14, 24 & 30! c:
42 character development questions!
14. What do they care deeply about? What kind of loyalties, commitments, moral codes, life philosophies, passions, callings, or spirituality and faith do they have? How do these tend to be expressed?
as kilgrave says in canon “before you, i rarely dwelt on anything”. because he can have anything he wants, it’s very hard for him to care about anything. he is very materialistic, but i wouldn’t say he cares about the things he collects -- his clothes are labelled, but i’d imagine he abandons them very quickly, and replaces them. his nomadic lifestyle means that he doesn’t have roots anywhere either, so he doesn’t really care deeply about anything. it’s kind of sad, when you think about it.
in terms of life codes, he lives in a constant state of moral ambiguity. he doesn’t responsibility for any of his actions, so i suppose that’s a life philosophy, in itself. nothing is every his fault. this is expressed in his daily life -- he’s not guilty about the people he’s “let die”. he doesn’t see himself as a murdering, thieving, rapist. but that’s what he is. his lack of guilt is expressed in the fact that he keeps doing morally reprehensible things, and doesn’t stop to think about the people he’s hurting.
kilgrave feels no way about faith. god and religion hold little interest for him, and he’s hardly given it a second thought. if there is a god, then kilgrave imagines him as a distant figure, who doesn’t love humanity. certainly the god of kilgrave’s imagination doesn’t love him. if he did, why did he let kilgrave suffer a child? his lack of religion isn’t expressed in any way, because it hardly crosses his mind.
24. How do they present themselves socially? What distinguishes their “persona” from their “true self”, and what causes that difference?
i wrote a meta about how kilgrave is basically walking persona. socially, he is confident, arrogant, well put together, & generally a successful person. this is a carefully built façade, & we don’t really see anything besides that in canon. except when he sees his parents.
when kilgrave meets his parents again, in the hermetically sealed room, i believe we see his true self, underneath the persona. he is genuinely upset and apologetic. his voice is gentler & quieter. he cries. kilgrave would never cry, but we’re not seeing kilgrave. we’re seeing kevin. kevin is his “true self”, buried under his villain persona, which he donned to cope with his parents abandoning him.
underneath everything, kevin thompson is still a child. he never grew up. he never learnt empathy & never took responsibility for his actions. he never needed to, because everything was handed to him on a silver platter.
on the outside, he’s confident, self-assured, & selfish. but, deep down, he’s still broken & lonely & desperate for love & affection.
30. What is their preferred level of activity and stimulation? How do they cope if they get either too little or too much?
i wouldn’t say that kilgrave is lazy, exactly, but he doesn’t do much with his day. he would rather be watching tv than outside, for example. his preferred level of activity is pretty low, but it’s not nil. if he is stuck inside for ages (more than two days, for example) he gets restless. he paces, he breaks things, he can’t settle. he’s like a trapped lion.
on the other hand, if he wears himself out, then he complains to anyone who will listen. he’s like a toddler who’s been dragged on a family outing. “i’m tired!” “are we nearly there?” all that rubbish. as i said, he’s not lazy, but he definitely prefer a sedentary lifestyle to an active one.
