#priority kids

[prioritykids]

Identifying as Erin Brockovich was all wrong

In 2000, Julia Roberts starred as Erin Brockovich in the Hollywood movie about real life Erin Brockovich.

Real life Brockovich had a pivotal role in a landmark case (USA) where a company poisoned water that led to long lasting and serious health ailments for nearby residents.

This post is based purely on the Hollywood movie depiction, fyi.

Roberts depicts Brockovich as a smart, confident, single mother who is underappreciated, undervalued, and misunderstood. But it is Brockovich who connects the dots and compels the towns people to pursue a settlement. Spoiler Alert, if you haven’t seen the movie, I recommend you watch it now, and then come back to read the rest of this post.

Every now and then I watch this movie for the pure satisfaction of watching Julia Roberts play the overlooked underdog. The movie creates multiple opportunities for feel-good scenes where Brockovich is dismissed by some powerful character, and she comes back swinging with her quick wit and incredible memory.

This movie is a celebration of fighting for the right thing, convincing everyone else to fight for the right thing, and then achieving compensation for the right people. Fictional satisfaction at its best. In my opinion.

As an advocate and champion for children’s rights, this movie personifies my deepest desires.

I would just love to see an entire community come together and agree that our children haven’t been cared for adequately. I would love to witness lawyers and judges agreeing that adults and youth-serving organizations have been negligent, providing inadequate supervision, and allowing perpetrators to gain access to children.

I’d be like Erin Brockovich, spouting off the facts that support this conclusion with my/her incredible memory. I’d be convincing and compelling. Lawyers would not be able to ignore me.

Landmark changes would be implemented. Youth-serving organizations would be compelled to train their staff and volunteers to protect children. The future of humanity would be transformed!

You see what I’m saying? It’s a fantasy. And I’ve always imagined myself as Erin Brockovich.

Until last week, when I watched the movie again. For the 5th or 6th time.

I was living vicariously through Brockovich right up until the scene when a creepy fellow who has appeared a few times in the movie, finally approaches Brockovich at a late night stop at a local pub.

Brockovich has been heroically collecting signatures from every person in the town, as required for the legal proceedings.

She stops at the pub for one last signature, and a cup of coffee to stay awake for her drive home.

Enter the creepy character who has been in a few scenes but hasn’t said anything yet.

Brockovich is understandably guarded as this fellow starts a conversation with her. But soon, he makes it known that he has important documents that are needed for the case to be successful.

Brockovich warms up to him as he confides in her about all the documents he was instructed to destroy, back when he worked for the company doing the poisoning. Turns out, he did NOT destroy the documents. He kept them. For YEARS.

This fellow had the key proof needed to convict the organization. He had it all along. But it wasn’t until Brockovich turned up, asking questions, and creating this legal proceeding, that his evidence mattered at all.

Until Brockovich, he was just a hoarder with confidential documents he shouldn’t have kept.

And that’s when I realized the truth. I’m not Erin Brockovich. I’m the creepy guy with the evidence that doesn’t mean anything to anybody. Yet.

While I would love to play the role of Brockovich in my save-the-children mission, the truth is, I’m the person with important evidence that nobody seems to be looking for.

As an adult who has been advocating for child protection practices and training, I’ve witnessed organization after organization decline the chance to implement child protective practices.

As an advocate for best practices, I see how often they are NOT being utilized.

I’ve witnessed children being supervised and coached by adults who cross boundaries and create uncomfortable situations for kids. I’ve seen adults being unsafe.

I’ve witnessed youth-serving organization staff ignore children and their parents who have come forward with their concerns.

I’ve witnessed principals and school board employees protect staff members who have harmed children, and then ignored the children who were harmed, offering them no support or guidance or acknowledgement.

I’ve witnessed the police dismiss and minimize the concerns that children have brought forward, instead of investigating and protecting children.

So, I’m not Erin Brockovich. I’m the guy with the evidence.

The good news is that someday, someone is going to bring this evidence to light, and then we will be able to film a feel-good movie.

It’ll be named after someone else. It will show how a whole community came to realize that youth serving organizations aren’t using the best practices that are known to protect kids. It will show how the community rallied together to make sure that children are safe in every situation. It will show how keeping kids safe creates a community of joy, creativity, and prosperity.

And I’ll be character that gets the shortest amount of screen time, but has the most significant information.

That’s my movie fantasy for the day.

If you know someone who could play the role of an Erin Brockovich, someone who wants to fight for the right thing, someone who can rally a community, compel a legal action, or someone who simply wants to put best practices in place in their organization, please connect with us at Priority Kids.

We are on a mission to eradicate childhood sexual abuse. Will you join us?

#csa tw #abuse tw #erin brockovich #advocacy #activism #social justice #priority kids #priority kids posts

[mariposiel]

Here’s some more LMK meme drawings because apparently, I have no self control LMAO

#no peasants?? #*blows you up with mind* #I’m cryingg #I have my priorities straight I promise #added some little details to the monkey men :) #I love when artists add a little turquoise eyeliner for Wukong <33 #mari’s doodles #lmk red son #lmk fanart #lmk #lego monkie kid fanart #Lego monkie kid #monkie kid #monkie kid fanart #red son #red son lmk #red son fanart #lmk red son fanart #lmk sun wukong #lmk monkey king #sun wukong #monkey king fanart #lmk meme #lmk macaque #lmk six eared macaque #lmk macaque fanart #monkie kid macaque #macaque fanart

[yourslimeybuddy]

don’t ask me what i’ve been doing this is all i can give you

#my art #lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk qi xiaotian #lmk mk #lmk monkie kid #monkie kid #lmk sun wukong #lmk monkey king #do you see this shit applejack #artists on tumblr #shitpost #i finished three assignments today #and then immediately did this #i have my priorities straight #day 8000 of slapping my watermark all over whatever i do #cuz my shit still poppin up on pinterest #i see u motherfuckers

[natp20]

my favourite details from the art of the newest member of the mighty nein (it's not a phase, mom!)

a book harness, just like his uncle caleb!

flask tattoos bc his dad's a damn fine alchemist

the summer camp has flask koozies (gotta get that trademarked, veth)

and who could forget FLUFFERNUTTER

#critical role #cr2 #the mighty nein #echoes of the solstice #cr spoilers #i love the concept of a kid whose parents were adventurers #and grew up hearing all sorts of stories #meanwhile their parents and the adventuring party were definitely going through some rough shit #and now that they're older priorities have shifted #luc brenatto

[strrwbrrryjam]

arthur prioritising charles burnt hand over his brother getting mauled by wolves is both so cute and so funny

#as he should ✨✨✨ #got his priorities right #nah im just kidding lol but it is so funny. though I'm glad john wasn't near for that cause he might be hurt? though I'm not too sure idk #rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 arthur morgan #arthur morgan #rdr2 charles smith #charles smith #rdr2 john marston #john marston #rdr2 charthur #charthur #strawberry speaks

[thejasontoddarchives]

Batman (1940-) #426

Batman (1940-) #427

Task Force Z #6 (2022)

You tell him, Jason.

#the mistakes in question: trusting and trying to help someone who was supposed to love and protect *him* #and wanting a parent/family who wants and accepts him #all things considered (re: gotham war) I think I can safely confirm his biggest mistake by far was trusting Bruce #jason todd #robin jason #red hood #dc #batman: a death in the family #aditf #task force z #tfz #aditf was just Jason having all of his worst fears confirmed before dying an equally *physically* painful death #he is not a priority to Bruce. Bruce doesn’t understand his pain. his biological mother heartlessly sold him out. he is without a family. #but also #how the fuck do you accidentally run into your 15 year old kid who fled to a foreign country after you two had a fight #accidentally.

[ghost-bxrd]

Prompt:

Arkham Knight Edition

Jason gets thrown into an alternate universe and finds his younger self being tortured in the asylum.

Things get… a little blurry after that.

When Jason comes back to himself he’s got a shaking kid clinging to him and a worrying amount of Joker parts strewn all over the floor, walls, and ceiling.

Seems like it’s going to be one of those days…

#Arkham knight #because I just managed to get my hands on a Funko pop copy of them MWAHAHAHA #my agenda to own all versions of Jason funko pops is THRIVING #prompts #Arkham verse jason doesn’t know who the stranger is but he killed joker and untied him #that’s good enough for him #he just hopes this isn’t some kind of trick and gems gonna get tortured again in a couple minutes #but that’s ok as long as he gets to hug someone just a little longer #OG jason is lowkey freaking the hell #out #reliving trauma isn’t fun #but also he’s got a tortured kid to deal with right now and that’s gotta take priority #and also the green is making a hard comeback upon seeing the J branded into Jay’s cheek #jason todd #batfamily #dick grayson #batfam #bruce wayne #robin #red hood #tim drake #batman #alternature universe #rescue #dimension travel #dimension hopping

[mayasaura]

Going into Alecto, I think it's important to expect that the series won't conclude with a clear lesson. Either about morality—what makes a good person, evil getting their just desserts, ect—or a thesis on decolonization. It's not that kind of story.

Deep down, this series is two drunk girls bearing their souls in a dark corner of the bar. An hours-long conversation that wheels wildly through pop culture, past trauma, theoretical physics, dreams and aspirations, global warming, hairstyling, friends, family, gender, personal insecurities, world history, favorite foods. It has a lot to say, and a lot of it profound, but it's not trying to teach anything. At the end of the night, the point was how fucking cool that girl was, and the potent electric potential for something lgbt to happen

#the locked tomb #alecto the ninth #ofc this is just my perspective #but I've been thinking of how the author said that the way she stays true to her story is by giving herself permission to not be a teacher #and that one of the driving forces behind her writing is the rpgs she played as a kid #and how everyone online made fun of the girl characters like they were weak and not good for anything #when she had played the game levelling them up and properly equipping them and beat the boss with them #and how she wants to be able to tell those stories where girls are just really fucking cool and get to have the adventures #so I'm kind of nervous about the idea that tlt is about the evils of colonisation or about taking on God as a symbol of the patriarchy #bc.... I think it might be exploring all that while really being about how girls are really fucking cool #and I'm worried about the potential fallout if a large portion of the fandom goes into the finale expecting those priorities to be reversed

[tanglepelt]

Dc x dp idea 92

I’ve seen prompts with Jack fleeing with a de-aged Danny hiding in Gotham. Here he doesn’t stay with him. He drops Danny and Danielle in the very capable hands of red hood.

Danny reveals himself as phantom to his parents and introduces his mirror sister. Both ready to dip if it went bad. Immediately jack feels so guilty for hunting his kid.

He is ready to welcome them both.

Maddie disagrees. This leads to both Danny and Danielle being seriously injured. Jack barley got them out. There ghost half protecting them lead to them both being turned around 4-5

Jack isn’t a dumb man as he seems. He may have gotten b minuses but that was in advance physics and science courses. So he does research.

Creates two brackets that hide his newly made twins ecto signatures so they can’t be found. He didn’t have enough time to make something that allowed their powers to work with them.

He knows the Giw and His soon to be ex (he hasn’t had the ability to get her to sign the paperwork) are after him. They didn’t see the twins be turned to toddlers.

So he has a plan to take down the Giw and Maddie’s sister wouldn’t be safe for the two. Sam and tucker wouldn’t be safe. Jack has to find a safe place for the twins with a bounty on their thankfully teenage heads.

He does a deep dive. He finds online a supposed crime lord. Enough digging he can tell that guy doesn’t let kids get hurt. The stuff he doesn’t isn’t all bad and well… He can’t trust heros. So he packs up and heads out.

Jack pleads his case to either just Red Hood. Or maybe just shows up in the middle of a mission jason is on with the outlaws for a bit more chaos.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #dp x dc #dc x dp #dp dc crossover #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc prompt #red hood #de aged danny #de aged Danielle #Maddie is not a good parent #jack is smart just not as much as Maddie #but still both probs took the same classes #jack plans to take down the Giw on his own #but getting his twins to saftey is priority #jazz is overseas or something #sam and tucker are trying to distract both groups #Jason is livid #an entire government branch trying to kill two kids #and he can’t go dismantle it #Ellie and Danny are clingy #they cry if Jason leave their sights #batfam think it’s funny #jack explains the braclet and admit it’s not ideal #he doesn’t think his kids powers should be sealed away #but they are too young to protect themselves #the two won’t age up again. the injuries were to bad #if they had been hurt via normal means and not through ecto weapons #well the two wouldn’t be human still #good parent jack Fenton

[kartsie]

Team “Catherine Todd deserves the world and a nuanced limited series that explores poverty and the broken American healthcare system”

#my art #catherine todd #jason todd #baby jason protection squad #back at it again with my catherine n baby jason content #Batman #bruce wayne #like I like to think that Catherine also had a chronic illness/disability as well and #because of how awful the healthcare system is couldn’t manage her symptoms well since post 18 didn’t have insurance consistently #and as she got older and sicker she couldn’t get on disability while married #and may not have gotten on Medicare or some other program a couple months before dying #like she’s got a kid to take care of she HAD to make money #Jason was her priority and maybe she wasn’t perfect but she loved him damnit #I have a lot of feelings about Catherine Todd ok??? #dc comics

[aardvaark]

i was thinking about how i wished leverage had a birthday episode for some of the characters cause that would be sweet, but then i realised something and basically…. okay here’s my thoughts in quotes form, just for fun

hardison: so when’s your birthday? i could plan something for us and the team to do and-

parker: i dont know

hardison: you don’t know… your own birthday?

parker: no, how would i know? pshh, cmon, you’re telling me you remember EXACTLY when you were born? watch this - hey, eliot, do you know your exact birth date?

eliot, innocently passing by, who was canonically anonymously dropped off at a hospital as an infant: no, how would i know?

parker: that’s what i said!

hardison: excuse me?? what is going on right now

sophie, walking into the apartment: whats wrong?

hardison: parker and eliot- well, okay, when’s your birthday? i just have to prove something.

sophie: …….july 12th

hardison: why did you pause? wait, is that your birthday or sophie devereaux’s birthday?

sophie: ………… (guilty silence)

parker: see, no one knows their real birthday! haha you’re so weird sometimes, hardison

hardison:

hardison: what the fuck guys

#leverageposting #wren speaks #leverage #parker leverage #alec hardison #nate knows his birthday i guess so i didn’t include him. if he was watching the whole time he would probably say ‘idk’ to mess w hardison #they’re having this convo in nate’s apartment but it’s like 3am & he’s asleep & they’ve all broken in to hang out #parker doesn’t know either bc of her ridiculously neglectful foster parents or bc she’s parker & her priorities are simply different to most #people. her birthday is irrelevant to thievery. and sadly probably not related to fun happy memories anyway. #sophie obviously is a good enough grifter to answer confidently but she feels a little bad abt lying to her family by now #meanwhile hardison had a normal foster nana who would have known his bday. most kids aren’t safe-surrendered like eliot so assumably #hardison would have a known bday. and he likes birthdays! #and he wants to throw parker a little party even if it’s a very unconventional parker bday that involves rappelling & jumping off buildings #but he is once again thwarted by the leverage team members having the strangest possible lives #he IS gonna give them each birthday parties tho. even if he has to make up some dates & stuff #sophie’s can be the fake date she gives if that’s what she rlly wants. nate’s real birthday is on file somewhere even if he’s being annoying #rn so hardison just has to do some basic hacking. eliot would have an approximate bday such as the day he was surrendered that his parents #would have celebrated throughout childhood. and parker’s would be april 1st bc that’s alice whites bday (and YOURE ALICE!!!) #as in it’s canonically in the online info abt alice white shown in the juror no.6 job & obvs that’s april fools so it’s funny :) #and hardison has a NORMAL bday unlike SOME ppl and yes he DOES expect presents you heathens!!

[felixakranken]

Okay. So. I see y'all are taking things a bit too literal.

My thoughts on the whole "Why did Jack think Felix did something to the kids" take I'm seeing a lot now:

First off, Jack was concerned about Felix's safety as well. You could tell from the tone of the voicemails. His first priority was his kids, though. He's not in the wrong for his focus being on his children instead of the adult who's supposed to be taking care of them.

Jack doesn't automatically assume Felix has "done something" to his kids. I don't think for one second that Jack actually thinks Felix did anything intentionally. His voicemails gave no indication of that. By the time he arrives at the house, he's scared and most likely has a gut feeling that something has happened. He knows his best friend. He knows if something has gone wrong, Felix will probably be too scared to confront him. That's why he's begging him to tell him.

Plus, he didn't jump to any conclusions, his kids have been gone for three hours well into the night since Jack said they were meant to be home. Any parent who actually gave a shit about their kids would begin to panic by then. No calls are being answered, and now he goes to the house seeing no one's there. He's desperate. He's rambling by that point because he's terrified. He even starts jumping to denial, trying to convince himself it must be some bad prank.

Just because he says "Felix if you did anything to those kids, I'll fucking kill you." Doesn't mean that he thinks Felix did something intentionally, its just how a scared parent would speak to the adult he trusted his children's safety with. "if you did anything" means if the kids got hurt under Felix's supervision, it's just Jack placing the blame on him, not him thinking Felix actually did something to them.

#i swear everytime yall start to notice something yall just run with it... #and regardless of everything i think jack's temper was very much kept in check. because! believe it or not! #he was also concerned about felix's safety! #fellas is it wrong for your kids as a priority to supercede your adult best friend who you trusted with their lives? #jesus y'all have yall ever had any human interaction in your life. any normal life experiences. #it doesn't matter if you're a kid atp this is just a blatant lack of social skills media literacy and life experience #twf #the walten files #felix kranken #jack walten #🥃.txt

[chickenoptyrx]

'nother comic for the AU, but this ones not funny- more just 'miserable with small less miserable moments' :D

#uncle raditz #saiyan squad gohan #i hate shading #hate it so much #ok im back to tag rant :D #pretty sure its all stuff iv said before #but i like the idea of raditz still bein a bad person #like theyre all bad people #but hes atleast tryin to be a decent uncle #the bar is on the ground but like hes atleast gonna make sure kiddo is fed #obv i didnt include it but since nappas the only 1 w any experience dealin w kids #i kinda got it in my head that raditz is low key mirroring the way nappa was w him as a kiddo #like callin him raditz the runt #now gohans the runt :U #i mean nappas priority was def vegeta #but like.. nappa mentioned using the dragon balls to revive raditz #and.. ignoring any possible implications.. suggested spawning some new saiyans on earth #since gohan was apparently so strong #point is i think he cares more about the actual survival of saiyans as a people #and that includes keepin kids alive #vegeta on the other hand seems to just like the concept of saiyans as people he was destined to rule over #but hes accepted that theyre all gone and doesnt wanna like engage w any hope of revival #so he just kills em or lets em stay dead cause it was inevitable anyways :U #point is. nappas cool. dragon ball legends said so #saiyan saga vegeta tho.. he needs therapy. hes an ass and i dont like him >:U

[gideonisms]

Look wake is not winning any mother of the year awards but you also have to consider, Gideon was her unwanted pregnancy she went through with to keep john from continuing to colonize her people. it's clear that wake had family she DID love and chose to prioritize their future. But years later, after watching gideon sacrifice everything for the empire wake spent her whole life fighting, with no indication Gideon will ever switch sides, wake chooses not to destroy her. Apparently for no other reason than that she's her child. meanwhile john sticks his traumatized recently dead 19 year old on the front lines of a war! now WHO do y'all think should win this custody battle

#wake is not heartless she's just got priorities #yes she did say fuck that kid. but she also saved her twice #tbh none of these people should be parents not even pyrrha #okay NOW i think i may have gotten all my tlt thoughts from this week off my chest #they were pent up in there

[scalpho]

bill seacaster loves perfect idealistic versions of both his son and his wife - the difference is that with hallariel, the ideal is treated as reality, whereas with fabian, it's treated as an expectation. his love for hallariel is unconditional, almost to the point of delusion; for fabian, it's conditional, and the conditions are nigh impossible to consistently fulfill. hallariel is never criticised and blame is constantly shifted away from her, while fabian is met constantly with both plus threats of physical violence. sometimes he's even baited into being criticised!

to bill, hallariel is perfect, and therefore is incapable of doing anything wrong. fabian should be perfect, and therefore is not allowed to do anything wrong

of course, being lauded as an ideal rather than a normal, flawed human (elven?) person is not good or healthy for anyone - hallariel has a severe alcohol abuse problem and bill does absolutely fuck all about it. newsflash: that's bad! but i feel like there's a difference between harming someone by enabling their bad habits vs causing active, frequent and often intentional harm to someone by imposing yourself on them. there's only one person in seacaster manor getting death threatened by their parents on the regular and it sure isn't hallariel

#hallariel offers absolutely no contribution to her son's upbringing. bill never does anything about the active neglect of his darling boy #he does however threaten to murder fabian over the possibility of him not choosing to help his mama #so it's really not hard to tell who his priority is here. #hint: it's not the kid whose head he smashes into a jail cell floor #dimension 20 #fantasy high #fabian aramais seacaster #bill seacaster #hallariel seacaster #scal txt

[spacedace]

Had an idea, thought I'd make it a prompt, 3k+ words later realized this wasn't a prompt anymore but a ficlet 🙃

Anyway, here's the first almost 2k of Talia being a good parent and deciding to not go with either Bruce or Ra's and go off and do her own thing and raise Damian and oops she got attached to Jason while checking in on Bruce and saved him from dying in Ethiopia. & now has 2 sons lol

-

When her Beloved and her father demanded Talia make a choice, of who she would choose, she didn't hesitate.

She chose neither of them. She chose her child. She chose herself.

Outwitting both Ra's al Ghul and Batman was no simple feat. They were both brilliant, relentless and with endless resources at their command. It was why their clashes were as devastating as they were. Immovable objects and unstoppable forces the both of them. If there was something they wanted, it was something they would have.

But not her.

They would not have her.

She had her own networks, her own people, her own keen intelligence and sharp cunning. It took time - time she really didn't have - and a great deal of pain and loss, but she slipped them eventually. Shrugged off the shroud of who she had been - who she was made to be - and stepped confidently into her new life.

Her son was born nine days after her freedom had finally, fully been assured.

He was small and perfect in every way. Soft and warm cradled close to her chest, unblemished by the cruelty of the world as he slept soundly in her arms. Even as exhausted as she was after such a long labor, she couldn't bring herself to sleep. Her attention narrowed down entirely on his every quiet breath, his downy soft hair, his round peaceful face.

In the weeks that followed his eyes would shift and change from a newborn's blue to her own green. It would take years before she could know if he inherited any of his father's features, but that was fine. He was hers and hers alone.

She named him Damian.

In another life she would name him with her father in mind. That her son would rise as Heir to the Demon and conquer the world. That he'd stand as ruler of all.

In this one, she named him with hope in her heart that what he would master was his own life. That he would never be forced to bow to the will of anyone else. To be made to act as servant or puppet. Let him tame his fate into something good and kind and happy.

She did her best to give him the life he deserved.

Lavished him with all her love and affection. Gave him everything he could ever want or need. The friends she began making for herself - not just trusted allies, but friends - laughed that she would spoil him rotten. It was probably true, but she didn't have it in her to care.

Her son would have the childhood he would have been denied if raised raised in the home of either of their fathers. Her father would have demand harsh lessons and frightened obedience and impossible standards. Damian's would have tried - she knew her Beloved would have tried - but his heart would always be for his city first and all else, even his children, second.

Talia kept tabs on both of them, covertly. Ensured she always kept a healthy distance from anything that involved her father or his people. Gathered stories of her Beloved's exploits to share with her son when he was old enough to hear them.

It gave her insight on just what choosing her Beloved would have meant. Reassured her that while not choosing her father had been the right choice, choosing her Beloved would have been the wrong one.

Bruce Wayne was a good man. Brilliant and driven with his kind heart and admirable goals. Breathtaking in his skill and ability.

Disappointing in his parenting skills.

Talia knew she was lacking as a parent herself. That her own upbringing had left its scars and that try as she might she'd undoubtedly end up doing the same to her own child over the years. But she always pushed herself hard towards improving, in making herself better for the tiny boy that she loved more than anything else. And she felt satisfied that in the very least that when presented with options on how her and her son's life would be, she'd made the one that was best for Damian.

Not the life of an assassin or a vigilante, but the life of a child.

A child who was taught some of the skills of both the worlds she'd turned her back on, admittedly, but only ever for his own protection. Damian was safer knowing how to hide, how to escape, how to fight. She had done her best, but there was always the looming threat that they might be found one day. She needed to be sure he was ready, if that time ever come.

She didn't teach him the way she was taught.

When her son fumbled or failed she gently corrected him. Walked him through what he'd done wrong, how he could improve. Made a game out of the experience so that he came running up to her on toddling feet with bright eyes begging that they have a lesson. His excitement and delight in it all made him a better student then her fear and desperate need for her father's approval and affection.

There was a day she caught sight of him, all of four years old, tiny face scrunched in a look of concentration as he practiced the form she'd taught him the day before with his small, wooden practice sword. Some of his father's features lingered at the edges of his face, but he'd deepened his resemblance to her by picking up her mannerisms and expressions. Her son, going through the same steps and motions she had when she'd been his age, little body wobbling as he turned to fast before plopping on the ground with a tiny oof.

Talia had small silver scars on the back of her hands, so thin and so old as to nearly be invisible anymore. They burned all the same as she recalled herself stumbling in nearly the same way. Stomach churning as she remembered the terror she'd felt as her instructor had snatched her up by her hair and drug her over to a low table, holding her hands in place with a massive hand. The way she'd bit her lip hard enough that her mouth filled with blood as he struck her with the thin lash, knowing that if she cried the punishment would be all the worse.

Damian only blinked his big green eyes and scowled the same way she did whenever something of minor importance didn't go the way she wanted it to. Then he saw her standing there in the doorway watching him and his face lit up, bright as the son and just as beautiful as he jumped to his feet and darted over to her. Tiny hand clinging to the loose fabric of her pant leg as he begged her show me again Mama!

It was moments like that where she knew beyond any shadow of a doubt she'd made the right choice.

Her father would have broken her brilliant, kind hearted son. Would have done to him what was done to her to forge Damian into a weapon.

Her beloved...

He would never hurt her son like that. Not the way her father and his loyal followers would. But she couldn't ignore the fact that Damian would still be hurt all the same under his father's tutelage.

Talia knew the man she loved well. Adored his strengths, but was not blind to his flaws. He kept his heart well guarded, hidden behind imposing walls of silence and razor wire of words he didn't truly mean. Still kind, but horribly distant when it came to those he cared for most. It shielded him some, perhaps, but it left those who loved him feeling lost and alone.

She saw how Dick Grayson had grown over the years. Tall and clever and lonely and bitter. Fighting for independence, for acknowledgement, for his father to speak words of love and respect. Things Bruce felt but almost never said unless he thought things were dire.

She saw too how the heavy weight of her Beloved's priorities weighed up on his second son.

Young Jason Todd who saw magic in the harsh world he'd been drawn into and desired to be the protection for others that he never had growing up. She saw much of herself in him, though he faced the world with far more hope than she had at his age. He was a bright boy with a good heart that had weathered a harsh upbringing that Talia could sympathize with. There was a familiar anger in him too, broiling just beneath the surface, flaring up and burning him as much as everyone else when triggered.

Most of all though Talia could see the desperate loneliness that had marred her own life in the boy. The soul deep fear of abandonment. The painful desire for love from a father that always seemed to stay at arm's length who spoke rarely of affection and often of missions to be completed.

She kept a close eye on her Beloved's second Robin.

When he left for Ethiopia, searching for family in a stranger that had already given him up, she'd followed.

Jason only ever wanted family and love. A good boy, bright and fierce and brave. A boy Talia saw a lot of herself in, who faced the world with such determined brightness in spite of the pain and hardship he'd known.

Shelia Haywood took that boy that Talia had grown so fond of, took his trust and his love and crushed it beneath her heel. Callously handed him over to the Joker without a second thought. As if he was disposable, as if he was nothing more than a puppet to use and toss away when it suited her.

Talia had risked everything when she'd decided she would not choose either her father or her Beloved. She'd turned her back on her entire life, everything that had ever been and ever could be on either side. She spent months running, hiding, fighting and killing, in orchestrating a plan that could outwit and outmaneuver the two most brilliant men she knew. And she'd done it all so that her son could live free, as master of his own life.

Jason Todd had come to Ethiopia looking for a mother.

Talia, with blood on her hands and a burning warehouse behind her as she carried his broken body to safety, made sure he found one.

#batman #batman au #talia al ghul #damian al ghul #damian wayne #jason todd #talia al ghul is a good parent #good parent talia al ghul #protective talia al ghul #jason doesn't die #Talia ends up catching Bruce's adoption habit oops #Bruce isn't a bad parent in this exactly #he's just not a good parent either #he loves his kids but his priorities are fucked up and his communication skills are worse than a literal rock's #I just have a lot of feelings about the abstract parallels that you could find between Talia & Jason #And about how Talia could be the mother that doesn't abandon or betray him #believe it or not I think I make this a dpxdc thing #got ideas about introducing Jazz to this whole mess lol #we'll see what happens #Jason - terribly concussed coming to in a private jet with Talia casually reading across from him #Jason: Am I being kidnapped? #Talia - gently and reassuringly: Oh no no no #Jason: Can I leave? #Talia: No. #Damian is gonna lose his damn mind over getting a big brother #Jason was gonna try and escape and go back to Gotham but Damian is just so cute? And loves him so much? And Talia is being so nice?