Guest Lecturer
Sept 11, 2022 14:53:27 GMT -5
Post by OrochiGeese on Sept 11, 2022 14:53:27 GMT -5
*We fade into the UBL Dojo where Yoshirozuna is tenderizing a heavy bag with a flurry of palm rushes. After sending it careening upward into the air, he catches it on the down swing and tears it off its hinge with a belly to belly suplex. Applause is heard in the background. Yoshirozuna turns his head to find none other than Geese Walker sporting an admiring look on his face.*
[Geese:] “Certainly the right attitude to have in response to your loss.”
*Yoshirozuna grunts but his tone is a mix between honesty and sarcasm.
[Yoshirozuna:] “Come to lecture me?”
*Geese smirks and lets out a laugh as well.*
[Geese:] “Oh really, is that my reputation now?”
[Yoshirozuna:] “Feels like you and Thunder Strike have been visiting professor recently.”
*Geese looks intrigued but his voice carries a hint of suspicion.*
[Geese:] “That is most illuminating. Professor Strike has been making the rounds as well?”
[Yoshirozuna:] “Yeah, and he seems to be targeting the same ‘class’ as you.”
[Geese:] “It’s certainly one that can benefit from some advice. Hypothetically, let's say that I did come here to lecture you. What wisdom would I impact?”
[Yoshirozuna:] “Wow, you even came armed with the Socratic method. All right, teach, I guess lesson one would be to work on my threshold.”
*Yoshirozuna smirks but once again he appears somewhat serious. Geese laughs but you can hear some frustration coming through.*
[Geese:] “And you're saying that because you think I've become a parody of myself or-"
[Yoshirozuna:] “No, I’m saying that because it's true. Look, jokes aside - you're here since you are one of the few who understand what actually happened in that match.”
[Geese:] “You and Palido were clearly dominating JET and Naja. It would have been easy to paralyze them when you hit each of them with the Sumoshiro Slam.”
*Yoshirozuna drops his shoulders and sighs in frustration.*
[Yoshirozuna:] “But I didn't. And that's why we lost and that's why you think I'm too weak.”
[Geese:] “No on both accounts. It's not why you lost. You had other opportunities to finish the job."
[Yoshirozuna:] “They took our best for 40 minutes and then ended it on their terms.”
[Geese:] “At worst, that was your current best, although I still believe you are already capable of more. But that value judgement isn’t as important as the principle here. Even against enemies, it's a false dichotomy to say that your only choices in a match are victory or ending their careers. If that were the case, both Kyle and I wouldn't have walked out of Immortal in 2011 on our own two feet. I found another way to win because I evolved when I needed to most. You are at a point in your career where you will have to do the same to rise to the top of your generation."
[Yoshirozuna:] “Okay but what about the other thing I said?"
[Geese:] “You uttered it out of frustration and we both know it’s false. You aren't too weak: physically or mentally. If you had used the same force against them as you did against Barton, you would have ended their careers. Only the strongest have enough confidence in themselves to purposefully withhold hurting their opponents so that they may seek victory in a better way. The fact that another specific way didn't work out doesn't mean that your choice to spare them was flawed. Part of reaching your threshold is coming to terms with that idea and sharpening your skills as a result.”
[Yoshirozuna:] “So you don't think I failed some kind of Geese test.”
[Geese:] "Reality grades on a curve. Holding back for the right reasons doesn’t show weakness, but you can still improve your strategies to maximize your chance of victory. Could you have delivered stronger slams that would have gotten the job done without intentionally or accidentally injuring them? Absolutely, and you will learn how to do that over time. But even if you fell short of your threshold against JET and Naja, you accomplished something much more important in that match. You returned to seeing yourself as a warrior guided by the principles of competition rather than as an aggrieved victim out to punish the world in place of being honest with yourself."
*Yoshirozuna turns dead serious and stares a hole through Geese.*
[Yoshirozuna:] "I was never a victim."
*Geese’s tone now matches the intensity of Yoshirozuna’s*
[Geese:] “There is no other label for the self-destructive behavior of someone who falls prey to their own pity and ego. You claimed self-exile because you couldn't handle criticism from people who never actually wanted you to leave. You turned against and, ultimately, even injured your mentor out of emotional defensiveness because he didn't like the path that you went down. You let that clown Kurt Sanders push your buttons every time someone tried to get through to you. Rather than face and correct a legitimate error that you made against Destiny, you gaslit yourself to believe that everyone else were conspiratorially mocking you. You believed your own propaganda to such an extent that you became a different person entirely. You were a victim and a perpetrator.”
*Yoshirozuna speaks in a dry tone but devoid of anger at Geese.*
[Yoshirozuna:] “I don't like the tough love part of this lecture.”
[Geese:] "I don't care. I'm not trying to be your friend or your mentor. If Barton made any mistake with you during your transformation, it was placating your ego by limiting his criticism in an attempt to keep the lines of communication open. He was smart enough to understand the delusions you fed yourself and should have directly confronted you on them. But all I owe you is the raw truth.”
[Yoshirozuna:] “Why would you owe me anything? In fact, what are you even trying to do here?”
[Geese:] “Elevate you.”
[Yoshirozuna:] “Why? I barely even know you, Geese.”
[Geese:] “There are two reasons why I am trying to help you. I came back to the UBL to atone for the damage that I perpetrated on this promotion and the entire pro wrestling world when I was a victim of my own delusions of grandeur. I can't un-do those mistakes, but I aim to do enough good to offset them.”
[Yoshirozuna:] "Carbon chaos credits, huh?"
*That gets a legitimate laugh out of Geese.*
[Geese:] "Exactly. And I can counter the effects of my old propaganda, that served only my interests, by offering honest advice to help others.”
[Yoshirozuna:] “Okay, sounds decent enough. What about your other reason?”
[Geese:] “It sounds more presumably selfish but it's just as important for this promotion. I only want to be Infinite Continuum Champion if I have the best in the world coming for me. Your ‘class’ has some of the most impressive talent that UBL has ever produced: JET, Tetsu, THRASH, Darius, Saji. But you may end up being the most dominant out of all of them. I want to face you all at your absolute best so that I can sharpen my threshold against the toughest whetstones. But I can’t do that until you each prevail over the mental blocks that you carry along with you.”
[Yoshirozuna:] “I get it. So that's why you talked to RYOMA after APHELION?”
[Geese:] “Out of everyone in your generation, he’s currently the closest to my level. But he's also in danger of experiencing a rapid descent if he reacts the wrong way to his loss against Zealot. That would be rather unfortunate timing given Tetsu's current crisis of conscience and Saji's unsteady success rate. At their best, Matsuki Holdings make UBL stronger and we all need that to continue.”
[Yoshirozuna:] “So you can use UBL to test yourself?”
[Geese:] “Yes, so everyone can. But even more critically, so we can all properly defend it.”
*A hint of a judgmental tone from Geese is picked up by Yoshirozuna who folds his arms and confidently smiles.*
[Yoshirozuna:] “Right, like how a bunch of us did exactly that a few months ago against Gauntlet.”
[Geese:] “Your decision to align with others to defend UBL was the first promising step in casting away your exile.”
*Geese pauses and then says with a biting tone.*
[Geese:] “However, a wise plan requires more than just good intentions.”
[Yoshirozuna:] “Jarec and his inner circle were taken out. What more is there?”
[Geese:] “We can't answer that very question now because they were taken out.”
[Yoshirozuna:] “I'm not going to lose sleep over open ended hypotheticals, teach. If you want UBL to be strong, it has to be alive. They were killing it for years and were primed to do even more damage.”
[Geese:] “It has to be alive in the long term too. Merely chasing termites to another room lets you sleep for a night but doesn't save the house.”
[Yoshirozuna:] “And you can't save the house if they eat you alive that very night.”
[Geese:] “Maybe next time you can consult with the exterminators already on the case.”
[Yoshirozuna:] “They seemed to be spending too much time in the library figuring out how to do their job. And, besides, reaching out works both ways, doesn't it? So maybe continue your lecture circuit and talk to the others in my class. We wouldn't want them thinking I'm the teacher's pet.”
[Geese:] “I wouldn't want to think I wasted my time here either.”
*Geese looks serious but not angry. Yoshirozuna pauses for a second and a hint of an appreciative grin comes over his face.*
[Yoshirozuna:] “You didn't. We don’t have to agree on everything but, I appreciate the advice. Just call THRASH into your office next since you've got some views on that whole Gauntlet thing.”
[Geese:] “If he makes it past his Block, then he'll get a special invitation. I just hope he'll extend the same offer to you.”
[Yoshirozuna:] “Me?”
[Geese:] “Banding together against a common enemy is fine, but you're clearly the top contender now for his Circuit Title. Facing him is the perfect chance to test out your threshold.”
*Yoshirozuna laughs.*
[Yoshirozuna:] “Now, a cynical man would say that's propaganda designed to punish THRASH and I, given your obvious frustration at what we did. But you don't do that anymore, now do you?”
*Geese smirks.*
[Geese:] “And you're not a victim anymore. I’d say that’s a win for both of us.”
*Yoshirozuna offers a fist bump and Geese reciprocates then walks away.*