Damian high on anesthetic after a minor surgery, in the Cave’s Medbay: You shouldn’t be holding my hand.
Marinette, sitting next to him: And why is that?
Damian, with an adorable pout: Because my girlfriend will be very upset… I’m upset. I don’t like holding hands that aren’t hers.
Marinette, holding in laughter, and trying to subtly film on her phone: Oh, I think your girlfriend will be okay with it. 
Damian: Really?
Marinette, smiling: Yep, because I’m your girlfriend.
Damian, eyes widening: No, you can’t be…
Marinette: Why not?
Damian: Because you’re too pretty. And nice. You’re holding my hand and making me feel safe. I don’t deserve a girlfriend that nice. I’m not nice enough.
Marinette, holding back tears, kisses him on the forehead: You deserve all the nicest things in the world mon cher.
When Jupiter collides with autumn, a single moment is born between two entities. Equal harmonies with balance, dancing along a fine line of too far and too near, of brightest and dimmest, of perfect alignment. People say that on an equinox, the sky divides into two parts, golden light and silver darkness.
For Damian Wayne, it meant heading to the rooftop instead of sleeping peacefully in his bed, staring at the sky, but not seeing anything. His eyes would remain blank as they stared up at the twinkling stars almost covered by the rancid smog. He learned at too young of an age that life was not about myths and fairytales, but of monsters in the form of flesh and bone which held their smiles on their face and their daggers in your back.
The equinox meant facing the demons of his past.
He always knew he was never the best person. He wouldn't ever be as selfless as Dick, he wouldn't be as level-headed as Tim, or even as passionate as Jason. He wouldn't have his father's ingrained need to help the dying cesspool they lived in, and he would never have Alfred's heaven-bound level of patience. There would always be that selfish, rash, cold-hearted, narcissistic, impatient prince lying inside of him, waiting to rear its foul head. It surfaced every second he held a blade in his hand, at every mob member terrorizing innocents and criminals alike, every abuser, every villain. A voice inside him purred to rid the world of their filth, of their moral grime. And every single time, it grew louder and louder and louder and louder.
Each time a criminal escaped through his grasp was another chip in his fortitude.
Each time an innocent civilian broke a smile at him, only to die minutes later from an explosion was a stab in the wall between morally good and vengeance.
For every stabbing heart, for every gutless cry of a mother who lost their child.
Wouldn't it be so much easier to erase them before they could commit such barbarisms?
The cold kissed his cheeks, so much like a viper's poison, and he shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind. Ah, she's still inside my head.
Maybe symphonies are built on a beautiful melody. However, the melody would never work if they worked on different concepts. The one his father blasted into his mind was a righteous march, darker in tone than most melodies, but an overarching victory for Good reigned. It taught him patience, morals, ethics, light against darkness.
But, his mother taught him the cellist's devil nature. The darker tones, the echoing, vibrating puppet master giving the audience the illusion that the melody is in control, but in reality, all the melody can do is fall victim to the villainous, tragic whirlpool of misery, murder, and fascist brutality. She placed the blade in his hand, had him earn her love through feats of glorious atrocities, built him up from the ground up into the perfect weapon, too jagged and unpredictable to be used for Good, but whittled down, rusted and corrupted for far too long to be remolded into something useful.
Now, he didn't know where he belonged. Did his melody rise above the dark cello nurtured in him? Or will the melody drown under the alluring, tempest bass driven through his heart, buried deeper than the center of the Earth?
The wind, maybe sensing his demise, could do nothing but blow harder to calm his feverish head filled with questions he could not answer. The somber cold stung the sweet chapped lips all too used to the desert's ice and fire of his childhood, but it stung more bitterly as the North Atlantic ocean blew in the new change in season. Gotham was an outlier. A ghost town of improbabilities and plausibility all clashed together to create a cesspool of madness, hate, and impossibilities.
He wondered why his father, or his ancestors before him, would ever want to stay in a city like this for the rest of their rich, detached lives. Why they would ever choose to spend their lives in this miserable landfill, giving what they have to make the ever-draining city a better place. Why they gaze at the buildings and streets with fond gazes. Why they find it so easy to smile at a Gotham native without feeling like they will get a knife's edge poking their sternum the moment they show their backs.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he cursed God that he was not given this ingrained sense of belonging and mercy to Gotham like all of his family before him.
Pages rustled on in the breeze, and, by miraculous luck, the cover tipped open. Blue light shone through the darkness beyond his closed eyelids, but he did not notice beyond the salty river squeezing through the crevice.
"S'il te plaît, ne me dis pas que tu pleures." Please, don't tell me you're crying. Soft French carried over the quiet din. "I never know what to do when you are crying."
He pried his eyes open, and a vision filled his eyes. A girl, no older than he was, but with a more youthful smile cracked in sorrow, dressed in a midnight blue evening gown glowing in the darkness, blowing in the wind to its own rhythm as it reflected the stars ten times brighter than Gotham Fair's lights. She floated over the torn book of ancient Tibetan magic he brought with him that night, just like he did every solstice, her legs crossed underneath her in an informal squat. Cheeks blossomed like dusky luminescent wisteria, and constellations made of stars brighter than Rigel lost across the bridge of her nose. Her blue crown of hair burned a halo around her, framing bluebell eyes that looked older than a thousand of his lifetimes staring deep into his own green eyes.
The only word he could say was, "Marinette."
Her grin made his heart's symphony subito pianissimo. "Hi, Damian. Happy Autumn Solstice."
================
not me wanting to make this a full fic ;v; (hence the chapter title "theme")
for @jumpingjoy82 for the maribat gift exchange 2022 (i posted on time on archive, just not on tumblr ;v;)
🖤💜❤️
desperate for a tv show filmed like modern family or the kardashians of the batfam, titled “watch out for the waynes” or something like that.
bruce signed for the limited series to keep up appearances.
dick acts like a love island contestant.
damian is only ever in the corner of shots, staring into the soul of the cameraman.
cass, similarly, does not contribute much, but looks to the camera like she’s in modern family whenever shit happens.
tim finds every way to be the last laugh, the one-liner guy, the “unexpected, effortless, fan favourite™️”.
duke frequents the interview room.
jason sends subtextual messages to the audience through the books he’s seen reading in a scene:
bruce and tim are having a tiff about who’s idea is better while jason’s reading “the metamorphoses - book iii 339-358” (narcissus).
everyone’s having a grand old time at a gala while jason’s at a table reading “vile bodies”.
damian’s in a mood and nobody’s picked up on it yet while jason is seen reading “american psycho”.
nobody can find steph and tim and jason’s sat literally reading the back of a “dazed and confused” dvd to get his point across.
Guess I'm the burgler for 13 dwarfs off to the Lonely Mountain i go
Since I've got nothing to do, I decided to share a scene from the comics that destroyed me.
But before that I need to give you some information. This post is about Damian's death.
Before his fight with Heretic, Bruce orders Damian to stay inside because it's dangerous.
But of course he doesn't stay in. Instead he tells Alfred that he needs to help Bruce. And eventually he convinces Alfred.
We all know what happens after that. Damian dies by the hands of the Heretic.
Then time passes, and everyone is grieving. But Bruce is devastated and builds a simulation machine that replicates the fight between Damian and the Heretic.
The purpose of the machine is for Bruce to prove to himself that he could've saved Damian. If only he was faster and stronger etc.
However in every single simulation he fails and keeps seeing Damian die and die. He doesn't give up however and keeps going for 4 days.
Eventually, Alfred being worried, call Dick to talk some sense into Bruce. Dick, not being able to convince Bruce, goes into the simulation with him and manages to save Damian and kill Heretic by stabbing a pole through his chest.
Bruce then agrees to take a break and leaves. We are then left alone in the cave with Alfred. But it doesn't end there, and this happens:
Honestly, this hurt me more than seeing Bruce's grieving. And it does make sense that he'd blame himself.
Anyways just wanted to share this...
April is dedicated to the ARROWS. This can be any member of the Green Arrow/Arrowverse extended family.
This year we are adding an extra prompt weeks for the most popular arrow ship: Roynette! Like with the calendar, only write those prompts which inspire you. You don't have to do them all, and you don't have to do both (though, extra kudos to anyone who tries).
AO3 COLLECTION:
This is the same collection from last year, with a new tag, so if you are looking for last year's this is it now.
TAGS FOR BOTH TUMBLR AND AO3:
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Damian glared watching some guy stand next to Marinette. He knew his girlfriend had become popular very quickly, after she had to moved from Paris to Gotham. She was known for her kindness and smiles. He knew she had a bit of trouble, at the start, but she seemed to be making friends. The moment the guy leaned in close to her; he saw red.
‘Who does he think he is?’
Damian quickly strode over and stood next to Marinette. She said nothing and waited for the guy, in front of her, to continue. The guy looked between them, confused.
“Did you need something, Wayne?” he questioned.
Before he could answer, Marinette spoke up, “Damian, this is Declan. He’s in my literature class. We have a project with partners about the red A.”
“The Scarlet Letter.” the guy corrected, “I was just asking Marinette to meet me, after school, at the café on 25th and Brighton.”
“You will come to the manor.” Damian declared.
“What?” Declan asked.
“You will come to Wayne Manor.” the Wayne heir restated, “I was unaware you had an issue with your hearing.”
Declan sneered with a glare, “Now why would we do that, Wayne?”
Damian wrapped his arm around Marinette’s waist and answered, “My girlfriend lives with me.”
Declan looked between the Ice Prince and the Foreign Beauty everyone raved about. He heard whispers in the halls about a foreign exchange student who looked like a doll. She had ebony hair and blue doll-like eyes with pink lips. You would have thought they were describing a Disney princess from how they talked. The moment she walked into his class, he couldn’t keep his off of her. He thought the project was his chance to ask her out, but he had been wrong. Declan just nodded his head as the truth sunk in.
“Sure.” he replied, “Whatever.” walking away.
Marinette smiled, as she switched to French, “Were you jealous, My Love?”
“No.” Damian quipped.
“Green is such a pretty color on you.” Mari replied.
Damian looked away, but she was quick to notice his red-tipped ears. She grabbed his arm and used it as leverage to kiss his cheek.
“So is red.” Marinette whispered, “I'l see you after math for lunch.”
Damian quickly pulled her close and kissed her pink lips, as the bell rang.
“I’ll see you at lunch, Angel.” he spoke.
“Demon.” she winked and walked off to her next class.
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“Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe now.”
(art by the wonderful @gotham-gargoyle )
Some ranting, theory-crafting and inspiration behind this commission under the cut :)
Keep reading
Inspired by Grumpy Cat, written by @adrestar
------
So what if Marinette moved to Gotham Academy, probably because of Lila bullshit or Guardian Duties.
She is mostly alone so she get a dog who she named Damian.
I actually look up on what type of dog she would have because I don't have a lot of knowledge on dogs. I wanted a small cute black dog. I am going with a Pomeranian or a Scottish Terrier.
It's all fine and going dandy. When one day, Damian overhears the new girl talking about him.
Marinette of course has zero interest in celebrities so she has no clue she is in the same class as Damian Wayne. Her classmates asked if she had any pets so she starts talking about her cute little Dami and showing off pictures of him.
"Look at my Dami. Isn't he adorable?" Marinette cooed, "I just love running my hands through those thick black luscious hair."
Damian gets the idea that Marinette is a stalker or a fangirl who is deluded herself into thinking she is dating him but brushes her off as mostly harmless. He can correct her at any time she steps out of the line.
Let the misunderstandings commence!
Fast forward the next few days, where Marinette keeps talking about her dog and no one has clued her in on the fact that there is a human with the same name as her dog going to classes with her.
Human Damian thinks she has very active imagination, going as far as to fake bite marks on her arms after a supposed passionate embrace.
(Damian the Dog is still being trained. Idk abt raising dogs so I hope I am right.)
The weekend arrive and Damian is at the dog park with Titus. Then he heard the insufferable voice calling out for him,
"Damian. Where are you? Come out. Damian. Dami."
He hid himself for a while, hoping she will give up sooner or later. But no, she keeps coming closer to the spot where he was hiding and calling out his name. Then, Titus blew his cover by coming back with the ball he was sent to fetch.
Thinking he had no choice but to reveal himself, he burst out of the bushes, scaring Marinette.
Meanwhile, Marinette was at the dog park to let Damian out of the apartment and get some exercise. She was kept an eye on him as he ran around but after a phone call from Jagged Stone for a new jacket, she had lost sight of her dog.
Then, while she looked for Damian the dog, someone jumped out of the bushes, giving her a scarce.
She realised that he was a boy from her classes and before she could ask if he had seen her dog, he began yelling at her.
"Listen up, harlot. Get out of your delusional fantasies of dating me and leave me alone." He yelled at a very confused Marinette. Human Damian continued to threaten her with lawsuits on the grounds of stalking, defamation and false claims.
Marinette gets fucking pissed at what the rude guy was yelling at her for no reasons but before she could retort, he stomped away with his dog trailing behind him.
"Come on, Titus. We don't have spend more time with this waste of space."
Marinette is so furious that if she was in Paris, she would have been akumatised for sure. She decided to calm down and go look for Damian, not the human. Arriving at home, she found a lawyer waiting for her and they handed her a thick files of all the charges she was being sued for. It was official she had met someone worse than the Chloe Bourgeosis.
So Marinette decides to stress bake about the problem. Ultimately, she made too much and decided to give away some to her next door neighbour, Jason.
Marinette had been living in Gotham for about a month and Jason knows about her habit to stress bake. They first met when Jason accidentally snuck up on her and she judo-flipped him who was 3 times bigger than her. Jason is impressed and Marinette is mortified. They became friends. Jason cooks her meals sometimes and she bake him desserts. It was a fair trade.
Anyway, Jason asks about her problem and Marinette starts a rant about this rich entitled dick she met who was from her class and she had coincidentally met him at the dog park while looking for Damian. Then, he called her a bunch of insults and names, accused her of stalking him and he had sent lawsuits to her address. Which was bad because she had her business as MDC to consider and this will affect her income.
While ranting, Marinette saw Jason's law degree which he had displayed, partially for his cover as a normal civi but mostly to brag to his siblings about being the only one who graduated from college and law school and rub it in Bruce's face. (We all seen the Jason became a lawyer to get Joker a death sentence post right? So Joker is dead here.)
"Can you be my lawyer? Or can you recommend me one? I promise I can pay you."
Jason patted her head, "Pixie, I will do this for free. I don't know which prick decided to mess with you but I will make him pay. Besides, I can't stand guys like that. You are actually doing me a bit of a favor to knock someone like that down a few pegs. Legally."
Marinette insisted to pay him but Jason compromised to get a cake for an entire month instead for taking the job.
When Jason looked through the papers, he noticed it was from the Wayne Family Lawyers so he decided to go to the Manor to get to the bottom of it. Jason arrived in the middle of Damian on a warpath.
He asked Tim who was the closest and furiously typing on his laptop about what is going on with Damian.
Tim answered, "Apparently there's this girl who is stalking Damian. She claimed to be dating him at school and she showed up while he was out with Titus, looking for him. Right now, I am just checking if she is just delusional and harmless or someone dangerous."
Jason connects the dots between Dog Damian and Human Damian and he tried not to burst out laughing right then and there. "That's good to hear. Anyways, I came here because I forgot something. I am going to see Alfred before I go. Have fun with the lawsuits."
Jason spent the rest of the way home, cackling and the funniest way to win the case.
On the day of the court date,
The rest of the Waynes are surprised to see Jason there in a suit. Dick was understandable, Tim was just there to make sure it goes smoothly, Bruce is also reasonable, Damian is the 'victim'.
"Todd, why are you here?"
"You'll see."
Then, they started telling people to enter before they could get more answers. They soon found out that Jason was the lawyer for the other side.
"Todd, you traitor. How dare you work for the opposition!"
Marinette had arrived with a pet carrier with a dog which Damian claimed was to appeal to his animal lover side.
blah blah blah. Legal procession. I don't know how it goes.
Anyways, it is time for Marinette's defense.
"Your honor, I would like to present evidence which proved that my cilent is innocent in all the charges the plaintiff has accused her of."
"Proceed."
Jason brought out the pet carrier and took out Dog Damian.
"Your honor, this is my client's dog. She was gifted this dog before she moved here to Gotham. I have the receipts to prove this."
"What is the point of this?"
Jason dramatically held up the adorable fluffy black dog which looked like a doll in his hands, "Your honor, the dog's name is Damian." Jason claimed while staring straight at Human Damian.
Dog Damian woofed at the sound of his name. There was a shocked silence that followed.
Jason proceed to give more evidence that yes, the dog name is actually Damian like giving commands using his name and adoption certificate to get rid of any doubt.
"He claimed to have heard her talking about her dating but what were the actual words you heard her say?"
"That I am adorable and she likes running her fingers through my soft dark hair."
"Your honor, my cilent was actually bragging about how cute her dog is and how she likes petting Damian the dog's obviously black fur. And you also claimed that she stalked you to the dog park and called out your name several time. She was there by coincidence because the park is the closest to her apartment and she was calling his name because she had lost sight of Damian. Dog Damian I mean. It was Human Damian's fault for assuming she was calling out for him."
Jason continued to explained how each claim was Damian's own misunderstanding of the situation and there are statements from his classmates who confirmed that Marinette was talking about her pet dog. They didn't told her about Human Damian because they found it funny that her dog had the same name.
"In addition, my cilent had no idea who Damian Wayne was. Only knowing him as her classmate. "
Tim is right now filming and having the best time of his life as he watched Damian wished that the ground would swallow him whole. Dick is trying so hard not to laugh while Bruce's lips were twitching.
Jason decides to make a counter-law suit for the emotional damage and potential financial damage Human Damian had caused Marinette by suing her for millions when she was just a struggling student, getting by on her own income in a foreign country.
Marinette stopped him, "Jason, this is enough. I am fine with a hand-written apology."
"The amount I am asking for is just a drop of water of an ocean for them. They are that filthy rich. Besides, you can get that motorcycle side-car for Damian you had been eyeing a while ago. You can also use the money to buy dog stuff that you couldn't before because of your budget."
Marinette hesitated and agreed. The case ended with it in Marinette's favor.
Tim approached them as they exited with Marinette hugging Damian (the dog) and Jason grinning in glee over his victory and simultaneously humiliated Damian (the human) in the process. Tim high-fived Jason.
Tim offered a job to Marinette because he had done a background check on her due to the potential threat she posed and found out about MDC. He does it because he liked her talent and it would look great to have Wayne Enterprise on her resume. Also the best dirt on Damian.
Marinette told him that she would think about it and he gave her a card.
Damian wrote the apology letter, very embarrassed by the entire trial. His pride wouldn't recover for a while and he took it out on Jason who knew about it the entire time and didn't tried to stop and clear up the misunderstanding.
The next day at school, Marinette went to Damian's seat and said, "Good morning, Human Damian."
"Why are you calling me like that?"
"I am sorry. I thought you would appreciate the clarification of which Damian I am referring to. I wouldn't want to end up in court again after being branded as a delusional fangirl of yours because I was just talking about my adorable Dami. I meant to say My adorable dog, Dami. Human Damian."
For the next few months, everyone keeps referring to Damian as Human Damian.
i was messing around with chinese names bc i figured marinette would 100% have one given that sabine is a first gen immigrant— so came up with this:
because sabine is mandarin, “cheng” is probably “zheng”—郑. i toyed around with how it could also be “zhang” because “cheung” is zhang, but she’s not cantonese, so…
plum blossoms also symbolize perseverance and hope!!
also a play on words, but although the “mei” in marinette’s name means plum (blossom), another meaning for “mei” (with the character “没”) means none, so her name could also be read aloud as “no luck” bc as much as she’s supposed to be lucky as ladybug we’ve seen marinette horribly unlucky too :’)) i love double meanings and plays on words even though no sane parent would name their child no luck