We're getting back into Smash.

Imagine yourself in a tournament. You are now in Winner's Semis. Number 3 on the power rankings just hit the blast zone. Your forward smash just won you the game. The crowd is roaring intensely. You're sweating profusely, but it's not over yet. Game 3 is about to begin and you're shaking. You look around for some answers, but no one clears your anxiety, despite everyone giving you answers. You take a second to breathe, but it's cut short. You look to your opponent, smile and nod while the tv screen shouts: 3...2...1...GO!

You blink. You're both on your last stock. All of the excitement has evolved into insanity. The furniture quakes with each attack landed. You can hardly hear yourself thing. The score is now 55% to 60%, you're leading. The 5% lead feels like 5 miles of comfort as you breathe a sigh of relief. Both characters are on opposite side of the stage. Almost simultaneously, both characters run at each other, narrowly dodging attacks strategically placed by the controlling players. Down-airs hitting shields. Grabs being whiffed through spotdodges. Escape OOS aerials being counter shielded. Everyone's mind in the room is on fire.

All of a sudden, you get grabbed. Pummel into throws set you up into a string. The roaring in your ears making your heart pump out of control. Your opponent catches an air dodge with another grab up throw. They follow up with an up air while catching your dodge with a back air, narrowly putting you throw the blast zone. You narrowly make it back to the stage at 150%. Your mind is going crazy. The away team is going berserk reinforcing your mistakes. That 5% lead is gone and you're falling way behind. 40% deficit? How did this you let this happen? Is this how it's going to end?

You hear the words of your friends and mentors in the background. "Calm down...Stay cool...Focus...You got this," but nothing ever sinks in. Your arms are shaking. Your hands are sweaty. Both characters reset to opposite sides of the stage. You take a deep breath, your heart still beating at 1000 miles per hour. Deep in your mind, a trigger goes off. You get an incredible boost of confidence. No one is going to give you this miracle comeback, but you're here ready to earn it.

Both players approach simultaneously once again. Heart pulsating like a jackhammer, your mind reminds you of what happened at the last approach. Your fingers sign in to this response and enters in a pivot jumping air dodge, dodging your opponent's grab, landing into getting a grab from behind. The crowd goes crazy. "Can you even do that?" you hear in the background. Pummel. Forward throw. Catch the airdodge with another grab. Pummel, release. Jab. Pivot grab. The string seems to continue. You know this is your moment. The crowd's stomping. The floor is tremoring. "This is it, this is my match."

Your opponent breaks your string.

"What?!?" goes through your mind. The crowds shout one last roar before clearing out to a silence. Both players are over 150%, last stock, last match of the set. The match was in your hands and you simply dropped it. Both players approach once again, narrowly dodging each attack as before. Powershields turned to clutch sidesteps, turned into Out of shield aerials barely ticking off of the opponent's character in a glancing blow. Both players clash and they're both knocked to opposite sides of the stages at once. Then it finally hits you. This is the reason you play this game. All of the hype. All of the intense back and forth trading. Your mind racing faster than the speed of light while your sweat beads down your arms at a rate that would rival the rainforests. Through all of the mistakes, through all of the amazing reads and follow-ups, through all of what makes the game into the game, this was it.

Mind clear, you go back in for one last approach. This is the moment that truly matters. You barely get in range for an attack when you retreat back with a jump forcing a desperate kill move to whiff. Through precise skill and timing, you land and answer with your final move to punish your opponents lag, sending them into the stars. GAME!

Your entire region goes ballistic. They're chanting your name. You've earned yourself a solid victory versus one of the best players in your region. You have overcome adversity. You have risen above and claimed your spot as one of the respected players in your region. However, this wonderful celebration is cut short by the state's number 1 player. He's calling your name from winner's finals. With a new, evolved attitude, you pick up your controller, look him in the eyes, and say "Let's play."

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Vinyl. said:

Tommy, that was an amazing read.

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