''[[http://hetalia-kink.livejournal.com/21125.html?thread=84926597#t84926597 Sold to the Highest Bidder]]'' is an ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fanfic originally conceived to serve the "Sex Slave AU" kink meme. The story is a sci-fi/steampunk hybrid, with the former predominating, and the narrative combines twisting interpersonal plotlines with a detailed account of the multiple societal layers within the universe.

In a society where sexual slavery is legal, [[GreyAndGrayMorality nobody's really moral or immoral]]. England is a pirate, stealing freefolk to sell them; the Nordics are gentleman thieves working to free the stolen; and Turkey and Greece are buddy cops Federal Agents hot on both trails. France, Spain, the Italies, and Rome are slave bondsperson trainers of varying ethics; and Hungary is the legislative power who somehow has to keep them in line. The east Slavics are high-society slave-owners struggling to maintain a nascent empire, and the Baltics and Poland are revolutionaries trying to bring it down.

----
!!Tropes:

* AerithAndBob: Names of characters range from Island to Raivis to Yao to [[TheSixthRanger Tim]]. {{Justified|Trope}}, given the [[Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers source material]].
* AffectionateNickname: Ivan asks Eduard to call him ''Vanya'', which is also what his sister calls him. Natalya sometimes goes by ''Natasha'' along the same lines, and Ivan occasionally refers to Eduard as ''dusha moya'', which should [[BilingualBonus actually refer to a girl]].
%%* TheAlcoholic: Ivan.
%%* AmbiguousInnocence: Feliciano.
* AnimalMotifs: There is quite a bit of alluding to dogs when it comes to the bondspeople. In the epilogue, even, [[spoiler:Alfred]] finds himself unable to keep a dog because training one is too similar to training other things.
* ArentYouGoingToRavishMe: Eduard is saying this to Ivan for the first eighty percent of the story.
* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Oddly averted; the author goes to great lengths to give a fairly plausible explanation for development of hormonal imbalances which give the [[BizarreAlienBiology Vitim]] their [[MateOrDie Time]].
* AuctionOfEvil: The climax takes place at one, the Decennial.
* BadassBoast: A few of them. Unsinkable gives an absolutely epic one to Mathieu:
-->'''Unsinkable:''' I'm going to get the ''hell'' out of here, and you're going to find me an exit. Once I'm out, you can blab to Francis all you like, if he doesn't mind you talking with your [[PrecisionFStrike mouth full of cock]]. Now march, bondsman.
* BecauseImGoodAtIt: This is one reason Eduard wants Ivan to keep him as a bondsman instead of setting him free; he's spent most of his life becoming good at this specifically. Luckily, he does find [[GadgeteerGenius another hobby]].
* BestialityIsDepraved: A ''weird'' variation; though the bondspeople are, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin actually people]], Francis's friends treat his feelings for [[SexSlave Mathieu]] as depraved -- because, in their eyes, Mathieu is an animal.
%%* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: [[spoiler:Commander Zielska kills herself, presumably for this reason.]]
* BettyAndVeronica: In a ([[HoYay mostly]]) non-romantic example, [[TheEmpire Ivan]] is the Betty and [[LaResistance Toris]] is the Veronica to Eduard.
* BigSisterInstinct: Though she's certainly an [[AloofBigBrother Aloof Big Sister]], Katya will ''not'' hesitate to do what must be done for Ivan or Natalya's sake.
%% * BitchInSheepsClothing:
%% ** Feliciano seems awfully sweet, [[spoiler:and he is, but [[LightIsNotGood that's not necessarily a good thing]]]].
%% ** [[TheMole Toris]] is also this trope, and even [[ShrinkingViolet Mathieu]] has his moments of notable {{Jerkass}}-ness.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:At the end, almost everyone got what they wanted -- that is to say, Ivan freed Eduard, the Capt. and Unsinkable returned Alfred home, and the FiveManBand reunited Willem and Margot. Unfortunately, Avo Romae was still in business with his grandsons still under his thumb, Alfred grew up to be introverted and disillusioned, the revolutionaries failed miserably and the ineffective regime of power in TheEmpire went on, Willem and Margot never overcame their traumas, and Mathieu continued to be confused and uncertain about his life. But at least [[PairTheSpares Kiku and Natalya wound up together]].]]
* BizarreAlienBiology: The Vitim (such as Ivan) have their Time, where they must [[MateOrDie lose their virginity]] around a particular age to avoid fatal physical and cognitive damage.
* BlindObedience: Expected of the bondspeople. Mathieu, Eduard, Ludwig, and Katya's bondsgirl all start out this way. [[spoiler:Later, Mathieu and Eduard start to break away.]]
* BrickJoke:
** When Raivis is trying to file away a new identity for his duties as TheMole, Island thinks this:
--->'''Island:''' A ''handservant'', big dreams, there... Then again, a handservant ''would'' be easier to impersonate.
** And several dozen chapters later:
--->'''Raivis:''' Oh, for -- handservant? What, I couldn't be something fun like political aide?\\
'''Toris:''' Handservant ''would'' be easier to impersonate.
* CannotKeepASecret: Raivis, much to Toris's dismay. This is how [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor Eduard]] gets involved with LaResistance.
* CannotSpitItOut: Captain Kirkland ''and'' the Unsinkable, which is certainly not good for their [[VitriolicBestBuds relationship]].
%%* TheCaligula: Ivan has elements of this toward the [[TheEmpire Union Empire]].
* CentralTheme:
** Seems to be that no one, even when not a literal slave, is entirely free.
** To a lesser degree, that PoorCommunicationKills.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: Katya and Ivan's contribution to the aforementioned CentralTheme; both are prisoners to their own leadership.
* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:[[ThrownOutTheAirlock Desmond]]'s murder at the beginning of the story gets Kirkland put up for execution.]]
%%* TheChessmaster: Island, with elements of this for the FiveManBand as a whole.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder:
** [[spoiler:Eduard]], albeit unintentionally and more at the fault of the two sides he's caught between.
** Subverted by Captain Kirkland, who is known to be selfish and often ''considers'' betraying his friends, but never actually does.
* ClickHello:
** [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Toris]] [[EstablishingCharacterMoment greets Eduard]] with one of these.
** There's a rather amusing web of these at Francis's emporium on Hallar at one point, with Francis pointing a gun at Captain Kirkland, only for Unsinkable to appear with ''his'' gun pointed at Mathieu.
* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: Many of the bondspeople. After all, Eduard's reaction to [[spoiler:Ivan's Time]] is pretty... [[MajorInjuryUnderreaction chill]].
* CorporalPunishment: Many of the bondspeople are subject to this. Singled out in particular with [[ShrinkingViolet Mathieu]], who takes a lot of this from Francis, but forgives it.
* CrapsackWorld: Obviously. In Unsinkable's words:
-->"The system and the worlds that occupied it were shit, they were made shit and when the sun died out they'd still be shit, and there was no hidden meaning or underlying message except that people were selfish pigs no matter where you went."
* DeadpanSnarker: Many of the characters, especially [[ThoseTwoGuys Adnan and Karpusi]], Captain Kirkland, Eduard, and, surprisingly enough, Mathieu -- to anyone but Francis.
* DeathByOriginStory: Ivan and Katya's parents and aunt, as well as Toris's father, sister, and grandmother.
* DecoyProtagonist: A few. At first, it seems Alfred will be the protagonist of his thread, but that role belongs to Captain Kirkland and Unsinkable. Similarly, it looks like Ivan is going to be the hero of his thread, but it actually winds up being Eduard.
%%* DefectorFromDecadence: Ivan starts out as this.
* DeliveryGuyInfiltration: A well-loved tactic in this story. Kirkland does this to get into Romae's emporium, and Raivis does it to get into the Duma, among other examples.
* DisguisedInDrag: Feliks, as part of LaResistance.
* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: Ivan, particularly on his Time.
* DomesticAbuse: All the owners to their bondsmen to some degree. Particularly highlighted by the Francis-and-Mathieu thread, where Mathieu develops a sort of Stockholm Syndrome toward his master, as well as describing Francis's constant use of his services and less-than-humane punishments (i.e. shock collars).
%%* DontYouDarePityMe: Eduard to Ivan.
* DoorStopper: The tale is three or four times the length of the average ''novel''.
%%* DrowningMySorrows: Ivan.
* TheDragon: Unsinkable is this to Captain Kirkland, Toris to Commander Zielska, Feliks to Toris, Mathieu to Francis, and Eduard to Ivan ([[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor usually]]).
* TheEmpire: The Union Empire.
* EnemyMine: The FiveManBand and the Great Delivery spend some time as this.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Everyone seems to notice that [[TheDreaded Captain]] [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Kirkland]] has something for [[TheIngenue Alfred]] except for... [[ObliviousToLove Captain Kirkland]].
%%* EveryoneIsBi
* EvilOldFolks: Avo Romae is a [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes grandfather]] that ''sells people for a living''. %%The elderly [[spoiler:Commander Zielska]] also counts.
* ExtremeDoormat: Mathieu, [[spoiler:at least for most of the story. He gets feistier after meeting [[KnightInSourArmor Lovino]].]]
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The Union Empire seems to be a counterpart to the Soviet Union.
* FishOutOfWater: Eduard and Alfred in their respective lodgings for the story.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Plenty, though it's quite subtle.
** For example, this conversation:
--->'''Unsinkable:''' Never underestimate the power of underestimation! If there's one thing I learnt on the streets, it's that nobody ever suspects the simpleton.\\
'''Capt. Kirkland:''' Wish I'd figured that out before all of this. [[spoiler:People quite like hanging a mastermind.]]
** Another specific example, though a less subtle one -- the auctioneer pointing out how remarkably similar Alfred and Mathieu look. [[spoiler:They were identical twins SeparatedAtBirth when Mathieu was sold into slavery. This becomes a plot point when the other characters mix them up... and Francis winds up with Alfred while Feliciano and Lovino wind up with Mathieu.]]
* FriendlyTarget: Ivan to Toris. Toris actually admits several times that he thinks Ivan is a good guy, but [[RevengeBeforeReason he still wants to kill him]].
%%* GeneralFailure: Ivan, much to Katya's -- and his own -- dismay.
%%* GuiltyPleasure: Mathieu is this for Francis.
* HappinessInSlavery:
** Katya's bondsgirl has this. So does Ludwig. Mathieu starts out this way, before the government crackdowns force Francis to auction him [[spoiler:and he realizes that might be a good thing]].
** When Ivan nobly tries to free [[SexSlave Eduard]], this is pretty much the result; all Eduard has known his whole life is slavery, so he has nowhere to go, no skills, and no friends, not to mention that he's frightened and confused by the idea of losing the only life and identity he's ever had. Needless to say, Eduard [[DontYouDarePityMe is not happy with this course of action]], and Ivan gives up on it and doesn't bring it up again for a long time.
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Captain Kirkland receives this treatment from the FiveManBand when they're forced to work with him, and all ([[TheSixthRanger six?]]) of them refuse to believe he's trying to do something good for once. He doesn't put much effort into convincing them otherwise. This later bites him in the bum, because [[spoiler:when he gets caught and is about to be executed, the FiveManBand is given the option to help him escape and they refuse]].
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: [[spoiler:Eduard]] runs into this later on. {{Justified|Trope}} in that the story runs on GreyAndGreyMorality and both sides are right, albeit in different ways.
* HeroicSacrifice: Several, but most notably [[spoiler:Lovino letting Unsinkable (and the much-needed bounty on his head) get away]] and [[spoiler:Kirkland letting the police catch him so that Unsinkable and Alfred can escape]]. Even [[spoiler:Toris]] hands out a TakeMeInstead to save [[spoiler:Raivis]], though he wasn't in any real danger.
* {{Hikikomori}}: Ivan is this for the most part, though he does go out to [[DrowningMySorrows drink vodka with Toris]].
%%* HumansAreFlawed
* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: The man who wants to buy Unsinkable off of the Great Delivery at the beginning of the story wants to hunt and kill him -- unwittingly convincing [[JadeColoredGlasses Captain Kirkland]] to HeelFaceTurn to save him. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d:
-->They had to succeed.. [or] Gilbert would be left to play [[Literature/TheMostDangerousGame a most dangerous game]].
%% * HypercompetentSidekick: Several. [[MeasuringTheMarigolds Eduard]] to [[ReluctantPsycho Ivan]], [[KnightInSourArmor Lovino]] to Feliciano, Mathieu to Francis, and [[TheChessmaster Island]] to [[FiveManBand the other four]].
* IGaveMyWord: [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Captain Kirkland]] likes giving out his word. He's not as fond of keeping it, but he does come through for Unsinkable in the long run.
* IJustWantToBeFree: Alfred, Willem and Margot. [[spoiler:All of them get it, to varying levels of satisfaction]].
* InadequateInheritor: Ivan, to the Bragins' Union Empire.
* INeedAFreakingDrink: [[OddFriendship Eduard and Natalya]] share one while Ivan and Katya have a particularly nasty argument.
%%* InnocentlyInsensitive: Danmark, usually toward Tim/Willem.
* IronicEcho: During Ivan's CrisisOfFaith after [[spoiler:realizing Toris is TheMole]], Ivan asks Eduard whether, if somebody tells you something while trying to manipulate you, the conclusions you come to can still be true. Eduard tells him yes. Later, when Ivan [[spoiler:confronts Eduard about working with the revolutionaries]], Eduard reminds him that [[spoiler:even if the revolutionaries where manipulating him, the conclusions he came to -- that TheEmpire is corrupt and dangerous -- could still be true]].
* ItsPersonal: Between [[ConsummateLiar Island]] and [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Kirkland]], [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Toris]] and [[TheCaligula Ivan]], and [[SitcomArchNemesis Francis and Elizaveta]], respectively.
* ItWasAGift: Ivan tends to use this as an explanation for Eduard's presence, unsettling though it might be.
* JusticeByOtherLegalMeans: The Council turns a blind eye to Kirkland's piracy because it stimulates the economy in its own backwards way, but [[spoiler:they ''will'' arrest him for murder]].
%%* KnightInSourArmor: Lovino and Captain Kirkland, both to a tee.
* LaResistance: The Kilnus revolutionaries, of course; the slave-liberating FiveManBand has elements of this as well.
* LastRequest: A couple. [[spoiler:Eduard]] asks [[spoiler:Ivan]] to [[spoiler:[[TakeCareOfTheKids keep the revolutionaries safe]] while he makes a run for it]], and [[spoiler:Kirkland]] asks [[spoiler:Island]] to [[spoiler:tell Gilbert to take care of himself after Kirkland's execution.]]
* LemonyNarrator: All of the characters take turns narrating, and each of them manage to be this, though some more than others. Feliks, Katya, Unsinkable and Mathieu tend to be this most.
* LoyalToThePosition: Mathieu, Eduard, Ludwig, and Katya's bondsgirl. [[spoiler:By the end, both Mathieu and Eduard have changed their minds]].
%%* LoveHurts: For Mathieu and Francis, for Ivan and Eduard, and for Danmark and Tim.
%%* LoveMartyr: Mathieu starts out as this to Francis.
* MadeASlave: Some characters were either sold off at a young age by their parents (the standard way). Or kidnapped by pirates from a poor district. Alfred was, of course, this as one of the plot threads.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror Eduard]] is like this after Ivan clears his Time, much to Ivan's horror.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Rare heroic example; [[spoiler:Ivan spares the revolutionaries by claiming the detonation of the Duma was a freak moonshining accident, then sending them out of the country]].
%%* ManChild: [[BirdsOfAFeather Alfred and Feliciano]].
* MateOrDie: The Vitim have this conundrum.
* MatterOfLifeAndDeath: Unsinkable's position is this, hence his popularity as the subject of PetTheDog and HeroicSacrifice.
* MaybeEverAfter: A few in the epilogue.
** The relationship between Kirkland and Unsinkable is never resolved.
** Then, it states that [[spoiler:Lovino]] thinks pursuing [[spoiler:Mathieu]] would be foolish because "he knows a lost cause when he sees one"... only to go on and say that [[spoiler:he's done ''stupider'' things]].
** The epilogue also states that [[spoiler:Willem and Margot can't have normal romantic or sexual relationships again]], but continues on to say, [[spoiler:"then again, neither of them have yet tried."]]
** It does also note that [[SnarkToSnarkCombat Adnan and Karpusi]] [[spoiler:get to remain working partners indefinitely]], and [[SitcomArchNemesis Francis and Elizaveta]] continue working with each other, noting in both cases that [[spoiler:"certain ladies doth protest too much"]].
* MirrorCharacter: [[LadyOfWar Katya]] and [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Toris]]; both [[AloofBigBrother aloof]], [[DarkAndTroubledPast previously traumatized]] [[ShadowDictator lead]][[RebelLeader ers]] of their respective factions, both warmongering and [[MurderIsTheBestSolution trigger-happy]], both TheUnfettered -- save for their respective [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling younger]]-[[BandOfBrothers sibling]] {{Morality Pet}}s.
* MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome: More like Missing Well-To-Do Person Syndrome, but it's explicitly pointed out (in multiple instances) that the media is only concerned about the disappearance of the upper-middle-class Alfred F. Jones after the pirate raids, and don't even report the names of the thirty-some poorer or homeless folks the Great Delivery also picked up.
%%* MonumentOfHumiliationAndDefeat: The ruins of Darinys.
* MoralityKitchenSink: A large cast of varying ethics. Seen:
** The FiveManBand liberating slaves across the universe is the most straightforwardly good, along with Margot and Alfred being, for the most part, innocent.
** The Unsinkable and Eduard are both relatively good people allied with some [[AntiHero less-good]] allies -- which they hope to fix.
** Ivan is a devout and kindhearted person who winds up unintentionally hurting a ''lot'' of other people.
** Lovino is a KnightInSourArmor who resists the bonds system but doesn't make an active attempt to fix it; Feliciano and Captain Kirkland both come to disagree with it but still help it along, planting them firmly among the AntiHero regimen.
** The police, Francis, Yao, and Elizabeta and her husband are not necessarily bad people, but cause a lot of the plot's conflicts and often stand in the way of the right thing.
** TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized among the Kilnus; Toris, Raivis, and Feliks are on the darker end of things, as are the members of TheEmpire they resist -- Katya, primarily.
** Avo Romae and the other bondsperson traders and trainers are the most straightforwardly bad characters, though they don't see anything wrong with their actions, themselves.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Eduard asks this question a lot about the Bragins' Empire, especially after meeting the [[LaResistance revolutionaries]], resulting in a sort of personal crisis for him. Mathieu also seems to struggle with it once he realizes [[spoiler:he might want something other than to stay with Francis]].
* NakedFirstImpression: By the nature of this story, this isn't unusual; both Katya and Ivan first see Eduard in this state, and Eduard has this first impression of Ivan, too; Lovino also first sees Mathieu in the nude.
%%* NakedOnArrival: Eduard.
* NiceToTheWaiter: Ivan is quickly established as a ([[CrapsackWorld relatively]]) good guy by [[PetTheDog his strong opposition to the bonds system]]. Of course, [[LoyalToThePosition Eduard]] doesn't take it so well.
* NoBadassToHisValet: It's not really a question why the revolutionaries are afraid of the Bragins, especially [[TragicMonster Ivan]], but after the first day or so, Eduard certainly isn't.
* NoRomanticResolution: The only OfficialCouple at the end is [[spoiler:Eduard and Ivan]]. [[LadyOfWar Katya]] and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Yao]] may also count, since they're getting married, though it's left unclear whether they ever actually [[MarriageBeforeRomance fall for each other]].
* NotInThisForYourRevolution: Eduard to, of course, LaResistance; he's only there to play with the gizmos, and later, to keep his friends safe.
* NotMeThisTime: Antonio gets arrested for dealing with pirates; he does do that, but he's innocent of the particular case he's arrested for.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Danmark and Unsinkable both seem to be doing this.
* OddFriendship: [[SexSlave Eduard]] and [[TomboyPrincess Natalya]] forge one of these.
* OfCorsetsSexy: There's one odd scene where Eduard helps [[AgentPeacock Feliks]] change out of one corset and into another.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: The other characters believe this of Captain Kirkland, and they're usually right, until he decides to lend a hand to [[MoralityPet Alfred]] and [[MoralityChain Unsinkable]]. After that, he has [[HeelFaceDoorSlam a lot of trouble]] convincing people of his good intentions.
%%** All of the trainers/sellers of bondspeople, especially Romae.
%%* OppositesAttract: Kirkland and Unsinkable, Danmark and Tim, and Eduard and Ivan. %%how are they opposites
* OvertOperative: [[LaResistance Raivis]], [[BuddyCopShow Adnan and Karpusi]], and Danmark are all guilty of this at one point or another.
* PapaWolf: Francis, [[FrenchJerk of all]] [[DomesticAbuse people]], can get this way toward his charges.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: This is Toris's central philosophy. Later, Island [[spoiler:considers leaving Kirkland to die. He ultimately tries to back out of it and save Kirkland, but changes his mind too late.]]
* PleasePutSomeClothesOn: The first thing [[KnightInSourArmor Lovino]] does after buying Mathieu is cover him up.
* PoliceAreUseless: Adnan and Karpusi are both horrifically inept at their jobs, not to mention that they fail completely to catch on to the Council's corruption. Averted by Hassan, a NiceGuy cop who actually ''does'' realize what's going on and [[spoiler:helps the [[NobleFugitive five-man band]] that's been trying to free the bondspeople]].
* PoliceState: Hallar seems to be one, though the police in turn are controlled by [[BigBad Romae]].
* PoorCommunicationKills: A recurring motif in the story. With varying levels of spoiler: [[spoiler:The poor communication between the BSPA, Francis, Antonio, and Lovino causes both Mathieu and Alfred to wind up with the wrong buyers, and equally poor communication leads Mathieu to the false hope that he may find mercy and freedom, which are [[TearJerker promptly ripped from him]]. The poor communication between the FiveManBand members in themselves and toward the police officers lands all five of them in jail. Poor communication between Eduard, Toris, and Ivan causes all of them to be nearly blown up, and an equally tragic misunderstanding between Ivan, Katya, and their troops caused a genocide of Kala in Darinys. Meanwhile, poor communication between Adnan and Karpusi causes them to continuously fail to catch their crooks, and poor communication between Unsinkable and Kirkland threatens to fracture their friendship many times. And that's just the ''overview''.]]
* PromotionToParent: Katya goes through this for Ivan and Natalya after her parents are assassinated. Of course, being similar, Toris has the same thing happen after the bombing of Darinys leaves him to take care of the orphaned Feliks and Raivis.
* ProtectedByAChild: Seems to be Commander Zielska's strategy, since all of her [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized revolutionaries]] that we meet were recruited as ChildSoldiers.
* QuestionableConsent: Though Eduard doesn't realize exactly what he's done until long after he's cleared Ivan's Time.
* RaceLift: Subtly, but Eduard, who was Eastern European in ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'', now hails from the same place as French characters Francis and Mathieu.
* RapeAsBackstory: {{Justified|Trope}}, given the [[SexSlave premise]].
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The justification for the murder of the Great Delivery's idiot crew-member.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Captain Kirkland gives [[ShrinkingViolet Mathieu]] an absolutely ''brutal'' one after he disses Unsinkable.
* RebelliousRebel: [[spoiler:Eduard is this to the Kilnus revolutionaries, choosing to betray them to [[TheCaligula Ivan]].]]
* RecruitTeenagersWithAttitude: Commander Zielska recruited the [[ChildSoldiers fifteen-year-old]] Toris after he demanded that she do so. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Eduard:
-->'''Eduard:''' Wait. So [Commander Zielska] just ''gave'' you a job?\\
'''Toris:''' Well, I might have helped myself to a few of the guns. [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse In case she said no]].
%%* ReluctantPsycho: Ivan, on his Time.
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized:
** Seen in all the Kilnus characters to some degree, but especially Toris. The revolutionaries start the story scheming Ivan's torturous descent into madness. Later, [[spoiler:the rebel leader plans to blow up the Bragins' home -- with her own troops inside]].
** Toris's backstory is full of this; his family was shot and killed in the crossfire of a territory dispute, leaving a child Toris on his own. Later, he was deported suddenly by government orders, only for the train to turn out to be smuggling weapons across the border to LaResistance, which recruits him as a [[ChildSoldiers Child Soldier]]. After that, his hometown is bombed, leaving thirteen-year-old Feliks and ten-year-old Raivis [[WarIsHell trapped alone in a collapsed basement]]. Both of their families also die.
* RoguishPoacher: Captain Kirkland is a rather dark version of this, since he poaches ''people''.
* SacrificialLion: Unsinkable is in constant danger of becoming this at the hands of other characters. [[spoiler:Captain Kirkland also comes dangerously close, but Francis saves him.]]
* ScamReligion: Toris uses one to help bring down Ivan.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Romae apparently says this a lot.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Quite a few: [[TheSpock Eduard]] is the Manly Man to [[GentleGiant Ivan]]'s Sensitive Guy, Unsinkable is the Manly Man to [[NobleDemon Kirkland]]'s Sensitive Guy, [[KnightInSourArmor Lovino]] is the Manly Man to [[AmbiguousInnocence Feliciano]]'s Sensitive Guy, and Feliks is ([[WholesomeCrossdresser ironically]]) the Manly Man to [[NervousWreck Raivis]]'s Sensitive Guy.
* SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny: A primary plot thread for Ivan, due to the aforementioned ScamReligion fabricated by Toris; Ivan's alien race [[BizarreAlienBiology must lose their virginity around a certain time]] to avoid serious cognitive damage, but Toris has convinced Ivan that to do that would damn him. Of course, Ivan is more sympathetic and kindhearted than most, and doesn't take out his troubles on Eduard... usually.
%%* SexSlave: The premise.
%%* ShootTheHostage: Toris does this in his {{Backstory}}.
* SiblingYinYang: Katya and Ivan; one is an [[AloofBigBrother aloof]] LadyOfWar and the other is a [[HotBlooded passionate]] BruiserWithASoftCenter.
* SlaveToPR: The bondsperson traders, particularly Antonio and Romae, are this, contributing to the CentralTheme that no one is entirely free.
* SmellsSexy: Bondspeople to the Vitim on their Time, and the Vitim on their Time to bondspeople. {{Justified|Trope}} by the drugs and hormones putting both of those groups on heat.
* SoMuchForStealth:
** The first thing an undercover [[LaResistance Raivis]] does in the story is strike up a pretty obvious conversation with a member of the enemy, then promptly [[OpenMouthInsertFoot says something incredibly awkward]] and covers it up by [[CannotKeepASecret revealing vital information]].
** Danmark somehow decides it's proper to ''flip a table'' whilst stealthily hanging around the Decennial auction.
* StandingBetweenTheEnemies:
** [[spoiler:Eduard]] does this in the climax between [[spoiler:[[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Toris]] and [[TheEmpire Ivan]].]]
** Unsinkable does this at one point between the FiveManBand and [[TheDreaded Kirkland]] so that he can attempt to reason with the former, in the hopes that they'll work with the latter.
%%* StarCrossedLovers: Eduard and Ivan, and Danmark and Tim.
%%* {{Steampunk}}: Duh.
%%* Stockholm Syndrome: Mathieu appears to have something of this toward Francis. Depending on your [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretation]], this could also apply to Alfred, Gilbert, or even Eduard.
%%* SuperHappyFunTropeOfDoom: Everything about the bondsperson trade is treated this way.
* TakeAThirdOption: When Eduard has to choose between supporting LaResistance and TheEmpire: [[spoiler:he comes in with a gun, demands that both sides knock it off, and ensures the safety of his friends on both sides.]]
* TakeMeInstead:
** [[spoiler:Toris]] tries to get [[spoiler:Ivan to attack him instead of Raivis. {{Subverted|Trope}} in that neither are really in danger from Ivan.]]
** Though these words are never spoken, [[spoiler:Kirkland lets the cops take him so that Unsinkable can get away.]]
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: The crew of the Great Delivery and the FiveManBand, for a time.
* TerrifyingRescuer: Sverige starts out as this to Tim, though he turns out to be utterly benign.
* ThemeNaming: All of the Olyokin characters have Eastern European names; all of the FiveManBand's names are Nordic countries; only Arthur and Alfred have English names. {{Justified|Trope}} by the [[Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers source material]], though.
* ThoseTwoGuys: [[BuddyCopShow Adnan and Karpusi]] are this to some degree. Also the pair of older bondspeople travelling with Antonio to the auction. Feliciano and Lovino make an EarlyBirdCameo as this, though both become individually important later.
* ThrownOutTheAirlock: Desmond, the idiot from the Great Delivery's crew.
* TitleDrop: Unsurprisingly, this happens a lot at the AuctionOfEvil in the climax.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Subverted. Alfred seems set up to be this, but in the long run, [[spoiler:he winds up donning the JadeColoredGlasses like everyone else]].
* TooHappyToLive: Alfred starts out this way. Eduard and Ivan become this after [[spoiler:they admit they love each other, only to immediately be forced to split up]].
* TraumaCongaLine: Too many to count, but we'll try:
** Unsinkable's backstory is one long conga line of [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape]].
** Margot was unjustly captured and bounced around like Unsinkable, only to be nearly put down by the system.
** Ivan and Katya's parents were brutally assassinated, leaving Ivan to [[AChildShallLeadThem lead the Empire]] and Katya to [[TheManBehindTheMan lead the Emperor]]; both are faced with TheChainsOfCommanding as revolution and war threaten their country and their family for the rest of their lives. Not to mention that, somewhere in there, Ivan found the time to [[ReluctantPsycho nearly lose his mind]]...
** Toris's backstory is possibly the worst of these; his family was shot, so he ran away to his grandmother, only to be deported away from her on a train that was taken under rebel control and stashed with weaponry. After finding him on the train, the rebels recruited him as a ChildSoldier; after this, he becomes involved in a ShootTheHostage situation that causes his hometown to be [[DoomedHometown bombed]], leaving nearly everyone he knows dead, save for his {{Morality Pet}}s Feliks and Raivis, who he finds starved and dying of cholera.
* TryNotToDie: Toris's advice to Feliks and Raivis, and Kirkland's [[spoiler:LastRequest]] to Unsinkable.
* TwinSwitch: [[spoiler:At the auction, Mathieu and Alfred get mixed up and go to the wrong people. Of course, they [[SeparatedAtBirth didn't know they were twins yet]].]]
* UnreliableNarrator: All of the characters are this to some degree, since each have their own takes on their situations; for example, Francis looks like a {{Jerkass}} {{Domestic Abuse}}r from Mathieu's perspective, but like a fairly reasonable (if somewhat hopeless) man in love from his own perspective; Ivan looks like a whiny AnnoyingYoungerSibling from Katya's perspective, a childish but ultimately benign friend from Eduard's perspective, and a brutish, pitiful [[TheCaligula Caligula]] from Toris's perspective; Captain Kirkland looks like an unforgivable {{Slimeball}} from Tim's perspective but like a slightly smarmy NobleDemon to Unsinkable. And so on.
* UnsettlingGenderReveal: Subverted ''twice'' by [[WholesomeCrossdresser Feliks]]; he reveals his gender to [[TheStoic Norge]], who takes it in stride, and to [[TheSpock Eduard]], who doesn't seem to particularly care. Neither change their opinions of him at all upon discovering he's male.
* VillainousRescue: [[spoiler:Ivan saves the revolutionaries' lives at Eduard's request.]]
* VillainOverForDinner: Ivan does this all the time, and eats with Toris almost every night, though he doesn't know Toris is a villain.
%%* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Avo Romae.
%%* VitriolicBestBuds: Ivan and Eduard, Capt. Kirkland and Unsinkable, and [[ThoseTwoGuys Adnan and Karpusi]].
%%* WarIsHell: Olyokin certainly proves that much.
* WasItAllALie: Ivan wonders this [[spoiler:after discovering that Toris is TheMole and Eduard has been working with him]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We never find out whether Antonio ever got paid.
* WhatTheHellHero: Eduard has moments of this toward both [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Toris]] and [[MyMasterRightOrWrong Ivan]]. Margot asks this toward The Unsinkable when she finds out he's working with Captain Kirkland.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Feliks is this as part of his duties as TheMole.
* WillNotBeAVictim: This is what Unsinkable is famous for.
%%* WillTheyOrWontThey: Unsinkable and Captain Kirkland.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Apparently, [[spoiler:Toris, Feliks, and Raivis]] have become expendable, [[spoiler:since their Commander sends them on a SuicideMission]].
----