Me Remembering How I Was Embarrassing When I Could Have Been Cool And Chill:

Gnawing on the bars of my enclosure and foaming at the mouth because SAME. The grip that early 2000s dark-side Leonardo fics had on my soul is still unreal.

This AU has everything I crave. Venom Leonardo in the 2003 series would eat (pun intended) with all that delicious angst.

Somebody needs to write this. Immediately. Or I will.

they share a braincell

Here is the fourth chapter:

Hello everyone!

I am so excited to share my first work in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fandom with you! While I am a huge fan of the 2003 iteration, I have chosen to set this story in the 2012 iteration, as it fits best with the storyline I have envisioned. But do not worry—if you enjoy this, I will be posting a story set in the 2003 universe later on, so stay tuned!

This story is a loose adaptation of the City Fall arc from the IDW comics, tailored to fit the 2012 cartoon's setting. Here is the link and summary:

Title: Little Dark Age

Summary: After a devastating defeat by the Shredder during the Kraang invasion, Leonardo is captured and subjected to the dark machinations of the witch Kitsune. Bewitched and scarred, Leonardo is made to believe that the Hamato Clan is the architect of his suffering, convinced they are responsible for years of psychological and physical abuse. When Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo return to New York, they are horrified to find their presumed-dead brother now a vengeful and far more powerful adversary as the chunin of the Foot Clan.

Link 🔗: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57918355/chapters/147434158

What is the context here? 💀 Also, I can’t get enough of Leonardo doing the Christian Bale Batman voice.

They're so extra

Possibly my favourite 2k3 tmnt screenshot

Bro really said (⁠ㆁ⁠ω⁠ㆁ⁠)

Leonardo when fighting alongside his brothers:

Leonardo when fighting by himself:

Rewatching the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series has made one thing painfully clear: Leonardo goes absolutely feral when he fights solo. Like, when he is with his brothers, he is the model of teamwork—strategizing, watching their backs (shells?), and occasionally throwing in a quip or two. But the second he is left to fight alone? He unleashes. No one to protect, no need to hold back—he just goes full-on berserker mode.

Stop, because this has actually taken over my mind.

I imagine Gi-hun as a divorced, gambling-addicted cleaner at the opera house, living there while his daughter trains in ballet at the dormitory. He’s worked there for years, long enough to start believing in the so-called Front Man—especially since said ghost has been giving him impromptu singing lessons.

Gi-hun can’t deny that ever since the Front Man took an interest in him, most of his gambling debts have been conveniently forgotten by those he owed them to. Some creditors have even mysteriously disappeared.

One day, disaster strikes. The prima donna refuses to sing after yet another sabotage by the opera ghost—this time, right in front of the new owner of the opera house, the Recruiter. To make matters worse, a new benefactor has arrived: Cho Sang-woo.

Gi-hun’s childhood best friend.

Sang-woo doesn’t recognize Gi-hun at first—just a cleaner on stage, sweeping up the aftermath of yet another accident. But when it becomes clear that the opera will have to cancel its performance (and refund an audience they can’t afford to lose), Jung-bae, the stage manage who got Gi-hun the job years ago, makes an outrageous suggestion: let Gi-hun sing.

Gi-hun nearly spits out his drink. Everyone laughs. The idea is ridiculous. Him? The starring role?

But then—he sings.

And the laughter stops.

Before he can protest, the costumers are hauling him backstage, fitting him into elaborate robes, combing his hair, shaving his face. By the time he looks in the mirror, he barely recognizes himself. He isn’t just a cleaner anymore.

That night, as Gi-hun steps onto the stage, Sang-woo recognizes the voice before he recognizes the man. The performance stuns the audience, and afterward, Sang-woo finds Gi-hun in his dressing room, inviting him to dinner. The invitation feels surreal—too fine, too polished. The luxury, the crisp new clothes—it’s everything Gi-hun ever wanted.

But something about it feels wrong.

Later, a letter arrives. Not from Sang-woo.

From the Front Man, the opera ghost.

The signature?

A symbol.

〇△□

Before Gi-hun can make sense of it, he is summoned.

This time, not to the stage.

To the depths beneath the opera house.

Where the Front Man waits.

i dont know if this is too niche but then again tumblr never fails to surprise me so… hear me out on this????? i???? kinda need to write this au asap because the poto dynamic with 457 is actually crazy

the phantom is the og masked yearner i fear… he walked so inho could run

also the idea of the phantom (inho) being shorter than christine (gihun) has me giggling a little icl

in sleep, he sang to me.

idea from @grimeshound

omg love the pfp 🤝

Oh my God, another babygirl Gi-hun enthusiast?! I absolutely love yours too! The way a middle-aged man can radiate that kind of energy in a single photograph is both baffling and utterly captivating.