Random Red vs. Blue Headcanons and AUs

grimmons edit to the song “So Alright, Cool, Whatever” by The Happy Fits

I feel like if Simmons were to get critically injured during combat, Grif would likely also stop fighting- he'd be distracted with Simmons until he's captured or wounded/killed too. He would potentially even surrender or call for retreat if he thought it would mean getting medical help for Simmons (even if it's already too late). At his core, Grif's not a fighter, he didn't sign up for any of this, he doesn't care about honour or glory or whatever. At the end of the day he just wants them all to pull their way through whatever mess they've found themselves embroiled in, find a comfy spot with good company, and chill. If Simmons isn't part of that endgame picture for Grif anymore, ngl I think that would be a huge blow to his motivation to keep fighting. (Unless it was a personal 1-v-1 situation. Basically a big bad-vs-Grif & Simmons where he'd have one particular target to go after once he watches Simmons die. Then I could see him being down for the revenge thing.)

Simmons, however, is approximately 4 inches away from committing war crimes as a default setting. The man has buried his C.O. alive in the name of a promotion (and only agreed to dig him up again when he realized there was a miscommunication), he's sicced an enemy tank on his own base because they gave his job to Donut, he did not hesitate to attempt to gut a soldier in power armor with a bowie knife. He has not met a proportionate emotional response once in his life. Grif is like his emotional support asshole, and I genuinely think if Simmons were to lose him, it would trigger a blind murder spree. He would be ALL IN on the bloody revenge front. Sure, Simmons may be crying for most of it, but that doesn't change that he won't hesitate to equip a rocket launcher and make that anyone standing in his way's problem.

Basically- if Simmons dies on Grif's watch, Grif is likely also removed from combat by default.

really enjoy simmons as the intersection of "guy who Needs Constant Praise Or He'll Die Probably" and "in a constant state of agonizing about what is the Right thing to do/what he is Supposed to do/what is the Normal thing to do [while not seeing any distinction between these]" and "constantly chasing this ideal of being recognized and respected that is really not realistic, at least not with the way he's going about it like you can fill up the Respect Points Bar by grinding chores and the most obsequious dialogue options" and "would sell absolutely anyone to satan for a corn chip of that recognition/achievement/praise".

like

VERY fun to have a guy chronically brownnosing a) because he's genuinely reduced to an emotional wreck by any whiff of something adjacent to fatherly approval AND b) for rather cynically ambitious reasons totally ready to starscream it the moment he gets the opportunity. Very fun to have a guy who a) worries about things like recycling and veganism AND b) is down with turncoating and murder. Very fun to have a guy a) who idolizes and strives to emulate authority figures AND b) really at his core does not respect them except as someone who has achieved what he desperately wants, and secretly knows he would obviously do it soooo much better than these idiots. Very fun to have a guy who's a) really anxiously, fastidiously conscientious and cares about the right thing in abstract AND b) really low emotional empathy and gives surprisingly few fucks about other people when it comes down to it

On Twitter, Jason Weight, head writer of season 17, tweeted out that he was going to share his unmade scripts, as well as sharing a link to a Grimmons scene and the reveal that he intended for Grimmons to be canon, were he to have written season 18:

Then, the Tumblr account @riproosterteeth shared a post with a Google Drive of Jason’s unused 17 scripts and concepts for 18:

This is not Jason, but I do have confirmation that he is okay with these scripts getting leaked.

They become friends, Grif getting a crush on Simmons and gives him a way to keep talking to him. A bracelet that shows he is kind of spoken for ( that a fae took interest in him). They are connect through dreams. It’s almost like he was actually there in the void.

Growing up, Simmons had forgotten about Grif to an extent but vaguely recognize him. These dreams where he was exploring himself and maybe showing interest in the handsome guy he vents too.

Grif hasn’t spoken a word to Simmons until they met again as adults. Simmons has given Grif a kiss or two in the dreams and Grif got more enamored.

They decide to date :3

i drew this ages ago and totally forgot about it. i thought itd be hilarious if tucker paid grif and simmons’s kid to come out as blue to them lmao

The first info we get about the Grif family comes, naturally, with Kai’s introduction:

“Well, you always looked after me when Mom ran away to join the circus.”

Boom. Here came the circus backstory, and the hint that Grif’s childhood wasn’t exactly functional.

In s13 we got Doc’s severe burn:

“And I’m Dexter Grif! Reporting for duty. Oh, wait, never mind! I forgot that I’m a worthless sack of human excrement, that wouldn’t be caught dead following orders, because I’m too busy wishing my parents loved me as much as my sister, hahaha! Maybe if I had a stable father figure growing up I wouldn’t be so opposed to order, but I guess that’s just what happens when your mother turns tricks behind the elephant cages at the circus, hahahaha! Here Dex, have some more cotton candy!”

Adding on the circus backstory, we were now given new info: Kaikaina was the favored child, and Grif, despite his usual apathetic demeanor, was deeply affected by this.

For a long time, that was the info we had. There was Schrödinger’s draft (that season 17 then canceled completely, holy shit) which could easily be added to the canon angst of Grif’s childhood.

Now comes the more exciting parts.

At the beginning of season 16, Kai says this to Grif:

“You should really stick with what you’re good at, big bro: not calling Mom, and sucking the cheese out of mozzarella sticks.”

And I remember doing a doubletake at the mention of their mom. A part of me just always figured that she disappeared with the circus, but this suggested she stayed in touch – not only that, but she remained close with Kai.

Grif’s distance to their mom is once again noted. Kai’s comment, however, can be read in different manners. Either Kai is talking about the present – meaning she still has contact with their mom, while Grif continues to ignore her. Or it could be a throwback to when Grif moved to go to college and then failed to reach out to their mom. Once again, this highlights a relationship between Kai and their mom with Grif out of the picture.

Skipping ahead to s17, we get the not-a-draft reveal, but also some more details about the Grif family situation:

Grif: “All my memories were in there! Fuck, Kai! Where’s mom living?!”

Kai: “The trailer park…?”

So this suggests that despite the circus thing, their mom remained in their lives, perhaps even returning to stay with Kai until the fire. Whereas before it’d been popular to believe she just left and Grif took over to watch over Kai, it seems that this was only a temporary period.

Kai, despite mentioning how important Grif was to her in their mom’s absence, never seems to harvest that many negative emotions towards their mom. She stayed with her, kept in contact. It was Grif who pulled away, and this could be read (which leads to the forever unanswered question – just how much depth are we supposed to look for in a comedy show about colorful space marines?) as Grif refusing to forgive her for this abandonment.

This all leads to Grif admitting that he left his family on purpose.

“No. No, I needed more structure than a bearded mom and… school can give me. So I enlisted. I… I ran away.”

He mentions their mom as a direct reason to join the army. The resentment Grif has for their mom is nothing new, and I know I’m just repeating stuff you already know, but it’s that “not calling Mom” comment that keeps haunting me.

Mama Grif might still be out there. Kai might be in contact with her. But it’s been Grif’s direct decision to not stay in contact with her – by not calling her, by practically fleeing Earth to get away.

Despite Kai and Grif’s closeness, they do not agree on this. It’s not a cause of an argument, it’s not something they directly talk about, but everything suggests that Kai still has a relationship with a parent that Grif gave up on. Kai might not be aware of Grif’s resentment, he might not have brought it up. It’s a sore spot, even more sore now when it’s been revealed that Grif’s feelings towards their mom led to him not just leaving her, but Kai as well. That was a consequence of the distance Grif needed to put between himself and their mom.

Coming back to Doc’s comment, I hardly think Grif wants to blame Kai for staying in contact with their mom, because Grif could never have the relationship she had with their mom. Kai was the favorite child. Grif was not. Grif was left with a responsibility he did not deserve nor want because their mom failed to be a responsible parent. Grif was hurt, and as a result, he left and eventually turned towards apathy to get comfortable in his new role. Kai cannot let go of their mom because she was loved, and she might not understand why Grif pulled away if she isn’t aware of Grif’s jealousy towards her role, and if she wasn’t old enough to properly understand the consequences of their mom’s neglect.

It’s quite ironic, looking at s15, that Grif once again leaves a family because he did not feel appreciated.

Some of you haven’t seen this masterpiece I made so here.