Starting a New Project

I wanna believe the Winx fandom will warm up to Aisha and Nex. Some fans already are, but most of them still refuse to accept them. Everything has been working against this couple from the start:

• Nabu‘s death cast a shadow over their relationship before they even met.
• Aisha supposedly moving on too fast turned the fandom against her. They don’t even care about her story anymore.
• Nex’s late introduction to the series, long after what most fans consider the best seasons, made him an immediate outcast. (Plus, some fans ignore everything that’s happened after Secret of the Lost Kingdom.)
• The botched love triangle plot with Roy soured Aisha and Nex’s love story and made the fandom hate him.
• The comparisons to Riven have trapped Nex in a cycle of constant criticism and hate.

Rainbow is trying to boost Aisha and Nex’s popularity, but their own marketing decisions hurt this couple, too. Because of the lower target audience (4-8 year olds), these two will never have the kinds of romantic moments we saw in seasons 1-4. We may never even get to see them kiss! ?

No matter what happens, positive or negative, it’s too late. Aisha and Nex will never reach their full potential in Winx Club, and the Winx fandom will never be able to fully accept them.

But as I’ve said many times on this blog, I refuse to give up on them. As a writer, I can’t give up on these characters. When I look at Aisha and Nex, I don’t see a cute ship or “soulmates”. I see a story begging to be told and ideas begging to be explored.

If Rainbow won’t do it, I will. I wanna prove to everyone, even them, how powerful, unique, and meaningful this couple really is.

A Non-Winx Aisha/Nex Story

I’m working on a new story about Aisha and Nex. It won’t take place in the Winx Club universe. I know that goes against my feelings about sticking to the canon, but this series is stifling this couple. They have to escape it.

The only other Winx Club characters who might appear in the story are Aisha’s parents and her childhood friend Anne. The rest — Nabu, Roy, the other Specialists, the other Winx, the Trix, Faragonda, Griselda, Palladium, and everyone else — will never exist and never have existed. That’s the only way for Aisha and Nex to have a clean slate.

I’ll adapt parts of Aisha’s story. She’ll still be a sheltered princess (and possibly some sort of magic being), but I’ll expand on the character traits that Rainbow has ignored. I’ll also introduce some new concepts and traits for her character (that fit her, of course), as well as explore her “life” symbolism more.

Speaking of “life”, her only name will be Aisha. I have nothing against fans who call her “Layla”, but Aisha was her original name. She doesn’t need two.

As for Nex, I have several backstory ideas for him. I’ll choose one and develop his character from there, weaving in the traits we see in the Winx cartoon and in the comic “La Prova di Nex” (Nex’s Test). He’ll still be a Paladin or some kind of physical fighter. (Specialists won’t exist in this world. Besides, what even are they?) And of course, I’ll take advantage of his “death” symbolism.

Aisha and Nex will meet in a less annoying way than in Winx Club (no love triangle). Also, I won’t continue the gag of her hating her boyfriend before she falls in love with him. Of course, that doesn’t mean she and Nex will fall in love right away. That’d be boring. ?

As I’ve said, I’ll also explore their “life and death” symbolism more, but it won’t be heavy-handed and obvious. Part of what I love about this couple is that their symbolism is subtle. You discover it gradually. The more pieces you put together, the more interesting this couple becomes. I’ll try to recreate that in my story.

I’d love for it to be a web comic or something like that, but I’m not a good artist. So I’ll probably have to stick to fanfiction.

I’ll update you as I work out the plot and character details. Stay tuned.