February 20th Update
Ah, so, so much for weekly updates, I guess? Life is just overwhelming right now, and my spare time has been consumed by a new, different video game obsession (shoutout to everyone else sinking countless hours into roaming Night City). Still, I’m here, and this project isn’t dead, just sleeping.
Last time I updated, I shared with you the progress I’d made on assembling Annabelle, and this time I’m bringing you Bessie. Modeled by our lovely gray, generic model, we’ve got two outfits and a hairstyle. This is, of course, all fun speculative fanwork; no files exist that I’ve found for Bessie, though I have paid mind to the single in-game photo we have of her.
The first outfit is more of a daily, out-and-about sort of deal. Nothing fancy, just the sort of well-put-together but simple thing I imagine would suit her, as well as a version with a sweater. I picture her as frequently cold, for some reason? So it seemed a shame to leave her without something to keep cozy. The single photo we have of her, small as it is, seems to show her as modest and fairly stuffy, but I think that may be more a product of the photography situation at the time than her personality, so I’ve kept the general modesty and leaned into simply keeping her stylish and more traditionally feminine. I’ve also stolen the necklace from that photo, as it seemed a nice detail to keep.
The second outfit is for around camp, in the early mornings and late fireside evenings. We have no way of saying for sure whether she actually traveled with the gang, but I like to imagine she did for a time, long enough for both Arthur and John to get to know and love her as a sort of motherly figure, long enough for there to have been plenty of shared complaints and jokes between her, Annabelle, and Susan. Still, even if she was traveling with the gang, I wanted to keep that extra layer of modesty and style, a few nicer things here and there to signify that she does come from a different world and that Hosea was taking good care of her, so I’ve given her a rather pretty overcoat to keep the chill off and some extra lacy trim on her chemise. Little details, but they just seemed right to add.
I’ve kept her hair light, as per the photo we have of her, and given her the bangs she’s shown with, but otherwise I went with a simpler hairstyle. Again, I’m trying to walk that line between modest, feminine, well-kept and also, well, practical. I figure Bessie must have had practicality in spades, to deal with how Hosea lived his life, and so I wanted to reflect that in her look, too.
Summary
Outfits and hairstyle mesh assembled and textured for Bessie.
As an aside, I super appreciate any messages, whether they’re comments or inquiries, that folks want to send. It’s really nice to hear what folks are thinking, and it keeps me motivated!