#just block the chat's rants or chat's discourse stuff or tmnt discourse tag or something

[chatxkilluaxnoir]

Why do I read CBR Articles, they almost Always just end up kind of pissing me off:

Like this article:

https://www.cbr.com/rise-of-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-the-movie-leonardo-character-change-works/

Just annoyed me so much man.

Like, Leo in so many versions has major doubts about himself and his leadership and will think he is a failure, and also just in general has many character flaws, as well as strengths too.  

Like, Leo is a perfectionist in most versions (including in Rise), but he is far, far from perfect.  He tries to be perfect, he tries to not show his vulnerabilities, but that is because he is insecure about himself and scared of failure and scared of failing the people he cares about and losing them, and also because while Leo is/can be (very) smart (including in Rise for sure), he is not always the best at emotional expression and he tends to hide a lot of stuff.

Also, Leos and self-worth, self-doubting, and self-hating issues go hand in hand; not just Rise Leo, but basically most Leos.

Also, “stoic, perfect” leader.  Yeah sure, Leo, the major dork, the huge fanboy/fan, who loves jokes, puns, space, space heroes (or Jupiter Jim in the case of Rise Leo), swords, martial arts, figures/figurines, stuffed animals, is a LARPer and/or role-player, (probably) likes DnD and/or has been the DM basically, gets excited about stuff/very excitable, will argue and/or talk about what show/comic/superhero/thing he loves is best and/or why something is worst/not as good, petty/can be petty, childish, pouty, show-off/a (utter) show-off, a showboat, is competitive/super competitive, can get very pouty about losing, can be a sore winner, can be a sore loser, will try to do anything to win at games/video games/whatever thing he is being competitive about, likes games/to play/has done games as training, trains hard, is such a child (at times), is such a teen, can hold a (major) grudge, rage/hatred/can have a very deep and/or slow-burning and/or cold and/or etc. rage/hatred/etc. basically, knows guitar, (I think) he likes rock and/or all types of different kinds of music, (this is more a head canon, and I am trying to avoid those, but I totally head canon a lot of Leos are also good at singing), some versions are quite decent/good artists, this is more of head-canon, but I “head canon” him to be a good writer and/or loves to write fanfic (I know I say I am trying to avoid head canons in this post a couple times, and for the most part, I am!, just let me have a couple) can be quite the good/a pretty good dancer, has fun partying (at times), him and Raph and/or Donnie and/or Mikey or depending on the version have silly handshakes and codes and all that, him and whoever is his “twin” that version doing twin stuff, him doing “stupid” stuff with/for his family and friends, has (silly) codes/code words/gestures/hand gestures, can get really into things.  

Likes to mess around and do (sometimes messed up and/or weird and/or stupid and/or etc.) stuff just out of boredom/for fun/for shits and giggles/, because he thought it was funny, tea, bladed objects, martial arts, fighting and/or violence and/or patrolling and/or life and death battles and/or etc. because he is bored/for fun/because he is used to it, so without it he gets kind of antsy, paranoid (but just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean you are wrong and/or they aren’t out to get you), Japanese culture (and/or other cultures too), gossips/gossiper/loves gossip/loves to gossip, loves people who can go toe to toe with him in fight and/or beat his ass, does impressions of people (both out of love and to make fun of and/or mock people), is a jokester, who mocks people, will do and say really silly stuff and is just overall (very) silly, loves cute stuff, is funny, (, very unique, very interesting, and/or very different to me/imo) who gets flirty sometimes/can be flirty, who puts on makeup and goth/emo/punk outfits.  

Loves gardening and plants and the night air, loves nature, can be a major city boy, has a lot of self-control/restraint, sometimes is other people’s self-control, sometimes is the only brain cell/one of the only brain cells/share of the brain cell(s) of the group, mature, immature, responsible, irresponsible, savior and/or martyr and/or hero complex, wants to be a hero (and/or a criminal), thinks powers and superheroes and/or whatnot/etc. are SUPER cool, spiritual, mystical, magic/loves magic, is sly, cunning, and clever, ethical and moral (but also sometimes, not really--it can depend), interesting morality/ethics/etc., observant, intuitive/strong intuition (him and Mikey are the intuitive and/or intuition bros!), skilled/highly skilled/talented, (but also,) very hard-working and trains extra/super, super hard, the world and/or universe(s) and/or etc. is important, but at the end of the day Family and Friends basically is always above all/comes first, honorable, though can and will trick and play dirty, emotional, unemotional, repressed, emotionally repressed (and/or constipated) calm, level-headed, patient, but not even his patience his infinite, so even he can get get/be impatient, & also so when he does actually blow up and/or lose his temper and/or snaps, God can be cold and/or scary and/or etc., scary/frightening/etc., tense (?  Not sure how to describe this one), (ever-) evolving/changing/grows a lot/develops a lot/always more room to grow/can and will reach great heights but there is (probably) almost more room to grow (I know some of these are less traits or whatever, and more statements, but just bare with me with these/those, okay), and intense.  

Can (very much) think he is useless, thinks he is nothing and his brothers/family/friends are everything/better than him/just thinks very lowly of himself in general, thinks he is nothing without his brothers, thinks he is nothing without Splinter, thinks he is nothing without his friends and/or family, thinks he is nothing without other people, always thinks he needs to do something, so much of the time he places others before himself; even at the cost of himself/even at the risk/danger of himself, wants to be useful, seeks love and affirmation and approval, a very external character in a lot of ways, but also a very internal character in a lot of other ways, introverted, more extroverted, something in-between or both in some way(s), secretive, sneaky, stealthy, a good/great liar, a bad/terrible liar, expressive, unexpressive, closed-off/guarded, pranks/is hard to prank/curious and/or is impressed by people’s pranking/people actually being able to prank him (he does get mad and annoyed too, but who wouldn’t), resistant, resilient, trauma/traumatized/tends to get traumatized, curious, playful and/or mischievous, earnest, eager, quotes his favorite things and people, probably write fanfics honestly, has a crush on Captain Ryan (and would probably kin that man), has legit mental issues honestly (I hope this didn’t sound harsh or anything like that; didn’t mean for it to be.  It is something I find to be very interesting, relatable, and realistic about his character(s)), basically all versions of him are insane and/or crazy and/or feral (including Rise), doesn’t always have the best role models (probably needs some better ones and/or more ones), needs help; needs help in so many ways.  

Cautious and careful, reckless, one-man army, solo player/can go solo, team player, rebel/rebellious, “goody-two shoes”/goody-two shoes (or is it “goodie” or is it goody two-shoes?  Or something like that.  Hm?), just genuinely so much angst and/or angst potential (as well as comfort and fluff potential.  But the angst (potential) man, the angst (potential)), “mom” and/or “parent” friend and/or just mom and/or parent and/or dad kind of in general, leader, sensei and/or the/a boss, ninja, ninja master, ninja in training and/or still with a lot to learn (always) (even if they don’t think so), brother, good brother, never gives up--tries; just tries so much (though sometimes he just wants to give up.  But God, he can be so stubborn and determined (and never give up about stuff) too ofc), headstrong, bold, confrontational, peacemaker/mediator, tired; just wants a break, doesn’t want a break/know the meaning of a break/is just so used to always (needing to) do/doing stuff, so he feels like he must always be doing something, does stuff till he collapses and/or his body gives out, self-care (but not most of the time, not really, really, the guy needs to learn better self-care and to love himself), disciplined, strict (sometimes), bossy, sarcastic, sassy, snarky, self-blaming, guilt-ridden, grief-ridden, criminal tendencies and crime (be gay and/or bi and/or etc. and do crime is the Leo way), can be very violent and murderous/murder (-y/-happy), but also very caring, loving and protective, self-sacrificing, self-destructive, sometimes even suicidal, has (had) hallucinations and stuff.

Can be a control freak/controlling for various reasons, will die and kill for the people he loves, is very relatable in a lot of ways, has had to deal with his own anger issues sometimes, smug, cocky--can be very, very cocky to the point of (seeming) arrogance, can be and/or seem self-righteous (and/or righteous), can be and/or seem hypocritical, can and does make mistakes, tries to make up for mistakes, thinks they might never be able to make up for a/their mistake, beats up themselves up over any mistake (no matter how small or big, or even if wasn’t their fault)/beats themselves up a lot in general, very hard on themselves, can have high standards for others at times (for various reasons; both good, some not as good, some in-between and/or both), but even higher for themselves, can sometimes be quite naïve, optimistic, innocent, and starry-eyed, can also be also be quite jaded, cynical, hardened, and disillusioned (depends where they are development wise and/or the version ofc).  

Nice, mean, and everything in-between, tough, brutal, kind, gentle, compassionate, cringe (-y) and embarrassing /affectionate, cool, badass, determined, stubborn/stubborn as all hell!, the “Leonardo Hamato Instinct” since the 80′s; a term coined by @misteria247 that I just love and it is very true, prideful, internalizes and bottles emotions up like there is no tomorrow!, coping mechanism galore!, some bad, or better, and everything in-between (like Rise Leo’s humor and pretending he is okay and fine and that there is nothing wrong and all that; Leos in general go hand in hand with coping mechanisms), pretending he is okay and fine and that there is nothing wrong (I know that I said this with Rise Leo already, but it bears repeating; this is such a Leo thing, humor, dark humor & dry humor, dad jokes, corny, corny jokes, cheesy, cheesy jokes, ironic/ironic humor, can be stoic and/or serious, but there is just so much more to him than that, blunt, light-hearted, lively, tired, confident; sure of himself, not confident (insecure, like I already said), doubtful/doubting of himself and/or others, self-deprecating, self-deprecating “humor”, “therapy, what is (a) therapy?  You think I need therapy.  Nah, I am fine, I don’t need therapy; nope, not at all” Leo.  

Wants to believe in the good people and give people chances, but sometimes is disappointed (and sometimes awarded for it) and/or even grows disillusioned with people, things, humanity, etc., has issues TM, total mother hen, can seem selfish/can be selfish, but really he is just/can just be selfless to the point of not giving a shit about himself at all, his loyal to a fault (for better and worse), can be under a lot stress/can get very stressed, has anxiety, probably some versions have PTSD and OCD and/or etc. as well, fearless (ofc he is, that is literally a nickname of his), but can also be quite very fearful/afraid, catchphrases/has catchphrases, rehearses lines, catchphrases, quotes, and stuff, is dramatic and/or a drama queen, likes fashion and fun outfits and stuff, manipulative, has eldest daughter syndrome, is both very rational, smart/intelligent, and logical at times; a great strategist; a planner--the/a plan guy, but can also be a big ol’ dummy, a true dumbass, stupid, a moron, etc. /affectionate, not always a team player (I know mention this somewhere else already, but I got a bit more into detail here kinda); can go solo for various different reasons (and this is something he needs to learn), and I mean various.  

Has a huge burden on him and sometimes has just wanted to give up/quite/wanted a break, actually wants and craves freedom/to be free/to have less responsibilities, probably both loves being the leader and hates it, has identify issues/problems, has/had to be a/the parent a lot, resolute, can be cruel, cold, calculating, bloody, bloodlust (-y), will do what his enemies do, will go against what he believes to be good to protect the people he cares about, (I have more to say, but I don’t know how to word some of it, so I am not), etc., etc.; I could go on and talk about Leo forever, he is that deep and layered and just has so much depth.

(I also know some of these traits are kind of repeated and/or similar to other ones, but they are still, mostly different in some ways, and some things are explained differently and/or more in-depth/detailed, and/or etc.  Most of these are very different from each other though).

Seriously, one of the most characterized, multi-sided/faceted, complex, human, interesting (just has so much range to him) characters in the TMNT franchise (including Rise, but previous versions too), is just the “perfect, stoic” leader; how laughable.

(The stuff I listed above about Leo; most of them applies to most and/or all(-ish) Leos, including Rise; some are more version specific.  Also, some traits can be core traits, some traits are there or not there pre or post development and/or etc. Basically some traits and stuff depends on the timeline and where they are in their arc(s) development).

Might add some more stuff to this later, but I am not sure.  This is already a lot/has gotten to be VERY long (though, like I said, I can talk FOREVER about Leo/Leos, hahaha), and some of the stuff I want to add I think gets more into/too head-canon-y territory (though, some are (more) canon and/or canon/real to me), or I might not really feel exactly comfortable posting; at least not in this post, because I don’t know if this is the right context for that/some of that, and I am not really sure how I to word it/ if I can word it right/correctly right now/for now.  Anyways, might add more to this later, might not.

This is getting long, so more/the rest will  be under the “read more” cut.

Also, saying Raph and Mikey are usually the ones to get the more interesting character arcs; which, I am not saying they don’t get good, and interesting characters arcs themselves, they do, but like, Leo gets some fricken great and interesting arcs too (heck, sometimes even tragic and/or dark(er) arcs/ones).  Like, he is not one of the most complex characters in the franchise (imo) for nothing.  He has had/has plenty of room to grow and has grown lots in so many versions.

Plus, Donnie is a very interesting and complex character too himself; with quite interesting arcs too.

Also, acting like the other Leos didn’t have their own doubts as leader and people and didn’t have to grow into their own as people and leaders is just ridiculous; did they even see/watch/read any of the other versions, like really?

Also, just severely boiling down Leo and Raph’s dynamic in other versions and why they butt head a lot sometimes.

Like, for example, Leo and Raph arguments about leadership isn’t even over who can be the better leader, or at least, it is not JUST that.

And a lot of their arguments stem from them wanting the same thing.  Them both wanting to protect and/or do the right thing, but just having different approaches.

And etc.

And then there is the stuff about Rise Raph, and how they act like previous versions of Raph (or Leo, who like Rise Raph was also the oldest and the leader himself)

Like, they are trying to boil down and water down other versions and act like they don’t get mad out of protective reasons or because they need help and for someone to share the burden (Leo and Raph defin. get mad for protective reasons) with them; even if they won’t admit that or not and/or it takes awhile/a bit for them realize it is okay to share the burden and/or for it takes a bit for them to realize the other person has a huge burden placed on them, and/or etc.).

The also hella water and boil down Rise Leo’s character so much; both in that article and others.  Like, some of the stuff they said about Rise Leo is as insulting and/or untrue as the stuff they said about previous and/or other versions and it’s characters (mainly Leo and Raph for this article I am mainly talking about here).

Uggghhh, it just makes my brain hurt.  Like, so much.

I fricken love Rise Leo a lot (he is my favorite), but I also love Leo in general (Leo is just a favorite of mine in general), and not just Rise Leo.  And while he is certainly a unique take in a lot of aspects, he is still very much a Leo; it is just certain traits of Leo’s are either shown or less shown with Leo and he starts off a with a different role and age position in the family, and finally has more of that freedom that Leo had always wanted.  Rise Leo, still is a Leo at his core though, and God do I love Rise Leo (and Leo in general).

Rise Leo is still a Leo and I love him.

(Seriously, people sometimes seem to really misremember and/or misunderstand Leo’s character and/or don’t look under the surface enough.  This includes both Rise Leo and other Leos).

Rise is able to be great and new and interesting, because previous versions were as well, and helped pave the way.

So many TMNT versions and versions of characters are great.

And love it/them.

Seriously though, CBR (and sometimes Screenrant and/or other sites like those two) annoy me so much sometimes, but I should have expected this, it is CBR after all; they don’t always really have the best takes.

Okay, rant over, lol.

Man, this got into more full-blown character analysis in some way and TMNT and/or TMNT retrospective in some ways, huh?

I guess I am just very passionate about all of this.

(Once again, like I have already said earlier in this post - though in this case I am talking about the whole post genially, instead of just the part(s) before the “Read More” cut - I might add more to this later, but for now, I think this is good/fine enough/enough.).