BEGIN AGAIN TASK 001: QUESTIONAIRE
What is one of your favorite HCs for your muse?
My favorite HC for Miguel deals in something I wish the comics had brought up more --- specifically, it deals with his mother, his stepfather, and what it feels like to be raised in two worlds by two people who are both far less than perfect.
Miguel’s mother was Mexican, and though the comics never define what this means in 2099 terms, she is shown speaking Spanish on more than one occasion. His stepfather (who Miguel believed, until adulthood, to be his biological father) was white (specifically Irish). Both parents were abusive, his mother emotionally and his stepfather physically. His stepfather also physically abused Miguel’s mother.
Based on comic canon, I don’t believe George O’Hara spoke any Spanish. Based on everything the comics tell us about him, I don’t believe he enjoyed it when his wife or sons did. Because of this, I don’t believe Miguel’s Spanish is very good. I headcanon that, after George was out of the picture, Miguel’s younger brother Gabriel went back and learned Spanish more fluently. Gabri had a much better relationship with their mother than Miguel did, and wasn’t treated quite as poorly as he was due to the fact that Gabri was her legitimate son with the man she’d married and Miguel was her illegitimate son with her husband’s boss. Miguel’s mother hated his father and, because Miguel reminded her of him, she wasn’t fond of Miggy, either. Gabriel didn’t carry the same weight for her as Miguel did, and therefore Gabriel had more of an incentive to learn her native language and speak with her in it. Miguel didn’t.
This isn’t to say he doesn’t know any Spanish --- he’s shown speaking it a little in the comics, and based on this I’d say he probably speaks Americanized Spanish, and I’d say his mother probably scolded him for that pretty frequently. His Spanish is also limited, not expanding far past the basics. It’s not unlikely that he’ll pick it back up someday but if and when he does, it will be a decision he makes for himself, not for his mother the way his brother did.