Hi! I hope you're doing well!
I was wondering if you had any advice about writing Pixal?
I have been working on and off for about four years now on a Ninjago reimagining/rewrite. Most of the plot and a couple of the characters have been changed, though I'm trying to keep most of the iconic parts of the show. I'm really excited about where the story is going, I think it's gonna be pretty cool.
But just like the actual Ninjago writers, uh, I have absolutely no clue what to do with Pixal. She's a character that I struggle to relate to, and I guess nothing I come up with for her feels right?
I was wondering what you would do with her character, specifically in a rewrite where most of the seasons (Including rebooted and the 11-minute era, where Pixal is most prevalent) are not part of the plot for pacing reasons. I really want to do her justice and give her a role in the story, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to write her in a way that's interesting and also in character.
Are there any roles that you think it would be interesting to see Pixal fill, or any conflicts that I could do, that would be different from the og show?
(sorry this is so long, I love your videos btw!)
As I laid out in my big video about her, the great thing about Pixal is that she is so undefined that you can pretty much take her in whatever direction you want to and it will probably work, just so long as you have any sort of angle you're actually thinking through and passionate about. Obviously I don't know what your rewrite looks like, sounds like a lot changes, so I'm not gonna know what plot points will still make sense, but I'll just give you a bunch of initial thoughts, swings of all different sizes, and you can see if anything catches your eye.
A few established character tentpoles to maybe lean into:
Pixal as a habitually overlooked character. Maybe she doesn't do much in the plot visibly, but at a critical point you have her disappear for some reason, and the team falls apart without her, realizing just how much work she was doing on the back end.
Pixal as a hyper efficient character. At what point does Pixal's productivity get the better of her? When does burnout set in for someone whose sole purpose is to work?
Pixal with imposter syndrome. "Was I more useful inside the computer?" is one of the saddest things anyone has ever asked their lover. How does your sense of self worth get to such a low? And how do you get over needing others approval to that extreme extent?
Pixal as an outsider to humanity. Stretch out the process of her 'learning' her agency over a longer timeline as we slowly see her become more confident in her own judgement. Turn Pixane into a slow burn as Zane waits for her to be able to fully understand what consenting to a romantic relationship means before making any moves. Make her the outsider giving the computer's interpretation of the world.
Pixal as a redeemed villain. She was built for evil. She did awful things which led to a lot of pain, and coming to terms with that should really take a lifetime.
Pixal doesn't dream. She has the one line in season 4 about it, and I know it gets contradicted later, but I always thought it was such an interesting and bittersweet sentiment that never gets expanded on. It paints a picture of someone with no hopes or desires of their own, and I think that's interesting.
As far as specific plotlines I would like to see explored, here's a few ideas:
Long play. Pixal is one of the few characters on the team capable of planning seriously long term, and is really the only one which is proactive most of the time. Take advantage of this to give her something going on behind the scenes which takes serious time to come together- maybe a double cross, a spy network, a secondary team, time travel shenanigans, secret elemental powers, whatever. She can be a get out of jail free card for any point in the story you're stuck in, because it is totally possible she was planning for this eventuality the whole time. Obviously you want to set it up properly and you can only really use it once, but it's an option there for you.
Something with the blacksmith siblings. She's gotta be a rival for one of them. She and Kai already have friction in show, and her samurai x play is ground for some seriously messy girl drama. Choose one, and make a rivals to siblings arc out of it.
Pixal tries to talk to monsters. Give us a situation where that comes in handy. If Nya is still becoming the sea at some point, may I suggest that is the perfect situation to bring that impulse of hers into play.
Pixal decides if this is actually what she wants to do. In show her becoming part of the team is just sort of an inevitable given. Force her to actually make the decision at any point in the story, either before she joins, or once an off ramp presents itself, and she's made to examine if this is what she wanted in the first place.
Pixal as powerless. She is the only one on the team without an elemental power. Put her in a position where that fact actually matters, and prove to us why she's here.
Pixal's been dealing with the loose ends. The ninja take care of the bigger threats, and samurai x is often support for the smaller side missions that simultaneously pop up. What happens when those boil over into a large problem of their own? All the little plot holes and unfinished threads at pile up over the seasons? Pixal's the only one whose had her eye on them, making her crucial to the mission.
She's the 16th model of her kind. There are other Pixal bots out there somewhere- up to 15 if you really want. Do what you like with them, work it into a plotline about imposters or family or whatever.
Pixal and Borg's father/daughter thing. Her dad is the richest guy in the world, there's something there.
Pixal and Lloyd's 'siblings with an immense amount of respect for each other but have a hard time talking' thing. They both have so much less life under their belts than the others on the team. I swear their relationship is key to both of their mental stability somehow.
Maybe Pixane has a disagreement about something... like literally anything at any point would be cool. Maybe Pixal's just done with Zane dying all the time, idk.
What's up with Zane's heart? Does she still have half of it? Does he? Does it give them more than just the ability to share spinjitzu? Can they share thoughts? Feel each other's pain? Get visions meant for the other? Do they both live forever because of whatever it is?
Pixal never really interacts with Zane's past, and I think that would be a sweet sentimental little thread. Have her interact with the falcon. They need to meet, they would love each other. Take her to the lighthouse or the tree workshop, and have her get sad about never getting the chance to meet Dr. Julien. She should want to get invested in Zane's past.
Hopefully something on here helps. Maybe I'm way off base with what you're asking for. If you need further thoughts feel free to hit me back up with more specifics. I have endless thoughts about pixal.
