Vacation is almost over, so I won't be able to post works as frequently soon. So, while we still can, let's enjoy this simple offering which may or may not make sense.
A first glance at the scene, and you will think that two heavyweight champions are making a spectacle of themselves at a pre-bout weigh in. But a closer look will reveal no loud and obnoxious trash-talking. Nor will you find two bulky bruisers doing their best to look like they want to rip each other apart. No, nothing like that will ever be seen here, for Master Hand rules a tight ship, and the goal is to have fun and make friends, rather than win belts and promote supplements or things like that.
Nothing like this is actually planned, if you can believe that. These two men, brothers, are ten minutes away from a scheduled match, and their paths have just so happened to cross en route to their stage of choice, which is currently being cleaned up from a previous bout. Blue eyes meet blue eyes, feelings and messages passing back and forth between them like electrical currents. A small crowd soon surrounds them, watching with bated breath. It is so quiet that you can hear a pin drop.
The taller, thinner and slightly younger brother plays it easy, smiling eagerly at his older twin. The older one meets the smile with a playfully wicked twinkle in his eyes. Steadily, he reaches up and fidgets with his cap. At the same time, the younger one fidgets with his nose.
A series of clicks and flashes rap out a tempo as some photographer swoops in like a hawk, capturing photos at breakneck speed. The bros pay him no mind, dismissing everyone else except the sibling in front of him, thinking about the high-octane meeting awaiting them. It's a surprisingly pleasant feeling, they both think, being nose-to-nose with your own sibling right before an appointment on the battlefield. Their anticipation, power and adrenaline are nicely and snugly entangled with one another, so that the air around them snaps, crackles and pops with chemistry. They are close enough to feel their pulsing heartbeats and their body heat and to smell the other as hormones begin to take over.
These men are truly brothers, not just in blood, but also in bond. They love each other fiercely, with an almost superhuman love, to the point that one will die (or simply face their fears) for the other. There are also moments of hatred, loving to hate and hating to love—but it all turns out well in the end. Devotion, compassion, concern and affection clash with envy, aggression and competition and a plethora of other brotherly emotions as they lock eyes and belie their giddiness with their smiles.
Yes, their love and loyalty are enough to make other famous sibling duos jealous, but that doesn't mean they're going to go easy on the other. The younger, for example, still feels the aftereffects of his year and wants to assert that it will end only when he decides. He's the better jumper, at the expense of his traction, and his iconic jumping uppercut has a special little spot. But the elder is still the mascot of Nintendo, aiming to prove to the audience that he's still number one.
The younger's eyes spark, as if reading his older sibling's thoughts. He's shaping up for one heck of a match. Just because his year has passed doesn't mean he'll waltz happily back into his big bro's shadow. Oh, no. Despite his flaws, he's just as super, and today is just the chance to prove it.
And the older bro's eyes answer the spark of the younger's eyes with a spark of their own, accepting the unspoken challenge. They're both super in his eyes, but today will determine if one is just a smidge more super than the other.
Ah, this is going to be a Smash to remember.
See you on the battlefield, bro…
