Blehhhhhhhh cat guard characters with my hc designs.
Been a long ass time since I've drawn BBT. But I've missed drawing cats, so this was bound to happen.
If you're interested in their brief, non-fanfic-spoilery lore for them, it's below (along with progress photos and some spooky images so be warned):
Back when Zynt and I were first drafting the original concept for Stamper's Stupendously Stressful Story in 2023, we (me) wanted to humanize the cats a bit so they could be actual characters instead of obstacles. It's not like we got that far in the fic to begin with but shhhh.
We did that, but in the process we sorta woobiefied them and made them sillier, and in turn, removed the "fear factor" the characters had in game. After revisiting it, I decided to rework a lot of the cats I characterized. I wanted to make them a bit more unhinged and violent but still silly like their in-game counterparts.
These two cats who dish out weapons for yarn were affectionately named Tess and Fluffles "Fluffie" Pawstrike. They are a duo (and married).
Tess was originally a security guard who was placed with prisoners. She learned English there and actaully speaks it really well compared to most of her peers. She was one of their best guards at the time, but after being blinded in one eye as a result of a "successful" escape attempt by a small group of prisoners, she began to lose it a little and out of rage would occasionally take out her frustrations on the prisoners. The hostility caused her to be pulled from the position and placed in a more "calm" environment. It's there she meets Fluffles and the rest might be discussed in the fic if we get that far.
However, she still has those prison guard tendencies. She gets a kick out of scaring the prisoners while they make their trades.
Tess: Whaaaat? DO I SCARE YOU? PRISONER??
Fluffles on the other hand, has had no actual combat experience. Sure, she's trained in artillery, but she's never been tossed into any true conflict, which she is grateful for. For a while they were a stagehand helping with prop work before being promoted to arms dealer, where she meets Tess. Fluffles was brought up mostly worked away from prisoners. As a result, she hardly interacts with them, so she's cautious, distant, and has no idea about English both speaking and comprehension. But she is cold and protective, especially of her goods and Tess. So, when she perceives prisoners act up, she's the one to be truly fearful of over Tess.
Tess finds this incredibly attractive btw, she loves seeing her wife threaten their patrons.
Here are their OLD 2023 designs oooooooooooooooooooof. They were... not photographed well. But you can see a few differences I've made to make them more unique/serious. Perks of art growth ig.
Progress images.
Oh yeah and for those curious, here are "better" images of the cats they're based on.
If people like them, I'll make more redesigns and pester Zynt with a whip into writing more of the fic in honor of the Quality of Life update.
