I love how some people act like wanting Elsa to have a romantic arc is "boomer family member" energy when...actually? it’s the exact opposite?
Imagine thinking that fans wanting to see themselves represented in a global icon is the same thing as auntie rebecca asking why you’re single at Thanksgiving.
The "she’s too busy being a magical spirit to have a crush" argument is so tired as well.
Since when did having ice powers and a water horse mean you lose the capacity for human connection?
Jennifer Lee literally said the "door is open," but some of you act like you’re the ones holding the deadbolt shut.
Since when did "wanting a character to find love" become a regressive concept? Especially a character whose entire arc is about overcoming isolation? Elsa spent 21 years behind a closed door and another three years learning not to be afraid of her own touch.
Wanting her to experience the intimacy, partnership and happiness she was denied for most of her life isn't "pressuring" her, it’s wanting her to have a full human experience.
Jennifer Lee herself has said they haven't ruled anything out and that the conversation is always happening.
Elsa’s story is literally not finished. If the literal creator of the franchise is leaving the door unlocked, why are some of you so obsessed with slamming it shut and bolting it?
Let people enjoy things.
Speculating about Elsa’s heart isn't a dumb energy, it’s literally what happens when a director creates a complex, relatable character and then tells the audience "Hey, her story isn't finished yet."
In Polar Nights, Elsa literally says that a woman who is capable of taking care of herself can still be in a relationship.
She isn't "avoiding" love because she's strong, she’s acknowledging that independence and a romantic partnership aren't mutually exclusive.
And for the people who insist she has to be Aromantic to be "empowered":
Aro people can still have relationships! Aromanticism is a spectrum, and plenty of aro-spec people have partners or QPRs.
Independence isn't a personality trait that bars you from love.
Her story isn't finished, the directors haven't said no, so why are some of yall so bitter about us having fun with the possibilities?
we don’t need her to be a straight princess!! nothing wrong with straight princesses but literally ALL OF THEM are straight, i really wish all the straight christians would stop with the ‘omg not everything has to be gay!! 🥺’ rhetoric, because queer people deserve at least ONE QUEER PRINCESS out of like ten/twenty!!! (i’m not sure of the exact number of disney princesses sorry)
also to all the queer people saying that she should be aroace, i see where you are coming from!! i am aro-spectrum myself and i see why you might interpret her that way!! but the thing is we already have Merida as a most likely aroace princess!! we need Elsa to be sapphic because we do not have a sapphic princess!!
anyways. sorry for the rant, but Elsa should absolutely have a girlfriend.
In honor of Aromantic Awareness Week and the announcement of Frozen 3, i wanted to share my favorite aroace headcannon. And i would hope that either Disney Gives Elsa a Girlfriend or treats her like the aroace queen that she is.
Elsa is a role model for so many reasons but she especially means something to the queer community. Her iconic songs Let It Go and Show Yourself are queer anthems. With Let It Go, just like the queer community Elsa doesn't have to believe that she's wrong for who she is, being born with these ice powers and being so different, and she can finally be the person she's meant to be. She doesn't have to pretend or put on a facade anymore just to make people happy. Let It Go means so many things to so many people, but there's a freedom in it that we especially feel when we realize who we are and get to be who we're meant to be. In Show Yourself, Elsa says "I have always been so different, normal rules did not apply." We live in a heteronormative, amatonormative society so anything else makes us different and so many rules don't apply to us because we don't fit into that norm. This is especially true of asexual, aromantic, and aroace people because our lives and relationships look vastly odd to people who don't understand. When Iduna tells Elsa "you are the one you've been waiting for", the aspec vibes are POWERFUL; it highlights that Elsa doesn't and never needed anyone and that she can live a fulfilling life as she is. Just like how romance and/or intimacy isn't a necessity out of life like society makes us believe.
While part of me would love to see either Gay Elsa or AroAce Elsa confirmed, there's a small part of me that likes not knowing for sure. It gives us all the freedom to relate to Elsa regardless of label or attraction. Asexual; Aromantic; Gay; Bisexual; the list goes on. At the end of the day, we look at Elsa and see that she's queer just like we are. Just like Elsa, we should have the opportunity to be free and celebrated because of who we are as people, not because we're different.
Elsa's outfit is obviously a nod to both the asexual and aromantic flags, incorporating purple and green. Her eyeshadow was also colored green, reflecting the second shade of the aromantic flag. As a nod to #GiveElsaAGirlfriend i colored the jewel on her cape with a violet pencil, the violet symbolizing the violet flower in the sapphic flag. When it came to coloring Honeymaren (the obvious potential partner and also can we please have more of her?), i used the concept art for reference and kept the colors on her primarily neutral so the bisexual snowflake jewel [that Elsa created for her] would pop more. When it came to choosing a flag for the background, i was debating between using an aroace flag and combining the aroace and lesbian flags. While i personally ship Elsa and Honeymaren and, based off Elsa's personality as taking time to get to know people before actually getting close with them, see Elsa as demiromantic and/or demisexual, not everyone would agree. I ended up using a queer pride flag as the background. This is not only representative of the whole community, regardless of who Elsa is or isn't, but also reflects that queer needs no explanation. Regardless of what Elsa is or isn't at the end of the day we accept and love her as part of the LGBTQIA+ community and, hopefully, we are given that representation in Frozen 3.
Summary: Elsa had long ago made peace with the fact she would never find love. The idea of allowing someone to be that intimate with her had been so frightening for so long that she written off the whole thing completely. That is, until a stranger from a distance land throws her entire world upside down. M for swearing and smut in later chapters. F/F and Kristanna
Word Count: 8,221
Rating: M
Chapter 2 - ‘Formalities’ is up and I hope you enjoy :)
"That. Was. Awesome!" Anna exclaimed punching a fist into the air. "Do you think I could get her to teach me how to do that? Whenever I ask Kristoff to teach me to fight he just laughs at me, and the guards are all too afraid you'd freeze them or sack them if they help me."
Elsa, wasn't listening to her sister, she could only look on in stunned silence as she watched the foreign woman snap at the guards before stomping past without even a backwards glace. For some reason the Queen couldn't tear her gaze away as the woman approached a very expensive looking carriage. This proved the woman came from some form of wealth, a little surprising considering what Elsa had just witnessed.
The woman wrenched open the door with such ferocity, Elsa feared she might pull it off the hinges. The driver didn't even have time to get down off his seat before the strange woman and her companion had jumped inside, slamming the door, and barking something at the driver Elsa couldn't distinguish.
And just like that, she was gone. It had all happened so fast Elsa didn't know what to think. She had never seen someone move with such confidence before, let alone a female. This woman had taken down two fully-grown men, and with surprising ease. Elsa had needed the help of her exceptionally powerful magic and (although she loathed to admit it) Prince Hans, to do the same.
Just who was this mystery woman?
xxx
Nia hissed in pain and swore as she did her best to tighten the laces of her corset, but the swelling in her hand was making it very difficult to curl her fingers properly. Conan whined anxiously from his place at in front of the hearth at the sound of her discomfort.
It had been a full day since her encounter with those two brutes back at the public house and the stinging in her right hand had only gotten worse. Despite this however, Nia was in fairly good spirits. She had found a reasonably nice inn just on the outskirts of Arendelle. A family owned establishment, run by a mountain of a man with his wife and three children. Nia could have afforded to stay at one of the finer inns, but this was closest one to the trails that lead into the wilds and the only one that allowed Conan to sleep in her room.
By the time she had finally gotten dressed and arranged her wild curls, Nia was practically jumping out of her skin to get to the mountains and begin her research. However, there were a few formalities she would have to deal with first.
Grabbing her peacoat for the early morning chill and her notebook, Nia made her way to the main hall of the inn.
"Yoo hoo!" called a man standing behind the counter, giving Nia a little wave of his giant hand. "You need some breakfast, ja?"
Nia smiled at the owner, who still wore a brightly coloured sweater and knitted hat despite it being rather warm inside, and waved back.
"Thank you, Oaken, but I really should get going. I have a lot to do today and –"
His wife suddenly appeared with a plate of honey rolls and bacon. "Nonsense, dear. Eat. You're much too thin as it is," she said, tossing a large strip of bacon down to Conan, who snapped it eagerly out of the air.
Nia laughed. "Helga, you sound like my mother," she said picking up one of the mouth-watering rolls, taking a generous bite out of one and stuffing two more into the hidden pockets of her jacket.
"Then an intelligent woman she must be," Helga replied with a wink. "So what is it that has you hurrying about like the Devil himself is clawing at your heels?" she asked, picking up a nearby glass and cleaning it with the apron she wore around her slim waist.
"I'm planning on traveling into the northern foothills tomorrow to see if the rumors I've heard regarding your herds of reindeer are true and I need to find myself a sure-footed horse to get me there," Nia said around a mouthful of bacon. "But before I do any of that, I need to get permission from your Queen."
Xxx
Elsa had to physically restrain from rolling her eyes at the two men bickering in front of her. She had been holding one of her bi-weekly Court sessions, and had been trapped attending to petitioners vying for her attention on one thing or another all morning. Currently, Elsa was listening to a simple dispute over wages between a farmer and his farmhand and they had been going on for almost an hour now. The farmhand claimed that he was not being sufficiently paid for the amount of work he was doing while the farmer argued they had long ago come to an agreement regarding payment. The farmer pointed out that the only reason the younger man wanted to be paid more was because he'd learned that one of his brothers had been earning more than he had, but the farmer could not afford an increase in wages.
Though the young Queen did her best to keep her attention focused on the petitioners, she couldn't help but let her mind wander the longer they went around and around in their argument. This day, she found her thoughts drifting back to the strange woman from the day before. Elsa couldn't say why, but the odd woman had been never been far from the Queen's mind since her return to the castle. Everything about her had been… curious. From the way she'd handled the two men who had assaulted her, to her accent, to the clothing she wore.
Who was she? Where had she come from? And most curious of all, what was her business in Arendelle?
So many questions and no answers, it was enough to make her head spin. Elsa had asked Kai if he knew of any visiting nobility, but he had assured her that none he knew of had docked in Arendelle recently. Only a few merchant vessels and one or two smaller ships.
The young Queen snapped to attention when she realized the two men had finally stopped talking and were now looking expectantly up at her. She hoped they had not noticed her brief mental lapse.
"I have heard enough," Elsa said, schooling her features into a mask of smooth neutrality, as her late father had taught her. She turned her attention to the farmer, "Do you have a written copy of your agreement regarding wages?"
The older man shook his head slowly. "No, Majesty. T'was a simple spoken agreement."
Elsa nodded. "Then there is no proof of what wages were agreed upon."
The young man grinned in triumph… but she was not finished.
"However, there are many young men looking for work and would be only too happy to accept the amount you are able to afford should this man decide he need the increase." She now turned to the farmhand who was no longer looking so victorious. "You must both come to an agreement over what is fair and have a written contract signed by the both of you as well as one other witness." When the younger man looked as though he were about to argue she held up her hand to silence him. "If you feel that you will not be able to come to a suitable agreement then come back and see me. We are always looking for more able-bodied men to help with the ice exports. Keep in mind that it is not easy work, but you would be well compensated."
In the end, the two men left looking appeased for now, if not overly thrilled about her decision.
She sighed and leaned back heavily on her throne, rubbing at her tired eyes while trying not to smudge her carefully applied eye makeup. After regaining her composure, she signaled Kai to retrieve the next (and hopefully last) petitioner. She had not at all expected what happened next.
"Ma'am! Ma'am, I am sorry, but I cannot allow that animal inside the castle! It will have to stay outside. Ma'am!" Came the sound of Kai's voice, followed by a set of purposeful footsteps.
"I have been waiting all bloody morning! And Conan stays with me. Always," another voice said firmly. "Oh, quit your fretting, man, he is better trained than most of the noble brats I've met."
"I beg your pardon! But –"
Kai wasn't able to finish his protest when the two – or rather three, including the canine – of them rounded the corner into the throne room.
Elsa stood, immediately recognizing the owner of the second voice as the woman from the market, although she looked a great deal different than she had the day previous. Today it seemed she had opted to wear something considered more appropriate to her gender. It was a very finely made violet dress hemmed in the same elaborate celtic knots that had been stitched into her earlier outfit. Around her hips sat a thin, silver chain that ran down the middle of her skirt that swayed slightly as she walked. And in the hollow of her slender throat sat a gold pendant that displayed two hands cradling a heart topped with a crown. It was then Elsa realized why this woman looked so familiar to her.
"Your, Majesty I -" Kai started but Elsa just shook her head before he could continue.
"It is alright, Kai," Elsa said, doing her best to reassure the manservant. "I'm sure her companion will be on his best behaviour. "Also, could you fetch Anna for me? I'm more than sure she has forgotten our appointment with the physician today. I'd check the stables first."
Kai hesitated for a few moments, eyeing Conan apprehensively. "Yes, Your Majesty," he said before nodding and striding towards the exit.
Nia took a moment to assess this mysterious Queen of Arendelle. She seemed so very different than the timid, anxious young woman Nia had met those many years ago. This woman carried herself in a way that displayed both her maturity and authority and yet there was still a fragility about her that piqued Nia's curiosity.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Nia said offering a small curtsey and tilt of her head, to which Elsa returned with a nod. "I do assure you that he does exactly as I tell him. Conan, down," she said to demonstrate, for as she gave the command the canine dropped down next to his mistress, looking up at her as if waiting for further instruction.
"Very impressive," Elsa said smiling her approval. "And I must say he really is quite remarkable. Do you mind me asking what kind he is, I've never seen any breed like him in Arendelle? I admit I don't know much about dogs. I was never very good with animals in any capacity really. I think they sensed my magic and so kept their distance."
"Animals are sensitive creatures, Majesty, they do not communicate through verbal speech like you and I, so they use body language and can easily read emotion. It is much more likely that they would sense fears or anxiety rather than magical abilities," Nia said with a reassuring smile. "I would be hard pressed to believe a wonderful gift such as yours would frighten an animal. And, to answer your question, Conan is an Irish wolfhound. A very common breed where I'm from, often used for hunting and to protect livestock. I raised him since he was a pup, runt of the litter if you can believe it."
The Queen blushed at Nia's compliment about her powers. "I must say I do find it rather difficult to imagine that there are bigger ones than him," Elsa chuckled.
Nia smiled. She decided she liked this Queen Elsa. She was easy to talk to and didn't seem prone to speaking down on those below her station, as so many royals often did. And Heavens, Nia had forgotten how lovely she was. She wore a magnificent soft blue gown that glittered in a way that Nia couldn't distinguish what fabric it was made from. No jewels hung about her neck or ears, she didn't need them, for her natural beauty far outshone any gems. The only decoration she sported was a delicate tiara, nestled neatly among her platinum blonde strands, which looked to be cut from glass and shaped like the top half of a snowflake.
But Nia was not there to gawk; she was there for a purpose.
"Forgive me, Majesty. I don't think I properly introduced myself. Or at least you probably don't remember when my father introduced us at your coronation."
Elsa grinned. "Countess Niamh of Castle Dunmore, if I recall correctly."
Nia blinked at the Queen in surprise. "You have quite the memory, Your Majesty."
The Queen shrugged. "I admit I didn't recognize you at first, but then I saw your necklace," she said gesturing to the chain handing around Nia's throat, "and I remembered asking you about it during our first meeting. The claddage, yes?"
"I'm impressed, Queen Elsa. You are correct on both accounts, or at least mostly correct. I simply go by 'LadyNiamh of Dunmore', now," she said. "I relinquished my claim to my father's lands some years ago."
Now it was Elsa's turn to be surprised. "Did you two have a falling out?"
Nia shook her head with a smile. "Hardly, Your Majesty, quite the opposite in fact. It was all done at my request when I became certain my brother was more than equal to the task. I knew the people would be more content with a male heir anyways. The Irish are much more… shall we say, 'traditional' compared to those here in Arendelle, plus it freed me to do what I truly loved."
Elsa felt herself hanging on to every word that fell from this stranger's lips. Drawn to her like an insect to a candle's flame. Nia was like something out of one of her stories – enigmatic and brash. She was so different from Elsa herself, who was so focused on duty and maintaining control at all times, which only served to make her all the more captivating.
"And what is it that you truly love?" Elsa asked, somewhat shyly, almost as if she hadn't meant to ask the question at all.
A contented smile painted Nia's expression and her gaze became unfocused. "To travel," she said, "and to learn all I can about the things that fascinate me most. Which, I suppose, brings me to the reason for my visit to your lovely kingdom."
But before Nia could explain herself further a loud gasp interrupted her.
"Ohmygosh! You! From the market!"
Thoroughly confused, Nia watched as a young woman with the reddest hair she had ever seen and so many freckles Nia could have sworn she was straight out of one of the storybooks her mother used to read her, skipped over to fidget excitedly beside the queen. Her appearance caused Conan to stand up and sniff her curiously - Nia couldn't help but notice the queen had gone very still at his sudden movement - and to Nia's amazement he stepped forward to push his head under the new girl's hand for a scratch.
"Well I'll be," Nia breathed.
"What?" The redheaded asked – who Nia now recognized as the Princess - happily falling to her knees and letting the canine give her sloppy kisses on the chin.
"He only behaves that way with me. And one other time…" Nia said, trailing off.
"When was the other time?" the Princess asked curiously.
"When my sister was… Forgive me, Your Grace, but you- you wouldn't happen to be… expecting, would you?"
Nia watched the surprise arc simultaneously through both women, confirming her suspicions. "I went to visit my sister and her husband when she became pregnant with her first child and it was like he turned into an entirely different dog. He followed her everywhere and was very protective. He even growled at my brother-in-law once," she said, chuckling at the memory.
The princess laughed, where as the queen still hadn't moved. "Such a clever boy, aren't you! Aren't you!" she cooed. "Oh Elsa would you relax, I can practically feel you worrying from here. He isn't going to eat me… although considering how big you are, you probably could. Right big guy?" the younger girl said winking in Nia's direction, forcing the woman to hold back a snort.
"That's not funny, Anna!" The queen scolded.
"It's a little funny. You just have no sense of humor," Anna teased, resulting in a small flush working its way up the Queen's neck.
Elsa tilted her chin up haughtily and folded her arms in a very undignified pout.
"You would never hurt me, would you, big guy? See, Elsa he's a big'ol softie," Anna said as Conan lay down in front of her and rolled on his back so that she could rub the soft underside of his belly. "You only attack big jerks in pubs who try and hurt your mama, don't you?"
Now it was Nia's turn to be surprised. "How - how do know about that?" she asked.
"Anna and I were in the market yesterday and happened to witness your… altercation," Elsa said, a little sheepishly. She still felt a little guilty for not allowing herself to intervene – despite the fact that Nia had been more than capable on her own.
Her shyness then turned into a small smirk. "I believe both my guards' prides are still smarting a little from your interaction."
Nia simply stood blinking at the two royals as the Queen's admission sunk in and she couldn't help the small flush of embarrassment that coloured her cheeks. Brawling with two men after an afternoon of drinking and cards was definitely not the kind of first impression she'd wanted to make. How was she going to gain the Queen's approval now?
She cleared her throat and bowed her head, trying to regain some semblance of composure. "I apologize, Your Majesty, Your Highness," Nia said. "That was… was unbecoming of me. I – I was…"
"It's alright, Lady Niamh." The Queen interrupted gently. "You were simply defending yourself. I only wish you had never been put in that situation in the first place, and I hope it had not tarnished your view of Arendelle's people."
The Irishwoman felt some of the tension in her shoulders ease. "Hardly, Your Majesty. It will take a little more than a couple of common thugs who can't handle losing to a woman at a simple game of cards to soil my opinion of your lovely kingdom." She smiled. "And please, call me Nia."
Elsa returned her smile while the Princess stood up and held out her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Nia!" Anna said brightly, before leaning in and lowering her voice. "But seriously, what you did to those guys was awesome! Could you teach me how to do that?"
Nia's laughter quickly turned into a hiss of pain as she took the Princess' hand. Conan jumped to his feet at the sound, eyeing her with concern.
"Oh my gosh! What is it? Are you okay? I'm so sorry!" Anna said.
"No, No," Nia said. "It's not your fault. It's just my hand, that's all."
The Princess made a pained expression before taking Nia's wrist before she could resist, and examined the appendage. It had turned a lovely assortment of colours and the knuckles had become so swollen that Nia could no longer make a fist. "Yikes. It's from punching that guy in the face, isn't it?"
"It's fine, really," Nia assured.
Elsa stepped forward a little hesitantly. "May I?" she asked.
Nia starred at the Queen's outstretched hand in confusion for a few moments before nodding in understanding.
As gently as she possibly could, Elsa took Irishwoman's hand and held it between her own.
The Queen's hands were soft and smooth – which made sense as everyone knew the monarch had worn gloves almost all her life – and it elicited a response in Nia that she had not been expecting. Gooseflesh raised all along her arms and her stomach did an impressive somersault at the contact.
For a few brief moments the two locked eyes and something passed between the two women that had Nia's mouth suddenly very dry.
She was pulled from her reverie however, when the young Queen suddenly looked away and a soft glow began to emit her palms. Nia watched in rapt fascination as a soothing cold wrapped around her hand and she couldn't stop the sigh of relief that slipped past her lips as the throbbing pain in her joints was reduced to a dull ache.
When the light died away and the warmth returned Nia examined her limb, holding it up to her face and curling each finger experimentally. The swelling had gone down considerably and the flesh felt cool to the touch, as if it had been bound in a healing balm.
"Wow," she breathed. "That's – you're incredible."
The Queen smiled bashfully and simply shrugged. "It's nothing."
"Nothing? It's amazing!"
Elsa merely tucked a loose strand of platinum blonde hair behind her ear, clearly becoming increasingly self-conscious under Nia's awed gaze.
The foreign girl didn't even realize she was staring until the Princess cleared her throat loudly, causing both women to look away from each other and shift awkwardly as Anna watched with a sly grin.
Elsa was the first to regain her composure as she stood more upright and folded her hands in front of her lap. "I apologize, Lady Nia. I'm sure you had actual reason for your visit today?"
"Yes, Queen Elsa. I would like to request your permission to travel the nearby foothills," Nia said.
"Oh?" Elsa asked lifting an eyebrow. "And what is it you will be doing?"
"I am hoping to observe one of your unique reindeer herds in their natural habitat," Nia explained. "Also, if you know of anyone who might be able to help me locate… whyyy are you looking at each other like that?" Nia asked as the Queen and the Princess turned to each other with knowing smiles.
"You are more than welcome to explore the surrounding Arendellian wilds to further your research. And in regards to whom I could offer as a guide, I think I know just the man for the job."
