While it’s generally true that real siblings don’t routinely call each other “bro” or “sis”, as certain stripes of popular media would have us believe, there are occasions when siblings may refer to each other as “brother” or “sister” in full. Those occasions are when you want to fuck with people, and there’s a specific Voice you use when you do it. Anyone who has That Kind of sibling relationship can back me up here.
For those wondering what the Voice in question is, there are actually several recognised variants, including (but not limited to):
- The eerie singsong “hello, brother/sister~” when you want people to think you’re in some sort of cult
- The bombastic, Viking warrior style “well met, brother/sister!” when you want to give notice that you’re about to do something stupid
- The conspicuously formal “yes, dearest brother/sister?” when you want folks to think you’re Up To Something™ (but may or may not be planning anything in particular)
- The cold, mechanical “greetings, brother/sister” when you’re acting like robots because of a specific in-joke which you will never explain
• The super sarcastic “Yes brother/sister,” which rivals “yes mum,” in it’s bitterness and mockery
Me when I want my brother to do a favor for me that I can easily do myself: “Dear brother? Best brother in the world? Dearest brother?”