@restartfromzero replied to your post: @restartfromzero replied to your post: ...
Certainly he can endure it all, but I didn’t mean that. His experience has made his means just as worse as Otto, and that cannot be justified no matter the cost. At least Otto has a excuse for his extreme selfishness, albeit one that is flimsy itself. Kevin plays at being a hero, and in the Previous Era he certainly was. But nothing in the present has such major threats. The only Herrschers that have popped up can literally be counted on one hand, and one of them (1/?)
Is already out of the picture, another is actively rejecting her heritage as a Herrscher, a gem is loose but nothing that can’t be handled, and the last one is firmly on the side of humanity. To put it bluntly, no, he is not as strong as he seems. He’s broken, in different ways. Someone needs to teach him that there are times for mercy…and that in the present era, those times come up far more often. 2/2
I have literally never once said that his actions are justifiable, or that I defend/excuse them. I might on occasion say “can you blame him for doing what he did after all he’s been through”, but that’s the most I do, and even that isn’t an excuse.
As for calling him just as bad as Otto, his methods are terrible on that I can agree upon--But Otto is continuing a war that will inevitably result in a repeat of the Previous Era just to selfishly revive Kallen, and has literally no regard for the lives of people who aren’t her. Otto has purposely manipulated people’s lives, and outright orchestrated the possibilites of the deaths of Kiana’s friends (including his own granddaughter) just to create a controllable Herrscher for his own selfish means. Otto does NOT have an excuse, and he never will. There are no excuses for what he does. Kevin is not thinking of himself, he is not thinking of some personal grudge, or of some grand design for humanity: He is thinking of the future. And I’m not saying that’s an excuse either, I have stated over and over that these are his motives and the reason for why he does things the way he does.
Motive =/= Excuse, please do not mix the two of them up. Whereas one is an attempt at a get out of jail free card, the other is simply an explanation.
Kevin is NOT playing at being a hero, he does not believe himself to be that in the least. What he IS doing is attempting to prevent history from repeating itself.
When the Honkai were first around in Kevin’s era, they started out just the same as they do in the Current Era--They weren’t a huge threat, there were only three at the time that Moths Who Chase the Flame became more active, as stated as the ‘Third Impact.’ It started at that ‘small’ scale in one city, and he is attempting to stop it before the inevitable countdown reaches to the 14th Herrscher. In the Previous Era, at just the 7th Herrscher, that single Herrscher managed to burn down all of Australia within a matter of days. Not a single city, an entire continent. The current Era has already reached the arrival of its 4th Herrscher, short-lived as it might have been--His concerns aren’t entirely unfounded. Not to mention the damage caused by the HoV in that short-lived awakening iirc was worldwide. Yes, Kiana is on the side of humanity, but it does not change the damage that has been done or that it demonstrates the damage a Herrscher is capable of for even that short period of time.
Kevin sees the current world, and he remembers his own, and feels so strongly in addition to the wishes left behind of those who fought at his side. He has seen what happens to the world over and over through the bubble universes, and that has only cemented his thoughts: That history will repeat itself if the Honkai are not wiped out. That is simply fact, and he got to witness that same fact a thousand times over within the Sea of Quanta. Kevin watched the world burn once, he failed to protect it when it mattered most--He refuses to allow it to happen again when he has the means to stop it from ever happening again once and for all. He does not want humanity to be wiped out again, he wants to see it triumph over the Honkai .
Just because he is damaged and broken does not mean he isn’t strong as he seems. He is. At least that is what I believe. It takes a lot for a person to continue getting up every day especially when they’re going to live arguably forever, despite all that he has lost. He may no longer be the idealist he once was when this all started, but he has not lost sight of what is important to him, what was important to the people who fought beside him, and what was important to the woman who he loved. And I’m not saying there is anything wrong with his being broken, but I am saying it does not make him any less strong than he is.
Kevin has NOT lost his sense of mercy. Though he fought with Welt, after realizing that he was on the side of humanity: He acknowledged it, respected that his wish to protect humanity was true, and told him flat out that he does not want to fight him because in the end they do desire the same end: Both want to bring an end to the Honkai. He believes great sacrifice is necessary in order to preserve humanity’s future, but he’s not going to take lives unless he absolutely feels he has to. It’s not something he takes lightly, nor has he ever.
You aren’t required to agree with my portrayal or perception of Kevin. He does terrible things, I never said he didn’t--But there is reason behind it, and good intentions. Regardless, I make the effort not to romanticize him despite how much I might gush about my love for him.
