B023 - Declyn Grayson-Anthis (art by Mimi)
B023 - Declyn Grayson-Anthis (art by Kotorikun)
Name: Declyn Grayson-Anthis
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Grade: Senior
School: George Hunter High School
Hobbies and Interests: Social anthropology, tattoos, partying, gardening, webcomics, street fashion, time travel research
Appearance: Declyn is a boy of Greek-English heritage who stands at 5'8" and weighs 145 lbs. His skin tone is fair with an olive undertone which tans easily. He has a rather slim looking frame with a posture that he tries to keep straight, though he often tends to slouch especially when sitting or in a relaxed mood. He has narrow shoulders and straight hips. Unlike his legs, his chest and arms show some muscle definition.
Declyn takes great care of his appearance and tries to maintain a daily skincare routine. His face is heart-shaped and has a radiant, healthy glow with a few faded acne marks on his left temple and lower left part of his chin. The color of his eyes is a pale brown. They are a bit puffy-looking and almond shaped, sitting below dark eyebrows that are more straight than curved. Furthermore, he has slightly pointed ears, a small Grecian nose, and rather thin but well-defined lips. His naturally wavy hair, which was originally dark brown but is now dyed a pastel green color, covers most of his forehead and is styled in a medium-length messy layered style.
In terms of clothing, Declyn is inspired by modern streetwear. He loves turtlenecks and is often seen wearing one of his many with an oversized denim jacket or oversized dark grayish-purple cardigan that reaches down to his waist with slim jeans. For shoes, he usually wears casual black or white sneakers, or brown lace-up ankle boots. In hot weather, he wears simple t-shirts and ripped jeans. He dislikes any kind of jewelry, polo shirts, short pants, and leather jackets. On the day of abduction, Declyn was wearing his favorite oversized denim jacket, a loose fitting pocket t-shirt with horizontal pink, blue, dark gray, and white stripes of varying widths by Agora Clothing, slim dark jeans, and black sneakers.
Biography: After successfully completing his degree and gaining enough work experience as an English teacher, Lloyd Grayson decided to follow his dream of teaching abroad and applied for a position in Greece. He was soon hired to work at a public school that approved a two-year contract. After moving there, he eventually met Maia Ophelie Anthis, a local radio reporter, on a night out with work colleagues. Despite Maia's rather broken English, the two of them hit it off immediately and became a couple. As time went on, Lloyd felt his homesickness growing and decided against extending his contract with the school. He chose to move back to the UK where he would continue to pursue his career. Maia, eager to follow him, approved and quit her job to stay with him. One year later, on October 24th 1999, Declyn Grayson-Anthis was born in New Alresford, England.
The pregnancy had been unplanned and caused a small crisis between the couple in addition to Maia struggling to find a job in a new country. But the thought of abortion made her feel uncomfortable, and thus they decided to try to make it work, promising each other to stick together to parent their child. Shortly after Declyn's birth, Maia experienced severe symptoms of postpartum depression. She consulted her doctor who confirmed the disorder after weeks of the symptoms not getting better, but actually worse. Declyn was spending more and more time at his paternal grandparents' house, with his father being at work and his mother getting treatment, trying to sort out her mental health and anxiety. Declyn's grandparents wanted to include her as much as possible, but she refused until she showed signs of improvement over the course of time. The whole incident damaged the relationship between Declyn and his mother heavily.
Three years later, his parents ended their relationship due to constant fighting and her being tired of being a homemaker. Things moved along quickly after it turned out that Maia had been cheating on Lloyd for at least half a year. They parted ways and Lloyd got custody of his son, cutting off communication with Maia, who went to live with her new boyfriend. Declyn didn't quite comprehend the situation at the age of three, but he understood that his mother was not going to be with them anymore. It would have affected him more if it wasn't for his grandparents and father who showed him nothing but love and care.
Thanks to the support, Declyn grew to be a gentle and cheerful child who loved going to pre-school and kindergarten. His kind-hearted and friendly nature allowed him to make friends easily, though teachers noted that he sometimes seemed absent-minded, but also that it was nothing of big concern if it was not going to happen too often. Whenever there was something he did not understand, his father offered help. As a teacher himself, he felt responsible for Declyn to do well at school and thus he made sure to keep a close relationship with Declyn's teachers to be more involved in his education. Declyn tried to keep up to his father's expectations, not wanting to be a disappointment, a word he had heard other distant members of his family call his mother at a birthday party. Due to a rising fear of being pushed away and being talked badly about, he always tried to maintain a happy surface and do exactly as he was told.
Declyn Grayson-Anthis (art by Yonagoda)
Around the age of seven, Declyn's curiosity drove him to rummage through old storage boxes at his grandparents' house. That day, he discovered his grandmother's old science books, including The Realm of the Nebulae by Edwin Hubble, Radioactive Substances by Marie Curie, or Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman. His grandmother, a former geophysicist, was delighted to tell him more. It turned into a weekly routine between the two where they would pick out one of the books and talk about it, with his grandfather sitting on the other side of the room, watching TV and occasionally intervening with stories of a rather cynical worldview or adding in his own knowledge, which was nowhere near as extensive as his wife's. While Declyn didn't grasp everything and didn't find himself completely indulged in the subjects, he loved how passionate and smart his grandmother was, which turned it into a fun activity.
Two years later, his grandmother died of a cardiac arrest. And as if that was not enough, his grandfather died only three months later during his summer break. Declyn was devastated and over time, it affected him more negatively than he had expected. It lead to him being more reserved and prone to lash out at his father, who took a break from work to take care of the funeral and his mental health. Declyn felt pressured by the many concerned questions when he just wanted to be left alone. While he became moodier, he never had the heart to actually raise his voice against his father, not wanting to upset him more and understanding he meant well. Death became something he doesn't want to talk about up to the present day.
During the time he was dealing with the loss of his grandparents, Declyn found himself turning to food for comfort. With his father not being a good cook, he ate more fast food than ever before. Combined with a lack of exercise, he gained weight at a rather worrying pace and dealt with occasional acne breakouts. His father tried to motivate him into doing more sports outside of PE lessons at school, but Declyn showed little to no interest. The closest he would do to exercise was ride his bike to the river in his town during his freetime with two close friends whom he knew since pre-school. Declyn had noticed some looks from his peers regarding his weight, which made him feel self-conscious, though his friends didn't seem to mind since they had always liked his tender-hearted and pleasant manners. Spending more time with them, Declyn didn't realize that his father was struggling, so when months later he proposed to move to the U.S. to be closer to family members who lived there, Declyn was surprised. His father had been talking about wanting to move but hadn't said anything about going so far as to move to another country before it was set in stone. Declyn wished he had warned him beforehand but didn't want to express any concerns. He had no choice but to go with him and hoped the change of scenery could lift their spirits up. The hardest part for him was leaving his friends behind.
A new chapter in his life started when they moved from New Alresford in England to Chattanooga, Tennessee before 5th grade. Being in a new school and overweight, he found it hard to find friends for the first time ever in his life. While his father's state had greatly improved since their move due to his new job as a private tutor and the support from his aunt, Declyn fell into another slump and kept his feelings mostly to himself. Despite that, he continued to do well at school as he spent most of his time inside studying, with PE being his least favorite and worst subject where he rarely got a better grade than a D+.
Moving on to middle school, Declyn had a small group of friends who were among the less popular kids at school. But he did not feel the same connection he had with his old friends from the UK. It was around that time when he started to wonder why exactly that was and why humans as a race acted and felt the way they do. He sought help in his grandmother's books that he kept in his room, but couldn't find a satisfying answer. After receiving his first smartphone for his 13th birthday, he used the internet to read more about the world of social anthropology, the study of human societies and cultures, social customs and beliefs. To him, it was an eye-opener. He didn't want to feel uncomfortable anymore and looked up methods on how to quickly lose weight. This resulted in him starting to skip meals, mostly dinner, while doing random push-ups or sit-ups every once in a while. On some days, he didn't eat anything at all and lied to his father, telling him he started to exercise more and eating healthy, which would be the reason for his sudden weight loss. Some time into freshman year, Declyn had lost all the weight he had gained since his grandparents' death and became what most people would describe as average. But Declyn still felt fat. The fast weight loss left him with body image issues and an unhealthy relationship with food. His father praised him on the success, unknowing of what Declyn was going through. His interest in anthropology peaked, with a focus on the cultural and psychological aspect. It made him see people from a different angle and helped him understand them better. He still often finds himself observing and studying the behavior of his peers and others around him, especially in moments when he's alone on campus.
During this time of losing weight, one of the people from his group of friends introduced him to several webcomics like Cucumber Quest by Gigi D.G., The Phoenix Requiem by Sarah Ellerton, or shorts by cartoonist Kate Beaton. Declyn followed his friend's recommendation and read everything she would show him because he liked discussing the stories. It was then when he stumbled upon Starfighter, an erotic sci-fi m/m webcomic by Michelle Palumbo. Where he hadn't felt any romantic feelings or attraction towards anyone before, his interest in boys now flourished, and his collection of LGBTQ webcomics started growing.
Reading through various discussion websites and threads, he found himself being fascinated with the concept of time travel since it was mentioned in one of the webcomics he was reading. While he didn't exactly believe in it, it evoked thoughts and feelings about his mother. He started to wonder if things could have gone differently if he ever were to travel back in time. Online, he engaged in conversations about the subject, quickly finding a small group who he became close with and has ever since been taking to through Skype at first, and now through their own Discord server.
As he progressed through his first year of high school, Declyn joined the George Hunter High's gardening club and became an active member in an attempt to get to know more people and actually learn more about gardening, especially growing your own vegetables or other edible plants which might improve his relationship with food. Also, his father liked to keep a lot of plants and flowers around their apartment, which Declyn was fond of. He saw it as an opportunity to gain more knowledge and share it with his father to tighten their bond since it was a bit crumbly on some days when Declyn's mood would waver. Other than that, he would use it as an excuse to not join any athletic clubs.
Summer leading up to junior year turned out to be a turning point in Declyn's life. At this time, his father had gotten into a relationship and introduced his new girlfriend to him. Declyn felt happy for him at first, but that feeling changed when she moved in. Due to a personality clash, Declyn didn't get along with her and straight up disliked or even hated her. He found her to be rude, no matter how he looked at the situation, and too pushy. Declyn felt irritated but was going to respect his father's happiness, thus started to spend more time at his great-aunt's place which was close to the nightlife and entertainment part of the city. She lived alone and welcomed his company, even more so after Declyn started opening up about the situation at home. One late evening, when he was on his way to her apartment from his summer job at a retail shop, he happened to walk past a fight between four older, more or less drunk teenagers in front of a nightclub. One of them crashed into him, and one event leading to another, Declyn was in the midst of the fight against his will, receiving some punches and blows without even trying to fight back since everything happened so fast. The situation was broken off when he felt a fifth person pull him out of the fight and running away with him. That person, 19-year-old Christopher Lowe, turned into Declyn's first real crush.
One of the things he liked about Christopher was the tattoos on his arm. Christopher's parents own a tattoo shop, where Declyn had gained insight into the various designs and tattooing methods. It made him want to get a tattoo once he is old enough. Ever since that day, he started to collect and save designs and photographs of tattoos he likes in a folder in his laptop as an inspiration. It also made him look into the philosophical significance of them. He finds the different strong opinions that people tend to have towards tattoos interesting.
During the break, Declyn was thriving. Christopher introduced him to his friends and the nightlife scene, even getting him a fake ID. His fashion style changed, he bleached his hair and dyed it green, and gained more confidence the more he was partying and climbing up the social ladder. He saw the clubs and his friends' parties as places where he didn't have to worry about anything or anyone while having the time of his life. During the course of time, he realized that he saw Christopher more as one of his best friends and not someone he would want to be in a romantic relationship with. Over the next couple of months, Declyn has had his first sexual experience with a male stranger from a nightclub, and several one-night-stands after that. Whenever his father would question him about his whereabouts, Declyn would lie when he knew he was going to a club and tell him he was simply having a sleepover at a friend's house. When it was a friend's party, he told him the truth. His father didn't mind since he was happy about the fact that Declyn was getting out of the house more, and he trusted him, not seeing him as someone who would do anything too reckless. Declyn never got caught.
Junior and senior year continued to be eventful since Declyn started to attract people with the new version of himself, not having lost his kindness and good heart. While he hasn't officially come out as gay, he's open about it if it ever comes up. His father doesn't know and Declyn doesn't plan on telling him anytime soon since he doesn't feel the need to do so. The majority of his friends are within the popular crowd, while he still remains close to the people he first started to talk to since the move. He discovered his keen eye for fashion and likes to shop for clothes online as he finds it hard to find something he likes at the local stores. Declyn loves socializing with other people but manages fine by himself too. It might seem like he's your good friend from the first moment forth, but in truth, it takes time and effort for him to consider you a real good friend. His father is still in a relationship and the situation between his girlfriend and Declyn hasn't improved much, which causes them to get into small fights every now and then. He still spends a lot of time at his great-aunt's house and she has told his father that she appreciates Declyn's company, so he lets him. He had also questioned his new hair color at first but doesn't mind now since Declyn's grades haven't dropped. Currently, he's trying to make Declyn spend more time with him and his girlfriend, trying to find activities for the three of them to do like going out for dinner or to a museum. Declyn goes along with it sometimes so his father wouldn't feel worried, but other times he will find an excuse not to go. Their relationship is not bad by any means, but Declyn can tell that there's been a small gap between them since his new partner moved in. Declyn doesn't often think about his mother since he doesn't remember anything about her except the few things his father had told him, but the older he got, the more curious he felt about her. He wouldn't mind meeting her one day.
Declyn's body image issues remain to this day and he still skips dinner most times, feeling bloated otherwise. He wants to maintain his weight loss this way but it sometimes makes him crave more carbs and sweets the next morning, where he is more likely to overeat. It leaves him with a nauseous and sluggish feeling throughout the day.
Academically, Declyn continues to do strongly especially in English and Physics with an A average. He pushed himself up to a C in PE, accepting that he won't be any better than that. After graduation, he wants to take a break from education and work a part-time job at a flower shop that is owned by an acquaintance of his great-aunt's. He wants to save as much money as possible and be more financially independent from his father and eventually move into a shared apartment with at least one close friend. He hasn’t applied to any colleges yet but plans to get a science degree, leaning towards biotechnology and biophysics specifically.
Advantages: Declyn has a good understanding of the way someone feels or acts due to his knowledge of social anthropology. Thanks to this and his friendly nature, he will likely have little problem finding potential alliances and is hard to manipulate. He manages fine without much food due to being used to skipping meals in case his rations were to run low. Furthermore, due to his activities in the gardening club, he is able to identify a couple of edible wild plants that could be eaten as food in an emergency.
Disadvantages: Declyn is not very strong, lacking stamina, and could easily be overpowered in a melee fight. He tends to bottle up his emotions, which could be a hindrance in tense situations, and is often ready to sacrifice his own well-being for people he cares about.
Designated Number: Male student No. 023
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Designated Weapon: IWI Jericho 941
Conclusion: Good news B023, you'll lose a lot of weight on the island diet program, bad news time travel isn't real, so you're stuck here fatty. - Josie Knight
The above biography is as written by Kotorikun. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.
Evaluations[]
B023 - Declyn Grayson-Anthis (art by Ryuki)
Handled by: Kotorikun
Kills: Drew Woods
Killed By: Myles Roux
Collected Weapons: IWI Jericho 941 (assigned weapon, to Myles Roux), ballistic knife (from Cecil Salazar-Loveless, to Myles Roux)
Allies: Amelia Fischer, Ivy Langley, Ace Ortega, Jonathan Meyers, Drew Woods, Theo Walterson, Camilla Bell
Enemies: Lori Martin, Adonis Cohen
Mid-game Evaluation:
Post-Game Evaluation:
Memorable Quotes:
Other/Trivia[]
Threads[]
Below are a list of threads containing Declyn, in chronological order:
The Past:
V7 Pregame:
- Evergreen
- Engraver
- You Spin Me Right Round Baby, Right Round (#Swiftball)
- Just Dance (#Swiftball)
- liberosis (#Swiftball)
Prom:
The Trip:
V7:
- the world is spinning but only in grey
- Know Your Enemy
- You Don't Know Me
- Everlasting
- Evolving
- Evanescent
- I Don't Wanna Be Myself
- Eau-de-Nil
- Evergreen Goodbyes
- Énouement
Your Thoughts[]
Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Declyn Grayson-Anthis. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!