#like. ‘He’s a little confused but he’s got the spirit’/‘everyone’s dad friend�� vibe (despite also being a little chaotic in his own way)

[multiversal-pudding]

Big fan of all the depictions of Mario that have him as a kindly uncle figure guy. Love that for him

[amandayuebing]

My Life is Very Shoujo Manga,  Chapter 5: President outdone by a baby 👶🏻

Friday, 29th of August 2014, I witnessed my first Fukuda Cup. Not only did I learn more about kendo and how its competitions work, but I learned a little more about the people in the club as well.

Since I was part of the beginners’ group who had just started kendo less than a month ago, we weren’t participants in the competition but were encouraged to watch take in what was happening as its own learning experience. 

I walked into the sports hall and greeted Gloria and Marianne. Gloria complimented me on my outfit! I was wearing my favourite black tee, a pair of jeans, a simple pair of heels and red lipstick — a simple, but cute outfit. However, as soon as Gloria complimented me, Marianne said in a rather caustic tone, “of course, honey! It’s a Friday night!”

Watching my first Fukuda cup was honestly thrilling. You didn’t have to understand much to feel the energy in the room —  the sounds of kendokas bodies, armour and bamboo swords colliding; kiai (気合) filling the shiai-jo; people cheering “faito!” 

It was also, honestly, a little overwhelming, and I wasn’t sure if I’ll ever get used to the fear I felt even as an onlooker. But this was just the beginning of my journey, so I was willing to at least give it a try before deciding exactly how I felt about kendo.

Tony was a Kyu player at the time, but Fukuda-sensei said he played too well to go against other Kyu players, so he was apparently always thrown into the Dan division.

I felt most excited about his matches, more than just because he was my crush, but honestly, his spirit he has as a kendoka was intense and captivating. He lost against Hugh-sensei, but oh my gosh, I felt immensely proud of him anyway!

After his matches, Tony walked over to Mal and I and he asked me to hold his competition shinai to feel the difference between that, and a normal shinai. The handle was subtly more hexagonal than round, but I lost all eloquence in that moment from shyness and the “oh shit” feeling of being glared down by Marianne. 

All I could manage to squeak out of me was, “it feels different,” which confused Tony, because he thought I said “sticky” and he gave me a confused look and asked, “it’s not sticky...?”

With there still being the screaming of a match in the background, and my voice naturally not being very loud, I had to whisper in his ear, “diff-er-ent. Not sticky. Like... the shape...”

Marianne kept pacing back and forth after the competition ended and the kendoka were getting changed. I was waiting for Gloria who said she’d be happy to walk me home, and Mallory was waiting with me. Marianne suddenly walked over to Mallory and I and said, “you can go home now, you know?” Yikes.

I smiled and told her, “Thanks Marianne, we do know. We’re just waiting for our other friends,” and she walked away.

I whispered to Mal to ask if she got the vibe I was getting, and yes B2, she was feeling it too… And from June as well? She also felt that. “Amanda, we’re on their hit lists…” Shit.

Whew, to lighten the mood a little I need to tell you also about the cutest baby (okay, technically a toddler but any child under 4 years old I call a “baby” :3) who’d come to watch his daddy’s matches with his mummy. He had the roundest cheeks and his own baby shinai. I said hello to him and his mother, and he blew me a kiss. My heart!

His mother told him to wink at me, and he gave me the most aggressive/hard wink I’ve ever seen instead. He was honestly the cutest.

Mal and I didn’t go to “second dojo” (a.k.a. the bar, for alcohol, not like the lawyers’ bar, or barre I’m used to these days) last time because I’m not a huge fan of drinking. Or drunk people. But Mal made me promise to just try and socialise with everyone a bit more… I really didn’t want to. I just wanted to go home, but since Mal was going to be walking me home, well, I had no choice… But it was loud, and crowded. And Marianne was there giving me the classic glare. I felt really unhappy for some reason, despite nothing really happening. I think in my heart I knew why.

A badly timed phone call from someone I really missed and hardly got to speak to made me feel even worse. I didn’t get to my phone on time, and all I heard was the voicemail. 

I felt very distressed and lonely, after realising how much I missed this person, who was currently far away. When I got home, I tried calling them back but I couldn’t reach them and spent a lot of the night crying.

I texted Mal when I got home to let her know I was feeling sad. For the first time, I told her something I hadn’t been able to open up about with anyone else. And I also told her how I felt about how Marianne was acting that night, but how cute Tony is. I apologised for bringing up so much drama, but she told me talking about Tony never feels like drama :3.

WELL.

Then the next morning, my parents came to visit, so I woke up feeling significantly better. It feels good to have people you care about being around.

I messaged Tony later in the day to let him know how I thought him winking at me last night was “cute, and only almost as cute as the baby that were there last night with the baby shinai, watching his dad’s shiais” (‘cos I mean, not only did the baby aggressively-blinked/winked me, but blew me kisses as well! Obviously the baby wins! Maybe...?)

Tony’s response to that was cute, also. 

“Oh, snap. Outdone by a baby ;).”