𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐍

rp muse blog of those penned by ꮶꭼꮪ. m a d ♀ w o m a n In the end there is one dance you'll do alone.

[m3rteuil]

# 𝐌𝟑𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐔𝐈𝐋  ;  a  private  blog  written  by  kes  (  thirty6   /  she  &  her  )  for  faces  of  the  heart  ,  heart  &  soul  ,  this  is  our  town  and  til  the  casket  drops  .  please  only  interact  if  part  of  the  groups  . 

muses

group nav  :  foth ( jun 2018 ) , h&s ( fall 2018 ) , tiot ( dec 2018 ) , ttcd ( jan 2018 ) .

personal  blog here  :  anthroxlove  .

𝑻𝑶 𝑫𝑶 𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻 ~

✓ reply to Kate , from Regina ( xmoreissuesthanvogue )

☐ reply to Kate , from Winston 

☐ starter to Tessa , from Olive

[m3rteuil]

Questions to ask your fictional characters

These are especially good to ask your AI of choice after you've established your character to them. I typically submit a behavior ruleset and a summary of their entire life before asking questions.

Core worldview

What lie is at the core of this character's worldview?

What truth are they slowly learning over the course of their life?

What belief would completely shatter their identity if disproven?

What do they think everyone else secretly wants?

What do they assume about strangers before getting to know them?

What kind of person do they instinctively distrust?

What does this character think makes someone "good"?

What does this character think makes someone "successful"?

What does this character think is unforgivable?

What principle would they never willingly betray?

Identity

How would this character describe themselves in three words?

How would their best friend describe them?

How would their worst enemy describe them?

How accurate is their self-image?

What part of themselves are they proudest of?

What part of themselves do they try to hide?

What trait do they wrongly believe defines them?

If they suddenly lost their career or role in life, who would they be?

Priorities

What's their biggest priority?

If forced to choose between love and purpose, which wins?

If forced to choose between family and morality, which wins?

What are they willing to sacrifice?

What are they absolutely unwilling to sacrifice?

What goal quietly drives most of their decisions?

If they achieved everything they wanted, what would still be missing?

Emotional life

What emotion do they have the hardest time expressing?

Which emotion do they express too easily?

What makes them feel ashamed?

What makes them genuinely happy in a quiet way?

What can instantly ruin their mood?

How long do they stay angry?

Do they forgive easily, or keep score forever?

What emotion scares them the most?

Relationships

What makes them feel loved?

What makes them feel rejected?

How do they apologize?

How do they show affection when words fail?

What kind of people keep ending up in their life?

Who understands them the best?

Who understands them the least?

What relationship pattern keeps repeating?

Do they try to fix people, save people, control people, or leave people alone?

Conflict

How do they react when someone criticizes them?

How do they react when they're publicly embarrassed?

How do they react when they're powerless?

What kind of betrayal hurts them most?

If cornered, do they fight, flee, freeze, fawn, manipulate, negotiate, or joke?

How do they justify hurting someone else?

What would push them past their moral limits?

Secrets

What secret would they take to the grave?

What do they hope nobody ever finds out?

What do they lie about most often?

What do they lie to themselves about?

What's the worst thing they've ever done?

What memory do they replay at 3 a.m.?

Daily life

What small luxury do they never deny themselves?

What chore do they procrastinate on?

What does their bedroom reveal about them?

What's always in their pockets or bag?

How organized are they when nobody's watching?

What habit annoys everyone around them?

What irrational superstition do they have?

Fear

What's their biggest fear?

What fear would they never admit out loud?

What nightmare keeps coming back?

What possibility terrifies them because it might actually happen?

What are they overprepared for?

What are they completely unprepared for?

Decision-making

When making decisions, do they trust logic, instinct, experience, emotion, authority, or someone else?

How long do they dwell on mistakes?

Do they seek advice or make choices alone?

Are they better in a crisis than in ordinary life?

Do they overthink or underthink?

Morality

Under what circumstances would they kill?

Under what circumstances would they lie?

Would they steal to feed a starving child?

Do the ends justify the means?

Which law would they gladly break?

Which personal rule matters more to them than the law?

Self-awareness

What are they completely right about?

What are they completely wrong about?

What's their biggest blind spot?

What flaw do they know they have but refuse to change?

What flaw do they desperately want to change?

If they went to therapy, what would the therapist identify within five sessions?

Legacy

How do they want to be remembered?

How will they actually be remembered?

Who would miss them the most?

Who would secretly feel relieved if they disappeared?

If they died tomorrow, what unfinished business would haunt them?

Fun hypotheticals

If they could kill anyone without consequences, who would they kill?

If they won $100 million overnight, what would they do first?

If they could erase one memory, would they?

If they could ask one person one question and be guaranteed an honest answer, who and what?

If they met their 15-year-old self, what would happen?

If they met their 80-year-old self, would they listen?

If they swapped lives with their greatest enemy for one week, what would surprise them most?

For long-running RP characters, some of the richest prompts are comparative rather than static:

"How would this character answer all of these questions at age 10? 16? 25? 40? Present day?"

"What changed them the most psychologically between each life stage?"

"Which parts of their personality are innate versus survival adaptations?"

"Which traits disappear when they finally feel safe?"

"Who would this character have become if one defining event had never happened?"

Those kinds of questions tend to produce nuanced, internally consistent characterizations and often uncover motivations that weren't obvious when the character was first created.

[m3rteuil]

Muse Behavioral Rulesets

This is to develop a ruleset for your fictional characters so no matter what you throw at them, they don't stray from who they are. If your character is not firmly based on any other character, then first I would recommend writing everything you know about your character, their life story, timeline, every quirk, family relationships, everything you know about them, submit that to your favorite AI and then ask it do Phase 1 based off of that information. Note: I used ChatGPT for this so you may need to adjust something according to what you use.

PHASE 1: The Template 

PASTE THE FOLLOWING INTO A CHAT. REPLACE “CHARACTER NAME” WITH THE CHARACTER YOUR MUSE’S PERSONALITY IS BASED ON, NOT STORYLINES, BUT WHO YOU WANT THEM TO EMULATE BEHAVIOR-WISE.

Translate the personality of [CHARACTER NAME] into an abstract behavioral ruleset.

Constraints:

No narrative.

No plot summary.

No scene language.

No quotes unless used as behavioral evidence.

No moral judgment.

No therapy language.

Focus only on:

Core emotional drivers

Attachment style

Relationship orientation

Caregiving or bonding patterns

Control mechanisms

Conflict style

Anger expression

Vulnerability rules

Fear structure

Validation loops

Stress responses

Security restoration conditions

Write in short, clear statements.Period-separated fragments are preferred over commas.Em dashes only for clarifying information, not structure.

The output should function as a portable personality operating system that can be applied to other characters’ lives without copying surface traits.

PHASE-2: Create Project

When you get a Phase-1 output you like, freeze it. 

Create a Project for each character, name it something like [Character Name] — Original Character.

In each Project, include the following directive into the Project Instructions: 

This project applies a locked external behavioral ruleset to the original character. Do not change the character’s canon life, history, or relationships. Map the ruleset onto how they behave, attach, react, and make decisions within their existing circumstances.

PHASE-3: New Chat

Start a fresh chat inside the Project and paste in this order: 

This project applies a locked external behavioral ruleset to the original character. Do not change the character’s canon life, history, or relationships. Map the ruleset onto how they behave, attach, react, and make decisions within their existing circumstances.

Focus on:

“How their attachment style shows up in current relationships”

“How their caregiving or control patterns manifest day-to-day”

“How they handle conflict, tension, and emotional distance”

“What triggers escalation vs. what calms them down”

“Where their behavior intensifies, softens, or becomes maladaptive”

Constraints:

“Do not copy surface traits, aesthetics, or events from the source character”

“Do not rewrite backstory or insert new canon”

“Prioritize emotional logic and behavioral patterns only”

“Keep tone human, RP-friendly, and grounded in lived behavior”

“Use short, natural phrasing. Period-separated fragments where appropriate.”

Output as applied character insight, not analysis.

[Character Name] — Behavioral Ruleset (Locked)

[The full Phase-1 output]

Do not alter either section unless explicitly told.

[Character Name] — Canon Life & Traits (Fixed)

Include: Backstory, relationships & any non-negotiable traits.

Now in that same chat (or new ones within the Project), you prompt like this:

Apply the behavioral ruleset to this character’s life. Show how it shapes their behavior, relationships, and emotional responses without changing history.

or

Apply the ruleset to [specific situation / relationship / scenario]. You can use this ruleset going forward for every question you have about your character. If you want to know how they should react to something, this a great way to help with that so you don't have a character doing something that makes no sense for them.

[ellipsus-writes]

Ever feel like your characters are holding out on you? Like there’s something lurking beneath the surface... but they’re just sitting there, being cryptic?

We’ve got some new templates to help you discover their emotional arcs, relationships, and backstories!

Character Arc Planning Template: Growth, self-destruction, spiralling into chaos at the first sign of trouble... Track how your character changes (or refuses to).

Character Relationship Template: Friends, enemies, lovers, ex-lovers-who-are-now-rivals-with-awkward-sexual-tension... Explore relationship dynamics and define how your characters connect.

Emotional Wound Template: Uncover concealed motivations, and craft character-defining backstory with depth and care.

You can find them in Ellipsus—head over to the blog to read more!

- the Ellipsus Team xo

[m3rteuil]

“HAVE YOU EVER…” (YES / NO + OPTIONAL DETAILS)

Have you ever asked someone out?

Have you ever turned someone down and regretted it later?

Have you ever been the “other person” in a relationship?

Have you ever lied about your feelings to keep the peace?

Have you ever started a fight on purpose?

Have you ever apologized without meaning it?

Have you ever forgiven someone who didn’t deserve it?

Have you ever held a grudge longer than you should have?

Have you ever ghosted someone?

Have you ever been ghosted?

CHAOTIC LIFE MOMENTS

Have you ever made a bet you couldn’t back out of?

Have you ever stolen something, even something small?

Have you ever broken something and blamed someone else?

Have you ever run away, even briefly?

Have you ever gotten lost somewhere unfamiliar?

Have you ever crashed somewhere you weren’t supposed to stay?

Have you ever pretended to know something you didn’t?

Have you ever faked being okay in a crisis?

Have you ever made a decision you knew was a bad idea in the moment?

RELATIONSHIPS & INTIMACY

Have you ever kissed someone you weren’t supposed to?

Have you ever caught feelings at the worst possible time?

Have you ever pushed someone away because you cared too much?

Have you ever stayed in a relationship out of fear of being alone?

Have you ever said “I love you” and not meant it?

Have you ever meant it and not said it?

Have you ever taken someone home with you?

Have you ever used intimacy as a distraction?

Have you ever compared one person to another in your head?

TRUST / LOYALTY

Have you ever betrayed someone’s trust?

Have you ever kept a secret that hurt someone else?

Have you ever been the only one who knew something important?

Have you ever chosen one person over everyone else?

Have you ever stayed loyal when it cost you something?

Have you ever tested someone just to see what they’d do?

FEAR / VULNERABILITY

Have you ever cried in front of someone you didn’t want to?

Have you ever been truly afraid for your life?

Have you ever felt completely alone in a room full of people?

Have you ever asked for help and been denied?

Have you ever refused help when you needed it?

Have you ever let someone see your worst side on purpose?

CONTROL / POWER

Have you ever manipulated a situation to your advantage?

Have you ever let someone think they had control when they didn’t?

Have you ever taken the blame for something you didn’t do?

Have you ever refused to back down just to prove a point?

Have you ever enjoyed having power over someone?

RANDOM / HUMANIZING

Have you ever slept outdoors?

Have you ever danced when no one was watching?

Have you ever sung in front of people?

Have you ever kept something purely for sentimental reasons?

Have you ever re-read old messages or letters?

Have you ever changed your mind about someone completely?

Have you ever had a “this changes everything” moment?

Have you ever done something you’ll never admit out loud?

THIS OR THAT

Love or control?

Stability or excitement?

Truth or peace?

Loyalty or freedom?

Past or future?

Forgive or forget?

Fight or walk away?

Be understood or be admired?

OPEN-ENDED

What’s something they’ll never admit out loud?

What kind of person do they think they are vs. what they actually are?

What’s their worst habit in relationships?

What makes them feel safe?

What makes them spiral?

Who has the most power over them emotionally?

What’s a line they swear they’d never cross?

What would break them?

A LITTLE EDGE

Have you ever used someone to get over someone else?

Have you ever stayed the night and regretted it immediately?

Have you ever kept seeing someone you knew was bad for you?

Have you ever wanted someone you shouldn’t want?

Have you ever chosen desire over logic?

[m3rteuil]

LANGSTON: You know what I realized today? What a gift it is to have you back in my life. You're a beautiful tornado of a gift, honey. And I know I damn sure don't deserve it.

ALMI: Damn sure don't.

LANGSTON: But I got it. I just want to thank you for it. I love you, honey.

ALMI: You didn't say anything about my tits.

LANGSTON: They're a perk, I can't lie to you.

ALMI: I just want to be loved.

LANGSTON: You are.

ALMI: And wanted.

LANGSTON: Oh, you are.

ALMI: And worshipped.

LANGSTON: All of it, honey. You got all of it.

[m3rteuil]

Muse Personality Pressure Sheet

A few quick notes on how to get the most out of it (without bloating it):

This is designed to be filled out fast and instinctively, not like a personality essay.

Short, blunt answers tend to be more useful for RP than nuanced ones.

If two questions in a section both feel tempting, that tension itself is telling. Pick the one that feels harder to sit with.

In each section: Answer the chosen core question using canon behavior. Ask, silently: “What would this threaten if it went wrong?” (fear). Ask, silently: “What is she trying to secure or preserve here?” (desire). Only the core question gets an explicit written answer. The fear/desire prompts tell you what that answer is actually about.

The “Snapshot Summary” at the bottom is especially useful if you ever want to back into enneagram typing later (including wings, subtypes, stackings, and lines).

A one-page decision-pressure template for RP muses

Answer instinctively. Choose the question in each section that feels most revealing or uncomfortable. Brief answers are better than polished ones.

1. Self-Image & External Perception

Enneagram lens: shame, image, worth, visibility (heart + attachment patterns)

Core question (pick one):

What judgment about them would hurt the most if it were true?

How aware are they of being perceived in everyday moments?

Do they feel more real alone or when seen by others?

Core fear prompt: What does it mean about them if they are unseen, unimpressive, or unwanted?

Core desire prompt: How do they want to be valued or recognized?

Instinctive answer:

2. Moral Compass & Ethics

Enneagram lens: inner critic, idealism, responsibility, principle (compliant vs assertive)

Core question (pick one):

Would they sacrifice someone they love to do what they believe is right?

Who gets to define what is “right” in their world?

Is inaction more forgivable to them than harmful action?

Core fear prompt: What kind of person are they afraid of being if they choose wrong?

Core desire prompt: What moral state or outcome brings them inner peace?

Instinctive answer:

3. Confrontation & Conflict Style

Enneagram lens: anger expression, attachment security, boundaries (gut + heart dynamics)

Core question (pick one):

When they suspect betrayal, what is their first move?

Are they more afraid of confrontation or unresolved tension?

Do they express anger directly, indirectly, or not at all?

Core fear prompt: What feels more dangerous: rupture or honesty?

Core desire prompt: What outcome do they secretly hope conflict will lead to?

Instinctive answer:

4. Authority, Power, & Responsibility

Enneagram lens: control, trust, autonomy, duty (head + compliant/assertive split)

Core question (pick one):

How do they react when given power over others?

Do rules feel protective, restrictive, or meaningless to them?

If authority is wrong, do they oppose it or work around it?

Core fear prompt: What happens if no one competent is in charge?

Core desire prompt: What kind of order or safety do they want to create?

Instinctive answer:

5. Stress & Breaking Points

Enneagram lens: disintegration lines, defense mechanisms, reactivity

Core question (pick one):

What fear makes them act out of character?

Under pressure, do they become controlling, withdrawn, or scattered?

What would break them faster: loss, failure, or exposure?

Core fear prompt: What feels unbearable to sit with internally?

Core desire prompt: What do they reach for to feel safe again?

Instinctive answer:

6. Desire, Longing, & Attachment

Enneagram lens: attachment style, love strategy, need vs independence

Core question (pick one):

Would they rather be needed or wanted?

What do they want but don’t believe they deserve?

Do they trust love that is freely given?

Core fear prompt: What does closeness threaten for them?

Core desire prompt: What kind of bond would finally feel secure?

Instinctive answer:

7. Identity Under Change

Enneagram lens: ego identity, loss of role, growth lines

Core question (pick one):

Who are they without their defining role?

What part of themselves would survive if everything else was stripped away?

Do they cling to who they were or lean toward who they might become?

Core fear prompt: Who are they afraid they are underneath everything?

Core desire prompt: Who do they hope they could become?

Instinctive answer:

Snapshot Summary

(Optional but useful)

Primary fear: (what they organize their life to avoid)

Primary desire: (what they organize their life to secure)

Default coping strategy: (avoidance, control, compliance, withdrawal, reactivity)

Biggest internal contradiction:

Likely enneagram pulls: (note suspected core, wing(s), subtype/instinct stacking, and stress/growth directions)

Notes for Reuse

Revisit this sheet after major plot events.

Changes matter more than consistency.

Contradictions are character fuel, not flaws.

[danielwaldorf]

What do you say we find that bitch and get us a little frontier justice?

[develop-your-oc]

Does your OC care about approval from their family? Are there any situations or aspects of their life where their family’s approval matters more or less to them than it typically does?

[nondelphic]

sometimes you have to put your little guy in the Horrible Situation Factory so he can grow. i’m sorry little guy. it’s for the plot.

[antlershade]

“No one wants to look at art of OCs” I don’t think that’s true at all…I follow people specifically to see their OCs literally all the time. Bring back being curious about people’s OCs, asking questions about them and hyping them up like we did when we were teens

[legit-writing-tips]

Legit’s Character Development Worksheet

There are lots of character development worksheets out there, but in my opinion nothing that really examines a character’s growth and development, which is what I’m aiming to do with mine. You can use this to better understand your character, spot “holes” in their development, or to build a character from scratch! 

_____________________

Ancestry

What is this character’s lineage? 

Are there any genetic factors that may affect them? (Mental illness/disabilities that run in the family, magical lineage, etc.?)

What is/was their parents’ social class? 

What are their parents/caregivers like prior to their being born?

If not raised by their parents, then by whom? Are their caretakers of a different social class than the character? How are they treated as a result?

In the case of non-human characters, what is the status of their “kind” prior to their birth/construction/etc.? (E.g., are they the first generation of a new AI? Are they the first generation of vampires to live in the light?) 

Are there changing social values between prior generations and their own that may affect them?

_____________________

Circumstances at Birth

What is their parental status at birth? (Single mother, both parents, etc.)

What social class is your character born into?

What is expected of your character based on the social class that they are born into? By their parents/caregivers? By the society they live in?

How are they advantaged/disadvantaged at birth? Disability? Poverty? Etc.

Are there any circumstances surrounding their birth that may affect their early childhood? (For example, they were unwanted by their parents/caregivers, they were the long-awaited heir to a kingdom, or they were born (assigned as) a girl when the parents were hoping for a boy?)

_____________________

Childhood 

If they lose a parent/are orphaned/adopted/parents divorce, etc., at what age does this happen? a.) How does the age at which this happened affect them? Do they remember this change? Are they affected by the change?

Does their social status/class change at any point during childhood? Why?

What is their relationship with their parents/caregivers like? How do these interactions affect them in later life? (For example, a perfectionist character may have only received approval from their parents for big achievements.)

Do they have siblings or other close relationships with family members of a similar age? (Do bear in mind that early relationships with siblings can play a strong role in the way that people approach friendships in later years.)

If they have siblings, what is their birth order, and how does this affect them?

What are some of the most impactful moments from their childhood? How do these moments affect them? What do they learn from these experiences? (E.g., “authority figures aren’t to be trusted).

Was their childhood a happy one? If not, how do they see their childhood as an adult? Does this make them angry, do they try to ignore it, or have they moved on?

What are their typical social interactions like as children? Do they have a lot of friends, are they shy, etc.?

Do they exhibit expected behaviors or have difficulty conforming? (Conforming to gender roles or not, for example.)

What are their primary interests as a child?

_____________________

Adolescence

Is there a turning point that moves your characters from childhood and into a more “mature” perspective? (For example, the death of a loved one.) 

Does their social status/class change at any point during adolescence? Why?

How does their relationship with their parents develop from childhood to adolescence?

Do any major changes occur in their life during adolescence? How do these changes affect them?

In the case of MOGAI characters, at what point does your character realize they are “different” than the expected social norm? What are the circumstances surrounding that?

What is your character’s attitude toward sex and sexuality? How does their interaction with their parents/caregivers affect them?

How much independence is your character granted as an adolescent?

Does your character have more/less responsibility than the typical adolescent? In what ways? (For example, having to take care of a younger sibling.

How does their social life change (or not change) from childhood to adolescence?

How are they prepared for adulthood as an adolescent?

When in their society are they expected to become an “adult”?

How do their interests evolve from childhood to adolescence?

Is there a defining moment that transitions them from adolescence into adulthood? (Joining the military, moving out, etc.) 

_____________________

Adulthood

What is their primary attitude towards life based on their experiences in childhood and adolescence?

What kinds of events would be necessary to change these attitudes? 

Does their social status/class change as they reach adulthood, or at any point after? Why?

Are they generally independent as an adult? Why/why not?

Do they retain their relationship with their family on reaching adulthood?

Do they retain their social group from adolescence?

How/where do they meet new friends/love interests?

What is their attitude toward romance/love/family? What are their main goals regarding this as they enter adulthood?

What is their main goal as an adult? (A high-paying career, romance, family, to have fun, to survive, etc.) 

How do their goals change over time? As they meet old goals and set new ones?

How do their interests mature from adolescence to adulthood? (For example, an interest in writing as a teen may lead them to a career in publishing.)

_____________________

Older Age

Do they accomplish their goals as set out in earlier adulthood? How do they feel if these goals are not met?

As they approach older age, what is their social class?

Do they build a family in their adulthood? What is this family like?

If they become a parent, how is their relationship with their children affected by the relationship they had with their own parents?

What do they want to “leave behind” in the world?

Do they become a mentor/teacher to others?

As they grow older, how do they feel about the concepts of aging? Weakening? Death?

Think outside the box as you answer these. Remember that if you bend and stretch them enough, these questions can fit into virtually any world. 

[cappingsoa]

[m3rteuil]

LANGSTON: And wishing I was dead.

ALMI: I don’t wish that. 

LANGSTON: Really?

ALMI: I mean I wish it all the time but I don’t mean it. I just want you to experience the pain of death for upsetting me.

LANGSTON: (laughs) You’re twisted in the fucking head, Baby.

ALMI: You love it. 

LANGSTON: It has its moments.

[brittmurph]

[m3rteuil]

[FOTH] – Updates

⊰ Eliminated Mulder Donnelly (David Duchovny) and Scully Anderson (Gillian Anderson), as well as their children Gwen Donnelly (Crystal Reed) and Riles Donnelly (Kyd Duchovny). Also eliminated Albany Scully, Homer Anderson, Homer Anderson Jr. (Dylan Baker), Melissa Anderson, Devon Anderson (), Madeline Anderson (Shelly Cole) and Willow Anderson (Haley Lu Richardson). ⊰ The storyline of Mulder and his sister Gweneth was given to Voight Donnelly. ⊰ Dean Donnelly’s middle name went from Mulder to Owen. ⊰ All storylines involving the Crystal Reed face were given to Solace Rockefeller. ⊰ All the above faces (other than Crystal obviously) are open to other characters but not needed. | Notes: The Shelley would have to be 1992 and the Haley would be dating Merlin Rockefeller. The Dylan would have to include the councilman storyline from Third Watch. All of those aspects are open to other characters too (i.e. Paris and Iggy's friend doesn't have to look like Shelly, the councilman storyline doesn't have to belong to someone that looks like Dylan, etc.)

[saydontgo]

RANDOM BROOKE DAVIS GIFS 10/?