Fruit Fly

Leo is the novel’s other co-protagonist and narrator. Although he’s a dynamic and round character in his own life, Mallory demeans him by treating him as the raw material for her literary ambition. As a young, gay, unhoused man, he lives in a state of constant precarity, relying on survival sex and seeking refuge from his reality through drugs. This vulnerability makes him a target for both physical violence, at the hands of characters like Brick and Mo, and the more insidious exploitation enacted by Mallory. Leo’s existence is defined by a search for safety and an escape from a world that has consistently failed him, a struggle that Mallory sees only as a marketable narrative of suffering.

Like Mallory, Leo is also engaged in the act of constructing an identity through storytelling. He has an online poetry account under the username @Alias22, where he performs a version of his trauma for a digital audience. His “[c]hav poetry” serves a dual purpose: It’s a genuine outlet for his creative impulses and a way of packaging his pain into a consumable persona that earns him validation in the form of likes and followers. This act mirrors Mallory’s project on a smaller scale, illustrating the theme of The Creation of Identity and Worlds Through Storytelling, where personal experience is shaped into a narrative for public consumption. However, Leo’s storytelling is rooted in his lived reality, whereas Mallory’s is an act of appropriation. He also fabricates stories in his interactions with the other characters, telling Mallory exaggerated tales of his past to elicit sympathy and secure the resources he needs to survive.

Leo’s character arc is ultimately one of reclamation and agency. He begins as an unwilling muse in Mallory’s creative scheme, his life story stolen and twisted into the plot of Slay. The discovery of her manuscript devastates but also empowers him. In confronting Mallory, he rejects the tragic, two-dimensional version of him that she has created and begins to assert control over his own narrative. At the end of the novel, he reclaims his agency by writing his own book, The Poet Acts, in which Mallory becomes a character in his story of revenge. By becoming an author himself, Leo transforms from the object of a story into its creator, seizing the power to define his own identity and seek justice on his own terms.

Ronan is the primary antagonist in Mallory’s narrative, a static and round character who embodies the insidious nature of coercive control. On the surface, Ronan presents a charming, successful, and supportive persona. He’s a commissioning editor at Netflix, moves effortlessly in their intellectual social circle, and is praised by others as a “total catch.” However, this public image conceals a deeply manipulative and controlling nature. His primary motivation is to maintain absolute power over Mallory, which he achieves through systematic gaslighting and psychological abuse. He frequently references her past mental-health crisis to invalidate her feelings and justify his actions, framing his control as a form of protection. By confiscating her phone, car keys, and bank cards, he isolates her from the outside world and erodes her autonomy, ensuring her complete dependence on him.

Ronan is obsessively concerned with status and appearance, and his control over Mallory is intrinsically linked to maintaining their perfect public image. His professionally successful life, their impeccably designed home, and his carefully curated charm are all components of a life that he believes is “incredible” and “[e]nviable.” Any action Mallory takes that threatens this façade, such as her “reckless” research for Slay, is met with severe punitive measures. His control over Mallory is driven by a selfish need to manage how he and his life are perceived by others despite his claims that he’s concerned for her well-being.

Beneath his polished exterior, Ronan is deeply hypocritical. While he enforces a strict moral code on Mallory and positions himself as her protector, he engages in his own secret deceptions. Leo witnesses him taking and sending nude photographs of himself from a shared bathroom, revealing a betrayal that contradicts the loyal, devoted husband persona he performs. This hypocrisy is the cornerstone of his character; his power is built on a foundation of lies and double standards. He demands total honesty from Mallory while operating in secrecy, demonstrating that his control is a tool for self-preservation rather than a function of love or care.

Stacey, Mallory’s mother, is a complex foil to her daughter. Like Mallory, she is a product of a self-constructed identity, having worked tirelessly to escape her working-class Birmingham roots and adopt a “posh” persona. Her obsession with appearance and social status mirrors Ronan’s, and she aligns herself with his power, often reinforcing his control over Mallory. She views Ronan as an “answered prayer” and believes that Mallory’s privileged life is something to be grateful for, not escaped from. This perspective puts her in direct conflict with Mallory’s feelings of being trapped. Stacey’s character highlights a generational difference in survival; where she sought security through assimilation and social climbing, Mallory seeks freedom through creative and personal rebellion. Despite Stacey’s critical nature, she demonstrates a flicker of maternal protection in the novel’s climax, revealing a buried loyalty to her daughter over Ronan.