She/They | 26 | Fanfic Writer | Goth Nerd đ€ AO3: xXTheVampireQueenXx Current Fandoms: My Hero Academia (Dabi) and BG3 (Durgetash), South Park 18+ Only Blog
Why do many people who like Endeavor's arc hate when people call it a redemption arc, and say that it's an atonement arc? It's still a redemption arc. Just because not everyone forgives him doesn't mean it's not a redemption arc. A lot of redemption arcs end with not everyone forgiving them. Endeavor never actually claims he isn't looking for redemption. And despite his claim of not looking for forgiveness, he is looking for forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness is nothing to be ashamed about, contrary to popular belief.
Thanks so much for the ask! This is my first one so I hope I answer your question well. đđ
Hereâs my take: Endeavorâs story seems to have been narratively intended as a âredemption arcâ, but it doesnât not work well as one. In my opinion, at the point in the story that Endeavor was âredeemedâ, he missed his window of opportunity as a person/character and was fundamentally irredeemable.
Hereâs my rationality:
In my opinion, the main thing that defines a redemption arc is the way that the character is framed in a piece of media; to simplify, starting with them being generally seen as a âbadâ person and at some point in the story having a change of heart in a pivotal moment, followed up by action, so they are seen as a âgoodâ person by the end of the show. I think this has less to do with how other characters in the story see them and more to do with a meaningful action to (at least somewhat) correct their past mistakes.
I think one good well-known example is Darth Vader from Star Wars, he begins the series as one of the main villains leading the (evil) Empire. In the end, he realizes that what he has done is wrong [change of heart] when the Emperor tries to kill his son Luke [pivotal moment], he then sacrifices himself to save Luke, killing the Emperor and then himself in the process, and ending the reign of the Empire [meaningful action], ending as a âgoodâ person in the eyes of the story [redemption]. His actions did not necessarily undo all of the harm that he did in the past, nor would most of the Star Wars characters probably view him as âgoodâ, nor did he necessarily âask for forgivenessâ. Itâs about the impact that he had on the story; not just having a change of heart and stopping being evil, but actively taking a significant action to fix things.
As far as Endeavorâs story, I think that it is intended to be a âredemption arcâ, in that it seems pretty clear that Horikoshiâs framing of the story is intentionally written for Endeavor to be viewed as generally âgoodâ by the end of the story. Yes, he stops abusing his family and yes he feels bad, but he doesnât take action to make any significant change, especially when it comes to the damage and trauma done to Touya. For a story that engages so deeply with the idea of performative heroism, especially as it comes to Endeavorâs story, in the end there is no meaningful challenge to the concept of heroism or the issues within hero society.
Another reason why I feel that Endeavorâs âredemption arcâ doesnât work is because of the concept of the pivotal moment; what happened that made the character want to change their actions? For Endeavor it seems to have been a combination of finally reaching the number one hero spot, as well as the backlash he received when his abusiveness was exposed the public.
Arguably, I would say what is even more important is not the moment that made him change but a moment that did NOT make him change, and that being the multiple instances of severe harm done to his family members by him. Like, his wifeâs mental breakdown made him realize nothing. His own sonâs literal DEATH (the understanding at the time being that Touya died in the Sekoto Peak fire), from the result of the way Endeavor pushed him didnât make him changeâŠEndeavor had multiple moments during his story that he should have learned from, but didnât. Thatâs why IMO, his âredemptionâ, although narratively intended, doesnât work.
âif you love this character then you must make him happy in your fics, right?â wrong. the horror. suffering. internal hemorrhage. hospital. immediately
Hereâs a hill Iâm willing to die on: Dabi/Touyaâs villainy was way more justified than Endeavorâs âredemptionâ
Part one of many probably cuz I have a LOT to say on this topic.
So, the fact that Endeavor realizes his mistakes demonstrates that he had the capacity to change all along.
It seems like the main reasons that initiated his âchange of heartâ were All Mightâs retirement/ becoming the no. 1 hero, and also to some extent the scrutiny he was getting when all of the abuse he put his family through was surfacing.
Okay so, getting the thing that he prioritized and was obsessed with getting the whole time (which was a main motivator for his shitty behavior), but not in the way he wanted (inheriting the no. 1 title instead of properly âsurpassingâ All Might). And secondly facing⊠dun dun DUN⊠THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS ACTIONS???
Like, the change was never ACTUALLY motivated by the impact his trash behavior had on his family.
It feels like the equivalent of *mediocre analogy incoming* a child throwing a temper tantrum jealous that another child has an ice cream cone that they beat up the other kid up and steal their ice cream cone, only to feel like now that they have the ice cream cone, it doesnât have as much appeal as before they had it. Then the adults or whoever come in, and the kid who beat the other kid up and stole their ice cream cone gets scolded for what they did and THEN the kid acts all apologetic.
And honestly though, I could MAYBE look past it if it were not for the fact he DROVE HIS OWN SON to the point of self-destruction, and (at the time he would have believed) LITERAL DEATH. And THAT was not enough to make him realize how abhorrent his behavior was.
I think it is such a crucial detail to remember that the actual turning point of Touya becoming Dabi, was NOT Endeavorâs abuse nor when he lost control of his powers leaving him on the brink of death and his body permanently mutilated.
It was the fact that when Touya returned home, NOTHING had changed, Endeavor still perpetuated the same shitty, abusive patterns that lead to what happened to Touya. Not even HIS OWN DEATH would have motivated his father to change.
Itâs only through becoming a villain that Endeavor ACTUALLY acknowledges the impact that his behavior might have had on Touya. But again, it seems to largely only follow after he gets scrutinized by the public.
And then what is the response? How does Endeavor âtake responsibilityâ for Dabi? By saying that he will fight him⊠By just resigning to kill his son a second time (I know itâs ultimately Shouto who fights Dabi, but still).
I could go on, but I think Iâve demonstrated my pointâŠ
I kinda have this like... Ideal gray area between Fanon Dabi and Canon Dabi in the "family relationships" department.
Like, part of the horror of what Endeavor did was ruin thier prospects of healthy sibling relationships and of course there's a lot of resentment and complicated feelings and yeah that's more realistic than him just uncomplicatedly loving and wanting to protect them but I feel like there's some stuff in canon that legit doesn't make sense to me and feels like it was just added to turn the audience against Dabi (ie trying to kill Natsuo to make Endeavor sad when Dabi has no actual reason to think Endeavor gives a shit about the guy).
So... yeah. It should be acknowledged and explored how thoroughly Endeavor fucked all of this up BUT I also want the prospect of reclaiming what they all should have gotten to have to feel genuinely plausible, y'know?
A small detail that is so tragic, but so intriguing about Durgetash is that it feels like they were fated to always end in tragedy no matter what route they took.
If Durge had rejected Bhaal, then he would have killed them; if Durge had accepted Bhaal, then they would have been expected to kill Gortash.
Even in-game, there is no way to keep Gortash alive. Even if the Dark Urge allies with him up until the end, he is ends up getting killed by the Nether Brain.
I think that Durge and Gortash are not stupid, and probably were aware that it couldnât possibly end well going into it.
Both of them lived lives where their fates where decided for them; Dark Urge by being the child of Bhaal and Gortash by being sold to Raphael and being made to feel that power was his only means of survival.
A relationship with each other, even if it could never end as they would have wanted was one thing that Durge and Gortash could have chosen on their own terms.
Itâs simultaneously beautiful and also so incredibly sad.
Dabi lowers the cigarette, but doesnât move away from youâŠ
The heat in the air between you lingers, charged and electric.
Your eyes drop, taking in the detail of the metal staples along the edges of Dabiâs mouth. They almost seem to glow in the moonlight, a perfect pairing with his bright blue eyes that have caught your attention so frequently as of late.
Absorbing all of the period cramps of all of my followers. You're welcome, females. You're welcome, theys. You're welcome, brotherhood. Menstrating for ALL OF YOU.
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