i've been thinking a lot about that line in phm.. "it's been a long time since i've taken pills from a stranger" or something of the sort. and that paired with pre-canon grace calling a lead scientist a "staggering waste of carbon" at a UNESCO conference of all places.. #ToMe it points toward a turbulent, possibly substance abuse-riddled 20s/early 30s. not enough people are exploring that ithink ! (ik the on-and-off situationship would've been Devastating)
idk where this is going, i just wanted to yap about it, mayb hear your thoughts? that's all, have a nice day/night!
it didn't really go there as much as i wanted bc i had to cut a bunch of it for the flow of it, but that was the intended history for reader and grace in weight of us.
but yeah, i agree. there was probably some level of substance abuse. i would like to add, largely based off of that line, i don't think he had a preferred poison. he probably did just take whatever was around.
a few other misc hcs i have in relation to this, that don't bare much rambling:
academia (and before) grace is a different beast, one that grace in canon is horrified by, as well as a specific combination of ashamed and embarrassed to remember
i think he was a partier throughout college and a very functional one as as well. i don't think the dysfunction started until he was let loose into academia, the peak being the unesco conference
tangentially related, i think the unesco conference was not the first instance (i believe that's canon in the book, but i can't remember too well), and certainly not the worst. i can't imagine he hadn't said way nastier before. like the "staggering waste of carbon" had to have been so awful bc of who it was said to, not how 'harsh' it was.
another tangential thought - he probably said shit like that to superiors/senior academics often, and just got away with it because he was hot shit and kind of a prodigy
maybe a more self-indulgent hc. but of all the details grace (post-teaching) would find embarrassing, but at the time was a point of pride - grace never paid for a thing he took. its mostly "favors", needless tutoring, and shitty flings that shared their stashes to get in his pants. like while he doesn't think much of his appearance, i think he's aware others find him to be nice to look at. and if being pretty gets him