This was actually pretty normal for Oli, TheOrionSound, local Strong Boi™, slayer of dragons, master of the Olipeoligo and Pretty Neat Bard.
(Pretty normal for Oli, who held an Orb in his hands and emerged from the depths changed.)
“But never had this courageous man run into a situation like this,” the oldest Emperor murmured, head lolling as he locked eyes with his friend captor.
The goblin across from him, with skin as green as an olive and ears that moved and tilted with every sound echoing from the caves, scowled back. His arms were crossed, his feet tapping impatiently, causing a repetitive tuk tuk tuk sound on the stones.
There was no recognition in those blue eyes.
(And Oli wept internally, because Gem looked at him and saw a stranger. Because Sausage slept above, and Pearl wouldn’t let him pass to see him. Because Fwhip held him in a cage, dangling above the cavern floor.)
(Because someone called the Sheriff was on the way, and he didn’t know if he could handle looking another friend in the eye and seeing nothing but a blank stare.)
“Fwhip,” came the call, from further within the massive cave, “Why is there a man locked in a cage? Are you stealing my brand?”
Jimmy.
Oli turned to look at the blonde, taking in the rancher cowboy outfit. Dusty hat, golden star, and a leather elytra that folded together to create the image of a badge on its edges.
(And internally, he prayed to the Orb, a habit not yet broken, that this wouldn’t be another friendship lost.)
The Sheriff approached quickly, taking in the cage and the impatient goblin with a keen eye. The lasso on his hip swung as he finally ascended to the platform above.
“No, no, never!” The goblin teased back, “Gem says that he has the dragon egg. And Sausage said-”
“Sausage is here?”
Both emperors turned to the prisoner, who’s choked, incredulous statement startled them.
“Yeah, Sausage is the ruler of Sanctuary,” Fwhip elaborated with a casual, dismissive wave of his hand. (Sausage is here. Sausage is here. Sausage is awake-) “But anyways, he said he saw a strange figure at the campsite the other day. And we did find that weird sign in the Ancient City. So we were thinking that he might just be our culprit.”
Jimmy finally locked eyes with Oli himself.
(And Oli wanted to cry again, but this time in relief, because he knew that look.)
The Sheriff shook his head with a wry grin. “Is that so?” He drawled. “In that case, I’ll take him off your hands and back to Tumble Town for questioning.”
(It was the “gosh dangit Oli, what did you do this time?” Look.)
And the goblin whined and groaned and complained, but he let them go without too much of a fuss, because watching over a prisoner was taking up a lot of time anyways.
As Oli clung to Jimmy’s back, taking in the new sights as they rode atop Arrow, he felt the Sheriff sigh.
“You know, I’m going to be honest, I don’t know who you are.”
(And Oli recoiled because no no no not another one-)
“But I know that I know you. And that you mean no harm. So I’m going to take you back to my home, and you’re going to explain how you know us, and then I’ll help you find your house okay?”
And that was all Oli needed to finally burst into tears and start wailing his woes dramatically, thanking his savior for bringing him out of that “horrible, unbearable cage,” grinning all the while.
(And Jimmy grinned too, because something had felt off, memories missing and inside jokes made with no context. Maybe this familiar stranger was the final missing piece.)
(Elsewhere, a Keeper of Lore straightened and smiled, his hands stilling and resting on a lectern.)
(“Honestly, Oli,” Pixlriffs muttered affectionately, “I was starting to think you’d never get out of that end credits screen.”)
for those who are wondering, ves can reset but doesn't retain the memories because they're still a monster despite the determination. so they continue making the same mistakes every single time and always revert back to being a narcissistic selfish fool with a god complex when they die.
it's why ash is reluctant to get too personal with them even if they are extremely affectionate and caring throughout their relationship... even in the times they DO soul bond. (it often causes more trouble than it's worth)
cuz it's technically meaningless but it's a promise to the previous one to knock some sense into them. just in case they remember.
Ashe never really LOSES ves in a sense of death. she loses progress with them. she loses the built up memories with them. and wonders if this shallow husk is even worth it.
be it out of obligation or not, she finds it hard to just let this stupid cat chase it's own tail with no understanding of it's own power or how it shapes the world without their knowledge.
hey! it's an inverted dynamic!
though if ves were to experience dust's memory glitch they'd need to die a LOT more times... which just isn't worth the mental pressure ash deals with.
it's also another reason why ash insists not to soul bond. she doesn't want ves to remember all at once since she's scared how it'd affect them.
maybe they'd go mad? maybe they'd have a panick attack and destroy something?
best to take things slowly when your partner is an unstable murderous Dragon.
it creates tons of issues because ash feels like she's manipulating vrs at times. knowing them like the back of her hand while they are clueless.
though she does notice small changes. those SMALL changes make her hope that maybe it's not all that bad.
also all humans remember resets. they have an entire system based on it to plan ahead against anomalies (the monsters stole the reset from humans by absorbing their souls during the war and now they have great magic powers)
so by extension ash is a permanent criminal even if the people she killed are back to life!
she really has no other place to go besides tame/beat the shit out of/convince the dragon to run away and join it in the escape.
I am having an actual footgasm, rolling a tennis ball under the arch of my healing-bone foot. I sort of vaguely remember getting this advice from my orthopedist.
What I have managed to COMPLETELY FORGET is him giving me a tube of tennis balls, and me carrying it around all day, bringing it home, and apparently (?) putting it on the dining room table.
My roommate brings it into my room and is like, “yeah, you brought these home, I saw them in your hands.”
Meanwhile I’m kind of doing a O.O? Because I’ve never seen these tennis balls in my life. Never. I didn’t even know we had tennis balls in the house, but apparently they’re mine.
I’ve known that my memory has been getting worse for years now, but this is the most recent, most dramatic example. My current theory is that I just don’t make new memories when I’m post-ictal or tired.
I’m seeing my neuro soon, so I’ll have to make a note to bring it up. Written, or (irony of ironies) I’ll forget it.
What’s your memory like? Do you have memory issues? What are your coping mechanisms? Much as I sort of hate the term, what’re your “life hacks” that have worked, or failed?
The frightened strawberry blonde is finding herself even more distressed by his answers. “Scott its me.” she says again. “Ly-Lydia Martin. I- we’ve known each other since the first grade - well kind of.” she tells him disbelieving. “We really didn’t get know each other till freshman year.” she goes on continuing to search his eyes with mounting concern.
