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HOLY SHIT IF SOMEHOW YOU STILL DON'T KNOW, ROBRAE IS MY CURRENT OTP.
I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT.
IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE A SNOT-FACED SHIT-LICKING ASSWIPE ABOUT IT, I SUGGEST YOU CARRY YOURSELF OUT NOW BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN CONCEIVE A MEAN-SPIRITED THING TO SAY TO ME.
I DON'T.
GIVE.
A FUCK.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT.
UNCIVILIZED CHALLENGERS WILL BE APPOINTED TO MY DOUBLE DECKER ROBOT ALIEN DONKEY DICK.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So...i'm upset.
STILL.
I know it's pointless and i'm butthurt, but welcome to my hell.
You can leave at any time.
My ship is the most beat-up shit-on couple in the serious, which is sad considering Sladin (Slade and Robin) gets a staggering amount of support, despite being about a pedophile relationship between an abusive 50-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy that HE traumatized.
People are all about the abuse and rape in that ship, oh, but RobRae is somehow the bane of TT shipping existence.
It's fucking bullshit.
Anyway, i'm going to be debunking the arguments others have (very rudely) made against RobRae and explain, AGAIN, why i think it works.
Some of my reasoning will be repeated from my previous work, which you can see here.

faebelowdeck.deviantart.com/ar…

And yes, in doing this i will be dragging RobStar and BBRae down a bit, but not for the purpose of absolutely ruining them.
I'm just trying to make my opinion more clear and where it formed from, in MY mind.
Let the nightmare begin.
----------------------------------------------

1. "Robin and Starfire, and Beast Boy and Raven are cannon"

    Oh yes, the blatantly obvious.
I am highly aware of the cannon, and that's perfectly fine.
I can't change it to my liking officially, but did you know there's this magical thing called "head cannon"?
So long as one understands that the creators of the franchise have ultimate rights to their characters and stories, it's totally fine to head-cannon it up and say "well i'd rather it be this way" and make your own little story out of it.
In my world, BB and Terra get back together because she comes to her senses and calms the fuck down, and Robin and Starfire calmly and MUTUALLY break up.
Robin and Raven start becoming interested in each other like half a year later, Starfire supports them, and the Birds start dating.
Squadala, my OTP is born.
If you don't like it, tough.
No one sees me walking around with my pants around my ankles, taking a long hard shit on everyone else's ships and telling them why they can't/shouldn't like it.
It's called being tolerant and respectful.

2. "Robin and Raven don't have many moments in the show"

    Yeah, i think we all noticed.
The Trigon arc definitely made a lot of points in the case of RobRae, but it shouldn't be fuel alone for the ship itself.
Outside of this event and trilogy, Robin shows that he has Raven figured out from the very beginning.
Even when they first meet, he just fully accepts her, simply because he sees she wants to do good in the world.
That meant everything to her.
It doesn't matter to him that she's dark, creepy, or different.
They never once quarrel about that.
He respects her privacy and space when she asks for it, and when Robin is suffering, Raven seems to grasp the severity of his situation.
Now i will say, during the Red X fiasco she was less supportive.
In fact, it's hinted that she yelled at Robin as everyone else did, save for Starfire.
Robin and Raven have bumped heads a select few times in the show or have been mildly irritated with one another, though mostly Raven being irritated with Robin.
The part of this that doesn't deter me from liking them is that RAVEN GETS ANNOYED/PISSED OFF AT EVERYONE.
IF A LADYBUG FARTED NEAR THE BOOK OF AZAR IT COULD SET HER OFF.
Raven's kind of a bitch, she has issues.

It appears in the show that Starfire cares deeply for Robin and vise versa, and they do have many more moments, but to meeeeeee, emphasis on ME, it feels a little forced.
Also, while Starfire worries, her help isn't always helpful, and Robin has taken out his anger on her a couple of times.
Granted, one time he was literally drugged up and not entirely himself and was freaking out, but still.
Even when Starfire offers kindness or comfort, at times he sasses her and leaves her hanging.
But whenever it came to Raven, he was more persistent to do right by her, defend her and ultimately understand her.
When Starfire does weird shit, he visibly thinks it's weird and is sometimes grossed/freaked out by her.
When Raven does something dark/weird/unusual, he is often curious about it, or wonders what she's up to.
Robin tends to be in pursuit of Raven.

Now hold yer tits, because i am aware of something here.
Them appearing to have a smoother, more easy going chemistry doesn't mean they were in love with each other.
In fact, most romance doesn't work that way.
I still like to think of RobStar's fixation during the show, and totally accept everything that happened therein and love them!!
I'm not saying Robin and Raven had romantic moments in the show, i'm just pointing out why it could work later on.
These are POINTS and fuel, not me being a dewy eyed dipshit.
That also is not meant in any way to tear down the RobStar ship, it's just me explaining nicely why I don't feel it or prefer it.
Also it's obvious he loved/cared about Starfire and pursued her too, i'm not dismissing that.

So case in point, Robin and Raven don't have many moments, but the ones they do are very smooth, and even more enticing, though not entirely perfect.
They interact better than some of the other characters do, IMO, even if it's brief.
In the Trigon arc, it seems like the writers wanted to touch on their friendship more, which makes sense enough to me.
They've shown Raven bonding with everyone else, why not him too?
Personally, i think Robin was the best choice for that situation.
And...what's wrong with being friends before lovers?

3. "They're like brother and sister"

    OH FOR GOD'S SAKE.
Before i wreck that statement, i am aware of a short comic called "Regarding Robin," in which he was struggling with the anniversary of the day his parents died.
Raven offered to help him, and Robin dismissed her, saying "Thanks, Raven. Like the sister i never had."
It happened, i can't change it.
But honestly, there were elements in that comic that i didn't appreciate, such as Robin essentially blaming Batman for his difficulty in just being human and embracing his emotions.
In my head cannon, he left Batman on a good note rather than an implied sour one.
The comic's premise was good, but i tend to reject it as a whole just for the sake of certain elements.
It wasn't in the show, which i relate to the cute comics, but don't associate with COMPLETELY.
That's a personal choice.

So if you're like me and operate with certain head cannon, then you watch the show and see that Robin and Raven get along well.
To my mind, Raven and Beast Boy behave more like siblings with the bickering, picking on one another, and invading each other's personal space.
That doesn't mean I HATE the ship, it doesn't mean i'm tearing them down, but that was ingrained in my head from an early age.
If you prefer them, that's great!!!

I have come to understand the reasons people do like BBRae and have enough evidence to make it work, too.
I'm glad they have that.
I may not like BBRae, but i'm beginning to understand it, and am at least grateful that there are good reasons for them to make it work in some way or another, even if i don't support it.

So back to RobRae, i don't see them as siblings.
For the entirety of the show, they make fantastic friends and appear to understand each other better than the others.
Robin has a rather tender way of interacting with Raven and explains himself best in her presence, while Raven is the one who is shown least getting outright upset with him.
Raven asks the hard questions and advances toward his mentality just as well as Starfire does.

4. "They're both too dark, they need Starfire and Beast Boy to give them their light"

    This has come to annoy me almost as much as the brother-sister thing.
It's true, Starfire could add an element of light to Robin's existence, and BB could add some cheer to Raven's life.
I get the concept, but people overlook some of the deeper, more important cues in RobRae's potential.

Firstly, in Haunted, as we all know Raven went into Robin's mind and they formed a bond.
Raven has the ability to mentally heal and help him.
Even in that comic (that i reject most of), she says her powers have emotional properties.
She can pinpoint his pain, and supposedly help ease it.
Raven also appears to, once more, grasp the severity of Robin's issues.
When he was restrained, she initiated running tests on him to figure out what was going on.
She knew something was detrimentally wrong, and made the first point to try and solve it.
Even when it's painful, she does what's best for him if she can.
Even after it got solved and he confessed his insecurities on the matter of Slade, Raven appeared the most sad and worried.
It would seem that worrying is fine and dandy, but the ability to remain calm and think enough to solve problems would be very useful in the case of the ever-so-complex Dick Grayson.
I think her empathic gifts would serve him well.

No matter what, Raven is dark; the end.
But when it came to the Trigon situation, Robin regarded Raven as the most hopeful person he'd ever known.
He believed because she had hope, and he gave that back to her.
He made her believe again, he brought her comfort, he refused to accept that her destiny couldn't be changed, and he brought her back.
He damn near gave her his life, and he was willing to die honoring that.
The way he took her hand in The End part one was so tender, the way he threw himself into harm's way for her was incredible.

People say Robin is "dark," and truthfully he has some issues, but he's still far more outgoing and light-filled than Raven.
He's physically active, social, playful, and has a very sun-based personality.
In comics and shows all over, Dick Grayson is beloved for his ability to love, smile brightly and bring out some of the best in those around him.

Maybe Raven can't offer much light in the sense of fun, but she can offer clarity, forgiveness and peace.
Robin, meanwhile can encourage her, maybe help her learn to embrace her feelings, help her learn to let emotions out without her powers exploding, etc.
I think they could relieve each other's pain.
Maybe it would be slower or less forced, IMO, but i think they could help each other.
Besides, they have friends to help with the "lighting," too.
For me, RobRae is about encouragement and belief through well-paced, gentle interactions.

~~More Reasons RobRae Works~~

Raven doesn't get upset or uncomfortable when Robin touches her.
She welcomes physical contact from him, and appears to even respond to it.
She trusts him.
Trust.
TRUST.
TRUST!
IT'S IMPORTANT.

They see eye to eye on many subjects, and are the most competent Titans.
I realize that opposites attract, and Robin and Raven are very similar, but there's enough difference to make them click.
For example, Raven is extremely insecure, but well controlled.
Robin is very confident, and sometimes too aggressive.
I think Robin could help Raven see the beauty and talent in herself and encourage her to be more comfortable in her own skin, and Raven could help Robin rein in his emotions, calm down and not get ahead of himself.
After all, she has stopped and slowed him before.
When she wants to, Raven knows how to get his attention.

Also, for the record, it's good for couples to see eye to eye on most circumstances.
Too much opposition creates frustration, misery and way too much tension.
I know that from personal experience; differences can be very damaging, especially depending on the subject.
If you're like me and observe Dick Grayson in comics and popular lore, you will see he is a very upbeat character in many ways.
Not perfect by any means, but also i think capable of loosening up.
Teen Titans is where he seems the most uptight, but if you also enjoy head cannon, consider everyone must grow and change a little.
Robin and Raven are capable of developing further as people.
They both grow considerably throughout the show.

I'm fucking exhausted.
I can't squawk on anymore about why they work, just...it's not impossible, all right?
Even if you think it is, stop going around and shiiiittiiing on it, PLEASE.
You can dislike it, but consider a RobRae shipper's pain.
Lacking fan art, minority ship, meanwhile the internet is FLOODED with BBRae and RobStar.
IT SUCKS.
I'm crawling across a dry dirt ground in my head at this point, extending a shriveling hand for this pairing.
The TT fandom is fucking awful, i'll be upfront about that.
Also some RobRae shippers are just as insufferable as the others.
If you're one of those ship-shitter-on-ers, STAHP.
PLEASE, FUGGIN' STAHP.
ALSO I'M SORRY IF I HURT A BBRAE OR ROBSTAR PERSON, THAT WASN'T THE INTENT.
THIS WAS A COMBINATION OF OPINIONS AND OBSERVATIONS, YOU SHOULD ALL KNOW IDFC WHAT OTHERS DO SO LONG AS THEY DON'T HURT ANYBODY (Sladin really does worry me, though).

I can't go on anymore, i can't keep raging, i can't keep screaming my points.
I've done all i can; this was my last, exhaustive attempt.
From now on, imma just fucking enjoy them.
I just had to squeeze the last ounce of agony out of my ass for all the world to see, eugh... *panting*
Avenge me...
Tell my story...!
Most of all, forgive me...

*collapses*

---DO NOT STEAL MY CONCEPTS, ART OR IDEAS!!! I DO NOT OWN DC OR THE ORIGINAL IMAGE!!!---

Description
HOLY SHIT IF SOMEHOW YOU STILL DON'T KNOW, ROBRAE IS MY CURRENT OTP.
I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT.
IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE A SNOT-FACED SHIT-LICKING ASSWIPE ABOUT IT, I SUGGEST YOU CARRY YOURSELF OUT NOW BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN CONCEIVE A MEAN-SPIRITED THING TO SAY TO ME.
I DON'T.
GIVE.
A FUCK.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT.
UNCIVILIZED CHALLENGERS WILL BE APPOINTED TO MY DOUBLE DECKER ROBOT ALIEN DONKEY DICK.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So...i'm upset.
STILL.
I know it's pointless and i'm butthurt, but welcome to my hell.
You can leave at any time.
My ship is the most beat-up shit-on couple in the serious, which is sad considering Sladin (Slade and Robin) gets a staggering amount of support, despite being about a pedophile relationship between an abusive 50-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy that HE traumatized.
People are all about the abuse and rape in that ship, oh, but RobRae is somehow the bane of TT shipping existence.
It's fucking bullshit.
Anyway, i'm going to be debunking the arguments others have (very rudely) made against RobRae and explain, AGAIN, why i think it works.
Some of my reasoning will be repeated from my previous work, which you can see here.

faebelowdeck.deviantart.com/ar…

And yes, in doing this i will be dragging RobStar and BBRae down a bit, but not for the purpose of absolutely ruining them.
I'm just trying to make my opinion more clear and where it formed from, in MY mind.
Let the nightmare begin.
----------------------------------------------

1. "Robin and Starfire, and Beast Boy and Raven are cannon"

    Oh yes, the blatantly obvious.
I am highly aware of the cannon, and that's perfectly fine.
I can't change it to my liking officially, but did you know there's this magical thing called "head cannon"?
So long as one understands that the creators of the franchise have ultimate rights to their characters and stories, it's totally fine to head-cannon it up and say "well i'd rather it be this way" and make your own little story out of it.
In my world, BB and Terra get back together because she comes to her senses and calms the fuck down, and Robin and Starfire calmly and MUTUALLY break up.
Robin and Raven start becoming interested in each other like half a year later, Starfire supports them, and the Birds start dating.
Squadala, my OTP is born.
If you don't like it, tough.
No one sees me walking around with my pants around my ankles, taking a long hard shit on everyone else's ships and telling them why they can't/shouldn't like it.
It's called being tolerant and respectful.

2. "Robin and Raven don't have many moments in the show"

    Yeah, i think we all noticed.
The Trigon arc definitely made a lot of points in the case of RobRae, but it shouldn't be fuel alone for the ship itself.
Outside of this event and trilogy, Robin shows that he has Raven figured out from the very beginning.
Even when they first meet, he just fully accepts her, simply because he sees she wants to do good in the world.
That meant everything to her.
It doesn't matter to him that she's dark, creepy, or different.
They never once quarrel about that.
He respects her privacy and space when she asks for it, and when Robin is suffering, Raven seems to grasp the severity of his situation.
Now i will say, during the Red X fiasco she was less supportive.
In fact, it's hinted that she yelled at Robin as everyone else did, save for Starfire.
Robin and Raven have bumped heads a select few times in the show or have been mildly irritated with one another, though mostly Raven being irritated with Robin.
The part of this that doesn't deter me from liking them is that RAVEN GETS ANNOYED/PISSED OFF AT EVERYONE.
IF A LADYBUG FARTED NEAR THE BOOK OF AZAR IT COULD SET HER OFF.
Raven's kind of a bitch, she has issues.

It appears in the show that Starfire cares deeply for Robin and vise versa, and they do have many more moments, but to meeeeeee, emphasis on ME, it feels a little forced.
Also, while Starfire worries, her help isn't always helpful, and Robin has taken out his anger on her a couple of times.
Granted, one time he was literally drugged up and not entirely himself and was freaking out, but still.
Even when Starfire offers kindness or comfort, at times he sasses her and leaves her hanging.
But whenever it came to Raven, he was more persistent to do right by her, defend her and ultimately understand her.
When Starfire does weird shit, he visibly thinks it's weird and is sometimes grossed/freaked out by her.
When Raven does something dark/weird/unusual, he is often curious about it, or wonders what she's up to.
Robin tends to be in pursuit of Raven.

Now hold yer tits, because i am aware of something here.
Them appearing to have a smoother, more easy going chemistry doesn't mean they were in love with each other.
In fact, most romance doesn't work that way.
I still like to think of RobStar's fixation during the show, and totally accept everything that happened therein and love them!!
I'm not saying Robin and Raven had romantic moments in the show, i'm just pointing out why it could work later on.
These are POINTS and fuel, not me being a dewy eyed dipshit.
That also is not meant in any way to tear down the RobStar ship, it's just me explaining nicely why I don't feel it or prefer it.
Also it's obvious he loved/cared about Starfire and pursued her too, i'm not dismissing that.

So case in point, Robin and Raven don't have many moments, but the ones they do are very smooth, and even more enticing, though not entirely perfect.
They interact better than some of the other characters do, IMO, even if it's brief.
In the Trigon arc, it seems like the writers wanted to touch on their friendship more, which makes sense enough to me.
They've shown Raven bonding with everyone else, why not him too?
Personally, i think Robin was the best choice for that situation.
And...what's wrong with being friends before lovers?

3. "They're like brother and sister"

    OH FOR GOD'S SAKE.
Before i wreck that statement, i am aware of a short comic called "Regarding Robin," in which he was struggling with the anniversary of the day his parents died.
Raven offered to help him, and Robin dismissed her, saying "Thanks, Raven. Like the sister i never had."
It happened, i can't change it.
But honestly, there were elements in that comic that i didn't appreciate, such as Robin essentially blaming Batman for his difficulty in just being human and embracing his emotions.
In my head cannon, he left Batman on a good note rather than an implied sour one.
The comic's premise was good, but i tend to reject it as a whole just for the sake of certain elements.
It wasn't in the show, which i relate to the cute comics, but don't associate with COMPLETELY.
That's a personal choice.

So if you're like me and operate with certain head cannon, then you watch the show and see that Robin and Raven get along well.
To my mind, Raven and Beast Boy behave more like siblings with the bickering, picking on one another, and invading each other's personal space.
That doesn't mean I HATE the ship, it doesn't mean i'm tearing them down, but that was ingrained in my head from an early age.
If you prefer them, that's great!!!

I have come to understand the reasons people do like BBRae and have enough evidence to make it work, too.
I'm glad they have that.
I may not like BBRae, but i'm beginning to understand it, and am at least grateful that there are good reasons for them to make it work in some way or another, even if i don't support it.

So back to RobRae, i don't see them as siblings.
For the entirety of the show, they make fantastic friends and appear to understand each other better than the others.
Robin has a rather tender way of interacting with Raven and explains himself best in her presence, while Raven is the one who is shown least getting outright upset with him.
Raven asks the hard questions and advances toward his mentality just as well as Starfire does.

4. "They're both too dark, they need Starfire and Beast Boy to give them their light"

    This has come to annoy me almost as much as the brother-sister thing.
It's true, Starfire could add an element of light to Robin's existence, and BB could add some cheer to Raven's life.
I get the concept, but people overlook some of the deeper, more important cues in RobRae's potential.

Firstly, in Haunted, as we all know Raven went into Robin's mind and they formed a bond.
Raven has the ability to mentally heal and help him.
Even in that comic (that i reject most of), she says her powers have emotional properties.
She can pinpoint his pain, and supposedly help ease it.
Raven also appears to, once more, grasp the severity of Robin's issues.
When he was restrained, she initiated running tests on him to figure out what was going on.
She knew something was detrimentally wrong, and made the first point to try and solve it.
Even when it's painful, she does what's best for him if she can.
Even after it got solved and he confessed his insecurities on the matter of Slade, Raven appeared the most sad and worried.
It would seem that worrying is fine and dandy, but the ability to remain calm and think enough to solve problems would be very useful in the case of the ever-so-complex Dick Grayson.
I think her empathic gifts would serve him well.

No matter what, Raven is dark; the end.
But when it came to the Trigon situation, Robin regarded Raven as the most hopeful person he'd ever known.
He believed because she had hope, and he gave that back to her.
He made her believe again, he brought her comfort, he refused to accept that her destiny couldn't be changed, and he brought her back.
He damn near gave her his life, and he was willing to die honoring that.
The way he took her hand in The End part one was so tender, the way he threw himself into harm's way for her was incredible.

People say Robin is "dark," and truthfully he has some issues, but he's still far more outgoing and light-filled than Raven.
He's physically active, social, playful, and has a very sun-based personality.
In comics and shows all over, Dick Grayson is beloved for his ability to love, smile brightly and bring out some of the best in those around him.

Maybe Raven can't offer much light in the sense of fun, but she can offer clarity, forgiveness and peace.
Robin, meanwhile can encourage her, maybe help her learn to embrace her feelings, help her learn to let emotions out without her powers exploding, etc.
I think they could relieve each other's pain.
Maybe it would be slower or less forced, IMO, but i think they could help each other.
Besides, they have friends to help with the "lighting," too.
For me, RobRae is about encouragement and belief through well-paced, gentle interactions.

~~More Reasons RobRae Works~~

Raven doesn't get upset or uncomfortable when Robin touches her.
She welcomes physical contact from him, and appears to even respond to it.
She trusts him.
Trust.
TRUST.
TRUST!
IT'S IMPORTANT.

They see eye to eye on many subjects, and are the most competent Titans.
I realize that opposites attract, and Robin and Raven are very similar, but there's enough difference to make them click.
For example, Raven is extremely insecure, but well controlled.
Robin is very confident, and sometimes too aggressive.
I think Robin could help Raven see the beauty and talent in herself and encourage her to be more comfortable in her own skin, and Raven could help Robin rein in his emotions, calm down and not get ahead of himself.
After all, she has stopped and slowed him before.
When she wants to, Raven knows how to get his attention.

Also, for the record, it's good for couples to see eye to eye on most circumstances.
Too much opposition creates frustration, misery and way too much tension.
I know that from personal experience; differences can be very damaging, especially depending on the subject.
If you're like me and observe Dick Grayson in comics and popular lore, you will see he is a very upbeat character in many ways.
Not perfect by any means, but also i think capable of loosening up.
Teen Titans is where he seems the most uptight, but if you also enjoy head cannon, consider everyone must grow and change a little.
Robin and Raven are capable of developing further as people.
They both grow considerably throughout the show.

I'm fucking exhausted.
I can't squawk on anymore about why they work, just...it's not impossible, all right?
Even if you think it is, stop going around and shiiiittiiing on it, PLEASE.
You can dislike it, but consider a RobRae shipper's pain.
Lacking fan art, minority ship, meanwhile the internet is FLOODED with BBRae and RobStar.
IT SUCKS.
I'm crawling across a dry dirt ground in my head at this point, extending a shriveling hand for this pairing.
The TT fandom is fucking awful, i'll be upfront about that.
Also some RobRae shippers are just as insufferable as the others.
If you're one of those ship-shitter-on-ers, STAHP.
PLEASE, FUGGIN' STAHP.
ALSO I'M SORRY IF I HURT A BBRAE OR ROBSTAR PERSON, THAT WASN'T THE INTENT.
THIS WAS A COMBINATION OF OPINIONS AND OBSERVATIONS, YOU SHOULD ALL KNOW IDFC WHAT OTHERS DO SO LONG AS THEY DON'T HURT ANYBODY (Sladin really does worry me, though).

I can't go on anymore, i can't keep raging, i can't keep screaming my points.
I've done all i can; this was my last, exhaustive attempt.
From now on, imma just fucking enjoy them.
I just had to squeeze the last ounce of agony out of my ass for all the world to see, eugh... *panting*
Avenge me...
Tell my story...!
Most of all, forgive me...

*collapses*

---DO NOT STEAL MY CONCEPTS, ART OR IDEAS!!! I DO NOT OWN DC OR THE ORIGINAL IMAGE!!!---