L is Real: Eternal Star
"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make our end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from."
-T.S. Eliot
2016 is precisely one hour away. My Smashers have partied hard for the last few hours, guzzling on sweets and sipping on bubbly (or apple cider for the kids). And when the clock strikes midnight, even more bubbly will be consumed. Kisses and dances have been shared, resolutions have been announced and the last matches of 2015 have been fought.
It is during this final hour of 2015 that I find myself drawn to him. The one in green. The one who braved through so much, yet is still standing tall. My Smash MVP. My diamond in the rough.
Luigi.
He's dancing with his beloved, Daisy, pressing her luscious curves gently against his body, cheeks pressed against each other, eyes closed in bliss. He's traded his overalls for his casino suit from Super Mario 64 DS, and she's wearing an orange halter-dress, brown ringlets just touching her shoulders. I patiently wait as they finish the dance, the song ending with her in a low dip, her lips meeting his. And after she warmly thanks him for this pleasure and they part ways, his eyes fall on me.
"Hey, Master Hand!" he calls.
"Hi, L," I reply. "I take it the party's going well."
"It is," he says. "Lots of memories being tossed around—lots of hope being projected."
I clear my throat. "I'm—sorry that Daisy didn't make it here," I tell him.
He shrugs it off. "No big deal. It'll all be in the past soon."
"I was wondering if I could—speak with you in private," I say.
He tenses up. "What did I do?"
"Nothing. I just want to—reflect."
"So do I," he smiles, relaxing.
Luigi takes a moment to tell the other guests that he'll be back soon before we walk to the rooftop.
An infinitesimal amount of stars is waiting for us as we reach the top, splattered all over the night sky. Separating them from us are shiny, glass windowpanes. And in the leftmost area of the room is a nice bar—my own private bar. Only Smashers I hold in high regard are allowed in here—and Luigi is one of them.
My old man, Master Core, is the bartender, mixing up the drinks. By transforming into one of his combat forms, he also doubles as a bouncer. As soon as he sees us, he sets to work preparing our favorite drinks, but not before warning us not to overdo it.
"Like it?" I ask him.
"It's lovely," he breathes.
"Do you know how many Smashers get to see this?" I ask him.
"Not enough," he quips.
Dad hands us our drinks, and then he fixes one for himself.
I whistle. "What a year this has been," I say.
Luigi nods. "Tell me about it."
"I don't know where to begin," I muse. "Introducing the Smash Ballot, having these new patches coming in…"
"I suppose we can start with two grand returns," offers Luigi. "It was lovely that you invited Mewtwo back. We all missed him. And Lucas—good old Lucas. Ness just wasn't complete without him. I enjoyed welcoming those two back."
"That's what I admire about you, L," I tell him. "You're so warm and welcoming. A lot of the Smashers here want to intimidate the newcomers, but you're not one of them."
"You're welcoming, too," says Luigi. "Look at the different universes you invited here. Our family really expanded this year."
I nod. "It was a pleasure introducing and re-introducing these new characters to Smash."
"Especially our boy Roy. Did you know that he asked me to give him the scoop on what he missed?"
"No. Really?"
"Yeah. I'm really tight with him and Lucina nowadays."
I grin broadly. "You and Lucy clicked almost instantly. I'm glad I paired you up in that Team Battle."
"I can relate to her. We both survived so much."
Silence. Then, Luigi speaks up again.
"Hey, do you remember that Randolph guy?"
I huff a sigh. "You mean that arrogant show-off I pitted you against earlier this year? Yeah, I remember him. For the record, I was delighted seeing you take him down a peg. Dad tells me that he spent the past few weeks crying about it. And then his mom wrote him a note so he wouldn't have to participate anymore. I hear that he's in L.A. working on a modeling career."
"Wow, what a mama's boy," grumbles Luigi. "Truth is, he wasn't the only one I had to deal with this year."
"Oh, no," I groan. "Don't even go there. That—was really rough. On both of us."
"We have to deal with it sooner or later," he says, "so it might as well be sooner."
"I guess you're right," I say, sipping my drink to prepare. "So, lay it on me, L. What do you want to get off your chest, while we still have time?"
Luigi allows himself a few swallows of his own drink, takes a deep breath in through his nostrils, and begins.
"Honestly, Master Hand—I can't believe you fell for that guy. You were on my case all day about how rough I was with my opponents. That should've been a big red flag that something was wrong. I know that you felt inclined when confronted with the mother, but—how could you not notice that he was just being manipulative? I offered him a chance to settle it nonviolently, to apologize, but it didn't sound sincere enough. And all I was doing was allowing him to prove to everyone that I'm a scaredy-cat. Then, came the next day, when he repeatedly humiliated me and all of my friends, getting a rise out of them just to get them in trouble. I tried to hold it together, but then he dumped that ectoplasm all over me. If you'd been the one to see me instead of the Professor, then it wouldn't have been pretty. And what I'm thinking is—if you were so susceptible to Stuart's charms, then would you be just as susceptible to more dangerous charms?"
"Tabuu," I realize. "You think that he'll return with another trick up his sleeve."
"Yes. And I fear that if that comes to be, then he'll slip right under you because he's put on a successful front."
"I assure you, thanks to your combined efforts, we've banished him to a place where he can do no harm," I say to him.
Then, I tilt his chin up so that he's looking at me. "I now understand why you felt inclined to do it. It felt right at the time, and it was so easy to take matters into your own hands."
"I felt like I had no other choice," he says softly.
"I didn't pay enough attention, and for that, I sincerely apologize," I tell him. "The same goes for the rest of them who had me fooled. But now, I'm paying attention. And if anyone ever bothers you or lays hands on you again, do not hesitate to talk to me, Mario, Daisy—or any Smasher. There are people here who, believe it or not, care about you and don't want to see you hurt. But they can't read your mind. You have to speak up."
"I'm not afraid to speak up anymore," he says. "I guess that came from my 30th birthday celebration."
"I noticed that your year did a lot of things to you—all of them good. I'm just—so sorry that it ended so soon for you."
Luigi taps one of my fingers. "C'mon, cheer up! This year is almost over, and you want to get all Sturm und Drang? I don't think so!"
"You're right. Dad, could you fix us another one, please?"
"Sure," chuckles Dad.
"So," I pipe up. "I hear that you and Ryu started off on a sour note. Care to tell me about that?"
"Oh, that? Well, as you were arranging the match between us, I dropped in on your talk in time to hear him talking trash about me. Boy, did I prove him wrong. Later that afternoon, he showed up with a peace offering, and the rest is history."
"Last I checked, there's something going on between him and Mac. Can't you believe it?"
"I'm really happy for them. It shows that Ryu fit in rather quickly."
"And how do you feel about Cloud?" I ask.
"He's alright, I guess. We haven't interacted much," he admits. "I'm starting to like Corrin and Corrine, though. They're a lot of fun, especially when they interact with the Robin twins."
"Do you think you'll be friends with either of them?"
"Definitely," he says brightly.
"I bet you were shocked when Bayonetta made the cut," I say, choosing my words carefully.
"Yeah. I was. But she gave off such a good vibe that my shock wore off quickly. Maybe in the next tournament…"
I sigh heavily. "We'll just have to wait and see."
"Guess so."
We finish off our first drinks and start on our next ones.
"I can't believe he's gone," Luigi says after a bit.
I look up. "Who? Mr. Iwata?"
"Yes. He was so kind to all of us, watching over all four tournaments. And then, bam. He's taken from us."
"You should remember his words, though," I tell him. "His game ended, but he'll always understand. I was quite touched at the way you said goodbye to him, by the way."
"He really helped me when all else failed," Luigi explains. "The least I could do was honor him."
"How about we follow your advice and quit talking about sad stuff?" I suggest.
"Good idea."
We sip our drinks and stare out into the night.
"Have you gotten used to your down-throw nerf yet?" I dare to ask.
"Yep. I spent a full day in the Training Room making up new down-throw combos."
"And wasn't Diddy Kong's grab glitch a hoot?"
"Oh, yeah! Everyone was steaming over it—until the tables turned and they got him as a teammate. But they were a little sad when the new patch fixed that. Especially Diddy."
"As times change, so must we," I say wisely, and Luigi hums in agreement.
"Hey, guess what?" he asks suddenly.
"What?"
"Us Smashers are addicted to Super Mario Maker. We're designing all of these weird courses and challenging each other to beat them. I designed a course in which you didn't have to touch a button and then put my costume on Mario! In short, I had myself clear a course by doing absolutely nothing."
I chuckle. "It was Crazy's idea, not mine."
"And when Peach brought Paper Jam over, a lot of us would spend hours trying to beat that game," Luigi continues. "It was a nice tip of the hat to RPGs past."
"You're playing a bigger role in recent RPG games," I observe. "That's nice."
"Isn't it?" he sighs dreamily.
"By the way, excellent job in the Ultra Smash tennis tournament," I compliment. "You were on fire!"
"I'm glad you could take some time to cheer me on," he replies.
As we sip drink after drink, we discuss all of the major highlights of 2015, some bad, some good, some funny and some somber. The hype over a dress. The presidential race. The losses. The gains. Dad joins us as we trade personal stories from the year, and then we exchange our resolutions.
"This sounds a little cliché, but I'm getting a little soggy round the middle," says Dad. "My resolution for 2016 is a healthier diet. Oh, and to scare you guys a bit more during 5.5 or higher Classic Mode."
"In 2016, I resolve not to take the Smashers I invite here for granted," I vow. "I'm like their father, and I have to help them through whatever jams they have."
"I really don't do resolutions," begins Luigi, "but in this coming year, I resolve to keep a positive outlook on things, and to never look back."
"Good one, L!" I say.
Just then, the door slams open, revealing Crazy. "Why are you guys sitting around in here?! 2016 is fifteen minutes away! You're gonna see the ball drop or what?"
"Fifteen minutes?!" balks Luigi. "We'd better get going! I am not missing my kiss with Daisy!"
He leaps up and dashes back to the party. Dad, Crazy and I float after him a few moments later.
This is it, the final countdown. We all crowd round the TV as the famed ball begins the last leg of its descent.
"10…"
Luigi squeezes Daisy's hand.
"9…"
Champagne bottles are coming around.
"8…"
Dad nudges against me and Crazy, smiling warmly at us.
"7…"
"6…"
"5…"
"4…"
"3…"
"2…"
"1…"
Foamy bubbly erupts all over us as the clock strikes midnight.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Amidst the shower, Luigi captures Daisy in a passionate kiss. I see other couples in the obligatory lip lock, as well. Mario and Peach, Link and Zelda, Mac and Ryu, Marth and Roy, Pittoo and Lucina, Rob and Cloud, Palutena and Samus—as party horns blow and champagne showers are replaced with streamers and confetti.
A familiar boom sends us all outside. And there, in all types of colors, is the first fireworks show of 2016, the glitters mingling with the numerous stars. Glasses are filled and refilled with bubbly. Slates are wiped clean, and the chapter that is 2015 reaches its conclusion.
Who knows what 2016 will bring? Surely, new opportunities and challenges await. But one thing will never change—this tournament. Super Smash Brothers will live forevermore.
And I have this gut feeling that Luigi—that whimsical, mustachioed man in green—will be all right.
Have a Happy, have a Happy,
Have a Hap-Hap-Happy New Year!
As the bells ring out, everyone will shout,
"Happy New Year!"
Have a Happy, have a Happy-!
May each day be filled with good cheer
And with nothing less than much happiness
All through the year!
Should old acquaintance be forgot
In the days of auld lang syne?
Then take a cup of kindness,
And you will always feel just fine.
Have a Happy, have a Happy-!
Never have a worry or fear!
Here's my wish to you; hope my wish comes true,
"Happy New Year!"
Have a Happy, Happy New Year!
-"Have a Happy New Year" (1976), lyrics by Johnny Marks
So long, 2015! Happy New Year to you all!
-S.H.