I'd love to know what you headcanon Xu Mo's mbti as! I've seen a lot of INTJ and INFJ but I feel like you've done so much research into his character (which I am a HUGE fan of by the way, your character studies are top notch honestly) that you'd have a good grasp on what his is the closest to 😊
first, thank you for enjoying my character studies! i feel like i spammed the tag by throwing in everything all at once, haha, oops.
second, before i get into this, i should disclaimer that i actually don’t know much about mbti apart from being intimately familiar with my own. which leads into the next part.
third, i’d definitely label xu mo as an intj which just so happens to be what i am. (funny enough, he’s also a sun scorpio when i’m a moon scorpio which, overly simplified, means we feel and approach things similarly but he does it publicly while i do it privately).
the reason i don’t think he’s an infj is from these sources: 16personalties and type in mind. i’ve put links for those who want to do their own reading but i’ll sum it up below.
basically, infjs are compassionate in their idealism and their second and third dominant function in approaching the world is external feeling and internal thinking. infjs are talented with connecting to people and want to do it warmly. they think the world is filled with inequity when it doesn’t have to be and will work to fix that.
this is the opposite of intj who have external thinking (objective decisions; efficiency in all things) and internal feeling (mull over details; slower to process emotions) as their second and third dominant function, respectively. sounds more like xu mo just from these words, right?
in the glimpses we get of xu mo’s childhood, there’s an impression that he was an isolated child who didn’t care for connecting with others, and he had a single-minded focus:
[Lucien Nightmare SR Rumors and Secrets: Lion Slumbering in the Dorm] shows that he was a quiet kid who minded his own business and was studying advanced topics because he was focused on a goal.
[Blossom Date] supports this too when xu mo says: “Yes, I skipped grades […] Silly, you want to hear about everything, don’t you. It’s the same as how you were before you took your entrance exams, there were things I needed to do.”
[CN Character Profile] there’s a testimony from someone who knew xu mo as a child: “Xu Mo? We’ve only seen one side, but he looks a lot like the small boy I knew when I was young, but Xu Mo’s attitude is much more modest. If that boy is still alive, I hope he’s living like someone as likable as Xu Mo.” — Fan Zihang
xu mo’s idealism is based on cold logical utilitarianism. you see this in the news conference [Chapter 16] when he talks about necessary sacrifices for the advancement of humanity, including himself. [Firefly Date] also has him asserting his belief in mistaken darwinism: survival of the fittest.
the world is full of inequity and he’s not going to change that. the bigger picture is for humanity to ascend with the least amount of casualties, meaning sacrifices have to be made willingly or not.
his ideals, and his methods (creating the virus and then changing his mind in Chapter 16), are pretty much the epitome of: “you were so busy wondering if you could that you never questioned if you should”.
this sort of detached chessboard outlook, not leaving things to chance, massive ambition, the ability to cut off and drop their emotions if it gets in the way, and the intelligence and logical paths to reach that goal is pure intj.
however! i think some people get mistaken in believing intjs to be cold robots and that’s why there may be opinions about xu mo being something else (because he’s socially savvy, right?).
imo it’s a misconception that intjs are robots when it’s just because intjs start off life with underdeveloped emotions. this just means that, in order to fully mature as a person, intjs have to put more effort into developing their emotional side. so ideally adult intjs should be more in touch with their emotions and interacting socially than adolescent intjs.
this is where the type in mind comes in handy again. there are some key quotes in there like:
When NiTe’s are younger, they don’t have enough past experience in various areas of life to pull from in order to know which reactions would be appropriate in social and relational settings. Their safest bet is often to try a small tweak to see if it makes a difference, rather than trying an entirely new approach.
remember fan zihang’s testimony? the present xu mo is more modest and humble than the child version, and he’s clearly more personable than how he was during his high school years (girls love him at the research university). he’s clearly worked on his social skills.
not to mention, it’s not a coincidence that a lot of fictional villains are modeled off of the burning drive and cold logic of intj but still having massive amounts of charm (ex. moriarty and hannibal). intjs, being all about efficiency, can easily put their scary intelligence to use in studying social interactions and mastering that.
but, anyway, to move on a lighter note there’s other smaller traits xu mo exhibits that point him strongly towards being an intj, like having encylopedic knowledge on a ton of things (an esoteric knowledge too, not just science-related).
his extreme curiosity towards things that would push him to do unusual things like watching cartoons to understand human nature [CN Character Profile].
his natural confidence and lack of a need to demonstrate it unless you ask him directly about something (i strongly believe li zeyan is an entj so he and xu mo share a lot of similar qualities too, like this one). they know they’re smarter than a majority of people and they’re so used to this that it’s not a point of pride or anything. just a fact.
xu mo also has an open mind which shows when he listens to whatever MC says without judgment. he takes things in like a sponge and then vigorously tests it in his mind with the tried and true “does this make sense?” “will it work?” and then he’ll gently guide the MC to a better and more efficient path, if he believes there is one.
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