Everybody look at it. I try to do squats. I'm trying to make it bigger.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I wear much skimpier bathing suits than I did when I was in my 20s and 30s.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. So whether we should or. Well, I don't give a man. Hell yeah, I a give a.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Also, you work hard on your body, and I also work hard on my body, and I wear whatever the I want to wear.

[Natalie Jean]

Thanks for noticing, girl.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, man, I started it.

[Natalie Jean]

Sorry. Yeah, once my muscles get rippling, it's hard to get him stopping. All right, you're gonna keep reading the story.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Ethan didn't like. It's like, I appreciate it, but also, Ethan didn't ask for that much skin up in his face. I'm just saying, you know, think about sword on.

[Natalie Jean]

Come on, girl.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She can't help but notice Hunt staring pretty hard at her as she turns from the males to wait for the explosion from Mama on the telephone. Yes. So he's having. He's having a little bit of a mind breakdown, but I'm sure she didn't think about it at all.

[Natalie Jean]

No. No. Especially not on the wall on the.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Phone with her mother that will eventually just die. Ember waits all of 10 seconds into their phone call before she semi loses it on Bryce because she has gained news of her surprise engagement To Cormac, which Bryce conveniently did not tell her about. But also because she's likely figured out Bryce, you know, she's mad about the engagement. She's probably more mad that Bryce is hiding it from her and basically got her to leave town early to keep the secret.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. My mother wouldn't be happy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. And it did also leave Ember to find out from a barrage of phone calls and messages she began receiving. Which made me. It was reminiscent of the part of Gilmore Girls whenever Emily found out about Lorelei's engagement.

[Natalie Jean]

Lorelei's engagement? Yes. So upset. Oh, my God.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Bryce tries to brush it off as not a big deal, but she gets a Bryce Adelaide Quinlan in return, which means she's in big trouble.

[Natalie Jean]

Not the middle name.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And Ember's not wrong to be pissed. She, like, that's not necessarily the best way to handle this. She embarrasses Bryce by asking if this is a trick to get Hunt to admit his love for her.

[Natalie Jean]

Amber, we're not all that devious. Bitch. Love it, though. I kind of love the energy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah. And of course, Bryce had her phone on speaker up until that point. She. Then she goes like, Jesus.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, me. Hey. Oh, man, Amber, I wish I could move my tits like that. It's not fair.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It isn't fair. And I'm so sorry for you.

[Natalie Jean]

Thank you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And Hunt, who hears this, almost chokes on his coffee. Bryce tries to calm her down and Hunt down when her mom informs her that she got wind that Cormac had shown up at Bryce's work the prior day. So that scene just happened when Cormac appeared in the middle of Bryce's work. And then. So Ember heard about it, brings it up. And Hunt also didn't know about it. So now Bryce is in trouble with everybody. Bryce forgot to mention it's a hunt.

[Natalie Jean]

It's gotta be so annoying to have your personal shit on the news and that, like, so that other people or that she got find out. You know what I mean?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She got it from maybe Rune.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, somebody.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Somebody told her that wasn't supposed.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, no, I forget. Who did I miss?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't remember who told her. So the argument escalates with Ember telling her she's playing games that she cannot win. Toying with the fae and the royalties and the asteri and all these people. And it's going to get her killed. But Bryce is not in the mood that day. She lets her mom have it. It's probably really not fair, the way she's shouting at her mother. But Bryce is under a lot of pressure at the moment, and her mom shouting at her as if she can't take care of herself seems to take her over the edge a little bit.

[Natalie Jean]

Don't you hate that when you, like, revert back to acting like a teenager when you're around your family and you're just like, oh, why did I give it, like, that's not me anymore. Why am I screaming at my mother?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You know, it's just kind of nature, I think, a little bit. Her and Ember are like going head to head. And I feel like I'm on Ember's side for a lot of this. But she also isn't super helping the situation by being getting mad. So she tells her mom that she has no idea what she's going through and the stupid engagement is merely a drop in the bucket. Which is great thing to tell your mother because she's certainly not going to.

[Natalie Jean]

Be freaking out further frantically worrying in.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The future, oh, what else is happening? What do you mean this is a drop in the bucket? Ember quiets and tries appealing to Bryce, saying that she only wants to help her, but Bryce is not feeling it. At that moment, she sarcastically thanks her mom for the guilt trip. Ember is taken aback enough that she hangs up on Bryce calling her your highness, and says to call her if she is ever in need of her and Randall's services.

[Natalie Jean]

Not a fight with. My God. There's something about fighting with a parent or like fighting. Fighting with a, you know, someone in your family when you're older. I just feel like it hits different where it's like, it's not even quite the. Like it's just immediate shame. Is that just me? I just feel like it's like, why am I acting. Why am I acting like this? What are you doing right now?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It definitely gives me a different sort of anxiety and stress because when you're a kid doing it, it feels much bigger, but it's not really. Most of the time you're like, right.

[Natalie Jean]

Slamming the door. Slam in the amount of times I slammed doors in my house and that man, nothing. Now that makes a mom angru when you're slamming the doors in the house. Tell you what.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, you're gonna start like hearing from across the house. Oh, you're slamming doors.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Just see, my family was the other. My dad was the disciplinarian. And it's more traumatic on my side. So let's maybe not talk about it skipping past it. But yeah, it's, you know, A lot of teenage stuff is over the top and not called for. And then when it's an adult, you're like, oh, great, this could be, like, a real thing. I have to think about trauma. I have to think about what is her mental illness. What is my mental illness? Oh, how is this going to affect plans?

[Natalie Jean]

Emotional communication. Boo.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So they hang up the call. Amber hangs up on her. Bryce shuts her eyes in frustration as she puts the phone down, but doesn't get an inch before Hunt is asking her, what is this about Cormac showing up at your work? Bryce is being a bit of a Krabby Patty and tells him she forgot and to stop acting territorial with her, which, again, very not fair of her. He was just asking. And she didn't tell him about Cormac.

[Natalie Jean]

Bro, don't shoot the messenger, man.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

As they both. Are you the messenger of your own question. Okay, yeah, I don't know if that's the. That's the correct phrase to use there, but you are Hunt, and he's trying to. Yeah, he's trying to say.

[Natalie Jean]

Babe, I'm just trying to. Babe, I'm just trying to talk to you. I know he's very smart, but I think in my head, he talks like a surfer. Like a big himbo surfer, which I think would be surprising. I feel like. Not while he's the umbra mortise. He would never speak like that. But maybe, like, in other, like, more relaxed situations, he would be a little more like, whoa.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I wouldn't put him as the top five smartest people in the books.

[Natalie Jean]

That's why I like him. Yeah, I like it, baby. I like to kiss. Keep it simple. Stupid.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, I'm not saying he's stupid. I actually think he's very smart and.

[Natalie Jean]

Sharp, but just got a lot on his mind.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He. Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

And it's a lot of, like, torture, torture. Kill, kill, kill. And I love Bryce.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Boobies, boobies.

[Natalie Jean]

That's all you need.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. As they both go silent in the room, Bryce is reminded that, oh, Ethan is also here watching all of this.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, my ass is hanging out. Oh, no. And you're.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Shout your mom. And at Hunt, she tells Hunt to fill Ethan in on the joyous news because Ethan also does not know about the engagement. And she kind of stomps off to her room, saying she has to get ready for work. Later that morning, she reappears in the main room and sees Ethan working out, and Hunt is in his ox care, preparing to go to work. She decides to take Syrinx this day because she left the. Her emotional support chimera at home with Ethan the day before, and she was getting really jealous of it. So she takes Syrinx with her today, and after some brief goodbyes, she heads out the front door.

[Natalie Jean]

The elevator had just arrived when Hunt appeared behind her, and every muscle in her body turned electric. Had the elevator always been this small? Had his wings gotten larger overnight?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, my God. Are your wings bigger?

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, my God. Oh, actually, they're just little.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

If you get your body bigger, do your wings have to grow and adjust?

[Natalie Jean]

I imagine you have to work them out in a way that, like, they would have to get stronger to carry more weight.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I guess they would have muscles in them, like, in the way that you.

[Natalie Jean]

Work out, like, your back and your core to support.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah.

[Natalie Jean]

The rest of you. You know what I mean? I feel like you'd have to put them, like, what kind of wing? Like, I guess I'd do that. Am I making them bigger? Baby?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I feel like it'd be more about pulling down a lot.

[Natalie Jean]

They don't go that way. I meant with your back, your arms. I thought you meant just, you know, shoving them down.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's like. That's like angel kink. Whenever the wings get pulled apart.

[Natalie Jean]

Whoa. Pulling out the. Yeah, yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Good for some. So she's feeling very overwhelmed by his presence in the elevator. Probably one because she knows they're in a fight, but also because they're attracted to each other.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. I don't want you to look at me once.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Come on, look at me, Hunt. No, he's not in sex mode right now. He's. Yes, he's going to work boyfriend mode. Going. Are you mad at me? Hunt doesn't pull punches. He wants to know why there is distance between them right now. And, I mean, obviously it's because they just had a big fight, But. Bryce feigns confusion for a moment, but then concedes that things do feel weird. She then apologizes to him. Good job, Bryce. Not for anything specific, but presumably for snapping at him, as well as not telling him about Cormac. I gotta say that Bryce is a secret keeper. Her and a Lin from Throne of Glass have that in common. They do not tell the people they care about certain things that maybe they should.

[Natalie Jean]

And I know that they unders. Like, they feel that it is for a reason and it is to protect other people, but sometimes I feel like, well, also, you're choosing for me instead of. I don't like it. I don't like what? Like, I. I think I. It's why I don't want, like, of all of the lead heroines in the. In the series, it's why I don't want to kiss Bryce the most. Even though, technically, to me, on paper, Bryce is fucking hottest. But I feel like it's. Like it's too shifty, and I feel like she thinks that it's for a reason. Way more. And while it is, sometimes I feel that Aelin in Throne of Glass was way more justified when she wasn't sharing it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, she went. She went through some things.

[Natalie Jean]

We're not talking about that right now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She went through some things.

[Natalie Jean]

It makes you different.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think Bryce sometimes is too confident. I think sometimes she lets her ego take over and that it. It messes her up, which, I mean, at least. I mean, she's learning lessons. A lot of times when that happens.

[Natalie Jean]

Right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She thinks she doesn't need anyone. I don't need anyone. But you do. It does everybody stronger, a little bit of help.

[Natalie Jean]

So sometimes, in fact, it makes you stronger to ask for help.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Admit it.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So Hunt asks her to relay what happened, and she assures him that Cormac was being a prick. Surprise his arrival, but he didn't threaten her or try to, like, physically harm her or anything. She implores Hunt to not get into another fight with Sandriostriari. Hunt agrees, as long as she tells him right away if Cormac reappears. She feels her heart strain as Hunt tries and fails to talk about Emile because she knows that he's experiencing that. The PTSD of the isolation of being captured, of the thought of, like, being separated from Bryce, being tortured for all those decades. But really, the idea of him and Bryce being separated is what's, like, tormenting him about getting involved in this. Hunt, the search. She knows that he has good intentions with wanting to avoid interference with Emile's fate, but also that he knows her heart and doesn't want to dismiss her need to help Emile.

[Natalie Jean]

See, I could be a good boyfriend, even though I've got a lot of problems that I'm not dealing with.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, he's a great boyfriend. I think he's a great boyfriend.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, I think it could be better if he would go to therapy. It would be awesome.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They all need it. But sometimes when the demons are coming in, you just don't have time. Not like they're internal demons, but, like, physical demons coming at them.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. And you want to kiss them, but you got to be like, no, they got to go back to H L.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

They got to go to H e Single hockey.

[Natalie Jean]

Single hockey stick.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So she knows what a precarious position they're in. And she takes his hand and agrees to really talk it out together before they make a decision. But she tells him she's still going to go meet Fury because she had used that as a bargaining chip to get Tharion to talk. And so she's still going to go see what Fury knows.

[Natalie Jean]

She's a woman of her word.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She is. Cut to shortly after as she's sitting in a tea shop called Tempest in a Teapot. SJM I know likes to drink tea. She said that many times.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, my God. I bet she always writes little places where she's like, bitch, I wish I was drinking tea here, you know?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, yeah, fine. Good. Fun imaginations. I wish that I could become a tea drinker. I don't know how to do it. I can never make myself. I try to make myself like tea, but I just always want coffee.

[Natalie Jean]

Have we ever discussed this before? I've also tried to become a tea person because I like tea, but I never think about it as a possibility. I don't know why. I've tried to be like Bob Summons, like, maybe get a nice teapot, it'll remind you. And I was like, you're right. And then I look at the dusty teapot that I have shoved in my fucking closet that I never touch. And people are like, well, if you can't put out all the time, you'd use it more. But no, then it just is going to be in my fucking way.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, it's true.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I said it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It is a lifestyle choice you have to make.

[Natalie Jean]

I've heard word on the street, electric kettle is what helps because then the water is just done. You just boop and then you boop.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I just feel like I have a sip and I'm like, it's not coffee.

[Natalie Jean]

I wish this was coffee we're both obsessed with. We both have a coffee addiction.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, I started drinking it when I was like 11.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. That's why I've started buying decaf cold brew because I like the fucking coffee so much. And I used to make fun of people that drink decaf. Okay. Outside of needing to, this is growing up.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She describes the tempest in a teapot as a local spot house in an alleyway in the old square and notes that only in the baking were open in the morning, but the whole alley would be alive and bustling with outdoor tables by lunchtime. And I can just see it. I can envision it in my mind.

[Natalie Jean]

Space once the lunch crowd returned to their offices. The street would quiet again until the after work rush of people eager for a beer, a specialty cocktail or more food and sundown brought in a whole new crowd. Drunk assholes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sounds like fun.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She takes a seat next to Fury, who is already at the tea shop and is there with a standing Juniper. June is only there waiting to say hello to Bryce before she goes off to her company class. Bryce kisses Juniper's cheek and steps back in to just observe June's beauty.

[Natalie Jean]

We should start seeing each other like this every time we. I want to start going Natalie, Natalie, Natal Natalie. And I'm sorry that I'm not. I'm not celebrating you enough.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you.

[Natalie Jean]

And I think that we should be trying to celebrate each other more.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, each other? I thought you just meant me.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, I mean. I mean, it could go both ways.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I shouldn't celebrate.

[Natalie Jean]

It could go both ways.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I will.

[Natalie Jean]

I will celebrate me. Yay.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Jackie, Jackie, Jackie. Yay.

[Natalie Jean]

Yay. Yay. Jackie, Jackie, Jackie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She's a girl and not. And gay. She's.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm gay. Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She's queer.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. Thank you. I like the song. Thank you. See? Try it out in your own life. I'm just saying.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay.

[Natalie Jean]

Celebrate each other.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So she looks back at, you know, she admires June, probably sings her a little song. And then she glances down at June's dance bag to see the tights and leotard peeking out. Wondering just for a moment what it would feel like to also be heading to class as a pro ballerina.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What if her body type had been more ideal? The yearnings of an old dream.

[Natalie Jean]

Do you feel validated?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, totally. I mean, it is a thing that when you're a young woman who's not thin enough, especially back in the day.

[Natalie Jean]

Or just have any curve at all, especially like back then. And how they used to, I mean, I imagine, treat you for having a beautiful body. That I imagine wasn't what they were looking for.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, I starved myself. So I lost my period for three years to try to appease. I usually still wasn't skinny enough. I want to hug you. Oh, thank you. That's okay.

[Natalie Jean]

Real life though. You think I want to hug past you? You know, I'm celebrating. Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

My period came back eventually. Don't worry.

[Natalie Jean]

See, she's fine. She's bleeding all over the place.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I actually am right now bleeding all over the place. So she. She thinks back on her own promise as a dancer. Like her own skills that. You know, there was some talk about her potentially like Moving forward and. And that she had been the best dancer in Nidaros. Even if she had a bit of a shock when confronting the talents of the dancers in Crescent City, she thinks she could have gone further if not for her wrong body. Center stage, anyone? Oh, God. I know that feeling, but that is.

[Natalie Jean]

Sorry, Natalie.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She didn't have the feet. Her mom didn't have the heart. That's not how that goes in that scene.

[Natalie Jean]

But that's okay. You brought the center stage to life, and I appreciate it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you. Fortunately, Bryce had found her piece Dancing in Class, which I'm happy for. I've had a lot. I've actually had multiple friends from my ballet days feel so traumatized by their heart being broken that they cannot step in. Like, they can't take a ballet class. They can't enjoy that part of the song. It is horrible. It sucks because, I mean, just, like, incredibly gifted dancers who had, like, somebody break their heart, like, you know, break them. Their soul in one way or another, that they just can't go to class anymore. And it, like, so sad. Just, like, so much talent in them, just drained.

[Natalie Jean]

Did you add little freckles? It looks really good. They look very natural.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, I do have kind of.

[Natalie Jean]

Freckles, but it just. Yeah, it just makes them pop. You did a great job. So celebrating each other.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Thank you. Celebrate.

[Natalie Jean]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So I'm glad that she can go to class again, essentially, is what I'm saying. She has been able to go back to her class, which I also really enjoy about ballet class. And Bryce has, you know, basically come to peace with it. She shakes herself out of her thoughts to ask about June's dance schedule for the day. And June reveals that she. She wasn't selected to be the lead in the ballet they're currently rehearsing, which is called Marceline, which I don't think has ballet on earth. I've never heard of it. This jolts Bryce, because beyond being the best in the company, June had been slated for that role. So Juniper tries to downplay what an insult it truly is for her to be given a Demi lead instead of the actual lead in the ballet, because she had been the projected person who's going to get that role and is the best answer in the company. But.

[Natalie Jean]

And it's kind of seems so embarrassing, too, because then it, like, happens in front of everybody, and then it's like, are people being like, well, why didn't Juniper get it? Well, what did Juniper do? And you know that it's gonna just make so much more drama. Oh, that poor girl.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So they. She's trying to downplay it, but Bryce and Fury glance at each other, knowing with fair certainty she had been demoted in part because she went against the wealthy overlords in the attack the previous spring and had kept the door open for humans. Or as Bryce puts it, she went hoof to toe with the wealthy overlords.

[Natalie Jean]

And we're proud of you, bitch.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, it seems to be a message to the potential first ever fawn principal dancer that she better hoof the line if she ever wants to get the spot.

[Natalie Jean]

It's just the word hoof. Just. Man, it just gets me every time.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's a cute word.

[Natalie Jean]

It's such a cute word.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

This is a punishment for not knowing her place. In other words, they appropriately shit talk the other dancers for a minute. Sometimes you have to gossip a little bit with your friends. Get it out of your system. That's what friends do. So basically being like, oh, that girl got the part. Are you kidding me? As June packs up to head for the door, Bryce asks whether she had considered taking the offer to be the principal in one of the many other acclaimed but sort of less prestigious companies that all want her again, center stage. Anybody?

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, my God.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Jody Sawyer chose the edgy smaller company to be a principal. And instead of waving a rose in the back of the core for American.

[Natalie Jean]

Ballet Company, rise to the top cream.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But that's not what June wants. June almost ashamedly admits she wants to hold out for another year. And Bray sympathizes with her and doesn't think less of her.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, don't be ashamed, babe. We get it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's like the top, top, top ballet company in the whole world. It's like going to Lincoln center and being the top, top, top in New York. But you might never make as a principal, which I do know people from my childhood who did make it that far but never made it to principal, which is still this amazing thing to.

[Natalie Jean]

Do, of course, because you've gotten that far. But isn't there always going to be a part of you of like. But I never got principal. No matter how great you did. Because we. We're always gonna be like, but I could have gotten more. There's not all of us, but some of us. It's.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It kind of depends. There's perks to being in the biggest company. You get these other opportunities and you get.

[Natalie Jean]

And in the background. So nobody's looking at you as much.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, as a dancer, you don't want to ever be in the background.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, but you don't. I mean, this is why I'm not a dancer, because I'd be like, nestle me somewhere else. Nobody wants to be making sure I know the choreo.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You want to be in the middle. But. But, you know, her pay was probably much better than it would be in most other companies in the world, that kind of thing. But, you know, she wants what she wants. She wants bitch. Go get it.

[Natalie Jean]

Hoof your way to the top.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Hoof your way to the top. So even if they're the big bads, technically the corporation of ballet companies, she. You know, they're the apex.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. It's the standard, you know, it is still the. The best.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So Bryce watches as June kisses Fury goodbye. Fury has some silent conversation in the moment that has June blushing.

[Natalie Jean]

Maybe they started eye dancing. They introduced eye dancing to Jeff because Jeff was going to a concert with a friend. And I said, oh, are you. And your friend was like, oh, you're gonna do a lot of eye dancing. And then he stopped, and he's like, am I supposed to know what eye dancing is?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Should I know what that.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, I just feel like, you know, it's like if you're with a bro and you're at a concert, maybe you don't want to dance as much, which is sad. And I feel like you should always want to dance, but then you just look at each other, and you don't dance with your body. You dance with your eyes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Is that a thing that you heard on TikTok?

[Natalie Jean]

No, I just feel like that's what bros would do.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, you just made it up.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I made it up. But I think that I feel like you hear eye dancing. I mean, you know what it is?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You know, you could have asked me to define that, and I would have never come up.

[Natalie Jean]

Really?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You said no. Sorry.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, maybe you should try eye dancing. Sometimes it looks like it hurts, but also, you love to just dance. Dance. Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I would never. I dance. I would never.

[Natalie Jean]

I dance.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So they have this, like, moment of romance, and Bryce teases Fieri for being so obviously head over boots for June. They briefly chat, and then Bryce gets down to the brass tacks. She needs to talk about Danika. And never rattled, Fury asks if this is being brought up has something to do with Ethan staying with her. Because, of course, Fury gets the intel.

[Natalie Jean]

It's like that happened, like, 12 hours ago. Not even.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You nuts, you know, she's very startled for a moment that Fury knew that and wants to ask her. And then she goes, actually, don't tell me how you know that. Best to stay ignorant sometimes with Fury, a confused Bryce denies when Fury mentions that Ethan's always held a candle for Bryce and persists, asking Fury to tell her the truth. If she knows whether Danika has been hiding other parts of her life besides the synth stuff that they discovered. She doesn't want to pull Fury into more than she needs to, but Fury immediately picks up on her holding some kind of information.

[Natalie Jean]

Of course she is.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She knows each other's Fury. And it kindly demands Bryce fill her in on what she is asking about Danika. For Fury looks truthfully unaware of anything regarding the intel to this story. When Bryce finishes quietly telling her about Remember, they're in public so she has to kind of whisper that about Sophie, Ophion, Emil, Thunderbird stuff, all of it. Fury is silent for a moment and tells Bryce that she truly knew nothing of Danika being connected to the rebels. Bryce believes her. She brainstorms with Fury considering whether Danica may have told Emile and or Sophie to go to the Bone Quarter, a reference to the cryptic emails Danika and Sophie were exchanging that Therian found. Fury doesn't think so. And Fury unfortunately also can't provide any insight on the terms Dusk's Truth or Project Third. So in essence, Bryce has gone, asked Fury, do you know any extra things about Danika? Because she promised theory and she was going to, and she also wants to know herself. Fury tells her she does not know anything about this. And you know, Bryce believes her because like that Fury is her friend. Whether or not Fury has a bunch of secrets, she wouldn't be lying about this part.

[Natalie Jean]

No. She seems like the kind of person that if you asked her point blank if she could tell you, she would.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Right? Bryce asks Fury if there is any other secrets. Like, please tell me if there's any other stuff about Danica that you know, that she was hiding.

[Natalie Jean]

Fury seemed to consider, then said, the.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Only other secret I knew about Danika was that she was a bloodhound.

[Natalie Jean]

Bryce straightened. A what? It's like every other chapter. It's like, Bryce, I'm sorry, bitch. At this point you gotta stop being surprised. You know, I feel like you just gotta be like, you know what? Interesting. There's a lot about my friend I may not have known.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Are you blown out?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, well, I just never asked you.

[Natalie Jean]

I guess I'm glad that you know now. And also, I'm a secret prince and I wanted to tell you live that actually.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Is it a Christmas prince?

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. But now we have to celebrate Christmas every day.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know that you're joking, because that would make you want to jump out of a moving car.

[Natalie Jean]

Why do you think I ran from the Christmas prince life?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know.

[Natalie Jean]

It's too much. Too much. I mean, look at these wings. They're not made for frostbite.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, they are angel wings. That is generally connected to Christmas.

[Natalie Jean]

Put me on top of your tree. I do want an umbra mortis for the top of my tree. Good idea. How do we make that happen? Indeed.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Crafters.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, my God.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Please get on top of this. We do we like a shirtless one.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, I do remember you. Oh, all comes full circle. Didn't you give me that ornament of the sexy merman with the rippling chest?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We also have one. And then I got another one from our friend Ash. So I have two rippling merman Christmas ornaments, and you have one.

[Natalie Jean]

I think we need more.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, we need an angel.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, no. Do we need a whole SJM Christmas tree? I'm here, baby. Oh, man.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Listen, if nobody's gotten on top of that yet, what am I getting on.

[Natalie Jean]

Top of the Christmas tree?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Creating Christmas ornaments of the characters.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm sorry, Natalie. You know, I'm throbbing over here. I got no pants on.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You don't. So Bryce doesn't even actually know what a bloodhound is. Theory explains to the reader as well as Bryce, that a veneer, that is a bloodhound, as extra sensory smelling consent, bloodlines and other things, so they can, like, trace your heritage through your smells. Bryce realizes that she knew Danica could do that, but didn't know that it was special. She thought all wolves could do that. She used to do it to kind of, like, amuse Bryce. Like, just for fun. She would tell people. Like, tell her whose people. Like, people's bloodlines were 23 and me who?

[Natalie Jean]

I guess Danica would sell your data.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, just to Russia.

[Natalie Jean]

Well, I don't know, man. I don't know. She kept a lot of secrets.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's true. Maybe she was, I don't know right now.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't know.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's true. She confides in Bryce. So Fury tells Bryce that she only knows this because Danika confronted her in college because of her scent that they, quote, sorted out, but that each of them had a secret about the other.

[Natalie Jean]

It was as much as Fury had ever said about being whatever she was.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So this is the most we really can say about Fury's bloodline is that Danika senses something off or weird or.

[Natalie Jean]

Different about her Maybe she's the daughter of one of the princes of hell.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We don't know. But she could tell that she was not a normal veneer, and she confronted her. It's kind of how they became friends. So Fury further explains that Danica had to keep it under wraps because bloodhounds were highly sought after and could lead them into a sordid life of espionage that Daniko's not interested in. So essentially, people would want to pay a high price to have a bloodhound on their, like, assassin team, because they're easy to, like, if you need to, like, seek out somebody. Like, a mafia would love a bloodhound, you know? So Danika didn't tell a lot of people that she could do this. I'm sorry.

[Natalie Jean]

Natalie just touched my wing.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I apologize.

[Natalie Jean]

Natalie, just. Ah. Natalie. You know what happens when you touch my wing. Ah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Ah.

[Natalie Jean]

You did this to me. Oh.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sup?

[Natalie Jean]

I'm about to zap you. I just zapped you with my sexual charm. Oh, that was sexual or just.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It could have just been pain torture?

[Natalie Jean]

No, no, I just meant because, like, I needed to grip onto something because you touched my ball skin. Wings.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Gross. Gross. All of it's gross, so.

[Natalie Jean]

Especially because I'm borrowing your wings right now. But we're not gonna get into this.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You are borrowing.

[Natalie Jean]

Sometimes sisters in law can share wings. Okay?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We share pads.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Share pads with wings.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. So you say baths?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Pads? I haven't used a pad in many, many years, but just made me.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, those pads. Maxi pads. I really just imagine the two of us, like, in bathing suits, like, taking a bath together against our will. Sad. Like, just like, Henry's washing you and Jeff's washing me, and we're just like.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. What was it? What's that? A horrible show where the mom and daughter took baths together.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, extreme. No, not extreme, mother. That's extreme.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sisters smothered.

[Natalie Jean]

Smothered, right?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Is now what it's called?

[Natalie Jean]

Smothered. Smothered. I mean, sometimes you gotta use mommy's bath water to feel her essence. That makes me want to die. I think it's beautiful, Natalie. I think, you know, it's just wanting to be that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We're about to see your mom. I'll tell her.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, and then you can, you know, I'm telling her.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You would, like, you know what?

[Natalie Jean]

I feel like if you want it after we use it, and then I'll. Okay.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Okay, great. Thank you. So. So Fury also thinks she didn't like people to know about her bloodhound ness because it likely came from her bio father, which was a partner of Sabine's that no one knew in Danica's life. She didn't like talking about it.

[Natalie Jean]

Interesting.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

All that Bryce knows is that the male was never around. So I'm sure that will never come up.

[Natalie Jean]

It's never gonna come up again. I bet that. Yeah, I bet. Like, we're. It's gonna.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

What if it's Hunt? Fury watches Bryce process all of this and then asks her if she really wants to pursue finding a meal. Bryce admits that it is about finding the kid, but also about her understanding her friend and why she hid so much of herself. And I'm kind of like, girl, gotta let it go. Yeah, Danica's lying a lot, but. No, of course she can't do that. She has to go find out.

[Natalie Jean]

I know, I know. Maybe she's the bloodhound. Huh?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She did. She was called a wolf by the prime.

[Natalie Jean]

Whoa.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Theory says in her way that finding him won't change anything about losing Danika. She says it in kind of like, a colder way, but she's, like, trying to basically tell Bryce, like, you can learn everything you can, but not bringing her back. Not bringing her back. But Bryce persists. She wants to know why Sophie and Danica were in communication. She wants to know why what she was doing with Opion and why Fury warns her similarly to how Hunt has been warning her. You know, just saying, like, this is not worth it.

[Natalie Jean]

We're supposed to be staying out of trouble. It's just, like, we have, like, we really gotta do this right now.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But it's pointless to argue. Bryce knows the danger. She's aware. She tells Fury she will go forward with it anyway. She needs the truth.

[Natalie Jean]

Fury saluted her thanks to the barista and sipped her second chai.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

And what will you do once you learn the truth?

[Natalie Jean]

Bryce chewed on her lips.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Pray to Kathona that I can accept it, I guess.

[Natalie Jean]

Also, I love that Fury drinks a chai. Like, honestly, like, you'd think black coffee. That is drinking a chai kevoir.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I do like a chai.

[Natalie Jean]

I will say, I love a chai. Oh, especially put some espresso in and make it dirty.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, like a chai with, like, a bunch of sugar and crap in it. Like, I'm not drinking that every day because it's. It would be bad. You know what I mean? It's like a treat.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I never get them.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You're allowed to. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you.

[Natalie Jean]

I never. Oh, yeah. Treat.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We all have Our separate kinds of treats. It's just not the choice of treats.

[Natalie Jean]

Choice of treat. Everyone has their own choice of treat.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I treat myself all the time. Don't you worry.

[Natalie Jean]

Yes.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Chapter 14. We're with Hunt as he and Isaiah watch the ox training on the roof of the committee. It's equal rights, equal fights in Lunatheon. And they're taking bets on which unnamed Ox member will win.

[Natalie Jean]

Hell yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The smaller, faster, cleverer female or the big Galute male. As they watch, Hunt is tormented by his increasing feelings of dread and doom as he and Bryce fall down another pathway to destruction. Thanks a lot, merman.

[Natalie Jean]

Ethel. I dreamed it of you, June. It wasn't for me, Judy. And if it wasn't for me, then where would you be? Miss Gypsy Rosly?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

She's always still in this day and age. And 15, 20, whatever. They're in 30 something, 20 something.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh yeah, because I was 20 something, so 30 something.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's 30 something. Still causing problems, huh, Ethel? So Hunt is watching. He's supervising this big training sess they're having, but he's also still just like, oh God, what am I going to do? Isaiah seems to be lost in his own sense of dread and asks, asks Hunt, if Hunt thinks they'll end up in a new battlefield alongside all of these Ox members. They're watching. Spar.

[Natalie Jean]

I hope not, Hunt said, blocking out the images of those muddy massacres. The mech suits smoldering with their pilots bleeding out inside them, heaps of broken wings piled high to the skies. Some shifters going feral and feasting on the carrion alongside the crows.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That sucks.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I guess I'll give you bad dreams or something.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Give you some kind of bad dream. Hunt feels guilt at the possibility that his girlfriend's hijinks might have consequences for his old friend Isaiah. Because what he's saying essentially, is like, what they're doing is meddling. And they're meddling might lead to war. And that means Isaiah will have to go to war because of his girlfriend.

[Natalie Jean]

And we will be next to each other, fighting to the death.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yep, he remembers Isaiah's warnings all those centuries ago. So he has this flashback. Hunt has this memory of him and Shahar when they decided to take on this. This battle against Sandriel. And Isaiah back then, those hundreds of years ago because he was part of the rebellion, was in Han's face, saying, we, you are leading us to death. You are not making a good choice. And Hunt imagines Isaiah would also be shutting these plans down with good reason.

[Natalie Jean]

It's just ridiculous at this point. It's like if you remember that last time and then you think like, oh, how does Isaiah feel? Where he's like, bro, remember last time I fucking said this. Maybe this time you should think about anything other than, like, I know you feel that this is your mission, but could you think about everything else?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Do you think he's thinking that he lets chicken grab him by the wings.

[Natalie Jean]

Come a little bit closer. My wing wants to grab his butt.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

His back balls, if you will.

[Natalie Jean]

Thank you.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So he remembers. Hunt has this memory of when Isaiah approached him last time that basically shoving him out of he and Shahar's tent prior to this battle, refusing to listen to his pleas, and instead curling up in bed with Shahar. Hunt. I know. And then they fucked.

[Natalie Jean]

Just. You gotta, like, make a better. I know, I know, I know. He's not going to. Jackie is speaking into the ether. What are you talking about?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I have to say that if I asked Henry maybe not to go to battle, but I feel like he would side with me because he's a very good husband and I wouldn't be leading us into a battle.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I. You know, you could.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think that. I think I could. And then I would be killed, like, much like Shahar.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. But I'd be behind you being like, yes, slay, slay. And then be like, oh, no, I didn't mean literally.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So just as he had those memories, both he and Isaiah watch the smaller female crumbled down the glute in front of them, of course, because, like, SJM isn't gonna let a glute win the fight. So he's having these, like, flashbacks of his horrible memories. And then they watch this female beat the galoot. And it's sort of like a metaphor.

[Natalie Jean]

Because the God is what's a met for.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I don't even understand. I don't understand what that means because.

[Natalie Jean]

It'S like separating the word like. It's not metaphor.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, I know, but what is. What are you referencing?

[Natalie Jean]

Meta, I guess.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Like Facebook. It's for spreading Russian propaganda.

[Natalie Jean]

You're welcome.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Hunt turns his attention after the the female defeats the male in this fight. They're watching. He looks out at the larger training space where all there are all sorts of ox members flying, fighting and shooting, doing practices. Vaccine and Pollux are overseeing the shooting practice, and he feels sick at seeing them while Justinian and Vic are gone. So basically taking their places over. He's not sick enough to go get.

[Natalie Jean]

Victoria in the bottom of the ocean. She's fine, but he's sad. He's like, oh, oh, we don't forget here at deep dives.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. Baxian in his big doggy form, which is really cute, is overseeing the shooting practice. But he catches Hunt watching him and he transforms back into his humanoid form, strutting over to where Hunt and Isaiah stand. Hunt's hackles go up, but Isaiah reminds him to call me f down. Vaccine approaches the two of them as the angel and not the dog and starts a terse argument with Hunt. Though he comes across as way less aggressive than Pollux. The the impression that we've gotten of Pollock so far is that he is super arrogant. He's a prick. He likes to start fights. We don't trust Baxium, but he's already shown that he doesn't like Pollux. So that's like a bonus.

[Natalie Jean]

It's a bonus, but he's still a yucko. We still don't like him, but he's not. He doesn't give as many creep as. As a politics.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But then they're like, oh, does that mean. Then he is the biggest creep? Because they're like starting to trust him.

[Natalie Jean]

We don't know.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

We don't know. So they start getting in this argument and in the back and forth, Baxian comes across as standoffish, but almost trying to connect with Hunt in a weird way. He references the scar that Hunt gave him and Hunt fires back that he did it because Baxian handed over rebel families to Sandriel. So if you'll recall, he got a big. He has a big lightning scar on his neck from Hunt from back in the day. Vaccine suggests that he had as little choice in serving Sandriel as Hunt did. So basically kind of saying, I didn't want to do that. I was forced into it. Hunt is not buying this. And Hunt was a slave. Vaccine wasn't. So Hunt's like, no, you did not have the same situation as me. He tells him in fact to off. But then is given more news to add to the bad day pile for the day. Baxian informs him that he has been inside assigned to work with Hunt by Celestina. Yeah, he probably made that sound.

[Natalie Jean]

I don't need any help.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Help.

[Natalie Jean]

Well on my own.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, Hunt's supposed to help Vaccine.

[Natalie Jean]

I won't. Yeah. So I just imagined him just like backseat running after him. Like. Yeah, I guess he'd like. Like a little brother. Yeah. Guess you can come. Fine.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, I mean, I think that is kind of his. His vibe.

[Natalie Jean]

Even though Vaccine definitely doesn't want to be seen as that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No. Hunt immediately goes into a panic, wondering if Celestina has somehow discovered that Tharion has shown up asking about a Thunderbird and is having Vaccine track him. And that is what we call paranoia. It's called catastrophizing a little bit.

[Natalie Jean]

Hunt, I mean, he's been through a lot, so I imagine, you know, your head immediately goes to that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Just then, Celestina texts him, likely watching the training from some camera somewhere. And the text is saying to Hunt that Isaiah, who's generally his partner at the Ox, will be accompanying her to all of her welcome meetings about the town because she's new and she's counting on Hunt to show Baxie and the Rogue in Lunathian. Oh, I don't want to.

[Natalie Jean]

Fine.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So remember, Vaccine is also. He came from the land with no modern conveniences. And though he's interacted with technology many times, it would probably be a call, like a culture shock to him. So partially, probably. Celestine is like, you need to show him how to, like, use a computer.

[Natalie Jean]

Also getting used to being watched all the time, that's got to be so difficult coming from a place where that is not able to be done. I mean, I guess, like, you know, outside of, like, I feel like an Asteri and stuff like that, but, like, technologically, I feel like in this world, like, even with Fury and Bryce before, it's like they're always being watched. There's always, welcome to the nanny state, Baxian. Whoa.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So Hunt realizes that that left Naomi to care for Pollux, which, at least, hey, he didn't end up with that guy. Though now I'm worried about Naomi. No, I don't want her to be stuck with. The two end up slightly bonding over their shared distaste for Pollux's general behavior. Hunt and Baxian, that is Baxian mentioning that he's even worse right now because of him. Him losing his. I guess we'll call his companion the Hind, AKA Lydia.

[Natalie Jean]

You don't want to call it the love of his life.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Well, in this conversation, I don't.

[Natalie Jean]

Just because you're right. Companion is the right. You know. Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Because in this conversation, Vaccine says he's not capable of being in, like, a love relationship, but the Hind is like a possession of his almost. That he's, like, pissed is like, my stuff's at the other place.

[Natalie Jean]

Right.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So in this conversation, basically, he gains confirmation that because he wasn't sure if the Hind was coming to Lunathian, they were actually quite Worried about it. And Vaccine's essentially confirming that she's not. She's staying with Ephraim, who is Sandriel's replacement. And so that's not a. That's at least a little tiny bit of good news.

[Natalie Jean]

Hunt hadn't known Lydia Servos well. Their time had only briefly overlapped when he'd served Sandriel and the Hind had spent most of it off on missions for the Asteri, rented out like some sort of field worker to do their spy hunting and rebel breaking. Whenever Lydia had been at Sandriel's castle, she'd either been in secret meetings with the Archangel or fucking Pollux in whatever room they felt like using. Thank the gods the Hind hadn't come here. Or the Harpy so far.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The Hind is a bit of an enigma, though. We have the intro of the book to know she's a real bastard. We're no shite fun on top of that.

[Natalie Jean]

And also to be owned by Pollock. So it's like, you know, she ain't fun and she's owned by Pollock, so you're like, oh, I bet she's even more fun.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. Although Hunt pushed back, saying the Hind is not owned by anyone. So they have some kind of weird, creepy relationship, but, you know, they just like banging each other. I don't know. Just keep me away from them.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah. You know?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So on top of that, it turns out the Harpy, whose real name we don't learn, actually. And another one of the the cronies, more Doc. Won't be coming and have landed with Sandriel's replacement, Ephraim. In their conversation, Baxian also casually mentions Bryce as Hunt's girlfriend, essentially saying he knows Hunt just acknowledges it because he doesn't want Backstein thinking he has something to hold over his head. He's like, yeah, this is my girlfriend.

[Natalie Jean]

But also, he can't be like, no, she's not. Oh, no, never. You know, so at least, you know, I'm gonna kind of toe the line.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Plus, I think it's just he's internally giggling, kicking his feet at calling Brace's girlfriend. Vaccine surprises Hunt by expressing that he likes Bryce because she has bulls.

[Natalie Jean]

Is he being touched? My wing.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, but thank you for ask. Thank you for giving me consent.

[Natalie Jean]

You're welcome.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Is he being friendly? What is this? Is this a trick?

[Natalie Jean]

Are they gonna start eye dancing?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No, they won't.

[Natalie Jean]

Sorry, everyone, you have to go over to YouTube.comromantasy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, let me. Let me hype it up.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh. What? Sick. Oh, damn.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

How'd she do that?

[Natalie Jean]

You're welcome.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Gotta go check it out. Certainly Baxian can't be lying. Never trust, never love. We shift over to Therian's pov.

[Natalie Jean]

I just want to start waking up in the morning going, never trust, never love. All right. Yeah, I just want to start taking that through my day. Never trust, never love.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I'm sure Jeff would love that.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, I think, you know, I think it's good. It, like, it provides levels of a marriage.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

It's a fun game. We shift over to Therian's pov, and he is knocking on Bryce's apartment door, feeling envy at her building and her apartment. He's a real Ariel, if you'll recall, wanting to be where the people are. But he knows that this is not going to happen because he was thinking with his clam.

[Natalie Jean]

He was thinking with his clam, man. Darian's always thinking with his clam.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yes, I want to see it. Is there an artist out there?

[Natalie Jean]

Please.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Has nobody tackled this?

[Natalie Jean]

Come on.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Really want to see it.

[Natalie Jean]

Come on. Make it protrude through the hardness.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I know that there are a couple Patreons I follow who listen to the show. Please, for the love of God, please, please.

[Natalie Jean]

And let us know. Send it to lpnromantasymail.com and we'd love to hype it on the show.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, I. I subscribe to many of your Patreons, if you're not aware. I love. I love looking at the art. So Ethan answers the door, and Therian flashes him the recent text chain he has with Bryce to show him that Bryce has given him permission to wait for her at her place. So basically, like, when Ethan comes to the door, he's like, what do you want? And he's like, here, this is the messages. Bryce says I can stay. The messages are perverted and flirty, but obviously Tharion has little shame. And Bryce is fully playing along as he talks about going through her underwear drawer. In the texts, Ithan looks confused and suggests he thought Bryce and Hunt were, like, a thing. Tharion confirms that they are, but that he and, quote, legs have a special understanding about her underwear drawer.

[Natalie Jean]

Man, wouldn't you? I mean, especially you. You've got great legs. Have you ever been called legs?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, I think I said that.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm sorry. I apologize.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, thank you.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm sorry. I forgot.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

For a time when I lived in Philly, the kids out there called me Party Legs.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh, that's even better. Do you want me to. I mean, you've already told me this before, and I probably forgot and I'm going to forget again, but I'll try.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

To start calling you Party Legs. They also started reversing it in a. In a friendly way, calling me Lardy Pigs, which is cute.

[Natalie Jean]

I thought it was like skills. Eh, Backwards.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, okay.

[Natalie Jean]

It worked as a joke.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Did he? Ethan looks wary at letting him in, but Tharion just sort of barges forward. He thinks about how weird it is to see this kid sitting on the couch after watching him in so many sunball games. Ethan was, as you recall, set to be a sportsman.

[Natalie Jean]

Set to be a sportsman is what, man, you know. Wow, these are ball girls. You better watch out, everybody, because he was set to be a sportsman. How do you say it?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You say like he was hanged. He was highly ranked for the pros, I guess.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah, like athletic dreams.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

John Lovett's came and plucked him out to take him to the ball field.

[Natalie Jean]

Pickle tickle. And he'll be on his way.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He maintains, I don't get their own.

[Natalie Jean]

We're recording.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He maintains his laid back facade in front of Ethan, dropping onto the living room couch and kicking his shoes off, putting his bare feet on the coffee table because. Because he's Therian, but gross.

[Natalie Jean]

But also he probably gets so excited because he gets feet.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Oh, you know, he gets to see his little feet. Ethan stays by the kitchen, watching him warily. Tharion begins to ask him a little bit too casual of questions about Danika, which Ethan immediately sees through the conversation. He's like, I'm not hiding about Danika. Don't ask me these questions, trying to pry information out of me. And he tells Theron he wasn't keeping any info about Rebels from him the night prior when they were all discussing Danika and that he knew nothing of that part of Danica's life. Life. They push back and forth. Ithan's temper rising. He tells Tharion he doesn't appreciate Bryce or himself being dragged into this mess with Sophie in the Rebels. Tharion tells him he's just following his overlord's commands.

[Natalie Jean]

But also, if you were Tharion, wouldn't you also be like, yeah, but don't you guys, you wolves read each other's minds? Like she never said anything weird inside of her head? Or did she get to a point that she was able to control that so that no one would know? Right? Because if they mind speak, I think.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You'Re thinking of the Twilight.

[Natalie Jean]

God damn it. Can't they mind speak? They can't mind speak to my get really getting the series mixed up.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I Think so. I think that they have like a natural, like, biological need to like, submit to the. What is it called? Alpha. But I don't think they mind speak. I think that's just in Twilight.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm not embarrassed and you won't make me feel it.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So embarrassing.

[Natalie Jean]

Are you feel it?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So also, technically, she. He was still in school and he wasn't in her pack yet. Right?

[Natalie Jean]

He was. He was playing Sun Bull.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah. He perhaps tries to connect with Ethan by saying, listen, I have to do this, but I'd kind of be in your shoes. Maybe even worse if I disobeyed my queen, you know, because he just. You know, Ethan just was kicked out from his. His world, from his leader. Tharion can tell from Ithan's reaction to talks of Bryce that Ithan has some deeper feelings for her and finds it interesting notes how he's seems to not even be aware of what he's showing he feels, despite him having been so good at hiding his moves as a sunball player. But sometimes your heart can't hide what she likes.

[Natalie Jean]

And also I love it because Tharion just deals with it in the opposite way of like, I just hit on her all the time. That's. I mean, you really got to get it out of your system, bro.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You know, you just talk about her butt and stuff. She likes it.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But as Therian walks over to the fridge and begins rummaging for snacks, Ethan decides to reveal something to him. Danika once told him that she was working on a paper as a history major that would probably get her in a ton of trouble. She kind of like, didn't really say what was happening there, but Ethan has enough strong memory of it because it was very out of her character because he asked her about it later on and she said, oh, I just moved on to. I actually didn't finish the project. Like, I didn't finish this thing. And that was very much not like Danica. Interesting that if Danika set her mind on something, she would have to accomplish it.

[Natalie Jean]

And that, I mean, blow down, you know. I mean, I know bloodhound is different than bloodhound in our Earth, but, like, still, you know, bloodhound's gonna fucking follow that scent.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You gotta follow the scent. And he thought it was odd that she mentioned, like, a project for school would get her in trouble. And so kind of insinuating that maybe she was mentioning this thing she was actually doing that wasn't for school.

[Natalie Jean]

Also, I do love that Ethan was like, oh, whoa, cool. Oddball. And like, I always Ask like if you said that you were working on something that's gonna get you trouble, I think I'd have a couple of follow up questions.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Maybe why she said it to Ethan because maybe she just wanted to say it. She was stressed and couldn't tell anybody and she's like Ethan's dumb. He's not gonna remember. But he did actually remember.

[Natalie Jean]

But he is dumb though.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Yeah, a little bit.

[Natalie Jean]

Yeah.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Throughout as we get into the third book too.

[Natalie Jean]

It's not his fault he gets hit in the head a lot. You know, you gotta remember. I imagine he's had a couple concusses in there.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

There's a lot of Ethan in these books going, oh not again Ethan.

[Natalie Jean]

Shucks, dang it. Come on. So yeah, I think that that's actually a full chapter in the third Crescent City is him just making those sounds.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You really messed it up again Ethan.

[Natalie Jean]

Oh boy.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

So Tharion really looks at Ithan as he processes this new information that he's just received. The two of them stand in the kitchen across from each other and Tharion sees nothing really more than a young guy who has lost everyone he's ever loved. He's all alone. Tharion probably connects to him in certain ways since he lost his sister. He asks if Ithan wouldn't mind if he turned on the highlights from a recent sunball game. Ithan looks at him suspiciously but Tharion assures him he's not here. He's not trying to pry more info out of him. He just really could use a break.

[Natalie Jean]

Ethan weighed the words Tharion's expression with a keen eyed sharpness that the wolf had used on his opponents. Perhaps the sunball player wasn't dead after all. But Ethan only said, there's leftover pizza.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

In here if you're hungry.

[Natalie Jean]

Do you wanna I dance with me?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

No bro.

[Natalie Jean]

It's scary for them to ask if they want to I dance with each other. But also it's very cute that they're sitting watching Sunball and eating pizza together. Cute friend. Come on you friend. Pizza.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I won't make Ethan's voice like that for the rest of it, but will.

[Natalie Jean]

You not have a little bit of.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

A derp to him?

[Natalie Jean]

He's a bit of a dodo bird, but it's a dodo bird.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

He's not a jock. I'm not into jocks.

[Natalie Jean]

But here's the thing. See I love a himbo though. So I think that it just depends. Like but Ethan for me is not the hilf that I'm looking for. Like that's not really.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Like, I'm not attracted to Ethan.

[Natalie Jean]

I'm more in the, like, umbra mortis. Like, his brain's too busy with, like, thinking about plans in the future and, like, what he's been through.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

That's also a way. You're a Cassian girl forever babe. I'm a resound rune girl.

[Natalie Jean]

You know it. You know it. But it's good. It's. We have to love different sides. I'm a Hunt Cassian. You're a rune rizond. And it's good.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Who would you choose from Throne of Glass? No. Spoilers are happening. Happening. So don't worry about it.

[Natalie Jean]

If you had to choose one menon. But I get that. I get. I get the. You know, I get to choose of.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

The more mask ones.

[Natalie Jean]

I. I mean, Rowan, I. I think it's just.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I think I'm kind of a Dorian.

[Natalie Jean]

Really. Okay. I had a man.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

I mean, absolutely a man. And man, it could ruin my life.

[Natalie Jean]

I mean, destroy me. I would let her do anything. But, yeah, I was. Would say close second is Rowan, but just because I think it's because I have different daddy issues than you have, for sure. You know, And I think that's like. I'm like, oh, yeah, he's gonna teach me how to be strong. Like, it's not that I need him, but, you know, teach you how to snowboard. Well, I don't know if the relationship would survive that.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

But then you can be behind you. Me, like, holding up, like, oh, my gosh, how do I do this?

[Natalie Jean]

Except, you know, I wouldn't be like this. Like, I hate this. I'm all wet. Why I can't move my legs. Separately from which I hate it. Like, it's just you. Can you imagine?

[Jackie Zabrowski]

You would find that adorable.

[Natalie Jean]

I know. Adorkable little me. Please read up until chapter 17 for next week.

[Jackie Zabrowski]

Sa.

[Natalie Jean]

Hey, everybody. Conan O' Brien here with an ad about my podcast. Conan O' Brien needs a friend. I've had so many fantastic conversations with people I truly admire people like Michelle Obama, Bruce Springsteen, Maya Rudolph, Tom Hanks. New episodes are out every Monday, and we have a really good time. So subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts.