Kevin Day

Striker, #2

Birthday
Is a year older than “Neil Josten”, two years older than Nathaniel, so he’s 19 in “The Foxhole Court.”
However, in “The Raven King” Nora says he’s 20.

Born on Feb.22

Physical appearance
Dark hair, green eyes, fair skin. 6’1” or 6’2” tall.

Number 2 tattooed on his left cheekbone.

Scarred left hand as of December 2006: It was a jagged mess along the thin bones of his hand. However
Riko broke his hand, it hadn't been a clean strike.

Interests
Exy.

History

“The Ravens and Trojans were fierce rivals, but Kevin was an unrepentant USC fan.”

Occasionally reads magazines.

Random facts
Known as “Son of Exy” and “Heir of Exy”, as well as an “obsessive genius.”

Gets recognized, is a celebrity.

Can speak French.

Calls coach Moriyama “the master.”

Hates sitting in the backseat of the car. He can drive.

Used a heavy racquet with the Ravens, switches to a light one after his injury.

Is a technical player. “Technical players like Kevin could use a man's height to map out his every weak spot.
More importantly, he could cross-reference his own field of reach against his mark's and find the best
places to push. That was how he got around defense so often.” & “His focus was on perfecting impossible
shots and tricky angles. He played against himself, not the goalkeeper, so the goalie was always an
afterthought.”

Riko and Kevin shared a room in Black Hall in Castle Evermore, while everyone else was in Red Hall,
including Jean. “Postcards of faraway cities both foreign and domestic were taped to the walls. Beneath
each one were scraps of paper. Kevin's now-familiar scrawl listed dates and explanations for the travels.
Most of them were games. Some indicated photo shoots and interviews. [History] books lined the shelves
built into the headboard.”

Is majoring in history.

Likes to eat healthy and feels strongly that every player on his team should, too.

Doesn’t dance “anymore.” (Says Andrew in “The Foxhole Court”)

Number three on Nicky’s list of celebrities he can have sex with.

Personality
Has high standards for everyone when it comes to Exy but demands twice as much from himself. He’s a
perfectionist. Can’t stand and gets frustrated by incompetence. Won’t tolerate anything less than
everyone’s best efforts. He’s scared of not being good enough. After Riko breaks his hand, he’s scared of
not being able to make a comeback, of not being the best anymore. He cannot imagine another life for
himself. Exy is all he has. (“It isn’t a game where I come from.” & “If I am breathing, I can play.”)

He snaps at people when angry. When he can’t, he vents his anger silently by slamming things. “Angry
movements.”

Has a hard time getting up in the morning and says “I hate you” and “Fuck you” to people who wake him up
or talk to him. If it’s very early, he easily falls back asleep within seconds.

Looks at the scars on his left hand when thinking about it or Riko.

He doesn’t smile. His smile is a brittle and bitter thing. Unless he’s talking with the press or fans, of course.

Good at manipulating people, says you just have to know what they want

Andrew teases him more than once about crying (“Kevin would cry”, “Don’t cry, Kevin”)

Worries about the impact being LGBTQA+ would have on one’s career because of how prejudiced people
are. Re: Thea – “Kevin needs someone who can keep up with and challenge him.”

Early life
His mother Kayleigh Day invented the sport. She was Irish and lived there after getting her degree in Japan.

“She knew Coach wanted to have an NCAA team one day. She thought he'd abandon his dreams to help her
raise Kevin. She didn't want that, but she didn't want to give up what she was doing and move to the
States, either. So she lied. The only person she told was Coach Moriyama.” Kayleigh had never given up the
name of Kevin's father, no matter how hard the press pushed. If the rumors were right that space was
blank on Kevin's birth certificate. She'd named Tetsuji her son's godfather, though, which was how Kevin
ended up at Evermore after Kayleigh died.

Kayleigh dies in a car accident. Kevin is taken in by Tetsuji but never formally adopted: Tetsuji gives him to
Riko as a project, a pet. Wymack keeps in contact with him after Kayleigh’s death even if he doesn’t know
that Kevin is his son.

He grows up at Evermore with Riko and the Ravens. He and Riko are the team's unofficial mascots. They are
coached by Tetsuji and the Ravens. They are homeschooled by tutors brought on site so they don't have to
leave the stadium.

Riko tortures him. He carries a switchblade and loves hurting Kevin, handcuffs him to the headboard of his
bed. “Riko was cruel but he needed me to succeed. We were the heirs of Exy; he hurt me but there were
lines he would not cross until the end.”

Grows up in the public eye and is always seen together with Riko. He’s good at smiling to the press and
pretending like his life is perfect.

Jean teaches him French on the sly. They are tight.

A few years before “The Raven King”, in Tetsuji’s house by accident he and Jean find a letter his mother
wrote Tetsuji where she names Wymack as Kevin’s father. “Kevin stole it, but he never intended to act on
the discovery. He knew going meant losing all of this. It wasn't worth it. Once he lost this, of course, there
was no reason to stay.” Also: “He was trying to protect him. If Coach knew Kevin was his son, he'd have
tried to take him from Edgar Allan.” He keeps it tucked inside one of his history books. “He's read it so
many times he might have worn the words off the pages by now.”

When they try to recruit Andrew, Andrew turns them down. “The Ravens offered Andrew a contract with
them but were rejected. Now they've come in person (to Macon High School in Columbia, South Carolina)
to see why.” Kevin is angry at having been rejected and at the way Andrew played that night. He tells him
they get get him off the drugs if he signs with them. “Riko always gets what he wants. So do I.” Andrew says
Kevin doesn’t interest him because he made a career of coming second. Kevin tells him he’s worth it, he’s
got potential, he could have everything. He gets 15 minutes on the court with the twins. After, Kevin asks
Andrew, “You're still holding yourself back. Why won't you just show me what you're capable of?” and
Andrew says he doesn’t care.

In 2006 Neil calls him a “former national champion.” Former starting striker for a professional team, the
Baltimore Wildcats, and, in 2005, for the US Court.

He’s played full halves with the Ravens but never a full game until the Foxes.

He can be jealous (for example, that Andrew says yes to other people –Wymack, Neil—but not to him)

In August 2005 he appeared on Kathy’s show.

At the start of his sophomore year Kevin has a seven-digit net worth between his professional contract, his
spot on the national team, and his endorsements. He is set to earn fifteen to twenty million a year after
graduation.

AFTG
December 2005
The ERC had an end-of-year meeting a few days before the southeastern district's winter banquet. The
NCAA advisors got everyone talking about Riko and Kevin. They had some concerns about the season, they
said. They were sure Riko was holding Kevin back, that Kevin was selling himself short so as not to outshine
Riko on the court. They wanted to know if it was Coach Moriyama's doing. In response Moriyama pitted
Riko and Kevin against each other. Riko won, but he didn't get it fair and square. If he had, maybe things
would have turned out differently. As soon as Coach Moriyama dismissed them for the night Riko broke
Kevin's hand. It wasn't the first time Riko or Moriyama laid a hand on him. It was just the first time Kevin
was smart enough to pack his bags and walk away. Kevin only had the strength to leave because Riko
destroyed his hand. That was finally one injustice too many. (“The day Kevin stops playing forever is the day
he dies. He has nothing else. He wasn't raised to have anything else.”)

None of the Ravens were there when Riko broke Kevin’s hand. Jean was the only witness.

He shows up at Wymack’s hotel room at winter banquet with his hand a bloody mess. He doesn’t want him
to notify the Ravens or take him to a hospital, so Abby bandages him up as best she can and Wymack puts
him on the bus back to South Carolina with the Foxes.

Riko and Kevin vanish from the public eye for weeks. He wants to talk to Thea but it’s too complicated. He’s
afraid she won’t believe him. He disconnects his phone number. Jean tells Thea that Kevin doesn’t want
anything to do with any of us effective immediately.

Kevin tells Andrew about the Moriyamas.

January 2006
When spring championships started in January, neither man was on the Ravens' starting line-up. It wasn't
until the end of January that Tetsuji Moriyama addressed the topic at a press conference, and the news was
a cruel blow to Exy fans everywhere: Kevin Day had broken his playing hand on a skiing trip. According to
Tetsuji, Kevin and Riko were too devastated to face either the Ravens or their upset fans just yet.
The next day, Coach Wymack told the press Kevin was recuperating in South Carolina.

Edgar Allen has to release Kevin from his school contract because of the severity of his injuries and Tetsuji
doesn’t argue when Wymack takes Kevin on as an assistant coach. But as far as Tetsuji is considered, Kevin
is valuable property. Any profit Kevin makes is rightfully the Moriyamas'.

Spring 2006
Never goes anywhere alone.

Doesn't talk about his time at Evermore.

Knows that if Riko told him to go back he would say yes, he “can’t tell Riko no.”

Keeps Andrew’s medicine for him.

Nicky says he’d like to get him too drunk to be straight and Andrew punches him. Andrew is “scary
territorial” of Kevin.

He works with the Foxes as assistant coach. He thinks he’ll never play again and he’s “a wreck.”

Manages to piss off every single Fox except for Renee when coaching them in the spring. Andrew walks off
the court for an entire month and threatens to break his own fingers if Wymack makes him play with Kevin
again. Kevin and Andrew fight constantly, until when Kevin starts practicing (right-handed) and Andrew
comes back to the court, too.

In March 2006 he starts learning to play as a righty. Wymack gives him a set of key to the court so he can
practice. He only practices alone or with Andrew on the court with him. In May he can land almost a third
of his shots at goal against Andrew (playing right-handed.)

He was going to tell Wymack he’s his son when he signed him, but can’t. He’s protecting both of them by
not telling him. “The master has never raised a hand or voice against Coach before because Coach has
never been a real threat to him. I didn't know if a confession would change things. I couldn't risk it.”

The Foxes make enough money off his presence in the spring of 2006 that they can get the floors
refurbished and the walls done. His presence, especially after he signs as a striker for next year, causes a lot
of trouble, too. Ravens fans take it out on the Foxes: break-ins, threatening phone calls, death threats,
rabid press, vandalism, police raids after false reports that they are running a meth lab out of the dorm, etc.

Summer 2006
When Wymack tells him that the Ravens are moving to the southeastern district, he has a really bad panic
attack. He says he wants to go back to Evermore because it’ll be worse if Riko has to come get him. He calls
Jean because he doesn’t believe it until Jean confirms it. (“Tell me it isn’t true, tell me he didn’t.”)

Kevin's transfer created a lot of backlash, but it also generated a lot of new interest in Exy. The ERC wants
to follow it through to the natural conclusion: Kevin and Riko's reunion on the court, but this time as rivals
for the first time ever. It doesn't matter who wins. They know what publicity and funding they can score
with such a move. (…) The Ravens and Foxes are going to make a fortune this season. People are going to
be hounding them every step of the way and gambling on our games. There'll be TV spots and merchandise
and all kinds of publicity stunts. Tetsuji is pitting Riko and Kevin against each other knowing how it'll end.
He'll put it all on the table and let his Ravens destroy the Foxes on the court. Rake in the winnings, establish
Riko as the superior player forever, and relegate Kevin to the has-beens.
Reacts badly when Neil calls him “cripple” and “deadweight has-been.” He attacks Neil and Matt pulls him
off of him and punches him.

Kevin tenses up when Wymack tells the team about the Ravens moving to their district. He begs Andrew to
help him and not let Riko take him away. He trusts Andrew and draws strength from him. Back at the
dorms, he lies on his bed and doesn’t get up for hours; Aaron watches him.

He’s not scared of the other Foxes. He confronts Neil, he doesn’t back away from Matt when he steps in, he
often fights (even physically) with Seth especially when Andrew isn’t around. He’s terrified of Riko, Tetsuji
and the Moriyamas because of his past trauma, but he’s not a coward.

At first Andrew doesn’t want Neil to come to night practice with them, but after the night in Columbia and
the explanations that follow he allows Kevin to bring Neil along. Kevin wants to teach him. His left hand is
still painful at this point as he cannot practice with it. He demonstrates a Raven drill for Neil, but then
switches the racquet back to his right hand and gives his left a small shake. They’re usually there for two
hours, till around midnight.

He’s paired up with Aaron for his mandatory session with Betsy.

He’s nervous/tense before their first game: he has to shine or his career is over. He needs to prove he can
still play. He still looks very confident when he walks onto the court. The other team’s backliner tries to hurt
him and almost succeeds. He’s scared of getting hurt but plays through it. Kevin asks Matt to do something
about it and Matt punches Gorilla. Kevin has Andrew help him take off his glove/armour and flexes his
fingers slowly to check for damage. He leaves the court. The next day he’s wearing wrist braces. He’s scared
of getting hurt again.

The show with Kathy Ferdinand is part of the agreement with PCU’s president and the ERC: he has to do
publicity. He chooses her because she agrees to wait until after their first game. His first public appearance
since December 4th. Kathy invites the entire team but Kevin wasn’t planning on telling them, it’s Wymack
who invites them. Kevin says it doesn’t matter whether they come or not. The team teases him because
they know how he’s really like when he’s not putting up a nice front for the press.

He takes off his wrist braces before Kathy’s show begins.

When Riko arrives, he panics: “full-fledged terror”, “soft voice” that sounds like “a desperate prayer” that
only Neil by his side can hear, returns his hug very slowly and only because they’re on live TV, for a little he
doesn’t take his eyes off Riko when they sit down, and is trembling. When Kathy asks him to choose
between orange and black, he “clenches his hand around Neil's arm, cutting off circulation all the way to
Neil's fingertips.” When the show is over and Kathy says goodbye, Kevin stands frozen on the stage until
Neil pushes him towards the wings.

When Riko confronts him in private, Kevin is “white-faced and tense”, “flinches” when Riko says something
to him in Japanese, “wilts beneath the weight of Riko’s fury”. Again, Neil has to push him away when
Andrew arrives and he stands there frozen instead of leaving. When Abby hugs him, he “holds onto her for
dear life.” He doesn’t let go until Andrew joins them, tells him they’re going and pushes out the door. He’s
still shaken when they get back to the dorms, Andrew puts a hand on his back and shoves him into the
bedroom. Later, Neil sees him “curled up on one of the oversized beanbag chairs facing away from the
door”

Gets angry/upset when Neil downplays his injuries: he tells him that injuries are not a joke and points at his
left hand
Fall 2006
On the way to the fall banquet, he has a panic attack as soon as they see the first signs pointing to the city
they’re going to. “short, ragged breaths”, shaking, “had a knee hugged to his chest and his face hidden in
the fold of his arm”, “his knuckles were white where his hand was clenched into a fist”, strained voice.
Needs an “emotional crutch” and finds it in alcohol.

He’s pale and tense even after drinking. He and Jean stare each other down, they are cold. He finds enough
courage to speak (to Jean and other Ravens, not Riko), but his voice gets frantic when Neil verbally attacks
Riko. The Ravens want him to go back as assistant coach but he refuses their offer again.

He has another anxiety attack after finding out who Neil is and silently asks Abby to follow him outside. He
gets drunk. After dinner, “He made a slow circuit of the court, seeking out every team save the Ravens. It
didn't matter what athletes honestly thought of the Foxes; Kevin could bring almost any conversation to a
grinding halt when he walked up. Kevin didn't go out of his way to be polite, but he kept most of his
condescension in check.” (bringing Andrew and Neil with him)

When Tetsuji holds out his hand, “Kevin obediently sets his left hand in it. Moriyama lifts it to inspect
Kevin's ragged white scars.”

Abby checks on him repeatedly before the game against the Ravens. He says he can play. He’s quiet. He
stands frozen when Riko hugs him and talks to him on the court before the game begins. Andrew snaps him
out of it by slamming his racquet against the wall. He’s marked by Jean and it takes a psychological toll on
him. When he and Neil score, his smile is “fleeting but fierce.” Even thought they lose, he tells Riko he’s
satisfied with the Foxes’ spirit and that there’s more than enough for him to work with. He chooses the
Foxes over the Ravens and Riko finds it unforgivable and decided to take away the people Kevin is leaning
on, he wants them to fear Kevin and infect Kevin with doubt.” He talks to the Ravens to distract them from
Andrew’s unsteadiness at the end of the game (sober.) “Calm confidence.” It’s the first game he and Neil
play both halves.

The day after Drake rapes Andrew, Neil sees him sitting “rigid and silent” on the bed with Nicky. He lets
Andrew pat him down for imaginary injuries. He’s terrified when they tell him Andrew is going to be in
rehab to get off his meds.

On Thanksgiving, he offers to stay sober and watch Neil if he wants to drink so he won’t say something he
shouldn’t.

Winter 2006/2007
At the winter banquet, without Andrew, Kevin is scared. He drinks in the morning before leaving, manages
to sleep on the bus, “but he woke up half an hour out from campus. He was silent as the grave for the
remainder of the drive” and flinches violently when he spotted the Ravens’ bus. Wymack snaps his fingers
to get his attention; he has a blank stare and can barely talk. During dinner he “joined in if the conversation
veered toward Exy, stayed out of it when it didn't, and kept sending furtive looks at the Ravens' table”.
After dinner he stays close to Neil and away from the crowd. He freezes when Riko and Jean approach
them. He lets Neil step between him and Riko, and lets Jean drag him away. After, when Neil asks him if he
got his plane ticket, he’s too stunned to respond after what happened and what Neil revealed re: Drake and
Andrew and Riko. He tells Neil not to go, he’s afraid for him. Presses his lips into a hard, white line.

He texts Neil when he leaves for Evermore: “Jean will help you if you help him.”

Spends Christmas break in NYC at Matt’s with Nicky and Aaron. Goes to the court every day to practice. On
Christmas, Riko calls him to tell him he inked Neil.
First game of championship, Riko and Jean show up to watch them. Kevin looks at Riko “white-faced”, can’t
stop staring. Neil roasts Riko again post-game with the reporters and Kevin is scared. Neil attacks him and
tells him to stop being scared. Kevin tells him “It is not a switch you turn on and off. You of all people know
this. You did not grow up with him. You do not get to judge me.” Neil tells him to take his chance, take his
future. Kevin hears him: he’s frustrated and angry at himself.

After Neil roasts the Ravens once again during championships, he has to get drunk to deal with how scared
he is.

After they get Neil back from his father: “There was a hollow look on Kevin's face and dark bruises on his
throat.” Andrew choked the answers out of him. It takes Matt and two others to pull Andrew off of him.

Neil forces him to tell Wymack he’s his son even though he’s not ready. Neil also tells him he should get rid
of his own tattoo. The conversation with Wymack doesn’t go well. “Twenty minutes later Kevin showed up
looking hollow-eyed and defeated. He started to open the passenger door, then got in back.” He stays in
the car after they’re back at the dorms. Neil tells the team for him. Later, Kevin looks “utterly exhausted.”
Dan is upset at him and later they talk about it; when they come back they look like they’ve “gone through
an emotional wringer.”

When Neil tells them Kengo is dead, he locks himself in the upstairs bathroom to have a panic attack. Upon
finding out that Riko wasn’t invited to the funeral, “Kevin's flinch was full body.” Neil bullies him into talking
to Jean and talking him into staying. Shortly after, Neil finds him “sitting on his bed, one knee tucked to his
chest, as he stared dully into the distance.” Kevin asks Neil how he does it, why he’s not afraid.

He’s shocked when Neil tells him about Ichirou’s visit. “Kevin couldn't recover that quickly from having his
world upended, though, and was distracted the entire afternoon. He missed shots he should have made
with his eyes closed and spent his breaks sitting alone in the stands.” Later, at dinner, “Kevin said nothing to
anyone but stared at his plate as he played with his food.” After dinner: “Kevin made a beeline for the
bathroom but left the door open behind him. Neil looked from his white-knuckled grip on the sink edge to
Kevin's reflection. He didn't know what put that intense look on Kevin's face unless Kevin was staring at the
number on his cheek. Kevin had been second-best and second-class all his life. Now he had the freedom to
reach for the rank he'd always deserved and always been too afraid to want. Neil didn't blame Kevin for his
fear, but he needed to see Kevin overcome it.” Then he asks Neil and Andrew to take him to the court and
starts practicing left-handed. His aim is off at first but then it gets better.

After the following game, he says he’s done with the Ravens, that Wymack is his father, and that he’s never
been skiing. Then: “He dropped his helmet and gloves on his way across the changing room and caught
hold of the edge of the sink. He swayed a bit like his legs wanted to give out from under him and his hands
were trembling so violently Neil could see it from the doorway. Instead of falling he leaned forward and
pressed his forehead to the mirror. "We're all going to die," Kevin said at last. (…) After staring at his
reflection for an age he lifted his hand and covered his tattoo on the glass. The result sent an odd tremor
along Kevin's shoulders. Neil didn't know if it was approval or fear. All that mattered was that Kevin nodded
and turned back to them.”

Jean and Kevin know they can never play together again. There's too much between them, good and bad
and ugly, for them to ever make things right.

He’s the only one in a good mood before the game against the Trojans.

He has to get drunk and his father is there with him, but he gets a queen chess pieces tattooed over his #2.
The deadliest piece on the board.

Final: Kevin to Wymack: “and my father comes to all of my games. That is enough.”
He’s not afraid of going to evermore, of facing Riko, anymore. He plays the second half left-handed.

After AFTG
There's some ugly backlash against the Foxes for breaking Riko's arm, but it's scattered at best considering
the circumstances. It'll take Kevin a couple years to get out of Riko's shadow--for years the comparisons and
questions and sympathy will continue, and Kevin will have to play the part as best he can.

Kevin is signed to the pros upon graduation and is the first to be signed to Court (Coach Kinzie.)

Wymack and Abby never get married, but they do move in together during Neil's senior year.

Jeremy Knox
Captain of the Trojans since his junior year. Is a senior in AFTG.

Smiles as soon as he sees Kevin, calls him “crazy fool” and claps his shoulder. Calls him “unforgiving and
obnoxious” but fondly. Is worried about what Kevin said about his hand not being an accident. After they’ve
talked about Jean, Kevin gives him one of his rare smiles and Jeremy gives Kevin’s shoulder a hard squeeze.

It’s the first time they’ve talked since Kevin’s transfer.

Calls USC “SoCal”

Not a Raven fan

Gestures a lot

The Foxes’ success makes him and his team rethink how they play: “Are we second because we're talented
or because we have twenty-eight people on our line-up? Are we good enough as individuals to stand
against you? We have to know.”

He’s excited to play with only nine people. “None of us have ever played a full game before. Hell, most of us
don't even play full halves anymore. We don't have to because the numbers are always in our favor.”

Kevin calls him a “crazy fool”

Winning is not the most important thing. He’s the most psyched for a game he’s been in a long time. He
doesn’t regret it even after they lose. “Jeremy had an exhausted smile and nothing but compliments for
them.”

He avoids calling the Ravens out on their ugly playing style even when given the chance.

“Next year is going to be amazing. I think you're going to see a lot of changes across the board. We've all
got to take another look at what we bring to the court.”

Trojans
USC, Penn State, and Edgar Allan were considered the "Big Three" of NCAA Exy. Edgar Allan always placed
first. USC and Penn State usually stole second and third, though they were constantly upsetting each other
in the rankings.

Head coach: James Rhemann (+ three other coaches)

Captain and starting striker: Jeremy Knox

Starting backliner: Sara Alvarez

Goalkeeper: Laila Dermott

The Trojans are known for their sportsmanship. In TRK they’ve won the Dan Spirt Award “seven years
straight and have yet to receive a single red-card,” while in TKM they’ve won it “eight consecutive years.
That trophy was intended for the best sports in the game and required a unanimous vote from the ERC. The
Trojans had never gotten a red card and never been caught on camera saying something rude about an
opponent.”

More Trojans make Court than Ravens do: “Both teams are obsessed with being the best, but only the
Trojans would risk their standings to improve.”

The Ravens and Trojans are “fierce rivals”

Their 2006/2007 is “almost flawless” according to Kevin.

They face and win against Penn State in the third round. 37 goals between their three round three games.

The crowd isn’t pleased by their decisions to play the Foxes with only 9 players.

In the years the follow AFTG, while the Ravens struggle, the Trojans become the dominating team in NCAA.

Jean Moreau
Backliner, #3

Physical appearance
Gray eyes.

Taller than Kevin but not by much.

Number 3 tattooed on his left cheekbone.

Info
French, from Marseille. Speaks in heavily accented English

His family has belonged to the Moriyamas since before they came to the United States. There is nowhere
else for him to go. “His father owed the Moriyamas a great deal. The master paid those debts in exchange
for Jean's presence on our court. He was property, nothing more.” Riko hurts him and doesn’t hold back
like he does with Kevin.

“Jean hated his lot in life, but he was past the point where he could even think of fighting back. He wasn't a
rebel; he was a survivor. He did whatever it took to get through the day. (…) Jean stood unflinching guard
while Riko tore Neil apart again and again, but he was always there to pull Neil back to his feet afterward.”

Teaches Kevin French on the sly. He’s “technically forbidden to use French, since Riko couldn't understand
it.” They were tight.

“Fun is for children.”

At the fall banquet: “Jean accepted Riko and Tetsuji's cruelty because he had no one outside of the Ravens.
With nothing else to live for and no reason to fight, he bowed his head and focused on surviving. Renee
was the first bright thing to catch his eye.”

“Jean's face was pretty much a swollen bruise. Both eyes were blackened courtesy of a broken nose and
stitches had patched his chin and cheek back together. Chunks of hair had been ripped from his skull,
leaving bald and scabbing patches throughout.”

Can drive.
Jean finishes school with the Trojans and goes pro when he graduates. He never aims for Court and never
makes the cut, but he has a solid career and a lot of counseling along the way.

Ravens
The Perfect Court
“The first time someone asked about Riko's and Kevin's tattoos, Riko hadn't beat around the bush. He was
the best striker in the game, he said, and he wanted everyone to know it. The story changed a little when
Jean made his first public appearance with a "3" on his face. Riko was supposedly handpicking the future US
National Team. He called it the "perfect Court", and even though it was unofficial and unbelievably
arrogant, his talent and upbringing gave some credibility to the idea.”

Info/AFTG
Ravens came to Edgar Allan University for one reason only: to play Exy. Every athlete Coach Moriyama
accepted was expected to sign to a professional team upon graduation. School was a secondary concern for
all of them. They were all enrolled in the same undergraduate degree and took their classes together in
groups of three or four. They weren't allowed to go anywhere without taking at least one teammate with
them. They weren't supposed to socialize with anyone outside the team.

They didn't even live in the student dorms, but they didn't live where everyone thought they did, either.
Edgar Allan was a smaller university than Palmetto State, with fewer sports and more arts programs. One
perk they offered was interest-based housing in lieu of general dorms. Sororities, fraternities, and larger
clubs could all petition to have special living arrangements. The Exy team had a house of its own, but the
Ravens only slept there when keeping up appearances.

Evermore wasn't on school grounds for a reason. It belonged to Edgar Allan, but it doubled as the national
team's stadium. Because of its dual purpose Evermore was built with extra amenities: towers for celebrities
and the ERC, lounges for high-profile guests, and spacious living quarters for visiting teams. Those quarters
were built underground beneath the court floor, and that was what the Ravens used as their dormitory.
That was where Riko and Kevin grew up.

If the Ravens weren't in class, they were expected to be at Evermore. They lived and breathed Exy on a scale
no other team could or would. Their intense lifestyle, forced integration, and vicious punishments put them
on a whole different scale than any of their opponents. They were, in short, the complete opposite of
everything the Foxes knew and understood. Tonight's game pitted a hive mind against a fractured bunch of
rejects.

Ravens operate on a pair-based system. One Raven’s success or failure is the other’s. When a pair is
punished, the others are unsympathetic. They go everywhere together. Ravens don’t go anywhere alone.

They run on 16-hour days.

Eight precision drills; no one is allowed game time until they’ve mastered them.

Hive mind. They move, stand and sit in synch at events.

Don’t bring dates to the banquets. Dressed in identical black suits with red ties, girls in identical black
dresses.

Every player has an identical black car with custom license place: EA[class year][jersey number]

They only see the sky when they leave Castle Evermore, which isn’t often. Inside, everything is black ,
suffocating, claustrophobic. They have “two full-sized kitchens, a lounge complete with a bar and pool
table, and three dens with TVs. A long hall connected the social quarters to a weights room, and another
hall took them to the dormitory. A sign on the wall indicated Black Hall was to the left and Red Hall to the
right. All of the bedroom doors were open and each one was outfitted with only two beds.” The locker
room is one floor up. The changing room has locks which is strange.

There is no room for privacy in the Nest.

Ravens are expected to play even when they are hurt.

After AFTG
Riko's "suicide" and Moriyama's resignation help cement Edgar Allan's decision to shut down the Ravens'
Nest. There's the usual public argument about the cost of perfection and obsession, and dismay over such a
senseless loss of life, but eventually it all dies down.

The original replacement coach for the team was Mikaela Dawson, a former Raven who'd gone on to
coaching New Jersey's professional team. Considering all the controversy going on at Edgar Allan and their
need to change their image, though, she wouldn't be a suitable replacement this time 'round. Instead the
Ravens get an outsider, a well-qualified coach eager to take on a bigger and better team (who doesn't
realize what he's getting into).

Even with Moriyama gone, they're a toxic and scheming lot. The upperclassmen have been around too long
to be redeemed under a new coach, and the freshmen get pulled to panicked pieces between the
upperclassmen's rot and their coach's saner approach. It takes them years to work that poison out of their
ranks. In the meantime the USC Trojans become the dominating team in NCAA.

Fic Title and Theme Song

Whatever They Say, Your Soul’s Unbreakable

Follow through
Make your dreams come true
Don't give up the fight
You will be alright
Cause there's no one like you
In the universe

(…)

Do it on your own
Makes no difference to me
What you leave behind
What you choose to be
And whatever they say
Your soul's unbreakable

(…)

And tonight we can truly say

Together we're invincible