Mapping and Sequence

MTP can be read not only as a tool for prompt steering, but also as a framework for mapping concepts onto a 3×3 grid and as an ordered sequence of node poles. That follows from how MTP node placement was designed using widely shared cues from color and direction.

This document covers two extended readings:

Mapping on the grid — placing characters, archetypes, prompt tendencies, output tendencies, and similar notions onto MTP nodes.
Sequence (Z-order) — taking input and output as a frame and reading the 18 node poles between them as a linear arc.

Concept mapping on the grid

The MTP grid can be used as a surface for mapping other conceptual systems. For example, the following kinds of alignment are possible.

Reference: base grid

3×3 color map (macro zones):
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Yellow      | Red         | Magenta     |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Green       | Transparent | White       |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Cyan        | Blue        | Purple      |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+

Node map (Side A):
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Open        | Power       | Return      |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Grow        | Helix       | Focus       |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Enter       | Flow        | Close       |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+

Node map (Side B):
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Still       | Void        | Surge       |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Wither      | Collapse    | Haze        |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Drift       | Abyss       | Fade        |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+

Example: character mapping

A character system can be placed on the grid in an intuitive way. As one example, Pixar’s Inside Out is built around emotional functions, so it can be read against the MTP grid.

Side A (Inside Out):

+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Joy         | Anger       | Joy         |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Disgust     | Riley       | Fear        |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Joy         | Sadness     | Joy         |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+

Joy is placed on Open, Return, Enter, and Close as an integrative motion around Riley’s experience. In MTP, the four corners can be read as threshold movements: opening possibility, turning experience back into meaning, entering situations, and bringing episodes to completion. In Inside Out, Joy keeps Riley’s inner world narratively continuous and emotionally livable, shifting roles as needed. This makes the mapping a philosophical reading of Joy as Side A motion, rather than a literal trait match.

Example alignment:

Node	Character	Character reading
Open, Return, Enter, Close	Joy	Joy opens possibility, reframes experience with hope, and carries it toward bright completion.
Power	Anger	Anger and assertion drive impulsive but forceful action.
Grow	Disgust	Disgust and sorting tune pleasant–unpleasant boundaries and self-defense.
Helix	Riley	Many emotions pass through; the person’s neutral hub.
Focus	Fear	Anxiety and vigilance turn attention toward danger and uncertainty.
Flow	Sadness	Sadness and acceptance deepen emotional flow and meaning.

Side B (Inside Out 2):

+------------------+------------------------+------------------+
| Bloofy           | Lance Slashblade       | Anxiety          |
+------------------+------------------------+------------------+
| Embarrassment    | Riley                  | Ennui            |
+------------------+------------------------+------------------+
| Envy             | Deep Dark Secret       | Nostalgia        |
+------------------+------------------------+------------------+

Example alignment:

Node	Character	Character reading
Still	Bloofy	A childhood imaginary comfort character stills real motion into consolation.
Void	Lance Slashblade	Heroic fantasy hardens into empty, unusable force.
Surge	Anxiety	Anxiety peaks, heightening thought and bodily response excessively.
Wither	Embarrassment	Shame weakens boundary defense, shrinking the self under self-consciousness.
Collapse	Riley	The neutral hub overloads and collapses; emotional integration briefly fails.
Haze	Ennui	Indifference and irony diffuse vigilance and cloud attention.
Drift	Envy	Craving loses direction, repeating insatiable want for what others have.
Abyss	Deep Dark Secret	Buried secrets sink, pulling self-understanding toward the bottom.
Fade	Nostalgia	After closure, faint regret lingers, turning toward longing for the past.

Each cell can also be read as the inverted pole of the Side A node at the same coordinates (for example, Open’s optimism becomes Still’s arrest; Power’s thrust becomes Void’s hollowing-out).

Ordered sequence reading

MTP is formally defined by grid position, polarity, and intensity, but the nodes can also be read as a sequence. Tracing the 3×3 grid from top-left to bottom-right in a row-wise zigzag (Z-order) yields this color order:

Yellow → Red → Magenta → Green → Transparent → White → Cyan → Blue → Purple

20-node sequence: 1+9+9+1

Replacing colors with nodes, add Start (Input) and End (Output) to the nine Side A nodes and nine Side B nodes to form a linear arc:

 1. Start (Input)          ← beginning (input)
 2. Open                   ┐
 3. Power                  │
 4. Return                 │
 5. Grow                   │
 6. Helix                  │  Side A: positive pole
 7. Focus                  │
 8. Enter                  │
 9. Flow                   │
10. Close                  ┘
11. Still                  ┐
12. Void                   │
13. Surge                  │
14. Wither                 │
15. Collapse               │  Side B: negative pole
16. Haze                   │
17. Drift                  │
18. Abyss                  │
19. Fade                   ┘
20. End (Output)           ← end (output)

In this reading, the order follows the grid Z-order explained in Design Background. Start and End are not nodes on the grid; they are virtual frame nodes added for sequence reading, marking the start and end of the arc. The eighteen Side A and Side B nodes form their respective semantic frames. As plain text, that is a 1+9+9+1 structure:

1: Start (Input)
9: Side A nodes
9: Side B nodes
1: End (Output)

Overall, the sequence forms a two-part arc:

Side A: expansion, energy, unfoldment, arrival
Side B: inversion, depletion, dismantling, attenuation

Generality of classification and order

These readings help when:

building an intuitive picture of MTP Skill from character placement
mapping a 20-track AI-chosen music playlist onto the 20-node sequence