So I’ve read posts and fics about Grace discovering his aroaceness and exploring what that means to him and I would like to point out that his canonical friendship with Marissa is a GOLDMINE for exploring aroace Grace as a concept. Like, consider:
Grace comparing his feelings about his ex-girlfriend Linda to his comparatively much more comfortable and fun platonic relationship with Marissa
Grace feeling anxious about whether Marissa might have feelings for him (man is terrified he has been taken OUT of the friendzone)
Grace being relieved when Marissa honestly tells him she has no romantic or sexual interest in him but likes being around him anyway
Grace having a hard time articulating to other people why he and Marissa aren’t attracted to each other
Grace being part of the reason Marissa and his roommate broke up because his friendship made her have higher standards for men overall
Grace attempting to date post-Linda and every woman he meets being intimidated by his friendship with Marissa, which he finds hard to understand.
Grace realizing Marissa is also dealing with people she dates not liking how much time she spends with him.
Marissa choosing Grace’s friendship over her boyfriends every time
Grace and Marissa getting older and coworkers being confused why they aren’t married
I like headcanoning Marissa as a scientist working to develop solar powered tech for the DOE and so Grace sometimes invites her to talk to his class about renewable energy. Imagine students asking if there’s something between them.
People dismissing Marissa’s significance in Grace’s life because he calls her his “friend,” and not anything else. Asking him to cancel on his Thursday dinner date with her, or implying that he must find her unattractive, or even implying that she has a crush on him and he’s leading her on (or vice versa)
Grace and Marissa needing to fake being in a relationship for some sort of accidental situation they find themselves in and both being like “ok that was really weird” afterwards
Someone suggesting Marissa is like a sister figure to Grace and he doesn’t think that’s accurate either
Marissa is probably the only existing human character who Grace was close enough to plausibly share some degree of actual physical affection with. He’s not hugging Stratt, that’s for sure.
No seriously I need more fics where they hug.
Anyway consider becoming obsessed with Marissa and thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
turnnoffyourmind
jacobvanloon
vaporwave
theartofmadeline
tangentwithtanner
dededos
kianamaiart
baratheonpilled
