this guy has like 12 dedicated fans and i think it's safe to say i am one of them… i recently got him in my NINAH playthrough and read his whole script, so i decided to write down some of my headcanons/character analysis about him! this post is not exhaustive and i might write more about him in the future. i hope you enjoy!
i am the first person to say that many characters should be older than they appear but i do see Grayscale Guy on the younger side, probably around his mid to late 20s. even though he talks about being burnt out a lot, it's clear he still has a lot of passion for his career/instrument and probably would love nothing more than to continue pursuing it. being part of a band is not for the faint of heart! it is a very physically demanding career! but honestly he just reminds me a lot of my friends who are in bands and are around his age.
continuing that thought: i believe that it's true that he played in bands for a living, but i think most of his work was small-time rock. there are debates on the wiki about calling him the "rockstar"-- i never really saw him that way, since it's pretty obvious he never got famous (he even admits to lying to us about some of the small success he DID have in his job). however, it is still perfectly possible to play gigs and have a career as a local musician that typically plays in clubs and dive bars, so that is the kind of legacy i think he had. it also makes sense if he is still in his 20s. again, just something i see in real life!
he is pretty good with the guitar! i think he has been playing for a long time, probably since he was a teenager. he seems very comfortable with the instrument, evidenced by his willingness to play for us and talks about his career. my headcanon is that he was classically trained to read music as a child, but later got into rock and it helped him develop his ability on the axe!
he is a nonconfrontational individual, maybe even a pacifist. i guess we do not have enough solid information to make a strong case for this one, but i got this vibe from him based on his script. he seems at least somewhat responsible, given that he has evidently learned from his past crazy experiences, but i get the impression that he doesn't like to participate in violence or other reckless, life-threatening behaviors. i'm sure he's had a bar fight or two in his life, but i think he strongly dislikes getting into situations like that and avoids it.
he may be an introvert. again venturing into headcanon territory, he honestly seems pretty independent and chill about it. also seems to value his small group of friends/bandmates and describes numerous memories he had with them. it's not that i don't think extroverts can't have meaningful friendships too, this is more or less my own projection on him lol.
he is a fairly sentimental person (well, more than he lets on). he often talks about the lack of formalities and grief he and his cohort have been able to show one another when someone suffers a fatality, and gives us a rather "matter of fact" attitude when sharing this, but i think it's obvious that it bothers him way more than that. of course, i think that's very normal, what with death being the topic and all! but he is a character who likes to save face, and i think he does that very honestly. he has respect for his dead friends despite how nonchalantly he talks about them, and i think inside he is mourning them dearly. also… he misses his axe.
on a lighter note: he's a total night owl. you won't hear from him until at least 10 AM on a good day. he won't even drink coffee, although sometimes if he really has to be somewhere he'll do an energy drink. he's not a naturally sluggish person, just needs to wake up when the sun starts going down.
he used to drink a lot when he played gigs at bars and parties, but doesn't go as hard anymore, partially because of the crazy experiences he's had while under the influence, but also because he cares about being able to play well.
he likes a lot of 90s metal! (this is actually not a headcanon, this is real according to his creator) i think it's fitting for the game because it takes place in roughly the early 90s. at that time, metal was only starting to become less underground in russia (that is my understanding, anyway). he has a handful of bands that are in heavy rotation and his playing is like them.
he is pretty sharp, and his confidence can be felt around the room. i consider him someone that is pretty chilled out when he's not angry. i think he talks more about his feelings than he expresses them, like for example, when he said he'd bust down our door if he was a visitor... i don't think he would actually do that! he's all talk, although his sentiments are serious.
he is one of the nicer, more polite guests. i don't think he picks bones with people if there is no good reason to. there's no point!
there is not a lot of content out there about this gorgeous man as of the time of posting this, so i'd love to hear others' opinions on him! he is my favorite (don't let wireface hear me say that) and he is very familiar to me as a fellow metalhead! i love you grayscale guy 🖤
