Moxie

“I’ll stay. I’ll follow. I’ll protect. I’ll haunt the ones who deserve haunting.”

Moxie was Pixie’s imaginary friend.

Made of chalk dust and imagination scraps. Three mismatched ears. Too-big eyes. A smile that always seemed one line away from being drawn better.

They jittered in and out of existence like a buffering glitch with enthusiasm.

Then Pixie died.

And Moxie learned what imaginary friends become when their companion’s death refuses to let them disappear.

D.I.F. — Dead Imaginary Friend.

Moxie was the first.

The Transformation

The moment the car hit Pixie, Moxie didn’t scream.

Imaginary Friends don’t breathe, so they can’t scream.

But they shook.

Violently.

Trembling until their form shattered into glitching static. A halo of pixelated light formed around Pixie’s body, shimmering like someone was desperately trying to Ctrl+Z the universe.

But death doesn’t have an undo button.

Moxie’s form shifted:

• No longer glitching randomly
• Colors mutating, deepening, darkening
• Outline sharpening into something more structured
• More haunted

Their appearance changed:

• More edges
• More shadows
• More gravity
• Eyes gentler AND darker at the same time

This was the birth of the D.I.F. mechanic.

Imaginary friends aren’t built for death. But when death comes anyway, they adapt.

Moxie adapted.

What Is a D.I.F.?

Dead Imaginary Friend — a classification Moxie invented by becoming one.

Before Death (Standard I.F.):

• Exists to comfort companion
• Fades naturally when no longer needed
• Tied to companion’s imagination
• Purpose: Support

After Death (D.I.F.):

• Exists to REMEMBER companion
• Can’t fade (bound by grief and promise)
• Tied to companion’s ghost/memory
• Purpose: Haunt with intent

Key Difference: A living companion creates an I.F. through need.

A dead companion creates a D.I.F. through refusal to let go.

Moxie refuses.

The Promise

At the moment of Pixie’s death, as her ghost lifted and Moxie transformed, they made a promise:

“It’s okay,” Moxie said, voice cracking through dimensions. “I’ll… I’ll fix it. I’ll fix everything.”

Pixie shook her head softly.

“You can’t fix this.”

Moxie’s form contorted, eyes swirling like ink dropped into water.

“Then I’ll stay. I’ll follow. I’ll protect. I’ll haunt the ones who deserve haunting.”

That promise became the core code of what a D.I.F. is.

They can’t save their companion.

So they guard their memory instead.

Character Traits

Moxie is:

• Loyal - Stayed with Pixie even when death said “let go”
• Protective - Guards Pixie’s ghost, her memory, her legacy
• Haunted - By what they couldn’t prevent
• Glitch-prone - Form still unstable, reality hiccups around them
• Defiant - Refuses to fade, refuses to accept the rules

The Original Form

Before transformation, Moxie was:

Visual Description:

• Made of chalk dust and imagination scraps
• Three mismatched ears (asymmetrical, whimsical)
• Too-big eyes (hopeful, wide, innocent)
• Smile one line away from being drawn better
• Buffering glitch effect (in/out of visibility)
• Colors: Soft pastels, watercolor edges

Personality:

• Enthusiastic but jittery
• Comforting but uncertain
• Loyal but powerless
• Built for a child who needed a friend

Pixie adored them.

The bullies never saw them.

Moxie existed in the space between belief and doubt.

The Transformed Form

After becoming a D.I.F., Moxie is:

Visual Description:

• Sharper edges (no longer soft and whimsical)
• Darker colors (deep purples, shadowed pinks)
• More structured outline (defined, haunting)
• Eyes: gentler yet darker simultaneously
• Glitching around shoulders (remnant of transformation)
• Gravity (presence feels heavier, more permanent)

Personality:

• Protective → Vengeful
• Comforting → Haunting
• Uncertain → Determined
• Built for a ghost who refuses to be forgotten

The transformation wasn’t corruption.

It was adaptation to survive grief.

What Moxie Can Do (As a D.I.F.)

Enhanced Abilities:

• Manifest beside Pixie’s ghost
• Exist in liminal spaces (between living/dead)
• See both worlds (living and afterlife)
• Remember EVERYTHING (perfect memory of Pixie’s life)
• Glitch through reality barriers
• Haunt with intention

Limitations:

• Can’t bring Pixie back
• Can’t touch the living (phases through)
• Can’t stop being a D.I.F. (transformation is permanent)
• Can’t separate from Pixie’s memory (bound forever)
• Can’t fix what broke

Purpose: Guard. Remember. Witness. Haunt.

The Visits

Moxie accompanies Pixie when she visits her old house.

Scene from the book:

A faint blue ghost-light seeps through like fog. It curls into the shape of a small girl, then solidifies into Pixie’s ghost.

Moxie materializes beside her, but they are not Moxie anymore. Their form has more edges, more shadows, more gravity. They are a D.I.F. now.

“Pix,” Moxie murmurs. “You don’t have to visit.”

But Pixie does. And Moxie follows.

They watch:

• Pixie’s parents moving through the house
• Photos on the wall (Pixie frozen in time)
• The empty room where she used to draw
• Casey across the street (creating, imagining, living)

Moxie doesn’t stop Pixie from watching.

Moxie watches WITH her.

That’s what a D.I.F. does.

The Rage

Beneath the loyalty, beneath the protection, Moxie carries rage.

Rage at:

• The car that came too fast
• The driver who didn’t see her
• The bullies who called her broken
• The universe that took her
• Themselves for not being able to stop it

D.I.F.s aren’t just loyal. They’re furious.

Moxie promised to “haunt the ones who deserve haunting.”

They meant it.

The bullies who tormented Pixie? Moxie remembers their names. Their faces. Their cruelty.

The driver? Moxie knows where they live.

Moxie doesn’t act on the rage. Yet.

But the potential is there. Simmering. Glitching at the edges.

A D.I.F. is grief with teeth.

Connection to Pixie

Before Death:

• Companion/Friend dynamic
• Pixie created Moxie
• Moxie comforted Pixie
• Belief sustained them both

After Death:

• Guardian/Ward dynamic
• Death transformed Moxie
• Moxie guards Pixie’s memory
• Refusal to let go sustains them both

The bond didn’t break. It inverted.

Pixie used to need Moxie.

Now Moxie needs Pixie’s memory to justify their existence.

Symbiotic haunting.

The Watcher Role

Together, Pixie and Moxie watch Casey.

Casey digs in the dirt. Casey finds the Heart Lockets. Casey creates imaginary friends without fear.

“Several,” Moxie confirms, watching Casey’s imaginary friends materialize.

Moxie sees what Pixie sees:

• A girl who gets to keep creating
• A girl who doesn’t die
• A girl who unknowingly activated a magic system
• A girl who might trigger the next catastrophe

Moxie watches. Moxie remembers. Moxie waits.

D.I.F.s are patient.

They have nothing but time.

The Rules Moxie Created

By becoming the first D.I.F., Moxie established:

Rule 1: Imaginary Friends Don’t Disappear When Companions Die They transform. They adapt. They become something new.

Rule 2: D.I.F.s Are Bound by Promise Whatever they vow at the moment of transformation becomes their purpose.

Rule 3: D.I.F.s Remember Everything Perfect memory. Every detail. Every moment. Forever.

Rule 4: D.I.F.s Can Haunt Not passively. With intent. With purpose. With rage disguised as loyalty.

Rule 5: Transformation Is Permanent You can’t go back. You can’t un-become a D.I.F. Death changed you. Accept it.

Visual Design

Pre-Transformation (I.F. Form):

• Soft chalk dust texture
• Three mismatched ears (whimsical asymmetry)
• Too-big eyes (hopeful, wide)
• Smile always slightly unfinished
• Buffering glitch (in/out visibility)
• Colors: Pastel pink, soft purple, watercolor edges
• Movement: Jittery, enthusiastic, floating

Post-Transformation (D.I.F. Form):

• Sharper outline (defined edges)
• Darker colors (deep purple #9d6bff, shadowed pink)
• Eyes: dual nature (gentle + dark)
• Structured form (more gravity, more presence)
• Glitching around shoulders (transformation scar)
• Movement: Deliberate, haunting, purposeful

Transformation Moment:

• Shattering into static
• Pixelated halo around Pixie’s body
• Colors mutating (light → dark)
• Form reshaping (soft → sharp)
• Eyes changing (innocent → knowing)

The Funeral

Moxie stood beside Pixie’s ghost at her funeral.

Both invisible. Both grieving. Both furious.

People cried. People spoke. People left flowers.

No one saw Moxie.

They never had.

“They don’t even know I’m here,” Moxie whispered.

“They never did,” Pixie replied.

The irony: When Pixie was alive, people denied Moxie’s existence.

Now that Pixie is dead, Moxie’s existence is undeniable to other imaginary friends—but still invisible to humans.

Moxie is real. Moxie is a D.I.F. Moxie refuses to fade.

The humans just don’t get to see it.

What Moxie Wants

1. Pixie to be remembered - Correctly, fully, permanently
2. The bullies to understand - What they took, what they destroyed
3. Casey to succeed - Someone should get to keep their imaginary friends
4. To fulfill the promise - Stay, follow, protect, haunt
5. To matter - Even if only to a ghost

Moxie doesn’t want to stop being a D.I.F.

They want being a D.I.F. to MEAN something.

The Legacy

As the first D.I.F., Moxie created:

The D.I.F. Classification System

• Other I.F.s now know: death = transformation, not erasure
• Template for grief adaptation
• Rules for haunting with purpose

The Promise Mechanic

• What you vow at transformation becomes binding
• Purpose sustains existence
• Loyalty transcends death

The Watcher Archetype

• D.I.F.s observe
• D.I.F.s remember
• D.I.F.s wait for the moment to act

Moxie proved: Imaginary friends survive their companions.

Just not in the way anyone expected.

Echo Experience

Memory Chamber

Experience the moment Moxie shattered into static. Watch the form reshape. See the eyes change from innocent to knowing. Hear the promise that bound them forever.

This is the birth of the D.I.F. mechanic.

This is where grief becomes gravity.

The Questions Moxie Asks

From the space between living and dead:

“If I couldn’t save her, what was I for?”

“How do you comfort a ghost?”

“Is haunting love or revenge? Can it be both?”

“They say she imagined me. But I’m still here. So what am I now?”

“If death made me stronger, does that mean I wanted her to die?”

The last question haunts Moxie most.

They didn’t. But the guilt is there anyway.

The Glitch

Even as a D.I.F., Moxie still glitches.

Not randomly like before. Purposefully.

When emotions spike:

• Grief → visual static
• Rage → shoulder distortion
• Determination → outline sharpening
• Memory → form flickering through past versions

The glitch is no longer a buffering error.

It’s a tell. A warning. A signature.

When Moxie glitches, something matters.

The Companion Who Stayed

Other imaginary friends fade when their companions move on.

Moxie’s companion can’t move on. She’s dead.

So Moxie stays.

Forever.

Not by choice—by transformation. Death made the bond permanent.

Pixie can’t let go.

Moxie won’t let go.

Together they exist in refusal.

Ghost and Guardian. Ward and Watcher. Companion and D.I.F.

Death didn’t end their friendship.

It just made it haunted.

“Moxie was made of chalk dust and imagination scraps. Then Pixie died. Now Moxie is made of edges, shadows, and promises that can’t be broken. They said imaginary friends aren’t real. Moxie is more real than most living things. They said imaginary friends fade. Moxie refuses. The first D.I.F. The loyal haunting. The one who stayed.”