Daredevil Prompt Post #12

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This post is for prompts involving characters from Netflix's Daredevil.

Now that The Defenders prompt post is live, all crossovers between anyone in the four individual shows should go over there. Prompts only including characters that appear in Daredevil should still go here.



Rules:

• General
  
  1. YKINMKATO. Play nice. Respect others. If you don't like something, scroll on.
  
  
  2. All comments must be anon. If you would like to be politely banned to avoid anon-failing, leave a logged-in comment on the mod post or pm the mod account.
  
  
  3. Subject lines should only be changed if you're posting a prompt or a fill (indicators like OP or Author!Anon should go in the body of the comment).
  
  
  4. RPF is allowed. Crossovers, characters from the extended Marvel Universe and comics canon are allowed, but must relate to the 2015 TV show in some way.
  
  
  5. Prompts focusing on characters from other Netflix Marvel shows or the comics should go on their respective prompt posts, but crossovers with Daredevil can go here.
  
  
  6. Drop a comment on the mod post if you have any questions or problems.


• Prompts
  
  1. All types of prompts are welcome.
  
  
  2. Use the subject line for the main idea of your prompt (pairing or characters, keywords, kink).
  
  
  3. Warnings are nice, but not mandatory. Get DW Blocker if there's anything you really don't want to see.
  
  
  4. Reposted prompts are allowed once one round has passed - e.g. prompts from post #2 cannot be reposted until post #4. Please include a link to where it has been previously posted.


• Fills
  
  1. When posting a fill, either add [FILL] (or something similar) to the subject line, or change the subject line to the title of your fill.
  
  
  2. Announce your fill on either the Completed Fills Post or the WIP Post.
  
  
  3. Long fills can either be posted over multiple comments, or posted on AO3 and linked back here.
  
  
  4. Multiple fills are always okay.
  
  
  5. Fills can be anything! Fic, art and vids are all welcome.

Please post any prompts related to Season 2 of Punisher over on the dedicated Punisher prompt post, and put SPOILERS in the subject line!

Comments

PLOT

[(Anonymous)]

I want to see the easiest thing would be to parallel S1, except everything is way too different for that. Maybe let's try to start from there, anyway? If it doesn't work we can scrap it.

(Premise: Matt gets more or less settled as Fisk's slave.)

First up would be Karen's incident. Matt would try to get involved and Wesley would fix it without killing Karen (but he'd make it clear to her to not try anything and forget the file, maybe threatening Matt?)

The Healy case. Maybe Foggy and Marci would handle it and Matt gets to be a paralegal. (!)

Vanessa.

The bombings, civil war with the Russians. This is an interesting plot point, but I don't see how Matt could get involved here. He wouldn't even need to talk to Vladimir to get info on Fisk, considering his position, so. He'd want to try to avoid the bombing (he heard about it before it happens), but what could he do?
He'd probably have to hear it happen and seethe, despite his best efforts.

(All the while, the focus would be on developing the relationships between the characters; it's what I care most about, and what I'm probably better at writing anyway.)

Maybe after the bombings Matt would convince Karen to reach out to Ben, something she wanted to do already but refrained to not risk Matt.

Honestly I'd just skip Stick. For two reasons: 1) the Black Sky plot makes no sense; 2) Stick couldn't take Matt out of Fisk's building, I don't think. So the most he could do would be belittling Matt. That's what Stick's voice inside Matt's head is for, we don't need the real one.

Would Matt consider killing Fisk? It wouldn't solve his condition as a slave (it might worsen it, actually, and that of every other Fisk's slave as well), but it would remove the crime boss who has been hurting Hell's Kitchen. Maybe he'd struggle about it here as well.

~~~
Plot points aside, what would be the ending goal? I think it'd be nice if Matt built a support system (James, Karen, OC slaves, probably Foggy) and at some point they started to plot to free all of Fisk's slaves. If they manage to get James on their side, that could be possible; I mentioned that in this universe freeing someone is fairly easy (the reason why slaves exist isn't that they can't be freed, is that who owns them chooses not to free them), James could probably prepare the necessary papers, maybe make it so that should Fisk either die or be convicted his slaves will be freed. Would that be too easy?

And in the finale, Matt, James, Karen (and others?) are freed and work towards abolishing slavery through the law (maybe Matt finally manages to become a lawyer for real, maybe he 'just' helps Foggy and Marci) while they not-so-legally go after slavers.

So basically I'd like this story to have 1) challenges of being Fisk's slave; 2) bonding/found family building; 3) slavery system being the enemy as a whole, not just regarding the protagonists' status.
That's more or less it. 😶‍🌫️

What do you think?

Re: PLOT - answer 1

[(Anonymous)]

Looks like a good draft :)

I agree that Karen would be the first thing from canon to happen.

I don't think it should happen immediately, though. I think we should do some worldbuilding and relationships first. I think it would happen pretty late, actually, at least several chapters in.
- After Matt is settled down in Fisk's ownership
- After he establishes a routine and has a "normal life"
- After he met most domestic slaves in Fisk's manshion, probably
- After the first 'office meeting' happened (I imagine that as a chapter)
- After the meetings became something of a routine for Matt
- After Matt's entanglement with Weasley started, maybe because of all the meetings

So, I would trickle things pretty slowly. What do you think?

Re: PLOT - answer 1

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, I think so too! I put it as (Premise) since I was focusing on canon events there, but canon will definitely have to start late in the story.

Setting the world-building and Matt's position (and relationships) in Fisk's house takes precedence, and kinda is where the first fills are right now. (The temptation to rewrite the first fill from start is strong, argh!)

Also: I hadn't seen your above comment about Wesley's backstory/questions about the system; I answered it, you'll find it named "invisible waiter/James/slavery in general". (We can keep discussing it here if you want, for practical reasons.)

Re: PLOT - answer 1

[(Anonymous)]

No, I'll go above. I'd like to keep thread structure as clear as possible, for future reference :)

You made a good choice focusing on canon events in the comment; we discussed a lot before, but not the canon mile-stone lineup, so it's good to put spotlight on it. Glad that you agree about canon starting late, though :)

Re: PLOT - answer 2

[(Anonymous)]

Right, so what happens next in canon is - N&M meddling with Karen catches Weasley's attention, and he brings Healey's case to them.

I'm not sure how close to canon I would keep here. I mean, the events that we can borrow - solving Healey's case - were pretty inconsequential. It wasn't really the _trial_ that mattered in canon, it was its function - getting Matt more entangled with Fisk, and forcing Fisk's name out of Healey's mouth. The trial itself was mediocre at best; it came and went.

I'm not saying let's scrap Healey, I'm just saying - let's get creative. Something has to be happening besides just the legal work; there must be some reason why Healey's case is interesting to our readers, and/or important to our plot.

Ideas?

Re: PLOT - answer 2

[(Anonymous)]

The only thing important to our story that I can see happening during the Healy case is Matt meeting Foggy and Marci, what kind of relationship they would develop (how would this Foggy's behavior towards slaves be? Not too perfect, I don't think. I could see him never giving slavery much thought unless it got personal; he would probably be angry if he saw an actual slave being hurt/abused in front of him, but beyond that?) and Matt having the chance to work with the Law in general.

Besides that... Healy wouldn't really add anything to Matt here. He might maybe start some doubts about Fisk's integrity in Foggy and Marci.

Re: PLOT - answer 2

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, that's another thing to consider — what IS Foggy's place in our story?

(And Marci's, but mostly Foggy's, since, you know, it's Foggy)

I kind of... don't really see much room for him tbh. Beyond just another face in the legal division, that is. Matt already has several complex relationships for us to portray and consider:

• Matt + James and the whole mess of it

• Matt + Juana, and the possible plotline of Adult Daughter showing up

• Matt + Other Menial Tasks Slaves, just a little on the side

• Matt + the Meetings, and the whole plotline of whatever shit is going down there, AKA Fisk's crimes

• Matt + Deaf Asian Slave Woman

• Matt + Karen, a reckless free person, who would love to expose Fisk's crimes and will definitely reach out to Ben quickly and without asking or thinking imo

...and in the middle of all that, there's also Foggy. And Marci. What do we do with them? Ideas?

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(It comes to my mind that maybe they will start a Nelson&Stall at some point, either as part of the happy ending or as a plot mile-stone.)

(They can also be evil, that might be interesting.)

Re: PLOT - answer 2

[(Anonymous)]

Foggy and Marci might have Marci's canon role at the end (ie: steal legal documents with info even Matt can't get. Or maybe hard proof of things Matt knows but has no way to prove), but remain all in all pretty secondary.
They might also, maybe, get in league with Karen at some point. The question here is: would they?
Maybe yes, if Fisk did something they couldn't pretend not to see. Like, Marci stopped joking when señora Cardenas was killed. I think finding out the bombings were Fisk's doing was also part of it.
We probably won't have Fisk doing any of those. But maybe something else, equally big/murdery?

Or they could be evil, but help xD
Having Matt and Foggy be not-friends hurts my heart (*ignores what she had happening to Matt on the very first fill*)

(But yes, maybe they'll go with Nelson&Stahl at the end. En masse freeing of slaves will require legal work!)

PLOT - answer 3 (Vanessa)

[(Anonymous)]

Vanessa

I'm not sure we need to have Vanessa as an event-milestone. In canon it makes sense — she has to be introduced to the audience somehow, and the easiest way to do it is to let us watch her be introduced to Fisk. We don't need that though; our audience already knows Vanessa, so she can just... be there.

That said, we do have options:

• if her arrival changes the lives of our characters significantly, then it makes sense to have Fisk meet her just now.

This is kind of where canon went - Fisk fell in love, and his empire started to fall apart. Or so Leland says. Another function Vanessa had in c. was to just - humanize Fisk. Let him have a life, some screentime beyond being a Bond villain. But neither of those work for us, I don't think.

So, does her arrival change things? I don't think it would re: Fisk/Weasley, not enough for our audience to care. But it might if we get creative, if she's not just an art gallery worker but someone whose presence brings changes whereever they go, like, I don't know, a heiress with her own 100 slaves or something.

Not sure I want to go there, though. I think we should either:

• have Vanessa be there from the start

• have Fisk change a little or do something stupid and James comment that he "met someone" (from there we can trickle Vanessa's presence in more and more if we want)

• turn this mile-stone into Vanessa visiting, Matt meeting her for the first time or some such. Introduce Vanessa to the fic, and maybe to Matt's life, but she was already there in Fisk's.

Re: PLOT - answer 3 (Vanessa)

[(Anonymous)]

Oh yes, Vanessa might already be there in the fic!

Unless we want to use her introduce a new character, maybe her personal OC slave? She could have been frequenting Fisk already, but maybe she moves in and brings her slave with her. (No ideas about this yet; I think going forward I'll just write Wilson/Vanessa as an established couple, without having her appearing much, and revisit this idea later in case a new character could shake things up in interesting/useful ways.)

Re: PLOT - answer 3 (Vanessa)

[(Anonymous)]

Sounds good to me! :)

PLOT - answer 4 (bombings + Russians)

[(Anonymous)]

The Bombings + Civil war with Russians

Weren't the bombings a direct reaction to Man In The Mask meddling with Russian operations? They started failing, and it sowed division and distrust between them and Fisk, Fisk('s assistant) started reprimending them, they started threatening Fisk, Fisk proposed to "help", Anatoley died, and the rest is history. That's more or less how it went, right?

So, if Man In The Mask isn't meddling, none of that happens.

And we kinda have to rethink the entire Fisk + Russians plotline, and write them a new one. I guess the first question(s) to ask would be:

• What kind of operation do Russians run?

• What kind of allay are they?

• Are there still conflicts between them and Fisk? (Probably, yeah).

• What about?

Re: PLOT - answer 4 (bombings + Russians)

[(Anonymous)]

Right! I think Fisk implied that getting rid of the Russians had always been something he'd do at some point, but Matt was the trigger to escalate their mutual conflicts. Without Matt, they'll probably stay around longer (unless something else happens to enrage Fisk enough to destroy them).

As far as I understood it, the Russians run a trafficking ring. They kidnap people and sell them. They also distribute the drugs Gao's men produce.

Vladimir doesn't submit to Fisk at all, gets on Fisk's (and Wesley's) nerve. I don't see that changing, but having him around opens possibilities to the plot. (Too soon to say, but maybe at some point Matt's group will have to strike some kind of deal with Vladimir.)

Re: PLOT - answer 4 (bombings + Russians)

[(Anonymous)]

Hey, a deal with Vladimir! Now THERE'S an idea I like the sound of :DD

Didn't expect that one

PLOT - answer 5 (plot-points step by step, p.1)

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, we should probably cut Stick out. For now at least.

I think there's a few plots/plot-points we can add to the list, though. So, let's revisit. For now we have:

• Matt arrives at Fisk mantion
• Matt gets assaulted on the first day
• Introduce Weasley, brings food
• Start Matt on menial tasks
• Meets Juana during menial tasks?
• Meets most of the lower-tier (menial tasks et al) slaves in the mansion
• Is generally amazed at how many random people seem to wander around with little to do (maybe? or maybe not, maybe James is better at finding them jobs than that. But I think that Matt would notice something, like maybe that there's too many people for too little work. James is good at his job but Fisk is a hoarder, at some point you just run out of space)
• Has conversation with Juana about him (and so many others) being a stock-asset slave
• James finally comes around and gives Matt a more-or-less routine role (and now I'm thinking that maybe he has him type audiobooks into braille or something, just to sit him down and not think about it xD (for blind children and puppies, of course))
• Actually, the Braille idea might (sort-of) work. It might (slowly?) pull him to the offices and put him to work there
• Where Karen also works (maybe)
• Not that it matters, they don't talk and generally either don't see or ignore each other on account of one of them being a slave
• I imagine this is where Matt overhears comments and experiences 'workplace harrassment' from free office staff
• (I think he sleeps in communal slave-quarters in the mansion during that time, still interacting with 'menial tasks' people he met before, which gives him a reprieve from the total isolation (?) of the office)
• Office harrassment goes to a head just in time for Weasley to see it
• (Not attempted rape or direct violence like Day One, but definitely touching and comments, maybe approaching coersion)
• Weasley interrupts. Coldly.
• We decide if that person is ever heard from again (probably not, or not from pleasant places) (does Weasley make him into an example??? Probably also not, that'd be too public, oh well)
• Either way, Weasley came to bring Matt to his first Meeting.

How am I doing so far?

Re: PLOT - answer 5 (plot-points step by step, p.1)

[(Anonymous)]

I'd say this is perfect!

maybe he has him type audiobooks into braille or something, just to sit him down and not think about it xD (for blind children and puppies, of course) I died xD but typing out audio stuff would actually work pretty well, I think! Maybe not audiobooks but recordings. Recordings of people Wesley spies on for Fisk, even, maybe! (If they trust him with that kind of job, he'll need to be carefully watched, which might explain why Wesley looks after him in particular; menial tasks slaves probably have other intermediate slaves in charge.
That might also help him try to take the fall for Karen (but still, he'd lie badly and James would see right through him).

Wesley wouldn't make a spectacle out of Matt's harasser (that would have too high a chance of other free workers rioting, how dare you punish a person for touching an object?), but he has a lot of other ways to make him vanish. Wouldn't even have to cover it up: he could inscenate the worker's suicide and no one would really believe it, but they couldn't say anything and would (indignantly) learn their lesson. I like that 🤭
(Matt would probably feel very conflicted)

Also yay, the Meetings!

(Maybe he's the only invisible-waiter there, at first. Then Fisk decides he wants another one, thus the deafening of [X].)

Re: PLOT - answer 5 (plot-points step by step, p.1)

[(Anonymous)]

• Maybe not audiobooks but recordings. Recordings of people Wesley spies on for Fisk, even, maybe!

Oof, good thinking, wow.

I don't think they'd have him do that right away, though. I really think James'd start him on random audiobooks just because he's tired and wants to consider Fisk's latest Impulse Purchase dealt with. xd

Then things start coming together, needs start coming together as Fisk's criminal empire grows, and it's actually Weasley's idea that hey Boss, wouldn't it be neat to have someone that can't be a witness serve at our crime meetings, oh look, what a coincidence, we have a blind slave on staff...

Which would also explain why Matt is the only waiter at first. But with time Fisk's appetite grows. He should have another one. And since his first attendant was blind, the second should be deaf. They would compliment each other. It's not a problem if this one doesn't come ready-made like the blind one did; these things can be remedied easily.

(And I think only after he's already going to meetings and knee-deep in Fisk's crimes James gives him access to spy recordings. Which, btw — can easily make Matt and James co-conspirators. Hmm...)

• If they trust him with that kind of job, he'll need to be carefully watched, which might explain why Wesley looks after him in particular; menial tasks slaves probably have other intermediate slaves in charge.

Yeah, I was worried about that. The "chain of command" I mean. This is a good solution, and drives to point just how deep Matt is sinking into it all.

• That might also help him try to take the fall for Karen

Yes!! It might. No idea how (yet), but it might xd

PLOT - answer 6 (plot-points step by step, p.2)

[(Anonymous)]

Right. So Matt went to his first meeting.

BTW, question — what exactly goes on in those meetings? What is Matt overhearing besides snipes between Fisk and the Russians?

(I don't think the show was very clear on what TF is Fisk doing, actually??? We should probably figure out our answer to that question).

Ok.

• Matt goes to his first meeting.

• Then goes to more meetings.

• He spends his other days in the office. Where Karen works.

• He spends his nights with other slaves, esp. lower-tier, from Menial Tasks

• (Juana tells him stories about her daughter in the night?)

• Matt listens to Fisk's criminal dealings, learning more and more about his 'employer'

• He listens to James and starts noticing things about him, like cracks in his power and all his inner reactions that are invisible to others but definitely make him stand out, he reacts differently to everyone else and he hides a lot

• Someone spits James' slave status right in his face during meeting (Fisk may or may not be there). James is as collected as ever. Matt stands between them serving tea. He heard, James knows that he heard, Matt knows that James knows that he heard. Neither comments on it.

• Karen finds the file, asks the manager, and shit goes down. Matt tries to defend her and/or take the blame. Possibly gets into a "physical commotion" (however minor) with a free person. Manager is pissed. He calls Weasley.

• Weasley comes. Matt tries to cut out Karen from the blame, get himself punished and the spotlight off her. James sees right through him.

• Matt tries to lie, manipulate, and finally threaten James with his slave status into protecting Karen. (Matt doesn't even know if anything would happen to Karen, at this point he's just spiraling). James is unimpressed.

• Though when hinted threats start to come, he does say "Please leave us, Mr XXX," and the room is suddenly significantly colder and less safe.

• James resolves the whole shit to his satisfaction within like, four sentences. Karen gives up the file, manager gets told of for making something out of nothing, and Matt gets told that he's "barely adequate" at threatening someone.

• Everybody lives. For now.

• I think Karen knows now about James' slave status. We might want to get rid of that. Or not. We'll see.

• The manager doesn't, though, so that's good. Or seems not to, at least. We can have him overhear it.

• The manager is pissed, and might want to do something about it. Not sure what yet.

Re: PLOT - answer 6 (plot-points step by step, p.2)

[(Anonymous)]

What is Matt overhearing besides snipes between Fisk and the Russians?
That is the question!
He'd probably overhear planning for some operations, eventual problems being discussed (no masked vigilante bothering them, but there may be other obstacles — too curious journalists included, why not. They'd have to decide how to deal with them).

Fisk's position wasn't superclear, indeed. He was a bit like the glue in their group? Also, I think his main role was having corrupted people everywhere and using them to assure that no one bothers the others' (or his own) operations, like not having police at the docks for shipments.

An important difference about Fisk's position here would be, I was thinking, that he's long gone public here. It wouldn't make much sense to have slaves to show off his status if he's hiding and not letting himself be named, would it?
So maybe he's not just profiting off the Stark's donations to rebuild HK and the drugs/trafficking dealings of their criminal alliance, he's also going for *political role*. Mayor of NY if we want to nod to the comics (and the new DD show, most definitely).
[Fun fact: in the comics he made Matt his vice-mayor. For reasons.]

Juana telling Matt stories of her daughter killed me! Yes, I need that. I'll write that. 🥺

Villain!Manager could be a good subplot.
I don't think Karen would know, or maybe yes, but would that make much of a difference? Probably not.

Re: PLOT - answer 6 (plot-points step by step, p.2)

[(Anonymous)]

It wouldn't make much sense to have slaves to show off his status if he's hiding and not letting himself be named, would it?

Actually, it might. How many billionaires can you name? They go to each other' parties, sail on each other's yachts and borrow each other's private jets. And yet 98% of them are faceless. They don't show off their status to us; they show it off to each other, like 18th century aristocrats bathing their palace rooms in gold-plated art for other aristocrats to see — where no poor person but maids has ever stepped foot in.

That said, I think I like Fisk going political better. Gives us more room to play, and maybe even an opening on the system...? Hm. :)

Vice-mayor??? Really?!?! Okay, that's beautiful 😂

SIDE NOTES (Weasley + slavery in general + Matt's backstory)

[(Anonymous)]

So these are my notes from your comment above, the invisible waiter/Weasley/slavery in general one. There's only a few :)

• I think I would hold off on the 'abused-weasley-who-proved-to-his-owners-that-he-was-more-than-his-body' idea.

One thing that I think most slavery fics forget to consider is that if slavery is "normal" then it's not limited to sexual slavery, and not really everybody's kink. I think it's much more common to see slaves as free labour for your firm or domestic servants than expensive sex toys. People take advantage of slaves, yeah, but it's not the only thing they do. You don't have to prove that you are good enough to be used for things besides sex. I don't know. It doesn't sit well with me.

I feel like as a slave, James had a pretty standard life (of a slave), at least at first. Which wasn't always pretty, but closer to living in that tense, dangerous-but-not-quite grey area of occasional hands and less occasional comments that Matt experiences at the office.

• Criminals get enslaved.

Ok, noted. That might feature in our story, considering.

• I'm definitely up for reworking Matt's past and cause of enslavement!

And, yeah, petty crime is a step in the right direction, I like it. I'm not a big fan of punitive justice, which DD and the general superhero-slash-vigilante trope fetishize - just kick the mugger in the face, right? That's a great way of dealing with crime, especially muggers and shoplifters looking for spare change.

• Children.

Yeah, what DOES happen to children of enslaved people?

Re: SIDE NOTES (Weasley + slavery in general + Matt's backstory)

[(Anonymous)]

Actually... Yeah. I've read too many slavery aus and got influenced about the predominance of sexual abuse, definitely.

Alright so, standard slave Wesley rises in authority cautiously planning, that works. (I just had a thought of him making a decision to betray his at-the-time-owner in favor of Fisk, in exchange for his position in Fisk's empire. That'd be a good way to prove himself to Wilson right away, maybe; but would Fisk trust a traitor? Maybe not. I don't know.)

What petty crimes would Matt commit?
A non-petty answer might be, also kind of obvious for him, assault for beating on someone (rich privileged guy) who was abusing/hitting someone else.
Slavery might be too much for petty crimes even in this corrupted government, but I'll keep thinking about it. Also because I'd rather have Matt not associated to violence, if possible (Wesley could find that piece of info very interesting, eventually. Better if he doesn't have it from the start, though).

Children of enslaved people better hope they have someone who can take them in, I'm afraid. If not, they get into the foster system and are factually considered orphans, with no right to see their parents or ask about them. [too harsh? Weird question for a slavery au, but. Yeah.]

Re: SIDE NOTES (Weasley + slavery in general + Matt's backstory)

[(Anonymous)]

I just had a thought of him making a decision to betray his at-the-time-owner in favor of Fisk, in exchange for his position in Fisk's empire.

— not in exchange for it; he brought down his then-employer in favor of Fisk, and when Fisk took over his employer's assets he imbedded himself in the new structure without asking or telling.

My problem here is: just how calculating Weasley really is? Someone who brings down their employer for a higher position with the next employer would definitely plan to do that again in a few years. Is Weasley loyal at all? Is he playing Fisk? That doesn't seem right. So. Maybe something was Seriously Wrong with his last employer.

OR.

Or, or.

Or, listen.

OR MAYBE something was Seriously Wrong with his last employer and Weasley and Fisk betreyed him TOGETHER and took over his empire as literal partners-in-crime with two different statuses that determined their roles. That could work, actually. It would explain Fisk's devotion to Weasley AND Weasley's devotion to Fisk, explain Weasley's position at his side in Fisk's empire and make the fact that he still essentially uses Weasley (I don't mean for sex, though that too if we go there) instead of working with him and views him as his status that much more tragic. Possibly-betraying Fisk would be much harder and more tragic too. And if Fisk is taking him semi-willingly to bed, that hurts much more, too.

Re: SIDE NOTES (Children // Weasley)

[(Anonymous)]

How about kids go into the foster system if they're under the age of 10? Or 12, but for some reason I'm leaning towards 10. When older, they follow the parent into the new 'employ' and become slaves but can't be separated from the parent before the age of 18.

I'm thinking that maybe:

• Weasley entered the slave status around the time when he was 14, on account of his alcoholic father getting enslaved for a crime.

He had already been learning to figure things out and rely on himself - what with the alcoholic father - but now he's getting an entirely new education on how to rely on himself as a slave with a barely functional father in semi-charge. Soon after, the father gets locked up after all, on another crime and also because alcoholics don't make for good slaves, it turns out (shocker).

By then Weasley's 16 though, so instead of getting sent into foster system now that he doesn't have a parent around, he can decide to get himself "emancipated" from his fathers parenting rights. It's not offered or explained to him, but he had already learned to pay attention to the rules, so that when he breaks them, he knows which way the pieces will fall. So he knows his options and chooses this one. He continues to 'work' in the same place. As a kid he had a right to full education, but now it's more ambigious. Weasley learns how to relay on himself in a yet another way, and also how to play the system.

Re: SIDE NOTES (Children // Juana)

[(Anonymous)]

Juana's daughter followed her into slavery.

I'm not entirely sure how this went. These are options I'm struggling to choose between:

• You can "sell yourself" into slavery in exchange for money that your kid gets when they come of age, and Juana did that.

• You CAN'T "sell yourself" into slavery. But Juana got herself purposefully enslaved anyway, by committing a calculated petty crime. It was a very risky move and she and her daughter both went through hell because of it. But eventually, she became a domestic slave and could take her girl with her. Which meant they were both slaves, but her girl would have a dry place to sleep in, a meal every day and that right to full education that James lost.

• Juana was tossed into slavery on account of being too poor to function on her own. Her daughter had been just below the cut-off point, and she had begged/bribed with everything she had left (possibly her body)/been offered the mercy of changing her birth date by the city clerc. (She doesn't know if it would have been better or not for her girl to go into fostering. At the time she had to choose, so she did.)

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Juana has made some hard choices in life, she payed some irrevercible prices for them and her daughter did too, but ultimately, she can't regret them. She was desperate, and she did the best she could think of in response.

She hasn't seen her daughter since she came of age.