#my ideal date wasn't working for her so that'll do

[ringchollyandfriends]

Bubblebean Lady Day is....

(drumroll)

........

OCTOBER 8

[stars-self-ships]

When the recently closed Pastabilities leaves few options for an ideal date locale, Bea and Micah settle on Possum Springs' most renowned eatery, Clik Clak Diner, to have their first date...

... unaware that they have an audience of one just outside.

(Check out underneath the cut for the process I went about when drawing the above piece, as well as some insightful gushing on my latest F/Os— Bea and Mae!)

Just about a month ago, I finished my lengthy playthrough of Winds of Change, and the eighteen hour long experience I had with the game is one that I'll never forget. I'm working on writing a post detailing what I thought of it in its entirety, though once I finished Winds of Change... I realized my 'furry game' need wasn't entirely satiated.

That's not to say that Winds of Change didn't deliver on its promised "ultimate furry tale"— trust me, it is more than deserving of that title— though I found myself raring to dive headfirst into another furry-centric game to play on my Switch, and luckily, I remembered that there existed a game that I've been wanting to give a go for a short while now...

Night in the Woods.

Going into playing the game for the first time, I knew very little about it, save for three things— the main character, Mae (Mae-n character, if you will), one of the main characters is a goth crocodile girl, and another one of the main characters has this adorably goofy flailing animation... naturally, the such paired with Night in the Woods' GORGEOUS visual style warranted a play!

Now, I've only just reached the second act of the game, so there's still lots for me to learn about Night in the Woods' story and cast, though what I have played of it so far made me realize that— with every new piece of media I consume— a rule applies, that being "I will walk out of this with a new F/O"... and it shouldn't come as any surprise that I already have two from NiTW!

While I'm sure many people interacting with this post are familiar with these characters, I'm going to take a moment and introduce them both to followers who are unfamiliar (Seeing as it's also an excuse to gush), starting with my newest romantic F/O, Bea! Say hi, Bea! 🖤💚🖤

That'll do! Bea is a grungy and stoic crocodile who serves as the "like, whatever" character of Night in the Woods. She is a very melancholic individual with a habit of smoking, and is easily identifiable by her all-black outfit. It would seem that Bea was once best friends with Mae when they were kids, but upon growing up and enduring hardships, a rift of sorts has grown between them, though Bea still has respect for Mae even if she doesn't show it.

From being one of the main reasons behind me playing Night in the Woods, it was almost a given that she would see a spot on my ever-growing list of F/Os... and funnily, much like my experience with Valessa, my admiration for her was yet another 'love at first sight' instance, seeing as I recall audibly gasping when she appeared on-screen for the first time... and that's not even getting into how I reacted seeing fanart of her.

I'm positive that Bea is the first of my romantic F/Os to be of the despondent type (Think Forsburn from Rivals/Lovers of Aether), though I've always had a deep love for that kind of characterization and— on top of finding her incredibly bea-utiful— Bea is a character that I think deserves to be welcomed with open arms and showered with the love and affection she deserves.

Like, seriously. Look at her. That is the face of a girl who deserves all of the hugs in the world. Something tells me that she's the type that keeps her feelings to herself until she finds a person she trusts enough to confide them in, and to be that person for her feel wonderful... Bea deserves so much love.

You know who isn't the type to keep her feelings to herself?

Mae is a reckless and cynical cat that serves as the star of the show in Night of the Woods. After dropping out of college during her sophomore year, she ventures back to her hometown, Possum Springs, in the hopes to continue her 'lay-low' lifestyle, but finds it tough to when the familiarity of her home is crumbling and all of her friends have grown and matured (But certainly haven't forgotten about her).

Now, look— I know I say this every other new F/O, but since the first few minutes of gameplay, I was very much sold on F/Oing Mae as a younger sister F/O, because I see so much of myself in her. Granted, I don't smash cars with a baseball bat or walk on powerlines, but there's just something about her that reminds me so much of myself.

... it might be because she's got a lax lifestyle, or maybe it's because she's a known gamer, though I think the trait we share the most is holding onto our friends no matter what. Mae's friends were one of the first few people she went to after arriving home, and it really seems like they're almost family to her... I mean, they're all in a band together. How could they not be tightly knit?

Mae is for certain a F/O I would adore to hang out with. Running aimlessly about Possum Springs and crashing in her bedroom to play video games and listen to her practice her bass make for the most pleasant imagines, and it's something I'd love to focus a future art piece on.

Speaking of art pieces... the process behind creating ship art for a Night in the Woods-ified version of myself and Bea was actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be! In my many years of recreating artstyles, I think NiTW's artstyle is the one I can most closely recreate... just look at the turnout of my very first attempt!!

I actually thought I would struggle with it, seeing as it's all lineless, but it seemed easy enough that I wanted to try my hand at drawing myself with Bea! The idea of a 'first date' type of scenario came to mind almost instantaneously, and after whipping up a concept of what I would look like in the NiTW canon, I was ready to get to work...

... but where would we have our first date?

Clik Clak Diner, a restaurant that Mae and company hang out at after she reunites with them, seemed like a perfect fit! Not only do I like its aesthetic, but it also looked like it would be a fun challenge to redraw for the setting of the art piece! It took a good deal of attention to detail in colors, lighting and making sure it looked as closely to the original as I could manage...

... and I think it's safe to say I nailed it! Everything you see above was remade from scratch (Save for the mostly obscured framed photo on the far right, which I copy-pasted from an upscaled version of the diner's interior), and the only thing I had to slightly change was the color of the booth's seat so that Bea's skin (?) color could stand out more.

Night in the Woods veterans might also note that Bea is rocking a new outfit! I was originally going to draw her in her usual gothic duds, though after daydreaming about how pretty she would look in a striped shirt and necklace, I drew her in just that while staying true to her sense of fashion in terms of the shirt's darker colors!

There are several other little details that I'd like to discuss about this piece, though I think I'll save those for the tags since what I have already more than enough makes for a good read! I think this Mae Bea my best drawing of 2022 so far (Geddit?), and I'm so excited to finally show it off!! 💖💖💖

[raindropssss]

Fight

❪ not my gif! if it’s yours, please message me so i can credit you or delete it! ❫

𝐀/𝐍. This is my first ever imagine and please bear with me! Tips for improvements are always welcome and I hope you like it!

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘. When you're fighting for your life in the hospital, Jim can't help but fear for your life.

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓. 889

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆. Jim Street x Reader

Jim shuffled in the uncomfortable hospital chair, desperately trying to get a bit comfortable, as far as he could get comfortable with you next to him on the hospital bed, fighting for your life. He has been awake for 48 hours straight, but he needed to be awake when you woke up. If you woke up.

You were seriously injured while saving eight people who were taken hostage by an escaped mental patient. The man shot you in the neck and when you arrived at the hospital, you were barely alive. The doctors took you in surgery immediately and were able to remove the bullet, but you coded two times and the doctors aren’t sure if you'll make it.

The whole team was in the waiting room the entire time you were in surgery, but one by one they left, needing to get home and get some sleep. The only ones left were Jim and Chris. You and Chris have been friends since high school, and like Jim, she couldn't bring herself to leave the hospital. Chris was now asleep in the other uncomfortable chair next to your bed, not being able to keep her eyes open any longer.

-

"Late on your first day and the boss lecturing you," You said to Jim at the end of his first day. "You don't have to worry about making an impression, Street."

"Was it that bad?" Street aks you with a little smile on his face.

"You were fine for someone with no SWAT experience. Don't be late tomorrow, read the SWAT rules and you'll be fine."

"Thank you for helping me," Street answers. "I feel like you're the only one that doesn't try to get me out of here immediately."

You sigh. The circumstances were not ideal at the moment and you know the team is still surprised by Buck's exit, but you want Jim to feel like he's a part of the team, because he is.

"Street, the circumstances are just really different than normal. Don’t worry about the team, because this team's a family and you're a part of that family now. Be grateful for the opportunity you've been given and keep working hard. That'll do it. I'll see you tomorrow," You give him a last smile before walking to your car to go home.

Jim watches you drive away, replaying your words in his head.

-

After working with you for many months, he couldn't help but feel something for you. After he was kicked off of SWAT, you stood by him throughout the entire time until he was back on the team. He tried to let go of his feelings because you always made it very clear your intention wasn't to date a fellow cop. You were strong-minded and probably wouldn't change your mind. But that was until he saved your life in the field and you couldn't deny your feelings anymore.

Seeing you standing there on the other side of the door confused him a bit. Yes, you two were friends and hung out after work, but everyone was tired after the long day they had and he couldn't imagine she just wanted to hang out.

"Hey, Y/N."

"Hey," You answered a little nervously. "I'm sorry for showing up out of the blue, but I just need to talk to you."

"No, don't worry about it. Come in," Street answered, opening the door further to let you in.

You walked inside, sighing deep. "Listen, Jim. I know that I told you that I don't date cops, but I don't know what to do with my feelings anymore," You say to him when you turn to him. "Saying this goes against everything that I stand for, but I can't work with you and have this tension between us. I really can't, but I also don't want to lie to you and say I don't like you. Because I do"

Jim doesn't know what to say. He thought that they had no chance, but her confessing her feelings to him gives him hope. "I-I,"

No, let me talk," She interrupts him. "I want to be with you and if you don't want that I get it. I turned you down multiple times, I understand it fully if you would be the one to turn me down."

Jim didn't say anything, he just nodded and smiled. He leaned in and kissed you.

-

Thinking back to their first kiss only made him smile. They have been dating for almost 9 months now and everything was actually working out very well until this happened.

Come one, Y/N. You can't do this to me" Jim said as he interlaced his fingers with her. He stared at her peaceful, but pale face. "I-I can't lose you."

"Fight, Y/N. You have to fight and not just for me. There are so many people who love you and need you, do it for them." Jim closed his eyes and sighed deeply, letting a single tear escape from his eye. He doesn’t know If she can hear him, but he hopes she can.

And she could.

He thought he was dreaming, but she squeezed his hand.