Just been waiting those two years to be first with an update, huh? 
Just 1.75 years. No biggie.
And really…
Oh, man. I feel Belkar down to my bones here.
My younger daughter is an absolute treasure of a human being. We talk with her a lot about her Big Feelings. I’m reading this strip, thinking of her, and getting a little misty-eyed.
Ooh, good strip. Creates all sorts of possibilities.
When he started saying that he now had feelings for others my first reaction was, “Yeah, thanks Rich, I did get that all by myself” but then I realised that he is explaining it to himself not the reader so my second reaction was a very parental “Aww, poor little guy”.
Huh. Maybe my flesh-to-stone and then shrink idea has some merit after all.
And what’s with the mist that’s drifting into the room?
Belkar’s feelings are at the center of this strip.
But let’s not ignore Vaarsuvius and their emotional growth. A few years ago, they would not have seen any problem here. You have a resource (Bloodfeast), you use it when it serves a purpose, and then you discard it. They wouldn’t have understood why anyone would be upset.
But it’s clear this is no longer the case. Vaarsuvius is genuinely unhappy about what has happened and apologizes to Belkar.
I don’t think that’s mist, I think those are scorch marks on the walls from fighting the dragon. If you go back through the last couple strips, you can see patches of it in the background of most of the panels.
Maybe. But in panel 4, those “scorch marks” seem to be graying out Belkar, V, and Minrah some. By contrast, Mr. Scruffy, Blackwing and Roy are crystal clear.
That graying out is apparently an indicator that those people are in the background. Looking through some recent strips, I found a couple other instances. Second last panel here, Serini is in the background and grayed out. Another one here, fourth panel, Durkon is background and grayed out.
I’m not sure any of them have Flesh to Stone. When Haley was hit by it, it was from Z the Linear Guild drow wizard. V shrank the statue but wasn’t the one to petrify her.
Sunny could petrify Bloodfeast
Is that a reversible effect when it’s done by whatever Sunny is (NOT a Beholder)?
AIUI, the rays from a not-a-Beholder are equivalent to spells, so it should be reversible.
It’s been there all along. It’s meant to be smoke, I think.
Good call, forgot about that
Rich posted a new Q&A.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/answers-post-9-109774968
It’s on Patreon, but i think anyone can read it.
It’s already been reversed. Sunny petrified Durkon in the fight, and someone (it could have been Elan; I don’t think it was shown on screen) reversed it.
And Sunny isn’t a standard beholder (only eight eyestalks instead of ten), but I think the intention is that they’re a weird mutant beholder, not that they’re some other species. I think that having a loving upbringing might have prevented the development of a couple of the more violent stalks (I don’t think we’ve seen them using the Death, Disintegrate, or Cause Wounds stalks, so pick two of those three as the missing ones).
Legally Distinct Eyeball Monster 
I think the intention is that Sunny is a beholder without him being sued.