#simultaneously enormously powerful and incredibly vulnerable

[robotgirlservos]

its a good thing I spent so much time in rain world running through the shoreline, taking pearls to moon. I ended up having to blitz through the entire section in one cycle as hunter cuz I wasn't sure if I'd get a cycle 0

I spent the rest of my time just sitting with her. I couldn't tell her but I hope she knows I'd do it again.

[joecial-distancing]

July Roundup

Lifestyle:

I’ve been getting back into running this summer. It’s been about 4 years since I’ve done any serious running, and I have been made painfully aware of the differences in my body at age 29 compared to 25. My knees hurt more, I need to attend to stretching much more seriously than I used to. I’m coming at the task with better self-knowledge than last time, though; I know how far and how fast I’ve been capable of pushing, and I find an enormous amount of comfort and strength from that familiarity. 

I’ve also been applying to jobs, a process which started as nauseatingly daunting, but has gradually settled into just a regular chore of the week (ideally chore of the day, if I’m to keep up with new years resolutions). Getting a resume mushed into a satisfying shape has felt nice, as has getting together a form cover letter that I know hasn’t hurt my chances of getting my foot in doors. Annoyance Boxes checked off, and the rest is getting familiar with the rest of the grind. Interviews have been and will be the same process.

Games:

I’ve also been playing a lot of Sekiro. I’ve always “liked” Fromsoft games, but it’s been rare that I’ve been able to justify the time investment. There’s an appeal in the structure, endless chances to bash myself against a problem until it clicks, being able to run drills when stuck or inadequate (and there is a hook in the inadequacy; nothing frustrates me more than being unable to Just figure out a solution, or requiring too much time to get there. I have a tense relationship with time and deadline pressure. Impatience is one of my greatest vices). So with school finished, I’m diving into this as a treat to myself. The systems are fun, and the camera is so fucking awful that I get unreasonably angry about it. One thing I always do with these games that I think is anathema to a lot of their fans is to spoil myself on what I’m up against. In dark souls I would always have open area maps, rather than try to navigate the combat and exploration simultaneously. It put my mind at ease, I didn’t like the discomfort of the tension of untriggered surprise. And with Sekiro, I know roughly the zones I’m up against, I’m not above watching videos of the boss fights to learn the proper counters etc. No shame, no honor, that’s not what I get out of these games, really.

As with running, so with jobsearch, so with Sekiro, the method is diligence, the appeal is the pleasure of feeling my improvement over time. There is nothing more exciting to me than casually accomplishing something that I know would have annihilated me only a short time ago. I can finish 2 miles in 20 minutes, I want to get it down to 15. This also means the videogame tends to lose out on the priorities list—if I’m wanting to dedicate myself to practice, there’s almost always a different outlet that’d be better outcomes in the long run

very 8 of pentacles mood overall, lately.

Books:

I’m almost done with Pynchon’s Against the Day, which had taken up all of my Reading attention span this month. Unless it does something in the final 8% to lose me hard, it’ll probably clock in as my 2nd favorite of his stuff, behind Gravity’s Rainbow.  Anarchism as expressed against American mining companies, European empires, and the Mexican state; searches for a lost paradise city; warfare between schools of mathematics; the nature of Light. At face value, it feels closest to Gravity’s Rainbow and Mason & Dixon, compared to the rest of his work (I know there’s a lot of subtext and referencing going over my head with all of these in terms of both history and literature; I noticed a lot of reviews of AtD focused about the variety of genre style work that he’s pulling from in certain sections, nearly all of which is lost on me. It has, however, been very fun to me that I’m able to keep up with the mathematic academia infighting depicted in this). There’s a “fairy tales coming to life” quality to all three, if instead of Grimms’ stories it’s historical models of the world: Supersonic rockets wreck the flow of pavlovian cause & effect, the destruction of natural landscape in the course of linear surveying becomes a direct conduit for a massive influx of evil energy, quaternion mathematics casting time as real and space as imaginary allow a yogi to contort himself out of sight and into the imaginary plane. The aether is experimentally disproven in the beginning of Against the Day’s timeline, which doesn’t stop holdout engineers and mystics from working wonders with it.

It feels like there’s about as much going on in here as GR, but where GR is claustrophobically overstuffed (which is also part of the reason it’s a better book) and Mason & Dixon gets kind of plodding, the material here is given space to breathe, without losing momentum. It probably helps that the characters in this are a.) numerous, and b.) unusually solid as far as Pynchon goes.

It’s also got many great examples of something else I really like about Pynchon, which is that he is willing to commit 110% to incredibly stupid jokes. There’s an Elmer Fudd reference in here that completely knocked me on my ass.

Viz:

Watched the Bo Burnham netflix, which was mostly pretty good, though I’m completely out of patience for ostentations self-awareness or fake debate where the ~comedian~ who’s concerned about being ~white privileged mannn~ feels guilty he might be ~taking up space~, doesn’t know that he ~deserrrrves it~... out of patience because I already know what he did with that guilt (if genuine) — he didn’t scrap the project, he released the fucking thing anyway. What am I to do with this, Bo Burnham? Would you like my permission? Would you like an “it’s ok dude” from people of marginalized groups within your audience? Why am I watching along for a decision you’ve quite literally already made? I don’t trust displays of vulnerability before an audience of this size.

Also watched through I Think You Should Leave, which... sure it’s funny, and also very effective at making me uncomfortable, which is clearly what it’s aiming to do, but. I don’t really get why it’s got such a strong cultural draw within the online spheres I’m normally checked into. Saw some discourse about how the quotability is somehow distinct from regular memeing, which, alright get over yourselves jesus christ.

speaking of flavors of the month, watched 50 shades and lmao. I’ve been told by a trusted source the books are worse which is hilarious.

also speaking of flavors of the [century], S.O. and I have been doing a rewatch of pre-MCU comic book movies, which has been some fascinating anthropology. It meant, though, that we had to sit through howard the duck, an absolutely wretched film. Other highlights so far: willem dafoe power rangers acting, the soundtrack on affleck daredevil (incl a fuckin choice Evanescence exercise montage), Blade & Blade II still hold up.

We’ve also made it to the final season of pre-reboot xfiles. Duchovny’s mostly gone from this last season, replaced largely by robert patrick of T1000 fame, who is a better actor but a worse character, dude’s basically just A Cop. The writing’s weirdly probably better than the last couple Duchovny seasons, but the show doesn’t work without him — his bad acting was the main thing keeping things together, the tone’s all off now.

[arcane-merlin]

I Don’t Want To Say Goodbye || Originalshipping (Part 1)

Fandom: Pokemon

Ship: Red x Green/Blue

Contains spoilers for Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky/Time/Darkness!

Synopsis: Red is transformed into a Pikachu and is sent to the Pokemon world a few months after becoming Pokemon Champion. Washed up on a beach, he meets Blue, an Eevee who bears a striking resemblance to his best friend and rival in the human world. On their last journey together they must use everything they've learned as explorers to defeat Primal Dialga and prevent the planet's paralysis. And come to terms with their feelings for each other. That too.

(might be a two part or three part who knows lol? Also cross-posted on Fanfic.net, AO3, and Wattpad!)

"We did it Red. We're almost at the top of Temporal Tower. I can feel it." The Eevee turned around to meet the Pikachu's eyes. Composed and determined. Ready for the inevitable.

'Let's save the world from the planet's paralysis, Blue.'  Red thinks. 'Together.'

Blue became silent, understanding his partner as if he were a psychic type Pokémon. Blue reaches a paw at the blue water drop necklace he's wearing. He's always kept this rare necklace with him ever since he got it as a baby. His name derives from said necklace. We will definitely win! And... and once we do... I'm gonna evolve into a Vaporeon!

Nodding at each other, the two partners, who put their whole trust in one another, swearing to save the world, and prepared for this very moment, continued forward.

They enter the next room, spotting a grey stone staircase. Guarding the stairs is a sleeping Porygon-Z. Red signals Blue to stay at the front of the damp hallway. As quiet as a Rattata, Red approaches the sleeping enemy. Stopping nearby the front of the vulnerable Pokémon, he waves at Blue.

A pincer attack, Red? Good thinking!

Blue is careful in his steps. All of the Pokémon they've encountered so far are tough, and they want to save as much energy as they can in the event that they are forced to fight... Dialga. Even thinking about Dialga is sending shivers down my spine...

All the more reason to hurry...!

Blue shakes his head, sending the thought of facing the fierce legendary Pokémon to the back of his mind. Red puts three small fingers up. One by one, the fingers go down. Once the last finger went down, Red and Blue simultaneously attacked. The Porygon-Z screeches in agony, and retaliates with discharge, paralyzing Blue. The status effected Eevee trembles, unable to resist and that angers Red. Red attacks using thunderbolt. Turning it's attention to the Pikachu, Porygon-Z discharges once again. Red is having none of that though and dodges. Going for a Quick Attack this time, Red manages to knock Porygon-Z to the solid floor.

Blue's paralysis fades soon after and he sighs, relieved. Man... when will we get a break?

"Red." Blue flashes Red with a tender grin, "Thank you."

'...?'

"If I hadn't found you at the beach... I wouldn't have come close to achieving my dream of joining Wiggilytuff's Guild. We would've never saved Azurill from Drowzee, see the beauty of Fog Bound Lake, uncover the mystery of my Relic, escaped the future... Without you, how could I grow into the Blue everyone's come to know? Before... I was just known as Eevee, grandson of a famous Pokémon Explorer. Achieving something for myself... that was out of the question. Always being number two. Always being compared. I guess you were the missing puzzle piece, huh. I can't... I can't imagine a world without a human-turned-Pikachu named Red. I can't imagine my world without you...

'Blue...'

"If we're together, there isn't anything in the world that stands a chance against us! Let's save our friends, our world, our everything! Then, when it's all over... we have to watch the Krabby on the beach together, known as the heroes who saved the whole world."

'...!'

Red lovingly pats Blue's head, smiling. Blue affectionately stares at the gesture.

'I love you, Blue.'

Red tilts his signature red cap down, suddenly overrun with embarrassment. Many memories were made wearing this hat when he lived in the human world. He got his first Pokémon, a Pikachu. It was fate that he transformed into one himself. Red, wearing the hat, defeated the gym leaders, Team Rocket, the Elite Four....

...and the Champion, his long time best friend and rival, Blue Oak. An Eevee was also Blue's first Pokemon and here Red is, talking to an Eevee sharing the same name. Another coincidence in this mysterious world where Pokemon could talk.

When Blue (the Eevee) found Red collapsed on the beach, he was firmly clutching the soaked hat. This hat being his only memory of the human world. Home.

Today is no different. He would make a new memory alongside his dependable partner, Blue. Stopping the planet's paralysis. It's true that Red has already created countless memories wearing the hat in the Pokemon world, but this one is more important than the rest.

And would be his last.

|||

Temporal Pinnacle

The hard ground beneath them had cracks. Four stone columns surround them, forming a square shape. Facing diagonally, the tops of two columns had broken off, another sign that Temporal Tower was going to collapse at any given moment. Red and Blue observe the area, hearts rapidly pounding. Roaring winds blew against their fur. Red wraps his arms around himself, trying to keep warm. Shaking his fur, Blue takes a few deep breaths.

"Is this... Is this the top of Temporal Tower...?" A rhetorical question. Blue was in disbelief. Yet, deep down both Pokemon knew that they had reached their destination.

An intense beam of light accompanied by a loud sound startles Blue out of his disbelief. Red goes on four legs, cautiously awaiting for an enemy. Sparks emit from his red cheeks.

"Waah!" Blue rushes to Red's side, "Lightning!"

Reluctantly raising his head to the sky, Blue's beady eyes widened. Wha-

"Look at the sky, Red!" Blue points up.

Like a whirlpool, red clouds swirl in the sky. In the center is a black hole, where lightning bolts rapidly shot out. The enormous clouds covered the entire sky. Neither Pokemon could see out of it.

"It's incredible!" Blue shouts, awed. "Red clouds are swirling!"

Deafening sounds of more sparks of lightning caused Red and Blue to cover their ears. The ground trembled underneath. A ticking clock then resounded, a reminder of their restricted time limit.

"Waah! It happened again!"

The tremors never lasted for long, but it would probably become much worse later on. Blue finds himself touching his necklace again. Regaining some confidence back, he squeezes it before letting go. Red rises from his defensive stance and glances at Blue.

Blue acknowledges the impending fate of Temporal Tower, "This tower feels like it's going to shake apart any moment! Let's hustle, Red!"

Red nods.

Red and Blue continue forward and it isn't long until they near a small set of stairs. Is that... an altar?

"Look! Over there!"

Something similar to veins glowed on a navy blue edifice. The structure was made up of five dividers that were cupsidated at the tip. In the middle, a stone with a luminous pattern and five indentations situated on a divider larger than the others. Serrated points emerged from the bigger divider.

"...What could this be? It has a strange, mystical feel..." Green tilts his head.

'...................................'

'There's a big circular pattern... Inside are indentations that look like they've been gouged out...' Red contemplates, squinting his eyes. 'What is this...?'

Red connects the dots. '...! Wait a second! The gouged-out indentations... There are five in all. Five slots... That means...!'

Red then lightly taps Blue and promptly shares the conclusion he arrived at.

"What?" Blue questions, "Five slots?"

The meaning of the question became obvious.

"Th-that's it! If I set the five Time Gears into these slots... We might prevent time from stopping!" Strong-willed feelings wash over Blue. Red and I are definitely... gonna save our world! Nothing can stop us now!

"Ok!" Blue gazes Red. An unanswered question lingers in the air. Red's eyes told Blue the answer. "I'll do it!"

But before either of them could approach the edifice, a powerful lightning bolt knocks them backwards. Landing on the hard floor knocked the wind out of them. As they shortly recover from that surprise attack, they notice that the sky above became dark and with it came a ill-boding presence. Red covered Blue's mouth to quiet his scream.

"GRRRRRRRRR..." A roaring gruff growl resounded, "SO! IT'S YOU! YOU SEEK THE DESTRUCTION OF TEMPORAL TOWER!"

The voice's declaration alarmed both Red and Blue.

"What?! You're wrong!" Blue desperately shouts, attempting to convince whoever the voice belonged to. "We're here to prevent time from stopping!"

Blue's words seemed to aggravate the voice even more. Their voice bellowed, "TIME...STOPPING...TIME... GRRR-OOOOOO!"

Primal Dialga appeared out of thin air, its massive dragon like body towered over Red and Blue. Steel enveloped some parts of its navy blue body. Designs covering its body were colored orange. The diamond in its chest altered from blue to a fiery red, representing the Pokemon's anger and loss of self-control. At the sight of Primal Dialga, Red is back in defensive mode. He goes on all fours, hackles raised.

"D-Dialga!" Blue yelps. Dialga's response was a fierce cry.

"YOU!" boomed Dialga. "YOU DARE BRING RUIN TO THE TOWER!"

"No! That's wrong!" Blue attempts to reason with Dialga. "We want to prevent the tower from collapsing..."

Unconvinced, Dialga growls, "SILENCE!"

'Trying to talk with Dialga is impossible...! He won't listen to reason!' Red thinks.

"FOR ALL THOSE WHO THREATEN TEMPORAL TOWER... I WILL SHOW NO MERCY!" threatens the enormous dragon, letting out another menacing roar.

Blue seemed to get the message and turns to face Red, "It's no use, Red! He's not listening to us at all!"

'Dialga is losing control because time is breaking down! But... This isn't like Primal Dialga in the future... He's not yet fully consumed by the power of darkness! There's still a chance that Dialga can be brought back to reason! There's still hope!'

"H-here he comes, Red!" Blue warns as the Legendary Pokemon obstreperously roars once more.

Harnessing all the remaining strength within him, Red uses discharge. Blue follows up by throwing a Gravelerock, but Dialga dodges. Red proceeds to attack with Thunderbolt and somehow misses. Blue bites down on Dialga's leg. However, Dialga doesn't flinch from the attack and unleashes Roar of Time. Red saw that move coming from a mile away and covered his ears. His partner on the other hand, took massive damage and fell to the ground.

Red scours the exploration bag for a Reviver Seed and a Violent Seed. He places the reviver seed in Blue's mouth and uses his tiny hand to make Blue chew on it. Stumbling to his feet, Blue regains consciousness. Red consumes the Violent Seed to strengthen himself and Blue goes on the offensive by using Bite once more. Dialga is unable to attack for the next few moments after using Roar of Time, so Blue consumes a Violent Seed himself while Red attacks with Thunderbolt.

Blue proceeds to continue using Bite and Red Thunderwaves to paralyze Dialga. However, Dialga shortly recovers from the paralysis and attacks Red using Metal Claw. Before Dialga is able to finish Red off, Blue hurls his Oran Berry at Red. Munching on the berry, Red moves away from the impending attack. The draft formed from Dialga's missed swipe knocks his hat to the ground.

Going for another Roar of Time, both Red and Blue took major damage. It wasn't enough to make either of them faint, however, they only had two more Reviver seeds and six Oran Berries left. If they didn't finish this battle soon... the three of them and everyone else would perish as the tower collapses and the world fell into ruin. Both Red and Blue ate an Oran Berry before using the same attacks as before. Able to attack again, Dialga hurls an AncientPower at Red. He's able to withstand the move and risks the rest of his energy by attacking with Discharge.

The corrupted Legendary Pokemon bends down on one knee, glaring at the two Pokemon who bested him. He still wants to fight... but has forgotten the reason why. A painful roar, a roar full of want, is the last action Dialga takes before thudding to the ground. Red and Blue pause, afraid that Dialga would suddenly attack again when they least expect it. A few seconds pass, but Dialga did not make a move.

"We... did it..." Blue lets out a breath he didn't realize he's been holding. "Ok, Red! It's time! While Dialga is still down, I'll go put in the Time Gears."

As Blue takes a couple steps forward, another tremor shakes the floor, stronger then the previous ones. Lightning is swiftly spewing from the red clouds.

"Th-this... This tremor is the worst it's been!"

' T-Temporal Tower is... Temporal Tower must be nearing total collapse...' Red wonders if they've already run out of time. 'If... If that were to happen... The destruction will accelerate... until the planet is fully paralyzed!'

Strong bolts of lightning strike at the stone ground, creating bigger cracks. Red picks up his hat from the ground and has a vice-grip on it, as the wind was getting difficult to withstand. Moving past Dialga's body, they fight against the shaking floor and high speed winds to climb the stairs.

"Urk! The floor's heaving..." Red struggles to hear Blue's voice. "It's hard to put the Time Gears into place!"

One by one, Blue and Red insert the Time Gears into the slots. They have difficulty placing the last two on the top, but manage to do it after Red uses Blue as a stepping stool. Red and Blue lock tired eyes.

Hope is evident in Blue's voice. "Done! They're all set!"

The gears emit a white light... and disappeared along with the indentations leaving a sky blue light on the grey stone. The color of the squiggly designs on the blue altar changed to a bright greenish color. Unable to bear the shaking any longer, Blue falls and rolls down the stairs. Red lands on his back. He stumbles to his feet and rushes toward Blue.

"Wh-why?! I put the Time Gears where they're supposed to go!" the hope in Blue's voice begins to fade with each word, "Why won't these tremors stop?!"

'Blue...'

Blue has a horrified expression on his face and tears form at the corners of his eyes. "It can't be... Was I too late...? Will Temporal Tower continue to collapse...?" Blue wipes the falling fresh tears, confused and afraid. "Is it too late... to stop the planet's paralysis..?"

Blue shamefully faces Red, a shadow of his former self. What can he say? Sorry for failing you? Sorry for failing the entire Pokemon world? Red's heart breaks at the sight of Blue's tearful expression. He desires to tell him that they would be fine and go home to Treasure Town, forever known as heros. In this situation, with the tremors and lightning becoming powerful enough to tear down the tower, Red would be lying. Still, he'd give anything to see Blue smiling again, even lying to himself. His Mom, Professor Oak, and Blue... Do they miss him? It must've been at least a few months since his disappearance. They're all probably worried sick.

'I regret taking his Champion title. I should have told him that I love him... but my words just won't come out! I continue to hurt him... What is wrong with me...? He was always there for me. Was I ever there for him? Why did our friendship end the way it did?

Is it because... of me?'

Powerful thunder impacts the top, destroying more of the floor and the other two columns. Both Pokémon drop to the ground. Using the last of his energy, Blue turns to face Red, knowing it would be the last time he'd get the chance to. A droopy grin appeared on his features, his manner of accepting the fate they journeyed so far to avert. Too many emotions begin to overwhelm Red. Despite the inner turmoil, he returns Blue's accepting smile. They did all they could. Yet, it wasn't enough.

Red's vision fades to black. His last thought was about the boy who he somehow fell in love with, Blue Oak.

|||

"Hello...? Can you hear me?" someone called.

It's blurry. The only thing that Red can make out is a boy with caramel hair and emerald eyes. Red blinks multiple times. His eyes slowly adjust to the brightness of the sun. The entrance of a town and three buildings. Two of which were houses, the other was a lab. Underneath, the hard stone of Temporal Tower was no more. Instead, Red's hands met with the touch of wet grass as he lifted himself up.

'Pallet Town...?'

A painful headache seizes him, causing his body to convulse. He can't seem to recall what happened. At that moment, it dawned on him. He must've died, but his memories are jumbled up. How else would he be standing in front of Blue Oak? Collecting himself, Red nodded in response to Blue's question.

Blue sighed in relief, playfully punching Red in the arm. "I can't believe you were hiding here, Red. I've been trying to find you! My sister and I have a surprise for you!"

Blue extends a hand to Red. Red doesn't think twice before grabbing onto him. He's realized that he missed this, begin away from the human world for Arceus knows how long. And now he's been gifted a second chance. Memories of adolescence are resurfacing.

They enter the Oak house, everything in place as Red remembered last time he visited. Much to Red's chagrin, Blue let go of his hand. A box wrapped in Pikachu printed wrapping paper sat on top of the table. Immediately, Red rushed over, casting an asking glance back at Blue. Blue pat Red's dark hair and chuckled.

Fresh tears gather in Red's eyes. He already knew what Blue's gift was. His signature red hat. Only in this reiteration, the hat was not yet tattered by the memories Red would make as a trainer and an actual Pokémon.

'Oh...' Red warmly stares at the thoughtful gift. 'I guess I must have fallen in love with him at this exact moment. Besides my mom, no one else really gave me anything. Of course, I didn't mind. As I child, I didn't talk much. I did what I was told and never expected something in return. Blue and I only knew each other for a year, since Mom and I moved to Pallet Town after my father's death. All the gifts that Mom gave me... And yet, the hat that Blue got for me became my most valued possession.'

"Well? Do you like it?" Blue questions, a faint blush on his cheeks. Red briskly nods, beaming. He puts it on.

"Red." Blue's voice suddenly quiets to a serious tone. "How long are you gonna keep him waiting?"

'Huh?'

"It's not over yet." he sadly smiles, retaking Red's hand into his. "Wake up. The other Blue... he needs you right now."

'No...!' Red lifts his head. Rivulets of tears fall. 'I don't want to... not like this! Not when I can see you again!'

Blue seems to have read Red's thoughts. Bumping their foreheads together, he whispers, "No, Red. This... is a dream. I'm not the real Blue Oak... but you and him will certainly cross paths once this is all over. Don't keep me waiting, okay?"

'...'

'Okay. I promise.'

|||

'...Ugh...' Red feels like his head is splitting. 'Urk... Th-this is...'

His body is unusually heavy as he pushes himself off the floor. Destruction due to the tremors and thunder surround him and he wonders how the Tower hasn't collapsed by now. Large cracks cut into the ground. Gone were the tops of the four columns, two of which were lying on the ground. His eyes come across his collapsed partner.

The Eevee groaned as Red stumbled toward him. He lightly nuzzled Blue's warm fur. Without warning, Blue's eyes opened and he was on his legs. Red breathed out, appeased that Blue appeared to be fine.

"Hey... Red..." Blue's gaze wandered around, searching. Confusion appears on his face. "Wh-where...?"

Out of nowhere, someone spoke. "THIS IS... TEMPORAL TOWER."

The voice belonged to Dialga, now back to his original form. Various light blue stripes instead of orange on blue skin. His chestplate holds a diamond in the middle. Three spines shone on the back of his neck, as well as a metallic head piece that seemed like a crown. A fin-like structure rests near his tail. Cautiously, Red and Blue make their way towards the gigantic Legendary Pokemon.

"Dialga!" Blue's voice shook. They couldn't possibly battle again. Red and Blue barely won the last fight.

Dialga heard the panic in Blue's voice. "YOU HAVE NO CAUSE FOR ALARM. I HAVE REGAINED MY REASON."

"What?" taken aback, Blue tilts his head.

Dialga calmly explains the situation, "TEMPORAL TOWER HAS TAKEN HEAVY DAMAGE... BUT IT HAS SURVIVED." he turns from the two, "NOW, OBSERVE."

The diamond shimmered. Soon after, a moving image played in both Red and Blue's mind. From the forest floor, bushes and grass dance in gentle winds. Above, the sky is blue with several white clouds. Red supposes that Dialga is using telepathy to show them. Another scene played. Damp leaves on the branch of a tree. Drops of water trickled from the leaves.

All of this was happening at a familiar place, Treeshroud Forest. Yet, when Red and Blue were there, time had stopped. There was no sign of movement, of life. Now it seems as if... time has been restored. Life can now continue. Not only in Treeshroud Forest, but in all the places where time has stopped.

Treasure Town came into frame. Bidoof was in front of Duskull Bank, two treasure boxes full of Pokemon currency as always. Teddiursa and Ursaring are together, chatting as always. Corphish stood on the stones in the center of the dirt path. Swellow and Wurmple were also prattling on and on nearby Electivire. Xatu peacefully stood in front of his shop, waiting for a Pokemon to bring him a treasure chest so he could open it. Kangaskhan's storage was open. Politoed, Ledyba, and Togepi seemed to be buying something from the Kecleon brothers. By the looks of it, everyone is doing well. It's like any other beautiful day in Treasure Town.

Rocks float in the filled with yellow clouds. Light shines from above. The Hidden Land. At the highest point, a damaged and not far from collapsing tower rests.

"TEMPORAL TOWER SURVIVED THE CRISIS. TIME HAS RETURNED TO NORMAL HERE..." Dialga clarifies, "THUS, TIME HAS RESUMED IN PLACES WHERE IT HAD STOPPED. BECAUSE YOU STOPPED THE RUIN OF TEMPORAL TOWER... THE PLANET'S PARALYSIS HAS BEEN PREVENTED. THE WORLD'S PEACE... HAS BEEN RESTORED."

Blue can hardly believe he's hearing this, "R-really?! We did it, Red! We finally did it! We brought peace to the world!" he celebrates. Blue's expression was that of content.

"ALLOW ME TO THANK YOU." Dialga spoke. "I THANK YOU FOR REACHING THE HIDDEN LAND... YOU HAD THE COURAGE TO STAND UP TO ME, EVEN AS I RAGED OUT OF CONTROL... AND YOU PREVENTED THE RUIN OF TEMPORAL TOWER IN THE NICK OF TIME. THANK YOU. ALL THIS, I OWE TO YOU."

Delighted surprise is evident in Blue's voice, "D-Dialga..."

Dialga continues, "BUT ALL IS NOT YET AS IT SHOULD BE... IT WILL TAKE TIME. I MUST SEE TO THE REPAIR OF TEMPORAL TOWER." his gaze moves towards outside the tower, lost in thought. "THE HIDDEN LAND, TOO, HAS BEEN RAVAGED... BUT THE RAINBOW STONESHIP SHOULD STILL BE OPERABLE... AND LAPRAS SHOULD BE AWAITING YOUR RETURN."

Blue nods. "Ok!" he forgot for a while there that he and Red had to journey home, but that was fine. He couldn't wait to see everyone again and continue their lives at the guild. "Let's go home, Red! Back to Treasure Town!"

Leading the way, Blue runs to the entrance of the roof. Red begins to follow, but then realizes that he's missing his hat. Rescuing it from the floor, he dusts it off before descending the stairs.

Sorrow slowly eats at him as they make their way down Temporal Tower and towards the Rainbow Stoneship.

This is it. His final memory in this world alongside Blue.

|||

Blue proudly strides in front of Red on the floating stone path, eager to reach home. Power is in each of the tiny steps he takes. Oppositely, Red finds it becoming more and more difficult to move his body. His breathing is becoming ragged. Perhaps he should tell Blue...

Now noticing something off about Red, Blue speaks up. "What's the matter, Red? Let's hurry." Blue cringed at his tone. He sounded annoyed, even though he really wasn't.

Red feebly nods, though Blue doesn't seem to notice. They continue their slow pace with Red weakening as seconds pass.

'My body... feels heavy... What's wrong... Why am I struggling to move...? It's like... my legs are weighed down...' Red clutches his head, thoughts swimming in his mind, trying to think of a reason. 'Maybe... now that we've changed the future... My own disappearance... is drawing near...'

A small tremor and Blue's yell jolts Red from his thoughts back to reality.

"It's settled down..." Blue sighs, shaking his head to focus. "I guess things are still settling back to normal... Let's go, Red."

Blue strode onward. Suddenly, incandescent light encompasses Red, prompting him to stop in his tracks.

'This... This light...' Red frowns, already knowing what was happening to him. 'The time has finally arrived... My time with Blue... ends now.'

"Hey, Red!"

Once Blue shortly realized that Red wasn't behind him, he came rushing back. Red's body being surrounded by light was an uneasy sight. Worry overcomes him and he stops in front of Red.

"What's wrong with you?!" fear rises in Blue's voice.

"...Sorry, Blue." Blue's eyes widen hearing Red's quiet voice. His mouth is agape. "I kept this to myself for a long time..."

Red rarely talks! T-this must be serious... Is he hurt..? Why would he-

"It looks like... I have to say goodbye..."

Blue froze. He couldn't believe it! Red... saying goodbye? Leaving him? That's our of the question. After everything they've been though... how could he?

"Huh?! Goodbye?!" he comes closer to Red, right in front of his yellow face. Blue tries to wrap his head around this. It's making him become emotional. "What are you saying?!"

As if everything was perfectly normal, Red   was composed as he explained. "Dusknoir told me. If we changed the future... all the Pokémon from the future would disappear. There would be no reason for a human to be here either. That's why... I'm destined to disappear too. I'm... going back to the human world."

"Huh?" Blue was growing frustrated. He blinked away the angry tears beginning to form. "What? Wh-why? I don't understand!"

Red had been preparing for this moment and speaks the words he wanted to say to Blue Temporal Tower. "Thank you for everything. I'm going to disappear from here now... But, Blue... I'll never forget you."

Blue wishes that time would stop again. There's too many things he needs to say to Red, but he doesn't have enough time to. "W-wait a second... I managed to make it all this way because you were with me, Red." he's unable to keep his voice from breaking and the tears from blurring his vision, "Don't you understand...? You made me strong, Red... If you go, Red... I don't know... what I would..."

Red sets his hat on Blue's head. The Eevee's ears droop and the notion is too much to handle. A broken sob escapes his mouth.

"No, Blue. You have to be strong on your own. You have to live!" Red embraces his crying partner. "You have to go home... Tell everyone about what happened here. So that... nothing like this happens ever again."

"Red..." Blue sniffles. Red puts their foreheads together as he light becomes brighter. Blue's little heart is breaking. "Don't, Red! Don't... Don't go..."

Red pulls his head away from Blue. "Thank you for everything, Blue. I'm glad we got to train together at the guild... I'm glad we got to go on adventures together..." Red smiles sadly. "I'm glad... I got to know you, Blue."

"Wait... Red..."

"I'm sorry." Apologizes aren't enough to stop this, but Blue deserves it after Red kept this huge secret from him. "I'm so lucky that you were my friend..."

Blue cries, "I feel the same, Red! To me, Red, you're..." trying to control his breathing, he takes a deep breath. "More important than anything..."

"Yes... I feel the same way." Red closes his eyes, "Blue... Even after I disappear from here... I will never forget you..."

Before Blue is able to say anything else, he watches helplessly as his partner disappears with the light.

"...Red... Red!" Blue's voice cries out in vain. His partner, his one true friend... gone. Never to return. "...Red!!"

Collapsing to the ground, Blue heavily sobbed. He couldn't hold his heartbreak any longer and poured out his grief in a flood of uncontrollable tears.

|||

His cheeks streaked with dry tear tracks and he mumbled incoherent words as he pressed on despite the deep hole in his heart. Each step he took was slow and heavy. The thought of making it home was now lost in his emotions.

"...I have to live... I have to get home alive..." Blue lets out a shaky breath. "...Get home... and tell everyone about what happened. Because it's... Red's... It's Red's... last wish..."

Even at such a slow pace, it isn't long before Blue arrives at the Rainbow Stoneship, the pattern etched onto the stone is phosphorescent. Blue's chin quivered. Chewing on his lower lip, his eyes once again welled up with tears.

"Th-there's..." A tear tickles his cheek. "There's the Rainbow Stoneship..."

He has to force himself to move. So close, yet so far. Before he's able to get on, Blue trips and lies on his face for a couple of moments. With the tiny amount of strength he has left, he picks himself off the ground. It's as if time has stopped again as he trudges onto the stone. He faces the direction of Temporal Tower, in all it's glory.

Finally, the Rainbow Stoneship departs.

And he's slowly distancing himself from the tower. Distancing himself from Red.

Forever.

"Temporal Tower is...getting farther and farther away..."

Silence. Painful silence. Lonely silence.

"And Red..." Blue swiped at his eyes but fresh tears came anyway. "I'm getting farther away from Red..."

Oh, Red... I never got to say that I love you.

[montyduff]

Apex // Self Para

The young Capitol tribute ventured into the territory he recalled seeing an assemblage of animals emerge in earlier that day, predators ranging from the fierce maned lion to the sneaky, underwater crocodile. He didn’t yet know which of the carnivores he would pick to tie a leash around and command. The snake demanded the task of him so plainly that he mentally deemed it doable. The instructions, though spoken to him through the medium that was the serpent, were crafted by the men and women he so often sat around the roundtable with. Given any other situation, Pegasus would have been present for the meeting and shoving his scribbled suggestions across the table and towards the pile where more scribbled suggestions gathered. It was troublesome realizing he would’ve known the crop of tributes better had he not been one of them, as no solid ideas for what he would have the snake tell them came to mind. Whoever else remained and would be out attempting to stay alive was knowledge beyond him aside from knowing firmly that District 1 was finished.

Jasper Beryl’s blood stained a pale red in spots all over both of his hands. The scent of it, he thought, could very well lure in the kind of creature he needed. A few pocket-sized watering holes offered the chance to wash his skin clean, but he refused the opportunities. The blots made him feel as predatory as the savage beasts that surrounded him, cloaked by camouflage or land masses but present for certain. Aside from the countless victor deaths that characterized the third quarter quell decades before, no one had before been responsible for the death of a victor. He alone held the title, the record, the glory. It felt as though all of Jasper’s successes and status were flowing into him and making him stronger than ever before. With the resounding strength that now pulsated through his body, Pegasus dared his fellow Gamemakers to throw what they could at him. Better yet, he silently called out to the remaining tributes and challenged them to take him down in such an untouchable state. If anyone had managed to climb to the top of the food chain, it was him.

His instincts rarely led him astray. The way the grass fluttered in the wind was recognizable. The way it bowed beneath him as he stepped on the blades. The sound of his bare feet against the ground had become a consistent sound since his memory fully restored itself. The echoes of thuds several feet from him were new. The way the tall grass swayed in one clear direction wasn’t natural. Pegasus suddenly sensed he’d been set up and that more than the dozens of cameras installed in the arena’s crevices were pointed at him. A spotlight invisible to him followed every step or flinch he made. He was being watched. 

It was incredible that the big cat hadn’t elected to pounce where it stood to sink its teeth into his throat. Instead, it revealed itself dramatically, emerging from the grass and out onto the circular patch of dirt that now seemed more like an arena within an arena. A purr rippled through him and the tiger’s yellow eyes glowed in the afternoon sun. “Hey there girl,” he stated assumingely. “I’m not here to hurt you. We can be friends. Good friends.” Making absolutely sure not to lower his defenses, Pegasus bowed to the creature with a stern, unyielding face. Simultaneously trying to make the animal feel comfortable while asserting his own authority proved an odd dynamic. Somehow he was still in one piece.

The tigress prowled around the man, sizing up her potential prey in the same way he was figuring out how best to approach her. Faithfully leaping, he took two steps forward. The distance between them decreased greatly and the man’s skin tingled with anticipation. “Don’t move,” he warned her. He put his hand up in a swift movement and immediately regretted it. The feline swatted Pegasus to the ground with fangs visible. She pressed her weight against his vulnerable chest and unleashed the fury hidden beneath her claws. Bloody gashes opened down his pectorals, one claw unluckily slicing through the man’s nipple. The tigress snapped her jaws at his face again and again, never sinking her teeth into him to seal the deal. Pegasus wrestled to escape, but was no match for the predator’s power. He thought the end was coming as she retreated to seemingly pounce once more, but after the tigress growled maliciously at the downed tribute, she bounced off him and fled into the tall grass from where she came. The attack was over, but Pegasus didn’t stir. He didn’t move a muscle until the scampering of the feline’s paws were unable to be heard. Sheer fright held his back against the dusty ground. He couldn’t tell the difference between the catty yelps from his memory and the ones he could hear from the still retreating tigress. To be afraid of an animal, one without even the modifications he so enjoyed customizing, filled him with nauseating guilt. Had the mutts he helped craft been as powerful? As merciless? As real? 

River Caulder’s quiet outburst towards him years earlier made much more sense than it ever had. The mutts in his arena were prominent and killed nearly everyone, the victor included. While Pegasus admired their creative builds and characteristics from the safety of his mansion living room, real tributes sprinted for their lives from the nerve-racking creatures, many not as lucky as he’d just been with the tiger. He tried desperately to think of anything else, to refocus on his prior objectives. He had to win the Games to get back to his family, to London, and to get back to his career. The job he spent countless hours kissing ass to climb to the top for and even more hours designing mutts that would go on to torture competitors. How could he possible return to his profession knowing what it was like to stare the muttations in the face? It was diabolical. How could the Games be made more ethical? Mutts were half the equation most times. 

Pegasus spent the fleeting afternoon and evening attempting to tame another, less dangerous predator. A crocodile ascended from beneath the depths of murky water, its jaws clamping up and down in pursuit of his ankles. An eagle squawked and just barely missed the tuffs of his hair as it soared past him. Even the scavenger hyenas managed to outdo him, teaming up and making him their target entry for dinner. Each time his chest ached with the same apprehension the tigress introduced him to. These beasts were living, breathing creatures of God. Perfect, apex predators without the need for genetic modification. He believed more and more as dusk faded that his entire belief in muttation design was an abomination. Ridden with failure, both in completing his task and as a human being, Pegasus returned to the apple tree.

The enormous serpent still coiled itself around the trunk, hissing more quietly but still as persistently as it had that morning. Lost and confused, the young man opened his arms to it. “Have I been wrong about everything?” he shouted into the night. “Did you send me out there to find that out? This is sick and twisted. I’ve only ever done what I thought was the right thing to do. Does achieving your goals mean nothing if others suffered to make it possible?” The serpent’s ability to speak must’ve been temporary, for it remained silent aside from its natural noise. For a moment, Pegasus saw Lysander where the cold-blooded reptile rested. It was unlike the man to purposefully lead him to answers or to directly interfere with the outcome of the arena’s events. This unfolding epiphany wasn’t planned or planted. Nobody meant for him to make any sort of revelation. If Mr. Vultur knew he would be unhinged by the task, he would approve it. Mr. Vultur knew more about the inner workings of the Games than anyone. If he knew what Pegasus now knew, he was as cold-blooded as the serpent he continually switched places with the more the Capitol boy stared. 

Above him, Panem’s anthem began to play. Inside him, a rapidly spreading wildfire engulfed his nerves. The young man convulsed on the ground, twitching fervently enough to toss his body several feet in one go. Every inch of his skin burned and his insides squished under the most unbearable pressure he’d ever felt. The pain was indescribable. It was greater than crashing onto the Earth, popping his shoulder into place, and being scarred by the tigress put together. He could think of nothing but the agony and how desperately he wished for it to stop. The smallest adjustment to the burning made him realize that it never would. No mention of what would happen when midnight arrived with the challenge incomplete was announced, but it hardly took a genius to put the pieces together. This was death. Pegasus never imagined it would ever come and certainly not like this. The serpent stared at him with satisfaction sitting unhidden in its eyes. Still writhing about, he silently begged for the end to come. 

Then he remembered. The unbearable torture he was going through had been pitched at one of the last meetings he’d been able to attend back in June. A punishment for being unable to do what was asked of you. The suffering would be terrible, but only the tribute could end it. They’d all loved the idea and how well it would test the strongest tributes. Only the strongest would be able to overcome it, even if it meant their deaths. His axe gleamed on the ground nearby. 

Without a second thought, Pegasus slit his throat and the convulsing ceased. His blood poured out on the patchy dirt, running like rain down the blades of grass and onto the cracked ground. His life was quickly running out and with it, all of his regrets as passengers on the blood river. While he wanted the comfort of his family or the chance to apologize to all those he may have wronged, he craved nothing more than the opportunity for redemption. He still firmly believed he would have been a victor who brought change. Now he knew it would have been change for good. To fix the Games, to replace them somehow with something less cruel. The chance wouldn’t ever come, but it was comforting to imagine all the good he could have done. 

Seconds of Pegasus Gleam’s life remained and he thought only how grateful he was the sky was the same as it was on the outside. His eyes followed patterns of stars he knew all too well. First the pointed tail of Scorpius, then the most prominent point on Lynx. Virgo sprawled out north, east, and west, and the winged horse forever flew freely through the galaxy. The bright and burning balls of gas millions of miles away gleamed the way he always hoped he did. As that light, his light, faded, Pegasus knew precisely what he would spend his next life designing. 

BOOM

[sosation]

Panarchy and the Galveston Hurricane of 1900

        As with the other natural disasters that we have covered in this class, many different things came together to engender what would become to be known as The Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Nature is unpreventable. The hurricane was going to come and how things were handled before it made landfall could have been a lot better. As often happens with natural disasters, negative synergies piled up and created a disaster greater than the sum of its parts. In this paper I aim to explain how “rebuilding the familiar,” as a human condition, created problems for Galveston -- then and now, as well as demonstrate the increased complexity in the Texas coast how that leads to increased vulnerability, and to explain the concept of Panarchy and how it relates to all of this.

First, let’s start with Panarchy to use as a foundation to build the rest of this paper on.

Panarchy, as defined by Crawford Holling, famed Canadian ecologist, is an “adaptive cycle” of growth, collapse, regeneration, and growth that “embraces two opposites: growth and stability on one hand, and change and variety on the other.” (1) The example he used was the adaptive cycles of a forest ecosystem, in our example we will use coastal ecosystems. During the early part of the growth cycle, the number of species increases at a rapid pace to exploit the “available ecological niches.” Small fish, algae, turtles, plankton, birds, and sea mammals alike increase in population. As Homer-Dixon puts it, “the flows of energy, materials, and genetic information between the (coastal) organisms become steadily more numerous and more complex. If we think of the ecosystem as a network, both of the number of nodes in the network and the density of the links between the nodes rise.” (2) As time passes further into the growth phase “the mechanisms for self-regulation become highly diverse and fine tuned.” Efficiency increases and, as time passes, this “fine tuning,” increased complexity and connectivity leads to greater vulnerability to disruption. Once the system is in the later stages of growth, there are fewer niches to exploit and fewer opportunities for varieties of species to develop.  The super-connectivity achieved by this time means a shock to the system can affect many different niches simultaneously. A shock could be a forest fire, or in our case a hurricane. This inevitable systematic failure IS part of the cycle. Hurricanes are a natural part of our planet and therefore are part of this natural system. The result after collapse is that “the organisms that survive become much less dependent on specific, long-established relationships with each other. Most important, collapse also liberates the ecosystem’s enormous potential for creativity and allows for novel and unpredictable recombination of its elements.” (3) It gives the “little guys” of the system who survived, those who weren’t able to flourish in the old system, the ability to flourish under these new conditions, creating more diversity and starting the cycle over again.

The final point to this theory is that “no given adaptive cycle exists in isolation.” It’s cycles all the way down, and a healthy super-system has cycles that are on different rhythms and pacings. This means that if one cycle fails, the slower rhythm of a higher cycle would provide stability from an entire collapse. A larger systematic failure involving several or many systems will eventually regenerate but the amount of time that is necessary to reach equilibrium again is vastly longer. (For example, the Galveston coast, specifically, would be one cycle, and the regional climate pattern would be a higher cycle. As long as the climate remains stable then the coast will regrow in a normal amount of time after a hurricane resets the cycle. But if the climate changes, say, due to directional changes in the jet stream caused by melting of the polar ice caps, then the systematic failures will cascade through as many systems possible, not just being focused specifically on the Galveston coast but, perhaps, the entire Gulf Coast region and into other ecosystems and surely human systems as well.) The concept of Panarchy isn’t just exclusive to ecosystems, but all systems- be they economic, political, commercial, industrial or social.

Now let’s consider Galveston in 1900. The way the city was built and the way the geography around the city was composed, considering the bay behind (north of) the city and the gradual slope of the shoreline similar to that of Bangladesh (incredibly shallow), demonstrates a unique cross section of human systems and natural systems. The bay has its system, the coast has its and they are connected, but all of the real estate and commercial developments on the island and the coast were present as well. Before the hurricane there were bath houses built right on the beach as well as the large Beach Hotel, which had a great view but was particularly susceptible to collapse from a storm surge. There were even train trestle tracks that were built right on the water and connected to parts of the island. At the time, storm surges were not attributed to hurricanes. In fact it was Isaac Cline, the Weather Bureau representative who experienced the hurricane first hand, who was the first to say that hurricanes brought with them storm surges. After the hurricane, and the disaster it wrought, the people of Galveston raised the level of the city and built a seawall. And though these measures were better than what they had done previously in protecting them from a hurricane, which was nothing, they didn’t account for the fact that most of Galveston Bay flooded the city from the north before the storm hit. This means that the south-facing seawall would have no effect on bay waters. Even more so, they built another hotel right on the beach, again. The Galvez. Which is a beautiful hotel, I’ve stayed there numerous times when I was a kid, but for whatever reason, it was important for the people of Galveston to rebuild the familiar and put another hotel on the beach, across the street from the seawall. It is still vulnerable to another catastrophe, as is the entire city,  if the conditions align. Fortunately they haven’t yet.

But my concern for the Texas coast wouldn’t be just solely for Galveston. In the past 116 years, the systems on our coastlines have become much more complex, in large part because of human development on them. That development includes shipping infrastructure as well as oil and gas infrastructure and other types of industrial infrastructure that require a water source or a shipping channel. The city of Houston is the second largest port in the United States and it also has “one of the most important shipping points for natural gas liquids.” (4) The complexity of our age, as well as the increased efficiency, if viewed through the “Panarchy” lens, leads to increased vulnerability. Case in point, the Murphy’s Oil spill in St. Bernard Parish, LA. “Where flooding from Hurricane Katrina ruptured a storage tank, releasing more than a million gallons of oil and ruined approximately 1,800 homes.” That is just one single storage tank. In Houston, there are an estimated 4,500 storage tanks, “many of them along the ship channel. If even two percent of those tanks were to fail because of storm surge, the results would be catastrophic.” (5) This is just taking into account the complex oil and gas networks that criss-cross the bay area. The shipping channel alone accounts for the movement of hundreds of millions of tons of American product, second only to the Port of South Louisiana.(6) The trading coming in and going out of the port would be disrupted for an extended period of time and would cost the United States an estimated $100 billion in damages alone, not even accounting for the lost trade. Which is difficult to calculate. (7)

There have been some efforts, however feeble, to address the hurricane issue. However, getting the local and state governments to fund and implement these measures is another issue entirely. When Hurricane Ike struck in September of 2008, it “killed nearly 50 people in Texas alone, left thousands homeless, and was the third costliest hurricane in American history.”(8) This would be a perfect time for the state of Texas to ask for federal assistance to better prepare for hurricanes in the future. Unfortunately for everyone, two days later Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and kicked off what would become the economic crisis of 2008. After that, getting funds for “nature stuff” was out of the question, we had to save the economy. Or in other words, we had to prevent this failing system (economic) from cascading into other systems and it obviously took priority over many other things.

Despite this, two main research teams have been developing ways of dealing with the next big storm. Bill Merrell at Texas A&M Galveston has been developing the “Ike Dike,” which is a 55-mile-long “coastal spine” meant to disrupt high storm surges. It’s estimated cost is between $6 and $13 billion dollars but still doesn’t address bay flooding and could potentially create a “Lake Okeechobee effect” wherein the spine acts to keep the bay water from washing out to see and still causes massive flooding. (9) Dr. Phil Bedient at Rice University proposes building a “mid-bay gate” that could be closed to protect the channel from a storm. However there is little political will to do anything to address this problem.  Alas, as this class has taught me, a disaster must happen to really get people to react. This is all part of that Panarchy cycle. Out of a disaster come copious amounts of creative energy. Out of the destruction of Galveston came Houston. And yet, Houston did not learn the lesson from Galveston and developed in a very familiar way with little regard for the power of the sea. Due to our greater connectivity and efficiency, the speed at which we can communicate can be nearly instantaneous, and as we result we are more vulnerable and things can be brought down just as instantaneously. All of this new technology and infrastructure that has been developed over the past century just goes to make the Texas coast more vulnerable than ever.

In order for the societies on the coasts of our planet to be more sustainable, we need to, as a society and a race, be educated of our global systems and understand them to better prepare for the inevitable outcome, and to consciously delay that outcome for as long as possible. We all need to understand that hurricanes are not “disruptive,” but rather natural processes of this planet that are beneficial to coastal ecosystems. Rather than trying to live against these storms, we need to try and live with them, or simply get away from the coasts. Education is the first step. With better education, hopefully, we can all make better and more informed decisions down the road to make our societies more sustainable.    

Anthony Sosa

Dr. Christopher Morris

HIST 4388

12-12-16

 Bibliography

1.Homer-Dixon, Thomas F. The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization. Washington: Island, 2006. 226-28. Print.

2.Homer-Dixon, Thomas F. The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization. Washington: Island, 2006. 226. Print.

3.Homer-Dixon, Thomas F. The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization. Washington: Island, 2006. 228. Print.

4. Scranton, Roy. "When the Next Hurricane Hits Texas." The New York Times 7 Oct. 2016: n. pag. Print.

5. ibid.

6. ibid.

7. ibid.

8. ibid.

9. ibid.

10. Larson, Erik. Isaac’s Storm. New York: Penguin Random House, 1999. Print.