History Main / AdoptingTheAbused

See also HealTheCutie and RecruitedFromTheGutter. Subtrope of HappilyAdopted. This experience with abuse may cause adoptees to worry about their VillainousLineage and doubt themselves. The most common method of the adopter taking in the abused is ImTakingHerHomeWithMe. See also InterspeciesAdoption, for when the adoptee isn't even the same species as the adopter.

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20364043/chapters/48290605 You will always have a part of me nobody else is ever gonna see]]'': Discussed between Jotaro and Giorno regarding [[spoiler:3-years-old Giorno while the two are stuck in [[MentalTimeTravel their past selves from 1988]]]]. Unsettled by the evidence that [[spoiler:Giorno]] is suffering from ParentalNeglect by his mother, Jotaro suggests letting the information slip to [[spoiler:Polnareff, Giorno's future subordinate,]] so that the latter can [[HappilyAdopted rescue the toddler from his horrid home life and give him a better life]]. [[spoiler:While Giorno does consider the option, especially as they already seen the benefits of time travel with Narancia and Kakyoin alive in the new timeline, he declines as while his childhood was horrible, it was what lead him to become the Don of Passione and reform it into a force of good]].

** Ironically, Bucciarati [[SubvertedTrope didn't have any intention of adopting Narancia at first]] after providing him food and paying for his eye treatment, instead yelling at the boy to drop such foolish ideas and go back to school. However, Narancia picked up the obvious AngerBornOfWorry, and joined Passione in secret out of gratitude for the first kind man in his life. Bucciarati [[DoubleSubversion ends up taking in Narancia as his subordinate after the latter passed]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': Downplayed; [[Characters/AmphibiaAnneBoonchuy Anne Boonchuy's]] parents are very loving and she spends most of the series desperately trying to get back to them. However, her friendship with Sasha was toxic, as Anne was a pushover who did whatever Sasha wanted (sometimes even taking the blame for things that weren't her fault), and Sasha never stopped her. If anything, she encouraged her behavior, even convincing her to steal the [[{{MacGuffin}} Calamity box]]. It's only after Anne forms a genuine, healthy friendship with Sprig that she learns just how bad her friendship with Sasha was, and finally stands up to her in the season one finale (having to do it again in the season two finale).

** [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEdaClawthorne Eda Clawthorne]] arguably did this for [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz Noceda]], as she was willing to take the human in as her apprentice. While Luz's home life was fine (as she and her mother were fairly close, even if they didn't see eye-to-eye), she was ostracized in school and considered weird by many of the other kids and parents. Staying on the Boiling Isles allowed her to finally be herself without the fear of criticism (plus the fact that Eda encourages Luz's weirdness).

** [[spoiler: [[Characters/TheOwlHouseCamilaNoceda Camila Noceda]] ends up taking in Vee, a basilisk fugitive from the Boiling Isles fleeing the cruel experiments of the Emperor's Coven. After the Boiling Isles are taken over by the Collector, she also gives shelter to Luz's friends, including Amity and Hunter who both have abusive home lives.]]

** On a happier note, the series' epilogue revealed that [[spoiler:Lance legally adopted Catalina and Angry (two orphaned girls seen throughout the series) and moved into their treehouse. The last shot of Lance in the series is him happily serving the girls eggs, bacon and pancakes. Rapunzel states that the girls were so happy that they'd didn't even care when they learned their new last name was [[UnfortunateName Schnitz]].]]

* ''Manga/OnePiece:'' In his [[DarkAndTroubledPast heart-wrenching backstory]], Chopper was a reindeer born with a blue nose, who the rest of his herd perpetually neglected due to this abnormality. Things got even worse when he ate the Human-Human Fruit which granted him anthropomorphism, and the herd cast him altogether. Then Chopper would try to meet and befriend humans by using the fruit's power to assume a tall and burly humanoid form, but this resulted in him looking like a sasquatch, and the humans shot at him in fear. After all of that hardship, he'd finally be adopted by the kindly Dr. Hiruluk who treated Chopper like a son and taught him the virtues of love and healing ([[DeathByOriginStory this didn't last]]). Nowadays, Chopper has a place among the found family that is the Straw Hat Pirates surrounded, having people who love and accept him for who he is.

* It's a common plot in ''Franchise/TheAddamsFamily'' fan fictions to have an abused character ([[https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPAddamsCrossovers Harry Potter]], [[https://cheezburger.com/14104837/tumblr-thread-the-addams-family-meets-matilda Matilda Wormwood]], etc.) be found and adopted by Gomez and Morticia, who usually do something very unpleasant to the abusers. After all, [[Film/TheAddamsFamily they gladly feast on those who would subdue them]].

* ''Fanfic/HarryTano'': Ahsoka, after accidentally [[TrappedInAnotherWorld sent to Earth]], saves the four-year-old Harry Potter from the Dursley house, and becomes his adopted mother.

* ''Fanfic/NewStars'': CT-5599, or Maxx, was a clone soldier of the Republic who was viewed as little more than a slave by many, and had no power over his destiny (as his training had brainwashed him into believing that doing anything other than be a soldier was an act of desertion). Once he ends up on the ''Orville'', though, the crew makes it clear that he alone is allowed to choose what he does with his life. [[spoiler: In the end, he chooses to officially join the crew of the ''Orville'' and fight for a cause ''he'' chooses. The ''Orville'' crew welcomes him with open arms.]]

* ''Film/{{Matilda}}'' ends with the titular girl asking to be adopted by Miss Honey rather than taken along with her parents who are moving away to avoid the cops. It's very abrupt, but thankfully Matilda ''kept adoption papers on-hand just in case''. It ends up being the happiest ending possible for her, Miss Honey, ''and'' her jerkass [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]] parents.

* ''Film/XMen1'' doesn't shy away from the fact that mutants are feared, distrusted, even outright hated by a majority of the world's population, [[WouldHurtAChild even the mutant children]]. So, when mutant kids first reveal their powers (either as young children like Iceman or teenagers like Rogue), they typically end up living on the streets after either running away from or being rejected by their families. Professor X takes in any mutant who needs help, and turned his mansion into [[OrphanageOfLove a school/home]] for the many mutant children he's taken in. Several of them were so grateful for his kindness that they stayed on to become teachers at the school (namely Cyclops, Jean, and Storm).

* ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'': Since being orphaned at a few months old, Anne has had two foster families and lived in an orphanage. With her first guardians, the Thomases, the husband drank and had unpredictable tempers that Anne witnessed, while in the second family, the Hammonds, Anne was basically a child servant looking after their other eight children, often not eating much. The Cuthberts, though they originally wanted a boy, decide to keep Anne in part to prevent her from getting put through more abuse with another family. This is emphasized more in the DarkerAndEdgier TV adaptation, ''Series/AnneWithAnE'', where Anne is more visibly traumatized by her upbringing.
* ''Literature/DetectiveLaneMysteries'': In the second book, Arthur's nephew, Matt, gets adopted by his uncle after losing his mother due to cancer and being kicked out by his father for cerebral palsy. In the next book, Lane's niece, Christine, joins her uncle's family and gets adopted after running away from a cult that her mother is a part of.

* ''Literature/LesMiserables'': Feeling guilty that his actions indirectly led to the death of Fantine, Valjean visits the Thenardiers, the innkeepers who had been caring for Fantine's daughter Cosette, to take the little girl off their hands. He finds that unlike what they were telling Fantine, they were abusing Cosette and treating her as a servant. Under the care of the adoring Valjean, Cosette grows into a sweet and lovely young woman, and even [[spoiler:marries a rich and handsome young man]].

* ''Series/TheWire'': In season 4, Bunny Colvin is introduced to Namond Brice, the son of incarcerated gang enforcer Wee-Bay and very emotionally abusive mother De'Londa. As it slowly becomes apparent that Namond does not have his father's amplitude for the street life, while his mother expects him to be the breadwinner by dealing drugs, he ends up relying on Colvin for help, and at the end of the season, with his father's blessing, Colvin and his wife adopt Naymond, who is later shown to thrive and grow into a talented public speaker. The same season also sees Carver trying to adopt Randy Wagstaff, whose home was just firebombed leaving him homeless and with his foster mother in a coma, but Carver's lack of resources get in the way and Randy ends up in [[OrphanageOfFear a dangerous group home]]. Similarly, Pryzbylewski helps out with the severely neglected Duquan, taking his laundry and packing extra lunch to give him, but is limited in how much he can help, and the last he sees of him is when he comes to him to very obviously scam him for money, which Prez does give him but tells him he doesn't expect to see him again.

* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': This is alluded in Holtz' [[StoryBreadcrumbs personal journal]] at the Flores household. He found Nakamura covered in bruises before he adopted her and would later found out the injuries were entirely from an terrible {{orphanage|offear}}. Before long, she became a popular [[TheBartender bartender]] in the hometown of Margarita.
* ''VideoGame/DragaliaLost'': Before the events of the game begin, the relationship that [[TheHero Euden]] and Zethia had with their siblings was... not healthy. The Alberian Royal Family is filled to the brim with [[BigBrotherBully Big Brother (and one Sister) Bullies]] who constantly pushed Euden and Zethia around in their childhoods. Even when most of them were old enough to start living their own lives, they still continued to push around Euden and Zethia while they were still living with their father. However, the game starts with them going on a mission for Euden to form a pact with Midgardsormr. Once they're done, though, circumstances prevent them from returning home, and [[DamselInDistress Zethia ends up getting kidnapped]]. It's not all bad, because on his way to form the pact, Euden found some new friends, where they all move into Midgardsormr's castle, the Halidom, where they quickly become a happy FamilyOfChoice that only grows larger as the game progresses. Even Zethia found her own found family while she was kidnapped because it turns out that [[DiscOneFinalBoss Morsayati]] sent Zethia to the past, where she ended up getting taken in by Meenee and Ilia, alongside Mordecai. When Zethia finally gets rescued by Euden, she happily reunites with her brother and his newfound family.

* ''WebComic/BatmanWayneFamilyAdventures'': Several two-parters explore how many of the members of the Bat family had abusive or rough childhoods, and are now a part of a loving (occasionally dysfunctional) [[FamilyOfChoice family]] because Batman took them in.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderZuko Zuko's]] biological father (the show's BigBad, Fire Lord Ozai) is an awful parent, and his sister is a backstabbing sadist who'll sell him out the second it suits her. He eventually realizes that he has a much better father figure in his [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderGeneralIroh Uncle Iroh]], and that his FamilyOfChoice with [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTeamAvatar Team Avatar]] is healthier than his biological one ever was.

* ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'': Book 3 completely subverts this trope, as Grace and Simon want to bring Hazel into the Apex and get her away from her "null" friend Tuba, believing that they can take better care of her than Tuba. However, Tuba has acted as Hazel's [[ParentalSubstitute mother]] for as long as she can remember, and has [[GoodParents done an amazing job of raising her and protecting her from the dangers of the Train]]. [[spoiler: When Simon ''kills'' Tuba and he and Grace take charge of Hazel, she's visibly less [[CheerfulChild cheerful]] than before, and it becomes clear that neither Grace nor Simon is as capable of looking out for her as they thought. Hazel ultimately decides to go with her (sort-of) biological mother Amelia rather than stay with Grace and Simon.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'': The start of season three reveals that Cassandra [[spoiler:was the biological daughter of Mother Gothel... and that Gothel didn't treat her biological daughter any better than she treated her kidnapped daughter. When Gothel [[ParentalAbandonment cruelly abandons Cassandra]] in favor of keeping Rapunzel for herself, four-year-old Cassandra is clearly shocked and heartbroken. Seeing this, the Captain of the Guard promised her he'd keep her safe, and took her in as his daughter]].

* ''Fanfic/TheBloodOfTheCovenant'': After learning that the Fire Nation baby he's just met was rejected by his family and nearly killed by several Earth Kingdom families, Bato (despite his hatred for the Fire Nation) takes the toddler in as his son. He names him Kallik, and Kallik has a fairly happy childhood in the South Pole with his parents, Uncle Hakoda, Aunt Kya, and his cousins. [[spoiler: When Kallik learns later in the fic that he's the long-lost Prince Zuko and how messed up the Fire Nation royal family is, he's clearly all the more grateful to his family and to the Earth Kingdom mercenaries who got him out of the Fire Nation]].

* ''Fanfic/EbottsWake'': The Dreemurrs didn't immediately realize it either time, but both Chara and (later) Frisk had run away from AbusiveParents, and they gave each of them a second chance at a good home. As Chara once put it, Asgore showed them more kindness in the first week they knew him than Jordan ever showed them in their entire life. Frisk's parents at least cared for them for a while, but that was long gone by the time they ran away. Chara and Frisk both became {{Extremely Protective| Child}} of the Dreemurrs as a result… to the point of trying to remove themselves from the equation when they think it'll help them.

* ''Fanfic/IfWishesWerePonies'': Harry Potter, after being almost beaten to death by his cousin's gang, finds a portal to Equestria by complete accident. He's found by the CMC, who take him to the hospital. There, he admits that the Dursleys beat, isolated, and starved him. Twilight Sparkle, a day after meeting him, offers to become his new guardian. [[spoiler: Two years later, she legally adopts him]]. She's a better parent to Harry than the Dursleys ever were, and he makes it clear whenever he can [[HappilyAdopted that he loves his mother]].

* ''Fanfic/MoreThanMyFriend'': The series mainly focuses on Mac (whose home life is [[DarkerAndEdgier way worse]] [[AdaptationalAngstUpgrade than in canon]]) being legally adopted by Frankie and coming to live at Fosters with Bloo and the Imaginary Friends. It's also shown that Wilt was this for Frankie when [[DarkAndTroubledPast she was orphaned as a toddler]], helping her to work through her trauma and serving as her imaginary friend as she grew up. [[spoiler: Herriman even broke his own rules and allowed Frankie to officially adopt Wilt as her Friend so that no one could take Wilt away from her]].

* ''Fanfic/PropertyOf'': [[spoiler: After being captured and taken to Cybertron to be sold as a pet, Miles goes through a TraumaCongaLine when he's sold to an abusive Decepticon who eventually throws him out (literally). Miles spends several days avoiding capture while doing his best to get food and water. He's eventually caught by Prowl, who (after realizing that Miles is more traumatized than crazy/dangerous), decides to keep him. Miles eventually realizes that Prowl won't hurt him, and appreciates what the mech did for him.]]

* ''Film/SilentFall'': Dr. Jake Rainer, at the end of the film, has apparently adopted the autistic Tim Warden, who was being sexually abused by his late father. Tim's biological father and mother were killed [[spoiler:by his older sister, who had suffered the same abuse at her father's hands, and snapped when she caught her father abusing her little brother.]]

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'': It turns out that [[spoiler:Queen Lumera isn't [[TheHero Alear's]] biological mother after all, and that their ''real'' biological parent is actually ''[[BigBad Sombron]]''. When Alear was with Sombron, he controlled his children with force, ''[[OffingTheOffspring killing]]'' them if they showed any signs of disobedience. However, one day, after [[MyFutureSelfAndMe Alear loses a battle against their future self]], Lumera finds them lying unconscious. She takes them in, and Alear comes to accept her as their mother. Lumera's guidance is what inspires Alear to rebel against Sombron, turning them into the legendary hero as told in ancient scripture.]]

--> (Arlecchino's) voice was cruel ice, and yet it had a spellbinding, comforting power also. [[spoiler:Lynette]] lifted her eyes, and there she saw the person she would in later days call "Father." "Father" kneaded [[spoiler:Lynette's]] ears. That touch was not gentle. Indeed, they were as cold as the moon's light. And like that light, it illuminated a corner of the darkness. "When a cat's ears are folded backward, that often indicates fear or vigilance, and if they stand up and point forward, that usually indicates a good mood." Whenever [[spoiler:Lyney]] tells new members of [[spoiler:Hotel Bouffes d'ete]] about the habits of ordinary cats, he will often steal a glance at his younger sister nearby. [[spoiler:Lynette]]'s ears are straight, they face the front, and they occasionally flutter outward. It has been a long time since she last folded them back.

* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'': The start of season three reveals that Cassandra [[spoiler:was the biological daughter of Mother Gothel... and that Gothel didn't treat her biological daughter any better than she treated her kidnapped daughter. When Gothel [[ParentalAbandonment cruelly abandons Cassandra in favor of keeping Rapunzel for herself]], four-year-old Cassandra is clearly shocked and heartbroken. Seeing this, the Captain of the Guard promised her he'd keep her safe, and took her in as his daughter.]]

* ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Futaba's DarkAndTroubledPast. She and her mother, Wakaba, had a very loving relationship. When Wakaba allegedly stumbled into the path of a speeding car, the death was labeled a suicide when "investigators" read a note claiming it was from Wakaba blaming Futaba. This caused the rest of her relatives to hellishly turn on Futaba, abusing her without hesitation, until Sojiro stepped in and took her into his custody, but Futaba was still severely trauma from the incident and would truly recover when she met the Phantom Thieves and fully learned she was not the one responsible for her mother's death.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': Downplayed; Anne's parents are very loving and she spends most of the series desperately trying to get back to them. However, her friendship with Sasha was toxic, as Anne was a pushover who did whatever Sasha wanted (sometimes even taking the blame for things that weren't her fault), and Sasha never stopped her. If anything, she encouraged her behavior, even convincing her to steal the [[{{MacGuffin}} Calamity box]]. It's only after Anne forms a genuine, healthy friendship with Sprig that she learns just how bad her friendship with Sasha was, and finally stands up to her in the season one finale (having to do it again in the season two finale).
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Zuko's biological father (the show's BigBad, Fire Lord Ozai) is an awful parent, and his sister is a backstabbing sadist who'll sell him out the second it suits her. He eventually realizes that he has a much better father figure in his uncle Iroh, and that his FamilyOfChoice with Team Avatar is healthier than his biological one ever was.

** Eda arguably did this for Luz, as she was willing to take the human in as her apprentice. While Luz's home life was fine (as she and her mother were fairly close, even if they didn't see eye-to-eye), she was ostracized in school and considered weird by many of the other kids and parents. Staying on the Boiling Isles allowed her to finally be herself without the fear of criticism (plus the fact that Eda encourages Luz's weirdness).
** [[spoiler:Camila ends up taking in Vee, a basilisk fugitive from the Boiling Isles fleeing the cruel experiments of the Emperor's Coven. After the Boiling Isles are taken over by the Collector, she also gives shelter to Luz's friends, including Amity and Hunter who both have abusive home lives.]]
** It's heavily implied by the time of the epilogue that [[spoiler:Hunter is taken in by Darius.]]

!!Examples

* ''Anime/ElfenLied'': Mayu was sexually abused by her stepfather. And when she told her mother, [[BlamingTheVictim she blamed Mayu for the abuse]], claiming her husband showed no interest in her because Mayu was around. Mayu ran away from home, where she ran into Kohta and Yuka. A brief scene is shown where Mayu's mother is seen signing her parental rights over to Yuka.

* Several members of the ''Comicbook/{{Batman}}'' Family were adopted from abusive circumstances.

--> (Arlecchino's) voice was cruel ice, and yet it had a spellbinding, comforting power also. [[spoiler:Lynette]] lifted her eyes, and there she saw the person she would in later days call "Father."\\
\\
"Father" kneaded [[spoiler:Lynette's]] ears. That touch was not gentle. Indeed, they were as cold as the moon's light. And like that light, it illuminated a corner of the darkness.\\
\\
"When a cat's ears are folded backward, that often indicates fear or vigilance, and if they stand up and point forward, that usually indicates a good mood..."\\
\\
Whenever [[spoiler:Lyney]] tells new members of [[spoiler:Hotel Bouffes d'ete]] about the habits of ordinary cats, he will often steal a glance at his younger sister nearby. [[spoiler:Lynette]]'s ears are straight, they face the front, and they occasionally flutter outward.\\
\\
It has been a long time since she last folded them back.

** Eda arguably did this for Luz, as she was willing to take the human in as her apprentice. While Luz's home life was fine (as she and her mother were fairly close, even if they didn't see eye-to-eye), she was bullied in school and considered weird by many of the other kids and parents. Staying on the Boiling Isles allowed her to finally be herself without the fear of criticism (plus the fact that Eda encourages Luz's weirdness).

** Camila ends up taking in Vee, a basilisk fugitive from the Boiling Isles fleeing the cruel experiments of the Emperor's Coven.
*** After the Boiling Isles are taken over by the Collector, she also gives shelter to Luz's friends, including Amity and Hunter who both have abusive home lives.
** After [[spoiler:The HeelFaceTurn of the Collector and the destruction of Belos, it's heavily implied that Hunter is taken in by Darius.]]

* ''Fanfic/MoreThanMyFriend'': The series mainly focuses on Mac (who's home life is [[DarkerAndEdgier way worse]] [[AdaptationalAngstUpgrade than in canon]]) being legally adopted by Frankie and coming to live at Fosters with Bloo and the Imaginary Friends. It's also shown that Wilt was this for Frankie when [[DarkAndTroubledPast she was orphaned as a toddler]], helping her to work through her trauma and serving as her imaginary friend as she grew up. [[spoiler: Herriman even broke his own rules and allowed Frankie to officially adopt Wilt as her Friend so that no one could take Wilt away from her]].

In some instances, this could suffer a false start or two, where the adoptive family turns out to be as bad as or worse than the situation being fled, exchanging one type of abuse and manipulation for another. The result can be that our victim is wary and gun-shy when someone genuinely good steps into their life.

* ''Fanfic/PropertyOf'': [[spoiler: After being captured and taken to Cybertron to be sold as a pet, Miles goes through a TraumaCongaLine when he's sold to an abusive Decepticon who eventually throws him out (literally). Miles spends several days avoiding capture while doing his best to get food and water. He's eventually caught by Prowl, who (after realizing that Miles is more traumatized than crazy/dangerous, decides to keep him.]]

** After [[spoiler:The HeelFaceTurn of the Collector and the destruction of Belos]], Hunter is taken in by Darius.

* ''Fanfic/MoreThanMyFriend'': The series mainly focuses on Mac (who's home life is [[DarkerAndEdgier way worse]] [[AdaptationalAngstUpgrade than in canon]]) being legally adopted by Frankie and coming to live at Fosters with Bloo and the Imaginary Friends. It's also shown that Wilt was this for Frankie when she was orphaned as a toddler, helping her to work through her trauma and serving as her imaginary friend as she grew up [[spoiler: Herriman even broke his own rules and allowed Frankie to officially adopt Wilt as her Friend so that no one could take Wilt away from her]].
* ''Fanfic/NewStars'': CT-5599, or Maxx, was a clone soldier of the Republic who was viewed as little more than a slave by many, and had no power over his destiny (as his training had brainwashed him into believing that doing anything other than be a soldier was an act of desertion). Once he ends up on the ''Orville'', though, the crew makes it clear that he alone is allowed to choose what he does with his life. [[spoiler: In the end, he chooses to join the crew of the ''Orville'' and fight for a cause ''he'' chooses. The ''Orville'' crew welcomes him with open arms.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'': Mr. Ping did this when [[InterspeciesAdoption took in the little baby panda who showed up with his vegetable delivery]]. Unbeknownst to him (until [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3 the next film]]), Po's village had just been destroyed by Lord Shen's soldiers. The raid had separated Po from his father and his mother, [[MamaBear so her son wouldn't be discovered]], [[HeroicSacrifice allowed herself to be killed by the soldiers]].

* ''Film/XMen1'' doesn't shy away from the fact that mutants are feared, distrusted, even outright hated by a majority of the world's population, [[WouldHurtAChild even the children]]. So, when mutant kids first reveal their powers (either as young children like Iceman or teenagers like Rogue), they typically end up living on the streets after either running away from or being rejected by their families. Professor X takes in any mutant who needs help, and turned his mansion into [[OrphanageOfLove a school/home]] for the many mutant children he's taken in. Several of them were so grateful for his kindness that they stayed on to become teachers at the school (namely Cyclops, Jean, and Storm).

* ''WebComic/BatmanWayneFamilyAdventures'': Several two-parters explore how many of the members of the Bat family had abusive or rough childhoods, and are now a part of a loving family because Batman took them in.

* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'': The start of season three reveals that Cassandra was the biological daughter of Mother Gothel... and that Gothel didn't treat her biological daughter any better than she treated her kidnapped daughter. When Gothel [[ParentalAbandonment cruelly abandons Cassandra in favor of keeping Rapunzel for herself]], four-year-old Cassandra is clearly shocked and heartbroken. Seeing this, the Captain of the Guard promised her he'd keep her safe, and took her in as his daughter.

* ''Fanfic/MoreThanMyFriend'': The series mainly focuses on Mac (who's home life is [[DarkerAndEdgier way worse]] [[AdaptationalAngstUpgrade than in canon]]) being legally adopted by Frankie and coming to live at Fosters with Bloo and the IFs. It's also shown that Wilt was this for Frankie when she was orphaned as a toddler, helping her to work through her trauma and serving as her imaginary friend as she grew up.
* ''Fanfic/NewStars'': CT-5599, or Maxx, was a clone soldier of the Republic who was viewed as little more than a slave by many, and had no power over his destiny (as his training had brainwashed him into believing that doing anything other than be a soldier was an act of desertion). Once he ends up on the ''Orville'', though, the crew makes it clear that ''he's'' allowed to choose what he does with his life. [[spoiler: In the end, he chooses to join the crew of the ''Orville'' and fight for a cause ''he'' chooses.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheWilloughbys'': The very start of the movie makes it clear that the Willoughby parents want nothing to do with their kids, depriving them of food, yelling a them for making the slightest noise, throwing them in the coal bin if they misbehave, and even gleefully kicking them out of the house when Jane tries to take in a DoorstopBaby. It's only after the kids meet Nanny that they learn how parents should ''actually'' treat kids, as their nanny has their backs throughout the film. [[spoiler: At the end, when the Willoughby parents ''literally leave their children to die on a mountain top'', Nanny, Commander Melanhoff, and Ruth come to their rescue. Nanny and the Commander then legally adopt the Willoughby children and Ruth, with the end credits showing the seven of them living as an unusual but happy family.]]

* ''Film/XMen1'' doesn't shy away from the fact that mutants are feared, distrusted, even outright hated by a majority of the world's population. So, when mutant kids first reveal their powers (either as young children like Iceman or teenagers like Rogue), they typically end up living on the streets after either running away from or being rejected by their families. Professor X takes in any mutant who needs help, and turned his mansion into [[OrphanageOfLove a school/home]] for the many mutant children he's taken in.

** After the Boiling Isles are taken over by the Collector, she also gives shelter to Luz's friends, including Amity and Hunter who both have abusive home lives.