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Enneagram types of DW characters - Jake (sx/sp 5w6; The Investigator/The Problem Solver/Confidence)

I've recently gotten into the Enneagram, which is basically a personality typing system focusing on which core desires and fears are driving our behavior. And reading about it, I've started wondering which types our Duskwood characters would fall under, and how I could connect that to their overall personality and journey. So... here we are.

Obviously hackerboy is up first :)

2 warnings before hand:

1.) This contains spoilers all the way to the end

2.) This post is (embarassingly) long "xD

Tbh I've considered explaining the Enneagram a bit, but that would make this post even longer, so... I'd rather not lol I'll look at Jake's core type first, and the wing and instinctual stacking afterwards.

Jakes core type: Type 5, The Investigator

The first thing to look at with Enneagram is always the core type, as it is truly the most important and integral aspect. However, the core type is mostly defined by a person’s core desires, needs and fears – but might not necessarily translate to stereotypical behaviour, outside of a few core traits (something a lot of places and people on the internet get very wrong). In part, this is because behaviour is then influenced additionally by other factors (the wings and instinctual variants). Hence, the core type can be difficult to determine… but Jake does me the favor of being a very clear type 5 ;)

Type 5, also called the Investigator, is part of the head triad, the part of us that mostly focuses on understanding the world and finding out how to best function within it. It’s the area that delas with logic, thoughts, but also the resulting fears. And type 5s overexpress this desire to understand the world, they are driven by a deep need to understand everything about the world as they spend a lot of time within themselves (they’re own heads) trying to figure it all out. To them, the world is this big, complicated place full of possibilities – specifically full of possibilities for anything to go wrong. And how do you deal with that? By trying to understand everything, know everything, and be as capable as possible. Knowledge is power after all, right? Hence their greatest desire is to know, learn, improve and be able. On the other hand, their greatest fear is to be incapable, unprepared, useless, helpless in any given situation. And Jake shows this kind of drive quite clearly.

He approaches problems in a logical, emotionally detached way like puzzles to be solved. He’s very good (and trained) at gaining information and values this very highly. He has a lot of appreciation for the truth and the search for it, and values arriving at his own conclusions over just trusting what others say – just look at his profile quote (“Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it”. Said by a French author of fictional and autobiographical books, btw). He believes fully understanding the situation around Hannah’s kidnapping is going to be the key to finding her. When going into the mines in Ep10, he has clearly done his research and directly says he “wanted to come prepared”. Like most 5s, Jake often feels very “in control” of himself and his surroundings. 5s also have a habit of trying to cut down their own needs (as they fear being overpowered by them) and are often withdrawn. They value independence and their own resources (like their time) very highly. Hence, they are often picky regarding who or what to spend them on. All characteristics Jake shows.

The sin or emotional vice associated with 5s is avarice. A need to often keep the knowledge and information they gained to themselves. We see Jake displaying this tendency too, as he is reluctant to share his and MC’s findings with the others, even saying at some point he’d prefer if only MC and him knew about “those things” (when Cleo knows too that Thomas got a second key to Hannah’s apartment for example). He only agrees to share their info with the group rather late and for the sake of MC, the one person he does trust. And then, he even compares the knowledge to a treasure they protected.

On the other hand, 5s greatest fear is being incapable, and we see this with Jake too. When he and MC look through the photos of Michael Hanson’s house together, they see MCs name on a card. Jake admits that this is getting to him, and of course it would get to most people to know a murderer has a loved one on their hit list. However, Jake’s direct wording next is interesting: he says he wants to protect MC, and this is reminding him that he can’t. It’s not just that MC is in danger, Jake’s fear is that he is incapable of changing that and saving them. Very 5ish.

This also puts another moment in the game into perspective. Jake had to witness Hannah being kidnapped on the phone, while being completely incapable of doing anything. This would be hard for anyone of course, but for a 5 the added issue of being unable to do anything would really make this their worst nightmare. We don’t really see Jake’s reaction to this in detail, but we can infer somewhat how hard this was for him from how he treats MC after they go through the same with Richy. He blatantly limits MCs involvement in the investigation from then on (not showing them a brightened-up version of the security camera video for example) because he wants them “to rest”. Because they had to go through something horrible that shouldn’t be underestimated. Not even MC saying they’re fine changes his mind here. Maybe he sees this as such a horrible thing to happen to MC because it was this horrible for him.

Health level, disintegration, and integration

According to MBTI theory, every type’s behaviour can change drastically depending on how healthy they are, and every type shows typical behaviour when under stress or if on the contrary very relaxed. And surprisingly given his harsh situation, Jake is overall actually rather healthy.

Unhealthy 5s withdraw to a point that they become reclusive and completely cut themselves off from the world and others. This is the only unhealthy 5 trait we see from Jake (and noticeably more so at the start, as he develops out of this and becomes healthier throughout the game). Additionally, unhealthy 5s can become eccentric, nihilistic, phobic, and delirious. They become antagonistic towards everything, abrasive, cynical and argumentative. But Jake is none of that. The only trait I can kind of see in him too is that unhealthy 5s tend to become intentionally extreme, provocative in a way that tries to hold others at arm’s length. He appears like that for maaaaybe the first 10 lines of dialogue, but drops this behaviour super quickly.

At their absolute best, 5s become open minded visionaries with outstanding perceptiveness. They are curious, driven and openly excited by knowledge. While Jake isn’t quite there currently, he definitely shows the capacity for it. Being neither clearly unhealthy nor at his very best makes Jake mostly ‘average’ as far as his health is concerned – but I’d argue that given the horrible situation he’s in, this is very remarkable already.

When 5s are under extreme stress, they can disintegrate into Type 7. This means that they pretty much adopt the 7s worst qualities: they become scattered, unfocused, and above all reckless. Despite having to deal with a lot of stressful situations, we rarely see Jake become reckless. Lilly posts a video revealing crucial information about him, that could lead his persecutors directly towards him? No freaking out, no getting impulsive. Jake stays calm, rational and level-headed. There is pretty much only one (maybe 2) instance(s) I can think of when Jake does get reckless. The vote. When Lilly has the friends group vote if MC can stay in the group chat or not, Jake jumps in and downright threatens the group to have MC stay in the group chat. This is far from typical behaviour for him – while Jake might look intimidating at first (probably intentionally so on his part) he never engages in similar behaviour again. In fact, after Lilly takes the video down, MC can speculate that Jake threatened her. And he even seems somewhat bewildered at that notion, saying of course he didn't. I’d also say his actions during the vote were… unnecessary. When he jumps in the vote is at a tie, with the others agreeing to wait for Dan. So, there would have been time. Half the people in the chat (Jessy & Cleo) voted for MC, but they get included in the threat anyway. And honestly, even if we were kicked – what’s it change? We can still talk to Cleo and Jessy and at that point, it’s not as if the other guys were helpful. And in the end, I’d say Jake’s action didn’t change anything, as Dan votes for MC to stay anyway. It only caused unnecessary conflict and had Jake expose himself to the others in a way he normally avoids. Definitely looks like he was reckless because he was stressed (and of course what causes him the most stress in the whole game is basically the others being mean to MC. No comment ;D). (Potential instance number 2: when he goes to the mines instead of MC, with a rather reckless plan.)

On the other hand, if 5s are relaxed they integrate into Type 8, meaning they adopt some of the 8s better qualities. They become more self-assured and confident, especially in their ability to lead. And because 8 is a gut type, they learn to balance their instincts, feelings and head better then they normally do (when they trust only their head). It’s subtle, but I’d argue Jake develops into both to some degree as the game goes on. He agrees to join the group chat for MC and kind of falls into somewhat of a leader role (a role that is normally more with MC, who gets the last say on most issues). He becomes more secure in talking to people. And he shows more willingness to consider his and other’s feelings: he’s willing to accept his feelings for MC for example. In episode 9, we even see him care about Jessy’s emotional state (someone he’s otherwise not close to). During his last call, MWAF said he killed Richy, and MC has the choice to tell Jessy this or not. If MC doesn’t, Jake talks to them about this, saying bad news are sometimes easier to take from a trusted person. He’s nudging MC in the direction to tell Jessy, because he assumes this would make it easier for her.

Interestingly, a lot of media naturally puts characters of a specific type at odds with characters of the types they disintegrate or integrate into. So, in Jake’s case 8s and 7s. Wanna know who’s a very clear 8 in the DW cast? Dan. We might have a 7 too, tho it’s harder to type. Phil. Checks out, no? ;)

In conclusion, despite the whole story revolving around his half-sister being missing and Jake having to go on the run again, he clearly becomes healthier and more ‘relaxed’ throughout the game. All thanks to his connection to MC (the power of loveTM ;D).

2. The wing: 5w6, The Problem Solver

A Type 5 can have 2 different wings: 4 and 6 (as those are the 5s neighbours within the Enneagram diagram). This means they either show more characteristics of a type 4 or type 6, though in either case these ‘characteristics’ are still filtered through a type 5 lense.

Type 4 itself is called the Individualist or the Romantic. It is part of the heart triad, meaning they focus on the search for their own identity and value. Type 4s overexpress this area too, causing them to feel a deep need for self-understanding and self-expression, while ultimately desiring to be fully understood by others as well. As a wing for the type 5, so a 5w4, this type gives 5s a better connection to their emotions and makes them more sensitive. It causes them to use their gained knowledge and skills as a way to define themselves and makes them overall very individualistic. This means they’re often drawn to the arts. It also means that the self-reliant 5s often go full “fuck the system” on principle in this subtype.

Type 6 on the other hand is also called the Loyalist and a fellow head type. But while Type 5s overexpress their search for understanding, 6s are out of touch with it, causing them to look for security through the outside world (for example through rules, systems, relationships with others). A 5w6 therefor is a ‘complete’ head type (as both 5 and 6 are head types) and tends to have less of a connection to their own emotions as a 5w4. The 6 wing gives these types a need to use their gained knowledge and skills for the sake of security – their own or that of a loved one. The 6 wing also makes these subtypes more willing to go along with established rules or systems (however they are still 5s… so if a system or rule fails them, they’ll go “fuck the system” quickly anyway ;D).

At first glance, I was about to go with a 5w4 for Jake: he’s clearly not about to trust any form of established authority, but feels 100% like he only trusts himself and is willing to fight the whole rest of the world if needs be. Very “fuck the system”. But looking a bit more closely, I don’t really think Jake fits the “uses skills for self-identification” side all that much. He doesn’t really care about being called a hacker (or any other names), not about how others see him (minus MC), or about expressing any form of ideals or any “higher purpose” he ever got into hacking for the in the first place. I just don’t really see the “search for my own identity” thing with him. On the other hand, he does focus a lot on security. For one his own, but even more so MCs. When he must go on the run, Jake deems it unlikely his persecutors will go after MC – but creates a bot to protect them anyway. Even with an added function that said bot immediately notifies him if MC is in danger. And even after that, he has an ace up his sleeve (=sacrificing himself for MC). This looks quite a bit like the type 6s typical way of going through all possible bad solutions and trying to come up with a contingency plan for all of them.

Additionally, the 6 wing adds scepticism to the critical thinking of the 5, making it even harder for 5w6s to open up to others. They’re also more assertive then 5w4s though – they’ll put their foot down if they deem it necessary. Clearly, these 2 characteristics fit Jake well. They are also more analytical and disciplined, able to focus extremely well on specific tasks – hence their nickname the Problem Solver. Again, we see Jake display both those qualities. Also, 5w6s apparently very often come with that typical adorable nerdy social awkwardness. We can clearly put a check mark behind that ;)

My best guess is that Jake appearing more antagonistic towards authority/systems/rules etc is because of the things that happened in his life, that pushed him into taking more of a stance against them. The only other characteristic of a 5w4 Jake has IMO is that he is actually pretty sensitive and good at expressing his emotions. But I think the reason for that is his instinctual stacking, not a potential 4 wing.

Jake being a 5w6 also has a cute side effect: it means he mirrors his sister Lilly. Lilly is a 6w5, meaning her core type is a 6 and her greatest desire is to search for security and safety through different means. Her 5 wing gives her an analytical, observant, and focused side, and a greater willingness to do her own thing. We can see this clearly in how she found out information about Jake via checking Hannah’s old e-mails & released that infamous video, an action driven by her need for safety and executed via smart research (I mean, it sucked for us, but girl was smart). Jake and Lilly even show the common conflict of 5 vs 6: Jake as a 5 is self-reliant and will prefer taking matters into his own hand over trusting authority (like the police), while Lilly as a 6 is more willing to trust authority and instead focuses on the possible negative consequences her own actions could cause. However, because they wing with each other’s types, this contrast is easier to overcome and the 2 also share quite some similarities (they’re both loyal and observant for example). I dunno, I just find that cute :)

3. Instinctual Stacking: sx/sp/so, Confidence

There are 3 different instincts in Enneagram theory. The first is self-preservation (sp), the instinct focused on our own survival and physical well-being. From reminding us to eat and sleep to focusing on stuff like establishing safety, this instinct will focus on making sure we have everything we need to preserve (duh). The second is the social instinct (so), the instinct that makes us see ourselves as part of a social structure. This instinct understands social hierarchies and our place in them and is focused on our interactions with others. And the last instinct is the sexual one (sx), which is also often called one-on-one (the name sexual might be a tad misleading, as it is really not necessarily all about sex – even if in some cases it can be). The sx instinct is about forming deep, meaningful connections to single people (or even areas/topics/causes) and establishing closeness and intimacy.

Everyone has one dominant instinct, an instinct in “2nd place”, and a so-called blind spot (which is listed last).

In Jake’s case, it’s easy to conclude that he is so-blind. The so instinct in 5s often appears as a need to study humans, human society and/or interactions. The so 5 sees the world as “social structures” and often tries very hard to make sure they belong to the capable & knowledgeable group of people. Jake just…. Doesn’t do any of that.

On the other hand, both his sp and sx look pretty strong. Sp is the most “natural” instinct for 5s: a 5s need to study and cut down their needs goes perfectly with the instinct of self-preservation. These types often become truly withdrawn and introverted, they do not mind being alone and tend to be the most secretive of the 5s. They focus on their own security and safety, and we surely have seen Jake being focused on keeping his secrets, being careful and telling us over and over that “it isn’t safe”. He also said himself that he came to prefer loneliness after havinf to go under cover and that it was only hard at the start. Strong sp right there. However, I think his sx is the even stronger instinct, simply because he quickly starts to favor his connection with MC even over his own self-preservation.

Sx 5s are complicated. Where 5s and the sp instinct fit together, 5s and sx decidedly do not. The 5 wants to emotionally detach to focus on understanding, the sx wants to emotionally connect. The 5 wants to minimize their needs, but the sx wants to need. Hence the sx 5 is often at odds with itself, desiring that which they fear, and often suffering for it. They’re a contradiction, torn between two opposite needs. And isn’t that pretty much Jake’s behaviour towards MC, torn between being attracted to them but fearing the dangers of it? And he always talks about trust, stating several times how he only trusts MC and no one else. This is very typical of sx 5s, as trust has maybe the biggest worth out of everything in this world to them.

The nickname for sx 5s is “Confidence”, because their ultimate search in life is for someone (or something) they can completely confide in. In a world of unknowns and potential dangers and fears, they want to find the one thing they can absolutely trust and believe in without any doubt or inhibitions. They want to find the one person or thing that is on their side without question, that they can be “us against the world” with. And for Jake, that is MC (and a quick note: yes, it looks even more obvious with female MC, given the whole romance aspect. But it is clearly there with a male MC too, as Jake trust male MC and confides in them too).

Sx 5s are very picky about their connections though, they hardly would just get close to anyone. They often have clear ideals when to comes to their partners, hence they’re meaningful connections are rare, but they’re absolute. They often feel that chemistry with people instantly too, like Jake did with MC. In fact, Jake clearly feels drawn to MC in Ep 1 (!) already, being willing to answer them a question (like the colour of his hair) despite repeating himself before and after that he reeeaaally shouldn’t. Sx 5s are the 5s more in touch with their feelings, and they are often very romantic, passionate, and sensitive (at least when it comes to their loved ones). This is IMO where Jake’s expressiveness in terms of his feelings for MC comes from (because once he stops trying to deny his feelings, he has no issues telling MC several times over just how much they mean to him). On the “downside”, sx 5s can become so invested in their confidants, they can become easily jealous and possessive. And we see Jake being jealous, and we see Jake being controlling too: when Alan contacts MC for example, Jake cuts that contact off – even if MC disagrees. He’s doing this because he thinks it is safer for MC, but he’s definitely willing to impose his decision onto them here.

(A comment I cannot not make: according to a good number of places I used to read up on Type 5 subtypes…. Sx 5s are often kinky. No real explanation as to why… I guess maybe because they’re passionate, and because 5s normally try to inhibit themselves and their needs so much, and their partner is the one place they’ll allow themselves to be needy in? Well, anyway… apparently that’s a thing. Just thought I’d mention it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

And to be honest, it just checks out that one of the main love interests in a game would be a sx subtype ;)

4. Other exmaples of Type 5s

If you want a few comparisons, here are a few other exmaples I can come up with:

Dr. Stephen Strange from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Strange is a clear type 5 too (tho often mistyped as a 3), focused on gaining knowledge/skill to keep in control of his life. He has a different subtype tho, as he's a 5w4 with either a dominant so or sp instinct, and he's likely sx-blind (so/sp/sx).

Lucius Fox as seen in the Nolan Batman Trilogy. Also a 5w6, potentially a so dominant character.

And Varys from Game of Thrones fits type 5 as well too. I'm a bit less sure about his subtype, but I'd say he's 5w6 sp/so/sx most likely.

I cannot for the life of me come up with another sx 5. I swear I tried "xD

And with this I’m at the end of my character “analysis”. If anyone wants to get a better idea about the Enneagram after this post, I'd 100% recommend this video. This guys has BY FAR the best Enneagram content on the internet IMO (the only downside is that he is rather slow with releasing it ^^"):

The real conclusion here is that I’m way too invested and stupid :) I might however still do this for other DW characters and maybe take a look at how their types reflect (or don’t reflect) their relationships with each other. Or maybe I’ll look at MBTI (however, 99% of the internet seems to think Jake is an INTP, do I really want to write a 6-page assay to fight everyone and convince you all he’s an INTJ? Mhm….). Anyway, if anyone actually read through all this: have a cookie, thanks for reading, and I hope it wasn’t too confusing :’)

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