I saw an article the other day on Xiahongshu about Enneagram Tritype 458. Certain passages hit me as echoing some of Lawâs behavioral and emotional pattern, as well as LawCora/CoraLaw relationship dynamics. What follows are quotes from the article plus my brainrots.Â
General description
Description of 458 by Katherine Fauvre:Â
âIf you are a 458, you are intuitive, knowledgeable, and protective. You want to be original, wise, and straightforward. You study what makes people tick and form strong opinions about what you learn. Somewhat introverted, you are identified with being an intuitive, strategic thinker. You see and focus on the interconnections that others often miss.â
Itâs possible that Law is 458, although Iâm not entirely sure about the 5 part. I personally donât find canon Law to have exhibited a lot of archetypal 5-ish energy. If he has 5 in the head triad, then it probably comes with a strong 6-wing (without some 6-ness, his crew would be too much for him handle, not to mention strawhats). We donât get to see much of his purely scholastic aspect (though explored much more in fandom) until near the end of Wano Country arc, where he intends to continue journey in search of historical truth and Will of D. It might be that he had been operating mostly under 4/8 energy, which drove him to vendetta against Doflamingo and relegated his 5-ness to a more instrumental position. Only after that score was settled would his 5-ness emerge as an end in itself. Or it might be that One Piece characters are generally more extraverted, more emotionally receptive, or expressive, than their types typically are, as influenced by Odaâs own personality (supposedly ExFP).Â
Attachment patterns
â...they are likely to have faced maternal separation before the age of three, or their mothers were absent for prolonged periods due to career obligations or other reasons. In infancy, their subconscious countered this maternal separation anxiety with an attitude of âI don't need it.â Yet, they do not reject their own emotions; rather, they obsess over and take pride in their blossoming independence, while exploring their emotional landscapes through complex, physical means, such as biting their nails (until they bleed), picking at their wounds (until they bleed), playing with knives or sharp, hazardous objects, and harboring an unquenchable impulse for high climbs and risky maneuvers.â
Taking âmaternalâ to mean âunconditionally loving figuresâ, Law experienced this kind of separation 3 times: first from biological family, then from Corazon, and recently from his crew at Winner Island [1]. On one hand, he is indeed private about his past and feelings, even with close people. His crew doesnât seem to know much, if anything, about Corazon. According to official novel, Wolf also had no idea about either Lawâs past in Flevance nor Corazon. Even if child Law held any kind of tentative loyalty towards Doflamingo, he probably told Doflamingoâs people very little about Flevance beyond the vague and the factual (not that they, maybe except Doflamingo, for whatever reason, cared to know).Â
[1] which makes me feel very sorry for him. Separation happens not as a past experience, but a living reality.Â
On the other hand, Law doesnât seem to suppress his feelings either. I find his way of processing emotions somewhat characteristic of the 458 combo. 4-ness in tattoo and jolly roger design, which he flagrantly displays [1] without explanation [2]. 8-ness in pursuing revenge and executing justice. 5-ness in the honesty and humility with which his backstory was toldâarguably inopportune, as is told primarily to Doflamingo mid battle, although Luffy is supposed to overhear it. I personally see this as more of a 5 thing, because the focus is not on Lawâs own pain and victimization. Instead, the point is to explain to Luffy (and Sanji, who had raised the point earlier) why Law was so fixated on personally confronting (and hopefully defeating) Doflamingo, which, according to plan, should have been Kaidoâs business (?). Itâs because Cora-san, who is so good and kind, and who gave Law so much love and saved Law from becoming the very monster that Doflamingo is right now [3], was murdered by Doflamingo. Therefore, Law hates Doflamingo for taking away his dearest person. Furthermore, Law has no other way to repay Cora-san other than to fulfil the cause that Cora-san had hoped to achieve, and to live the way Coran-san supposedly wanted him to live. While the narrative is heavy with emotions, I find it to contain very little self-pity or ego. The emotions felt almost objectively true.Â
[1] Are the heart pirates the only ones that put jolly roger logos on whatever they wear?
[2] Iâm not sure if Doflamingo misinterpreting it the whole time is Lawâs intention, so as to avoid trouble early on. But Doflamingo getting it wrong for over a decade, and blew a fuse when finally figured out, is hilarious.Â
[3] For that matter, itâs possible that Law is actually more sympathetic towards Doflamingo than Rosinante is. Rosi genuinely saw Doflamingo as a monster that actively enjoys dumping hate onto and hurting many entirely innocent people, which Rosi finds not only unacceptable, but also completely unrelatable and unimaginable. That said, Rosiâs inability to pull the trigger on his brother might also have more to do with Rosiâs own personal ethics, than with whether Doflamingo still retained any shred of humanity. Law, on the other hand, went through that phase of nihilistic, mad vengeance himself. He probably saw Doflamingo less as an entirely different species, and more as his own potential future had Cora-san not intervened. Nonetheless, this understanding doesnât hinder, or might have strengthened, his judgement that Doflamingo is a criminal far past the point of redemption that must be permanently removed.Â
Emotional exchange:Â
âTheir emotional world is simultaneously guarded and intense. ⊠much like E8, they crave intense emotional experiences. Thus, in relationships, they may test (and simultaneously experience) another personâs emotional responses through provocative, offensive, or hurtful means. âŠif someone manages to withstand this turbulent testing and âinjury,â the 458 can quickly develop a profound interest in them, potentially forming a deep bond. They may then become highly susceptible to that person's manipulation and control out of fear of losing this rare connection (even if they are consciously aware of the deception).â
I find the testing and hurting process fairly obvious in child Law and Coraâs early interaction. What I want to comment on is âsusceptible to that personâs [influence] out of fear of losing this rare connection". At the end of Dressrosa arc, Law and Sengoku had this dialogue where Law looks like he only just realized that Cora didnât save his life because of the D initial. I personally think Law had always known Cora-san loved him as a person, not because of D. Cora only ever brought up D once with Law, in their first actual conversation. Coraâs plan was to hide somewhere once Law ate the Op Fruit, and had prepared to live fugitive lives thereafter. And Coraâs last words, which he knew Law could hear, was âLeave him alone [Doffy]. He is free.â Â
But Law, for âfear of losing this rare connectionâ, needed something to cling to. Now, the 458 combo actually offers a convenient coping mechanism, because 5s are known to form emotional connections with their ideas, while 4s form emotional connections with their emotions. Given that Law actually knows really little about the person Rosinante, ideas such as âtake down Doflamingoâ, and by extension, Will of D, are probably Coraâs only accessible relics. Obsessing over these ideas then allowed Law to still feel connected with the Cora in his mind. For that matter, Lawâs âSilentâ is an example of how far he can go. Although, for some reason, Law seemed to have forgotten (fortunately Sengoku doesnât, and remembers to remind Law) that the most important legacy that Cora left to the world is Law himself [1].Â
[1] Granted, Law did tell Doflamingo something to the effect of âwhatever I achieve is to Cora-sanâs creditâ in the Dressrosa arc. But that seems to mean the extent to which he (and by implication, Cora) can thwart Doflamingoâs evil schemes. Â
















