The Character Corner: Esteban, Part One

 

Spill that tea, brah.

Before I begin, I feel like I should say these kinds of posts aren't really even true character analyses. They just cover what I think about a particular character, how the fandom perceives them and my thoughts on that, my theories and ideas for them and how they originated, and my preferred romances for them.

Now, if you think Esteban is evil or deserves punishment or what have you, then I'm probably not going to be able to convince you of anything or vice-verse (plus, you're more then likely gonna get really mad at me for several of the things I'm going to say in this post). You're better off going to go look at the 90,000+ Elena ship fics on Fanfiction.net and Archive Of Our Own. For those of you willing to listen to my TL;DR verbal diarrhea though, please continue.

(And yeah, I swear some in here.)

What a fascinating character he is. It's a damn shame that the number of times he's actually used to his full potential in canon I can count on one hand. He exists mostly just to be made fun of and for the other protagonists to be favorably compared to (and later, to serve as one of the third season's major antagonists). It would be so amazing to see a kids' show that says "It's okay to be introverted, and it's okay to be afraid of stuff, just as long you don't let it stop you from doing the right thing." 

Oh wait, I guess Steven Universe has done all that. Unpopular opinion time (which there'll be plenty of in here): SU, even with its flaws, is still a way better show then EoA is, IMHO.

Like everyone else, my first exposure to Esteban was in "First Day Of Rule". Right away I noticed that he wasn't enthusiastic or constantly smiling like everybody else was. He was grumpy and sarcastic, and it was kinda refreshing. He was different, and that made me want to keep watching further to see what was going to be done with this guy. Really though, in the early episodes, watching him turned out to be very cringey. No way around it. His depiction swung between being this Machiavellian schemer, right down to being shown skulking in the shadows in FDOR, to acting like this complete and utter doofus the other half of the time. What was that one episode where that dude from Satu was visiting, and Esteban was dancing around in front of him like he was having an episode? That's the kind of cringe I'm talking about. I'm not sure what the writers were going for, but the show felt like a knock-off of Sofia The First (Cedric = Esteban, Sofia = Elena), and I actually l feel like the latter is the better series.

Things did start improving as EoA went on, as the writers did give him a few moments that cemented him as more then just "Cedric, but Latino" as well as the standout character of the series for me (off my head, the entirety of "King Of The Carnival", his interaction with Isa towards the end of "Three Jaquins And A Princess", to name a couple). I touched on this earlier in my story notes, but Elena of Avalor does have several episodes that I genuinely like, even now. I remember my saying at the subreddit that I was worried the writers weren't going to be able to sustain that momentum. And sure enough, when it got to the arc where a major villain came back, it turned out to be one disappointment after another. Then after four or so episodes of this they abruptly switched back to the slice-of-life style episodic storytelling without even acknowledging what had just happened. It was really bizarre, and to top it all off, these episodes ranged in quality from "okay, but I don't care about any of this" to completely pointless.

In general, I don't like the third season (wasn't the show always pushing "familia" and forgiveness before than?). I feel Esteban's characterization went off the skids there, plus they assassinated not just his character but Doña Paloma's as well by having them both team up to try and one-up Elena yet again, even though previously they both had respectively come to a better understanding with Elena. But nah, screw character development, time for some forced conflict instead! Or how Esteban was stated to be the guy who had held the kingdom together during Shuriki's reign? I don't like how the show retconned this and talked like he hadn't done anything in an effort to make him look even worse then he did already. And Victor was allowed to come back and be Mateo's apprentice? Did that seriously happen, or is that just fanon? If that is canon, then that's some straight-up bullshit.

At any rate, I think Esteban has immense potential if one just chucked the buffoonish stuff and gave him a more consistent personality. He's a compelling character because he's done legitimately crappy things, but also has genuinely sympathetic qualities, instead of either being all one thing or all the other. I think that people, for all the clamoring we've seen for years about wanting more complex characters, especially in Disney, ultimately just prefer simplistic characters with desirable traits in order to be able to project themselves onto said characters. I aim for something a little more complex in my depictions of Esteban while relying on the basic framework EoA gave us. If I change something, it's usually because I thought it was either dumb or goes against what we viewers were told before (I.E.: not having him be a dumbass in my storyverse. No, I still have not gotten over this man throwing unwrapped tamales into the oven).

But at the same time, I don't take everything the shows says super-duper literally either. A ton of it focuses on Elena and her POV, so even up to the end Esteban is still kind of a mystery (I mean, do they ever show what his parents even look like? We saw Elena and Isa's parents several times). Case in point, I know fans literally think Victor was his sole friend outside of his family because the show just barely touched on his childhood, but I don't buy that. In my AU, he does have more friends. Reserved people can have friends, even if it's just a handful of people.

I'll discuss another bit of canon I totally ignore. Remember when he prevented Shuriki from attacking Elena and Sofia in "Secret Of Avalor", then threw Shuriki's wand over to Elena? But oh no guiz, he's a huge coward, even though what I just mentioned indicated he's willing to act when his loved ones and innocent people are in danger. I also point to when those enchanted vines were attacking the palace, and he and Francisco were out there hacking away at them. In my fics, he's more super-cautious then anything. He's not about to pull an Elena and just run up on bad guys -- not before analyzing the situation or coming up with a plan first (so he has more in common with Isa then he does Elena), and that is if he just can't have the guards do it. There's nothing wrong with that Elena, that's what the guards are literally there for. *eyeroll* FTR, I also plan to play up an "opposites" angle between him and Elena in a couple of other ways: I.E.: she's a swordsman... girl, while he prefers the musket and enjoys target shooting.

I do intend for my Esteban to actually possess a sense of humor. We did see him try to joke around that one time with Isa in "King Of The Carnivale", and he's had some excellent snarky comments here and there, but otherwise, he was set up to be the humorless killjoy as yet another way to make Elena and the rest of the perma-happy characters look good (refer to Isa's reaction to his joking around). So I made him dry-humored to counteract that (plus I prefer dry humor and find it works really well in prose form). I think it fits his personality.

Now I'm going to discuss something I've seen in relation to Esteban on places like Tumblr -- the people who say that if you feel bad for Esteban, it means that you okay everything he did, and outright imply that you yourself are immoral for liking an "evil character". This is such a bizarre mindset. Yes, people should not idolize people who do bad things, but... Esteban is a fictional creation. No one was actually hurt because he isn't real, Avalor isn't real, etc. I've just been waiting for someone to come along and scold me for writing fics that are sympathetic to him (even though I don't shy away from pointing out his faults or how he did something terrible). as well as the elements of Catholicism, like I previously mentioned It doesn't help matters any that a bunch of people project onto Elena like an IMAX or view her as their fictional squeeze, so any slight against her must surely be one against them as well. Esteban did something that hurt Elena, and you like Esteban? Well, why would you support an evil murderer, unless... you're pro-murder?! Uh... 'kay. LOL. 

I think calling people like myself who sympathize with his story bad people is simply just a way for them to bully someone for liking a character that they hate (also, aren't these the same people who want Loki, Scar, CP9, and all those other bad guys forgiven?). Fandom purity culture really is all about control, entitlement, and getting off on putting your boot on somebody else's neck. It's sad that other people seem to listen to this rabble instead of just ignoring them, calling them out, etc. Unfortunately, most Esteban-centric fan art is located on Tumblr. I'm still trying to decide if I want to plunge back into that mess or not...

I consider Esteban to be a tragic character. He's this incredibly flawed person who's recognized his wrongdoing and struggles to atone (so yes, I do approach him as a repentive character, not as a villain or anything like that. Sorry not sorry, EoA fandom). I find that not only deeply gripping, but something to respect. He strikes me as being this isolated, lonely figure with no one around to really talk or relate to, even prior to falling out with his family. His "friends" in canon (and canon compliant fics) are people who I don't feel he has much in common with or even get him (Naomi and Doña Paloma). The person he's closest to is Francisco, and even then at times there's this gulf between them. I would really love to see more fics about his going on journeys of self-discovery and finding new happiness -- with or without his biological family (I love found family stuff too) and Elena's friends. I value things in which he does finally achieve real happiness instead of just continuing to live out his days in... well, I'd call it a purgatory. However, I've seen only one story to date in which I thought he succeeded in that regard. :(

I'm not close to my own family. I'm not going to get into why much further then that other than one reason for this is that I don't have much in the way of common ground with them. So I see where Esteban is coming from when he feels like he's only second-best compared to Elena and such. That's not a good feeling to have. And it's not that hard for me to look at his relatives and go, "Yeah, they probably did some crappy stuff to him." Not outright abuse, but Esteban was expected to go along with the program with no fuss. Add in the factor of my interpretation of Esteban being gay (per my main series, anyways) and a bit of an oddball, and that just adds more pressure on him. Sounds like EoA was like, "Well, Esteban wasn't treated right... but maybe that's just how he feels and they really didn't anything wrong!" Y'know, that half-assed fence-sitter way of trying to absolve them of any wrongdoing while not outright condemning Esteban for his feelings either. Because God forbid the protagonists you want the audience to like have any imperfections or make any mistakes. Look, it's okay for your main characters to have flaws. Really. That just makes them more interesting. I'm tired of the fanbase ignoring all their missteps while constantly condemning Esteban for his. I don't go along with the "perfect wonder family" portrayal the show uses, and I do intend to explore that further (especially Lucia, who the writers seemed scared to make anything less than "awesome grandma").

Speaking of the f-word, whew boy... well, if you've gotten this far and you're not pissed at me yet, then good for you. 'Cause you might get mad about what I'm going to say next. In terms of storytelling, I feel the family honestly holds him back a lot of the time. What I mean is that he can't go places or undergo his own character journey (literal or otherwise) because his identity is tethered to them. I'll be blunt: they're not why I watched EoA. Never have been. I've gone off Luisa's character since the third season and have never cared for Elena (although I tried to in the beginning), to mildly put it. But Francisco is fine and I don't mind Isa too much, although I do think her episodes are boring. Sorry. Neutral towards Raoul and Lucia, since they're just blank slates. So that's why I don't romanticize or fixate on the Castillo-Flores like fandom does. I get that family is one of EoA's major themes, but I'm not really interested in them. I don't even want Elena or Luisa to die or anything like that. My reaction to them is just "Go away. You two are really annoying and taking attention away from my favorite character." (The rabid Elena stans do not help her case any in my eyes.)

I haven't seen any fans discuss the fact that Esteban knows how to pickpocket, or can dance his way through the booby traps in the royal treasury because he literally designed them himself (who taught him how to build booby traps in the first place?? That's both insane and amazing), his time in Satu, or other ideas delving into who he is (there is one specific thing I could add here, but I'm not gonna say what because it'd spoil upcoming stories. It's something I've NEVER seen anyone ever bring up in relation to Esteban). All that stuff could be very easily mined for new story material, but people ignore it because everything has to be all about his relationship to his family, Naomi, Victor, Armando, and Doña Paloma. Granted, yes, his earlier betrayal is a very interesting bit of character drama and relates to his family. But the family should not define who he is.

I circumvent this issue by giving Esteban his own corner of Avalor/the EverRealm to actually evolve in, as well as a cast of supporting characters and friends uniquely his own -- not his relatives, not Elena's friends, not the servants, but his own (though that isn't to say that these new characters aren't also friends with or won't become friends with the other protagonists). Also, I find it pretty weird that we have a nearly sixty-year old man often running around with teenagers. Naomi, Mateo, and Gabe are Elena's friends. No, Armando shouldn't be Esteban's friend either. Ugh. That's also why my EoA fics will either be AUs or crossovers. It's pretty easy to have Esteban mingle with completely new faces, instead of characters I'm bored by if not outright dislike.

I've seen at least two or three people pushing for him to get with Cedric, Armando, or Higgins. Even barring the age difference, those just aren't ships I can get behind. I'm not even against noble/servant ships in fiction, but in this case it doesn't work at all. For one, EoA had a whole episode demonstrating that Esteban didn't really respect anybody that wasn't nobility ("Finders Leapers"). And look at Esteban. I admit this is just how I see the character, but everything about him suggests somebody who'd appreciate a partner not only on his level intellectually, but was attractive as well. Armand and Higgins are certainly neither of those things. I'm sorry, but they're not. What would Esteban even have to talk about with either guy? And Cedric, while brainy, ain't exactly a looker. Maybe I'm the wrong person to be saying this, but I really don't understand why some EoA fans are so fixated with minor characters like Armando either.* He's just a really bland stock character. At least with, say, My Little Pony, fans can take minor characters like Yona the yak or that one pony that DJs (Vinyl Scratch) and make up some crazy backstory and stuff for them. I feel like things are so much more limited with Armando.

Also, the same person who was pushing for an Esteban/Armando ship said that the royal family needed to be overthrown, because they equate monarchy with a benevolent dictatorship (if you don't like monarchies, then why watch a show about princesses in the first place, lol?). But you're perfectly fine with a nobleman having a romantic relationship with a servant who is very much a submissive, subservient yes-man to him? Like, no troubling power balance dynamics there? I mean, sorry person if you ever happen to stumble over this, but your logic genuinely baffles me.

The logic for Esteban/Cedric seems to be "OMG they both have issues with the rightful rulers!!!", but that seems like a pretty shallow basis for a romance. Is there anything more to this ship then them discussing their pasts? Why on earth would they even be drawn to each other (honestly, I don't think they'd care for one another very much if at all).

I really do hate that so many fans nowadays are so adverse to OCs -- limiting the options for romantic partners solely to other characters from EoA and StF. I've yet to see any canon ship for Esteban that I've liked. "Incestuous" is the the wrong term to use for it (well, not for the folks who actually want to have him to get together with Elena -- which I can't even with), but these pairings do tend to feel hella contrived for one. I just don't get people who want him to be with Naomi, and most of them aren't even trying to use some sort of AU scenario. Like... this is why bringing OCs in would be welcomed with open arms, so that we're not shipping teens with (near) 60 year olds/or blood relatives. I have seen a few Esteban/OC fics and so far, one piece of fan art (which is pretty cute) though. The fics themselves are a mixed bag of promising and then not very good.

This is why I have a strong preference for bringing in characters from others canons or OCs as friends/love interests for Esteban. Actually, one canon character I'd love to see him with is Baileywick. That could be interesting. He is a servant and average-looking, yes, but he's also a cultured, intelligent dude. He's cooler-headed then Esteban is as well as more down to earth, which I think are two good qualities for a partner of Esteban's to possess. And no, it would not be an insta-love situation for either, but a slowburn situation. At least that's how I'd play it anyways.

Also, not gonna lie, but Esteban is good-looking... for a cartoon character, lol. And I'd definitely add his voice to the list of reasons why Esteban appeals to me. Christian Lanz did such a great job with him. I wonder if I'm the odd person out in that I actually pay attention to characters' voices and feel that a talented, fitting voice actor is just as important as a good design and personality?  

Addendum: In my fics, Esteban's last name is not Castillo-Flores. That's Elena and Isa's last name. Since Spanish surnames combine the mother's first surname and the father's first surname, it'd have to include his dad's surname. And since the father is a non-entity in the cartoon, I decided to make his surname Bandera-Mazariegos. So Esteban's surname in my works would be Bandera-Castillo.

*You wanna write about Esteban hooking up or whatever with Armando, Naomi, Shuriki, etc, or like the idea of such? Hey, you do you. But none of those relationships jive with me.