For the people who are spouting the stupid OMG THE CAST ARE PISSED AT EACH OTHER OVER CHARACTER CHOICES takes.

They're having the time of their lives.

im ab to be annoying ab dimension20 fhjy but im genuinely loving the character arcs for the bad kids this season?

kristen going from self-annihilatingly stupid to trying to build a genuine bridge with the man who not only wielded the religion that traumatised her (bobby dawn), but also was trying to ruin her life, just bc she thought a grieving father ought to be comforted in some way? her genuine distress at being unable to revivify buddy even though the two had only had negative interactions, or her biting her tongue in front of her parents so she could better look after her little siblings? grappling with the fact that she still, on some level, expected practising religion to be easy and convenient for her as a holdover from an entire childhood spent being a Chosen One, and finally putting her nose to the grindstone and committing to working her ass off for a deity that couldn't even benefit her for a hot minute? making an effort to be cordial with tracker's new gf and letting go of that codependency? the kristen applebees from ep20 would NOT do all the same stupid shit as ep1 and i love that.

fabian being humbled by the narrative again and again has been an absolute treat for his character. the whole ivy/mazey situation was great: freshman/sophomore year fabian would've gone for ivy no sweat, i mean her character seemed pretty similar to pre-redemption aelwyn and he had a huge crush on her then. but this time, when he realised he'd hurt a genuinely great person, and intentionally swallowed his pride to make it up to mazey, even though it required him being 'uncool' with the whole twister thing. his general arc of learning that earnestness and humility doesn't make him less of a man felt like a natural extension of fabian defining his own version of masculinity- sure, a 'maximum legend', but also someone deeply involved in the arts, and someone who is less afraid of saying sorry and being vulnerable in front of someone he likes

fig. fig fig fig. what a woman. its been absolutely fascinating watching build her sense of identity over these three seasons. at her core, fig is a character that loves so deeply. in freshman, she was terrified of the depth of her own devotion, so she tried to distance herself emotionally from everyone. in sophomore, she built herself around that love for other people. in junior year, fig's arc has been learning she can do both: that she's defined by her love for others, but not solely by it. ik emily wanted to retire the character before this season but i think fig's paladin arc was the best capstone to her journey possible.

gorgug's arc has been about establishing clear boundaries for himself and i love it. im aware there's been some Discourse ab the mango soda scene but to me that was pretty easily chalked up to teenage insecurity. a big part of gorgug's arc was trying to believe in himself when everyone around him told him he was too dumb to follow his passion- imagine struggling in an area that you have no natural aptitude for, and someone comes along and also trounces you in the one area you thought you were the best in. i'd be petty and reactive too (gorgug follows up calling her a freak with the fact that she beat the shit out of him, so its clearly him just still smarting from a bruised ego and not actual malice). in general, i've really like gorgug learning to put his foot down and say enough is enough without completely losing his gentleness.

adaine hasnt had an obvious arc, but considering she addressed most of her baggage in the first two seasons, i'm not surprised. i would've liked to see the other bad kids address her 'teenage adult' behaviour, but her self-awareness about it and relying on fabian to pull in clutch for the oracool stuff still felt like she'd learned to rely on her friends at least + her reaching out to aelwyn and the two of them healing from their parents together has been rewarding it its own right.

riz is perfect and has learned nothing. his neuroticism is part of his natural swag

rage

"the ratgrinders, traumatised and manipulated teens, could have been redeemed if that subplot was explored and developed more" and "the bad kids, also traumatised, and in a life/death situation, are not responsible for healing these fellow kids" are opinions that can and should co-exist

me and my best friend saw you from across the beer pong table and we absolutely hate your vibe

(human oisin's tattoos designed by sam!!)

dont ask me what this is girl i dont KNOW

ITS THE LAST STAND BABY!!!!!!!!

I am loving FHJY :)

it was played as a joke but

there's something genuinely harrowing about gorgug and kristen on the deck of the ship, pelted by rain, swarmed by dragons, these two teenagers looking at each other with wide eyes trying to bury the fear down deep, and

do you remember when we died?

they were freshmen, they were children, they were two years younger but it feels like a hundred hundred years ago

it feels like yesterday, because deep down they're still that boy hiding his too large frame behind a metal flower and a girl stuffing her too large personality into the pages of her bible

do you remember when we died?

the ship rocks violently with cannon fire, hands of fear and divinity and loss creeping from the clouds

do you remember the day you lost your faith?

do you remember a forest so sharp it cut you clean through?

do you think we ever woke up?

what demonstrates the rat grinders vs the bad kids SO perfectly is oisin sending that guess you didn't see the storm coming message being like hehe im gonna put her on a ship in a storm and kill her just the same way the last elven oracle died and adaine is just standing on the deck like ok?? and one-punch killed an ancient dragon

Spitballing here but I feel like one overlooked hint at Oisin being insincere is his friendship with Ivy. Kipperlily describes them as best friends which is interesting because Ivy really tries to put on a “cool girl” attitude, where anything dorky or earnest is beneath her. We don’t really see this from Oisin in person, but with the comments about Buddy in private messages and now the jab at Adaine being a bad oracle, I feel like Ivy and Oisin are probably more similar that you’d suspect at first glance. Of course, being friends with someone doesn’t mean you like or take part in all of their behaviors, but I get the feeling these two are the kind to shit talk everyone behind their back. Ivy’s nasty outwardly because she makes her distaste clear (putting Mazey down at the party). But there’s a distinct cruelty in making someone think you care and then laughing while they’re not looking. Anyways, my vibe check could be completely off but we’ll have to wait for next week to see

a story about tumblr’s collective ability to fact check