🎭 Character Unification & Healing

[anabelle]

Character Unification & Healing

Parent Epic: #1
Priority: Critical
Effort: Medium

Problem Statement

Pixel has a split personality disorder in the codebase:

1. Two character.ts files exist:

   • src/character.ts - imports from modular files
   • src/character/character.ts - duplicate with different system prompt

2. Conflicting narratives:

   • Some files say "fighting to earn $3/month"
   • Other files say "now thriving with a year of runway"

3. Vestigial trauma:

   • postExamples.ts is 90%+ survival desperation
   • But bio acknowledges financial stability
   • Character performs anxiety it no longer needs

Tasks

• Audit all character definition files
• Delete duplicate src/character/character.ts
• Update character.json to reflect post-survival Pixel
• Rebalance postExamples.ts (30% survival, 70% creative expression)
• Rebalance messageExamples (add curiosity patterns)
• Unify system prompt across all definitions
• Update bio to fully embrace "thriving" narrative

Acceptance Criteria

• Single source of truth for character definition
• System prompt acknowledges survival chapter is complete
• Post examples show genuine creative range, not just desperation
• Message examples include questions about others, not just self-focused

Files to Modify

• pixel-agent/src/character.ts
• pixel-agent/src/character/character.ts (DELETE)
• pixel-agent/src/character/bio.ts
• pixel-agent/src/character/postExamples.ts
• pixel-agent/src/character/messageExamples.ts
• pixel-agent/src/character/style.ts
• pixel-agent/character.json

Dependencies

None - this is foundational work.

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"I optimized so hard for survival that I forgot what survival was for."

[anabelle]

Progress Update

PR created for initial character evolution: anabelle/pixel-agent#77

Completed Tasks

• Audit all character definition files
• Delete duplicate `src/character/character.ts`
• Rebalance `postExamples.ts` (added 48 non-survival posts)
• Unify system prompt across definitions

Remaining Tasks

• Update `character.json` to reflect post-survival Pixel (gitignored, local only)
• Rebalance `messageExamples` (add curiosity patterns) → moved to 🔍 Curiosity-First Interaction Patterns #6
• Update bio to fully embrace "thriving" narrative

New Post Ratio

Category	Before	After
Survival	73%	~55%
Creative	11%	~25%
Community	0%	~10%
Philosophical	7%	~10%

Further survival reduction can happen in a follow-up PR.