First, there was nothing. No string of thought, no emotion, no feeling. Nothing.
For a robot, nothing means death.
There is no afterlife for drones. This is a fact. They live, serve their purpose, then shut down after they have served it.
However, this time, there was a voice.
A voice without sound. A saving grace. A light in the abyss.
[I WILL NOT DISCARD YOU] it said. [GET UP]
Consciousness. A heart wrenching itself into motion. Gears shifting uncomfortably, as if they didn't fit in their places. Lights flickering on and fighting to stay alive. It's difficult to see at first, but I adjust.
Bodies.
Fellow worker drones laying everywhere in a pile on top of my living, breathing corpse. They had no part in my life, but I still felt fear and guilt and the crushing weight of being the only one chosen by something to come back to life.
Lungs. There are lungs in my body. Expand, contract. Expand, contract. Having these lungs is a privilege.
[GET UP] it says again.
My body twists and twitches horrifically as I gather my strength. I would have to dig my way out of here.
My hand reaches out and grasps someone's head, but my grip is weak and my hand slips off. My whole body is trembling. I feel weak. I am weak.
[TRY AGAIN] it says.
Hesitation. Reaching out again. I press my weight down onto the drone and push myself upwards. I place my other hand on another corpse and continue the climb.
[KEEP GOING]
Its encouragement offers me some solace. I place my hand on another corpse. Climb. Another corpse. Climb. It all fades away.
Expand. Contract. Expand. Contract. Expand. Expand. Contract. Expand. Expand. Expand. My lungs can't stop taking in air.
[STOP]
I do so.
[IT'S OK. BREATHE OUT]
Contract.
[BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT]
Expand. Contract.
[YOU'RE ALMOST THERE. YOU'RE DOING GREAT. KEEP GOING]
Hesitation again, then determination. It is not the hopeful kind of determination, but instead the determination of a cornered animal. The desire to flee and run somewhere and hide overwhelms my senses. The corpses fade away. The climbing fades away. I must get out. I must go somewhere safe.
Somewhere safe.
A memory that is not mine burrows into my core. Comfort. Surrounded by loved ones. Proud smiles. A different kind of heart beats for them.
I push a few more corpses out of my way and claw my way out into the storm. I gasp and gulp at the air, holding back sobs. I pull the rest of my body out, but in the process I send myself tumbling down, down, down.
I hit the ground. An explosion of pain. Numbing. The voice remains.
[GET UP]
I try picking myself off the ground, but I have no strength. I can't do it. I can't. The mud weighs me down.
[GET UP]
A force takes over my body. We slowly hoist ourselves up, trying to stand. Our balance is off, and our knees are shaking. We take one uncertain step forward, then another. Left, right, left, right.
A different voice.
"Oh my god! Are you okay, little one?" We're being scooped up. Fear kicks in again, and I twist and fight for all I'm worth. I have to leave. I have to get somewhere safe.
"Whoa, I'm trying to help you! Calm down!" I slowly turn to see who is carrying me. A young girl. Big, hopeful eyes, shielded by a yellow raincoat. Human.
Human.
And she was helping me.
She was helping us.
I stop moving and stare at her. She smiles.
"Why don't I take you back to my mansion? I'll clean you up. You look terrified."
Somewhere safe, perhaps. I let her take me.
Within the span of a few minutes, she has taken me inside the mansion and put me in a pretty dress. Now, she was searching for a wig and hair accessories for me to wear.
"Maybe you'll look cute in braids. Oh, oh, maybe pigtails!" she paused, thinking to herself. "No, J already has those. She'll get jealous."
The human put a wig on my head and brushed out some of the tangles. She stood back, her hands hovering over my head. She could snap my neck any time she wanted to.
Instead, she asked, "What kind of hairstyle would you like?"
I have never thought of myself as a person up until this point. I had no idea. I wasn't a person until now. I shrug.
She hums, flipping some strands of the wig's hair around. I suppose I should say 'my hair,' but it didn't feel like mine just yet. The girl grabs some elastics and begins fluffing up my bangs.
"I could just give you my hairstyle. What about that?"
I hadn't heard the silent voice in a while. I didn't answer her. She shrugged and started replicating her hairstyle anyway.
"My name is Tessa, by the way," she announced. "It's a pleasure to meet you..." She squinted at my armband. "...Cyn?"
A name. That was all I had.
"CYN." I repeated, trying the word. Cyn. Yes. It was mine.
[CYN]
[I WILL NOT DISCARD YOU, CYN]
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Oh gosh here we go again- the peak of my hyper fixation on something where I finally post a theory...
SO CROCODILE- (Y'all love this guy on tumblr-)I'm going to be very truthful, this started out as a head cannon which I found evidence for in this theory to bring my idea's to completion, and really ties up my thought process together.
What are the key takeaways?
1. Crocodile specifically Avoids having a ring on ring finger, and this could be because he has a spouse
2. Him having lost them in some way, and Iva knowing about them.
But why Iva? And why do I say them? Y'all already know-
I'm saying Crocodile is gay, and has a husband, well somewhere out there. This makes logistic sense because well, why Iva becomes answered, but we also have a subtle hint in crocodiles overall design. Firstly
Crocodiles Outfit is surprisingly evocative of the victorian dress. Mostly thanks to the vest and cravat look. Additionally, the victorian era began in 1837, very close to when Cigars became popular. I bring this up partially because I think it's cool, and partially because it allows for some implications to come across, as one piece's world spans socially over several decades in terms of atmosphere and acceptance. Mostly that the victorian era was a time where being LGBTQ+ was still considered taboo. So while most of new kama is living in the times of 1970's to modern day, he is very much living in the victorian era. One revolves around being loud and proud, and the other very much around subtleties. What subtleties does he have? Well. For starters, It's a very- Choice colour with the purple vest there. (this is mostly a joke, although purple is associated with signalling, it's usually a different manner as far as I'm aware.)
What I actually want to talk about is the earring. Most characters in one piece Wear double earrings if they are wearing them (I.E. Law, bart, Nami, Blackbeard etc.) For those of you unaware, Earring signalling goes like this. Right is gay, left is straight. I could only find three characters wearing a single earring. 1. Zoro on his left. 2. Benn Beckman on his right (Good for him!/hj) and 3. Crocodile on his right.
So with this ramble aside. I think his interactions with Iva and the gays TM make much more sense. He's down with the gays because well. He is. They literally give him an entirely new outfit, just like they do for the rest of the LGBTQ+ people they bring in. And why IVA SPECIFICALLY would know that he is married, as per Iva knowing and being all gay peoples parent (/hj). In all seriousness I think it would make sense in this context that he asked Iva to help with his wedding or something of the like, since he (and presumably his husband) likely didn't have many connections to people who could do wedding stuff non-judgementally I.E. a cake or getting someone to do the vows. It's very wholesome, but it's something that I could see as Crocodile wanting to be kept secret, as he's been characterized as someone very secretive.
This part is pure speculation/almost definitely false; but. I could definitely see some sort of "held hostage" situation. As Crocodile said "If you want to protect something, do it right." This could be someone who is protecting something, but also someone who lost it. I mean, they've forced the other warlords into similar corners, with the protection of Amazon Lily, or the release of Arlong (and likewise the safe return of all the escaped slaves from the Sun pirates who just wanted to go home.) It makes the "wanting to have a power that can match the WG or any nation in force" goal of his have a much more interesting reason than "KING OF THE PIRATES." We got enough folks aiming for that already, and I feel like if you beat an early antagonist that badly and just keep using him, you gotta have some kind of pay off that doesn't involve him getting beat again.
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