The Arc Models Quests Character Membership
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The arc

See the shape of your life. Then, decide what happens next.

One line, drawn from the day you were born to today, then a dashed stretch ahead for the chapters you haven't lived yet, with the things you're aiming at already on it.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover any mark for its card. The dashed stretch is the future, and it carries three intentions and one crossroads, laid out.

The road ahead: your goals

The part of your line that hasn't happened yet.

Everything behind today is stone. Everything ahead of it is drawn dashed and sways a little, because it isn't fixed yet, and you're the one holding the pen.

Intentions

A hollow dot for something you're aiming at

Name it, give it a date, and it sits ahead of today on the dashed line. When you get there the dot fills in and the words flip to past tense on their own.

Crossroads

A decision laid out as paths

Lay the ways forward out ahead of today, say how easily each could be undone, and choose when you're ready. Come back in a year and read what you thought at the time.

Quest flags

A flag on the day you committed

Embarking on a quest plants a pennant on your line that day, in its pillar's colour, and it stays there after the quest is done.

One moment, one mark

Everything you lived shows up exactly once

A moment you add as proud gets its dot, and its card says proud. Nothing is counted twice, which is the only reason the shape can be trusted at a glance.

Hazy is allowed

You don't have to remember the date

Say the month, or just the year, and the dot sits softly with a gentler glow. Nothing here asks you to invent a precision you never had.

The honest middle

A flat stretch is not a failure

Quiet time runs level rather than sliding down. Nothing decays because you were busy living, and no penalty is waiting when you come back.

Better lost than stuck

Lost is searching. Stuck is the flat line with nothing being added to it, and the difference between those two is the only thing this app is really measuring.

Frequently Asked Questions

The things people ask about the line.

The line

What is the arc in Character Arc?
One line drawn from the day you were born to today, made from the real moments you add, with a dashed stretch ahead for what you are aiming at.
What makes the line go up or down?
Whether a moment was a milestone or a setback decides which way the line turns, and how strongly it landed decides how far. Quiet time runs flat.
What is the dashed part of the line?
The future. Intentions sit on it as hollow gold dots, and each one fills in when you reach it.

Adding to it

Do I have to remember exact dates?
No. Say the month, or just the year, and the mark sits softly at that precision.
How far back should I start?
Wherever you can see clearly. Most people put down five or six moments they'd name without thinking, and the rest surface later. Six honest marks already make a shape.
Can I change a moment after I've added it?
Yes. The date, the word for how it felt, how much it mattered: all of it stays editable, because memory keeps working on the past long after the day itself.
What happens if I stop adding to my arc for a while?
Nothing. Quiet time runs level rather than sliding down, nothing decays because time passed, and there are no streaks.

What it is not

Is this a streaks and habits app?
No. Nothing here counts chains of days or breaks one when you miss. Your arc keeps what a day meant, which is the part still worth reading in five years.
Is my arc private?
Yes, by default. Nothing leaves unless you choose it, item by item, and a shared arc is one outbound link that shows one view.