/_\ Story 7 /_\
Short Story: Movie Night!
Character Focus: Zarinas' POV with other Sky Pirates
Canon?: Readers' Choice
Time: Late Grandline
"I wonder what it is we'll be watching this time." The ships' scholar thought to herself. Zarina sat down in her assigned chair, leaning back as it reclined slightly, her eyes drifting up to the screen.
The final preparations were being made for the crew and their next movie night tonight. The crew had docked on a small, basically deserted apart from some strange animals, and had spent the day resting. Now though, in the middle of the night, the crew prepared for their next movie.
As of recently, when docked on an island that they haven't destroyed, the Sky Pirates' agree to settle down on the beach, use a projector den-den mushi on a spare stretched-out sail, and watch various movies.
And so far it had proved quite the success.
Randi had been given the task, along with some helpers, to set up the screen and chairs. He'd been the one to come up with the idea of using den-den mushis' as projectors, and a spare sail as the blank canvass for them to watch it on.
He'd also been the one to build a set of, admittedly comfy, chairs for the crew to sit as they watched whatever film was on.
Chito, Francis, and Avery, all offered to help Randi with set-up whenever the time came for a Movie Night.
Hojo was the one cooking up the snack food they'd be dining on during the film. Popcorn, hotdogs, nachos, soda drink, alcoholic drinks, and other such snack options.
Zarina usually opted for popcorn and soda. Can't beat the classics!
One other point to make about their movie nights was the fact that they took turns choosing what movie to watch.
Action, adventure, romance, drama, comedy, you name it, and the crew took turns picking it.
That proved to have mixed success…
Now, Zarina couldn't say everyone had a problem with some of the movies they watched, such as Itzal, who was just interested in every movie no matter what, which was fair. Rob never really cared what they watched either, but she suspected he didn't always stick around to watch them through to the end.
Some people were far more reasonable with their picks, such as Arabella, Chito, Hojo, Arron…
Actually, to be honest, there were only three problematic people when it came to the movie selection.
The usual suspects.
Rob, Ceri, and Sebastian.
Each guilty for their own reasons.
To start, Ceri had decided that the best kinds of film to watch for these small events would be erotic porn films… because she thought they'd be hilarious to laugh at.
Several people had a problem with that, for several reasons.
Firstly, it was a goddamn porn film. No. Secondly, there were three young people here. Two of them being literal children, so a big fucking no on that front and a scolding from some of the other members of the crew. And thirdly, quite frankly they were shit-tier porn films.
But that last complaint came from Sebastian alone. His words, not Zarinas'.
Speaking of the devil himself, we have Sebastian once again.
He was problematic for his own reasons, some worse than others.
His selections were… varied, one might say.
Sometimes he'd pick something innocent, such as a movie-length documentary. Okay, odd, but he was a scientist, so he had his tastes. But many others found it to be extremely dull.
Zarina and Itzal weren't two of them.
Zarina found the documentaries quite fascinating at times, and Itzal was much the same. Sebastian, obviously, enjoyed them as well. Wren also liked them too, which Zarina approved of. So those four quite liked that pick but it wasn't to everyone's taste.
But everyone disagreed with the mad scientist once he started picking strange science films, or graphic medical films. Movies where one might watch someone dissect a corpse, or perform an autopsy.
But then his other picks became more questionable.
For example, the man wasn't afraid to pick the most horrible kids movies he could find.
Various kinds of kids movies, from movies that were surprisingly hardcore for kids movies. To musicals that… in Zarinas' opinion, drove you up the fucking wall with their singing.
That always broke up the movie nights when that happened.
But that wasn't the problem, it was the fact that Sebastian was taking notes on their various reactions to his terrible choice in movies.
He turned their movie night into a social experiment.
Yeah, that was quickly shut down once certain people took notice, namely Zarina, Chito, and Randi. Pulling him to one side, scolding the mad scientist, and shut down the movie night until they found an actual movie to watch.
Yet, for reasons unbeknownst to Zarina, they hadn't banned him from picking movies that night.
A small slip on their part.
Because the next time it came around for Sebastian to pick a movie, he threw all subtly out the window and went all out.
His next selection was not a movie at all!
He set up a Rorschach test...
Seb wasn't even trying to hide it anymore, and as soon as some figured out what he was doing they got bored and left. Others stuck around, such as Itzal who was intrigued by the test.
Zarina suspected he might question Sebastian on it later.
But after that little stunt, he was officially banned from doing anything except watch whatever movie was picked on their scheduled movie nights.
That was why those two were banned.
Two out of three.
Rob was the final… troublemaker.
And it was his turn to pick the movie tonight, much to the frustration Zarinas' ever-growing anxiety. The scholar just had a gut feeling that tonight would be the last time the Vice-Captain got to pick a film.
Unlike the other two, however, Rob had yet to be banned. Barely.
Now, his movies were usually more hardcore in nature. Often his choices being War Films or such, and that doesn't sound bad at first.
Until you see some of the scenes in these films, some gruesome injuries, mature themes, some of a sexual nature but he didn't get in trouble like Ceri because they were literal porn films on her part.
Didn't mean he didn't get a telling off by some of the crew when he didn't warn them of these scenes.
With Dayla and Miu involved, there were literal kids here for goodness sake! They were literal children!
And Wren was innocent, and must be protected!
But, again, he wasn't banned because they still managed to hide the kids just in time to avoid them seeing something they shouldn't. And to be fair to Rob, he did shield their eyes whenever they sat next to him, he only didn't warn the others to do the same.
Regardless, he was on the edge of being banned for some gruesome war scenes, some mature themes in crime films, and some adult humor on occasion.
But Zarina had a sneak suspicion that tonight might be the night.
The other members of the crew all took to their places, seating themselves down in front of the screen with various foods created by their resident chef. Their usual places too.
Randi opted to work the projector, so he had a seat furthest back from the screen but also sat higher than anyone else here. Trade-offs, and so on.
Itzal sat at the front, alongside Francis, Benedict, and Avery. Turns out that those four enjoy a good movie every once in a while. And they liked to be up close to the screen.
Zarina, herself, wasn't one of them.
As were some of the ladies of the crew, as the middle rows contained herself, Chito, Yuuri, Arabella, Kyanna, who were put as far apart as possible in the row, Blade, Hojo, and Ceri.
They were divided up into two rows in the middle, with Arabella and Kyanna seated on the edges, Chito and Yuuri together, Ceri opted for some space in this arrangement, whilst Blade and Hojo sat next to each other. Zarina too opted for a solo seat.
Behind them sat the remaining few crew. Randi, obviously being the furthest back, but Wren, Dayla, Miu, and the two pets, Sherlock and Moriarty, all spread out across the back row.
Zarina shuddered at the fact she didn't see Rob or Sebastian in the seating area, but she had to let Rob go, for he had to be the one to get the movie from their collection. A collection everyone added to whenever they docked on a friendly island.
Sebastian was a problem, but he might show up when the movie starts. He did openly admit he wasn't bothered watching any credits or anything, so there was a slim chance he'd show up soon enough.
Still didn't ease the scholars' worry though.
Luckily, she wasn't going to suffer an anxiety attack since she saw Rob emerged from the ship with what looked like his movie choice in hand.
Although, the scholar took note of his- devilish- smirk. Eyes narrowing slightly at the ex-bounty hunter, clearly suspicious of that smile of his.
A few people cheered, namely Arabella and Ceri, when Rob moved to hand the movie off to Randi. Zarina did spot Randis' unsure reaction to his choice as he looked at what Rob handed him.
And suddenly that pit in her stomach returned…
Zarina sighed to herself and leaned back in her chair. As it stood, there was little she could do at the moment. And so, she just decided to watch and wait.
The screen flickered to life as the opening credits began. The usual crap came up, sponsors, and all that shit. But then there was a sudden tonal shift, a shift that Zarina found strange.
It went from a nice and friendly opening to a dark shift.
She glanced behind her, and to the side, to where the redhead sat. Leaned back, legs resting on the chair in front and an oddly satisfied smirk on his face.
"He seems too happy about this…" And that alone was cause for concern in Zarinas' opinion.
Eyes trailed back to the movie screen, and that's when it clicked. The dark atmosphere, the haunting music, the dim lights, the ery vibe, it all added up.
Son of a bitch chose a Horror Movie.
"Damn you, Rob…" Zarina muttered out.
Little could be done about it now. All Zarina could hope for was that it was a mild horror flick.
Zarina jumped in her chair, popcorn flying out of its box all around the scholar. There were screams or shrieks from a good number of the crew, Zarina included, as they were jump scared yet again.
This was not a mild Horror movie.
It was the opposite.
Rob had picked the most terrifying horror movie he could find, and decided that was good for tonight.
When there were children present!
…
...well, were present. As his movie choice had scared the kids off right quick. Both running off to the ship to hide, and likely hide with Sebastian, who had yet to show up. He likely wouldn't and to be honest, she was thankful for that.
She had one too many trouble makers to deal with already.
The scholar inclined her head in the ex-bounty hunters' direction. He seemed as relaxed as he always was. If anything, he looked amused.
By their reactions? Maybe.
But Robs' eyes were on the screen, watching the movie with genuine interest.
"He's actually enjoying this movie…?" Zarina thought. It seemed the first mate of the Sky Pirates had a taste for horror movies.
A strong tolerance for them too because he didn't look one bit scared by it.
In fact, he-
Zarina jumped again as another screeching jumpscare of a monster appeared on screen. The scholar felt her heart jump in that moment, thumping against the inside of her chest.
The scholar heard a few other screams, and shrieks from the other crew around her. Most notably including Arabella, Chito, and Ceri, despite how they tried to keep their composure.
It seems that horror movies weren't to everyone's tastes.
But despite the screams, one noise was distinctly different to the others.
Some boisterous, genuine laughter.
And they were coming from a certain red-haired Vice-Captain.
And suddenly, a burning hatred for said Vice-Captain churned in the scholars' stomach as she slowly turned to glare at him. Her glare transformed into a scowl when she saw the redhead smile toward her, then give a cheeky wink.
Turns out, Rob really liked horror movies.
Oh, how she hated her commander sometimes...
/_\ Story 8 /_\
Short Story: The Best
Character Focus: Zarina with others included
Canon?: Non-Canon AU (Highschool)
Time: N/A
Zarina opened her lunchbox as she sat on her usual position on the wall that stood near the school entrance.
The wall was low, which allowed Zarina to sit on it and enjoy the fresh air of the outdoors whilst many others went to the cruddy cafeteria this school had. The straight A+ student, Zarina, usually despised the loud noises and cramped spaces inside the school cafeteria, so she opted for her preferred lunch break spot.
Usually, Zarina made her way to this spot alone, as she always enjoyed being there first as it gave her space to herself, a moment of silence away from all the other students.
Unfortunately, because Zarina liked her privacy as such, she wasn't among the popular kids for her lack of interaction with almost anyone.
She didn't interact with many social groups, as they weren't usually her thing. And so, Zarina was designated the unpopular lonely girl by others.
Not that Zarina cared all that much, she didn't have many friends, but-
"Hey, look!" An annoyingly boisterous voice yelled out, Zarinas' eyes flicked toward the bellend that had started shouting. "It's four-eyes!" A round of laughter erupt from their stupid little group of bullies, boys and girls
That insult was pathetic at best.
So Zarina rolled her eyes and attempted to ignore her bullies, instead going back to her food.
But they couldn't let her do that now, could they?
"Hey, bitch," The same voice called out as the laughing of his cronies and bitches ceased, "Don't look away from me when I'm talking to you, I didn't give you permission."
Zarina refused to acknowledge him, because, quite frankly, she didn't give a shit about what he wanted to say to her. Same dickhead, different day.
She flinched when the food she had held was slapped out of her hands, splattering across the floor. Zarina remained seated even if she did shift slightly, despite how she wished to stand her ground.
"Bitch, ignore me again." The dickhead spoke as he walked right up to Zarina, practically standing over her in an attempt to intimidate her.
His cronies and bitches, eight others in total, all circled behind him, rallying to his cause.
Their cause seemed to be against Zarina.
Regardless of being outnumbered, and threatened by some brutish asshole, Zarina didn't back down either.
"As if you have any power over me." Zarina hissed back in disdain, eyes narrowing on her bully. His face shifted, he snarled at her in response. And it looked as though he was about to slap her.
He moved to slap her.
But he never did.
"Stupid move." A voice called out.
Her bully cried out in pain as a fist collided with his face, sending him tumbling backward into his crew of assholes.
Zarina blinked at a moment, before fully realizing what happened. Three figures walked past Zarina, standing in front of her defensively, forming a wall before her as the other group rounded up together in response to their presence.
Three of her friends.
Itzal, Rob, and Benedict.
And a fight seemed to be brewing between the two groups.
She was flanked by another of her two friends, as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder and pulled her into a semi-hug.
"You okay, Zarina~?" Her friend, Arabella sang as she held her close to her. Practically hanging off her. On the other side was Francis.
"Sorry, we're late." Francis chimed, but before Zarina could dismiss him he got a round of sorries from the three protectors in front of her.
She heard calls in the distance as her other friends all moved toward her.
"Let's deal with these assholes," Itzal ordered, his words getting a round of agreement from all of Zarinas' friends, as they all dived into a schoolyard brawl.
Arabella lept from her shoulder to join the boys in their fight, deciding she wanted in on the action.
Francis remained standing next to her though, although he did note her lunch splattered across the floor.
He rounded on her as he said, "You can have half of my lunch, I packed a little too much for today anyway." He offered with a small smile, handing over half his food.
Zarina smiled at his gesture, as she watched her friends fight her bullies.
She might not have many friends but…
The ones she did have?
Were truly the best.
AN:
Review Response: Thanks for the reviews "SpaceDragon"! I'm glad you approve of Zarina being in the spotlight. In all honesty, she is my favorite character, especially to write with, which is why she's in these short stories so much. Hope you don't mind me putting your girl through all my bullshit though! As for Randi, I'll try to get around to fixing it at some point, but that was just poor writing skill on my part. I didn't exactly know how to introduce him without kinda lumping him into a group. Sorry about that! I'll try to give your short story idea a go but I have no idea how to go about it yet. As for where some of these stories were inspired from? No comment.
If you'd like your character to have a focused short, let me know and maybe drop me an idea of what you want from the short story. I'll do what I can. Note: I do accept snippets or shorts from anyone who has submitted a character, you'll get full credit in the chapter if you want me to post it on your behalf.
These short stories I've been creating recently greatly amuse me, and certainly do help keep me entertained as I write. I do apologize if this isn't everyone's favorite thing, some of you might just want me to Get on with the main story, so sorry about that. But these do help keep me interested in writing.
Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece (For Shame). All OC' go to their respective owners and such.
AlcatrazDGold - Peace!
