How much can a person change before they’re a different person entirely? Is the desire not to change simply the will to survive?

Fun facts: To anyone who’s wondering why there’s suddenly a Scottish bear in Chrisville, he isn’t new. That’s Jamie McBear, who made a brief appearance in this comic. This is, however, his first time speaking. Writing accents phonetically is super tricky, so I didn’t try to spell out every single sound that Jamie’s making. I just did enough so that it’s close to the way it sounds in my head, and will encourage the reader to fill in the blanks. Any mistakes can be explained through Chris (and me) being American, and therefore not being skilled when it comes to writing dialogue in other accents.

Also, to any eagle-eyed viewers who noticed that Dirk’s shirt is now different from how it was at the start of this memory…. I only noticed halfway through drawing this and had no TIME to fix it, so. Enjoy the new shirt.

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Wow, Dirk gave a great performance! Or that could be the Chrisville Theater Society’s talent principle, which allows all of its members to have the amount of talent that is appropriate for both their role and the enthusiasm they put into their acting. Either way, things seem to be going very well!

Fun facts: The musical notes drawn in panels one and eight are based on the actual musical notes that precede and follow the number “Deh, vieni alla finestra,” which Dirk is singing here. If you want to hear a good example of how this song sounds, then you can check out this video here. It isn’t from the production that inspired the design of the Chrisville Theater Society’s production of Don Giovanni, but it’s still very good.

In case anyone was curious, the translation of this song is mainly a literal one. I read quite a few poetic translations before deciding to go with this one (which, while resembling a Google translate search, did not depend entirely on Google translate. I did my own research.)

Also, as you might’ve noticed, Madame Croc and Wagon Wheels (long time, no see) are also in costume. Madame Croc is cast as Donna Elvira and Wagon Wheels is cast as Donna Anna.

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Something tells me that Dirk isn’t just talking about Don Giovanni…

But enough of that. How’s his big number going to go? Stay tuned to find out!

Fun fact: I forgot to mention this last week, but there’s a reason why Dirk’s and Softboy’s jackets are the wrong sizes. It’s because at this point in the opera, Don Giovanni and Leporello (Dirk and Softboy’s respective roles) switch jackets.

Also, to any mandolin fans out there, I am sorry that Dirk’s mandolin isn’t totally accurate to real life. This is purely due to the limitations of the artist.

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Flashback time! It looks like the mystery dialogue from last week was a memory of past rehearsals. (To those of you who need reminding, the Chrisville Theater Society put on a production of Don Giovanni some months ago. Dirk played Don Giovanni and Softboy played Leporello.) But why is Dirk revisiting his memories of being the lead in this opera? Perhaps the answer will be clear after we see more…

Fun fact: Some of our more observant readers might be thinking, “Wait. Didn’t Dirk play Don Giovanni before he gained his anthropomorphic form?” Technically, you’re correct. The Don Giovanni comic came before the “Dirk’s New Form” comic. However, I have an official author retcon answer: Dirk figured out his anthro form in the middle of rehearsals. The theater society didn’t officially end their production of Don Giovanni until later.

Also, Softboy isn’t pretending in the last panel. He truly does think Don Giovanni is the worst. The song they’re referring to is just super good, and is performed best at its most “sincere.”

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Welcome back, everybody! Our most recent hiatus is now over, and I shall finally resolve the aftermath of Dirk’s crimes in the Wild Wooders arc of this series.

Just in case you need a refresher for our ongoing story: The Chrisville Theater Society had started holding dress rehearsals for their production of the musical adaptation of The Wind in the Willows. However, while rehearsing the number “The Wild Wooders,” Dirk suddenly performed some threatening choreography towards Softboy, and did things that made our protagonist feel very unsafe. When confronted about his actions, Dirk refused to apologize, and even began to physically threaten the other inhabitants of Chrisville. Softboy had to step in and put Dirk in a timeout. Finally, he banned Dirk from playtime altogether.

Now, the dress rehearsals have started once again, albeit in a somewhat limited state. Dirk, after all, played the role of Chief Weasel, the main antagonist. But is a villain all he’ll ever be?

Fun fact: The Chrisville Theater Society is rehearsing the “Messing About in a Boat” number in this comic.

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Softboy Pillowman is super supportive of all gender identities!

Fun fact: This comic is based off of this meme:

Also, “poggers” is not a normal word in Softboy’s lexicon. Chris might be a modern youth, but he is still very confused by the word. He knows about and references this meme, though, because Lori sent it to him and it really resonated with him.

In case you forgot, the Butterfly Bear doesn’t have any binery because they’re genderfluid!

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I recently reminded myself of how different Softboy’s and Leo’s first impressions of each other are in my comics compared to my original thesis project. That inspired these goofy drawings of the general vibes of both meetings.

Fun fact: Longtime readers of this blog will know that this doesn’t directly quote Softboy and Leo’s first meeting.

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Softboy says that it’s important to set boundaries, especially if you’re at risk of being hurt.

Fun fact: We have reached the end of what I’ve been calling the “Confrontation” chapter of this theater society story arc. The final chapter shall begin… in a while. I’ll be posting an update on future plans sometime next week.

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