Post by Skyler Striker on Jul 10, 2007 7:08:25 GMT -5
Understanding is a hard thing to come to if you’re underequipped for the knowledge at hand. You can get knowledge crammed into your brain anywhere in the world, but understanding is a much, much harder task. It’s easy to get lost in knowledge that you can’t use because you don’t understand what it means. The trick is to avoid all the unnecessary things… although sometimes it’s necessary to take the unnecessary.
Reaching out…
Can you hear me, I said I’m reaching out…
The early morning sounds of a city street today sound slightly foreign. The cars all look smaller, the language seems strange and hard to understand, and all the early-risers seem to be short and have black hair. All natural in Japan, however. The morning breeze flowing in blows the only white hair in this particular city around in the wind, on top of a skyscraper. The street below is a Y-shape, the scene for XIII this Friday. Many advertisements are visible, though not legible to the regular English-speaking visitor or viewer. Skyler Striker, however, the man standing on top of the skyscraper, is able to read every single word of it, a seven-year period of training from 1999 to 2006 in his youth forcing him to read, write and speak the language to his best ability. His daughter Jade always did it better than he did, naturally, but Skyler is fluent enough to be able to read everything he can see.
Skyler is awake at the early hour of 5 am in Japan. He wears a black, red and white hakama and his hair today is untied, hence why it blows around. Skyler’s hair is actually considerably long, and falls to his neck, but the coastal breeze blows it in the early morning. Skyler’s feet are adorned with a pair of geta, wooden sandals that elevate Skyler slightly off the ground by about at inch or so. A red obi belt hangs out the back of Skyler’s robe and it too flaps in the breeze. Skyler’s eyes are focused, their usual red colour gone due to Skyler not having inserted his coloured contacts. Instead his eyes are a very light blue, a curious look emanating from them. The cold concrete floor of the skyscraper’s rooftop makes a loud noise as a second pair of geta hits it, the door behind Skyler closing. Jade Striker, also adorned in Japanese garments including a pink kimono and a light blue obi, walks up to her father’s side and tries to see what he is looking at. Unfortunately, it is to no avail, as Skyler’s focus shifts from the sound of his daughter coming and his eyes close as he speaks, his voice light and calm.
SS: Good morning.
JS: Morning, father.
A silent pause.
JS: Any particular reason you’re up here?
SS: Until you got here I was trying to think, but that’s okay. I may have tried concentrating a little too hard. I’m just… unsure.
JS: Of what? Surely not Creeping Death?
SS: I’m not worried about him… I’m worried about me.
Jade walks to the edge of the building, in front of her father. She peeks over the edge of the tower to the street below. The dawn light provides little help in distinguishing one thing from another, but Jade ignores it and looks down anyway, her voice carried by the wind to her father behind her.
JS: Listen, father. You’ve managed to overcome both your own problems AND Creeping Death in the past. You shouldn’t have to be worried about them. You should be focused on intensive training. Especially endurance training, the Nightmare Chamber will not be an easy match by any stretch of the imagination.
SS: I know. I’ve watched the replay of the original Nightmare Chamber over and over. I know how to fight him… but like I said, I’m not concerned about my ability. I have the physical and mental ability to defeat Creeping Death in his own territory. What I want to understand is… is how to win the challenge that whoever it was set me. I have to show Creeps that I trust him… how am I supposed to do that when I have to bring him close to death in order to beat him? It doesn’t make any sense to me.
Jade turns from the edge and walks to her father. His gaze finally lowers from the skyline of Japan and turns to his daughter below him. Jade looks at her father with truth in her eyes and love flowing through them as well.
JS: I think you’ve confused yourself, father. You can prove that you trust CD by putting yourself in that ring with him. You know what he’s like – he wants to win, but he also wants to give something incredible to the crowd that they’ll appreciate and remember – especially in Japan. It’s like his pet project. So go along with it. I suggest you ignore the Nightmare Chamber tapes and instead focus on watching your last match with Creeping Death. Find what you did then, and make it twice as good.
Skyler looks sceptical, but Jade continues.
JS: Creeping Death may want the World Championship, but he wants a good match almost as much. Give him one. Trust yourself to him. He doesn’t want to inflict malice on you. He knows you’re a good guy. He wants you to fight him with everything you’ve got. Even if he doesn’t win the match, as long as you’ve given him one hundred and ten percent, he’ll be satisfied.
Skyler breathes in deeply and exhales slowly, the thin morning air rushing through his lungs. After a brief moment of consideration, Skyler knows his daughter is, as per the usual, right.
SS: I guess. But I still just don’t understand… something’s wrong. I have a feeling something is going to happen soon which is going to tear me apart… I need all the concentration I can get. I just don’t get WHY I’m feeling like this! It makes no sense!
Jade looks at her father, almost a pained look, as if Jade realises something that Skyler does not. Regardless, Jade looks at her father with a very deep sincerity a moment afterwards.
JS: Life never does, father.
Jade walks past her father, her geta hitting the ground and clacking as she exits through the door, leaving Skyler alone with his thoughts on the top of the skyscraper. The scene, if frozen, appears almost poetic, Skyler’s long white hair blowing in the breeze, a silhouette compared to the giant city that sprawls before him. The dawn light shadows Skyler lightly on the ground, and Skyler remains standing, simply staring again, alone.
Or at least, that’s what he thinks.
Every question has an answer. We just need to understand.
Reaching out…
Can you hear me, I said I’m reaching out…
The early morning sounds of a city street today sound slightly foreign. The cars all look smaller, the language seems strange and hard to understand, and all the early-risers seem to be short and have black hair. All natural in Japan, however. The morning breeze flowing in blows the only white hair in this particular city around in the wind, on top of a skyscraper. The street below is a Y-shape, the scene for XIII this Friday. Many advertisements are visible, though not legible to the regular English-speaking visitor or viewer. Skyler Striker, however, the man standing on top of the skyscraper, is able to read every single word of it, a seven-year period of training from 1999 to 2006 in his youth forcing him to read, write and speak the language to his best ability. His daughter Jade always did it better than he did, naturally, but Skyler is fluent enough to be able to read everything he can see.
Skyler is awake at the early hour of 5 am in Japan. He wears a black, red and white hakama and his hair today is untied, hence why it blows around. Skyler’s hair is actually considerably long, and falls to his neck, but the coastal breeze blows it in the early morning. Skyler’s feet are adorned with a pair of geta, wooden sandals that elevate Skyler slightly off the ground by about at inch or so. A red obi belt hangs out the back of Skyler’s robe and it too flaps in the breeze. Skyler’s eyes are focused, their usual red colour gone due to Skyler not having inserted his coloured contacts. Instead his eyes are a very light blue, a curious look emanating from them. The cold concrete floor of the skyscraper’s rooftop makes a loud noise as a second pair of geta hits it, the door behind Skyler closing. Jade Striker, also adorned in Japanese garments including a pink kimono and a light blue obi, walks up to her father’s side and tries to see what he is looking at. Unfortunately, it is to no avail, as Skyler’s focus shifts from the sound of his daughter coming and his eyes close as he speaks, his voice light and calm.
SS: Good morning.
JS: Morning, father.
A silent pause.
JS: Any particular reason you’re up here?
SS: Until you got here I was trying to think, but that’s okay. I may have tried concentrating a little too hard. I’m just… unsure.
JS: Of what? Surely not Creeping Death?
SS: I’m not worried about him… I’m worried about me.
Jade walks to the edge of the building, in front of her father. She peeks over the edge of the tower to the street below. The dawn light provides little help in distinguishing one thing from another, but Jade ignores it and looks down anyway, her voice carried by the wind to her father behind her.
JS: Listen, father. You’ve managed to overcome both your own problems AND Creeping Death in the past. You shouldn’t have to be worried about them. You should be focused on intensive training. Especially endurance training, the Nightmare Chamber will not be an easy match by any stretch of the imagination.
SS: I know. I’ve watched the replay of the original Nightmare Chamber over and over. I know how to fight him… but like I said, I’m not concerned about my ability. I have the physical and mental ability to defeat Creeping Death in his own territory. What I want to understand is… is how to win the challenge that whoever it was set me. I have to show Creeps that I trust him… how am I supposed to do that when I have to bring him close to death in order to beat him? It doesn’t make any sense to me.
Jade turns from the edge and walks to her father. His gaze finally lowers from the skyline of Japan and turns to his daughter below him. Jade looks at her father with truth in her eyes and love flowing through them as well.
JS: I think you’ve confused yourself, father. You can prove that you trust CD by putting yourself in that ring with him. You know what he’s like – he wants to win, but he also wants to give something incredible to the crowd that they’ll appreciate and remember – especially in Japan. It’s like his pet project. So go along with it. I suggest you ignore the Nightmare Chamber tapes and instead focus on watching your last match with Creeping Death. Find what you did then, and make it twice as good.
Skyler looks sceptical, but Jade continues.
JS: Creeping Death may want the World Championship, but he wants a good match almost as much. Give him one. Trust yourself to him. He doesn’t want to inflict malice on you. He knows you’re a good guy. He wants you to fight him with everything you’ve got. Even if he doesn’t win the match, as long as you’ve given him one hundred and ten percent, he’ll be satisfied.
Skyler breathes in deeply and exhales slowly, the thin morning air rushing through his lungs. After a brief moment of consideration, Skyler knows his daughter is, as per the usual, right.
SS: I guess. But I still just don’t understand… something’s wrong. I have a feeling something is going to happen soon which is going to tear me apart… I need all the concentration I can get. I just don’t get WHY I’m feeling like this! It makes no sense!
Jade looks at her father, almost a pained look, as if Jade realises something that Skyler does not. Regardless, Jade looks at her father with a very deep sincerity a moment afterwards.
JS: Life never does, father.
Jade walks past her father, her geta hitting the ground and clacking as she exits through the door, leaving Skyler alone with his thoughts on the top of the skyscraper. The scene, if frozen, appears almost poetic, Skyler’s long white hair blowing in the breeze, a silhouette compared to the giant city that sprawls before him. The dawn light shadows Skyler lightly on the ground, and Skyler remains standing, simply staring again, alone.
Or at least, that’s what he thinks.
Every question has an answer. We just need to understand.
