Tainted Mirabel

> *"I’m sorry Casita, but if I can’t get a gift, then no one can."*
>
>

Tainted Mirabel is the AU version of the character Mirabel from *Encanto*.

She is the result of Mirabel having enough of the pressure that her family has forced upon her, and cutting ties with the Madrigals.

## Backstory

Mirabel Madrigal is the only member of the Madrigal Family who was not blessed with a gift during her gift ceremony, instead she uses her creativity and cheerful personality to become the support of her family’s foundation, longing to get her family’s approval. However, her Abuella Alma constantly disregards her, and is too hard on her due to lacking a gift, so it becomes difficult for her to gain the approval of her family, and she instead begins to long for a gift.

She notices cracks in the Casita, so she embarks on a quest to find the cause. It is revealed that there are two ways that it could end, Mirabel fixing her family, or her being the one to cause it to fall apart. In this ending, Mirabel doesn’t get to meet Bruno to explain the vision, and instead accepts that her future self is willing to destroy the Encanto, knowing well that it’s her future self having enough of the constant pressure her family has put to her. During the destruction of the Casita, the Miracle Candle falls on Mirabel’s face, causing her to become blind.

After the fall of Casita, Mirabel decides to permanently leave the Encanto after all the pressure that her family has built upon her. As a result, without Mirabel bringing the family together, and realizing her self-worth, the miracle is destroyed forever, leaving the rest of her family powerless. She learns to use echolocation, with the help of some of Bruno’s sand which she has kept inside her bag.

## Appearance

Tainted Mirabel is a corrupted version of her original self, her face burnt by the wax of the Miracle Candle, leaving her fully blind. She no longer needs to wear her glasses, but chooses to keep them. She also wears a purple ruana with a hood. Instead of butterflies, her motif is now dragonflies.

## Personality

Instead of her usual cheery self, Tainted Mirabel is a worn down, and tends to avoid people with powers, due to the trauma caused by her family. However, she tries to get along with them. She has grown an attachment for people without powers, as she finds them alike to her. She is still trying to gain approval, this time from the Bad End Friends. Deep inside, although she wants to get past this, and wants to make friends with powerful people, like she used to with her family, she has a deep resentment and wants to find a way to get rid of magic and powers entirely. However, this is suppressed by her genuinely wanting to start over, seeing the Bad End Friends as her new family. There is still a part of her that wants to get powers, but this is rarely shown, and she hides it deeply.

## Abilities

Mirabel is hinted to be the living embodiment of the miracle, however, she does not realize this, and therefore cannot use her full potential. Hinted to be the Miracle Candle’s successor, Mirabel should theoretically possess most, if not all the abilities the miracle possesses, such as bestowing gifts. Other than that, she has the ability to connect with people, which is passively enhanced by her miracle’s guidance.

* **Echolocation**: Mirabel has learned to use echolocation, and she uses the sand to help her visualize objects.
* **Miracle Bestowal**: As the embodiment of the miracle, and the candle’s successor, Mirabel has the ability to bestow miracles. Although she doesn’t realize it, Mirabel is called the “real gift” by Bruno, and if she had took the alternative path, she would have restored the miracle by bringing her family together. Since she no longer has the energy to bring together her “family”, she cannot activate this ability. However, she sometimes inadvertently activates a degree of this ability, as she is able to empathize with people in a way that no one else can, often assisted by the light of being the embodiment of the miracle to symbolize lighting up their mood.

Mirabel has developed some skills in her indecisive quest to destroy the source of all powers and magic, and carries some of Bruno’s broken glass to use for self-defense, as she has grown paranoia for people with powers.

## Behind the Scenes

Encanto is an American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.

To watch Encanto, or support its creators, you can watch it on:

* Disney+

## Trivia

* Her name “Mirabel” sounds like miracle, hinting at her being the actual “miracle” as the foundation of her family, or at least, the one to take the role after the original Miracle Candle is put out.
* Art by ssuzu and c-rose2081.