The room is empty, but aren't they outside?

Different type of room

No! I would rather die than forget about grilled cheese!

A tragedy worse than death really (Though lets ignore drekir are universally lactose intolerant)

Grilled cheese can be made with lactose-free alternatives! It's a pale shadow of the glory, but it's something!

Certainly a lost bit of information regardless

Dial-up internet noises. Now they need a new name.

There’s already a good few floating around

Fuck... it is identity death after all...

Not exactly, I wouldn't be melodramatic about it, there is more to it

Yeah i bet it will be something like "Now that they don't remember who they are they have a chance at being happy!" without acknowledging that erasing someone's past mean they are gone.

No? Again melodrama relax. Try to give some time for the story to actually unfold instead of jumping to overly pessimistic conclusions

Ah yes. Instead of being worried about past memories, now you can be worried about the fact you can tell that memories are gone! Poor Oli really can't get a break, and I can only imagine how traumatizing that would feel to have your past ripped away.

Hoping to give them a good break here soon

Hmmmmm…makes me wonder how honest and sincere this “Dragon of Paradise” really is. I have a sneaking suspicion that Oli will meet them again…but under different circumstances and with only…one being “victorious.”

It is a pretty self serving entity

In before it’s actually controlled by a sentient shrimp. XD
But ye, I have a feeling Oli is gonna fight to get her memories back eventually…no matter what it takes.

Wait, they were asleep for 5 days? Yet they have that "I haven't slept in days" look.

having your memories scooped out in front of you makes it hard to actually rest, difference between unconscious and sleep here

i doubt the memories are truely gone. more locked away. cause the soul and spirit would have to be destroyed to truely erase a memory.

Devouring memories is a term that doesn’t imply a return. And as the balar are the most powerful entities of the dragonscape, they definitely have the ability to modify spirits without destroying them.
And memories are lost in spirits all the time through natural reincarnation through the 1st construction.

There's some solid metaphysics here. That I am not qualified to understand.

I think that was a lot more than just memories getting eaten. If it was just that, Oli wouldn't be unable to hear their own name. It would be unfamiliar, but still learnable.

Their name was a far more specific case than the memories themselves, its why it was seperate from the memories, happening at the end

You try to downplay it, but memories, even the bad ones, help define a person's character. If those memories truly are gone, then this is no longer the same character we have been following until now.

If this is so "Oli" can move on from their past, then it isn't really moving on.

Sorry, I may be jumping the gun here, but this is just left me with a bad taste in my mouth: One hope will be short lived.

Everyone complaining really wants me to just jump ahead 10 pages to explain whats going on so this might be a spoiler but boy are the comments like this really grating to me if I am being completely honest.

1) Many folks are jumping to a conclusion 2 pages into the whole situation of Oli coming out of the thing and assuming that they're completely hollowed out and its some sort of character death or identity death. It's frustrating to be honest, just give me the time to actually show what happened to Oli over the next 10 pages I am writing these pages as fast as possible and it is earnestly frustrating for people to make assumptions before having seen everything. Even if folks don't like where I am going I would at least prefer they wait to see what happens rather than make ill informed assumptions.

2) Oli has already moved on from the past, thats the whole reason they sacrificed more of themselves to begin with, They reconciled with their past and were fine giving more of it than they technically had to in order to save Forl. I feel like people are missing that and acting as though Oli hasn't undergone any character development from the start of the comic to this point. Either I failed miserably or people aren't noticing that.

3) Even in the worst case there is still a quintessential "Oli" in there that cannot be stolen. So people assuming that its some sort of Character death are really earnestly bothering me for the moment.

Just wish everyone would just wait a few weeks so I can actually show where this is going, I am working as fast as I can

I did not mean for this to come off as some kind of attack. If that is the case, I do apologize. This brought up some memories that still affect me more than I care to admit.
I have had family members with Alzheimer's and it is a truly gut wrenching, horrifying, thing to watch someone you care about slip away like that. Yes, their core personality never changes, at least, at the most basic level, but there is a lot more to a person than just that core. The way they react, likes, dislikes, sense of humor, favorite foods, hobbies... Things that you come to associate with the person, that image you have in your head of who they are, just isn't recognizable anymore.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the comic so far, even this part, as uncomfortable as it has made me, was an amazing read that had me checking multiple times a day for the next update. If anything, that this got such a response from people is a good thing, if only for the fact that people care so much for this character.

Thank you.

It's fine and I am sorry to trigger that, not to spoil but this certainly ain't something as horrible as scourges like Dementia or Alzheimers

I appreciate you like the comic and I wouldn't worry checking multiple times a Day, I upload on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. When I lower my upload rate to just 2 a week it will be Fridays and Sundays most likely. Always between 9:30-10:00AM on the servers time (7:30AM here)

Just looking back i realized that Long Hike 32 was the first time reeds showed up post transformation, is it too much of an assumption that the dragon of paradise was introduced to oli in the moments before when they splashed in or sometime after, to get that god's attention? Or was it not until much later that happened?

It's a great deal further in as 32 just has normal cattails though I understand where that might come from

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/44273645/ here is the first time the Dragon've Paradise is actively mentioned

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45621520/ here is the first deliberate (and perhaps way too subtle) appearance of the Dragon of Paradise

OheckIseeitnow

Hah I didn't catch the first real appearance either. The idea that just about any cattails could be "feelers" for the dragon of paradise to listen through was just something I wanted to check. Would have been a crazy foreshadowing hint.

Really sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see how this all unfolds! Hope all the other comments trying to dissect the last few pages don't drive you too crazy, just a lot of people really invested in this story and hopefully just really itching for the next pages!

Incredibly subtle, but now that I see it...well, it's kinda hard to miss the unnatural behavior.

With each page I have more desire to explode these little guys, this water and this deity together.

Not the best neighbor that Bal

Dunno if this would count as a spoiler or not, but will we ever get to see Oli's kid?

prolly not no, drekir don't really bond with their offspring so that egg is long gone as far as Oli is concerned. They also have other issues to deal with that are more urgent now

Aw, okay. I understand what you're saying, though, about them not bonding. You did mention that a long time ago, when the whole kid thing was shown and brought up in one of the earlier pages.

Oli looking like he going have another existential breakdown which considering what happen is very fair.

It hasn't exactly been the best (5) day(s) for em

I think its just folks are really engaged with the comic which I get and appreciate, I just need time to tell the whole story and after that, if they don't like it, then that is fair enough.

Yeah the plan for the comic going forward is to explore what Oli can and cannot remember.

Thanks! I'll do my best to not let ya down

I think that means you did a good job on making this comic so fantastic that people spend their time to discuss over it.

ngl I kinda love this slit of a God what a perfect jerk

Most of the balãr are their own sort of asshole

I mean if I was hopped up on magic I'd also immediately become a terrible jackass of one variety or another so I am nothing but sympathetic

The Balàr are definitely more complicated than that

Maybe things will be explained in time, but for now, I'm with Forl here.. basically: "Entity? Feck off, hopefully forever, now that you've scrummaged and scarfed around in my mind!"

Forl is not too off the mark

*pawbumps in comradarie*

The weight of what was lost has finally crashed down on [REDACTED].

Its still crashing

Not the grilled cheese sandwiches.

Anything but!

Welcome to the Feywild, may I have your names?

They indeed nab a name... and a lot more than that

I'm sure it'll be fiiiine

Narrator: It was not fine.

Faux edit:
Actually this brings up a good point. Do they remember that they were male originally? Presumably, seeing as Oli had a few weeks before the containment breach. But hasn't corrected anyone saying "miss" in a while either.

I would say read on, what she does and doesn't remember does get covered

I'm up to the Apostle, and I do expect more details soon-ish.

Well In that case you’re past the majority of the details for now.

Getting real sick of this guy proclaiming his humility and generosity. Almost like he's trying to convince himself more than anyone.

Let's see him sacrifice something, then maybe I'll start thinking he's good.

Sadly I think it is far too powerful to disrupt with the wills of the living alone

I tire of those who only learn when someone else kicks their shit in, if you'll pardon my French. Even worse are those who are unable or who refuse to learn what they did wrong. Perhaps only second to those who pretend to learn only so they can betray whoever overpowered them later.

Maybe it's the Paladin in me, but I feel like this is a dragon in need of slaying, if only because it's a danger to those just trying to rebuild or get on in life. If I had the power, I would do so, even though the fallout for the locals would be severe. I'd have to stick around after and help them, maybe with the aid of others nearby who know how to sustain a community without some "god" doing everything for them.

Its a reality distorting entity believe me, even if it deserves it, if you are not a more powerful reality warping entity it will easily deal with you.

Such are things in a world with unkind and wounded gods.