#darabella

rosaring 🌹💍

also I wanted to draw Cerise x Rosabella (ceribella? rosarise?) 🍒🌹 because it’s obvious that Lesbianise liked this hella straight nerd ><

I promise I'll return to the fandom someday. Ever After High is the most pro-feminist kids' show I've seen so far. Every single heroine has touched my heart. I also have a TikTok - @everafterstoryteller

tho, i'm known as a darabella shipper

i'm currently taking a break from writing my ramosa fic

to draw darise (in memoriam of my long-lost moot)

・❥・(au) character profile ・❥・

known for his heroism and devotion to the throne - his destiny, daring charming is ever after’s most popular royal. his sharp self-assurance and bone-chilling bravery shocks the hearts of ever after’s student body with enticing intrigue, causing friends to flock to him and ladies to drop to his feet - literally. his vanity causes people to hide away or contrarily bask in the beams of his confidence with hopes of one day feeling his level of personal security. his nature leads to him being a born leader with a shining reputation for all across the land to admire. he has a neglected compassionate and thoughtful side that is hidden close to his beating heart that is commonly missed and replaced with distaste for his famously vain attitude.

his ability to protect and defend his kingdom calls for his notoriety and fame as ever after’s fiercest prince with top-tier swordsmanship.

his best friends forever after consist of his gentle yet dorky brother dexter charming, his skittish and passionate roommate hopper croakington II and his soft spoken yet fierce sister darling charming.

his popularity is skyrocketed by his unexpected match, rosabella beauty, allowing for him to answer questions of his love for her with truth and glittering adoration in his eyes striking a desiring hope into the tender hearts of everyone.

everyone but king and queen charming, who looked down upon his true destiny with a hardened disgust and blossoming disapproval with claims of disenchantment that made his skin burn for reasons he felt he couldn’t explain.

・❥・ao3 link・❥・

As Darling gazed out the chariot window, she could see White castle coming into view. She checked herself on her hand mirror to see that she was perfectly presentable. She internally chided herself for acting like Daring. It’s fine, I’m only doing this out of necessity, not because I’m vain. She thought to herself. 

The carriage rolled to a stop, and the door was opened by a sharp looking dwarf. She uttered out a polite “thank you.” and followed them to the Queen’s office. Snow White’s office was exactly as she thought it would be. The floor was made of blond wood, and the furniture from dark oak. Small accents of red and gold were found throughout the room. The only photo in the entire room was that of Snow White with a toddler Apple in her lap. It seemed like the two were genuinely happy. Their smiles seemed real rather than the practiced media smile she frequently saw on Apple’s face. She must really love her daughter, Darling thought.

All thoughts promptly vanished when the door opened to reveal Apple's beautiful face. 

As the two made eye contact, her face broke out into a radiant smile, “Darling! You agreed to it?” 

At that statement, the young Charming princess' thoughts were promptly pulled back to reality. “Wait, what did I agree to?”

“Oh, your father didn't tell you, did he?” Apple’s face fell in disappointment, only for her practiced mask to slip back into place. It was very brief, yet noticeable enough for Darling to notice.

She stepped towards her crush and placed her hand on her shoulder, “Hey, anything I agreed to with you is bound to be great.”

Apple merely blushed. The moment ended when a familiar authoritative voice was heard,

“Ah, I see you girls have met already. Discussing the current situation?” Before either girl was able to answer, Snow White continued, “While the choice made by the storybook of legends was definitely a surprise, I can understand why. As our people progress, it makes sense that our story should change to reflect that.”

Darling nodded, it made sense, the values of people have changed, maybe it was time to turn the page. It would also make sense why Apple didn’t seem like your standard Snow White. 

Traditionally, the Snow White story describes the princess as someone with hair as black as ebony, lips as red as blood, and skin as white as snow. Apple is very fair, but that’s where the similarities end. The previous description of Snow White always gave Darling the creeps. It seemed like the story was describing a vampire rather than the fairest princess in all the land.

Apple meanwhile wasn’t the cold and distant type of beauty, she was radiant . Her blonde hair, sky blue eyes, her lips with a slightly pinkish hue, even her skin, for all its fairness glowed in the sun. She was much more approachable than her forbearers.

“I’m sure you won’t mind, right Darling?”

Apple glanced over at her soon to be fiance, it was almost too good to be true. Her mother always knew that she preferred women, but she was always told to keep it quiet, ‘For the good of the kingdom.’ she had said. But now, she got to marry the girl she’d always had a crush on, with her mother’s approval! She was practically giddy with excitement.

Darling snapped back into reality, she had been so far gone daydreaming about Apple that she had completely dissociated from the conversation.

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

The room’s temperature seemed to drop by several degrees as Snow White gave her a look that was both professional and furious, as though she was ripping through her very soul. Even worse than that, she could see Apple’s face fall before answering,

“My mother asked if you’d be okay with marrying me.” She replied quietly.

Darling felt as though she was about to have a stroke. Her crush had just proposed to her! Well, technically her mother had, and she, like a dumbass, asked for fucking clarification.

Before any incorrect conclusions could be drawn from the prolonged silence, Darling gathered her wits about her and slipping into perfect princess mode, and made her answer, 

“Yes! I mean yes, I would love to marry your daughter, your majesty. I was merely surprised that you would consider me worthy enough to marry your daughter.”

Snow White sat back. ‘Good, the girl knows how blessed she is to marry my little Apple Pie.’ she thought to herself. The two princesses were dismissed and the door was shut behind them.

The Queen removed her crown and took the moment to reminisce about the day her darling daughter was born.

Traditionally, children who follow their family’s tale were usually born in late winter or early spring. Apple, however, had been born later than usual at the start of summer. A bit odd, but something that could be overlooked so long as everything else was in order. Alas, that was not to be. Her daughter had been born with skin as pure as light, lips as pink as a baby’s blush, and hair as golden as the sun. She was perfect. But not everyone saw it that way.

Even her skin and lips could be forgiven, but her hair worried everyone. Her parents fretted, how would the kingdom react to a Snow White with blonde hair? 

As soon as her photos were released to the public, the press pounced on her. “SHOCK OVER NEXT SNOW WHITE’S BLONDE HAIR!” Headlines read. Vapid celebrities and scheming social climbers simply had to comment on the young princess’s hair, “Oh, I can’t imagine having a child with traits that clashed with my story. It must be really hard on you!” and all Snow could do despite being the de facto ruler of Ever After was bite her tongue and give a vague non answer, knowing full well that her daughter was right next to her and listening in on the conversation.

As Apple grew up, her detractors seemed to point out even more flaws. She isn’t as tall as Snow White should be, her face was too round, are you sure she’s not packing on too much weight?

And every time Snow had to maintain a queenly demeanor despite the constant stream of atrocious comments about her child. She sometimes cried herself to sleep knowing that she wasn’t doing enough to protect her daughter from people like them.

The only thing she could do, was make sure that her daughter was perfect in every other way, that there was no choice but for the dissenters to take back their words. Sure she may not look like your typical Snow White, but she certainly acts like one. Her presentation was impeccable, and even her most ardent detractors had to agree that she was well qualified to rule.

Snow remembered the day her little girl came up to her, nervous and on the verge of tears. She told her that she felt no attraction to Daring, and that she liked girls instead. Seeing her daughter that scared of her broke her heart, but she also knew that if anyone else caught wind of this, it could ruin Apple’s life. So she may not have handled it the best. She cringed at the memory.

Now that the storybook of legends has backed a female partner for her daughter, that problem is solved.

She sighed and massaged her temples, at least the new girl seemed to be more soft spoken and demure. There were benefits to having her daughter marry a woman it seems. The boy was too stubborn at times. He always seemed to want a reason before doing as he was told. Of course, that behavior improved over the years but it was grating at first, especially since she never had to go through such things with her Apple. 

Although from what she’s heard from the other nobles, Daring was apparently acting out and had dropped out of Ever After High. Ah well, he wasn’t her problem anymore, so long as his nonsense didn't hurt her apple pie, she didn’t care what he did.

A knock was heard on the door, and Snow placed the crown back on her head and composed herself, “Enter!” A dwarf carrying a stack of papers walked into the room and placed it on her desk, “Your paperwork for the day ma’am.”

The Queen put her glasses on and focused on the papers before her, “Thank you Perfectionist.” The dwarf merely nodded and shut the door behind him.

Apple blushed as she looked over at Darling. She still couldn’t believe it, her mother agreed to let her marry a woman, and it was Darling! Never in her entire life would she have seen this coming, especially after how her mother reacted to her coming out as a lesbian. They hadn’t spoken for days after that incident. 

Her mother’s words still rang in her ears, “Apple, I know that this might be hard to hear, but you’re to be the next Queen of the White Kingdom, we can’t afford to let you be seen with a woman. People will talk.” No amount of discussion could change her mother’s mind, it seemed that they were just talking past each other. She wished she could tell her mother that people had changed, and while some people wouldn’t agree to it, most people would be more than okay with her having a female co ruler. It was shortly before the events of the Dragon Games back at Ever After which settled that argument once and for all.

“Apple?” Darling’s voice cut through the chaos of her mind and she lifted her head to see her partner look at her with worry, “are you alright?” 

She blushed as she realized that the two of them were standing in front her room without even opening the door, she spoke up, “I’m fine Darling.” Then mustering up all her courage, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed her on the cheek.

“You should probably head back to your carriage, it’s a long trip after all!”, saying so, Apple closed the door to her room.

Darling stood dumbstruck outside as her hand went up to her cheek. She turned and walked back down to the carriage waiting outside for her, all the while blushing terribly. Maybe she didn’t have to worry about this meeting after all… The young Charming thought to herself.

Back in Dragon’s head, Rosabella continued to ponder the mystery that was Daring. As the two cohabited in the castle, she learned more about the traits he had hidden away. Like how he was prone to talking to himself when alone, or about his interest in politics and statesmanship.

The days seemed to blend together as Daring worked on his own project and Rosabella focused on looking for a cure for her father with Dr. Schwartz. She spent most afternoons in the library assisting the Dr. and helping out with the schoolchildren, then would return home and make dinner. Daring would usually make lunch since he was usually at the castle at that time, having spent the mornings talking to the residents of Dragon’s head about various amenities that they were missing. He would then return to the castle and fill out paperwork until dinner’s ready, then the two converse and eat. Afterwards Rosabella would complete her schoolwork, while Daring went out to “run some errands”.

Daring for his part was thrilled at the arrangement, having Rosabella around meant that some of the chores could be split between him and her rather than just having to shoulder all of it by himself. In some of his less guarded moments, he could see himself married to Rosabella and living in the castle, they already split chores and other duties evenly, and seeing her interact with the kids at the school stirred some feelings within him that he immediately buried. She was his ex! He shouldn’t be day dreaming about starting a family with her, especially since he had more important things to do!

As for the princess herself, the last part of Daring’s itinerary piqued her interest as she couldn’t think of a single activity that needs to be done in the dead of night, especially since he frequently doesn’t return until midnight, which is when she usually hears him stomping back into his room.

So one night, after he left the castle, she slipped in her cloak and followed him from a distance. He was heading towards a lake, and as she hid behind a tree, she could see him strip off his clothes, Rosabella blushed as her mind went places that her body dared not follow. She breathed a sigh of relief while simultaneously muffling a slight pang of disappointment as he kept his underwear on. 

Daring meanwhile, was just glad to be out of the house. The castle was too cramped for him to walk around in his beast form, and ever since his destiny as a beast was revealed, his skin seemed to itch if he didn’t transform at least once a day. Along with this, he discovered that he genuinely preferred his beast form in some ways to his human form. While he was always stronger and faster than average, his beast form took it to another level. He could move and climb, and run better than he ever could. His senses seemed to be dialled to 10, as he could see further, hear the softest sounds and smell things with an accuracy he never before had.

However, there were also drawbacks, for one, his beast form was 7’0” tall. Much too tall to get into most rooms, and those same enhanced senses had the problem of making him too overstimulated to work.

As he experimented with his new abilities, he noticed that he could control which parts of his body transform, and to what extent. This meant that he managed to find a middle ground between his human form and beast form that suited him the best. 

It was this beta form that he took during his nightly outings. It just felt like him . The best of both worlds. His father would be outraged to find him embracing his beast side, but that just added to the thrill, and in anycase, his father wasn’t here. It was just him.

Or so he thought, until he caught a whiff of a very familiar scent. One of roses and springtime. Rosabella was somewhere close by. Daring’s eyes darted around the clusters of trees to find a petite cloaked figure turning and running. 

He was much faster than Rosabella even in his human form, so it was no surprise that he caught her quickly. As the two tumbled to the ground, Daring was the first to compose himself.

“Rosabella? Are you following me?”

“I, um, yes? I mean, I was just wondering where you were going every night.”

“Oh, uh, I usually go outside to stretch my muscles and not bother anyone.”

Rosabella frowned,

“You’re hiding the fact that you’re a beast.”

Daring looked away, unable to meet her eyes.

“Not quite. I’m still coming to terms with being a beast and what that means for me you know? Also the night is just peaceful, it’s nice to have some time to just think .”

Rosabella sat up and looked at him, really looked at him. His soul was clear, his words were genuine. She could feel herself falling for him again. The real him, not the princely persona he usually puts up.

Daring was worried, Rosabella has every right to be disappointed in him for hiding himself, that’s sort of her deal with being the next beauty in the story beauty and the beast.

Instead she surprised him.

“When did you learn to do that?”

“Excuse me?”

“You know, the half beast form.”

“Oh, I call it my beta form, since it’s between being a human and a beast. I just think it’s useful y’know?”

“Can you show me?”

“Oh, sure.”

Daring could feel her eyes on him as he transformed, now keenly aware that he was only in his underwear. 

Rosabella watched mesmerized as his strong hands became longer, and were tipped with claws. They were similar to her father’s paws, but with the distinct dexterity unique to humans. The rest of him seemed to become broader, and taller. 

This form was a far cry from the polished prince of Ever After High. 

Her heart thundered as she saw his crooked smile and self-conscious look in his eyes. That spark that drew her to him in the first place. She was so disappointed when Daring reverted back to his old self after their group trip to the top of the world.

Daring for his part, stood there anxiously. Since when did he, THE prince Charming get anxious? Over a girl’s opinion of him no less? When that girl is Rosabella Beauty-Beast. His mind easily supplied.

 “I think it really suits you.” She said with a smile, as she placed a hand on his chest.

“Thanks, give me a minute, I’ll change back into my clothes and carry you back to the castle.’

“Oh! Right!” Rosabella quickly turned around, thankful that Daring couldn’t see her beet red face in the dark.

Day 124 ~ Posting my favourite ships

Daring Charming 🤴🏼🏈 | Rosabella Beauty 📚🖋️

I feel like people genuinely underestimate the effect that Daring had on Rosabella when they get together, because a really common criticism I see of the two of them is that Rosabella doesn't get much out of the relationship and ends up kinda parenting Daring, but I really think this is a misunderstanding of her character?

Rant continues under the cut cause it turned out super long lmao