#and the lack of sigma scenes makes no sense either

[evilkaeya]

Good morning the more I think about last night's episode the less it makes sense

[faux-ee]

So What if BSD Fyodor is Dead

Guys. I finished Stormbringer last night (finally) and had an epiphany. If Rimbaud can survive in the form of a singularity ghost in his ability space, and if Shibusawa's ability could trick him into thinking that he's still alive, why couldn't it be possible that all the mysteries around Fyodor (his height, his age, the nature of his ability, etc.) are because he's already dead?

Fyodor's weakness is that he has a weak composition, now I think the anemia is actually indicative of death. A lack of blood.

A friend of mine noticed that throughout the manga, Fyodor has been referring to himself as "Boku," which is not really proper for a grown man as it is more for young boys (boku no hero academia, for example). He should be calling himself "Watashi" if he's older than 15, and since Kyouka is 14, Fyodor definitely looks older than 15. Shibusawa also said Dostoevsky's "an old friend". Dazai met him once when he was younger. It's weird Fyodor insists on addressing himself like a teenage boy, unless he never aged mentally past that stage.

A lot of his talking in riddles could also be attributed to teenage behavior: from arbitrary statements like "breathing is sin, thinking is sin," to "this is fun" and "marvelous (素晴らしい)" which he repeated time and time again, lowkey reminding me of those ghosts repeatedly doing the old habits they had when they were alive.

Gogol brought Sigma to Meursault bcs one must know Fyodor's ability to kill him. Which means he isn't expecting the poison to kill Fyodor at all, or he had full confidence in Fyodor winning. Either way, if he truly wants to kill Fyodor himself, it's not very likely he'll simply just let the poison kill Fyodor. The latter is already weak bodily, so it doesn't make sense that he'll be immune to poison - who can't poison kill? Either ppl who have an antidote (which neither of fyodor & dazai has), or ppl who are already dead.

Also, Gogol's statement provides an important conclusion: Fyodor can't be killed any other way than knowing his ability. Fyodor's life will only truly come to an end after the mystery around his ability is unravelled. What if he, like Shibusawa, is a singularity who refused to be dead? When he said living is a sin, he didn't see himself as a sinner. Perhaps he really wasn't entitled to the sin called life.

So, if he's dead, why is Fyodor still seems to be alive and walking? I have two theories.

One, Fyodor's also a lab product, and like Chuuya, also has a clone. This could offer additional explanation as to why he was able to control Chuuya, as he would then have as deep knowledge of this kind of experiments as N.

Fyodor said, "I am crime, I am punishment." It means he only defines himself through his ability. Now this could be a result of trauma but also - I feel like every time Fyodor makes claims about his own ideal, it's kinda stiff. One sec he's saying that he hears the words of god, and the next he's saying "if god doesn't exist, then I am god". It feels very much like two different personalities: a servant and a master; and they coexist in him.

His clone, instead of dying, could have merged with him and provided young Fyodor's consciousness a physical form. The "god" is Fyodor's true self commanding everything behind the scenes, and since he's no longer corporeal, he could move in and out of prison and that could be an effective way of transferring info.

(After all, irl Dostoevsky wrote a novel The Double exploring a man's psychological breakdown and identity disorder, which is "the most Gogolesque of Dostoevsky's works" and explores how the pursuit of freedom turns into self-destructive tendency. I'm guessing Asagiri probably had decent knowledge about that book based on this.)

Two, Fyodor and Nikolai are set up to be foils/partners, and BSD partners' abilities/identities are sometimes indicative of each other. Rimbaud and Verlaine trading names, Chuuya being the "non-human" to Dazai's "tainted sorrow," Atsushi facing the Rashoumon dilemma upon his first appearance. Gogol was committing crimes and punishing himself with guilt. Fyodor, like Nikolai, is always wrapped in what we think is a cape - but it has buttons and perhaps should be worn another way, like an overcoat. What if Fyodor's ability protected his body like an overcoat? What if his very being is an overcoat - a fixed role assigned to him by society that he could not escape from, a savior, a man-god?

This might sound too abstract but the basic idea is that Fyodor's more an Ability created to serve a specific purpose than a living human being.

I'm afraid I have to end the meta here because I simply can't find more clues, but this theory strangely sit right with me. Thank you for reading to here.

[techni-kolor]

I have decided that I dislike the English Dub for Nikolai’s pivotal moment in Episode 1. Ignoring ,,, everything else about how that scene was stripped of emotional impact ,,, I find it interesting + disappointing how Sigma’s comment about Nikolai’s recent actions is phrased. 

Manga Panel 

Very nice, yeah?? Making sure to point out exactly how powerful Nikolai is while also mentioning how he cheated death itself for TWO people, himself along with Sigma, in just a few days. Absolutely great 10/10 

Anime (Japanese with English Sub) 

Not bad! Still making note of Nikolai’s incredible ability ... but a bit lacking in my opinion. I like the ambiguous nature of “anything” in this case. I’d say 7/10 

Anime (English Dub)  

Unfortunately, the dub does not have subtitles yet! So anyone reading this will have to trust my amateur edited version. 

I absolutely hate this translation. It uses the same main adjective that the previous version does ... but utterly guts the intrigue and mystery that was left open in the original Japanese. And, in my opinion, is a serious downgrade from the original manga. It neglects to mention the death subversion that happens for multiple characters and only reinforces what we already know ... that Nikolai acts as if he doesn’t have morals. (Which is a post of its own.) It adds no new mystery to his ability which we should be marveling at in this moment. When we also should be facing the sudden realization that he is a far stronger Gifted than we likely expected and far more devious outside of the DoA plans. Overall, I’d say about 3/10

Why Am I Talking About This?? 

I’m sure by now that every one is curious why the Hell I’m ranking translations! Especially ones that are fairly similar. The reason: Foreshadowing. I believe that Sigma’s line about Nikolai dodging death and finally recognizing the overwhelming power of The Overcoat is meant to be a clue that leads the reader into the Death Game Arc and possibly beyond depending on what exactly happens in Mersault. It’s subtle but makes narrative sense. The anime doesn’t exactly do this justice! So basically I am just complaining and wondering if anyone else had similar thoughts when watching! Hopefully some of you will find this interesting and enjoy this little comparison. Please let me know if you agree with me or if you think I’m full of shit! Either is welcome! 

[overcastravenflight]

This might be a long rant (and will probably get me some angry people) but here we go.

I don't like the BSD season 5 finale.

I don't care that no one on the good guy team actually died or whatever; I was fully expecting that. This series has a history of both fake-out deaths and barely killing any characters. (I doubt Sigma is dead either.)

What I do care about is how pointless it all felt. The entire prison break arc was pretty much rendered irrelevant, Fukuchi's ending made no sense (at least, not to me), and Fyodor was killed off so unceremoniously that I don't buy that death either. And he was confirmed to be very dead in-universe! By Dazai, who would probably know! Compare Fyodor's death to Fukuchi's, or Odasaku's, or even those two people from the Azure Messenger arc all the way back in s1, and you'll see what I mean. Karma's death (kid from s3 e4) had more build-up than this!

The vampire thing was resolved weirdly easily, but that's actually the part I'm most fine with. Maybe it's just me, but I was certainly convinced that Bram would stop functioning after the sword was removed.

Fyodor has been the main villain for most of the series, even if he was behind the scenes for some of it. It's absolutely a valid choice to kill him off, but I don't know what the ending is trying to do with this new villain that's...apparently...kind of Fukuchi?? Somehow?? Again with the lack of character deaths, if that's what this villain is, and after half an episode of 'Fukuchi's definitely going to die, guys', if he didn't die, I will be even more frustrated.

Sequel baiting and all that, but I can't find it in me to care about how everybody's going to survive against this new threat or whatever, especially not after a season finale that confirmed that this series will refuse to kill any protagonists. Gogol would have been a better choice. He might be another semi-main villain in the future, but the last scene of the episode told me he won't be the main one, and that doesn't...work.

This all might only make sense to me, I don't know.

[poptimus-prime]

Here is what the kids call my highly disorganized, half-baked list of stuff that could have been done with Jack to make him a better character.

@yeetmetothehell I am sorry if you are disappointed by my ideas.

“Optimus was more like...Jack.” OK…so show us that.

In my opinion...Jack seems like he was intended to be written to be almost a parallel to Orion’s journey to becoming Optimus Prime, at least how he is used in the plot. Jack is described as “smart and responsible”, which can also be read as “hardworking and responsible” and really this can be achieved in narratively using a few points, IMO:

Long hours in his room/the library studying outside of work and school. 

Filling out the background of the garage more with sketches/print outs of motorcycle blueprints (to keep the idea that Jack really wants a motorcycle and show hints of extreme dedication, but they’re kept in the garage rather than his room to metaphorically show that distance he’s put between himself and what he wants)

“Man of the House”/”Grew up too fast” (This will be discussed more later but TL;DR “I’ll handle the electric bill this month, Mom”)

Somewhat fragile work/school/life balance that Jack somehow perfectly maintained before meeting the team

Orion was very physically passive. Jack seems to be intended to be written as passive but it comes off as an apathetic reluctance that Orion doesn’t possess (Orion may not believe in violence but he clearly wasn’t unwilling to communicate his thoughts; it’s how he got the title of Prime in the first place.) However, Orion had to learn to become more outspoken over time probably, so we can keep him as being aloof/reluctant at the start of the series.

“Man of the House”/”Grew up too Fast”

It’s no secret Jack came from a nonconventional home; June is very explicitly portrayed as a single mother with a dad nowhere in the picture. However the situation surrounding Mr. Darby is unknown. The way June talks about it makes me personally feel like Jack’s dad either ran out or divorced June and doesn’t bother with his kid. Dysfunction in the family really just goddamn changes you TBH. (can confirm bc hi, I come from a dysfunctional home) Sometimes you just grow up super fast. Jack probably spent his childhood missing his mom as she worked shifts at the hospital and seeing how lonely and hurt she was. He maybe went out and got a job the first day he could and helps with smaller bills (“I’ll handle the electric bill this month.”), or maybe other expenses like groceries and his own phone bill. June probably makes enough to comfortably support her and her son, especially given her job and the cost of living in rural ass desert Nevada. But Jack still does this anyways--it’s how he copes with his issues after what happened with his dad. Doubling down and trying to be what he thinks is the bigger man because his dad couldn’t be fucked. 

This would make the disruption him letting the bots into his life creates more staggering; June doesn’t expect her son to pay bills, but the sudden change in behavior (skipping out on work) would be a cause for concern because sudden shifts like that are Usually Signs that Something is Very Wrong. Especially because Jack is usually responsible and open with his mom; he would have told her if he was gonna cut hours at work, theoretically.

Jack feels like he has to constantly put his own wants aside to contribute to his household. Even if June doesn’t force this expectation upon him, it’s a feeling that he will have, especially if he watched his dad just abandon him and June. Maybe he has resentment towards his dad for this and that is causing some anger he’s keeping tightly under wraps? And maybe the bots give him an excuse to do something he actually wants to do for once or some excitement in his life and that’s why he goes along with it? Lots of options, people!

Clothing Choices: The Hoodie™

You are going to have to deal with me being a whore for costuming choices and what they can mean. The show has a problem with the humans wearing the same shit every time they’re on screen and I’d love to rant about all of them (yeah yeah I get it saving money) but I’m focusing on Jack right now. Give Jack a hoodie 2020. A grey one or some other dull and drab color. And make him actually always wear the hood (except like in scenes where he is working bc workplace dress codes obviously) As time progresses, the drab hoodie is changed to a more vibrant color, but he still always has the hood over his head. And then, at a pivotal moment, the boy takes the hood off. (You could even throw in Miko cracking a joke about Jack actually having hair if you really wanted TBH.) Why this? The narrative is that Jack is constantly holding himself under wraps because of his self-imposed responsibilities. As he starts to become more into his own, he decides to express himself more with brighter colors, but still has some reservations. When he takes the hoodie off, that’s when he’s fully realized himself in this process and thus completes the parallel.

Actually make him interact with Optimus in a meaningful manner.

Arcee can still be his guardian in the field and I think working on strengthening their relationship is vital. But also, if you’re gonna make Jack the confidante holding the key to Vector Sigma, there actually has to be...meaningful interaction. Optimus asking Jack what he’s so engrossed in reading and Jack explaining the book he’s got with passion before shutting himself up and saying “it’s kinda dumb though” or something. And Optimus just responds “I don’t think it’s dumb, tell me more.” Coaxing him towards more self-discovery and expression. Optimus maybe sees more of his old self in Jack and starts attempting to be a quasi-paternal figure without really thinking about it because he is, after all, Dadimus. Jack maybe lashes out about how he doesn’t need Optimus to be his dad and that makes the space between them tense for a while. Eventually Jack comes to apologize and maybe there’s an important Talk.. Just a few ideas I will expand on later. I feel like forgiveness and lack thereof is a good theme--I know I was held back for a long time because of how convoluted the concept of forgiveness is with family.

The Character Arc

 So, what would Jack’s character development throughout the events of season 1 be? My basic idea for a Jack arc that mirrors Orion’s self-realization and coming into Prime-hood without being a carbon copy is essentially: 

Jack is portrayed as a responsible, hardworking, studious teenager who constantly turns down chances for fun and excitement to handle his responsibilities. Has clear dreams for after high school and for his own personal life; but he’s constantly contemplating and changing his mind about whether he will or not because he’s extremely dedicated to helping his mom and all that. However, he still gets super curious about Arcee and gets swept up by her in the Vehicon chase, and he still has whispers of courage and protects Raf during the altercation. He first tries to ditch Team Prime because he’s concerned about his responsibilities, but eventually returns because he’s drawn to the opportunity to finally go buck wild for once in his life (even if he spends his time being hesitant about everything.) His hesitancy and dedication to severe self-imposed responsibility is a result of his inability to move on from what his dad did to him and his mom; he’s under the impression that he 1) Has to forgive someone to move on, and thus 2) He cannot move on because his dad isn’t there to bother to say sorry and take on his position as Dad. In essence, he becomes less the character telling Miko to stop and more the character being pushed by Miko to be more adventurous. In lulls in action, Optimus starts to take interest in him when he notices his constant hesitance to express himself and is just being dragged along rather than going willingly. Has a conversation with him about a book Jack’s reading, which Jack attempts to shut down because it’s “dumb and childish,” but Optimus urges him to continue. The idea that June knows about Arcee as a bike and Jack explaining that he bought a motorcycle as a fixer-upper for dirt cheap can stay. (He probably still is saving up for his motorcycle.)

The longest portion, after Optimus starts interacting with Jack on a level of bonding and gently coaxing him to be himself— Jack becomes more outspoken and he’s shown as curious, analytical, quick witted, and has a deep sense of justice. Being young and craving a childhood lost to his trauma and self-imposed obligations to help his mom with running the household, he suddenly starts spending more time at the base pursuing hobbies and going on missions rather than studying and work, which concerns June. She tries to press Jack, and is met with what can be described as typical teenage headbutting that gets progressively worse. She grounds Jack after the fight, MECH takes her, the rescue happens. (That makes sense to stay in this narrative IMO.) Around this time, Optimus has effectively started becoming Jack’s own Alpha Trion—teaching him things that he’s picked up that he may feel apply to Jack. Jack interprets one of these lessons as Optimus trying to be “dad” and he’s not having it. Makes it VERY clear that he does not need a dad (“didn’t need one before and sure as fuck don’t need one now”) and definitely snaps at Optimus, which then pushes his progress in the arc closer to the end. He eventually comes back to apologize, and Optimus forgives him. He and Optimus have a heart-to-heart about one of the hardest lessons Optimus has had to learn—how to let go of the past without forgiving those who have hurt you and refuse to make amends, so that you may determine your own future. It’s very clear he’s talking about Megatron, even though he never says his name. Jack takes this lesson to heart.

His final bit of development before the hood removal thing probably happens during the events of “Rock Bottom” and reinforces that hard lesson, right when he’s faced with the option to off Megatron. Maybe there’s some taunting about how Optimus preaches softness and forgiveness too much when Jack refuses to kill him. Jack gets angry, and he’s about to fucking do it. But then he stops, takes a breath, and says “Optimus doesn’t preach forgiveness, he preaches moving on from those who refuse to move on themselves. He will never forgive you, but he’s learned to live on despite what you’ve done.” Soon after this, when Megatron comes to the base, Jack takes off his hood, stares Megatron right in the face, and says “This is not forgiveness, Megatron. Don’t you forget that.” Later, when Optimus gives him the key, he tells him something along the lines of “you have grown since we’ve met, Jack, and even though there is still a long way for you to go...” he hands Jack the key. “...Remember that even I am a work in progress.”

Anyways this is again, half-baked. And needs lots of polishing. But it’s something.

[overloveds-archive]

❛  ✶  (    kelsey  merritt,  cis  female,  she/her    )    —    did  you  see  elle  vera  walking  around  campus  earlier?  i  hear  a  lot  of  people  talking  about  the  twenty  one  year  old  junior.  from  what  i  know,  they  are  studying  english  and  are  a  part  of  sigma  epsilon  chi.  they  come  across  as  +gracious  but  also  -inflexible,  which  makes  sense  because  on  their  instagram    (    @cinderelle​    )    it  says  they  are  a  taurus . when i see  them,  i  think  of  missing  someone  you  haven’t  met  yet,  an  empty  stomach  filling  up  with  butterflies,  staying  up  all  night  and  telling  secrets  you  swear  you’ll  keep.

alright  hello  i’m  b  twenty three  and  i  never  fuckin  learned  how  to  write  so  i  am  sorry  about  this.  i’d  link  you  to  a  wanted  connections  tag  but  i  got  one  post  n  that  won’t  be  any  help  n  i  do  have  a  biography  written  for  elle  but  most  of  it  revolves  around  her  secret  so  i  won’t  link  it  yet  either  :p  haha  so  far  so  good  amirite??  you  probably  will  figure  it  out  anyway  once  you  read  the  rest  of  this  post...  under  the  cut  is  me  doing  my  best  to  be  vague,  bare  with  me  because  i  can’t  wait  to  start  writing  with  u  guys.

statistics.

𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄: elle winnifred vera 𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒: ellie, vera 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌: kelsey merritt 𝐀𝐆𝐄: 21 𝐃𝐎𝐁: may 1 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍: taurus 𝐌𝐀𝐉𝐎𝐑: english 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘: sigma epsilon chi 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍: greenwhich, ct 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄: cambridge, ma 𝐎𝐂𝐂𝐔𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: student 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒: maxwell vera, elizabeth pruitt-vera 𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: kevin vera, lily vera 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄: gracious 𝐍𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄: inflexible 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑: beige 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍: autumn 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆: fake smile by ariana grande 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊: wuthering heights 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄: clueless 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒: anna karenina, annette hargrove

breakdown.

elle has a good home life, it’s not the best but whose is?? her father is a successful businessman and her mother is a small time fashion designer. she has an older brother and a younger sister that she doesn’t have the best relationship with but she tries.

the family has money, but they’re from new money and her dad is constantly working and her mom still has this dream that she’s going to be the next coco chanel so she’s always away working on that dream.

her dad is very strict with her brother because he’s the first born and they have expectations for him to take over the business and they never put that kind of pressure on elle. her brother resented her for being cherished and loved unconditionally by their father and as much as elle tried growing up to bond with him, he wasn’t having any of it.

after the they had elle, her mother was ready to get back into the fashion industry but less than a year after having elle she was unexpectedly pregnant again and her dream was once again put on hold.

elle’s sister was a tougher baby to care for and that on top of having to stay home, her mother blamed her sister. this put a strain of elle’s relationship with her sister too because her sister was jealous of how great their mother treated elle. her brother and sister connected over the bad relationships with their parents and evidently isolated elle.

elle doesn’t blame her siblings or her parents for the lack of relationships with her brother and sister, she doesn’t really understand why things are the way they are, and she’s still trying to forge a bond to this day.

the next 4 bullet points are taken from her biography because i don’t know how else to word it.. again i am sorry... :p regardless of not having the best relationship with her brother and sister, it was easy for elle to make friends. she’s beautiful, elegant, and her family has money— anyone would be stupid to turn a friendship with someone like her down. 

elle’s father also talked her up with colleagues. before she could speak for herself, she already had this pristine reputation. you’d think she would hate living up to that and yet it was the opposite, she loved being known as her father’s sweet daughter because that’s exactly who she is. 

elle is lucky enough to be the person she wants to be; kind, compassionate, and never taken advantage of, thanks to the reputation her father provided her. everyone views her as perfect and she lives up to the title. 

at home, she’s admired and all the other girls are constantly comparing themselves to her. and thus, she has it easy. so easy that she’s grown comfortable living a certain way of life. end scene.

a lot of people come to elle for advice especially since she’s been with her boyfriend for 5 years and she loves being that person for those she cares about but shes also that person that gives out advice and never takes it

speaking of her bf... he’s a grad student and he’s known around campus but he doesn’t come around very much which i’m sure is suspicious to elle’s friends but he’s the guy that is like my studies are more important than going to a stupid party with u.. and elle understands because she’s elle

she’s not exactly a pushover but she does like to make people happy. but if it’s a serious matter she won’t be afraid to say something that the person doesn't want to hear. she never does with her bf though because she believes he’s right... and doesn’t want him to break up with her

because her bf doesn't come around much she usually attends events to take care of her friends or she just stays home. it’s hard to convince her to do things without him. gags

she’s an english major and because her parents adore her they don’t mind that she’s picked a career path that won’t eventually lead to big money and honestly they’re not worried about her being able to provide for herself since she has her bf whose family is rolling in money and they assume they’ll end up together and she’ll be taken care of.

elle picked english because she loves it. she loves reading and escaping her own problems through the stories in the thousands of books she owns. we love healthy coping mechanisms.

i think that is it?? i know i ALWAYS forget something but if you decide to plot w me i’ll make sure to let u know anything i haven’t added here.

i CAN link a social media page that isn’t much but it’s something...

for the smart people who skipped to the end here is a quick summary: she’s the poster child for the perfect rich girl and it’s not even an act! she’s that person who you meet and realize that home can be a person and not a place. legend

now i am going to go finish reading your intros and laugh as i think back to the mess that this is <3

[dasirunrunrun]

Good Grief - Chapter 3

Jungkook makes a habit of showing up drunk to a nearby flower shop. Bad puns and fluffy pining ensue.

Or, a college!au in which BTS are all frat boys, Namjoon is a science club president,Jimin just wants a good party, and Jungkook is hopelessly fascinated by the girl who takes care of flowers in her free time.

author's note: aaaand we’re back folks, with chapter three! it get’s a little dramatic this time around, so just a fair warning!! i hope you enjoy it, and once again comments, tips, and critiques are all appreciated!!

disclaimer: all mentions of the university in this fic are purely pulled from my ass— I don't claim to know anything on a deep, spiritual level about university clubs, classes or frat parties. Side characters, that aren't specifically Bangtan Members™, are all made up and therefor fictional .

words: 5k

If you’d prefer reading on AO3 the link is here

I glanced up at the seemingly endless stacks of write-ins, wishing for them to somehow disappear before my eyes. It was chaos in the offices of the News Club. Almost straight after the Fraternity article had been released, there had been letters upon letters of indignant students. Most of them claiming that the article was unjust: an uncalled for attack on Fraternities. Others had deeper questions— wanting to know which House specifically could be held responsible. In other words: it was a fucking mess. Mary, though, having been the main editor and writer of it: was taking most of the heat. And it was quite obvious, with her wearisome behavior as of late.

Mary skidded into the room - weary eyes jumping to every object seen. “El, I’m so sorry.” She sounded panicky, a signal to the rest of the club that she was close to self destruction.

“Mary-” I tried to cut in, using my softest voice, but she wasn't’ having any of it. Instead, she only started bustling around the room more, doing nothing productive, but still working around.

“We’ve definitely lost her, boss.” Jona’s solemn voice cut in, and when I turned to look at him: he was hosting the biggest shit eating grin. “Call her Leo Dicaprio because this girl's sinkin-”

“That’s enough, Jona.” I interrupted, watching as he tried, unsuccessfully, to wipe to pestering grin off his face. He leaned his hand back for Finn to give it an appreciative smack. And once again in my editing career, I wondered if those two possessed any sympathy at all.

Mary continued to bustle around- picking up a letter, cringing, and then repeating with another as she tried to open every single one.

“I should've never suggested this stupid article. I've put the news club in lots of trouble, oh have I ever.” Mary was babbling, hands shaking as she opened letter after letter. I watched hopelessly, letting out little sounds of interruption here and there. Any time she got a little too self degrading. Mary blamed herself for the backlash of the article, though in truth, every member played a part in publishing it. Not that Mary would ever recognize that. The thing was, when Mary went into panic mode, there was no stopping her. She put everything on herself, and tended to cut everyone out. That is, except for Seokjin. He was, seemingly, the only one who could calm her down.

I threw my rubber band ball at the side of Seokjin’s head, causing him to glance at me — looking a little betrayed. I raised an eyebrow back at Seokjin, and mouthed the words ‘go help, dickwit’ at his passive face.

Seokjin gave a secretive smile, and raised his hands in defeat as he moved towards the other girl. I took in the scene, watching as he rested a calming hand on Mary’s  shoulder, before mumbling something softly to her. Probably - ‘follow me’ since the two of them left the room, shortly after.

   Finn gave out a low whistle— and I turned my attention towards the noise, already ready to bully him back into place. “I don’t want to say it but —” He glanced over at Jona, who returned a shrug, to which Finn also shrugged back. The two of them sat shrugging back and forth at each other for a good minute, Jona’s face passive, while Finn looked scandalized.

“Boys, please.” It was no time for me to be cracking up at their strange antics, even though they looked so funny. “Start helping with some of these letters.”

   Finn broke off in a light, breathy chuckle, while Jona remained a passive face- clearly acting still for the jokes. “C’mon, Cobra Commander, it is her fault.” He sounded set in his opinion. “It was her idea in the first place- we all told her it was a bad one.” He cleared his throat. “Which is why she should be the one to deal with these letters.”

   Jona gave an agreeing nod, his face finally normal, if not a little serious.

   I raised an eyebrow at the two boys, more disappointed than anything else. “You’re going to blame her?” Even I could hear the beginnings of venomous anger seeping into my voice, which explained why both of the boys held such defensive poses now. “When you two were the ones urging her to turn it into the drama piece it became?!”

“No one told her to go around attacking random people,” Jona’s own irritated voice shot back at me. “Honestly, it’s no wonder she’s made some enemies, she basically defamed the most popular boy at our university - with no hard truth. Or have you forgotten about this?” He tossed the latest print my way, a paragraph dedicated to one singular person highlighted in bright yellow.

Though one boy stands out from the rest, Jeon Jungkook, member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Who has made a rather wondrous show of partying ,not only on weekends, but throughout the week as well. Going as far to even skip classes. And seeing as though he is, somewhat, of a celebrity at our school- its no wonder that he’d be the one to start this binge drinking trend...

I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose with one hand. This part Mary had done solely on her own, without even consulting anyone on the team before publishing. A real shocker to us when we found out. She had been rather upset with how Jungkook had acted at the interview, and even more put off by how easily affected she was by his looks. Basically it was an unwarranted vendetta.

   When Finn spoke again, it was in a much more diluted tone, his voice only holding confusion. “So tell me why we should be responsible for her mess.”

   I glanced up and swallowed the insults that wanted to fly out of my mouth. Collecting my things in my arms, I stood up and moved towards the door, trying to think clearly with all the emotions running rampant in my head.

   “Boss-”

   I couldn’t make out who had called after me, didn’t have the energy to find out either. “When you can tell me why you should defend a friend,” I shook my head, unable to comprehend it, “then I’ll come back.” I glanced back at the two of them - expressions open. “I mean, really, you two act like you’ve never made a mistake before.” Without waiting for a response, I opened the door and left for the library.

track: there’s nothing holdin’ me back - shawn mendes

Walking to the library was, in normal circumstances, an enjoyable route where I could spend the time in my thoughts, but now- with the absolute lack of anything to take my mind off the situation: it made me cringe to arrive at the library with absolutely no plan in mind.

   Normally, this was my time to be studying with Namjoon. Or, moreover, getting tutored. Kim Namjoon was a Senior, and head of the Science Club, but he was also my savior. He had tutored me in almost every science course that I struggled in (which was most of them), and for a cheap price too. A true angel sent from god.

   I had canceled our usual session in favor of the “Newspaper Club emergency meeting”, but standing here now, I wished desperately that I could call Namjoon back and beg him to give me the original tutor session. I sighed deeply, moving through the rows of empty desks - lined by bookshelves. The school library was massive; extending three floors, each with study sections. In my first year of university I used to pretend the library belonged to Hogwarts - and that I was in some sort of wizarding school.

   The memories pulled a light smile onto my lips, making me wish to be back in the beginning again. I quickly pulled open my books, not wanting to get distracted by the nostalgia that clung onto my thoughts.

Studying Chemistry even with a tutor was difficult. Studying Chemistry by myself made me want to fling myself into the endless abyss of space. Nothing made sense. Nothing. I stared at the equations, uselessly, cursing the College planners for making this a “core” subject. When was I ever going to need to balance an equation while filming movies? My head hurt, and the endless sets of letters and numbers that stood before me didn’t help.

“Ugh,” I dropped my head uselessly onto the desk in front of me, feeling like death would be a more welcome addition to this day. There were four beats, four beats, of holy silence. Right until the chair beside mine squeaked against the floor; indicating that someone had occupied the place next to me. Right next to me. Out of all the empty chairs in the room, this one. How tragic.

I probably could've lifted my head, probably should've, but no part of me wanted to show my face to anyone. So I hoped, that whoever was next to me, wasn't offended by my lack of acknowledgement.

   “Having a rough go of it?” A familiar drawl came from the ‘intruder of personal space.’

I almost wanted to groan at how obvious my life seemed to playing out. I lifted my head slightly, resting my chin on my arm, to look at Jungkook. He seemed to be mirroring my position - head resting against his bent arm, his hair fluffy, looking masterfully disheveled. Somehow, he always managed to look like the personified version of a god. I wanted to smack him for it.

“So is that what you do? Trash someone in an article and then nap off the bad feelings?” He held a smile, looking like the concept was hilarious— but his words made me cringe, and Jungkook took definite noticed of my distaste.

“Jungkook—” I tried to start but when I returned my sight back to him, he was fixing me with such a concentrated look that I immediately felt uncomfortable. I sat up abruptly, and somehow he took this as an invitation to invade my personal space. Because, moments later, he leaned in- ridiculously close to me.

Basically stretched across my lap, with elbows resting on the desk, Jungkook was peering down at my chemistry book with a look of intense interest. Or at least, I assumed, considering all I had a glimpse of was the back of his head.

“All your equations are unbalanced.” He commented, voice sounding much more like a professor than the frat boy. “Did you even try to correctly place co-efficients?” I flushed, the feeling of being in a ‘classroom setting’ hitting me like a brick. I couldn't see his face, but I could only imagine what type of incredulity it held. I wanted to burrow further into my sweater. I wanted to retort back, sneer that he probably knew less than I did. But I was far too concerned with the proximity between us to do anything of that sort.

He pulled back— far enough to finally be out of my lap, but still close enough where I could see the light golden flecks that swam in his dark eyes. “Are you studying? Or making John Dalton roll in his grave?” His voice was low even though it held only amusement, for some reason it sent shivers up my arms. It was a mystery to the world how he made bullying attractive.

His eyes still held that full intensity, and it was oddly both intimidating and flattering to have his full attention directed at me. “Eh..” I gave a light shrug, watching Jungkook’s eyes follow the movements like a sniper trained on it’s target. “Why aren't you mad?” The words that chose to came out my mouth were definitely tension breakers, which is what I needed right now. And they definitely threw the boy off.

I took in the switch of emotions on Jungkook’s face— his eyes changing like the seasons in front of me. A look of indignation snapped on his face at last, making me wonder how he could always remain combative. “Trust me, I am thoroughly enraged by the travesty of your Cobalt and Carbon Monoxide-”

I scoffed, slamming my hand lightly on the desk, “The article, Jungkook.”

He tilted his head at me, his face finally dropping the act of “rage” and landing on something along the lines of soft. “Why would I be mad?” he rested his chin on his hand, brown eyes searching mine. “You didn’t write that.”

“Yes but I aided in that.”

His lips quirked into a smile, and my stomach flopped. “Your reaction right now is telling me you wish you hadn’t.”

I swallowed, feeling completely outspoken, stuck wondering why I had even tried.

He started at me for a while, and I back. There was absolutely no way to tell what was going on inside of his head. My thoughts were running wild, yelling at me to say something, say anything. But I felt like any words I could spout out were inadequate. How do you apologize to someone for basically trashing their reputation? “Tell me what do to make up for it.”

Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought I saw a flicker of surprise flash across his face, for only a split second. Although, I couldn’t be sure, because right after he was fixing me with an amused grin. “One question?”

I spluttered, thrown off. “What?”

“Let me ask one question?” He was watching me intently, like I was some endangered animal that needed cautious wording.

I nodded, preparing myself for the worst - what kind of monster are you? Was this your plan all along? Who else have you potentially def-

“What’s in your bag?” His real question caught me off guard, and I followed his line of vision to where he was staring right at my film bag.

I shuffled a bit, uncomfortable and suddenly embarrassed. “My camera, equipment, and stuff.”

“What do you need that for?”

The genuine curiosity in his voice is what made my shoulders loosen, he didn't seem mocking or berating. Or any sort of teasing. His face held genuine interest, and it made me warm up instantly. “I'm a film major— well, film production major.”

Jungkook’s eyes rounded comically, and he glanced back at me with a sort of amazed wonder. “So you're going to make movies and stuff—”

I let out a little gasp of a laugh, trying not to associate him with my brothers when he seemed to mirroring them exactly. Young, naive. “I want to tell stories. Make people feel something.” I shrugged, looking around the library and realizing that we really seemed to be the only two on this level. “So, yeah.”

Jungkook nodded, seemingly understanding exactly what I was talking about. I had no idea what this was, I hadn’t ever said more than ten words in one setting with the boy, and now here I was sharing my life goals and aspirations as if we were childhood best friends.

I moved my attention back to my books, also realizing that this was the first time Jungkook had ever appeared somewhat serious around me. It was unnerving, and as much as I disliked his ever present amusement: I was suddenly wishing for it back. I started packing my books, and I could practically feel Jungkook’s curious gaze boring into the side of my face.

“I actually have a shoot today- filming,” I had no idea why I started giving the explanation, it was just- something about leaving Jungkook staring and confused that made me feel unsettled. “For my spring project.” I glanced outside the window, taking in the grey clouds- heavy indicators that it was going to rain not too long from now.

Jungkook seemed to be on the same page, because when I looked back at him he held a comical smile on his face. “In the mood for ruining your equipment?” The sarcasm was back, and I couldn’t stop my eyebrow from raising at him disinterestedly. My response seemed to tempt him more, because the smile on his lips tilted higher. “Gonna get some good shots of those rain puddles?”

I shoved my books into my book bag, quickly zipping it up and picking up my things in one swift motion. Deciding quickly that it would be better to keep my mouth shut and temper in check. When I glanced back at Jungkook he raised an eyebrow back at me. I opened my mouth to say something, anything. Another apology, or just yell at him for always being a shit head, but the only thing that came out was: “I'll see you around.”

“I'm just messing with you— you know that?” Jungkook's response made me whip around, and the humor that was on his face had dimmed a little bit. It made my stomach drop. I didn't want him to think he couldn't joke around, normally I would've chastised him for it, but at the moment I felt wrong about doing anything that could potentially be considered unpleasant to him.

I threw back my heartiest smile— hoping it seemed real rather than forced. “Have you gone soft on me, Jungkook?”

I didn't wait for the response, just quickly turned away towards the stairs and the exit.

track: believe - mumford and sons

The second I stepped outside a crack of thunder rang in the sky. I gave a small shiver of fright, hoping desperately that I wouldn’t get caught in the storm. I had given Jungkook the quick excuse of a “filming shoot”, when in reality I just wanted to be home when the storm hit. I had a crippling fear of storms- something I’d brought with me from my childhood.

   The walk to the bus stop wasn’t long, only 20 minutes, but it felt like years under the dark, intimidating clouds. I walked quicker, wishing now more than ever to be able to apparate like a wizard from Harry Potter. The second whip of thunder had me frozen in place, and it was just then that the rain started.

   My whole body gave a full shudder under the coldness of the rain, and I willed my legs to pick up the pace again.

   At the third indication of thunder I couldn’t will myself any further. There was a strange sensation in my body: utter and hopeless fear. It was almost as if some invisible rope had tied itself around my legs.

   A sleek, black buick pulled up to the side of the road,and I turned my attention quickly away from the driver, hoping that they would just continue to drive rather than look my way. In the background I could faintly hear the window being rolled down, maybe even a voice calling out to me. But thunder rung dangerously in the air, and my whole body cringed in a way where I was left squatting on the ground- bookbag forgotten, and arms wrapped around myself in a form of protection. The rain pounded down harder.

   I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut- convince myself this was a bad dream, but before I could - a hand reached down into my line of sight, offering to help me up. I lifted my head, before me stood Jungkook, soaking wet, with my bags slung over his shoulder and his hand extended towards me. “C’mon,” He said lightly, but there was no rush to his voice, no indication of anything even remotely close to amusement. He seemed patient- dark eyes watching me with more understanding than I’ve ever seen - or maybe I was just imagining it.

I grabbed his hand, letting him pull me up easily, basically against his body. He placed a hand gently on my waist, probably balancing me, or maybe for the physical support. I wasn’t sure. All I knew was the physical contact gave a much needed sense of relief. Desperately, I fought the urge to lean heavily against him. “...but the door’s unlocked, you can get in.”  

Whatever he had begun with was lost due to the pelting rain and obnoxious booming in the sky, but I got enough of it to move hesitantly towards the car. I was unsteady, and every time another boom of thunder sounded: I cringed. As I moved towards the car, I thought humorlessly about how at another time I’d be running over just what kind of life Jeon Jungkook lived to be driving a black buick. But at the moment, the relief from the rain, and little sound barrier from the thunder was enough to leave me thanking whatever gods for him to have crossed my path.

The second Jungkook was settled in he turned the radio on- loud. Any evidence of the storm was interrupted by the music playing through the speakers. I looked over at him, a wave of gratitude surging through my body. He stepped on the gas, hair dripping, clothes stuck to his body. I didn’t ask where he was going, didn’t care. I could only stare.

We drove for a while, going nowhere in particular, I assumed.I watched out the window, not recognizing the scenery of wherever we were. And once again, I was surprised to find how little I cared. Neither of us spoke, but the silence was filled with the music that continued to play through the radio.

So open up my eyes, tell me I'm alive.

The car slowed to a halt, stuck behind a red light, and I looked back over at Jungkook to find his attention directed at me as well.

This is never gonna go our way, If I'm gonna have to guess what's on your mind.        I turned down the music a bit, keeping my sight on the radio pad, rather than looking back at Jungkook. “Thank you,” it sounded inadequate to my own ears. There was not enough to say to express my gratitude. I opened my mouth, wanting to say something more, when Jungkook cut in.

   “My sister also.”

His words were simple, but the tone and the shortness of them had me glancing quickly back at him. He wasn’t looking at me anymore, rather at the red light, probably waiting for it to change. I wanted to ask him, touch more on his comment. But even I was bright enough to pick up on what he wasn’t saying. My sister is also afraid of storms. And something about his tone told me he didn’t want to discuss it.

   The light remained red, and when Jungkook glanced back at me I internally cringed at how I must’ve looked -  still staring at him. “Where do you want to be right now?” I knew he was asking if he should drive me home, but I had no desire to be there. I glanced at the clock- 20:13.I thought of my mom, thinking of how worried she probably was. But Jungkook sat in front of me, hair now only beginning to dry, clothes still soaked.

The storm was long over with. There was no reason for me to still be here. Jungkook was still watching me, I shrugged in response. For a moment I was worried that he wouldn’t catch the movement, but his gaze was held against me like he couldn’t look away. I nodded to the light which was now blaring green at us, and Jungkook’s lips tilted up slightly, just a bit.

track: favorite record - fall out boy

“Are you going to drive?” I asked, finding the strength in my voice coming back.

He shook his head a little, and I could practically see the muscles in his cheeks working to hold the smile back. The car kicked into motion, and I couldn’t help my own smile that worked on my own lips.

It was spring, so it was not yet completely dark at this time, but the sun setting in the horizon made for a beautiful viewpoint. We talking about everything, and nothing all at once. The conversation ranging from favorite hamburger condiments to song genres.

“I’m sorry I just can’t see how you can enjoy modern Fall Out Boy when their older stuff is so much better.” Jungkook argued, raising his hands defensively, before quickly returning them to the wheel.

I angled my body towards him- back resting against the car door. “I’m not saying it’s better now, I’m just saying it’s still amazing.” My smile grew at the look on his face.

After a while the conversation got too intense for driving, and he ended up pulling into a Mcdonald's parking lot so he could angle his body towards me, as well, and continue.

I learned more about Jungkook than I ever thought was possible. Not necessarily important things, just little facts about him that made him seem so much personable.

I learned how funny he was, how he could make any topic interesting enough if you just let him babble about it for long enough. I liked listening to him talk about the things he was interested in - like his friends at the frat.

“Do you really think we’re that bad?” He asked after a while of silence between us.

I looked at him, shaking my head once, and then again for good measure. “No, I don’t.” I admitted, watching as a smile crept it’s way back to his face. “But, I’ll have you know I’ve been best friends with Kim Seokjin for as long as I can remember.”

The surprise lit his face up like a christmas tree. “Kim Seokjin?”

I nodded, smiling at the thought of my best friend. He was, no doubt, going to laugh at me for hours after after the news of this night reached him. Jungkook opened his mouth to speak, eyes wide with new information. But before he could my phone exploded with a loud ringing from my bag in the back seat. He raised his eyes expectantly, and I sighed, muttering a quick, “Let’s take bets on who that is,” before pushing myself over the seat- trying to grab it. This, of course, was a hilarious idea to Jungkook and he burst out laughing. Instead of yelling at me for dirtying his expensive-ass car. I rolled my eyes and dug around blindly in my bag as the ringer continued to go and Jungkook continued to laugh.

   I cringed once I picked it up and was met with the Caller ID of my mom. Nearly 11:00 now, and I hadn't let her know anything of my whereabouts. I quickly hit the green receive option, starting off with a “Hi mom…” Just to let Jungkook know not to pull anything funny. I turned my head to glare at him, another warning for him to stop laughing, and he raised his hands in defense.

“Honey? Oh I’m so relieved to hear your voice, you haven’t been picking up any of my calls. Are you okay, where are you?” My mom spoke quickly through the phone, and I was beyond relieved to hear no anger in her tone.

“Yeah, ma, I’m good. I’m- er,” I glanced at Jungkook to see him watching me expectantly back; “Studying,” His eyebrows shot up, and he mouthed the words ‘oh are we?’ back at me. I shooed him with my hand.

“With who?” My mom’s suspicious voice replied back into my ear and I shifted uncomfortably, really glad that she couldn’t see me. I was a horrible liar, and that was increased by 10,000 when it came to my mom.

“With Mary.” I lied quickly, glancing back at Jungkook to see him typing away on his own phone. I let out a content sigh.

My mom continued speaking for a while, telling me to get home before 12:30, and I agreed lightheartedly. I ended the call with a quick ‘love you too’ before shoving the phone back into my bag. “I was, genuinely, expecting a roasting of a lifetime-” I cut off, looking over at Jungkook who seemed to be paying me no attention.

He continued tapping away on his phone, eyebrows drawn together in concentration.

“Jungkook?”

He looked up suddenly, eyes widened in faux innocence. “Jungkook? Who’s that?” He paused, lips tilting up in his tell-tale sign of mischief. “I thought I was Mary?”  I leaned over to whack on the side of the head, which just lead to an eruption of breathy laughs to arise from him.

“Jungkook.”

He continued to laugh, but waved at me in understanding. “Yeah, yeah. I got it. Type in your address.” He nodded to the GPS in the center console, and I followed his orders, if not a little slowly. He must’ve heard my mom's orders of when I should be back. Honestly, I didn’t want to go home. Spending time with Jungkook had taken all of my thoughts from the mess that was currently my life.

The drive back seemed way shorter than the way there, and when we got onto my street we both agreed that it would probably be better if he didn’t pull into my driveway. Of course after Jungkook, looking scandalized, exclaimed - ‘am I just a dirty little secret?!’

He parked a few houses down, but I wasn’t quick to get out. Jungkook didn’t seem to be in a rush either.

   “I know where you live now,” Jungkook broke the silence with a shit eating grin painted on his lips.

   “Creepy.” Was my immediate response, which sent him into a surprised laugh. There was a moment of silence, where I was staring out at the streetlights and Jungkook as well. “Thank you, for everything tonight.” I looked over at him with a soft smile.

   Jungkook opened his mouth, but quickly closed it after- just giving a nod in response.

   I glanced away, feeling the events of the night actually hit me. “Well, I should probably-”

   He coughed out what sounded like a “yeah.” And it dawned on me that he was probably feeling mountains upon mountains of awkward.

I nodded quickly, and opened the door - stepping out of the car with my bags in hand. Jungkook started the car as I did so, and I waved to the set of headlights behind me. Whether he waved back or not, I couldn’t tell.

[faeghost]

Social hierarchy within The Great Gatsby: Who is the true Alpha?

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most well known works of American Literature, its themes including capitalism, social class, idealism and the American Dream. A special emphasis is made on status and the structure in class that determine the lives of the people living in the 1920s, the novel’s characters being very much out of control in terms of how they rank within society and how that effects them as people. While this social hierarchy is one of the determining features of the characters, it is not the one that will be addressed in this blessay, since there is a different hierarchy in which to place these characters, which will give a better insight into what type of people they really are. It is the roles we often see animals take when living in groups that have to do with how high they rank in their society, the most well known being Alpha, Beta and Omega, while the other, less known are Sigma, Delta, Gamma and Lambda. This blessay will be going over the four most prominent characters found in The Great Gatsby to determine which title applies to them. This way, it is possible to find out the true agency these characters have by looking how dominant, submissive or distant they really are, not only getting a better insight into who they are as people, but also the drive of their actions that push the story forward. So, what is the underlying social hierarchy of the characters of Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan and Tom Buchanan from The Great Gatsby?

We will start with the two most major characters of the novel: Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby. Nick is the narrator of the story who moves from the American country side to a rich neighbourhood on the west coast and becomes friends with his neighbour, Jay Gatsby, after being invited to one of his lavish parties. In order to find out what type Nick is, we have to look at what personality traits he displays and since he is the narrator, this should not be too hard. However, while reading this novel, the reader will already quickly notice that Nick has very little agency and doesn’t voice his opinion on what he sees very often, he just tells it. A good example of this is when his cousin, Daisy’s, husband enthusiastically tells him he wants him to meet his lover, Myrtle. Nick does not seem to question or judge this and goes along with it. Even when a while later he sees Tom hitting Myrtle, he just comments on how the women around the scene are acting hysterical about it and then casually leaves. The only times he seems genuinely invested in whatever is around him is when he is with Jay Gatsby, the first time meeting him also being the first time Nick expresses any kind of emotion. From that moment on, Nick begins to follow Gatsby around, describing him as something great and wonderful. So, looking at this type of behaviour, we can conclude that Nick is not an Alpha, like his social status would suggest, because he doesn’t display any sense of dominance over a situation, does not try to take the lead or attract attention to himself and is happy enough to follow someone around who he deems worthy of praise. This makes him either a Beta or a Delta, which are both types whose main agency is to live a quiet, peaceful life with as little risk as possible and are perfectly content with following someone else. In fact, that is what they prefer. The main difference between Beta and Delta is that Betas will still strive to have a good life, develop their individual talents and obtain what they feel is best for them, while Deltas are too passive to do so and will not try to move above themselves in any way, preferring to stay where they are and settle for that. Taking these characteristics into account, Nick would have to be classified as a Beta, since he is too passive to draw any real attention to himself, but he starts to put effort in his relationship with Gatsby when he begins to care for him as a friend. Jay Gatsby himself was once the poor son of a farming family who, ever since he was a boy, believed he could become someone great and wealthy if he worked hard enough for it, just like the American Dream says. During his life, he made various attempts at getting rich, even changing his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby, and eventually succeeding, even though he had to do it through illegal dealings with gangsters. This already shows ambition and a drive to succeed, which means he is actively trying to make his life better and have an existence that is more worthy of esteem than just working at a farm. A good example of this is when he dropped out of St. Olaf College, because he hated supporting himself as a janitor. This ambition and sense of self-worth can be characterized as two types: Alpha or Sigma. Alphas are the ‘leaders of society’, meaning the ones with the best attributes to take charge, the most charisma, confidence and ambition to be at the highest possible position they can be. Because of this, they get extremely frustrated when they feel stuck in an environment they deem too low for themselves and are generally the most aggressive in getting what they want. Sigmas share a lot of these attributes, the main difference between them and Alphas being that Sigmas are considered the ‘lone wolves’ of society. They aren’t engaged in the ‘game’ of the social hierarchy. In fact, they distance themselves from social standings and status all together, due to a lack of interest and dependence on it. However, because they also possess natural charisma and confidence, allowing them to survive even on their own, they still naturally attract other people towards them who are intrigued by their independent, self-sufficient nature. This way they are similar to Alphas, but still with no ties to the official hierarchy. So, when looking at which one of these types Gatsby is, we must look beyond his charisma, confidence and ambition and instead focus his reasoning. At first, he believes that becoming a wealthier man will give him a better life, which becomes his initial drive to succeed, but then this drive becomes even stronger once he decides he wants to become a successful, rich man in order to win over Daisy, the woman he’s in love with. He does this, because he is convinced that once he will be of the same standing as her, she will leave her husband for him. The focus here is on gaining status and making that the point of his life, which is typically not a Sigma trait, since their climb to higher standing tends to happen naturally, without much effort. However, since Gatsby’s whole life is being dedicated to rising above his original station, even going as far as using illegal methods, his classification is that of an Alpha.

Now we will look at the two second most major characters in the novel: Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Daisy Buchanan née Fay is Nick Carraway’s cousin, as well as Jay Gatsby’s love interest. She was born into a rich family and has lived amongst the higher class her whole life. When she met Gatsby, he had enlisted in the military to fight in WW1 and she promised to wait for him until he got back from duty. However, she later send him a letter, telling him she had married Tom Buchanan for his money. She did this to have security, instead of an unsure future with Gatsby where she possibly would have had little money or would have risked being disinherited. Once she reunites with Gatsby years later, it is clear her marriage to Tom is not a happy one, since he is unfaithful to her and in her unhappiness, she even starts giving little attention to their daughter. However, once she finds out that Gatsby is also rich, she sees more of a future with him and starts displaying more rebellious behaviour towards her husband. Her decisions in life, especially regarding her partners, are based on the guarantee of stability, which already brings one of the types to the foreground: Delta. In actuality, Betas also like security and stability, but they will still take minor risks if there is a better chance at happiness, while Deltas will most likely settle on what is second-best in order to keep the peace in their environment. The best example to show that Daisy is the latter is her final decision of still staying in an unhappy marriage with Tom as to avoid a scandal, instead of seeking a more potential happiness with Gatsby, solidifying her as a Delta. Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband and Gatsby’s love rival, is a wealthy man who, like Daisy, has lived his entire life in luxury and privilege. However, despite being married to Daisy and having a child with her, he also has a lover named Myrtle, who is the wife of a poor mechanic. This is something he is not very discreet about, since he tells Nick he would like him to meet her and starts kissing her in front of him while her husband is gone. He also shows Nick all of his trophies he won during his university days, which he keeps displayed around the house. Much like Daisy, it is much more clear what type Tom is, since his display of confidence, pride and sense of superiority paint the obvious picture of an Alpha to an almost stereotypical extent. Not only does Tom display the major characteristics of an Alpha, but he also displays a shameless attitude when it comes to pursuing women with his extramarital affairs, something that has been indicative of Alphas in terms of looking for potential mates.

In summation, the four major characters in The Great Gatsby are a male Beta, a female Delta and two male Alphas. Since Betas and Deltas are both too passive to truly drive anything forward, usually becoming followers or commenters on what is happening around them, it is the Alphas with their action taking personalities who really cause things to happen. Gatsby and Tom are no exception, since it is their actions that lead to proceedings of the plot. If Gatsby had been more passive, he would not have pursued a rich man’s life so zealously and he wouldn’t be so set on winning back Daisy, meaning the conflict between him and Tom would not have taken place. Likewise, if Tom would not be so overconfident, he would not have taken his extramarital affairs so lightly and have more consideration for his wife, which could have led to a much happier married life. His affair with Myrtle would have had a chance of not existing at all, leaving out her husband’s anger when he found out, which led to Myrtle running out into the streets and being run over by Daisy driving Gatsby’s car. Her husband, Wilson, would then not have had a reason to shoot Gatsby and then himself, believing it was him driving the car. In conclusion, the Gatsby’s and Tom’s classification as Alphas shows they are the true leaders and deciders of what happens in the novel through their actions, while Nick’s and Daisy’s classifications as a Beta and a Delta respectively makes them followers and side players in the story.

Vox Day. “The socio-sexual hierarchy”. Alpha Game. March 5, 2011. http://alphagameplan.blogspot.nl/2011/03/socio-sexual-hierarchy.html. December 12, 2017.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Charles Scribner & Sons. April 10, 1925. Unites States.