History Fanfic / DownToDust

* ForgivenButNotForgotten: Despite being murdered by him in the past, Héctor (after seeing [[GenerationXerox Socorro and Cheque's friendship]]) realizes that he still cares about Ernesto and wants for him to let go of his depression and start over a new leaf. However, he also states that he will never forgive Ernesto for murdering him and a part of him still resents him somewhat. At the epilogue, he states that he doesn't want Ernesto to get involved with the Riveras, but he still allows Cheque to visit him, since they're related and Ernesto cares about the boy. Despite the epilogue showing that they've starting to slowly getting along again, it's clear that their friendship will never be the same.

Has a side story, named ''Fanfic/TheHeavenAndEarthSeries''. It focuses on the adventures of Héctor and Ernesto as children. LighterAndSofter than the main story, but with foreshadowing and a ForegoneConclusion.

* HopeSpot: When Cheque dies, the dead Riveras are willing to adopt and treat him as one of their own after Socorro tells them about him. Things go to hell after they find out he's been faking his mutism and he runs away, believing that Socorro resents him.

* ArcWords: ''"You thought he would never, until he did"'' Socorro says it to herself after she finds out the most negative traits about Cheque and realizes she didn't knew him as much as she thought making Héctor realize he didn't knew Ernesto as well, considering they were best friends, but Enresto still killed him in the past anyway. Héctor repeats it at the end of the fic [[spoiler: when he finds out Ernesto is suicidal and wants the final death.]]

* ArcWords: ''You thought he would never, until he did.'' Socorro says it to herself after she finds out the most negative traits about Cheque and realizes she didn't knew him as much as she thought making Héctor realize he didn't knew Ernesto as well, considering they were best friends, but Enresto still killed him in the past anyway. Héctor repeats it at the end of the fic [[spoiler: when he finds out Ernesto is suicidal and wants the final death.]]

* ArcWords: ''You thought he would never, until he did.''

* DeathOfAChild: The 2nd chapter has [[spoiler: Socorro's friend Cheque being run over by an out of control truck.]]

* HatesBeingAlone: Cheque grew up without friends, was abandoned by his father, and was separated from his mother at a young age. He had nobody to talk to throughout most of his childhood except his best friend Socorro (and they're eventually separated once Cheque dies and ends up in the land of the dead). One reason why he puts up with [[ItsAllAboutMe Ernesto]] is because he's the closest family he's ever had.

* ItsPersonal: Coco's is shown to have a deep rooted hatred for Ernesto for tearing apart her family and leaving them to suffer for so many years. [[spoiler: She's even willing to talk back to her own mother so she can go speak to Ernesto in person after they corner him. And she's genuinely grateful when Ernesto agrees to send Socorro back to the world of the living.]].

-->"That’s what you get for buying cheap fakes. What model was it, Reloj de la Cruz?"

* WhyCantIHateYou: At the beginning of the story, Héctor understably resents Ernesto and wants to see him suffer and bring him to justice. It's after seeing Socorro and Cheque's strong friendship (which parallels his own with Ernesto in the past) that he realizes he can't come to fully hate his former best friend. At one point he admits that even though he feels betrayed and resentful, he still can't bring himself to hate Ernesto entirely.

* ForgivenButNotForgotten: Despite being murdered by him in the past, Héctor still cares about Ernesto and wants for him to let go of his depression and start over a new leaf. However, he also states that he will never forgive Ernesto for murdering him and a part of him still resents him somewhat. At the epilogue, he states that he doesn't want Ernesto to get involved with the Riveras, but he still allows Cheque to visit him, since they're related and Ernesto cares about the boy. Despite the epilogue showing that they've starting to slowly getting along again, it's clear that their friendship will never be the same.

* WhyCantIHateYou: At the beginning of the story, Héctor understably resents Ernesto and wants to see him suffer and bring him to justice. It's after seeing Socorro and Cheque's strong friendship (which parallels his own with Ernesto in the past) that he realizes he can't come to fully hate his former best friend. At one point he admits that even though he feels betrayed and resentful, he still can't bring himself to hate Ernesto.

** [[spoiler: Ernesto found a job crafting fireworks in Shantytown, but it's clear he still can't forgive himself for his actions and after losing his fame, believes he deserves to die. He tries to commit suicide by not crossing the bridge after dia de muertos, but realizes that Cheque would be sad if he died and doesn't go through it. He also finally apoligizes to Héctor for mudering him in the past, finally giving Héctor the closure he wanted.]]

** [[spoiler: Socorro and Miguel continue their happy daily lives, with him being a musician. It's revealed she set up an ofrenda for Cheque and they spend a day together during dia de los muertos. She also sets up an ofrenda for Ernesto so he wouldn't vanish, but he rejects it out of spite and his increasing suicidal thoughts.]]
** [[spoiler: Cheque is officially adopted into the Rivera household. However, he constantly sneaks sometimes to visit Ernesto at Shantytown.]]
** [[spoiler: Héctor finds about Cheque's escapades but decides not to tell his family (for now) and accompanies Cheque to see Ernesto. It's shown that after finally [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calling out Ernesto's actions in Chapter 11]], Héctor and Ernesto have started to rekindle their friendship.]]

* ForgivenButNotForgotten: Despite being murdered by him in the past, Héctor still cares about Ernesto and wants for him to let go of his depression and start over a new leaf. However, he also states that he will never forgive Ernesto for murdering him and a part of him still resents him somewhat. At the epilogue, he states that he doesn't want Ernesto to get involved with the Riveras, but he still allows Cheque to visit him, since they're related and Ernesto cares about the boy. Despite the epilogue showing that they've starting to slowly rekindle their friendship, it's clear that it will never be the same.

--->''"You thought he would never, until he did"''

Has a prequel fic, named ''Fanfic/TheHeavenAndEarthSeries''.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: Socorro succesfully returns to the land of the living. She continues her normal lives with Miguel and makes an ofrenda for Cheque and Ernesto so they wouldn't vanish. Cheque is officially adopted by the Riveras, but he sneaks sometimes to visit Ernesto. And Ernesto isn't suicidal anymore, having learned to care and love Cheque.]]
* EntitledToHaveYou / DisproportionateRetribution: [[spoiler: What got Hector killed in the past. Héctor decides to stand up to Ernesto and put his own wishes (to return with Imelda and Coco) instead of what Ernesto wants for him (to continuing being a musical duo). Ernesto considers this a horribly cruel act of betrayal that Héctor must be ''killed'' for.]]

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: In Ernesto's mind, he justifies himself murdering Hector and stealing his songs since he provided the world with the music that they loved and enjoyed for nearly a century.

* NeverMyFault: In Ernesto's view, his murder of Héctor is a perfectly rational and reasonable consequence of Héctor choosing his faimly over him and betraying his own dream to be a famous musician. [[spoiler: Only at the epilogue does he apologize for any of the shit he's caused.]]

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: [[spoiler: Hector gives a well deserved one to Ernesto in Chapter 11, calling him out on his [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish behavior and how he framed himself as the victim for so many years]], and how he resorted to [[IfICantHaveYou killing Hector because he refused to stay by his side and help his [Ernesto's] dream instead preferring to go back to his family]]. It's only after Héctor says he always had faith in him and genuinely believed Ernesto could become succesful on his own that Ernesto starts regretting all he's done.]]

** ReformedButNotTamed: [[spoiler: Ernesto at the end of the story. Even though [[MoralityPet Cheque's inconditional]] love and [[WeUsedToBeFriends Héctor's forgiveness]] were the reason he softened up, he still remains aloof and distant toward everyone else and hateful towards the rest of the Riveras. Even after it's clear to everyone that Ernesto is a far cry from his sociopathic old self, he still claims to be a bad person.]]

* EntitledToHaveYou: [[spoiler: What got Hector killed in the past. Héctor decides to stand up to Ernesto and put his own wishes (to return with Imelda and Coco) instead of what Ernesto wants for him (to continuing being a musical duo). Ernesto considers this a horribly cruel act of betrayal that Héctor must be ''killed'' for.]]

* ForgivenButNotForgotten: [[spoiler: While Ernesto redeems himself by giving Socorro the blessing she needed, in the end he's still despised by the land of the dead and the Riveras (except [[OnlyFriend Héctor]]). He's surprisingly okay with this, as he has learned to love and care for his great-great grandson Cheque, giving him a reason to continue living.]]
* GenerationXerox: After the reveal that [[spoiler: Cheque is Ernesto's great-great-grandson, the Rivera ancestors become worried that history will repeat itself with Cheque and Socorro filling the roles of their great-great-grandfathers, particularly of Cheque harming Socorro out of spite.]].

* [[LikeFatherLikeSon Like Grandfather Like Grandson]]: 7 years after the epilogue, Miguel is living his dream of being a musician and writing his own songs, much like Papa Hector. Unlike Papa Héctor though when he first started, Miguel stays in close contact with his family and visits them on a regular basis.
** [[spoiler: When it's revealed that Cheque is the great-great-grandson of Ernesto de la Cruz, he is shown to have several of his grandfather's attributes such as his willingness to use lies to manipulate others and even brutal methods to severely harm anyone who stands in his way. Héctor becomes especially concerned about this, fearing that Cheque would betray Socorro, just like Ernesto betrayed him in the past.]]
** [[LikeFatherUnlikeSon Like Grandfather Unlike Grandson]]: And then averted in the end. [[spoiler: When Cheque has the option to make Socorro stay in the land of the dead out of spite, in the end he decides that his friendship with Socorro is more important that his resentment.]]

* {{Main/Flashback}}: There are several flashbacks that occur throughout the story that focus on the past of the deceased characters. Such as [[spoiler: Héctor having the courage to talk to Imelda in their childhood or Coco falling in love with Julio for the first time.]] And several call-backs to Fanfic/"TheHeavenAndEarthSeries", a prequel fic about Héctor and Ernesto's childhood.

** The stream, which used to be Héctor and Ernesto's playground in the prequel fic is mentioned....[[spoiler: The stream is gone and they built the road to Santa Cecilia on it.]]
** When Héctor is reminescing about the now unexistig stream, he remembers how Ernesto almost drowned during the events of ''"Presagio"''. He also realizes that Ernesto's nightmare (about being crushed by a bell) back then was a premonitory dream.

* {{Main/Flashback}}: There are several flashbacks that occur throughout the story that focus on the past of the deceased characters. Such as [[spoiler: Hector and Ernesto meeting Imelda in their childhood or Coco falling in love with Julio for the first time.]] And several call-backs to Fanfic/TheHeavenAndEarthSeries, a prequel fic about Héctor and Ernesto's childhood.

* AscendedExtra: Coco was always an important character in the movie, but now she's given a more active role here as she [[spoiler: participates in the search for Cheque and contributes to helping him learn about his family history]].

* CallBack: To the author's prequel fic, ''Fanfic/TheHeavenAndEarthSeries''.
** Cheque calls Ernesto "Neto", just like Héctor used to do when he was a toddler and couldn't pronounce Ernesto's name correctly.
** When Héctor and Miguel get lost searching for the stream, Héctor remembers how Ernesto almost drowned during the events of ''"Presagio"''. He also realizes that Ernesto's nightmare (about being crushed by a bell) back then was a premonitory dream.

-->'''Héctor''': [[spoiler: ''You did not make a noble sacrifice to follow your dream. You are a rat and you murdered me because for once I had the nerve not to put your wishes before everything else!'']]

* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: Socorro succesfully returns to the land of the living. She continues her normal lives with Miguel and makes an ofrenda for Cheque and Ernesto so they wouldn't vanish. Cheque is officially adopted by the Riveras, but he sneaks sometimes to visit Ernesto. Héctor has started to rekindle his friendship with Ernesto. And Ernesto isn't suicidal anymore, having learned to care and love Cheque.]]

** When Héctor finds about [[spoiler: Ernesto's suicidal thoughts and that Socorro set up an ofrenda for him but he rejected it beause he wanted to disappear, he gives him a CooldownHug to make him snap out of it, just like Héctor did years ago in ''"Presagio"'' to make Ernesto snap out of his prophetic dream about his eventual death.]]

* GenerationXerox: After the reveal that [[spoiler: Cheque is Ernesto's great-great-grandson, the Rivera ancestors become worried that history will repeat itself with Cheque and Socorro filling the roles of their great-great-grandfathers, particularly of Cheque harming Socorro out of spite. Héctor becomes especially concerned about this, fearing that Cheque would betray Socorro, just like Ernesto betrayed him in the past.]].

* [[LikeFatherLikeSon Like Grandfather Like Grandson]]: 7 years after the epilogue, Miguel is living his dream of being a musician and writing his own songs, much like Papa Hector. Unlike Papa Hector though when he first started, Miguel stays in close contact with his family and visits them on a regular basis.
** [[spoiler: When it's revealed that Cheque is the great-great-grandson of Ernesto de la Cruz, he is shown to have several of his grandfather's attributes such as his willingness to use lies to manipulate others and even brutal methods to severely harm anyone who stands in his way.]]

* UndyingLoyalty: Despite being branded as a murderer, Ernesto's chihuahua alebrijes continue to follow him and stay by his side.

* WhatTheHellHero: Imelda rightfully calls out [[spoiler: Hector after he lets it slip that he knew that Ernesto was hiding in the now abandoned Shantytown. She yells at him for keeping this information hidden from everyone, including her, for 7 years and now it's come back to bite them since it's given Ernesto the opportunity to harm their family once again.]]

** When Héctor finds that [[spoiler: Ernesto is a DeathSeeker and that he wants to disappear, he gives him a CooldownHug...just like he did years ago in ''"Presagio"'' to make Ernesto snap out of his prophetic dream about his eventual death.]]

''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/13333533/chapters/30521727 Down to Dust]]'' by [[http://pengychan.tumblr.com/ Pengychan]] is an ongoing fanfic based on Pixar's ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Coco}} Coco]]''. The story focuses on Ernesto de la Cruz after his crimes as a liar and a murderer are revealed to the Land of the Dead, leaving him as a hopeless wanderer with nothing to do but wait for his [[DeaderThanDead Final Death]]. But everything changes when he is presented with an opportunity to strike back against the Rivera family one last time for revenge.

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Ernesto needs a few tries before he correctly remembers [[spoiler: which of his romantic flings was Cheque's great-great-grandmother. Even after Hector brings her up by ''name''.]]

* GenerationXerox: After the reveal that [[spoiler: Cheque is Ernesto's great-great-grandson, the Rivera ancestors become worried that history will repeat itself with Cheque and Socorro filling the roles of their great-great-grandfathers, particularly of Cheque harming Socorro out of spite]].

* ItsPersonal: Coco's is shown to have a deep rooted hatred for Ernesto for tearing apart her family and leaving them to suffer for so many years. [[spoiler: She's even willing to talk back to her own mother so she can go speak to Ernesto in person after they corner him]].

* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Despite being branded as a murderer, Ernesto's chihuahua alebrijes continue to follow him and stay by his side.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: [[spoiler: Hector gives a well deserved one to Ernesto in Chapter 11, calling him out on his [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish behavior and how he framed himself as the victim for so many years]], and how he resorted to [[IfICantHaveYou killing Hector because he refused to stay by his side and help his [Ernesto's] dream instead preferring to go back to his family]].]]