residences-of-the-darkforest

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

Idea: I'm working on a resident that adopts kits and kills their parents. Maybe Sheeptooth (working name) could adopt Marshpaw?

!!!

Marshpaw is adopted first and is very protective of his younger siblings

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

made one of these 👍

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

still doing Crocusmoon and all the important guys but I want to play Lifegen for fun now without having to keep track. Should I start with one cat or two?

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

found out my mom thinks I’m a burden 👍

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

Dark Forest Resident: Marshpaw

Aliases / Nicknames: Brat

Gender: tom

Sexuality: demi-bisexual

Family: unnamed mother, Ratfang (father)

Other Relations: Duskcloud (mentor)

Clan: ShadowClan

Rank: apprentice

Characteristics: bully, doesn't take things seriously

Murder Motive: scare another kit

Number of Victims: 1 (unintentionally)

Number of Murders: 1 (unintentionally)

Murder Method: causing an allergic reaction

Known Victims: Blackkit

Victim Profile: denmate he found annoying, kit

Cause of Death: adder bite, succumbed to venom

Cautionary Tale: ??

Story: 

Marshkit was a boisterous little brat.

His father was the deputy, and would remind their Clanmates of this fact whenever someone tried to discipline the little terror.

Marshkit believed--which was encouraged by Ratfang--that he could get away with anything. Already he had an overinflated ego and high self-importance, always the one to dictate the games the kits played, always the one that won them.

His father taught him that sniffling about was a sign of weakness. So when he saw little Blackkit fall on his face during one game of mouse-catch and start sobbing, Marshkit immediately was amused. He laughed at the younger kit, and got the others to do the same.

From then on, Blackkit was his target.

But what really got him was when Marshkit wasn't even trying to bother Blackkit. He just so happened to be playing with a small batch of catmint--which he definitely didn't sneak out of the medicine den--and a leaf flew onto Blackkit.

Blackkit immediately started to freak out, claiming that he hates those plants, how they make it hard to breathe, how it hurts him.

Yeah, right. Herbs that hurt! Whoever heard of such a thing? Surely it was just Blackkit being dramatic again.

Wouldn't it be funny to mess with him?

Marshkit snuck the leaves into Blackkit's nest, hiding them just beneath the surface so that the little crykitten couldn't see right away. Blackkit would lay in the nest, notice the plants, and then cry that he had laid in them!

He waited for the reaction, giggling to himself.

He was laughing when Blackkit began to tear up.

He stopped when Blackkit gasped for air.

He tried to tell the younger kit to stop, to calm down, but it wasn't working. Blackkit's face and body was swelling to the point he could no longer cough. Marshkit began to panic.

Blackkit's mother entered the den then and rushed him to the medicine cat as soon as she saw him, but it was too late.

Blackkit was dead.

Marshkit couldn't believe it. How could he be dead? They were just leaves! They were medicine, not poison! Marshkit didn't like Blackkit, but this was something else, something his young mind could have never imagined occurring.

Suddenly, the privileged facade he got to live in was gone. For once in his short life, he looked at everyone but himself. He saw how sad they were, the way cats moped about the clearing, how they wouldn't eat. He saw the way Blackkit's mother held onto her tiny kit in the middle of the clearing, begging StarClan to bring him back.

After the vigil, she went to curl up in their nest, and noticed the catmint. She charged out of the nursery and snarled at Marshpaw, certain it was him. Cats calmed her down, while Ratfang pointed out her lack of proof.

Ratfang whispered to Marshkit not to tell the truth. To avoid the furious gaze of everyone, Marshkit ducked his head and said he didn't do it.

But Marshkit knew it. Blackkit's mother knew it. Practically everyone in the camp knew what he had done. Who else would do that to Blackkit but his bully? Who else would do something so cruel but the mean little brat? Who else would be selfish enough to take herbs from the medicine den for a sick joke?

No kits played with him. He didn't really want them to, it didn't feel right. Ratfang tried to persuade him to join in games, and when that didn't work, he told Marshkit that he didn't need them anyways, they would one day be his subordinates. Normally, such an idea made Marshkit excited. Now, he just felt cold.

When Marshpaw became an apprentice, he still wasn't popular. His mentor, Duskcloud, looked at the young cat with barely hidden disdain.

On the first patrol out, Duskcloud would hardly pay attention to Marshpaw. He said what he needed to, explain the territories and important facts, but kept a quick pace and never looked over his shoulder to make sure Marshpaw was okay.

If he had, he would have seen the snake.

Additional Information: 

--Remember that apprentice mentioned in Mapleshade's Vengeance that died on his first patrol? I thought it would be fun to expand on that.

His design is a little different than what Vicky says he looks like but tbh idc. To me, he's a cream tom with vitiligo!

--In the Dark Forest, he has a lot of self-hatred that he externalizes, causing him to lash out. Partly because he feels he doesn't deserve a good relationship, but also because he's literally in hell and he's a really scared child.

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

got a new kit resident coming 👀

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

How do you think she figured it out?

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

His arch rival: Anti

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

Silvermoon and Olivespeckle aren't mates in the DF but they are a package deal, buy one get one free sort of thing

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

trying not to have an anxiety attack in the middle of the gym

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

If you’re feeling bad just know that today I spilled a container of grime and cat piss all over my floor

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

Dark Forest Residences: Olivespeckle & Silvermoon

TW: internalized homophobia

Olivespeckle

Aliases / Nicknames: Olive, Psycho

Gender: tom

Sexuality: homosexual

Family: Poppystripe (mother), Frogeye (father), Flutterkit (sister), Rockkit (brother), Silvermoon (mate), Pouncepaw, Whistlestalk (sons), unnamed unborn kits

Other Relations: unnamed mentor, Silvermoon (best friend / accomplice), unnamed crush

Clan: ShadowClan

Rank: warrior

Characteristics: pressured by the Clan until he loses himself and snaps, pushed too far

Murder Motive: wild rage, wanting a better life for his son

Number of Victims: 14

Number of Murders: 14

Murder Method: tearing throats as his victims slept

Known Victims: Yellowbee, Dovefrost, Poppystripe, Frogeye, Midgeberry, Rosebrook, Deersplash, Sparroweye, Wrenclaw, Sneezesnow, Comfreypeak, Valleyspots, Pineweb, Flystar (one life)

Victim Profile: guard, the one who let their son die, their parents, the elders, the ones who bullied / belittled their son, the ones who pressured them, the leader

Cause of Death: killed during rampage

Cautionary Tale: ??

Silvermoon

Aliases / Nicknames: Silver, Moon, Sweetie, Loudmouth, Crazed Fox

Gender: she-cat

Sexuality: homosexual

Family: Rosebrook (mother), Midgeberry (father), Olivespeckle (mate), Pouncepaw, Whistlestalk (sons), unnamed unborn kits

Other Relations: unnamed mentor, Olivespeckle (best friend / accomplice)

Clan: ShadowClan

Rank: warrior

Characteristics: pressured by the Clan until she loses herself and snaps, pushed too far

Murder Motive: wild rage, wanting a better life for her son

Number of Victims: 14

Number of Murders: 14

Murder Method: tearing throats as her victims slept

Known Victims: Yellowbee, Dovefrost, Poppystripe, Frogeye, Midgeberry, Rosebrook, Deersplash, Sparroweye, Wrenclaw, Sneezesnow, Comfreypeak, Valleyspots, Pineweb, Flystar (one life)

Victim Profile: guard, the one who let their son die, their parents, the elders, the ones who bullied / belittled their son, the ones who pressured them, the leader

Cause of Death: killed during rampage

Cautionary Tale: ??

Story: 

They knew that something was wrong with them from an early age.

Olivespeckle had always been told that one day he will fall in love with a she-cat and settle down.

Silvermoon was always told that one day she will have kits. Even if she doesn't understand it now, she will one day.

But it was never true for either of them.

Olivespeckle was an older apprentice when he realized he had a preference for toms. Until then, he had been burying his thoughts, keeping them away because it wasn't how he was supposed to think, wasn't how he was supposed to feel.

But he couldn't help noticing the way his breath caught in his throat when he trained along with another tom, making him feel light in a way a she-cat never had.

Everyone thought that he was flustered because he was too self-conscious or nervous. He chose to believe that too.

He tried to fight away the realization, but it became too obvious. The way cats told him he should feel for a she-cat was exactly how he felt about that tom.

Silvermoon was in a similar predicament, though her realization of things was different. She knew from an early age that she liked she-cats. She liked admiring them, thinking about them, being around them. She thought that everyone felt the same way, that that's how everyone thought.

Soon, that pleasant idea was pulled from her. Whenever she mentioned a she-cat's beautiful fur, cats would rush to tell her that she was beautiful too, she didn't need to be envious. When she explained that certain cats gave her butterflies, they would assume she was speaking of social anxiety.

If they had lived elsewhere, they would have been free to explore who they were with no restraints. But the future is important to the Clans, and to ensure the future, toms must mate with she-cats and produce kits.

It isn't that same-sex couples were seen as bad, simply that it wasn't even considered an option. With so many relatives and age gaps, any duo who weren't related and relatively the same age were expected to get together. It was almost a duty.

Adoption wouldn't have been an option either--not with warrior blood being of such high importance. Even if they were able to adopt kits within the Clans, and further, within their own Clans, these incidences would be too far and in between.

So, all toms were expected to love she-cats, and all she-cats were expected to love toms, and to want to have kits.

It could be considered an unspoken code with how much cats pressured it.

With how much cats pressured them.

With everyone telling them that this is how they must be, they wondered why they weren't. Was it a cruel joke from StarClan? Or were they just broken?

They had no one to lean on but each other. On lighter days, they joked about how their souls must have been placed into the other's body. On darker days, they begged StarClan to switch them back.

Unfortunately, with how close they were, cats assumed they were a couple. The nonstop questions flowed in, along with the insistence that they try for kits.

It was uncomfortable and gross to say the least. But what other option did they have?

Both had tried being with cats of the opposite sex, both had hated it immensely. At least with each other, they had comfort. They wouldn't love each other, not romantically, but no one but them had to know.

With each passing day, the pressure to have kits increased. It was hard to hide their disgust when cats suggested they mate with the one they considered a sibling, but both still felt that they were wrong to be the way that they were. Maybe this is what will finally fix them.

To say that it was uncomfortable wouldn't even begin to cover it, but they did it.

Though Silvermoon became pregnant, the kits never came.

Cats gave their condolences, and gave them space. Silvermoon and Olivespeckle were relieved, though deeply saddened at the unfortunate loss. As always, they turned to each other.

They thought that the pressuring would stop.

Apparently, the Clan's future was too important. Even if they already tried to have kits and lost them. Even if they hated every second of intimacy. Even if they didn't love each other. Even if they never could.

They gave in and had another litter. They had two sons--one, Pouncekit, born perfectly healthy, the other, Whistlekit, missing his two front legs.

They did their best to raise the kits, working as a team, but tragedy still struck. Pouncepaw had died on his first patrol out when he tried to cross the Thunderpath when his mentor wasn't looking.

Whistlepaw, though alive, was miserable. Cats stared at him, called him names despite his parents' effort to stop it. He wanted to be a warrior, but was made to be a medicine cat instead. He had cried during his ceremony, begging the leader to give him a chance.

The glares Silvermoon and Olivespeckle had given everyone could have killed.

They never thought that they could be more furious. Then cats told them to try again, maybe this time they will have a proper litter.

Finally, they snapped.

The Clan had given them nothing but misery. They had kits, but StarClan took them. They had a son, but his mentor was too careless to keep him safe. They had another son, but because he wasn't perfect, he wasn't worthy, and he was doomed to a life of suffering. Just for being born wrong. For being broken.

They gave and gave and gave, destroying themselves in the process. But it wasn't enough. It was never going to be enough.

They placed mint and lavender all over the camp and got to work.

They had no bone to pick with Yellowbee, but he was awake guarding the camp, so he had to go.

After him was Pouncepaw's mentor, Dovefrost. It was her negligence that killed their son.

Next was their parents, the ones who pressured them more than anyone else.

After that, they picked off anyone who had spoken badly about Whistlepaw--including all of the elders.

They tried to kill Flystar, but he wasn't as heavy a sleeper as the others. One look at them, blood soaking their muzzles and coating their chests, and he sounded the alarm. They jumped him, gripping him as tightly as they could, sinking their teeth into his throat and any vulnerable spot they could reach.

Warriors piled into the den and tore them off.

Their Clanmates tried to question them, to demand what in StarClan's name they were doing. But they weren't done fighting. They came this far, they weren't going to stop until they were finished.

Or until they were dead.

Additional Information: 

--Their victims, other than Yellowbee, were asleep. They placed lavender and mint (and maybe some other strong-smelling plants) everywhere to hide the smell of blood so no one woke up to it.

It was a one-night rampage. By the end of it, they looked wide-eyed and crazed, with blood all over their fronts.

--Their Clanmates speculate that losing their son made them crazy, or that the Dark Forest possessed them. Others wonder if something was always wrong with them, and that's why they've never been able to have a normal litter.

--They unintentionally made Whistle's life worse.

--Olivespeckle losing two of his siblings made his parents focus on him even more because they viewed him as the only way for their legacy and bloodline to continue.

I didn't include it because the story was already getting long, but a lot of the pressure was probably also calling him selfish for not giving them the chance to be grandparents, how he's their only hope, etc. etc.

--Olive's eyes are more yellow, this is the closest colour I could get.

--Basically Char and Aphid if they stayed in the Clan and gave in to the pressure.

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

The poly ended up having 16 kits total before passing!

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

Heavydew nervous like we're not already mates and to-be parents

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

They became mates!!

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

More of these guys because I love them

genders -> Heavydew (m), Cedarpetal (f), Eaglebeak (f)

-

-

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

Lifegen poly patrols, my beloved

----

(bonus look at their matching flower crowns!!)