One year of writing for the Pixane stans in the Ninjago fandom! I still think these AIs in love are one of the cutest. things. ever.
Main link takes you to AO3, because that's where you get the best tags, summaries, and formatting.
Enjoy!
The Hour of the Griffin (38'599 words): When some ancient gemstones are stolen, exotic animals show up in Ninjago City, and Zane and Pixal suddenly disappear, a mission begins that sends the ninja team on an emotional rollercoaster. Mystery, angst, adventure, and romantic moments. FFN link
Operation Frogspawn (33'545 words): Detective!Zane, Lady!Pixal and their friends on a classic detective quest. Humor, adventure, and lots of romantic fluff. FFN link
Blending in (5'671 words): This one's really a character study of Racer 7 after she settles in Ninjago, but the nindroid couple plays an important role, too. FFN link
Just Code. Ones and Zeros (979 words): Hurt/Comfort and nindroid fluff, post season 12. FFN link
Ending the Long Winter (14'109 words): The nindroids learn to cope with their trauma in the aftermath of season 11. Zane has a lot to process, but The Kaiju Protocol is revisited as well. FFN link
New Levels of Compatibility (7'149 words): Three sweet n' fluffy oneshots set between seasons 10 and 11 - A Nightmare and a Surprise, The Picture, and Coming Home. FFN link
Her Choice (1'840 words): A oneshot set during The Quiet One in season 8, continuing the conversation Zane and Pixal had on that day. FFN link
List will be updated if I happen to get around writing more!
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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
I had obviously plans for the prompts "hugs" and "reveal", too, but that multi-chapter fic didn't get beyond the outline stage before life got in the way ... So I'm closing this board unfinished, but I've at least posted my oneshot The Candlestick an the Electric Bat to AO3. I'm using creator's choice to insert a prompt from the verve board, Laughter (hope I did that right).
Thanks to @ninjago-bingo for organising Ninbingo - it was fun and inspiring and exciting even though I didn't have as much time and energy for writing as I thought!
Drawn this little picture for 2 hours or so of Pixal, I didn't put any effects on it. This was actually drawn by my hand on the computer,
So yeah this is for the best people I have followed on Tumblr, which are @frozensoapbubble, @parachutingkitten, @jordanhaszane, @diisdoodles, @general-yasur, @crappy-coffee, @blindpawdoo, @yyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, and @kdrama-addict16
I was tagged by @fabrowrites to do a WIP challenge!
Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs. This isn’t just for writing either. Sketch titles? Comics? DnD campaigns? If you have an unfinished project, it counts!!
Now, first of all I'm extremely bad at tagging (kinda reluctant to impose myself on people who've never heard of me because I'm usually so quiet here), so I've decided that whoever happens to see this post, just go for it and join the challenge (and feel free to tag me)!
Second, I checked my folders and realized I've got various files with a mix of disconnected scenes, fragments, summaries, meta ramblings, even sketch titles, but hardly any of them can be called a WIP that I intend to finish. They have names like "Silly", "Fragments", "Ways to get a kiss", and "Sketch ideas" ...
But ...
... I also found an interesting Pixane scene, set shortly after Seabound, and when I started perusing it, one sentence leapt out at me: “You have downregulated large parts of your emotional circuits, haven’t you?”
Ouch. I wrote this literally months before we got a Crystalized trailer or any other leaked content, so my scene is playing out differently than what we now know happened in canon. But I'm just putting it out here for all the Pixane stans who would have liked to see a bit more internal conflict with regards to that emotion regulation thing than what the writers cared to acknowledge on screen.
Functional
Post-Seabound, Hurt/Little Comfort, 837 words
The monastery was quiet when the two nindroids walked down the hallway; quiet except for some faint noises coming from Lloyd’s room. He had hardly appeared outside since Nya’s memorial and avoided to go back to his usual training routine. Instead, the green ninja had taken to tinkering with an old jukebox and tested it with a record that Cole had once bought on a whim, because it reminded him of old times and the moments when Zane had used his funny switch.
“HELLO, MY BABY. Hello, my honey …” the jukebox suddenly blared, making both Zane and Pixal jump. They heard Kai swearing in the next room, while Lloyd muttered an apology and hastened to switch the offensive music off.
“He mentioned that the volume control gets stuck easily,” Pixal said stoically.
Zane nodded. “I’ve noticed.”
His voice was as calm as hers. They entered his room, and she gave him a sideways glance when she closed the door behind them.
“It doesn’t seem to bother you.” She turned round fully and looked into his eyes. “You have downregulated large parts of your emotional circuits, haven’t you?”
“I …” He dropped his gaze. “Yes. I have.”
“I understand. Me too. I’ve done it before.” She paused and looked at him, a hint of fondness appearing on her face as if she dimly remembered the feelings she used to have for him.
He automatically took a step closer to cup her face with his hands, but pulled away when he felt the coldness of her skin. His hands were cold, too. Everything was cold. He had numbed the pain and the grief, but he couldn’t feel anything else, either. Touching her skin was supposed to elicit a reaction in him, to make him feel warm, and happy, and confident. It didn’t.
He turned away. Perhaps they were better off like this.
“I promised Jay to take him down to the sea tomorrow,” he said with a slight shrug. “I … I cannot do that if I feel too human.”
“I know. I was with Kai the other day. He needed assistance repairing his bike, not someone whose voice would glitch and whose hands would tremble whenever we’d use one of Nya’s tools.”
Zane looked up and decided to make another attempt. He gently took his companion’s hand. It was as cold as his, but at least the cold was better than the emptiness. He didn’t quite know how she felt about it. At any rate, she didn’t pull back.
All of a sudden, the music started again.
“HELLO, MY RAGTIME GAL. Send me a …” This time, they heard Cole angrily knocking on the wall as well, and the music immediately broke off.
“A kiss,” Zane whispered, his eyes fixed on the floor.
“Yes,” Pixal said quietly. “But you know it won’t feel like … it should. Not unless …”
She did not finish the sentence.
“Unless we reactivate our emotions.”
She nodded.
He gave her a quick glance. “If you feel like … allowing yourself to cry,” he said slowly, “I wouldn’t mind. Don’t be ashamed of it.”
There was a silence.
“Just tonight.”
“Yes, just tonight. Tomorrow we will be droids again.”
She hesitated, and then suddenly wrapped her arms around him. He didn’t know whether it was her body or his that began shaking, whether the stifled sobs came from his throat or hers. He held her so close they both had difficulty to breathe, but she didn’t seem to mind. She clung to him and hid her face in the crook of his neck, and he silently sobbed into her hair. It took minutes before either of them regained a little self-control. Finally, he loosened his embrace a little and tilted his head back to look at her.
“It’s bad, isn’t it.”
“Yes,” she said simply. “I cannot imagine what our human friends go through.”
He nodded without making an attempt to smile. “They must find their own way to cope. We cannot advise them. Grief is individual.”
“But we can be there for them anyway,” she replied.
“Oh yes, we will. That is what we were designed for.”
He ran a hand through her disheveled hair and tucked a silver strand behind her ear. “But tonight is about us.”
She raised her hand, and he closed his eyes when she gently touched his face. “May I?”
This time, a little smile accompanied his nod. She stood on tiptoes and gently brushed her lips against his cold cheek. Before he could return the affectionate gesture, a heavy clank, followed by Lloyd’s angry outcry, disturbed the silence of the monastery once more. A door banged open, and Jay was heard screaming at the top of his voice, hysterically demanding everyone to be silent and respect the needs of those who happened to be grieving, thank you very much.
The nindroids looked at each other.
“They need us,” Zane stated, his expression becoming blank again.
Zane stared out into the desert from the shaded porch the team sat on, his legs mindlessly dangling over the edge. They were all supposed to be looking out for the rest of the team, but he had a hard time keeping focused on that task.
“Hey bud!” Kai plopped down next to him with a fresh bottle of water. “Why so glum? I thought you were feeling good about turning your emotions back on!”
“...I am.” Zane responded, his gaze still fixed to the horizon.
“Well, you should.” Kai bumped his shoulder, still failing to grab his eyes. “I mean, sure we’re in a bit of a pickle here, but we’ve got Nya back! That’s the most important thing, right? That’s what started this whole thing to begin with!”
“It’s not that,” Zane sighed.
“What is it then?” Kai leaned forward, still reaching for a connection.
Zane finally turned to look at him, his expression troublingly blank. “...Pixal.”
Kai’s eyes narrowed as the situation clicked in his head. “Did you not give her a heads up before you-”
Zane shook his head, leaving Kai silent for a moment.
“Dude, you need to talk to her.”
“I’m just hoping it’s not too late to talk to her.” His body shifted forward as he again looked to the distance.
“I’m sure it’s not. I mean you two are made for each other. Like, literally at this point.”
“I don’t know,” Zane insisted. “This wasn’t just me messing up, it was a mistake. A big mistake. I don’t know if this kind of thing is even fixable.”
Kai thought for a moment, taking a sip of his water. “Well, she disappeared for like a year without telling you she had a body. Maybe you guys are just even now?”
“Yes, but that was after I kept her trapped inside my head for several years.” He glanced back at him. “If anything she deserved more time to herself.”
“You know, it seems like you two really should communicate a little better about big life decisions,” Kai shrugged.
“It’s just-” Zane sighed, leaning back again as his mind struggled to find the right words. “I’m the one who gave her emotions to begin with. She didn’t have a choice in that. And yet, here I am, suddenly deciding that I can flip my emotions on and off on a whim! I mean… It makes me such a hypocrite!”
Kai smiled. “It makes you human.” He put his hand on Zane's shoulder. “And guess what dude.” He leaned in, whispering. “That’s what she likes about you.”
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I finally decided to call my first Ninbingo contribution finished and hit that "publish" button.
Title: At Low Tide
Prompts: Ocean and Strength
Summary: A water dragon, living incarnation of the Endless Sea, saves the life of a young whale. The moment brings back memories – or rather, echoes of familiar words, fleeting images, shadows of sensations that the dragon had long thought forgotten.
If only she could remember what they meant.
Spoilers: Well, no actual plot spoilers for Crystalized, but this oneshot was clearly inspired by the first two episodes of that season. Read at your own discretion.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
WIP share time, and for this iteration, we’re going with a theme of Lloyd and/or angst! Reblog and share a snippet or sneak peek of your work featuring these themes for others to enjoy! Shares have no deadline; whether you’re seeing this post the night it was made or two months from now, feel free to reblog with your creations! You can reblog multiple times, too :D
I don't quite know what tags this will get once it's finished, but I guess amnesia is among the angsty tropes ... Anyway, have some water dragon Nya (pre-Crystalized), a little snippet of my current Ninbingo WIP!
Watched by the water dragon, the whales left for the open sea. Once they were safe, they turned round as if by command and jumped out of the water, one after the other.
“Thank you.”
“We will remember your kindness.”
“We will remember you.”
Remember.
She, too, had promised to remember.
I will remember you.
Remember whom?
There had been a moment, a memorable moment, a moment on the shore …
Like now, the ocean had called her. It had been utterly difficult to maintain her shape on land.
Unlike now, someone had been next to her and tried to hold her back, but their hand had gone right through her.
She had promised them that they would remain friends.
Someone had implored her to stay, had assured her that they would find a way to change her back.
Back?
Someone had called after her. Someone had called her name.
Which name?
She couldn’t remember. It became harder and harder to hold onto the fading images in her mind, they were taken away by the outgoing tide. The ocean was strong, and nobody held her today.
She felt her shape dissolving, drop by drop, and didn’t resist. The dragon seeped into the sand and slowly trickled back into the sea.
I made a screenshot of this GIF by @ninjago-bingo and got this, and I immediately imagined the pre-season 1 ninja fooling around with their powers.
The Candlestick and the Electric Bat
(655 words)
"Whatcha doing?!?"
Kai paused in the doorframe of the ninja's shared bedroom. He was dressed in red pajamas, and his hair, usually moulded into perfect spikes, was damp and unkempt after the shower he'd just taken.
Jay was hanging upside down from his bunk bed, arms outstretched towards the floor. He craned his neck to be able to look at Kai, who closed the door behind himself.
"I, uhm ..."
Jay let his head hang again and looked at the ground.
To prove his point, he directed a small bolt to a spot directly in front of Kai, making the latter jump.
"Hey!"
"Know what I mean? Well, I wondered if I could make the spark come back to my fingers again."
He screwed his face up in concentration and stared at the ground as if trying to hypnotize the floor boards. Sure enough, after a few seconds, a crackling, light blue channel of electricity formed between the floor and Jay's fingers. Sparks crept up, danced over his hands and traveled upward along his arms.
"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Jay stated, satisfaction in his voice.
Kai chuckled, rather unimpressed.
"You're the Master of Lightning. I'd expect you to be able to influence the direction your element takes. Besides, it wasn't really necessary to hang upside down for this. You could've pointed your finger at the ground anytime during training."
Jay pouted. "But I was already in bed when I thought of it. And it's fun."
The lightning traveling up his body became stronger, and the glow around him bathed the entire bedroom in an eerie, blue light.
Kai snorted with laughter. "You look like an electric bat."
Jay stuck out his tongue at him. "Better than a wet firecracker."
Kai ran his hand through his hair, automatically attempting to fix his look even though he had just rinsed out the last traces of gel. "Don't you dare insulting my hairstyle."
Jay cackled, but then he frowned when an idea entered his mind. "Kai, what happens to your element when you're upside down?"
The Master of Fire shrugged. "Dunno. Nothing special, I guess. I could probably set my feet ablaze, if that's what you mean."
Jay grinned and gave him a pleading look. "Oh yeah. Show me!"
Kai rolled his eyes at the silly idea of his team mate, but obediently sat down and rolled back into a perfect shoulder stand. "Here you go."
A flame appeared on the soles of his bare feet; he wiggled his toes a little, and after a few seconds, the fire settled into the shape of a neat ball.
"Works just fine. Bit more difficult than with my hands, though."
Jay burst out laughing. "You should see yourself. That's so funny. Now I know why it's called ..."
He was interrupted by the door opening once again.
"Is this a new bedtime ritual of yours?" Zane's calm, but slightly surprised voice asked.
"Would you mind explaining its meaning to me?"
Jay wiped the tears out of his eyes and turned towards the white ninja.
"Yoga poses," he grinned. "Kai gives an outstanding display of a candlestick, and I," he proudly gestured at himself, "the electric bat."
Zane eyed his friends. The Master of Fire, supporting himself on his arms and shoulders while holding his legs bolt upright, still turned the fireball between his toes, and the upside-down figure of the Master of Lighning sizzled with electricity.
"I see," the white ninja replied unfazed. "This makes sense."
He turned towards his bed.
"Please do not forget to extinguish the lights when you have finished training."
The giggles of his friends were nothing compared to the fit of merriment that ensued the next morning, when Zane earnestly asked Sensei Wu why all yoga lessons covered the candlestick pose in great detail, whereas none of them ever mentioned the equally beneficial pose of the electric bat.
I highly appreciate the "happy ending" tag on angst fics, dark fics, etc. Its existence increases the probability of me reading by a significant amount
but some people are like "why even read those fics if you already know how they're gonna end?"
Well, it's kinda like going on a roller-coaster. I wanna experience the ride. The ups and the downs, the twists and turns. But I also wanna know that at the end, it'll come to a safe stop and I'll be able to get off of it completely unharmed
Check it out, its yet another season 11 parallel that makes me want to start biting things
I think the key distinguishing factor between both of these scenes (besides the fact that Pixal is my wife whereas Vex is a slimy bastard I want to drop-kick into the sun) is the matter of agency.
With Pixal, she's encouraging Zane to remember, telling Zane that while his friends are here to help him, he has to help himself as well. She's placing the emphasis on Zane's actions and his role as an active participant in the situation. She's allowing Zane to take control of his own identity and his own freedom - while she's definitely trying to convince Zane to take a specific course of action, the focus is always on Zane himself.
Vex, on the other hand, is removing Zane's agency and fostering a sense of dependency by making Zane out to be helpless, telling him that he is unwell and that he must rely on Vex to take care of him. There is no encouragement to remember or help himself, just an assurance that Vex will look after him. He is encouraging Zane to assume a passive role in the situation. I don't think it takes a stretch of the imagination to conclude that the Ice Emperor was dangerously codependent on Vex, and that's exactly how Vex wanted it to be.
This was definitely not intentional, but I also think it's interesting to note that in the conversation with Pixal, most of the shots show Zane and his reactions - him struggling to break out of his chains, his confusion as he takes in his surroundings, his facial expressions. Whereas in the conversation with Vex, the camera doesn't focus on Zane quite as much, and the camera instead follows Vex primarily, or at the very least features Vex in most of the shots. I'm not smart enough to articulate why that's meaningful but I'm sure you can probably piece it together yourselves. Something about Pixal and Vex's respective motives, with Pixal's goal being to help Zane and Vex'a goal being to help himself, with the camera focusing on those characters accordingly.
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Am I the only one who's really confused as to how Nyad's powers were transferred onto future generations and, eventually, to Maya and Nya? Did the elemental power of water just randomly manifest again at some point, making a human the next Master of Water? Were Nyad's elemental powers so great, once she had merged with the ocean, that she was able to split and share them with someone who would then establish a human line of elemental masters? If so, how did she meet or choose that someone?
I'm sure the hive mind of the Ninjago fandom will come up with some really clever theories and headcanons; let me know if you've got any!
Time and again, Pixal is placed in a position of watching Zane suffer/die, and trying to save him, even as early as season 3. Their first real bonding moment happens while she's repairing him. And not long after that, she rescues him from being dropped into a metal shredder. Then in season 4 she helps him get his memory back, and in season 6 she defends him from the Mechanic trying to scrap him for spare parts. And that's all before she became Samurai X - a role she only took on because Zane had been shut down and was out of commission.
Since becoming Samurai X, she's had to deal with the aftermath of Zane being presumed dead aboard the destroyed Bounty, his banishment at the hands of Aspheera, and then later the Mechanic abducting him and electrocuting him to near-death.
The long and short of it is, Zane has been through a lot, and whenever something bad happens, Pixal gets front-row tickets to watch it all unfold.
Naturally, this has left an impact on her emotional state. And I think the nightmare she experienced in season 11 (shortly after Zane was banished to the Never Realm) showcases this best:
The nightmare depicts Zane holding onto Pixal for dear life, desperation and fear on his face as she's the only thing keeping him from falling into the white abyss below. But then, something causes Zane to slip from her grasp, and he falls beyond her reach, with her flailing helplessly, unable to save him.
Again and again Pixal has watched him die. Again and again she has lost him. In her mind, no matter what she does, no matter how hard she tries to protect him or how tightly she holds on, something will happen that will tear Zane away from her again, and she will be powerless to stop it.
It's not unreasonable to assume that Pixal considers Zane's safety her own personal responsibility, and blames herself whenever something happens to him. Note in particular the way Zane is characterized in her dream - desperate, afraid, with her as the only thing keeping him from falling into the abyss. And when she fails to hold onto him, she is - quite literally - letting him down.
Now that on its own is enough material to keep my poor Pixal Stan heart beating for months. But there are a few more details I think are worth mentioning.
First - the abyss dream!Zane falls into seems vaguely reminiscent of the ice torrent he falls into at the end of season 3. Here's a side-by-side comparison for reference:
I know it's a bit of a stretch, but you gotta admit the similarities are at least a little bit uncanny. If we're following this train of thought, then this may suggest that Pixal not only feels responsible for her inability to save Zane from Aspheera, but also blames herself for Zane's death in his battle against the Overlord. Or at the very least, she's noticed enough similarities between both instances of losing Zane that her mind is subconsciously projecting them.
Either way, it's safe to say Pixal is almost definitely traumatized from past experiences of watching Zane die. I mean, let's not forget that Zane's fight against the Overlord was, as far as we know, her first real experience with death, and Zane didn't exactly die peacefully.
Another thing to note is that the version of Aspheera in her dreams wasn't trapped in ice, but rather standing freely and unharmed. On the left is how she appeared in Pixal's dream, and on the right is what her actual condition was when she banished Zane.
It could just be an inconsequential dream thing, but idk since we're overanalyzing things here I want to make the comment that it almost erases Zane's conflict with her - how Zane had fought her (and her entire army) and won, and was only banished due to her breaking her arm out of the ice when he had his back turned. But in Pixal's dream, that context is removed, with only Aspheera standing there as powerful as can be, blasting Zane seemingly without prompt.
The reason why this is noteable is that the abyss scene and that singular shot of Aspheera are the only two moments in her dream that aren't exact recordings of the events that transpired. Everything else in her dream is just an exact, near-flawless memory of what happened - except for the abyss scene and the moment when Aspheera blasts Zane. For some reason, Pixal's dream ignored all of Zane's involvement in that fight, and disregarded the fact that Zane had already defeated her.
There are two possible meanings of this:
She views Aspheera as an intimidating individual, and the version of Aspheera in her memory reflects Pixal's feelings about her. She views Aspheera as a strong, formidable, and terrifying opponent. A bogeyman of sorts. Aspheera is Pixal's bogeyman
Pixal is subconsciously victimizing Zane. And yes, he is a victim in this situation - but just moments before his banishment he had successfully incapacitated not just Aspheera but all of her soldiers as well. Her dream not only largely neglects to acknowledge his involvement in the fight itself, but his contributions to Aspheera's defeat - effectively cementing Zane's victim status further into Pixal's mind
With all this in mind, I think it's not unreasonable to say that Pixal, on some unconscious level, views Zane as a victim whose safety she is responsible for. I don't think she has this viewpoint intentionally, and I think Pixal is aware of Zane's competence and respects his merits as a teammate, a hero, and a partner. I'm not making the case that Pixal thinks so little of Zane that he can't stand up for himself.
But I do think that, after years of watching Zane suffer and having to look after him, her experiences have begun to affect her view on not just Zane, but herself as well - with her subconscious hinting to her in subtle ways that Zane is someone she needs to protect, and that his protection is her responsibility.
In a way, I think Pixal views her responsibility for Zane's wellbeing in a similar way that Kai views his responsibility for Nya and Lloyd - you know they're skilled fighters in their own right, and that they can look after themselves, but you will still blame yourself first and foremost if any harm comes to them because you feel like it's your job to protect them.
Anyway, the long and short of it is that Pixal has a savior complex targeted primarily at Zane, deriving from years of trauma involving his repeated deaths and her repeated inability to save him, and in this essay I will -
Hot take: after Nya's sacrifice, Zane and Pixal broke up.
You know, their idea of how to deal (or not to deal) with grief was very different. He probably suggested that she turn off her emotion meter as well, but she ... didn't. Knowing full well what it meant.
So in addition to grieving about Nya and worrying about the boys who had moved out, she's left heart-broken, since the only being who was fully compatible with her ruined their relationship. She maybe went to spend a couple of weeks with Cyrus Borg, who'd do his best to comfort his girl, but then she braced herself and returned to the monastery. I hope she and Cole had a few nice long talks, and I guess she worked a lot. She must have been sad and furious and disappointed every time she looked at Zane, minding his own business unfazed. But she did not flip that darn switch on herself.
I think it would be hilarious if Zane went to public interviews saying that he is dating someone, but doesn't reveal their identity because that could be dangerous. PIXEL at a different interview, disguised as samurai x, reveals that he (the Ninjago citizens still refer to samurai x as he) is dating the white ninja. The public flips out. Zane finds out by watching the news and looks at PIXEL with a D: face and she just grins at him
last week, we talked about celebrating the creators within our fandom. Well, seeing as you’re here for this event, you count too! For our final pre-bingo share, reblog ths post with some of your own work and/or concepts, because I’m sure they’re hecking awesome :D
If your pieces contain spoilers, please tag accordingly!
I got into this fandom about a year ago, and Pixal and Zane kept me here ... Since I felt that canon doesn't always do the nindroids and their complex emotions justice (to put it mildly), I began writing some "missing scenes" myself. Never thought I'd once become a fanfic writer lol
The whole thing got a bit out of hand and I ended up writing a couple of longer stand-alone fics merging romance with adventure. It was great fun and I'm rather proud that I actually pulled this through, but I probably won't have time for more of the same sort ...
AO3 link: Masters of Code, Ice, and Mysteries
I've also started to sketch the nindroids, but I'm still learning and not yet ready to digitize most of it.
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No because that's the first thing I thought of. The first thing I did when I found out Zane turned off his emotions was sit up and go "Is PIXEL just okay with this??"
We hear how every ninja feels about Zane's emotions being turned off, but not PIXEL??? His girlfriend (or to me, wife) and someone who has "half of my heart"
For a while I convinced myself PIXEL turned off her emotions as well, but we see her keep a lot of expressiveness and have inflection in her tone so that's not true. Is she just okay?? With Zane harming himself and being so open about it???? She doesn't talk to him. She's doesn't show concern about him. Zane doesn't feel love anymore and PIXEL doesn't care.
I'm legitimately upset about PIXEL being shoved to the side super hard so far this season. I hope she gets more screentime in future episodes, but honestly I'm not too optimistic about that.
I haven't got very far into the new episodes yet, but your rant confirms my fears 🙁
I mean, as soon as I'd seen the French preview of episodes 1-12, my writer's mind wanted to come up with a oneshot showing how Pixal reasoned with Zane and tried to make him think twice about that unhealthy emotion thing, but since he obviously didn't listen to her, that fic would have become rather angsty and sad. So I ended up not writing it, because a) I really wasn't in the mood b) had no time and c) was hoping for more context and some more interaction between them in canon.
Apparently, we won't get that. Once again, the emotions of the second nindroid on the team don't matter enough to be addressed with as little as a single line (or at least a gesture, or ... just anything, really).
Oh god blorbo supreme. The original blorbo. This nindroid can fit so much trauma in him. I could rant about him for a million years. Im like this close to giving into temptation and making a 20-minute compilation of all my favorite Zane moments (listen, the party pooper scene lives in my head rent-free at all times). Oh god he needs so much therapy, and no, locking your trauma in a digital puzzle box does not count as therapy.
Some people characterize him as some emotionless and boring lawful good. Some people characterize him as an uwu wholesome softboi. But in my opinion, the most correct interpretation is Dorky Suburban Dad.
Think about it. He wore a button-up and khakis to the beach. He dresses up in a full scuba skin-suit whenever they have a party in their own damn hot tub. He once wore a sweater vest with snowflakes on it. On their lil desert road trip he entertained himself by reading about regional trivia, and delighted in sharing this trivia with his friends. He loves playing board games, especially chess. He likes to make ice puns. He loves cooking. He's the closest thing they have to a responsible adult. When he became the team leader in season 5 he kept everyone pumped with all those silly little sayings like "one team one dream!" He apparently loves detective fiction. He thinks that walking like a pirate with a peg-leg will get people to respect him. He loves astronomy and, according to Lloyd, "knows the solar system better than anyone". Whenever someone is upset he's always there providing a comforting smile and a pat on the shoulder. He spent 5 minutes debating the morality of making an ice ramp for a slug. He doesn't understand pop culture. Zane is a dorky suburban dad and you can't change my mind.
He's also a fashion icon. For example, when he died, the ninja all became a total fashion disaster in his absence. We all saw it. None of them matched. Like did you see Kai's horrendous lil fight club costume? Jay's atrocious tv host suit? And Cole just straight up wasn't even wearing a shirt anymore. And even when they came back together, their ninja suits still didn't match! And sure, it was meant to symbolize how disjointed they'd become in the wake of his loss, but STILL. The fact that their CLOTHES of all things were out of wack indicates to me that he's the only one on the team with any fashion sense.
And let's not forget the moment from Seabound where he decided to wear the breathing mask despite not needing oxygen because "I like how it completes my attire". And his Snake Jaguar costume!!! And his titty-out look in The Island! And not to mention how the Detective Zane outfit is a LOOK. He rocks the hell out of that trenchcoat.
This is all to say, Lego needs to release the forbidden bikini Zane content or I'm gonna break in and find it myself.
NYA
Ohoho, the fandom does Nya SOOO dirty. Especially since she's not as outwardly affectionate as Jay, so a lot of people interpret this as her being more callous and unloving towards him. She A) has a metric ton of childhood baggage, and B) expresses her affection in different ways! Jay might say 'I love you' with words more often, but she shows how much she cares through acts of service and quality time and whatnot.
Also. Hot take but Nya has some of the most compelling character arcs and subplots in this entire goddamn show. Teaming up with Dareth to spy on Chen? Overcoming her gifted child syndrome in season 5? The X Cave fight in season 7????? Struggling to keep the resistance alive even when all her friends were dead, doing everything in her power to keep Lloyd from losing hope even though they were the only ones left???????????? The entirety of Seabound??????????
The show definitely blunders often in terms of the whole sexism/performative feminism thing, for sure. Looking at you, Skybound. But she also has a LOT of character arcs where her being the Girl^TM isn't even at all relevant. Season 5. Season 7. Season 9. Season 10. Season 11. Season 15.
Anyway Nya is amazing and she deserves better from the fandom, and I will die on this hill. Nya didn't singlehandedly destroy hell itself just to be reduced to some shallow Designated Love Interest.
