#entropa

This isn’t my personal interpretation of Grimgrim and Brat Finn but this is a fun idea I had that I decided to explore.

In this twisted timeline Gumgum became possessed/corrupted by Entropa (this happening before the party’s encounter with Inku) unable to save Gumgum the others were forced to retreat even though Entropa wasn’t at full power he was still too strong to fight head on.

Bartholomew ran into Inku who decided to have fun with this exiting opportunity and struck a deal with Bart that she would reunite Bart with Gumgum if he became her warlock, out of options and desperate to save his friend Bart agreed.

Bart hoped to use the power Inku gave him to eventually betray Inkoo and Entropa and save Gumgum, unfortunately he underestimated Entropa and couldn’t fully expel him from Gumgum but he was able to suppress him.

Because Inku couldn’t fully fulfil her end of the bargain Bart didn’t completely become lost to her still keeping a semblance of free will unfortunately things would go south regardless. With the other infinights gone and his own soul semi owned by the wicked lady Brat abandoned his new home reestablishing himself as a pirate

Brat now corrupted by Inku’s magic began to hate Grimgrim, he knew that Entropa was still in there and that Gumgum would never be the same again, eventually disassociating Grimgrim from Gumgum completely (perhaps even renaming him himself to further the distinction).

Brat would use his magic over emotions to keep Grimgrim calm and in check, at first to ensure Entropas rage would never resurface to the point of him returning, but eventually he decided to use his magic to control his emotions for his own benefit using him as a weapon, filling Grimgrim with rage so he would destroy anyone who apposed him and then calming him down so he would never turn his anger against him.

From Grimgrims perspective on the situation I’m tore, it either goes one of two ways. Either Grimgrim doesn’t realise he’s being used and genuinely believes Brat loves him, the part of Gumgum that’s still in there seeing Brat as his best friend and he doesn’t realise his emotions are being manipulated. He thinks that when others try to hurt Brat or when Brat wants him to hurt others his rage is his own, and that when he’s alone with Brat he feels calm and happy feeing safe around him. Associating calm and happieness with Brat while associating anything Brat doesn’t like with rage and pain.

Or

He knows he’s being used but he doesn’t care, a part of him wants to believe that Brat is still the Bart he once knew (Gumgum), but the other part of him wants to tear Brat apart for daring to use him (Entropa), both sides cancelling each-other out leading to apathy. After all, what’s the point in fighting Brat? he doesn’t have anyone else. His friends are gone, his family abandoned him, this is all he knows now, what would he do if he left? where would he go? Even if he did find anyone new it would probably end the same, at least here he can associate Brat with something familiar and pretend he has something worth fighting for.

As the years went by Brats corruption grew more and he couldn’t even acknowledge Gumgum as a part of Grimgrim anymore (if he ever could) as far as Brat was concerned his Gumgum died years ago and him using Grimgrim as a pawn was Entropas justified punishment. But then they were approached by a figure they haven’t encountered in years Little Jimmy, but this wasn’t their Little Jimmy this was a man from another place, another time.

Little Jimmy showed Brat and Grimgrim a world of what could have been a world where Entropa was defeated and they both enjoyed happy ending with their friends who never fell to darkness and envy grew within them. Little Jimmy informed them that it was these infinights that in their carelessness created timelines that ended in tragedy not just for them but countless others and he offered them a chance at revenge to which they happily took.

Things in the one shot play out pretty much the same, except after the fact Gumgum brings the Dia gems together and he and the others Travel to these alternate worlds to try and fix what went wrong and save their otherselves.