Happy Halloween! Yes I know this is late, shut up---
I wanted to showcase a little more lore in the Flickers AU, such as other kinds of supernatural beings aside from the simple ghost! There's quite a few, and although the Hamatos may not see them, Leo certainly can.
Some of them are friendly, like that little group of phantoms that help him keep an eye out! Others, not so much. He does his best to make sure the more ill intentioned beings don't stay for long. It's a full time job, unfortunately. His family attracted quite a bit of unwanted attention in their mission to (dis)prove Leo's ghostly existence...
Some general info below the cut:
PHANTOMS: A subcategory of ghosts, phantoms are shy, lost souls that don't know what to do after their death and can't let go. However, they don't wish to be seen or interact with the living. They'd rather watch from a distance, often causing cold spots, minor electronic disruptions, sometimes appearing in dreams, and can only be seen (with no mystical assistance) in reflections. If spotted, the phantom may panic and cause migraines, or even throw/knock over items in their attempt to get away. Too much exposure can lead to them becoming poltergeists. Unfortunately, they are often children.
SHADOWS: Though harmless, shadows are the bare remnants of strong, ill intending souls, or even previously expelled demons. They are hard for the living to see on their own, but their mere presence tends to cause paranoia, dread, and a sense of being watched. Though not entirely sentient, they tend to still follow those that wronged them, or just negatively impact anyone in the area.
OMG YOU ACTUALLY SAW MY DRAWING- HABCIHDINWKNKBDUGUUSHISJO-
but yes- asl, morse code, and other silent languages are very helpful in warfare- here’s some more of my sketchy dump for you @eternalglitch
Also more other leo aus that i rlly like!
Cy.v1 leo - @ikemengoessbrrrrr
Ghost!leo - @ghostboisam and @itsbirdies
Sorry for ping-
Please draw/write more stories of your au, cause y’all’s are literally the only few that i really really enjoy, there was one or two more au of leo that i liked but i forgor cause I’m not mentally capable of rememberinggg 😭
My first major post to a new fandom and I brutally kill a main character. Shouldn’t have expected much else from myself, honestly. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
Anyway, context if my subtle background hints weren’t enough (or ya just want a little bit more info):
Post movie, Leo couldn’t be saved, and everyone went home mostly expecting him to be dead. There was very little hope for his survival, really, and they all had injuries to care for themselves. While they did plan on trying to check later on, (at least to get a body), with Donnie building a portal and Mikey trying to unlock his powers, in the end, they didn’t have to.
Within a few days, things started happening gradually around the lair (moving objects, closing doors, flickering lights, etc), until eventually they were getting texts from Leo’s number. No one really wanted to believe it, whether out of fear of what his presence implied or straight up not thinking ghosts were real, but eventually, as Leo texted things only he’d know (and the general acknowledgment of Hamato spirits being a thing), they came to be… open to the idea.
Draxum confirmed that ghosts were fairly common amongst yokai, separate from spirits, and with that Donnie dived head first into researching it, determined to see the ghost and get solid proof that it was, in fact, his twin.
In that research, he came across information on a ghost’s appearance. He didn’t pay much attention to it, or the dread that settled in his stomach. He didn’t care. He didn’t.
But Leo does. Leo really, really does. And that’s two reallys.
There isn’t a Rat King in ROTTMNT, so I dug into the past iterations of him to get a general vibe. Eventually settled on this creepy bastard, but I say that lightly cuz I will gladly take suggestions ovo
Lore and original concept sketch below~
SO my thinking is, he was a bird yokai of the 17th century, during the era of the bubonic plague. Cloaking brooches at the time were mostly for the wealthy, so many yokai who couldn’t afford them or make them had to just disguise themselves if they wanted to leave hidden cities.
One particular yokai during this age realized his profession would do much better in the human world, since he knew much on practical medicine and not as much in the mystic sense. His only mystical talent was with small animals, like rats and birds. So if he wanted to be a doctor, he’d be much more helpful up top.
When the plague hit, Dr Falco, as he went by with humans, was becoming much more busy and thus, more profitable. Cities were paying him well to work on the sick, including those that could not afford it. He was happy to help those less fortunate in life… until his help started to become too effective.
So, he started having animals spread the diseased fleas much quicker than before. To keep his income. Obviously, he felt guilty to doom so many like this, but hey, a bird’s gotta eat too. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Then, Yokai started to also get sick, and were quick to blame rodent based yokai for bringing the human disease into the hidden cities. Many of them were getting attacked and even killed for things they had nothing to do with. There was no proof of their involvement, just a raising paranoia — for rats, in particular.
When Dr Falco was found out by his own kind, the family and friends of those rodent yokai attacked him out of revenge, leading to the tears on his mask and cloak. He managed to get away (with the help of whatever small critters he could make swoop into the fight), thinking he may just never return to the Hidden Cities again… only to be spotted by the very humans he was treating. Him, in a tattered cloak, ruffled feathers, and many rats and mice still surrounding him…
They believed him to be a demon disguised as a doctor to curse them with this sickness, and thus had him hung and his body burnt.
In his moment of death, Victor Falco was fearful, enraged, vengeful, but most of all, guilty. All of that emotion as he died created the Demon known as the Rat King. Forever wandering the living world with a crick in his neck, rats at his side, and tangled in the “tails” of lies that he crafted for his own selfish gain.
Initial concept doodle for him a few days ago:
He’s been contained multiple times by exorcists of both yokai and human descent, but manages to escape every time, if only for a while. Now, his sights are set on New York, as there’s a strange peak in mystical energy within those sewers, and a lot of supernatural items being used in the same area all at once…
Basically, the Hamatos made themselves a bright beacon for a power-hungry, guilt-stricken demon. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
Imagine Future!Leo visiting the lair to see how Casey’s doing and Ghost!Leo catches him and yells in excitement and the room shakes. Everyone looks around like, “what the fuck?”
They definitely would have spooked each other.
Lights in the Lair start flickering like crazy, everyone’s super worried about Leo, but as soon as someone puts on the headphones, they just hear:
“YOU HAVE A METAL ARM?! THATS SO BAD ASS.”
“WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU?!”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?! OMG WOULD I HAVE GOTTEN A COOL ROBOT ARM IF I SURVIVED HOLY SHIT—“
Can Ghost!Leo see “the light,” sometimes? Like it’s somewhere far away and he can’t reach it, or it’s waiting for him kinda thing but he won’t go near it cause Leo won’t leave his family.
Ehhhh I wouldn’t say he “sees the light” so much as just… He can feel his soul/ninpo isn’t entirely present. His very self isn’t fully there, because most of him is waiting to move on, but this small bit of him just can’t. The one thing keeping him from fully passing and meeting his entire family linage is, ironically, his family.
He doesn’t want to be separated from his brothers. It would be a different story if this was some time down the line, where he knew they would follow after him soon — but he knows (hopes) it’ll be years, decades, maybe even LONGER, before he would really get to see his brothers again. Turtles can live a long damn time, who’s to say mutant turtles don’t as well???
So the closest thing to “the light” he experiences would likely just be the disconnection/emptiness of his soul.
And the one time Donnie reaches out to Gram Gram to get her to further confirm Leo’s presence, I’m sure her showing up in all her glowy spirit glory to beg for him to come with her would be very similar to “seeing the light.”
Can you give me a quick rundown of (or point me to some links to) what your ghost Leo au is about? You've posted a few info dumps about it lately but other than those I haven't seen anything about it and I'm curious 👀
HI MAPLEEEE
Yeee! The Flicker AU Masterpost should have all the main doodles and comics so far!
Brief rundown of the beginning (or as brief as a rambler can make it):
After the events of the movie, the Hamatos were unable to pull Leo from the Prison Dimension. They work for weeks to try and reach him, with half of them focused on building a portal and the other half looking for a more mystical solution.
However, they soon notice little things happening around the lair that start to get more common, more intense, and more straightforward. An item falling from a table, lights turning off, TV glitching, and the final nail in the coffin: a text from Leo’s number.
They confront Drax, he confirms ghosts are a possibility, BUT, mean yokai imitating them are too. Donnie is determined to expose an imposter so he can get back to working on a portal, while the others have mostly accepted that their brother is likely dead.
Dee’s mad obsession leads to a lot of mystic items in their lair, which is what’s luring the dead to them. After this comic’s events, he finally accepts the truth. The fam is reunited, just not in the way any of the really wanted to be ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
Imagine Ghost!Leo never having to deal with back pain and rubbing it in lol
I wouldn’t say he NEVER feels pain… but definitely not nearly as much as he should given how he looks XD
Would definitely be a bit of a flex at poor Splinter! Man will never be able to complain about his back hurting without hearing “Psh, skill issue, it’s not THAT bad.”
