voice; un: taka

[retsuden]

[ Sasuke thought about asking this through text. He likely should have, because his emotions have been strong lately, a lot stronger than he wants them to be, and his anger has been nearly as quick and hot as it was when he was on his path of revenge. But it feels cheap somehow to ask such an important question via text. He can't do video due to his eyes, so he tries to keep his voice even to conceal just how much this question means to him.

The feed is silent for a little longer than is probably natural, but he's still figuring out how to us his omni, so. Y'know. Be gentle here.

Finally, it picks up a sigh that almost sounds annoyed. ]

How did the world treat orphans where you're from? Was there an age where someone was considered a child versus an adult? Were there children who were considered unworthy of help or were the rules in place blanketed towards all children?

[ There's a pause where he realizes he should make it seem like this is less about, y'know, him, and more about curiosity on how to help kids here maybe. Uhhhh... ]

... Would there be things from your world that you would want to see offered to the children in this one?

Comments

text | carcinoGeneticist (cw: killing children/themes of eugenics

[klawful]

TROLLS DO NOT HAVE PARENTS THEREFORE WE HAVE NO TRANSLATABLE CONSTRUCT OF "ORPHANS." WE DO HAVE CUSTODIANS BUT IF THEY DIED, THEY JUST DIED.

ADULT TROLLS WERE COMPLETELY UNINVOLVED WITH CHILDREN TROLLS. WE WERE MEANT TO LEARN HOW TO SURVIVE IN OUR WORLD ON OUR OWN. DEFECTED CHILDREN WERE CULLED IF THEY WERE DISCOVERED. FOR THOSE OF US WHO SURVIVED CULLING, WE JUST HAVE TO FIGHT THROUGH TO ADULTHOOD. MOST DO NOT MAKE IT, BUT MANY DO.

CHILDCARE APPEARS TO BE A STRONG CONCEPT AMONG HUMANITY. I WOULDN'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN IN KNOWING WHAT I WOULD HAVE WANTED AS A CHILD.

AGING FOR TROLLS IS COMPLICATED. WE CAN LIVE SO LONG AND IT DEPENDS ON YOUR BLOODTYPE.

[retsuden]

[ Of course Karkat's answer would sound the most familiar. Like everything else they've ever talked about hasn't been so close to each other. ]

From what you've told me about your world thus far, this doesn't surprise me.

I had thought childcare among humans only mattered from parents to their own children before this place. But people seem very adamant about it here.

How long on average?

text | timaeusTestified

[givehead]

They were killed immediately. All people were. I'm only alive because of bullshit time shenanigans. We were not seen as a salvageable race so we were exterminated by our invaders.

Prior to the invasion, as far as I'm aware, orphans were delegated to the government and typically lost in the system. 18 seems to be the generic age for adulthood, but I feel that topic is more complicated than a mere number suggests.

Rules tended to be arbitrary and illogical. Stuff like you can literally be murdered in war at 18, that's fine, but you can't drink alcohol until you're 21. You can drive a 2 ton hunk of metal around, but you can't watch porn.

(...What did he want as a child? It's an easy enough answer, but he figures it probably doesn't really count. He came from an unusual situation.)

It would have been nice to have someone to talk to.

[retsuden]

How would you approach the topic if not by numbers? We had to reach an age of maturity in order to drink or to get married, but those laws were often easily bent if the person in question showed they were able to handle themselves the same as an adult.

[ That request, tho. That tugs at him for sure. Clearly Dirk would've fit in with the Isolated Orphans Club he and Naruto had going on. ]

A professional or just someone in general?

voice; un: cakeguy

[vibing]

[ This isn't really the sort of post Yuri would normally answer, but it hits a little too close to home for him to ignore. He contemplates answering for a long while, and decides for it, picking up the Omni to do his best: ]

We had a group home, where I'm from. There were a lot of kids who lived there, a dozen or so at a time, all ages from babies to, well, basically adults. I lived there til I was 16, then I got a different space, but it was all still, y'know, I didn't pay for it, at least not with gald.

We took care of each other, in the lower quarter. I took care of the other kids however I could, and Hanks and Jiri always made sure everyone had enough food and clothes and a bed. No one was ever forced out. Dunno how it works everywhere else on Terca Lumeries, or even in the rest of Zaphias, but that's how we did it.

The orphanage here seems to work kinda like that. I've seen kids there who could be out on their own, if they wanted to. As long as every kid who needs it has a bed and food, that's alright.

...was that not how it was in your world? [ Just taking a wild guess here ]

[retsuden]

[ Another world where people took care of each other and kids weren't left to fend for themselves!! Outside of this post, they're outnumbering the shitty ones that sound more familiar to him at this point, and while he'd been more curious before, there's something about it that makes him angry now.

Something that he at least has the decency to try and swallow so that he doesn't snap at Yuri for asking a perfectly reasonable question in return. ]

No. Some children went to the Konoha orphanage, but any that were shunned by the village in any fashion were left to raise themselves. We were given a small stipend until we were able to secure our own income, but that's true of anyone without work, so it wasn't unique to looking out for our well-being.

text, un: ANONYMOUS

[the_obedient_servant]

I don't think there's anywhere in the wide expanse of the multiverse that treats orphaned or troubled children with anything resembling kindness.

In the town I grew up in, the answer is badly. There was a cult that was rather rigorous in inflicting it's teachings on young people and whenever they strayed they were punished. Sometimes the ones that believed the most were punished as well, to ensure that nobody ever felt safe enough to stop striving for perfection.

In the underground civilization I fell into as a child, their own children were treated well, and so was I, but then a tragedy occured and from then on every human child who fell just like I did was hunted down and murdered to keep morale in the kingdom up.

[retsuden]

From everything I've been told by others in this place, you are incorrect. It is arrogant and idiotic to assume that because your own world was cruel that every reality in the multiverse is the same. Things are too varied for any broad assumptions like that to be made.

That being said, the way your world responds is more familiar to me than the ones which do the opposite, so it's at least safe to say that cruelty is a constant in many worlds.

voice; un: mako

[arclightning]

[ Mako's in the middle of prepping for what is turning out to be a truly massive party, but in the brief moments of downtime between tracking down lanterns and chairs and enough food to feed half the city, he's been keeping an eye on the feed, and...

well.

A good thing, probably.

It's another few hours before he answers, but it's worth answering. He wonders what's going through Sasuke's head, what he's hoping to find. ]

I don't think it was a universal thing in our world. Probably should've been. The Hundred-Year War left a lot of orphans running around, there must've been... something.

My city handled it really badly. There were too many of us. Lots of kids slipped through the cracks, ended up on the streets, and that was better than being dragged to one of the homes they set up. Those things were a joke. It was—I don't know. Not malicious. Landlords kicked you out no matter how old you were once you stopped paying rent, and stopped thinking about you after that. You didn't have money, you weren't worth anything. Age didn't matter.

[retsuden]

[ Somehow Sasuke's unsurprised that Mako's city handled orphans in a similar manner to his own; orphanages that did absolutely nothing for anyone and children suffering because a government didn't step up and do what they probably should have. Maybe a lack of targeting specific types of children who suffered, but...

It's probably fucked up that he feels comfort in hearing the familiar more than he does the worlds that handled it better. ]

Mm. Age not mattering seems to be the thing that surprises people the most here when I speak to them. There's some idea that the younger you are, the more awful it is. Maybe war torn worlds have more similar flaws to one another.

voice; un: natsume.takashi

[natzoom]

[Of course he sees this and immediately starts fretting that he was too blunt or pushed too much.]

Did...did I upset you? I-I’m truly sorry if I did...

[retsuden]

[ .......... He probably should have seen that coming. ]

No. You aren't the first person to tell me that things were different.

...I want to know if Konoha is the odd one out.

voice; UN: seeingtheworld

[schoolingfish]

Well...um...I don't know what happens in general, but I know sometimes an adult will kind of just adopt kids that are living on their own. There are definitely ages that kids are considered kids, though.

[retsuden]

[ Oh. Like Shiro. This would have been an answer that surprised him more before getting to know that guy, though he still doesn't fully understand it. ]

Without any strings attached or expectations of repayment? And what ages would you say those are?

text; UN: TripleJ

[kyley_b]

where I'm from 18 is considered an adult for the most part.

there were rules in place to protect kids, yeah, but they didn't always work as well as they should. theoretically all children were worthy of help, but in practice prejudice fucked things up fairly often.

there were organizations set up to adopt orphans or kids whose parents couldn't look after them. my little brother was adopted, actually.

so I'm pro adoption, obviously. we also have programs where I'm from where you might not be a full guardian to a kid who has a parent but you are like a big brother or sister. someone they can trust and talk to, you know? I think kids here deserve all of that.

[retsuden]

[ .......... oh no. Brothers who care AND are pro taking in orphans. He wants to be angry about the fact that it's yet another world that at least tries, but that anger is tampered down a little by the general Good Vibe he gets from that kind of response. ]

Your brother is fortunate to have someone who feels that way.

Having someone to talk to seems to be a common answer. Is it really that big of a deal to have?

voice | UN: forgetmenot

[nilheality]

[Her impulse is to write in text. There was a certain comfort in the anonymity, but the more she heard, the more she knew that this was not something to hide her identity behind. That felt... too impersonal, too distant.]

[For a mercy, she learned how to do this talking to Fat Billie.]

It... depends. My village was a fishing village, and if that orphan did not have immediate family, then they could be brought to a fishing family to earn their keep mending nets, chopping wood, and gutting fish. In exchange they would be fed and kept warm, though some were better at this than others. Since we were small, they would usually be taught the fishing

But we were a small village, and in bigger cities, they could be brought to a working family to be an apprentice or servant or turned over to the convent--Lathander, probably.

[retsuden]

[ This is almost like a compromise between "take care of children at all costs" and "let them fend for themselves because fuck those guys." He's quiet for a second as he digests it, trying to figure out if it's a decent solution, or if it's something that people would still somehow be outraged over, especially with how many people have said there were homes that were set up to help that ended up just ultimately being nightmares.

Hm. ]

Apprenticeships were a common thing that orphans would do to gain money to get their own homes, but having a place to live and get food along with it might have helped many. A number of the restaurants and markets would give food to children who had nothing, but we were still expected to find someplace to eat or cook it on our own.

[ Which is probably why Naruto learned to live off of only ramen cups like a fucking savage. ]

video; un: AskMalice (cw for mentions of child abuse, foster system, neglect)

[slayerskiss]

I'm an orphan. Well, maybe my dad's still around. He was never in the picture.

There was a foster system back home, where certain homes accepted kids that were taken away from their parents for whatever reason. You had social workers who'd come in and check on kids from troubled environments. [She seems unsure how to word this...] I think they kinda mean well? Mine probably did. Still, I learnt pretty quickly that it's better to just lie to them so they'll leave you alone.

The homes they put you in are fuckin' garbage, they work you to the bone and sneer at you for not being grateful to them for being paid to feed you dirt. They won't let you go to school, will dictate everything you do, force their religion on you... I've only been to one of them and it was apparently one of the better ones, which is saying something considering they were only accepting foster kids to feed to their undead blood drinking son they kept chained up in the attic.

[retsuden]

[ Sasuke's sure to keep his eyes hidden from the screen when the video feed comes in. The last thing anyone needs is to accidentally end up under a genjutsu because he went and asked a question.

This all sounded very expected until the whole... undead blood drinking son part... He has to remember this is the same woman from the Gate who was used to fighting monsters and so maybe that was just a Thing that happens sometimes???? ]

That seems to be a theme. The attempts of helping end up landing children in homes that are more dangerous than if they'd just been left to themselves. Were they all like that or could it just have been the ones you were placed in?

voice; un: shiro

[shiro2hero]

Orphanages, or group homes, mostly. Until they were eighteen.

[That's less important than the rest of the questions, though.]

They covered everyone. Even the ... 'problem kids'. Unless you broke laws, and even then, your records were sealed if you were underage. [Sure, people pretty much tried to wash their hands of said problem kids. They didn't get the best picks of anything, got overlooked and undersold.]

[But it doesn't sound like what Sasuke means.]

[retsuden]

Eighteen seems to be the most common age in universes. Does your world have a reason for such an age or is it simply chosen at a whim?

[ He still feels a surge of annoyance he can't quite understand the more he hears about places that take care of kids, even the bad ones, but he's trying to remind himself that there are just as many worlds that were as bad or even worse than his own form the sounds of things. It wasn't just Konoha that failed. It varies. Deep breath, buddy. ]

What do you mean sealed?

text; un: dovahkiin

[fusrodaaaah]

There was an orphanage in Skyrim. It wasn't good. You didn't want to go there.

Otherwise, the Nords left children on the street. I bought a lot of flowers from them. It let them get indoors for a night.

[retsuden]

Flowers guaranteed them a place to stay?

Video; un: lothrat

[ezra_of_lothal]

I lived on the streets on Lothal. I wasn't the only one. Until my new family took me in. That was a personal choice, for all of us, although guided by Jedi tradition for my teacher.

I know in the some of the richer planets there were orphanages. Foster care systems. I know the Jedi Order, when it existed, would try to find and protect children with abilities like mine, because people tend to be scared of us, or want to use us. So orphans like us often ended up being raised in the Jedi Temple.

I'm not sure any system is perfect, because any system is made of people. But some systems have to be better than others, I'd think.

[retsuden]

[ One of these days he'll learn how to respond to something with a different mode than what's sent to him, BUT FOR NOW, Sasuke makes sure to keep his eyes hidden when the video feed comes in, staring down at the ground and using his hair to shield them. ]

It certainly seems to vary across the board. I don't know that I'm expecting a perfect system, but it's interesting to learn about places that have a system set up in the first place.

un: trienemybest; voice

[droptheious]

There are definitely orphanages back home. Though they're usually...pretty poorly funded and a lot of the kids usually escape and join criminal gangs to survive instead.

[That's what happened with Eugene and Lance after all. Kira and Catalina, too. ]

It means kids without parents grow up pretty fast. From what my friends who grew up in those systems told me, once you hit like...eleven your chances of being adopted were pretty minimal.

So no. I wouldn't want what's in place back home brought here.

[retsuden]

This place does seem to have more in place to help and protect children than many worlds have offered. It's strange that somewhere with as much corruption could teach supposedly peaceful worlds better means of caring for their people.

un: FLYHIGH

[asas]

[ there's a lot of movement on shoyo's end crackling and rushing when he hits wind or a slope, but it's easy enough to think and respond while . . . riding a bike! ]

I don't know how it works exactly, but I know there're orphanages? Kids are adults at 18 back home. Um— I've never been to one. [ he's never had to go to one, but that makes him realize that and pause some in thought. ] —Maybe I should visit sometime.

[retsuden]

[ He almost asks what the fuck he's doing, but YOU KNOW. HE'S NOT GONNA. This guy being on the move just seems to be par for the course. ]

I'm at the Koz Orphanage most days if you want someone to show you around.

Voice; UN: Cuddlebunny

[lightthedarkness]

[Usagi's mind immediately went to Mamoru and Makoto. Both of them were orphans... but it wasn't her story to tell so she focuses on the rest of the questions Sasuke is asking.]

In Japan, you become an adult at 20. But generally, all rules applied to all the kids, no kid is unworthy. There are all sorts of laws protecting children but it's more... there aren't always enough people to check in on every child, so some fall through the cracks.

I know there's an orphanage in Crenshaw, I don't know what they're offered here in Trench, but I know all children are offered education.

[retsuden]

Even having the laws is an improvement from many places. Do you know why they chose 20 as the age for being considered an adult?

They provide food and shelter and protection for any child no matter what here. It seems to be unconditional, though I won't be surprised if that turns out to not be the case someday.

voice ; un: A. ; cw: discussion of child abuse, neglect, and abandonment for the whole thread

[fabrications]

[ Akechi tries to not having too many deep and personal conversations on the public network, but this one strikes a particular chord with him. ]

Terribly.

Japan still relies on orphanages more than foster homes, and the foster families that do exist are under no obligation to continue looking after a child they dislike. The system is over-crowded, under-supported, and few people care to try to fix it.

Even if everything goes well there's tremendous stigma surrounding adoption. If you're an orphan it means no one wants you - or at least, that's what everyone assumes.

[ Akechi is aware that his perspective is a tremendously biased one, but he doesn't care to consider an alternate viewpoint for the moment. ]

[retsuden]

What is the difference between an orphanage and a foster home? We don't have the latter in my world for me to compare.

The rest sounds familiar enough. People don't particularly care for the orphaned in most worlds, it seems.

video: un; apparition

[unphase]

[...oh, sweet Mistress.

from the look on his face alone, she'd want to be nearby. from what he asks and the look on his face...yes, she doesn't know the story behind the look or the question, but it's painfully clear it was something he'd had to endure himself and was looking for some kind of validation/reassurance.

so, she sets things to Private immediately]

In my world? Bgztl? Orphans were often left to the system if they weren't from the right bloodline. Awful as it was, it's true.

In the United Galaxies as a whole? Orphans were looked after even before they became orphans officially. They knew they'd have a home, they'd never go hungry, they'd receive a quality education, those were all things which neither they nor their parent ever had to worry about. A relief, when one's parent is dying of an incurable illness or died in an accident.

As for things offered to children here? Or in general? That same reassurance which the United Galaxies offered. My own planet is cruel to those not of a certain societal status. I far prefer the United Galaxies approach and would wish that for every child, everywhere, regardless of status.

[retsuden]

[ Sasuke continues to try to hide his eyes with the video. While Tinya may know what they look like by now, the last thing he wants is to accidentally pull someone into a genjutsu when all he wants is to find answers to some questions he hates asking.

He swallows as he listens to what she has to say. The right bloodline makes his jaw clench, the familiarity of it clearly striking a chord. But they at least had a system, right? Maybe...

He heaves an irritated sigh, rubbing at his temple. ]

The system in your world— was it an orphanage? Were they given a place to at least stay, even if they wouldn't end up with a home? Or were they left on the streets and expected to care for themselves?

text; un: figaro

[extinctive]

That depends on who you are and where you're from. In my case as a wizard, you'd be lucky if a fellow user of magic will take you under their wing. It's actually rather common for wizard children to be orphaned or abandoned by their parents due to circumstances out of their control, but that doesn't mean they were lesser than children who do have parents.

If anything, sometimes it's better to have no parents at all than bad ones who mistreat you.

As for your last question, I'd say mentors would be ideal for a child. Not necessarily a parent, but rather someone who'd teach the child everything they need to know about the world.

[retsuden]

I would reconsider saying "it's better to have no parents" to anyone who has no parents, regardless of your opinion on it.

Mentors. Would that be something more personal than the school here?

(text) | un: wrench

[wwrench]

Sometimes I think once you're an orphan, that never really stops. Even when you get to be the age of an adult.

Not a lot of people are coming here with their family intact, are they? I guess that means rewriting the rules for what family can mean. Maybe it's weird, but I'd rather see my world act a little more like this one.

[retsuden]

Not having parents is something that changes everything. It's probably impossible to age out of it.

Despite some of the obvious horrors, this place seems like it might have a lot going for it. What would you rewrite the rules to?