From here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/80636346/chapters/220551001
● If that wasn't clear enough, he suffers from misophonia (a condition which causes extreme aversion to certain noises; in his case that would be repetitive rhythms like heartbeats, clapping, or certain music).
○ (Warning for implied deviation from canon, sorry purists) The mechanical heart itself didn't directly cause misophonia, but it exacerbated the condition in three ways: physiologically (his new heart is better at pumping adrenaline quick, thereby fueling his rage), psychologically (due to trauma, he's disturbed by anything which remotely resembles a heartbeat), and both of the above (his heart beats hard and fast when he's overstimulated; this way his own body triggers the misophonia reactions)
● Has always had a very active imagination; you could call him a natural-born storyteller. As a child he was fascinated by fairytales and fantasy stories, often making up his own. Then he discovered role-playing tabletop games, and life was never the same.
● Likes to express himself (read: vent) through roleplaying, and to a lesser extent drawing (remember when he drew himself as a child being picked on by his ogre brothers?) and writing. His favorite things to write are in-character monologues and conversations, so he can project whatever is on his mind onto characters who are then made to feel better.
○ He even has the tendency to "humanize" inanimate objects, especially when he feels down or otherwise needs to cope. (More on this later)
● When he was a little kid Dorian and Dexter would pick on him any chance they got. Damian would in turn "learn" from them, becoming himself a bit of a bully, though not quite as vicious. (dw, Draco later taught them kindness)
○ In fact, Damian's "tough" persona developed right because he had to defend himself as a child; he toned the personality down after the bros all matured, but it never fully went away.
○ Also doesn't help that he's always been on the heavier side and looked like a stereotypical troublemaker since childhood, and was therefore somewhat feared by his own peers; when you look like a thug and have to defend yourself, sometimes you end up "becoming the mask".
○ Furthermore, as a child he really didn't know his own strength, which got him onto trouble a couple times; he's fortunately since learned, though the odd accident can still happen (he's being sarcastic in his voice lines though, he certainly does know his own strength when brawling)
● Of the older three brothers he's the closest to Draco, BY FAR. It's both because of their shared interest for role-playing games, and Damian being way friendlier than the other two. Not that Dorian or Dexter are as bad as they used to be, but they're more annoying + have different interests (music still unites them thankfully)
● When kid!Draco roleplayed as a knight, Damian was the most eager to play with him, namely by being the villain to Draco's hero. To this day whenever they roleplay together, Damian is usually the bad guy and/or an ogre.
○ They like to incorporate this into their music as well. Draco the Good vs Damian the Evil is a recurring theme in music videos and even lyrics if they're dueting
● Actually a gentle giant when he's not being overstimulated
○ Cuddlier than he looks. Can be delicate, spine crushing, or anything in-between depending on his mental state.
● He's a nature lover too. Probably grows his own flowers in little pots, and watches them to relieve stress
○ His faves are daisies :)
● As heard in his voice lines, ships Dralumi super hard. It's the most annoying he can get if you ask Draco.
● Is a sleep-talker, as are most of his family members including Draco. The difference is that while most of his relatives merely talk (or sing in Draco's case), Damian sometimes yells in his sleep too (he IS a metal singer after all). Thank God he and his brothers are all heavy sleepers...
● Madly in love with spicy food. Dinner better be extra hot or he's not gonna eat at all.
● Somewhat obsessed with portraying himself as having fire wings in album covers, music videos, merchandise and the likes
● To fit with his metal persona, whenever somebody asks about the scar or the steel heart, he says that an evil ogre ripped his original heart out in a duel and he had to get it replaced. Ofc he's gonna tell the truth if you press further, but he likes this version better.
● Not sure if y'all noticed, but he's wearing make-up which makes his skin look super pale. This has the double function of 1) Making him appear creepier/more demonic, 2) Accentuate features such as his scar (which hasn't been painted over)
● Tries to wear a shirt on stage every once in a while, but it always gets torn off when he starts to smash things at the end.
● You know how omnipresent Christian themes tend to be in IRL medieval art? And you know how some groups such as Catholics venerate the Sacred Heart of Jesus, among other things? Yeah, the MadEvil Manor fandom has got an inside joke/meme about the "Hypercharged Heart of Damian" being a holy relic. Damian himself seems to approve, and may have actually referenced it in a song or two.
● Sometimes, instead of an autograph or photo, fans will come up to Damian and challenge him to an arm wrestling match, or even a friendly brawl. He'll usually gladly accept, especially if 1) He's in a beat-induced frenzy, 2) The fan is someone of similar strength/size, whom he doesn't have to hold back against.
● When in a calm mood, he's extremely self-conscious of his anger and regretful of his actions. After the sushi restaurant incident he kept apologizing to the owners long after they officially forgave him, and he still doesn't dare get too close to the miners in case either him or one of them has a negative reaction.
● Not as close to Lumi as he is to Draco (or as Draco himself is to Lumi), but they get along well. They both try to keep the other in check if emotions get the best of them —remember the music video, when Lumi tried to chain Damian as the rage grew?
● Possibly friends with most of the tanks, as well as Surge and Grom
○ Also pals with Starr Nova & Bolt :) love how the entire fandom just agrees on this one
Now for his dark, angsty past... Adventurers beware, here be dragons.
● His cardiovascular condition was diagnosed very early on. It didn't look bad at first, so he enjoyed a fairly healthy childhood. He wasn't allowed on rollercoasters and had doctor's appointments more often than most kids his age, but overall it wasn't bad.
○ Then during puberty his heart got worse. Chest pain became frequent, he tired out quicker, even just feeling a little too angry or stressed made him physically nauseous. Even so, while his parents and older sibs obviously knew, he always kept it a secret from Draco bc he didn't want to scare him.
○ And then, while still a teen in high school, that fateful day came. One moment he and his bros are having fun pretending they're in a band; the next there are stabbing pains all over his torso, he can barely breathe, and the proverbial "fear of impending doom" strikes.
○ He was rushed to the hospital, and this is where Damian experienced cardiac arrest. He doesn't remember much, only that he felt really sleepy in spite of the machines sounding louder and louder, then suddenly being jolted awake by a surge of electicity to the chest, all while his brothers screamed and pounded their fists on the glass panels separating him from them.
● As he was wheeled into the surgery room to have his failing heart replaced with a mechanical one, he had basically accepted he wasn't getting out alive. There was no struggling, no praying, nothing; he could feel the clutches of death already closing in on him, and though he wished to stay, Damian came to terms with the fact he realistically wasn't long for this earth. The last time he saw his brothers he quietly said sorry to them, and tried as best as he could to smile and wave goodbye at Draco in particular.
● When, after waking up, he regained enough strength to hold a pencil and stay conscious for extended periods of time, the first thing he did was start working on a gamebook (think of it as a precursor to "The Metal Heart", but without Lumi; she would be added years later in a remake of the book). He mainly did it to explain the situation to kid!Draco, but it proved to be a great coping mechanism for Damian himself too.
○ Wanna know what scene was the hardest to write due to the emotional impact? The one when the weak, cracked heart explains it is no longer strong enough to power the city, feels remorseful about it, and expresses relief over finally revealing it needed help.
○ Damian didn't like the language most people around him used to talk about his health, as it made him feel like his body was "wrong" or even actively plotting against him; so he coped with the emotional effects of his physical condition by picturing his heart as a genuinly hard-working organ that tried as much as it could to keep him healthy, but had become unable to do so and felt genuinly sorry to the point of accepting to be replaced and disposed of if it meant its owner would live. This way instead of being resentful towards his own body, he would feel compassion and a duty to take care of himself.
● After the operation his sickly original heart was incinerated, as is standard practice for most biological matter surgically removed from human bodies. However, rather than allowing it to be disposed of the typical way, Damian requested to get the ashes back. To this day he keeps them in an urn in his room. It used to be a part of him after all, plus the many years that organ spent fighting to keep Damian alive in spite of its own illness warrant some form of tribute. That, and keeping the ashes of your own incinerated heart is just plain a really "metal" thing to do.
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