Its A Gushy Time With A Splatter Of Canon Typical Action Thrown In - Tumblr Posts
A Family Tail Master Post
Behind the scenes, I have so many AUs and stories planned and in the works it's not even funny. I do plan on posting about them because they're all heavy with information, not just what I'm going to post on A03. At this point, my friends and I are convinced I'll be writing beyond the grave lol BUT! Focusing now on a fluff related AU, on that is on-going as I write it as a buffer while writing my AHON AU. It all started with a random thought one late summer afternoon during work: Why is there a lack in Splinter love stories? The guy deserves it. Having gone through a life-changing mutation, raising four boys that also went through the same life-altering changes, and ensuring not only theirs but his own survival and safety? Bruh. Having a friend that is going through single parenthood with 2 boys in life, Splinter deserves medals, spa days for the rest of his years, and love. Being a single parent to four boys, let alone mutant boys, is no easy task. But that's just me and my thoughts. This AU, however? It's not just a love-letter to the best Mutant Dad, but to four brothers and a small family that has gone through hell and back in order to find their peace and loving found-family. Which amped up the original thought to the following: What if the brothers had grown up with a mother/mother-figure? One that not only accepted and loved them, but accepted and loved their dad?
Enter Genevieve "Gene" - A head nurse for an exotic animal clinic, on-call for the local area zoos, and volunteers her time at the reptile sanctuary the clinic runs for rescues and surrenders.
In story, Gene "meets" (more like catches sight of) Splinter first when he sneaks into the clinic to 'borrow' some medicine for his sick, young sons (we're talking toddler ages here). After she left a note with her number and willingness for extending help, some time passes, and she receives a call from him requesting that aide. She does not physically meet him until a few months later, their conversations strictly having been by phone calls. He arrived at night when she's leaving the clinic, to properly thank her for saving his sons. After a tense conversation, they begin a shaky friendship/acquaintanceship, but neither push for regular in-touch basis (though Gene does make regular weekly calls to check up on the boys', and subsequently Splinter's health). She doesn't meet the boys until sometime afterward, but it doesn't take long after the meet that Gene becomes a regular in their lives--providing healthy groceries, presents, furniture and utility updates, and even providing a teaching of some modern hobbies the boys obtained that Splinter was open for them to learn, but lost on providing that type of teaching for his boys. Needless to say, she becomes a staple within their lives that it becomes difficult for all involved to imagine life without her, and vice versa for her towards this small mutant family. Some notes on this AU:
There is no set universe for this story; most likely will be an amalgamation with different cameos and easter eggs, just for the funsies.
An out-of-sync chapter story (attention span is too short due to other projects to figure out a proper timeline); some chapters will be shorter than others, and some will be marked as parts if I decide there is an arc to them.
Splinter in this AU will be a Human-turned-Mutant, Hamato Yoshi, because of plans.
The lair is 100% based on the '87/'90/'03 animation lair design(s) with how big, vast, and multi-room use it is, but with the grittiness of the 14/16 movie set designs.
The boys still learn the art of Ninjutsu -- they wouldn't be Ninja Turtles without it, after all. Gene also learns an impressive amount of self-defense combat, training under Splinter separate from the boys.
By the time the boys are teenagers, Gene is in her late 30s and Splinter is in his late 40s and they are in a solid relationship by that point
How the boys meet April + Casey will be different compared to the other iterations (that's honestly becoming a theme in my AUs, now that I think about it...What is wrong with me?)--April's meet is figured out, but still working on Casey's.
Even though majority of this will be Contemporary Life type genre, there are action scenes planned with Oroku Saki/Shredder and the Foot Clan (kinda hard to stay away from that).
I will be completely upfront: I don't normally write anything fluff related. But my brain has been craving this while I write scary angsty stories. Thus, having me fall to the dangling fruit that is contemporary 'what if's for these guys (including this, I have 4 planned stories within that genre), and I couldn't shy away from thinking up scenarios with turtle tots involved.
Here are the chapter summaries for two of those very scenes (centering around Mikey, because I've been very hard on the guy in my other story):
When the boys are around 7-8 years old: During the time when Gene is making it a good habit to visit the Hamato family during her down time, she is caught painting her toenails in the lair. Mikey gets inquisitive and asks her questions about the process and the 'why's. She is patient and lighthearted with her answers, but stalls when he ends up asking if she'd paint his nails. Instead of answering, she looks up to Splinter, who had been drinking his tea in the kitchenette; he had already been watching the exchange and after a moment, he gives his nod of approval. With the silent permission, Gene tells Mikey that she will prettify his nails, and while she finishes up and lets her toes dry, he can pick out a color, or colors that he'd like to have. When he grabs a handful of colors and asks if she could do a rainbow, they start to plan on how to do this project without making a whole lot of mess. Mikey ends up stealing borrowing a role of tape and paper from Don's rooms so they could tear small strips to make stripe patterns to test out. When Mikey finds one he likes, it's another hour or so of the two of them spending time together of her painting his nails (hands and feet) in striped rainbow. When Don comes out to see what's going on with his 'borrowed' materials, he asks if he can have his done too, but in shades of purple. The lair smelt of nail polish for at least a day after that afternoon/evening.
Sometime after Gene and Splinter begin their relationship: Michelangelo is having nightmares, and normally he'd go to one of his older brothers to pile up on, however he finds that he is wanting the comfort of Gene; her hugs are the best, and her extra squeezes and flop of her body makes him feel loved and safe. On one night she decides to sleep at the lair (it's a rare treat for her to sleep over that's slowly becoming more common), Mikey wakes up from another nightmare and immediately goes to seek out Gene. Only he doesn't see her on the couch or cot in the living room space she normally sleeps in--he hunts her down, doing his best to see it as a game of hide-and-seek to keep his panic down, and finally finds her in dad's room. The two are snuggling in slumber on his mat, with Gene having her back to Splinter and arms splayed before her, while Splinter has one draped over Gene's side and the other cradled under her neck. Mikey almost doesn't want to disturb them (in the back of his mind, he remembers that his brothers owe him their pot of treats), but only almost. He ends up going in the room and when he tries to figure out how to only wake up Gene, she startles awake from feeling his stare on her. He tells her about his nightmares and before he asks if he could have one of her hugs, she smiles and opens her arms for him. When he snuggles into her arms, they both feel Splinter wrap his arms closer against the both of them as they fall back in slumber; Mikey doesn't have nightmares after that (and crows at the breakfast table that his brothers owe him the winning pot of treats).