Honestly like the great themes around the different werewolves in fantasy high hit an extra layer of "this bitch gets it" for me because you have three figures who kind of live in tandem but are really great examples about the trauma of ostritization/marginalization.
This will be spiolers for season two of fantasy high so you know don't spiol yourself:
Tracker is still working through what being a werewolf looks like and how it fits into her identities as a whole (she's a gnc queer girl who was introduced by talking about shitty religion background and talks later about not being ready to be out and proud about her werewolf status) . In the forest when she's blinded by her fears and is terrified that Kristen is scared of her and will leave is so gutting to me as a person whose seen so many werewolf romantic storylines rely on the tension that that fear produces without further exploration of why.
Like very much so, tracker is shown to be very intentional about her transformation/shifting. And for that choice to be taken from her in the forest as part of her biggest fear and then for her to have to act out Kristen being afraid of her in that form (I know Kristen was trying to be careful but that's part of it, intention doesn't equal expience esp when trauma and fear of one's self is involved) like bro, I was bawling that episode because it was exactly the saddest best play from tracker to respond to Kristen like that and it's really important to me to know it's not fucking wild to think it's possible to have good empathetic storytelling about how werewolves are a really great way to explore trauma surrounding loss of autonomy. Like it makes sense for Kristen to have done everything she did when reaching out to Tracker ( being caution of being bitten, moving out of area of attack etc) but the pain of being interested with as a destructive person( or in all actuality a "wild animal") is so fucking rare to have centered in werewolf content and this fuck head wants more empathy for werewolves in the media that utalizes themðŸ˜.
Galacea in the finale hits alot of the ways non Christian practices are appropriated and erased esp in a lore that distinctly relies on worshipers and practitioners to shape their deity it is a powerful story to see in the face of a goddess who has explicitly repressed her wolf attributes for the figure of an appealing goddess. I cried about this because it wasn't even the piont of that scene but you fuckers know I'm desperate for that good werewolf content and this was GOOD.
The knowing that the narratives made by and empowered by institutions hold a sway that is harmful and limiting and repressive to not only the deity but the most needing of what that deity might hold for them ( looking at tracker and galacea finale vibes and just cries because it's really fucking dope to see) are marginalized in that space even further. And like... To be empowered by empowering that which you worship is such a fucking deep dive into theology that no one is gonna respect me in the morning if I get into. Tldr werewolf god going on the journey of repressed and depressed: conceal don't feel werewolf trope made me go feral in a good way because it's alot and someone else is thinking about this shit and I feel a little less crazy about how much I give a shit about how much this matters to me because of it.
And like jawbone is fucking chaotic and floral shirt arc (please see previous big town post under that tag cuz idk how to link in a text post) and QUEER.
Like werewolves are commonly queer coded and lens through explorations classism and community isolation. (Ex. Big angsty mountain men who don't want to kiss people because they might eat someone etc, etc, you know the tropes. my queer ass will give you a rundown if you need to know major werewolf tropes through; all you need do is ask) and like Mulligan saw that undercurrent and said I will make a parent figure so fucking queer, who's background is explicitly "dirt poor and deprecate bitches get shit done, who has time for shame when youre getting killed by an unjust system hell bent on telling youre your life is worthless?"
Like I know we joke about how he's shameless in telling everyone his wild stories from before becoming guidence counselor but all the things about "there shouldnt be shame in survival", "there is life after survival", "choices made under an illusion of choice are not choices at all" are huge factors in trauma unpacking (esp when discussion queer survival)
Jawbone being proud about his queerness and his werewolf identity and open and gentle with people who are processing trauma of their own is is a huge fucking deal. ( Especially is werewolf media)
It's fucking rare to get werewolves who aren't "repressed and depressed" trope who are acknowledging their queer identies ( because alot of werewolf queer coding is exploration on repression not on the after math if that trauma) but when you do usually it's the too horny to be bothered with gentleness or empathy. ( I'm looking at all the werewolf boyfriend content and will stay silent because I can't get into that rn) so like yeah a werewolf dad who's gonna casually mention every person he's slept with while talking about how you shouldn't have to be ashamed of mental illness and that care takers should have done right by their kids is my kind of guy.
There's so much shame around the identities jawbone embodies and holds so much up to "this is a laughable idea" tropes (a queer poly man wearing soft sweaters and daisy dukes and drinks tea, talks about mental health, and cries and is gentle and soft and is hella slutty and unashamed of who he is and where he has come from all at the same time) that seeing that in a chapter that is also a werewolf (which utilizes a LOT of shame in alot of the genres themes ) is fucking rad lad energy.
The part where in the beginning of the first episode of season two Mulligan was discribing him and was like always in his transformed body because he's not ashamed and he's proud to advocate for werewolf visability-yeah I cried a bit what about it? I know it doesn't matter to alot of folks but that's a huge deal for me because I know how few visions of queer monstrosity get the respect and honour they deserve and like jawbone being like the entire fucking thesis piont of alot of queer monster theory ("[monstrosity] is a overlay to harm the most marginalized-painting them as violent and evil and this worthy of the death and violence they receive-this is a falsehood meant to benefit the status quo and most privaleged and tells us truths about the story teller more than the "monster" themself") so like yeah
Tldr: Werewolves are rad and I respect b. Mulligan more because of this move than most because this dude gets it and I don't fucking say that lightly.
