animal arc

A personal character evolution — real or perceived — where someone gradually becomes more catlike in their behavior: increasingly independent, harder to read, more selective about who they give their time and energy to. A cat arc often follows a period of over-giving, burnout, or social exhaustion, resulting in someone emerging cooler, quieter, and significantly less available. Online it's used to describe both personal growth journeys and fictional character developments where the character stops trying to please everyone.

The narrative trajectory someone goes through as they escalate — or de-escalate — from agitated behavior. Used to describe a person's journey through a period of high aggression, especially when viewed from the outside with some narrative distance. Someone who was raging online for weeks and then suddenly went quiet has completed their aggy arc. The term borrows from character arc language, framing real-life behavior with the detached analysis you'd give a TV protagonist.

The story arc of a player — or occasionally a streamer or pro — during which their gameplay deteriorates so badly, so publicly, and so consistently that observers begin narrating it as a character development. The int arc is watched with fascination: each death builds the lore, each terrible decision adds a chapter. The arc framing implies it has a beginning, a chaotic middle, and an eventual resolution — usually either a ban, a public breakdown, or an unexpected comeback that redeems the whole thing cinematically.