#mostly about aos kirk and how he's not a vastly different person than his prime self

[riskbvsiness]

// Because I tend to lean on personality types to better understand my muses’ minds, I’ve been pondering about Jim’s enneagram for a while.

There’s a some consensus about him being either a 3 or a 7 but I have my reservations about those who label him a type 7 with arguments like these:

I just have to use Captain Kirk here, even though it’s my only reference to TOS. Really, captain Kirk just wants to have fun. Problems? Concerns? Planets exploding? Big deal! Let’s just move on to our next wild adventure and by the way let’s get some hot alien-chick action along the way. Leave it to Kirk to come up with the last-minute, out-of-the-box creative solution to save your ass and keep the party going. You can have a great time on Kirk’s Enterprise, but have no doubt, it’s Kirk’s ship and you are just along for the ride! 

That’s, like... the most offensively shallow read on the character, honestly. And I do not like it. I’ve seen other people label TOS Kirk a 3, and AOS Kirk a 7, which could make a bit more sense, given what we’re shown of him. It does make sense, too, that the same person, growing up in a different context would develop a different personality type, especially since AOS Kirk grew up rebellious as a response to an environment he perceived as unsafe for him and his loved ones. That is indeed a very seven thing, but I don’t think the type truly fits my idea of Jim.

Like, yes, sevens are optimistic, they’re passionate and endlessly curious, they’re true masters when it comes to thinking out of the box, determined and bold, quick learners who are able to excel in diverse fields thanks to their inquisitive minds. That does fit, but. Sevens are also about freedom and immediate satisfaction, and foremost about avoiding boredom and stagnancy. That is why they keep pursuing different paths in life and are known for their positivity and recklessness, because they’re tools for them to keep on moving. And... I don’t believe that truly fits Jim.

AOS Kirk is younger, and not at his best when he’s first introduced to the audience. He’s not a reckless hothead nor an adrenaline junkie. He may look like one, due to his unhealthy coping mechanisms, but that’s not who he is at his core. See, healthy, mature sevens can learn to focus on a single goal while maintaining other hobbies to keep their fidgety minds occupied, but I don’t think loving the Enterprise the way he does and committing to her is truly compatible with seven’s primary fears and desires. I don’t think Kirk fears pain or inactivity, or desires freedom and excitement more than the average person. He’s constantly torn between his love for the Enterprise and his desire for a quiet life, romance, perhaps a family... but I don’t think that really fits seven’s restlessness in life.

Expectations are key to Kirk’s character. They manifest differently in each verse, but whether they come from others, or from himself, they’re what fuel Kirk’s life. Surpassing them, rejecting them... even reckless, rebellious AOS Jim Kirk can be tricked into entering Starfleet if he’s posed with enough of a challenge. When he says his life aboard has become episodic and thinks of leaving the Enterprise, I don’t think he means he’s suffering from the lack of stimuli sevens need, but rather feelings of inadequacy, with both his father’s and Pike’s legacy to live up to.

That sounds a lot like three’s fear of worthlessness and failure. There’s also a reckless part to three’s unhealthiness, the one that comes with arrogance and a constant need for either validation or attention, whatever comes first. They can be narcissistic, they seek romantic or sexual partners to get their share of external approval. They can be delusional about their actual abilities and try to project an idealized version of themselves, they struggle with perfectionism and imposter syndrome.

And I think that fits AOS Kirk when we see him at his lowest.

I also have some opinions about three’s tendency to pour all of their self-worth into a made-up persona that eventually merges with their core self, this being ‘captain of the Enterprise’ as a concept in Kirk’s case. But this post is already long enough as it is.