Sports x Romance x College/Drama/Found Family
Will the once-great Cargill Coyotes succeed in reclaiming the NCAA Div I championship title for the first time since the 90s? Will you succeed in making a name for yourself, both on and off the tennis court? And perhaps more importantly…how much are you willing to sacrifice in pursuit of these dreams?
Summary: Start at the bottom as a newly-recruited freshman at Cargill university, and claw your way to the NCAA Tennis Div I championships. Forge lifelong friendships, pursue budding romances, attend classes, and rush term papers -or party- till the sun comes up.
- Play as female, male, or non-binary — with options to be straight, queer, or asexual.
- Experience the ups and downs of college life alongside an ensemble of colorful side characters.
- Play nail-biting singles and doubles matches (both home and away) throughout the fall and spring seasons - that is, if you make the cut.
- Romance the gruff, hot-headed no. 1 seed, an enigmatic, broody international student on your floor, the warm, unflappable team captain, or your nerdy and spirited high-school best friend.
- Build (or neglect) your relationships with your teammates, hallmates, coaches, family and friends back home.
In short: If you’re going to flunk out of college, you might as well do it virtually. (a) be a jock without the hassle of actually going to the gym, (b) drink/flirt/schmooze/party your way through college or (c) actually study - all from the comfort of your couch.
Demo
Detailed character list (w images) [UPDATED] sorry guys, the link kept breaking, here it is again - this time hopefully for good!
Detailed character list (w/o images)
Dedicated blog
Author’s general blog
Poll
Ko-fi
Latest update:
22 Apr 2023
Wordcount: ~346K words with code, +92.9K words since last public update, plus some edits to the earlier chapters to reduce code-bloat.
Other information:
Update log/plans
First update (16/11/21)
Prologue
Enter college
Second update (16/12/21)
Meet the team
Physical conditioning tests (strength & 5-mile run)
Training snippets
Team lunch
Third update (25/03/22)
Challenge match with Emerson
Party with dorm folk
Rooftop scene
Fourth update (28/08/22)
Meet roommate, D
Ice-breakers and amazing race with hallmates
Waterfalling
Club and activities fair
Laser tag
Fifth update (16/10/22)
First week of classes (and a surprise test!)
More training (and a chance to show off your finesse chops)
Challenge match with Jacks or Max
Sixth update (17/04/23 early-release; 22/04/23 and 29/04/23 public)
Weekend hang-outs with Tobin, Rayyan (and get to call Sam/short Sam POV scene)
Meet Felix, Tobin’s ex, while hanging out in a café with G and D
Doubles matches with Tobin and Rayyan
Find out the Cargill singles line-up (and if you’ve been selected)
Find out who your doubles partner will be (+their reaction)
Next planned update
Aftermath of the doubles partner reveal
First match of the season + Sam visit (if desired) + Dinner with Sam / teammates
ROs
Rayyan Afiq | Gender of your team (M/F) | 20
Nationality: Egyptian-American
Student information: Junior, Political science major
Player information: Vice-captain, No. 1 position, Aggressive Baseliner
Description: 5′6 (f) or 5′10 (m). Lean, athletic build. Dark, wavy curls, and thick sweeping eyebrows over piercing dark-olive eyes. Tawny, honey-brown skin.
Detailed description:
- Surly, intense, proud, focused. a.k.a. Tough on the outside, mushy on the inside.
- Gives no shits, until they suddenly realise that they do. At which point they’ll probably die for you, grumbling the whole way to the afterlife.
- Loves organising things, has a plan for everything, and dislikes surprises.
- Soft spot for cats. Lives in Seattle with a large family, whom they love.
- Smart, but cannot for the life of them understand literature: “ok but why does the color of the curtain have to mean anything!?”
- It’s always the time and place to win. Alternative motto: Do or die, there is no try.
- Seems to have some sort of beef with you(??)
Tobin Harris | Gender of your team (M/F) | 21
Nationality: American
Student information: Senior, Anthropology major
Player information: Captain, No. 2 position, All-court player
Description: 5′9 (f) or 6′1 (m). Tall, solid build. Short black hair, warm, brown eyes and a calm, assured demeanour. Dark bronze skin.
Detailed description:
- Kind, laid-back, selfless, sociable and utterly unflappable. They go out of their way to make everyone feel welcome.
- Lights up every room they are in, but has a bad habit of stuffing down their own emotions until it’s far too late. Surprisingly private.
- Gentle to a fault, but steadfast in the things they believe in. Almost limitless patience, and always assumes the best of people. So loyal that they sometimes fail to see when a good thing’s gone bad.
- 80-year old in a 21-year old body - yawns uncontrollably and repeats “it’s past my bedtime” from 10pm onwards. Has an endless supply of protein bars in their pocket and has trouble figuring out social media.
- Textbook example of how friendliness does not equate attraction. Until, you suppose, it does??
Sam O’Connelly | M or F | 18
Nationality: American
Student information: Freshman, Undecided major. Childhood best friend.
Player information: No. 6 position for the UCLA Bruins
Description: 5′4 (f) or 5′8 (m). Trim build, with a small frame. Slightly curly russet hair. Mischievous light blue eyes.
Detailed description:
- Excitable, with infectious positivity.
- Self-proclaimed chaotic good. Somehow manages to survive on a diet of cheetos and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
- Motto: it’s ok not to be able to find anything - in the process of looking for it, you usually find something even better. Or you realise you never needed the thing in the first place.
- Adaptable, scattered, and fun-loving. Competent tennis player, but has too many other interests to really buckle down (e.g. avid video gamer, podcast-nut, D&D dungeon master, and aspiring journalist).
- Has a vague fear of commitment, but secretly wants to find something worth holding on to.
- Comes to root for you at your games - to ogle other players. Unless… they’re ogling… you?
Guillaume/Genevievé | M or F | 20
Nationality: French Canadian
Student information: Third year exchange student, Cognitive science bachelor’s degree. Hall-mate.
Description: 5′6 (f) or 5′11 (m). Toned, supple build. Dark, tousled hair with fair skin. Smoky grey eyes, with a smattering of freckles.
Detailed description:
- Quiet, but with a rich (and intensely private) inner world. Very intelligent, and almost wholly unreadable. Never lets on what they’re actually thinking or feeling.
- You know almost nothing about them despite living on the same floor.
- Seems only to have a single expression on their face: a tiny half-smile, no matter the situation. You suspect that’s the look they’ll have on their face at your funeral.
- Can be snarky as heck when they actually decide to speak, though.
- Motto: Tell me why I should give a damn.
- The sheer number of times you bump into them will start to get ridiculous. Coincidence? Perhaps. Fate? Possibly. On purpose?? Most certainly not(?)
Stats
Character Traits
- Charisma
- Intelligence
- Intense / Laid-back
- Friendly / Reserved
- Serious / Flippant
- Genuine / Dry
- Cocky / Modest
Tennis Skills
- Agility
- Strength
- Finesse
- Endurance
- Tactics
- Serve and Volley (S/V)
Things I'd love to hear
I’d love to hear any/all thoughts folks had while playing, of course, but here’s some specific ones I typed out 
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Bloat: At what points did you skip/feel like skipping the text? At what points were you very invested?
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Satisfying choices: Were there moments where you did not feel like there were options that matched the character that you wanted to play? Were there moments where you felt forced into a certain route/decision? Were there moments where you felt like what you picked did not match up well with the consequences?
[Disclaimer: This may, to some extent be unavoidable at times, but it’s useful to know where these moments are to try and make them feel less unsatisfying] -
Difficulty level: Were there challenges/portions of the game that felt too easy? too hard?
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Personal thoughts Which characters did you like, and dislike, and why? Which parts of the story/update did you enjoy or not enjoy? What are you looking forward to/any ideas of what you would like to see in later updates?
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Errors: Bugs, errors, typos, etc.
And I just love the game in general.
so glad you found the characters likeable yay, and yes I do admit I might have… gotten carried away with ‘lovable little shit’ options…