"Mae, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I think you're a really great-" — Cole
Cole is a minor character in Night in the Woods, who was Mae's high school prom date and ex boyfriend.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Cole is a raccoon, with cream fur and a brown pattern along his face he also has brown inside ears. He has a blue nose and has a beard. He wears a light blue hat, dark brown glasses, a red shirt, a brownish red jacket with stripes, blue pants, and brown shoes.
Personality[]
Cole seems to have things relatively in check, unlike many of the other youths of Possum Springs. He appears to be in good spirits and is currently studying at an unnamed college/university away from the dying town. When encountered at the party in the woods, he appears friendly to Mae. When she starts to drunkenly rant about her failings, he expresses his concern at upsetting her.
Story[]
The Prom[]
The prom is a particularly traumatizing night for Mae, something both Bea and the players can learn about, if the 'high school' prompt is selected during the encounter with the Thryy Wyrd Tyyns in Bea's graveyard ghost hunting chapter.Mae was uncomfortable with the whole affair; forced to wear a dress and not knowing how to slow-dance. As she leaned in for a kiss, she messed up horribly and drew blood, leaving him bleeding profusely. She rushed Cole to the bathroom to grab some paper towels; shoving them in his mouth to stem the bleeding. She overdoes it however, and Cole starts to choke and thrash about.
At the same time, Mae starts to choke on some smuggled candy almonds. With Cole slumped against the wall, she manages to successfully administer the Heimlich maneuver on herself. However, as a result, she also ends up vomiting all over him; covering him in the remnants of night's chicken cordon bleu.
Right at that moment, someone walks in and finds the two of them: Mae vomiting into the sink and Cole dazed and choking. Mae, for some reason, thinks to pull out all the paper towels from Cole's mouth and flush it down the toilet, causing it to overflow.
She drags Cole out: the two of them covered in puke, blood and toilet water. Cole runs away and leaves, stranding Mae there. Mae has to hitch a ride from Josh to get home; crying on the back of his tractor as it inches along, holding up traffic.
Main Story[]
Years after the events of the prom night, Cole is at college and has a new girlfriend[1]. visits Possum Springs for a weekend[2], after being invited to the campfire party, and to catch up with friends. Mae bumps into Cole at the party and, after a handful of watered down beer, has the courage to talk/confront her ex.
There are multiple branching conversation paths Mae has with Cole. All three conversations of with were previously picked (unknowingly by the player) when Mae is talking to herself in front of the mirror, about running into Cole. Here is a list of these branching conversations:
- If the player picked "Oh hey, I’m Mae! What’s your name?": Cole and Mae have a brief conversation, reminiscing about a game they used to play together when they were in a relationship. Cole mentions his current girlfriend in the conversation, but is cut off by Mae before he could finish the conversation.
- If the player picked "Well earlier this week I dropped out of school.": Mae overshares with Cole about dropping out of college, and drinking in the woods. Cole says "Wow Ok!", and the conversation is cut off by Mae.
- If the player picked "Hi, I’m Mae! How’s it going?": They have an awkward small talk, about Cole coming back to Possum Springs for the weekend, followed up by Mae going by her script and calling it "fascinating!". Cole says it's the first time anyone's called his life fascinating, however the conversation is cut short by Mae continuing her script, abruptly and awkwardly ending the chat with "That is so true! Well, see you later!".
Regardless of the player's choice, Mae ends each conversation with "What the hell is your problem?". They stop chatting, and Cole goes back to talking to his friend.
Another two drink from the beer keg has Mae already black-out drunk, sitting on a stump by the campfire. Cole, for once, walks up to her and starts their conversation. Mae calls him "Cole-io", an endearing nickname he hasn't heard since they last dated. The chat quickly turns hostile, telling Cole to shut up. Yet another branching conversation can be had here, when talking to herself in the mirror prior to the party:
- If the player picked "We never even kissed!": Mae yells at Cole about how, when they were together, they hadn't even kissed properly yet. Cole, however, doesn't remember.
- If the player picked "I was like SO worried you were gonna be here.": She tells Cole how she wished he wasn't at the party, how she even prayed to a god that he wouldn't be there. Cole's gets uncomfortable, his response is a short "Oh".
- (This option is added onto either choices if the requirements are fulfilled) If the player talked to the Nightshift Lady at Video Outpost "Too": She calls Cole cute. Before he can completely accept her compliment, she flips it on it's head and says how much "...[I] HATE CUTE PEOPLE!!!".
Regardless of the player's choices, Cole tries to end the conversation, but is interrupted by Mae, who jumps on top of the stump she was sitting on. She starts screaming at Cole, and to the forming crowd, deprecating thoughts of how she feels about herself, mixed sporadically with their relationship.
Drunk, Mae threatens to stab Cole, and starts opening up about her experience with college and her mental health. Worrying about her health, Cole tries again to stop the conversation, apologizing to Mae about how he's made her feel (not realising shes drunk). Much like the prom night, however, their conversation together is cut short by Mae puking her guts out in front of him.
In the Weird Autumn update for Night in the Woods, following the campfire party there is an option during band practice to play "Go Get Dead, Angel Face." Unfortunately, Mae refuses to actually play the song.
Relationships[]
Friends[]
- Unnamed Owl - Cole can be seen standing next to and talking to the unnamed owl for a majority of the party. He has no unique dialogue, but considering Cole is only seen next to this individual, and how the unnamed owl joins the crowd of people watching Mae's breakdown, it can be surmised that they are at least friendly.
Partners[]
- Mae Borowski - Cole and Mae are exes who used to date during High School three years prior to the game[3]. Sometime after the prom incident, they break up. Their relationship wasn't very long, and because of this, they were never able to kiss, as stated by Cole during the forest party in Possum Springs. Mae still has some form of feelings for him, and lashes out at him due to this, while Cole appears to have put their relationship behind them, and tries to act friendly with her.
- Unnamed girlfriend - When Mae talks to herself in the mirror about potentially seeing Cole at the party, the player has a chance to ask "Oh hey, I’m Mae! What’s your name?". If the player chooses this decision, we learn that Cole has an unnamed girlfriend back at the college he currently goes to. With what little we know of her, it's unknown what kind of relationship they have, however Cole seems to regard her in a positive light.
Other[]
- Candy and Stan Borowski - Not much is known about his relationship with the Borowskis, but both Stan and Candy seem to have a generally positive view on Cole, despite the disaster of a prom date. Candy thinks that Cole and Mae were cute together, much to her chagrin.
- The Band - Angus and Gregg both seem to have a generally low opinion of Cole, most likely due to Mae's reluctance and embarrassment regarding the traumatizing prom night event. Gregg in particular seems to go with what little Mae says of him. Bea, at this point in the story, doesn't care about Cole or Mae's relationship either way. During her ghost hunting hang-out, she pities both Cole and Mae's shitty prom experience. It is unknown what Casey Hartley thought of Cole, however given the band once played a song directly about Mae's relationship with Cole, it's likely he had a similarly low opinion of him.
Trivia[]
- Ironically, much like the end of the prom night that ended their relationship, Mae again pukes on Cole at the end of the party.
- Mae is known to call him "Cole-io." The game's evidence leads it to be a former nickname she used to call him, when they were dating.
- After their breakup, Mae wrote a song about Cole called "Go Get Dead, Angel Face".
- In the Weird Autumn update, there is a gag during the added optional bass practice, where the same song can be picked as an option to play through. Mae point-blank refuses to play it, far too embarrassed to even try, and the option is subsequently removed.
- Due to "Go Get Dead, Angel Face." being a gag option during bass practice, there is no actual way to hear the song.
Reference[]
- ↑ "I still have that game, by the way. My girlfriend back at school -" (If the player asks Cole "Oh, I think I know you from somewhere..." at the party.)
- ↑ "Just back visiting for the weekend." (If player asks "Hi! I'm Mae! How's it going!" to Cole at the party.)
- ↑ "Iz been like THREE YEARS! Thaz not long AT ALL!"