The Tempted ARC
The Tempted ARC is where the PROT sees a bright shiny object, wants it, goes after it, and then realizes they chewed off more than they bargained for. It’s a mix of FOMO (fear of missing out) and FAFO (fuck around and find out). The thing they’re going after could be empty like popularity, wealth, power, a new high, an affair, or just the glitz and glamour of the big city.
After the “first taste”, the PROG gets caught in ever escalating situations that causes more harm, increases risk, asks more and more, costs more, puts them in more dangerous situations… and leads to disillusionment, disenchantment, and has the glaze of their eyes wiped off, the rose-tinted glasses shattered.
The Tempted ARC is typically a NEGATIVE ARC, a “cautionary tale” that teaches the audience that “not all that glitters is gold”. It is the monkey’s paw, the deal-with-the-devil, it’s hubris. PROT usually cheated, made a dirty pact, strayed, acted out-of-character, or something.
The Emotional Arc
- STS: It’s not enough. I want more. My life is boring, stable, or I’m poor and lack power.
- DSR: [taste of more] Oh wow. That was uh-MAZ-ing. What the fuck was that? How do I get more?
- BWO: WHAT?! There’s this whole other world I’ve never experienced before? I WANT IT ALL!
- PNR: I got in? I got in! This is THE BEST!
- AIL: uh… wait… I didn’t sign up for this. Not like this. Oh no. REGRETS!!!
- CMX: This is too much. Look at everything I’ve lost. I need to walk away.
alt. CMX: They don’t walk away or get away. They simply get crushed and destroyed by this world.
The Stakes
- FOMO - What if this was all there was? I couldn’t imagine such a dull life.
- FAFO - This shortcut is exactly what I need to get to the good life.
- ANYTHING is better than the shitty life I have now.
- I’ve been good my whole life. What is I just want to be wild for once? Why can’t I try new things?
The Triangle(s)
- PROT: The Bored or Nothing-to-Lose
- A way into a “cool world” - a guide, or someone to vouch for you (usually a predator who wants something in return later when you least expect it and it costs too much)
- Innocent lives who will be hurt (fellow prey or collateral damage, like friends and family)
- A “Half-Man”. Someone who went this path, survived and lives to tell the tale, warning others.
Media
Film & TV
- The Last King of Scotland (2006)
- Jurassic Park (1993)
Novels & Literature
- The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Short Stories
- The Court Magician (2018) by Sarah Pinsker
- Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers (2015) by Alyssa Wong
- Little Free Library (2020) by Naomi Kritzer