What Is The Context Here? 💀 Also, I Can’t Get Enough Of Leonardo Doing The Christian Bale Batman

I am in the middle of rewatching the 2003 version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles during my summer break from college, this time with my father, who had only seen bits and pieces of it when I watched it as a child. We are currently on season four, which fans often refer to as the "post-traumatic stress disorder arc" for Leonardo, as it depicts his mental deterioration and increasing anger, even surpassing that of his notoriously hot-headed brother.

While doing the dishes, I asked my father what he thought of the arc so far. He simply said, "He seems angry." I agreed, replying, "Yeah, he's angry at himself." My father responded, "Yeah, but he's also angry at his brothers." This made me pause. I knew Leonardo had moments where he was upset with his brothers for not training enough or for goofing off, but I had not thought of him as being outright angry with them.

Then my father elaborated, "He's angry because they're not perfect, like he expects himself to be." This was a revelation for me. I had always interpreted this arc as Leonardo being angry at himself for not being good enough, but it makes a lot of sense that if he holds himself to such a high standard, he would hold his brothers to the same—and get frustrated and angry when they inevitably do not meet it.

I think a less explored aspect of this arc is that Leonardo is exhausted from carrying the burden alone and was trying to share it with his brothers. However, they do not carry it the same way he does, which does not make them lesser—it just makes them young and still wanting a life outside of crime fighting. Michelangelo captures this sentiment best in the same season when he says,”I think all of you should just lay off the poor guy. I mean, it can't be fun. Always being the responsible one, and we’re the ones who really benefit. Raph's free not to think cause Leo does all the thinking for him, Don's free to dream, And I'm free to take it easy, all cause Leonardo is busy being responsible enough for all of us.”

Anyway, at the ripe age of twenty-two and in graduate school, I find myself once again feeling melancholic over little green guys.

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

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.

No because I am the niche. Or maybe the niche was made for me. Honestly, what am I even learning in college if I cannot even articulate this properly?

Anyway—I am obsessed with the Star Wars prequels and Squid Game, and when I say I have been thinking about this exact crossover too?? I am losing it. I need to write this immediately. They really do have so many parallels and both pairings make me want to sob 😭

In-ho as Anakin | Vader and Gi-hun as Padmé? The emotional devastation. The tragedy. The drama. And now I cannot stop thinking about who the rest of the cast would be in this AU. It is over for me. I have no choice but to write this.

this is so incredibly niche, but i don't even care anymore.

inhun and anidala, as couples and as separate people, have quite a few parallels, and i need to talk abt them.

the way that inho's front man outfit and the darth vader suit are similar. a mask hiding their faces, modifying their voices, making them seem unhuman with its features. the way that both suits set them apart from the other workers and the way they completely hide the person beneath it.

inho and anakin both being on the "right" side, a cop and a jedi. people who protect others, who should be a positive force in the world. but both the police and the jedi have a lot of problems in how they can intervene during certain situations.

both of them wanted to save their pregnant wives and both failed, with anakin believing both padmé and their child died, while inho's actually passed away.

they both have an older man who serves as a mentor and introduces them to the dark world they will soon be a driving force in (palpatine with the sith, and ilnam with the games). in both cases, anakin and inho are the successors when said mentors die.

anakin tried to recruit luke to the dark side, and inho tried to recruit junho to join the games.

padmé and gihun are both idealists who sacrificed their personal lives to make the world a better place. they are protectors and nurturers.

padmé accepts the role of senator because she needs to try to change the current status quo, and gihun pursues those who are being the games to bring them to justice for what they have done.

gihun watches as the man he loves becomes unhinged and cruel (sangwoo), and the same happens to padmé as she witnesses anakin's descent into madness. both plead with said men to turn back, and both almost die at the hands of these men.

padmé and gihun both thrive for justice and for those who harm others to be brought down, and they are both key players in trying to destitute a power-hungry leader (padmé creating the rebel alliance against palpatine and gihun leading the revolt against the front man).

and, finally, the speech anakin gives padmé in aotc:

From the moment I met you, all those years ago, not a day has gone by when I haven't thought of you. And now that I'm with you again... I'm in agony. The closer I get to you, the worse it gets. The thought of not being with you- I can't breath. I'm haunted by the kiss that you should never have given me. My heart is beating... hoping that kiss will not become a scar. You are in my very soul, tormenting me... what can I do?- I will do anything you ask. ...If you are suffering as much as I am, please, tell me.

and later on, padmé's response:

I'm not afraid to die. I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life. [...] I love you. [...] I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway. I truly... deeply... love you and before we die I want you to know.

these are so inhun coded to me 😩

inho can't stop thinking about gihun after first seeing him yell at the cameras abt deok-su killing that player (for me, this was when inho's fascination with gihun began), and now that gihun is near him again, he can't breath, haunted by the friendship and camaraderie and love gihun handed him when he was "youngil".

and gihun loves inho, even as his life is being destroyed around him. he doesn't want to love him but he does, so much. he's not scared of dying, he's scared of his feelings for inho, of how much he loves this seemingly cruel man. and now gihun needs inho to know that everything gihun gave him was real.

Incorrect Canon 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Quotes

Raphael: Oh, I see what’s happenin’. You’ve got a Leo.

Casey: [confused] What? A Leo?

Raphael: [nods knowingly] Yeah, that little voice in your head that tells you you can’t do stuff.

Raphael: [mockingly imitates] “Raph, don’t do that. Raph, that’s not honorable. Raph, hitting unconscious opponents with their own fists and asking why they’re hitting themselves is not the ninja way.”

Leonardo: [appears in the doorway, arms crossed, glaring] Raph. Casey. What are you two up to?

Casey: [eyes wide] I HEAR IT!

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 love him so much...( (inho too)

Plus, people always forget that one of his greatest strengths is his resourcefulness, like in the dalgona game. And in the final game his move with the sand, which is always 🤌💋 Chef’s kiss to me.

sometimes i see people saying that gihun has no physical prowess and wouldn't hold his own in a fight. and yeah i agree up to a point.

gihun has no training, that's true. but he fights dirty.

i think we all collectively forgot that gihun bit a chunk out of sangwoo's ankle during their fight.

he didn't just bite him, he bit through him. he literally spits out a piece of sangwoo's skin like 😭

AND he got stabbed three times and kicked in the face and strangled, and still he literally pulled the knife out of his own hand to use it against sangwoo.

that doctor pulled his tooth out with no anesthesia, and gihun cut out a tracker out of the back of his ear.... that's an insane pain threshold 😭

yes, inho would ultimately kick his ass with his cop training but gihun looks like the type to dig his thumbs into someone's eyes if he's cornered and scared.

Here is what inspired the wedding outfit Gi-hun wears in this chapter for those who were asking:

Chapter Six (Final Chapter) Archive of Our Own Link 🔗: https://archiveofourown.org/works/62894770/chapters/163991815?view_adult=true

Thank you so much for responding! I would definitely recommend the movie is science fiction horror is your thing! The unintended bonus for the movie for me is definitely Ripley and Hicks, hence why I could not help imagining Gi-hun and In-ho as them. Not to mention Gi-hun is so final girl-coded—survivor’s guilt and all✨

Also, I loved your description of the scene. It actually made me blush 😊 🫣 Now, I definitely want to write this! Thank you again!

Hey! I don’t know if you have ever seen the film Aliens, which, full disclosure, is science fiction horror. Quick summary if you have not seen it: Ellen Ripley, the sole survivor of an alien attack on her ship, agrees to return to the site where her now-dead crew first encountered the alien creatures with a unit of Colonial Marines with Corporal Dwayne Hicks to investigate.

Anyway, I want to write Gi-hun as Ripley and In-ho as Hicks so bad solely because of the chemistry they have through the film being so protective of one another. But mainly because of the scene below where Hicks shows Ripley how to fire a pulse rifle to defend herself:

Seeing In-ho show Gi-hun how to fire a gun would be so 🫣 🫣 🫣

hi!! 💖

i've never seen it unfortunatley but i hear it's an amazing movie!!

omg, can u imagine inho behind gihun kinda realizing that with their height difference he can't quite get his arms around gihun, so he presses up against his back, their bodies touching from shoulders to hips. he hooks his chin over gihun's shoulder and uses his hands to bend gihun's arms this way and that, speaking soft instructions the entire time. gihun is tense, trying to concentrate on what inho is saying but his body is firm as it presses against gihun's own, and his hands are warm and calloused, and every time he turns his head his breath ghosts over gihun's neck and makes goosebumps erupt all over his skin. when gihun finally gets a good grip, inho's hand leave his arms and trail down, fitting themselves over gihun's trim waist, thumb brushing soft circles over his shirt. he tells gihun to relax and to always remember that inho will be there every step of the way. gihun almost presses his finger against the trigger and, in a moment of weakness, leans back against inho's body, feeling those fingers tighten on his waist and flex, almost as if inho wants to press them against one another even harder.