#but ernesto stole them

[pencopanko]

Another Coco "What If" AU, but this time Héctor actually recorded some tunes

Heavily inspired by the story of how Ryo Fukui's album "My Favorite Tunes" was rediscovered through his widow, Yasuko in 2017.

°°°°°°

After the news broke out about de la Cruz's lies (and alleged murder) of his buried-by-time duet partner, musician, and songwriter Héctor Rivera, rumors of never-before-seen and extremely rare recordings of the latter performing either with de la Cruz or by himself circulated amongst certain circles, mostly fans of lost media and buried history.

Talks like this had been going around for ages, but it wasn't until mid-2018 when a shoe-maker family's son named Miguel Rivera came out with stories of how de la Cruz stole his great-great grandfather's songs and skull guitar complete with physical proof that the topic of lost recordings suddenly became one of the hottest topics in México. Miguel himself joined in on the hunt, which lasted for quite some time well past 2018 and was postponed due to the pandemic.

And then, in 2021. A miracle.

Either Mamá Coco had completely forgotten about it or it had been a secret that she had purposely kept to herself for Miguel to discover, but there were some other things she had kept hidden from her mother... five 78 rpm records pre-dating 1921, all sent by Héctor. Recordings of him singing by himself, with Ernesto, or just simple guitar arrangements of his other songs. Kept in secret by Mamá Coco somewhere in a corner of Miguel's hideout left unchecked after Imelda threw them out along with other objects related to music. Other 78s were later on discovered by a descendant of de la Cruz's inside the family estate and in various antique shops, all collecting dust. They were amongst the most important relics of Héctor's legacy, besides his red songbook containing the first composition for "Remember Me".

After efforts of digitizing came out successful (despite the damage done by age, the recordings were miraculously salvageable), "Recuérdame: The Lost Recordings of Héctor Rivera (1919-1921)" was released. Calling the album a sensation was an understatement. Rave reviews started coming out, stating that Héctor's warm voice reminded listeners of home and warm sunrays, and how one can feel the heartache and longing for his family from the way he strums his guitar alone, even if his voice is not as strong and commanding as de la Cruz's. His grito is oftentimes said to be addicting and infectious as well, with some claiming that they ended up doing it along. Others lamented over "what could have been" after listening to Rivera and de la Cruz's harmonizing and clear-as-day dynamic as a duet. Shortly after, the skeletal remains of Héctor Rivera were found in an unmarked grave in México City.

It not only solidified Héctor Rivera's legacy (thus directly affecting Héctor's overall health in the Land Of The Dead for the better), but it also largely improved the Riveras' overall economy with royalties from Héctor's never-before-seen music, in addition to the already booming shoe-making business and Miguel's own efforts as a musician. All because Miguel decided to steal a guitar that turned out to be rightfully his.

It is safe to say that Héctor Rivera is now considered one of the greatest songwriters and poets in the history of Mexican music.

[goricky]

biography. connections. navigation.

     [ danny ramirez, cis man, he/him ] — whoa! RICKY GONZALEZ just stole my cab! not cool, but maybe they needed it more. they have lived in the city for A WEEK, working as a/an LUXURY CAR MECHANIC. that can’t be easy, especially at only 33 YEARS OLD. some people say they can be a little bit SHORT-FUSED and DICEY , but I know them to be PROTECTIVE and SENTIMENTAL. whatever. I guess I’ll catch the next cab. hope they like the ride back to THE BRONX!

STATS

FULL NAME: ricardo ernesto gonzalez NICKNAMES: ricky AGE: thirty-three BIRTHDAY: january 11, 1995 GENDER & PRONOUNS: cis man & he/him SEXUALITY: bisexual BOROUGH: the bronx LENGHT OF TIME IN NY: a week OCCUPATION: mechanic

GENERAL

trigger warning: brief mentions of bullying, racism, and death

from a rural part of mexico, ricky has five siblings and is one of the middle children. his parents having met in university, his father followed his mother back to her hometown where they started their family

his maternal grandmother moved to florida and started a new life there with a new husband. they had three kids together, their youngest was born with a disability. once the children were grown up and left home, his grandmother asked if any of the gonzalez children would be willing to move in and help with their uncle

seeing his future in the neighboring families, ricky volunteered at the age of 13 to leave his parents and siblings and help out his grandma

moving from mexico to the u.s. was a huge culture shock for him, especially because he really didn't know any english. he often got bullied and faced discrimination, but luckily he wasn't the only latino/ hispanic kid around and was quickly accepted by them

he got especially close to the crusso family, bonding with the boys and eventually working up the courage to ask cece out

their relationship is sort of life-defining for him as he gained a new purpose in life. he felt like he gained a new family (which he desperately wanted since leaving his behind) but also a new role, assigning himself as cece's protector and provider, making the eventual decision to propose to her a natural one despite their ups and downs

life was good. he was about to be promoted to management and he was best friend was going to be his brother and most importantly, he was about to marry the love of his life, it was the happiest time in his life

then his uncle passed away, which was devastating since the two had grown extremely close from spending so much time together. no longer having her son to look after, his grandmother felt a lack of purpose in life so her health deteriorated. all this pulled his attention away from work, causing him to be looked over for the promised promotion.

everything added up and caused him to believe it was a sign that he should call the wedding off

he never expected cece to disappear. he had fully believed that it would be like all the other times they "broke up" and he would eventually be able to win her back with gifts and pretty words once he got back on his feet, but with her gone, he became even more of mess

eventually, he was able to get where she was out of one of family members and he made the decision to go looking for her

he's been in nyc for about a week at this point and he doesn't know if he'll stay, but he's determined to get his girl back, so whatever it takes. wish him luck

HEAD CANNONS

since he works with luxury cars, ricky likes to take whatever car is staying at the shop out for joyrides when he can, so it's likely you never see him in the same car twice

wears a gold cuban link chain at all times

has cool chicano style tattoos and a large back piece of la virgin

has a bit of a complex from leaving him family behind at a young age and having to help care for his disabled uncle. very much of the mind that he can't be loved unless he's providing for his loved ones, like he himself is not enough :(

has horrible vision, though typically wears his contacts so it's very unlikely anyone outside of his family or very close friends have seen him wearing glasses

once he finds a place with space to host people, he'll likely invite friends and people he gets along with to come grill on the weekends. he's very family oriented and being away from them, he'll want to build his own found family

he came to the states young enough that his accent is basically non-existent, though he does have trouble with certain words and idioms. it's in his writing that you can really see that he's an esl kid

[araedi]

Mun Tag Game

name/nickname(s): Mojito! I have a few other nicknames across the internet, but this is the one I use here. Getting the itch to switch it up tho

pronouns: He/him

active blogs: Here's my main rp blog, then I have a multi at @compassofsouls, and Scott at @minimizexaggrandize. I also have one more muse at @theta-x but I've not brought him out for a while. Adore him tho, I miss writing asshole characters so maybe he'll sneak into the multi ;)

watching and/or reading: Watching: Loki series when time permits, youtube vids from my fav channels when working

Reading: Tales of Un-Knowing - Ernesto Spinelli for college

ideal superpower: Shapeshifting

animal you want to be turned into: You can't make me choose! idk tiger, binturong, pine marten, bush viper, possum, the list goes on

fictional character you would most like to meet irl: Nightcrawler hands down we'd have a blast

book/show/movie you loved as a kid and still love today: The Hobbit / Croc Files / Nightmare before Christmas

book/show/movie you think is underappreciated: The Roaring Girl (a play but a goodun) / Preacher / Meet the Robinsons

favorite thing to do on a rainy day: Cosy up and read or draw. If I'm in one of Those moods standing outside and just enjoying the rain

favorite season: All of them bring something special and become a fav if I think on them, but I'm fond of winter

favorite holiday: Christmas/Yule

star wars or star trek: trying to be decisive, Star Trek

marvel or DC: Marvel

parks and rec or the office: both are fine but not particularly fussed on one over the other

favorite disney princess: if we're going on a technicality, Mulan

favorite superhero(es, marvel edition): (not necessarily in order) deep breath Nightcrawler, Thor, Deadpool, Wolverine, Storm, Jessica Jones, Dr Strange, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Rocket Raccoon, Peter Quill, Shadowcat, a ton more aaand Loki, I guess :U

stole it from: @benevolentgodloki >:)

tagging: anyone who hasn't been tagged yet and wants to!

[lostinblazes]

[ alfonso herrera, cis man, he/him. ] ✧･ﾟ is that [ ernesto de la cruz ] who just stumbled into town? rumour has it that they’re the [ thirty-nine ] year old originally hailing from [ coco ]. if they had to choose a side they would consider themself [ evil ]. i’ve also heard that they’re [ charming ] but [ manipulative ] and have [ three ] children. i could almost swear i heard [ amantes - becky g ] playing when they appeared.

ernesto de la cruz had always aspired to be a musician, sharing this dream with his childhood best friend, hector. the two worked and learned together and eventually found a symbiotic relationship. hector was best at writing the music and ernesto was best at playing it, as well as charming the audience.

the two would grow up to have a more professional relationship. they would travel throughout mexico and perform, writing new songs as they went along. and, during these trips, the two of them would two women to fall in love with.

while ernesto was completely fine with leaving his growing family at home while he went on his tours, hector was beginning to focus more and more on staying home. if hector chose his family over touring with ernesto, then ernesto would be left with no new music and everyone would know that he wouldn’t have been the one behind the songs he performed.

in a blind state of rage, ernesto decided to poison hector. if hector wasn’t around, then he could never reveal the true origins of their songs. ernesto stole the remaining songs that hector had created and continued playing a solo act throughout the country.

he would continue to grow in fame, becoming the face of mexican pride and starring in films. but, with fame came temptation. he started to see one of his dancers, often sneaking off to see her whenever he was home. it would be a night of seeking her out that would mark the end of his family.

he would never forget the night he’d gotten the news and ran home, the flames taking everything without mercy. he’d fall to his knees and weep for his lost loved ones, genuine sorrow engulfing him just as the fire brought down the house. that night would be the start of the subtle downfall of ernesto de la cruz.

with the hole in his heart, he struggled to keep up his performances. and, as if fate hadn’t taken enough from him, his life was then taken as well. he would end up in the land of the dead where he was still greatly revered. he would continue to perform there and keep up his appearance. he knew his daughters and wife were there as well, but he was almost afraid to see them. still, he would try to connect with his daughters at the very least.

ernesto’s fame would continue for many years until miguel appeared, revealing to all that ernesto had lied about creating his own songs. he would be pulled from his pedestal and mocked. fallen from grace, ernesto knew it was only a matter of time until he was completely forgotten by everyone. and then, he would fade away.

bisexual snake. absolutely loves and adores his daughters. still acts like he is the best thing since sliced bread. will attempt to charm.

[fairytalefires]

[ alfonso herrera, cis man, he/him. ] ✧･ﾟ is that [ ernesto de la cruz ] who just stumbled into town? rumour has it that they’re the [ thirty-nine ] year old originally hailing from [ coco ]. if they had to choose a side they would consider themself [ evil ]. i’ve also heard that they’re [ charming ] but [ manipulative ] and have [ three ] children. i could almost swear i heard [ amantes - becky g ] playing when they appeared.

ernesto de la cruz had always aspired to be a musician, sharing this dream with his childhood best friend, hector. the two worked and learned together and eventually found a symbiotic relationship. hector was best at writing the music and ernesto was best at playing it, as well as charming the audience.

the two would grow up to have a more professional relationship. they would travel throughout mexico and perform, writing new songs as they went along. and, during these trips, the two of them would two women to fall in love with.

while ernesto was completely fine with leaving his growing family at home while he went on his tours, hector was beginning to focus more and more on staying home. if hector chose his family over touring with ernesto, then ernesto would be left with no new music and everyone would know that he wouldn’t have been the one behind the songs he performed.

in a blind state of rage, ernesto decided to poison hector. if hector wasn’t around, then he could never reveal the true origins of their songs. ernesto stole the remaining songs that hector had created and continued playing a solo act throughout the country.

he would continue to grow in fame, becoming the face of mexican pride and starring in films. but, with fame came temptation. he started to see one of his dancers, often sneaking off to see her whenever he was home. it would be a night of seeking her out that would mark the end of his family.

he would never forget the night he’d gotten the news and ran home, the flames taking everything without mercy. he’d fall to his knees and weep for his lost loved ones, genuine sorrow engulfing him just as the fire brought down the house. that night would be the start of the subtle downfall of ernesto de la cruz.

with the hole in his heart, he struggled to keep up his performances. and, as if fate hadn’t taken enough from him, his life was then taken as well. he would end up in the land of the dead where he was still greatly revered. he would continue to perform there and keep up his appearance. he knew his daughters and wife were there as well, but he was almost afraid to see them. still, he would try to connect with his daughters at the very least.

ernesto’s fame would continue for many years until miguel appeared, revealing to all that ernesto had lied about creating his own songs. he would be pulled from his pedestal and mocked. fallen from grace, ernesto knew it was only a matter of time until he was completely forgotten by everyone. and then, he would fade away.

bisexual snake. absolutely loves and adores his daughters. still acts like he is the best thing since sliced bread. will attempt to charm.

[untimelytales]

[ dario yazbek bernal, cis man, he/him. ] ✧･ﾟ is that [ miguel rivera ] who just stumbled into town? rumour has it that they’re the [ thirty-one ] year old originally hailing from [ coco ]. if they had to choose a side they would consider themself [ good ]. i’ve also heard that they’re [ optimistic ] but [ rebellious ] and have [ three ] children. i could almost swear i heard [ besitos - pierce the veil ] playing when they appeared.

miguel grew up in a big, loving family. but, not every family was perfect – and his in particular was completely against his biggest passion: music. miguel had always been enthralled with music since he was born, listening to the mariachis in town and finding old tapes of ernesto de la cruz. ernesto had been a huge influence on the type of music miguel wanted to play. he wanted to be cool, suave, and famous just like him. but, with music being banned completely by his family, he had to teach himself in secret.

one year changed everything, though. on dia de los muertos, miguel broke into ernesto’s mausoleum and took his guitar. with one stroke of the strings, he was transported to the world of the dead. in this place, he learned of his family’s history and the truth behind ernesto de la cruz – his hero actually being a crook that stole from miguel’s family.

with this newfound knowledge, he was able to return to his family and play to grandma coco – triggering the memory of her father and helping his family accept music back into their lives. from then on, his family support his pursuit in music which eventually lead to him developing a career for himself.

despite his music being more on the traditional side, miguel quickly grew in popularity throughout mexico. he was thinking about finally settling down and adding to his already large family when he started to get recognised outside of mexico. seeing it as a once in a lifetime opportunity, he couldn’t give it up.

he forwent looking for love and started traveling the world, sharing his love for music with everyone. it was a home tour back home that he finally met someone that made him realise that he could sacrifice some time away from music to be with the right one.

it wasn’t long until they were married and had three beautiful children. miguel loved them more than anything, sharing music with them and showing them all the possibilities that were available to them. he only ever wanted to be the best father to them and to never take from them what he didn’t have when he was young. and while he did feel guilty that his family was constantly on the go with him, he only felt like they were closer for it.

unfortunately, not everything was as perfect as he thought it was. his children were starting to pull away from him and he had no clue why. guilt made him believe that he’d done something wrong. but, being a performer meant he needed to put on a smile and hope that everything would turn out.

coming to town, he doesn’t remember getting married or having a family.

memory trigger: candles lit by any of his family.

                               basics:                                   full name:  miguel rivera                                   nicknames:  n/a                                   gender:  cis man                                   pronouns:  he / him                                   sexuality:  bisexual                                   age:  31                                   occupation:  musician                                   species:  human

                               appearance:                                   faceclaim:  dario yazken bernal                                   height:  5′7'’                                   eyes:  brown                                   hair:  brown                                   piercings:  ears                                   tattoos:  n/a                                   other distinguishing features:  n/a                                   style:  casual

                               personality:                                   traits:  optimistic, rebellious, playful, stubborn                                   likes:  soft grass, homemade food, family gatherings                                   dislikes:  cheats, vegetables                                   fears:  the dark                                   phobias:  n/a                                   hobbies:  soccer/football                                   skills:  songwriting, guitar, dancing                                   quirks:  n/a                                   pet peeves:  n/a

                               family:                                   mother:  luisa                                   father:  enrique                                   siblings:  socorro                                   birth order:  eldest                                   spouse / lover:  unknown                                   children:  santiago, and others                                   pets:  dante (obvs not in town)                                   notable close relatives:  grandma coco

[ara270904]

Two of my OC's (the cousins one Massimo Alessandro) They finally have one last name, yayyyy.

Massimo Torricelli and Alessandro Torricelli

(I didn't like the suggestions for Italian surnames that Google gave me so I just searched for "Massimo" on Google until I found someone with a cool surname and there's this guy I have no idea who he was, he kept appearing called Massimo Torricelli, so I stole his last name and gave it to Alessandro too because cousins.)

And could I leave them with just one surname because I investigated and it says that until 2019? I believe in Italy only the paternal surname was given to children but now they can be given two surnames, one of the father and one of the mother in any order.

But coming up with just one last name and deciding was a lot of work or maybe I could leave Alessandro with one last name and find another one for Massimo and have it be his mother's because Massimo's father and Alessandro's mother are supposed to be siblings, so they have the same last name but Alessandro's mom (who I think I called her Chiara) didn't get married and is a single mother so Alessandro would have her last name only because he doesn't have a dad but Massimo's dad (I think I called him Ernesto) Yes, he was married, I can't decide whether to leave Massimo with only the surname Ernesto or to give him his mother's surname as well.

We'll see what happens.

Finding matching surnames is very difficult, okay? And in my ramblings there is also some lore from my OCs.

[michaelcliffordbrokeintomyhouse]

WHATS THE STORY BEHIND YOUR USERNAME

LMAO idk if the story is gonna be worse or better than you’re expecting tbh😭but buckle up because unfortunately some context matter here😂

Okay SO I was at a sourdough making class with my friend and as part of it we were taking home starters. We spent some time naming them (obviously) and I named mine Franklin Ernesto and then it was pretty late when class ended so my friend and I were like let’s go find some food. We pull up to a Sonic drive-thru to secure the bag and were chilling having unhinged convos as one does. 

Somehow, in the midst of these unhinged discussions, we started talking about the fact that Michael Clifford learned about the megamind no bitches meme while on tour because if there’s one thing we are it’s 5sos stans first and humans second. Then, we drove past an abandoned K-mart. So, because of who I am as a person, I was like damn what if you saw Michael Clifford dressed as megamind outside of an abandoned K-mart at 3am. And we decided obviously that Michael would grant a wish. 

But THEN the conversation turned because my friend asked what would you do if you woke up and Michael dressed as megamind was at the foot of your bed holding Franklin Ernesto. Naturally, this led to a lot of questions starting with how did he get into my house and ending in what the actual fuck bro. So then I was like damn this motherfucker broke into my house to steal my sourdough starter what the fuck that’s so rude. 

And then I was like gee I wonder if I can fit michaelcliffordbrokeintomyhouseandstolemysourdoughstarter as my tumblr user and the answer was obviously no it was too long. So it ended up being shortened to michaelcliffordbrokeintomyhouse and on my blog itself it has and stole my sourdough starter. And then as for the picture? I have no excuse for that other than the fact that I was feeling particularly unhinged on a slow work day

[ourlastpage]

[ vic fuentes, cis man, he/him. ] ✧･ﾟ is that [ miguel rivera ] who just stumbled into town? rumour has it that they’re the [ thirty-one ] year old originally hailing from [ coco ]. if they had to choose a side they would consider themself [ good ]. i’ve also heard that they’re [ optimistic ] but [ rebellious ] and have [ three ] children. i could almost swear i heard [ besitos - pierce the veil ] playing when they appeared.

miguel grew up in a big, loving family. but, not every family was perfect – and his in particular was completely against his biggest passion: music. miguel had always been enthralled with music since he was born, listening to the mariachis in town and finding old tapes of ernesto de la cruz. ernesto had been a huge influence on the type of music miguel wanted to play. he wanted to be cool, suave, and famous just like him. but, with music being banned completely by his family, he had to teach himself in secret.

one year changed everything, though. on dia de los muertos, miguel broke into ernesto’s mausoleum and took his guitar. with one stroke of the strings, he was transported to the world of the dead. in this place, he learned of his family’s history and the truth behind ernesto de la cruz – his hero actually being a crook that stole from miguel’s family.

with this newfound knowledge, he was able to return to his family and play to grandma coco – triggering the memory of her father and helping his family accept music back into their lives. from then on, his family support his pursuit in music which eventually lead to him developing a career for himself.

despite his music being more on the traditional side, miguel quickly grew in popularity throughout mexico. he was thinking about finally settling down and adding to his already large family when he started to get recognised outside of mexico. seeing it as a once in a lifetime opportunity, he couldn’t give it up.

he forwent looking for love and started traveling the world, sharing his love for music with everyone. it was a home tour back home that he finally met someone that made him realise that he could sacrifice some time away from music to be with the right one.

it wasn’t long until they were married and had three beautiful children. miguel loved them more than anything, sharing music with them and showing them all the possibilities that were available to them. he only ever wanted to be the best father to them and to never take from them what he didn’t have when he was young. and while he did feel guilty that his family was constantly on the go with him, he only felt like they were closer for it.

unfortunately, not everything was as perfect as he thought it was. his children were starting to pull away from him and he had no clue why. guilt made him believe that he’d done something wrong. but, being a performer meant he needed to put on a smile and hope that everything would turn out.

coming to town, he doesn’t remember getting married or having a family.

memory trigger: candles lit by any of his family.

                               basics:                                   full name:  miguel rivera                                   nicknames:  n/a                                   gender:  cis man                                   pronouns:  he / him                                   sexuality:  bisexual                                   age:  31                                   occupation:  musician                                   species:  human

                               appearance:                                   faceclaim:  dario yazken bernal                                   height:  5′7'’                                   eyes:  brown                                   hair:  brown                                   piercings:  ears                                   tattoos:  n/a                                   other distinguishing features:  n/a                                   style:  casual

                               personality:                                   traits:  optimistic, rebellious, playful, stubborn                                   likes:  soft grass, homemade food, family gatherings                                   dislikes:  cheats, vegetables                                   fears:  the dark                                   phobias:  n/a                                   hobbies:  soccer/football                                   skills:  songwriting, guitar, dancing                                   quirks:  n/a                                   pet peeves:  n/a

                               family:                                   mother:  luisa                                   father:  enrique                                   siblings:  socorro                                   birth order:  eldest                                   spouse / lover:  unknown                                   children:  santiago, and others                                   pets:  dante (obvs not in town)                                   notable close relatives:  grandma coco

[themusicofthespheres]

Un poco loco is about coco

[disneydancepants]

Some thoughts on Descendants...

I have been watching this series way too much the last few months. It is legit my #1 guilty pleasure. But anyway, here are some thoughts I've wanted to get out... So let's go!

I'm not going to do spoilers for the Wedding special, but the moment for Carlos made me fight back tears. RIP Cameron Boyce. On a separate note, I love that the Happy Madison crew dedicated Hubie Halloween to him too.

This is by far the campiest Maleficent, but it works? Even in the original, she was sadistically playful. She doesn't exude evil like she should, but I get they weren't going for a scary tone. The villains are all mostly shells of their former selves.

But what is going on with Jafar? He turned into the lamp salesman? And Jay acts way more like Son of Aladdin... Did Jafar lose everything, *and* somehow get stuck raising Aladdin's kid? That's the only way I can reconcile how un-Jafar this guy is.

Cruella is spot-on though. I don't even mind that they diversified her to match Carlos being biracial: the actress just nails it. I wish they'd given her a bigger role, or at least an appearance in the 3rd.

I hate that they just call Grimhilde "Evil Queen". She's also more like Mother Gothel, but I get that the Evil Queen was too evil/similar to Maleficent. I understand why they played up the vanity/silly angle.

Oof, Prince Adam/Beast is not a good actor... And he's kinda a dick to Belle. I wish Prince Ben had been given a French name. I'm an etymology nerd, y'all. Prince Beau, maybe?

The limo scene kind of bothers me. Is it that the Isle of the Lost does have candy, just not chocolate and peanut butter? Mal stole that lollipop from the baby earlier. This is making me think too hard.

I read on reddit or somewhere that the VKs are named after their parents to reflect the narcissism of the Villains. I guess not Carlos/Cruella, but Mal/Maleficent, Evie/Evil Queen, and Jay/Jafar. I guess from that angle, Beau/Belle wouldn't really work.

So did Cinderella spoil her kid and never make him do a chore in his life? Why was she such a bad parent? Apparently Aurora and Phillip were bad moms and dads too? I do like that it fits into the series' overall theme though: your parents don't define you.

It's actually really sad when you think about how emotionally abusive the Villain parents are... Mal is treated like a tool for Maleficent's schemes, Evie is pressured to act like a shallow bimbo instead of showing how smart and kind she is, Carlos is Gothel-ed (stay with mummy or else evil fanged creatures will murder you!), and Jay... I really don't think Jafar is his dad. 😆 Aladdin must have had an affair with Jafar's sister or something, and Jafar is forced to raise the kid.

I do wish though... Why didn't they use canonically diverse characters instead of race-bending? Where is Tiana's kid? Pocahontas? Esmeralda? Jasmine? Kronk or Yzma? Yeah, there aren't a huge amount to choose from...

I do enjoy how they seem to have cast the main cast first, and then changed Cruella/Ursula/Queen Leah/Lady Tremaine to match the actors of the kids. That feels like a cool and respectful way to diversify the Disney cast, imo.

Who is Evie's dad? I think Sofia Carson is latinx, so my head-canon suspects Ernesto de la Cruz. Who is Carlos's dad? What about Uma's dad? We find out Mal's parents, at least. And I've already told you what I think about Jay.

I was shocked to find out that Harry Hook's accent is real. I 100% thought it was fake. He must be trying to do a pirate voice or something...

I wish Wicked World was canon. I can't make it fit in my head though. CJ Hook should have had a cameo in Uma's crew. And Frederique Facilier should have at least been mentioned...

Does anyone else wonder what the backstories are of some of the extras? Do you think they were given them or made them up?

I guarantee the extras in Uma's crew argued. "I'm son of Jack Sparrow." "No, I'm son of Jack Sparrow!". "Guys, guys... We can *all* be Jack Sparrow's kids. We know he got around."

Chad Charming acts more like he's Son of Gaston. Gaston's kid acts more like Kronk. Harry Hook also seems like he should be Jack Sparrow's kid.

So is Ursula still huge? Was she resurrected the same size as when she died? Because that tentacle is big.

Why isn't Hades bald? He should be bald, not... Whatever that hair is. His actor both looks and sounds like Michael Keaton Jr. Tell me I'm wrong.

He might not nail Hades overall, but the actor has angry Hades perfected. I don't remember where, but there's a point that he sounds exactly like James Woods (voice of Hades) when he's yelling.

...What is going on with Smee's kids? Isn't Mr. Smee just old? I never thought he was albino.

Dr. Facilier is actually a good dad? That's sweet. It's too bad they didn't pay to get Keith David, but this actor is a good stand-in.

Anyone else ship Jay with Son of Gaston? Apparently Harry Hook kissed Son of Gaston (I can't remember his name) in a deleted scene of the 2nd movie. I read Harry and Jay as bi, personally. Jay and Son of Gaston are really cute together! I see them as more than "bros" at the end.

I really wish the VK parents made a cameo at the end with Hades, Facilier, and Tremaine. Carlos makes it sound like at least Cruella is going to show up, but she doesn't. That actress was so good!

Beast Ben is 2cringe4me...

PBJ is his fave tho

I actually do like that awkward dork though. He has a good heart.

What happened to Lonnie after D2? She never gets even mentioned again?

Ugh, I just can't Doug's hair in D3. He doesn't pull it off. I hate how he became a possessive dweeb after the first movie too. I liked him better as a sweet and awkward dweeb. Put your glasses back on!

Also, the thought of Dopey having a kid is traumatizing.

And why isn't Melody, daughter of Ariel and Eric, a character? Zephyr, son of Esmeralda and Phoebus? Cassandra, daughter of (spoiler)?

[cottoncandyjester]

Now that we have the topic of Sully's bio family can we meet them

Oki doki have fuuuunnnn

Warning this contains: dark themes, yandere talk, abuse, talk or murder

Sofia,28:

Sully’s older sister

She is beautiful but incredibly scary

Works as a chef in an expensive restaurant

She is really good at her job

That being said she usually has to stop her brother from killing someone every ten seconds

It’s tiring

Has a bad temper herself

Has and will break someone’s leg if they cross her

She misses sully like the rest of them but she understands that he doesn’t want to come home

She accepted that he isn’t a child anymore and has his own life to live

This doesn’t mean she’s happy about it though but she accepts it

Just like the others she thinks Ernesto stole him though

When she first met Ernesto she tried to kill him but Antonio quickly put an end to that and threatened to rip her head clean off if she ever tried that again

She blames herself for the day sully went missing not to mention that her brother reminds her of that moment all the time

She’s tired of living in the past and thinks they should let it go

It happened and it’s time to move on

She doesn’t do relationships very much mostly cause she gets jealous as hell and is very dominant

Is constantly fighting with her brother cause both have bad tempers

She tries to stop him from bullying ottone since it’s gotten to the point where it’s just torture at this point

Ottone,18

He wasn’t born yet when sully was taken

That being said ever since sully left and he was born he was forced to know every little bit of information about him

He looked exactly like him when he was younger so he quickly became a substitute

Forced to only wear sully’s old clothes and sleep in his bed being constantly reminded that he looks just like him

When he actually got to meet him, he hated him immediately

Hating that this person was the reason for his trauma

Sully was actually the first person to ask what he likes and enjoys doing and that’s when he felt a strong love for sully

To get his power back he sleeps with married men and exposes them to their wives

He’s been doing it since he was 14 though it was worse cause he would lie about his age and get the men locked up

It gives him a sense of control that he doesn’t have at home

He is pretty sadistic to submissive people cause it gives him the confidence he was robbed of

No one respects him or even acknowledges him as his own person

His scars are self inflicted after a huge identity crisis breakdown

He still isn’t sure who he is

He thinks the only reason he was even born was to be a replacement

Before his mother died she would constantly say how she only wanted 3 kids and that 4 was an unlucky number

He still deals with identity crisis

He is constantly forced to learn new information about sully and is quizzed on it

He gets punished if he gets anything wrong

He is starting to fight back against the abuse and it leads to him Getting into fistfights with his brother

Hasn’t smiled in years he doesn’t remember how to do that anymore

Smokes a lot of cigarettes and weed to relax himself

The last time he tried to move out his brother found where he lived and broke his leg so he is stuck living with his family cause they have bad abandonment issues and don’t want the family to be separated

At this point he accepts that he probably won’t make it to the age of 30 cause his brother will probably kill him

Lorenzo,33

He loved his older brother but his brother and sister in law has demons for children

They are free birth control for him

He takes care of them mostly cause he has no choice but partly because he worries that they will kill all of Italy if the lets them do what they want

He constantly has a headache cause of their bullshit

But he isn’t innocent in all this he is the one showing them new information about sully

This in turn causes alfonso to go crazy and manic

he did sleep with his brother’s wife a handful of times behind his back..like a lot of times

There are rumors that he killed his brother and sister in law but those aren’t true..right?

He works as a wedding planner and about 100 times a day gets calls from home about his niece and nephews almost destroying his house

He constantly reminds them that they are adults..stop annoying him

That being said he actually likes their company sometimes cause he gets lonely..he has no one else

He tends to baby ottone a lot

From kneeling down when he talks to him to using a more softer hushed tone

He is so sweet with him and even asks for his help with clients sometimes

He knows ottone finds it annoying at times but he wants to keep him in the house away from married men and away from alfonso so he offered him a job but ottone refused

He also tries to stop alfonso but he isn’t home a lot to stop the abuse

Alfonso,25

This man is the personification of rage and daddy issues

So much anger

Ottone stabbed his eye with a fork so now he has a prosthetic

He is sadistic and twisted and downright scary

He works as a host cause he’s pretty

That being said he has paralyzed a client before

He’ll also sleep with them for some extra money

He is OBSESSED with sully

Not romantically of course but he sees sully as his

That’s HIS brother and Ernesto took him and forced him to be someone he’s not

He also sees ottone as his

His baby brother who he loves

He claims “I’m hurting you cause I love you so much”

In his mind the abuse is his love overwhelming him to do strange things

He has a bipolar behavior with ottone where he’s sweet and loving with him for a while to make him feel safe before ripping that away and hurting him

Has a HUGE choking kink both giving and receiving

The sight of someone being blue in the face from being choked is very interesting to him

Being choked is also very hot for him so cause of this he chokes himself with a belt or rope while touching himself

He keeps a tight leash on his family having enough blackmail to ruin them and putting fear in his siblings

[bruhvik]

Let’s talk about the DLC and how Jimenez is shown in a different light there, okay?

While reading this post, please keep in mind this post is coming from a Ruvik fan who hated Marcelo up until the DLCs. It is mainly geared toward people who hate him, but may be eye-opening for others as well. I didn’t put a ton of hard work into this blog in the past 5 months just to be disregarded and unfollowed because I address some things about a character you hate right now. This post also took me hours to make so please read with an open mind.

I wouldn’t have to make this post if it weren’t for the inconsistencies in the game in the first place. A lot of important information that can’t be ignored was put into the DLCs that should have been in the main game. 

Let’s address some elephants in the room first:

considering Mobius as a whole and what they’ve done, there is no doubt they would have killed Ruben regardless of him having time to set up traps and regardless of Jimenez. The big fish will always eat the small one.

(again, coming from a Ruvik fan:) both Ruben and the Administrator have done worse things than Jimenez ever did, yet whoever talks about Jimenez in a non-hateful way gets scrutiny

The point of this post is that after the way the DLC shows Jimenez, you can’t help but look at him at least a bit differently compared to how he is presented in the main game only. 

Let’s take the scene that made people hate him: 

when he comes for Ruben with Mobius people, if you only saw this in the main game, you’d think that he knew here that Ruben is going to be killed by Mobius. However that is not the case if you consider everything in the DLCs:

- on the tapes in the DLC he says that at one point Ruben retreats to his mansion, and is only willing to come to work on STEM, and that Jim feels uneasy about this bc Mobius might be looking on them. 

- once Ruben calibrates the machine to work with his brain only and keeps to himself in the mansion, Jimenez expresses how he is afraid what Mobius might do to him if he doesn’t reverse the calibration and he will drag Ruben to Mobius if he has to (to reverse the calibr. so Mobius doesn’t fucking kill him) and this is probably what we see in the main game when he comes for Ruben with the Mobius people.

Marcelo did not think that Mobius would kill him, that is not why he is there in the main game in that one scene, and here is proof why:

When you listen to the DLC tapes back to back (they are on youtube in one video!), Marcelo is in despair and his voice is utterly sad and disappointed when he finds out that Ruben is dead. The voice actor does a great job making you feel everything as well. Please do go and listen to it.

It is also explained how the name “RUVIK” emerged, and this is why I’ll keep calling him Ruben in my posts as often as possible.

Outside of the tape, in the scene when he learns about Ruben’s death in the DLC he is heavily distressed as well (also on youtube in any playthrough, please watch it):

So to sum it up, based on main game only you’d think that Jimenez went for Ruben to kill him in that lab scene but after you see the DLC he did not know that Mobius was going to kill him and he was genuinely sad and distressed upon finding out. This is major info that should have been in the main game and not in a DLC. It’s very important when it comes to his personality.

He also expresses earlier in the DLC that it’s due to his own carelessness that Mobius learned about the existence of Ruben and that Ru. was introduced to Mobius but Jim was hoping for Ruben to chill out once getting more test subject and professional gear. It’s also on Marcelo’s tapes in the DLC.

“But he did steal his research???”

Yes he indeed did so, and it’s a cockroach thing to do as Ruben would say. However consider this: Mobius was constantly manipulating and threatening Jim that he will be replaced if he didn’t do so and so. Jim needed to be reputable to have power at Beacon, so he stole the work of Ruben, guessing his because he was the only one being a genius there with a useful research. Jimenez having power at Beacon was the reason that Ruben could go on so long with his research, because Jimenez would bend the rules so Ruben would get a lot of freedom. So no stolen research -> no power to Jim -> no bent rules -> no free reign for Ruben.

Of course he is an asshole for gaslighting Ruben in the scene when he confronts him about the stolen research, he also says cruel things to him, no doubt about that. He too comes off very arrogant and pompous, he should have just said why he did it so Ruben understands. It is still, ofc, not an excuse to plagiarize.

I just really wish all this is obvious to the average player or fan, because if you really dig deep you can hardly hate Jimenez as much (or at all) as just based on the main game.

When he is talking to child Ruben in the beginning that he should not be worried about how he looks but what’s inside his mind that matters, I thought that was really sweet and there is such an amount of mentor-pupil potential in this relationship that should have been shown more it’s unreal. Jimenez surely was the father figure to Ruben instead of Ernesto, it’s just tragic how everything went down. 

So again to sum up: - “he killed Ruben” - no he did not, Mobius did, he didn’t know they were gonna kill him, tho it’s only shown in the DLC - “he stole his research” -> to have power at Beacon so he can cover for Ruben and bend the rules for him

And his looks, well... He looks like Anthony Hopkins with a rather good body for someone his age, it’s all personal preference.

It def. makes me feel some type of way that I need to make such an extensive post about why I don’t hate a fictional character to “justify myself” because it’s convenient to ignore canon it seems, or maybe because many people don’t know his DLC tapes. I HOPE that at least you see him in a different way after reading this or that  you understand why I don’t hate Marcelo.

Even if you still hate him after this, please be considerate with others who don’t hate him.

[goldenliartrash]

💙, 🗡 and 🧠 for salvador, ernesto and your emdt ocs? also julian. the last one is a threat

Crossover ship i like:

Salvador: Elias Bouchard de The Magnus Archives?? Al menos tienen literalmente todo en común (vuelvo después de responder la de Julián, también Microft Holmes de Sherlock)

Ernesto: De manera no irónica, Juan Cuesta de aquí no hay quien viva

Nicolás: With Klaus Hargreeves from the umbrella academy. i got brainrot once and wrote like 10k words about them lmao mentally ill behaviour (compliment)

Eva: Howl Pendragon de El castillo ambulante, pero el que existe en mi mente desvinculado de la peli y el libro. Estoy proyectando fuerte.

Ruiz: Tanya o Rosie de Mamma Mia. Probablemente Tanya porque esta chica necesita una sugar mommy urgente pero both is good

Javier: I don't think i see him romantically with anyone, sorry :( But i feel like he would be friends with Peter Parker from Spectacullar Spiderman

Julián: THERAPY JESUS CHRIST. Also maybe John Watson from Sherlock??

Badass headcanon:

Salvador: He didn't kill that baby

Ernesto: He is pretty badass already, so the most badass thing for him to do is putting up with his youtuber son. He's learning to play minecraft

Nicolás: This was originally canon and then got scraped off but maybe it will be canon again, or mentioned in canon (??), but: when the nazis got into the ministry Nicolás somehow knocked one down, stole his firearm, shot him, and then shot a second one to save diego

Eva: Felipe is so impressed with her when he meets her, because alonso is okay, is what you would expect in a soldier, but Eva??? Felipe is convinced she's the perfect soldier because she's strong and determined and she's able to go unnoticed where men can't. He's this close *fingers touching* to make her his right hand woman at any given time

Ruiz: This is just canon but the fact that she can perform medicine (tm) in any situation. It doesn't matter if she's in a hospital or the middle of a battlefield, as long as she has the right tools she can get to work (major flaw tho, she can't improvise for shit, so if there's not a first aid kit around you're fucked)

Javier: I was going to mention the fact that he's very skilled in everything computers but i think its more badass that he doesn't care for shit about peer presure or what others think. he's just vibing.

Julián: He went to therapy. Actually no, you met him and you fixed him. Or kept him as your manic pixie dream 40 year old man pet. Whatever you want.

MBTI headcanon:

I'm so sorry bestie i can't do this one, i refused to learn what all those little letters meant and now its too late to turn back. you can tell me yours tho and ill acept it as the truth

[patricksteelebodger]

Erik Ahlberg and Ernesto De La Cruz Similarities

Since I did one for Grimmel and Shen, I thought it would be fun to do another villain similarity post.

This time, we’re gonna be talking about one of my fav Netflix villains, Erik Ahlberg, the bumbling, glory-seeking head of Trolberg Safety Patrol from Hilda:

If you're curious to know, Erik made his debut in the 6th Hilda graphic novel, Hilda and the Mountain King, and later on made his screen appearance in Season 2 of Hilda, and the creators did a great job of adding more character into him, becoming one of the main antagonists of the series.

And if you’ve saw the title of this post, it's crazy to tell that this fellow has several similarities to another great villain, Ernesto De La Cruz from Coco:

Here are several similarities and differences between these two villainous men, to help see what I mean:

They’re both dashing, good looking men with a moustache and black hair (though Erik is shown to have a bit of a bald spot)

Both antagonists involve relatives/descendants/ancestors (the only difference being that halfway through Coco, Miguel (and the audience) believed that they were related to Ernesto, only to learn Miguel is the grandson of Hector, while Erik is the descendant of Edmund Ahlberg, who was a famed troll-slayer and founder of Trolberg)

They are both grown up antagonists to the young protagonists being children (Hilda for Erik and Miguel for Ernesto)

They are well-famous to everyone of their hometowns (Erik is well known for being Edmund’s descendant, while Ernesto was popular for music until the end, as he then became permanently infamous for his crimes)

They both revealed their true colours to the young protagonists near the end of their film/episode (Ernesto revealed his true colours at the 2nd half of the film, while Erik revealed his true nature at the end of his debut episode)

They’re both arrogant, ambitious and determined to seek glory and fame, whatever it takes (Ernesto succeeded at the time on gaining fame and glory until his downfall, hence of his famous line, “Seize Your Moment”, while Erik is determined to make a name of himself like his ancestor, especially from his line, which sounded dark and sinister, as he said to Hilda, “If you want to make history, then you’ll have to make it happen. And that’s what I intend to do.”)

They’re both quite funny (While Ernesto’s humour fades a bit until his defeat, Erik is an all around buffoon)

Both antagonists involve bells (Ernesto was crushed to death by a bell, while Erik would use bells as a way to anger the trolls, and later on planned to have all the bells in Trolberg ring 24/7)

Both take credit for other people’s work (Ernesto stole Hector’s songs, including ‘Remember Me’, and took them as his own, while Erik took credit for Hilda’s actions on getting rid of the Draugen)

And finally, on a humorous note, both of them had a bell land on them (Ernesto got crushed by a bell which resulted in his death, and had another one land on him after his true colours were exposed, while Erik’s bell tower plan backfired, thanks to Hilda’s interference, and a bell landed on him!)

I hope you all liked these similarities and differences between these two baddies! Until then, True Believers!

[whattimeisitintokyo]

Ch 43 The Department of Family Reunions and Ch 44: Frangipani

It has come to my attention that I never uploaded the previous chapter onto Tumblr. Oopsy doopsy!

So here’s both the old and the new chapter in one package, all yours for free. Enjoy!

-

-

“C’mon, I’ve been waiting for over forty minutes now!”

“You said we were next in line!”

“It’s already eleven o’clock! We don’t have all night you know!”

Old Chicharron tried to ignore all of the complaints and shouts of the other restless spirits hanging around him as he marched towards his office with several heavy, ancient books under his arms. But then more came, some louder and angrier than others, and Chich’s very low tolerance for foolishness gave way. Twirling around he let out a sharp piercing whistle that made everyone in the whole department cringe and fall silent.

“All right, listen up!” Chich barked out once he had their attention. “Unless any of you still has some flesh clinging to your bones, you’ve been moved back on the list of my priorities right now! Héctor Rivera is priority number one, comprende?!”

“Ah, the Riveras have always been your favorites, cabrón!” one stupidly brave skeleton shouted back.

“Pah! Shows what you know! I don’t like anybody!” he snarled before turning his attention to the Rivera family, Leti in particular, with a warm smile. “Leticia, how nice to see you chiquita. Come on in, I have all I need to settle this mess. How’s your mamá?”

Having not let go of Leti’s hand since he had been reunited with her, Héctor was pulled from his seat as the rest of the family walked into the small man’s office. Marigold Station was huge, with several other departments and hundreds of skeletons walking and running about. But the Department of Family Reunions was where the most harried of skeletons seemed to be, trying to get to different ofrendas and fighting with weary customer service assistants. They too stared in awe at a living man walking amongst them and able to see and interact with them. But whatever wonder they had turned to ire when they realized that the living man and his family had just cut in line in front of them.

Héctor also noted that there were even more skull and bone motifs in the architecture, the wallpaper, even the floor tiles.

He was picking up a not-so-subtle theme here…

“Héctor Rivera, step up here by the desk.” Chich said grumpily as heaved the heavy books on top of the desk with a loud grunt and then took a seat. “Sorry there’s only one chair in here and it’s mine, so you’ll have to stand.”

“Oh, uh, that’s alright.”

“Can I get you anything? Coffee, water?”

“No gracias.”

“You’re cursed.”

“What?!” Héctor gasped, hearing his in-laws do the same behind and feeling Leti hugging him in fear. The blunt and tactless way he received his news was like another slap to his sore face. “How? How am I cursed?!”

“Well that’s easy.” Chich said as he pulled out a thick folder and started flipping through the pages. “Dia de Muertos is a night to give to the dead. You stole from the dead.”

“I didn’t steal anything!” Héctor said righteously.

“Oh really? Because the evidence is staring me right in the face.” He pointed down at the guitar still in Héctor’s grip. When Héctor looked down himself he seemed to wilt a little at that in embarrassment.

“Oh… well, I… Oh!” Héctor held up the guitar. “No no, you don’t understand! I wasn’t stealing the guitar. I was preventing my son from stealing the guitar! Very different, you see? Heh heh… heh.”

Looking around at everyone in order to get some sort of understanding, he was just met with unimpressed stares. Gaspar snorted out a laugh. “Wow, Miguel’s a thief? What kind of parenting do you do?”

“I am a good parent! That’s not the point!” Héctor whined pitifully. “Look, I didn’t mean to steal it, alright? I had no idea this would happen. So can you please undo this?”

Chich gave a fake, simpering smile and laugh. “Oho, is that so? Alright, let me fix that for you with my magical powers, amigo. Abracadabra, oh look you’re still cursed. Lo siento.”

“This makes no sense!” Héctor cried out. “How does picking up a guitar get me cursed to the afterlife? Many people have picked it up and taken it away for refurbishing over the years. Is it just because it was on Dia de Muertos?”

“No, not exactly.” Chich explained. “Sí, it being Dia de Muertos does play a big part in this but simply stealing from a grave or an ofrenda won’t get you cursed by itself. Otherwise the whole department would be swarmed with little living babies who’ve swiped a candy or a galleta for themselves. No, the real reason you are cursed is because that guitar is cursed.”

Everyone turned to look at the guitar with newfound apprehension, with both Gaspar and Mirasol stepping back slightly in case the curse would spread to them. Leti nodded slowly with dawning comprehension, letting out a soft ‘ohhh’ in understanding. Héctor was honestly… not surprised. He knew that music was a curse to him and his family, bringing more misery than good and hurting him so much. The fact that it was Ernesto’s guitar, whose memory brought a good portion of that pain, seemed very fitting.

“All right then,” he said. “So… what do I do to fix it?”

Pulling out one of the thick books on his desk, Chich absently shrugged. “I dunno.”

“You don’t know?!” Héctor stared at him wide-eyed and sputtered, then immediately leaned over the desk in agitation. “What do you mean you don’t know?! Isn’t this your job to know or whatever job skeletons have?!”

“I don’t know yet, just give me a minute!” Chich barked out and shoved Héctor’s face back with one hand. He flipped through the pages quickly, scanning them over. “Living people don’t come and go through the Land of the Dead very often, you know. Luckily for you you’re not the first one, I just gotta find his file.”

“You mean this has happened before, Senor Chicharron?” Leti asked.

With a grunt and a nod, Chich didn’t look up from his book. “Si, some guy got sick and was stuck in Limbo. And then… someone in the department messed up his Limbo retrieval and he ended up getting lost in the Alebrije Forest. We got him out and back to the Land of the Living, but he ended up making artwork out of the damn things now the whole world knows about alebrijes and I… someone got reprimanded for the whole thing and had their pay docked.”

“Oh sí, Alebrije Forest.” Gaspar laughed nervously. “The only place here besides the Land of the Dead where alebrijes reside in their thick forest, with lush greenery and fertile soil that no skeleton is allowed to go to. Yep, no one goes there. Not a single soul.”

Chich shook his head in disgust. “Dios mio, everybody knows about your black-market vegetables in the forest, Rivera, and nobody cares! Case in point, I’d like some mangos next time you get some. Aha, here it is. The Linares case.” Finding his spot on the page he quickly skimmed it over and gave out another grunt. “Well this should be easy. The only way to break a curse is to get a blessing from someone.”

“A blessing?” Héctor asked, finally getting the answers he needed he smiled and nodded with excitement. “A blessing. Okay, who do I get a blessing from? A priest, a nun? I’ll take one from anyone at this point.”

“It’s de la Cruz’s guitar, so you need de la Cruz’s blessing.”

“I’ll take one from anyone else at this point.”

Everyone groaned in exasperation as soon as he said it, even Dante made a snorting huff at him. Leti looked up at him with disappointment. “Oh Papa. Why do you hate Tio Nesto so much?”

“I-uh… I don’t hate him exactly.” Héctor said. “It’s just, umm… I have a lot of mixed emotions about him, and we didn’t exactly part on good terms- Look, Senor Chicharron, is it? You seem like a nice guy, down to Earth, the kind of guy you could borrow stuff from. Is there anything else I could do to go back?”

“It’s de la Cruz or nothing, Rivera.” Chich said gruffly.

Standing up straight, Héctor smoothed out his jacket and started to give off an air of high importance. Something that did not suit him at all and he hated to do, but the situation called for it. “Uh Senor, I don’t know if you know me, but despite my appearance I am an extremely wealthy man. So here’s what I’ll do for you.”

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his leather encased checkbook and a pen. Scratching out the details onto the check, he pointedly ignored the way Gaspar slapped his own forehead loudly and how Leti looked up at him with disappointment in her large eyes.

“I’ll start you out with ten thousand pesos, sí? And if that’s not enough then you can add as many zeroes to the end as you want. The sky’s the limit amigo, now what do you say?”

Ripping the check out, he leaned onto the desk and held it out in front of Chich’s glowering mug and put on his best winning, charming smile that ended up looking more sleazy than anything else. It was clear to everyone in the room at that moment that while Héctor was the true musician of the two, Ernesto was the true businessman.

“Anyone ever tell you that you get stupid when you’re desperate, Rivera?” Chich asked, causing Héctor to wilt. “Look, you need de la Cruz’s blessing and that’s that. But you got to get it by sunrise and it’s already past eleven.”

“Sunrise? What will happen at sunrise?”

“Well, if you get your hand off of your attempted bribery of a public official you’ll see for yourself.”

Putting the check down Héctor saw what it had been hiding and what he hadn’t registered before. The rest of his hand was normal, but his index finger was… white. Dumbly he tried to wipe it off on his pants, but the whiteness remained. It was white and… sectioned. Also his fingernail was gone. And his… skin was gone. He clenched the finger and it responded normally, but the sickening creaking sound it made caused the blood to drain from his face.

It was bone. His finger was turning into bone.

He was turning into bones. Into a skeleton.

Bones. Skeleton. Death. Dying. Bones.

…..

“Wake up Papa!”

All of a sudden that horrible smell had assaulted his senses again and Héctor coughed and hacked at the burning sensation coating his nasal cavity. Mirasol was kneeling before him and pulling away the smelling salts from his face with Leti hovering over him worriedly. Mirasol sighed with relief. “It’s a good thing Barto gave us this. Turns out we needed it after all.”

Groaning, Héctor reached a hand to cover his forehead only to jerk it away when once again he saw the whiteness of bone on his finger. He just laid back down, wincing a little as it felt like he was laying on something sharp and lumpy like a pile of broken boards. “What happened?”

“You fainted Papa!” Leti said. “You’re eyes just rolled back into your head and you fell backwards like a tree!”

“It was the shock of it all.” Mirasol said, pocketing the smelling salts. “Honestly, I’m surprised you lasted this long without fainting.”

Héctor huffed out a short laugh. “I had good cause- Ow!” Shifting in discomfort, whatever he was laying was now poking at him in the back painfully. “Why didn’t anyone catch me? And what am I laying on?”

“Me.”

The pained, grunted out voice in his ear caused Héctor to scramble up and off his irritated father-in-law in surprise. With a grimace he took him Gaspar’s scattered form and reached out his hands to help, only drawing back when he realized he didn’t know where to start. Apparently Gaspar had tried to catch him when he had fallen, but his height and weight had been to much for the shorter skeleton and pieces of him were now strewn about the office floor. His skull lay there on his own, glowering unamused as his wife and granddaughter tried to stifle their giggling and Héctor lay hovering but not helping. “You are heavier than you look, yerno.”

Héctor chuckled nervously and gripped his forearm. “Yeah, I’m uh… dense.”

“Dense in the head too.” Gaspar grumbled as once again the bones began to wobble on the floor and magically grouped themselves together. Once he was in one piece he helped himself and Héctor off the floor, silencing his girls with a glare that spoke that this little incident was not to leave the room. Ever.

“Now that you’re done with your little nap, I have something for you.” Chich said.

Everyone turned to see Chich had gone to the other side of the room and had retrieved a large black guitar case from the corner. Pulling out the plain brown guitar and shaking out of few bits of knick knacks and trash he handed the empty case to Héctor. “I don’t trust you to keep that thing safe, especially if you keep keelin’ over like that. This way you can protect it since it’s probably your ticket out of here.”

With a nod and mumbled thanks Héctor placed the golden guitar into the case and made a move to close it but paused. “Why do you say that? I thought you said I needed a blessing from Ernesto?”

“Sí, I did.” Chich nodded. “But that guitar is probably just as important,. Because in the nine years that Ernesto de la Cruz has been dead, and the thousands of offerings he’s brought back from the Land of the Living since then… Not once has he ever brought back that guitar with him.”

Crinkling his brow in confusion, Héctor glanced at the guitar, then to his daughter for confirmation. With Leti’s solemn nod Héctor shook his head. “I don’t understand. He always performed with this guitar, even in his movies. He loved it. Why wouldn’t he have it with him in death?”

Chich shrugged emphatically and glared. “What are you askin’ me for, you need to ask him! He’s the one who can answer that. Now take that guitar to him, get your blessing, and get out of here. I’m too busy to deal with you anymore.”

Pouting Héctor closed up the case and slung it on his back. “Okay, okay. Sheesh!”

“Ay, puta de madre, one more thing: the blessing.” Chich said before they left. “de la Cruz needs to get a cempazuchitl petal and present it to you, call your name and say, ‘I give you my blessing to go home’ and then you take the petal. Poof, your gone.”

“…That’s it? I’m gone, just like that?”

“Just like that.” Chich said. “Now you can get out of my sight.”

Leti watched as he father and grandparents head out the door, pausing to talk about something that she couldn’t hear, and turned towards Chich with a smile. “You know this will be my third time helping Papa on Dia de Muertos. I don’t know what he’d do without me.”

“You should think about getting a little punch-out card.” Chich said with a smile. “Save your Papa five times and you get a free helado, sí?”

Leti laughed out loud at that, a sweet high-pitched giggle, and old Chicharon found himself smiling even more. The little girl always made him feel better, especially on a night like tonight. “You go on ahead with your Papa. If you need anything else don’t hesitate to come back. I’ll be here all night.”

With a laugh, Leti shook her head. “Well, not all night.” At Chich’s questioning brow raise, Leti rolled her eyes. “You have to go visit your family later. You always take a later shift, right? So the newer deceased can go first.”

“… Of course.” Chich nodded and rasped out a hoarse chuckle. “Of course, you know me too well niña. Well after that you can come see me, claro? Tell me all about how you saved your Papa yet again.”

“Okay! Buenos noches, Señor Chicharron!” Leti said as she left. “Enjoy your visit!”

Watching Leti close the door, Chich didn’t immediately start to get ready for the next skeleton to come in. He just leaned back tiredly in his chair with a gravelly sigh. Bringing his fingers up to his face he glowered hard and he could see the slight gray tinge to the bones. A grayness that had been getting steadily worse over the years. He could even make out the beginnings of a small crack along the index knuckle.

Then he looked down as his lunch kit, knowing that that for the first time in decades it held no offerings, no pan dulce, not even a plain piece of fruit. It was a new feeling for him: Not receiving any offerings, not having his picture put up, that angry buzzer that he had heard from a distance before now reverberating loudly and sharply in his memory. Yes, a new feeling that he didn’t like one bit.

Finally he looked around his office. How many days had he cursed that he had ended up servicing the ungrateful souls of the afterlife with little to no thanks or perks? Now he was looking around and taking note of every nook and cranny of the small room, inhaling the scents of old paper and black ink. And it made him even angrier that, eventually, he would be asked to leave this wretched job and never see this stupid room again. And that he’d miss it.

“I’ll be here all night.” He mumbled again to no one.

But for how long?

-

-

Walking outside the Marigold Station and back into the Land of the Dead, Héctor was once again blown away by the majestic sights of gravity-defying skyscrapers and strange animals, that he now knew were the aforementioned alebrijes, flying and buzzing about. There were even more crowds of skeletons dancing in the streets and selling their wares in vendor booths, laughing and yelling and singing. It was so different and yet so familiar it made Héctor’s head spin, and he couldn’t help but smile at everything around him in spite of his dire circumstances.

But nearby skeletons were staring at him and pointing again, and Héctor tried in vain to cover his face with the short collar of his jacket.

“We really need to do something about this.” Gaspar said as he glared at the crowds. “You’ve got to get to de la Cruz pronto and being stopped by these gawkers isn’t helping any.”

“Maybe we could go home and get your hat and scarf to wrap around him?” Mirasol suggested. “Or we could buy some paint and make his face like a calavera, so he’d blend in?”

Gaspar snorted. “There’s no way paint would be able to hide that protruding nose.”

“Okay…” Héctor faintly growled.

“We won’t have to worry about that!” Leti piped up, and Héctor once again found himself melting and smiling at Leti. It felt just so good to hear her voice again that it was almost painful, and he hung onto her every word. “If anyone tries to stop or stall us, Frangipani will get them off of our backs. Speaking of which, she will also be our transportation for the night. Just stay here Papá, I’ll go get her!”

Walking off into the town square with Dante panting happily behind her, Leti cupped her hands and called out to this Frangipani whoever, letting out a few shrill whistles despite not having any lips. Héctor’s chest clenched painfully as he remembered the day when he had tried to teach his children how to do just that, just the tightening of teeth over lips with no puckering. Leti had been the only one to do it, at the ripe age of four years old. He had been so proud.

“A word Héctor,” Mirasol said softly, breaking him out of his memories. “Before you two go.”

Héctor had to force himself to look away from his daughter, wincing and smiling sheepishly once his attention was turned to his in-laws. “Sorry.”

“No no, it’s all right.” Mirasol smiled. “We… know what it’s like to lose a child to death. Especially when they are so very young.”

Héctor’s eyes widened and his gasped softly. “You mean… Before Imelda, you lost-?”

“No.” she reassured him. “No.”

“My wife and I may have been the ones who died, yerno.” Gaspar said, for the first time sounding somber since talking to his son-in-law. “But we still lost all three of our children that day. Only it was worse since we couldn’t see them or protect them when they so dearly needed it most.”

“We wished so badly to be able to raise our children, and in the end we got that opportunity with our granddaughter. But… I never wanted it to be because you and Imelda and the family suffered such a painful loss. And for that I am truly sorry Héctor.”

Feeling that he may start crying again Héctor pressed his lips closed and looked towards his daughter again. Leti now looked impatient as she tapped her foot, an adorable pout crossing her bony lips. Apparently whomever this Frangipani was wasn’t coming when they were being called. It made him smile to see Leti so full of life again despite being dead, especially after seeing her as a hollow husk of her former self the last few days of her being alive.

“Well,” Héctor managed to finally say with a little hoarseness. “she seems to be well adjusted and cared for. Thank you for taking such good care of her. Imelda was right, you two are great parents.”

“So are you Héctor. You are a wonderful father.” Mirasol said, her expression sad again. “You just need to remember how to be one.”

His smile falling from his face and his eyes narrowing, Héctor suddenly didn’t like the turn in conversation. “What do you mean?”

“You know what we mean Héctor.” Gaspar said, and despite being physically twice the skeletal man’s age Héctor suddenly felt like a punk kid in front of his father-in-law by the tone in his voice. “We were there the whole night watching you blow it with your family. Making your grown children cry, making Imelda cry, and Miguel! The poor boy will be scarred forever from tonight and that is all on you! Frankly, I should have slapped you again for what you’ve done!”

Héctor’s face grew hot and the guilt that he had successfully pressed down from before came right back up, and he as he tried to defend his actions he sounded more miserable than truly defiant. “No, they… They kept secrets from me… betrayed me… I-.”

“They kept secrets from you because they love you.” Mirasol softly said, then sighed. “We may have only seen you one day out of the year during these last few decades, but we both know that this isn’t who you are, Héctor. You are sweet, full of creativity, loyal and very goofy. The same things I see in my husband, Imelda sees in you.”

Gaspar harrumphed at that. “Don’t compare me to him…”

“This downward spiral with the whole family started with Leti’s death, sí?” Mirasol asked. At Héctor’s small nod she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Then go. Be with her for tonight at least. It’s high time you finally heal. And with Ernesto too. Remember: we were there that night as well, mijo.”

That night.

Héctor couldn’t help but shiver when he thought about that night. The secrets that Ernesto had been hiding from him, the fight, being knocked out and locked up by his supposed best friend. All of the lies and betrayals that all ended in a bloody smear in a crater. The fact that they were there that night, that they bore witness to that terrible accident, made all the what ifs that he had suppressed for years come back again. If only he had been more attentive to Ernesto’s well being instead of his own, if only he had successfully kept him from going on that stage. If only he had managed to reach him before he hit that final note and the bell cracked loose.

He would still be alive.

Seeing the distress her son-in-law was feeling, Mirasol drew him into a hug and rubbed his back when he stiffened up. It should have felt weird: being hugged by a skeleton. But she was somehow warm and comforting, and Héctor found himself returning the hug and feeling a little better. A hand clapped on his shoulder made him look up, and Gaspar smiled at him little. His own little way of offering comfort too. Héctor was grateful.

“Oh there you are, you silly thing you!” Leti cheerfully said, causing the three adults to break apart before it got awkward. She came up to Héctor with her hands cupped together and smiled brightly at him. “Finally! Sorry for the delay Papá, but our ride is here now. Say hello to Frangipani, my alebrije!”

Opening up her clasped hands and presenting them to him, Héctor was shocked to see an elephant in his daughter’s hands. A pink elephant, to be precise, with butterfly wings for ears that fluttered lazily and green polka dots dotting her body. The elephant was also no bigger than a mouse. Héctor’s first thought was that this was the most adorable little animal he had ever seen in his life, and he couldn’t resist reaching a finger out to pet the little thing. He smiled when the elephant made a tiny peep! and wrapped it’s trunk around his finger. It was amazing and fitting that his daughter would have such a cute ally-buh-buh or whatever it was called.

But then he recalled what Leti had just said to him about it. And it made no sense. “Our… ride?”

“Yep!”

“… Mija, I know I’m a thin guy but if I ride that thing it’ll be an elephant tortilla soon enough.”

Leti tittered a laugh and lifted a finger to lightly rub the small creature’s knobby head, causing it to toot with contentment. “No no! Frangipani’s special, all alebrijes are. They can take many forms, do all sorts of cool things that boggle the mind, and not everyone gets them. Only those who need help when they need it, a spirit guide to guide them on their journey through the afterlife. Frangipani has helped me on many an occasion, you know… Wanna see her special gift?”

At Héctor’s nod, Leti whispered into the butterfly ear and suddenly they both began to flap rapidly. The tiny pink elephant left Leti’s hands and began to float hazily in the air, a high-pitched buzzing noise emitting from the ears. Héctor laughed as it buzzed a circle around his head, shaking his head in amazement. So cute. “Aww, she can fly… Still too small to ride though.”

“That’s only one of her abilities. Here’s the other!” Leti let Frangipani rest back onto her hand, and then began to wind up. “Frangipani: Grande Grande!”

And with a mighty swing Leti flung the alebrije high enough into the air until she was only a tiny pink dot in the sky. And then, within the blink of an eye, a giant five ton elephant came crashing down onto the pavement with a ground-shaking thud. Skeletons shouted in alarm and ducked for cover when the monstrous behemoth was suddenly taking up space in the plaza, and Héctor found himself stumbling back into his in-laws once again making a sound befitting a small girl.

Gaspar shoved him away and helped him balance back to standing position, and Héctor gawked at what had happened to the adorable little animal that seconds ago could have fit in his palm. It was still pink, at least, and the ears were still that of a butterfly’s. But the colors were harsher and glowed all over, the green polka dots had transformed into tiger stripes, the tusks were solid gold and as sharp as daggers at the ends, and the trunk looked like it could squeeze the life out of him faster than a python.

Not so cute anymore.

“Ta-daaah!” Leti grandly proclaimed as she went up beside her alebrije without fear, some skeletons applauding the spectacle while others put themselves back together. “Papá, this is the real Frangipani!. She can be as small or as big as she wants! A size-changer!”

Héctor placed a hand on his chest to calm the wild beating and sucked in a breath. “I… see…”

“And guess what?” Leti smiled. “Frangipani is the same elephant that Tio Nesto brought to Matty and I’s birthday party all those years ago! Remember?!”

As the words registered in his brain Héctor’s shock and amazement instantly turned to agitation and annoyance. “…You mean the same elephant that destroyed your gourmet birthday cake that I spent a small fortune on? And then sprayed me with icing and snot? That… elephant?...”

Frangipani, for all of her grandeur, seemed to deflate slightly at that. A lame wheeze of a trumpet let loose from her, and her trunk timidly poked at the ground in shame. Leti winced and brought a hand up to soothe her chastised spirit guide. “Uy… and I thought it was elephants that never forgot…”

Héctor sighed and walked up towards Frangipani, reasoning it would be silly to be wary about a seemingly wild animal when his eight-year-old daughter was hugging it. The long trunk unraveled and started poking around Héctor’s chest, the dainty upper lip of it managing to catch a sensitive spot and causing him to laugh. Gently pushing the trunk aside, Héctor cleared his throat and straightened his face. “Ahem… So this is our ride?”

“Sí.” Leti said from above, and Héctor was surprised to see that she was already on top and positioned behind Frangipani’s massive head. “Normally I’d have her grab you by your shirt and haul you up here, but you still have all your skin and organs so that would be very painful for you. So I’ll kneel her, you step up onto her leg, grab her ear and hoist yourself up. It’ll be easy!”

It wasn’t easy.

At fifty years old Héctor was not as limber as he used to be, and in the end he had to be pushed up by Gaspar and pulled by Leti to finally secure himself behind her. It was even more embarrassing when the normally clumsy Dante was able to hop up behind him with grace and dignity, panting and smiling with pride. Frangipani was also very hard with thick skin, and it took a few moments to position himself so that he was straddling her back with the least amount of discomfort.

“Oof… Oh!... Ay… Ugh, you’d think an animal this fat would be softer. No no no, wait! I’m sorry, I’m sor-!” But it was too late, for Frangipani’s trunk came up and blew a blast of hot air directly into Héctor’s face with a giant trumpet. It took a few seconds for his ears to stop ringing and his face to stop stinging before he realized that everyone in the plaza was laughing at him. Smoothing his hair back into place he pouted until Leti spoke again.

“Okay then, let’s take to the air!”

Wait what? The air?! The butterfly ears weren’t just for show?!

“Wait wait wait wait!” Héctor cried out before Frangipani could even move her ears an inch to begin flight. “I’m fine with riding an elephant, but flying is absolutely out of the question!”

“Aw, what?” Leti complained and Dante huffed in annoyance behind him.

“I agree with Héctor.” Gaspar said. “That alebrije is not the most graceful of fliers. I know from experience. You’ll be able to walk to Ernesto’s mansion in no time.”

“We’re not going to the mansion first.” Leti said, Héctor not seeing the conspiratorial smile on her face. “We’re going to go to Shantytown. Tio Nesto always brings his portion of offerings there first before the party and concert. We’ll meet him there!”

“Mija...” Mirasol sighed. “Are you sure you just don’t want to wait at the mansion first?”

“No, I don’t.” Leti said seriously. The tone in her voice troubled Héctor a little bit, it was not like his daughter to disagree with an elder flat out. Before he could question it, however, Leti piped out again happily. “Trust me!”

Mirasol’s face gave off a series of wavering emotions, clearly hesitating over whether this was a god idea or not. Finally she sighed and nodded, giving Leti a small proud smile. “All right then.” Looking now at Héctor, she continued. “Héctor, this may be the last time we see you for hopefully a long while. Good luck, mijo.”

Gaspar gave a short wave, smiling a bit. “Adios, yerno.”

Héctor nodded and smiled. “Adios. And thank you for everything again!”

With a gentle nudge by the ear from Leti, Frangipani started to walk slowly in the opposite direction down the street. Héctor jolted a little at the sudden motion and made a grab for his daughter to keep her upright, but Leti just shook her head and laughed. Several skeletons made way for the large alebrije walking through the crowd, and Dante gave one last bark at Gaspar and Mirasol as a way of goodbye.

When they all turned around the corner and disappeared, Gaspar sighed. “Do you really think going to Shantytown is a good idea?”

“It might be.”

“You know why she’s really taking him there, don’t you?”

“Sí.” Mirasol nodded. “But it might help. Héctor needs to heal from his past wounds. And if there’s anyone here who can help him feel better, it’s Leti.”

-------------------------------------------

“Why the heck would you want Miguel to go to business school, Papá? Are you loco?”

Héctor couldn’t help but be little offended at that. Seems like everyone, even those in the afterlife, thought that maybe some of his parenting ideas weren’t so great after all. Even Imelda had balked at the idea of business school at first before he had managed to talk her into it the night before. Though from the reactions he got from everyone else, the way they had ganged up on him about Miguel pursuing music, maybe… No.

“I don’t understand why it’s such a bad idea!” Héctor said as all three of then swayed back in forth as Frangipani weaved through the streets of the dead. “He’ll have a secure future, be able to provide for himself and his family. And besides Matty is a businessman and he loves it!”

Leti chuckled sarcastically and turned around to face Héctor. “Papá, I love my brothers with all of my heart, but Matty is a boring stick in the mud who collects coins and stamps that are, in his words, neato. And Miguel’s… not the brightest bulb in the city if, you catch my drift.”

“Oh, come on. Miguel is very smart.”

Leti rolled her eyes. “Just tonight I saw he and Victoria get into a heated debate on whether vitamins existed or not. And before you ask, he was against them being real.”

“Oh… I’m beginning to think I don’t know my own children.” Héctor said sadly.

Leti leaned back against him and hummed. “You used to… but think about it. Music was so engrained into our family for years. It was the backbone to our successes, helped us out through tough times. Even though I could only see him once a year I could tell Miguel was going to grow up just like you, a musician through and through. Then, all of a sudden, it was taken from him at such a young age. I guess that was when the secret-keeping started. You forbid something he loved and made him happy. Made others happy too.”

“I was trying to protect him from what happened to Ernesto!”

“Papá…”

“I was! You were there that night, right? He died on stage singing that dreadful song-”

Remember me…

Though I have to say goodbye

Remember me!

Don’t let it make you-

Héctor gasped as they passed by one of the apartment complexes on the street, one skeleton on a balcony languidly humming along to a radio blasting that song at full volume. Even worse other skeletons had heard it too and started to sing along with it as well. Once again Héctor’s insides clenched up until it was hard to breathe, his face grew hot, and his heart started pumping a mile a minute.

Shoving the heels of his palms hard into his ears and squeezing his eyes, he was able to feel that Frangipani had started to pick up speed. Leti must have urged her further to get away from the song as quickly as possible. Once they were at a safe distance Héctor felt Dante’s wet tongue lick his hands, letting him know it was safe to let his hands down again. He did but kept his eyes shut as he tried to will his body to calm down. Again Leti leaned into his chest and Héctor wrapped his arms around his daughter searching for comfort.

He was so ashamed.

“You really hate that song, don’t you Papá?”

His voiced trembling more than he wished it too, Héctor rasped out. “I… can’t stand it…”

“That’s very sad.” Leti said. “You used to love that song, especially since you wrote it out of love for Coco.”

“I can’t feel the love anymore.” Héctor whispered. “Only pain… and death.”

“… It’s because of me too, right?”

Héctor didn’t say anything. Couldn’t confirm it, or rather didn’t want to. Because it was true. Two lives taken from him because of that song. Héctor just hugged her tighter, Dante whining behind him and placing his chin on Héctor’s shoulder. They stayed that way for a few moments, just Héctor holding her, before Leti spoke again.

“Well, I rather like that song.”

The bluntness coming from his daughter was so surprising that Héctor couldn’t help but huff out a small laugh, but he just kept holding her with his eyes closed.

“I remember my last day alive. I was terrified, in pain, could barely breathe. But you were all there for me, and I was so glad Tio Nesto made it to say goodbye. I couldn’t speak properly, but I wanted you to sing to me Papá. I wanted you to sing that song. And you did. You all did. It was beautiful, and it was the last thing I remembered being alive. It helped me pass peacefully.”

“I know you feel like the song took us away from you, but I like to think that it released us from our pain. You were right, I was there that night. I saw Tio Nesto was sick at heart, but he still sang that song one more time. But we’re not gone Papá, not as long as you remember us the way we were. Because now we’re not sick and dying anymore. Now we are free to FLY!”

At that word Frangipani’s wing ears spread wide open at rapid speed, and before Héctor had a chance to open his eyes the alebrije was air-born with one mighty flap and a whoosh of air.

Héctor once again made a sound that he was not proud of and held on tighter to Leti, trying in the back of his mind to convince himself that he was protecting her and not clinging on for dear life. There were many things he wanted to shout out, such as ‘stop!’, ‘I said no flying!’ and ‘wasn’t there a movie about this?!’ but all that came up was panicked screaming. Before long they were up above the lower rung of buildings and heading straight up into the air.

Gaspar was right: Frangipani wasn’t the most graceful of fliers. She had to dodge other buildings. Towers and cranes during her ascent, even ducking beneath an air trolly at one point. It was a little sickening as she looped around at all angles, and even Dante was trying to keep hold by biting hard on the back of Héctor’s jacket and clinging to the guitar on his back. And Leti just laughed and whooped the whole time.

“Don’t worry Papá!” she screeched. “We’ll be in the open air right… NOW!”

And they were. Now that there was nothing in their way the turbulence was gone and there was now smooth sailing. Héctor slowly released his death grip from his daughter, and Dante from his, when his stomach finally settled back into it’s natural position. Carefully he risked a lean to his right to look down below, and he gasped both at how high they were and how even more beautiful the city was from above. The lights from the streets illuminated the ground even more, and several more colors popped out now that they were free from the fog surrounding the flower bridges.

Amazing.

“Sorry Papá!”  Leti said as she spread her arms wide enough to simulate flying herself. “But Frangipani is faster in the air than on the ground, and you don’t have all night. Besides, it’s a much better view up here than down there, right?”

And as the wind blew in his air and he could feel the smile growing on his face in pure wonderment, he couldn’t help but agree.