The Humbled ARC
The Humbled Arc is where PROT is overconfident – about their life, career, business, calling, craft, whatever… and they have every right to be because they are hyper-competent and have the accolades, experience, and expertise to back it up. BUT – routine is the source of blindness. OR something genuinely NEW shows up, happens, throws them off. A case/victim/project that comes with surprises.
The PROG is an INQ, both externally (the mystery) and internally (where the shaken PROT needs to figure out how they could’ve possibly missed this). After solving the case, figuring things out, or getting their groove back, the PROT’s sense of self is renewed, but with a little more oomph and a few more battle scars. The PROT also doesn’t really dynamically change. These are FLAT ARCs.
There are also Humbled Arcs where PROT completely lacks self-awareness and keep stumbling through as an idiot while the audience can’t stop looking away at the impending and ongoing slow-motion train wreck that is their lives. Another variation is where the PROT has these lofty ideals of how the world should be, what their values are, and sticks to them due to “integrity” even as everything collapses around them.
The Emotional Arc
- STS: I know what I’m doing. I can fix anything you throw my way. I was born for this.
- DSR: [event/mystery/enemy] Oh yeah, I can deal with this. I got it. NBD.
- BWO: Huh. That’s new. Never saw that before. Let me figure it out.
- PNR: Oh, this is a LOT more different/difficult than I thought. But I’m invested.
- AIL: Fuck, I was overconfident and I have no idea what I’m doing anymore. I’ve lost so much.
- CMX: Oh OK, I see I need to humble myself, sacrifice/pay-the-cost to beat this.
alt. CMX: I’m just going to walk away and not worry about it. I’ve lost too much already. alt. CMX: I lack self-awareness and have no idea what’s going on (but the audience sees it and cringes the entire time)
The Stakes
- I’m not as good as I thought I was and people depend on me.
- Everything I thought I knew about my world just got blown up. Who am I?
- Maybe I’m not the best anymore. Maybe I need to retire or quit.
- I need to stick to my values. If if compromise, then who am I?
The Triangle(s)
- PROT: The Top of Game
- People/Allies who PROT will let down
- A past failure that comes back to haunt them (maybe forgot about it). Brings up insecurities.
- The new person/case/enemy that is like nothing before.
Media
Film & TV
Novels & Literature
- Caine Mutiny (1952) by Herman Wouk
Short Stories
- A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies (2018) by Alix Harrow
- Open House on Haunted Hill (2020) by John Wiswell
- Pelican Song (2004) by Mary-Beth Hughes
- Over the River and Through the Wood (1934) by John O’Hara
- The Palace Thief (1993) by Ethan Canin
Comic Runs/Arcs
- Batman (vol.2) #1-11 “Court of Owls” (2011)