History Fanfic / WhateverItTakes

* DemotedToExtra: Ernesto de la Cruz only appears in the first chapter [[spoiler: and is then taken away by Pepita where he ends up experiencing the [[DeaderThanDead Final Death]].

* AssholeVictim: Ernesto ends up in Hector's original position; a pathetic, lonely, down-on-his-luck street urchin on the verge of being forgotten. But in all fairness, he did have it coming for trying to poison Hector so he could steal his songs.

* WhiteAndGreyMorality: When it comes down to it, Hector and Imelda's dark deeds fall on the grey scale of the morality spectrum. While their body count is high enough for them to reach serial killer status, they never kill for the fun of it. They only do so whenever their family is threatened and go for targets that deserve to die, such as conniving agents, deranged fans or sleazy/nosy reporters. And for the most part, they are technically good people since they love and cherish their family, both their immediate and descendant members, and they commit to the charity work they're involved in because of how much good it does for those in need.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_p6ct1xp6kb1rjtsneo1_r1_1280_0.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Artwork created by tumblr user [[https://lloronala.tumblr.com/ lloronala]]]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: After so many harships, Miguel finally remembers who he used to be and calls Héctor on his hypocresy and his murders. Victoria is institutionalized and Héctor is arrested for all his deeds. The reputation of the Riveras is in shambles now but despite everything Imelda and Coco continue to side with Héctor. Meanwhile, Miguel and Enrique live a peaceful afterlife in the land of the dead with Ruy.]]

* DemotedToExtra: Ernesto de la Cruz only appears in the first chapter [[spoiler: and is then taken away by Pepita where he ends up experiencing the [DeaderThanDead Final Death]]]].

* BreakTheCutie: Miguel suffers through this. He realizes that his great-great-grandfather went out of his way to murder someone and was willing to let them suffer the FinalDeath in order to protect his secrets. [[spoiler: Then Hector decides to keep him from escaping by trapping him in his mansion forcing him to die in the LOTD. Roughly 20 years of extensive and questionable therapy later, Miguel is no longer the same, cheerful and free spirited boy he once was and it takes him the whole story to get some progress of recovery]].

* DemotedToExtra: Ernesto de la Cruz only appears in the first chapter [[spoiler: and is then taken away by Pepita where he ends up experiencing the FinalDeath]].

* BreakTheCutie: Miguel suffers through this. He realizes that his great-great-grandfather went out of his way to murder someone and was willing to let them suffer the FinalDeath in order to protect his secrets. [[spoiler: Then Hector decides to keep him from escaping by trapping him in his mansion forcing him to die in the LOTD. Roughly 20 years of extensive and questionable therapy later, Miguel is no longer the same, cheerful and free spirited boy he once was]].

* DespairEventHorizon / EtTuBrute: Happened to Héctor after finding out that Ernesto wanted to poison him. Even when Imelda convinces him to murder Ernesto with his own poison, he's plagued with disbelief and denial. When he poisons Ernesto in self-defense, he took it so badly that he spent a year locked in his house out of depression, with Imelda becoming his LivingEmotionalCrutch.

* DespairEventHorizon / EtTuBrute: Happened to Héctor after finding out that Ernesto wanted to poison him. Evne when Imelda convinces him to murder Ernesto with his own poison, he's plagued with disbelief and denial. When he poisons Ernesto in self-defense, he took it so badly that he spent a year locked in his house out of depression, with Imelda becoming his LivingEmotionalCrutch.

* DespairEventHorizon / EtTuBrute: Héctor took it badly after finding out that Ernesto wanted to poison him. Evne when Imelda convinces him to murder Ernesto with his own poison, he's plagued with disbelief and denial. When he poisons Ernesto in self-defense, he took it so badly that he spent a year locked in his house for a year, with Imelda becmoing his LivingEmotionalCrutch.

* SecretKeeper: Out of all of her siblings, Coco is the only one who is fully aware of her parents' dark history and is willing to help them in their affairs to keep the family name safe.

* RomanceOnTheSet: An unorthodox example. Thanks to various circumstances, Imelda ended up becoming the main female lead alongside Hector in a romance movie called ''Nunca Sabes''. The two were already married but their chemistry and interactions caught the attention of the film crew and the audience. Their dynamic was so good that it ended up creating the 'Rivera Dynamic' which was a standard that many directors tried to achieve in their romance movies.

* Typecasting: Regarding movie roles, Hector's characters were always heroic, father figures with good morals.

''[[https://im-fairly-whitty.tumblr.com/post/172330347159/whatever-it-takes Whatever It Takes]]'' by [[https://im-fairly-whitty.tumblr.com/ im-fairly-witty]] and [[http://slusheeduck.tumblr.com/ slusheeduck]] is an ongoing fanfic based on Pixar's ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Coco}} Coco]]''. The story is set in a WhatIf universe where Hector was the antagonist while Ernesto de la Cruz became his victim. Along with focusing on Hector's, and by extension Imelda's, successes as celebrities it also portrays the dark deeds they performed in order to protect their fame and their family.

* VigilanteExecution: The only people that Hector and Imelda go after are only the ones that attack their family, such as Ernesto who tried to poison Hector or a deranged fan who tried to assault Imelda. Their karmic attacks are done with enough care that they manage to get away with their reputations untainted.

* [[TheManBehindTheMan The Woman Behind The Man]]: Hector may be the main face to the Rivera rise to fame but Imelda is the true ringleader behind his success.

''[[https://im-fairly-whitty.tumblr.com/post/172330347159/whatever-it-takes Whatever It Takes]]'' by [[https://im-fairly-whitty.tumblr.com/ im-fairly-witty]] is an ongoing fanfic based on Pixar's ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Coco}} Coco]]''. The story is set in a WhatIf universe where Hector was the antagonist while Ernesto de la Cruz became his victim. Along with focusing on Hector's, and by extension Imelda's, successes as celebrities it also portrays the dark deeds they performed in order to protect their fame and their family.

* AscendedExtra: Enrique Rivera, Miguel's father, is shaping up to be this [[spoiler: after his death in Chapter 4 and noticing the grim circumstances relating to his son]].
* BlackSheep: Rodrigo Rivera, the fifth child of Hector and Imelda, is something of an outcast among the Riveras. His relationship with his parents has and continues to be on the rocks and prefers to keep the Rivera family in general at arms length apart from him.

* [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Villains With Good Publicity]]: Hector and Imelda are adored by the world not only for Hector's music and the family's shoe business, but also for the vast amounts of charity works they provide. This even extends to the afterlife where Hector uses the gifts provided by his fans to share with the less fortunate souls with no ofrendas of their own.
* VigilanteExecution: The way the couple goes after a designated target. They manage to kill them in an accident style manner that not only keeps them from gaining suspicion but also make it look like the target brought it on themselves.

[[caption-width-right:350:Artwork created by tumblr user lloronala]]

* EvenEvilHaveLovedOnes: WordOfGod claims that despite their new roles as villains, Hector and Imelda highly value their family and only commit their sinister deeds if someone tries to hurt their family in any way.

* SecretKeeper: [[spoiler: Out of all of her siblings,]] Coco is the only one who is fully aware of her parents' dark history and is willing to help them in their affairs to keep the family name safe.

[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

* [[HypercompetentSidekick Hypercompetent Business Partner]]: Imelda becomes this for Hector when he gives his musical tour a second chance. She organizes all of his events and strategies for his public appearances. She even coordinates [[spoiler: how to deal with Miguel after he dies in the Land of the Dead because of Hector]].

* AdaptationalVillainy: The purpose of this AU is to show what life would be like if Hector, along with Imelda, were the villains of the story. [[spoiler: This also extends to various members of the Rivera family since they too are aware of and involved in the couple's dark deeds. Even Dante has a more serious personality from working for Hector]].

* [[HypercompetentSidekick Hypercompetent Business Partner]]: Imelda becomes this for Hector when he gives his musical tour a second chance. She organizes all of his events and strategies for his public appearances. She even coordinates [[spoiler: how to deal with Miguel after he dies in the Land of the Dead]].