Book of Life or the secret behind Joaquin’s color palette
Recently me and my friend @skimpilydressedwithanaxe were talking about how each reincarnation of Maria and Manolo have the same color palette present in their designs,for example Maria has (mostly) red clothes/accessories in each of her life:
While Manolo has black inclusions either in clothes or hair:
But then we noticed how we can’t say the same about Joaquin:
Out of all Mondragons reincarnations,his outfit stands out like a sore thumb,considering that he doesn’t wear anything dark/purple.
Knowing how important the color palette is in Jorgverse (term made by @phoenixlionme ,not me) we decided to analyze and come with different conclusions as to why Joaquin looks so different from Acat or Zoe.
1.The artists simply forgot
This one is self explanatory:the film crew were too busy with the plot then easter eggs.Some could’ve been unaware of the “reincarnation law” going on.
2.The change was put there to visually indicate the dichotomy with Manolo
During many instances in film Manolo is shown as the black sheep in his family,which is reinforced by the fact that his matador clothes are mostly dark.Meanwhile Mondragon’s bright uniform is another indicator of his status as a beloved hero of San Angel.Knowing the proximity of purple to black, the designers decided to change Joaquim's key color to something lighter.
3.Joaquin will embrace the purple in (hopefully upcoming???) sequel
It was said in one of Jorge Gutierrez tweets(or in Wiki if you’re too lazy to search for it)that the Book of Life 2 will revolve around Joaquin looking for his father in the Land of Unknown.That can also be interpreted as Joaquin digging up his past and rethinking his actions,which may lead to the palette change.
4.A symbol of breaking the cycle
The fans of Jorgverse may have noticed how almost all reincarnations of Joaquin are given the role of a “jealous third weel” ,trying to ruin or get between two lovebirds in order to have their crush all to themselves.But at the end of the movie,Joaquin comes off this path,deciding that the well being of his friends is more important that his ambition.So the blue in his outfit was given as the hint that he would feel different about Maria and Manolo’s union than his past lives,therefore the color change.
Writing prompt idea: Joaquin remembering his live as Acat
In many fanfics Manolo and Maria are the ones who realize about reincarnation,having visions or remembering everything after returning from the dead.However me and my friend @skimpilydressedwithanaxenoted how there isn’t any story on ao3 which features Joaquin regaining his memories of his past lives (this theory was suggested by tumblr user @a-little-ray-of-fantasy on their inactive Twitter account crazyyysoup and confirmed by Jorge Gutierrez on his page mexopolis).That’s why thanks to our brainstorming we came up with these writing prompts for everyone who wants to write a fic in the Jorgverse.
Angst(either platonic or romantic tres leches)
During Maria and Manolo’s wedding Joaquin feels some sort of bitterness and heartbreak that aren’t entirely his, but Acats.This may escalate to a full on visions about a life he never had,that stopped so abruptly after someone sliced through the body that doesn’t belong to him.Kudos for involving a ton of miscommunications between Mondragon and his amigos.
Fluff and humor
When Joaquin was getting a tattoo or doing an eyeliner(Maria taught him),he got a HUGE whiplash of his past lifes memories.Honestly dude would freeze for a good 45 minutes.Joaquin would probably try to hide it from his fiancés but seeing how his lies are falling apart like a sandcastle he’d try to joke about it,expecting his lovers to agree but then they tell him it’s not normal and something he might want to talk about.
(Reblog and credit if you wanna use it for your works!)
For all Maya and the Three fans,here’s a new AU-Parent!Mictlan-made by yours truly, @cadaver-moss and I
(This universe is connected to Trevors-Bitter!Dads(Bone and Skull are basically daughters of divorced Vucub and Chivo) and my headcanon of Maya,Acat and Zatz being a trople).
Part 1,Part 2,Part 3
•Wishing to harness the power of his sacrifice to the greatest,Mictlan decides to keep Maya in the Underworld,where she would train under Lady Micte and be spied on in case she would rebel.The only task for the god of war was not to get attached to said child,which he ultimately failed.
•It all started out of precaution:after his wifes surprise,Mictlan isn’t so sure about goddesses loyalty,which resulted in him silently following her, looming over her whenever she looks after Maya.It was disgusting,horrifying experience for the tyrant,especially the diapers one,but at the same time it made him warm up to the kid-after all,despite the heat of lava and biting cold it was still alive and kicking.Eventually he would even want to hold her-much to the charging of Micte.Apparently the reassurance that “he won’t kill her yet” didn’t convince her.
•Through the years,Mictlan grows found of Maya-a skilled warrior who in terms of combat does not reach only him,a person she calls “father”,unaware of the path planned for her.Despite the illusion of a happy family he created for himself,Lord of gods doesn’t forget the true reason he let the kid live:therefore,he never addresses her as “his daughter”, and except for the duels they arrange "to test Maya's power",Mictlan doesn't spend any time with her.This results in Maya thinking of herself as too weak,not worthy of her fathers attention,despite Mictes reassurance and vain attempts to make her daughter think about something other than fighting and murder.
•Mictlan would avoid talking about his plan to sacrifice with pantheon,to keep him image up in front of the other gods.If not for Goddes of Death interferences,Maya wouldn’ve been picked on by them,due of her status as “leaders toy”.
•The only friends she has are Acat with Zatz,who despite having feelings for Maya,are also aware of Mictlans influence on her.Because of that,she can be bossy and treat them as somewhat expandable,for which she later apologizes.
•Meanwhile,in the Kindom of Teca,King and Queen were contemplating about the daughter they never had,and how they would’ve celebrated her quinceañera.The conversation was overheard by Lance, Dagger, and Shield,who upon discovering the existence of their little sister, went on a journey to the Divine Gates in order to “save” Maya from the gods,which kidnapped her?Raised her?She’s half goddes???That’s confusing,but they’ll find a way to rescue their hermana!
•During the fight at the Gate(in which Maya was forbidden to participate but she sneaked up anyway),Teca brothers accused Mictlan of his want to use Mayas heart to become invincible.After hearing that,terrified demigodess momentarily distracts the pantheon and flees with three warriors,who claimed to protect her.
•Through their journey to Teca Kingdom,Maya gets to know her brothers,who are a bit put off by her blood lust but overall supportive,and starts to question whenever the mortals Mictlan always talked about really that pathetic? Upon meeting her supposed real father,she acts suspicious,hostile even,until she spends some time with him and Queen Teca,from whom she gets to know her origin.While being in her rightful kindom,Maya learned some patience regarding the people she loves from Queen,similar to how the later got to keep her cool with triplets; King showed her that she can fight honorably without unnecessary bloodshed,and still love every second of it!
•However, the moment of peace was quickly disrupted by the pantheon of gods, who, at the behest of their Lord, went in search of Maya.In order to protect their newly found family member the triplets go to the battle with their father,from which they didn’t return alive.That way Maya lost the first humans she really cared about.
•Around the same time,Mictlan stays in his kindom,deeply conflicted: on one hand,he lost his ticket to an infinite power,on the other-someone who he considers as his kin probably thinks of him as a monster-which he is,don’t get him wrong-but it still hurts a little.He doesn’t dwell for long however,as he gets ambushed by Micte and Camazotz,who’ve been planning to overthrow him all this time.Their sympathizers,Cipactli, Cabrakan along with Vucub,were sent to stop Mictlans band from doing harm to Maya and humanity.All the while Zatz and Acat were entrusted with a task to help Maya kill God of War.
•Meanwhile,grieving demigod finds the true prophecy and tries to requit warriors from different kindoms so that they’ll stop Mictlan,only this Maya does that first out of anger and need for revenge-for herself and her brothers-and later out of concern for human kind.
•The following events would occur in that order: Maya would lie to her team about destroying the Divine Gate while uniting each nation against their common enemy.The biggest difference would be her relationship with crew: at first,Princess makes it clear that she wants them as her fighting force, to which the Rooster Wizard loudly announces his displeasure while Picchu tries to keep an eye of the daughter of death. The first person who warmed up to her was Chimi,which absorbed every bit of information about Eagle Warriors mother.Rico and Picchu were more sceptic of their “leader”,but later witnessed ✨the power of friendship✨ and became besties.Aside from her team,Maya would be accompanied by Acat and Zatz,who were aiding her when needed.
•During their first fight with the gods,when Vucub is aiding Chimi,one of the Goddeses of Thievery is distracted by seeing her other father there,which was enough for Rico to strike her down,mistaking skeletons confusion for a want to hurt Skull Archer.When the other sibling sees this and rushes to her defense,she’s killed as well,this time by no other then Mictlan.
•Turns out that during his battle with his wife and Camazotz ,he started to think to himself-was that really worth it?These two are fighting for the sake of their children,one of which he saw growing up.Was this race for strength more important then a little warrior who wanted to make him proud?Upon that,God of War made his decision-he surrendered and proposed to Gods of Death and Bats to help look for Maya,in turn he stops his sympathisers from hurting her or her allies.Still unsure of Mictlans sudden change of heart,Micte and Camazotz took his deal on the condition that all this time they’re going to accompany him,that way they have a chance to stop him whenever he decides to come back to his old ways.
•After the explanation everyone agreed to send Mictlan to the most guarded room in the castle(even through the God of War opposed the idea,saying that “no castle can hold him” and “he needs to talk to Maya”,but after said demigod screamed at him to shut up or it would be her turn to eat hearts,he obliged),while Camazotz,Vucub,Cipactli and Cabrakan take turns to guard their self-made prison.After reuniting with Micte,Zatz and Acat(the young gods have helped through the battle),Maya gets to partake in the dinner scene,but instead of talking about defeating Mictlan,her three parents discuss how to stop Chivo,who upon seeing God of War celebrating the murder of his daughters,realizes the later won’t sacrifice the Eagle Warrior.As an act of revenge,he started gathering the remaining pantheon,claiming that if they’ll help him overthrow their present ruler,he will share demigods power with them.
•The day of the final battle came(most of the events play similar to canon,with addition of few characters).In desperation,Chivo started devouring the gods hearts in order to transform into his final form.During the fight Micte suggested to distract God of Dark Magic in order for Maya to strike him.Seeing how Chivo has already killed Vucub,Cipactli and Cabrakan,Mictlan decides to give his heart to Micte so that she can redirect Chivos attention from the demigod.Was it stupid and contradicted centuries old goal to world domination?Yes,but he can’t bear the thought of his little warrior losing a battle.After having his life sourse ripped out his chest,Mictlan apologizes to the Eagle Warrior for all the things she endured because of him,and how much he’s proud of her. May she live her life surrounded by people who are not ashamed to call her their daughter.
•While Micte and Camazotz fight the monster from the outside,Zatz and Acat hold the goats jaw open long enough for Maya to sneak inside.Witnessing the loves of her life being crushed between Chivos teeth made the Teca Princess all the more determined to end God of Dark Magic by striking him right in the heart.
•After reuniting with her living family and friends,Maya reincarnates into the sun,Zatz becomes the moon and Acat takes the role of a Guiding Star,similar to how she abandoned her unhealthy way of thinking and joined Maya.
(That’s it for the main plot of Parent!Mictlan!If you want to create based of this AU fell free to do so,just don’t forget to credit us)
Maya and the Three or the lesson in empathy and unity
After rewatching crying over this show I decided to pay tribute by showcasing its main motives-compassion and teamwork.
The true prophecy stated that each warrior from their respectful kindoms will combine their strength to save humanity from gods.But as it was later shown it also meant uniting all four nations against one enemy. By putting aside the mistrust that separated them,people of Jungle Lands,Kindom of Teca,Golden Mountains and Luna Island were able to drive Mictlan and his pantheon into a dead end.This wouldn’t have been possible without the protagonist Maya and her trusting her friends-
Family-
And her love-
Through the quest of finding legendary warriors,Princess of Teca learned to communicate with the ones she cares about,strengthening their bond.Without loving and relying on her team, Mictlan-whose deal is being the god of war,dividing people,hence the two-face-would’ve won.
Maya and the Three series beautifully demonstrated how you make sacrifices for the greatest thing in the world:love and trust,which you obtain with time and effort.
•In this AU Vucub and Chivo are divorced fathers of Bone and Skull, the later took custody of them.
•Chivo was able to create his and Vucubs kids using magic and a few bones from Mictlans undead army.
•While Vucub is certainly the mentory,nurturing type of parent, Chivo is the manifestation of“be gay do crime” and buys his daughters explosives as a birthday gift.No surprise that Bone and Skull picked Chivo as their favorite:)
•As chaotic as God of Dark Magic is with the twins, he used to be overly paranoid about everything when Bone and Skull were babies; Vucub had to assure him every five minutes that no,their children aren’t going to spontaneously combust if they’re held a little bit incorrectly.
•Although girls inherited most from Chivo, they also picked up a few techniques from Vucub, including how to get sharks to assist them in swimming or get seagulls to swarm the ship they intend to plunder. Of course, they aren't the most skilled with animals, but they can certainly bribe or persuade a fuzzy friend to help.
•Over centuries,Vucub realized that he lost that special spark with Chivo,so after a few sessions with God of Counseling,he suggested divorce. Chivo didn’t take it very well,considering that he still angrily reminds Vucub of “his betrayal towards their family”.Because of their constant bickering,God of Jungle Animals rarely visits Bone and Skull,despite the fact that he wants to.
•Whenever these two meet,Chivo goes out of his way to make everything his ex fault-from the low occupation of their daughters in the pantheon to the bad weather.Vucubs patience isn’t infinite,so in order to get out of the conversation he simply flies away.Because the audacity of that goat man-
• Through the years Bone and Skull only saw their fathers' animosity toward one another,in turn it led them to believe that this type of behavior was acceptable, which is why they frequently argue without cause and don’t know how to properly express their feelings.Here’s an example:
•At the final battle,Chivo confronted Vucub,screaming at him for siding with the enemy that killed their daughters.This was enough for the god to hold on his attack and be stabbed by Chivo right through the heart.
•While Maya had eyes on Zatz for a long time,she had some mixed feelings regarding Acat.On one hand,they should be rivals by now,since the later has a crush on Prince of Bats too,but on the other- it just feels wrong?Why should she choose between two people she deeply cares about?
•Eventually during their “fight for Zatz”(who wasn’t a big fan of such idea),Acat and Mayas agression slipped into flirtatious type of sparring, until they came close with their faces to each other and…kissed,which surprisingly cleared things up.A few days later,Maya proudly announced to all Underworld that she started dating the Prince of Bats and the Goddes of Tattos.
•Micte and Camazotz were very supportive because this allowed them to discuss the future rebellion withought interference of others ,but Mictlan wasn’t so thrilled.Not only did his little warrior chose the son of the treacherous general to be her significant other,but she decided to include this purple girl in the mix?The one who always clowns and questions his authority?!Nevertheless,as long as they won’t interfere in his plan he couldn’t care less(is lying).
•Their dynamic would consist of Maya as the chaotic gremlin,Acat as morally ambiguous,and Zatz as the last working braincell.Here’s the illustrated example:
