Age
14
Looks
Short, tanned, with road shoulders and long arms for his age. Has a fully sentient and mildly belligerent octopus for a head, a Southern Red, to be specific. He and it are constantly warm and slightly clammy to the touch, with a faint rubbery texture to their skin. Given the size of his ‘passenger’, he wears a modified beekeeper’s shroud over his head as much as possible, under the pretense of extreme disfigurement...which is technically true. This also helps rein in the roving tentacles of the octopus itself, which has a tendency to grab random objects within reach and play around with them.
Personality
Quiet and unerringly polite, Gregory interacts with the world at a safe distance whenever possible, due to his condition and the way he manages it, he finds it tricky to speak publicly, preferring to ‘whisper’ to a single person or to a small group via telepathy. While he can ‘speak’ in the normal sense, the combination of beak and valves makes this almost unintelligible, meaning this only ever really happens in times of extreme stress.
Before his change, Greg was a big sports fan - an avid swimmer, with aspirations of going pro after school. Since then, with no way of being able to swim publicly, or even use chlorinated pools without choking, he’s had to start finding other ways of killing time. Reading was never a strong suit (in truth he actually struggles with dyslexia), but audiobooks have been a fun way of filling the hours, as well as the occasional quiet fishing trip with Mr Dee.
Bio
Gregory was a bit of an unusual addition to the Lubb family, out of a clan of doctors and technicians and cubicle jockeys, a sporting prodigy had landed in their midst like a well-aimed brick in a millpool. Despite initially being seen as an oddity, the family rallied behind him, giving financial and emotional support as best they could. His initial tryouts for the under 18’s competitions were exemplary and his first few competitions had him earmarked as a young talent to watch. Giddy with possibilities for the future, the Lubb clan took a family holiday to Cyprus to celebrate.
When they came back, Gregory had changed significantly. The matter of competitive swimming was quietly put to rest. All in all, the family quietly redacted the last few years from their minds and regressed to treating their youngest as if he’d always been the shy, quiet, stunted creature he’d become. These days the only adult Greg feels any kind of kinship towards is his paid ‘carer’ Mr Dee, pretty much the only person outside of the Lubb family who knows about Greg’s condition and treats him like a normal human being.
Albeit one with an octopus for a head.
Favourite Things
Swimming, Watching Sports, Crab (Whole. Crunchy.)
Darkest Secret
Early on, when he’d first changed, Greg had contemplated something really drastic. If Mr Dee hadn’t seen the signs and intervened, he may not be here today, although he still bears the scars of what he tried to do...and keeps them hidden from his family at all costs.
Relationships
Mr Dee (2), The Lubbs (1), Sportsmanship (1)
Weird Relationships
Southern Red-Head (1), Call Of The Sea (1)
Stats
Feet: 4
Dodge: 1 P.E.: 3 Kicking: 0
Guts: 4
Courage: 1 Wind: 3 Wrestling: 1
Hands: 4
Shop: 1 Punching: 1 Blocking: 1
Brains: 2
Notice: 1 Out-think: 0 Remember: 2
Face: 1
Charm: 0 Connive: 0 Putdown: 0
Weird Powers
Hands + Prehensile Grip - Greg’s hands are a little more concave than you first expect. When he presses them against a flat surface, they stick fast. Lately he’s learned that this can be applied to a lot more than just walls. (1d, Useful - Wall Climb)
Guts + Gills - Given how the octopus is now doing the duties of seeing and eating, breathing also came under its purview. Good for him, this meant being able to breathe underwater. (1d, Useful - Water Breathing, Immunity - Drowning)
Brains + Telepathy - For a long time Greg couldn't talk, or communicate in any meaningful way other than writing things down for people to read, something that was made doubly difficult thanks to his struggle with dyslexia. Then, one day, he started being able to talk, but directly into people's heads. He's a bit worried, because he has absolutely no idea why that is. Maybe it's the octopus. Can they be psychic? Are they all like this, but choose not to? SO MANY QUESTIONS. (1d, Useful - Direct Telepathy)