#Corruption Arc

[is-that-sand-in-my-waffles]

(On the way to Mandalore for Ahsoka's stint as a student teacher at the academy)

Anakin: "and he totally didn't know I was there because he said, and I quote, HAD YOU SAID THE WORD I WOULD HAVE LEFT THE JEDI ORDER"

Ahsoka: "which could mean nothing."

Anakin: "which could mean nothing."

[this-vs-that]

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[thepictureofwhoriangray]

I’m just a boy who wants his pussy worshipped. Is that such a sin?

[shy-raccoon]

The villain successfully corrupts the hero to their side and regrets it. Maybe the hero is releasing their repressed anger and they are far more brutal, sadistic and violent then the villain anticipated. The villain has to witness their new "partner" commit atrocities they wouldn't dream of. The line of who's the true leader of evil organization eventually gets very very blurred.

[graceshouldwrite]

How to Write Corruption Arcs

We'll be using Walter White from Breaking Bad as a case study!

The Core:

THIS ARC is when your character...

KNOWS the TRUTH

REJECTS the TRUTH

EMBRACES the LIE

Their FATAL FLAW often drives the change

Usually, acting on the truth is always an easy option. In Breaking Bad, Walter White could simply accept his friends’ money to help fund his cancer treatments, but he doesn’t.

TRUTH: help is accessible, there’s a loving community around him, and accepting help doesn’t make him “less of a man”

LIE: accepting help makes him weak, incompetent, and “less of a man”

FATAL FLAW: Pride, amplified by constant feelings of emasculation and self-dissatisfaction after seeing close friends and family around him find success in places he has not

Act One

here, your character...

understands the TRUTH

but is TEMPTED by the LIE

and begins ENTERTAINING the LIE

Ask: what does the character think the LIE can get them that the TRUTH can’t?

The LIE can get your character something that satisfies their FATAL FLAW. Here, Walt begins 𝒸𝑜𝑜𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 the blue stuff because it proves that he is capable of providing for his family and funding his own treatments.

He lives by the LIE that accepting help makes him weak. Making and selling exceptional-quality drugs satisfy his PRIDE.

Even though he initially rejects certain aspects of the drug industry like killing, he’s now set foot into the World of the Lie and will not return. This will cause all the moral backsliding, character change, etc. that happens after.

Act Two

your character becomes...

conflicted between the TEMPTING LIE and the TRUTH they know to be correct

but realizes that only the LIE has what they want

so they EMBRACE the LIE

Ask: why is the LIE so hard to give up on?

Now that your character has tasted the LIE’s rewards, the TRUTH becomes less and less appealing to them. Where there was conflict at first, there’s now grim determination to continue down the path of the LIE.

In a sequence of events, Walt CAN reject the lie, but he chooses to embrace it. He could’ve stuck to his decision to walk away from drug-making after killing his first victim, but he returns. He could’ve saved Jane, who was innocent and just influencing his work partner to quit the industry, but he lets her die.

Each choice is the result of him realizing that his only other option is accepting help (the TRUTH he now rejects).

Act Three

your character...

EMBRACES the LIE

GETS/LOSES what they want at the CLIMAX: if they GET it, there’s a HIGH COST

lives in the AFTERMATH (or dies lol)

Ask: what makes the LIE so destructive?

Now, the LIE has been fully ingrained in your character. They feel less and less remorse each time they choose the LIE over the TRUTH. They may get what they want, but there’s a HIGH COST.

Walt slowly becomes a cornerstone of the drug industry and a high-priority target for authorities, getting the money and self-gratification he’s always wanted. But, when the truth comes out, he loses his FAMILY, who he’s claimed to be making all this money for.

However, a large part of him revels in the fact that they now see him as someone capable, vicious, and a force to be reckoned with. The LIE satisfied his PRIDE, but it cost him everything.

The AFTERMATH shows Walt living with the cost: his community and family have abandoned him and he lives in exile after living the LIE and embracing his PRIDE.

When he eventually dies to protect his work partner Jesse, we could interpret it as Walt returning to the original TRUTH: doing something out of self-sacrifice.

Or, the more pessimistic interpretation: Walt refuses to die of cancer, and wants to die on his own terms (PRIDE). Jesse also happens to be a living testimony to Walt’s rise to greatness and eventual domination—a living legacy. This death just maximizes his egotistical benefit, so, the arc concludes with the LIE swallowing him.

Final Notes

IN THIS SPECIFIC study of Breaking Bad, I deliberately avoided the typical commentary of “oh this is the moment Walt became Heisenberg and was truly corrupted”.

I believe this show demonstrates how humans are often inconsistent, even after we’ve chosen to embrace a certain path. There usually isn’t one specific choice that marks a further downturn (aside from the first time we engage in the lie): after the catalyst, each choice is an opportunity to diverge or continue down a path, and the arc is a sum of these choices. The monster isn’t a sudden creation, but a metamorphosized creature that reaches its full form at the end.

Thus, the most interesting corruption arcs feature similarly inconsistent and conflicted characters. Other good examples include Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars, Viktor from Arcane, Coriolanus Snow from The Hunger Games, and so many more you can find in media.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[sozzledjuja]

last time they saw each other, he exploded and she went full psycho. now they're back... a little more crispy, a lot more traumatized.

happy sibling reunion i guess????

[tenaciousgeckos]

Aka corruption arc, but we don't mind :)

[miyawaki-setsuko]

Setsuko?

h M?

[whump-in-the-closet]

characters who have to redeem themselves. Except “redemption” isn’t what they expected. They begged for forgiveness and now their every action is monitored. They have to let everyone know that they messed up— they can’t go anywhere without the whispers and dark stares following them.

Once proud, they now walk with head bowed and never never make eye contact. They’ve leaned that much. They have scars where everyone can see, purposefully placed there as a reminder of what happens when they mess up. It doesn’t matter how much they swear they’ve changed, the blows come all the same. Casual now— just backhanded slaps and grabbing and quick orders to shut up—

they’ve learned their lesson. They don’t want redemption.

[bloodguts--andangelcake]

"Thick thighs save lives :3"

[killmelmao]

there is banging on the door.

hinata? hinata-san, it's us, let us in!

-@luca-bianchi-in-the-real

*I open the door, and you are immediately greeted by a very tired looking Hina, whose eyes are completely fogged up.*

H hiiiii Lucaaaaa..! Welcome to the humble Akiyama household! Hehehehe...

[takisawa-masako]

There's someone knocking at your door.

ma a sa ko

[@miyawaki-setsuko]

The hell- Setsuko? The fuck are you doing outside?!

[neongalaxiie]

Villain slumped against their bean bag, dropping their gaming controller onto their lap and reaching for their soda. A long slurp of the drink and readjustment of the mic, and another match has begun. Villain leaned forward as they earned kill after kill, shouting to their team for some sense of coordination. Some people just didn't know how to play, did they?

Villain practically carried their team, but was eliminated by the end. They left the match, having enough of ranked games, and settled for a more relaxed mode.

Suddenly, the door slammed inward, hitting the wall hard enough to leave a dent. Villain sat up, sliding their headset off and saw Hero standing in the doorway, head down, with a shadow over their eyes. Their body was tense, their expression grim, and their fists balled at their sides.

Villain's eyes widened. "H-hero? What are you doing here?"

Hero raised their head just enough to peer up at Villain from the top of their glowing eyes. Their demeanor didn't change apart from a scowl. Villain swallowed.

Nobody said anything for a few seconds.

Then Hero broke the oppressive silence with a low growl. "Don't call me that."

"I'm done being a hero."

[naniguini]

When a character goes through a corruption arc and now they are going to hurt their cinnamon roll ally/friend/partner/etc. and you just have to deal with the feeling that can only be described as watching someone about to kick a puppy and not being able to stop it.

[swemtpotamtam]

Deepest Despair

@/superkay-art and I have been talking about our sweet dnd babs and the evilest idea popped up - what if a corruption arc happened👀 so here's corrupted Artemys