wawamouse | Oz Sentinel AU

Originally posted to Tumblr

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It came up recently during a writing session, and I was thinking about how Sentinel AUs aren't as popular these days but it would be cool to make one for Oz. (Some posts on Sentinel AUs if you're not aware of what it is: x, x, x

Now, obviously since I have that Oz (Miguel/Chico) brainrot, and while the common fanon of Sentinels is that they're 'good' people, I think it would be intriguing to explore a world where Sentinels* exist… and some of them are in prison!

(*I'm not big into the Guide part of Sentinel AUs—I like the idea of Sentinels having a person in their life who can help guide them, but the AUs where being a Guide is something that's in one's DNA like a Sentinel has always been kind of a meh idea… not as exciting as the personalised, free choice of the dynamic. Similarly, I'm not that keen on the Bonded aspect when it takes place before any significant relationship development (i.e, could be a special occurrence later on, but has to be a thing that is emotionally forged, not pre-established).)

My first thought with this trope is that both Chico or Miguel would make an interesting choice for Sentinel, because on one hand, you have Chico who imo runs El Norte lowkey (as a constant presence in the gang with its revolving leaders, you could make an argument that he indeed acts as a protector of his tribe) but then you have Miguel who's like the ousted charismatic leader, and if his powers activated at an early age, maybe in an instance of wanting to protect his single mother or some other back story, it could very well feed into that early cocky Miguel attitude and misguide him. He'd be good for zoning out as well, and then when he's ousted as leader of El Norte… well, what's a sentinel with no tribe? (hint: he eventually finds purpose in protecting his tribe of two…)

So that said, I lean toward the idea of Miguel being a Sentinel. Maximise that angst potential, oh yea~

Some further thoughts/possibilities for discussion (feel free):

Oz and maybe especially so Em City are specially designed to house Sentinels (along with regular humans bc hey, this is still Oz, so we have to have bad ideas!). Idk, maybe something about the walls dampen their heightened abilities. Something something.
Miguel definitely goes berserk in the Hole, which is supposed to help with sensory overload but due to his specific fears and anxieties, definitely does not!
Not Miguel/Chico, but I think other Sentinels in Em City would include Kareem Said (obviously), Dino Ortolani (went feral), Nino Schibetta (helped him amass such influence), and Jefferson Keane (but he only comes online with his powers after he has his come-to-Jesus moment with Said). Of the staff, I like the idea of Sister Pete being a Sentinel, too.
Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of the idea of Guides being an ability, so I think in an AU where Chico still plays the guide figure of this trope, some of that connection begins when Miguel is still leader of El Norte and Chico is actually, idk, aware enough of what's up with Sentinels (beyond the pop culture of it?) to be able to see when Miguel is on the verge of zoning out. And this helps him a lot coming off the heals of the riot, which became a huge sensory overload by the idea and made him catatonic for a while after in the hospital (where he meets Chico!)
There would be another layer of tension, then, in Chico's disagreements with Miguel in early seasons (even with his powers dampened, Miguel is still a bit overpowered, so surely that should help him raise El Norte's reputation!? Why is Miguel squandering their opportunity and hanging back?).
BUT, I think it could also potentially bring an angle of understanding/concern that would do a fix-it of sorts between them that would soften the whole Trying To Kill Miguel angle… Sure, at first he's irritated and disgusted by Miguel wasting his abilities, not being El Norte's Sentinel basically and letting Oz completely neuter him, but maybe he's also wary because he was there when Miguel got thrown into the Hole following the scuffle with Glynn and he knows the guy can get unstable and overwhelmed without something to ground him. HE's trying to mitigate that! But Miguel needs to step up, too! Maybe culturally influenced(?), Chico still has great respect and admiration for Sentinels which means that when El Cid comes in and wants to try and use Miguel as a weapon instead, since he seems to suck so bad as a leader apparently, Chico starts to be like :\ "wait El Cid, no…" and starts coming around to Miguel's side a bit, at least to check on him! His rationale being more like "well, it's no good if we break his brain" because at this point Miguel's, yup, in and out of Solitary, per the canon timeline.
I could see either Chico swooping in to help stabilize Miguel, ultimately, instead of trying to kill him, because his being unimpressed with Miguel's perceived ineffectiveness lessens the more that he can see Miguel is agitated and affected by all that's going on around him. Especially when he LOSES his boxing match? Like come on! That should be impossible with his strength. (Maybe also, Sentinels have an increased susceptibility but also increased tolerance to drugs? Like he can handle more long term but it fucks him uuuup and leads to a greater likelihood of sensory overload, depending on the drug). Instead of running away from Oz, Miguel has Chico flipping on El Cid to help calm him, or maybe he still runs away and Chico meets him in a dream in the spirit world that he begins to walk through more frequently in his stressed out state, or maybe Chico runs with him and out of Oz, Miguel's Sentinel abilities are full force, which helps them totally escape :P
OR, we follow the entire canon timeline and Chico steps up as a calming force for Miguel near the end of the canon timeline especially, after infrequently helping him at other points, and when he ODs, he dies, but Miguel bonds with him to bring him back, because he's the only guy in Oz that Miguel really has left in his mind. And once they're bonded, there's an added protectiveness between them going into post-canon, where Miguel is basically a Sentinel with no tribe or territory, per se, just Chico :)
Further thoughts/elements: Sentinel!Miguel being grounded mostly through little taps and touches that give his enhanced sense something to focus on, with this manifesting in him reaching out for Chico when it’s getting to be too much :3c ~~Chico saying~~ ~~Stop, don’t touch me~~ ~~when he’s losing his shit being related~~
Grounding sex lol
Miguel most likely to zone out when he’s hyper focused on sound or sight, especially where there is none in the Hole or if it’s lockdown and maybe he’s starting to notice everything around him in a claustrophobic sense.