Slay

Steph Johnson is Kiera’s outspoken, loyal, and protective younger sister. Kiera offers the following description of her in Chapter 1: “Steph has a new pair of cheap plastic glasses for each day of the week, and her hair is always pressed straight and cut neatly at her shoulders” (2). Steph is a junior in high school and president of Beta Beta Psi, “a collective of the eight most outspoken, unapologetic, woke feminists at Jefferson Academy” (2). She loves debating, history, and Black culture, and she doesn’t hesitate to challenge the ignorance of others. For example, when Wyatt accuses SLAY of racism, Steph argues that there is nothing racist about “Black gamers want[ing] their own space online away from the eyes of the majority” (109). Just as Steph uses the same intensity that makes her unafraid of defending her beliefs in a debate to staunchly protect her sister. She keeps Kiera’s identity as Emerald a secret from their friends and family and ensures that Kiera has privacy during her climactic duel. Even though the Johnson sisters have a disagreement over Kiera’s decision to risk the fate of SLAY in a duel with Dred, Steph defends Kiera from Malcolm in the school cafeteria. Steph’s outspoken nature, loyalty, and protective love make her an essential source of support for Kiera.

As the protagonist’s sister, Steph makes significant contributions to the novel’s themes and plot. She is the first member of Kiera’s family to learn that she is Emerald, which marks a major step in reconciling the theme of Balancing Multiple Identities. After being entrusted with this secret, Steph offers unfailing support to advance the plot and aid the protagonist. For example, she convinces Kiera to break up with Malcolm and informs the police of the death threats he made against her sister in Chapter 15: “The Malcolm you know doesn’t exist, Kiera” (295). Steph also figures prominently in the novel’s joyful resolution. She is Kiera’s first dueling partner after the protagonist’s shoulder injury heals, which gives Kiera an empowering experience in which she feels that she is “doing exactly what [she] was always meant to do” (301). Steph ultimately joins the development team for SLAY and accompanies Kiera to Paris to meet Claire at the end of the story. Steph supports Kiera through some of her most painful moments and joyous achievements.

The hardworking, lonely, and guilt-wracked Claire Chappelle is SLAY’s moderator and one of the novel’s most important supporting characters. Her SLAY character, Cicada, is bald and wears a white gown. Claire is also bald in real life because she shaved her head in solidarity with her mother, who has cancer. Claire is in her second year at the École normale supérieure, a highly selective college where she studies computer science. On top of her coursework, she serves as SLAY’s moderator, designing cards and maintaining the game’s servers. The game is the young woman’s primary source of friendship and community. She is treated as an outsider in Paris even though she has lived in the city all her life and rarely sees her in-person friends. Claire’s loneliness is compounded by her Italian mother’s sickness: “Since she got sick, the amount of time I spend in Florence has slowly dwindled. More money for her treatment equals less money for my travel” (69). The hardworking Claire struggles with guilt and loneliness. She feels disproportionately guilty and worried when she thinks she’s disappointed one of her few friends, Emerald. For example, when she tells Emerald that her mother is white, Claire says, “I don’t blame you if you don’t let me keep playing the game. I should have told you sooner” (154).

Claire’s role as Kiera’s online best friend and one of the narrators makes her an important contributor to the themes and the protagonist’s characterization. Claire’s life in Paris underscores the Challenges of Balancing Multiple Identities as she contends with her classmates’ casual racism, microaggressions from strangers, and her mother’s illness and death, whereas in SLAY, she is the tranquil and regal Cicada. Kiera considers dueling Cicada and coming up with new ideas for the game together as her “favorite thing to do in the entire world” (81). Claire has supported Kiera with SLAY’s development for three years by the start of the story, and she offers Kiera encouragement and consolation during key moments in the plot, such as her preparation for the duel with Dred. The battle for the game’s fate is a defining moment for the dynamic character because she finds her confidence, speaking for the first time in the game as she moderates the match. When Kira asks, “‘What are you doing? Why is your mic on?’ She doesn’t text back. Instead she speaks! ‘Emerald, if this is going to be my last duel, I’m not going to spend it typing at a keyboard’” (252). The unshakable bond between Kiera and Claire emphasizes the importance of friendship, trust and support, whether in person or online. In addition, Claire allows Morris to explore the experience of a Black woman living in Europe and wrestling with the complexity of her identity as a person of color with a white parent. Claire is as pivotal to the novel’s message of inclusivity as she is to the development of SLAY.

Malcolm is Kiera’s affectionate, narrow-minded, and often threatening boyfriend. Malcolm has “strong arms” (7); “dark, glistening eyes” (9); and “dreads freshly twisted” into a “Killmonger hairdo” (7). Kiera’s descriptions of his appearance emphasize her attraction to and love for him. Malcolm reciprocates her affection as long as she shares his goals and fits neatly into his vision of the ideal Black identity. His androcentric, heteronormative worldview revolves around “Black men getting their education, starting their own businesses, becoming the heads of households, and raising gorgeous little Black children with their gorgeous Black queens” (11). As the novel continues, his prescriptive views become apparent through his increasing attempts to control Kiera’s behavior. For example, he calls video games “distractions promoted by white society to slowly erode the focus and ambition of Black men” (10), demands to know if she plays SLAY, and accuses her of lying when she denies it. As Kiera conforms less and less to his restrictive idea of how a Black woman should behave, Malcolm becomes increasingly threatening towards her. This conflict culminates in the death threat Malcom posts online along with the photograph he took by hacking her webcam: “Meet #Emerald, the SLAY developer. Jamal Rice’s blood is on her hands. If u see her, avenge him. I kno I will. #AvengeJamal #LongLiveKingJamal” (294). Although Malcolm is initially affectionate towards Kiera, he becomes increasingly controlling towards her until he eventually makes threats on her life.

As Kiera’s love interest and the novel’s antagonist, Malcolm plays an important role in the plot and themes. He is a highly dynamic character. For the majority of the novel, Kiera’s vision of the future includes building a life with Malcolm, explaining: “I was sure Malcolm and I would graduate, move to Atlanta, have three gorgeous melanated babies, and live out the rest of our days together (313). By the end of the novel, the loving, protective man she thought she knew vanishes, replaced by a tormentor who terrorizes and threatens to kill her. Malcolm’s hidden identity as Dred gives the story one of its main conflicts and some of its most suspenseful moments, such as the climactic duel between Dred and Emerald. Additionally, Malcolm develops the theme of Balancing Multiple Identities because Kiera’s relationship with him becomes strained when the game demands more of her focus. He also advances the novel’s thematic exploration of Navigating Physical and Digital Spaces Impacted by Racism and Exclusion. Through Malcolm and Dred’s character arc, Morris explores internalized racism and respectability politics: “Malcolm made me realize another threat to my people [...] The threat of self-hatred. The idea that Black people who don’t live up to whatever standards society has are somehow less deserving of love and support” (290). Ultimately, Morris suggests, Malcolm is Kiera’s opposite and antagonist because he refuses to accept the expansiveness of Black excellence.

Harper is Kiera’s privileged, oblivious, and well-intentioned in-person best friend. She is a senior in high school and has “a long, willowy frame” and a “short blond pixie” cut (4). Harper’s hair becomes a point of controversy when she asks Kiera if she’s allowed to wear locs. Harper comes from a highly affluent background, lives in a mansion, and has a trust fund. In addition to her socioeconomic status, Harper benefits from white privilege. For example, she doesn’t struggle with feeling out of place at Jefferson Academy the way that Kiera does: “Five hundred fifty-five of the students at Jefferson are white, leaving just twenty-five students of color estranged and unfamiliar with each other” (80). Harper’s privilege leads her to be oblivious at times. There are issues she doesn’t have to think about since they don’t impact her personally, such as racism in the mainstream gaming community. Three years before the novel begins, Kiera was called the n-word while playing Legacy of Planets, but she didn’t tell her friend because she “didn’t want to ruin the game” for Harper (96). Despite Harper’s ignorance, Kiera extends grace to her because she knows that her intentions are good. The protagonist describes her as “one of the nicest girls” she knows (242). One way in which Harper demonstrates her thoughtfulness and appreciation of their friendship is by cheering Kiera up with her favorite cookies. Despite her privilege and shortcomings, Harper sincerely cares about Kiera, and the protagonist counts her among her closest friends.

As the protagonist’s best friend in real life, Harper advances the theme of Balancing Multiple Identities because she’s one of the people that Kiera worries about disappointing as the game consumes more and more of her time and focus in the days following Jamal Rice’s murder. For example, Kiera frets that her friend and tutee will be unprepared for the math exam. At the start of the novel, Harper puts Kiera on the spot by asking, “Am I allowed to get dreadlocks?” (4). Morris uses the question to challenge the prevalent white expectation that a person of color will speak on behalf of their entire race. Ultimately, Harper decides not to get locs because it would offend many people in the Black community. In addition to taking responsibility for her own education on the subject, she apologizes to Kiera saying, “I realize it was unfair of me to expect you to know. You shouldn’t have to answer for all Black people, as if you all have the same opinion about it” (194). Harper’s character arc reinforces the novel’s inherent interest in personal growth by demonstrating that people can educate themselves about inclusivity and cultural appropriation.