Wow, I Love This! It’s Just As I Imagined Him! Thank You So Much 😊

Incorrect Canon 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Quotes

Raphael: Look at him, all serious and disciplined. Bet you anything he’s drinking straight black coffee.

Michelangelo: Pfft, nah, bro. He’s definitely the type to drink, like, boiled water. Nothing in it. Just… water.

Donatello: He’s more likely to go for green tea.

[Leonardo calmly takes a sip from the festive red mug in his hands. The faintest trace of whipped cream smudges onto his upper lip.]

Donatello: Is that… whipped cream?

[Leonardo, unbothered, takes another sip. A few colorful sprinkles glint faintly against the rim of his mug.]

Michelangelo: No way. NO. WAY.

Raphael: Our brother is drinking hot chocolate. With sprinkles.

I’m not sure if it was intentional, but this art brilliantly captures how young and terrified Leonardo is in this moment. It’s easy to forget, given how badass this iteration of Leonardo is, that he was only fifteen years old during this fight—fifteen, staring death in the eye and refusing to back down. This really brings that vulnerability to the surface, and it hits so hard. Amazing work—I absolutely love this!

This is an art collab between me and @atomicmindz! I did the composition and draft and she did the rest!

Honestly, the colors came out so good for her part, I'm really happy with it! :D

Chapter Five Archive of Our Own Link 🔗: https://archiveofourown.org/works/63964906/chapters/167008765?view_adult=true

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.

Quick essay that no one asked for on the ship of Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho. I see this pairing being commonly compared to the likes of Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter, and while I definitely see the similarities, to me, the (oddly enough, heterosexual) couple they remind me the most of is Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia.

These characters are from the television show The Great, and long story short, Catherine the Great begins as a naive and optimistic young woman who marries Peter III, and her optimism shatters upon realizing how cruel and spiteful her husband is, and she decides to overthrow him. However, despite everything they do to each other over the course of the series, including attempting to kill and overthrow each other and murdering one another's loved ones, they somehow fall in love.

Their love is so powerful and all-consuming that even those around them, closest to them, cannot fathom it after all that they have done to one another and to me that is how Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho are. Often people argue that Gi-hun would never in actuality love In-ho after what he did to countless players and Jung-bae, but that is the point: like Peter and Catherine, their twisted love transcends the violence and betrayal, showing a deeper connection that defies logic and reason.

Specifically, there is one scene played out between Peter and Catherine that I could easily see happening between Gi-hun and In-ho. In a fit of rage, Catherine finally stabs Peter (who is actually a body double of him), and she thinks she has killed him, and upon realizing what she has done, she breaks down in sobs and falls to her knees. Then the real Peter appears, and Catherine, realizing he is alive and how she felt when she thought she had killed him, realizes her feelings, and he holds her while she cries. I can totally see Gi-hun somehow managing to shoot The Frontman (who is actually a double as well, let us say) only to similarly break down in tears and feel utter devastation over what he thought he had done. Then In-ho appears, revealing that the individual in the Frontman outfit was a double, and Gi-hun is overcome with a multitude of feelings like relief, shock, and love, and cries before going to the other man and embracing him.

Literally every story I do with Leonardo I am inspired by this same piece of art! I don’t know why, especially in his dark times, I commonly associate it with him.

Fallen Angel Leo!?

tbh shoulda gave him the black emo ass outfit he kills shredder with but too late 😻

I really feel like Leonardo from the 2003 iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, especially during his Christian Bale Batman era, was the most likely to do this diabolical double-knee drop to an unsuspecting Purple Dragon or Foot Clan member:

Mainly because Leonardo was known the most, especially in this iteration, for making the most cunty yet graceful moves in combat.

And now I desperately need fan-art and head-canons of this.

I think a really underrated trope is "character gets shrunk to adorable size and hijinks ensue," and I especially want to see this used in the 2003 iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Picture this: Leonardo, either through some villain of the week, freak accident, or alien technology, gets shrunk down to roughly the size of a Barbie doll.

Donatello calls Raphael and Michelangelo into his laboratory, looking all grim and serious. The absence of their eldest brother has the younger two convinced that something horrible has happened.

Raphael: [bursts in, all worried] Donny, what the shell happened? Where's Leo?!

Michelangelo: [close on his heels, equally concerned] Yeah, where's Leo? Did something happen?

Donatello: [holding up his hands to calm them] Yes, but it’s not what you think! He’s fine. He's just... gone through a bit of a change.

Raphael: [squints] What kind of change?

Donatello: [sighs] Now, I’m going to bring him out, and you two better be on your best behavior. No laughing—this is serious.

Raphael: [crosses arms, suspicious] Serious how?

Donatello gives them a look that screams, "You'll see." He reaches under the table, carefully picks up something (or rather, someone), and gently sets Leonardo down on the table. Leonardo—now barely the height of a Barbie doll—straightens his gear and adjusts his mask, trying desperately to maintain his dignity.

Raphael: [silent, staring] ...

Michelangelo: [jaw drops] ...

Raphael: [deadpan, trying not to laugh] ...I’m not supposed to laugh, right?

Michelangelo: [slowly grins] He...is...so...AWESOME! Dude, he’s like the ultimate, super-realistic action figure! [jumps excitedly] Let me hold him! Let me hold him! Please, just for a minute!

Leonardo: [scrambles to climb up Donatello’s arm, in full panic mode] DO NOT let him hold me! DO NOT let him hold me!

For Halloween, I am currently spiraling into madness writing a Pet Sematary-inspired take on the 2003 iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Raphael is unable to move on after Leonardo dies during what was supposed to be just another routine trip to the surface.

The grief eats away at Raphael, and while staying at the farmhouse, he hears from a neighbor about the cursed soil in the apple orchard. The neighbor warns him not to bury his brother there, giving the classic warning, “Sometimes, dead is better.”

But Raphael, being Raphael, does not listen. Desperate to have Leonardo back, Raphael buries him there anyway. And when his brother returns, he does so as a malevolent entity.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please comment or reblog! I am thinking of posting the first chapter this week. It should only be about two or three chapters and finished by Halloween 🎃