Reasons to read this book :
- I like to talk with people about ships
- I don't ship problematic ships
- My ships are nice and can make you discover cool things (edits, fanfics...)
Reasons not to read this book :
- Most of my ships are gay, and if I'...
Songs I associate them with : August, Taylor Swift.
Don't you, Taylor Swift. "Sometimes, I really wish that I could hate you / I tried, but that's just something I can't do / My heart knows what the truth is / I swore I wouldn't do this / But don't you, don't you / Smile at me and ask me how I've been / Don't you say you've / Missed me if you don't want me again / You don't know how much I feel I love you still / So why don't you, don't you?"
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Apple on the left, Raven on the right
One thing is that I strongly associate this ship with the song august by Taylor Swift, so for me it seems fundamentally sad.
And there is some sadness indeed. A lot of drama too, as it is a frenemy to lovers (the lovers part is not in the canon though, unfortunately). The saddest thing is that Raven doesn't want any of it, but she is the one that constantly gets hurt. Even if Apple has a lot of things on her plate and is a deeply misunderstood character. But it's nearly impossible not to feel bad for Raven, and I assure you that if you read some rapple fanfics while listening to august, you'll understand why I associate it to them and why it feels so sad.
That said, it's true that this ship is not canon at all. BUT they have a lot of scenes together, as they are the main characters, and a lot of angst and tension but also of cute moments that give them a special bond. ALSO the serie was cancelled so we'll never know what direction it would have taken (even if it's adapted from books but I think the story of the book was completely explored in the first seasons). AND last bonus point, Apple is canonically a lesbian.
And her colour scheme matches the lesbian flag, while Raven's matches the bi flag.
So yes, she is supposed to end with Darling, and Raven with Dexter. But though I like Dappling - not so much Rexven - I will prove to you that Rapple is the superior ship.
First, a little recap of their story for those (the majority, I believe) that are not familiar with the show.
Ever After High is a cartoon that takes place, as its name can hint you, in the same universe as Monster High. In Monster High, the students are the children of some very famous monsters (PS: I actually never watched MH so sorry if there are any inconsistencies). In Ever After High, the students are, simple enough to guess, the children of fairy tales characters. For example, Apple is the daughter of Snow White, and Raven of the Evil Queen, hence their rivalry. At an event called Thronecoming, they're supposed to sign a book that will entitle them to follow their destiny. Problem is : some of the students don't want to to follow their destiny.
For those who watched Descendants (and oh boy I will definitely talk about that in a next chapter), the core of the problem is basically the same : are children really defined by what their parents are ? Are the villains children destined to be evil too ?
Raven Queen doesn't want that, and as I said earlier, she's like the sweetest character ever, so of course she doesn't want to sign for her destiny, very much to the dismay of Apple White who is obsessed by hers.
A little parenthesis because this is a thing that triggers a lot of people. As in the original story of Snow White, the Evil Queen is the stepmother of Snow White, people tends to think that Raven and Apple are somewhat blood-related. This is an argument often made by Rapple detractors, but I will say it once and for all : /!\ THIS IS NOT INCEST /!\
It always baffles me that people think that we could consciously ship an incestuous ship (I mean, some people do, but it lowkey hurts to be associated with that), when actually, it's pretty easy to discover, by talking to people that have read the books, that they are in fact not related.
So, from what I gathered, it is explained in the books that the parents of the generation we follow in this story are not the original characters of the fairy tales (unlike how it is in Descendants). They are called "Evil Queen" or "Snow White" merely as a title, as would be Raven and Apple if they followed their destiny. But it's not their name, and the original fairy tales characters are their ancestors from centuries ago. That can be a little confusing, but basically yeah, Raven and Apple are maybe related... by an ancestor that lived 30 generations ago, like we could all be in our life if we are being real for a moment.
I wanted to make a point about that, because first it's very annoying to be constantly called out for that, and secondly because I promised that I don't ship any problematic ship, so I don't want you to feel betrayed afterwards if you see some people calling it incest, for example.
That said, let's go back to our story. In EAH, Apple seems really obsessed with Raven, pretending it's because they share a destiny. She says that her and Raven are friends, but she doesn't listen to what Raven wants, which leads to a lot of drama and fight scenes between the two friends.
And that's what is interesting in their dynamic.
Of course, it's a kid show, so even if the story is great, you sometimes regret that they wouldn't take it further. But hey, great news ! That's why fanfics are made for !
Now that I painted the background for the persons who didn't know EAH, let's talk to the persons that watched it, and let me explain why I genuinely think that Rapple is better than Dappling, even if -again-, I find the latter very cute too.
Darling is absolutely adorable, and yes, she is supposed to be Apple's true love kiss, the one that wakes her up (even if the producers passed it on as Darling doing CPR). But what she really wants is adventure, she wants to be a knight and not a damsel-in-distress. So do you think a life as a co-queen would suit her ? Plus, I have this headcanon that she is Apple's true love kiss because she is like a knight to her queen, and that there is nothing purer than the deep love and devotion that a knight feels towards their king / queen. That way, the kiss still makes sense (and it's not brushed off as CPR) but enables the ship between Raven and Apple to exist (and Darling doesn't have to be heartbroken, because truth is, I feel bad for her).
But even if you like Dappling, you have to admit that the obsession of Apple for Raven would definitely be an issue to tackle if Darling and Apple happened to date.
And Rapple has a lot more scenes together, it's like they hinted it since the beginning, and then changed their mind. And for the sake of what ? A ship that has nothing more than 2 minutes of screen time together and Dexven ? Urgh
Raven looks so sad when Apple is asleep, and as a spectateur you're like "what don't you try to kiss her ???". And when Darling do, Raven is not here, so in my head they're canon and that's it.
After this very messy recap, I hope you feel at least a little intrigued by this ship and by EAH, because I promise it's a great shipping soil.
Here is a little AMV on august by Taylor Swift 😇 (it's totally an auto-advertisement and I'm not ashamed of it) :
And one very angsty edit so you can see what I mean when I say HURT / COMFORT in the external link (again, very sad that I can only add one, but well... it is what it is)
