ship_manifesto

Title: Somebody Believed
Author: neoxpuff / neopuff
Email: computegirl95@yahoo.com
Other ways to contact: PM "neopuff" @ youtube or deviantART
Word Count: ~4000
Fandom: Teen Titans [animated series]
Pairing: Robin/Raven
Spoilers: The entire series; mostly season 4
Notes: This is kind of random, but I use brackets instead of parenthesis…in case anyone was wondering. Also, I probably won't reference the comic book in here [if I do, yell at me], since I consider the comics and the show two very different things. I also would like to apologize for the placement of these pictures...I have no clue how to use livejournal xD That being said, I hope I can lj_cut correctly 'cause I've never done it before ohjeebus.

Teen Titans
"When there's trouble, you know who to call…"

I can't remember back to when the first episode aired, but when I started watching Teen Titans, I couldn't stop. The show was [and, just to note, still is] amazing: nonstop action, great comedy, fantastic character development [although not all the time] , cheesy romance, an anime-esque style; just what my 9-year-old self looked for in a cartoon. Unfortunately, before season five came out, I reached that age where I thought I was "too old for cartoons" and never saw the last season until early this year, since my love for this show has been completely restored. It only took a good four or five years to find my favorite show once again!

The main characters of the series: Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy, are five teenagers with superpowers [or, in Robin's case, just awesomeness] who fight crime and all that. Classic DC superhero stuff. Robin, the leader, doesn't have any powers, but his old job was being Batman's sidekick before he decided to go solo, so you already know he kicks ass. If you know the Batman series, this Robin is confirmed to be Dick Grayson. Raven, the stoic, talk-to-me-and-I'll-kill-you type, is a half-demon with telepathic powers. Cyborg is, as his name says, a cyborg. Starfire is an alien from Tamaran, and Beast Boy is a cute lil' comedian with the power to turn into any animal he desires [including alien animals]. They fight tons of different bad guys, and each season of the show had four [-ish] episodes dedicated to an individual character's personal story [with a double episode at the very end or very beginning].

For example, season one was dedicated to Robin. His episodes were "Final Exam", "Masks", "The Apprentice, Part 1", and "The Apprentice, Part 2". Terra [a one-season Titan] held season two, Cyborg season three, Raven season four, and Beast Boy season five. Starfire had periodic episodes involving interpretations of "real life issues" that kids would go through to keep the show for kids with morals and everything.

And at season four, episode three, we find ourselves at the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Raven
"She was my very good friend, and she was very brave. … But even though she was doing good, Raven was always afraid that deep down inside she was very bad." – Robin, 'The End, Part 3'

Raven is seen as the quiet, reserved, intelligent, "goth girl" of the group. She doesn't socialize much, she enjoys creepy things and spends her free time reading books in multiple languages. She doesn't get along with the class clown of the team [aka Beast Boy] and has extreme trust issues. Her father, Trigon, is an infamous demon; his name was known even to Starfire, and her mother, Arella, is a former cult member who had no choice but to have her. She was raised by the monks of Azarath, her home, and was raised with the idea that it was her destiny to destroy the world.

Robin
"Robin is our friend! And nothing could ever make him betray us! Nothing…" —Starfire, 'The Apprentice: Part 2'

Robin is the leader of the Titans, former sidekick to Batman, and obsessive hero. By obsessive, I'm referring to his actions in season one towards Slade. Robin is extremely passive-aggressive and when he wants to focus on something, he stays focused. He leads his team excellently and guides them out of dangerous situations with ease; only because he trains every day, with or without the other Titans. He's shown to rarely get into fights with other Titans; although the episode "Divide and Conquer" focuses entirely on his fight with Cyborg. Through his obscene chase of Slade during season one, he ends up hurting not only his friends, but himself.

RobRae
"Raven, that was-" "-unbelievable." "No, it wasn't. Somebody believed." —Starfire, Cyborg & Raven, 'The End: Part 3'

Unfortunately, prior to the fabulous season four, Robin and Raven don't have much of a relationship at all. These are a few scenes prior to season four that suggest a sort of understanding, with some pictures that look shippy/contained something shippy within them:

Season One, Episode 6: "Nevermore" – Near the beginning of the episode, Raven is being taken over by her inner demon. The only thing that brings her back is Robin shouting her name. Another point is that when Beast Boy comments that because of Raven's secretiveness, she shouldn't be trusted, Robin is the first to contradict and say, "She's our friend. What more do we need to know?"

Season Two, Episode 3: "Terra" – During the entirety of Terra's arc, Raven and Robin hold a connection of professionalism and seriousness compared to the other characters. In this episode, you always see these two near each other, saying the same thing, thinking the same thing, or making the same expressions.

Season Two, Episode 5: "Fear Itself" – In this episode, after watching a scary movie, monsters attack the Titans and Raven's lost her powers. Midway through, Robin realizes the connection and is about to tell everyone before he's taken by the creatures. This episode shows that he understands Raven and her powers better than any of the other Titans.

Season Two, Episode 8: "Titan Rising" – In this episode Raven, although briefly, talks to Robin rather than anyone else about whether or not Terra should be around. This is simply because she considers him the most reasonable member of the team; no wonder he's their leader.

Season Three, Episode 5: "Haunted" – This hint, to me, is obviously Robin and Raven's first big moment. Their "mind meld", as it's called, when Raven's soul enters Robin's body and she temporarily takes over his mind. In that moment, she learns everything about his past and present; all of his feelings and memories combined.

Season Three, Episode 6: "Spellbound" – This episode shows that Robin always knows how to act around Raven; in the beginning of the episode, when he thinks something's wrong, he goes to her door immediately and asks. As she enters their common room dressed in all white midway through the episode, he's the first to comment, with concern in his voice, that she hasn't been around the other Titans lately. On another note, after she's awakened Malchior, Robin is the first to come to her rescue. And for one more quick, more interpretable thing, Raven falls for Malchior because 1) he's kind to her, 2) he understands her, 3) he's is similar to her. Sound like anyone else? Yes it does <3

Season Three, Episode 9: "The Beast Within" – During this episode, Robin shows a sort of overbearing protectiveness over Raven; going so far as to threaten to put Beast Boy in jail.

Season Three, Episode 11: "Bunny Raven or How to Make a Titanimal Disappear" – This is just a small thing, but as Raven is being sucked into Mumbo's hat, she reaches out towards Robin and yells his name, and vice versa. It's just something that was unnecessary to add to the script but it was anyway and I find it totally cute!

Those are the biggest things before season four starts, and man! There are so much more tiny little things that I didn't add but could've.

And then comes the start of Teen Titans Season Four! We'll start with episode three, "Birthmark". This episode starts with Raven being concerned about tomorrow, and the Titans realizing it's her birthday. When they try to celebrate it, although Robin suggested it was a bad idea from the beginning, Raven freaks and destroys everything. As the others stay behind in shock, Robin goes to talk to her. He knows her so much better than the other Titans, and Raven realizes that, too. But this problem is so bad, she can't even confide in him until later in the episode.

Later, Raven tries to meditate, and after falling into a hallucination with a lot of fire, she screams and Robin is immediately at her door.

The Titans are called to take out a bad guy, who they realize is Slade, their longtime nemesis who supposedly died. But then he comes

back with new powers and a new target: Raven. He manages to beat down the Titans before coming after Raven, leaving a mark on her wrist which is known as the mark of "Scath". He then proceeds to destroy the building they're in, and Raven stops time to save Robin and the other Titans. After realizing this strange new power, she runs and awakens Robin. Why does she wake up Robin of all people? He may have been in slightly more danger than the other Titans, but he's still not the strongest Titan that one might want to fight against someone like Slade. It's because she trusts him more than anyone; she trusts him with her secrets, with her life. She knows if anyone would understand what's happening, he would. And as they try to escape, Robin does his best to protect her.

Robin ends up being the first person to learn of Raven's problem, before they're separated and she's stuck with Slade. Near the end of the episode we have the second favorite scene of most Rob/Rae fans; after Slade drops her off the side of a building and she's falling to her death, Robin swiftly catches her partly-naked self and takes her home. Then he's the one at the end of the episode to attempt to comfort her in the way she needs comfort. The other Titans stick to trying to make her happier with partying, but Robin knows she needs more realistic confidence.

Unfortunately, his words are in vain.

The next episode of Raven's arc is episode 7, "The Prophecy". This episode holds the second-to-least amount of Robin and Raven interaction in any episode of her arc, losing only to "The End: Part 2", where Raven appears for maybe two minutes total. In "The Prophecy", Robin is going through all the security footage he can in order to find out why Slade was after Raven and more information about the strange happenings.

Robin is the only Titan to actually talk to Raven until more than twenty minutes into the episode. As always, he shows much more concern and understanding for the girl than any other Titan. He goes to talk to her in her room just to make sure she's still okay; he comes after Raven when she runs from the library basement, and he, as always, is the first to realize the situation: that "Raven is the gem."

Then we come to the beginning of the end, also known as "The End: Part 1". In this episode, there are, as always, little things that imply something more between Robin and Raven. The beginning of the episode has the two of the up in the morning, watching the sunset and talking about the day. Their conversation is cute and shows how great they look together no matter what the background is. During "breakfast", Robin compliments Raven even though he hates her pancakes as much as Cyborg and Beast Boy do. During their battle with Plasmus, as Robin flies through the air, Raven catches him with her powers and lets him down gently. One could say that she only did that because she was trying to make everyone's last day great, but every other Titan was seen being thrown,
slammed, or eaten during that battle and Raven didn't catch any of them. She undoubtedly cares about Robin most of all the Titans.

While eating pizza, Robin is the only one to comment on Raven's quietness, which is odd, considering she's always quiet. He just wanted her to say something, and she did.

After the real day starts and she flails and falls to the ground, Robin is the first one to hold her up and the closest Titan to her. He is her comfort, but he's also her voice of reason. He figures out what's happening before the other Titans and forces her to confess for her own good.

Through the rest of the episode, the focus is not just Raven, but Raven and Robin. He holds her, protects her, advises her, believes in her. Every great scene of conflict for Raven focuses in on Robin as well, because he is her most important person. He has so much influence on her that it's as if they'd known each other their entire lives.

Then after she disappears, he's the focus; he wants her back and he'll do anything to get her back. Robin fights his way through hell, literally, with Slade, his arch nemesis, in order to get her back, when he doesn't even know if she'll be there. And when he sees her, innocent and scared in the body of a child, all her memories of the Titans gone, he convinces her to follow him out of hell and fight her father. He is her light; her hope.

And as they reach Trigon and start to fight, he sends a blast at the normal-aged Titans and they fall to the ground, unconscious. Raven, although her memories have started returning, looks at the people strewn across the ground, and then sees Robin, and rushes to his side.

Last in the epic series of "The End", as Raven defeats her father, a bright light shines from her victorious form. The light is immensely bright, but as all the other Titans cover their eyes, Robin looks straight into the light, being the only one to watch the exact moment when Raven defeated her father. Then is the famous "Somebody believed." scene, where Raven gives Robin the most adorable hug in the world, and holds on as long as she can.

After all of that, the Titans are chatting back at home, and as Starfire jokes around with Beast Boy and Cyborg, Raven asks Robin how he could be so hopeful. His answer is, "Because of you." He admits in that moment that he sees Raven as an inspiration, and she smiles at him and speaks truly optimistically for the first time in the entire series.

In season five, Robin and Raven have an extreme lack of interaction, similar to that of season one. The writers probably went with the theory that they've had their time together, and now they're done. However there are very small things that can be interpreted as evidence:

Episode 5: "Snowblind" — As Robin is worrying about Starfire, Raven repeatedly tells him to stop worrying and that Starfire can take care of herself. This is just from interpretation, but one could say she felt a little jealous of Robin's protectiveness over the alien.

Episode 7: "Hide and Seek" — When Raven calls Robin and Beast Boy answers, she constantly asks to speak to their leader instead. And just for shits and giggles, this quote will never stop entertaining me: "Good idea Robin, put Raven in charge of the kids."

Episode 10: "Go!" — This being the Titan's origin episode, we see that even from the beginning, Robin reaches out to Raven more than any other Titan. As he's recruiting help to find Starfire, Raven initially refuses and says that they wouldn't want her around. He immediately reassures her with a hopeful smile.

Teen Titans Go!

For the longest time, I avoided reading these comics because...well, I don't know why, anymore. I just never got around to it, I suppose. But I finally got ahold of every copy [except for Issue 24, 40, and 41, which do not work ugh], and can now add even more evidence of this couple than ever! Huzzah! Unfortunately, there isn't too much to add [Raven and the Goth Kid are basically dating in TTGO!, sooo...], but I'll try my best!

Issue 05: "Monster Zit" - Robin orders the other Titans to fight a smaller version of Trigon, while he goes to rescue Raven. This is odd, considering it was obvious she had trapped herself and didn't need "rescuing".

Issue 15: "Pop Quiz" - Raven shows disdain towards Kitten, although they've never met. She may have heard stories, but I doubt Starfire would be able to tell much other than "she's an annoying young girl with an obnoxious infatuation for Robin!".

Issue 28: "Surprises" - When Robin rudely compares Negative Man to Raven, she's actually offended. Raven? Offended? She'd never be offended unless she actually cared what that person thought of her.

Issue 31: "Robin vs Nightwing" - Although not initially, Raven is the first Titan besides Starfire to recognize Nightwing as Robin. In this issue, it's also referenced that Robin/Nightwing knows about Raven's awful past and future. Although it's unknown at what point in the animated series this comic occurs, it can be assumed it's before season four, showing that Raven trusted Robin with her past before the other Titans [this hint is subject to change, everything with time travel gets me all confused].

Issue 42: "Stark Raven Mad" - Flirty!Raven, although she also flirts with Raven's two other main love interests, Goth Boy and Beast Boy, first tells Robin that he'd "look good in shorts", to which he blushes profusely. Then when he asks why she's holding hands with Beast Boy, she flirtaciously tells him that they're "not going steady, know what I mean?"

Issue 44: "Red Raven Attacks" - Although the other Titans are somewhat skeptical, Robin keeps shouting that he wants to help "Raven" and refuses to really fight her.

Issue 47: "Regarding Robin" - Raven, knowing the story of what happened to Robin's parents firsthand, comes to comfort him. When he rejects her, she has this completely unfortunate face that shows how hurt she is and how she's showing empathy towards Robin when she never does towards anyone.

Issue 48: "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" - Evil!Robin constantly refers to evil!Raven as "Love". I get the feeling they're dating.

Issue 50: "Graduation Day" - Raven is the Titan to remind Robin of his illness and necessity to stay home. She knows he'd try to come fight with the rest of the team.

Why

As much as I hate to admit it, when first watching Teen Titans as a child, I did not support Robin/Raven [I was initially a huge fan of Cyborg/Raven and Robin/Starfire]. It wasn't that the ship didn't interest me; simply that I didn't think about it since they barely spoke to one another in the first season. In fact, not even a word directly to one another until "Nevermore"; so that's to be expected.

I don't remember when exactly I fell for this pairing. It could've happened in "Fear Itself" when I noticed how much better Robin understood Raven's entire being than the other Titans did. It could've been in "Haunted" when their mind-meld made me wonder how two people could be so close, and know everything about one another, and not even consider the romantic potential themselves.

That's most likely when, but soon after that came "The Beast Within", which was when I realized, consciously, that I loved these two. My sister, an avid Beast Boy/Raven fan, loved the episode and before I watched it, told me all about how it was full of Beast Boy/Raven. And I didn't see it. All I could see was how protective Robin was of Raven. How much he wanted to keep her out of harm's way no matter what. Throwing Beast Boy in jail without proper evidence? Sure, let's do it. Beating Beast Boy to a pulp as he's trying to get away? Sounds like a plan.

I just can't stop myself from loving this pairing because I love seeing them together. Every scene where they stand next to one another just looks better in my eyes. Even if their relationship isn't romantic, I can't stand anyone being more important to Raven than Robin, and vice versa.

I could never comprehend how a boy going through a literal hell with his arch foe by his side to find a girl who may not even exist anymore couldn't have at least some feelings stronger than just friendship. He loves her, undoubtedly, and I just want to see the day when he's in love with her. Same thing with Raven, although I don't doubt that she fell in love with him by the end of "The End: Part 3".

I can't really say, in coherent sentences, why I love this pairing so much. They're just so…fantastic; the perfect amount of angst, yet with a happy ending; the trust and comfort any couple, especially this couple, needs to get by; the perfect compliments in not only personality, but also in their looks and style.

Everyone and their mother knows the phrase "birds of a feather flock together", and I'm sure it's obvious why this phrase is so often attached to anything related to Robin/Raven. But it's just true. To make a fitting analogy, in high school, how often did you see the head cheerleader crushing on the captain of the chess team? "Opposites attract" is a theory that really belongs in science rooms and nowhere else. Robin and Raven don't need happier people to change them, because they are perfectly fine, to each other, staying exactly as they are.

I love this couple because it's so focused around trust and sincerity that there's nothing threatening their relationship. There are no secrets, no hidden motives; they know everything about one another.

The Fandom

Being a hardcore shipper of many different couples, I've been in many different fandoms. Very, very different, in fact, that I've come to categorize them. I've been in fandoms where it seemed like everyone was nicer than nice, the best people in the world, that kind of thing. I've been in a fandom where everyone seemed hyper and fun-loving 24/7, which, at the time of me being in that fandom, that was fine. I've even been in a fandom I hated, simply because everyone took everything much too seriously and didn't leave any room for fun or fake-speculation. RobRae's fandom is different, in that it's everything put together. With characters as amazing as these two, it's hard not to image some diversity.

As far as I can tell, since I've only been in the fandom for a year or two, the fans are usually pretty sensible and calm, and occasionally a little bitter; that happens when your ship becomes officially non-canon [in cartoon standards, anyway]. Yes, for any of you that don't already know, as of the Teen Titans movie "Trouble in Tokyo", Robin/Starfire is canon with a dramatic kiss in the rain. And, by most cartoon standards, a kiss means troo luv 4evah!!! So there's that.

But this doesn't stop the fans. Every month or two, a Robin/Raven fangroup at deviantART holds another contest. Fanfiction archives are updated weekly with more fics all the time. AMVs are being made constantly [and not just by me!]. The fandom is not dead and will never die! That's how much of an impact this pairing left on not only me, but many others.

Some notable Robin/Raven shippers:

Fanfiction authors:
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/803999/EmaniaHilel
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/11829/Guardian_Kysra
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/386797/Absentia

Fanartists:
http://inuka-rr-hijinkessou.deviantart.com/
http://raving-lunatic.deviantart.com/
http://suzy1000.deviantart.com/
http://emvie.deviantart.com/

Being that the show is no longer around, there aren't many continuing fanartists for Robin/Raven. However there are tons of fantastic fanart to view, some of which are linked to below.

http://kawaiibabyheero.deviantart.com/art/TT-Robin-x-Raven-20506431
http://turynn.deviantart.com/art/Raven-Robin-for-Chamzi-29101469
http://banondorf.deviantart.com/art/Raven-and-Robin-34791171
http://sii-sen.deviantart.com/art/Robin-Raven-74492740

The amount of fantastic fanart for this pairing is endless; I recommend searching deviantART sometime!

AMV Makers:
Sparrington/RiaIsRatedR – known particularly for some animated edits. Such as:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L88Oxm58oWg , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzWVAz0tBDw , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laKGGMThNk4
Along with those, there's also this amazing video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaSycitVY80 And this video with a fantastic collection of Robin/Raven moments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPnPIOLIXX8

And before I forget, I'd like to include some false generalizations towards people in this fandom that one might see around:

All Robin/Raven fans are Starfire haters.
This is absolutely not true. I, for one, find Starfire adorable, and don't completely hate Robin/Starfire. It's true that some Robin/Raven fans do, though, so watch out.

All Robin/Raven fans are Slade/Raven fans.
Since being a fan of a pedophiliac pairing is considered a bad thing to a lot of people, I should bring it up that, no, this is not true. Although I am a fan haha.
All Robin/Raven fans ignore every part of the series except season four.
Yes, I have actually heard this one before. And, as is obvious from my section entitled "RobRae", this is very untrue.
All Robin/Raven fans are Beast Boy/Terra fans.
It's not a bad thing to be a fan of Beast Boy/Terra, but this isn't true, either. There are plenty of Terra haters who don't support Beast Boy/Raven, although they probably like it at least a little haha.
All Robin/Raven fans are delusional idiots.
Well now, another common one. You'll mostly see shit like this in youtube comments. These people simply need to change "Robin/Raven fans" to "People like me" and they've got it dead-on.

Thank you for reading through this essay and I hope it made sense!

Also, this is a necessary ending: