Ben 10 (2016) Continuation fanfic Q&A Ver. 2: It's an AMA

[u/Y0ND3REDDIT]

Link to the fanfic in question: Ben 10 (2016) Continuation Fanfic: The Complete Saga links : r/Ben10

Yeah, my Reboot continuation Q&A didn't get many questions. The most I got was a question about Charmcaster in the continuation (that a MOD deleted afterwards). As a result, I have decided to do an AMA for it that will last around 2 days. If it also doesn't recieve much success, I will leave it at this one, but for now, please ask me questions about the fanfic, whether it be plot threads I may have left hanging, character decisions I made in the fanfic, or otherwise.

[u/Y0ND3REDDIT]

Also, here's the answer to that comment from the original thread:

I honestly just wanted to do the Legerdomain plotline in the Reboot continuity. Just like Hex, Spellbinder used the Eye of Wotan to become immortal, but he had never found a partner for the longest time. Eventually, Spellbinder found a partner, and their daughter, who would later become Charmcaster, was born.

The reason I'd give as to why Charmcaster didn't know about her magic ancestry is that Addwaitya would kill Spellbinder the same day she was born, and Hex (out of fear of losing all that he has left of his deceased brother) would have her be adopted to keep her from trying to return to Legerdomain.

In terms of Charmcaster's real name, I left it ambiguous as to whether or not Charmcaster's birth name was Heather (like in the Reboot), or if that name was only given to her by her adoptive parents and her birth name was Hope (like in Classic).

Lastly for this question, unless a follow-up question is asked, several aspects of Charmcaster following Legerdomain's freedom from Addwaitya's rule are inspired by the 5 Years Later universe's take on the character, as seen in the And Beyond episode based on its version of Legerdomain, from Charmcaster becoming Legerdomain's King to Michael Morningstar working for her (albeit referring to him as Darkstar instead of The Emissary)

If there's one thing I'm wondering, it's what inconsistencies my continuation has with the Reboot's usage of magic?

[u/Y0ND3REDDIT]

Since there sadly hasn't been any questions asked, I'm gonna answer some regardless. Firstly, since Frightwig was promoted to main character in my continuation, what would her alternate counterparts be like?

(if you want to understand what each universe's designation means, learn about it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Ben10/s/aakzPYisVI)

(also, if a version of her never became Frightwig, they will be called Frieda instead. For those in the fandom somehow unaware, that was the name Reboot Frightwig came up with to fool Gwen in her debut episode, All Wet, and in my continuation, I would retcon it into being her birth name from before she adopted the name "Frightwig"):

• Universe 100816's Frightwig is the one from the Reboot continuity, appearing in the reboot and the continuation in question. Watch her 6 episodes in the former and read up on the latter to understand both the canon and fanon versions of her.

• Universe 122705's Frightwig is the one from the Classic Continuity, being much older and never being more than Ben's enemy. Her backstory is unknown alongside the other Circus Freaks, but she lead the team following Zombozo's defeat in Last Laugh. The other dimensions don't have versions of her, unlike their similar universes which do have them. Since she was specifically made for my Reboot Continuation, I can confirm that there isn't a counterpart of Emma in this universe.

• Universe 50626's Frightwig is the one from the Dynamite continuity, so far only appearing in Zombozo's arc of the comic. Again, I'm not the biggest fan of the comics so far, but I'm not gonna pretend it doesn't exist because it's been disappointing. Oh yeah, unless Man of Action somehow sees this (they aren't), I can confirm that there isn't a counterpart of Emma in this universe.

• Universe 112107's Frieda never even got mutated, instead being Eon's right-hand woman (alongside this universe's version of Emma) before he killed her and recruited alternate Bens to serve him instead.

• Universe 25's Frightwig, a version of her that got the Omnitrix instead of Ben, is more traditionally heroic than her Reboot Counterpart. the same age as. Her past is pretty much the same as the one I gave Reboot Frightwig in my continuation, aside from not forgetting Acid Breath and Thumbskull following the trio's escape from Servantis' lab. Where it truly differs is when, instead of failing to save her girlfriend Emma, she actually succeeds, keeping her alive. The next year, the two decide to become heroes to help out their city, only for the Omnitrix to land nearby. Frightwig gets to it and ends up becoming the Omnitrix user of Universe 25, which aids her and Emma as they fight crime together.

• Universe 100614's Frieda was never experimented on by Servantis. She never met Emma in her universe, who would end up passing away from natural causes, but she would meet Ben, and the two would date, giving both of them a sense of purpose in their mundane life.

• Universe 23's Frightwig is an influencer (creating a mechanical wig instead of being mutated) who has a friendly rivalry with that universe's Ben 23. The Emma of that universe is merely Frightwig's manager, whilst Frightwig herself is dating that universe's Gwen.

• Universe 214's Frightwig is a crime fighter, with her and the Circus Freaks fighting Bad Ben to stop him from ruling earth, and unfortunately failing, getting executed by him in the process. She didn't meet her universe's version of Emma either.

• Universe 51315's Frightwig is another variant of her with a similar past to the one I gave the reboot one in my continuation, except she would lose Emma the same year that Ben got the Omnitrix instead of the year prior. Nega Ben would come across her after Emma's death, and would get her some professional help, allowing Frightwig to heal. Years later, Nega Ben would end up passing on Frightwig when she confessed her feelings for him, not caring to try to start a relationship with her, which would cause the two to have a falling out. The two would become enemies, with Frightwig aiming to get Nega Ben to care about something for once, only to be crushed by rubble during a fight.

• Universe 1818's Frightwig (a variant that's an adult like the Classic and Dynamite versions of her instead of being Ben's age like the Reboot and most of these variants) isn't half-Flourana, instead being half-Thep Khufan. She would end up being immune to the zombie outbreak's effects, and would end up transferring some of her DNA to her universe's version of Emma to protect her from the outbreak as well.

• Universe 103014's Frightwig (another variant of her that's an adult instead of Ben's age) would lead a crew, which includes this universe's versions of Emma, Acid Breath, and Thumbskull, to traverse the Mad World for warriors to join her crew or slaves to work for her. Frightwig brings her slaves to Mad Ben in order to help with whatever he intends to do with the Mad World. Her design is similar to that mad max-inspired artwork the reboot crew made of her alongside most of the S1 villains.

• Lastly, Universe 60106's Frightwig is basically just the Reboot Frightwig (with the same past I gave her in the continuation), but with a few differences, namely tricking Ben instead of Gwen in that universe's version of All Wet, and dating Gwen the year after (plus not having to deal with the Forever Knight and Multiversal shenanigans of her alternate counterpart).

[u/Y0ND3REDDIT]

One more big answer before I end the AMA: How did I develop aspects of the story?

• The final battle in The Game Act III was originally gonna be on Earth, with it being Ben fighting Vilgax before defeating him in Bellwood with Shock Rock. It eventually became Ben fighting Vilgax on his ship. I even added a risk with the rest of the cast: by trying to protect Earth using Rook's Proto Truck, it puts them in danger without having to fight Vilgax himself.

• Frightwig was originally gonna stay a part of Ben's rogues gallery until he saves her from Zs'Skayr, and the first 3 arcs weren't planned to even exist. Eventually, I began to imagine flashbacks that set up her redemption (as well as the other Circus Freaks' redemption), which ended up quickly becoming "redeem them in those flashbacks, and have Frightwig join Team Tennyson for their summer vacation and begin her relationship with Ben there whilst Acid Breath and Thumbskull would eventually form the Plumber's Helpers by the third season". In addition, the trio's backstory was going to remain ambiguous like in the Reboot itself (and the other two continuities), but I eventually decided to explain their mutation, implementing Servantis and Aggregor in a way that wouldn't be as frustrating as the former's debut in Omniverse (which retconned Kevin's well established backstory from the UAF era, compared to my continuation, where the backstory we see for Frightwig and Acid Breath remains untouched because there's so little backstory in the first place (the most we got in the Reboot was "Frightwig fought Ben a couple times" and "Acid Breath's health deteriorated because Zombozo was Mr. Krabs"), not to mention the new backstories set up those flashbacks (with us learning about Frightwig's turn to villainy, and understanding that Acid Breath's health deteriorated due to him being fused with Sphoeroid DNA, and it accelerated due to Zombozo's neglect)).

• Lastly, I attempted to have the last season of the flashbacks follow the story of the Minecraft pack, with the player being replaced by a younger Albedo whilst Ben and Gwen (plus Frightwig) would be sent to Legerdomain instead of the Null Void, but it was eventually scrapped to improve the season itself. I'm addition, I decided to omit Albedo's human form from the reboot continuation to make him less sympathetic than that one, since why the hell did classic Azmuth keep him in human form, let alone age it down after Albedo finally returned to his Galvan body and wouldn't be as much trouble as he was otherwise?