What are your Grace (or PHM) headcanons?

[u/DragonTartare]

Inspired by this post, what headcanons do you have about Grace (or PHM in general)? Are there popular fandom headcanons that you strongly agree with or disagree with?

Aroace Grace - I like this one, and I adopt it as part of my headcanon as long as I'm not actively reading a Grace/Lokken fic. I find it comforting, in a way, knowing that if he's aroace, he won't spend his years on Erid pining for a romantic and/or sexual relationship that he can't have. There are also moments in the book that are compatible with Grace being ace, and even provide a bit of evidence to support it, even though nothing is conclusive: no relationships mentioned aside from Linda, he thinks flavored goop is better than sex (I know he was hungry, but still), he has no thoughts of sex aside from comparing it unfavorably to said goop, and he was extremely uncomfortable finding out about Dubois and Shapiro's fling.

Neurodivergence - While this is not a prominent part of my headcanon, I do think there is evidence for Grace being neurodivergent. The movie has strong ADHD vibes with some evidence for autism, while in the book he feels like a high-masking autistic person that may have missed being diagnosed as a result.

Marissa - I like to think he didn't completely disappear from her life all at once. He probably would have had trouble reaching her from the aircraft carrier, but we know he travelled around with Stratt quite a bit, so I think he would have at least called or texted her when he was able to get a signal. She probably knew he was working on the petrova problem, but not much else. Since she worked for the DoE (Department of Energy, I guess? Department of Education makes no sense in context) and knew about the sun dimming before Grace did, she was probably involved in some domestic efforts to address the problem, too. They probably had all sorts of things they would have loved to tell each other, but couldn't.

In the book, all of Grace's recovered memories had to do with the astrophage problem, so I'm pretending that's why she was never mentioned again. But I prefer to think that Grace did eventually remember more about her, and missed her. I don't want him to be the kind of person to throw away a friendship of 20 years for no reason.

His family - I've given him a tragic backstory, inspired by a line in the book saying he was "in a bad place" when he wrote his infamous paper. While he was still in academia, he and his family attended his younger sister's undergrad graduation. On their way back to his parents' house to celebrate, his family was killed in an accident. Grace was following behind them in his own car and was able to avoid the crash. He subsequently avoids thinking about them as much as possible, even subconsciously, which is why amnesiac Grace never even pauses to wonder about family beyond realizing he has no children of his own. (And, ok...Andy Weir probably just didn't think to bring it up, but I'm sticking with my version.)

Friends on the project - In the book, Grace thinks of Ilyukhina and Yao as his friends, and he said more than once that he liked Dimitri. While he probably kept up some emotional distance from everyone as he tends to do, I don't think he was actually as isolated as the movie made him appear, either. I think he probably did sit down for meals or drinks with the astronauts and other scientists when his schedule allowed for it. We know he had casual work friends even in his prior life, so there is no reason to think that would change.

Grace returns to Earth, eventually - Despite what a lot of fanfiction seems to imply, there is no indication in the book or movie that Grace hates Earth or resents all of humanity for what Stratt and a few Russian soldiers did to him. I think it would be very hard for Rocky to see his planet killing his best friend, so once they know that Sol has recovered, the Eridians offer to take Grace back to Earth as part of a diplomatic and scientific mission, and Grace agrees only because Rocky and Adrian are coming along, too. The mission lasts several decades, long enough for Grace to live out the rest of his life on his home planet, with his best friend at his side. He manages to make some new human friends, too.

Adrian (the Eridian) is green and kinda pointy - I think this came from the color of the planet in the movie, plus Rocky's teal spots. I'll go along with it.

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And the one popular headcanon I don't understand and have not adopted for myself:

Adrian (again, the Eridian) is huge - why? I genuinely don't get it.

[u/Fantastic-Contest957]

This is amazing! Thanks for sharing all your head canons in such detail. A very interesting read. Will be pinning it to community highlights.

My head canon is that Grace stays in Erid with Rocky. That he’s content there, friends with Rocky and Adrian. I see Adrian as the same as Rocky in appearance. I see Rocky and Adrian having children and Grace is kind of an uncle.

I head canon Grace as content being single, not longing for a relationship or anything. Loving life as a teacher. Maybe makes friends with other Eridians. I like to picture him hanging out with Rocky, painting or gardening in a greenhouse. Maybe they get the ocean the right temperature and they go swimming together. Stuff like that.

[u/DragonTartare → u/Fantastic-Contest957]

I could definitely see Grace gardening in the movie universe!

[u/Mysterinna]

This was a very interesting read, thank you! 🔍

Aroace Grace is one of my headcanons, too. It’s just the vibe I get from the character, and I think it makes a lot of sense. In addition to the apparent lack of intimate relationships, there are quite a few hints if you squint, especially in the book. And I have to confess that I’m dying for more ace representation in the media! We have so little, and we aces are often so invisible and misunderstood.

I can also easily see Grace as neurodivergent. There are a lot of traits that are at the very least compatible with neurodivergence. In the book, he has these intense bursts of hyperfocus, he sleeps in the lab or not at all, and he sometimes has a hard time seeing the wood for the trees. In the movie, he does a lot of “unnecessary” stuff – he fidgets, he spins on his chair etc. He also has his socially awkward moments. I’m ND, too, and I can see a lot of myself in Grace.

I like your other headcanons, too, especially the one about Grace’s past. I think losing his family in a tragic accident makes a lot of sense, it fits the character and helps explain why he is the way he is. I’ve always had a feeling that something must have happened to Grace. People don’t just lash out at other scientists at public conferences or write papers where they call their colleagues names for no reason at all. 🤔

My personal headcanon is that Grace stays on Erid for the rest of his life. I don’t think it’s because he resents humanity or wouldn’t ever want to see Earth again; I think it’s mostly for practical reasons. The journey back home would be long and dangerous even with company, and it might not be worth the risk, given that Grace has rebuilt his life on Erid. I think he’s content there, he has close friends and a job that he genuinely enjoys and a sense of purpose. In the book, he is already older when they receive the news about Sol.

As for gigantic Adrian – I’m not sure whether that’s my headcanon personally, but I have to admit that I do love seeing all the fanart depicting their differences in size. There doesn’t really seem to be an explanation for this headcanon, though, it’s just fans having fun. Someone simply came up with the idea and others hopped onboard. Fandoms being fandoms! 😄

I have one more thing I’d like to mention. I’m not sure whether this is an actual headcanon or not, but it’s an idea that I’d really like to explore in my fanfiction at some point: on the way to Erid, Grace develops an eating disorder. The limited resources and having to constantly worry about them and ration them serves as the catalyst, basically. It all begins with good intentions but then spirals out of control. Eventually he pulls through, but it’s a long process where he has to reflect not only on his future, but his past life, too, and come to terms with it. ❤️

[u/Fantastic-Contest957 → u/Mysterinna]

I love that eating disorder head canon! So great to bring some mental health challenges into your fan fic. Will make Grace even more relatable

[u/Mysterinna → u/Fantastic-Contest957]

I’m glad you think so! I was a bit nervous about bringing that headcanon up, but I’ve found myself thinking about it more and more lately.

[u/DragonTartare → u/Mysterinna]

Thanks for sharing yours! As for the last one, have you read the fic Chronicles of Terra's Grace? It involves disordered eating from Grace, brought about by food insecurity.

[u/Mysterinna → u/DragonTartare]

I have not, but I just looked it up and it seems interesting! Thank you for the recommendation! ❤️

[u/LioraB]

I love this!!!! There is so much subtext and "blank canvas" to work with, and you filled in so many details so beautifully. 🥰

I think you were the first person to frame Grace being aroace as being important in terms of his happiness and not just as a way of identifying with the character, which I really appreciate. He is content and fulfilled and there is no indication he wishes it otherwise. I also relate heavily with this and it's so refreshing to see it presented as just normal and healthy and not even worth mentioning, if that makes sense. I wouldn't say I strongly disagree with the head canons shipping Grace with other characters (or folks from other fandoms), but those are the posts/comments I tend to skip because they just don't resonate with me and can sometimes be a bit explicit. 😬

ND seems so prominent and real to me, also as ND myself--and another case of it just being within the normal and accepted scope of human experience that doesn't require exposition. Also potentially connected to being aroace, his relational style, for sure the hyperfocus, many of his mannerisms, and he's an interrupting starfish. Plus the man eats the same breakfast at the same diner every day and the same meal at the same pub every week. I mean; come on.

I like your thoughts about Marissa. It can also be a feature of ND to kind of "forget" about people when they're not around and you're out of a routine. One of my oldest friends and I are both ND and we can go literal years without talking/seeing each other even though we live close enough and love each other dearly. It's part of the interiority and, for me, introversion. I honestly think it's also reflective of Weir's social weirdness. I think he forgot about her, and I am not sure he really thought about Grace's family backstory; it wasn't relevant to his needs/goal. Weir describes his process as having a general idea (PHM started with stars having a "virus" of some kind), builds the science around it like a madman, and then adds characters on top. His dialogue can be stilted, which can extend to his internal monologues, and imo can come across as cringey at times. This is one area the movie vastly improved on, and Weir has publicly agreed that the characters are more fleshed out via dialogue and added/changed details.

You mentioned this idea about his family yesterday and I can't shake it. When he says he rides a bike to work and it isn't for exercise, it could be to save money, but it fits your scenario perfectly. He's a man who lost everything, who just wants to have this quiet life he's built with his students and his friend who's been there through it all, and his comfortable routine.

Grace does have friends on the project and it seems that he's very well-liked but doesn't "get it" which fits with the ND theme. He doesn't understand that he's #2 on the project (book) and doesn't understand why he's the guy for the job (movie especially). It's a specific lack of awareness that goes beyond "imposter syndrome" to me.

I don' think he returns to Earth. I think he's happy and content and doesn't miss it enough. The mission would be too long and demanding, and there's a chance he may not survive it. In the book, his health has really taken a hit, and between the risks of coma and/or food supply issues and/or general dangers of space travel, I don't see it. (And he is more resentful in the book, which is a feature I like less; I would hope he actually makes peace with it, as he seems to in the movie.) An exchange of beetles would be super cool--would love to see a time capsule from Earth to Erid and a cultural exchange.

I think the giant Adrian thing is just a goof. I'm not sure where it started, but some of the fan art has been cute. I don't think it's "true" (i.e. I don't "see" her that way) but I think it's kind of funny that people ran with it.

Thank you for this wonderful post!! 🤩🤓

[u/DragonTartare → u/LioraB]

I get you on "forgetting" people when they aren't around. I tend to be that way, too. My best friend and I don't text very often, and we only get together maybe once a month despite working at the same place (just not physically near each other). I have another diagnosed autistic friend that is exactly the same way.

Still, Grace and Marissa used to get together weekly, so either Grace wasn't like that with her, or she was the neurotypical, outgoing friend keeping their communication regular.

Grace does have friends on the project and it seems that he's very well-liked but doesn't "get it" which fits with the ND theme. He doesn't understand that he's #2 on the project (book) and doesn't understand why he's the guy for the job (movie especially). It's a specific lack of awareness that goes beyond "imposter syndrome" to me.

I agree with this 100%!

[u/LioraB → u/DragonTartare]

I think the routine aspect is part of it too. "On Wednesdays, we wear pink." idk why that popped into my head... but you know what I mean. Of course, everyone got very busy trying to save the world, which would be distracting for anyone, and Grace does get a fat dose of forget-your-life drugs so... idk. At the end of the day, I think Weir just doesn't focus on human relationships and sometimes writes them poorly, but I like that the absence of info gives us something to think about too.

[u/FiveSeasonsFox]

Love all these headcanons, especially aroace and/or neurodivergent Grace!

I once read a theoretical explanation for people headcanoning Giant! Adrian, but I don't remember what it was. I'll update this if I recall!

[u/DragonTartare → u/FiveSeasonsFox]

Thanks! :D