I remember those evil little black demons from an earlier story! I initially thought this was a rerun of that story until I checked the date and saw this was the first new comic in a while.
I remember Dana saying in an interview that Dakota’s relationship with the goblins was an unintentional accident from a meta perspective, which is why I presume she retired Dakota and the goblins and had her hang out with LSH instead.
The part about the lima beans reminds me of this one children’s book called A Bad Case of Stripes.
Basically this girl likes lima beans, but pretends to dislike them, and the world punishes her by making her go through all sorts of unsettling body horror for a children’s book.
I wasn’t sure if Marigold squashed them on purpose or not.