User blog comment:RoyallyBella/Official Season 7 discussion blog/@comment-28371339-20160802204651/@comment-26569404-20160803050322

Okay, my turn. Why does this fanbase still think Nex is a replacement for Nabu or Riven? First of all, he's not supposed to be like Riven. The fanbase started that comparison. The proof? [Read his character description]. Nex was created with Aisha's characteristics in mind, not Riven's.

The similarities between Nex and Riven are coincidental. If you read [Aisha] and [Riven]'s early character descriptions (seasons two and three), you'll notice they're alike in some ways, too. So, since Nex is supposed to be like Aisha, some of his characteristics overlap with Riven's, too.

But the major difference between him and Riven: the description calls him "friendly." No matter how much the fanbase loves Riven, they can't say he was a friendly person. In fact, every character description he's ever had has said the opposite.

The only thing that might have had something to do with Riven is his hair. Rainbow knew they were getting rid of Riven, so they may have given Nex spiky hair because otherwise, all the remaining guys would have similar hairstyles. Roy also had spiky hair, so it would have been the same thing if Aisha had picked him.

As for a "Nabu replacement," I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean. Nabu and Nex both have clefts in their chins, but that's it. Everything else is different: different skin tones, different eye colors, different hair colors, different face shapes, different clothes, one has facial hair and the other doesn't, one has tattoos and the other doesn't, etc. They don't look alike.

But I don't think this is about appearance. This fanbase just can't handle the idea of second love -- not just for Aisha, but for Musa, either. Aisha's relationship with Nabu is over. It's healthy and natural for someone to move on after losing (or breaking up with) a significant other.

Nex isn't some random guy Rainbow threw at her to ease the pain. He's her second chance at love. Rainbow designed him to be an ideal boyfriend and companion for her. But because the fanbase is still so attached to Nabu (and still has a negative opinion of Nex), they can't see how this relationship makes sense.

If it was exactly like her relationship with Nabu, I could understand calling Nex a "replacement." But it's not the same at all. This is the first time we've seen Aisha in a normal, realistic relationship -- one that doesn't move at lightning speed, but instead develops gradually. She's the only Winx who hasn't experienced this. It's a new feeling for her.

Also, calling Nex a replacement implies Nabu was supposed to be her permanent love interest, and now Rainbow's just making up for it. We don't know that. The fanbase thinks that just because Nabu was introduced first, which doesn't prove anything. There's a lot more evidence he was meant to be a temporary character.

Plus, Aisha fell in love with a sporty, light-skinned guy in the comics (Sep. 2006: "Love for Layla"), and that was before Nabu was introduced. So Rainbow has had that type of guy in mind for her for a long time. Now, they've finally put him in the show. This could be the relationship they were planning all along.