#coco héctor

[gamerbearmira]

Coco...and Encanto...hmmmmm

Bro idek but y'all should've expected this 😛 I love both movies sm tbh, my faces next to Princess and the Frog and the Book of Life.

The Book of Life...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Tel teg ti

-----

Héctor had finally finished the last touches of paint on Miguel. He twisted his nose a bit, and Danté sniffed at the tin that Héctor had thrown aside, licking his nose before hacking and gagging. Mirabel giggled at the sight.

"Done! Now you both look like skeletons; well, as close as you can be," he shrugged, rolling his eyes.

"And you're sure no one will notice us?" Mirabel asked, putting on the poncho Héctor handed her. Thankfully Miguel was already wearing a jacket, so it was ok.

"Eh, it should. You'd be surprised how many folks don't really look close," Héctor shrugged. Miguel and Mirabel exchanged a look before Héctor shrugged, digging around in his ribcage and handing Miguel a photo. "Anyway, here's my photo!"

Miguel stared at the photo for a moment, Mirabel peeking over his shoulder. "This is you?"

"¿Muy guapo, eh?" Hector said and Miguel rolled his eyes and shoved the photo in his coat pocket while Mirabel snorted.

"So, if he takes your photo and puts it on his offrenda, you'll be able to cross over?" Mirabel asked, and both she and Miguel followed after Héctor who nodded.

"¡Sí! Once we find his great great grandpa," Héctor said and Miguel spoke up.

"And we have to find Mirabel's abuelo Pedro too!" He perked up and Héctor nodded, pointing a finger.

"That too. But your abuelo is pretty popular in both the Colombia and México districts," Héctor said. "With his sacrafice and all that; he's like a whole hero here. So if we get to that party, we'll probably be able to find both of them! Ernesto was all about inviting other famous folks, even in death."

Mirabel smiled excitedly and Miguel beamed as well. Héctor looked at the two who excitedly spoke about getting home. He couldn't help but think of his own little one, Coco. Though, she probably wasn't so little now.

"Well, come on! We got a contest to win!" Héctor called back after walking ahead of them. Mirabel grabbed Miguel's hand, rushing after Héctor with Miguel stumbling behind him.

-----

Guys they're literally the best adventure group like the best ever I'm not been joking dawg 🙏🙏

Héctor has to watch two kids now 👩‍🦲 also funny thing, I think how Pedro and Mirabel both have butterflies in their eyes, I think I'll make it so Héctor and Miguel had guitars in their eyes <333

BECAUSE I CAAANNNNN

Can you tell I cant draw Héctor to safe my life and put so little effort its not even funny

What's ironic is I have the concept art book for Coco 🌚

[mlys05]

[jessiedoodles01]

(2) another gaza commission @ramshackledtrickster which i really love, plus i had a major headcanon that gabriella and her version of miguel loved watching coco together and even dressing up as hector and coco together

[a-little-ray-of-fantasy]

Please judge me based on my comfort characters. 0w0

[jaydencoolguy]

Happy Día de los Muertos! I drew Coco fanart for the first time in like a year to celebrate

[pencopanko]

it's them (image ref from crying_anabell on twitter!)

[juliedrawz]

I saw some old posts where people addressed Héctor's flaws. I got stomach aches reading them because I think they got it totally wrong! I couldn't get it out of my mind, so here I am, putting my salt into the soup!

~

First things first, EVERYONE's got flaws! Nobody is perfect. Everyone's done and is doing mistakes. And with Héctor, we need to look very carefully, consider 1. His character and 2. His situation.

Right off the bat, what some see as flaws are actually GOOD character traits merely tending to bring trouble because the world is dark and twisted most of the time! Héctor is one of the most selfless and altruistic characters ever! He'd give everything for those he loves and this immense love also makes him reckless sometimes.

Let's beginn with the first flaw pointed out by others.

"Héctor let himself be persuaded to go on tour with Ernesto. He should have said no."

Yes, Ernesto talked Héctor into his idea, BUT, they were best friends! As close as brothers! Héctor came along because 1. He loved Ernesto and 2. He wanted to provide for his wife and daughter! Even if that meant he had to do something he was slightly uncomfortable with. Ignoring his wants to stay at home, he took the chance! He took the risk. If being away for a while meant more money and hence a better life for his family, he gladly make that jump! It is absolutely selfless but also admireble! Like, that's what a good father does! He couldn't have know how much Ernesto would change during that time, nor that he would eventually snap and get him killed. And Héctor did stand up for himself! He's not a weak, idiot who let's himself get pushed around! Most of the time he's just peace seeking and slow to anger! Which, are RIGHT traits according to God! And to me too! It might get you hurt and some people might take adventage of your kindness but what exactly is bad then? Your kindness, selflessness or those mean people? Aha, see what I'm getting at? Nobody should change their positove traits or harden their hearts just because others are in darkness! It's a whole different thing to draw lines and stand up for yourself. And Héctor does!

"His irresbonsibility"

*big sigh* Ok, there are 2 reasons mentioned to put the stamp irresponsible on Héctor's forehead and it get's me mad!

The thing about him lending things and losing them all! Well, Héctor tried desperatly to cross the flower bridge for decades! He tried everything to cross. Lending himself stuff and noz being able to return them wasn't because he's careless and irresponsible! He just couldn't bring them back! Take a look at his broken bones, his knocked out teeth, his scratches and THINK for a second! All the horrific accidents he must have gotten into. He surely aimed to bring each and every item back but they all got lost or destroyed in the process. And I don't think Héctor made an attempt to cross with it most likely failing at the back of his mind. He just went for it! Remember how he bolted forward once he was through the check? All his mind is focused on is "I need to get to and see my baby!" And before that it was "I need to get to and see my wife and baby!"

If Héctor had the chance to bring the items back, he would have! He wanted to take the Frida costume back but who forbit him to do so? The officer! (Joke's on him though because it'll be Ceci giving him hell later"

He was being irresponsible with Miguel ...

Someone said it would have been easier to just hand over Miguel to the police and have them sort it out! Well, have you seen how Miguel ran from his own family to get his way? He ran from Héctor too once he figured out Miguel had relatives around! Héctor helped Miguel first and foremost because out of desperstion! Miguel was the BIGGEST ticket for him to be able to cross, by letting him bring the photo back. But for Miguel to do so, he had to help him bring him to Ernesto. And that's what Héctor did. He tried hi best to get Miguel to Ernesto as fast as possible. Not to forget, that it was a race of life and death for both.

And Miguel is a kid! And obviously he's acting like one now and then! And Héctor paniced when Miguel ran off. Because he worried for him! If his deal wouldn't work, he would look for another way but Miguel could die! Yes, Héctor might not always make right decissions, but he is giving his best and he always means well! And we also need tp consider his condition! He knows he'll most likely not last the night, yet he still risks that and helps Miguel.

Of course we see Hèctor later on pleading with Miguel one last time that they had a deal but then in the cenote, he caves in. He's getting weaker by the second, the process of him fading has begun. And even through his pain, he is still comforting Miguel.

Him being clumsy and him lying is also often seen as one of his flaws. And while I absolutely agree, that yes, he's a huge clutz and he's both accident prone and sometimes too reckless when it comes to his own health and savety, I wouldn't call his lying a flaw in the classical way. Because, the only times we see Héctor lying in the movie is so he can get as much as a hinge closer to his goal of crossing the bridge. That's how important his daughter is to him! Lying is never good, but he lies out of desperation. (In my book, young Héctor sometimes used his catch phrase "That was a lie! I apologize for it!" as a means of his humor, and, or to calm his opposite. And Héctor is darn humorous!

Now to what I point out in my book, not necessarily flaws but things that get Héctor into trouble often

His kindness

His altruismn, selflessness

Him ignoring his own needs and wants for the wellbeing of others

His clumsiness

His recklessness

His trait to always see the good in people

His stubborness

And while most of those are wonderful character traits, as mentioned above, in a world where such personalities as Hèctor are rare, it's hard to get around.

What do you guy's think?

[enigmatist17]

Miguel Rivera becomes the first Rivera to turn down tequila, the fifteen-year-old knocking the offered shot out of his father's hand and onto the ground.

He looked horrified at the drink, and the adults crowded around him asked him what was wrong.

So he tells them of the Día de los Muertos he'd gone missing and where he had actually gone. Of course, at first, none of them want to believe his tale as he talks, hands waving as he describes the day from start to end, but the dread starts sinking in part way through.

It explained why Miguel never went on the roof again after returning, the teen trembling now when asked to climb a ladder or somewhere high. How he had come back after his disappearance to sing a song to Mamá Coco that only she and her papá had ever sung together, despite not knowing a single thing about the man. It had been three days after that Miguel was found throwing his de la Cruz merchandise into the firepit the family had, the twelve-year-old refusing to speak as he tore posters and muttered curses his abuelita boxed the back of his head for. Any mention of the man as the family slowly came to grips with the infamous music ban finally being lifted would instantly sour his mood, going so far as to throw a record Abel found secondhand into the trash with a look of utter hatred. It also explained that when Miguel wasn't in school, he was diving headfirst into research, the proof Mamá Coco had saved instantly, sparking interest from historical researchers worldwide. It didn't take long for the truth of de la Cruz's theft to become public, and while the world raged, Miguel spent time with historians who flew out to Santa Cecilia going over all inn records from 1921 following the letters Héctor had sent.

Miguel cried when he finally found the last time H. Rivera was recorded checking into one, his name never again reappearing alongside E. de la Cruz after he left Mexico City in the dead of night.

Luisa embraces her son when she remembers the day officials had finally discovered Héctor's body in a hastily dug grave nearly an hour from the city, her son never leaving the coffin his bisabuelo's body had arrived in until it had been buried beside his wife. To have actually met the man and had come so close to losing him, the way Miguel had been a silent guardian until he was gently guided home, made too much sense.

They all stop breathing when a tearful Miguel recounts precisely how Héctor had been murdered, eyeing the tequila bottle with a shiver.

I'm scared to drink it.

The local liquor store where the Rivera's shopped never placed another order for tequila again.

---

Héctor was an easygoing guy. After living for so long, he took most things on the chin and smiled around the pain.

As long as it didn't revolve around Ernesto or...tequila.

For a long time, Héctor never understood why touching or drinking made him feel uneasy. It flowed like most other drinks in Shantytown, but he always hesitated when reaching for a bottle, or accepting an offered glass. They had all eventually stopped asking about the flinch he seemed to always be surprised by, and while he didn't entirely avoid it, Héctor turned to other drinks.

The fog in his mind of his death is finally cleared, and Héctor realizes why tequila has never satisfied him.

Now, here he sits among his familia, laughing about something as a glass is placed in his hand, and Héctor takes a sip before registering the smell of the tequila.

A large hand is on his back as his stomach twinges in pain, a voice that should have been soothing in his ear as he lets go of his guitar case, everything going cold as he collapses onto the dusty street

Perhaps it was that chorizo my friend

Héctor doesn't realize he's hyperventilating until gentle hands take hold of his skull, Imelda's lips moving but words unheard over the pounding in his ears. The glass he'd been holding had been crushed, and once he realized that damn liquid was all over his hand, Héctor shrieked and jerked back and onto the floor. It takes both Imelda and Rosita to keep Héctor in one piece, the matriarch of the family just talking to her husband in the softest voice they'd ever heard from her as Héctor tried to undo himself and run...somewhere. Eventually, she gets through to him, gently caressing the side of his skull as Héctor clings to her, eyeing the bottle of tequila on the table with wide eyes as his family crowds around him in concern. It takes him nearly an hour to begin his tale, his voice giving out far too many times for Héctor's liking, but he tells them of a night like any other at the start. Of a long day performing, leaving both himself and Ernesto tired but relatively happy, until Héctor had seen a photo of his family and felt the resolve that had wavered for months finally solidified.

I'm going home Ernesto! Hate me if you want, but my mind is made up!

Oh I could never hate you. If you must go then I'm...I'm sending you off with a toast!

¡Salud!

Of how he'd missed his friend's hatred until it was far too late, dropping to his knees as his body burned....and he awoke dead in a land that became his prison.

He had just wanted to go home.

Julio was the first Rivera to move once the poor man had finally gone silent, adjusting his hat before grabbing the tequila bottle on the table and leaving the room. For a few minutes, all the family could hear was the clinking of glass being set into something and faint curses as Julio went through what seemed to be every room in the entire Rivera household. Once satisfied, Julio returned, kneeling beside his father-in-law with a slight nod, able to see the taller man visibly relax when it dawned on him what he'd done.

The crate full of tequila was picked up by Victoria once Héctor had been coaxed to bed by Imelda, making sure the liquid would find its way to her abuelo's other family in Shantytown, as it would go to waste otherwise.

---

Dear Papá Héctor,

I hope you're having a great Día de los Muertos, I cooked everything on the ofrenda myself this year :D (sorry if it's burnt D:) to give Abulieta a break :)

I wrote this letter for you specifically because - I told them. Papá wanted me to try tequila, but I couldn't do it, and everyone wanted to know why, so I told them. From start to finish, though, I may have left out the part where I got thrown into the cenote and off the tower.

I promise to tell them someday, but it can wait <:)

Abuelita wanted me to say she's sorry for offering you tequila the past three years, and that when she eventually joins you, that she's going to smack a certain someone with her chancla. I told her Mamá Imelda beat her to it, but Abuelita said she didn't care, and you'll see how scary she can be :P

We are still trying to figure out another drink to leave you because, apparently, guitar picks aren't a suitable replacement :(

Te quiero Papá Héctor, make sure you do your best gritto for me!

Your bisnieto, Miguel <3

[sysig]

Small skeleton zine I put together as a double-sided print template test (Patreon)

Bonus clean panels under the cut

Front and back cover skeletons

Handplates babies

And terribad dad!

Longboi Jack Skellington - his legs were really fun haha

And the Riveras!

[mirrorofliterature]

the level of lack of understanding of imelda's character really gets me

people act like she banned music just to be a bitch and it's like, no! she was heavily traumatised.

it's not like she really hated music - she hated what music represents, that her husband abandoned her and their daughter.

like people brush over this so much because héctor was actually murdered but imelda didn't know that! it's called dramatic irony!

imelda rivera was abandoned by her husband (again, no knowledge of his death because ernesto wasn't interested in self-sabotage) and became a single mother in 1920s mexico (objectively true). like shit wasn't easy for her and I'm tired of people portraying her as a petty bitch or 'as worse as ernesto'.

careful. your misogyny/racism is showing.

what else could imelda have done? going after ernesto would have 1) not been viable (single parent of a young kid) and 2) very fucking dangerous (murderer and whatnot).

I'm sure she felt guilt after learning the truth, but the whole tragedy for héctor and imelda for me is that they were simultaneously both and neither at fault. héctor had a really shitty best friend and a really shitty after life and imelda felt deeply betrayed.

anyway. stop placing unrealistic expectations on imelda rivera thanks

I get when you see her through the lens of miguel it can be 'easy' to see her as a music hating bitch but she's a deeply traumatised woman with unhealthy coping mechanism who like. learned her lesson and apologised to miguel in a span of the night after almost a century of trauma. she banned music as a surviving mechanism not to spite her (unbeknownst) murdered husband or her music-loving great-great-grandson. she's not omniscient.

anyway imelda rivera rights.

[imaredshirt]

“I should have killed you that night in Mexico City,” Ernesto says to Héctor as he holds up a half-empty bottle of tequila. “Should have killed you the very moment I had the chance.”

“Ah, you wouldn’t have had the guts,” Héctor says without missing a beat.

He never takes Ernesto’s grouchy threat seriously. Not when his friend has growled and grumbled and groaned the same empty words for years over any little inconvenience or annoyance he blames Héctor for.

When Héctor wakes him up to early to practice – “I'll kill you if you poke me again,” Ernesto gripes.

Héctor drinks all the coffee before Ernesto can get to it – “I should have killed you when I had the chance,” Ernesto whines in the middle of the kitchen.

Héctor embarrasses him in font of the Rivera family with another sappy tale of their childhood when Ernesto had moved Heaven and Earth to make sure his hermanito had something to eat at night – “Gah! I should have let you starve!” Ernesto  groans into his hands before adding a thousand embellishments to the story to make himself seem grander because his ego is just that big.

It’s an empty threat. It makes Héctor laugh sometimes.

Like now. He chortles to himself and nudges Ernesto’s empty shot glass closer to him. The movement sends Ernesto’s losing hand of playing cards sliding to the edge of the table. “Go on, you loser, drink up!”

Ernesto grumbles and pours himself his nth shot of clear liquor for the night.

Héctor can see Imelda over Ernesto’s shoulder, sitting at her desk by the window, head bowed over neatly arranged sheets of drawing paper. She’s singing to herself under breath as she works, sketching improvements to existing boot designs. A strand of silver hair falls over her brow.

Héctor begins to hum along to her beautiful voice until he hears Ernesto mutter, “I was planning to, you know.”

“Huh?” Héctor turns to him.

“Kill you,” Ernesto says. He’s shuffling the cards, lips twitching into something that’s not quite a snarl but close to it. “I planned it all for that night you left.”

Behind him, the sound of Imelda’s brothers laughing with Coco in the garden only vaguely catches Héctor’s attention. He leans forward on crossed arms, eyes the cards that Ernesto flicks across the table towards him. “The night I left?”

“When you left me in that cheap hotel in Mexico City ten years ago,” Ernesto says. “And took all your songs and your pinche guitar with you.” He’s done dealing out the cards when he meets Héctor’s eyes again. “I was going to kill you and take all of it for myself.”

Héctor narrows his eyes. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes. With rat poison, of all things,” Ernesto says. “But luck wasn’t on my side that night.”

Silence.

And then, as if on cue, they laugh. Héctor hugs his middle and tries not to send his cards flying. Ernesto’s shoulders are shaking and his head is bowed, laughing in that wheezy way of his that he’s only ever comfortable doing in the presence of people close to him.

Héctor says through his laughter, “I really piss you off that much, eh?”

“Every day,” Ernesto says. “Back then and even now – even now I still want to poison you.”

Any other man, and Héctor would blame the tequila for the harsh words. But this is Ernesto. The man just says things like that sometimes. Even his ridiculous jokes -even ones about abandoned murder attempts, apparently- sound charming with the way he speaks.

“You can try. But would the world really forgive you if you silenced this beautiful face forever?” Héctor gestures at his face with a flourish and gasps when Ernesto flicks a card at his nose. “Hey! Ouch!”

“Forget it,” Ernesto grouches. “I think if I try, Imelda will kill me a dozen times over.”

“I would enjoy that,” Imeda says without looking up from her work.

“I know.”

“Ah, well,” Héctor says. He pours them both shots of tequila and holds his glass up. “To failed plans and bright futures. Or, at least,” he adds, grinning lopsidedly at his friend. “At least to another ten years before you try again?”

He's had enough of the joke. He wants to end the night on a good note.

Ernesto stares at him for a long second before rolling his eyes with a scoff and raising his glass. “To bright futures and no more poison, I suppose. You’re too annoying to even get rid of at this point.”

“To being too annoying to get rid of!” Héctor crows and clinks their glasses together.

They drink, and get back to their game. Outside, the sun sets on a quiet evening at the Rivera home where everyone, at least for a good long time, lives happily.

[mlys05]

[nerissalmao]

Ernesto De La Cruz: Tragic Hero (..in his own mind)

Well, at the time of posting this, it’s November 12th. That’s around Day of the Dead season, I think, though I’m as white as the snowflake that is my profile picture (I do enjoy learning more about other cultures though, so I’m glad to get educated and learn more) so you know what? We’re gonna talk about Coco. Yep, hands-down one of the best Pixar movies ever made, THAT Coco. Yes, I know there are arguments about it and Book of Life and which one is better, but I’m not here to talk about any of that.

Time to talk about this ABSOLUTE RAT.

Oohhh, look at him and his big stupid hat and his big stupid bow and his big stupid ribcage. He’s a fraud and a liar and an idiot and he kills people to take their songs.. AND take credit for them! Oooohh he’s stupid. I wanna punch him. You wanna punch him. Let’s all punch him! He’s a murderer, a liar, a traitor, he’s—

Not that bad?

WAIT. What?

Well, okay, see. This might be a little hard to grasp on to, but Ernesto De La Cruz is NOT THAT BAD.

To himself at least. Because to himself, his intentions are noble. He genuinely doesn’t see what he’s doing wrong.. because he’s always thought that this is how fame works. You have to make sacrifices. Then you get famous.

Let me explain.

See, when most people talk about this character, they bring up how terrible it was that he acted so nice and sympathetic, how dastardly in disguise it was for him to act like a nice person. People claim it’s all fake— he never cared for Miguel, he never cared for Héctor, he’s a psychopath, plain and simple.

But.. he’s not.

Look at him. It’s the stupid Hans thing all over again— his face. He genuinely seems proud of Miguel, of the idea he has a great-great-grandson. He shows him off to all his fancy rich friends, lets Miguel monologue about himself, excitedly shows Miguel around, even offer the kid advice. And he genuinely means it.

Of course, the reason people say he doesn’t is because for one, he LITERALLY murdered Héctor. Which, yeah, that sucks, so let’s talk about that first.

As we all know, Ernesto and Héctor were once best friends, two boys chasing the dream of becoming a musician. But Ernesto wanted to play for the world and bask in their adoration. Why? Because he just woke up and decided he deserved it? No, actually. He’s not exactly a textbook narcissist. Yes, he has narcissistic qualities, but there is plainly no evidence to suggest his friendship with Héctor was toxic. If it was, Héctor would have been less shocked to know that Ernesto poisoned him— because if Ernesto was shitty enough to bully and berate his own best friend, then aggravated assault and murder wouldn’t be too shocking for an already manipulative psycho. Yet Héctor genuinely was shocked anyway. And since Héctor’s a bit of a pessimist, it doesn’t seem like him to overestimate his ex-amigo.

(Yes, I know Héctor probably just didn’t want to believe that Ernesto was capable of murder either way. But come on. This man has had the entire afterlife to perfect his lying and his Dìa De Los Muertos Scheme. If Ernesto was that bad in the first place you mean to tell me a salty Héctor WOULDN’T consider the idea?! And he’s certainly a smart enough character to know when he’s being mistreated and when too far is too far, hence why he wants to return home to his family instead of abandoning them! And not to mention how he is totally unafraid of confronting Ernesto. I know that abuse and mistreatment comes in all shapes and sizes, but I don’t think this is the narrative we’re supposed to follow here.)

Ernesto genuinely valued Héctor. He isn’t a textbook narcissist because he recognizes the value and importance of Héctor’s ideas, and hoped to become famous with him by his side, as literally stated in Ernesto’s original plan. Look at the desperation on his face when he thinks Héctor is leaving:

He looks near tears. He’s practically BEGGING. And Héctor doesn’t even bother to give Ernesto any tips on songwriting or farewell wishes, he just kind of leaves. If anything, HÉCTOR is being the jerk here.

But honestly? We can hardly blame him. He was a caring father and a family man who just wanted to get back home. There’s hurt in his eyes, too.

Ernesto, on the other hand? He pushes the envelope too far. He kills Héctor for his songs. He already had poison on him for.. some reason, so what? Did he think he’d poison himself if he didn’t make it? Reputation and fame is very important to Ernesto. Yet it didn’t take him long to come up with the conclusion of killing his friend. Why? Is he really just that insane and am I talking in circles?

Nah. He tells Héctor, “I could never hate you” and it’s true! He doesn’t HATE Héctor. But he needs his songs. He’s been working so hard that in his mind, he just needs to take another step, to.. seize his moment.

He sees this as a necessary option. His reputation is important to him, and he doesn’t want the secret to get to light.. not the murder one. He just doesn’t want anyone to think he’s unoriginal, that he copied someone else’s ideas. Because he’s built his entire career around how talented he is. Because he’s the guy who “actually did it” and who wanted fame and fortune for.. what? Self-validation? He never seems to have any type of family to his name (despite the fact that his name is everywhere and everybody knows him), and even calls his audience his family, proclaiming the world is his family. Was he perhaps an orphan, or had parents who couldn’t care for him? Is that why he couldn’t understand why Héctor would leave for his family and gets desperate, than murderous? Because Ernesto himself never had a family to speak of or anyone to teach him values beyond his own musical dreams?

“Apologies, my friend, but the show must go on,” he says to Héctor, ready to kill Miguel— not out of any malice or hatred. Earlier in the film, good old Ern-DLC got the bombastic Disney Villain green motif all over his ass-

-as he proclaims that he knows deep down that Miguel, being his supposed family, should understand how Ernesto’s mind works. Since he knows that Ernesto sees the world as his family, since he heard Ernesto’s awkward “sì” when he was asked about whether it was hard for him to leave a hypothetical De La Cruz family that may or may not exist. He just throws Miguel into a pond (well.. he gets his security to do so) and there’s no evidence that he has no plan to get him out. He still thinks Miguel is his great-great-grandson. Yes, he put Héctor down there too, but he saw it as a necessary evil because he could do it before, and could do it again. Hurting Héctor just to reach his own fame.. and not seeing anything wrong with it. Seeing it as just another obstacle. Which is my whole point, that he saw nothing wrong with it, in case my rambling sidetracked you. Anyway, Héctor is being forgotten. Héctor could vanish down there, then Ernesto could go get the then-dead Miguel, get the kid to understand fully, and continue living his fame that he believes he earned while Miguel reaps in the rewards of having a famous great-great-grandfather and keeps mum about the whole Héctor thing.

People underestimate Ernesto. Look, fame is hard to achieve. Yes, Ernesto did steal Héctor’s songs, but he didn’t forge any documents. He got himself famous through interviews and acting, even if he had to steal some things along the way. He genuinely did work hard in any other regard, and of course he knows that one has to work hard to seize their moment. And though there’s no evidence to prove he ever hated Héctor, he had already worked so hard and wouldn’t fail. He tried to reason with him first, and his choice to poison him, though drastic, disgusting, and villainous, was what this admittedly tragic family-less man saw as the logical next step.

He literally says it in his villainous monologue: “I’ve worked too hard, Héctor!” “I am ERNESTO DE LA CRUZ!” (as he gets agitated at the idea that he’s a coward, as he’s already had to brave revenge plots against his own ex-best-friend, crazy fans, the pressure of fame, and his own twisted moral code) “I am the one who’s willing to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to seize my moment! Whatever.. it takes.” So, yeah. Listen to his monologue with this in mind. He thinks it’s the logical next step, he doesn’t see anything wrong with it— he’s willing to do whatever it takes. Maybe it even hurt him to take Héctor down. But he did it anyway, because in his warped mind, he thought it would be another GENUINELY HEROIC STEP to the fame he felt he deserved. He admits he worked too hard and seems to try to reason with Héctor again, though this time what he thinks is the right choice is obviously much worse; but by now Ernesto knows he has no family ties to Miguel. The show must go on, bruh man said it himself, and he wants his fame to continue.. because he WORKED SO HARD. He butchered his own friend to get where he is and won’t let anything stand in his way, or else what was that murder for? Then he’s just a psycho (to others; again Ernesto doesn’t really see anything wrong with it), a coward (he does NOT want to be called this, clearly), and everyone who always disbelieved in him is right.

Look at his face after the crowd realizes what he’s done:

Shock. Awe. Surprise. He genuinely doesn’t get it.

In Ernesto’s mind, warped by likely a family-less backstory, he thought that an inexcusable, regrettable action like killing his friend was made excusable since it would help him continue the journey to get the love and acceptance he wants and thinks he deserves. He did care about Miguel; he’s no blood-soaked killer. But he’s willing to do whatever it takes to seize his moment even so, because he thinks this’ll help him, even if he ends up regretting it later. He’s worked too hard.

It makes more sense for him to have been so morally flawed that he genuinely doesn’t get the consequences of his disgusting actions than for him to be so narcissistic that he thinks people would love him even after killing somebody. Because the movie Coco is so nuanced, Ernesto is purposefully tragic. He’s the next great Disney Villain, lying and conniving, but not reveling in the evil; like Claude Frollo before him, he thinks it’s a genuinely good thing to do on his path to stardom, that even though he genuinely cared about Héctor he couldn’t let him get in the way of his dream, and even though he genuinely cared for Miguel, knowing he’s truly not family will soften the blow of having to be rid of him in order to continue to reap the rewards of being famous without his dear reputation tarnished. Yet inevitably when it is, again like Claude Frollo, he doesn’t get it. Because he thinks he’s done good. He thinks this was just another path on his rite to stardom.

It’s why he just stands there wide-eyed instead of doing anything actually smart once he’s found out, or running away from the terrifying alibrije cat demon THING. Because he genuinely can’t understand why his so-called world-family would hate him. After all, they’ve always known he was a hard worker! And he doesn’t see why this news is any different.

Obviously I’m not condoning murder and attempted murder and the things Ernesto did. But this is my interpretation of the narrative and an interpretation that I think is worth reading through. The next time you hear “Remember Me”, the non-sad version, remember.. he’s either a tragic individual, so wrapped up in his own goal he doesn’t even know right-and-wrong from each other.. or an even scarier villain because of his inability to separate the two.

[a-little-ray-of-fantasy]

Among my comfort characters, I have traumatized dads who went through a lot for love...

...traumatized science guys who command a certain type of creatures to which they act fatherly to...

...or traumatized goofy dudes who ambiguously manage to be both.

...

I'm sensing a pattern here that's worrying me...

[jaydencoolguy]

I've just been informed that we're back.

[pencopanko]

An older piece from 2019 of Héctor, set in the Alive!Bar Boys AU