FEELINGS — art donaldson.
art never took losing well.
it always left him with pent up anger and frustration that he often took out on the poor rackets after each game, not stopping until the racket was a splintered, wiry mess.
but that all changed when he met you.
you were knowledgeable about tennis without having played a single game, giving pointers when needed. whilst many dismissed your tips due to their sheer arrogance and over confidence, art heard you out and eventually incorporated your tips into his games.
tennis to art was akin to a reflex, his style embodying the meticulousness and the grace of an ice skater or a swan. his tennis was enthralling to watch as he exuded a powerful gracefulness with every serve and every shot.
that’s probably why he took the losses so personally because in a sense by losing his matches he was letting you down, no matter how many times you reassured him that it was nothing of the sort.
“are you mad at me?” he opened his eyes, his gaze already meeting yours as you gently stroked his hair.
this was the art only you got to see.
doubtful, weak, soft—a world away from the stoic, focused man that was affectionately known by the media and everyone on the court as the lovechild of roger federer and novak djokovic or the future of tennis.
“no.” you replied and you meant it. you saw how the immense pressure of being great got to him, it corroded away at his innards, leaving him an empty vessel solely primed for tennis.
it was times like this that he was grateful for you. your humanity. your love. your heart.
it’s what kept him from dropping everything and deciding to live out the rest of his years off his winnings and sponsorships. the idea was always there but the fast paced nature of the tennis world never allowed it to be pondered for a single second.
maybe it was always supposed to be that way.
a mere thought.
he placed a chaste kiss on the back of your hand, rubbing it softly. “thank you.” he said, the words carrying more weight than he had expected. your gentle touches soothing him.
“for what?” you asked and in that moment art’s mind went blank. it wasn’t that you didn’t do a lot for him—you did.
but it was so hard to encompass all of that into a sentence. you deserved more than these half thought out declarations of love.
art was a man of few words and he was going to honour that. he took a shaky deep breath before looking at you with a small smile on his face.
“for everything.”
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used to think I couldn't have autism cus I understand social cues and figures of speech and then realized I've been answering therapist presented ptsd quizes with "no" about "do you have flashbacks (feeling like you're reliving the trauma)?" because I've been thinking well I keep my grip on reality and don't go into psychosis about it so no I'm not reliving it *has intense feelings of guilt and shame and flashes of bad memories on daily basis*
so anyway we're looking into getting me a ptsd diagnosis and neuropsychological testing hopefully by the end of the year and as my birthday gets closer and I'm once again reminded that I've been disabled by my mental illness(es) for more than half of my life I cant help but to think maybe things would've turned out a little different if somebody had caught on to literally any of this just a little bit earlier huh
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Two religious horror media that centers around a small isolated place that was implied to be religiously devoted and that some people stay away from due to bad events that transpired. These media have several characters and themes in common; A cult, a troubled youth who was forcefully turned into a member of a cult, a gruff foreign protector who opposes the main character, a demonic being that "saved" the main character, an overtly religious and avid follower of a cult, and most importantly, the priest main character who tasks themselves with saving the life of a specific person by any means necessary. At some point, they lost sight of reality, perceiving grotesque figures as biblical creatures, and they've also lost the trust of their Parish. They also have an old companion that they try to desperately save from completely losing their sense of selves. The priests are also named John and are over 6'1
Oh and they've killed someone with their bare hands when they got lost in the sauce
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