Here Is What Inspired The Wedding Outfit Gi-hun Wears In This Chapter For Those Who Were Asking:

Here is the fifth chapter. Oopsie daisy! Looks like the muses had their say, and it turns out that the evil 2012 iteration of Leonardo is basically just the Rise version:

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

Chapter Four Archive of Our Own Link 🔗: https://archiveofourown.org/works/62894770/chapters/162940264

Random Person: “Do you still think that Leonardo and Usagi should have gotten a rematch in the Battle Nexus considering one was poisoned mid-match?”

Me:

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

The reason I love 457 x 001 or In-ho x Gi-hun so much is because their ship dynamic is literally just:

I'm trapped by these two

if you marry me

would you bury me?

This is exactly the kind of ridiculousness I would expect turtle-tot Leonardo to come up with.

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

I just uploaded the first chapter today, and the final chapter will hopefully be out on Halloween:

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 🎃