An Encanto fanfic by ArcticVulpix.
When 5-year-old Mirabel unexpectedly doesn't get a Gift at her ceremony, Abuela takes things a step too far by trying to send her away, believing her to be a threat to the miracle. Infuriated by this, her aunt Pepa decides that if nobody is willing to stand up for her niece, she will.
It can be read on Archive of Our Own here
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For another Encanto fanfic by the same author, see Extended Family is Still Family.
She's Mine Then contains examples of:
- Adaptational Nice Guy: This story showcases much more of Pepa's protective and motherly side. Her fiery temper is turned into loving determination to protect her children.
- Adaptational Badass: ...and she's also a lot more willing to turn her anger into lightning bolts against those who threaten her or her loved ones.Mirabel: (sadly) Mami and papi don't want me anymore. Isa and Luisa don't either. Abuela said they're sending me away cause I'm dangerous. She said Tio Bruno left cause of me. No one wants me.
Pepa: Well, Mira. That's not true. Because I want you very much. And so does Camilo and Dolores and your Tio Felix. And I know that your Tio Bruno loved you so, so much. It wasn't your fault that he left.
Mirabel: (wiping her eyes) Really?
Pepa: Really. And I will zap anyone that tries to take you away with the biggest bolt of lightning you've ever seen. - Adaptational Jerkass: Abuela's obsessiveness that the miracle must be maintained and the family must do everything to help the village is ramped up, to the point where she tries to kick Mirabel out of the house after she doesn't get a Gift, and later demands that Isabela and Luisa do their chores around the village even when they are too sick to leave their beds.
- Chick Magnet: In his teen years, Camilo apparently has a lot of girls following him around the village.
- Dangerous Interrogative: The very first line of the story is Pepa furiously saying "What?" when she's told that Abuela is planning to send Mirabel away after she didn't get a Gift.
- Harmful to Minors: Pepa is not pleased when she finds out the local Gossipy Hens have been asking an 11-year-old Dolores about other people's sex lives.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Alma's justification for attempting to send Mirabel away when she doesn't get a gift is because it's "for the good of the Miracle and the Encanto." Pepa doesn't buy it for a second.
- In Spite of a Nail: Casita still falls despite Pepa's side of the family and Bruno doing what they could to stop it, as they and Bruno had all been on a camping trip for a week. It's revealed that it was because Abuela decided to start pushing Julieta's side of the family to take back on their original positions within the community, triggering an argument.
- Mama Bear: Pepa is unstoppable when it comes to protecting her children, biological or no. She flatly refuses to let Mirabel be exiled from the Casita and is not intimidated in the least by Abuela's attempts to force her to change her mind. She does not allow the townspeople to use Dolores, Camilo or Mirabel for child labor, either.
- Mythology Gag: After Pepa and Félix save Bruno from the cabin he was locked in following Mirabel's gift ceremony, he explains that he could never truly run away and would probably just hide in the walls, which is exactly what he did in canon.
- Nephewism: The premise of the story is that, after Mirabel doesn't get a Gift and is about to be exiled from the house by Abuela, her aunt Pepa and uncle Félix decide to raise her themselves.
- Not Afraid of You Anymore: Pepa makes it crystal clear that her mother Alma is no longer going to push around her or her own children.Pepa: I am not a child anymore. I am forty years old. I have a family of my own. Camilo, Dolores and Mirabel are my children. You have no say in how I raise them. You can suggest all you want, but I can ignore you as much as I want. The only people who have a say in how they're raised are Felix and I.
- Oblivious to Hints: Alma somehow missed all the hints that Mariano and Dolores had fallen in love and were dating until she reveals to her family that she plans to hook him and Isabela up, at which point it is spelled out for her what she has missed.
- Parents Know Their Children: Even when Camilo shapeshifts into Mirabel, Pepa and Félix can still tell their children apart.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: After being taken into Pepa's side of the family, Mirabel switches from wearing blue like her parents and sisters to orange and yellow like her aunt, uncle and cousins.
- Too Unhappy to Be Hungry: After being disowned by her parents, sisters and grandmother, 5-year-old Mirabel stops eating regularly, but Pepa is determined to put an end to it.
- Wham Episode: Chapter 11, "Sick" — Isabela reveals that she and Luisa never stopped loving Mirabel and didn't want her to stop being their sister, but they could not go against Abuela's word and they have been miserable ever since after losing her.
- Useless Bystander Parent: Although Agustín and Julieta are clearly devastated by Abuela wanting to send Mirabel away, they can't bring themselves to go against the family matriarch's decision. Pepa is so infuriated by this that she decides to adopt Mirabel herself.
