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Pearl squints across spawn town as Bdubs, wearing a strange moss cloak, seems to do some archaic chant while talking to a tree.
“Should we worry about that?” she asks Impulse. “I mean, he seems kind of possessed.”
“Oooh, yeah, you’re right,” Gem says, wincing. “Impulse, Bdubs does seem possessed. That’s bad, right? That’s definitely bad?”
Impulse looks for a moment at Bdubs before shrugging at the two of them. “I mean, nah. Bdubs gets possessed by plants like, all the time. Pretty normal.”
“That isn’t normal,” Pearl says.
“Actually, can you be an impartial judge?” Gem says at the same time, and then looks at Pearl. “You either! You all were definitely possessed or something last season, what with all of the Boatem things.”
“What? We weren’t possessed,” Pearl says, and then she thinks about it as she hears Impulse make a low, incredulous hiss between his teeth.
“We were a little possessed,” Impulse says.
“No. Were we?” Pearl says.
“Yeah, a little,” Impulse says.
“I told you,” Gem says. “I told you that you were acting weirdly.”
“Oh, come on! Remember Ren and Doc? Or… now that I think about it, Xisuma acted really different last season too! We were basically normal,” Pearl argues.
“I mean, for us, that was pretty normal.” Impulse pauses. “Actually, thinking about it, is Grian possessed again now?”
“Wait, hold on,” Gem says, waving her hands. “Xisuma?”
“I mean, he’s not promoting crypto scams anymore, that’s pretty new. Also his armor is normal now. Also he isn’t like, occasionally crackling with foreign electric magic,” Pearl says authoritatively.
“…Xisuma was what?” Impulse says. “I knew most of those, but not the elect—”
“Wait. Also, Jevin’s blue now.”
“That’s normal.”
Gem throws her hands in the air. “This is stupid. Is there anyone here who hasn’t been possessed then? Am I the weird one for being pretty sure I haven’t been possessed before?”
“Oh, people who haven’t been possessed before. That’s easy. Just…”
Impulse trails off. Impulse closes his mouth. Impulse thinks for a while. Pearl watches him with a sinking feeling in her gut.
“…yeah I’ve actually got no one,” Impulse admits.
“Come to Hermitcraft you said!” Gem says, rounding on Pearl. “The invitation will be fine, you said! You have local friends, you said! Pearl!”
“I mean, they didn’t warn me that apparently we’d all get possessed!”
“You might not!” Impulse insists.
In the distance, Bdubs makes a very concerning cackle before moving on with his day, strange tendrils made of birch following him slightly. Across from them, Grian lands on top of the Entity, his wings looking concerningly like they’re made of it. Even more distantly, Pearl can see Scar hanging from a branch of his own tree, something strange in his eyes, and she has no idea what’s up with Doc recently about that “hivemind” he’s always talked about but he’d been destroying so many things lately, and there’s Joe, talking to thin air like he always does this time of night, and—
Pearl gestures to the entirety of spawn town.
Impulse looks around and then shrugs. “…I mean. Uh. When you do get possessed, it’ll probably be pretty benign?”
They all stare a little longer.
“Yeah, sure, okay,” Gem says, letting out a breath of air. “Benign possession. We can work with that, right Pearl?”
“Do you think I can get it to be aliens, then?” Pearl asks. “It would be nice to be possessed on-theme.”
“PEARL!”