#tmnt traumatropism

[lesbianardoo]

au time.... heh

the name for this au has gone through a lot. the fic series on ao3 (which you can find here, by the way. there's currently four whole oneshots!) was called tinged memory until today, but i decided to change it because it just doesn't fit very well anymore from when i first started. i also considered calling this au oblivion or hodgepodge, and i also considered calling it absurdism up until about.... 20 minutes ago. but i settled on traumatropism, which is growth or involuntary movement of a plant as a result of injury. the name makes more sense when you're me

these designs are from the pre-space arc, which i've been calling "boyscout days" in my head. oh my babies. so unaware.... so joyous... little did they know about. the horrors.

individual refs + short tidbits about them 😋

i do plan on doing two more sets of references for the space/kraang arc and the foot clan arc but i really wanted to get these out. this au has been cooking for FAR TOO LONG and i needed to get it out there into the world

human ally designs as well and splinter and draxum coming soon.... (me when i lie)

[lesbianardoo]

tmnt au voice claims.. bleghhh

uh yeah that's it all the other characters besides the turtles are concepts so these designs arent final

[lesbianardoo]

can we kill these guys chat

[lesbianardoo]

hihi here to ask stuff about your iteration as a joke for you to answer as a joke!

what's up with the boys and draxum? were they made by draxum? were they raised just by splinter or by both of them?

do they know april and/or casey? how'd they meet?

who's the best cook and who's the worst? does any of them like baking? what about crochet? drawing or graffiti?

(future me here... i did NOT expect to write this much. sorry lol)

im gonna be honest i struggled with coming up with draxum's thing for a LONGGG time. but here's the gist (there's a longer explanation of yokai history in the first oneshot i posted for this au on ao3)- there was a huge yokai population in japan for centuries before a natural disaster and many immigrated overseas, leading to multiple communities mostly on coasts or big cities. most yokai settlements are closer to big human settlements- so there's a lot by la and nyc, but you're not exactly about to find any in lost springs, wyoming, with a population of like 6 people. or any yokai in wyoming at all.

focusing on nyc here, the average new yorker has heard about yokai, but they're more of an urban legend than anything. very similar to "the alligators in the sewers." as for their living situations, think the rise of the tmnt hidden city, but less "magical entrance to a metropolis below new york city" and more like the sewers in mutant mayhem's game "mutants unleashed" but a little more established.

okay, finally to draxum. he's known as a yokai scientist, but not like "renowned amazing life changing discovery scientist", but like. mad scientist vibes. he wanted to find out if there was a way to create yokai without reproducing naturally, because there's been some fear rising about the future of the yokai species, especially with safety and spacial concerns (what if they outgrow the underground? what if they're discovered by humans? what if there's not enough resources? yokai cant exactly just get a job on the surface). which eventually led to the "birth" of the turtles. kind of similar to the rise turtles creation, but they weren't made for war or anything.

draxum is overjoyed at first, but quickly realizes he can NOT raise children. draxum has known splinter for years, and knows he's been feeling lonely since his wife died so he kind of just... gives them to him. splinter doesnt really object. draxum realizes like 13 years later that handing over these kids to a depressed family friend with generational trauma wasnt exactly a good idea because now these kids are a little bit fucked up for life.

anyway, about 10 years later when leo is about 12, raph is almost 12, mikey's 10 and donnie's 9, he decides that he should actually be a part of their life. he was their creator after all, so he finally decides to take responsibility and check up on them. he and splinter co parent until, well. splinter dies when leo is 18. but we'll get to that lol

so, yeah. raised by splinter for like 9 years (which affected them all differently, because splinter's treatment was 100% not equal) and then raised by both until splinter kicks the bucket

ok. april and casey. yeah. they know those guys!

like i said earlier, the average new yorker knows has heard about the "animal people in the sewers." there's obviously a few dumb teens who go looking.

april and casey have been friends for YEARS, and they're both a little crazy, so they take it a little more seriously. anyway, they definitely find them!

splinters PISSED at the turtles for a while for becoming friends with them, but draxum tells him to cut that that shit out and let the turtles have actual friends (splinter and the turtles dont actually live that close to yokai 'society'. it's a while walk through the sewers. splinter doesnt really tell them there's more out there either, so... they grew up kind of isolated).

i havent totally flrshed out april or casey just yet so more on that to come. but yeah. they know those guys. and timothy. and in the future, karai.

i dont really see any of the turtles as a "bad cook", they all range from good to mediocre. but i guess at the end of the spectrum would be raph. mikey's the best because they like sweet treats and bakes them a lot. leo also likes to bake bread every once in a while just because he likes the smell, but he doesn't have a lot of free time for that so it's not often. donnie and mikey both like to crochet, but mikey is more fun, like plushes and granny square blankets and donnie is more functional, like bags and sweaters. raph LOVES graffiti and does it all the time after draxum gets spray paint. mikey is more of a doodler, but leo likes to draw when he has the time.

ok i didnt think i'd write this much but haha yeah i hope that answers your questions lol.. yeahhhhhhh

[lesbianardoo]

didnt mention how mikey feels about splitner and draxum in the arc 1 line up but theyd describe splinter as an old fart if anybody asked and they think draxum is fucking awesome. okay idk if anybody gaf but yeah..