My Bizarre Chat With a Hardcore Aisha/Roy Fan
Remember that Aisha/Roy fan I told you to ignore? I confronted them. Because I’m a hypocritical idiot who needs to take my own advice. Sigh. ?
I got sick of seeing them spam the same darn comment on every single Aisha, Nex, Aisha/Nex, Specialist, and Paladin post. So I investigated why they’re so passionate about Aisha/Roy.
To keep this anonymous, I won’t say the fan’s name or link to their account or our discussion. I’ve also removed all identifying references from the blog.
Tell Me Why…
I started with a simple question: “Why did Roy like Aisha?”
Was that ever explained? I couldn’t figure it out during either of his seasons. Plus, it’s not stated in his character description, the only comic he‘s in, or anywhere else.
The closest we got to a reason was in “Broken Dreams” (Winx season 6, episode 11), when he told her she’s “amazing at a lot of things”. So the wonderful, charming Roy pursued Aisha because…she’s great at stuff. Wow, so deep. ?
What did the fan say? Roy liked Aisha “for several reasons that would save Winx Club, both the series and the comics”.
…Roy’s love would save the entire Winx Club franchise? How in the name of the Great Dragon was he that important?
Also, the Specialists rarely show up in the comics anymore. Nex hasn’t been in a comic since #139: “Festa a Sorpresa!” (Surprise Party!), which came out almost four years ago. I doubt anything would be any different if Aisha were dating Roy. He can’t be the savior of Winx Club if no one draws him.
I tried again and asked what specifically Roy liked about Aisha. Instead of answering my question, the fan tossed around variations of the same cliché:
- “Because it’s true love and lots of other reasons.”
- “Because Roy truly loves her.”
- “Because Roy is her true love.”
Sounds like they truly have no idea. I doubt anyone in the Winx fandom does.
Of Kings and Paladins
I changed the question: “Why does Nex love Aisha?”
“For his own interests,” said the fan. According to them, Nex and Thoren want one thing and one thing only: to be kings. Aisha and Daphne are just their tickets to royalty. They don’t really love them.
Does anything in the whole Winx franchise support this idea? Of course not. (See the real reason here.)
To be petty, I suggested it’s actually Roy who wanted to be king, since his name literally means “king”. Why else would he worm his way into a personal assistant job for King Teredor, then schmooze Aisha a couple weeks after he met her? It might also explain why we can’t figure out why he liked her. ?
How’s that for a plot twist?
Why Rainbow Married Daphne Off to Thoren
This fan isn’t the only one who thinks Nex and Thoren wanted to climb the social ladder, but more people accuse Thoren than Nex. After all, Thoren wasted no time putting a ring on it and securing his place as the future king of Domino. A lot of fans yelled at Daphne, “You can’t marry a guy you just met!”
But do you remember my post on Una di Noi Winx about the plot hole created by Secret of the Lost Kingdom‘s ending? Bloom was the last heir of Domino. Sky is the prince of Eraklyon. Domino and Eraklyon are separate planets, so they can’t become one kingdom. So when Bloom marries Sky, she’ll become the queen consort of Eraklyon, not the queen (regnant) of Domino.
This means if Winx Club had ended after movie #1, Domino would have been without a ruler after her parents died or abdicated. I think that’s why Rainbow retconned Daphne’s death — it was already iffy because she was a ghost — made her corporeal again, and married her off to Thoren. Problem solved.
Specialists Good, Paladins Bad
The reason the fan thinks Nex and Thoren are power-seeking monsters incapable of love is…the fan just doesn’t like them. That’s it. They bashed the Paladin uniform, called them weak, said Paladins are “a waste of time”, etc.
I asked how a Paladin is different from a Specialist. After all, they both wear uniforms with gems on them, wield magic weapons, and ride Wind Riders. The fan’s response: “The Paladins are lazy and selfish, and the Specialists, except Sky, are better. They love the Winx for who they are.”
Okay, this fan also hates Sky. I guess we agree on something. ?
There’s that selfishness claim again. They didn’t try to prove that Nex and Thoren are motivated by self-gain instead of love, but we know there’s no proof anyway.
Also, why the heck does a guy have to be a Specialist to truly love someone? It’s almost like this fan thinks that Paladins are the non-magical equivalent of witches. Well, Nex is a Specialist now, so I guess he’s not evil anymore! ? (The fan hates that, of course. A Paladin should never become a Specialist because…reasons.)
Psychologist Says
Let’s skip to the best part. The fan said Nex is better suited for Musa “according to psychological studies and analysis”. Psychology, huh? That’s a new angle! Now you’ve got my attention!
Are you ready for the “psychological” reason Musa/Nex is a better pairing? You won’t believe it. It’s totally original and mind-blowing. Brace yourself.
Nex and Musa are a better pairing because…
…it’s exactly the same as Riven and Musa.
Why didn’t I see that coming? ?
Happy Couples Fight
I asked them: “If Nex is exactly like Riven, why hasn’t his relationship with Aisha been the same as Musa and Riven’s relationship? Why don’t Aisha and Nex fight and break up all the time? Why do they work together well if Musa and Riven can’t?”
The fan focused on the word “fight” and said, “Yes, [Aisha and Nex] fight, because Roy is peaceful.”
Unless he gets jealous, challenges a stranger who’s not even hitting on his crush, and ends up starting a love triangle, but yeah…he’s peaceful.
Anyway, their implication was Aisha and Roy would never have fought, but she’s fought with Nex before, so Roy was better. (See this post for more thoughts about this.)
Well, since we were talking psychology, I mentioned that real-life psychological studies show couples who fight stay together longer than couples who don’t. Couples who fight also have happier relationships. The YouTube channel Bright Side uploaded a video about these studies in January:
What are some of the conclusions from the findings? Says Bright Side:
- “Conflicts help you understand each other’s point of view, manage negative emotions, and make your bond stronger as you work at post-conflict peace together.”
- “In order to create trust in your relationship, you shouldn’t keep quiet. In fact, you have to approach your partner with an open mind, take responsibility for your actions, and listen to each other carefully.”
- “Arguing helps couples reconsider their values and feelings by addressing and discussing the things that are important to them.”
- “If you want to keep your relationship strong and thriving, it’s necessary to let your emotions out from time to time rather than holding them in.”
On the flip side, not fighting could be a sign of an unhealthy relationship. If you avoid conflict with your partner, it may breed resentment and slowly tear a rift between you. Says Bright Side: “Not standing your ground when it comes to your values may make your partner think that they can have whatever they want, and your resentment will only grow.”
Fighting from time to time helps you relieve the tension. It’s like when you shake up a drink. If you release the pressure a little at a time, the drink won’t bubble over.
Learning to Fight Better
Of course, constant, vicious fights like the ones Musa and Riven have aren’t healthy. But Aisha and Nex have only fought a couple times — if you can call the second time a fight — and they weren’t about to rip each other’s heads off. So they’re getting better at handling conflict.
This reminds me of a comment from NerdyPrincesses2 Mollz about “Into the Depths of Andros” (Winx season 8, episode 8):
…I love that Aisha and Nex are actually able to handle their minor fights like actual adults. After brushing Nex off early in the episode, Aisha later apologized and explained that she was just stressed and busy because of her speech, and Nex wasn’t mad at her for it.
She went on to say:
If this same scenario happened with Bloom and Sky, it would have resulted in a fifteen-episode subplot where the two refuse to talk to each other, and Diaspro would show up and attempt to murder Bloom at some point.
Too true. Bloom and Sky are a mess. They fight every season over the same darn things:
- “Why aren’t you spending time with me?”
- “Why don’t you trust me?”
- “You love Diaspro/Avalon/Andy/Elas, not me!”
It’s getting old.
One more thing. For the sake of argument, let’s assume the fan doesn’t like Musa/Riven. If Musa and Riven are a horrible couple, and Nex is exactly like Riven, wouldn’t Musa and Nex be a horrible couple, too? Then how would they be better than Aisha and Nex, who actually get along?
Also, “Musa/Nex” makes me think of Mucinex, which is an expectorant — a medicine that helps you get rid of phlegm and mucus. Lovely.
Final Thoughts
How many other Aisha/Roy fans actually believe this stuff? I know they think Nex is Riven 2.0 — I hope Winx season eight finally debunks that — but do they really think Nex is dating Aisha just because he wants to be king? What has he ever said or done to give them that idea?
Obviously, talking to this fan was a waste of my time. 99 percent of their comments boil down to, “Screw the canon; I’m right and you’re wrong because I said so.” I hate it when people won’t support their arguments, especially when they spread them around as much as this person does.
If you’re gonna stand up for something, at least know what you’re talking about. Do some research. Have some evidence to back it up. Don’t make stuff up for your own interests.
You might get away with half-baked beliefs in a fandom. But what will you do when the choice is more vital than who fairies in a children’s TV show should date?
“psychological studies and analysis”
Best part of the entire post. Sometimes it seems like people in the world don’t understand that words mean things. (I’m also flattered that you used my comment in a post.)
i wonder if the fans know about the dunning-Kruger effect
Probably not.
well i wonder how it applies to the winx fandom
Nex is not exactly Riven 2.0 but there are certain similarities between Nex and Riven. Just watch the first two minutes of season 7 episode 8 “Back in the Middle Ages”. In this short amount of time, Nex manages to treat Squonk like dirt and make a sexist remark about girls.
Then two episodes later, Nex warms up to Squonk after helping him calm down. But the fandom never gives him credit for that. They only focus on the previous episode.
And how many times have the Winx made sexist remarks about boys, even in the current season? In season 8, episode 4, Stella flat out says, “All guys are crazy!” A few scenes earlier, Aisha says something like, “Boys always overcomplicate things.”
The other Specialists aren’t innocent, either. In season 2, episode 10, Sky says, “Girls are so selfish, it’s unreal.”
Nex making that comment in season 7 got treated like proof that he’s sexist and similar to Riven, but it’s actually part of a common pattern in this show. Riven is the only guy who is canonically a misogynist, since his character description flat out said he doesn’t trust girls.
I really dislike it when those fans won’t back up why Roy is better. It makes no sense. Also…Roy seems to fill the Riven 2.0 description a little better than Nex or Thoren, everything they try to say about Nex applies to Roy. Third why would Thoren need or want a ticket to royalty? He was already a prince by being Sky’s cousin and likely was “The Spare” like Bloom had been for Daphne and he was quite interested in Daphne, but didn’t know how to express it so Daphne helped him after he made punny compliments about her intellect.
On the upside, at least there’s more positive reception now…and of course Aisha and Nex do actually take lessons from Timna and solve their problems like the adults they are. Florelia seems to catch themselves when they fight and laugh about it…which is far more mature than the other three couples. Also…why hasn’t Diaspro taken note that trying to eliminate Bloom is a death wish on magic yet? Oh right…she’s clouded by Sky.
honestly Diaspro is probably too far gone to be redeemed
I kind of feel bad for how Diaspro has been treated by the writers. The only reason it happened how it did was because Nick got Ariana Grande to voice her, so I bet they were contractually obligated to include her in seasons five and six. And they didn’t want to riak losing the most famous person in their voice cast, but the writers couldn’t think of a good reason to bring her back, so we got what we did.
Her return in season eight is news to me, but I can’t say I’m surprised. This season just loves dragging out dead horses and whacking them a few more times for nostalgia’s sake.
yeah they need to write her out
I didn’t consider that, but you might be right. And then Ariana Grande didn’t even do a good job, then they replaced her in season six. All that for nothing. ?
If Diaspro tries again and actually does succeed (not that it would actually happen because all Winx are linked by the Dragon Flame)…she better be prepared to get the most brutal beatdown of her existence…from Stella…and the harshest scolding from Marion, Mike and Vanessa (because Oritel doesn’t seem to have a clue.)
yeah she’d not survive
Considering that she essentially told Sky, “Choose me or Bloom dies”, then actually tried to go through with her threat…yeah, I’d say she’s too far gone. And it looks like she’ll be back this season. If murder is an option for her now, who knows what she’ll try this time.
yeah but Bloom is very hard to kill and many have tried
Ignore the guy from now on, he is clearly a Nex-hater.
By the way, I love the Sisko gif you included. ?
I thought you would. ?
The fandom never has arguments to back it up, but when they have, those are usually
narrow minded arguments, and still they act like they are right. That’s like having a theory, but no single proof to back it up. How can you call that a theory/opinion? But i hate it the most how they always talk about
Roy’s side of the relationship and never about Aisha’s side, like what does Aisha feel about it?
Doesn’t it matter at all? They clearly have no single idea what a real relationship is about,
and still they dare to make a opinion about it (that’s like making a opinion about a book that you’ve never even read!)
Aisha’s feelings don’t matter to them. They judge the relationship based on the supposed quality of the guy, not the relationship itself. What I love about Aisha and Nex’s relationship is that both benefit from it in terms of personal growth. Aisha has a positive influence on him. Their relationship isn’t about her basking in his attention like it was with Nabu and Roy.
And Aisha and Nex work together. They’re a team. They see each other as equals, yet they’re able to let each other to lead when necessary. She didn’t have that with Nabu or Roy. Nabu controlled their relationship; she pretty much did whatever he wanted. Aisha controlled her “relationship” with Roy, which isn’t surprising since he was her servant first.
I’m with sirenix-winx on this. When Aisha and Nabu were still dating, I thought they were nice enough. But now, Aisha and Nex have so much more to offer – so much potential development, deeper meanings, a relationship thst feels genuine. It’s okay to look back at Aisha and Nabu nostalgically, but now Aisha has moved on to something that’s not just better for her character, but is more interesting for the viewers to watch. I simply don’t understand why people insist on sticking themselves so firmly in the past.
One word: Nabu.
It’s not even about him and Aisha anymore. It’s just about him. Like I said, the fandom judges couples based on the supposed quality of the guys. Rainbow made Nabu seem like the ultimate fantasy boyfriend, so the fandom hasn’t gotten over him.
But if you take off the nostalgia goggles and judge him as a character, he was a bigger Mary Sue than the fandom accuses Bloom of being. Think about it:
– The other characters worshipped him. Queen Niobe said he was a wonderful young man. Other girls in the comics wanted him. After he used his magic to turn a car into a truck, Aisha cooed, “Oh, Nabu! You’re so great!” even though any of the Winx, including her, could probably do that, too. Even Riven, the most aloof and prickly guy in the group, was enamored with Nabu. All this after only know the guy for a few months.
– Nabu always had the right advice for every situation, despite having lived a sheltered life. Where would this deep understanding of life and relationships come from, if this guy didn’t even have friends when he was growing up?
– He was conveniently like Aisha in every possible way and instantly knew how to be the “perfect” boyfriend, even though neither of them had dated before (and again, they both had sheltered childhoods and only one friend between them).
– He had no obvious character flaws or personal struggles, despite having the same backstory as Aisha. Why was she an emotionally damaged loner for a while, but he turned out “perfect”, mature, and stable?
– His magic worked in situations where even the Winx’s magic failed. For example, why was he able to loosen the vines around all the Winx when Diana trapped them, if even the Guardian Fairy of Nature couldn’t do it? Are we saying Nabu was more powerful than the Winx?
– He sometimes revealed new abilities and skills out of nowhere. For example, he apparently studied medicine while on Andros, but he didn’t bring that up until his final episode.
– He came off as the only helpful boyfriend during season four, even putting up a fight against Diana. A Major Fairy. By himself.
– Then when Nabu died, it was a dramatic, catastrophic moment that Aisha could barely recover from because he was such a wonderful person. Everyone was holding each other and bawling…including Roxy, who barely knew him. Sky dropped his knees and sobbed. Even back then, I thought that was weird. Was he that close to him?
Nabu was a textbook Mary Sue (or Marty Stu, if you prefer). But the fandom will never realize or acknowledge it because of nostalgia and lingering trauma over his death.
I liked the relationship of Aisha and Nabu. But when i think about it, it was very shallow. They never got any bit of benefit from each other, it felt very sticky and looked like the only benefit they got was kisses and smooches. They hardly complemented each other, Nabu made her even more softer than she already was. He only expanded on the problem she had. He hardly brought out the best in her. Looks like their relationship wasn’t that “perfect” as the fandom says it is. Because they never look beyond their nose.
[…] “I hate Nex!”, etc. On Instagram, most of the anti-Aisha X Nex comments have been from that one hardcore Aisha X Roy fan, but some people agreed with […]
[…] read about my bizarre chat with a hardcore Aisha X Roy fan. (Click here if you didn’t.) Now for something totally […]
[…] on their relationship instead would threaten the fandom’s belief that Nabu or Roy (more often Nabu) is her “true love”. This means downplaying Nex’s purpose in her […]
[…] Roy was just…there afterwards. Why did he like her in the first place? Even his biggest fan doesn’t […]
[…] on their relationship instead would threaten the fandom’s belief that Nabu (or Roy) is her “true” love, whatever that means. So the fandom downplays Nex’s purpose […]
[…] Roy was just…there afterwards. Why did he like her in the first place? Even his biggest fan doesn’t […]
[…] even though he wasn’t right for her. (Why did Roy like her in the first place? Even his biggest fan doesn’t […]
[…] and Helia are too afraid of fighting with each other. Remember my “Bizarre Chat” post where I mentioned that study that found that happy couples fight more? It also said that not […]
[…] mind not being the leader (although he’s good at it when he gets the chance). And while Roy’s biggest fan thinks Nex doesn’t love Aisha and just wants to be king, Winx Club doesn’t support that […]
[…] doesn’t mind not being the leader (although he’s good at it when he gets the chance). And while Roy’s biggest fan thinks Nex doesn’t love Aisha and just wants to be king, Winx Club doesn’t support that belief […]
On thing Riven has is that tops Nex is that he actually does a mature thing in Season 1 when Brandon because he’s the leader on that mission tells him to stop with his attitude in during the episode Black Mud Swamp. He does stop because he respects Brandon. Also since the Riven’s name means Torn apart in Catalan I have strong feelings he was an orphan and doesn’t know how to interact with some girls meaning he never got taught the same thing can’t be said for Nex or Sky. And Thoren point blank actually helps Daphne solve the issue of the Treeants problem Season 6 whereas Nex was being stupid and arrogant and disregarding people also Thoren must be way older than Nex in order to put up with him and his stupidity at times when he caused trouble. Nex could have killed Roy in that magic fight. Thoren did not attempt to hurt Sky even though he knew Sky was pretty mad at him.
Riven gets too much hate.
Nex is not bad just somewhere around a mediocre jerk he even calls Squonk a name the creature has specifically indicted he didn’t like something Nabu or Roy would never do.
Roy gives Aisha presents just like Nabu did because he thinks about he. The exact same thing with Thoren and Daphne happen in Season 6. He shows up for Daphne’s specifically thrown party something he didn’t really have to do, but he was there because he wanted to be there for her and spend time with her and support. Thoren is not interested in the crown he really loved Daphne so many people overlook the subtle details.
Roy is just an overall thoughtful sweetheart plus he already is known by Aisha’s Dad and her Dad trusts him that’s why I would pair them. And he works for the Underwater Royals as a sort of ocean guard ambassador so he knows every member of her family and great partners respect your family.
Nabu was great. Because he always there beside Aisha in a battle. He’d be anywhere with her whether it was a quiet outing or another battle to be won.
Sky’s just terrible. Not surprising though concerning his Father’s own stupidity. He just doesn’t learn any better simply because he’s nowhere he can learn to better.
Riven actually has a positive moments in Magical Adventure movie where he is literally trying to cheer everybody during dark times and this is where Musa and his relationship flips a little. She completely shuts him down marking the first time she was rude to her boyfriend with a mean comment. That was kind of a petty thing to do and she continues to do it in Season 6 & Season 8 which honestly makes her sound more like Bloom than herself.
Riven is Riven, and Nex is Nex. Both have had mature moments. I only compare them because the fandom insists on doing so, but to me, they are two different characters with completely different roles in the show. They don’t need to be weighed against each other.
Something that really annoys about the Winx fandom is they define Nex by his negative moments and define all the other characters by their positive ones. What about when he stood up to Icy to protect Aisha? Or saved Daphne? Or encouraged Aisha before her big speech? Or stood by her side and calmed her down as she was losing control of herself during the season eight Sirenix mission?
That is stuff Nabu or Roy might have done. But when Nex does it, it doesn’t matter. He’s still dismissed as a jerk even when he doesn’t act like one, which is most of the time.
Nex showed up for the Andros Festival in season eight and gave Aisha flowers and lots of encouragement before her speech. I guess that makes him and Roy even.
I can add this to my previous point. Also, it’s all well and good that Roy has connections within her family, but Nex can easily gain King Teredor’s trust as well. There’s literally a comic where he does just that.
Nex does this, too.
I’ve been out of this fandom for several months, and boy, have I not missed all this Aisha/Nex vs. Aisha/Roy vs. Aisha/Nabu garbage. I think Nabu was a half-baked Gary Stu, and Roy was like the princes of old Disney: a blank slate with no purpose other than simping for the princess. Aisha/Nex was the first time I felt like Aisha was dating an actual character, not a Ken doll.
But I know the Winx fandom will never agree with me, which is why I made this blog so at least my opinion will exist somewhere.
The basic answers to this in general despite everything else I have said in previous comment is the relationship might have developed more off screen. First of all actually Aisha made Nabu’s relationship with her slightly rocky something Nex might have actually heard about since he is from Andros same as Roy that’s the best thing he’s got going for him that he is isn’t any outsider on her world. But unlike Nabu and Roy who actually met her parents, Roy’s probably already known Aisha since she was a child therefore already knowing her interests her likes and dislikes why else would her bring her Rollerblades as a present. There is a lot of background offscreen hints to the possibility of them being better off together the only exception as to why maybe her parents didn’t pick Roy at first was because he was probably underage at the time of Season 3. Nabu is the most mature member on the team and him being better against Diana is not a claim that’s he’s op. He tells us he has been practicing wave magic with wave wizards just like Aisha did on Andros for years, his one flaw he did to lie to her about his identity at first, and that was a mistake, but Aisha accused him strongly of something he really wasn’t being a spy. And Riven even asks Nabu how he does it keep Aisha and his relationship strong keyword “strong” not peaceful not without conflict. If she had accused him of being a stalker now that would a more appropriate comment. He also saved her multiple times after she found out who he really was. And she finally gets to save him in Diana’s temple. Unlike with Bloom and Sky Bloom’s always saving Sky from some ridiculous conflict. It is highly possibly that maybe Nabu and Roy might have met and we just never saw it. They might have been at the same wizarding classes back on Andros. Nabu isn’t a Specialist student it was never stated that he ever was. Andros is known to have powerful wizards since Season 3. All of which maybe based on mostly water or air. Taboc the wise was an Andros Wizard. They have a specific wizard council in that world so why wouldn’t the members consider training apprentices?
I strongly believe, Nabu, Helia and Aisha are much older than the show indicates.
It has never been stated anywhere in or outside the show that Nex is from Andros. We don’t know where he’s from.
Why does he need to be from the same world? The only Winx whose boyfriend is from the same world as them is Flora, and that’s only because Rainbow retconned it as such.
Again, this has never been stated. Also, if they’d known each other that long, why would Roy introduce himself to her. And why would he give her rollerblades? Because rollerblading is a sport, and it’s not that hard to figure out that she’s an athlete. Even Nex figured that out early on.
To develop a relationship properly, it’s better for those “offscreen” hints to be on-screen. Sure, you shouldn’t spell everything out, but you also shouldn’t leave piecing 75 percent of the relationship together on their own. And the fact that most fans have to do that Aisha and Roy shows the writers weren’t trying.
Also, we have no idea how old Roy was during or before seasons 5 and 6.
That wasn’t an unfair accusation. He acted extremely suspiciously: following the Winx around, sneaking onto their ship, all at a time when another wizard was a rampage in Magix. But regardless of whether Aisha was right or not, it doesn’t excuse what he did.
Then let’s see the conflict then. Not showing to us makes it seem perfect, but if it’s not, why hide the flaws? They didn’t do with the other couples.
And it doesn’t matter if Aisha called him a stalker or not. Stalking is still stalking.
Since the show never confirmed or even hinted at any of this, it’s all just fan theory and speculation. Therefore, it’s not sufficient enough to somehow make Roy a better character.