It's Gonna be Mae


It's Gonna be Mae


(Mae Borowski from Night in the Woods, That Is)

By Nadia Oxford

Today is the first of May, which means an an explosion of life, color, and declarations that "it's gonna be May," or "Me," or however you choose to interpret *NSYNC's hit song from the year 2000. "Mae" is ripe for alteration, being a popular name and all. In fact, I'm going to drag my personal favorite Mae into the limelight so that she, too, can enjoy this day. 

Mae Borowski is the protagonist of 2017's hit adventure game, Night in the Woods, a black cat with haunted eyes. As someone who likewise resembles a cat that looks ever-so-slightly squashed, I feel a lot of kinship with this cool girl. She climbs telephone poles and runs along power lines (so smart!); her dark sense of humor horrifies mothers as much as it amuses her friends (so relatable!); and college was a complete misfit for her half-completed 100,000-piece puzzle of a brain (yessir!).

Mae sticks out in the small town of Possum Springs, where the shadows of ruined old miners lay across every front porch. The young people have all gone to school or moved away, and the only work to be found is cutting meat at the Ham Panther. There's plenty of bitterness to go around, and something very dark seethes in the vortex of those bad feelings. 

But Mae, no stranger to dark thoughts and deeds herself, doesn't let herself drown in the blackness. Under her dangerous eyes and void-black fur, Mae carries a love for her friends, her parents, and for Possum Springs that never stops smouldering, no matter how weird and terrifying things get. Mind you, Mae makes some terrible messes on her way to his realization. Her strange, flailing ways aggravate the people close to her to no end. But Mae's loved ones put up with her, because they know she always means well. Just don't hand her a baseball bat unless you're prepared for the consequences. 

Happy May, Mae!