Calling all DamiRae shippers, the 2026 DamiRae Zine is ready for your enjoyment on the pair's 6 year canonversary.
You can download it here for free 💕
While we initially planned to price these at $5 each and donate all proceeds to the Save the Children foundation, given the shorter length and level of interest this time around we didn't want to lock anyone out from being able to enjoy it. That said, this is a wonderful charity that could definitely use your support. Donate here if you can!
We had a few lineup changes here and there as the zine came together, and want to thank sincerely every artist and writer who contributed to this project:
andthendk
eevee
illuminaudie
limeru
menaisyl
OpheliaWillowBrook
Raverin2
sandradaffodils
shewhowillnotbenamed1
ViLaVi
xaphrin
Once again, Happy Canonversary and Long Live DamiRae! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
I wish that ao3 had an option to filter warnings (and tbh certain authors) out like I will never ever want to read it and just seeing it puts me off so much that often I end up closing my browser because that content upsets me so much lmao
There is a way to do this but I can’t recall how to do it. it’s something you type into the box for “other filters” or something, I don’t remember. who knows??
It’s not a great option, and I don’t know if you can sort out authors that way, but it’s better than nothing if someone can reblog this with how to do it!
Alrighty friends! It takes some specificity, but you can do this. Let me show you how!
So I started with going to the Sherlock (TV) section of Ao3. On the right we find this lovely section! ((I know I’m going over things you already probably know, but I figure this post may go to new Ao3 users, so bear with me.))
Underneath this, I chose sort by Kudos, because that’s a quick way to find most popular fics, for the sake of this demonstration.
With those filters on, we end up with this being our first two results:
As you can see, we have Nature and Nurture by earlgreytea68, and The Internet Is Not Just For Porn by cyerus. So what if I am utterly sick of seeing earlgreytea68 on my list? Let’s pretend I’ve read all their fics, or that I just don’t like her, or whatever. I want this author out. I go to this section on the right:
In “Search within results” I type earlgreytea68 into the bar, with a minus sign in front. This gives me the following page, upon hitting the sort and filter button:
There goes earlgreytea68! But now I’ve decided that Crack is just not my thing, I’m sick of that, too, for heaven’s sake, I want something reasonable in my gay slash fanfiction about detectives that solve crimes about glowing dogs and irish megalomaniacs. Heaven forbid this get ridiculous.
Well, then I add this to my search:
Which gets rid of everything with that tag. My results are now:
Performance in a Leading Role is now my first result!
You can do this as many times as you want; the biggest problem I have is trying to filter out multi-worded tags. For example, “Secret Relationship” is hard to filter. Better to go with authors you dislike or with words like “DubCon”.
I hope this helps! Also remember that googling site:archiveofourown.org and then adding search terms will mean google searches Ao3 for you, and sometimes that works far better.
Say, you’re in your random fandom- I went with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, since I’ve been reading Iron Man stuff recently. Tony Stark is awesome.
But anyway, you’re on the page, and you see that there are 174,774 works! That is way too many for a casual afternoon’s browsing.
And you see that the first one is Peter Parker/Tony Stark and that is not your jam. It doesn’t work for you, or it squicks you, whatever. Wouldn’t life be easier if you could browse without seeing that pairing (or whatever pairing you don’t like)? You can!
First, click on that pairing tag(You may want to open this in another tab, actually.):
and it’ll take you to the page for that pairing tag. Click this button:
and then look at the address bar! The actual page is unimportant. Copy the numbers located here:
and go back to the original search page! Down on the side, in the same place you can get rid of other tags, type -relationship_ids:”the number you just copied”
Then hit ‘sort and filter’ annnd… magic!
The fics with that pairing are gone! You can also do multiple pairings, get rid of any tags you don’t like, and sort it by date or length or kudos, or whatever.
Just a quick reminder that AO3 uses Lucene as a search and index engine.
That means you can pretty much use all the Lucene Query Syntax in the “Seach within result” field.
I don’t think AO3 indexes the whole fic for searching but definitely it’s meta data. Combined with Lucenes awesome query syntax you can do pretty much every search you heart desires.
Addtional Lucene Query Syntax that has not been mentioned yet and you might find useful:
Wildcard Searches
You can use wildcard searches within single terms. For a single character wildcard search use the “?” symbol. For a multiple character wildcard search use the “*” symbol.
AND/OR
Lucene allows you to combin terms through logic operators. You’re looking for fics that are either “reunion” or “enemies to lovers”?
Just put in >“reunion” OR “enemies to lovers”< into the field
and you end up with all the stories that are either or but not both.
But wait, now you’re looking for fics that are both “reunion” and “enemies to lovers” at the same time? Now worries Lucene got you covered.
Just change it into >“"reunion” AND “enemies to lovers”“<
and you’ll get all the fics that mention both “reunion” and “enemies to lovers” somewhere in their meta data (note: it’s not just tags. It’s also title, summary …)
Boosting
You can also boost specific terms when doing a multi term search.
You can use the “^” Operator followed by a number to boost a specific term.
Say you’re interested in fics that are either “first kiss” or “bed sharing” but you’re much more interested in “bed sharing” fics and feel they are more relevant.
You can use the search >“first kiss” “bed sharing”^5<
to manipulate the order of your results in a matter that the score of every fic that contains beg sharing is multiplied by 5. Therefore all fics containing that term are given priority and shown at the top of the list.
You can also combine all of the above, target specifc fields (that’s what you did with the “relationsship_id:xxx”) and many more things.
For more info about the Lucene query syntax check out Apache’s Lucene Query doc.
Some of these searches can also be achieved via the “exclude” function in the search bar - this offers you for each section (ratings, category, relationships, tags, etc.) the most commonly used metadata for these fics, to check or uncheck (and thus exclude or not) as you please!
When I’m looking for inspiration for a story—or when I just need to reacquaint myself with characters—I rewatch the DCAMU. As one does.
Recently I rewatched Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, and something finally clicked for me during that Damian/Raven scene. Specifically this line:
“When I asked you to join me in leading the League of Assassins. I wasn’t doing it because you were a good fighter. I… had feelings for you.”
Now, I know some of you are already like:
“Oh my god, yes, we know. Cute. Peak shipping material. What of it?”
Fair. Valid.
BUT.
Am I really supposed to ignore the fact that Damian phrasing it as “join me in leading” is not, like… a low-key marriage proposal???
And I’m only being half cheeky here.
So. Let’s break this shit down—because it’s fun 🫶
Read my arguments blow👇
What is explicitly canonical in the dialogue
From this scene, we have some very clear, unambiguous canon facts:
Damian asked Raven to join him in leading the League of Assassins
He explicitly states it was not because she’s a good fighter
He confesses romantic feelings
He frames the request as emotionally vulnerable and deeply personal
Raven understands it as such (her response confirms she clocked the weight of it)
That much is hard canon. No debate there.
Is “join me in leading” literally a marriage proposal in-text?
Strictly speaking?
No.
The film never uses the words marriage, wife, queen, or bride.
So if someone asks:
“Is this explicitly stated as a marriage proposal in canon?”
The honest answer is:
No, not textually explicit.
But that is not where the conversation ends—and this is where I think my argument actually has teeth.
The cultural context matters (and canon allows for it)
Within League of Assassins canon across DC media, leadership is:
Dynastic
Familial
Intimately tied to bloodline and legacy
Almost always ruled by a pair or family unit, not some casual co-lead situation
(Which I think most of us are aware of.)
So when Damian says:
“When I asked you to join me in leading the League of Assassins…”
He is not saying:
“Hey, wanna be my coworker?”
Nah.
He is saying:
“Stand beside me at the highest level of power in my world.”
That is functionally spousal, even if it’s not linguistically labeled as such.
Like, homeboy is basically saying:
“Come be my Demon Queen.”
Ballsy.
And we dig it.
Damian’s character specifically strengthens this reading
This part is key.
Damian Wayne:
Does not emote casually
Does not offer vulnerability lightly
Does not share power unless it is earned or bonded
Was raised in a culture where commitment precedes romance, not the other way around
For this character, with this upbringing, that phrasing carries way more weight than it would coming from literally anyone else.
And the fact that he only clarifies his feelings after Raven declines suggests:
He understood the request as profound
He believed the meaning was self-evident
He only spells it out because she didn’t fully understand what he was asking—and in the throes of the final hour, he needed her to know what he meant.
Which is.
So.
Fucking.
Cute.
Honestly, I feel like this actually reinforces the interpretation.
If you disagree? That’s fine. We’re just not friends 😜
So what is my argument, canonically speaking?
My argument is not:
“Damian canonically proposed marriage.”
But it can be accurately stated as:
“Within the cultural and narrative framework of the League of Assassins and Damian’s upbringing, asking Raven to ‘join him in leading’ functions as the emotional and symbolic equivalent of a marriage proposal, even if not textually labeled as such.”
Which is:
Canon-supported
Textually defensible
Character-consistent
Not contradicted anywhere in the DCAMU
In fandom terms:
This is strong implicit canon, not just shipping headcanon.
In conclusion (aka thanks for coming to my TED Talk)
I’m not claiming Damian said the word marry.
I’m saying that in the League of Assassins, shared leadership is an intimate, lifelong bond tied to legacy. And given Damian’s upbringing, values, and emotional restraint, asking Raven to rule beside him is functionally equivalent to proposing a shared life together.
Anyway. That’s my rant.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk—
feel free to scream in the comment section 🫶
What is up with some (not all of you) of the dam*jon stans constantly hate posting about Damirae and then TAGGING THE FREAKING SHIP so that all the shippers see it?
Idgaf what you ship just have the decency to leave other shippers alone and tag ANTI ! You want to talk about "toxic" shippers, tagging a ship in your hate post is probably one of the most toxic shipper things you can do! Don't act like every fandom doesn't have toxic people, including damjon.
And why exactly do they constantly shove their opinions down our throats about it, what's the point, you need attention that badly
When you have the anti damirae tag blocked so people can hate in peace without you having to see it because fandom is so much better for everyone when we are at the very least decent enough to do the bare minimum - vs - tagging the ship because you want the shippers to see it because even though the ones on this platform don't bother anyone, you decided you would bother them.
The 2026 DamiRae Zine is officially underway, and we'd like to introduce the content creators who are taking part! Without further ado....
andthendk (insta, TikTok, YT)
behindheremeraldeyes (Ao3, tumblr)
bexo.hara (insta)
carnationmilk (Ao3, tumblr)
daularix (tumblr, insta, X)
eevee (tumblr)
esme (tumblr)
illuminaudie (tumblr)
kasieli (tumblr)
limeru (tumblr, insta, X)
menaisyl (insta)
mikasrave (tumblr)
OpheliaWillowBrook (Ao3, tumblr)
Raverin2 (Ao3, tumblr)
ViLaVi (Ao3, tumblr)
xaphrin (Ao3, tumblr)
Be on the lookout for teasers and sneak peeks in the coming months!
The final product will be available as a digital download on 5/5/26 for $5. All proceeds will be donated to Save the Children, a reputable international organization dedicated to the protection and well-being of children all over the world. Last time we raised funds via Zine we were able to donate just over $1k to Humane Society International, and we're excited to see how much we can give this time!
REMINDER: For all the damirae fans that want to lose hope. REMEMBER, damirae is still very much CANON!! If non-canon ships are still thriving in fandoms why should DAMIRAE which is DC CANON not thrive? And you know why our love birds must thrive? Because WE, THE FANS, ALLOW it! So let's keep our ship BURNING brighter than the sun, because we know Damian and Raven BELONG with each other and DON'T let anyone CONVINCE you otherwise!! A new age is birthing, but we are classy💅🏽, and we won't jinx it. But, should we not get what we want. We shan't cry. We will just keep shipping. So KEEP SHIPPING 🥂.
Damirae is a ship I never knew I needed. Just watched justice league Vs teen titans the damirae scenes we got were so cute.
Both of them on the Ferris wheel looking at each other then shyly looking away? Too cute for words.
And the music playing in the background really resonated with me.
Also the scene where Damian won the toy sword but then giving it to the little girl standing next to him was so heartwarming. And raven smiles as he does, honestly made me ship them.
Also Damian making raven laugh unintentionally mind you was so cute.
definitely going to immerse myself in damirae fics for the foreseeable future.
Guys, look at what I found browsing Medium!🥺 Another article written by Damirae❤️. Our love birds are still gaining momentum☺️😍. You can read the full article by clicking the link below:
What is up with people CONSTANTLY talking about Raven and Damian as if they exist as a ship in the comics? Y'all act like you're comic expert's but can't seem to separate what happens in what universe or even tell the medium apart. The comics are NOT the animated movies.
But you can't even get your facts straight when talking about comics. Because Raven had been "age regressed" ever since Geoff John's resurrected her as a teen in the comics in the early 2000s. Hell in Rebirth, when she debuted in the DCAMU she was only 15 in the comics at the time and 14 (the same age as Damian) in the animated movies.
That particular ship has no affect on either of them in the comics, nor does it affect what friendship they may or may not have, as those movies and the comics are completely separate. So, idk, focus your complaining on what's relevant in the comics now. And for the record, neither Rose or Conner are in Damians age group either and Djinn is 4,000 years old. Like y'all have a real problem with Damirae living rent free in the mind lately, but hey, at least I know even if the fandom dies, the haters would always keep them alive 🙏
turnnoffyourmind
origamiaround
janainaart
germansingergirl
baratheonpilled
prguitarman
titsay
yousharknotpass
pixelskylines
ellievsbear
snowghoul
