/_\ Story 5 /_\
Short Story: Poker Face
Character Focus: (POV: Zarina) + (Rob, Ceri, Wren, Chito, Yuuri, Sebastian, Avery)
Canon?: Readers Choice
Time: Late Grandline
"Why do bad things happen to good people?" The scholar couldn't help but think to herself, half cursing the situation she found herself in.
This was stupid.
This was embarrassing, mortifyingly so for some involved.
Who's idea was this? And could she slap them?
Why did she agree to this?
Zarina couldn't help but sigh at her predicament. As much as she wanted to complain, she only had herself to blame when she joined in on this little game among the crew. Why? Because quite frankly, the last few days on the sea had been mind-numbingly boring for her. She'd read all her current books, no newspapers had come by, Itzal wasn't picking her brain for facts or answers to random questions, she had little to do as far as tasks were concerned, and she wasn't a swimmer, and so couldn't past the time that way.
She'd done some training, of course, but she couldn't do that for twenty-four hours, could she?
Now, you might be wondering, what was so bad about their current situation?
Well, some of the crew had come together to play a card game for the evening. Herself, Rob, Chito, Yurri, Ceri, Wren, and Sebastian sat in a room together in a circle below deck in their rec room.
That doesn't sound so bad at first glance until you realized they were playing poker.
Strip Poker, to be precise.
That was the part of this that was so stupid, as all the crew present were in various states of undress.
Zarina glanced around the room, a light blush on her face at both her own current state of undress as well as how naked some of the others were, eyes darting to every other person in the room.
She was mortified.
But some of the others were the same.
Chito was in a similar state to herself, trying to cover herself with her legs, attempting to block everyones' view as she held her cards close with one hand, the other pulling the hem of her shirt down to block certain parts. The young woman had lost her pants, socks, shoes, and any other layers, leaving her in her panties, which was quite lacey and red, a shirt and a bra under said shirt. Given the blush on her face, which was actually redder than Zarinas', she was also quite embarrassed.
Although, Zarina did suspect that she was also embarrassed by the fact she was seeing some of her fellow crew naked as well. Similar to herself, at the moment.
Yuuri sat beside her, but unlike her sister, she faired slightly better in this situation despite the lack of clothing. She too was blushing but it was a light pink hue more than flaming red cheeks.
Yuuri was the more confident of the two when it came to things like this. However, her state of undress was worse than her sisters'. Yuuri had only two articles of clothing on her, and they were her bra and panties. A black matching set, she noted. The girl seemed more… focused on the card game, perhaps trying to distract herself from all the nudity in the room.
Someone else here was in the same state as her.
Unfortunately, it was Zarina herself.
Zarina glanced down at herself, only her bra and panties remained, which were white if you were wondering, still covering her lower half by sitting in a position so that her legs covered her bottom. One hand covered her chest in an attempt to have some shred of decency. The cards in her hand helped to hide her blush, but it was quite obvious the others here knew she was embarrassed.
Next in the row was Wren, and oh boy did she feel sorry for the poor soul. Wren hadn't proven very good at the game, having never played poker before, but had opted to join in with Rob and Ceri there. That proved to be quite a bad decision in hindsight.
They were down to their underwear, boxers, and a shirt. Their face flushed red in embarrassment similar to Chito and Zarina, but they refused to take their face out from behind their cards as if trying to avoid everyones' gaze or avoid staring at anyone themself.
They tried to be polite, which Zarina found adorable given they were playing a game that meant to be quite spicy. She'd have to pay them back for that small kindness another time.
Wren did get one lucky break though, in the form of a certain red-haired ex-bounty hunter. Rob had taken upon himself to teach Wren how to play, sitting beside him to help coach them through the game as Rob played as well.
But more than that, Rob had taken a few proverbial hits for the young musician. As Wren had lost a round or two, or many, Rob had offered to remove his own clothes on their behalf to save them from absolute embarrassment. The ex-bounty didn't bite every bullet, but he did help Wren out wonders.
Zarina would have thought the gesture kind, as he put his own embarrassment out there to save Wrens'. Except for one problem.
The bastard wasn't embarrassed in the slightest.
There was not a single indicator to Zarina that told her he was in any way embarrassed, flustered, or shy.
In fact, it was quite the opposite!
Rob was as casual as ever! The man had two articles of clothing left on him and he was perfectly fine with that! He was practically naked!
Rob was completely naked save for his boxers, and his hat. That was it. And he was fine with it! The ex-bounty hunter was just too confident, too comfortable with himself to care if anyone saw him naked. His muscular chest, abs, arms, and legs were exposed in all their glory for the others to see.
The reason Rob even had any clothes left was simple. He was good at poker, and Zarina hated him for that.
Every piece of clothing he'd lost was him taking a hit on Wrens' behalf, Rob himself hadn't lost a single round yet. If he hadn't been biting the bullet for Wren, the bastard would have been fully clothed!
And Zarina couldn't help but subtly glare at him.
Rob noticed, however, and raised her glare with his own cheeky smile.
The scholar mouthed the words I will have my revenge at the first mate, and his response was to smile wider at her.
"Bastard…" Zarina thought to herself, focusing back on examining the room. Sat next to Rob was Ceri, and she was in a similar predicament as to others in the room.
Ceri was also down to her bra and panties, which were a nice shade of purple, but unlike herself and Chito, Ceri was perfectly fine with that. If anything, she was having a great time! Judging by how she bit her lip seductively, and how she did little to hide her body from the others, Ceri thought this was hilarious.
Zarina just sighed at the sight of their singer, "At least someone is amused by all this…"
The final member of the circle was Sebastian, and similar to Rob, he was just in his underwear. And similar to the ex-bounty hunter, he too didn't give a fuck about his current state of undress.
He was casually laying back, his body exposed to the world. While not as muscular as Rob, by a large margin, he was still well-toned, fit, and shapely. No fat on the scientists' body.
For a man of science who valued his mind so greatly, he didn't skip out on his physical health and fitness. Respectable.
"Looks like I lose another round~" Ceri announced to the group, her voice taking a flirtatious tone at the end. A saucy smile on her face.
Ceri reached back behind her with one hand, and the sound of a single strap clipping filled the room as a bra soon found itself disposed on the floor beside the singer.
Herself, Chito, and Wren only flushed harder, with Wren practically going radioactive tomato. Even Yuuri seemed to blush deeper, her eyes refusing to leave her cards now.
Perhaps they all shared the same thought.
Would they have to do the same if they lost again?
Zarina certainly hoped not, as she was not going to be a happy crewmate if that was the case. All she had to do was make sure she didn't lose the next round and she'd be safe for another article of clothing.
Shockingly, neither Rob nor Sebastian reacted in the slightest.
Despite the fact, there was a lot of skin showing, from all parties involved, including the two males themselves.
The two males of the group showed no interest in their near completely nude cremate, Ceri herself didn't seem offended by it either. Why was it that those three were so okay with all this?!
At the sound of the door creaking, a few eyes shifted to the door to find Avery, their crewmate, walking into the room. A small, almost invisible, blush stained his cheeks but he had the decency to keep his eyes away from them all.
"So," he began, "Wanna explain what's going on here?" Everyone else besides Zarina turned back to the game, all drawing their cards for the next round as Ceri dealt everyone a new hand.
"Strip poker," Zarina answered from her position closest to the door, she was grateful her back was facing the doorway which helped keep her decent in front of her crewmates' eyes.
Avery hummed in response, before leaning closer to Zarina to speak to her directly, "Been playing long?"
"For some time, yes." She answered as she picked up her cards, examining them for this round.
Avery glanced around the room briefly, mostly attempting to look at any of the women to avoid any incidences. His eyes found Rob, Wren, and Sebastian, but he couldn't help notice how naked Sebastian was.
Just his underwear remained.
"Uh, is Seb good at the game?" He asked, although he half expected the answer to be no given the evidence before him. He had to be the worst player here just on that alone.
"I don't know." Needless to say, Zarinas' answer confused him.
"But-" He began but was cut off by the scholar.
"He's not apart of the game." She stated. Tiredly, Avery noted.
"Then why is he naked?"
The poor, embarrassed, tired, scholar couldn't help but pinch the bridge of her nose.
"I don't know…" She whimpered out as the other players started to make their bets for this round.
At least the day wasn't boring.
/_\ Story 6 /_\
(NOT SO) Short Story: Bringing Sexy Back
Character Focus: Zarina POV + (Sky Pirates)
Canon?: Readers Choice
Time: Late Grandline
Zarina had to admit, her crew always found a way to seize the day.
Today, she sat at a beautifully crafted table, styled in a tiki fashion given their position on the beach, courtesy of Randi and their skills. The table was long enough that it could seat a total of six people, and those six people had taken their places with her.
Zarina, Arabella, Chito, Yuuri, Ceri, and Hojo all sat in a row, side by side, along with the table.
The ladies' table, so to speak.
In front of them was a massive stage, styled similarly to their table, also created by Randi, on short notice she might add, with a runway, lights, a sound system, and a stage-wide curtain at the back. It was all quite elaborate, but functional.
The ladies of the table were facing at an angle to the end of the catwalk, giving them the perfect view to observe the whole length of the walkway but still have a front-row seat to the end podium.
Each of the women present had a set of cards, numbered from one to ten, on the table in front of them.
For the coming event, six women on the crew were to be the judges.
Judges to what, you may ask.
Well, a male body contest.
Where some, not all, of the male crew partake in a contest to see who has The Sexiest Body, as Ceri put.
The boys didn't seem to have any issues with the idea, in fact, they thought it was hilarious and agreed to it. The idea came about when Ceri had mentioned sex appeal and had given her thoughts on the matter in a discussion with the more mature members of the crew.
Namely Rob, because of course he's involved in all forms of bullshit.
Regardless, the idea sounded fun, and Zarina had to admit the idea did sound amusing to her as well. She wasn't one to ogle her male crewmates, as she didn't have an interest in them in that fashion but it was something to do, everyone was in a good mood, and it would be a fun story to tell.
Both the guys and girls of the crew were looking forward to this. Namely because, if they were honest, alcohol was a factor in all this. Some being a tad bit more… tipsy than others.
For some, anyway.
Zarina would bet money that someone would be drunk off their ass by the end of the night.
Onto other things of note. Not every woman on the crew was a judge.
Kyanna and Blade had chosen to sit this one out, both giving their reasons, and both offering to assist Randi in presenting. Kyanna for obvious reasons, and Blade simply because she wanted to be a stagehand, helping the guys backstage for the various rounds they were gonna have. Kyanna was to be a side commentator, making comments when necessary alongside Randi.
Some of the males weren't competing either, Francis had opted to be the one doing work backstage, helping the other lads out with what they needed for their run. He'd been tempted to join in but decided against it in favor of helping Blade too.
Wren, too, decided to sit this one out. But they seemed more comfortable just being with the women, enjoying the event for the fun and giggles to be had. Although, they'd be on the music for the event, playing songs for each member of the competition as they did their walk.
They'd been told to create whatever songs they thought fit each crewmate for their walk. When told, Wren had disappeared for a few hours before returning to the table, seated in their own chair with their instrument, ready to play when needed.
That left one more crewmate.
Randi. As they chose to be the speaker, narrator, and presenter of the event, they had decided to avoid modeling for the ladies. And given how they'd done all the work setting the stage up, they were allowed to dodge it.
The guys involved in the competition were as follows; Itzal, Rob, Benedict, Seb, Avery, and Arron.
The lights on stage blinked, and flickered to life, indicating the start of the show.
She heard Ceri giggle from the other end of the table, all women present smiling, having a good time waiting for the event to kick off.
Zarina smiled alongside them, her eyes made it Randi who sat on a chair, with Kyanna, at a stand of their own just opposite their table on the other side of the catwalk. Both with mics in hand, with the shipwright gesturing one-handed to the stage curtain.
"Welcome ladies and gents," Randi began, his voice booming from the speakers on stage, "Tonight, the Sky Pirates are hosting a male model competition for your own amusement!"
His words got some playful cheers and cries from the judges, Zarina clapping as well, but all laughing by the end of it.
"It seems our judges are excited!" Randi joked, with Ceri yelling a Damn right in response. "Well, let's get this show on the road!"
Kyanna stepped up to plate now, "We have one round to get through this evening. We begin with the Display Round, where each member walks the catwalk wearing only a pair of bottoms of their choice, poses for the judges, flexes included," that got a howler from one of the judges, "to display their bodies, before the judges cast their vote, then return down the catwalk."
"Judges, are you ready?" Randi called out, getting a resounding yeah from all of them, "Okay! Our first contestant is…!"
He paused for dramatic flair, "Benedict!"
The curtains pulled slightly to allow Ben to pass through, Wren began playing "Bens' Theme" as he called it.
The walk down to the end of the catwalk was brief, but from the judges' angle, they could catch all the details they needed. Zarina taking note of what details she thought important.
He wore combat shorts, dark brown, but they complemented his dark hair. The walk displayed his leg muscles the best, but when he got to the end of the catwalk, he posed front and center for the judges and flexed. Both arms outstretched to his sides, flexing them upwards like you would lifting dumbbells.
There were a few whistles, a catcall, but all around laughter, Zarina could see the small smile on the doctors' face too. She was sure a few of them would be blushing at times too.
As for Benedicts' flex, well, it was solid. Ben had come a long way since Loguetown, gaining quite the frame on him. Abs, arms, chest, all solid, yet lean built.
Ben turned around to allow them a view of his back and repeated his flex, showing off the muscles from another angle. Some clapping was his reward for that one, a whistle, and a this whole event is gonna be great from Ceri.
Oddly enough, she swore she saw a pink hue dusted the cheeks of a certain judge but she didn't comment on it.
"What a performance from our resident doctor!" Randi called out as Benedict turned to face the judges, standing to some attention, "Now, for our judges' ratings!"
With that, the ladies went about picking their cards. Zarina wasn't sure what the others would pick but she found her card and raised it as the others did the same.
Zarina had given the doctor an Eight.
"Not a bad score at all!" Randi spoke out, Kyanna scribbling down the numbers on a notepad, "We'll declare what his total is at the end of the round!" Ben turned and made his way back down the catwalk until he disappeared by the curtain again.
Zarina nodded, it seemed they wouldn't know each others' scores, or the totals until everyone was judged. Maybe it was a way to prevent bias? If someone wanted to score someone lower in retaliation for scoring someone they ranked higher with a low score, maybe that was why.
Didn't really matter, this was all in good fun anyway.
Zarina and the other ladies all shared a few laughs, giggled a bit, taking to their drinks, before Kyanna began to speak.
"And our next contestant is…!"
"Avery!"
The curtains pulled again to reveal one of their latest members of the crew, Avery.
Avery strut down the catwalk similarly to Benedict, but he carried himself a bit more seriously than the doctor did. Averys' theme playing as he did, courtesy of Wren.
He too wore shorts, but they were more form-fitting, like the ones people wear when working out. Regardless, he wore them well.
By the end of the runway, Avery struck his own pose. Flexing in a circular motion, facing the judges, so they could see his chest, arms, and abs all flex at once.
Zarina noted that it seemed like a natural bodybuilder flex. It seems like Avery knew his stuff.
Although, Benedict did seem a tad more defined in her eyes. But there were still claps, whistles, and a singular catcall as always. And Zarina was pretty sure she saw one of her fellow judges blush, the cook specifically, at the sight when she glanced at them.
With that in mind, Zarina, and the other judges, pulled their numbers cards out and rated the doctor.
Again, Zarina gave an Eight.
"A good score," Randi called, Kyanna taking note again, "If the ratings keep going like this, it'll be a tight match!" Avery turned and went just as the doctor had.
"Next up is…!"
"Sebastian!"
The curtains pulled and revealed the mad scientist.
And what a sight it was…
Sebastian walked the catwalk in an infamous pair of tighty whities. The same pair he'd been wearing when the crew first met the crazy fool. And he didn't give a single fuck, as he wore it with pride.
His attire got plenty of laughs, a whistle, and a howler from various people here. Kyanna and Randi joined in the laughter too. She was sure someone blushed at the sight. Wren completely forget to even attempt to play Sebs' Theme because they were giggling too much!
"That's," Randi wheezed out a laugh, "A brave choice for our contestant." He broke off into a small laugh again.
Zarinas' reaction, at first sight, was to cover her mouth in shock and hold back her laughter. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sight.
Of course, he wouldn't give a single fuck about this.
Ceri was a lot bolder about her thoughts, and choice of words, "You have a pair of balls on ya for that one Sebby!" She yelled out as Sebastian reached the end of the runway, the scientist barely being able to contain his stupid grin and laughter.
Even he thought this was hilarious.
"A pair barely contained," Yuuri commented in amusement, rousing another round of laughter, even from Sebastian himself.
He quickly recovered however and struck his pose. Hands behind his head, one leg stretched out front, and flexing all at once.
It really showed off the muscle the scientist had, whilst they weren't the most impressive, they were still of damn good quality.
"And if you're wondering," The mad bastard yelled out, "This is a JoJos reference!"
Zarina nearly facepalmed at that but shook it off and went about searching for his rating.
All the others joined her, in various states of amusement.
Zarina had given Seb a Seven.
"Some higher, some lower!" Randi called out, "His… bold choices have mixed success, it seems." A round of giggles and smirks responded to his statement, "But a solid score still in the running!"
Sebastian turned and went back the way he came, but not before giving his arse a little wiggle before disappearing behind the curtain again.
Zarina could only shake her head. What did she expect from the man? He was possibly the most shameless person on the crew, points for that.
"Next we have…!" This time it was Kyanna to do the announcement.
"Arron!"
Arron emerged, wearing something that could be described as golf shorts, strolling down the catwalk. The shorts matched his hair, which seemed to be a trend that a few of the contestants beforehand had also done.
Arron reached the end of the catwalk, with his theme being played by Wren, turned to the judges, and flexed. One arm outstretched in a diagonally upward angle, the other curled up in a normal stance. His pose reminded Zarina of pictures from books where ancient athletes would pose just as the sharpshooter would.
As always, a few whistles and catcalls were his rewards for his efforts.
"Judges, cast your votes!" Kyanna called out, Randi waiting to take note of the scores.
Zarina went through her cards before pulling one out, along with the others.
Zarina gave the sharpshooter an Eight.
"So close to the others!" Kyanna announced, "It's a tight race so far!"
Arron turned and soon vanished from view beyond the curtain.
The other judges seemed to be whispering to each other, mainly Chito and Yuuri speaking to each other, with Ceri and Hojo having their own conversation.
"Time has come for another contestant!" The swordswoman yelled, gesturing to the curtain as she did. The curtains pulled to reveal...
"Rob!"
Rob appeared wearing a Hawaiian shirt, red and white in color. He still wore his hat too. To be honest, his clothes… kinda obscured their view of his body. Wrens' choice of music was strangely… exotic given what was going on but when she looked at the musician, she noted his small smile, which seemed to be holding in their laughter. She turned back to the first mate.
But that's when Zarina noticed his smirk.
When he reached the end of the catwalk, he paused, and that's when he did it…
The bastard started to striptease!
Zarina had to cover her mouth as she watched him strip off his shirt, turning around as he did so the judges got all sorts of views.
This earned plenty of whistlers and catcalls, with Ceri and Arabella being the most vocal by far, and Zarina was sure more than one judge was blushing at the display. Zarina was not one of them but to say she wasn't amused would have been a lie.
Rob was confident in everything he did.
With the encouragement he was getting he continued to play his part, and as he got the shirt off he tossed it to the side rocking his hips as he did.
With the shirt gone, it revealed the muscles across his body.
Zarina had to admit, of all of the crew, Rob was the most muscular of them. Where the others were learners, he was more profound. Especially in one notable area.
His legs.
The shorts Rob wore gave the judges a great view of his legs, and they were easily the most muscular thus far. But that wasn't really fair given how Rob was a martial artist, one who was a master in a leg-based fighting style among many others. His legs should be the strongest of the crew, that was a given.
He was the pure martial artist on this crew, his focus was on his body and haki, so of course, his body would show it.
Going back to his striptease, Rob looked toward the judges and winked before removing his hat and tossing it at them. The ex-bounty hunters' hat happened to land in front of Chito too. Who took it with a blush and a laugh before she put it on herself.
"With such a display," Kyanna spoke, "I wonder what his score will be?"
The hint taken, the judges went about picking their scores.
Each of the judges displayed their votes.
Zarina had given the first mate a Nine.
"Oh, what a score it is!" Kyanna announced as Randi noted them with a small smirk as he looked at two of the judges specifically, "The tease was well received by a few of our judges!"
Rob smirked before giving a small wave he too went backstage.
Zarina smiled to herself, giggling lightly.
This had been a truly ridiculous evening so far but the humor was well worth it. Sometimes Zarina loved her crews' playful antics when they were driving her up the wall that is.
"Time for our final contestant!" Kyanna spoke.
Zarina, and everyone else here, already knew who it was. Their final member.
Their Captain.
"Itzal!"
Itzal emerged from the curtain with a spring in his step, bouncing along the catwalk. His pace far faster than the others. His Theme song seemed to go along with it.
Itzals' bottoms consisted of his normal pants but pulled up to above his knees. Whilst it wasn't anything special, it suited him the best as it was his classic attire.
Beyond that, his muscles were just as toned as Robs'.
It seemed the duo were the most well defined, the most sculpted, but where Rob was more muscular, Itzals' body was nearly perfectly balanced between size and definition. Each had its positives and negatives when it came to contests like this.
Itzals' little display at the end of the catwalk was to activate his devil fruit. His body heated up to a bright shining forge.
With his body glowing, his muscles shining, he flexed by crouching into a combat stance circling his muscles. The glow of his muscles, and the steam off his body really added to the performance.
There was a full round of applause as well as whistles, and, of course, a catcall from Ceri for the captains' efforts.
"What a performance from our captain!" Kyanna spoke up, drawing the judges away from the display. "What do our judges think?"
Zarina made her choice quickly enough, turning to the other judges, they all smirked and smiled as they revealed their scorecards.
Zarina had given her captain a Ten.
"Seems like our judges approve of our captains' devil fruit usage!" Kyanna declared, Itzal waved with a genuine smile as he moved to one section at the end of the runway in front of the judges, "With that, our event is over!"
The judges clapped, as well as the announcers, and Wren. Francis and Blade joined them too as they emerged from backstage to take their seats next to the musician.
"Now, let's get all of our contestants out here!" The swordswoman called out, as the male members of the crew emerged from the curtain in a line.
Each of the crew made a circle at the end of the catwalk, giving the judges, and the others, a full view of all the competitors.
"I think I speak for everyone here," Randi began, taking over from Kyanna, "when I say we all had a great time!"
Every member of the crew cheered, clapped, or shouted their agreement. Seems like everyone was in a good mood, and if Zarina was honest, glancing down at her own empty drink, some were probably tipsier now. The lads would down their own soon too.
"It's time to announce the winner!" Randi called out, getting howlers before they quietened down to await the name of the winner.
"And the winner is…!"
AN:
Note: I was dying of laughing writing all these, have mercy on me~
I do take some requests when it comes to short stories if you want specific characters to have scenes together. I'll try to write them on your behalf but some things are just gonna be a NOPE from me. Keep it reasonable, please.
As for who won, I'll let you decide. Everyone who reads this can come to their own decision. And for you, that's the canon winner.
Also, if you have "theme songs" you imagine for the characters, by all means, listen to them whilst they're doing their run. Might make the experience more amusing.
Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.
AlcatrazDGold - Peace!
