Talking about my Among Us OCs: Gray's backstory and time during the early days of the outpost
Gray, during their first few years on Polus was very enthusiastic and outgoing. They preferred to have a positive outlook on life that some other crewmates might find way "too much." While these days (during the events of crash imminent) they are much more reserved and have less energy than they used to have (mainly due to seeing their previous crewmembers die all around them + workplace injuries that range from minor to major), they still try to maintain a positive attitude and try to see the good in whatever situation they are in (no matter how dire or hopeless things may seem).
They are a Mechanical Engineer and was assigned to Polus in order to design and create many of the machines and devices used to keep the outpost from falling apart. Their most notable work is the design and creation of the two Seismic stabilizers that keep the outpost from being destroyed by earthquakes caused by nearby volcanic activity. While the job of maintaining the outpost's devices, machines, etc. was supposed to be the responsibility of the outpost's former mechanic, Auburn, Gray often did a lot of them since they had experience in repairing stuff as they worked as a mechanic before becoming an engineer (they worked as a mechanic to earn enough beans to pursue engineering).
Speaking of Auburn, Gray and Auburn were already friends before being assigned to the outpost. While they hadn't seen each other in years, and them meeting up for their new job was the first time they had seen each other in a while, they were looking forward to catching up where they left off. This is another reason why Gray insisted on doing some maintenance work/repairs as well, to spend time with Auburn.
Following Auburn's death and budget cuts made to the outpost, MIRA decided to hand over Auburn's responsibilities to Gray seeing as they did know how to do their job and because MIRA didn't want to put any more resources into the outpost.
After taking over Auburn's job, Gray eventually stopped doing what they were hired for (designing and creating new stuff etc.) and fully worked on maintaining and performing repairs across the outpost as the lack of resources and budget cut really made it hard to keep things together.
Another major connection they had with a crewmate on the outpost was with the former engineering intern of the crew, Lilac. Much like Green in the show, Lilac was an unpaid intern--who Gray (unbeknownst to MIRA) paid using part of their own salary. Gray liked Lilac because they were incredibly passionate and interested in engineering and their work. Gray believed a lot in Lilac due to their skill and talent despite being given almost no resources to develop said skills.
Lilac wasn't killed in the outpost, they escaped alongside another crewmate named Charcoal in one of the cargo ships MIRA sends to the outpost to deliver supplies. Gray never found out what happened to Lilac, but hopes that they're doing better with their life wherever they went after escaping.
The increasing number of deaths amongst their crew really took a toll on Gray's mental state, causing them to become a lot less energetic and enthusiastic as the years go by. The failing devices and equipment in the outpost due to the lack of funding to get the materials to properly repair them have caused Gray to increasingly risk their health and even life just to keep things from falling apart. They have to work with a lot less than they should have.
The most major "workplace accident" they experienced was when they slipped and fell into the lava pit while repairing a malfunctioning temperature recorder. While they were pulled out by the other crewmates after Tan called an emergency meeting for them. They were alive in the end, but they hit their visor with a rock while being pulled out. This caused them to have a permanent crack on their visor and impaired vision. It also caused them to be way more careful and vigilant, they started wearing specialized safety goggles everywhere they went, even going to sleep.
They also became increasingly afraid of the harsh snowstorms on Polus, which is what prompted them to build the tunnels that lead to places across the outpost. They tried convincing Banana to let them build tunnels leading to the Specimen or at the very least in Upper and Lower Decontamination, but Banana would vehemently refuse. They spend a lot of time in the tunnels, and they consider it a comfort space.
Speaking of Banana, Gray is also close with them but I'll talk about their relationship in Banana's post.
