History

BMOC

Kevin was born on July 7, 1978, in Lakewood. His mother died when he was six, and his father wasn’t a paternalistic sort, leaving Kevin one of the so-called “latchkey kids” of Generation X.

As a boy, Kevin’s best friend and constant companion was Miguel Acosta, one of the last holdouts in Lakewood’s once robust “Latin Quarter”. They raised hell all through their childhoods, but drifted into separate circles in high school. Kevin’s natural athletic ability made him a perfect fit for the football team and, while Miguel probably could’ve made it himself, he was too committed to his alt aesthetic to ever be seen in a letter jacket.

Kevin’s new friends were decidedly on the preppier side: his teammates, especially Brett Keener, Trent Price, and Mike Vinson. The foursome became notorious around GW High as junior frat bros of the highest order. There wasn’t much they wanted that they didn’t get…and vice versa, given Kevin somehow came away from this time without once acquiring a social disease.

In his sophomore year, Kevin started dating Maggie Anderson, a pretty blonde who was best friends with Brett’s girlfriend Dara Alden. The two made a pretty couple, despite not having much in common. They clashed frequently, and their relationship was marked by increasingly ugly fights that didn’t escape the notice of their friends.

Hanging over their troubles was a boy named Brandon James. A former homeschool case who had, since starting high school with their class, become a favorite punching bag of Kevin’s crowd. Brandon’s appearance was marred by severe deformities, caused by Proteus Syndrome, and his unfortunate looks compounded with his social inadequacy made him a prime target. Complicating things was that Brandon was…or at least, had been…Maggie’s friend once upon a time.

Whether Maggie approved of her boyfriend’s treatment of her old friend or not was a moot point. Kevin had always done what he wanted, and to hell with the consequences.

So to hell everything went.

Sole Survivor

On Halloween night, 1994, Brandon James went on a violent rampage, targeting Kevin and his friends. In the end, five people were dead: Brett, Trent, Mike, Dara, and Trent’s girlfriend Laura Cossey. Kevin was badly injured and nearly died on the way to the hospital, but he lived, the sole survivor.

Brandon himself was shot by the police the same night, his body falling from the Wren Lake jetty into the water, from which it was never recovered.¹

Kevin was shattered by his ordeal, and not just physically. The confidence he’d worn like armor fell away in an instant, leaving him vulnerable and small. Plagued by grief and guilt, he was subjected to intense therapy and left Lakewood for a few years, completing his GED outside town. He returned in time, however, not having anyplace else to go.

His father had since passed away. The Acostas ended up being one of many families who left town in the wake of the murders, leaving Kevin without his once best friend to lean on either.

But Maggie was still there, back from an absence of her own. Suddenly, the two found they had things in common after all: Brandon’s final gift. They cautiously resumed their relationship. By the time they were married, Maggie was three months pregnant. Their daughter Emma was born in March of 1999.

Unraveling

Troubles persisted for the young Duval family. Maggie had dedicated herself to medical school, training to become a forensic pathologist. Kevin, meanwhile, could barely hold a steady job, and found himself more often than not relegated to the role of stay-at-home Dad. Dote as he might on Emma, his sense of inadequacy festered.

Things finally came to a head nine years into their marriage, when Kevin physically attacked Maggie in front of Emma. Shaken by his own actions, he left Lakewood and his family.

Appearance

Kevin was tall, at a little over six feet. The athletic build he’d cultivated in high school had long since coarsened, leaving him with a haggard and somewhat paunchy build by the end of his life. He had shaggy brown hair and pale blue eyes.

Personality

Once a cocky braggart, the events of 1994 made Kevin insecure and erratic. He struggled with mental health issues throughout his adult life. Always passionate, he became more prone to violent mood swings, especially outbursts of dangerous anger.

Development

Kevin was a recurring character in Scream the TV Series, debuting in a single episode late in the first season, returning for a brief arc in the first half of the second, and then appearing at the end of the Halloween special in a twist that suggested a significant role in the never-produced third season.

Despite this, Kevin didn’t appear in any forum prior to the SRU’s launch in 2019. The Story so Far adapted a version of his Season 2 storyline in the first few chapters of Volume II. Shortly afterward, Kevin debuted in the third chapter of Lifting the Mask, the SRU’s first “spin-off”, where he was portrayed by Snafu Guru.

Gallery

1. The Story so Far, Vol. I: Chapter 1, Scene 17 ↩︎