just another work in progress

Uh oh, I've got bad news for you, Grace

Rocky and Grace

Grace: That's me!

I bet he used to be a MENACE. He probably mellowed a lot after Denmark and carefully controls himself now that he's a teacher.

While it's not 1:1 we can see in both the book and movie that he's given to snark and a little impatience for what he sees as nonsense (like demanding immediate results on studying a brand new species). "Wow! Nothing happened!" isn't something a spineless person says to a group of obviously important people. He's a little smart ass who, imo, took a major hit to the ego and had his internal foundation rocked. And because of that maybe retreated into insecurity and finds it difficult to believe in himself.

But those basic personality traits are still there. He'll still tell Stratt she's being a jerk. He'll still say things like "sure seems optional to me" then get in his car and leave. He'll still demand to be let back onto the project and refuse to take no for an answer. He's still the guy who was taking random drugs from strangers back in the day.

This version of Grace is infinitely more interesting than the woobified version I see sometimes. The character is many things, but weak was never on the list. That man is a retired crashout who just might take things all the way left if pushed and the deep breathing/countdown combo doesn't help.

write insane shit that’s way beyond your perceived ability and skill level even if you don’t finish it even if you think it sucks