from The Changing
horror//crack//fluff ?
A shiny red box with a perfect gold bow. Too perfect. It would almost seem normal, but there's just something not quite right about it. There's a faint green glow emanating from the seams of the wrapping paper. You're afraid to touch it. It's like this box has too many fingers.
from the prompt "that can't be right..."
wc: 1806
DEC24 14:22
There's something not right about your instructors running exams up to the day before Christmas Eve. It's not like it was your class's fault that you were all taken by aliens last year, but you need to "make up for lost time" regardless.
It's close to Christmas so you knew the mall would be packed before you got here. However, you didn't expect it to be this busy. So much for the death of malls you're always hearing about. Pushing through the crowd, you make your way towards a directory. "YOU ARE HERE" says the star, somewhere far from where you need to be. You step back and resign yourself to the crowded walk to the other side.
Thinking back through the rough list you came up with, you try to think about backup stores in case you don't find everything at the first stop. Then, something catches your eye: two of Santa's elves are sitting in a dry water fountain in the middle of the atrium.
It's probably nothing. You've been over sensitive to any slight differences in everyday life after what happened last year. That's normal, you were told, it would be weird not to feel that way. These things were probably always happening and now you're seeing them because you're looking for something that's wrong. You were also told not to dwell on it too much, the feelings will pass and dull with time.
You try not to notice, but some days are harder than others. It doesn't matter, you tell yourself, The Light isn't an issue anymore. They took care of it β you need to trust that the pro heroes know what they're doing and carry on with life. Quietly.
Still, you can't help but notice. Mall Santa's aren't exactly known for their accuracy, but there's something not right about the whole set-up. It's like Santa, his elves, and the oversized gingerbread house and tree behind him all figuratively have too many fingers.
You don't have time to work through it before you see something even more concerning: the league of villains. They're dressed in what they probably assumed was civilian attire, but missed the mark entirely. Everyone else seems too busy with their shopping and holiday festivities to notice, but you do. For better or worse, you notice everything now.
They pause for a moment before you make eye contact with their leader. His red eyes widen before he waves the others to leave. Spinner, who you recognize, lingers a moment longer than the others before following.
So, you tail them.
You probably don't have to do this, but feel like you should. The whole situation is complicated. They saved you, you remember that much from when you woke up. They also threatened your class your first year and almost killed you. Now, you're not really sure what to think. Regardless, you should still check up on them and see what they're doing here.
Out of the crowd and through a side door painted the same color as the wall, you're suddenly in a much darker more industrial hallway.
With the knowledge you're not far behind, they split in multiple directions. So, you pick one at random and start sprinting. The hallway comes to an abrupt stop around a corner with a locked door. You recognize the blue hair and red eyes from before. If you were smart, you would keep your distance given what you know if his quirk. But, if you were smart you wouldn't have followed them back here in the first place.
"What are you guys doing here?" you demand, cornering Tomura Shigaraki. Not taking more chances, you grab his wrists and press them into the wall over his shoulders.
"What does it look like," he groans, not bothering to push himself free. You know he could, you've seen how misleadingly strong he is. So why isn't he? "Christmas shopping," he clarifies in such a flat voice that you know he came up with that excuse in advance.
"Oh yeah?," you ask, "then where are your bags?"
Before he has a chance to answer, footsteps approach behind you. Spinner stops as he rounds the corner, staring.
"Uh, I didn't realizeβ" he pauses, looking over the two of you. "I can come back if I'm interrupting β whatever this is."
It's in this moment that you realize the position you're in. Pressing his hands into the wall with one of your knees resting on the locked door between his legs. Your face hovers a breath away from his. If you don't know better, you'd have assumptions too.
"Wβwhat? No," you exclaim, jumping back. Shigaraki laughs. Did he realize this the whole time? Probably not, most of the villains you've met aren't the best with social cues. "Iβuh," you stutter.
"y/n, that's your name, right?" asks Spinner. You nod. "You noticed something weird in the Santa area too, right?"
"Yeah," you say, immediately discounting your opinion. "It's probably nothing though, I always notice things like that everywhere now."
"I don't think it was," Spinner replies, "and I need your help."
Coming back to it, you let yourself notice a bit more now. "That's not rightβ¦ The star β it's in the middle of the tree. Who does that?"
"I thought so too," replies Spinner. "And the windows of the gingerbread house are off β the door goes right through the middle of one."
A tall woman who you know from the files you've seen as Magne nods. Shigaraki adds, "are the gifts they're giving out glowing?"
"What do you mean?" you ask, trying to get a better view.
"Look, look at the seams. It's like there's light coming out of the edges."
He's right. The gifts, while immaculately wrapped, do seem to be emitting light from inside. This isn't good.
Spinner is already on his phone, trying to get ahold of someone. Whoever it is doesn't seem to be answering. He shakes his head when the others look at him, but continues to try.
"We've done this before, we can do it again," Shigaraki says with sudden confidence. You didn't get it before, but you can see why they follow him.
"Who has a pocket full of rubber ducks they're hiding," jokes one you know from the news as Dabi.
"I'll find something," says another man with a mask covering his face. He runs off before anyone can say anything.
"Now, we divide up. We need to cover all of the exits β don't let anyone out with a gift," says Shigaraki. They divide up into their own groups and split up to cover all of the exits seen on the directory. They're certainly efficient.
"You're with me," grumbles Shigaraki. He turns to walk away, not waiting for you. Unsure what else to do, you go with him.
Here you are, a hero course student following the lead of a known villain just because he told you to. It's all you can do though, you're in over your head and you're starting to panic. With all the classes you've taken and research you did on your own, you barely understand the situation. And, without any previous success in this area, you admittedly don't know what to do. So, you follow the villain and hope he has a better plan.
"mall infiltrated," you text your class's group chat. "someone tell a hero." It's not like you have a heroes number in your phone, but some of them do. Your phone buzzes like crazy in your pocket, but there's no time to check. You're at the exit already.
"Give me that," Shigaraki says, yanking a well-wrapped gift from someone's hands.
"Hey," they exclaim. He pulls the paper back slightly, ripping the side open and revealing a promotional calendar.
"Fine," he groans shoving it back into the customer's hands. "That's an awful gift though."
"So you're justβjust taking them?" you ask.
"Yep," he replies, grabbing another. "We're past the point of being polite, it would be rude not to."
Noted.
"Hi, excuse me," you say to a customer passing with a massive wrapped box. "I'm a local hero student and we're just, uh can I see your receipt for that? It's for safety reasons."
"Oh, we didn't buy this, we got it from Santa!" the mother exclaims with her child beaming at her side.
"I'll need you to leave it here, it's a matter of security. I hope you understand!" you take the gift, hiding it behind the trash can. The customers are, for obvious reasons, very upset.
"I'm telling the HPSC about this!" she yells, pulling her child out the door with her. You watch Shigaraki decay a gift bag from across the hall, letting a stuffed Pikachu drop to the floor. It makes you wonder how long it will be before the police show up.
Fortunately, a few of the villains arrive before then (words you never thought you'd say.)
"What took you so long?" demands Shigaraki, yanking one of the trash bags from the masked man's hands.
"I had to fight mall security. And, it's almost Christmas β everywhere is running low on crap like this," he says, plucking a rubber chicken from the bag. "I couldn't find very many ducks, but this is everything else rubbery in the place."
"Hmm, that works. We'll split up again, take the other bag to Spinner on the other side and we'll all meet in the middle," he tells the man before gesturing for you to follow him.
"Compress is usually fast, it's surprising this is all there was left in here," he says, tossing a line of them over the perimeter. Then you move to the next exit.
At each stop, you gain more villains to help spread the toys. Everyone splits off in more directions, but you stick with Shigaraki as instructed. You expected him to be a bit rough around the edges, but going this far out of his way to help everyone is a surprise to you. You didn't realize any of them cared this much about anyone.
"That should be it," he says, breathing a sigh of relief. "Those heroes you texted earlier will be here soon, so we need to take off." You consider pointing out that you didn't actually text any heroes, just hero students, but the result is the same.
"Thank you for your help Shigaraki," you say cordially.
He laughs, "it's fine. And call me Tomura."
Thank you, Tomura. And all of you," you call out to them as they rush out the door, carefully stepping over the line of toys and shoes.
You lean back into the wall, waiting for the heroes to arrive. Shortly after, a bright red car drives slowly through the parking lot. As it passes you, you notice a child in the back seat holding a glowing green gift.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
β Live Streamingβ Interactive Chatβ Private Showsβ HD Qualityβ Free Actions
Free to watch β’ No registration required β’ HD streaming
Thereβs something not right in your UA class and things keep getting stranger.
Today, Sero dropped his notebook in the hallway. He didnβt seem to notice and kept walking. You picked up a few pages, tucking them in to give back to him when you catch-up. However, something weird caught your eye: theyβre all in gibberish.
