#child labor tw

[clone-factory-morty]

Are you a clone?

No... My Rick, he... He was one of the founders of the cloning factory...

Some of the clones are even modeled after me, which is... Weird... Super weird... Having to stare into my own eyes while I-

You already know what my job entails...

A-anyway, he's dead now... And I'm considered company property now that he's gone, so...

[clown-around-and-find-out]

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[stellarhistoria]

jeez i can't even begin to exemplify that even my sunshine characters have something sordid in their background. like, lex started being a kingsglaive at 8 years old (in medieval times, this was the latest you could be a squire). and eerie, despite being one of my happiest characters, has been driven to partial real insanity from handling not one but two weapons of a knowledge god for over three days straight, trapped in a hospital that wasn't real because they couldn't find the exit without help. king / arverni is a study in "how long is too long to live" and "how do you react to going from hero to villain because of one lost battle", goodness!

[solar-abyss]

the onion went for the throat and is allowing no survivors

link to the article: https://www.theonion.com/children-react-to-loosened-child-labor-laws-1850237969

[mysharona1987]

Just a hunch here, gop. But I think being 14 and married to a gross older man or dying in a mining accident is a bigger threat to a child than hearing about trans people.

[mxldito]

5. has your muse ever been officially diagnosed with ptsd, c-ptsd? / 6. what was the worst / most traumatic moment in their childhood? / 7. how old was your muse when they realized they had childhood trauma?

q’s for muses who had a…  r o u g h   childhood 

⚠️ Mentions of child abuse and child labor below the cut. Please proceed with caution. ⚠️

5. Formally, no. Coyote never sought psychiatric attention in life but as they studied psychology, they were able to connect the dots. As Coyote is, their psyche does have a tendency to pull their strings nice and taut and proceed to jerk them around. Any old wounds are fair game and sometimes old memories play so vividly in their head. Honestly, they struggle more with flashbacks after their Embrace than prior.

6. Coyote was physically abused and used as child labor on their aunt's ranch. I feel like the initial separation from their parents was probably among the deepest of cuts. After that, one of the worst aspects was being made to work far more than a child should work. In conditions that even full grown adults shouldn't be working in. Often, they came back in with heat stress after being on their feet all day.

Eventually, they collapsed with heat stroke and were treated on the ranch. Of course they wouldn't take them to the hospital. What really stuck was that in this moment of sickness and fear, there was minimal tenderness to be found. Cold compresses and wet rags, but no hand to hold or reassuring voice. Just a frightened child, utterly alone while laying in bed surrounded by people who were supposed to be family.

This moment is what instilled that feeling of loneliness that still persists. Knowing there is nobody to cry to or lean on. That even people who are of blood relation to you are just as capable of cruelty or indifference as any stranger on the street. The feeling of only being able to rely on yourself.

7. It wasn't until their college years things really began to click into place for them. After thinking long and hard about their behavior, their tendency to shut down when faced with interpersonal conflict and the fear it entailed. Why so many specific little things made them cower, why they struggled to allow themselves to cry in front of people, and why the went along with things they didn't want to.

They struggled against it. They'd been beaten down by life from all angles and couldn't find the strength within themselves to confront it. They lacked this confidence until a year or so after their Embrace and it's something they continue to grapple with now.

[joey-the-boy]

child labor is a huge problem in the U.S.!!! I was talking to someone who told me that "it's not like the 40s or whatever, we have laws for that stuff now"

so just for everyone's information, the U.S. government is pushing back against child labor laws (and child marriage laws, that's a different post tho) and the government doesn't actually fucking care about kids

I live in an agriculture state and I've been working 40 hours a week since I was 12 years old, and I've had at least two jobs since about 14. I've seen very little of that money. I was underpaid and overworked and the little money that I did make was stolen by my parents. I remember hiding a few ones every time I got tipped so that I could buy myself school supplies

one of my best friends had to get a job at 13 because her parents stopped buying her food. she was told to "work for the things she has and stop being spoiled"

another of my friends had been working on his parents farm since as young as EIGHT YEARS OLD. and people around here are just acting like unpaid manual labor (at THAT AGE) is completely normal and fine. as if the hard physical work was just "family chores"

people are just ignoring the rise of child labor and all of it is going unnoticed. I don't want any other child to have to go through that, please protect the child labor laws in this country!

[hells-greatest-performers]

Alastor! Lucifer has been kidnapped by Sera earlier!!!!

**Lucifer falling from Heaven once more**

Lucifer (thoughts): I’m sorry for causing so much mess…and I’m sorry you won’t get to see the world…when I wake up…it’ll be over…*shuts his eyes, bracing himself for the impact of the fall*

…

….

……

???: Luci. Wake up.

Lucifer: *opens his eyes to see Alastor*

Alastor: Lucifer. Are you alright? Are you hurt?

Lucifer: I just had a crazy dream that I was kidnapped and it was by Charlie and that I jumped from Heaven! Those sleeping meds can give me strange dreams!

Alastor: Lucifer, those weren’t dreams…

Lucifer: *panics* WHAT?! *examines himself and sees he’s still pregnant* But…how?!

Alastor: I caught you when you were falling. But you need to rest. It seems your fall caused contractions to start and you and Angel are in early labor.

Lucifer: WHAT?! *looks over and sees Angel in hospital bed next to him wearing a special band* Angel? *winces in pain*

[jokerislandgirl32]

Guilt, Hope, and Gratitude

@foolsworldsblog asked this question in response to this post ⬇️

JIG Message: For this answer I’m placing it below a cut because it is filled with angst/depressing topics, discussions of pregnancy, stillbirth, loss of child, childbirth and delivery, and near death experiences. Nothing is explained in explicit or gory detail, but please do not proceed further if you are uncomfortable with such topics.

Zach’s Response

Well, this is a little hard to answer, technically we have two first borns. We have Alexandria, who is our first born but was stillborn. Then we have Varina who is our oldest earthbound child, and the first one born to survive birth/infancy. If that makes sense. Both times I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt when each child was delivered. 

With Alexandria we knew she wasn’t going to be born alive, I had to watch Violet endure a horrible and emotional labor and delivery only to have our child enter the world without ever taking her first breath or making one cry. Although the doctors informed us that it was nothing Violet or I had done wrong to cause the stillbirth, I still blamed myself for it.

I felt guilty because I couldn’t take Violet’s emotional and physical pain away. I felt guilty because our beautiful little girl never had a chance at life. I felt guilty because I hadn’t taken precautions, and I’d gotten Violet pregnant when her body was not ready for the pregnancy. Even after we took Violet to the doctor, monitored her health, and made sure she took the medication needed to ensure the safety of the pregnancy…we lost Alexandria. 

I held Alexandria after she was born, I named her, I talked to her…I didn’t want to let her go…But Violet was so distraught she couldn’t hold her or even look at her for the longest time. When the hospital staff came to take her, Violet finally gathered up the courage to hold her and look at her, and I’ve never heard Violet cry like that in my life, it absolutely destroyed me, and I’ll never get over that feeling of guilt and pain as long as I live. 

Varina’s birth elicited much of the same guilt ridden feelings. Violet went into premature labor and delivered Varina in the Tortuga with the help of the Wild Rats. Violet passed out due to complications shortly after Varina’s birth, and Varina was barely breathing. 

While I held Varina after she was born, it felt like it did with Alexandria all over again. I’d gotten Violet pregnant, I’d know the fragile state of her body, I’d known the hectic schedule I’d been putting us through with all of my villainous deeds wasn’t good for Violet while carrying this beautiful rainbow baby. But I’d done it anyway. And watching both of my girls struggle, fearing I’d lose another daughter and the love of my life filled me with nothing but absolute remorse and dread. 

But, holding Varina those few moments before we arrived at the hospital, seeing this tiny little bundle, the physical embodiment of mine and Violet’s love, gave me a sense of hope and extreme gratitude. I knew if Varina made it to this point and survived the birth, she’d make it in the end. 

I was so grateful that even though I’d made so many terrible decisions, Violet delivered this child alive, and Violet was still alive. I had hope that they make it, I prayed they’d make it, and in the end, they did.

So, for me fatherhood started out with feelings of sorrow and guilt, but it developed into feelings of immense joy, hope, and gratitude. It changed me for the better, and I am so thankful for the family Violet and I have created. 

POV: Guilty Me.

-Zach Varmitech-

[wolf-tail]

I wanna eat a slice of ice cream cake in front of her and watch her brain explode and leak out of her ears

[drinkinboilingcoffee]

Having Evan and Elizabeth be twins AND having Evan die first is such a fuckass combination lore-wise. Communal birthday trauma. Actually, since Clara died in labor with them, that's just a cursed day of the year I guess.

[arcadianambivalence]

How was your day? I totally didn't spend mine trying to meticulously map how little Armand could have feasibly made it from Delhi to Venice in the first two decades of the 16th century. And then somehow deleted two hours of notes.

[intersectionalpraxis]

An esthetician is under investigation for making her 5 year old daughter wax women clients... and as people have been rightfully pointing out on tiktok -apart from child labour laws violations evident here -the fact that this parent let her daughter do this in VERY inappropriate places is a form of abuse. All the women (24 of them!) who let a child do Brazilian waxes need to be put on a sex offenders list.

I feel so terribly for this child -this BABY -because she doesn't deserve any of this or what is most likely going to happen to her and it breaks my heart since she is already being held in protective custody. A child should never be exploited and exposed to grown adults like this. There is a HUGE difference between instilling hard work ethics in your children in many ways as they grow and learn -and when they're much older showing them APPROPRIATE elements of the work you as an esthetician if they are interested or curious but a 5 year old does not understand ANY of this and cannot fully consent to something like this.

I'm hoping for the best for this young child.

[out-of-heaven-and-hell]

Alright. Per doctors' orders, she's going on bedrest, just gotta relax and sit here until she gives birth. Low physical movement and avoiding as little stress as possible, this is easy. She can do this. The more she can avoid early labor the better.

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This is gonna be a long couple of weeks.

[lastweeksshirttonight]

You ready to be pissed off this Monday morning? Because holy shit

This week John is talking about farmworkers, who have basically none of the protections afforded to most of the labor force and in some cases, are being subjected to LITERAL slavery. This was absolutely awful to learn about but vital to know.

[zelenxa]

BACKSTORY

The year is 1299 when Marci Lottway proposes the question Esteban Kensington will not, “Will you marry me?”

Initially, Esteban was overcome with hesitance. He, like the rest of his family, was burdened with serfdom — tied to care and tend to a piece of land he is allowed to yield little from for the rest of his life. Marci, however, was not. And it was clear, since the moment they shared their first kiss near the lake, on that starry night, that Marci and her family did not have the funds to buy him out of such a predicament. To make the decision to marry her and drag her into a lifestyle many fight so hard to escape would be cruel. It’s the very reason he’d been hoping to escape such a decision.

Yet, he is selfish. Esteban says yes.

Sweet June arrives before Esteban and Marci can finally manage to hold an audience with Lord Lassiter. While Marci is no wealthy freewoman, she has money left over from her inheritance—to which her generous brother, Kurtis Lottway, had afforded to her after the sudden yet tragic death of their parents. Marci intends to bargain the money with all she has. She does not yet tell her brother of her intention of marrying a serf. She and Esteban are young, both only 15 and 16 respectively. He'd say it was reckless, and he has his own worries courting Casandra Turner, the freewoman who tends her parents’ restaurant or tavern-of-sorts. Marci can see the older woman is lovestruck.

“This won’t work.”

Esteban voices aloud to Marci, the both of them standing in waiting inside the Lord’s estate. They keep their voices hushed. Marci glances away from the decor the Guard's Room is adorned with. Her fiancée is all nerves—Marci can’t blame him. Their idea feels foolish, only the both of them don’t have time to dwell on it when they are suddenly called upstairs.

The both of them have decided Esteban will do the talking. Esteban is a man, and his family has been under Lord Lassiter’s rule for generations. They’re hoping Lord Lassiter will take sympathy on the two of them. It’s the only way it’ll work. That, and that Esteban remembers all he needs to say. Additionally, the plan did stem from Marci first.

When they take the final step into the sitting room, and make eye contact with Lord Lassiter and his wife, Marci nearly feels the room skyrocket in temperature. She hopes to the Watcher her sudden sweatiness is not apparent on her face. It feels as if everything is sinking in, in this moment. Both Marci and Esteban bow and exchange formal greetings to the Lassiter couple, hands entwined with each other’s. Lord Lassiter appears stricken by age in comparison to his younger wife. His light brown has taken a even lighter shade of white and apparent wrinkles are beginning to form around his dark brown eyes. Marci imagines he’ll live a long time as long as peace remains in the Lands. Many are not so fortunate.

“State thy’s purpose.”

Lord Lassiter’s voice rings through the quiet room, finger thumping absently against his lush armrest. Marci looks to her fiancée and Esteban, with all the confidence he can muster, begins to explain their position, his voice tinged with reverence Marci is certain he does not feel. They ask for a bargain of sorts. In exchange for Esteban and Marci’s hard-earned 10,000 simoleons, they ask to be moved to a plot of land they can house by themselves, and that, for whatever land they may care to, they own 5% of its piece. Once Esteban’s speaking ceases, Lord Lassiter is quiet for the briefest moment. Then, he goes to describe the hard work he’s seen Esteban’s father accomplish on the plot of land he works. He tells them he believes Esteban can follow in his father’s footsteps.

It’s the last day Marci spends as a freewoman. She does not regret it.

1301 - The Kensingtons

They spend a year settling into their plot of land (although, really, not theirs). The piece they've resided in is not too far from the city where Kurtis lives with his newly wedded wife, Casandra. Albeit, it's far enough that Esteban must say goodbye to his family. Upon Marci pestering him on the topic, Esteban reassures her it's okay as long as they're together. Guilt-stricken, Marci speaks little on the subject from there on out.

Cultivating a new, unfamiliar set of land, however, is proving to be the biggest problem on Esteban's mind right now. The stock of food they have is a little to none and, for months, they've been relying on forging and the weekly hunting trips they're allowed to get them by. It leaves them eating a poor excuse of porridge; gruel.

A month after Twelfth Night celebrations cease, Marci begins feeling morning sickness, and a few more months after that? She begins showing. Feeling elated doesn't cover it, and the anticipation of the baby's arrival pushes Esteban through whatever struggles the fall harvest brings along.

The little one—they've decided to name him Keegan—arrives just smoothly. Yet, at a time when both Esteban & Marci have stocked just enough food to survive winter, getting Keegan to eat and maintain his weight becomes difficult as months go by. Unbeknownst to the two of them, Keegan is born with a vitamin deficiency. The little one doesn't make it past winter. He doesn't make it to the new year at all.

1302 - The Kensingtons

The death of Keegan hits Marci the hardest as she grows distant toward everybody. Her change of mood is most apparent with Esteban, whom she spends most of her days with. It takes multiple months for her to grieve and process Keegan's death, most months of which she is rather snappy at Esteban. It's unlike her good-hearted nature, though it is much attributed to her hotheadedness.

In the meantime, Esteban comes down with a nasty cold and nearly dies of Influenza. When he miraculously recovers, he's quick to refer it to Marci's prayers to the Watcher. Blowing out a breath of relief, she just laughs at him.

It's when Marci has finally picked herself up from the death of Keegan that she starts showing symptoms of pregnancy again. Immediately after her third morning of throwing up in her chamber pot, Marci understands what’s happening. While this time around, she feels more nervous than happy, when she tells Esteban of the news, his contagious excitement brings a smile to her lips.

'We're prepared this time around,' Marci thinks, sighing with effort against the hot June temperature. Her water broke just moments ago, and Esteban has gently guided her into bed. Normally, men wouldn't be present during childbirth but when the local midwife arrives, Marci is adamant he does not go. This time around they're better stocked and the fall harvest appears fruitful. Marci prays her child does not die.

Hours later, after a very difficult labor, Marci has given birth to two healthy babies, a girl and a boy. She and Esteban name their firstborn, Emiliano, and their second, Haven. As the remaining months of the year go by, and the twins celebrate their first birthday, Marci holds her breath, awaiting the worst. The twins survive anyway.

a/n: cough I didn’t take many pictures of 1300-1318, therefore there’ll sadly be little visuals for some posts. plus, all this played out, like, eleven months ago, so expect us to run through multiple years quickly! promise posts will get more pictures and be more interesting post-famine. I hope this style of storytelling is enjoyable to read! I’m a bit out of my element. <3

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