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luckton-moved · 7 years

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Raphael and Denestia: A Tragic Love Story

i decided to type out a summary of one of my favorite oc backstories for future reference, and so people could read it. this is pretty much the things that led up to the plot of my story/upcoming webcomic, a forest on fire. it’s extremely long (over 2000 words) and therefore in a read more. please feel free to read it if you’d like !

(tw: parents, hospitals, sickness, death, violence, alcohol mentions, fires, overall relationship issues and family issues. the usual stuff.)

Raphael and Denestia: The Story

A violent teenage delinquent, Raph Maxton grew up on the wrong side of town in late 1958. His mysterious girlfriend of several years, Denise Buckland, had what he didn’t: a large house, a substantial amount of money and, most importantly, a level head. The two were in love. Denise loved Raph and found him amusing, teasing him in good spirits but always meaning well. Raph loved Denise, often pretending she was royalty and calling her “Queen Denestia of the Elite Socialites”, which always made her laugh. The two weren’t without problems though, often fighting and breaking up, but getting back together. It seemed like trouble was always inevitable, with Raph constantly getting in trouble with the law and often disappearing, leading Denise to believe he was with another girl.

Although Denise was one of the wealthier students at the high school, Denise did not enjoy being around the other students. Even so, she would rather not be at home, as her adoptive parents would always treat her as if she was more of an object and less of a person; they ignored her interests as they showered in the glory of having their precious, beautiful, happy daughter, Denise. Raph’s home life was also very undesirable. His mother had left; whether she was dead or alive Raph did not know. He often fought with his alcoholic father and said father’s petty young girlfriend. The only person in his house that he could really stand to be around was his older brother Charley: a smart, messy haired young man who always aspired to be something great. Charley did always have a sickly countenance about him, though, and he soon succumbed to an unknown illness.

Raph, of course, absolutely lost control when his brother died. He got into more fights, at home and at school, then after school and in the streets. He began lashing out at his friends and isolating himself more, progressively becoming more bitter and violent as time went on. Denise became worried as he stopped taking care of himself, often forgetting to eat and frequently not returning home. Denise had barely noticed it, but he was also having trouble catching his breath sometimes and coughed more often.

One time, Denise and Raph were walking through the forest near their hometown when Raph suddenly doubled over coughing. He insisted he was fine, but once Denise saw blood, she rushed him to the hospital, insisting that if he would just come with her, she would cover all the bills and costs with her parents’ money. He finally, reluctantly, agreed and when they arrived, he was quickly taken away into a room. When denise was finally able to enter the room, she did.

Once Denise stepped inside, she saw that Raph looked…bad, to say the least. He was paler than usual, and looked very weak. He looked… pathetic. Denise stood there in silence for a little while,thinking, before Raph broke the silence with, “are you gonna say something, or are you just gonna stand there and stare at me like a broken marionette?” He laughed hard and then coughed. Denise knew he didn’t have too much time left. She didn’t sit down.

Denise wanted to ask him why he didn’t tell her she was sick. She wanted to ask him why he didn’t tell her anything. So she did. Everything she wanted to say to Raph spilled from her: how worried she always was, how much she cared about him, how angry she was at him for never taking care of himself, how much she hated when he pushed her away, you name it. She wasn’t worried anymore. She was mad.

Raph was mad too. He shot back at Denise, asking her why she was mad if she cared so much, telling her how difficult it was to even get up in the morning (let alone take care of himself), and wondering why she never took the time to understand him. He asked her why now, of all times, was she fighting with him about something they could have possibly talked about. He didn’t want her there if all she was going to do was argue with him more.

So Denise left, running down the hallways of the hospital, holding back tears. She went home. There was nothing left for her to do at the hospital. It wasn’t until her parents were talking about Raph at the dinner table two days later that she realized she needed to go back. They said that the town delinquent, Raph Maxton, had finally succumbed to whatever karma he had accumulated. Denise excused herself from the table and left the house, running at full speed toward the hospital.

When Denise entered, Raph was, somehow, even worse off. He was arguing with a nurse about why she wouldn’t just let him go already, but he was even weaker than before and looked like he probably couldn’t physically do anything to her if he had the chance. When Raph saw Denise, he shooed away the nurse and focused on his girlfriend. Amidst all his pain and anger, he chuckled. “Well, look who was just dying to see me.” He broke into a fit of coughing. Raph was dying.

Denise sat down. She apologized to Raph, but he waved it off. He didn’t blame her for being irrational; he was being irrational too. They smiled at each other for a long minute. Denise and Raph began sharing and reminiscing about the times they shared, laughing and joking about their past as the world melted away and only they were left.

After about fifteen minutes, Raph quieted. He looked out the window and commented on the view of the forest below. He told Denise that he hated it in the hospital, that he wishes he was outside taking a walk with her, just like they had been before the whole ordeal went down. Denise looked at Raph, his tired eyes longing and his smile soft. She realized that he wasn’t as tough as he appeared. She didn’t want to see him die. Denise excused herself so she could walk the halls and think for a few minutes. When she returned, Raph was missing.

Denise ran down the stairs and outside. How could she have been so stupid as to leave Raph alone like that? She called his name. No answer. She called his name again. And again. And again. She ran into the forest, now screaming his name.

Denise had been searching for only a few minutes when she found him crumpled near a tree, but by then, Raph was already gone. She cried for a long while, but realized that it wasn’t her fault. She decided to put him in a more rested position, then left him.

Denise was faced with another problem: she was lost. She turned left and right, though the night had turned dark and she couldn’t see. It seemed as if the entire forest was watching and laughing at her. She could almost hear the awful taunting of the forest, mocking and jeering at her. It was driving her mad. She began to run, trying to find any trace of light or civilization in the inky blackness of the night. She felt the ground give way beneath her and she fell into an icy cold river, never to return.

A spirit woke up and looked around. He was in the heart of the forest, a large clearing surrounded by aspen trees. He stood up. In the center, a large, thick, twisted tree with dark leaves loomed in front of him. Its roots seemed to spread far and wide, all across the forest. It seemed like it was staring at the spirit, judging him. Somehow, the spirit felt as if it wanted him to do something. He looked at the ground below, grass and flowers beginning to grow to crown his feet, as if he was the one commanding them to do so. Small purple flowers sprouted slightly in front of him and spelled out four simple letters. ‘RAPH’. Hm, the spirit thought, was that his name? No. His name should be longer than that. He squatted down. “Raphael,” he said aloud, “That’s a name, right?” He wasn’t addressing any person directly. He touched the flowers and they wilted. He touched them again and they sprouted good as new. He traced a messy ‘AEL’ in the grass at the end of the word, purple flowers popping up as he did so. He smiled, satisfied, and left. Maybe he could find out just who he was.

A different spirit woke on the other side of the tree. She stood up and stared at it, feeling its powerful energy drawing her in. She was afraid of it. She then realized that her feet were not touching the ground, and looking down she realized they weren’t even there. A name, Denise, was traced on the ground in blue flowers. As the spirit read it, she was hit with numerous images of her life before she woke up there. She fell to her knees and began to cry, the grass and plants around her legs, including the name, turning black and dying. She sat there for a long time, but something told her the tree was still calling her. She stood (more like floated) up again and stared at it. She flashed her middle finger at it and flew off. She knew that she couldn’t be called what she was before, that she was a new entity now, so she needed a new name. Rather than picking something out of the blue, she settled on a nickname her boyfriend had called her what seemed like centuries before. Denestia.

Raphael was having a little fun, drawing flower patterns on trees and running from the spirits of said trees while laughing. Something then movd out of the corner of his eye and he turned. He saw her: Denestia. It didn’t matter that he had never seen her before. He thought she was beautiful. He decided that she would be more fun to fool around with than some simple tree spirits, that she was a little more mysterious and needed to be found out. So he approached her and held out a hand, grinning. “My name’s Raphael, and I believe you’re looking for me.”

Denestia had been searching the forest for a sign, any sign, as to why she was placed there in the first place, when she was met with a cheeky, freckled smile and a line she recognized as one used every time her boyfriend saw her. She blinked. The spirit in front of her was pointy eared and sharp-toothed, but she’d recognize that stupid grin anywhere. Raph. She leaned forward and hugged him, burying her head in his shoulders. “Raph, I’m so sorry.”

Raphael was still holding his arm out when the other spirit grabbed him. His grin faltered. “I-I’m sorry, have we met?” Denestia pushed herself off of him and looked at him. His smile was awkward and he was looking her up and down, but there was not a speck of recognition in his eyes. He did not remember her. She stared at him for a second, then turned her head away. “Oh. I thought you were someone else.”

Raphael smiled and put an arm around her, stating that it was fine and that it happened a lot. He re-introduced himself and asked Denestia for her name, which she reluctantly gave. He began to float alongside her and ramble about the different parts of the forest, casually slipping in flirts which went unnoticed by Denestia. He had decided to give her a tour, under the impression that she was new in the forest. Denestia listened to him, staring at him and trying to come to terms with the fact that no matter how much he acted like it, he was not the same Raph she knew. From the looks of it though, he was still completely smitten with her. Maybe things couldn’t go back to the way they used to be, but they could possibly get pretty damn close.

They’d been trying for years, and still Raphael and Denestia hadn’t figured out why they’d been placed under this curse, a curse that turned them into spirits of the forest and restricted them from leaving except for short periods of time, invisible or disguised as human. They needed to find something, or someone, to break the curse. It was Raphael’s idea to try to destroy the heart of the forest. So they tried. They started a fire.

8 years since the fire and they still had gotten nowhere closer to the destruction of the heart. The only thing the fire had brought was burnt trees and orphaned creatures, one of which Denestia adopted as her own, naming them December after the month of the fire. They could shapeshift into a wolf or a human at will, and their body and mind matured at twice the speed of a normal human. They loved Denestia as a mother, but somehow hated Raphael with a passion.

Raphael often went invisible and went into town, partially to find the way to lift the curse, but mostly to annoy the fluffy-haired mayor’s son and his friends. Until a new girl moved into town, a new girl who could see Raphael, even though he was invisible…

Raphael and Denestia: Descriptions

Raph Maxton (pre-curse): A heavily freckled boy, 5′8″ (172 cm), redhead. Often greases hair back, the natural curl annoys him. Pale and somewhat skinny. Cracks many jokes, often at inappropriate times. Has a very, very dirty mouth. Often very bruised up or injured. Aggressive and violent. Unpredictable in a predictable way. A liar. Has a self conscious side, never shows it.

Denise Buckland (pre-curse): A slightly dark-skinned girl, soft black-silver hair, 5′6″ (167 cm). Wears hair down, despises having product in it. Average weight. Purposely gives of the impression of nonchalant, often cares way more than thought. Sad often and barely ever smiles. Blunt and sarcastic a lot, but just never learned how to express herself. Often cares so much she forgets to understand.

Raphael (during/post-curse): Same height. Smooth purple skin, but still splattered with numerous white freckles. Pointed ears. Black whites of the eyes and purple irises (slitted pupils.) Dark purple hair and pointed tail, hair is still curly. Hands with long, sharp fingernails/claws. Doesn’t lie as much. Seems more relaxed, has less to worry about so nothing to get super aggressive over. Calmer, gentler, has a soft side. More dorky and awkward. Shows silly side more often and cracks even more jokes as before. Remembers minimal from pre-curse. Can heal plants. Can also kill plants.

Denestia (during/post-curse): Same height. Smooth bluish-grey skin. Dark silver hair. Black whites of the eyes and red irises (slitted pupils.) Sharp teeth. Sharp clawed hands. Feet are gone, legs fade off into translucence at the shin. Can turn living things rotten with a touch if she wanted. Thinks the curse is her fault. Unhappy but not too upset. Still loves Raphael. Plotting revenge. Awkward at conversation, still having not learned anything about expressing herself. Likes flowers. Sings sometimes. Remembers almost everything from pre-curse.

#THIS TOOK LIKE A WEEK DSKJLKJL #lms/int if you read the whole thing.#im. dying.#parents ment //#fire ment //#hospitals //#sickness //#death //#oc: raphael #oc: denestia #ocs #oc: december #;;⚓⚓#long post //

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