Your Friendly Neighborhood Space Cadet

So this is a big celebration set of fake screenshots I've been working on since Legends of Avantris hit the 15 million stretch goal to bring Starlight Brigade to the Neon Odyssey D&D books next year as a mini campaign! It's also a fun hypothetical headcanon idea of how Strive, Pyke and the Rhapsody crew could possibly meet. I'm imagining Strive unwillingly separated from the rest of the brigade/twrp crew, somehow ending up in the Rhapsody's neck of the galaxy and soon after being pursued by space pirates while dodging and weaving to escape. Pyke then takes off in his ship, the Sparrow, to engage in the coolest combat scenario in my head as Strive's ship doesn't have any weapons to fight back with. You should totally check out the music videos with these characters and maybe even watch a really cool D&D campaign too :)

I keep on thinking about that scene and go insane because what was Nikki cooking at that moment.

I love you deeply Anon. I hope we’re mutuals, and if we’re not I beg of you to become my moot. Yes. I think of this often (tears in my eyes ofc). Nikki doesn’t get enough credit for her insane Pixel Pop performance because she is so so so great at it. As a (former 💔) theatre kid her ability to ‘yes and’, as well as her ability to give all her characters (not just Pix) depth is so fantastic.

It’s sometimes easy to write Pixel off as the “Blonde Bimbo” stereotype that’s there as comedy relief, and I think that a less experienced player than her would play Pixel as such which is okay, but Nikkie takes it further than that. When you pay attention to how Nikkie actually plays her, you realize she gives Pixel a lot of subtlety. That can be pretty easy to gloss over, especially when compared to the rest of the cast. That’s partially due to Nikki’s ability to share the “spotlight”, but it’s also because Nikkie understands the importance of storytelling and “Show not Tell” and I think that really shines through when makes character choices.

Nikkie weaves subtle characterization into everything Pix does, even down to her body language. When Pixel does anything, from something as deep as her abusive relationship to Veedlevox, to something as lighthearted as a dirty joke, the audience is either learning something new about Pixel’s character, exploring a facet of Pixel’s character, or an idea is reinforced about Pixel’s character.

Nikkie doesn’t do this by going on 30 minute monologues about how “deep” and “cool” Pixel is and how Pixel is “secretly broken on the inside and is so so angsty”. Instead, Pixel will seemingly make a throwaway line (“I’ll do anything once!) or do something seemingly inconsequential (holding onto Pyke’s cigarette and being attracted to older men) and then have it come full circle to her character. (“I’ll do anything once!” eluding to her drug addiction, her attraction to older men implying she’s chasing the love and validation her father never gave her, and holding on to Pyke’s cigarette only to give it back when she decides to stay on Cherix, implying that Nikkie wants to rip my heart out make make me cry 😭)

BASICALLY what I’m saying that Nikkie is really good about doing fake outs and it surprises me every single time. Sorry this turned into a Pixel Pop character analysis/ Nikkie appreciation post! I am insane about Pixel Pop and nobody ever talks about how interesting she is. I should make a dedicated post about my (probably very OOC) character analysis on Pixel. OUGH this is getting long.