this was a trip down memory lane ID
goodness just,,, this year was one of the best I’ve ever had, and that is all thanks to this community and the friends that I found here, the opportunities I took, and the overwhelming love and talent I have been blessed with. But enough sappy talk, that’s for the new year's eve post lol. This is a year of my art! So much color! (Except for Darkie)
A vent fic I made cause misophonia (hatred/fear of sound) is a pain. (and I love @huffle-dork‘s swap boys,,,, specifically Alt)
Warning for in-depth descriptions of a panic attack, if you’re not comfortable with that or it may trigger you, don’t read.
Alt tapped his foot as he tried to keep his focus on his show. It was frustrating, he was fine at the beginning of the show. But as soon as that jerk brought in that old piece of crap technology, it was all he could hear. Of course, he could still see and hear the gasps and murmurs of his audience, whom he had entranced with his lights and glitches, but that sound never went away.
‘I could do something about it,’ Alt thought, a small smile spreading across his lips. ‘I could just pop over to him and teach him a lesson. I could easily snap his- No. I shouldn’t.’ Alt shook his head and turned back towards the bigger portion of his audience. ‘Ignore it and focus on your job. Everything will be fine.’
-- -- --
Alt ended his show with a little extra flourish before hopping off to backstage, where he collected his paycheck. He gave a small wave to a child who was staring at him from near the stage, ‘Who the heck would bring their kid to this place??’ and headed out the side door. All of a sudden, the guy from before stopped in front of the alleyway, his gadget in hand. He fiddled with it, increasing the volume, unaware to Alt watching him. The strange but familiar static flowed down the alley and Alt jumped, looking around frantically.
‘H-He’s not h-here, is he?’ Alt glitched to the neighboring alley before pulling up his hood and walking quickly out onto the main road, turning and walking as fast as he could away from the sound. ‘No no no no. He didn’t find me. Please no. Make it stop. Go away. Stop it please.’ Thoughts crowded Alt’s mind as he walked, trying to get away. No matter how fast he went, the sound seemed to follow him. He glanced over his shoulder to see the man walking the same way he was. ‘NO, GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!’ Alt shrunk into himself and felt a pulse of his powers slip out of his grasp. There was a gasp behind him and suddenly the sound was gone. He looked back to see the man standing still, holding a completely fried machine. He grumbled before looking around. Alt shuffled away, trying to calm his nerves. It felt like his whole body had static flowing through it. Alt shivered, despite how warm it was. He moved one of his hands from his pockets and onto his other arm, grasping the fabric.
-- -- --
After a while, when he had calmed his nerves down enough, he stopped walking and looked around. He was confused for a moment, unsure of where exactly he was. He spotted a fire escape on a rather tall building and glitched close to the top of it, pausing a moment before walking the rest of the way up. Once he reached the top, he noticed how low the sun was.
“Aw crap, Chase is not going to be happy.” He huffed. “I need to figure out how to get home before he freaks out and has to search for me.” Alt sighed and his stomach growled. He spotted a familiar building off in the distance. “Guess I’ll start there.” Alt glitched to a nearby rooftop, then another, then another. Then he started feeling sick. He paused for a minute, taking deep breaths and keeping his stomach down before he glitched onto the roof of the familiar building. He paused and looked around again. Once he spotted a building that he recognized for being near Chase’s apartment, he peeked over the edge before glitching down onto ground level. As soon as he hit the concrete, the world shifted and he had to push himself against the brick wall in order to stay upright. He shook his head and forced the bile down his throat before he stood on his own again. ‘Well, that settles it. I’m walking to Chase’s.’ Alt walked back out onto the main road and headed towards his home, smiling. Suddenly, a sound snapped his head away. He looked around worriedly before his eyes settled on a pair of workers pulling a sign up out of a truck. The grind of the rope sent chills up Alt’s spine as his hand went to his neck. His whole body screamed at him to run, to get away, but he just stood there. The sound of rope and scraping metal filling his mind as his eyes glossed over. The sounds were all around him, digging into his skull and scraping at his wrists. His shoulders shook and he could feel tears pricking at the back of his eyes, but he couldn’t look away. The noises wouldn’t stop. They wouldn’t let him escape-
Suddenly, someone bumped against his shoulder, pushing him forward and breaking the trance. He looked back to see a younger girl nod at him before walking away, disappearing back into the crowd. He stood there for a moment, confused. He shook his head and remembered what he was doing. Without looking back at the workers, Alt made his way home. His stomach growled as before he glitched into his room, only to turn as he landed. He groaned and headed to the kitchen.
“Chase?” Alt called out. After getting no response, he shrugged and opened the fridge. He grabbed some quick food and heated it up before flopping onto the couch. He turned on the tv and flipped through the channels absentmindedly, chewing his food tiredly. ‘Wow, today really tired me out… I hope tomorrow is better.’ Alt finished his food and rested his chin on his hand, feeling his eyes slipping closed.
-- -- --
The faint sound of static startled Alt out of his slumber with a yelp. He shot up from the couch before falling on the floor. ‘Ow… did my leg fall asleep?’ He pulled himself up carefully, trying to shake feeling back into his leg before he froze. ‘The sound is b-back?! N-no…’ Alt shivered and moved his good leg back, only to feel a stabbing sensation in his heel. He looked down and saw that the plate he had used before was smashed on the floor, probably from when he jumped up. ‘Great. I need to clean that up before Chase gets back.’ Alt limped on his still asleep leg over to the kitchen, where he grabbed a towel and hobbled back, trying to ignore the static sound that was a forever presence on his mind. He carefully picked up the plate shards before tossing them all and the towel in the trash. He turned back to the living room and saw that the tv was still on, static lacing across it with a slight green hue and glow. Alt’s breath hitched and before he realized it, he was running to his room. He slammed the door shut and jumped onto his bed, already pulling his hood up over his head and pressing his hands onto his ears.
“Go away, go away!” He whimpered. Static pricked at his head and through his hands, teasing him. He could almost hear his voice, mocking him through the static.
“You can’t hide forever, puppet.” Alt shuddered and curled in on himself, his arms moving to cover his whole head. His whole body shook as the static crept into every crevice in his mind. Alt’s eyes widened as he felt his chest tighten. His breath hitched and his mind panicked.
‘I can’t breathe. I can’t! I- No! He’s here! He’s going to get me! I need to get away! I CAN’T!! HE”S GOING TO KILL ME! PLEASE STOP M͡AK̴E̛ ͠I͝T ̶S͘TO̡P MA̶̢̛K̢Ȩ Į̢͝T̕͡ S̷͝T̶͡O̢͟P͘ M̵̨͟͠҉A҉̷̸͝K̛͝͏͡Ȩ͢͠ ͘͜I҉̛T͜͞͞͏-’
“--t!” Alt felt pressure on both of his shoulders, shaking him. But he couldn’t look up and instead shut his eyes tight. He didn’t want to see him. He was going to steal him away again. Away from his brother. Away. Forever.
“Alt!” Alt shook with terror, static trying to block out the rest of the world. Tears pricked at his eyelids.
“ANTI!” Alt’s head shot up and he found himself staring back at a worried, freckled face.
Chase loosened his grip on Alt’s shoulders and instead moved his hand to pull down the hood. He looked at his brother with eyes full of concern, rubbing his shoulder gently. Alt’s breathing was still too fast and he looked around frantically.
“Alt-” Chase was interrupted when the static noise from the tv increased in volume and a terrified squeak burst from Alt. Chase stood and moved to go to the living room but felt a tug on his jacket. He turned back to see Alt looking out into the hallway in terror before looking back to Chase with pleading eyes, mouthing words that never came out. Chase turned around and held his shaking hand in both of his.
“It’s going to be okay. I’ll get rid of the noise.” He let go and walked back to the living room, turned off the tv, and returned to Alt’s bedroom, where he was still shaking on the bed and breathing rapidly, tears leaking down his face. “I’m so sorry, Alt.” Chase sat down across the bed from him and held out his hand. Alt watched it for a second before he slowly placed his hand in Chase’s. His shoulder’s relaxed a little when he felt the familiar heat and he sniffed.
“Come on, Alt. Breath with me.” Chase pulled Alt’s hand up to his chest. “In.” Chase watched Alt follow his lead, shaking a little less. “And out.”
Chase watched as all the tension flowed out of Alt with each breath. After a couple of minutes, Alt’s breathing had returned to normal and he wiped away the tears from his eyes.
“Better?” Chase smiled kindly, placing his and Alt’s hands back in his lap. Alt nodded, a small smile forming on his lips as well. His eyes drooped and he leaned forward, resting his head on Chase’s shoulder. Chase moved his free hand up to Alt’s head and ran it through his hair gently, earning a small hum of joy from his brother. The two of them stayed like that for a couple more minutes before Chase heard soft snores coming from Alt. He smiled to himself and shifted his body so that he could side Alt out of his hoodie and into bed. Alt’s head flopped to the side as he snuggled into the blanket. Chase ruffled his hair again softly before he slid off the bed quietly and tossed the hoodie in the laundry.
-- -- --
Chase yawned as he slipped on his hat and messed with his hair so that it stuck through the hole the right way. He walked out of the bathroom and was met with a sleepy Alt in the hallway.
“Good morning, sleepy head!” Chase grinned, ruffling Alt’s hair. Alt took the opportunity of the lifted arm to wrap his around Chase, pulling him into a tired hug. Chase made a small surprised noise before hugging back. “Feeling soft today?” He laughed.
“Thank you… for last night.” Alt mumbled into his chest.
