[ this is filled with various headcanons/canon-divergence please keep in mind ]
decomp has a love hate relationship with the few citizens that inhabit tree town. watching them grow aging into fine adults yet also still hating the stupid ways they seem to find themselves getting into painful situations. though, sometimes having compassion knowing most of these horrific experiences aren’t their faults and are just trapped in the clutches of the curse that grip them so tightly.
tree town is cursed by a wicked old man who thought of himself as a god back in the 1700s. a disgusting depraved individual who do anything he want feeling he deserve it.
the townspeople hated him. finding this beast insufferable, they sent him to death. he threaten they never be rid of him, they’ll all pay for their actions. they’ll all pay for not worshiping him as their savior. what the residents hadn’t known, was that this monster was an incredibly powerful witch. teaching himself magic for years. sickened by the way no one respected his work. upon being slain, his soul transfer into a small ancient idol. planning this from the start. planning they never see the end of him.
soon residents would end up falling to twisted fates. twisted and mutilated one by one. yet, the next day wake up in bed completely fine. though their corpses litter the fields they live. many were terrified, fleeing the town as fast as possible. few stayed even if it resulted in constant painful deaths, they hadn’t the money nor will to leave their lands behind.
bodies piled up higher and higher, the streets reeking of decay. the neighboring towns catching this putrid wind growing angrier with each passing day. they were impossible to bury at this point, the numbers rised as plots stretched thin. burning them made the smell worse and dumping them in the rivers/lakes polluted the water. they were quickly finding themselves at a loss.
there was hope, however. from a neighboring town came a charitable civilian who decided with what equipment he had to help clean/dispose of the dead properly. it was a hard and unforgiving job but paid off in the end. the tree town folk thanked endlessly. this generosity did not to unnoticed, specifically by the idol who hated someone making the tree towners happy. the kind decomposition volunteer began to be mercilessly maimed by freak “accidents” every time he stepped foot on these grounds. to the point, he had no drive to help. the memory of the pain was too much. soon he left. leaving the town to itself.
the decomposition worker just couldn’t stop thinking about the town no matter how much he tried however. asking around and finding out bits and pieces how this whole ordeal even started. making rounds out to citizens who fled for their safety. gathering enough bits and pieces to make predictions, most evidence leading back to the death of the tactless god and his threats.
he soon learn about the dead mans dark secrets even finding his home, a bit hard as he was a hermit on the outskirts but once there found his sacred resting spot.
what an ugly face that little statue had.
the decomp specialist could feel a strong presence being harbored in that thing. giving himself to it, he bring an offering bowing to the artifact how it truly wanted. like a god.
from then on, the specialist be allowed to enter the town freely and help the residents as long as he always came back and gave himself to his fickle “god”.
the curse never did go away even decades later and the worker grow old, unable to work as fast he could years previous. decided his job was coming to an end, recruited a much younger helper to aid and eventually take the position over.
then that worker grew old and found a replacement.
then that replacement grew old and let in a new assistant.
centuries later, this practice still continue. we make it back to todays time. currently the man in charge is “decomp”, the field mouse.
cleaning up the residents messes for nearly 60 years. day in and day out.
observing and watching their every move from cameras discretely hidden about. every night going in and removing bodies and bits so everything will be perfect in the morning. he never interacts with any of the residents, none of them even know of his existence. mostly because he doesn’t live here either. he has no need to get close to any of them though.
the history of tree town has been slightly erased throughout the decades. every mention of the idol has been forgotten. when people die, they simply forget it ever happened instantly. a new addition to the curse that not even the decomp workers can figure out. when any residents are questioned about the rumor of the ailment, they haven’t a single clue and just stare like you’re crazy.
good, since no one needs to go poking around at things they shouldn’t be.
that is until one day, a new resident moves in from out of town eager to solve the mystery. an anteater named sniffles. learning/hearing the many rumors about this creepy place decided he was going to be the one to figure everything out and put an end to it.
asking around, he of course got the exact same puzzled reaction.
sniffles quickly learned the horrors really were true being completely taken aback when the person he just saw mangled in the streets just yesterday was now walking around today perfectly fine. he needed to get to the bottom of this.
one night whilst scraping toothy off a tree, decomp was startled by a nasally voice chirping up behind him. decomp and sniffles had finally met face to face -or face to gas mask. the anteater was filled to the brim with questions almost bubbling over the top. before he could even ask a single one, decomp spray sniffles in the face with an incapacitating agent causing the anteater to pass out immediately waking up safe at home sharply in the morning.
but sniffles was left with a single gift, a small card with a phone number written very neatly and nothing else.
sniffles was a bit groggy and had very little memory of what happened the night before, something in him drove the incentive to give it a call.
he spoke with decomp, an older slower voice filled with wheezes and coughs filled the receiver. their conversation was brief, directly to the point. they exchanged names and when to meet in person. that was it.
the two meet days later at sniffles’ home. sitting down together over tea. sniffles having a notepad locked and loaded with a pen ready to jot down the most important details. decomp explained he knows sniffles understands the carnage that tree town creates and how even the anteater himself remember every fate he find himself in. decomp also explains his job and how important it is to keep the residents in the dark blissfully ignorant. most importantly, the mouse also leave out every part about the idol not needing sniffles to get anywhere near that.
he say his goodbyes early despite the anteater’s plea for more information for he wasn’t allowed to lollygag in town for very long without consequence so they parted. sniffles was thankful for what he was given but deep down knew there had to be something more. there just had to be an answer.
decomp would watch sniffles every now and then not too worried about him doing anything stupid. yet somehow the anteater fly a little too close to the sun digging closer to things he shouldn’t be where decomp come -breaking into his home waiting for sniff to come back and get a stern talking to. warned not to stick his snout in places it doesn’t belong. warned not to anger the “beast” that control all their fates. threatened if he dare disturb the wicked one, decomp will come and treat sniffles to an even worse fate by his own hand.
their mutual relationship turn sour faster than either expect.
decomp constantly warning sniffles and sniff constantly ignoring each time. so entrapped in his studies, hardheaded and unwilling to let anyone get in his way.
he become a thorn in decomp’s old back.
misc info !!!
decomp never takes off his gas mask while working and is completely geared up. he wears his coat while off the job
his ears, face, hands, & tail are riddled with chemical burns. the large burn on his face affecting his eye was a slip-up after knocking a bucket and it splashing back
his best friend is the mole !! mole also moved to tree town after retirement so isnt affected by the curse remembering all the death he goes through, this is one of the reasons for this friendship. they can both openly talk about it and dec doesnt have to hide anything ( also the fact mole cant see really adds onto that )
wheezes/coughs all the time. sometimes he coughs up blood into his handkerchief but does nothing about it knowing its the inevitable result of breathing in toxic fumes for years
though the idols hidden home is destroyed fallen to the elements and the artifact does still exist underground, decomp has had this information passed down to him and still brings offerings as many many have for generations
decomp has a giant idol shrine in his home
the symbol worn around his neck is the idols and is seen as a secret sacred symbol among the various decomposition workers
decomp does not get paid for this job nor is it technically seen as a “job”. its still considered charity work. he makes money by selling organs on the black market
mostly drives around in a large white van filled to the brim with many supplies, normally has many bodies stacked in the back by the end of the night
has purposely murdered giggles after she took a picture of him while he was working. it took days to delete the evidence as she sent it to many people
the sleeping gas he use on the daily is a special recipe also passed down from generations. a concoction used to not only knock out the affected persons but also blurs the memory erasing any knowledge of what happened within a certain timeframe. every witness gets this treatment
absolutely despises splendid and dreads everytime he attempts to “save” tree town
the camera system around town is incredibly old put up before decomps current takeover. his only addiction was updating the surveillance making them more modern and useful. the system is directly connected to the large monitoring room in his home
has/will slap a corpse is this mess was all their fault
knows everyones secrets
not a big fan of lumpy, flippy, or nutty
absolutely tired of picking up nuttys jaw from various places
hates when cro-marmot is involved in any scene. usually has to sit and melt him all night long
has his own assistant in training named “ sticky “
considers the tree town residents his weird family
