What Else Can I Do? | Isabela's Villain Song

What Else Can I Do?

A/N I'M WORKING ON AVATAR KUVIRA, I SWEAR!!!

Stupid sister, stupid Mirabel, stupid engagement, stupid powers-

Never do the unexpected

Why? Why had all of this happened? Isabela had done everything Abuela had ever asked of her. She'd thrown away her life, suppressed her personality, limited her powers, agreed to marry a man she'd never loved-

Stand up straight
Stick it through

Isabela took a deep breath and looked into the mirror. She forced herself to smile, to stand up straight, to be perfect. But her smile wilted like a tortured flower.

Uphold the family that hurts and harms
And asks too much of you

Isabela wanted to scream and rage and cry, to let the thorns of her abuela's precious roses pierce her skin, a blemish on perfection. The ring on her finger felt like it was made of acid, a reminder of the life that had been forced on her.

Why didn't I get a choice? Why did I sacrifice my happiness? Why why why-

She nearly stepped on it.

Isabela frowned when she saw thorny green among the field of soft pink. She knelt down and touched a finger to the cactus. Cold elation shot through her as a droplet of blood hit the flowery floor.

This. She had created this. This had harmed her. This plant had hurt.

What else can I do?

Mirabel was running through the walls of Casita, desperately trying to get to her sister and mend the cracks in their family. Then she screamed as the crack under her foot widened into a chasm. She managed to pull herself up and stumble over to Isabela's room.

That was when the dainty, beautiful, serene, perfect girl on the door opened her eyes.

Bury weakness that exposes

As Isabela studied the cactus in her hands, reveling in the pain the spines inflicted, she remembered that this wasn't the first dangerous plant she'd made, though it was the first one that hadn't been thrown out by Abuela. 

Kill the wild, with a smile

She remembered when she was seven, when she'd first gotten her gift. How she'd loved running through the village with Luisa and baby Mirabel, throwing globs of mud, creating vines and thorns. How Abuela pulled her away, ordering her not to shatter the illusion of perfection.

Watch as wonder decomposes
How could you when I was just a child?

Six-year-old Isabela was thrown into her room, tears streaming down her face as Abuela slammed the door shut. She didn't understand.

Whywhywhy-

Support the family
Don't stray
Display
Obey
You must be perfect, oh!

That was all she'd done. That was all she'd ever do. Be the image of perfection. The perfect daughter of the perfect family, smiling as she rotted away inside.

You suffocate the ones you love, that's not just something you forget

How? How could she ever forget that? How could she ever forgive that?

Isabela laughed to herself. Forgive? That implied that Abuela would apologize in the first place. She would never. This was Isabela's rightful place, smiling through the pain, giving up her happiness for the well-being of the Encanto..

But I'm done with your games
I'll go my own way

But why? Why was this her duty? Why did she have to sacrifice so much?