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

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

The Triangle(s)

Media

Film & TV

Novels & Literature

Short Stories

Comic Runs/Arcs

All ARCs here