#Moving back home from across the country kind of destroyed anyone I had to talk to and now i'm realizing how miserably lonely I am

[fallling-in-winter]

Partner is gone for 4 days and he's the only person I consistently talk to. fuck

[legolasghosty]

I got Parents AU and Dystopia AU and now I am Concerned

Oh gosh I am also concerned but like... let's see what happens? Also, I am far from an expert on dystopian concepts, as I tend to not enjoy them much in stories. So I make no promises about staying perfectly with the concept.

Following N-Day, when several countries ended up shooting nukes at each other and essentially destroying human civilization as it was previously known, the survivors banded together to prevent the entire eradication of the human race. No one is really sure where the old borders were due to the destruction, along with the massive amounts of tectonic and volcanic activity that was triggered because of all the explosives. It didn't matter, a person was just a person back then.

But things changed within the first century. 'Survival of the fittest' became the thing, as finding medical equipment to care for those dying of radiation poisoning was basically impossible. And for those fortunate enough to not suffer any major physical trauma from the explosions, it seemed a waste to spend their time on those who had. A kind of class system developed around how close you'd been to a blast, with those few who were fully outside of the range of effect being at the top.

Flash forward about 150 years since N-Day (yeah okay I suck at naming things), most of the direct radiation is gone but the society developed from the fallout has become basically a feudal system. Birth defects due to parental radiation poisoning and general sucky living conditions are super common. You got the rich elite on top, living it up, and everyone else stuck under them with no hope of advancing.

Julie, Flynn, and Carrie work together to run a sort of orphanage for kids who have lost their parents/caregivers to the many dangers that face the lower classes. Flynn does a lot of the admin type stuff, Carrie uses her upper class connections to get them funding, and Julie works with the kids themselves. Ideally it's a temporary place for kids until they find a family for them (either by blood or choice), but that isn't always the case unfortunately.

Yes, the rest of the gang is around too. Reggie is a teacher at the local primary school and comes over to the La Rosa (the orphanage) after work a lot to help out the kids(and the grown ups). Luke is officially a delivery person, but he can often be found playing music on a beat up old guitar with anyone who will listen. The kids love him, he's basically the cool uncle. Alex is a weaver, has always been good with his hands. And since his shop/home is right across the street from La Rosa and he doesn't mind a few kiddos hanging around while he works, he's become a sort of godfather to some of the kids that have been there forever. His partner, Willie (yeah the authorities don't like it, but Alex is the best fabric worker in the area so what are they gonna do?) has an insane garden that they care for along with his official work as a cleaner.

Lots of kids move through La Rosa within a year or so, but some have been there for ages. There's Isa, a 12 year old who can go toe to toe with Alex in snark and will deck a bigger kid for the people she cares about, and Damian, a 15 year old who rarely talks and would rather spend time weeding in the garden with Willie than interacting with people. Next is Aiden, who is 10 years old and goes back and forth between acting like he's 20 and 5. Julie is working on not taking on everyone's burdens with him, while Reggie is teaching him to play nice. And then there's little Dizzy, who is 7 and just arrived but has already trashed several things by accident. She says she's clumsy but Julie figured out pretty fast that she's mostly blind. She's working on getting the little girl to trust Luke, cause he's big on seeing the world with all your senses, and often plays guitar with his eyes closed.

It's a hard business though, trying to take care of all of the kids who lose their parents. Most of the people in higher classes would rather the kids either get over their 'issues' and start being productive or get lost. Funding is difficult. And some of the top folks are pushing to shut down organizations like theirs. But the gang is determined to keep taking care of their kids, legal or otherwise.

Cue some creative generation of additional revenue sources. Also lots of soft parenting, trauma management, and just the gang taking care of the kids and each other.

I got no clue if any of that makes sense, but that's what I got! Hope you enjoyed!!!