Robin/Marian (BBC 2006)

Robin/Marian is the het pairing between Robin of Locksley/Robin Hood ("Hood") and Marian of Knighton (Marian Fitzwalter or "Maz") in the 2006–2009 incarnation of the Robin Hood legend. It is by far the most popular and prevailing pairing for Robin, and one of the fandom's major pairings. The fandom has seen Ship Wars with fans of the Guy/Marian pairing.Sam & Freddie: Ship Wars..., We ALL know how they can get... (accessed 18 June 2013)TV Tropes: Ship To Ship Combat: Live Action TV (accessed 18 June 2013)
==In Canon==
Robin Hood, the people’s hero and the King’s loyal man, and Marian, the outspoken heroine and the masked fighter against the Sheriff and oppression, form the apex in a love triangle with Guy of Gisborne. It is known from the show that Marian and Robin were betrothed before Robin left with King Richard for the Holy Land on the Third Crusade. After Robin’s departure, their betrothal was cancelled. 
Marian didn’t marry anyone during the five years of Robin’s absence in England. When Robin returns and Marian sees him again, she acts cold and aloof towards him. In S1E2 (Sheriff Got Your Tongue), it is implied that the reason she is angry at him was because he left her for glory. Although she is hostile to her former betrothed, she helps him to escape from the dungeons in the beginning of the show and later agrees to help him by giving information on the Sheriff's plans. A cheeky rogue by nature, Robin always attempts to charm Marian but she always rejects his attempts. Despite this, they share a few moments in secret, most notably in the two part season finale.
Guy of Gisborne forces Marian to marry him in S1E7 (Brothers In Arms). In S1 Finale, Marian is seriously injured by Guy when she tries to rob him in the night as the Night Watchman. Fearing that she is on her deathbed, she admits to Robin that even if she calls him a fool, she thinks of him as a hero and also even if she ridicules his actions, she copies them as the Night Watchman. When she "dies", he breaks down over her body and confesses his love for her. Marian doesn’t marry Guy as Much interrupts the wedding and flees the wedding with Robin.
In S2, Marian’s relationship with Robin is growing stronger and deeper, also becoming more physical. She continues to aid Robin as a spy at the castle. When her father dies, Marian goes with Robin to Sherwood Forest. In S2E10 (Lardner’s Ring), Robin proposes to Marian over a fresh grave, and she accepts but must return to the castle with Guy. Robin and Marian get married in S2 Finale (We Are Robin Hood), when she is on her deathbed, mortally stabbed in her stomach by Guy of Gisborne after her confession in her love for Robin Hood.
==In Fanon==
Fans of this pairing tend to believe that Robin and Marian genuinely love each other. In the majority of fictions, Robin and Marian don’t have an ideal relationship and have to sort out certain differences. Often it is said that Robin is England’s man through and through; one of the major difficulties of their relationship is Robin’s conflict of loyalties to the King of England, to England, to the nation, and his love for Marian. In some fictions, authors wonder whether what place Marian takes in the hierarchy of loyalties in Robin’s life – above or below his loyalty to the King and the country. Die-hard Robin/Marian shippers assume that Robin changes after return from the war and matures enough not to let Marian down again by abandoning her for another foreign campaign after the King’s return to England. The idea is that Robin is more loyal to Marian than to his King. 
The most important complication of Marian’s relationship with Robin is her attitude towards Guy. In S2, Robin thinks that Marian is “stirred” by Guy when she tells him that Guy has qualities and that she will marry him to protect her father; Robin is very jealous of her to Guy. Robin/Marian shippers usually assume that Marian only wants to save Guy and help him become a better man by breaking from Sheriff Vaisey, that she has only friendly feelings for him. The fans of the canonical pairing also state that there was too much negative tension between Marian and Guy, describing their relationship full of angst and exasperation. 
Marian is likely to feel guilty of betraying Guy by helping Robin as a spy, and she doesn’t want to believe that Guy tried to kill the King in the Holy Land for a long time. Marian probably sees Guy as a better man than he really is. Nevertheless, in certain episodes on the show it is obvious that Marian is physically attracted to Guy. Many fans believe that Marian was torn between her feelings for Robin and her growing affection for Guy for quite some time in S2.
Hardcore Guy/Marian shippers claim and write in fanfiction that Marian is the center of Guy’s world and that he is committed to be with her, that he is more ready to accept her as she is than does Robin. While it is true that the King doesn’t stand between Marian and Guy, in contrast to her relationship with Robin, the fact that Guy is obsessed with power and wealth until S2 Finale cannot be denied. Marian and Robin share the same ideals and they fight for the same things – for the better England, for the King’s safe return, and for the better life of peasants. Guy has different ultimate goals, which makes him less compatible with Marian, letting some fans of the canonical pairing state that Guy doesn’t understand her and loves the idea of Marian, not Marian herself for who she really is. 
==Fannish Responses==
==In Fanworks==
Given that Marian is fatally injured in S2 Finale, many fanfiction stories are AU stories in which Marian survives her wound by miracle or is saved from Guy’s blade by Robin’s arrow in the last moment. In other fictions, Marian is not stabbed by Guy and is saved by someone else, usually by Allan and at times even by Robin who sacrifices his life to save Marian and the King. So the most widespread trope is Marian Lives! fix-it Aus. In some fictions, Marian doesn’t try to kill the Sheriff and is not taken to the Holy Land; in one of the stories Marian doesn’t arrive in the Holy Land because of unexpected circumstances as she is “lost” on her way to the Holy Land. 
There are a lot of stories about Robin after Marian’s death, written in angst and drama. There are some S2 AU fictions written in the genre of tragedy. In such fictions, Robin and Marian are shipped in death or in tragedy when they survive but someone else, perhaps even the whole outlaw band, tragically die. 
Some Robin/Marian shippers completely ignore S2 Finale, developing the plotline in a different direction, for example assuming that King Richard returns to England before S2 Finale. In this case, fictions follow the events of certain stories and then evolve into complete AU. They are also many general fictions about Marian/Robin relationship in the pre-series to the show. 
==Recommended Robin/Marian Fictions==
===General===
*A Legend Never Dies by Jammeke – Robin lifted his eyes to look at her. "They think I am a fox," he said slowly. " Robin & Marian short funny vignettes.
*The Final Tale by Jammeke – The story ignores the events of S3 Finale. Other than that the events are based on the canon. Robin/Marian, Robin/Kate.
*Best Laid Plans by JAGNikJen – Robin and Marian plan to spend the day together. Thunder, lightning, and sex ensues. Mostly a PWP concept.
*Paper Confessional by Zaedah – It’s set somewhere in S1 or S2. Until she’d handed over the letter, there was always the opportunity to recant the words.
*Marian Through the Looking Glass by JAGNikJen – an epic Robin/Marian fic, quite popular among fans. Marian is thrown from her horse and finds herself in a situation she never could have ever imagined. 
*The Moment of Truth by Shadow Chaser – S2 AU with Robin/Marian and canon pairings. There is no trip to Acre in S2 Finale as King Richard returns to England and Robin and his gang must save their King.
*Search And Rescue by Kegel – S2 AU after S2E9 (Lardner’s Ring). Robin and Guy have to team up when Marian seems to have disappeared.
*Out Of The Distance by Kegel – It’s set somewhere in S2. An encounter in the forest takes Robin away from his gang and the way back is not easy. Will serious mistakes lead Robin to make a last, fatal decision?
*Better Days Will Come by Kegel – It’s set in the mid-S2. An unexpected offer give Robin new opportunities in his fight for both his people and country. It also brings new dilemmas, as he and the gang have to make hard choices to find their way when conflicts come to a head.
*Aylesbury Ambushed! by muchbeddled – The fiction is set somewhere in S1. Former suitor of Marian, wimpy Martin of Aylesbury, is ambushed by Robin's gang in Sherwood. Sequel to You Must Have Had Suitors.
*Into The Fall! by muchbeddled – The fiction takes places almost 4 months take place between SE11 (Treasure Of The Nation) and SE12 (A Good Day to Die). The missing adventures of Robin's gang during that time.
*Committed by muchbeddled – After the siege of Nottingham by Prince John's army, Marian gives herself to Robin and now they even more committed to one another.
*Heart Of The Matter by jadey36 – Robin has returned from the Crusades, hoping to take up where he left off with Marian. Guy is also determined to woo her, and a mischief-maker on the loose, intent on causing trouble for the young couple.
*The War at Home by Zaedah – King Richard returns to England and there is no trip to Acre. The tale about the toll the war had taken on Robin is told from Marian’s POV. 
* Nightmares in the Manor by muchbeddled – It’s set in the post-series. Robin isn't the only one in Locksley Manor who suffers from nightmares, but he has his share.
===Some Robin/Marian Fictions Set in the Pre-S1===
*Home by Glorious Clio – It’s set in the pre-S1. They've only just gotten engaged, and Marian decides to try something she's never tried before.
*Window Blues by Glorious Clio – It’s set in the pre-S1. A collection of vignettes regarding Maid Marian and a visitor who is not unfamiliar with her second storey window.
*The Fruits of May by Glorious Clio – It’s set in the pre-S1. The tale about a particular day in May which makes a beautiful memory for Robin and Marian.
*Led Down the Forest Path by railise – It’s set in the pre-S1. Robin and Marian accept a dare.
*May Day by muchbeddled – The fiction is set in pre-S1. Robin and Marian's first kiss doesn't exactly turn out the way Robin would have guessed.
*Twelfth Night by muchbeddled – It’s set somewhere in pre-S1. Very interesting tale about Marian’s life in Nottingham and Robin’s adventures in the Holy Land.
*You Must Have Had Suitors by muchbeddled – The fiction is set in pre-S1. Tales of some of Marian's suitors and Robin's adventures while he was in the Holy Land. Final chapter written by FireSpring Roses.
*Little Bird by Emmithar – It’s set in the pre-S1. Yet it would not be the only loss Robin would suffer, as the Lord of Locksley would soon learn about in the years to come.
*Shattered Dreams by Amaranthe Athenais – It's set in the pre-series. Robin informs Marian about his decision to fight in the Holy Land for King Richard and England.
*Prophetic Dream by Amaranthe Athenais – It's set in the pre-series. Marian of Knighton is strong and stoic, but she is not invincible. In the night, she prays for the life of the absent man who broke her heart and shattered her dreams for the bright future.
*Come Home by Lady Marianne – It’s set in the pre-S1. Four years after Robin left for the Holy Land, Marian receives word from him.
===Marian Lives! Fix-it Robin/Marian S3 AUs===
*A Year and a Day by Glorious Clio – S2 AU starting from S2E10 (Walkabout). Marian is tired of being a pawn, and Robin is tired of waiting. Marian joins Robin in the forest.
*The Longest Time by Kegel – S2 AU after S2E10 (Lardner’s Ring). When King Richard finally returned, Robin and the outlaws had to notice that things didn't turn out as they had always thought in the back of their minds.
*The Force of Destiny by railise – S3 AU with Robin/Marian and canon pairings. In Acre, Marian survives thanks to a timely arrow from Robin that hits Guy in the arm. Everyone returns to England to await the King's arrival. Guy eventually turns against the Sheriff and joins forces with Robin.
*Returning Home by VDStar – Robin/Marian S3 AU. Marian survives the Holy Land and returns home to find Robin in a relationship with Isabella.
*Not What it Seems by VDStar – Robin/Marian S3 AU. Marian survives the Holy Land, but Robin doesn’t know about it. The gang returns to England.
*To Protect Her From Everything by Abboz – Robin/Marian S3 AU. Marian is saved by Robin’s arrow in the last moment before Guy can stab her. Marian, Robin, and the outlaws return to England to continue their fight with the Sheriff and Guy. 
*Crossroads by Trixter82 – Robin/Marian S3 AU. Due to a twist of fate, Marian never arrives in the Holy Land and is lost in the shipwreck, but she survives. Robin and the outlaws arrive in Acre and the events follow the canon in S2 E13 (We Are Robin Hood).
*Friend Closer Than a Brother by maxcatmom – Guy/Meg, Robin/Marian fiction, S3 AU. A fast-paced retelling of Season 3, starting with S2 Finale. Guy didn’t stab Marian in Acre but someone else did. 
*To Keep You Safe by Robin Hood reader – Marian doesn't die in S2E13 and returns to Nottingham from the Holy Land. Instead, Robin is mortally injured in Acre.
*Robin Hood, Season 3 AU by SaraBethie – Robin/Marian S3 AU. A new take on Robin Hood Season 3. After Marian and Carter's recoveries in the Holy Land, the gang makes their way back to England.
*A Life Less Ordinary by lotusflower85 – Robin/Marian S3 AU, quite popular among fans. Marian is mortally wounded by Guy but she survives her and later returns to England. 
*Sins of the Heart by sunnyday30 – Robin/Marian S3 AU. Marian had married Guy in S2E13 (We Are Robin Hood), thinking that Robin was dead. Then everyone returns to England, and Marian discovers that Robin survived his trip to Acre and also returned home.
*We Are Robin Hood by Lady Marianne – Robin/Marian S3 AU. At the end of Season 2, Marian doesn't try to kill the Sheriff and consequently is never taken to the Holy Land. Robin and the gang travel to Acre to save the King, but not everything ends as they plan.
*Quadrilateral by lotusflower85 – S3 AU after "Enemy of my Enemy". Marian returns to Sherwood, alive, to find Robin in a relationship with Kate, Guy as a member of the gang, and Isabella as Sheriff.
*The Return of the King by muchbeddled – Marian/Robin S3 AU. Marian survived and is married to Robin. Gisborne wants revenge. King Richard finally returned to England.
*Neither Timid nor Tame by bittersweetbetweenmyteeth – Vignettes featuring Marian & Robin, at various points in the series, starting at S1E13 ("A Clue: No") and continuing on. Mostly romance, a little angst. 
===S2 Finale AUs===
*Inevitability by TheSingingGirl – S2 Finale AU, Marian is not killed by Guy. She is only seriously wounded in her stomach and survives. Marian and Robin marry.
*Husbanding England by Glorious Clio – S2 Finale AU. Marian is not murdered by Guy. Instead, Robin and Guy have a last fight in the courtyard. 
*Condemnation by Emmithar – the original S2 Finale AU. Marian is wounded by Guy but she survives, Robin is taken captive by the King’s men as a high traitor. 
*Robin Hood Season 2 Alternate Ending by SaraBethie – S2 Finale AU, Marian is seriously wounded but not killed by Guy. 
*Price Of Loyalty by Amaranthe Athenais – the new tragic S2 Finale AU, popular among fans. The trip to Acre to save King Richard ends in the most unexpected way.
*Lost Illusions by Amaranthe Athenais – the new dramatic S2 Finale AU, popular among fans. The journey to Acre ends with the necessity to face harsh reality instead of daydreams.
*Love is in the Greenwood by lotusflower85 – S2 Finale AU, Marian is not killed by Guy as Carter saves the King and Marian from Guy. Robin and Marian marry in Acre.
*The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly by muchbeddled – Takes place near the end of S2, when Marian, secretly pregnant with Robin's child, travels as a prisoner to the Holy Land with the sheriff and Gisborne.
*Broken Arrow by alesh101 – It’s set after S2 Finale. Robin, now a broken man, broods in Acre after Marian's death.
===S3 Finale AUs===
*Surviving the bloodbath by exotic little bird – S3 Finale AU. Robin is wounded by Isabella's poison-tipped dagger. Guy survives the bloodbath in Nottingham. But is everything as tragic as it seems?
*The Final Battle by VDStar – Robin/Marian S3 Finale AU. The Sheriff has a surprise for Robin – he brought Marian alive from the Holy Land to Nottingham.
===Ghost-Marian Fictions===
Ghost-Marian often turns up in works that accept the S2 Finale outcome. At times, either Robin or Guy see Marian in their sleep.
*Whenever I Breathe Out by bittersweetbetweenmyteeth – Robin/Marian angst oneshot. Wherever they walk, Marian's ghost walks with them.
*The Last Song of the Siren by Trixter82 – Robin/Marian, Robin/OFC S3 AU. The tale is told in the voice of the last love of Robin Hood. Robin is in love with the ghost of Marian and reunites with her after the King’s return. 
*Trust in Blood by SophieSaulie – S3 Finale AU. There is no battle in the tunnel because Guy discovers Sheriff in the forest before the siege of Nottingham. Guy sees Marian in his delirium and tells Robin what he talked about with her. 
===Threesomes===
The pairing is also the nucleus for the threesome with Guy of Gisborne.
*The Choice Not to Choose by Sandrine Shaw – S2 AU with Guy/Marian/Robin
===Other Tropes===
[need examples]
==Further Example Fanworks==
===Fanvids===
*Sleep Well My Angel by Adi – beautiful video about Robin & Marian’s love story
*Robin Hood & Marian great video by snowbrow85's channel – an epic video about Robin and Marian and their struggle to be together
*Sleep Well My Angel by Adi – beautiful video about Robin and Marian’s love story
*My Immortal – Robin & Marian by alwyssmi7 – beautiful and romantic video about Robin and Marian and the difficulties in their relationship 
*Robin & Marian-what hurts the most by foxyladyRMS – beautiful and tragic video about Robin and Marian, a tribute to Marian
==Meta==
*Fade to Black – LadyKate on resolutions to the Guy/Marian/Robin triangle
*Was Guy of Gisborne the Sheriff's b*tch? – Robin Hood on whether the Guy/Marian relationship was mainly in the heads of fans
*Robin Hood, a Hero or Loser for our times? – Robin Hood on what kind of a hero was Robin Hood in the RH BBC show. 
*Lucy Griffiths tribute: Marian R.I.P. – Robin Hood about Marian’s relationship with Robin and her death.
==Rec Communities==
*Robin/Marian recs at the Robin Hood Fan Community
*Guy/Marian & Robin/Marian recs at Paperpilots.net
==Archives & Communities==
*Fanfiction tagged Robin of Locksley/Marian of Knighton at AO3
*Fanfiction tagged Robin of Locksley/Robin Hood at ff.net
*robinsociety general LJ
*bbc-robinmarian – Robin/Marian LJ
==References==
Category:Het Pairings
Category:Robin Hood (BBC)