Doomed Baja Blast Masterpost
Disclaimer: This is not a “feral” AU. Do not call it that. Do not describe my Ronin as “feral” (or other words adjacent to it) either, it makes me super uncomfortable for several reasons, so please don’t do that. Cool? Cool. So, anyway—
A much older, war-hardened Leonardo Hamato--the leader of the rebel force against the violent and merciless Krang that ravaged the planet for 20 years--finds himself startling awake in a dirty alley in New York. The last thing he remembers is being at the end of the line. He commanded Michelangelo to open an inter-dimensional portal to the past, and watched as it ended his little brother's life. He sent Casey Jones Junior through the portal to rewrite history and stop the Krang. Leonardo stayed behind in the desolate, burning world--fighting, alone, until his inevitable fate. Now suddenly awake in a pre-Krang New York, there is a single, burning question in his mind: Why is he here?
Little does Leonardo know, this world that he has woken in is different. In this world--sometime after the Hamato family successfully defeated the Shredder--all except one of them were killed in a shockingly brutal Foot Clan attack. Michelangelo Hamato is the last survivor of the Hamato clan. He is The Last Ronin.
The Last Ronin is doomed to burn bright, and then burn out. That is how the story goes.
...Can Leonardo rewrite a story a second time?
Many of the story beats for this AU are co-written by myself and my partner @hollowavarice. 💖
⚠️ Content Warnings for This AU ⚠️
Heavy themes of dealing with grief and loss with a focus on familial death.
Depictions of characters exhibiting symptoms of severe trauma and mental illness, especially symptoms of PTSD such as disassociation, reduced affect display, and hyper-vigilance.
Moderate violence, blood, and burn injury/death. Injuries and excessive gore are never explicit (e.g. I will never make a drawing depicting full, minute details of a wound; it will make both me and [possibly] you very queasy.)
The comics for this AU so far, on tumblr. (This tells an overarching story, so read them in order. If you're having trouble, there's another option below.)
All the comics so far, sorted in order and into chapters, on comicfury.
All the art I've ever drawn for this AU, here on tumblr.
How old are Leo (from the bad timeline) and Mikey (The Ronin) in this AU?
Leo is thirty-nine, and Mikey is sixteen.
Why is Mikey (The Ronin's) markings gray and washed out?
They have greyed and dulled from his extensive overuse of fire magic. They are a symptom of the toll these powers are taking on his body.
Why does Mikey (The Ronin) have a bandage wrapped around his chest?
It's mostly a visual design choice on my part, but I did intend for his chest wraps to somewhat resemble a sarashi.
Will you ever depict a flashback that shows how the rest of the Hamatos died?
No. That would be immensely distressing for me. I will drop hints of what happened in conversations and interactions with Mikey (The Ronin) in comics and such, but will never, ever show a complete flashback. At most, there will be snippets that will imply things, but never be explicit.
When is the next comic coming out?
When it's ready. Don't rush me, this is a passion project. 💜
Before I finish this post, I want to make one thing clear about this AU: This story is not about pure hurt and suffering. I don't like to create dark, dramatic stories just for the sake of being dark. This story and AU is ultimately about healing and finding the strength to love again, even after suffering devastating loss. The path to healing is never an easy one--but it is never impossible, either.
If you read this far, congratulations! Here's a cookie. 🍪
(This post may be updated in the future).
