This took me forever to finish and I’ve been working on it nonstop for a few weeks now. I wanted this done for his birthday, but looks like I made it in time for Christmas. I drew all of @thescarletpaperback ‘s OCs…or at least the ones with a visual reference.
I just want him to know how wonderful his stories and characters are and how much they make my heart happy. You inspire me daily and I hope you never quit creating beautiful, wonderful worlds.
So many Softboy characters! Thanks again for this absolutely beautiful artwork. I’m always so grateful to have your love and support.
Chrisville’s guest actor is Lucky Buck, Lorrie’s well-loved My Mini Mule toy. The Chrisville toys would know Lucky from IRL playdates with Lorrie, but those haven’t happened since the pandemic started. However, it seems like one toy isn’t happy to reunite with Lucky Buck after so long…
Fun facts: As you might have noticed, Lucky Buck is visually inspired by an existing toy horse brand, but she’s still very distinct from it. (Or at least, just distinct enough.) She is a mule, after all. The “soul brand” mentioned in panel 5 is the magical birthmark/label on her flank, which in her case is a four-leaf clover.
Looks like some outside talent will be visiting Chrisville very soon…
Fun facts: Just because we moved on to different musicals doesn’t mean the Chrisville Theater Society will be leaving Gilbert and Sullivan behind. Softboy saying “Here’s a how-de-do” references a song from The Mikado.
Also, we may not have seen much of the society’s production of HMS Pinafore, but we now know that their “female” chorus, which is supposed to consist of Sir Joseph’s sisters/cousins/aunts, had the bare minimum of three members. (Which wasn’t too big of a loss, as the female chorus in Pinafore does so little, it’s rather tragic.) This is actually based on a real production of HMS Pinafore that I was in, where we had to make do with one sister, one cousin, and one aunt.
The third chorus member, Mamma Hippo, is actually a guest star herself. She’s one of the toys from baby Zoe’s room, and plays a supporting role in the third book of the original Softboy thesis trilogy.
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It looks like the Chrisville Theater Society has decided to put on a production of The Wind in the Willows! The next batch of comics will be behind-the-scenes shenanigans of Chris’s toys creating their own version of his new favorite musical.
Fun facts: Almost a month ago, the 2017 London Palladium production of The Wind in the Willows musical was available to watch for free on YouTube for two days. Right before that happened, Chris got a rare message from his British uncle, recommending that he watch the show. Chris has been hooked ever since, and has definitely gotten his parents to rent the show so that he can rewatch the hell out of it. (And you can do this too via the show’s website. In fact, from Nov 27-29, you can do this for 2.99 pounds, which is three pounds less than normal!)
In panel 4, Softboy is imagining Velvel Fox dressed as a fox character from the Wind in the Willows musical, which is what he’s been cast as in the Chrisville Theater Society’s production.
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Thank you for this interesting ask! I hope you don’t mind this simple, goofy response to it.
Fun facts: In the first panel, Softboy is singing and dancing to a snippet of the song “When You Had Left Our Pirate Fold” from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance, in which the protagonist was also born on Leap Day.
The reason why only Softboy and Leo have birthdays is, honestly, because they’re Chris’s two favorite toys. He simply didn’t find the time or good reason to choose special birthdays for each individual toy in Chrisville. However, this simply means Chris decided to celebrate them all on “Chrisville Appreciation Day,” the date of which has yet to be determined.
Also, I should note that while Softboy was handmade, his “birthday” has no relation to when he was finished being sewn together, nor does it necessarily reflect when he first came to Chrisville. This date was purely chosen for the reasons listed in the third panel.
One small note on Leo’s reaction to reading about his zodiac sign; Leo doesn’t like the idea of zodiac signs controlling people’s lives, influencing relationships and self-worth with possible nonsense. To be entirely honest, Leo fits the general description of Leos, but he can’t stand the suggestion that “the stars” know him better than he does.
Thanks for the kind words, my friend! <3 And for an excuse to look into our blog’s past. In case you couldn’t tell, this comic is a flashback to Softboy’s first day in Chris’s room. Things were a little different back then, and almost everyone was skeptical of how Softboy would fit in among the other residents of Chrisville. More importantly, though, one of the most important first meetings in history happened that day… and boy, could it have gone better. Of course, we all know there’s no need to worry about if they’ll make up for it later.
Fun facts: Softboy is one of those types of people that only finds someone attractive after he forms a strong emotional bond with them. He may have a type, but he still can’t truly fall in love at first sight. When he says Leo looks “weird,” he means that he’s fascinated by this toy… and yet, he can’t tell why.
Also, while Softboy’s first day in Chrisville is similar to how it happened in the original thesis trilogy, Softboy’s first meeting with Leo is INCREDIBLY DIFFERENT. In the trilogy, Leo isn’t in Chris’s room when Softboy first arrives, and Softboy has to find Leo later in a dark, scary place… That version of their meeting is also more “love at first sight,” which I’ve been wanting to rework for some time now.
Last but not least, this comic marks the first appearance of Grumpy Grey! He’s a plush version of the popular cartoon mascot that has been previously glimpsed on this blog. He may be a plush toy, but like his cartoon character, he’s a bit more cynical and jaded, which is why he judges Softboy for being “soft.”
The short answer is, yes, Softboy would be very willing to commit murder in Among Us. This might seem like a surprise, but honestly, the death in Among Us is too cute, fun, and low-stakes for Softboy to be upset by it. When even dead players can still play the game and help their team, it’s not as scary as it sounds. Also, Softboy is 100% aware that not only will his friends not be angry at him, but also after the game is done, his friends will come back to life and have a chance to kill him back.
However, his cute and squishy personality means that people tend to not think he’s the imposter. Which means for the first few games, his fellow crewmates will surround him in order to protect him, which simply stops him from being able to commit murder.
He won’t, however, kill Leo. Softboy’s love for Leo is so strong that he can’t even bring himself to harm a little digital bean version of his wonderful boyfriend.
Leo, on the other paw, has no qualms about killing Softboy.
This does not stop Softboy from following Leo in almost every game.
I hope this answers your question, kind friend!
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For the end of this year’s October drawing challenge, I decided to do a special colored pencil edition. Here are Softboy and Leo enjoying their fully finished Halloween costumes as Moomintroll and Snufkin.
