Is sparxshipping toxic?
I’m not sure what sparxed it but I just started to think about the, debatably, infamous ship between Bloom and Valtor. And while this is a strange post to suddenly come back with (hah, assuming I even stay active after this) I might as well ride the sudden jump in interest.
Also, take this as a revision to my past (cringey) opinion on the ship. Quite honestly, I need to revisit a lot of those older posts (should I call them editorials? analysis maybe? Idfk I’ll come up with a name for them later) Dear God, they are so bad and poorly thought out urghhh
Anyways...
To start us off, what is sparxshipping?
Sparxshipping is the romantic pairing between protagonist Bloom and villain Valtor (Baltor in some versions). I will not be referring to season 8, mostly cause I don’t care for it, and partly cause I honestly forgot what even happened 💀
We meet Valtor in season 3, where he’s trying to steal various forms of magic from the different kingdoms in the magic dimension. Throughout this season we learn that he was made, by using the Dragon Flame, by the three ancestral witches to destroy Domino. Obviously making him more to Bloom, than just another villain.
Why do people ship them?
Well, there’s the obvious. They fit the enemies to lover dynamic to a T. And because Valtor is basically a blank slate of a villain, like many of the villains in Winx, it’s easy to develop his character and story in a more sympathetic---and eventually, romantic---way. Speaking of which, it’s easy to assume that he’s never been shown to love, be affectionate, or really anything healthy or positive cause again, cartoon villain guy. And that, Bloom serves as an opportunity, not only for redemption, but to properly learn to show and give love.
They are very contrasting personalities, but have very similar mindsets---just used in different ways. Valtor is suave, calculated, and charming. Bloom is stubborn, headstrong, and optimistic. The both of them are overly dedicated, impatient, confident, and the lead in their groups.
Throughout the season, Valtor seems to have an interest in Bloom, to the point of sparing her continuously. Even his henchma’ams took notice (honestly when Icy said he was strangely obsessed with Bloom and then he just uno reversed that shit, really giving me Icy x Bloom X Valtor vibes ngl). He even offered for them to takeover together, to share the power he stole. And without context, yeah, you could see how that can be taken as romantic, to a degree. But you cannot forget that he’s a huge manipulator and, like making a deal with the devil, he will give you what you want for a price.
Why is it so toxic?
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds, is the age gap. And to be fair, I also used to thing there was a disgustingly large age gap between the two. They were really giving Edward & Bella vibes, if you know what I mean. But the truth is, they are about the same age. Honestly, I blame the art-style for making him look much older and Bloom the same as when she was 16.
Think about it, Valtor was made around the same time Bloom was born in order to destroy Domino. By definition they are the same or of a similar age. The thing about that though is, does that alleviate the power imbalance he could have over her?
There are various forms of power imbalances, the only ones I could think of that are applicable to these two is power, age, and experience. Age and experience are not the same thing, you don’t magically earn experience for being a certain age you aren’t literally leveling up lol.
For age, no, there is no power imbalance. As stated, they are practically the same age.
For experience, this is an interesting one. Since we really don’t know much about Valtor, we have no idea if he had to mentally develop the same way any born being would. It puts into question his experience. Cause while there are absolutely things he knows that Bloom does not, he’s also been “raised’ a certain way, therefore all he knows could be a very narrow mindset or form of knowledge. At the very least, he has the mental capacity and know how to manipulate people and take advantage of others. So, while it’s still debatable how much of a power imbalance this puts them at, he has the capability to control her and it really falls upon the writing, for how they deal with that.
Now power, I mean this mostly in terms of magic, but I’ll also try to touch on influence and physical means of power. Though they share the same source of power---which is part of what makes them shippable, their whole two sides of the same coin dynamic (which is arguably Icy and Bloom’s dynamic)---he abuses his power. But he means to horde knowledge to become more powerful and if he had succeeded, there would be nothing Bloom could do to stop him. I feel like the implications there are obvious. And to take it a different direction. Let’s say he does have all this power and Bloom inevitably caves and basks in it as well. There’s still an imbalance, because of potential entitlement & shaming Valtor might use to hold this gift over her head. Or simply that he fully controls her abilities and therefore a lot of her autonomy.
Now physically, he is a big dude capable of using his strength to force what he wants. Don’t get me wrong, just because you’re stronger than someone does not mean there’s an imbalance of power, just that, in that aspect, you do have power over someone and it comes down to morale. And given Valtor’s pitch poor morality, paired with his physical means, there is absolutely an imbalance in power. Albeit I don’t think he’s one to force his way physically, but only because it’s not as satisfying as tricking others--he’s like Naraku really.
Lastly, influence. This is definitely the least impactful. At least as he is in the series. His influence would only become an issue after taking over the world. He has all this control over everything and everyone, what is stopping him from doing that to Bloom or holding his status over her?
And probably the most important part. He kinda uhhhh, killed her parents. Yeah. Okay, technically he didn’t kill them. Just turned them to stone to forever be in between life and death, never truly being able to do either. Mhm. He also partook in the destruction of her home and, presumably, turning Daphne into a spirit.
In conclusion...
Now I don’t hate sparxshipping, not anymore at least. But as it stands in canon, yes, it’s pretty problematic. Though it’s not impossible to get around these issues, and any others I potentially missed (don’t blame me it’s been a while since I’ve watched). With some solid planning and writing, a dash of canon-divergence, and perhaps a touch of “fix-it” it is possible to make this ship not only romantic but also enjoyably healthy. On the flipside, there’s nothing wrong with writing about a toxic relationship, just be careful how you write it and what you may indirectly be implying through your writing.
Oh and if it’s an AU it’s basically fair game, an all you can eat buffet, a pile of gold, the jackpot, the crackpot, the...
