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lilyswritings · 1 year ago

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fate — xviii

synopsis: Keep your head down, focus on getting through your classes, and try not to die. That had always been your plan of attack when it comes to attending Kings Dominion School of the Deadly Arts. But your life plans get thrown out the window as you find yourself growing attached to the new kid who refuses to lose his compassion and moral code, despite the ruthless curriculum and vicious social cliques he finds himself surrounded by.

author’s note: okay, here’s the next bit! in truth, i wrote the cafeteria scene ages and ages ago and i’m very happy with it, so i’m glad you guys can finally read it! a little bit of angst and action, a little bit of romance... what more could you want. ;) enjoy!!

wordcount: 3,972

part i || part ii || part iii || part iv || part v || part vi || part vii || part viii || part ix || part x || part xi || part xii || part xiii || part xiv || part xv || part xvi || part xvii || part xviii || part xix

Marcus Lopez Arguello x Reader

Lockdowns at the Academy of the Deadly Arts are rare and very intense, demanding obedience in their strictness, and there is no getting out of this one. You groan against the door, smacking your palm one last time against the wood and resting your forehead on it in defeat.

When you turn around, you realize you’ve been pushed into a dorm with two Kuroki students, both of whom are glaring at you from their beds. You think you recognize one of them from your Poisons class — Hana, you think her name is? — and offer her an awkward nod. She raises an eyebrow but nods back, and you breathe out in relief, aware that the only reason you’re not in danger right now is because they’ve seen you with Saya before.

You take a moment to thank whatever heavenly forces that be that you didn’t end up in a dorm with the Soto Vatos — especially Maria — and sit down on the floor in the corner of the dorm as your two temporary roommates begin to talk in rapidfire Japanese, no doubt talking about you. You grimace and fish one of your butterfly knives out of your boot, practicing flips with it to pass the time.

After what seems like an insufferably long period of tense silence, you hear Madam Gao in the hallway announcing lunch. “You will eat in shifts,” She orders, and you lean closer to the door to hear her better. “Your groups will have five minutes to gather your food. If you utter a word I’ll have your tongue. If you so much as brush past another student, I’ll take your hand.”

You hear the sound of a key turning in the lock, and you scramble to your feet. The door swings open to reveal a Monk, and beyond him, Madam Gao. Her stony gaze falls onto you and she lifts a pristine eyebrow, and you attempt to suppress the shiver that racks your body at the sight of her. Your shoulder wound throbs again at the memory of your time spent with her, and you quickly drop your gaze to the floor.

The two Kuroki students file out of the room first and you follow all the way to the cafeteria — freezing when you spot Maria and Juan not too far ahead of you. You glance behind you nervously only to find Riku, and behind her, Saya.

You have just found yourself sandwiched in between two of your closest friends who both want to murder each other — and one wants to murder you, too. Saya catches your eyes and shakes her head at you, and it’s then that you notice the shiv clutched in her palm.

Oh, shit. You shake your head back at her, in turn, but Riku steps into your line of vision with a glare before turning her back to you. This cannot be happening right now, you don’t have time for a fucking gang war right now. The Monks are watching, Madam Gao is already eager to have your head, and if you step out of line, you’re giving her an excuse to round up all of you and send you back to the interrogation room.

You try to step out in front of Saya as she begins moving up the line but Riku kicks you in the ankle, and you whirl around to glare at her. She has no idea the shitstorm that is about to rain down on you all.

You duck your head, your brain screaming at you to just mind your business and not get in the middle of this, but you cannot watch your friends kill each other. Fuck. You curse mentally, and then whistle loudly, making Maria turn around — and spot Saya advancing on her.

Saya still tries to attack, but having lost her advantage, Juan dodges immediately and knocks the shiv out of her hand, and Maria glances between her and you, slowly seeming to piece something together. You realize suddenly that Saya was going to attack Juan, not Maria, and your heart sinks.

Saya looks at you with betrayal in her eyes, and then turns to try and attack Juan again, but Maria pushes her to the side and turns to look at you. The look of rage on her face tells you that the story in her head is not the one where you are trying to save her life.

Oh shit.

“Maria, wait—!” You attempt before ducking as she lunges at you, dark eyes narrowed.

“I can’t fucking believe you!”

“I was trying to warn you!”

“Warn me? Or distract me?” She accuses.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t want—” You hold up a plastic tray as her hair pin arcs downwards in an attempt to protect yourself, but the blade stabs right through it, forcing you to toss the two halves apart and try to back up. “I didn’t want you to get hurt!”

“Hurt? Oh, we’re well past that, boyfriend stealer!” She kicks a leg out, attempting to knock you off balance, but you dodge and continue to back up — until your back collides with a wall.

“Please, you know it’s not —” You gasp, ducking just in time to avoid the needle-sharp point of her hairpin as it flies at your head. “It’s not like that!”

You manage to sweep a leg out, knocking her off her feet, and going to jump over her to escape — she’s faster than you, though, and snatches your ankle, sending you tumbling to the ground alongside her.

It’s a mess of punches and blocks until you manage to climb on top of her, pinning her wrists to the ground and leaning your weight onto them as she attempts to wrangle free.

Maria keeps struggling, waiting for you to make another move — grab her pin, pull out one of your knives, something on the offense rather than defense. But you don’t. You lean into the hold, waiting it out, not wanting to hurt her, and she seems to realize that.

“Fight back, traidora!” She hisses, brow furrowed and eyes blazing with fury.

“No.” You bite out, focusing on trying to keep her down as she attempts to wriggle free.

“Fight back!” She insists, and you notice a sheen of tears in her eyes. You feel the sting of incoming tears in your own, prompted by the sight, and you bite your cheek and shake your head.

“I’m so sorry, Maria.” You manage, and her expression wavers between fury and heartbreak.

You inhale deeply and let go of her wrists.

Predictably, she knocks you over and scrambles on top of you in seconds, hairpin in hand and blade poised precariously at your throat. You breathe deeply, eyes flicking between her hand at your throat and her face.

“I’m sorry.” You repeat, hands coming up beside your head with your palms out, a motion of surrender, and her expression scrunches up as you feel her hand begin to shake.

“You —” She starts, the blade digging into your skin ever so slightly. “You —” She tries again, eyes glossy with tears. “You stole him.”

Her words seem to reinvigorate her fury. She grits her teeth, leaning more heavily onto you and letting the tip of the blade break the skin of your throat. Your eyes squeeze shut involuntarily, a panicked last resort of self-preservation, as if not seeing the danger will make it go away.

Just it seems like she might push the blade fully through the skin and end this fight for good — your mind spares a brief flash of panic and pity for Marcus who will have to hear that she killed you, have to deal with that —

You feel her weight being lifted off of you. You gasp, lungs refilling with air you didn’t realize you’d lost, as your eyes open and you notice Monks rushing towards you — as well as Madam Gao, her expression stern but betrayed by her eyes glittering with delight at the opportunity to punish you.

Another Monk grabs you by the arm and yanks you harshly upward, twisting your other arm behind your back and holding you firmly — the bullet wound in your shoulder begins to throb violently at the position, but your own fear takes over as Madam Gao begins stalking towards you Out of the corner of your eye, you spot both Maria and Saya being held tight by Monks, and you swallow the bitter taste of panic rising in your throat.

Madam Gao grips your chin between her nails and smirks at you before glancing over at the other two girls. “Leave that one.” She says, eyes focused on Saya, and the Monk releases her and steps out of the way. The headmistress’ dark eyes shift back over to you and she lets go of your chin, one eyebrow raised, before turning and focusing her attention on Maria. “I have found the poison coursing through King’s.”

You risk a glance at Maria and find that her expression mirrors your own — one of apprehension and fear.

The Monks drag the two of you out of the cafeteria and you risk one final look at Saya, but she’s already been surrounded by her Kuroki subordinates and you can’t catch her eye. They march you down the hallway, Madam Gao in the lead, and your heart pounds louder against your chest with every step you take.

“I know it was you,” Madam Gao starts, speaking without turning around, and you can’t tell whether she is referring to you or Maria, or both. Somehow, the ambiguity is even scarier than it being pointed at one of you. “All of it. Chico, Yukio... You’re lethal. Normally I’d commend you. Perhaps offer you to the Green Temple. Only you are not just lethal...”

At this, she stops in her tracks and turns to face Maria, causing you to hold your breath. “You are a cancer spreading rapidly. Saya, Marcus... Everyone around you succombs—” She flicks Maria’s hoop earring, causing the girl to flinch, and you furrow your brow — Madam Gao is toying with her, with both of you. “—to the infection.”

“The only remedy for your type of malignancy,” At this, Madam Gao turns her attention to you, and you freeze. “Is to cut it out.” The final words are no louder than a whisper, but they seem deafening in the silence of the hallway.

Then, the Monks shove you both forward, and Madam Gao stays where she stands. Your heart thuds against your ribcage as they lead you towards the interrogation rooms, a sinking dread filling you as you begin to dig your heels into the ground and resist — but it’s no use, the Monks just drag you along like a ragdoll. Maria is lead to the left, you to the right, and when the door opens, your heart sinks.

The interrogation room is exactly as you remember it from that night after Vegas — damp, cold, dark, and thoroughly chilling. Thin beams of dull light filter through the ceiling, illuminating the chair in the middle — one that you are forced into, your wrists and ankles fastened into the leather cuffs on the arms and legs. You tug at them in futility, dread rising up your throat like bile.

The door slams shut behind the Monk and you are left in the dark with only your fear and the sound of your own heartbeat as company.

It isn’t long before you hear the door unlock and you steel yourself for the torture that is about to ensue — until it creaks open and reveals Saya on the other side.

“What the fuck?” You whisper-yell, obviously completely lost, and she sighs as she approaches, immediately going to undo your left cuff.

“There’s no time— I saw Riku headed into the room where they took Maria.” She explains, and you curse under your breath. As soon as your left hand is free, you wave her off and begin to undo your right cuff.

“Go, I’ve got this.” She hesitates, and you widen your eyes. “Riku is going to kill her. I can do this. Go.”

Saya nods and turns on her heel, sprinting out of the room, and you curse your hands for shaking as you untie yourself and stand up, bolting out of the room. By the time you reach the other room, Saya and Riku are going hand-to-hand. Knowing your friend and her proficiency in combat, you rush past them, crouching next to the chair Maria is buckled into.

Her wild eyes meet yours, perplexed and panicked, and you nod in an attempt at reassurance before beginning to unfasten her cuffs. By the time you’re done with the first one, Saya has defeated Riku and the Kuroki underling has sprinted out of the room, no doubt to tell on you to the Monks.

Saya joins you in freeing Maria but simply cuts away the leather buckles, and you sigh and lean back on your heels, the adrenaline catching up to you.

“Is it true?” Saya asks Maria, and you glance between them — eyes widening as Maria nods.

“Yes.” Maria, eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Yukio betrayed you.” She explains, and her voice sounds desperate.

“Then why didn’t you come to me?” Saya’s face is full of concern, falling as Maria glances away and says all she needs to with her expression. “You don’t trust me.” She fills in, glancing at you before sighing. “I was just trying to help you.” She tries, a plea, but Maria’s expression turns cold as she steps out of the chair.

“Don’t.” The brunette glances between the two of you and the lack of affection in her eyes breaks your heart. As she pushes past Saya and leaves the room, you realize that you’ve just lost your friend for good.

You hang your head for a moment before standing fully. “We should go.” You utter, eyes trained on the floor, and you hear Saya sigh before she stands up and nods. The two of you leave the room to find the lockdown over and students milling the halls, and you plan with Saya to meet her on the rooftop later — first, you need to find your other friends.

When you get back to your room Petra isn’t there, but her bra is lying on the floor, along with... Is that Lex’s necklace? You cannot even begin to unpack whatever went down here, so you push it out of your mind and head back out, stopping in front of and knocking on Marcus’ door.

Silence greets you, for long enough that you’re just about to turn and search elsewhere, before the door cracks open.

Marcus’ eyes light up at the sight of you, that trademark lopsided smirk of his tugging at his lips as he pulls the door open further and invites you in. In the dim lighting of the hallway you didn’t see them fully, but in the brightness of his room, your eyes catch on the fresh bruises that litter his face. You gasp softly, fingers immediately reaching to ghost over the watercolour splotches, and he grimaces and catches your hand in his own.

“It’s nothing, really.” He tries to diminish their severity, but your expression makes him sigh. “I got caught sneaking out during the lockdown.” He admits, and you frown.

“You snuck out?” You smack him lightly on the shoulder, brow furrowed and mouth agape. “Marcus, that was incredibly stupid.” You scold. He huffs out a laugh, aware of his own antics, and glances up at you through his lashes.

“Will you go easy on me if I say I was trying to find you?” He asks, and your scowl of frustration melts at the gesture.

“Ooh, how romantic.” You tease, cocking your head to the side, but the jovial atmosphere disappears as soon as Marcus’ eyes land on the fresh cut on your neck, his eyes going dark and his hand reaching out to cradle your neck and get a better look at the wound.

“What happened?” He asks — no, demands — and though you are endeared by his protective streak, you need him to calm down a little. He can’t get murderous every time you so much as get a scratch on you.

“Ah. Well...” You take a deep breath, unsure how much you want him to know, but due to the fact that Saya was there, you know it’s only a matter of time until he finds out, and he’s going to be pissed either way — maybe you can soften the blow a little.

Still, you rush all your words out at once with a grimace, as if saying it faster makes it less of a big deal.

“I sort of tried to stop Saya and Maria from killing each other in the cafeteria and then Maria sort of kind of tried to kill me but then Madam Gao and the Monks hauled me off to one of the interrogation rooms—”

Marcus’ eyebrows shoot into his hairline and he opens his mouth, but you hold up a finger and rush the rest of the explanation out. “But nothing happened in there because Saya came and got me and then we both went and saved Maria from being killed by Riku.”

Marcus lets you finish, obviously displeased at pretty much everything that just came out of your mouth, before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“So this was Madam Gao?” He raises an eyebrow, and at your grimace and the slight shake of your head, he fills it in himself. “Maria...” He sighs, expression pinched, and you reach out to smooth the crease that forms between his eyebrows. “This is all my fault.” He plops down on the bed, head hanging low, and you sigh.

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re...” You plan on saying ‘good’, but you’re not sure that’s the truth anymore. “She’s not trying to kill me anymore.”

“Anymore? Oh, well then that’s just swell.” His words drip with irony, and you roll your eyes

“Look, it’s sorted now, and besides, I have something else to tell you. It’s... Important.” You sigh and sit beside him and he turns to look at you, your breath still stolen every time you lay your eyes upon his features.

“Yeah, actually, me too.” He sighs, propping his elbows on his knees and flexing his fists.

When neither of you speak for a moment, you huff out a laugh and nudge his shoulder. “You first.”

He raises an eyebrow at you in amusement, but his expression turns stern again and your heart sinks at whatever news he’s about to share. “Maria killed Yukio.” He grimaces as the words leave his mouth, and you lean back on your hands.

“Huh.” You utter, and he frowns.

“What?”

“That was my news too.” You offer, and he sits up dead straight.

“What? When? How?” His rapidfire questions tumble into each other in their haste to be asked.

“When we got her out of the interrogation room. She told Saya that Yukio had betrayed her, but... I don’t know. It didn’t feel like the full story to me.” You sigh, shrugging slightly.

“That’s because it isn’t.” Marcus sighs, and you sit up straight and match his pose. “El Alma del Diablo thinks Yukio killed Chico, and ordered Maria to kill him. Now, the debt is repaid. Or so he thinks. She did it to get him off our tail.” He turns to you, dark eyes full of emotion, and you curse. She did it for you guys. You should have known.

“Why didn’t she just—?” Tell me, you’re going to say, but there are a million answers to that, none of which you want to hear. “Okay. Alright. So we stick to that story.” You begin to nod, a plan piecing itself together, but Marcus grimaces, and your heart sinks.

“I...” He takes a deep breath, and when you notice the tears that begin to fill his eyes your heart falls even further into the pit of your stomach. “I got caught sneaking out by Master Lin. He took me to an interrogation room. He had a video of my parents.” His voice catches on the last word and you reach for his hand, squeezing gently.

He utters your name so quietly, so shakily, and then his face turns incredibly solemn. “I told him everything.”

You freeze, heart pounding against your ribcage in the deafening silence of the room. He watches your expression carefully as his admission sinks in, his own expression one of desperation.

“He already knew so much, and... He threatened to kick me out, to put me back on the streets, and I couldn’t— I couldn’t—” He continues to explain, as if imploring you to understand, but right at the end he breaks and you spot a tear fall. “I don’t know what this means for us, but he let me go. And he hasn’t come after us yet, I can only assume—”

You nod along as he speaks, slowly overcoming your shock. Better him than Madam Gao, you think, and squeeze his hand. “It’s okay.” You reassure, and he seems to crumple at the realization you’re not... Angry? Disappointed? Whatever he was expecting from you, forgiveness is not it.

You rest a hand on his cheek, looking deep into his eyes. “We’ll figure it out.” You reassure, smiling slightly as his expression softens, but the pit in your stomach doesn’t leave — you don’t believe the words coming out of your own mouth.

Once the two of you have sorted everything out with each other, recounting the details of the day and coming up with a plan, you find yourself right back on the roof, back with the same friends you’d been with the night before.

You and Marcus stand at the edge of the roof, hand in hand and peering out over the glittering skyline, steeling yourselves for the conversation that is about to ensue. He looks to you, questioning dark eyes practically sparkling with the reflection of the city lights, and you nod at him. He sighs, nods, and turns around.

“I got to talk to everyone about something — it’s important.”

His words cause your friends to all turn to look at him with bated breath, his serious tone eliciting an atmosphere of tension and anxiety. You sit down on the ledge, peering up at him as he continues.

“Secrets got us into this. Holding onto bad feelings, not being honest, not trusting each other. All this back-biting and shit-talking and drama.” He hops down from the ledge, coming to perch beside you. “You guys are the only family I’ve had since my... My folks died.” His eyes drift over to yours, raking over your face as if memorizing your features. “And I can’t lose you.”

“Come on, man.” Willie breaks the tense silence and you laugh lightly as Marcus breaks his gaze away from yours, turning back to face the group.

“Yeah, well, in the spirit of full disclosure, I want to tell you all the truth about me.” He looks at each of his friends, taking in their expressions, before his gaze drops to the floor.

“I didn’t kill all those kids at the boy’s home. But when I escaped, I let loose the guy who did. I had this roommate, a psycho named Chester...”

You brace yourself for the next part.

“He followed us to Vegas, and he found Chico’s body.” You watch Marcus’ words seep into your friend’s expressions, all of them going through phases of shock and fear. “And that’s not the worst of it. He... He has this deadline,”

“And we’re running out of time.”

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sluttyhusband · 3 years ago

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No one asked but here’s a list of telenovela guys I’m absolutely SIMPING over

#David zepeda #gabriel soto #Jason romo #Juan vidal #chubby male reader #x chubby male reader #male reader #x male reader #mexican male reader #x mexican male reader #chubby mexican male reader #x chubby mexican male reader

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freddoneptune · 4 years ago

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Marcus Lopez Arguello Fluff Alphabet !

( WHERE CAN I FIND MYSELF A MARCUS, Also, you are Chico’s cousin in this and a high legacy of Soto Vatos)

A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

Marcus loves all of you , but if he had to pick a favourite part of your body, he would pick your hair. He loves running his fingers through the silky tresses , especially when you fall asleep on his chest.

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?)

He would love to have children, to give them the love he didn’t recieve , to prove that he is better than the people in the home. However, he would be very insecure about whether he would be a good father or not, constantly wondering if he would be able to love a child after his parents were so cruelly taken away from him at such a young age.

C = Cuddle (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle)

He loves affection, he didn’t get any at the home so any moment he can at Kings, he will want to cuddle. He is very protective so he usually has his arms wrapped around you, sheltering you while he listens to you talk about whatever.

D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

There aren’t a lot of places to have romantic dates at Kings Dominion, so you usually smoke weed at the Graveyard or you go into the city and mess around.

E = Everything (You are my ____)

“You are my baby.” Marcus is very protective of you, especially if you are a student at Kings. He gets jealous easily and is very possessive of you , so he likes to remind you who you are to him.

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

You were both in Ms.De Luca’s class, you were sparring against your best friend Maria and he couldn’t keep his eyes off you , he couldn’t stop thinking about how strong you were or how committed you were to the class.

G = Gentle (Are they gentle with you?)

Listen, Marcus knows that you’re not a dainty little thing but you are still his baby, which means he is so softttttt. Literally like feather-light touches, dude is so gentle with you.

H = Hands (Do they like to hold hands? If so how?)

Will not let your hand go! Like i said before, Marcus is extremely protective of you which means he holds your hand wherever the two of you go. He just doesn’t want you to get hurt or start a fight with Brandy (you have a habit of starting fights with her), which means he will grab your hand like a child.

I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

He thought you were badass. You were with the others , picking him up for Master Lin, when you two met. You had two throwing knifes in your hand and were covered in tattoos, he thought you were hot.

J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

Yes but he tries to hide it. As a part of the Soto Vatos, you are highly ranked and flirted with, mostly by Juan, who thinks that because you’re close to Chico, that you belong together. Marcus gets infuriated but you always hate when he gets in trouble so he just sits there and lets you deal with it. He definetely shows you how jealous he was later in his dorm though *wink wink*

K = Kiss ( How do they kiss? Who kissed who first?)

It was all very cliche, you were helping him in Hand to Hand Combat when he flipped you over and straddled you. He looked at you under him and couldn’t help it, he smashed your lips together in a passionate kiss.His kisses are rough and passionate, being a student at Kings, you never know when you will see each other again, so you always kiss like it’s the last time.

L = Love (Who says ‘I love you’ first)

Him. He said it to you after Vegas, you couldn’t breathe because you had just killed your cousin, Chico. He looked you in the eyes and pulled you into his embrace, drugged up and sleep-deprived, he whispered those three words into your ear, kissing your forehead. Once you were able to breathe, you said it right back.

M = Marriage (Do they want to get married?)

Yes. Yes. Yes. Marcus wants to get married , he wants to tie the knot with you and live the rest of your lives banded together, he’s a hopeless romantic as well, so he will make it beautiful.

N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

Here’s the thing, if he could, he definetely would. Marcus can’t afford to , but he makes sure to always make you know how much you mean to him, with words and touches.

O = Open (When would they start to open up to you? How long does it take?)

Marcus has been through some stuff, he’s a traumatised lil bubba, so it will take him a while to open up to you. It will be a few months into the relationship, but when he does decide to open up to you, he doesn’t falter. Marcus will let you read his journal as he tells you what he went through in the boys home, tears will be shed, comfort will be given and after he tells you everything, you both make a promise to never keep a secret from the other.

P = Pet Names (What pet names do they use? What pet names do you use?)

Marcus will call you so many pet names : Baby, Princess, Baby Girl, Darling, Sweetheart. He also calls you kitten, mainly to annoy you though.

You call Marcus things like Mi Amor, Carinõ or Handsome, depends how you feel. You also call him Trouble, only when he gets into fights though, you use it when you reprimand him like a toddler.

Q = Quaint (What is their favourite non-modern thing?)

Music, specifically things from the 50s or 60s. You both love to listen to the songs , specifically the slow love one.

R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

Cuddles! You two are all about the cuddles, after classes, before classes, up on the graveyard. Rainy days are the best cuddles though, laying on his chest while he plays video games with the rain in the background. Absolute Bliss!

S = Sad (How do they cheer you up?)

Marcus hates when you’re sad. He will constantly try to make you tell him why you’re sad and will hold you in his arms, taking all your worries away with forehead kisses and sweet words.

T = Talking (What do you talk about?)

Everything. You two have the most random conversations, varying from stuff about your friend to the pattern of the stars, he loves to hear your voice and you love to talk to him.

U = Understanding (How well do you understand each other)

You two understand each other completely, like mind readers. Just a simple look is all it takes to understand what the other is feeling or what they want, your friends often joke about this as well.

V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

You, of course! As a legacy and related to the top dog himself, you are very high in the society which means he can and will show you off at any point he can.

W = Wild Card (A random fluff head canon?)

Marcus lives for head massages. He will grab your hand and place it on his head to run your hands through his hair, he loves them and will demand them anytime, anywhere.

X = Xylophone (What’s your song)

Put your head on my shoulder by Paul Anka, you two just relate to it so much and it even plays at your wedding.

Y = Yearning (How do they react when you have to leave them for a while?)

Dude gets depressed, he can stand it for the first few days but after that all he can think about is you and how he wants you back in his arms.

Z = Zebra (If you two got a pet, what would you get?)

A cat, loads of cats, you both love cats and Marcus can’t stand the thought of owning a dog after everything with Chester.

#deadly class #deadly class imagines #marcus lopez x reader #marcus lopez fluff alphabet #fluff alphabet #marcus lopez arguello #marcus lopez #deadly class x reader #fluff #relationship alphabet

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cbcdiversity · 5 years ago

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Author Spotlight: Aida Salazar

What are your literary influences?

My literary influences come from disparate sources. I studied a wide variety of theory in college and graduate school — everyone from Roland Barthes to Judith Butler to Gloria Anzaldua and Cherrie Moraga to Bell Hooks to Mikail Baktin to Subcomandante Marcos. I also read poetry voraciously including everyone from Waslowa Simbroska to Lorna Dee Cervantes, Audre Lorde, Rumi, Wole Soyinka, Juan Felipe Herrera. I was marveled by the fiction of Milan Kundera, Arundati Roy, Elena Poniatowska and all of the Latin American magical realists – Asturias, Garcia Marquez, Allende, Esquivel. But also, American writers such as Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Helena Maria Viramontes, Ana Castillo, Julia Alvarez and Christina Garcia. I was drawn to authors from the margin almost exclusively. In a sense, I created my own canon in this way.

It wasn’t until I became a mother that I truly started reading children’s literature. My children and I found an oasis in our weekly visits to the library. In Oakland, we are fortunate to have a comprehensive Spanish language collection at the Cesar Chavez Library and we often checked out the forty-book limit! However, many of the books were authored by non Latinx writers and were translated into Spanish. While these books served to reinforce the Spanish language in our family, I saw the huge lack of writings from Latinx creators. I wanted to be a part of filling that gap. I wanted for my children to not only see their language reflected in books but their cultures and their sensibilities. That is why I always praise the work of those Latinx authors who forged the way so that new Latinx kidlit authors could have a seat at the table. We stand on the shoulders of giants and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention their work. Authors such as Pura Belpre, Gary Soto, Sandra Cisneros, Alma Flor Ada, Pat Mora, Carmen Lomas Garza, Francisco X. Alarcon, Juan Felipe Herrera, and Victor Martinez really set the stage for us to be able to tell our stories to young audiences too.

What was the first book you read where you identified with one of the characters?

As a young child, I didn’t understand that I was missing in the narratives of books that I read. I loved Judy Blume. I loved Shell Silverstein. I loved Encyclopedia Brown and Choose Your Own Adventure books. I connected to those books by default, in a similar way that I connected to mass media that also didn’t include me in their blond-haired blue-eyed middle-class, English-only narratives. There was no other option. It wasn’t until I was eighteen and in college that I enrolled in a Latino (we called it that back then) literature course that I saw myself reflected in a book. I remember reading the short story “My Lucy Friend That Smells Like Corn,” in Sandra Cisneros’ Woman Hollering Creek and feeling a moment that I can only describe as grace. I realized that I had been missing in almost everything I had read up until that point. My experiences were alive and validated in that story. It was exhilarating.

Did that experience lead you to want to write books for readers with diverse backgrounds?

I was so inspired by reading all of the books in that Latino literature class. It was an awakening not only to the world of Latinx literature but to the possibility that I too could be a writer. I had been writing poetry and stories since I was a young teenager but those writings remained in my notebooks and journals. After reading their work, I began to take myself seriously and began to understand the writing that lived in my heart could be something I could aspire to do as a living someday. However, my awakening is one that should have not taken eighteen years and I want to be part of making sure that doesn’t happen to other children.

Your characters in The Moon Within have interesting intersections. Could you speak to why this was important to build into your book?

I did this intentionally. My children are multi-racial and bi-cultural like two of the characters, Celi and Iván. It is not uncommon to see many different mixed children in the San Francisco Bay Area where we live. I find it beautiful how they navigate multiple cultures – sometimes with a sense of wonder and pride and sometimes with neglect or shame and every feeling in between. It’s complicated and certainly isn’t always seamless given so much discussion over racial and cultural purity that is happening today. Through those characters, I wanted to show this negotiation, how they deal with these fusions. I wanted to show readers what it might look like for someone to celebrate and embrace all of who they are. Similarly, I wanted to show with the gender fluid character, Marco, the intersectionality of his identity as a gender fluid Mexican that happens to be in love with playing bomba (a Afro-Puertorican form of music). It was important to show readers that we could be queer and Mexican, Black Puerto Rican Mexican, and Black and Mexican. The range of identities are part of the beauty of who they are, and serve to strengthen and not weaken them.

Music infuses the whole world of The Moon Within …can you speak a little on that, a little on what role music plays in your own life?

Ironically, I am not a musician though I have a good ear and I love to dance. I am married to a musician and there has not been one day in the eighteen years since we’ve been together when we did not engage in some way with music – listening, playing, singing, dancing or just being in a house filled with instruments and an extraordinary recorded music collection. Our children were naturally born into this environment and took to music right away. I realized that this was a unique experience and that it could be a wonderful world to explore in this book. I wanted to normalize music and the arts as a way of life but also, wanted to inspire readers to seek out the arts as a way to find agency as the children in the book did through traditional music and dance. These are superpowers that unfortunately, with the cutting of the arts for decades now, we don’t have access to as much.

I made a playlist on Spotify that includes all of the styles of music that inspired The Moon Within – bomba, indigenous Mexican music, Caribbean music, and lots of moon related songs in Spanish and in English. It can be found here: https://spoti.fi/2FSnZgM . I hope that you enjoy it!

This Author Spotlight appeared in the April 2019 issue of the CBC Diversity Newsletter. To sign up for our monthly Diversity newsletter click here.

Aida Salazar is a writer, arts advocate, and home-schooling mother who grew up in South East LA. She received an MFA in Writing from the California Institute of the Arts, and her writings have appeared in publications such as the Huffington Post, Women and Performance: Journal of Feminist Theory, and Huizache Magazine. Her short story, By the Light of the Moon, was adapted into a ballet by the Sonoma Conservatory of Dance and is the first Xicana-themed ballet in history. Aida lives with her family of artists in a teal house in Oakland, CA.

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