Agata Sain

Do not mention any events after Canto 2 in the notes or tags of this post, thank you.

Rodya’s most noticeable feature about her language is her switches between a casual, almost theatrical register when she’s “playing a part” (always) and a more restrained, terse style when she’s upset.

Rodya’s sentences are mostly mid-length, often using ellipses and dropping subjects or auxiliary verbs. These omissions help create a conversational tone that feels intimate and offhand, as though she is speaking to people with whom she has established a rapport with no matter who the subject is.

Her speech is casual and free-flowing, more like natural conversation than structured prose. There’s a rhythm to it—almost musical, with interjections and rhetorical flourishes. Her loose, easygoing sentence structure makes her approachable. It reinforces her need to be liked, to feel included.

However, when the conversation starts creeping toward something painful, she breaks it up with childish phrasing, either steering things away before they can get too heavy or trying to dismiss the importance of her very own emotional involvement by dumbing herself down as she frequently does with Sonya. Note her inability to let the conversation end on a sincere note, diminishing both herself and him, and both the ideals that drove them apart in the same way.

[His idealistic self-important role (dweeb’s leadership) vs her impulsive hands-on-involvement (being a rowdy rascal).]

It’s the verbal equivalent of leaving home to avoid facing what she’s done—avoidance is second nature to her.

She doesn’t speak in clear-cut subject-verb-object constructions when dealing with difficult emotions. Instead, she hedges, leans on metaphors, and sidesteps direct statements or explicit emotional qualifiers such as “I feel”, “I’m upset”. Even when she tries to be honest, she can’t quite say it outright. By the end of her canto, die to her distress, this becomes heavily exaggerated.

Rodya frequently uses rhetorical compliment-fishing questions as a way to signal emotional distress without directly expressing vulnerability. These questions aren’t meant to solicit an answer but rather to create a sense of distance from the topic at hand and a sense among her peers that she thinks highly of herself. It’s a way for her to challenge the situation indirectly while avoiding exposing any deeper emotional reactions.

Similarly, Rodya often holds back information until she’s ready to release it, framing her omissions as strategic rather than due to a lack of trust. Her phrasing creates an illusion that her withholding of the truth is somehow rooted in a sisterly sort of “looking out”, rather than her over reliance on herself. (This cynical nature being what makes her “take things into her own hands” in District 25.)

Rodya uses diminutives for both people and objects as a form of pragmatic softening, disarming, and maintaining social dominance rather than a more straightforward, simple affection. This faux-friendless allows her to control interactions and maintain friendless while keeping others at a comfortable emotional distance. In this case, she switches to a dismissive “sweetie” rather than her usual “babe”. Both show camaraderie, but her true intentions for the nicknames aren’t related to that rather than letting her have a sense of it is without actually putting in the work of forming an open connection with someone.

She’s actually the harshest toward the people she cares about the most. Dante and Gregor, both of whom she has clear affection for (and in Dante’s case, respect), are the ones she dehumanizes the most in a light hearted, almost casually cruel offhanded way— exclusively when it comes to their deformities. But that disgust is performative. When she truly dislikes someone, her insults are ironic, distant, and impersonal— just as when she dislikes something, she avoids it.

This tracks with how she handles difficult topics. When forced to confront something serious, her tone shifts—she drops the embellishments, speaks in a more neutral, detached way, and keeps things short and to the point. Even when she uses metaphorical abstractions, it’s to create distance between herself and her emotions, not to add a flourish to her words like she usually does. Though her speech is still littered with contractions, it’s more of a street-wise woman than the immaturity she fakes.

The substance of her speech is secondary to the performance itself. She's not necessarily interested in whether what she says is deeply impactful, but rather in conveying an image of confidence, independence, and self-sufficiency. This reflects a deeper insecurity, a need to assert control over how she is perceived (as she feels Sonya has so deeply misunderstood her) without directly confronting her own vulnerabilities.

Hello. I just finished Canto 1, so as I said, here are some things I found fun about the way Gregor speaks. I’ll do Rodya after Canto 2, and so on and so forth.

Do not mention any events after Canto 1 in the notes or tags of this post, thank you.

Gregor’s sentences are short to mid length, maintaining a natural, almost casual rhythm. His syntax is straightforward, avoiding complex subordinate clauses or elaborate phrasing. This reflects his laid-back and nonchalant attitude— his speech is efficient, unpretentious, and devoid of pretense. His words flow with a conversational ease, almost never rushed or clipped (despite his habit to drop subjects, compare him to someone like Ishmael, for example— he’s more warm), reinforcing his uncomplicated nature, which is something he really wants others to see— he wants to be a simple, regular man. He does not want to be seen as someone important.

He uses shortened constructions—such as omitting subject or auxiliary verbs—which gives his speech a relaxed, even offhand feel. In particular, when he talks about his past, he almost never talks proactively.

Fitting his casual speech and “action-oriented” past, Gregor also uses phrasal verbs in a casual context quite a bit. This also ties in with his tendency to downplay his personal struggles by speaking as if they were just ordinary events. When he does this, he also tends to pass the responsibility to his superiors, placing himself in the position of “but I’m just a guy, it’s (external thing).”. (His landlord, his manager).

Gregor is, however, quite the normal guy when it comes to how he speaks, so though there’s no much to say about his word choice outside of some strangely old-timey whimsical words every now and then (absolutely used to make him seem more warm, affable, and distinctively NOT like a strict military guy.) But there is quite a bit to say about what he “chooses” to say.

When talking about serious or painful things, he keeps it brief but adds this elliptical phrasing that lets the weight of his words sink in without outright stating it. He never spells out his emotions—his restraint makes the pain obvious without needing to say it. It’s less about what he says and more about what he holds back.

However, the most standout thing about the way Gregor speaks is the way he always subjugates himself whenever joking. Gregor himself says he does this.

However, his jokes about his arm will always hold more passive aggression and underlying hurt than his more elaborate, whimsical jokes about his previous military position— the topics that make him most upset.

He eases not only outright— but any potential hostility with humor. Consider the way he uses a mild, almost playful, word like “pest” to describe his condition—it reflects the level of detachment he’s employing in his suffering, a detachment that very much is the only thing helping him manage that suffering. He can’t open about how much discomfort it causes him, so fashions it as a palatable thing others can laugh at WITH him, instead of AGAINST him.

He believes people will always mock him, and even more importantly thinks there is something worth mocking about him, so this humor is always light hearted and easy to ignore. He does not challenge others cruelty towards him.

It’s not so big of a deal that people see him as something other if he’s not dangerous. He’s a monster, but just a small one. A pest. Insignificant.

In this same way he often uses rhetorical questions and double negatives to get his point across on this topic. For example, when he says the above, he’s highlighting the unpleasantness of his arm without directly addressing the actual discomfort it causes others. It’s his way of communicating subtly— avoiding bitterness or confrontation, trying to force himself into the “joke” of how revolting he is. Another way he does this is by referring to the other soldiers as “things”. Othering himself.

So despite his ease with small talk (being the first to introduce himself to us), his deeper emotions often surface in the spaces between words. He lets the quiet do the heavy lifting, as he is unwilling to say things plainly.

His distaste for status is reflected most simply in how he speaks to Dante.

“Manager Bud” → “Bud” softens authority. It reflects his preference for informal, cordial relationships rather than professional ones. The very concept of a work life similar to the military structure he knows is something he is absolutely terrified of. He does not like putting people higher or lower than him.

Gregor’s speech register is informal, with a blend of

- Working class pragmatism

- Older, slightly rustic quirks (usually one off words like “bugger”)

- Military lingo (in particular, he mentions “getting medals” a lot where others would say “rewarded”.)

i miss when him in my walpugis event team:(

This is a bday gift for a friend @skittisketch