Say hello to Grimmhorror~
In this au, it starts off the same as grimmtale. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, when drought dried up the surface leaving it uninhabitable, to save the underground lakes swamps and rivers, the monsters and witches of that world created a barrier protecting the underground from the heat above. Every entrance possible was sealed up and inside the earth developed a beautiful swamp like ecosystem where the people lived! Over time monsters and humans alike evolve to better fit the underground enviorment.
However, unlike grimmtale where communities thrived in harmony, in grimmhorror a large war broke out between covens. It got so fierce that at some point all of the witches' efforts in spell creation were dedicated to making stronger, larger, deadlier curses. Finally, the curse of all curses was created -the soul sapping curse. Cast it on an ally then allow them to kill an opponent. The cursed monster/human then receives their kill's best spell or ability. However, if the target survives the attack, the curse spreads to them giving them the same soul sapping ability.
The rapid spread of the soul sapper curse brought the war to a halt for all the worst reasons. The highly addictive nature of receiving all that power overcame many monsters and humans alike turning all of the underground into a bloodbath. Generations later, the whole au is infected. With no individuals left un-cursed, no one was able to perform the cleansing rituals to remove it. The soul sapper curse became the new normal.
Before the crash, all surviving monsters and humans were either the strongest around or those with the discipline needed to "control" the curse. There was no government, no money, markets, no clans, just small family units roaming the underground looking for new prey. When these monsters were discovered late into the crash, the liches of algoretale and the more powerful witches and mages of grimmtale banded together to create a ritual capturing every creature infected with this soul sapping curse. It took a few years to develop a cure. during that time imprisoned, the grimmhorror people were given counseling and taught about the expectations and rules of ebott. After a ritual to remove the curse was developed, only those who were considered the most stable were allowed to be released. They’re unaffectionately called ‘the cursed’ by other AUs.
And now meet the boys!
Skull (grimmhorror sans)
Skull is a skeleton monster standing at 6’5 feet tall. He is aged 71 and has a very large crack in the middle of his skull. Due to the damage on his skull, his eye sockets are stuck in the open position and his eyelights are rather blown up when using his sight. He also has trouble moving other parts of his face often leaving him with stiff expressions. He has the physical changes of a Grimm skeleton including elongated arms, a skeletal tail, horns and oddly oriented hands. His magic is a dusky purple but due to the damage to his skull, his eyelights appear as a pale pink. He is a half breed monster with a brown soul for loyalty.
Skull is cool and collected most of the time. Despite being the middle child, many mistake him as the oldest because of how he wrangles his siblings. When in a good mood, skull is relaxed and loves to annoy his favorite people with puns and bad dad jokes. When he’s mad… he simmers. He is very temperamental but hides it well. He will plan revenge later. You can’t really go off his expressions to gauge his mood, but the darker his jokes get the more irritated he is. He’s a very private monster as well and doesn’t seem to have any desire to socialize outside of his little family.
Skulls family owns a little patch of land in waterfall. They farm on it as well as run a small convenience store selling mostly quick homemade meals or produce from the other local farms. It’s right next to a train stop so they get pretty good foot traffic. Skull is good with the customers so is usually the one running the till or maintaining the store.
Due to the past curse as well as his mothers personal spell, he has a very large pool of spells and special abilities to choose from. His personal favorite though is a mild curse that makes it so that his target always hears a chicken clucking somewhere behind them. He will secretly cast it on rude customers.
Things he loves: his siblings and mother, puns, lofi music, oversized clothing, scented candles, boba tea and rice pudding, bunnies (the animal, not the monster), his pet bunny ‘flip flop’, the color black, clover flowers, foraging, nonfiction books, fishing
Marrow (grimmhorror papyrus)
Marrow is a very tall skeleton monster standing at 7’7. He is aged 58 and has one dead eye socket from an old wound. He has the physical changes of a Grimm skeleton including elongated arms, a skeletal tail, horns and oddly oriented hands. His magic is a deep denim blue. He is a half breed monster with a pink soul for passion.
Marrow is an enthusiastic energetic soul! He has a lot of love for life and quite likes all the cool new things ebott brings! He is the most aggressive of the Wingdings siblings as well as the most protective. He can be rough with people he deems equal or stronger than him, but also has a soft spot for gentle people. He’ll happily break fingers for a softie in need. Marrow is a huge romantic as well and tends to fall for people at the drop of a hat. He’s just really passionate!
Marrow is a bit much for customers to handle, so he mainly works the family’s farm. They grow rice and raise frogs and ducks in their swampy slice of Heaven. Plus the manual labor is great for working off his excess energy.
Things he loves: fried chicken or duck, dancing, singing, chasing things, racing, animal riding (like horseback), animals in general, hunting, disco music and dance pop, punk fashion, cool chains, snuggling, lavender, any shade of purple
Side characters:
Persephone: a grimmhorror witch and mother of fang skull and marrow. she is a woman who appears middle aged despite her children being well into their adult years. It’s suspected one of her abilities ties her lifespan to one of theirs as the father is no longer around. Persephone is an extremely intelligent and resourceful woman. She has created an astounding four spells over her lifetime all on her own- no small feat as witches with whole covens backing them up typically only manage one. She’s manipulative, playing the part of a sweet innocent lady, but there’s a real snake underneath the act. She loves her kids fiercely and approves of their new environment , although she hasn’t completely dropped their shady roots. She’s also a really good cook! There’s a reason why people will brave going inside the store run by the cursed. . The food is worth it.
Fang: grimmhorror gaster, and the older sister of skull and marrow. Fang is a half breed skeleton with an orange soul for bravery and plum colored magic. All her outer fangs had been knocked out at some point and replaced with iron ones. Fang is a brash and rather head strong character. She never backs down from a fight and can get a little carried away when hyped up enough. She is an expert trap layer and will often go out to hunt, bringing back game for her mother to cook. She also helps Persephone in the kitchen if no ingredients are needed.
