#leo and mikey are astral projection experts together

[brightlotusmoon]

@sacredartist33013 I found this and thought of you and our conversations about 2012 Mikey with all his psychic and mystic potentials.

TMNT 2012 Mikey Headcanon #160

New ideas for new Mikey The Lifegiver stories!

Now that his brothers in some part share in his (natural, Kraang enhanced) psychic abilities, Michelangelo has been doing one on one training at very random times. He still needs Master Splinter spiritually to work with him one on one, but it gives him ideas of how to start sensei-ing his big brothers.

Raph - He never expected “Raphael, Projective Empath” to be on his resume, but he likes it now, so long as he can learned to separate and compartmentalize his own emotions during battle. Once he can sort out the emotional state of his opponents, he can grab those and tweak them - fear, doubt, rage, panic. He hates overdoing it, it makes him exhausted and drained. But after he accidentally killed two street criminals with their own fear-induced heart attacks, he goes to Mikey for tips. He doesn’t feel guilt but he does hope to not cause sudden death.

Don - His connection to Mikey is sounds and words, essentially telepathy. He sometimes senses his brother rifling through his surface thoughts when he’s reading a text or doing an experiment. Mikey’s interest in the soft sciences, plus neurology, makes Donnie slap a lab coat on Mike and title him Field Medic. Donnie learns that in battle, he can sometimes hear or read the intentions of his enemies and his lightning brain calculates the proper steps. Most of the time he doesn’t know he’s doing it.

Leo - Leo is officially Mikey’s keeper, in the spiritual way. Mikey’s connection to him is visuals, colors, clairvoyance. Leo still insists he leads their dances, which Mike just finds comical. They work on remote viewing a lot. Leo still can’t get Mikey to meditate the way he does, but he doesn’t mind the music nor how Mikey dances as he meditates.

April - These two are partners in psionic mischief. They love playing games, especially competitions. Casey Jones is often a moving target. In fact, Casey became a close confidant once he and Donnie both started dating April together. Michelangelo’s gloom over not fitting in often fades completely for a while when April gives him presents and initiates telepathic conversations that go on for hours. She rants about her two boyfriends, he rants about his two girlfriends, they wind up bringing Ice Cream Kitty into it and it becomes a slumber party.

Renet: She is just thrilled to be with Mikey when her time traveling allows. The strong deep love he has with Shinigami doesn’t bother her, she’s done polyamory before. The fact that Michelangelo sometimes, with effort, will breach time to call to her sends happy shivers through her. Shini is warming up to her. In fact, Shini is the only one who can calm Mike down during sudden outbursts of anything from depression to seizures to uncontrolled psychic bursts. Renet wants him to be cared for, and Shini does that, when she’s not with Karai being mushy ninja girlfriends.

See, the upcoming new fic will happen after the events of “Owari” and the Kavaxas storyline and the When Worlds Collide arc. But beyond that I’m all AU. That means Capritello and Shinirai and Shiniangelo and Renetangelo and Ramona and eventual Leorai. The end of the series is already published, now I get to tell stories leading up to “Children Of The Sun”.

[brightlotusmoon]

Oh hey, so remember how my AU "The Sunshine Child" happened because of an offhand comment after the start of TMNT 2012 Season 5 about how both Leo and Mikey should have seen Splinter's ghost and they could use their Superior Spiritual Intuitions to play games and Ghost Splinter could be in on it and someone demanded I write a fic about it and it turned into five stories? I totally need to get back to that, now that Leo and Mikey will share a special bond. Invigorating!

[brightlotusmoon]

This fucking migraine. I had to quit writing and lie down. Fuck it too because I was in the middle of a great scene where Leo and Mikey bond over Mikey's telepathy. Also I won't lie, the news that 2018 Leo and Mikey will share a special bond is giving me epic life and will absolutely influence new Mikey The Lifegiver stories. I still love the B-Team, I still love Team Chaos, but I have been WAITING for a really good Leo and Mikey dynamic that will highlight the big/little brother bond. Seeing as how one of the Lifegiver fics won an award for the Leo and Mikey dynamic, I have a need to explore it more. I know people are waiting on the promised Mikey and Raph empath fic, but I told myself I can still work on three or four fics at once.

Seven more months of Love/Hate for the new turtles. Meanwhile I'll be over here with my "what the hell do you mean, psychic powers" AU that started in the 90s.

All is fanfic.

All is What If AU.

PS, fucking migraine.

[brightlotusmoon]

Here, have the next piece of the chapter because I still need to figure stuff out and I don’t want to say 4Kids Splinter was a jerk but 4Kids Splinter was a jerk.

Mikey butted his forehead against Don’s collarbone and drew in a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry, Donnie, I’m s-sorry, L-Leo…Leo, I’m sorry.”

Leo swallowed and ran his thumb down the side of Mikey’s face. “Sorry for what, little one?”

Mike blinked and raised his head, shifting in Don’s arms until he was facing Leo. He looked miserable. “F-for hurting myself. For ne-never paying attention and never taking anything seriously. And you…you s-still trained me for the grudge match when everyone else abandoned me, even Mas-”

Lightning quick, Leonardo had wrapped his arms around his youngest brother, Donnie’s arms still supporting. “Oh, sweet Mikey. Oh, my gods. No, don’t think about that. Don’t think like that, okay? You’re Mikey, you are our Mikey, and you should never apologize for being yourself. Not to us, not to Sensei, not to anyone.”

Michelangelo was sobbing now, heaving like a child, and Raph was massaging his carapace and pressing his beak to Mikey’s shoulder. Donnie bit his lip and clenched his teeth and lowered his beak to Mikey’s head. Their fault. It was their fault. Michelangelo had been so happy he won the Championship, so fucking proud, and all he ever wanted was their approval, their praise, their love, and yes he boasted and bragged but how else could he explain and express his desperate need to be noticed? His own father didn’t know how to raise him and train him, he couldn’t get access to ADHD medicine and not even the special herbal teas could help completely. Mikey had been left floundering in a family of discipline and darkness, throwing energy and light into shadows that rejected him…no wonder he had clung to the Battle Nexus Championship.

Donatello cried and all his logic and reason drowned in love and fear.

Eventually he heard Leo again. “Mike, no, you were never a burden. You were our heart, you were our joy. Being able to watch you still act young and carefree reminded me that there were more important things than nobility, honor in death, being a great warrior. We were and are still so young and inexperienced. We only have each other. It is like what I told you. I won’t let you fall. We would fall with you. I’m here. I’m protecting you, Mikey. I always was and I always will.”

Don felt Mikey hiccup and tip his head back, so Don kissed his head and pressed his palm to Mike’s forehead. Raph’s fingers were working tense muscles against Mike’s neck and upper back above the carapace.

“An’ I’m with him all the way, Mikey,” Raph said hoarsely. “I’d give my life to protect you.”

“That goes for me as well,” Donnie said between sobs. “We never want to lose you, Mike.”

A massive shudder ran through Mike’s body and for a instant Donnie’s mind screamed seizure! but it passed and then Mikey burst into tears again, moving to Leo again, wrapping his arms around Leo’s waist. “No, no, no, no,” he gasped. “You…you...you don’t get it, that’s not what I want from you. I…I want you to live. I want you all to be with me. I don’t ever wanna lose any of you, ever, don’t you get it? I don’t want you to give your lives for me. It’s better if I go first, I’m the expendable one, I-”

A long, loud growl from Raphael filled the room, as Leonardo’s arms tightened and Donatello gasped in shock.

“Don’t you ever, ever say that again,” Raphael hissed, amber eyes blazing. “Michelangelo, do you hear me? I never want to hear you say you’re expendable.”

Slowly, slowly, Mikey turned and looked at Raph, swallowing. “Are…are you angry?”

“Damn fucking right, I’m angry.”

“I feel it. It hurts.”

“Yeah, it hurts. Didn’t you even hear what Leo said? We all go down. Together.”

“But…Raph, no, I was always the weak link, I was never a great ninja…”

“Mikey, keep talking like that and I will smack you…”

Mike’s body abruptly went rigid, his eyes wide and cloudy, and his breathing became harsh. Donnie quickly locked his arms around his plastron, rested his chin on Mikey’s shoulder, and began to rock him. “Ssshhhhh, Mikey, breathe, breathe, you’re okay, it’s an anxiety attack, you’re okay, Raph’s not gonna hit you…”

Raphael inhaled sharply and Donnie caught the look of sheer horror before Raph scrambled back on his butt, tucking in his arms, staring at Mike.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t…I’m so so sorry, I never…I wouldn’t…”

“You did!” and Mikey’s outburst was sudden and raw. “You hit me and then we grew older and you stopped but you did and I remember and…and I forgive you, Raphie. I forgive you. I forgive you.”

Shaking, Raph crawled back and gripped Mikey’s arm. “But I still hurt you.”

“Yeah. And…and it’s in my head.” Mike looked at him tearfully. “But…you need to know that I forgive you. All of you.”

Raph rested his head on Mike’s shoulder. “I’m such a fucking asshole.”

“But you’re my fucking asshole.”

Leonardo let out a shaky breath, almost a panicky laugh. “Mikey, please tell me you feel even a little bit better about being in the clan.”

Mikey managed a smile. “Yeah. I do. But I don’t know how to talk to M- to Splinter. How do you tell your parent he fucked you up because he didn’t know how to connect with you?”

Donatello huffed, almost a laugh. “You don’t. You rehearse it over and over in your head until you have a whole script and you just never find the courage.”

Mikey turned to him and nuzzled him, purring. “M’sorry, Donnie. Not like he really understood your brain either.”

“He tried,” Don replied easily. “But I’m not sure he really tried with you.”

[brightlotusmoon]

Oh, fuck, I just saw a YouTube review of the sibling dynamics between Leonardo and Michelangelo and I am completely agreeing that Mikey sees Leo as a protective mom who he can learn from and Leo sees Mikey as a problem child he is responsible for, so The Brightest Fire or The Sunshine Child will have to have scenes like that. Besides Splinter never really connected to Mikey and after a while in 2003 he gave up and enjoyed Mikey getting a beatdown while Leo was the only one who believed in Mike's potential. I have Issues with Splinter and his psychology around the youngest.

(The Sunshine Child series focused on Leo being all Nobody Hurts My Problem Child Not Even My Dead Father Also Fuck You Dad and I think I need to continue it.)

Because while I loathed how 2003 Mikey was written to be a wild insufferable brat, I adored how he was given moments of powerful intense insight and depth and spiritual talent.

I'm cool with Asks for stuff to write in any of the AUs, even CFR. But if i can just get the next two chapters of Brightest Fire out and up I will feel better.

Also maybe 2018 Leo being more laid back will help once we start seeing actual evidence.

[brightlotusmoon]

TORMENT! and Mikey.

When your two AU fic series in the same fandom basically have the exact same premise with small differences, but it really doesn’t matter because the characters are still different versions of themselves. What I’m tryin to say is: the latest story in “The Sunshine Child” and the first chapter of “The Brightest Fire” are coming from the same place, but it’s actually a nifty challenge to recall the differences between 2003 TMNT and 2012 TMNT so I can get the details right. I’ll need to do some research, maybe ask some 2k3 experts about episodes. Now that 2012 canon officially gave the green light to torture the cinnamon roll, I am going to run through the Break The Cutie and Iron Woobie tropes like there’s no tomorrow. Y’all are going to hate me. But someone has to keep the “Hurt Mikey” fics going, because there are so many “Hurt Donnie” fics out there. My two geeky neurodivergent turtle children are beloved so much that they need to be tormented. In relation to each other. Throw Leo into the mix emotionally, make him watch. Raph can comfort everyone, it’s his new job. Haa, ha ha. (PS, all the wikis and descriptons of Michelangelo mention that his 2003 incarnation is something that is never talked about in the show: “ Michelangelo is also appointed to be "the one with the brightest fire" or with the most potential by The Ancient One. Master Splinter also claims a few times that Michelangelo obtains the most "raw talent" of all the brothers. Although, both Master Splinter and The Ancient One, say because of Michelangelo's lack of focus and interest in training, he will probably never meet his full potential.” The 2012 animated comic released before the CGI show had Splinter talking about Mikey having the most raw potential, more natural talent than his brothers combined, lacking the focus and drive. So what if Mikey started really using that potential and talent? He would be terrifying and amazing. It’s a good thing he has such a good heart and a cheerful disposition, because if he was trying to deliberately hurt someone, it would be the most horrifying game of cat and mouse ever. I love fics and headcanons that portray him with that possibility.)