Character Theory Good-Bad Shifts In Character Arcs

[M.J. Saulnier]

Right now I'm doing a fairly complex solo story with very interesting character arc dynamics, with one in particular that is proving to be compelling, challenging, and rewarding. It involves two protagonists growing close, and then apart to a polarizing extreme. One will head up the new protag order that evolves through the plot. The other will found a new antag order.

In the beginning of the story, they are the lead male and female of the youth characters. They are young, innocent, true protagonists to the core. They grow to be love interests, and as the love is fighting to bloom, a series of events forever shatters it. I can't give anything away, but bad blood is placed between them, and I've made it so that the person who committed the transgression, actually retains their protag status (body snatching villains FTW), whilst the bitterness consumes the other until they become an antag, in-that they stand directly opposed to our female protag.

It's going to be one hell of a journey for both characters, and I want to stress that our male doesn't become a straight up villain, it's a more greyish, "I'm going to stop you from leading these people, because you're a murder, villain inside them or not. There was another way." So it's a complicated dynamic created from complicated plot work.

I love grey areas, and shades of morality. And I am pumped about this dynamic unfolding, but it's a challenge. It has to be done just right. I have the catalyst event mapped out, it's all set up properly, it's the face-heel evolution of said male. Face-heel transitions are actually something I haven't done a lot of in RP, ever. So lately I've been chopping at the bit to do this in a significant way, and this character dyamic was born directly from that desire.


So I'm wondering if anyone here wants to talk about face-heel character arcs.

 

[Idea]

I can't say I've ever heard the expression "face-heel character arc" before and I didn't quite pick up on what it was reading your opening post either. Could you maybe explain what they are?

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

I can't say I've ever heard the expression "face-heel character arc" before and I didn't quite pick up on what it was reading your opening post either. Could you maybe explain what they are?

It comes from professional wrestling, which I was a huge fan of as a kid. I like it more than protagonist and antagonist. Role players tend to polarize those terms. So if you say a character is a antagonist, more people think the evil villain, someone out to do harm for the sake of chaos or gain. I prefer greys, and for those who know wrestling, there's no good or bad, except the odd character who's packaged as a boy scout or evil wrong doer.

 

[Idea]

It comes from professional wrestling, which I was a huge fan of as a kid. I like it more than protagonist and antagonist. Role players tend to polarize those terms. So if you say a character is a antagonist, more people think the evil villain, someone out to do harm for the sake of chaos or gain. I prefer greys, and for those who know wrestling, there's no good or bad, except the odd character who's packaged as a boy scout or evil wrong doer.

Ah so basically a morally grey character not attached to the label of hero or villain. Am I in the ballpark?

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

Ah so basically a morally grey character not attached to the label of hero or villain. Am I in the ballpark?

Yes. A face ( or 'babyface' spawned from how you package a wrestler based on their default aesthetic) is someone you'd classify as a protagonist for the sake of the story, but might be a dick, or be capable of bad stuff from time to time to save himself or those closest to him.

Heels might be capable of cooperating or even colluding with the other side. Nothing is worse to me than stubborn extremes in characters.