Literally Every Story I Do With Leonardo I Am Inspired By This Same Piece Of Art! I Don’t Know Why,

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As Halloween creeps closer—yes, I know it's over two months away, but who's counting?—let's have some fun! Here are the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in as the best Salem moments from Sabrina the Teenage Witch:

Leonardo:

Raphael:

Donatello:

Michelangelo:

Is it just me or do 2003 Leo and Raph have the best relationship out of all the iterations? It's my favorite, at least. Like they do get snappy with each other sometimes but their spats aren't nearly as often, as intense or festering as long as some others I've seen.

It was refreshing that Raph didn't challenge Leo's position as leader nearly as much. Sometimes he would challenge the decisions he made while leading but not undermine his position. He learned and mostly accepted that Leo would be a good leader in childhood and he backed him up nine times out of ten (even when Leo didn't know it: e.g. the "If Leo needs us, we're here. But let's see what this is all about." An instance of Raph pulling a Leo-type move, hanging back to recon rather than rushing in, while Leo's judgment was clouded. Learning from each other and supporting even from a distance)

How ready they are to be there for each other? How openly protective they are of each other? Like they're not as coy or begrudging or emotionally constipated as others about showing how much they care. Small gestures, big gestures, it doesn't matter. Leo's having trouble focusing on a plan because of the noise? Raph makes the noise go away. Wasn't Raph the first one who wanted to look for Leo when his morning training (getting ambushed by the Foot) ran unusually late? Or the scene where Leo's suddenly getting pulled away by an unknown magical force and he calls out to his brothers in alarm. Don cries, "Oh, no!" as he and Mikey stand there and watch; they freeze up. Raph dives headlong after him instantly.

And how they take it when they can't be there for each other? He dove headlong and he didn't actually make it in time to grab Leo's hand before he's gone. Master Splinter has to physically hold him back as he's still shouting and fighting to get to him (and then he has to be restrained again by magic when it looks like Leo's in danger in the 1v1 he was pulled to. Screw the fact that he's obviously outpowered by the almighty binding rules of the duel, he'll go kicking and screaming anyway, that's his bro!) And the scene where they're on top of a moving car, Leo loses his grip on Raph and he falls and from Leo's POV, time slows until he sees Raph land alright. Raph facing his fear ick about bugs, jumping down to defend Leo from the big boss bug with no hesitation when he sees him get stung? And of course when he cries just the once (as far as I recall) in the whole series when Leo's seriously hurt. How he makes me cry in SAINW as he crawls to Leo's side, reaches out for him, calls his name with his dying breath, his last word is his brother's name as he falls beside him, hand against his??? And that was after being estranged in that what-if future! LIKE BRO THAT SCENE MAKES ME WANT TO SCREAM

Even just the two or three lines where Leo's waxing poetic about their family, being completely sincere, and Mikey bursts out laughing and teases him for being a sap. Raph immediately tells Mikey to lay off and that Leo's got a point.

They're just so good. They have a few arguments like all siblings do but there is zero doubt that they love each other to pieces and they don't hesitate at all to show it on the regular. And outside of that estrangement timeframe where they were traumatized and grieving and in a literal apocalypse where they lost all hope, they didn't let their relationship fall apart the way some other iterations did. (Like I love 2007 but that fight on the rooftop? Where Raph could have killed him? I watch it and I can't help but think to myself, "2003 Leo and Raph would never." We saw them have a tussle on a rooftop and the moment there was a possibility he put Raph in real danger, Leo came to his senses and dropped everything to make sure he was okay. I dunno)

Asfjskjfks this is all just biased four AM rambling. The point is I love them, your honor, best/closest/healthiest R&B dynamic duo forever in my heart <3 (Natural disclaimer: I don't say any of this to crap on any of the other iterations. I like them all! I just like 2003's portrayal the most)

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:

Do you ever imagine that all your favorite characters, who have absolutely no connection to each other, just chill in your head when you’re not actively thinking about them?

For me, it’s like: Leonardo from the 2003 iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sam Winchester from Supernatural, and Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars prequels all sitting at a table sipping tea. And yes, they’re totally aware they’re in my head:

Leonardo: [staring at the mug in front of him] Is it just me, or does everything feel... jittery today?

Sam: [rubbing his temples] Oh, it’s not just you. I think she’s had, like, three cups of coffee already this morning.

Obi-Wan: [raising an eyebrow] Three cups? Amateur. During the Clone Wars, I once drank six cups in one briefing just to stay awake while Anakin explained his ‘perfect’ plan to flank a droid battalion. It wasn’t perfect. I ended up digging us out of a crater for three hours.

Leonardo: [sighing] No wonder I’ve been feeling like I should be training non-stop. The energy in here is buzzing.

Sam: [grinning slightly] Hey, at least she’s somewhat productive when caffeinated. Sometimes it’s just doomscrolling and procrastination.

Obi-Wan: [calmly setting his cup down] Perhaps we should find a way to encourage her to hydrate. Tea, perhaps?

Sam: [shrugging] We can try, but she won’t listen to me about drinking water. Dean’s been yelling at her from somewhere in the subconscious for years.

Leonardo: Maybe if we say it’ll help her focus on writing, she’ll actually consider it.

Obi-Wan: [thoughtfully] A clever suggestion. But I suspect we may be at the mercy of her next coffee run regardless.

Source: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2004]

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.

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!

Fr