#Robert accidentally saying how he feels about Aaron during the affair era..

[sugdensdingle]

[bartsugsy]

What’s your favourite Robron moment ?? 😊

OK YOU SENT THIS DAYS AGO AND IT’S BEEN STRESSING ME OUT BECAUSE HOW DOES ONE (1) HUMAN CHOOSE A SINGLE MOMENT???? answer: they do not choose a single moment

ANYWAY RULES ARE FOR LOSERS HERE’S 20 RANDOM MOMENTS I LOVE:

20. THAT TIME DURING THE AFFAIR ERA WHERE ROBERT WAS LIKE HEY AARON AFTER I’M MARRIED WE’RE STOPPING THIS I’M BREAKING UP WITH YOU AND THAT’S THAT AND AARON WAS LIKE ok but what if we didn’t AND ROBERT WAS LIKE OK GOOD POINT WELL MADE GUESS WE SHOULD MEET IN A BARN AND BANG ON THE DAY OF MY WEDDING THIS CAN ONLY GO WELL

19. THAT TIME WHEN ROBERT PAID AN INSANE AMOUNT OF MONEY TO HELP AARON FIND SANDRA BC HE NEEDED HER FOR HIS CASE AND THEN REFUSED TO LET AARON GO TO SEE SANDRA ALONE AND WAS JUST GENUINELY QUIETLY SUPPORTIVE. AND THEY STILL LOVED EACH OTHER AND AARON FELT THAT AND FELT LIKE HE HAD TO KISS ROBERT THEN AND THERE BECAUSE HE DIDN’T REALISE THAT ROB WOULD WAIT FOR HIM TO SORT HIS SHIT OUT FIRST BUT ROB EXPLICITLY CLARIFIED FOR HIM THAT HE WASN’T GOING ANYWHERE

18. A LITTLE EARLIER IN THAT ERA, WHEN AARON WAS HIDING OUT IN IRELAND AND ROBERT WOULD JUST WALK INTO EVERY SCENE DEMANDING TO KNOW WHERE AARON WAS. EVERY SINGLE SCENE.

17. THAT TIME AARON SPOKE HORRIBLE FRENCH (HE LIVED IN FRANCE FOR Y E A R S HOW DID HE COPE) AND ROB WAS LIKE ........i’m dating the hottest man alive?

16. THAT TIME ROBERT LITERALLY GAVE UP HIS COMPANY AND HIS ENTIRE FUCKIN HOUSE JUST TO GET AARON BACK BC HE WAS SO TERRIFIED FOR HIS SAFETY

15. THAT TIME DURING THE AFFAIR WHEN ROBERT FINANGLED IT SO THAT ALL OF THE WHITES WENT ON HOLIDAY AND HE JUST FULL ON MOVED AARON INTO HOME FARM AND THEY ACTED LIKE A FULL ON MARRIED COUPLE FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK, LIKE THE MOST INSANE PREVIEW OF THEIR FUTURE EVER DESIGNED

14. THAT TIME!!!! LACHLAN THREATENED ROBERT!!! SO AARON JUST FUCKIN???? KIDNAPPED???? HIM?????????? A LITERAL TEENAGER???????????? AARON KIDNAPPED A FUCKIN TEENAGER BC HE THREATENED TO PUT ROBERT IN JAIL (and yes used methods that hit v close to home for aaron to do so) BUT HONESTLY HE SHOVED A TEENAGER INTO HIS BOOT BC??? SURE?????? they’re both insane

13. OH YEAH THAT TIME ROBERT BURNED 100K BECAUSE AARON, FEELING ANNOYED AND PETTY, INSINUATED THAT ROBERT LOVED MONEY MORE THAN AARON AND FRANKLY AARON IS ONE OF THE ONLY PEOPLE ROBERT DOESN’T PUT MONEY AHEAD OF (or he used to, before he Grew As A Person tm) (i’m sure that won’t stick

12.THAT TIME THEY GOT MARRIED

11. ROBERT JUST WANTED TO THROW AARON THIS MASSIVE SYMBOLIC SHOW OF LOVE AND DEVOTION BEFORE HE WENT TO PRISON AND HE WANTED IT TO BE PERFECT AND WHEN IT WASN’T HE WENT OFF IN A STROP BUT AARON COULD LITERALLY GET MARRIED TO ROBERT WHILST STANDING IN A PILE OF LITERAL RUBBISH AND BE HAPPY BC AARON DOESNT CARE HE JUST WANTS TO BE MARRIED (ROBERT ALSO JUST WANTS TO BE MARRIED BUT HE HAS STANDARDS OK) AND SO AARON WENT AFTER HIM AND TALKED HIM DOWN AND THEN THEY JUST SAID FUCK IT AND GOT MARRIED ALONE, IN A PLACE THAT WAS SPECIAL TO THEM, BECAUSE IT WAS LITERALLY JUST FOR THEM AND ABOUT THEIR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER??? AND IT WAS ABOUT KNOWING THAT AFTER PRISON THEY’D STILL COME BACK TO ONE ANOTHER????? AND THAT TOOK LONGER THAN EXPECTED (WAY LONGER) (AND WAS A LOT MESSIER) BUT IT STILL HAPPENED BC THEIR FUTURES ARE WITH ONE ANOTHER AND THEY EARNED THAT AND BOTH FOUGHT FOR EACH OTHER MASSIVELY

10. THAT TIME AARON WAS IN HOSPITAL DURING SSW AND ROBERT SAT IN THE WAITING ROOM WITH CHAS AND LOOKED DEVASTATED BC HE COULD LOSE THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE NBD. ROBERT WAS SO SAD BUT ALSO SO FRUSTRATED WITH HIMSELF AND HE FINALLY GOT TO EXPRESS HIS REGRETS OVER THE AFFAIR ERA AND HOW MUCH ~TIME HE WASTED FUCKIN AROUND BC HE WAS SCARED AND ALSO LBR WANTED THAT WHITE MONEY AND POWER WHEN INSTEAD HE COULD HAVE JUST BEEN FUCKIN HAPPY AND LIVING HIS LIFE WITH AARON, WHICH IS ULTIMATELY THE ONLY FUTURE HE WANTS FOR HIMSELF AND AALDHSDFOH THE JOURNEY!! ROBERT SUGDEN!!!! HAS BEEN ON!!!!!!! IS SO GOOD FIGHT ME

9. SPEAKING OF HOSPITALS, THAT TIME ROBERT GOT HIT BY A CAR AND AARON FUCKIN RACED TO THE HOSPITAL AND CRIED AT ROB’S BEDSIDE DESPITE HAVING OSTENSIBLY MOVED ON FROM ROBERT BC HEY NEWSFLASH AARON NEVER STOPPED LOVING ROBERT JACOB SUGDEN. AND THEN THEY PROMISED TO BE FRIENDS AND ROBERT TOLD AARON HE’D BE THE BEST FRIEND HE’D EVER HAVE AND I DIED.

8. THAT TIME THEY JOKED ABOUT ANAL SEX IN THE SCRAPYARD #GAYCULTURE

7. THAT TIME!!!! ROBERT WENT TO A GAY BAR!!! TO TRY AND GET OVER AARON!!!! BUT BECAUSE AARON IS A FUCKIN LUNATIC WHO, AGAIN, NEVER STOPPED LOVING ROBERT JACOB SUGDEN, AARON FOLLOWED HIM AND THEN JUST SORT OF LURKED IN THE SHADOWS LOOKING SAD AND ESSENTIALLY WAS PREPARED TO TORTURE HIMSELF WITH WATCHING ROB PICK UP A DUDE BC HE COULDN’T STOP ROBERT BUT ALSO, INTERNALLY, HE REALLY WANTED TO STOP ROBERT

6. OH AND THEN AARON SAW ROB GO OUTSIDE ALONE AND TOOK HIS CHANCE TO SAY SOMETHING AND THEY JUST SORT OF SADLY FLIRTED WITH EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEY BOTH DESPERATELY WANTED TO BE TOGETHER??? AND FELT THAT THEY COULDN’T BE???? BUT STILL COULDN’T NOT FLIRT WITH ONE ANOTHER????????

5. THAT TIME AARON WAS LIKE HEY ROBERT DON’T COME TO COURT WITH ME AND ROB WAS LIKE .....YEAH WHATEVER AND THEN SHOWED UP IN COURT ANYWAY AND AARON WAS LIKE ??? BUT ALSO :’) AND ROB WAS JUST LIKE LOL SINCE WHEN DO I EVER LISTEN TO U

4. THAT TIME THEY TOOK THEMSELVES OFF TO A HOTEL AND THEN LEFT IT IN A LITERAL STATE??? AND THEN JOKED ABOUT IT???? BC THEY SPENT ALL NIGHT BANGING????? AND AARON HAD LITERALLY FORCED ROBERT TO TURN HIS PHONE OFF BC CLEARLY ROBERT HAS A PROBLEM #relatable #me (oh and meanwhile gerry was dying but yk we’re talking abt robron here)

3. GDI THAT TIME WHEN ROBERT LITERALLY THOUGHT HE HAD GOTTEN AWAY WITH SLEEPING WITH REBECCA AND STILL TOLD AARON THE TRUTH ANYWAY BC HE JUST??? COULDN’T LIE TO HIS HUSBAND???????? ROBERT, WHO LIED ABOUT EVERYTHING??? AND AARON UNDERSTOOD THAT GROWTH DESPITE OBVIOUSLY BEING HEARTBROKEN AND DEVASTATED RIP, BC AARON KNOWS ROBERT. THEY KNOW EACH OTHER SO WELL!!!!! 

2. THAT TIME WHEN AARON WAS SO ANNOYED THAT HE COULDN’T BONE ROBERT IN PEACE THAT HE DECIDED TO SUGGEST THEY MOVE IN TOGETHER AND THEN THEY (ULTIMATELY) FUCKIN DID AND THEN ROB WAS LIKE HEEEEY TIME 2 PROPOSE AND PLANNED THIS INSANE PLAN INVOLVING ALL OF THE BREAD IN THE VILLAGE TO SHOW AARON JUST HOW MUCH HE LOVES HIM BC HE DOES

1.5 WAIT I HAVE TWO MORE HOLY SHIT THAT TIME!!!!!!!!! THEY LITERALLY!!!!!!!!!!!! BOTH PLANNED TO PROPOSE TO ONE ANOTHER????? AT THE SAME TIME????????? IN THE EXACT SAME WAY?????????????? WHO ARE THEY WHAT IS THIS???? DID THEY LITERALLY LIKE.... HAVE THIS CONVERSATION MID-BONE???? WHY WERE THEY BOTH THINKING ABOUT PROPOSING AT THE SAME TIME WITH THE SAME PLAN TO GO BACK TO WHERE THEY FIRST KISSED???? AND THEIR FAMILIES, WHEN THEY FOUND THIS OUT, WERE JUST LIKE ....oh lol AND THEN NEVER MENTIONED HOW FUCKING INSANE THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS THAT THIS IS WHAT THEY DID gdi who are they. OH AND THEN THEY ACCIDENTALLY??? ENDED UP AT THE LAY-BY ANYWAY????? BECAUSE ROBERT’S CAR ACTUALLY BROKE THE FUCK DOWN BC GOD CLEARLY SHIPS IT OR SOME SHIT AND THEN AARON WAS LIKE lol where are we never seen it before x EVEN THOUGH NOT 24 HOURS EARLIER HE WAS WAXING LYRICAL TO LIV OVER HOW ROMANTIC IT WOULD BE TO TAKE ROBERT TO THAT VERY SPOT AND FUCKIN ASK HIM TO MARRY HIM. AGAIN. BECAUSE THEY’RE ALREADY FUCKIN MARRIED?????? god they’re lunatics. OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND THEN ROB WENT TO PROPOSE AND AARON LITERALL GOT ANNOYED BC HE WAS LIKE NO IT’S MY TURN BACK OFF SUGDEN AND THEN THEY SAID IT AT THE SAME FUCKIN TIME bc they’re literally just insane i can’t deal with them.

1. that time aaron made a speech about how robert jacob sugden, knowing every terrible thing he’s ever done and having been victim to his stupidity, manipulation, hunger for power and money and general terribleness, is still a good person who deserves love bc as much as aaron knows the bad that robert’s done, he also knows all of the good and just how far he’s come - and robert knows now, bc he’s done so much to try and be a better person for aaron and for their family and now he literally is actually sort of proud of the person he’s become and so much of that is aaron’s influence and like... aaron makes robert a better person by loving him as much as he does and robert in return loves aaron more than anything and they both recognise this love within each other and does it literally go beyond common sense? yes. are they basically a cautionary tale as to why maybe there is such a thing as too much love? u know they are. but are they perfect for each other? RIP YES THEY ARE THIS ISN’T GOING UNDER A CUT READ THIS ENTIRE POST AND SUFFER WITH ME GDI

[bartsugsy]

That may be an odd question but since I've seen gifs about Robert choosing Aaron over Rebecca I wanted you to maybe talk about the same theme but in Rebecca's shoes imagine Aaron. Did Robert cared about Aaron? Like more than Chrissie during their affair? A woman he admired and loved. When he was asked he said to Bex "I care about Aaron more. I will never leave him for ya" but did that apply to Aaron as well when he was in Rebecca's shoes? There is 'I want u' 'I love u' and 'Im in love with u'

so like… you mean rob told rebecca he’d always choose aaron over her but he also, in the affair era, told aaron that he would choose chrissie? and what’s the difference, if there’s one?

i mean, you’re forgetting i think that robert during the affair era was driven by both a love of money and power and more importantly, internalised homophobia and internalised biphobia

we know that he loved chrissie but we know that ultimately his feelings for aaron were stronger and he’s expressed as much, both to aaron and to other people (ssw 2016 is a good place to find examples of this, but also aaron’s birthday 2017 has robert being very unambiguous about this and a whole litany of other moments) (he’s very prolific on this matter it’s kind of insane)

rebecca conversely offered robert everything he thought he wanted back in 2015 - money and power, as well as, in theory i suppose, an opportunity to be in a relationship with someone of the opposite gender, given that opposite gender relationships have, within the larger constructs of society, privilege over same gender couples and also offer less opportunities to receive homophobic abuse specifically etc - and i was going to say that maybe the show wasn’t using that specific angle with rebecca but actually if you watch rebecca’s scenes when she first arrives, she spends a lot of time making biphobic remarks to robert about how men can’t satisfy him the way she, a woman, can and generally undermining both his relationship with aaron and his bisexuality whilst trying to hit on him (and he hadnt even specifically come out as bi by that point and was still struggling which makes it even more 🔪🔪🔪), so maybe that was in fact an intended part of it?

but anyway, the best scene that demonstrates this is the first rob/rebecca kiss scene and the other scenes between them within the same episode (i mean, god, that happens literally the episode before robert uses the word bisexual to aaron because aaron also can’t quite understand it and unloads some far less aggressive and insane but still v much to the point biphobia towards robert)

(rip poor rob)

idk, this show’s track record on bisexuality and calling out biphobia isn’t great so i’m dubious as to how much i trust that this was an intended part of it, but rob has his relationship and sexuality undermined both by rebecca and aaron (and rebecca’s is so so bad - i need to point this out bc i don’t want to equate what aaron says, which is bad in and of itself if far less horribly intentioned, with the absolute insanity that rebecca comes out with, *too much*) (and if you haven’t seen it in a while you may have forgotten just how bad it is but it’s…. oh boy) (aaron at least is actively trying to understand through his own ignorance, whereas rebecca is honestly completely obstinate about it throughout those scenes) (it’s so gross)

and i think as a whole storytelling piece, rebecca was a good way to silence the people who believed that maybe the only reason robert chose aaron over chrissie was because chrissie wouldn’t have him back - because here was rebecca offering it up on a plate and robert had absolutely no interest

(didn’t work, i still get those asks fairly often and to each one i say that making that argument erases a lot of very explicit, unambiguous canon proving otherwise)

ANYWAY, basically - robert was motivated to choose chrissie over aaron because chrissie was what he thought he wanted for his life - all that money and power, but ultimately after he got shot and almost died, he woke up with a renewed focus on aaron (watch his scenes in december 2015/january 2016 for examples of this) and basically barely mentioned or paid mind to chrissie - and had certainly stopped trying to get back with her, all the while doing things like trying to buy the pub just to spend more time with aaron.

since then, he started very slowly to become more open about his own sexuality and his feelings for aaron and that’s only grown ever since

(and now he’s going to gay clubs and making bi jokes ✨💕🌈🌷)

which, to be very clear on what i mean here - he wasn’t with chrissie bc she was a woman (he was with her bc she was rich and bc he did love her) - it’s more that he was never going to be with aaron bc he was a man (and bc he was poor 😂). internalised homophobia was just one more thing preventing him from being with aaron or admitting his feelings too much for aaron - or being able to admit that his feelings for aaron were ultimately stronger than his feelings for chrissie.

with rebecca, when tbh it would have helped him to lie even more about his feelings because he was literally already lying to her about his feelings/implying he had feelings for her in order to use her to take down the whites and then get his hands on their money, he still openly told her over and over that he would always choose aaron, because that was the truth

they deliberately made his actions vaguely ambiguous when he was initially plotting against rebecca but i feel like he’s said enough times in between and since his true feelings to clarify the ambiguity there - and the only time he actually slept with her was directly after believing aaron was dead or some shit whilst in prison and then seeing him high on spice and a completely different person (see: the ons episode and the reveal episodes for further examples/more detailed explanation)

knowing that robert historically had pretty much followed Little Rob’s whims and happily cheated on chrissie over and over with at least rebecca, connor and aaron, it’s not hard to believe that the fact that he can’t do that with aaron outside of very extenuating circumstances (i.e. he won’t just do it for a bit of fun, as before) (or because he’s formed an entire accidental serious relationship with the local mechanic) would mean that it is in fact different for him, with aaron than it ever was with chrissie

(supporting every time he has said as much to aaron or to other people)

this answer is such a mess lmao sorry

why use 5 words when you can use 5000, yk

[bartsugsy]

Affair was supposed to be ambiguous. Was Robert really in love with Aaron or he was just manipulating him, y know? They said to Ryan to play Robert in a vague way to convey this... That it could be both. So why did Ryan during a 2015 interview use these words 'Robert and Aaron share a deep bond (or something like that). They are soulmates'? It was an extreme term to use given the nature of the affair & the lack of clarity in Robert's POV

he ships it :’) robron hawley :’)

but to be fair, like

if you were watching it from the early days in real time, absolutely not knowing that it would end in them having a relationship, you would really understand just how ambiguous it felt at the time, though. the idea of whether or not robert was faking the softer moments, or in denial about his feelings for aaron, whether he was uncomfortable with his sexuality or whether he just loved money and power that much - there were so many unanswered questions about robert’s motivations at all times and i think they genuinely did a great job keeping it ambiguous right up until the lodge, at which point it became (i think) very evident that robert did have actual, very inconvenient feelings for aaron in some form or another

and beyond that, for me personally, i still truly didn’t believe that robert and aaron would ever have a real, happy relationship, or understand what that might look like, until just before the reveal eps when robert said “i love you” again, in a completely genuine and unambiguous way. before then, i assumed that they would never really get any sort of happiness or get to be together properly, but i loved both of them individually and didn’t ship them as much as i do now, so i was happy to keep watching them regardless.

but my boss, who had never seen an episode of emmerdale before, accidentally caught that particular episode and spoke to me about it, because she thought that robert looked hella shifty and was playing games with aaron even then, so maybe it wasn’t as unambiguous as it felt to me lmao? i honestly don’t know how she read robert in those scenes as ‘up to something’ but it tickles me still to this day. 

but yeah, anyway - i do think it was hella ambiguous for a lot of the time. this meant that once they made an effort to be clear about robert’s feelings, the affair era still made sense, because i think before that point, it really did work both ways - either as robert having feelings for aaron but not being ready to accept them or recognise them or as robert not having feelings and using aaron for his own benefit? 

now, with how the story has panned out, the version that ultimately works best in canon is the version that says rob’s feelings are real, which is why when i rewatched the entire storyline with the added hindsight of how things turned out, i saw every single scene in an entirely new way to the first time i saw it, which was cool.

[bartsugsy]

So let's say they had ended their "relationship" right after the lodge. What do you think it was? Pure manipulation? Attraction? I need you to elaborate in the "Robert didn't like Aaron during that era" part. I'm not patronizing I low key agree and want to hear your POV. What Robert felt about Aaron? And Aaron about Robert? (Erase in your mind if you can what we got after Gordon's era. Just the initial story- the affair)

the first time i watched the storyline, i was much more of a casual viewer

and i think i’ve softened on this interpretation a fair amount since, probs because i’m way more biased now and because later canon has obviously influenced my hindsight (but you can skim through my break up posts to get my feelings about robron and the affair era now lmao) - but this still holds up, i think

but the first time i ever watched it, i felt, for the most part, as though rob and aaron were having a great time initially but that rob was hella out for himself and also prioritised his position at home farm and the whites’ money over everything.

katie threatened that and robert was desperate for her to not do anything so he manipulated her and ultimately accidentally ended her life over it.

aaron also threatened that, as aaron held a secret about rob that could expose rob to the whites, and that was mostly ok because the secret was mutually beneficial for aaron. after katie died, rob used aaron’s feelings against him - told him all the stuff he wanted to hear and manipulated him into keeping quiet about katie’s death - said the words i love you, even

but there was something inconvenient there

some little spark of feeling

i think, when robert told aaron the truth about katie in march, that was sort of the moment where i thought to myself…. ok well rob did not need to do that, that’s actually terrible for rob - he’s lost his biggest advantage over aaron and keeping aaron quiet about katie - and the only reason he told aaron was because aaron was suffering

so at that point i started to wonder if maybe aaron was more under rob’s skin than rob cared to admit, but still rob went ahead and continued to manipulate him until the point where the donnie era happens and everything is stupid god i hate the donny era so much

and then they make their way back to one another and the portacabin sex happens and rob still has flashes of genuinely sort of maybe caring about aaron’s well-being - but not enough to not try to kill paddy lololol

and then the lodge happened and i was like hOLY CRAP HE LOVES AARON which is a fucked up response to the lodge scenes, let’s not pretend otherwise, BUT HERE WE ARE LOOK AT THE FUCKED UP COUPLE I HAVE SHIPPED SINCE DAY DOT IM PAST THE POINT IN BEING ASHAMED ABOUT THIS LMAO

but yeah, rob was all like FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU RUINED EVERYTHING and i was like holy shit yes it did HE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL AARON HE COULD HAVE BEEN A RICH LIL SUGAR BABY AND INSTEAD HE FELL IN LOVE AND THAT SUDDENLY BECAME ALMOST MORE IMPORTANT THAN MONEY

almost 😏

and then rob let aaron (and paddy) go, knowing full well he wasn’t capable of going any further, of flat out murdering someone or of hurting aaron any more

he let aaron go and aaron took back control the only way he knew how

and everything was in tatters and I PROBS WOULD HAVE GIVEN UP THERE BUT I WANTED TO WATCH THE AFTERMATH AND THEN I WAS HONESTLY HIGH KEY EXCITED ABOUT ROB BEING THE CENTRE OF A WHODUNNIT MYSTERY

EVEN THOUGH HE WAS IN A FUCKIN COMA FOR FOREVER AND A DAY

BUT I FIGURED ROBRON WAS OVER SO I JUST KIND OF KEPT WATCHING FOR WHO SHOT ROBERT AND THEN TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS UP WITH AARON

so rob got shot and then woke up from his redemption coma and decided aaron > money lmao

that’s the gist of my first impressions

and there’s not really much more to it than that or any more complexity, because i wasn’t hella invested then in the way i am now so my meta was limited to the above, basically

oh and that aaron was in love with robert but didn’t stand for his shit. i felt like that was aaron’s side in all of this. real deep 😂

i was hella in this for a long time just to try and figure out robs motivations because they confused the shit out of me, i’m pretty sure

so tl;dr rob was manipulating aaron but accidentally fell in love with him along the way smh and aaron was high key into robert but did not deserve his shit

but i wanted to watch them do their thing anyway bc it was fucking GRIPPING and their chemistry was AMAZING and who cares that morally i felt like i’d never witnessed a worse relationship in my life bc it was good fun, but not sustainable fun

i really didn’t think it was even slightly sustainable

which is ofc why they’ve had to change them. bless soaps for being able to do that.

but yeah. that’s basically it, from what i remember.