These tips are based primarily on my own experiences being around harmful people as well as being a harmful person. I do not condone non-consensual harm. Doing this for years may lead to compulsive behaviour (like it did for me LOL).
Always Respect Your Muse's Boundaries
If your muse has established limits regarding what information you may or may not look for, take those boundaries seriously. If they become uncomfortable, anxious, or distressed about certain topics being researched, stop immediately. Ignoring those limits can cause harm and may damage the trust and relationship you have built with them.
(Try To) Know Your Muse Personally
One of the most effective ways to learn more about your muse is simply by becoming friends or acquaintances with them! Doing so may allow them to open up to you more about intimate matters or share private accounts with you that you would not otherwise know about or would not be let in on.
Collecting information may take years depending on your muse's digital footprint, particularly if they frequently cross-post content or share their usernames across multiple platforms. It's best to always be patient and regularly check up on your muse's accounts to see if they have uploaded any new or previously unknown information.ย
Try to research your general area and take notes of any security cameras nearby! I also researching about stalker/true crime cases to potentially get new ideas and find out what went wrong with their stalking so you don't make the same mistakes as them!
Tips For Transitioning Online
Try to maintain a system that is easy for you to understand and navigate. If you are unable to locate information easily, or add and delete information when necessary, you are doing something wrong.
I recommend creating folders and bookmarking accounts and sites belonging to your muse (Carrds, ToyHouse, Strawpages, Instagram accounts, Youtube accounts, Tumblr accounts, TikTok accounts, etc), as well as the accounts and posts of your muse's friends and family if possible. Even if keeping tabs on your museโs friends/family may not seem as relevant, these accounts may feature older photos or videos of your muse, or may talk about them in the future.
Archive Your Muse's Posts Whenever Possible
Always remember to take untampered screenshots of posts, usernames, comments, and other relevant content of your muse. I also highly recommend downloading the original videos and images on posts your muse their posts are edited, deleted, or their accounts become inactive.
I recommend backing up your archives to a USB drive, cloud storage service, or external drive to prevent accidental data loss and reduce your memory being clogged up by thousands of photos and videosโฆ
Especially if you know your muse personally, I highly recommend using separate accounts! Try your best to use private accounts, turn off any settings that shows others when you are online or what your location is, and just in general make sure to not post anything that could link back to you. On these accounts, try your best not to comment, like, follow, or give any form of engagement to your muse and immediately block your muses account if the platform youโre on provides profile-view notifications (TikTok, for example) so your muse wont be able to see nor get suspicious of your account. I also recommend using older or unused accounts if possible.
Search For Your Museโs (User)Name Online
If you are able to get ahold of your museโs (old) usernames, always try searching for them on both your default search engine, and on the search engine of different siteโs and apps as if you know a person's username or online alias, you may be able to locate other accounts that use the same or similar usernames! I recommend using quotation marks around your museโs username (e.g., "@cis-dead") so the search engine only returns results containing the username. Adding additional detailsโsuch as a location, school, workplace, username, hobby, or other identifying informationโcan further narrow results and make them more relevant (e.g., "@cis-dead" tumblr). Many search engines also support the site:operator, which allows you to search a specific website or domain rather than the entire web (e.g., "@cis-dead" site:tumblr.com).
Tips For Transitioning In Person
If you plan on stalking someone in person, always remember to memorize your area and know places where you are the most out of sight. Try your best to know their schedule and become acquaintances with their friends, family or teachers. If you know your muse is in a club, sport or enjoys a specific interest, consider also joining that club, familiarizing yourself with their interests, or even switching classes to get to know them better.
You may also want to know their full name. If you work with, or go to the same school as your muse, try checking your company's internal directory, looking them up by their email address or look through your schoolโs yearbook to find their full name. Doing so may help you search them up on TruePeopleSearch or other services that specialize in locating publicly available records.
If you are able to, try to convince your friends to walk around with you so you are able to take photos of your muse from afar. Purchase a photo album and print out your favorite photos of them to fill it up if you can.
I donโt really recommend intentionally wearing dark clothes, changing your physical appearance to make yourself look like a stalker, or intentionally running into them if you plan on following someone around in person. Itโs extremely obvious to them if you do. Instead, just try your best to blend in with the others around you and not draw attention to yourself whatsoever!
