The Doctor

FULL NAME: Tanner Jacob Hyde Grayton

NICKNAMES/ALIASES: Tanner, Dr. Grayton

SPECIES: Human

ETHNICITY: American

KNOWN LANGUAGES: English, ASL, some Russian, some Spanish

RELIGION: Unaligned

AGE: 27

GENDER: Male

PRONOUNS: He/Him

ORIENTATION: Bisexual

OCCUPATION: Forensics Specialist, Laboratory Chemist, Endocrinologist, Psychiatric Behavioral Specialist, General Practitioner

EYE COLOR(S): Hazel

HAIR COLOR(S): Brown

HEIGHT: 6’1”

WEIGHT: 140 pounds

BODY BUILD: Average, graceful

NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS: Freckles all over face, charming smile, neatly slicked back hair, mastectomy scars

ALTERNATE FORMS: None

FACECLAIM: None

VOICECLAIM: Michael Malconian

PHOBIAS: None

MENTAL HEALTH: Antisocial Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder,  Bipolar (Type I), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Hyperactivity), C-PTSD

PHYSICAL HEALTH: No issues

ASSISTIVE DEVICES: Occasionally wears reading glasses

ASSISTIVE SERVICES: None

MEDICATIONS: Depakote (BP), Olanzipine (BP, GAD), Risperidone (BP, C-PTSD)

PARENTS/GUARDIANS: Terrance Grayton (father, deceased), Melania Grayton (mother, deceased)

SIBLINGS: James Grayton (brother, deceased)

PARTNERS: None

CHILDREN: None 

OTHER FAMILY: None

FRIENDS: None

ALLIES: Adam, The Noir, The Breather

RIVALS: None

ENEMIES: Law enforcement, government officials

Content warning for post-partum depression, child abuse and neglect, police brutality, drug abuse, murder, stalking, and obssessive behavior.

Tanner was born and raised in a small, affluent community on the border of New York and New Jersey. Conceived via in-vitro fertilization by two parents who desperately wanted a child but could not do so naturally, Tanner came into the world with a heavy crown set upon his head. His father was a navy veteran. Since being discharged after a significant injury with lasting chronic pain, he took up a job in the New York City Police Department, where he sat as high-ranking officer. His mother worked as a well-known doctor for New York Presbyterian, specializing in neurology and neuroscience. Tanner’s father was a strict and rigid traditionalist who wanted his child to carry on his legacy. His lack of warmth or effective communication, as well as his unwillingness to bond with his child caused him to lose most of his interest in Tanner. His mother, effectively drained after trying to conceive for years and ashamed at having to rely on a donor, failed to connect with Tanner and developed severe postpartum depression. Needless to say, Tanner was mostly raised by hired help. 

Childhood was a bleak time period for Tanner. His developmental years were spent watching as his militaristic father grew more and more forceful, until he began outright abusing his mother. It came to light that he primarily married her to have easy access to pain medications and that was the only reason he stayed. The constant fighting distressed young Tanner, but after becoming the target of his father’s abuse on several occasions he learned to repress his emotions and responded to very few people or projects. Underdeveloped socially and operating primarily off of the need to survive, Tanner had few real passions despite being well-educated and clever. Intelligence was one of the very few things that earned his positive attention and praise- mostly from his teachers. As such, he poured himself into his studies both to chase that approval, as well as find respite from his turbulent home life. Unfortunately, this focus on studies and desire for approval stunted his ability to explore his creative side, including the exploration of hobbies and the reach of certain developmental milestones for his personality. 

Despite this, Tanner proved to be observant and understood early on what traits to present to gain acceptance from others. He mirrored the personality traits, habits, and norms presented by others, utilizing them to demonstrate friendly behaviors and squeeze himself into friend circles. Many children came to like Tanner and he was viewed as a social butterfly— a vivacious child with so much love and compassion for others. However, the feelings others showed towards him were rarely reciprocated. All of his gestures, pleasantries, his niceties, unbeknownst to everyone else, were little more than a facade to gain acceptance, or avoid punishment. And soon enough, it would become his key tool in manipulating others. 

His picture-perfect life ended when he was about 10. Tanner’s father was investigated by the DEA on charges of tampering with evidence. The house was raided by police, where they found illegal drugs and his mother’s script prescribing copious amounts of drugs - as well as evidence that she had been prescribing for herself. Both were removed with a severe level of brutality. The key turning point though, was when Tanner walked out of his room with his hands up and approached the police looking for help. Despite being unarmed and appearing sincere, he was still battered by the police and dragged out with his parents on the suspicion that he was somehow an accomplice. It took far too long for them to realize (or acknowledge) that he was a minor and uninvolved. His minor stint in juvenile detention had led to him being violently assaulted by other inmates before he was finally removed and released into the care of his grandmother. 

His grandmother, much like his father, was a woman hardened by conflict and a seasoned lawyer for the New York District Attorney’s office. She resented the mud that the arrests of his parents had thrown onto the family name and decided to appeal the arrests. All throughout the process, she pushed Tanner for answers about the charges, even encouraging him to lie. Tanner disagreed strongly with her actions and her motives, only becoming more jaded about the entire process of the legal system. Digging revealed that the officers that he’d seen at the time of the arrests had a record of using excessive force and had multiple complaints and suits filed against them that went unpunished. His father’s injuries were dismissed as a result of resisting arrest and nothing more ever came out of the internal investigation.

Tanner was infuriated with everything. The actions of his parents, the way they’d been arrested, the way the appeal was being handled, his grandmother’s motives, and following the arrest — the retaliation that was taken against her when the DA’s office filed a report ruling unfit to maintain custody of Tanner. He was promptly removed and placed in foster care, not for his own good he realized, but to punish his grandmother. He was little more than a tool of a “justice system” that was never meant to serve its citizens, but merely preserve the status quo established by the true criminals who paid to keep it running. This hatred of law enforcement and the justice system continued to fester, growing deeper and more intense as he endured significant abuses and neglect through multiple foster homes. His education kept him grounded and focused for the most part, with only the occasional outburst or flareup revealing what horrors lies beneath the carefully constructed facade he presented to the world, molding his personality and adapting to every situation with the goal of simply advancing further. And when he finally aged out of the system, he was determined to finally make his move. 

Tanner received multiple scholarships for his strapless academics and decided to pursue a career in medicine. Throughout the process of completing his undergraduate degrees, he expanded his web of connections and mastered the art of blending into any social situations and addressing any other person with ease. By the time he was accepted to medical school, the chameleon was complete. His medical prowess exceeded expectations and, having changed his name and identity at this point, found himself easily making friends with several people majoring in law enforcement along the way. By graduation, he’d started working closely with the medical examiner and coroner’s offices and had several roots in the local law enforcement agency, through which he gathered information. He built up a good reputation in the hospital he landed a job in. Then it began. 

First, he gathered intelligence on the officers involved in the raid, breaking into their houses and killing them one by one. He aimed to stop after that… but he didn’t. As Tanner began seeing more patients, hearing more stories, having more conversations with his “blue friends”, he began to see more and more holes in the system. More corruption than could ever be corrected. And Tanner grew to despise law enforcement even more. He specialized in selling out police information, occasionally killing them and anyone associated with them, wanting to make them realize that there were people in this world who knew that good cops didn’t exist and until they fixed what was wrong, he’d work at eradicating them one by one. He came to relish in the anxiety and the fear he raised in the so-called “finest” of the city. The constant paranoia and chaos caused by his carnage exhilarated him, only driving him to to seek out more. Meanwhile, Tanner’s sweet disposition and intimate knowledge of law enforcement procedures kept him under the radar until finally. For a time anyway. Eventually, someone grew suspicious and anonymously fingered him as a suspect for the murders. They even went as far as to accuse him of being the Blueblood Killer. 

The accusation was initially met with skepticism, but upon review of his file and the history of his family name, some began to believe that the suspicions had merit. Tanner became a prime suspect. Seeing the writing (and BOLO posters) on the wall, and knowing that being a friend of the police would only get him so much leeway, Tanner fled New York City. He wouldn’t be gone for long though, as his intimate connections with the law gained the interest of Adam, who extended an invitation and a deal to Tanner: work for him and there would be no repercussion for his actions. He did fine work after all. Reluctantly, Tanner agreed- after haggling with Adam to pull some strings so he could continue practicing medicine unencumbered. Adam agreed readily, and though he would be nowhere near as active and involved as the Breather, Lucas, or the Noir, Tanner would become a valuable asset to Adam - even trusting him just enough to ask for a favor from him. 

A favor involving a local community watch leader who’d caught his eye after seeing her drive and her motive to capture the Blueblood Killer.

Many people recognize Tanner for his very optimistic and jovial disposition. He tends to come off as a very friendly jokester, a kind neighborly type, and an individual always ready to help when anyone calls for it. In truth, Tanner maintains this elaborate facade of cordiality and friendliness to mask any suspicions others may cast on him. He’s a very clever man who has social engineering downpat and an easy time convincing others that he means no harm and is only here to help. His social circles are expansive and he’s a well-known doctor who frequently gets good reviews from patients. He’s especially known for checking in with people personally after the fact and being knowledgeable in most things medical and, indeed, most things science-related. He presents himself as an ideal citizen and pleasant company, a good listener for all one’s problems and a kind man willing to help where he can. In truth, he does this so that people find him easier to talk to and will spill important details and tidbits without meaning to. He’s managed to worm his way deep into the law enforcement system and gained many favors over the years. His subtlety and charisma have cost the force many of their best cops. But who would stand a chance against such a clever chameleon?

Though his current standing with the police is less than ideal, many are still willing to stand by Tanner and testify in his defense when he comes forward (as they think he will). They truly believe he is innocent and incapable of such heinous crimes as killing law enforcement officers, much less on a consistent basis. But it is true. Beneath that happy-go-lucky smiling facade, Tanner is nothing but rage. He is spiteful, disgusted with society and how people can walk away from a murder simply because they wear a badge, while one false report can put an innocent individual to death. He is by no means the philanthropist he shows himself to be and his moral compass is crooked without question, but his unadulterated hatred of police authority outweighs his overall apathy for humans as a whole. Simply put, Tanner is angry, intelligent, vengeful, and driven: a deadly combination which has put his kill count in the double digits mere months into his endeavors. 

However, despite what the media may claim, he is far from insane. If anything, Tanner is incredibly self-aware and calculating- traits that only further account for the level of horror behind his crimes. He is a sadist who takes pleasure in taunting his prey before he kills them, who is coordinated and always approaches a target with knowledge and a plan for execution. Perhaps most frightening of all, however, is that he knows there is something terribly, terribly wrong with him. He knows that his actions are despicable. He knows that he has gone through things that no human being should have to go through. He knows his experiences have turned him into this. He feels a strong sense that, deep down, he cannot control his impulse to kill. That it is a part of him that he cannot resist doing anymore than simply breathing. He came from violence, and now violence is his nature. It is the natural outcome of what he has been through; and he has become so accustomed to violence that he cannot cope or survive without it. But he also believes that, inevitably, this was meant to happen. He believes he had this realization- that the system is corrupt, for a reason, and he truly feels justified in taking the lives of every and any cop he sees in the name of justice. He wants it to be his legacy, if not for long-term change, then certainly as a warning that there will come others like him unless something is done. Either to fix the police, or fix people like him. And his ego is telling him it’s not him who’s the problem.

At his core, Tanner himself is unsure what or who he is. His underdeveloped sense of self led to him developing severely maladaptive coping mechanisms to fill the gaps. This included his mirroring of characteristics he sees in others and fawning/aiming to please everyone around him, either for approval, security, or personal gain. He doesn't know who he is. He has no identity beyond those which he creates and tailors to each person he meets. He doesn’t often experience or find himself in tune with legitimate emotions, struggles to express himself, finds difficulty genuinely connecting with others, and avoids intimacy on anything beyond a surface level. He feels occasional sparks of legitimate joy or satisfaction here or there but his baseline tends to fall somewhere closer to  sadness, loneliness, or apathy. Regardless, his focus is on his work. It keeps him grounded, and only emotions that help him pursue it are deemed relevant in his mind. Thus far, anger is the easiest, and he certainly feels some type of joy in watching others struggle and die because of him… and from tasting human flesh. This catharsis fuels him, reinforces his beliefs and behaviors, leading Tanner in a never ending cycle of vengeance, emotional cravings, and apathy. He doesn’t know how to stop.

And frankly, he doesn’t know if he wants to. 

DISLIKES: Disorganization, chaos, loud environments, law enforcement

Verses

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• Tanner is transgender. He began transitioning during his undergraduate program when he first started working. He’s since had all the major operations and continues to take testosterone injections. 

• Tanner’s father is dead. He died while in prison. It was ruled a “suicide” but Tanner suspects that it was a coverup on account of the multiple gunshot wounds he was buried with.

• Tanner’s mother is alive. They don’t speak. However, every once in a while his mother reaches out to him via the phone. He never talks about what she says, but he always looks markedly upset after they hang up.

• Tanner does not know he was conceived by IVF. He lives under the assumption that his parents are his biological parents. Likewise, he has never met his egg donor and knows nothing about them.

• Tanner identifies himself as a “float doctor.” His specialty is in biochemistry and drug therapy, though he occasionally delves into endocrinology, trauma surgery, and psychiatry when needed. 

• Tanner is incredibly sadistic. He loves making his targets uncomfortable and playing with his food before he eats it. Figuratively and literally.

• Tanner does experience and display cannibalistic tendencies. It’s an impulse that primarily crops up during his manic episodes as a form of dominance/control that he feels he lacks in his day to day life.

• Likewise, he’ll sample or eat entire portions of his victims. Then he’ll promptly try and take a nap afterwards because of the midazolam he injects people with having secondary effects on him.

• Tanner is a lot stronger and faster than he looks. He’s armed with a syringe of fast-acting sedative at all times and though he prefers to ambush his targets, he is equally as capable of running down his prey if necessary.

• Tanner is an incredibly difficult character to ship with. He’s not in tune with his emotions, struggles to connect with others, and tailors his personality to whoever he’s interacting with. He feels very little and can’t bring himself to care for others beyond what will best serve his own interests. Trying to connect with him is a long and difficult process that few live to see the end results of.

• Ultimately, while deeper intimate connections are rare, time can allow Tanner to sort people into the categories of who he is comfortable and uncomfortable with. If Tanner feels comfortable with someone, he tends to be very touchy with them. Lots of arms around the shoulders or nudges. He may also tolerate hugs and tight squeezes. If he is uncomfortable with someone, he avoids contact and maintains distance - as well as maintaining his cheery facade.

• Despite his setbacks with emotional intimacy,  Tanner does have the capacity to be a very dedicated and loving partner. He’s especially physically affectionate and chases the “emotional highs/lows” he feels when he actually makes a meaningful connection.

• Tanner has a tendency to wiggle or drum his fingers on surfaces. It’s a habit he most prominently performs while his “upbeat-and-cheerful” facade is in place.

• Similarly, Tanner has the habit of clenching and unclenching his fists. The response occurs for two reasons: either he sees something/someone that he likes or that interests him and his immediate first response is to grab/squeeze said thing/person, or he sees something that he really dislikes and responds by curling his fingers as a substitute for choking the life out of them.

• Tanner is one of those people who will laugh at anything. Literally. He’ll knock himself out with his own non-jokes.

• Tanner tends to be very talkative at times. He generally keeps it to a minimum on first interactions, wanting to make good impressions (and get a read on people’s personalities so he can adjust his own accordingly). But his default setting, as well as one of the few core traits of real personality, is to be incredibly extroverted and gregarious. Even still, he always manages to remain very charismatic and playful, even with people he barely knows. 

• Tanner has a tendency to talk in his sleep. Most of it is general garbled nonsense and odd drifting thoughts. But it can be unsettling as he often speaks of… less savory things and occasionally smiles.

• Tanner has several fish aquariums, including goldfish, cichlids, guppies, koi, and bettas. He loves his fish a lot.

• In general, Tanner tends to like animals a lot more than people.

• Tanner hates cops if that wasn’t clear.

• Tanner really likes listening to music, and dancing to a degree.

• Tanner has several nervous habits aside from wiggling his fingers and clenching and unclenching his fists. He shakes his leg, taps his feet quickly, and smokes sporadically. He refuses to do it very often, but if he’s nervous or more excited than usual, he tends to buy packs and smoke several in a row until the anxiety has passed. It’s a very rare event for him however, and he always ends up losing the opened packets and has to buy new ones.

• Tanner drinks a lot and often. Not alcohol (that is also rare for him, and he prefers the occasional glass of red wine)– just in general. He keeps bottles of water on him, sips coffee or tea whenever he can, and occasionally samples sports drinks. He tends to get thirsty easily. (Probably because he talks so damn much, to others and himself.)

• Tanner talks to himself a lot. His reasons for doing so are usually so that he’ll remember certain things better or because has things on his mind that he just needs to get out.. and he’s his only audience. He also tends to talk a lot with his hands. He makes a lot of gestures and speaks as much with his body language as he does with his mouth.

• Tanner is a very well-groomed man. He’s very neat and tidy and takes excellent care of himself. He is very particular about the way he looks and while he’s mostly satisfied with his appearance, he’s oddly self-conscious about his teeth. He thinks they’re too big and so he tends to avoid drawing his lips back all the way when he smiles.

• Tanner used to have a tooth gap when he was younger. He had it corrected but if he’s overly excited or stressed, it still whistles.

• Similarly, he used to have a lisp that he’s long since corrected. But every once in a while, he’ll slip up.

• Tanner has freckles but they’re oddly difficult to see unless the lighting is just right.

• Tanner has both obsessive and compulsive habits respectively. He has routines and rituals he likes to stick with and dislikes those patterns being disrupted. However, he does not have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

• Tanner is an eager provider during intimacy. He enjoys servicing his partner, regardless of role or position. 

• Tanner has very intimate knowledge of the human body and is more than happy to use that to his advantage in bed. 

• Tanner enjoys giving oral sex to his partner. His mouth is good for more than just talking.

• The only time Tanner will allow himself to become disheveled or messy is during sex. So yes, hair pulling it allowed.

• Tanner doesn’t mind pain. He’s a masochist almost as much as he is a sadist.

• Tanner doesn’t shy away from most kinks. He’s willing to experiment with anything, minus bodily waste. 

• Bondage, either physical or chemical, appeals to him. He also doesn’t mind if the sex leaves marks. If anything, he takes pride in walking out of the bedroom with something for his partner to remember him by.

• Tanner’s dirty talk tends towards being clinical. It’s hit or miss, depending on the partner’s preference. But he can certainly make malpractice seem so enticing. 

• Tanner tends to be very vocal and clingy in bed. The closer he gets to orgasm, the more he squeezes and grips on his partner, and the more he starts whimpering like a desperate puppy. 

• Tanner does not mind being hurt, degraded, or restrained during sex. If anything, it provides him a certain high. Aftercare, however, is a big must with him. Otherwise, it becomes very easy for him to internalize what’s said to him and mistake words said in the moment for people’s true feelings about him. 

• Tanner is just as eager to use aphrodisiacs on his partner as he is sedatives. 

• Tanner, despite his impulsivity, will do absolutely NOTHING without his partner’s explicit consent beforehand.