#aldone

[levichouphys]

A Tumblr Essay in Response to Youtuber Aldone’s Video Essay Titled “Why Elsa IS A Bad Character”

This is the first time in forever I use anti-tags in this blog, but I have to protect myself. To be fair, this is Tumblr and you have full freedom to block me after reading this post, so bear with me.

And I will close the comment session for this one because I imagine I would be exhausted to deal with it in this particular post. Forgive me for my cowardness.

 Caveat:

Trigger warning: This post has mentioned misogyny, mental illness, and cyberbullying.

I should first explain my relationship with Frozen franchises. When Frozen was out, I was a little 13~14 gremlin. I seldom went to theatre for a movie in my entire life, and I am still the same now. In the 23 years of my life, I have ever gone to a movie theatre three times. Every other movie I watch is from DVD renting stores or Disney Plus. Therefore, when I watched Frozen 1, it was when our music teacher in the high school decided to play the film in the class as Frozen 1 was a musical (so it qualifies as teaching material in a music class I guess).

I am a cis woman who once succumbed to 1990s feminism—I refused to have anything to do with feminine qualities as I’ve never learned make-up and dress-up. So Frozen actually resonated with a part of me that I had never thought existed—I saw the girl who wished to be seen as more powerful and tougher in the characterization of Elsa in Frozen 1. But at the same time, the influence of 1990s feminism in me told me that I should feel ashamed for liking Frozen 1. I refused to tell anyone (including my family) that I love Frozen, except my closest friend in the high school.

Once, I had to confess to my younger sister because she found me drawing Elsa fanart. I confessed: “I love Frozen, yes. Your super masculine-looking sister loves Frozen. Could you let me be and don’t tell my Mom? I can’t deal with how she would think of me if she knows I love Frozen.”

I love Frozen. I love Frozen Fever. Olaf's Frozen Adventure is mostly repetitive for me but I still feel the warmth when the sisters sing “When We’re Together.” I understand there are flaws in these films, but hey, I have a fun time watching those films, and they would be a big part of my teenage years.

But I don’t like Frozen 2. I personally disagree with many of the creative choices in this film, which I don’t think I would go too much into in this post. But just so you know: I am an Asian and I once wrote Frozen fanfiction and did prompts occasionally on the Internet platform in my own country. Once my criticism of Frozen 2 was known by the Frozen fans in the Internet community in my country, I was cyber bullied to the point of depression and despair.

That is my story about my relationship with Frozen franchise. I believe Youtuber Aldone has his story of his…somewhat love-hate relationship with Frozen franchise told again and again in his video. (Yeah today I’m going to express my personal opinions on this video essay)

 Aldone, if you are reading this, I would like to say that the purpose of writing this post is not out of mean spirit or hatred against you. It is me doing the thing I am more familiar with—writing, to express my thoughts on your several points in this video. I think we can agree to disagree, it’s the purpose of a conversation even though we have never met. I appreciate your effort to put the original video together, as I understand how much work it takes to make a video because I have edited crappy videos for my school projects before.

But I am here just to provide my opinions, nothing more, nothing less. Perhaps by doing so, I can finally have more peace with a part of me that was once obsessed with this franchise. I could finally be free from the prison of this obsession.

And to anyone who cyberbullies Aldone after reading my post, I just want to say: fuck off from my lawn and you are the worst.

Then shall we begin?

 Pardon me for not quoting Aldone’s original video quote-by-quote. I would write this in bullet points, but I would simply the arguments Aldone attempted to make rather than quoting them with composing a Tumblr post purpose

  1. Aldone: “Elsa’s parents are the worst royal parents in Disneyverse, they were portrayed in a positive light, but everything they did as parents were horrible to Elsa. The issue is the film never made it clear that Elsa’s parents were bad parents.”

My counterpoints: The thing with parenting, imo, is you can love your children but still fuck up the parenting. You can love your children but still gaslight them subconsciously so they will learn better, even if you mean no ill will. Their parents’ flaw was that they didn’t know how to confront Elsa’s emotions after the Anna incident. If Frozen 1 tried to flat-out portray Elsa’s parents as characters like Mother Gothel, manipulating Elsa just for their personal gain, then honestly I would be disappointed. It would not necessarily be a bad story, per se, but how I view Elsa’s parents is: they tried their best to protect Elsa, but they messed up.

 “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” for me, it’s a heart-wrenching experience as I feel bad for both Anna and Elsa. Parents served as a purpose to fuel Elsa’s fear further, rather than being a pair of good parents.

The thing about this world is that love is not enough for salvation sometimes. And love sometimes is poison. I don’t agree with the view that there’s “fake love/just obsession” and “true love.” Love is a fact, love is an emotion, but love sometimes will not necessarily make you a better person.

 But I gotta say, as a fellow who dislikes Frozen 2, I agree it makes no sense in retrospect considering Iduna had some experience with magical spirits so I am mainly talking about Frozen 1 here.

  2. Aldone: “’ For the first time forever’ is good until Hans ruined it because upon re-watching, we know Hans was the true villain. So the contrast between Anna and Elsa in this song is weakened. This song is supposed to be about the hero vs. the villain. (Aldone did not say this in this bracket, but I guess he wanted something like ‘Out There’ in Hunchback of Notre Dame from ‘For the First Time in Forever.’)”

My counterpoints: I am sorry, Aldone. But pardon me for being blunt: I think you grapple with the idea of “Elsa was supposed to be the main villain in the first draft” too much, to the point that you couldn’t see what Frozen is now as an end product on its own.

Yes, I admit it is always interesting and important to understand the creators’ intentions. But sometimes, I would choose to embrace “The Death of the Author” more to free my expectations from those interviews from the creators.

 So what’s my point here? My view on “For the First Time Forever” is: This is a song about fear, the very core theme of this film. It is not about good and evil, but it is about how two sisters deal with their fear. Now, you might ask “Well, it is obvious for Elsa, but what do you mean on Anna’s end?” Anna was isolated by her sister without understanding the reasons, her fear was: what if the coronation party couldn’t solve her isolation?

 I know it all ends tomorrow

So it has to be today

'Cause for the first time in forever

For the first time in forever

Nothing's in my way! (Anna’s verses from “For The First Time in Forever”)

 While I personally don’t agree with the choice to make Hans the twisted villain, I do not agree that Hans ruined the song. The contrast between Anna and Elsa in this song still works even if Hans exists, because, for me, Hans’ problems have nothing to do with the brilliant writing in this song and the reprise.

  3. Aldone: “’ Let It Go’ is bad for character development because it sends a bad message. It looked like woman empowerment but felt flat because when Elsa built the castle, she didn’t face the consequences of her actions.”

 My counterpoint: I think a comment under Aldone’s original video said it better than me: “Let It Go” is about Elsa being a hypocrite.

Yes. And I mean it. Elsa was hypocritical in this song. She sang about being free and could use her power in her will, but she chose to close the gate (of the balcony) right in the face of the audience. She was blinded by her desire to be free from her lifelong fear, but she didn’t realize her ice castle was just another prison for herself because her mind was never free from her fear for real. I feel like I am not reading too much in that particular frame of closing the gate right in the audience’s faces??? I just feel like…the metaphor ain’t that subtle???

Well, people always told me that I read too much in everything. I guess that’s how I function as a human being named Levi.

 “Let It Go” was unfortunately framed as woman empowerment because of its fame. Let me say this: If you really have ever watched AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” you would understand the scene when Walter White said “I AM NOT IN THE DANGER, SKYLAR—I AM THE DANGER” is one of the most pathetic moments of the character of Walter, rather than how mainstream critics interpreted as “badass.”

Now, you could say “But this song was supposed to be a villain song! They ruined this song by making Elsa not the villain in this film!” Then pardon me for being a broken record: Embrace The Death of the Author. The song was not ruined, the misinterpretation of the mass did.

 Finally, I just would like to add something to “she didn’t face the consequences of her actions.” I think: “For the First Time in Forever (Reprise)” is her consequence. You could argue that this consequence was far from enough, therefore, Elsa never learned from her mistake.

I would like to remind you that feeling guilty doesn’t necessarily make a human being a good person. Oppenheimer was crushed by his crippling guilt after WW2, did that make him a good guy?

Elsa felt the guilt, that was her consequence, and yes, she tried to run away from it, but that made her human. The inability to face her fear was her major character flaw.

But dear Aldone, pardon me but: Having character flaws doesn’t make a character badly written.

  4. Aldone: “We don't know what is Elsa thinking that much in the course of the film. (He implied that just seeing how her magic respond to her emotions felt flat in term of characterization) She was too passive in Frozen 1.”

My counterpoint: A character does not necessarily need to be proactive/having their own agency to be compelling. Elsa’s battle in Frozen 1 is her battle within her fragile heart. I understand Elsa felt more like a tragic character belonging to a Greek myth than a main hero/heroine in a Disney film, but to me, personally, that is her charm at least in the first film.

Sorry, this one I only have my own opinions to say rather than delivering anything else more elaborating.

  5. Aldone: “It felt forced that Elsa was brought back to Arendelle rather than realising her mistakes on her own. It’s nonsensical for Elsa to escape the whole kingdom after realising the horror consequence of her actions.”

My counterpoint: She was dealing with trauma just evoked by the confrontation with Anna—She just literally re-created the horror haunted in her imagination after the incident in her childhood, I personally think it’s unfair to expect her to react rationally at this scene.

  6. Aldone: “Hans' existence ruins Elsa's character arc as well because Elsa is now forced into a hero character which she was never meant to be. She has never faced her consequence.”

My counterpoint: I understand where you came from. But I wouldn’t call Elsa a hero/heroine. I would call her an interesting character, as I have no interest in classifying them into heroes or villains.

I would say: blame the masses for misinterpreting “Let It Go.”

I am sorry for sounding so irresponsible of my own claim in this particular session.

  7. Everything in the Frozen 2 session.

My response: I fully agree other than I think Elsa’s character was handled WAY WORSE than her in Frozen 1 personally. But it would require another long post. I have severe PTSD response to watching anything related to Frozen 2 because it evokes memories related to the cyberbullying against me in my country during its release. So no. I do not wish to explain why I personally dislike Frozen 2 on this site at least any time soon. And I do not wish to have anything to do with #BringElsaHome. I dislike it for its plot and character development.

 Please forgive my cowardness.

  8. So Levi, are you saying Frozen 1 is Pogger, and Elsa is a good character?

My answer: Elsa in my opinion, is relatable and compelling, as a woman whose major flaw was her need to escape her fear, but never realized that such desire would worsen her fear. She is by no means a bad person, but neither is she a pure-of-heart innocent cinnamon roll. I love her as what she was in Frozen 1 and her character is one of the most interesting for me in the Disney animation movies. And I am sorry, I tried my best, but I dislike Frozen 2 personally.

Elsa’s story in Frozen 1 was not about her personal growth, but rather about how such a powerful (magically) woman needs something with human warmth in order to have a chance for her salvation.

 You might ask: Does such a “terrible(TM)” person like Elsa deserve salvation even to begin with? My response would be: In my opinion, characters respond to the situations around them with their own blind spots and their limited information like each of us is in the real world. Elsa, in my opinion, at least in Frozen 1, had tried her best despite all her faults. And that to me, earned her a shot for salvation, which was Anna.

And I love Anna as a character. But I just love flawed characters more when I consume fictional stories.

I understand why Elsa’s character arc didn’t resonate well with other people, and I respect their opinions, as everyone can have their opinions.

  Finally, I just wish to write some words, and immense myself in my own words so I could reflect on myself more. The fact that I love Frozen and I can’t change my own opinions has plagued me for a long while. I know the fault is mine, and I am currently trying my best to improve my self-esteem.

At the end of the day, let me quote this from Breaking Bad to explain the essence of this whole long post:

“I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was really, I was ALIVE.”

 LeviChou out.

[vervainvoyage]

Ohhhh my goodddddddddd boycott this trash.

Seriously tired of this shallow, reactionary girlbossing that devalues any women who are timid, patient and strong in a soft way. GTFO with your remakes that shit on the originals. Want a girlboss- write a new story! Why do you think you're oh so cool for disrespecting a character built around kindness and community? The actress openly hates the original story, wtf is she doing playing the main character?????

Shows how little compassion she has when she cannot even imagine why an abused woman would daydream of being unconditionally loved.

What a disgrace.

[wombocombo4x3]

The Multiverse Problem

[z0mbiechylde]

The Little Mermaid: A Pathetic Remake

[caitlynskitten]

Another one thank you

[horsefigureoftheday]

Horse figure of the day: Aldon Accessories "Star Pegasus"

[filmtvtoday]

TRAVIS VAN WINKLE as ALDON REESE FUBAR (2023 - )

"let's see what you got, big 'un."

[tracegf]

ALDON REESE FUBAR | 1.03

[natashatrace]

FUBAR 1.06 Aldon Reese & Emma Brunner

[bakerolivia]

ALDON REESE AND EMMA BRUNNER FUBAR | 1.06

[disco-cat]

Doodled some of my favorite Blaseball players (surprise surprise, they're all Tigers)

[whumpypepsigal]

FUBAR s01e07: “We’re not gonna let you die in a drainage pipe.”

[myfictionalbfs]

It’s so criminal when you start watching a new show/movie, and realize after you are already in love with yet another fictional character, that there’s no fanfics at all.

I need people to start writing for Aldon Reese from Fubar and Patrick Jane from the Mentalist. Plssss

[elifinchsart]

Never Look Back!

A long while back I made around 50 pixels art "blattlers" of various Blaseball characters. These vary in quality as I improved and also might need to be clicked on if you are using desktop to see them with unblurred pixels. Many were commissions or requests but I no longer have the information of who they were for. They were posted to twitter but not to here so I am archiving them here now.

[cawthorntales]

Moonwood Cove 1861

~

I was sixteen when my world changed forever. Over the years clashes with werewolf hunter got more and more frequent and bloody. The Green pack in Sunset Acres was almost entirely wiped out by a coalition of hunter calling themselves the Butchers. The summer I turned sixteen they managed to capture my dad, Francine, Olvier, Beota and Debra .

With my father captured it meant I was alpha. I knew dad would want me to move the pack and lay low. He always said the pack comes first. A lesson he had drilled into me in every alpha training session we had through out my childhood. But he was my dad. I couldn't just leave him and the others to die. The pack agreed.

Myself and twenty pack members went to rescue our stolen family. While my mom and brother lead the rest to our emergency hiding zone.

*

We arrived and began our attack on the hunter compound. The battle was hard fought, but we managed to defeat the Butchers and rescue my dad and the only other survivor Francine, but the rescue and victory came at a great great cost.

*

"Because of you sixteen members of the pack are gone!" My dad roared not hiding the anger and disappointment in his voice.

"I-I'm sorry. We wanted to save you and the others from the hunters. I-I never wanted this to happen." I cried still trying to keep the blood out of my eyes from where a wolves bane laced dagger had slashed down my face. I knew the wound would never heal and would leave a scar. A permanent reminder of that awful day.

"No you wanted to save me. As the alpha in charge in my absence it was your job to keep the pack safe. It didn't matter if they wanted to help me or the others. It was your job to do what was best for the entire pack. Instead you were reckless and sentimental. Those are not things I taught you Grayson!"

"D-dad I'm sorry. I-"

"No Grayson. Sorry doesn't and can't fix this. You're were an alpha, meant to lead the pack. You were to put your emotions aside and protect the others. I don't know where I went wrong in teaching you. You've disappointed me. You're no son of mine."

"Dad y-you can't mean that." I cried trying to hold the tears back as my world crumbled.

"I do mean it. See even now you're letting your emotions win. A leader needs to know when to hold it in. From this moment on you're exiled from the pack and our territory. This is goodbye Grayson. What a waste of effort on your teaching and training. I underestimated your ability to be an alpha. You're too soft to do what is best for everyone. I don't want to see you again. You've done enough damage to the pack with your carelessness."

"I'm your son!"

"That's the only reason you're leaving with your life after what you did. Now go Grayson and stay away."

"What about mom and Silver?"

"They'll understand why I am doing this. They understand that the pack as a whole comes first and what it means to lead. Now go!"

I bolted. As I ran the tears streaming down my face, I turned around to get one last look at my father knowing I'd never see him or my mom, or my little brother again. Nothing would ever be the same again. I had lost everything I had ever known and everyone who had ever mattered to me.

~~

Writer notes: Pretend Grayson's scar is fresh and bloody. I can't edit pictures and I found no cc to match the vision I hade.

If you would like to enter now adult Grayson's bc set in modern times here is the info link https://www.tumblr.com/cawthorntales/753141690978713600?

And if you are thinking to yourself this prologue was in the 1800s how is he in modern times. In my world building werewolves eventually stop age and can only die if killed by wolves bane weapons. Kind of like how vampires work, but not the same methods of death

[caitlynskitten]

And the Oscar for best girl kisser goes to…