Slade

The thing is I can just picture both of them saying that as well. I have to say I defiantly prefer this one your previous fan fic. So Matilda’s been ostracised by her family. I wonder if that’s because she’s dating Ric as Alisa and Alf didn’t appear to have a high opinion of him in your second chapter. I actually don’t want Ric to return just yet as I’m really starting to get into this now. That whole scene was pretty good. More of the same please.

She had Cassie, Matilda and Ric before. Things were different then. And that's one of the things I don't like about the character at the moment. Friends aside, how often do we see her spend time with Irene or even Geoff for that matter?

I wouldn’t say I hate Belle (even though I can understand why some people do) but to be honest I do find that I’m liking her less and less. Thoroughly enjoyed all the stuff with Amanda a couple of years ago but recently I just find the character quite boring and there seems to be too much emphasis on her relationship with Aden rather than progressing her storylines as an individual. Granted there was the waste disposal storyline but that just seemed a way for the writers to reunite her with Aden. As I’ve said before it would appear as though she has no friends (maybe she could form a club with Jack because he doesn’t appear to have any either). I do remember her trying to start some sort of book club a while back but nobody turned up for that except Angelo (if my memory serves me correctly). I’m going to go into broken record mode again and repeat what I said on another thread but why is she still working at the Den? Someone as passionate as her could surely start thinking of pursing a career in journalism. Also I would like to see her spend time with someone other than Aden (I don’t really want to bring Aden into this as this is Belle’s thread but feel that they are both becoming more and more intertwined that it is harder to separate them). I would also like to see the writers pair her up with another female she could become close friends and socialise with (like Matilda). So at the moment she just isn’t doing it for me.

Life on the inside – After you made a comment about feeling loved I think you said we would have to wait a bit longer for your next update because you had to go to a Doctor Who Anniversary/Convention with your brother that was being hosted at a place which shared its name with an American state I think (I can’t remember which one). Ok so he’s living with Matilda - Just as I thought. Things don’t seem too bad for him at the moment. There is the issue of his dad and Alisa who are still alive so I’m wondering who else will be in the Bay who isn’t in the actual show. Also the Diner is still there so presumably that mini earthquake never occurred. I already like this fanfic more than you previous one but I’m biased. Can’t wait for the next chapter.

I agree with you Sexyluc. This is a character discussion thread not an appreciation thread so it’s perfectly reasonable to discuss Belle’s less desirable traits in the same way is ok for people to focus on her more positive aspects if they wish. Just one point in regards to Martha though. Didn’t she sleep with Ash when she was still married to Jack? As I’ve said many times before (broken record) it didn’t really bother me her cheating on Angelo, it was the fact that she used him to assist her mission to expose the council.

Very interesting. I knew that from the fact that you had previously wrote Power Rangers fan fics, went to a doctor who convention and you like Transformers that obviously you are a Sci-fi fan. I’m also a Sci-fi fan (well cult TV even). The scene where Ric returned home was reminiscent of Back to the Future when Marty travelled back to an alternative 1985 and noticed that things were somewhat different. So many possibilities with this. Will Ric simply go back to the warehouse and try and return to the correct universe? Out of curiosity will he try and find out more about this alternate universe. If he does and he likes his life will he decide to stay? Is Matilda his girlfriend or is it someone else? Is there someone that knows about this that can help him get back? Can I assume that someone close to him died in this timeline? Update soon.

I seem to be spending a lot of time on this thread. Well I better make the most of it as they will be taking the forum down for a few days pretty soon. Anyway, I actually don’t think Aden’s evil either. When he beat Axel to a pulp and tried to kill his father, I honestly believe that he felt he was doing the right thing. He just couldn’t see what he was doing was wrong. Belle even said this in court - he needed help because he couldn’t understand the seriousness of what he did. And this is exactly what the problem is. So if he’s not evil, this only really leaves one other explanation – he’s disturbed. Now back to Red Ranger but on more than one occasion he’s referred to Aden as a sociopath. I’ve thought long and hard about this. Does Aden actually suffer from Antisocial Personality Disorder? This is a difficult one because he clearly exhibits some symptoms. This was taken from Wikipedia in regards to people who are supposed to suffer from this condition: Characteristics of people with antisocial personality disorder may include: * Persistent lying or stealing * Superficial charm * Apparent lack of remorse or empathy; inability to understand having hurt others * Inability to keep jobs or stay in school * Impulsivity and/or recklessness * Lack of realistic, long-term goals -- an inability or persistent failure to develop and execute long-term plans and goals * Inability to make or keep friends, or maintain relationships such as marriage * Poor behavioral controls -- expressions of irritability, annoyance, impatience, threats, aggression, and verbal abuse; inadequate control of anger and temper * Narcissism, elevated self-appraisal or a sense of extreme entitlement * A persistent agitated or depressed feeling (dysphoria) * A history of childhood conduct disorders * Recurring difficulties with the law * Tendency to violate the rights and boundaries of others * Substance abuse * Aggressive, often violent behavior; prone to getting involved in fights * Inability to tolerate boredom * Disregard for the safety of self or others * People with a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder often experience difficulties with authority figures. I’m not sure what other people’s take on this is but I can see at least four characteristics above which I would associate with him. And before anyone starts yes it isn’t his fault the way he is, it’s his Granddad’s and you could argue that Aden’s Grandfather has directly/indirectly ruined the lives of quite a few people – Aden, Larry, Axel and his family.

Groundhog Day Part Two, which incidentally is entirely your doing. I can infer from the Adelle discussion thread that similarly this will inevitably go round in circles so I don’t really want to waste too many posts debating this particular issue. What if Larry claimed that the reason why he accidentally killed Axel (due to his drinking) was because he couldn’t cope and the reason why he couldn’t cope was because he never overcame the abuse he received from his dad. Do you think this would be a good argument to avoid jail or even have his sentenced reduced? Now a change of subject. As I mentioned on another thread there is a much wider problem. And that is (I’m not sure if there is a shortage of quality scriptwriters) that some of the characters and storylines have woefully been neglected over the past few months. I’m not sure if this coincides with Bevan Lee’s departure or Sally’s exit. Anyway take Alf, Irene and Leah - The three longest standing characters in the show at the moment. I can’t think of a single decent storyline from any of these three recently (albeit Irene was involved in KK return and I’m not quite sure what’s happening with Alf and Bridget). In fact they have all been relegated to support roles for some of the more recent cast members. And as you say some of the other storylines have not been completed and other cast members are doing things out of character. For instance why didn’t Tony confront Aden in regards to his treatment of Rachel (he confronted him after what happened with Axel)? Why didn’t he tell Roman? Why was Belle so quick to forget about it? Why has Aden suddenly been cured in regards to sleeping with Belle? It would have been more prudent to drag the issue out for a lot longer and maybe wait several months before he was ready to sleep with her. Why do so many characters appear to have no (or very few) friends? Why hasn’t Kirsty contacted her family yet? Why is Belle still working at the Den? Why hasn’t she started looking for another job? If she is so eager to expose the council in regards to the development site then surely, she can get off her backside and start looking for a career. Why is there no central character (or characters), e.g. Sutherlands, Sally etc. It goes on and on. Someone made an earlier remark about Aden taking over the show and I would love nothing more that to blame that but the fact remains that even some of his storylines have been neglected so I don’t know. I just hope things improve next year.

Really? It’s interesting to see how different people feel about this. Based on everything he did I actually felt he should have gone to jail or at least been sent back to the clinic. And I say that for two reasons. 1. He committed very serious offences. Now if for argument’s sake we say he was not responsible and suffered some sort of breakdown then he really should have gone back to the clinic at least until the point where they felt the treatment he was received was sufficient. During his original stay he was only there for two weeks and you would expect treatment to be ongoing for months and even if he was released he would still have to be monitored at least for the foreseeable future to make sure that he wasn’t a threat to anybody else (I’m only guessing because as I said in my previous post I’m not a psychologist). 2. Consistency – Vinnie went to jail for fraud and Dom for handling stolen parts (I believe) so you could argue how could he not go to jail for attempted murder and two counts of kidnapping. But let’s not forget this is Summer Bay and stranger things have happened. As I've said before I'm glad he didn't go to jail as I have enjoyed some of his storylines. And I do hope they tone down Adelle and perhaps concerntrate more on the individual characters.

Thank you Zetti. As an Aden fan I’m glad you can see how wrong that incident was. The reason why I say that is because I feel that some (not all) hardcore Aden/Adelle fans seem to feel what he did to Axel was acceptable because (a) He was abused (b) Axel tried to force himself on Melody. What I can say to that is that two wrongs don’t make a right and as you say he had no right to take the law into his own hands. That incident showed several things - Impulsiveness (because he just took off to find him without getting his facts straight), Premeditation (because he planed to do Axel serious harm when he did find him), brutality to the extreme (beating him unconscious) and of course a total lack of remorse (he seemed to feel that what he did was right). In regards to Larry/Belle/Rachel I keep saying to myself that it was premeditated but I’m really not sure. I’m not a psychologist. It would be plausible to say his behaviour would appear consistent with a breakdown but I simply don’t know. It’s a difficult one. I’m actually one of those people that felt he got off way too lightly. Anyway although he’s not my favourite character I defiantly don’t dislike him and do feel there is a certain fascination where he is concerned (provided he’s not with Belle). His personality is indeed complex.

He didn’t exactly put a gun to her head and force her to take the alcohol (She could have just gotten up and walked away or even alerted someone for that matter). He didn’t force her to go with him and he didn’t force her to kiss him. In each case she CHOSE to do what she did. And when he was kissing her she didn’t once tell him to stop. In fact referring back to the clip on YouTube when Cassie dragged her away she actually reached out to grab him. So in my book she consented to everything. They didn’t have sex so there’s no problem as far as I’m concerned. To be honest I never had an issue with what happened between Aden and Tam. And I didn’t particularly like the stuff he did before (mainly with Geoff) but what really bothered me about him (as I always say) was the incident with Axel and obviously what happened with his father.

Ah ha. I see. Thanks for the clarification!

Ok…..strange http://www.backtothebay.com/forum/index.ph...st&p=880210 http://www.backtothebay.com/forum/index.ph...st&p=880234 Now I’m totally confused.

In regards to Jade’s ending, yes it wasn’t great but it was a lot better than some of the other Sutherlands. I thought Max’s was very anti-climactic, Shelly’s and Rhys’s were non existent and Dani’s wasn’t so much bad as it was sad. But as least that suited her character. It was only Kirsty I felt that had a good ending. It was perfect in fact. I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Take Henry, for example. After he left it was like Mattie didn't even have a twin brother. Granted, he wasn't the most exciting character on the show ever - far from it IMO - but a mention here or there would've been nice, wouldn't it? . This is somewhat true. For example how often does Rachel mention Brad (or even Tam for that matter)? Since Dan’s funeral last year has Belle ever gone down to the city to visit Amanda? And don’t even get me started with Kirsty. However I don’t think they are entirely consistent when they do this. Just recently Miles got a text message from Sally saying that Cassie had a baby girl who was HIV negative. I think Ric said he was going to the city to meet up with Drew one time (I think he actually lied because he was going to fight but that is beside the point). During Dom’s fixation with Belle, when he went for a job interview in the city, Irene knew he deliberately performed badly because Finn sent her a video tape. She mentioned this to him afterwards. However I think there is a much wider problem. And that is for a small town I feel the characters aren’t integrated with each other sufficiently. Although they all know each other how many people actually have friends outside their jobs/relationships. Jack, Belle, Roman, Aden, Angelo, Charlie etc. We hardly ever see any of these people socialise. If you take Holy Oaks for example a lot more of the characters spend time with each other outside school/college/work. Perhaps the writers think that is not really required. Anyway, I digress….

I think the reason why it didn’t work before was because there was nothing within the rules prohibiting people from posting opinions in certain threads regardless of whether they were pro or anti. If the moderators made it a rule such that no negative posts are allowed in an appreciation thread and no positive posts in an anti thread perhaps it would work. I actually thought if one of the moderators hadn’t intervened earlier on in this particular thread it could have gotten a lot more heated.

I understand your frustration and this highlights exactly one of the problems created when only using one thread rather than separate threads for the pro and anti factions of each character. We all have characters we like and don’t like and when I see negative comments about my favourite characters (as much as it pains me to say this) a lot of the time I just have to bite my tongue and try to ignore them. If somebody has a really strong opinion about something then I personally feel sometimes it’s pointless trying to change their mind. The last thing I want to do is make somebody feel that they don’t want to post here. So perhaps I could try being more balanced in future. Anyway hope you also have a good Christmas/New year and the same to everybody else.

^Well he didn’t marry Kirsty in 2002/2003 it was early 2004 where they actually got married (illegally). And she actually seemed to calm down after this. Well at least as far as KK were concerned. There was also the fact that Kane effectively got Dani sent to prison when he said she deliberately ran him over.

^As I said myself before, it was very unbelievable that she was able to forgive Aden so easily. Quite recently (UK pace) when Belle went with Aden to the hospital to see Rachel in regards to the waste disposal cover up regarding the council, I remember them all sitting in the same room (I think). The last time they were in a confined space together he was trying to administer a lethal injection to his father. So for me that scene just didn’t ring true. Also, I feel it was out of character for Tony to not at least confront Aden. Do you remember after he found out about the stuff that happened with Melody and Axel? He went round with Geoff to her house and tried to convince her to involve the police. Furthermore in the same episode when he found out that Aden beat Axel to a pulp, he went round to the Den to confront him about it and tried to make him see sense but Aden couldn’t care less.

In response to chelsjo: Before we go any further I would like to state that I think Aden’s character is good for the show and have really enjoyed some his storylines this year. This has already been stated by someone but one of the frustration things regarding Aden is that a lot of people seem to think the abuse gives him the green light to get away with anything. I will try my best to reply to some (not all) of your comments. 1. Right so because we don’t agree with you with regards with whether they have a positive effect on each other with respect to the show we haven’t been watching it properly or paying attention is that what you’re saying? Well I feel I can comment on the length of time and I feel it was ridiculously short, I mean two weeks in clinic for attempted murder. And let’s not forget he beat Axel and left him for dead without showing one snippet of remorse. I don’t feel two weeks counselling is enough to come to terms with that. Surely it would take months. And remember his attitude in the clinic first when he was talking with the psychologist and then when he saw Melody’s dad. It was almost as if he was boasting about what he did. After reading some people’s comments about Belle I am now in two minds about whether she is positive for Aden or not. I’m undecided now. Need to think about it some more. Ok so I accept that the kidnapping could have been possibly some sort of breakdown but if that’s the case when the sentence was passed in court surely he should have been sent back to the clinic not released (i.e. the temporary insanity plea). Also did he suffer a breakdown when he went after Axel? Another point that somebody mentioned previously was several months ago Annie accused Aden of assaulting her. Can you imagine what would have happened if somebody adopted the same attitude as Aden did at the time i.e. judge, jury and executioner. 2. As I said before it is not the cheating on Angelo which bothers me but using him. Belle is not the first person to cheat on someone and she certainly won’t be the last so I’m not judging her on that. 3. Spoiler so haven’t looked at it 4. No comment. 5. I don’t really see too much of a problem with this either. She seemed perfectly ok with it and she could have just told him to get lost but she didn’t. 6. As I already said Nicole was immature but since the stuff with Elliott she has changed. All this happened before she was kidnapped. 7. Spoiler so haven’t looked at it. 8. There is no doubt in my mind that both of them are excellent actors and as I keep saying I don’t mind them individually but not as a couple. And I don’t understand what all the fuss about them is about to be honest. Similarly I didn’t understand the fuss with Martha and Jack when they were the main couple prior to Adelle.

I actually don’t think you needed to apologise as you didn’t attack anyone, you didn’t make any generalisations and I don’t think you attacked anybody’s opinion. The previous post was overly aggressive, a bit personal and unnecessary if you ask me. It was quite reminiscent of the disagreement with one of the librarians earlier on in the week. Let’s not forget these are FICTIONAL characters and everyone should feel free to be able to express a like and dislike for them without anyone getting personal about it. Anyway I would really like to see them just start off being friends but I’m inclined to agree simply because there’s too much baggage there. I remember when Belle first said to Aden that she wanted to keep it quite (I’m not sure if it was actually a break up after that) but it just seemed very awkward. When he came in to pick up his pay she had to initiate the conversation and it seemed almost forced. There was also the way he was with her when she did his assignment. So I feel that every time they have been around each other and they have not together there is an air of uneasiness. It’s a shame as well because I feel a platonic relationship would do both of them the world of good and I would really like too see them act it out on screen. Just going back to my remark about the characters losing their individuality one of the concerning things about Belle is that since Maddie left she doesn’t really have any girlfriends as such. When she first came to the show I don’t really think she saw eye to eye with Matilda or Cassie and eventually they became friends. I wouldn’t mind seeing her have another girlfriend where she can share her problems and have heart to hearts with. Some of the other girls in the show, Annie, Ruby, Melody etc are all too young. And the other’s – Charlie, Leah, Kirsty, Rachel, Martha etc are either too old or have their own problems to deal with at the moment. Also she worked for the local paper last year as a photographer and since she is so keen to expose the council and has been working in the diner for a while now perhaps she could start to consider what she wants to do for a career and start thinking about jobs with other newspapers. In regards to Aden I don’t think I would like seem him with anymore male friends as some of his mates in the past have been trouble. It would be interesting to see if he and Geoff ever become friends because although I don’t like Geoff, I feel he would be a far better influence than some of his previous acquaintances. But judging by the remark Aden made to Nat – “He’s not my type”, I don’t think so. So I guess the only other things would be concentrating on his new family (i.e. Roman and Nicole) and getting his HSC out the way and considering what his options are from there.

The point about Aden trusting Belle is a valid one as if I can remember she was the only one he revealed the abuse to (I really can’t remember when Roman found out, I think it may have been when he got arrested, someone correct me if I’m wrong). If as you say they have been through traumatic events, not thinking clearly and are desperate do you think it’s wise for them to be involved in a relationship with one another at the moment?

Really so being in a relationship with one person and sleeping with someone on the side is encouraging him deal with the hard stuff. I guess she’s encouraging him to be very responsible then. At least he appeared to be the one that wanted to do the right thing and come clean about it. She apparently wanted to maintain this setup for her own convenience. Furthermore she was quite prepared for him to lose his job and break the law by stealing the plans from the building site (not to mention the fact that she got Rachel to risk her job and break the law as well). What if there was nothing dubious within the plans? Did she think of the implications of what would happen if he was caught? He’s on a community service order remember. And when I say Belle isn’t good for Aden’s recovery I mean relationship-wise as I said previously. I think she should just try and be a friend to him as he still has to overcome the stuff with his grandfather (why didn’t the judge make it a requirement to continue the counselling as part of his sentence?). In regards to Nicole yes granted she was quite immature before but since the stuff with Elliott she’s changed (look at how her attitude has changed towards Melody for instance) although admittedly she was pretty stupid driving without a license. And I agree that skipping school was a bad idea but Roman gave both of them a telling off for that and he did explain to Aden that he needed to be more responsible up until the court case and he was. The time he spent with Nicole was still good because I felt as it allowed them to bond and enabled him to focus on something other than Belle and know that he doesn’t just need to rely on one person for support. So at least has the comfort of knowing he can turn to other people if he needs to. So I don’t think Nicole alone is responsible for helping him recover but I feel cumulatively the combined support of having a stable home, with the support from Roman, Nicole and even friendships with people such as Melody will help him to become a better person. I can see that this debate is now going round in circles and as someone said previously it’s getting pretty intense. I personally don’t think Belle’s good for Aden in terms of a relationship but I’ve got no problem with them being friends. You do think they are good together. That’s fine. Anyway somebody already said there’s stuff that is happening over the next few weeks that might change my mind. In regards to this debate I guess it’s as case of agreeing to disagree and leaving it at that.

Well I’m not bitter and if you refer to my previous posts I did say I don’t mind them as individual characters, just not keen on them together at the moment. Can’t really speak for Red Ranger but if you think that’s bad you should try reading the UK discussion thread :lol: – Too funny. I’d like to think I’m reasonably open minded so I could change my mind but I think it would take a lot longer than a month - up to about a couple of months ago, I really didn’t like Martha and now since the cancer storyline I’ve really warmed to her. If someone had said to me about a year ago by the fall of 2008 that I would end up really liking Martha I would have said not a snowball’s chance in hell. Anyway, I think the show’s coming off air today for a couple of weeks so it will actually be six weeks until we’re where you are referring to. You can’t really expect us to wait six weeks before posting here. You must have been at the point where we are at the moment and I can’t believe there weren’t any other negative comments about this couple during that time. Furthermore when they opened these new threads it said that discussion was at UK pace anything not had to be labelled with a spoiler. So some threads will undoubtedly have comments up to UK pace…

I’m going to stick up for Belle a bit but only in regards to the above. Do you remember when Aden was worried what would happen to the house after Larry abandoned it when he absconded? Well I seem to remember her going to the bank, withdrawing all her savings (that she’d worked for two years to obtain) and giving it to Aden so he could make a down payment on a deposit. She didn’t have to do that and it did seem as though she genuinely wanted to help him. Please don’t counter that with the remark about them having sex and Larry making off with the money.

In response to Jody Previously known as enjoy the ride: Similarly I don’t understand how people think so highly of Aden and Belle. They’ve been together a fraction of the time of some of the so called other power couples and yet the way some people act you would have thought they are the best thing since sliced bread. Have they been through as much stuff as Sally and Flynn, Kirsty and Kane or even Martha and Jack for that matter? Like I said my main concern is that the characters will lose their individuality because everything will be about Adelle rather than looking at Aden and Belle separately. I personally don’t particularly enjoy them together onscreen anymore. I would much rather see them be friends. And you might think in terms of screen time, their relationships with other people pale in comparison but I actually enjoy watching them interact with different characters. I remember the episode where Aden and Nicole decided to skip school and he was driving her car and they were bonding on the beach. I absolutely loved that. I also really liked the interaction with Roman when he gave them a ticking off for not attending classes. As for Belle I am less keen on her and feel she is only a fraction of the character she was a year and a half to two years ago, although I still like her (but only just). I remember the love hate relationship with Amanda, when they were arch enemies and then they became really close. Again that was something that I loved and at the time they were one of the reasons I decided to watch Home and Away on a regular basis again after not watching it properly for about a year. I miss the old Belle. In terms of Belle (and no I’m not blaming her) not being good for Aden’s recovery, my worry was the way he was in the clinic. All he wanted was to see her and I remember the episode when he was granted day release. He seemed so happy and when he saw her with Angelo he seemed quite devastated after that. And I don’t care what the psychologist said, I don’t feel the recovery is complete (And I still don't understand how apparently he's cured in regards to actually sleeping with Belle). What if they start going out again and they break up for some reason and he relapses. I think he would be far more likely to go of the rails. That’s why I would like to see more of an emphasis on building the relationships with people like Roman and Nicole who are now like a family to him and maybe just start off with a platonic relationship with Belle so they can remain friends for a while then perhaps when he becomes a “model citizen” they could look at going one step further. So at the moment I wouldn’t say I’m particularly anti Aden or anti Belle, I’m just anti Adelle.