#that i cant tell what is like obviously immediatley understood to anyone vs me going on a mad one

[wheelie-butch]

Angsty Wolfpack Thoughts

Okay I said the other day I'd post a bit some of my angstier Wolfpack thoughts so here... basically I was thinking about how I think basically most things about them, especially the rejecting individuality to be a pack stuff, comes from abandonment issues + trauma from their parents leaving, and the fact Scott doesn't remember any of that and isn't affected the same way and so doesn't have the same need to be a part of the pack like them contributes to them having a somewhat difficult relationship in a way that's very interesting to me.

The age difference is really important because I think it's actually being able to remember the abandonment that makes the Wolfpack act so differently to Scott. The devs have said only some of the Wolfpack share Scott's surname, meaning the Wolfpack aren't all brothers but at least 2 sets of cousins among themselves, which I think supports my thinking.

I think in response to their abandonment issues they try cope by taking an extreme view of like 'we'll stick together forever and that will be safe, everyone not in the pack is dangerous, if we don't get close to anyone outside the pack they can't leave us'. A lot of their asshole behaviour (like when they're mean to other characters or they are ineffectively hitting on girls/the moon) reads to me as being more about their own insecurities, proving themselves to each other and like trying to make themselves feel good and part of the group together. Like I don't think they actually care if Calculester has facial hair they just want to 'prove' themselves 'better' than him (an interesting event for me considering they have WAY less facial/body hair than Scott also, which again suggests the insecurity aspect of their bullying) or like when they are trying to ask out Vera and Miranda they're really caught up in saying stupid shit ('the hottest dogs to ever not literally be hot dogs' 'we'll show you courtship sportmanship on the COURT!!') more than focused on actually trying to force one of them to go on a date, and even the narrator unusually notes they're not actually trying to be assholes here, they're just stupid. Conversely, the time they are nicest to you is the lunchtime event where they decide to be "aggressively inclusive" and make you an honorary member of the pack. The way they have to justify being nice as 'you're one of us for a bit' I think shows how they really can't see beyond "in the pack = safe, out of the pack = not safe" even when they want to be friendly and have a nice time with people.

I think their constant attempts to get Scott to be more in the pack and stop having outside friends comes from a (very misguided) attempt to protect him - they think its safer to stay as a pack and any non-werewolf friends will abandon him. I actually think Vera's speech at the end of the FAMILY route about identifying what is not hell and holding onto those people is very pertinent to them. I think especially her promises never to leave Scott probably are why the Wolfpack are okay with her saying she's family to Scott and they're in the final image with everyone, because I think it speaks to their way of understanding the world.

I know their occasional moments of self-awareness are mostly for comedy, but when they admit things like 'we harass scott to cope with our unstable home life' to me that opens up interesting possibilities for thinking about exactly how much they are aware they are maybe not coping in the healthiest way. In the FAMILY route when they thank you for stopping them ruining Scott's idea of parents, and again the fact they let Vera refer to herself as part of Scott's family, it suggests to me that on some level they are aware it is actually better for Scott to have his beliefs and other friends.

I think it's interesting to imagine could they perhaps even feel jealous that he is able to have that faith and fearlessness to connect with others? Do they resent that he can do that and that he doesn't carry the trauma the same way as them? The dynamic of like 'i want to protect this younger family member and im glad they didnt go through the same things as me but also it hurts that i feel fucked up by what's happened to me and they're not and we can't fully understand each other because of it' is interesting for me to think about in regards to them. Some of this I think is reading in more than you can directly get from the text, but it's the sort of thing I find fun to explore beyond canon if that makes sense.

Also all this angsty headcanon thoughts don't mean I think they're actually secretly really sad all the time or something. I think their worst behaviours are driven by these abandonment issues in a way that feels like a clear thread through their actions, and I think they are on some level aware of it, but I think thats all buried pretty deep generally and most of the time they are all focused on having a good time being lads together. I think if they start to get too consciously sad they would probably cover it by lashing out or getting extremely hype over something distracting. However I just love to think about my favourite characters from lots of angles and yeah I hope if any of this is new to anyone else you have fun thinking of some angst also :)