Send me 👥+ an oc and I’ll tell you about an oc side character in their story
Meet Kelsey's father, Tanner Ward!
Tanner Ward was once a promising (like truly impressive) emergency medicine resident in Atlanta, Georgia. He was really going places, gifted in the medical field with brilliant bedside manners. Then he met actress and nepo baby Kayla Ward, Kelsey's mother (guess you'll have to send another ask if you wanna find out more). As he fell madly in love with her, she and her family encouraged him to go into acting. So, he did a few auditions to appease them. He found he loved acting and he was really good at it, so he quit medical school and decided to become a doctor on TV instead!!
Tanner got a role in "The Oath", an incredibly popular soapy medical drama reminiscent of our universes Grey's Anatomy (which does not exist in Kelsey's universe) but with the staying power of General Hospital, during season 2 in 1998 (he and Kayla had Kelsey two years later). He was on the show for five years until he got his own spin-off (the only character in the entire Oath franchise to get their own spin-off) in 2004 which was introduced in the 7th season of "The Oath." It was called "The Oath: Gentle Hands" and ran for six seasons after which he returned to "The Oath" in 2010 and he is still on. He has also made appearances in the other series that exist in "The Oath" universe, which are "The Oath: Protect & Serve" (2002-???), "The Oath: Smoke & Fire" (2005-???), "The Oath: Dispatch" (2008-2015), and "The Oath: Beyond Reasonable Doubt" (2010-2012).
"The Oath" is the favorite show of most grandparents and parents, and most of its younger following comes from either people getting curious about how its still on (and then they end up loving it) or because people grew up watching it with their older relatives. It's one of those shows that almost everybody in America has seen at least one episode of, and everybody has heard mentioned at least once. Dr. Stoddard is the McDreamy of "The Oath" universe, and everyone and their grandma has a crush on Tanner Ward.
Kelsey hates "The Oath" and she's not close with her father (or her mother but that's another story). She hates that people think it's anything like real medicine and that people obsess over it so much, and, most importantly, she hates that her father loves that show more than he loves her. She also hates that it effects her career.
A lot of people expect her to be like her father and take the easy way of life, quitting to become an actress. They constantly underestimate and talk about her. When people she's not close too ask if she's related to "that Dr. Ward," she says "First off, he's not a doctor, he plays one on TV" and then lies that she's not related to him in any way. She can generally get away with it, but some hardcore fans recognize her from when she guest starred in a few episodes as a child or from pap photos with her parents when she was younger. Then most of them either quote it at her or ask questions about her dad, including some uncomfortable stuff.
And she can't really say she thinks he's pathetic to random strangers, especially patients. On the other hand, Tanner does love his daughter and he's really proud of her. That doesn't mean he's a good dad tho.
Send me 👥+ an oc and I’ll tell you about an oc side character in their story!
