#tmnt leo analysis

[that1notetaker]

It's not a headcanon if it's the truth.

[risestarkiss]

Rise Ramblings #41

He's petty, your honor.✨

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Update: This post now also exists in video form. 😌💙

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💜 RiseStarKiss Studios on Youtube | My Kofi Tip Jar 💜

[chatxkilluaxnoir]

Reblogging this again to reblog a post showing just how cool, savage, insane, badass, and feral IDW Leo is!

Here is the amazing post! Please read it!!:

Also, another post that talks some about Leo's past life human self in IDW (yeah, IDW has a really cool reincarnation stuff man), and how Leo would totally have long, gorgeous hair, because he would man.

Here is that thread too:

And now here is a funny (but kind of sad too, if you know the context) meme post with IDW Leo and his Foot Leo "shadow self":

God; IDW's art is so gorgeous. And such great Leos in that meme post.

There is utterly amazing and tear-jerking post that talks about Leo post City-Fall arcs (I fricken AMAZING arc) that go into that arc's aftermath and recovery that are also really good. About when Leo finally came back to himself finally and realized he had a family (again) and wasn't alone (after The Shredder and the Kitsune fucked him up), and Leo was just so happy and relived about it and to Donnie, and just uuggghhh; read this post:

Like, look at Leo's happy and relived face there! He is so cute and sweet.

IDW and IDW Leo also gave us some sweet Leo, The Shredder, and Kitsune angst. The City Fall arc, the aftermath and recovery of that. Leo and Koya stuff. Just such good characterization and character arc(s) and/or development for Leo. Leo is insane in IDW too (like another post I mentioned above that talks about Feral Leo goes more into it and in the tags and/or replies of it); as he should be.

Also, he gave us, like I said, Foot Leo, and the look that spanned so much fanart and versions of Leo and stuff in that outfit/look or something similar to it. Like; he rocked the City Fall/Foot look so hard man.

For example, someone asked why Cupcake's Foot Leo is dressed like a wh*re, and they basically said that was basically IDW's fault, lol. Leo both in IDW and Cupcake's AU really rock that outfit though.

Here is the post, I am talking about:

Seriously; look how awesome Leo looks in his City Fall look; he rocks it so hard man.

Also, he got claw weapons man! Awesome!!!

Here is a banger, awesome redraw of IDW comic from that arc. Seriously; it is SO good and Leo looks so good:

I also love emo Leo too, my guy!

More panels of IDW Leo just looking awesome and so sweet and huggable and nice and cool!:

And I can't find that post, but there is a really good post that talks about how IDW Leo basically kept his promise of always being there and coming back for Mikey no matter what. Even when Raph and Leo had left (and I think this was after Splinter's death too), Leo was still there for his brother, Mikey no matter what.

Leo and Mikey is one of my favorite TMNT relationships, and God, is TMNT IDW a great portrayal of them not only as characters, but their relationship too.

And, this is a post from this competition actually, and I already talked about it indirectly some, but I will do so again, and more directly this time!:

If anyone who deserves this, because they have been through so much, it is IDW Leo.

Anyways, please, please vote IDW Leo!! He is so genuinely amazing, and one of the best versions of a character and one of the best characters in IDW and in TMNT in general!

Please vote for him!

And I know this isn't his poll, but for IDW Mikey too, I love '03 Casey with all my heart, but like IDW Leo, IDW Mikey is also one of the best characters in IDW, and just one of the best versions of a character and character in TMNT in general too!

So please vote for IDW Leo and Mikey! They deserve to win so much man (not saying the people they are going against don't, but you know what I mean). They are awesome!!

[mikiib]

I’m in too deep- and no one can stop me... ANATOMY OF THE TURTLES! You are 100% allowed to use this as reference or add on if you think there is something I may have missed. Please credit me if you repost this anywhere thats not a simple reblog. I worked hard on this and I hope it shows! 

[lactoseintolerentswag]

Rise Characterizations Pt. 2!!

In the first part I went over my character writing notes for Raph, so we're doing Leo next!!!

Leo Character Notes

Language Habits:

First the obvious, makes a lot of puns and one-liners. Think corny super hero movies

Does poke at New Jersey often in said one-liners

Mumbles/talks to himself out loud often

Starts a Lot of his sentences with, "Okay--"

Often will add on, "haha, you're hilarious", when he's trying to tease or antagonize someone

Similarly to Raph he will also verbalize his attacks/actions, "kick and punch"/"punch and kick", "land safely"/"and he sticks the landing"

Also will verbalize when he's trying to make a portal, "come on portal", "it's portal time", "portal power jitsu"

We all know "hachi machi"

Tendency to also make noises when fighting, "yah"/"wah!"/"hah!"

That little ohohoho laugh can signify as his battle cry/excitement, or his nervousness depending on context

Same case as the above with "hoh boy"

Will stutter on words to emphasize them, "l-l-l-l-lame!"

The first to jump onto an "I told you so" or "I was right"

Mixes Spanish into his sentences, most notably "bueno", "vamanos", "hermano(s)"

Messes up science terminology, "reprogramulating"

Says "indubitably" when he's up to something (which Raph recognizes)

Out of all the brothers, he does poke fun the most

Refers to himself as "Leon"

Refers to others (mostly strangers/acquaintances) as "bub"/"bud", or "chief"

Personality:

Dramatic, Leo will always play things up 110%. Sometimes this is to cover up his insecurities, to cheer up his brothers, or to annoy said brothers. Also plays into his extreme responses to stressful situations

The fun brother, aka mikey's advocate. He takes his role seriously as the face man, who keeps things fun and cool for his brothers. It's an easy role, and he gets to make his family laugh or roll their eyes. He's. Sillay

Perceptive, this is why he knows exactly what buttons to push, but he's not a great communicator when it comes to the bigger picture. This also plays into his manipulativeness that he uses to put chaos into his family (i.e. lair games), puppet villains (i.e. Big Mama) into his motives, and change the battlefield

A closet nerd, implied to remember more jupiter jim lore than the rest of his brothers and has a ready to go impression of the reptiles of planet reptilica

Competitive to a fault, he tends to get lost in the competition when it comes to his brothers. Part of his dramatism is showing off, and he's weak to being called or associated with the term "champion". Competition is a way he gauges his self worth

Has a strong desire for the inherent admiration and trust of his peers, more than outright praise (both are wanted) unlike Donnie. This damages his communication skills because he just expects his brothers to trust him while he puts on a persona of nonchalance as protection from failure

Defensive, of himself through being snippy or sarcastic, but also defensive of his brothers' own well-being. He may be the one to poke the most fun, but he's also the one to jump to his siblings' defense out of any of the brothers. Sort of an "only I can do so and so to blank" mindset

Martyr complex, prioritizes the safety of his family over his own safety

Gets attached to people he considers family Quickly, those he doesn't consider a part of his family he has little sympathy for but once that connection is there he's already ready to use his body as a shield

Freeze response, tends to freeze up in response to danger or stress. Often shown to curl into a ball or stand silently (as opposed to his constant chatter)

Miscellaneous:

The third to unlock his mystic powers

Nicknames: "baby blue" by splinter, "nardo" by donnie

Sweats an ungodly amount

Uses spit to annoy his brothers/enemies (licking an item to claim it as his, wet willies)

Can beat box

Always chooses left in mazes or when lost

Next up will be Donnie :>

[microsofttothemax]

the resentment leo would have with splinter post-krang. i genuinely think they would take a bit for them to recover and be comfortable around each other

why do i think that? here’s some reasons. this is gonna be a HELLA long analysis so be prepared. sit down, grab some popcorn, and let’s dive in

in the movie, after raph was taken, leo goes on a whole rant about how he got the key, he gets the answers, and he will get raph back. yes this is irrational and brash, but not in leo’s eyes. in his eyes, this is a foolproof plan that will work

splinter attempts to intervene, and tell him like it is. “it’s not your plan, you need to work with your team.” however, it comes out as a sharp sting to leo’s previous attitude

“My son, listen to your team. This is not about you.”

it’s meant to be sensible and wise, but to leo, it’s a jab at him. it’s a stab at his cockiness and self-centered attitude, and it reminds leo of why they’re even in this position in the first place. which he hates

most of all, it’s splinter saying it. it’s his father telling him that it’s not about him. because to leo, he’s always been last place to splinter’s affection, and it’s like splinter’s confirming it here

don’t believe me? here:

splinter talks to leo, and it seems that for a minute, he listens to his father’s words. that maybe he should really stop and listen. maybe he should stop and think of a plan, listen to his brothers’ input.

but the second splinter says it’s not about him? leo shuts down. he pulls away from splinter, and refuses to listen to him. and while splinter may be right, it was something leo never wanted to hear

it’s obvious that he has a somewhat testy relationship with his father, and splinter is trying to make up for it by giving leadership advice. but to leo? this is the guy who made him leader to seemingly mess with him, never bothered to give him attention or praise on his accomplishments, and never truly knew leo beyond his “acting as the best to save face” charade

which brings me to another reason. no, i do not think splinter was ever abusive or purposely neglectful to leo, or any of the boys for that matter. but its clear theres a bit of a rift between him and leo. i think that he kind of resents leo a bit (without meaning to) because he sees himself in him. he sees the irrational movie star who never thought ahead, and made too many mistakes to count

an example would be when leo got punched by lou jitsu two times. none of his brothers got punched, why just him? and sure it could be a running gag, but i find it also to be intentional

maybe deep down, splinter still resents leo for being so much like his irrational, unreasonable younger self. that every time he sees leo, he sees his stupid past self, and without meaning to, he at times hates leo because of it. and if he doesn’t hate him, he seems to resent him to some extent

splinter also has plainly stated that donnie was the funniest one to him, (s1ep 1, mystic mayhem) and outright laughed when leo asked if he was the favorite son (rottmnt wake-up alarms on youtube, timestamp 1:59) leo also staight-up said that he was splinter’s least favorite (s1ep 4b, down with the sickness)

so yeah, i can see the resentment leo may have for his father deep down. it could be pretty apparent post-krang, hidden behind his jokes and teases

now don’t get me wrong, they have their moments of bonding, and i do love to read little drabbles and fics where they hug and heal. however… realistically speaking, it would take a while for them to get to that stage of father-son bonding post-krang. with splinter naming him leader out of the blue, to the missing lou jitsu posters on the walls of leo’s room in the movie — and we’re definitely talking about that in a later post, trust — i would bet their relationship as father-son pre and post-movie would be extremely rocky.

another reasoning for this could be that splinter often underestimates and undermines leo’s abilities and accomplishments. far as i’ve seen, the most reaction splinter’s given to leo’s accomplishments is an eyebrow raise

for example, when outsmarting big mama, leo was genuinely proud of spending time w his dad and showing him his abilities. he genuinely thought they were working together. however, splinter didn’t say he was proud or anything, just complained he wished he’d brought donnie (s2ep 2, many unhappy returns)

“I knew I should have brought Purple.”

ouch. that mustve hurt a bit

and yes, i will admit, leo was being a bit of a little shit in this scene, and yes, he could’ve told splinter of the plan before starting to yap and blab to big mama about the plan he cooked up. however, the response splinter gives is not much better. essentially, he’s saying, “i don’t like this kid or his plan, so therefore i think i should’ve brought one of my favored children to solve the problem better.”

and before you go and tell me donnie could’ve outsmarted big mama the way leo did, think for a moment. leo fully admitted to manipulating and lying in an episode before

“I don’t lie, I just… change the truth.”

whereas donnie cannot tell a lie to save his life. i love him, but the guy is a shit liar. he has failed multiple times at it

“We are just typical normal humans.. who got lost in the middle of our normal… everyday human lives— nailed it.”

“Uh… nothing. Just having a typical, normal, mystic-free day.” “What? I said mystic-free.”

“Why aren’t you guys more upset?”

“Oh. This… hurts me. Uh… I’m very sad…?”

raph & mikey aren’t much better. mikey straight-up started sweating when he had to lie to splinter about piebald, and raph has so many different stinks/scents to him that it’d be easy for others to tell he was lying

also, mikey has doctor delicate touch. who does not know what lying or “don’t be blunt” means

and donnie’s really only being extremely straightforward with what he thinks or about what’s going on around him. so it makes no sense as to why splinter would want to bring donnie along to outsmart big mama, unless he genuinely doesn’t enjoy leo’s presence, which seems to be the case

now all of this is evidence to point towards a very unsteady father-son relationship with these two. yes, splinter seems to be a very lenient father, and i genuinely think he wants to be a good dad. however, oftentimes that leads to miscommunication and misread moments, empty promises, and overall neglecting behavior on his part, all without meaning to

so while he does try harder to be there for his sons later in the show, it’s pretty obvious that one brother — who thrived off any attention possible — probably stopped caring about that validation after all that he went through. splinter gives, but leo doesn’t take. he doesn’t bother to, because he thinks it’s either a prank of some kind, or because he just genuinely doesn’t care for his father’s input anymore.

(this was based on that one post about splinter & leo by @midwesternvibes, i just figure i revisit that bc i’m thinkin about it again)

[fabuloustrash05]

2012 Leo didn’t have friends

Truly think about it, did Leo actually have friends that he could call his own? Yes, he’s close with April, gets along with Casey, and respects Slash along with many other characters, but does he actually have a true friend(s)? Someone he can banter with and have a true connection and mutual bond with. And no, his dad does not count.

Compare Leo’s social life to his brothers:

Mikey has Ice Cream Kitty, Leatherhead, Mondo Gecko, Renet, Napoleon, and Sal Commander.

Donnie has April, Fugitoid, Metalhead, Dr Cluckingsworth, and Timothy.

Raph has Casey, Slash, Mona Lisa, Chompy and I’ll even count the rooftop pigeons.

Who does Leo got as friends? His sister and her witch girlfriend. That seems about it for him.

Leo when hanging out with Karai & Shinigami:

Joking aside, I feel Leo not really having his own friends really shows a lot regarding his character and how the roll of being leader and later on Sensai has effected his social life. Not to mention how the fandom can easily identify who each of the other Turtles best friends are, but for Leo we usually draw a blank.

Yes, Leo does have people close to him, I never will disregard his relationship with his brothers or April and Casey, but overall he never got that true special friendship connection that the others got in the series.

The closest we ever got to him having that genuine friendship was Chloe, the little girl he had a tea party with in season 2, and (maybe) Usagi later in season 5. But again, these were short lived dynamics we never get to see again.

[ilk-insolence]

Raph Is A Great Strategist

Numerous times in the show Raph has shown to have a preference for straightforwardly punching his problems away rather than think up a more complex solution. Like how his immediate fix to getting Mayhem out of the mirror in Mystic Library was to punch everything in the bathroom but the mirror. However, when Raph understands the situation requires more in depth strategy, he’s shown to be an incredibly capable tactician.

(long post ahead!)

In nearly all the plot heavy episodes like Shadow of Evil, Many Unhappy Returns, and the season finales, Raph gets moments where he’s highlighted for his strategic thinking. In Insane in the Mama Train, he’s the one who figures out which eyeball-button goes to the front car with the dark armor, because “‘it was the only button [the Foot Clan] didn’t want me to press!’” [21:05]. He’s also the one who came up with the scheme to defeat all the (known) combatants in the train, with Leo specifically attributing Raph as the deviser during their mind meld [19:46]. In Many Unhappy Returns, after spending a single night waylaying the Shredder, Raph formulated a plan using all the tricks the team learned, seamlessly transitioning the mystic collar Leo acquired into it [19:53], to defeating the Shredder. Additionally, he’s repeatedly called for a retreat during fights, like in Shadow of Evil, Shreddy or Not (Finale pt 2), and the movie, when he can tactically recognize that a battle couldn’t be won. Each time, the show/movie implied that that was the right call, for the family to lose the fight but win the war.

And it’s not just that Raph is good at strategy when he’s pushed to be more serious; the show characterizes him as passionate about creating plans, he enjoys doing it. Literally in the first episode, Mystic Mayhem, after the turtles’ initial plan failed of getting Splinter out of the living room to touch his Do-Not-Touch Cabinet, Raph immediately started devising a new plan that involved “ten chickens [and] a gallon of rubber cement” [9:35]. It was convoluted, sure, and they didn’t end up using it, but it was inventive and the opposite of reluctant. This is also shown in Bug Busters, where Raph planned out dousing Mikey in honey to attract the oozequitoes [2:52]; Snow Day, with the idea to freeze Ghost Bear like in Jupiter Jim Pluto Vacation 4; and Raph’s Ride-Along (and also Bad Hair Day), where Mind Raph created multiple schemes to get the criminals arrested. The show wouldn’t have made Raph be so creative with his plans if they were trying to characterize him as someone who didn’t like strategizing.

So does why Raph do stupid shit sometimes where he doesn’t think things through at all? Well, even though Raph is good at strategy and enjoys doing it, it’s clear his immediate impulse is still “punch the problem in the face”. In fact, all the turtle boys contain the fascinating dichotomy of being incredibly smart in some areas, and the dumbest teenagers alive in others. Just look at Donnie. It’s also how Raph is a loving protective older brother, and the guy who shoved Leo into a wall so hard he disappeared in one frame for shits and giggles (The Mutant Menace x). None of this means that Raph is bad at strategy though.

tldr: Yeah, Raph has a lot of dumb and, frankly, insane moments in the show, but he’s still an incredible tactician who’s plans consistently saved his family and sometimes the world. He's a great strategist.

[violynt-skies]

we are the same you and i

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leo and krang are introduced to the audience in the same manner as they’re both shown to appear confident, cocky and arrogant.

leo’s ego coming from a place of recent victory from defeating the shredder and feeling on top of the world while krang’s is from a genuine belief that they are the superior being to all other life.

with this you have the overconfident defender and the prideful conqueror. neither able to see their flaws, with leo being lax about fighting and believing he’s in the right and the krang having a mindset that any mistake made was a rarity and impossible to repeat because the fact in their mind is that they’re better in every way.

in the beginning their motives are fairly similar, to win, to survive, to come out on top.

however after following defeat after defeat and experiencing pure loss of his family, the mindset that leo has changes and he realizes he’s been going about things wrong and and the goal isn’t to merely win, it is to protect his family and the innocent people around them.

and this mindset is what inevitably leads to the downfall of the krang because he repeatedly is unable to understand or the will that people have in protecting others and doing what it takes to survive and win out of love for family as they only strive to win for the desire to control and conquer, even going as far to think that their destruction of life is a gift and makes them a savior from weakness

which is why he mocks their idea of duty to protect others as he believes that all other beings should and will give up inevitably

“strength always prevails”

however he doesn’t take into account the turtle’s strength of will and their ability to use that ego and arrogance against him, which in turn, is what ends up being krang’s true weakness and leads to his defeat. bc he never would’ve thought that someone would’ve sacrificed themselves in order to win because such a concept never would’ve been considered by him in the first place.

because while both krang and leo strived to win and defeat, their ideas of it differed greatly. and because leo understood how his arrogance made him weak, he was able to discover how to make it into a strength by turning the krang’s own confidence against him.

“i missed on purpose.”

[misteria247]

Yes. To all of this.

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, pouty, 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, 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, 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 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 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, calm, patient, but not even his patience his infinite 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/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 think he is useless, thinks he is nothing and is 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), resistant, resilient, 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, 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), disciplined, strict sometimes, bossy, sarcastic, sassy, 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, cocky–can be very, very cocky to the point of (seeming) arrogance, can be and/or seem self-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, 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, 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 (to me/(more) imo.  But it be true though; it be true), dad jokes, serious, 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, can very fearful/afraid, rehearses lines 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, has/had to be a/the parent a lot, 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 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.

Keep reading

[takeabreathandsmile]

Hot take: Don is low-key a romantic whereas Leo has zero interest in it. 

(Not shown bc screenshot: Donnie nodding approvingly) 

[teenagenutant]

OK QUICK GAME THEORY: (very inspired by this post on twit)

in end game, splinter imagines saving his boys from the foot. its an interesting little peak into how splinter thinks they respond to stress!

he thinks of raph defeated, mikey sad, leo typically ~*dramatic*~, and donnie scared. in real life, though, raph is determined and mikey is pretty chill and chipper about the whole thing- mostly the opposite of their imagined reactions. with donnie and leo though, it seems more like he's mixed the two up.

donnie is arguably the most unaffected, being pretty much his typical self- but splinter's assumption isn't totally out of nowhere, because that seems to be what donnie did as a tot!

but you know who actually curls up into a ball while they're trapped?

splinter might still imagine his boys with how they responded to stress as tots, and they've just grown up and gotten different coping mechanisms.

maybe leo started doing it because donnie did it first, maybe leo never got as overwhelmed as other Floor Time examples as a little kid, or maybe he just never did it in front of his dad...possibilities just thinking of them...

[risestarkiss]

Being Baby Blue

Rise Ramblings #313

Leonardo Hamato is…an interesting individual.

As a middle child, he doesn’t have to shoulder the responsibilities of the oldest, nor is he fawned upon or babied over like the youngest. Therefore, he ends up having more of a lackadaisical approach to life.

In his free time, instead of training like Raph, Leo can normally be found reading comic books.

And for good reason! Someone has to be up on the latest issues of Jupiter Jim and his space odysseys.

But, other than being a Jupiter Jim superfan, who is Leonardo Hamato?

If you ask Leo, he's...*takes out a list*: “Primetime,” “First,” “The Best,” “Number One,” “The Champion,” or some other iteration of all of the above.

...Huh. Anyways...

Of course, the first thing Leo would tell you is that he's the team's "Face Man."

As the "Face Man," he’s the one that turns up the charm when they need to schmooze their way out of, or into, something.

He's the face of the group! It's a very important title, right?

Well, in this scene with Hueso, we learn what Leo really feels about his place on the team.

"There's no team with just a face man." "I'm nothing without them."

Hmm. If he thinks that he is nothing without his brothers, then what's the deal with all of this "Number One" and "Champion" talk?

I believe that Leo is exhibiting a form of Reaction Formation.

Reaction Formation is a primitive defense mechanism that involves transforming one's unacceptable feelings or emotions into the opposite.

"Solicitude may be a reaction-formation against cruelty...romantic notions of chastity and purity may mask crude sexual desires, altruism may hide selfishness, and piety may conceal sinfulness."

Leo has been creating these grandiose titles and this larger-than-life persona for himself as a means to cope with his feelings of insecurity, his anxieties, and combat his self-deprecation.

Gee, forming a larger-than-life persona to counteract their suppressed feelings also reminds me of someone else we know…

But, I digress...

Behind the fabrications, his insecurities, who he pretends to be, and who he wants to be, the real Leo is still on display, starting as early as the first episode.

He's attentive, he understands the team's strengths and weaknesses, he assesses situations, he comes up with great plans on the fly, and he is a voice of reason.

These are all the characteristics of a great leader.

However, something happens when he’s actually appointed as such.

There he goes again. He's cocky, arrogant, and act's as if he's unphased even by the prospect of loosing his brothers. If this is Reaction Formation, then what is he trying to mask with these behaviors?

Previously, he was masking his insecurities, his anxieties, and his self-deprecation, but with the faces he pulls when he thinks no one can see them, I want to say the newest emotion is fear.

He is terrified of being the leader and floundering under his new responsibilities. He's scared of the consequences of his actions, and what those consequences may mean for his brothers. However, instead of voicing his insecurities, or communicating with his team, he doubles down and falls back into old habits.

The "Face Man" persona is turned up to an 11, and things get worse and worse until...

His greatest fears have been realized.

He has failed as a leader. He has failed his brothers. He has failed to stop the invasion, and they are all going to die because of his failures.

Now he's faced with the harsh reality of his own mistakes, thus he finally faces himself.

"It's scary to be responsible for the lives you protect, your team...your family. But we do it anyway because that's what it means to be a hero."

He may be speaking to Raph, but he's talking about himself.

His words are his true feelings, the same feelings that have been holding him back this entire time. By opening up, he's able to surrender to himself and let it all go.

And it's the breakthrough we all have been waiting for.

What Leo doesn't know is that through letting go, he's able to become the true face of the group he is destined to be.

He's the face of hope.

Update: This post now also exists in video form. 😌💙

○○○○

Previous | Being Big Red

Next | Being Purple ○ Part One • Being Purple ○ Part Two • Orange, Baby!

Finale | Being Hamato Yoshi

[shantechni]

I know I've mentioned this at least twice now, but I frequently think back to Leo and Raph's minor spat right after Tiger Claw disappeared into the night with Karai.

Everytime they argued about Karai, Raph would boldly express his thoughts with a mix of cynicism and vexation that was clear as day in the way he spoke. Along with that came his choice of words ranging from him calling Leo crazy for even considering the idea of trusting Karai, to walking up to Karai herself and overtly voicing his suspicion of her. Enemy of My Enemy though was a slight deviation from his usual treatment of the situation when he, for once, remains silent about Leo agreeing to a truce with her.

Even when she tells them Shredder is her father, Raph's usual exasperation and annoyance with Leo is considerably toned down and he's rather tame when proclaiming there's no chance of her ever being on their side with Shredder being such a prominent figure in her life.

This moment after Tiger Claw's departure though is much more unique because of the look of disappointment he wears, and a significant portion of it is being directed towards the leader this time.

The team always had a chance of facing the consequences of Leo's resilient faith in Karai joining their side, and Raph's apprehension for such an occurrence is perfectly reasonable because Leo could blindly lead them into a worst case scenario. But he watched that possibility come to fruition this time and he sees that Leo still wants to chase after Karai when Mikey is out cold; it feels as though Leo hadn't learned anything from what happened in The Alien Agenda.

Raph doesn't even sound ready to burst someone's eardrums or rant about Karai being untrustworthy like usual. He just sounds done and the tone of finality he used is so jarring in a way.

It's no wonder that he didn't want to deal with Karai despite how upset Splinter was in The Legend of the Kuro Kabuto. Heck, his line of thinking was awfully similar to Splinter's; they were both willing to cut ties with Karai so long as it meant they didn't lose what they had.

Of course he eventually comes around when its revealed that Shredder has Karai locked away in his dungeons, but you get it

[cursedcatchild]

Ok, so I watched TOTTMNT and I am here to rant. Also, SPOILERS ahead!

So First of all, if I had to sum up my thoughts into a single sentence it would be: For the love of God, put those turtles back together, where they belong!!

I didn’t hate the show, but I didn’t come to like it either. And no, I did not have any prejudgment just because it was a new iteration. Honestly I was super hyped for this version, because the movie was a blast. Yea, I ended up being disappointed. But let me just elaborate on that:

First let’s take a look at our turtles from worst to best in my opinion.

Mikey:

Yepp, ladies and gentlemen so far I have never seen a single iteration where I didn’t come to like a Mikey. He’s always among my favs. But this version felt super shallow. He had just as much screen time in the series as his brothers and yet I still have no idea who this guy really is. His jokes were lame not really landing, I couldn’t really point out any particular goal or insecurity that anyone could relate to. Also, the guy is super oblivious. Like he took ten minutes to realize he walked into a robbery when he went for groceries. Heck he was having a casual conversation with the robbers. 

Leo: 

Another kinda shallow guy. Sure we seen a bit of insecurity, he literally quoted Rise Leo saying “ I’m nothing without them!” but it felt irreal. Because Rise Leo had a reason to think that, he wasn’t as much of a functional member of the team and he was always taken for jokes. But right from the beginning of TOTTMNT we see Tales Leo commanding his brothers, they listen to him  and even say it multiple times how planning is Leo’s thing. So at this point this Leo is just fucking blind. ( Also April slaps instant self confidence into the boy.) 

Raph:

Ok, this is also the first time, but I never really took a liking to a Raph before Tales Raph. Boy is filled with anger and sass, yet he’s not coming off as a total jerk like 2012 Raph. And of course he's not a super softie like Rise Raph ( I don’t hate Rise Raph for being a softie, he's my second favorite Raph) either. He had some fun pipe up and overall a personality I got. I think he’s the most perfect Raph I have ever seen. 

Donnie:

The best character of the iteration in my humble opinion. He was relatable, funny, honestly he was stealing Mikey’s job as the comic relief, but at the same time he’s the smart guy. The boy is ranting about not being the IT guy and then goes reprogramming an evil robot. Oh and he saved so many lifes, because he stopped a fucking train crash. He’s epic, I swear.

(My fave screenshot ever 🤣🤣)

Now story wise:

🔥What the fuck was this dumpster fire?! 🔥Who thought splitting up the turtles would be fine?! 😑Especially in a 12 episode season? Look, I don't mind solo or duo time. There were plenty of good ones, for example Rise. I adored the Mikey vs Leo cook off episode or the Gumbus one, but for the sake of my sanity Rise had twice as many episodes and the turtles were not split up for the majority of the story.

Like I'm not joking when I say they were together in 4 episodes intotal.😨😨

Now I heard rumors left and right that the fact that they need to make a show was thrown at the team at the last minute ( IDK how true is that) , but goodness gracious even if I was presented with the task with a “ Due tomorrow label” I could still write a better story. Especially with the goldmine what the writers decided to ignore.

Yes, something that would've made TOTTMNT be really unique….. School people! We were promised that we will explore the turtles from the teenage side. Ummm….Hate to break it to ya all but I think there is no better way to do that than putting them into school.

It would’ve been fire to see them trying to fit in, balancing all the cool hero stuff with school life, maybe wrecking the school, seeing how other teenangers adjust to the fact that now giant talking turtles are their classmates. It wouldn’t be some crazy mind blowing plot, but I swear it would've been amazing.

Now don’t misunderstand me. Despite the story feeling like being all over the place it wasn’t that super bad, but I’m pissed that it could've been better with ease.

Also another thing that bugged me, is the feeling of something missing. IDK if anyone else who watched it felt like this, but I legit felt like if we just grabbed the for example farm arc from 2012 TMNT and aired it as season 1. The fact that the turtles were split and they kept mentioning that they have always been fighting together made me feel like I should’ve seen them do that.

Anyways, If I did not take your will to watch it away, go and check it out. It's not horrible but not great either. I’m disappointed and I'm gonna need Rise back, thank you very much!

[midwesternvibes]

Alright people, it's time for more Villain Leo lore!!!

Today we are diving into Leo and Splinter's relationship!!!

Read under the cut because this got so LONG, these two have so many issues and there was so much to work with.

Alright, so it's no secret that Leo and Splinter have a....less than ideal relationship. You can see throughout all of TMNT history that Leo looks up to Splinter an insane amount, and Rise Leo is no different.

This boy looked up to Lou Jitsu his whole life, and we can often see him doing the same movements and catchphrases that Lou did. Granted, all the boys do, but Leo seems particularly attached to Lou

And we've all seen the smile comparisons, it's insane how similar his grandiose smile is to Lou Jistu's.

The point is, Leo really looks up to his dad, and we can see this in his actions and attitudes towards not only Lou Jitsu, but also Splinter in canon.

"Trust me pops!"

I mean, just look at how happy he is to be there with his dad, in his element. This episode is Leo at his peak, outsmarting everyone and predicting his family's moments to the letter.

Also, idk about you, but that smile seems incredibly genuine. That's not even a Lou Jitsu smile, that's a 100% Hamato Leonardo smile at his dad whom he looks up to so much.

And what does Splinter say to his son's ask for trust?

"I knew I should have brought Purple!"

....what.

That is his SON. His 14, maybe 15 year old son, who is asking for his father to trust him.

....and he responds by saying that he wishes he had brought his more intelligent twin brother instead, who he has already shown an implied favoritism towards in the past

"And I thought Purple was the funny one!"

"Told you guys I was the funniest."

This is a pretty harmless comment tbh, but Leo takes so much pride in his quips, one-liners and puns that this had to sting a little bit.

There's such a huge amount of content to sift through when it comes to these two, and that fact actually saddens me because I had SO MUCH to pick from when making this post, but here's some highlights.

One thing that I noticed while watching a Splinter and Leo compilation is that during the memory episode, Leo is the only one Splinter directly hits

NONE of the other three were directly hit like this is any point in the episode and yeah, this could totally be played off as a bit or just a case of wrong place, wrong time, but we'll get to my theory later, right now I'm just laying out the facts.

An important detail I'd like to point out here too is Leo's face after the first hit.

Guys, he looks HURT. Donnie and Raph are looking at him, checking that he's okay, but he is looking right past them at the shadow Splinter, who is dressed and looks just like his childhood idol, who just hit him specifically right in the face.

Not only his idol even. No, the most pure and unfiltered representation of his father, the man who's raised him his whole life.

And he just got hit in the face.

Ouch. For a kid as emotive as Leo (who I honestly think feels his emotions even more intensely than Mikey when he lets them out), this is a devastating blow. Literally.

Then, let's talk about this scene, you all knew it was coming.

"Can someone tell my son I am NOT TALKING TO HIM!!"

"You got this pops! I love you!"

Guys this scene hurts my heart. Like, once again, he can't be older than 15 at this point. Yeah he's being a badass stratigiser this whole episode, but you cannot convince me that he wasn't at least a little excited to see his dad, his HERO in action, and wearing a matching outfit as well, and show his dad, his idol and hero, exactly what he's capable of. Leo absolutely worships the ground Splinter walks on and what does his father have to say to his son"s encouragement??

"NO!"

GAHHHH like yes, Leo was kinda being a little shit this whole episode and could have clued his dad in on the plan a little bit, but honestly that could have ruined everything if Splinter had any holdbacks.

Not to mention, this is the only Leo and Splinter episode we get. Donnie gets the derby, Mikey gets the Hidden City bonding, even Raph gets the ending of the memory episode, and in each, they have a genuine moment of bonding with Splinter.

Splinter never ONCE apologized for his actions in this episode. Not once. RAPH is the one who tells Leo in this episode later on that he trusts Leo, something he's been begging Splinter for the entire time.

All of a sudden, this moment doesn't seem so out of place.....

"I love you soooo much!" "No, no you don't, I'm your least favorite!!"

This line could totally just be a throwaway line, but as it was pointed out to me by the wonderful @nardos-primetime, the alarms that the boys did for Google home have a REALLY upsetting one for Leo

Go to about 1:57 and listen to that one and just......cry.

NOW that line in "Rat Flu" makes a LOT more sense. Splinter LAUGHED at Leo when he asked if he was his favorite. LAUGHED at him.

But wait, you may ask. What about the ending? Splinter made Leo the leader, obviously he trusts him!

....yeah, just take a look at their faces here.

Donnie and Mikey are basically horrified beyond belief and in complete shock

Raph is.....blue screening, honestly

And Leo looks completely taken aback and shocked and scared and honestly, I don't blame him. There is absolutely NO precedence for Splinter to do this. He has proved time and time again that he does NOT trust Leo, he never ONCE tells Leo that he trusts him even though he asks for that trust during the entirety of "Unhappy Returns". NONE of them look happy about this new change.

You could see this as Splinter finally giving Leo a chance, but I see this a lot more as one of the more popular Fandom interpretations of Splinter wanting to give Raph a break. Raph had a huge breakdown during the finale and I don't think it's unreasonable for Splinter to have heard of that and decide that his beloved eldest needed a chance to recover.

Who better to pass this burden on to than his least favorite son!

We also see in the movie that this shift in power dynamics really doesn't do much other than create a lot of interpersonal conflict between Leo and Raph, something Splinter does absolutely nothing to help out with, other than telling them to quiet down.

Now that we have all of our evidence (and I put more work into getting evidence for this than for the English project I'm supposed to be doing right now can I just cite this as a source for me being capable of gathering evidence???) we can actually get into the analysis of how this all would affect him.

First of all, I mentioned that I would discuss the repercussions of the memory episode. This analysis is more for Splinter, but I feel like it's still important. We've seen time and time again that Leo is very similar to how Splinter was as a young teen in both looks and attitude. If Splinter truly resents his younger self and how he acted, it would make a lot of sense for him to also subconsciously resent his son who acts a lot like himself at that age. This would cause him to lash out at Leo in his subconscious, the one place where his true thoughts and feelings are on full display.

I just wanna point out his face again here, Leo looks so hurt. He definitely already knows that he's not anywhere near Splinter's favorites at this point, but it still hurts him to see that get confirmed.

This brings me to my next point of Leo's psyche. He is a very confident, witty, smart teenager, but he's still just that. A teenager. He's anxious, insecure, and very self-reliant. He looks to others for praise often and rarely receives it, usually having to hype himself up. His relationship with Splinter only emphasizes these qualities about him and makes Leo look so much worse in Splinter's eyes because his son is just a modern-day representation of his past self.

Now let's put this into perspective of Leo's decent into villainy.

If Leo is hurting and under the impression that his brothers are maybe starting to dislike him, even hate him, adding Splinter on to this can only make it worse.

Maybe he goes to his dad for tips on how to lead when he feels like he can't talk to Raph anymore and needs his father's advice.

Maybe he sets up a dinner for him and Splinter to just chat and bond instead of sitting at the dinner table with another one of Mikey's meals that he feels too sick with anxiety from his little brother's disappointed looks to eat.

Maybe he goes to his father crying from another nightmare after not feeling welcomed in Donnie's lab anymore after they fought for an hour the day before.

And maybe, just maybe, Splinter waves him off every time.

Forgets.

Laughs at him.

I mean, this is a kid who relys on others to build him up, to praise him and love him because after all....

Who is he without his family?

Maybe it's time to find out.

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Link to an AMAZING ficlet by the FANTASTIC @beetleviolet