♻ 005 | audio

[tucky]

Okay, I got a question - why's there so many kids here? You can't turn a corner without running into an imPort kid.

[This... may be a slight exaggeration. It almost does feel that way to Tiffany, though; she came through the Porter from a totally kid-less environment. She'd seen child visitors to the prison in passing, but hadn't interacted with one in years until coming here - and that's not even touching on her own vague Kid Issues, which are currently heightened after her conversation with Jesse about her past.]

I mean, it just seems kinda cruel, you know? Porting in a bunch of kids without anyone to look after 'em. I mean, unless the people here are meant to look after 'em, but come on. How many of us are the type? And I know I would've missed my mama something fierce if I was taken to a whole new world when I was little; some weird fucking stranger wouldn't've cut it.

... Hell, I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong; I could be wrong. Never really knew what to do with kids myself, so it ain't like I know how they think - how y'all think.

So never mind, maybe.

Comments

[eastdetective]

You could try asking a kid.

[Not that Conan could actually count as one, appearance aside.]

[tucky]

... I guess. Don't talk to kids much. Except here I sometimes do.

You like it here?

voice;

[coppelganger]

No, I think you're right.

voice;

[tucky]

Glad I ain't the only one. It's kinda crazy if you think about it, right?

text; comm tag is "Hiro"

[microbrobotics]

cause the porter really likes child soldiers i guess

but most of us did this kind of stuff back home so whatever

text; comm tag is "Hiro"

[tucky]

your a child soldier

[She's picturing... well, the type of thing people usually mean when they say "child soldier" back on regular Earth.]

voice

[prostheticbody]

A lot of the kids here seem to come from worlds where it's normal to fight crime before hitting puberty. I assume they're also used to taking care of themselves. It's something I still have a hard time accepting.

voice

[tucky]

Why, do you got kids of your own?

voice;

[lackey]

Ticky boxes, maybe. Like maybe when the gov... or that god machine thing... first started yankin' people in, they only got twenty-somethings or whatever and they were like... 'Man, this is kinda boring. We need more variety.' So they made a list with ticky boxes and they're checkin' 'em off... Got some teenagers, check. Got some kids, check. Got some older people, check. Got some real old people, check. Like that. Next box is babies, I guess. Haven't seen any babies crawlin' or flyin' around the gov parties yet.

[Sniff.]

Or somebody's got a screwed up sense of humor. The Gov or the god machine.

voice;

[tucky]

I think people would freak out if babies started coming around. The youngest I seen is eight. That kid who replied here already.

[cartesianspidertank]

I don't have conventional parents, and I actually think it's kind of nice to be here because I'm allowed to go outside when I want!

I'm not really a 'kid' though! But a lot of other people think I am!

[tucky]

You sound like one, in your voice and everything. But you don't talk like one.

audio;

[grimreaping]

There does seem to be a disproportionately high ratio of them.

[ says the sixteen year old... ]

audio;

[tucky]

Ain't you a teenager?

audio;

[bratziska]

Perhaps you need to reevaluate your opinion of children. ( The voice on the other end sounds a lot like a teenager - young enough to be mildly insulted. While she definitely doesn't identify as a 'kid', she's been independent for a long time.

Or so she'd like to think. )

audio;

[tucky]

Why? There's, like, six-year-olds here.

[That's a little bit of an exaggeration.]

Or eight-year-olds, anyway. That's real young.

voice.

[glowsferatu]

I wasn't yet fourteen when I first arrived, and at that time I had numerous friends from my...source. [ it's awkward to put it that way, but she can't say world when the world is destroyed, or universe when there was more than one involved (all of which were also destroyed). and this is hardly the time to get into her theories of multiversal division, no one has time for that shit. so she just has to run with the simplest word and hope it doesn't lead to too many questions. ] Most of us were satisfied to take care of ourselves, or each other, but I know others have certainly been less independent. I suppose the way humans are socialized would create a greater difficulty for many of them.

Still, I couldn't exactly speak to the why, but I'm also skeptical that the ratio necessarily skews so young on average. There have been periods with very few imPort minors, and those of us who have been around for a long time are starting to grow out of the category. But the human impulse to see young as weaker and in need of greater protection may be what causes that population to stand out, for you.

voice.

[tucky]

Well, I ain't calling nobody weak. Probably.

[That scared stuttery kid had seemed pretty weak and in need of protection.]

And I ain't saying I'm sitting around worrying about y'all, either. It's just something I was thinking about.

voice; BECAUSE I STILL WANT CR WITH YOU i'm sorry for being so slow!!

[nohalfway]

Maybe it's just me?

But this place is paradise compared to where I came from. I can probably say the same for some of the other kids.

No parents where I'm from either, so.

[ Shrug. ]

voice; YOU ARE FINE I love Ellie

[tucky]

Yeah. Not gonna lie, I was thinking about what you told me a little bit. I was thinking you was probably one of the ones who it ain't cruel for.

audio;

[orangehoodie]

There are a lot of us, but we've figured out how to take care of ourselves, and each other, too. It's surprising at first, but we adapt. I have housemates who're adults and older friends who help me out.

And, well, I guess a lot of us are used to this sort of thing, too. If not fighting, then taking care of ourselves. Besides, there are a lot of minors, but a lot of them are in high school. I don't run into a lot of people my age.

audio;

[tucky]

You take care of each other? You got like a club or something?

How old are you?

[AUDIO]

[pushtheboundaries]

I've wondered that myself, honestly. I suppose there's something to be said about being 'young enough to adapt', but it's still concerning.

[AUDIO]

[tucky]

None of the ones talking here seem that concerned about it themselves.

video; id reads Impulse

[moded]

I think there're more teenagers than kids but as far as I've seen we're all pretty crash at taking care of ourselves and being heroes.

[Bart you're from one of the leading superhero universes. This immediately means your opinion doesn't actually count.]

video;

[tucky]

You're the guy who was gonna show me how fast you can run. How old are you?

voice;

[shittybirthday]

[ Guy with a gruff Texan accent here. ]

This place is a helluva lot better than some places kids here come from.

[ Of course, there's the fact that Joel would freak the fuck out if Ellie were in this place on her own without him around (or, god forbid, if his little girl, Sarah were to ever show up here), but he's going to ignore that. ]

voice;

[tucky]

You know, I have heard that from more than one person.

audio;

[dragony]

Lower average body mass, fewer memories.

[ The voice is that of an older teen girl, somewhat bored. ]

More likely to stick around, form bonds, and want to protect the place they ended up. Generally speaking, that is.

audio;

[tucky]

All of us have got to stick around. We don't got a choice.