Art so sad on tumblr. Edits so sad on tt. Fics so sad on ao3. For a movie with such a hopeful interpolation of Dies Irae everyone is just Sadâ˘. Including me. Lemme fix that. *Throws you wholesome hcs*
⢠Grace accidentally(?) raises a bunch of nerds on Erid. Starting by naming them with movie references. Obi-Wan Kenobi is wrangling with Spock on whose turn is it to sit in front of the class.
⢠Grace def celebrates human holidays with them. Someone on Erid asked him about human cultures and customs, and he figured that he might as well show demonstrations? Eridian children are delighted to learn of Halloween.
⢠Y'all know who Dr. Tatiana Erukhimova is? Except it's Grace doing the wildest science demonstrations. He sets himself on fire. He nearly poisons himself. He breaks a bone by demonstrating physics using his body instead of an instrument like a normal person.
⢠Rocky is concerned with the fact that Grace is willing to be a subject of some experiments. As long as he wasn't bound and held down against his will. They start by adjusting light and temperature inside the dome to emulate seasons. Somehow they end up able to grow plant life and some flora. Grace is ecstatic to see the first fleck of green sprout between a crack in the rocks. Plant grow on Rocky too, question? No, Rocky. You breathe high levels of ammonia.
⢠Grace learns to communicate with instruments. He learns he's good with a DIY piano he made with Rocky's help. But he likes the harmonica a little bit more.
⢠He learns echolocation. Or is taught by the kids. Sometimes the class is permitted to enter the dome with their tiny little suits, and Grace blindfolds himself to play hide and seek with the kids on the beach.
⢠Grace finds a drive filled with movies that Stratt may or may not have pirated for him to take to space. They manage to build a player for the Eridians to watch. The kids seem to like Wall-E quite well.
⢠He knitted the little Earth bean bag himself and tries to pick up knitting in Erid. Tries to teach the kids how to knit too despite... claws. It not working doesn't deter him from knitting the children their own little sweaters anyway.
⢠Grace def has NOT let go of the terrible puns and references. He's in some kind of meeting with the Eridian scientists, and then he goes like "Whoop, there it is" levels of awkwardness. It comes with being Dr. Ryland Grace, I fear.
⢠In the same vein: he learns/understands Eridian at the end of the movie without the need for translator, I'm sure he learns of Eridian catchphrases too. He might or might not hang some of it on his walls.
⢠They figure out a way to make Eridian jewelry that doesn't burn human skin. The moment they do, Grace is immediately flocked by it. Like Florence Pugh in that one scene in Midsommar with all the flowers.
⢠Speaking of Midsommar, Grace can't dance to save his life. He's got that little shimmy shimmy with Rocky, but he figures that if he were to teach Eridians about human culture he has to act out some of it. He tries anyway, and no one else would know how terrible some of his attempts are.
⢠He works his ass off to try and help Eridians see color. Reads up on synesthesia, reads all the descriptors he needs. He struggles. White-Blue are cold while Red-Orange are hot. Stars are opposite, question? Yes, well. That's a different story.
⢠He still records. On his laptop, and on another device that the Eridians made, so his lessons can still be viewed by future generations of Eridian children. At some point in their future, Erid manages to throw a hello probe towards Earth, containing the life Grace lived in Erid. I'm vouching for you guys.
⢠Grace understands Eridian well enough and could probably reply with an instrument as well, but the puppet show lives on. You're not going to convince me that Grace isn't the kind of teacher to make huge visual aids for his kinds, even back on Earth. He def puts on a show.
There's probably a lot more but my brain is all juiced up. No thoughts only phm.