Separated AU Leo And Raph

Separated AU Leo and Raph

Song- Brutus by The Buttress

Thanks to the anon who reminded me this song existed and how I needed to use it immediately for Leo! Could I have done the entire thing? Hell yes. Was I too lazy to open my laptop and instead used procreate on my iPad to animate this whole thing thus frustrating myself to the point of no return? Also yes lol.

💜 Novias! 💜

She’s kinda maka black blood esk ❤️

give me “character A thinks their hands are only used as weapons and character B knows they’re capable of love” and i’ll eat that shit up time and time again 🍽️🍽️

Leonardo (2012 and Rise) angst from a leadership perspective

I have been in CAP for 2 years, and one of the core curriculums of this program is the study of leadership as both a science and an art. So naturally, when I see characters thrust into a leadership position, I immediately start foaming at the mouth and planning how I can use what I know to create the maximum amount of angst for the given scenario. 

And when I saw both of these Leos in their respective leadership positions (and these can apply to Rise!Raph too), I began to plot their imminent demi- I mean the struggles they might face as leaders of a team. There are numerous elements that go into being an effective leader, and if anyone wanted a comprehensive list of those, I am sure it wouldn’t be hard to find. However, this is a compilation of the leadership characteristics that I believe can be the most angsty. (I did not go through over 2 years of leadership training to write angst for these characters. It is merely an added benefit)

Do with this what you will. 

The first characteristic of leadership that will be covered is technical competence. According to the wonderful internet, Technical Competence is, “the knowledge and abilities required to apply specific technical principles and information in a job function or role.” 2012!Leo maybe be able to say that he does not have all the answers, like his Rise counterpart, but someone who has been in the position of leader for as long as 2012!Leo must maintain a certain level of technical competence as leader, because it is his duty to ensure that, even if he doesn’t have all the answers, he does have most of them. Technical competence is a vital part of being a leader, because your team doesn’t have to look to you for all the answers, but you still must be competent enough that your team can look to you for knowledge and guidance in a time of crisis or danger. I imagine Leo likely has to train and study more than the others, because he has to have the technical and mental ability to guide them through the missions when they fail. He doesn’t need to have all the answers, or make all the plans, but he does need to be competent enough to be someone for them to fall back on when they need to. He must be someone that the team can look to, and rely on. He must be the back up if all else fails, and ready to step in when the team stumbles. This standard likely creates a level of isolation, because they can rely on him, and he in theory can rely on them, but even then, there is a separate expectation that Leo has to uphold, and relying on his team too much might make him appear weak or untrustworthy.

Leo must also, as a leader, be willing to make the tough calls. I know this is touched on in the show, but I’m going to go into this a bit more. Being a leader means taking advantage of a situation and making most, if not all of the choices during a mission or even out of it. Leo is responsible for making the difficult choices and carrying the team through those difficult choices even when he doubts himself or feels like failure is imminent. If Leo shows any signs of doubt or fear, the team will sense this, and their performance will suffer as a result. He has to be able to look at a situation and make the appropriate call, sometimes in a split second. He can’t risk hesitating or taking too long to make a choice, or else it might already be too late. He must be able to make the tough calls, and more importantly, make the right call in a timely manner. And this is tricky, because in a high risk situation, you might have to make an incredibly difficult call in only a minute with only half of the information that you need. This one has the most potential for angst. I mean c’mon. 

Another key part of leadership is the importance of finding the balance between being lax and being serious and strict. Now, due to this, both Leos find themselves in a unique position. Because this isn’t just their team, it’s their brothers. So there is a line that must be balanced between serious and playful, and should Leo veer to far into one of the other and lose that balance, he could not only risk his relationship with his brothers (they think he is being too hard on them and thinks himself above them bc he bosses them around too much), but also their lives (he is a bit to silly and his recklessness ends up costing their lives or their objective). It can be an extremely difficult line to balance on, especially when you are close with the people you are supposed to be leading. Not only can there be major consequences if you mess up or over correct, but you worry constantly about if you are doing it right, and if you have the right balance. 

Another key thing is Servant Leadership, which is the practice of leading by serving your team and leading by example. This practice includes putting your own team first and ensuring your safety and security before your own. However, you cannot be a good servant leader without first taking care of yourself. This may seem somewhat contradictory, but, of course, that is where the angst comes in, because our beloved stupid Leos will indubitably take this the wrong way, and completely ignore their own personal health and sanities for the sake of the team. By believing they have to be independent entirely, and having the belief that they can’t rely on their team lest they show weakness, they try to take care of matters by themselves so as to not burden others. This is of course not how servant leadership should be executed, but having minimal training in leadership and sort of being expected to figure it out on their own, that might simply be how they interpret it. 

In Conclusion, these bad boys can fit so much angst in them.