#yes I said Robron

[thelovetheystole]

Yeah, if you follow me or even just look at some of my posts, you'll know I have words to say about this here spoiler article...

Why don't we start with the picture? They just look so darn in love don't they? *thinly veiled sarcasm* Top image selection 👍

Moving on to the headline. Ah yes, finally, they profess their love. They've been through so much, haven't they? They way the fans have been kept waiting for this moment! *more sarcasm*

Who wouldn't be unimpressed with a camping trip in actual late December?? I still can't help but be conspirational about this need of John's to drag Aaron on this trip, where he then suddenly opens up about Aidan (which he can't do at home with all the pressure of everyday life!), and I love yous are said... It still sounds like something someone could have planned if they were told about SSW 2016 and wanted to recreate it...

I'm sorry, they are going to be kept warm by the glow of their hearts??!! 🤣🤣🤣

They've both dragged their heels? Okay, if you say so. They met in August and moved in together in November, seems pretty quick to me, by soap standards, but what do I know? (I know that Robron met in November 2014 and moved in together in July 2016...)

What emotional connection are they depening? They've never talked before this! Their off screen time together must be much better than their on screen one...

Aaron's been hung up on Robert for so long, you say? (Thought it was just Seb?) Also, poor ol' murdered Ben and the bloke Aaron was going to uproot from Italy. Guess we were right about them all along, huh 🤷‍♀️ Bet we are right about this guy too 😇

Not only are they in love you guys, they are deeply in love. This need to lay it on so thick in the spoilers comes directly from the lack of effort they have put in with this pairing from day 1. Classic case of tell, don't show that Emmerdale has favored so much these last couple of years.

Less dramatic times, you say? That's Emmerdale code for more dramatic isn't it? And more laughs means Aaron's going to cry again? Because Danny has not been working this much lately for Aaron and John to be having a laugh in the pub...

I'm not convinced that Robert will come back this Christmas, but I'm definitely not ruling out an early 2025 return 🤞

As a final note, the fact that the Emmerdale team and most of the media aren't trying to create suspicion about John makes me even more suspicious... Remember when they tried to make Ben interesting with secret phonecalls and mystery men in taxis? This John thing is the complete opposite, which makes me 👀

Right now, everything is too neat, too cute, too 'perfect'.

[scrapyardboyfriends]

Plotdale

7 August 2024

[A lay by on a country road that’s not reminiscent of anything we’ve ever seen before…really]

AARON: *Jamming out in the car unaware of the PLOT he’s about to get sucked into* *Sees man in the road* Oh hello PLOT my old friend. I haven’t missed you. I’d been having such a nice time being set dressing. Sigh…*Playing my part reluctantly face* Hey! What are you doing? You’re not about to drag me into some PLOT I don’t want to be a part of are you?

FAUXBERT: *Puts on his best Robert impression* *FAILURE…ABORT…FAILURE* 

PLOT: No no, keep going, this is fine. I’m going to force this to work even if it kills me.

FAUXBERT: Right…here it goes. Hey, I my car broke down and I coincidentally have no signal. I’m sure you have absolutely no experience with kind of situation. 

AARON: *Sigh…face* Ah yes, this is a signal dead zone. Clever play PLOT. *Stares at Fauxbert* *Does that torso look like the one on my PLOT phone?* Hey, the PLOT is sending me to a hotel for a hook up because they still have no idea what to do with me romantically while Robert is in prison *off screen land* and it didn’t work out with the guy I used to bully on account of him getting murdered by a paddle *for the fans* by the latest local serial killer…anyway, you wouldn’t happen to coincidentally be the guy I’m supposed to meet would you? That feels like something the PLOT would do. It loves coincidental meetings and misunderstandings and hates actual character development. 

FAUXBERT: *Casual flirting face* *FAILURE…ABORT…FAILURE*

PLOT: No, it’s fine. No one will notice. 

FAUXBERT: Yes, it was coincidentally me you were supposed to be meeting. Imagine that!

AARON: *Deja vu Face* A broken down car in a lay by…and me…a former mechanic…who has never been in this exact scenario before. Well, I guess I’ll help you fix it. *Fixes van*

**AWKWARD FLIRTING ALERT**

AARON: Maybe I would have recognized you if you showed more than your torso…

FAUXBERT: *Winky face* Something wrong with my torso? It was all I was allowed to show so we could have this exact exchange apropos of nothing. 

AARON: *Reluctant flirting face* I guess it’s a nice torso. I’ve seen better. 

FAUXBERT: *Best Robert impression face* *FAILURE…ABORT…FAILURE*

PLOT: *Whispers* keep going….

FAUXBERT: Number one rule, always play your strongest hand first. 

AARON: *Oh is this supposed to work on me face?* I guess you’ve got….assets. Any other rules? 

FAUXBERT: Never forgive, never forget. Wow…that seemed like a random thing to say. 

PLOT: *Whispers* Go with it. 

AARON: *Reluctant acceptance face* Well, I guess the PLOT wants us to get on. A certain Ryan Hawley won’t return their phone calls. Smart lucky bastard. Okay…I fixed your car enough to get you to a local garage that my uncle happens to own that I used to work at. 

FAUXBERT: Lucky thing, me swiping right on you I guess. Aren’t coincidences great?

AARON: No, I don’t think so, but let’s get this over with. I don’t normally talk this much on my hook ups. I’m usually just waiting to be called an idiot (affectionately) and then I’m in the mood. 

FAUXBERT: *Forced flirting face* Oh good, I was wondering when you’d shut up. *Awkward forced kiss* *Waits expectantly*

PLOT: Now slam him against the car Aaron. You’re well practiced at that move!

AARON: But…that’s a Robert thing. 

PLOT: Yeah yeah but Ryan wouldn’t call us back so this is the next best thing. It’s…Fate!

AARON: Is it though? 

PLOT: Just pretend he said “because you know why we’re both still here”

AARON: *Caught in an amateur dramatics performance of the Robron story face* Sigh…fine. *Aggressively shoves Fauxbert against the van and kisses him with forced “passion”* 

*Fade to black and other scenes* - for the fans…no one wants to see that.

[Back of Fauxbert’s car]

AARON: *I guess we just hooked up on the side of the road face* So…give me your life story so I know who I just slept with. 

FAUXBERT: Oh, no can do mate. That’s classified. You’re going to be PLOT ignorant until at least tomorrow. 

AARON: *Concerned face* Damn, really? I hate when that happens. It never means anything good for me. I wonder who you’ll turn out to be? *Looks around* *oooh face…not that kind* So this is going to be a Robert thing huh? 

FAUXBERT: Still not at liberty to say. 

AARON: *Resigned face* We have zero chemistry but uh…round two? 

FAUXBERT: Sure…but uh…get out of the van for a second so I can drive off with your stuff. We’ll need a PLOT reason to see each other again. 

AARON: *Angry at the PLOT face* For fuck’s sake. Couldn’t I just meet a nice normal person and build a solid relationship with him instead of this nonsense? Ryan…CALL THEM BACK! 

[sharonccrter]

IM defo did not like Robert as he said he was born evil and that "saint" Jack and Andy were not to blame at all for Robert issues *pukes*

I swear him and some people clearly did not watch Robert pre Karl Davies to say he was born evil etc. because the 1st robert was a harmless kid who actually basically brought Andy into his home and family to be repaid by Andy making his life hell, ripping his 2nd mother away and driving him out of his own home and family and Jack continuedly backing up Andy and openly berating Robert and favouring Andy and constantly made to feel unwanted within his own family and usurped by an entitled Andy.

also Robron he claimed to love them but shit on KO creation basically imo having Robert cheat when KO said maybe the reason he cheated was because he never satisfied and maybe being with a man he would be and basically that Aaron was no different to Chrissie or Katie really and undid Robert character development to do the same redemption arc himself ugh, calling Robert evil while acting like Bex is a saint and excusing her homewrecking and even saying she can steal your man and you'd still love her wtf?

I mean Robert is a complex character, it's one of the reason's why I've loved him since the Karl Davies era. He definitely wasn't born Evil, and I think he was more of a morally grey character than anything else. Obviously there was character changes from Davies era to Hawley era, which considering the time that Robert was away make sense. He was a kid when he left, and when he returned he was a man.

But I'd say Hawley did a good job smoothing that transition between his version and Davies's version, and I could still see pockets of the original character in there. I don't think Emmerdale ever portrayed him as evil. If you look at what he did to Aaron, and Katie, it wasn't for some love of killing, it was to hold on to power, and also a life he felt he was owned. He'd always been shun as the "least favourite" son, and lesser then. Him wanting to marry Chrissie, live at Home Farm, was more about the shunned working class son, finally living in the house on the hill and proving to those below he deserved to be there. That's his arc.

Now his exist arc, obviously includes flat out murder, and while it was to protect his sister, it wasn't an accident like Katie and was clearly done because they needed to get rid of his character. However, for me the biggest mistake was not just telling Danny to exist with Ryan, seeing as Danny existed himself what 6-8 months later. Yes he came back, but Emmerdale could have played it as an off screen break up, and left the door open for Ryan to return.

While I don't like his exist arc, I don't think it's that OOC. Robert has proven over the years his capable of doing a lot of the people he loves. Also I cannot understand this anon at the end, cheating plots are the bread and butter of soaps and KO loved them. She obviously really liked robron, it was her creation. And yes, KO had a flare for the dramatics but that's soap down to a tie.

[sugdenlovesdingle]

I tried vibing some sunshine your way! I'm in England and we don't seem to get much of it these days, so maybe that's why it put me in such a good mood today.

I'm the same as you, only got into 911 properly after 7x04 (though I'd watched lonestar since the beginning - apparently everyone hates Rob Lowe but I still see him as Sam Seaborn from the west wing (one of my all time fav shows) 😂).

I've got no idea why there are so many interviews either, and maybe it's adding to how bad some of them are? Like it's diluting whatever messages Tim et al are trying to convey because they're doing it every week and there's only so many teasers you can keep coming up with?

If the current plot resolves with Tommy coming back by hiatus, or by the end of 8B, then the earlier interviews about hurdles to overcome, deepening the relationship, their romance being a romcom, Oliver saying he likes slow burns, etc etc will all make sense - but then the intervening interviews since then will look like total bullshit/outright lying? Idk, I know alot of interviews are by buddie 'journalists' and words can be misquoted and written with a bias, but some of them still seemed pretty clear the current relationship is over. Plus there's the interviews mentioning plots to come that definitely never happened, so I think I'm just back to wanting to ignore them as they cause too much unnecessary stress.

Plus why focus on the stress when the fic and speculation is fun. I've enjoyed mpreg before but never this much 🤣, for me it's the combo with the angst of a breakup makeup that makes it just chefs kiss.

And finally a robron question as I am pretty out the loop with it, do you think there's any chance of Ryan coming back on the horizon??

Sunshine from England?? No wonder it didn't work! That's too rare to send over!

I never watched Rob Lowe in anything before Lone Star really. Not REALLY. sometimes i see things and i'm like 'wait... he was in that???" - i did see some gifs (i think) of him and lisa edelstein in another show where they *also* played a couple. I don't remember what show that was though. But yeah -i've always preferred lone star over the OG. Even now every monday is like "oh hiii babies!!" And i don't think the fandom is as fucking rancid as the og fandom can be. (not the bucktommy fandom - i love everyone in this club, but you know what i mean) I've never seen anyone so *violently* hate tarlos and send hate to Rafa or Ronen just because they're not the person they think the other half of the couple should be with. Even my fellow Nancy/Marjan shippers (all 5 of us) who don't want Nancy with Mateo don't go around harassing Jules.

ANYWAYS - the interviews are bullshit. I mean Tim teased tension between henren and madney over mara, he teased eddie being the third wheel and buck not having time for him, he teased buck leaning on Tommy with the Gerrard of it all - none of that happened. And if you look at the quotes from Lou's interview especially it's more up in the air like "i have a job lined up, i'm going back to SWAT, and a few other things coming up and if they call me to come back i hope i'll have time" he never said he definitely 100% will never ever ever come back as Tommy. That's what the buddie baiting "journalists" turned it into.

And yes speculation is half the fun! I mean how many speculation fics has this fandom written the past six months? Or this-never-happened fix its. Or Tommy-was-there-after-all- fics. Keep 'em coming people! I'm not keen on mpreg fics though but hey if you're all having fun with them - have at it! I know how to blacklist and keep scrolling ;)

As for Ryan coming back... I REALLY hope so... but realistically speaking... i don't think so. But if emmerdale wanted to prove me wrong and give me Robert Sugden back for Christmas, i wouldn't hate that! just FYI @ soap gods

[damnitiloveyou]

I thought yesterday that maybe people were exaggerating when they said how bad it was as we are Robron fans and obviously it's harder to be objective but I've just seen it and people were actually downplaying how bad it was! Truly embarrassing.

It's beyond parody. I had worked myself up over it to the point where I just decided I wasn't going to watch it at all, but then I saw the reaction to it, and spoke to a couple of people, and decided to give it a try. It enraged me because it was their spot, but everything else about it was too embarrassing to be taken seriously. It's insulting how stupid they think their audience is. It's further insulting that they have absolutely no idea how any of this works. Yes, for lots of viewers Emmerdale, and soaps in general, are just background noise so they are not paying enough attention to really care too much one way or the other. But those aren't the viewers you're making the show for. You're making the show for the viewers who will take the time out of their day to vote for your show when awards season rolls around. You're making the show for the viewers who will take the time to go and leave comments on your socials. Those viewers care and are paying attention. And this storyline has no chance of ever being successful.

They clearly know nothing about how shipping or fandom works. They obviously know it can be a good thing ratings wise but have absolutely no idea how any of it actually works. They thought they could copy and paste the story and just change the font and shipping would magically occur. It requires the right characters. The right actors/actresses. The right storyline at the right time. They don't have any of that. It cannot be manufactured. It didn't work just because of the story. It was the right two characters and the two perfect actors for that pairing. They got lucky. And that's how it works. You can't recreate it by telling a redo and swapping one of the actors. You're missing a vital piece. They have absolutely zero understanding about the very basic functions of their job. They cannot create and tell a story. They don't understand any of it and it's insulting.

[tm-trx]

Only Friends.06

All hell breaks loose at the halfway point. Let the bullet points commence!

Fan edit montage opening - nice

Mew has two moms!

I like that Mew could be interpretated as either demisexual or a late bloomer, based on what we’ve seen and heard from him so far; I’m leaning late bloomer myself.

oh Top you are in for a fall buddy

“we keep our personal lives away from work” hah

Really Boston? Someone films you without your consent and you’re rightly upset about it, but you have no problem doing the same thing to your friends.

I've said it before, but this tension between Sand and Top is a lot, even for stealing an ex. There are six episodes left and I really hope we get more background for them because it still feels like there is more going on. I need to know! (Also, put First and Force in another show together please and thank you GMMTV. They play off of each other so well.)

I know that Top and Mew are likely not going to make it (for a variety of reasons) but I sure wish they would. I like their relationship progression.

ugh Boston you suck (can't wait to go back through my notes when the show is over and count up how many times I wrote that LOL)

The awkward truth-bomb speech yikes. Why is no one stopping Ray instead of standing around waiting for whatever else he’s going to say? Plot reasons make things so stupid sometimes.

Ray :(

First and Khao man - they’re just so good - that last scene was brutal but I couldn’t take my eyes off of them

hah I knew it - Mew knows, but also yikes

That was really well done. Mew seducing Top with the express purpose of revealing he knows Top slept with Ton was so gross but such soapy goodness. It's right up there with Aaron telling Chrissie about the affair*. Top tier entertainment.

But then the writers did the 'suffer in silence' thing that I absolutely hate where the person who did wrong is not allowed to speak or explain what actually happened (because facts and talking things out like adults resolves arguments faster). In this case, yes Top slept with Ton and he's letting Mew speak his piece about it, but Mew’s assumptions about the reasons why are way off base and Top isn’t even defending himself which only confirms everything Mew is thinking. And like I said, I know why they do it - it’s the last scene in the episode so they want viewers to come back and find out what happens next. But as a viewer, I hate watching it when the scene is unlikely to be continued in the next episode. At best, we'll get flashbacks to more of their conversation.

next week’s preview??!?!?!! - Mew lost his serial killer glasses but that obviously didn’t mean anything, based on the last shot. Or else the editing team has seen the "unhinged Mew" posts and are having fun with us.

I know I complain a lot about plot stuff but in reality I'm eating this show up. The only thing that would make it better would be a murder plot, but I have a feeling this is not that show.

*waves to the robron fandom

[alltheshadesofamber]

I have come to the conclusion that I am fine with Aaron slutting it up all throughout the Dales so long as his heart is not slutty

[nooneelsecomesclose17]

I'm dreaming of a white christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

Oh, just because I haven't written enough for it already, this is from the Ana'verse.

Robron Week Christmas Special - Day 7 - Christmas morning

A fic a day in December - Day 25

(AO3 link)

"Hi Mum.” Robert kissed her cheek as the kids headed straight for the tree in the corner of the room, the pile of presents catching their eye and he tells them they’re off limits in his best Dad voice. "Aaron's just popped to see his Gran he won't be long, but these monsters wouldn't wait.”

“I can see. We’ll wait for him. Kids there's some cookies in the kitchen for you while we wait for Papa." When they've gone she turns to him "So, did you ask him?"

"Ssh. They've got ears like bats! And no, I didn't.”

"Why not?" She sounded so put out he couldn't help smiling. He was sure she was more invested than he was.

"Because...we were watching a film last night and the guy proposed at Christmas and Aaron went on and on about how daft it was. No way was I going to do it then. Besides we are actually married."

"I know! I said that if you remember when you first mentioned the idea but you insisted you wanted a vow renewal after Sara was born."

“Yeah, yeah."

"She's two and a half! I would like to attend one of your weddings you know."

"Not my fault you haven't!”

"Because twenty four hours notice is totally normal for a wedding. And then you picked the week of my dream holiday for the second.” It was an old argument, he and Aaron had talked about postponing their second wedding so that she could make it but after the year they’d had neither of them wanted to wait a minute longer when the date came up.

"Because it was the only date they had. Any way I did mention it to him once and he just said what's the point of it when we're married so maybe I should just leave...”

"Right, can you go next door and get my son please because he has never backed out of a soppy romantic moment." the rolled his eyes at her.

"So what do you suggest then Cilla?"

"If it was me..."

"If what was you?" Aaron asks walking in. Robert can only hope he didn't hear anything.

“Oh we were just discussing the Yorkshires!”

"Oh don't, he's been perfecting them for weeks! Driving me mad he is.”

Robert shakes his head at him, staring, still after all this time unable to believe he got to call him his husband. That's where the idea for the vow renewal had come from, when they knew their surrogate was pregnant with Sara he'd been scared, worried he'd fail her, or Seb and Ana, or he'd not be good enough. Aaron had been there, reassuring him all the time. and he'd wanted to show him just how much he loved him. He'd wanted it to be perfect, then life started getting in the way, and now it was two years later and he still hadn't managed it.

He avoids the conversation for the rest of lunch, but he can’t stop thinking about it. He wants to renew their vows, he just didn’t know how to ask. After all they've been through when he went to prison and all the trouble it had caused with Aaron's family, he wants nothing more to stand up in front of everyone and tell Aaron how amazing he is.

The idea comes to him in the middle of that afternoon while Aaron’s upstairs trying to wrap the last lot of his presents without the kids seeing.

“I thought of something.” Is all he says when his Mum answers.

“Thank goodness. And?”

"I want to involve the kids. I…could you maybe distract Aaron this afternoon, until tea time…” He asks and explains his idea. "Do you...do you think he'll like it?"

"You could ask him on top of a compost heap love and he'd say yes. You know that."

"Thanks for that image! Now, can you come up with something to keep him away from the house.”

“Of course. In fact I think I’ve run out of brandy butter.” She says brightly and he can picture the look on her face. “You tell him I’ve called you in an emergency and he can run me to the shops. I’m sure I can find a couple more places to stop off until you text me.”

“And you’re sure this is a good idea?”

"It’ll be perfect love."

______

“Who was on the phone?” Aaron looks up when he walks into the bedroom a few minutes later. He stifles his laughter at the state of the room, wrapping paper everywhere, bits of sellotape stuck to Aaron’s jumper.

“Mum. She’s in a flap, she’s run out of a couple of things and she wondered if you’d run her into Hotten?”

“On Christmas Eve? What’s she forgotten?”

“She didn’t say but she’s getting herself in a right state. I tried telling her it didn’t matter but I think after last year she just wants everything to be right.”

“And you can’t take her why?”

“Because I haven’t finished all my wrapping yet. Please, it won’t take long.” Aaron looks at him like he’s crazy but he sighs and starts clearing the bed of presents.

“You owe me Sugden.”

“I think you’ll find that’s Sugden-Dingle.”

“Hmm.” The second he’s gone Robert runs back down the stairs where he’d left the kids watching TV.

"Kids, can you come here a sec?"

"But Dad...I'm watching this!" Ana whined.

"Sorry sweetheart, just pause it a sec, I've got something important to talk to you about." finally they all turn and listen "l've been thinking and you know how me and Papa are married...well I was thinking that I'd like to show him how much I love him. "

"Are you having another wedding?" Seb asks "Ganma said you had two already."

"Yeah, we did but...well me and Papa have been through a lot and I thought this would be nice "

“Oh." Seb shrugged and Robert bit back a smile. His son was so easy going, usually just accepted any explanation to something he wanted to know. It was a godsend most days.

"Thing is I wasn't really sure how to ask him..."

"With roses like in the films." Ana told him and he wondered just what films she'd seen because he didn’t remember that in any of the Disney films she watched over and over.

"With cake. And pizza. Papa loves them." Seb tells him.

"Yeah? I think you love them too don’t you? Well I do have an idea but we can use your ideas too. I do need you all to help me though, and we have to be really fast!”

_____

Twenty minutes later he’s raided their art supplies and set them up at the kitchen table, hoping his Mum can keep him out long enough for them to finish and how much mess he’d be left clearing up. “Right, here’s all your pens, and I’ve printed all the letters out so if you three colour them in then we’ll decorate them with all these bits and pieces, yeah?”

“Daddy!” He takes a deep breath. They’ve been colouring for an hour or more while he’s been attempting to get everything together for the breakfast he’s planning the next morning. “Sara’s doing it wrong!”

He turned round to see Seb glaring at his youngest sister. He was very serious about his colouring, and anything really. It had to be done just so.

“Hey! There’s no right or wrong mate. Papa’s going to love it whatever, and remember Sara’s only little, she’s not able to keep in the lines like you. How many have you got left to do?”

“I’ve finished. Can we start making them pretty now Daddy?” Ana piped up, lifting her brightly coloured pictures in the air. “I want glitter.”

“In a minute. How about the two of you help Sara finish before we start making mess.”

_____

“I’ve just sent him into the shop for sweets.”

“Mum he’s not going to buy that, you have enough sweets in your flat to sink a battleship!”

“Oh don’t be silly. He doesn’t suspect a thing. Now are you all done?”

“Yes. We’ll be finding glitter for years but it’s all ready. I just need to sneak out of bed early to get it all ready.” He pauses. “Do you think it’s too much? Too soppy?”

“And what’s the problem with that? Sweetheart, the two of you got engaged shouting at each other, did it again in hospital and then you both organised proposals in the same place. I’d say if anything this is quite tame.”

“Yeah but…”

“Aaron will love it. The kids will love being involved and then I’ll take them to mine for the night so the two of you can be alone. Now stop worrying. Oh he’s on his way back and he looks a little fed up, best go.” He hung up. She was enjoying this way too much.

_____

He’s on edge all night and Aaron keeps giving him weird looks. He blames it on one too many cups of coffee. By the time they get the kids to bed, he’s exhausted. He needs to remind them of the plan though before they sleep.

“Why don’t you go and put the presents out, I’ll read their story.” He whispers outside Sara’s room and Aaron nods, not thinking anything of it, they often split the night time jobs to save time.

“Right.” He tells them, having gathered them all in Seb’s room. “Do you remember the plan? Don’t come bursting into Papa and my room in the morning. I’ll wake you and then we’ll get our banner up and everything set up yeah?” Ana claps, thoroughly excited by the whole thing while Seb looks worried.

“What about the presents Daddy?”

“Oh mate, don’t worry, we’ll open them as soon as Papa’s up and we’ve eaten the special breakfast I’m going to cook.”

“Ok.”

“Good boy. Right, let’s get you into bed so Santa can come yeah?”

_____

He’s disoriented when his phone wakes him up from under his pillow. He’d set it the night before hoping Aaron wouldn’t wake with it. It usually took an earthquake to wake him so he was pretty sure he could manage. Checking he’s still sleeping he gets up and creeps out of the room, grabbing his dressing gown as he went.

He manages to get the kids up without too much noise, hesitating at the top of the stairs for any noise from Aaron, but there’s nothing. When he gets downstairs the three of them are just staring at the tree, the presents piled high around them.

He felt a little mean making them wait to open them, they’d never had to before, but they’d been so excited about the proposal he hoped they wouldn’t really mind.

“Right, let’s get this up eh? Then we can get Papa up and get to the presents.”

It doesn’t take them long to hang the banner between the kitchen and the living room and he’s set the table ready for their breakfast.

“Ok that’s done. Now, you remember what you’ve got to do?” He was holding Sara and Seb was meant to go and wake Aaron while Ana would stop him at the bottom.

“Yeah!” Seb’s off up the stairs before he even answers.

It’s a nervous wait and he laughs at himself. They’re married, it’s not like Aaron’s going to say no, but he’s pacing until he hears Seb cajoling him to come downstairs, running down before him to stand with Robert.

“Hey sweetheart, are you waiting for me? I thought you’d be into your presents by now.” Aaron says and Robert knows he’s smiling.

“No. You have to close your eyes Papa.” Ana tells him.

“I do, why?”

“Daddy said.”

“He did, did he? What’s going on?”

“It’s a secret. Close your eyes.” Robert snorts a little from his place out of sight in the kitchen, making Seb look at him funny.

Finally he hears his footsteps, and then he’s there, Ana holding onto his hand, leading him to stand behind the sofa.

“You can open your eyes now.” He tells him softly as Ana joins her siblings at the table. He sets Sara down beside them, smiling as Ana immediately takes her hand.

“What’s all this?” Aaron asks, looking at him, seemingly not noticing the banner above his head.

“I…er…well…” He moves to one side so Aaron can see the table that’s set for dinner for the two of them and gestures at the banner above him.

“Daddy wants to marry you again!” Seb and Ana chorus, while Sara cheers. Aaron just looks at him and if it wasn’t for the twinkle in his eye and the slight smile he’d be worried.

“Does he now? Did you all make these letters?” He crouches down as they run to him, pulling them all into a hug. “They’re really cool.”

“Mine are the glittery ones.” Ana tells him, doing a twirl in her princess pyjamas that she’d insisted on wearing.

“Daddy’s mad cos they’re making a mess on the floor.” Seb leans in and whispers, making Aaron laugh out loud and Robert didn’t think he’d ever been happier.

“Thanks mate.” He ruffles his hair, making him scowl. “Why don’t you three stick your cartoons on a minute. Then we’ll do presents.” He promises, seeing the look on Seb’s face.

“Are you going to say yes Papa?” Ana asks doing another twirl before jumping onto the sofa with her brother. Aaron gently sits Sara between them, ruffling her hair.

“We’ll have to see won’t we?” He smiles. “So when did you do all this?”

“Um, got up early this morning, but the kids made the banner yesterday afternoon.”

“When your Mum desperately need oh what was it, brandy butter? Which I know she doesn’t like.”

“Yeah well, I needed you out of the way.”

“So I see…and you planned all this.” He shrugged. “She was giving me weird looks all the time we were out. I thought I was going mad.”

“Sorry.”

“No you’re not. You’re always so…”

“Stupid?”

“You. Only you could do this when we’re already married��when we’ve got married twice.”

“It’s too much?” He tries not to let his disappointment show.

“I didn’t say that. Night before Christmas Eve, you went all weird when I complained about that film.”

“I was going to ask you then…thought you’d just laugh. Been trying for ages, could never make it perfect.”

“It would’ve been. And I wouldn’t have laughed.”

“So…”

“So…you’re mad. Absolutely mad, but yes, I’ll marry you. Again.” Robert smiled and pulled him into a hug, kissing him, not wanting to let go, until he hears the kids giggling at him.

“Oi you lot.”

"Papa it's snowing! Look!" Seb's jumping up and down, tugging on Aaron's hand. "Can we go outside?"

"Before you open your presents?" He asks, knowing the answer already.

"Yeah! Can we?"

"Coats and hats on, help your sister, we'll be there in a minute." He turns back to Robert, sneaking one more kiss. "Merry Christmas then."

"Merry Christmas Aaron."

[likethemtrashy]

just saw the episode of the SA... it was so hard to watch, I actually didn’t even full play it through. What’s even worse is some of the comments under the video blaming Ben. Even before they went in the room, Lewis knew Ben was drunk. Have you ever interacted with a drunk person? they literally say or do the first intrusive thought that comes to mind. The amount of things I’ve done and said yes to while I was drunk, had it not been for good people around me I could have ended up in a similar situation.

Lewis is a bartender, he works with alcohol and dealt with drunks in his job, he is no fool. He knows that being intoxicated you have no actual control over your actions. He didn’t care about respecting boundaries with callum and literally did everything to get Ben to trust him, that’s what predators do. 

I'm really interested in how they are going to handle this storyline. Sadly so many real cases of similar scenarios. Anything said under being intoxicated cannot be taken at value. Robron actually had a similar situation but I shall not go into details on this post with my thoughts apart from - this is what I expected should have been the outcome of that situation. I know Max and Tony are going to knock it out with their acting.

[yorit1]

well the actors had to try and sell ben/aaron it kind reminds me how they also tried to sell robert/chrissie and andy/chrissie and even rebecca/robert having this connection etc like no one was convinced, sure aaron might cared/loved ben which makes sense he grieve ben but yes ben was one who died but literal says things not been the same since robert which imo implies what he felt for ben didn't compare to what he felt for robert and things not been the same since robert and ben was a rebound. also aaron is known to lie to himself re robert to try and move on look how many times he lied to chas, paddy, cain, alex, liv etc to go back to robert several times. i really think it was case of him not wanting to get his hopes up/heart broken again so settled for ben/told him what he wanted to hear as ben was going to walk away if he put robert first. which imo aaron was doing until chas talked to him, he even said he coudn't just forget what he had with robert but knows robert is gone so had to move on and reassure ben as ben was so insecure he went running to chas ugh that why i dislike alex and ben because chas was team them and anti robert and pro robert when it suits her same with liv. i can understand paddy as u know he buried him in grain once, shot him and threatened his son why paddy not be his biggest fan but then again i can with chas too as he did cause the death of her best mate. but liv just seem be out of spite and wanting all aaron attention why she turn on aaron boyfriends after being pro

I agree with all of this. It’s clear to me that the big love story was always robron. They were the ship the show wanted to win. They could have if they wanted to have given Aaron and Ben a sunset ending but they had him murder and Aaron say it hasn’t been the same since Robert left. The issue is these producers don’t know how to tell a story. Honestly it’s so forced just like Suzy/Vanessa they got lucky with robron and vanity and they won’t be able to recreate it as much as they try.

[ayyron-dingley-blog]

+maybe 'i meant it' could be our always

[scrapyardboyfriends]

Seriously are we meant to believe that Aaron just finds John so irresistible that he just can't resist him! He's dumped him on the side of the road, punched him and tried to embarrass him by rejecting a kiss but still Aaron's interested for some bizarre reason. John has zero charm or charisma and they have no on-screen chemistry whatsoever. It's baffling.

Right now there are just far more reasons for Aaron not to go there. About the only thing in the positive column right now is physical attraction I guess and that's the laziest reason.

I mean look, I can extrapolate here cause I care about Aaron as a character. He's experienced a lot of loss. He lost Robert and the future he had planned with him. He no longer has a husband, no longer owns his own home, barely owns his own business, lost his step son, lost his opportunity to have other kids of his own. His kayak boyfriend was murdered. His beloved little sister died. His Italian boyfriend broke up with him. He lost his gran. Like he's had an unbelievably shit time and he's fucking lonely. I get it. He probably wants someone to come home to and share a life with and build a future with and have some stability again. But that could be with anyone at this point.

Other than the fact that Aaron apparently finds John attractive and I guess the sex was fine and the fact that he's a gay man in close proximity to him, there's really no other reason at this time that Aaron would be interested. And especially in a fictional story, I need basic character motivations to be shown. Give me a reason.

And why the hell would John want to go there either? He doesn't even want to be in this village. This guy he hooked up with once is weirdly aggressive and hostile towards him. He sunk his home. He used to be married to his half brother he's never met nor cares about.

Like I said, if they don't even do the most basic thing with this Aiden Moore "mystery" and have them find some comfort and understanding in each other over loss, then what is it? What is the "why"??

With Robron, it was clear that Robert was having problems with Chrissie. She didn't trust him, she was testing him with Katie. She got mad about some harmless flirting with Leyla over measurements. He found Aaron attractive, yes, but also intriguing because he was never quite was he expected him to be. Plus Aaron actually seemed interested in hearing him out, hearing his motivations (cause he had them). And Aaron was seeing the darker parts of him and he was still interested, which I think was huge for Robert. Aaron was getting to know the real him and he wasn't running away.

With Aaron, he was clearly sad and lonely like he is now but also I think looking for some excitement. Plus I think he was intrigued by the enigma that was Robert because he couldn't quite fit him into a box either. That and I think he saw a lot of himself in Robert in his struggle with being honest and open about his sexuality. And Aaron wanted to help him the way Jackson and Paddy helped him. And then I think getting further into it, Robert did believe in him with the business stuff and they definitely developed this unhealthy codependence so Aaron needed him.

But there's just so many layers when it came to Robron and John and Aaron currently just feel utterly empty.

I know we're all trying to figure out if it's empty for a reason but I feel like the reason is just going to be the usual, they're not good at basic storytelling. They don't care about their characters enough to properly build up to things or show their motivations or even give them some.

[softlass27]

whoops, this is long after midnight. oh well!

Robron Week Day 6: Family

Fed up with Chas and Paddy fighting in front of Eve yet again, Aaron decides to take her away for the day.

AO3 link here

“Ah, shit,” Robert muttered, frowning at the bread bag in his hands.

Aaron looked up from where he was shoving an extra bottle on suncream into a bag. “What’s up?”

“Bread’s gone mouldy.”

“What, already?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, I’ll nip to David’s and get some fresh – ”

“He’s closed the shop today, remember? Him and Eric have that family do on.”

“Okay, we’ll just have to stop at Tesco or something and buy some sandwiches.”

“Or you could nip to the pub and see if Marlon’ll make us some? Maybe those chicken and avocado ones he’s started doing?”

Aaron sighed and set the bag down. “Seriously?”

“What?” Robert shrugged innocently. “They’ll be nicer than some shop-bought ones.”

“Why do I have to go?”

“Look, if you go now, I’ll get the rest of the food sorted and handle getting Seb ready. Deal?”

“Fine.”

Aaron power-walked up to the pub, checking the time on his phone as he went. It was a bright, sunny Saturday morning – the first warm weekend of the year – so they’d decided to take Seb to the beach for the day.

The pub wasn’t due to open for another couple of hours, so Aaron bypassed the main entrance and went straight for the back door, only to stop short at the sight in front of him. There on the doorstep sat Eve, still in her pyjamas with her knees pulled up to her chin and tears streaming down her face.

“Hey, squirt.” He approached her slowly, keeping his voice soft. “What’s with the tears?”

Eve just shrugged, wiping her nose with her sleeve.

Aaron crouched down to her level, lightly chucking her under the chin.

“Come on, what’s the matter? Has something happened? Someone upset you?”

She hesitated for a moment, before getting to her feet and pushing the door open to step inside. Aaron followed her and was immediately assaulted with the sounds of his mum’s furious shouts coming from upstairs, loud enough to echo through the house. They were soon followed by Paddy shouting back just as angrily, his voice high-pitched and defensive.

Aaron sighed and picked Eve up for a cuddle. “What’s going on?”

“Dunno,” she said into the fabric of his t-shirt, breath hitching. “Mummy’s been cross with Daddy since last night.”

“For god’s sake.” Aaron muttered through gritted his teeth, scowling as her carried her into the back room.

His mum and Paddy had sworn to him that this sort of thing would stop, that if they had to fight, they’d at least make sure Eve wasn’t around to see or hear it. He set her down in front of the TV, where Saturday morning cartoons were playing.

“Okay, I have to speak to Uncle Marlon really quick, then I’ll be right back. Wait here, alright?”

He darted through to the pub’s kitchen, where Marlon was preparing food with the radio blaring. When he caught sight of Aaron in the doorway he jumped a mile and scrambled to switch it off.

“God, make a noise, would you?”

“Yeah, sorry. Can I ask a favour?”

Marlon sighed heavily, putting his peeler down on the counter. “I suppose?”

“Me n’ Robert need some sarnies but our bread’s mouldy and David’s is shut. I was wonderin’ if you wouldn’t mind whipping us up a few?”

“Sorry, you think I have the free time to just make you and your husband a packed lunch?”

“It’s not like the pub’s open yet.”

“I’m still busy!” Marlon threw his hands in the air. “Just because there’s no customers doesn’t mean I don’t have meals to prep, do you know how long it takes to do ratatouille?”

“… I don’t even know what that is. Please, you’ll be doin’ us a massive favour, I’ll owe you one.”

Marlon held out for about five seconds, before rolling his eyes and grabbing the bread. “Fine. How many am I making for?”

“Three.” There was a sudden loud thump from upstairs, the sound of something being shoved or thrown to the floor, shortly followed by the loudest shout yet.

“They’ve been at it all morning,” Marlon grumbled irritably. “That's why I had the radio on so loud.”

Aaron glanced up at the ceiling, thinking quickly.

“Y’know what, make that enough sandwiches for four, actually.”

He left the kitchen without waiting for an answer and returned to the back room.

“Hey, how d’you fancy a day at the beach with me, Rob and Seb?”

Eve’s head whipped away from the TV to look at him, her eyes lighting up hopefully. “Today?”

“Yep, we can go right now. What d’you think?”

“Yes!”

They went to Eve’s room upstairs so Aaron could help her get ready, digging some beachwear and a swimming costume out of her wardrobe and doing his best to distract her every time the sounds of shouting from behind her parents’ closed bedroom door increased in volume.

“Oh no,” Eve froze as Aaron tied her shoelaces for her, looking at him with alarm. “I don’t have a bucket and spade.”

“That’s alright, we can get you a bucket and spade when we get there.”

“Will they have pink ones?”

“I’m sure they will.”

Picking her back up with one hand and grabbing her backpack with the other, he tiptoed down the stairs and made his way back to the kitchen.

“Those sandwiches ready, Marlon?”

“Here you go.” Marlon handed over a tupperware box. “There’s some leftover crisps in there, too.”

“Cheers, you’re a lifesaver.”

“Marlon!” Eve waved her current favourite stuffed bear at him with excitement. “I’m goin’ to the beach!”

“Wow, lucky you!” Marlon grinned at her. “Alright for some.”

Aaron let her slide down to the floor and passed her the tupperware. “Why don’t you go wait by the door for me, yeah?”

Eve nodded and exited the kitchen, holding onto the sandwiches tightly.

“Do, er, do Chas and Paddy know you’re taking her?”

“Nope.”

“Is that wise? Not letting them know?”

“Marlon, they were so busy tearing strips off each other they didn’t even notice me comin’ upstairs and getting her ready to leave with me.” He sighed heavily. “They can’t keep doing this in front of her, it’s not fair. I couldn’t just leave her sitting around by herself, not with all that goin’ on.”

Marlon chewed his lip. “I suppose you’re right. I always tried to keep my relationship problems hidden from April when she was that age – not that I always managed it,” he added with a slightly sad smile. “I wish those two would try a bit harder sometimes. Eve’s lucky to have you for a brother, honestly.”

“Cheers, Marlon. And good luck with your rata-whatever.”

“Ratatouille.”

“Yeah, that.”

He led Eve outside, pulling his phone out of his pocket and tapping on his mum’s contact. It took a few rings before she answered.

“Hi love, now’s not really a good time – ”

“This won’t take long,” Aaron cut her off sharply. “Just thought I’d let you know that Eve’s with me, I’m takin’ her out for the day.”

There was a short silence, followed by a noise of confusion. “Wait, what? What do you mean she’s with you? She’s downstairs watching cartoons.”

“She was, but now I’ve got her. I’ll bring her back sometime tonight.” He glanced at Eve, who was playing with her bear a couple of feet away, and lowered his voice. “Or I can always just let her stay over at mine, if you and Paddy need some more time to hurl abuse at each other?”

“What? No, we’re not – I’m just, I’ve been so tired this week, Aaron, and Paddy was getting on my last nerve, you won’t believe what he said to – ”

“Save it, Mum, I really don’t care. I’m just letting you know where your kid is, in case you were interested. Talk to you later.”

He hung up and slid the phone in his pocket, before taking Eve’s hand and leading her towards the Mill. She talked excitedly the entire way, all traces of her earlier upset gone as she babbled about everything she wanted to see and do at the beach.

They entered the Mill to find Robert and Seb sitting on the sofa, shoes on and ready to go.

“Hey,” Aaron kicked the door closed behind him. “Room for one more?”

Robert’s eyes briefly flickered down to Eve before he looked back at Aaron. They held each other’s gaze for a split-second, before Robert nodded in understanding.

“Course there is.” He got to his feet and grinned at Eve. “Come on then, sooner we get there, sooner we can get started on the world biggest sandcastle.”

Seb whooped loudly and took off outside, grabbing Eve’s hand as he went, the two of them chatting animatedly to each other as they dashed for the car.

“Your mum and Paddy at it again?” Robert asked quietly.

“Yelling loud enough to make the windows shatter. She might need to stay over tonight if that’s okay?”

Robert sighed and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“Like you have to ask. Come on, we'd better get a move on before Seb tries to drive off without us.”

*

The four of them had a great day. They managed to snag themselves a decent spot on the sand, with enough space for them to build what did turn out to be a pretty epic sandcastle. They took the kids paddling and rock pool exploring, Aaron kicked a football about with Seb while Robert helped Eve look for seashells. And when the kids were happy enough playing with each other, Aaron got to stretch out in the sun next to Robert, sighing contentedly as his husband played with his hair with one hand and held a book with the other.

Saturdays didn't get much better than that. Aaron must’ve snapped about a hundred photos on his phone, saving a great one of Robert with his freckles coming out in full force as his new wallpaper.

As the afternoon drew to a close, they packed up their things and wandered along the seafront until they found a nice-looking pub on the seafront, deciding to stop there for their tea before heading back home. Since the air was still warm, they parked themselves on one of the outdoor tables, a young waitress bringing out a couple of children’s menus and crayons for them.

While they waited for their order to arrive, Eve started using the crayons on the colouring-in section of the menu, tongue poking out in concentration, while Seb pulled a few handfuls of rocks and pebbles out of his pocket, pouring them onto the table.

“Dad, are any of these fossils?”

“Let’s have a look.”

Aaron spread them out and the two of them bent their heads over each one, Aaron showing Seb what to look for. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eve repeatedly pushing her hair out of her eyes with increasing frustration, only for the coastal breeze to blow it back in her face again, blocking her view of the picture she was trying to colour.

“Rob, can you get – ?”

Robert nodded and pulled Eve along the bench towards him. “C’mere, let’s get this sorted otherwise you’re gonna end up with a proper bird’s nest.”

He grabbed a hairbrush and a bobble out of one of the bags and started brushing Eve’s hair, doing his best to tame the messy tangle of curls. He’d just finished putting it in a neat-ish plait, when the waitress reappeared with their food. Aaron quickly moved Seb’s rock collection aside so she could put the plates down and Robert picked up Eve’s colourin, carefully folding it and putting it away so she could finish it later.

“Thank you,” Seb said to the waitress when she set his plate down in front of him, keen as ever to talk to adults like he was one of them.

“Fank you!” Eve immediately copied him, even as her mouth was full with a handful of chips she’d already started scoffing.

The waitress smiled fondly at them both. “You’re very welcome.” She glanced towards Aaron and Robert. “Well-mannered, aren’t they?”

“Hm, when they want to be,” Robert said lightly, tucking a napkin into Eve’s collar before she inevitably got ketchup all over her t-shirt.

“You should see them in the mornings,” Aaron added. “Then you might change your tune.”

She just laughed and shook her head. “You have a lovely family.”

Huh.

Aaron froze, eyes flicking to Eve before he looked at Robert, who also had a slightly surprised expression on his face. It was a fair assumption, he supposed – no one would guess he and Eve were siblings, not with their age gap, not when he and Robert were closer in age to most parents than his mum and Paddy were.

“Oh, uh, actually she’s my – ”

“Thank you,” Robert talked over him loudly, mouth upturned in a polite smile. “That’s nice of you to say.”

“Is there anything else I can get for you?”

They both shook their heads and she went back into the bar, while the kids both tucked into their food hungrily, oblivious to what had just happened. Aaron slowly picked up his knife and fork, catching Robert’s eye.

“She thought… ”

She thought Eve was ours.

“Yeah.” Robert popped a chip in his mouth, raising an eyebrow at him. “Is that so bad?”

Aaron stared at him for a moment. He thought of his mum and Paddy, probably still back at the pub screaming bloody murder or giving each other the silent treatment, filling the house with a frosty atmosphere. Or perhaps Paddy had stormed out, hiding in the surgery and leaving his mum to stew, oblivious to anyone or anything other than her own anger.

He thought of how Eve would have spent her day if he hadn’t popped into the pub for sandwiches, and felt his stomach turn. She would have spent it stuck in among the tension, miserable and lonely and probably spending her Saturday bored out of her mind. He shot a glance at her now, sitting across from him with a happy smile on her face, cheeks pink from the sun as she nattered away to Seb in-between bites of her food.

“Nah. It’s not.”

[sugdenlovesdingle]

As much as I’d love Ryan to come back him doing so wouldn’t improve the writing in anyway. As he and Danny once pointed out they have to act what is written for them. As for the general audience I doubt they really care one way or another. And as for us while yes I want him back surely there’s just as big a chance we’d hate what they’d do with him?

I know but like I said, now we have shit writing and no Robert... when we could have shit writing WITH Robert.

I'd rather have him back and suffer through "shocking twists" everyone saw coming than deal with Tom getting away with everything part 238612957149 or the latest dingle nonsense retcon with no pay off (robert/robron)

[damnitiloveyou]

It seems like such an odd choice on the shows part to have mentioned Robert so regularly in recent months if Ryan is not coming back anytime soon. Obviously stuff like the Rhona and Charity mentions you can see being just for plot but that scene with Aaron and Vic literally rammed the point home to the audience that Robert was the one for Aaron and spoke about waiting for him etc. It is such a strange choice because if Robert doesn't return they will eventually have to put Aaron with someone else and a scene like that will make it even harder to sell a new relationship for Aaron in the future! I still haven't ruled out a Robert return to be honest.

I will stay in delusionville long enough to say that if he is coming back Danny's not going to say in an interview -and Ryan will be back filming this summer so look out for fall Robron fans. He's just not going to do that, though it would be hilarious if he had. That being said though at this point in time I think we have to assume there are no current plans for a return. Which makes the insane number of references to him and mentions of him bat shit crazy. Their only excuse could be that they're actively trying to talk him into a return so they want the ground work laid. That's the only excuse you could give them, and Danny did say he's trying. I actually think Iain will have a better shot at getting a yes from him than these producers ever would have so there's that at least.

I struggle with why Danny would come back if there wasn't at least the possibility. Because moving Chas in with Aaron while she goes through cancer so they can share scene after scene of crying sounds beyond awful and just gross. No. No. No. I won't be watching a second of that. I'd be interested to know what storylines Iain is changing or scrapping all together behind the scenes. I can only hope this Chas nonsense is one of them. Ryan needs to come back to give Danny/Aaron an equal sparring partner because no one currently on the show comes close. I know there were people hoping it would be Mack, still have no idea what his appeal to them is, but after seeing their scenes together he's not the answer either. Not remotely.

Sigh