MiniChibiLottie first appeared during the Solver Autumn Special as a kind of alter-ego of Lottie’s manifesting in her psyche. Since then, we’ve seen these occasional glimpses here and there. The most likely explanation is that she represents some part of Lottie’s psyche and is not actually physically present, but given the nature of the world these stories take place in, who knows? Or maybe John just enjoys drawing her. (Link to her first appearance- https://badmachinery.com/comic/2022-07-15/ )