CW: Description of burns, amnesia (is that a warning?)

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Ranboo couldn't help the nagging feeling that something was off, as their friend* showed them around. The feeling that something was wrong. That they weren't meant to be here. That something (or someone) was pissed at the fact they were here.

They had showed up here in the DreamSMP a few days ago. They spawned out in the middle of nowhere, nothing to their name besides the clothes on them and a crown on their head, and knowing nothing.

Well, they remembered a few basic things.

Like their name. The fact that they weren't a boy or a girl. Even what the concept of gender was. (Well. They didn't really understand it, but that wasn't because they forgot it. They just never had.) The fact that this wasn't their homeland. The inherent knowledge of how to use the communicator on their wrist and how worlds worked. (One example was mobs. They knew to stay away from creepers, the large, green, leafy-looking creatures that exploded if you got too close.) The fact that water was not good for them (they found out just how bad it was the hard way, though); it burned any part of them it touched, leaving behind blisters and welts that were annoying to deal with even after the initial pain. (Water didn't hurt anything else though. In fact, it was essential for most living things to survive. It was only them. Ranboo found it quite strange.)

They had wandered aimlessly for a while, traveling with no destination in mind. Questioning where they were, how they had got there, if there was anyone else there. Persistent worry followed them; they weren't supposed to be there, they were making some deity very angry just by being there, they needed to get out before it found them, run get out while you still can-

That was, until they had, quite literally, bumped into Tommy, the blond who was currently giving them a tour.

He had been pretty rude to them at first, shouting and throwing curses at them. Soon though, Ranboo learned that was just the way he was, he just had a louder personality than others and that was the way he expressed himself. (Or at least they assumed it was louder than others'. They hadn't actually met anyone else here. Maybe they were all like that. Ranboo shivered at the thought.)

Tommy snapped his fingers on front of their face. "Ay boob bitch, are you even listening to me?"

Ranboo blinked, snapping out their train of thought.

"Oh yeah, I'm listening. You can continue."

He rolled his eyes at them, but the gesture seemed fond.

"Well then, this is where..."

And just like that, the tour continued, with only a few interruptions of Ranboo asking about something or other, which Tommy happily answered. (And by happily, they mean very loudly, with many curses, and clearly at least somewhat biased. Still, Ranboo was happy for the information, and that they had an informant who, for all his volume and brashness, was actually quite smart.)

The worry still lingered in the back of their head, but with Tommy to focus on, they, for the most part, were able to ignore it.

Still... Maybe those worries had some merit to them.

If only Ranboo hadn't brushed them off.

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*I know it may seem too early for Ranboo to consider Tommy a friend, but they trust/ed people easily. Tommy was the first person they met, and he was nice to them (in his own, TommyInnit Way™)

It's here! It's finally here! The rewrite is out! :D

I actually had this prologue done for a while, but I procrastinated working on chapter 1 and didn't want to post this until I finished it, but I decided to just suck it up and post it, even though I don't have the chapter done-

Also that one huge body of text is horrible, but I don't know how I could possibly chop it up and it make sense- (if you have any suggestions, please do leave them in the comments!)
Eek

[Published 9/27/22]