Because Hetalia: Axis Powers has numerous characters in full swing, and this fic extensively reimagines most of that cast, this page will be long. Readers beware.
Characters in each section are listed in order of appearance.
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Bondspeople
The characters whose primary roles in the story revolve around being/having been Sex Slaves, referred to as bondsmen/girls.
Alfred Jones
A young man pirated from his home and Made a Slave in the first chapter of the story. Alfred draws in the intrigue of slave-trading pirate Capt. Kirkland and ensnares the help of the Great Delivery to bring him home.
- The All-American Boy: Seems to have been one of these, which isn't surprising given the source material. Enhanced by the fact that he tends to use words like gosh.
- Becoming the Mask: Unsinkable tells him that acting Blind Obedience will help him stay afloat until he's rescued. Alfred winds up bordering on Happiness in Slavery until he's rather nastily snapped back to reality.
- The Chessmaster: He does successfully convince Captain Kirkland to take him home, albeit in a roundabout fashion.
- Chick Magnet: More like everyone magnet; just about everyone in the story wants him to some degree.
- Decoy Protagonist: He seems like he'll be the hero of the Great Delivery's thread, but that role belongs more to Unsinkable.
- Determinator: Refuses to give in when he finds out what's happening to him, and refuses to accept the Captain's initial 'no' as an answer.
- Dumb Is Good: His lack of understanding of his situation is certainly endearing to Unsinkable, among others.
- The Everyman: Has some elements of this, especially toward the beginning.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: To match his Innocent Blue Eyes.
- I Just Want to Be Free: And he manipulates an entire pirate crew to get it.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Subverted. This "adventure" winds up having a very permanent effect on him.
- Inexplicably Identical Individuals: He and Mathieu. Later revealed to be not-so-inexplicable.
- The Ingenue: A strange male example. This is one of the reasons for Unsinkable and Kirkland's concern for him.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: And brought up more than once by the fair (green-eyed) Captain.
- Living MacGuffin: Runs into this for a while when the plot focuses more on getting him back than he, himself.
- Lust Object: Of Feliciano, though Feli comes to appreciate him otherwise later.
- The same for Captain Kirkland, though the Captain stopped thinking of him this way much, much faster.
- Made a Slave: His entire plot thread is based around this.
- Million to One Chance: That he, of all people, would be pirated.
- Missing White Woman Syndrome: More Missing-Middle-Class-Person-Syndrome, but the press is much more concerned with Alfred's disappearance than any of the hundreds of poor and homeless the Great Delivery has pirated in the past.
- Morality Pet: To Capt. Kirkland.
- Naïve Newcomer: In the first chapter. Actually manages to stay this way for most of the story.
- Parents as People: His well-intentioned parents make multiple appearances in the story trying to find him. One of the arguments Unsinkable uses to convince the Captain to help him is that he's probably got heartbroken parents at home.
- Pet the Dog: A rather popular subject for it, being a much more oblivious and innocent personality than people usually encounter in his situation.
- Pretty Boy: Certainly seems to contribute to the aforementioned Pet the Dog magnetism.
- Separated at Birth: With Mathieu.
- Sex Slave: Duh.
- Stockholm Syndrome: Seems to develop this toward Feliciano before he's rather suddenly snapped out of it.
- Stupid Good: Right along with Good Is Dumb.
- Twin Switch: Unintentionally, when he gets mixed up with his brother Mathieu at auction and winds up with the wrong buyer.
- Uptown Boy: What differentiates him, at first, from the other kids the Great Delivery tends to kidnap.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: In the beginning.
Tim/Willem
Pirated by the same Captain Kirkland as a teenager, Tim and his older sister were sold into slavery through the infamous Avo Romae. Tim was bought in the third chapter by an Underground-Railroad-style slave-freeing brigade which vows to help him find and free his sister too.
- Big Brother Instinct: More like Little Brother Instinct, but it definitely has this feel to it.
- Broken Bird: Unsurprisingly.
- Dark and Troubled Past: See the above.
- Determinator: And how. He's not about to give up on Margot.
- Distressed Dude: To start with.
- Enemy Mine: Temporarily with Captain Kirkland.
- Hates Being Alone
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Has some elements of this character, though he's not a hooker.
- I Just Want to Be Free: At first. Later, he decides he's also like to find his sister and his revenge.
- La Résistance: In the Five-Man Band, which resists the injustice of the bonds system.
- Loss of Identity: Goes through this as a result of being Made a Slave.
- Made a Slave: Offscreen, by Capt. Kirkland, in the most smarmy way.
- Noble Fugitive: Along with the rest of the Five-Man Band.
- Non-Action Guy
- The Old Convict: Also has some aspects of this to him, but isn't a convict and isn't old.
- Parental Abandonment: Used to live alone with Margot.
- Rape as Backstory: To be assumed.
- The Resenter: Toward Capt. Kirkland, understandably.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one of these to the Captain during their Teeth-Clenched Teamwork period.
- Satisfied Street Rat: Was this before he was Made a Slave.
- Sex Slave: Of course.
- The Sixth Ranger: To the Five-Man Band.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Temporarily, with Kirkland, when he needs to find his sister and the Captain needs to find Alfred.
- That Man Is Dead: He believes this about his younger self.
- Troubled, but Cute: Danmark certainly seems to think so.
- The Unfettered: When it comes to getting Margot back.
- Wisdom from the Gutter: Full of this.
Mathieu
An unsold bondsman belonging to Francis of Hallar, who's deeply in love with his master. Government regulations force Francis to sell him shortly into the story, but Francis has every intention of getting him back.
- Almighty Janitor: To Francis's emporium on Hallar.
- Beleaguered Assistant: To Francis, increasingly.
- Blind Obedience: To Francis.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: Takes a lot of heat at the hands of Francis, but doesn't seem to consider it strange.
- Deadpan Snarker: Can certainly get sassy to people who aren't Francis.
- Desperately Craves Affection: Enough so that Francis seems like a plausible option.
- Dismotivation: It's obvious Mathieu is aware his life really sucks, but he's too afraid of change to do anything about it.
- The Dragon: To Francis.
- The Dutiful Son: Seems to play this role toward Francis in contrast to Unsinkable and Belle.
- Extreme Doormat: Never really considers what he wants where his situation is concerned, and never really stands up for himself, in contrast to many of the other slave characters.
- Good with Numbers: Seems to handle much of Francis's accounting for this reason.
- Guilt Complex: Seems to solely blame himself for all misfortune Francis comes across, for one thing.
- Guilty Pleasure: For Francis.
- Happiness in Slavery: Seems to have this at first, though it becomes increasingly apparent that he was never really happy with his life.
- Hope Spot: When Lovino first buys him, though it's quickly dashed.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: To Francis, considering he runs most of the business.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: His reason for staying by Francis.
- I Just Want to Be Special: He's more than a bit tired of being part of the scenery.
- Inexplicably Identical Individuals: With Alfred. Again, this turns out to be not-so-inexplicable.
- Insecure Love Interest: To Francis.
- Living Emotional Crutch: To Francis, and vice-versa.
- Living Prop: In-universe, he's this, and not particularly happy with it, though he'd say otherwise.
- Love Martyr: Again to Francis.
- Morality Pet: The object of much Pet the Dog from Francis. Also the object of much Kick the Dog from Francis.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Has several moments of this, especially toward the end, when he decides he doesn't want to go back.
- Mythology Gag: His ability to stand around without being noticed. In Hetalia: Axis Powers he was often outright invisible.
- No-Respect Guy: Not surprisingly, given his position, but even more so than most, since even the other slaves for the most part don't respect him.
- Only One Name
- Pretty Boy: Like his brother Alfred.
- Prone to Tears: He's not difficult for the other characters to upset.
- The Quiet One: Like his Hetalia: Axis Powers incarnation.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: On the receiving end of a really nasty one from Captain Kirkland, after dissing Unsinkable-Kirkland: Unsinkable's right, you know, you're every one of you automatons. Can you even think at all for yourself? Does Francis bother teaching you to do that? Or would that just be a waste of his precious fucking time? In fact, if you hate Unsinkable at all it's probably because he pissed Francis off when he was here, and Francis took it out on you. Or maybe! Just maybe, you hate him because he has a voice and you don't. He's the sort of person you can't help but notice and you're the sort of person you can't help but ignore. Why, Unsinkable demands things from life that you won't even tell yourself exist because the knowledge of their existence'd hurt you so bad you'd cry yourself to sleep nightly. Things Francis will never give you because you're an object who's perfectly happy being inanimate, things you'll never demand because Francis has you so brainwashed you can't fathom demanding them... Because nobody cares about anybody else in this system. You got that? Nobody cares about you. Not even Francis. And why should they, hm? You're a meek, pathetic excuse for a doormat and your only weapon is to try to lash out and poison my mind against my crewmate. You want to command respect? Earn it. Unsinkable does that. You don't.
- Sassy Secretary: Can certainly be this way without Francis around, especially when dealing with Kirkland.
- Separated at Birth: From Alfred.
- Shrinking Violet: Not the type to stand up for himself, at least where Francis is concerned. To others he can be downright rude.
- Spanner in the Works: Often manages to be this. Particularly notable is the time he caught Unsinkable sneaking through Francis's place.Unsinkable: Once I'm gone you can blab to Francis all you want, if he doesn't mind you talking with your mouth full of cock.
- Stockholm Syndrome: Toward Francis, of course, despite the amount of abuse he takes from him.
- Twin Switch: Unintentionally gets mixed up with Alfred at auction and given to the wrong buyer.
- Undying Loyalty: To Francis. Subverted, ultimately, when he decides he would rather leave.
- Yes-Man: To Francis.
Eduard
A bondsman trained by Francis of Hallar and sold to Katya Bragin for her brother. Eduard remained unsold for most of his life on account of his intelligence (since nobody really wants a smart slave), but is eventually purchased as the ideal bondsman to clear Ivan Bragin's Time. It's also notable that Eduard has the most chapters as the viewpoint character.
- Affectionate Nickname: Ivan sometimes calls him dusha moya, even though this should technically refer to a woman.
- Almighty Janitor: Eduard might be a slave, but Ivan lets him work on running The Empire all the time.
- Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: He's asking this to Ivan for the first eighty percent of the story.
- Ascended Extra: In Hetalia: Axis Powers he was a tertiary character at best; here, he's the most featured character in the story.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: He has a few Downplayed moments of this.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Even under the initial abuse he takes from Ivan, he doesn't take any permanent physical damage. Justified by the Tonic, which is specifically designed to give him this trait.
- Because I'm Good At It: His reason for not wanting to be freed; he doesn't know anything else.
- Blind Obedience: Prefers to operate on this, though his nature steers him otherwise.
- Brutal Honesty: Often, especially toward Ivan.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Later in the story, albeit unintentionally.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: He's pretty chill about Ivan's Time, among other things.
- The Confidant: To Ivan.
- Constantly Curious: Again, to the delight of La Résistance, which uses this to draw him in.
- Consummate Professional: Disturbingly enough, giving his profession.
- Deadpan Snarker: Ivan finally gets him talking, only to discover he's this.
- Death of Personality: Seems to be among Eduard's primary fears when Ivan offers to free him; the only identity Eduard has had is his captivity.
- Defrosting Ice King: Shows some Downplayed development of this nature towards Ivan.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Seems to have a few moments of this, where he wonders whether he can really go on being an object.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Toward Ivan especially; Eduard gets increasingly frustrated with his master's sympathy.
- The Dragon: To Ivan. Usually.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Just about the only character who relied on no luck at all, and still - well, at the end, Ivan's arms felt like home.
- Establishing Character Moment: Spends his introductory chapter calmly putting up with some particularly twisted aspects of his job.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: With Toris, Feliks, and Raivis. Eduard can be classified as Choleric or Leukine.
- Freudian Trio: With Ivan and Toris. Eduard is the Ego.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Much to the delight of La Résistance.
- Good Is Not Nice: Tends to be rather blunt and cold, but he does mean well.
- Good with Numbers: And technology, books, and politics.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Can't seem to decide where his loyalties really lie, mostly because both sides he's caught between are very right and very wrong.
- Heroic Neutral: His primary interest isn't in the betterment of The Empire or La Résistance; he just wants to see all of his friends make it out alright.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: To Ivan.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: He finishes off a bottle of alcohol with Natalya once his name comes up in a fight between Katya and Ivan.
- The Informant: To the Kilnus revolutionaries, albeit mostly without meaning to.
- Insufferable Genius: Sometimes comes across this way from Ivan's perspective, but rarely to anyone else.
- Internalized Categorism: Even Eduard doesn't consider Eduard a human being. This causes major conflict with Ivan's more libertine beliefs.
- La Résistance: Gets involved with this, mostly unintentionally.
- Loyal to the Position
- Major Injury Underreaction: After Ivan's Time. Mostly seems to be glad he's not dead.
- Master of the Mixed Message: To Ivan.
- Monster Roommate: Ivan is this to him.
- Morality Pet: To Ivan.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Once he realizes he's been helping Toris, who, as he discovers, wants Ivan dead.
- Perhaps more poignantly, he has another one of these at the climax after finally thinking for himself and acting on what he wants - after declaring that he's acted of his own volition and not under the orders of Toris or Ivan, he's horrified at himself, but the other characters are proud.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Eduard spends most of the story torn up by this question, particularly after meeting the Kala and beginning to suspect that Ivan has a few things to hide. His primary internal conflict is the fact that he's been raised all his life for Happiness in Slavery, and now Ivan wants to set him free.
- Naïve Newcomer: To the Union Empire, and later to the Kilnus revolution.
- Nerds Are Sexy: At least by Ivan's account.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He tells Ivan about the revolutionaries in the hopes it will allow him to stay. This revelation causes Ivan to send him away instead.
- No Badass to His Valet: The revolutionaries are terrified of Ivan. Eduard is not.
- Not in This for Your Revolution: Toward, of course, the revolutionaries, and toward Ivan as well. At first he simply works with La Résistance to play with their gadgets, and later to protect his friends; he stands by The Empire out of loyalty to Ivan and the desire to protect him as well. Politically, however, he disagrees strongly with both sides.
- Not Quite the Right Thing: Everything he does. He clears Ivan's time and saves his life, but does it without permission; he helps La Résistance because Toris and co. are good people and The Empire is often cruel, but hurts the innocent Ivan and well-intentioned Katya in the process; he betrays the revolution to Ivan in the hopes of protecting him, but in doing so prevents the undoing of an ineffective regime.
- One Character, Multiple Lives: One with Ivan and one with the revolution.
- Only Sane Man: Or at least one saner man in the Union Empire.
- Questionable Consent: Clears Ivan's Time like he was instructed to. Does it without Ivan's permission.
- Rebellious Rebel: Betrays the Kilnus revolutionaries to Ivan in the long run, on the condition that he secures their safety.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue to Ivan's Red.
- Self-Restraint: Eduard is the king of this, as evidenced in his Establishing Character Moment.
- Servile Snarker: Constantly snarks to Ivan, once Ivan finally gets him speaking.
- Sex Slave: Of course.
- Spanner in the Works: Eduard might be the one thing neither La Résistance nor The Empire accounted for.
- The Spock
- Star-Crossed Lovers: With Ivan eventually. Immediately after they admit they love each other, Ivan must send Eduard away or risk having to execute him for treason.
- Take Care of the Kids: When he gets sent away, he asks Ivan to watch out for Toris, Feliks, and Raivis.
- Unwitting Pawn: Of the revolutionaries.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Ivan gradually become this.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Eduard takes turns saying this to Toris and Ivan.
Belle/Margot
A mysterious slave in the possession of Francis of Hallar, who is also widely considered unsellable. Later revealed to be Tim's missing sister.
- Badass in Distress: For most of the story.
- Broken Bird: Like her brother.
- Emotionless Girl: In Francis's emporium, at least, especially from Mathieu's perspective.
- Fire-Forged Friends: She and Unsinkable.
- I Just Want to Be Free: Of course.
- I'm Not Afraid of You: Toward the bonds system as a whole. She bites an auctioneer at one point.
- Like Brother and Sister: Seems to have this relationship with Unsinkable.
- The Masochism Tango: With Antonio of Marigon via Backstory.
- No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me: Her own brother doesn't recognize her until she bites the auctioneer.
- The Quiet One: Doesn't speak to anyone at Francis's emporium.
- Rape as Backstory: Par for the course.
- Rebellious Spirit: Like her friend Unsinkable.
- Sex Slave: Duh.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality
- Troubled, but Cute: Certainly.
Ludwig
A quiet bondsman belonging to Avo Romae's younger grandson, Feliciano.
- Blind Obedience: And he seems perfectly okay with that.
- Living Emotional Crutch: For Feliciano.
- Living Prop: He's not very lively, and doesn't do much for himself.
- Lust Object: For Feliciano.
- Only Friend: To Feliciano.
- Scare 'Em Straight: When he first talks to Alfred, he explains all the things that could happen to him as a Sex Slave, which thoroughly terrifies the boy into behaving himself.
- Sex Slave: Of course.
Katya's Bondsgirl
An unnamed bondsgirl belonging to Katya Bragina of Olyokin.
- Blind Obedience: To Katya, and she seems content with that.
- The Confidant: For Katya, of course, who trusts her wholeheartedly.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Towards Eduard in particular; not so much toward anyone else.
- Happiness in Slavery: The biggest example in the story; she doesn't even have a name, but she loves her life.
- Lady-In-Waiting: Often plays this role to Katya.
- Living Emotional Crutch: For Katya.
- Morality Pet: For Katya, who sorely needs one.
- Only Friend: Of Katya's, evidently.
- Sex Slave: Obviously.
The Great Delivery of Banningham
A delivery ship known for its underground acts of piracy, captained by Arthur Kirkland. These characters are its crew. Captain Arthur Kirkland
A shameless criminal and captain of the Great Delivery, Capt. Kirkland is responsible for many a Made a Slave backstory. In his first appearance he is driven to take pity on Alfred Jones and spends the rest of the story trying to bring the boy home.
- Action Duo: With Unsinkable.
- A Friend in Need: When Romae wants to buy Unsinkable to kill him, Kirkland decides it's time to step up and do some good for once.
- Agent Peacock: Among the gayest of a very gay cast.
- The Atoner: Has some elements of this; Unsinkable uses his guilt to rope him into helping Alfred Jones.
- Bad Boss: He kills one crewmember for being an idiot.
- Being Evil Sucks: He does his job, but he doesn't like it.
- Benevolent Boss: He really looks out for Unsinkable.
- Break Them by Talking: Pretty fair at this. See "The Reason You Suck" Speech under Mathieu.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: When he meets Tim again for their Enemy Mine.Tim: Do you remember me, Captain?
Kirkland: I-I'm afraid I don't. - Cannot Spit It Out: Especially regarding Unsinkable, but Alfred too.
- Celibate Anti-Hero: For a story about Sex Slaves it's unusual, but he's one of the few characters who has no sex at all.
- The Chessmaster: Does quite a lot of (successful) scheming for the people he likes.
- Character Catchphrase: He's not a good man.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Subverted. He's been this way in the past and Unsinkable worries that it isn't quite gone, but he stays loyal.
- The Cynic: Among the most cynical.Kirkland: Nobody cares about anybody in this system. You got that?
- Dark and Troubled Past: It's obvious he's done some not-so-nice things before.
- Deadpan Snarker: Brutally at times.
- Declaration of Protection: Gives one of these to Unsinkable. Many Manly Tears were shed.
- Debt Detester: Mentions that he really isn't fond of the idea he owes his survival to Francis twice, but that may also be because it's Francis.
- Disney Death: Of a sort. He gets caught and sentenced to death at the climax, but Francis bails him out.
- The Dreaded: One of the most infamous (if not the most) pirates in the slave trade.
- Emotionally Tongue-Tied: Which is strangely adorable for a kidnapper.
- Enraged by Idiocy: He throws one crewmember out the airlock for it.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Even he couldn't sell Unsinkable off to be killed, or leave Alfred Jones to fend for himself.
- The Exile: Which makes going through his plan to re-buy Alfred difficult.
- Famed In-Story: As The Dreaded, however.
- Friend in the Black Market: He is the black market, or at least the source of it.
- Gayngster: Of course.
- Gentleman Thief: Can be this. Certainly comes off more this way from his own perspective.
- Good Is Not Nice: He's doing the right thing. But he's not going to act like it.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: He does decide to help Unsinkable and Alfred. He just has trouble convincing people that's what he's doing.
- Heel–Face Turn: In his introductory chapter, after facing an ultimatum with Avo Romae.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He lets the police catch him so that Unsinkable and Alfred can run to freedom.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Unsinkable, though it may not be heterosexual.
- I Gave My Word: Mentions this to Island at one point about getting Desmond off the ship. Subverted; Kirkland only kept his word to Island for his own purposes, and almost never means a promise he makes.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Or at least Jerk With a Heart.
- Karma Houdini: Sympathetic a character as he may be, it's true that Kirkland isn't a good guy, and he never really gets a comeuppance. Comes close, yes, but doesn't. In fact, the last lines of the proper story are these:Karpusi: You are a very lucky pirate.
Kirkland: I'm well aware.
Karpusi: You don't deserve this kind of luck.
Kirkland: Yes, but I've got it and it's mine anyway. - Knight in Sour Armor: To a tee. He'll do something for you, but he won't be nice about it.
- Last Request: He asks Island before he is executed to tell Gilbert to get Alfred home, to take care of himself, and to watch over the ship.
- Love Makes You Dumb: This is discussed a few times with him; several who know him well claim that Alfred makes him forget his cunning.
- Morality Pet: Alfred Jones, who he is convinced to save.
- Morality Chain: Unsinkable, who will make sure he really saves him.
- Mythology Gag: His apparent crush on Alfred is a nod to the Hetalia: Axis Powers fandom's Fan-Preferred Couple.
- No Badass to His Valet: Despite being one of the most feared pirates in the galaxy, Unsinkable doesn't seem intimidated.
- Noble Demon: He's not a good man. But not a bad one.
- Noble Male, Roguish Male: The Noble to Unsinkable's Roguish, though in terms of morality the roles may be reversed.
- Only in It for the Money: Played with. He seems to want to be this way, but isn't really; even Unsinkable points out that he has a "guilty fucking conscience buried deep in that wallet of [his]."
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: When he's not being a vicious Deadpan Snarker, he's this, especially when he tries to convince the Five-Man Band to help him. He's often Innocently Insensitive to Unsinkable's past, too:Unsinkable: The ones who've been in the business longest, the ones who've made a name for themselves... It becomes a competition. One that Romae's winning, by the way. That's probably why he's so eager to get rid of me.
Kirkland: (skeptical) How do you know all this?
Unsinkable: Because all of them get real easy to piss off when they're balls deep in you!
Kirkland: Christ, I'm sorr—
Unsinkable: You're not. So don't bother. - Reformed Criminal: What Unsinkable intends to make of him. He's close by the end of the story.
- Roguish Poacher: Of a rather dark variety, since he poaches people.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The sensitive guy to Unsinkable's manly man.
- Slimeball: From other characters' perspectives, especially when looked at by Mathieu or Tim.
- Smug Snake: A rare protagonist example. Often comes across this way from other characters' perspectives.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Has some overtones of this, being The Cynic and also The Atoner.
- Space Pirates: He's one of these. A captain, no less.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With the Five-Man Band.
- Terms of Endangerment: Tends to use these, particularly with Alfred.
- Took a Level in Kindness: After meeting Alfred. "'Since when do you do good deeds?' Francis asked. Since Alfred, he thought."
- Try to Fit That on a Business Card: "Captain Arthur Kirkland of the Delivery, formerly of Banningham."
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Unsinkable and Francis of Hallar.
- Wants a Prize for Basic Decency: He feels pretty good about saving Alfred Jones until somebody reminds him that he still steals people for a living.
- Wild Card: The other characters consider him this (excepting Alfred, who fully trusts him).
Unsinkable/Gilbert Beilschmidt
A young man pirated into slavery, for once by someone other than Kirkland, who becomes known throughout the galaxy for being utterly unsellable. The Captain eventually takes a liking to him and helps him escape slavery to join the Great Delivery's crew.
- Adaptational Heroism: Significantly more heroic than his Villain Protagonist Hetalia: Axis Powers counterpart.
- Action Duo: With Kirkland.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Especially toward the Captain.
- The Caretaker: Oddly enough, he tends to take this role to young people on the Great Delivery, especially when he's a slave; he immediately becomes this to Alfred and it's implied he was once this to Margot, too.
- Cluster F-Bomb: He swears noticeably more often than the other characters, and uses the F-bomb noticeably more often than other swears.
- The Conscience: To Captain Kirkland.
- Determinator: Puts the other examples to shame. He seems to make it through the story via sheer will.
- Distressed Dude: At times. Capt. Kirkland generally comes through for him.
- Establishing Character Moment: Introduced offering advice to Alfred.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Everyone calls him Unsinkable. His real name, though, is Gilbert.
- Famed In-Story: For his Rebellious Spirit. He and Kirkland both being like this makes it difficult to get Alfred without being noticed.
- Fire-Forged Friends: He and Margot.
- Gallows Humor: A favorite brand of humor for him.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Captain Kirkland, though it may be less-than-heterosexual.
- Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: Somebody wanted to buy him for this purpose, before the Capt. put the kibosh on it and made him a pirate instead.
- Hypocrite: Prone to being called this, since he gained his fame refusing to bow to the bonds system and now works alongside one of its worst offenders.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Like his Hetalia: Axis Powers incarnation.
- Like Brother and Sister: Seems to have this relationship with Margot.
- Made of Iron: Goes through some rough stuff. That's not about to hold him back.
- Manly Tears: He cries these when the Captain tells him his birth name.
- Mysterious Stranger: Starts out as one of these from Alfred's perspective.
- Mythology Gag: "You give him an inch, and he takes five mitres!"note
- Noble Fugitive: On the run from Avo Romae, but with the best of matters at heart.
- Noble Male, Roguish Male: The Roguish to Kirkland's Noble, though their moral compasses are the reverse.
- Obfuscating Stupidity:Unsinkable: If there's one thing I learnt on the streets, it's that nobody ever suspects the simpleton.
Kirkland: Wish I'd learned that before all this. People quite like hanging a mastermind. - The Old Convict: To the Great Delivery's storage hold, before Kirkland sets him free.
- The One That Got Away: Unsinkable is a rather dark variant of this to the bondsperson traders in general; particularly Avo Romae and Francis. Hence the name Unsinkable.
- Rape as Backstory: More than most, due to his reputation.
- Rebellious Spirit: In spades. The other thing that made him so difficult to handle.
- Remember That You Trust Me: The more he learns about Arthur Kirkland, the more trouble he has with this; ultimately, though, he does believe that the Captain has good in him, and comes to trust him in the long run.
- Satisfied Street Rat: As a pirate.
- Selective Obliviousness: Seems to have some of this for Capt. Kirkland, since he rarely acknowledges that Kirkland is a major player in the system he hates.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The manly man to Kirkland's sensitive guy.
- Shrouded in Myth: "Unsinkable" is a name known throughout the trade, nearing legend.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Well, he's a pirate, after all.
- Space Pirates: He's one of these.
- Troubled, but Cute: In the views of many, especially Kirkland, it seems.
- Undying Loyalty: Declares this for the Captain after Kirkland gives him his freedom.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Capt. Kirkland.
The Union Empire
A Fantasy Counterpart Culture to the Soviet Union, which dominates near the entirety of its planet. The Union Empire is caught in a period of political turmoil following the assassination of its ruling family and the subsequent institution of their son as a leader. Ivan Bragin
The relatively new Emperor of the Union Empire. Ivan is, among other things, Vitim, meaning that he must lose his virginity by a certain age to avoid fatal physical and cognitive damage, but due to his devout religious beliefs, he has avoided doing so. At the beginning of his plot thread, his older sister purchases Eduard for the purpose of resolving the issue.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: Appears to be what happened following his parents' death, to unfortunate results.
- Affectionate Nickname: His family members (and Eduard) call him "Vanya".
- Amazingly Embarrassing Brother: He makes a point humiliating Katya when she has men around.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: To Katya.
- The Alcoholic: There's no problem that can't be dulled with vodka.
- Always Chaotic Evil: Subverted. The Kala believe the Vitim are this, but Ivan most certainly is not. In fact, he spares their lives.
- The Atoner: For the slaughter at Darinys.
- Authority in Name Only: He is Emperor of the Union Empire, but it's made clear he's more a figurehead, while his sister actually runs the show.
- Ax-Crazy: While on his Time, at least.
- Bad Liar: According to Eduard, at least.
- Benevolent Boss: He's very kind to Eduard, among others. Not that Eduard appreciates it.
- Berserk Button: Anything involving Eduard's state of servitude tends to set him off.
- Big Little Brother: To Katya.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: Like all of the Vitim, he has his Time.
- Brother–Sister Team: With Katya, at least in the eyes of the public, though it isn't always the case. Toris refers to them as the "Vitim wonder siblings".
- Bruiser with a Soft Center: Really very kind and compassionate, once you dig past the super strength and hugeness.
- Byronic Hero: Although he's more idealistic than most.
- The Caligula: Has some elements of this, especially on his Time; even without it, he tends to make decisions irrationally.
- The Chains of Commanding: His and Katya's contribution to the Central Theme; they're as much slaves to their leadership as the people under them.
- Classical Anti-Hero
- The Conscience: To his sister Katya.
- Crisis of Faith: Goes through one of these after realizing that Toris is a spy, not a monk, and God let him suffer through Toris's manipulation.
- Dark and Troubled Past: His parents were brutally assassinated. He himself is responsible for a genocide of the Kala, albeit unintentionally, which spurred the revolution threatening him now.
- Decoy Protagonist: Initially he seems like the protagonist of his thread, but that role really belongs to Eduard.
- Defector from Decadence: Has little interest in being the Emperor of the Union Empire, in reality. Has great interest in helping the people (though he's not very good at that either).
- Does Not Know His Own Strength: Especially on his Time.
- Domestic Abuse: To Eduard, much to Ivan's horror. Usually without meaning to be.
- Drowning My Sorrows: In vodka.
- Egocentrically Religious: Tends to butt heads with Eduard over the issues of his beliefs for this reason.
- Et Tu, Brute?: When he discovers that Toris is a spy, and Eduard is working with him.
- Evil Overlord: Although he's more of a misunderstood Tragic Villain than anything else, and his sister is the Shadow Dictator responsible for the Union Empire's eviler hours.
- Exact Words: Horrified by the loss of life in a senseless war, a child Ivan told his big sister to stop the conflict in Darinys by any means necessary. Well, she stopped it. With genocide.
- Freudian Trio: With Eduard and Toris. Ivan is the Superego.
- Friendless Background: Ivan's only friend (before Eduard) was Toris.
- General Failure: Much to his big sister's dismay.
- Gentle Giant: When he's not on his Time.
- Gilded Cage: In a sense, the Duma is this way to him; it's a lovely palace where he holes himself away and chains himself to a job he hates.
- Hair-Contrast Duo: He and Toris; he has Mystical White Hair and Toris is a Brainy Brunette. While not a romantic couple, their hair contrast does reflect their respective purer/darker natures.
- Hikikomori: Though he does occasionally leave his house to go drinking with Toris, he doesn't go out for much else.
- Honor Before Reason: Which certainly helps his seemingly-nonsensical rule remain nonsensical; his 'honor' is mostly based on whatever Toris feeds him.
- Horrible Judge of Character: He never catches on about Toris, does he? Well, he does, but it took him long enough.
- I Am a Monster: Particularly at the beginning; there is one lengthy segment where he describes to Toris in graphic detail exactly what his impulses want him to do to his bondsman, followed by many self-loathing Tears of Fear.
- Inadequate Inheritor: To the Union Empire.
- Ineffectual Loner: He's not very socially experienced and not particularly good at his job.
- Questionable Consent: He clears his Time with Eduard. Neither of them particularly want to.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to both Eduard's Blue and Katya's Blue.
- Reluctant Psycho: More than a little violent on his Time. Doesn't really want to be.
- Scam Religion: Falls victim to one of these at the hands of Toris.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Once by refusing to clear his Time, and then again by sparing the revolutionaries' lives.
- Sex Is Evil, and I Am Horny: A massive plot thread for him, though he's nicer about it than most.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: With Eduard. Once they admit they love each other, Eduard has to escape the planet or be executed for treason.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Often to extremes. Toris even complains that, while Katya is crueler, at least she's consistent.
- Lover, Not a Fighter: As opposed to Katya.
- Master of the Mixed Message: Toward Eduard especially. Eduard outright states he has no idea what's going on with Ivan.
- Mate or Die: His primary conundrum.
- The McCoy: To the frustration of Katya and Eduard, among others.
- Monster Roommate: To Eduard, who Katya insists should stay in his room.
- Mood-Swinger: Especially from Eduard's perspective.
- Morality Pet: Several, but mostly Eduard.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The morning after his Time, when he finds an injured stranger lying on the ground.
- My Greatest Failure: The deaths of the excommunicated Kala and the subsequent bombing of Darinys.
- Nice to the Waiter: One of the things that establish Ivan as a Gentle Giant is his treatment of Eduard and opposition to the bonds system. Of course, Eduard doesn't take it so well.
- No Badass to His Valet: Eduard doesn't think he's so scary. At least, not after the first day or so.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: To his staff, at least. To the Empire, he's this if he's not The Caligula.
- Sucksessor: To the Union Empire.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Accidentally caused the slaughter of the Kala.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Eduard, eventually.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: He does a lot of damage, yes, but that doesn't mean you don't pity him.
- Young and in Charge: Took the helm of the Union Empire at the tender age of seven.
Toris
A Kala monk and a close friend and confidant of Ivan Bragin. As it turns out, he has converted Ivan to a Scam Religion and is working with La Résistance to bring down the Vitim control of the Union Empire.
- Adaptational Villainy: This Toris is much nastier than his Hetalia: Axis Powers counterpart.
- A Friend in Need: He searched for and saved Feliks and Raivis when the bombs came down on their Doomed Hometown, which is why they both trust and respect him so much now.
- Aloof Big Brother: Often has this manner toward Feliks and Raivis, who aren't really his brothers, but he considers them so.
- Anti-Villain: Even if Toris is one of the tale's more villainous characters, he's not a bad person at heart.
- Band of Brothers: With Feliks and Raivis, both of whom were also on the receiving end of Vitim war crimes in Darinys.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He seems harmless. He's not. Eduard describes him as a real spy (as opposed to his companions) who "does the kinds of things that wind up in Ivan's files."
- Brainy Brunette
- Byronic Hero: Ironically enough, he shares this trait with Ivan. Partially Deconstructed in that Toris, well-meaning though he may be, is not just "misunderstood"; he's genuinely dangerous.
- Child Soldiers: He was recruited for La Résistance by Commander Zielska when he was in his early to mid-teens. He recruited Feliks and Raivis when they were thirteen and ten, respectively.
- *Click* Hello: This is how he introduces himself to Eduard.
- The Confidant: To Ivan. Definitely not a good choice.
- Dark and Troubled Past: A survivor of the Kilnus slaughter and a former child soldier.
- Devil in Plain Sight: Though Ivan still doesn't see it.
- Doomed Hometown: He comes from one of these.
- Determinator: He's spent eight years keeping Ivan on his Time, for one thing.
- Establishing Character Moment: He introduces himself to Eduard by walking into the base, finding him, and instantly whipping a gun into his face. Followed by this dialogue:Feliks: Whoa, whoa, whoa, we ask questions first, then shoot!
Eduard: We don't shoot at all!
Toris: I will decide what we do and don't do here, thank you kindly. (cocks weapon) - Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He might not be a nice guy, but he has his Heartwarming Orphans at home to worry about.
- He also seems to genuinely care for the well-being of Eduard.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized, but even Toris balks out of blowing themselves up, at least with Feliks and Raivis involved.
- The Extremist Was Right: Eduard ultimately concludes that, while Toris's methods are questionable at best, The Empire really is in bad shape.
- Family of Choice: His real family is dead - hence his treatment of Feliks and Raivis like his adopted siblings.
- False Friend: To Ivan, of course. Made worse because he's Ivan's only friend, excepting Eduard, who was bought for him.
- Faux Affably Evil: He seems awfully nice to Ivan, and even to Eduard, but he does some awfully not-nice things to get his way.
- Fighting for a Homeland
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: With Raivis, Feliks, and Eduard. Toris is the Melancholic.
- Freudian Trio: With Ivan and Eduard. Toris is the Id.
- Friendly Enemy: He outright says he thinks Ivan is a kind soul. That doesn't mean he'll stop plotting the man's death, of course.
- Full-Circle Revolution: Seems to be commanding one of these, or what will become one of these.
- Hair-Contrast Duo: He and Ivan; he's one of the only dark-haired characters in the story, and Ivan has Mystical White Hair. They're not a romantic couple, but Ivan's lighter hair does represent a purer mindset and Toris's does reflect his darker nature.
- He Who Fights Monsters: He took a leap off the slippery slope sometime before the story starts.
- I Did What I Had to Do: This is a well-loved method of sidestepping blame, where he is concerned.
- Intergenerational Friendship: With Commander Zielska, the elderly Rebel Leader and his Parental Substitute.
- Kick the Morality Pet: Prone to do this with Feliks and Raivis any time he brings up Darinys as a means to get them to do what he wants.Toris: Look, things are just now finally coming to a head. Plans at last being drawn together, this - this is really happening, Feliks!
Feliks: I wonder if the ends justify the means.
Toris: Do you, or don't you, remember Astrauckas House? Hm?
...Yes, he remembered.
Toris: I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to do this to you. (It's not my fault, you're the one who made me do this.) I just want to make sure I know where your focus is. (Make sure you don't screw this entire operation up). You've gotta stay focused, okay? - La Résistance: A major player in it.
- Manipulative Bastard: Takes full advantage of Ivan's trusting nature. According to Feliks, he's just the same with his allies as his enemies.
- Morality Pet: He has Raivis and Feliks for this purpose.
- Mysterious Backer: Has one of these, though she does make an actual appearance toward the end.
- Never My Fault: Often seems to pull some nasty guilt slinging toward the Empire or his companions.
- Noble Fugitive: He takes his boys and joins the Five-Man Band in the epilogue, becoming this.
- Obstructive Zealot: This is what Katya thinks he is, at any rate.
- One Character, Multiple Lives: One as Brother Toris the Kala Monk, and one as Toris the Rebel Leader.
- Parental Substitute: Commander Zielska seems to be this to him, which helps explain his intense devotion to La Résistance.
- Which makes it rather heartbreaking that she'd be fine with blowing him up.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Though, oddly enough, he seems to recognize that Ivan himself isn't evil. He just thinks it's still worth paying back on.
- Properly Paranoid: It's Toris's paranoia that's kept him and his crew alive, it seems.
- Rebel Leader: Of course, he's this to the Kilnus revolution.
- Revenge Before Reason
- The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Always. He starts out plotting Ivan's torturous descent into madness, and from there on gets worse.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Subverted. Ivan ensures his safety.
- Shoot the Hostage: Toris mentions literally doing this in his Backstory.
- Sole Survivor: Among the few survivors of his Doomed Hometown, courtesy of Ivan.
- Start of Darkness: The war crimes committed by the Vitim in his home village.
- Suicide Mission: His excursion in the Duma turns out to be this, not that the Commander felt the need to tell him.
- Take Me Instead: When Ivan catches he and the revolutionaries in the Duma, he demands that he alone take the brunt of Ivan's wrath, in place of Raivis. Ivan, for his part, does no harm to any of them ultimately.
- They Died Because of You: He believes this of his Doomed Hometown for Ivan - that his inability to rule and his sister's trigger-happiness is the cause of the tragedy. Of course, he's right, but...
- Tragic Villain: To the point where he may not actually be a villain, because his beliefs are mostly justified. Of course, he's still a Manipulative Bastard.
- Try Not to Die: His usual advice to Feliks and Raivis.
- Undying Loyalty: To the Kilnus Central Intelligence, and more specifically Commander Zielska.
- The Unfettered: Not much will stop him from furthering his revolution.
- The Fettered: But he does draw a line at blowing up his own troops.
- Villainous Breakdown: Had a few moments of this once he realizes the Commander sent him on a Suicide Mission.
- Villainous Valour: Even when Eduard disagrees with him, he finds it hard to deny Toris is badass.
- Villain Protagonist: Anytime he narrates a chapter.
- Was Too Hard on Him: Has a few moments of this with his Morality Pets Feliks and Raivis, who he tends to push to the brink.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He means well, at least, but his methods are questionable at best.
- Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: Seems to enjoy playing this blame game with Feliks and Raivis whenever they drive him to act like a Manipulative Bastard to them.
- You Are What You Hate: Toris loathes those inhumane, warmongering Vitim wonder siblings. He never seems to notice that "inhumane" and "warmongering" apply at least as well to him as to Katya.
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: Draws this contrast through Eduard's experiences with him and Eduard's experiences with Ivan.
Katya Bragina
Ivan Bragin's older sister and the real brains of the Union Empire. Katya's primary concern through the story is simply keeping The Empire alive and her family in power.
- Adaptational Villainy: Again, much meaner than her Hetalia: Axis Powers incarnation.
- Affectionate Nickname: Only Ivan calls her "Katya"; it's presumably short for Katyusha. Other characters refer to her by one of her official titles.
- Aloof Big Sister: To Ivan. She doesn't like to put up with his crap.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: The most powerful high-society woman on her planet, and also a trigger-happy Lady of War.
- Became Their Own Antithesis: Compared to the way she was in her Backstory...
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Yao.
- Beta Couple: She and her bondsgirl seem to be this to Ivan and Eduard.
- Big Sister Instinct: She seems to have this toward Ivan, as much as he may drive her up the wall, when he gets himself into any form of trouble.
- Brother–Sister Team: With Ivan, though it's strained at best.
- The Chains of Commanding: Her and Ivan's contribution to the Central Theme; she's a prisoner to her own leadership.
- Combat Pragmatist: Which has some unfortunate results.
- The Comically Serious: Borders on this at times, especially from Ivan's perspective.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Subverted. She seems to have fond memories of her parents, but they also seem to be responsible for some less-than-benevolent decisions to further The Empire.
- Establishing Character Moment: She's introduced lecturing Ivan. Her next appearance has her coldly handling Eduard, in contrast to Ivan's respectful discretion.
- The Extremist Was Right: Gets these moments relatively often; like when her insistence on purchasing Eduard saves Ivan's life.
- General Ripper: Of an odd protagonist variety.
- Generation Xerox: Katya's attitude and politics are apparently both reminiscent of her mother, according to Yao.
- Good Is Not Nice: Whether she can be called good is arguable, but she generally does what's best for Ivan and she's certainly not nice.
- Good Is Not Soft: Again, "good" is questionable, but "soft" is definitely not the word for her.
- Ice Queen: Who shows no sign of defrosting while The Empire still needs her.
- Iron Lady: According to Yao, she gets this from her mother.
- King Incognito: She pulls one of these when she goes out to buy Eduard, not wanting anyone to know what she's up to.
- Lady of War: And how. She's one tough cookie.
- Large and in Charge: She's not a big woman, but she is somewhat tall and has a large chest.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Her intervention is this statement in any circumstance; particularly in the instance of the Kala village Darinys.
- Little Brother Is Watching: And she is acutely aware.
- Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: An ongoing subplot has her trying and continuously (hilariously) failing to find a proper suitor.
- Mean Boss: To Eduard, at least. At one point she considers killing him to protect the secrets he knows. Of course, Ivan wouldn't stand for that.
- Morality Chain: Ivan, who occasionally puts his foot down on her more ruthless plans.
- Morality Pet: Her unnamed bondsgirl, who she loves very much.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Her initial idea to keep Eduard quiet? Kill him. Her initial thought to handle Darinys? Kill it. And so on.
- Mythology Gag: Her big boobs are one of her few retained traits from Hetalia: Axis Powers.
- Necessarily Evil: Though her methods are brutal, Katya's decisions almost always have the intended result - that is, keeping her family safe and the Empire afloat.
- Never a Self-Made Woman: Utterly averted. Katya is completely self-reliant and carries her brother with her.
- No Sense of Humor: According to Ivan, at least. Yao thinks otherwise.
- Politically-Active Princess: In spades.
- Promotion to Parent: For both Ivan and Natalya.
- Properly Paranoid: She's got a ridiculous number of safety measures in place. Of course, the minute she leaves it alone, her house explodes.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue to her brother's Red.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Though this isn't always a good quality of hers.
- Shadow Dictator: Ivan may be the Emperor, but everyone knows who really runs the show.
- Sink or Swim Mentor: Often seems to be this way toward Ivan, when she tries to hand off leadership of any part of the Empire, though she's still prone to jump in when he's drowning (so to speak).
- Temporary Love Interest: She has a couple of these. See Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Tomboy to her Natalya's Girly Girl.
- The Unfettered: Completely and totally.
- Unusual Euphemism: "Where in the General's tits is Vanya?"
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Before her parents were murdered and she was left to fend for The Empire (and its little emperor).
- Villain Protagonist: Anytime she narrates a chapter.
- We Have Reserves: A favorite phrase of hers.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Pretty much. Katya's finger is permanently on the trigger, and though she's often right, it doesn't change the perception that she's insane from most of her subjects.
- Young and in Charge: She took over as Ivan's Shadow Dictator when she was eleven.
Feliks/Agnieszka of Olyokin
A spy for La Résistance and close friend of Toris. Feliks penetrates upper-class Vitim society by playing the role of "Agnieszka", a high-society Vitim woman.
- Action Duo: With Raivis.
- Action Girl: Or Action Girly Guy, but he still counts.
- Action Survivor: In his backstory, after the bombing of his hometown.
- Agent Peacock: He might be a Wholesome Crossdresser, but he's still pretty badass.
- Attractive Bent-Gender: By the accounts of many.
- Band of Brothers: With Toris and Raivis, both of whom were also part of the tragedy at Darinys.
- Becoming the Mask: Shows some signs of this; Toris and Raivis both call him "she" in narration, he refers to himself as "Agnieszka" multiple times, and he sends a goodbye letter to Agnieszka's best friend before the Suicide Mission in the Duma.
- Break the Cutie: Via backstory; he witnessed a slaughter at age thirteen.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: How the rest of La Résistance views him; he's quirky, flamboyant and prefers to be called "she", but he does his job as The Mole damn well. Averted by Toris, who always takes Feliks seriously.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Like Toris, he's an escapee from the slaughter of the Kala in Darinys.
- Disguised in Drag: For no apparent reason besides his own preference.
- Doomed Hometown: Like Toris.
- Double Consciousness: During his narration, and even his speech, he tends to refer to Feliks and Agnieszka as two different people. He tells Eduard (who of course asks) this makes leading his double life easier.
- The Dragon: Seems to be this to Toris.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady
- Evil Duo: With Raivis, though how "evil" the two really are is up for debate.
- The Engineer: To La Résistance.
- The Fashionista: As Agnieszka. At one point, when the Commander's soldiers are treating him with contempt, he internally resolves to prove himself by showing them all that he makes a goddamn beautiful woman.
- Fighting for a Homeland: Like Toris.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: With Toris, Raivis, and Eduard. Feliks is the Sanguine.
- Genki Girl: As Agnieszka.
- Grease Monkey: He's the one in charge of the mechanical work for La Résistance before Eduard signs on.
- Heartwarming Orphan: Toris takes him/her under his wing following the death of their Doomed Hometown.
- Hero of Another Story: From Norge's perspective, and vice-versa.
- The Informant: To the revolution, but also to the Five-Man Band via Norge.
- The Lancer: To Toris.
- La Résistance: An instrumental part of this.
- Locked Up and Left Behind: In his Backstory; he and Raivis were, at thirteen and ten years old respectively, trapped in a collapsed basement and left to die for two weeks - only to be saved by Toris.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Seems to be this as Agnieszka to Vitim high-society.
- The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life: Averted. Feliks has a fairly steady relationship with Norge, who is apparently the only one who knows (and loves) both Feliks and Agnieszka equally well.
- Master of Disguise: Not only does he manage to flawlessly pass himself as another race, but another gender as well.
- The Mole: In Vitim society.
- Morality Pet: To Toris.
- Mythology Gag: Poland is a crossdresser again!
- Nice Guy: He's flamboyant and not afraid to get his hands dirty, but generally speaking he treats people decently, which stands out in a story like this.
- Of Corsets Sexy: Wears one of these relatively often, and isn't shy about mentioning it.
- One Character, Multiple Lives: One as Agnieszka and one as Feliks.
- The Pollyanna: As Agnieska.
- The Reveal: Reveals himself to be a guy twice, once with Norge, who takes it in stride, and once with Eduard, who is not at all surprised.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: S/he's the Energetic Girl to Norge's Savvy Guy.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Ironically enough, he's the Manly Man to Raivis's Sensitive Guy.
- Sole Survivor: Among the few survivors from his Doomed Hometown.
- Valley Girl: As Agnieszka, and occasionally talks like one as Feliks, too. A weird artifact from the source material.
- Undying Loyalty: To Toris.
- War Is Hell: He (and his whole village) was on the receiving end of a nasty Vitim war crime.
- Weak, but Skilled: This is where Toris believes his strategic value lies, at least.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Feliks's penchant for wearing girls' clothes never makes him any less likable.
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: He falls into both categories.
Raivis
Another Kilnus spy of La Résistance. Raivis is the first to encounter Eduard and the youngest.
- Action Duo: With Feliks.
- Action Survivor: In his backstory, in the wake of the bombing at Darinys.
- Band of Brothers: With Feliks and Toris, who helped him escape the slaughter at Darinys.
- Break the Cutie: Via backstory; he witnessed genocide when he was ten.
- Cannot Keep a Secret: Unfortunately for Toris. This is how Eduard gets involved in La Résistance.
- Cannot Tell a Lie: Seems equally inept at this.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Like the rest of the Kilnus characters, he's a survivor of genocide.
- Doomed Hometown: He comes from one of these.
- Establishing Character Moment: His first dialogue with Eduard establishes his Open Mouth, Insert Foot tendencies right away:Raivis: Ivan hasn't been your size in a long while. Not that he's fat! Just big. Not big like fat! Um... You're the new one?Eduard: Ah, I don't, I'm not sure what you—Raivis: Bondsman, right? Ivan's? It's okay, we're all used to Yekaterina's little one. I'm surprised, though! I thought Ivan was all anti-service.Eduard: He is.Raivis: Wow, I'm impressed you were able to get under his skin enough that they bought you! That's talent! (Wait, that was kinda insulting.) Uh, but, of course, a guy like you is handsome enough to do that anyway! (Smooth recovery...)Eduard: Thanks. I think.Raivis: So how'd you manage to get a guy like Ivan to let loose and indulge a little? I mean, he's usually so uptight.Eduard: What are you implying?Raivis: Well, you know... Now with his own bondsman to enjoy... Ivan doesn't seem like the hypocritical sort.Eduard: How do you know I've slept with him?Raivis: Maybe it's better if you don't. He's kind of big.
- Evil Duo: With Feliks, though 'evil' is only arguably applicable.
- Fighting for a Homeland: Like the rest of them.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: With Toris, Feliks, and Eduard. Raivis is the Phlegmatic.
- The Heart: In Toris's eyes, anyway.
- Heartwarming Orphan: Toris took him in (like Feliks) after the death of their Doomed Hometown.
- Just a Kid: Outright stated. Feliks often has to remind Toris that he's this.
- La Résistance: A big part of this.
- Locked Up and Left Behind: During his Backstory; he (at ten) and a thirteen-year-old Feliks were trapped in a collapsed basement and left to starve (or dehydrate, or die of cholera, both of which were much bigger concerns for them) until Toris found and rescued them.
- Morality Pet: To Toris.
- Mouthy Kid: Toward Toris in particular.
- Nervous Wreck: Fairly often.
- New Job as the Plot Demands: No one seems to be asking him why, which is odd when he keeps popping up in new positions around the Duma.
- Obliviously Evil: He's a fairly major contributor to Toris's soon-to-be-Full-Circle Revolution, but he respects Toris and doesn't seem to realize just how bad it's gotten.
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Every moment he speaks.
- Rage Against the Mentor: He has a few moments of very real anger against Toris, partially for his tactics and partially for his manipulation.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Sensitive Guy to Feliks' (ironic) Manly Man.
- Sole Survivor: Among the very few survivors of his Doomed Hometown.
- Undying Loyalty: To Toris.
- War Is Hell: Caught on the receiving end of a nasty Vitim war crime.
- You're Not My Father: Towards Toris during a particularly nasty argument.Toris: Well, we are kinda like family -Raivis: My family is dead. And so am I!
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: In much the same manner as the rest of La Résistance.
Natalya Bragina
Ivan and Katya's younger sister, and reportedly the only normal member of the family. Natalya is a teenage girl on the brink of her Time, but otherwise is relatively coolheaded.
- Big Brother Worship: She has a great appreciation for Ivan and tends to defend his actions. To a lesser degree it also applies to Katya.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: Like Ivan, she has her Time.
- Friendless Background: Her position as part of the (crazy) ruling family makes having friends difficult for her.
- I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: Has a reaction somewhat like this when she sees Kiku.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: During one of Ivan and Katya's bigger fights, she and Eduard drink a bottle of champagne together.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: In a very innocent sense. One of the first things she asks Kiku is whether he'll be friends with her.
- Mate or Die: She's on her Time.
- My Beloved Smother: It seems that Katya can be fairly overbearing on Natalya.
- Modest Royalty: Or at least relatively modest. Seems to have adopted this mentality from parroting her brother.
- Nice Girl: She's one of the more normal, gentle people in the story.
- Nice to the Waiter: She's perfectly friendly to Eduard, in contrast to Katya.
- Oblivious Younger Sibling: It's obvious she doesn't have quite as many troubles as her bigger siblings do.
- Odd Friendship: With Eduard, once they warm up to each other.
- Pair the Spares: At the end with Kiku.
- Smitten Teenage Girl: Of course, it helps that she's on a neverending heat. She has one scene in particular where she pretty unabashedly flirts with Eduard, and comes across like this.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl to her sister Katya's Tomboy. Emphasized in her Establishing Character Moment, where she (Natalya) fiddles with dresses and describes her sister's tendency to wear pantsuits.
Group of Five
A Five-Man Band (actually called 'the group of five') on the run for money laundering. That money, however, is used to purchase and free bondspeople. Danmark
The loudmouth of the team, and the distraction. Danmark is The Big Guy, but also the one closest to Tim.
- Beautiful Dreamer: In Tim's opinion, at least.
- Fearless Fool: Probably worries a lot less than he should.
- Felony Misdemeanor: When Tim suggests he simply takes his checked-out library books on their interplanetary getaway:Danmark: But it's a library! We can't swindle a library!
- Innocently Insensitive: Often, towards Tim, whose past he often forgets is dark and troubled.Danmark: He got to pick his own name, and he picked Tim? I would've picked something sexy, like-
Suomi: I don't think he cares about being sexy ever again! - I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Lets Willem go home with Margot, in the end.
- Mr. Exposition: Spends a chapter as this; mostly a side-effect of hanging around Naïve Newcomer Tim all the time.
- Noble Fugitive: Like all of them, his law-breaking is for a good cause.
- No Social Skills: He's fantastically bad at making friends.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: He can be much smarter than he generally lets on.
- Odd Friendship: With Tim.
- Overt Operative: Hence his usual position as a distraction.
- Refuge in Audacity: Loves this strategy. One of his distractions at the auction, for example, is flipping a table for no apparent reason.
- Smitten Teenage Girl: The rest of the group is increasingly frustrated with him acting like this toward Tim.
- With Friends Like These...: There's a lot of ire between he and Suomi, despite being friends.
Norge
The one with connections, primarily through his 'girlfriend' Agnieszka.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Evidently coerced the Five-Man Band (at that time four) to let him join via one of these.
- Exceptionally Tolerant: Most guys would freak out if they discovered their girlfriend was a dude. Norge? Not so much.
- Famed In-Story: His actual identity, that is; his alias is completely under-the-radar.
- Hero of Another Story: From Agnieszka's perspective, and vice versa.
- It's Personal: His bidding war with Fredrick Tenickson for Margot is this in more ways than one.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Seems to have been one of these, hence his running off to join La Résistance.
- Nerves of Steel: He's perfectly stoic in sticky situations.
- Noble Fugitive: Like all of them, their work being good, despite the methods being illegal.
- No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me: During his confrontation with Fredrick Tenickson, Fredrick doesn't recognize him until Norge delivers a swift punch to the face.
- Non-Idle Rich: Norge is magnificently wealthy, but he actually does stuff with it. Danmark describes him:Danmark: ...But where Suomi had righteous fire and passion, Norge had an obscene amount of money and balls.
- Not So Above It All: While generally remaining The Stoic, he does occasionally break ground, like when he punches out Fredrick Tenickson.
- Refuge in Audacity: At the auction, he stops Fredrick's bid on Margot by punching him in the face. Nobody reports this.
- The Stoic: The most-so of the band.
Island
A gifted forger, Island makes money and people appear and disappear like magic. He is The Smart Guy.
- Berserk Button: Anything involving Kirkland.
- Celibate Hero: In a story about sexual slavery, Island is one of the only characters with no mention of sex.
- Counterfeit Cash: Very skilled at making this happen; Island's counterfeit only exists on paper, not in real bills, making his life much easier and the bankers' lives much harder.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Seems to have one of these which involves Captain Kirkland and a shared jail cell.
- Deadpan Snarker: Particularly if Captain Kirkland is in anyway involved.
- Good Is Not Dumb: He's certainly a brilliant chessmaster.
- Guile Hero: In spades.
- It Meant Something to Me: His history with Captain Kirkland.
- It's Personal: When dealing the pirate Kirkland in particular.
- Master of Disguise: Or, more accurately, master of false identities; all of his disguises are paper.
- Multilayer Façade: Has tons of alternative identities, which makes him absurdly difficult to track.Island: See, I always have ID. It's just never mine.
- Nerves of Steel: This helps make him so good at Xanatos Speed Chess.
- Noble Fugitive: Despite his actions being very illegal, he does it with the best intentions.
- The Sneaky Guy: Amidst the Five-Man Band.
- What You Are in the Dark: When Captain Kirkland is caught and on death row, Island is given the option to free him or leave him to his fate. He choses to free him, after much contemplation, but runs out of time to do so.
Sverige
A big, intimidating guy, generally used by the team to go in and actually buy people. He is The Lancer.
- Deadpan Snarker: Especially toward Suomi.
- Finishing Each Other's Sentences: With Suomi, though it's more that they don't particularly need to finish sentences with each other (or, at times, start them).
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Suomi, though the platonic nature of the relationship is... shaky.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Suomi. Suomi is not a girl, but it's the same idea.
- Mythology Gag: His "pants-shittingly frightening" face is a leftover from Hetalia: Axis Powers
- Noble Fugitive: Like the rest of the band.
- Speech Impediment: Due to his frightening appearance, he's rarely harassed for it, but he has a lot of trouble pronouncing vowels.
- Straight Man: Tends to be this to everyone, especially Suomi.
- The Quiet One: Perhaps because of the aforementioned speech impediment.
- Terrifying Rescuer: To Tim, at the beginning of the story.
Suomi
The happy, chatty little Vitim who started the group in the first place. Suomi's real name is Tino, but he dropped suddenly off the radar years prior to the story's opening. He is The Leader.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: He took on a band of pirates singlehandedly and made his victory a Curb-Stomp Battle.
- Finishing Each Other's Sentences: With Sverige, though it's more that they don't need to finish their sentences out loud.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Particularly in the company of Danmark.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: He and Svirege, though heterosexual becomes questionable.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Other Guy: With Svirege.
- Mate or Die: Like all the of the Vitim. This lead to an operation that ultimately resulted in the group's formation.
- Mood-Swinger: Can sometimes come across like this.
- Noble Fugitive: Like all of them.
- Pintsized Powerhouse: He's small, but that doesn't make him less badass. And he does manage to K.O. Karpusi with a sack of flour at least once.
- The Strategist: Seems to take this role relatively often.
- Tsundere: Not exclusively toward love interests, either.
- We Do the Impossible: Definitely seems to have this attitude toward the actions of the Five-Man Band.
- With Friends Like These...: There's a lot of heat between he and Danmark, despite supposedly having each other's backs.
Traders
The characters involved in the bondsperson trade. Avo Romae
An infamously cruel and underhanded trader in the business of bondspeople. Avo Romae is the closest thing to an villain the story has. He is the one who purchases Alfred from Kirkland, who sells Tim to the Five-Man Band, and who wants to sell Unsinkable to his death.
- Adaptational Villainy: Much meaner than the Hetalia: Axis Powers version.
- Affably Evil: He's a pretty friendly dude when he gets what he wants.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: He seems to believe his job is an art form, for one thing.
- Casanova Wannabe: Though the delivery girls are less-than-impressed — possibly because one of them is Captain Kirkland.
- The Charmer: Seems to be how he wins his customers.
- Consummate Professional: To quote the author, Romae is, at his most basic, a businessman.
- Dirty Old Man: He's a grandpa who trains sex slaves.
- Domestic Abuse: Toward his charges.
- The Dreaded: Probably the most feared man in the story.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: It's clear that Romae at least loves his grandsons, who live with him.
- Evil Old Folks: He's evil, and a grandpa.
- Famed In-Story: There isn't a single character who doesn't know his name.
- Friend in the Black Market: Has a few of these, including Captain Kirkland.
- Friend to All Children: Sinisterly enough, he's very good with kids.
- Karma Houdini: His business goes on unaffected by the events of the plot.
- Opportunistic Bastard: Which shouldn't really be surprising.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He's not nasty to everyone. He does whatever gets him what he wants.
- Villain Protagonist: Anytime he narrates a chapter.
- Villains Out Shopping: He has an entire chapter devoted to this - a day in the life of Avo Romae.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Romae practically runs Hallar, and the people love him.
Francis of Hallar
A high-class trader of bondspeople particularly famous for his high-quality wares. Francis has both Mathieu and Margot in his possession for most of the story, and sold Eduard to Katya Bragina.
- Above Good and Evil: Francis is never a bad guy, but he's certainly not a good one. He seems to operate on his own thing.
- Bad Boss: To Mathieu, at least.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Like many of the traders. He seems to genuinely value the lives of his bondspeople, but still treats them (with one exception) like animals.
- The Charmer: Again, perfectly good at this for his customers.
- Corporal Punishment: He isn't opposed to these methods for his bondspeople, particularly emphasized in Mathieu's introductory chapter.
- Domestic Abuse: To Mathieu. Shock collar, anyone?
- Famed In-Story: He's widely renowned for his business.
- Guilty Pleasure: Mathieu; he seems to understand that their relationship is good for neither of them, but keeps it going anyway.Kirkland: It's twice now you've helped me out of a bind despite hating my guts. But that's twice too much!
Francis: Oh, I shall not disagree with that. It is a habit I need to break... To be honest, not the only one. My bad habits number too many. I even give some of them names. - I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In the epilogue, he eventually decides to give Mathieu his freedom.
- Made bitter-sweeter by this statement: "They say if you love something, you set it free, and if it comes back it's yours. Mathieu did not come back."
- Living Emotional Crutch: Mathieu is this to him, and vice versa.
- Never My Fault: Usually it's Mathieu's, by his account, or just whoever happens to be around.
- No Accounting for Taste: His friends think this of his adoration for Mathieu.
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Often does this to Mathieu.
- Papa Wolf: Toward his charges, especially the older ones, who tend to be more mistreated by others.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Councillor Héderváry, once she forces him to sell Mathieu.
- Villain with Good Publicity: He's well-liked, and widely considered a high-class businessperson and a decent man. Of course, he still sells people for money.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Arthur Kirkland.
- Wicked Cultured: He's a high-class power broker in the trade, but again, he sells people.
Feliciano Romae
The younger of Avo Romae's twin grandsons and his protégé. Towards the beginning, Feli is tasked with training Alfred for sale into the slave trade.
- Ambiguous Innocence: Feliciano is incredibly childlike, but terrifyingly adept at his job — training people to be Sex Slaves.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: To Lovino.
- Being Evil Sucks: He doesn't particularly like his job.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Alfred doesn't watch his back with Feli, and winds up pumped with drugs and near-brainwashed for it. Unsinkable describes him:That nasty piece of work, hidden under steaming pile of cute, had a habit of getting under your skin without you realizing it.
- Big Brother Worship: Shows some signs of this, like his desire to emulate Lovino's moral strength.
- Birds of a Feather: With Alfred.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: He doesn't seem to have particular qualms with the bonds system outside of the fact that his brother does.
- Born Lucky: As seen from Lovino's perspective, at least.
- The Caretaker: Seems to be this from the perspectives of the people he trains.
- Cloudcuckoolander: In a particularly dangerous way.
- Co-Dragons: He and Lovino are this to their grandpa.
- The Corrupter: According to Unsinkable, he's incredibly gifted at playing this role.
- Early-Bird Cameo: He and his brother show up briefly in the Five-Man Band's first chapter, selling Tim.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He doesn't want to reach the level of apathy for his charges that his grandfather has.
- Evil Orphan: Whether he's evil or not is questionable, but his parents are nowhere to be seen.
- Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: He's adorable. Of course, he also brainwashes people for a living. At least Being Evil Sucks for him.
- Living Emotional Crutch: Seems to have Ludwig for this purpose.
- Manchild: To the point of being sinister, though he doesn't quite make it to Psychopathic Manchild territory.
- Parental Abandonment: No mention is made of where his parents might be.
- The Pollyanna: In spades, frighteningly.
- Pure Is Not Good: Feliciano may be a perfectly innocent Manchild, but that doesn't mean he's incapable of causing damage.
- "Well Done, Grandson" Guy: The majority of what he does seems to be with the intent of impressing his grandfather.
Lovino Romae
The older of Avo Romae's twin grandsons and the one who handles the business's finances.
- The Atoner: He's haunted by his own involvement in the trade and fully intends to make up for it.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Of Avo Romae.
- Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: To his brother Feliciano's benefit.
- Co-Dragons: He and Feliciano are this to their grandpa.
- Cynicism Catalyst: A quick flashback implies that being asked to go work for his grandfather was this for him.
- The Dutiful Son: Lovino hates the family business. But he's going to go into it anyway, because he doesn't see another choice.
- Early-Bird Cameo: He and Feliciano show up in passing selling Tim long before either one becomes important to the story.
- Good with Numbers: Or, at least, better with numbers than Feliciano or Avo Romae himself.
- Greater Need Than Mine: He lets Unsinkable get away even though the bounty would've freed him from his grandpa, because Unsinkable's freedom is more urgent than his own.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: As an undercover Kirkland quickly discovers.
- Hidden Depths: He doesn't seem like much more than a grumpy accountant, but turns out to be one of the few decent people in the trade.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: To Feliciano.
- I Am Not My Grandfather: His reason for sparing Unsinkable; selling him is something his grandfather would do, not him.
- Ineffectual Loner: He prefers not to work with customers or bondspeople, but occasionally lets up on the former.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's rude and angry, but that doesn't stop him from doing any good.
- Knight in Sour Armor: He might be a grump, but he does some good every once in a while.
- Last Girl Wins: He's the second Love Interest to Mathieu (the first being Francis) and the one who becomes important to Mathieu in the epilogue, where Francis disappears from his life after a few years.
- Love at First Sight: Finds himself immediately swooning at the sight of Mathieu, though he's not so much in love.
- Manly Tears: Cries these after witnessing Margot and Willem reuniting at the auction.
- Mercy Lead: Gives one of these to Unsinkable when he finds him sneaking around the house.
- Only Sane Man:Lovino: Am I the only one who realizes how fuckin' weird this whole thing is?
- Parental Abandonment: No mention is made of what happened to his and Felicano's parents.
- Sadistic Choice: Meeting Unsinkable sneaking through the house forces Lovino to choose between his morals (letting Unsinkable go) or his freedom (taking the reward and running from his grandfather). He chooses to let Unsinkable run.
- The Snark Knight: Absolutely. This is a big part of why he handles the behind-the-scenes aspects of business.
- The Unfavorite: Appears to be this when compared to Feliciano.
- What You Are in the Dark: When given the option to sell out Unsinkable or let him escape, he lets Unsinkable — and the reward money — go.
Antonio Fernandez Carriedo of Marigon
A trader and friend of Francis's, who proves instrumental to the plot when tasked with purchasing Mathieu at auction. Also seems to have a crush on Lovino Romae.
- Abhorrent Admirer: To Lovino.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Like most of the traders.
- Butt-Monkey: Seems to be one of these; whenever someone needs to be framed for a crime...
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He doesn't understand any degree of basic decency toward bondspeople. This is the primary reason that Lovino can't stand him.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Has one of these toward Francis to remind him (and the readers) that he's in love with an object, at least in the eyes of others in-story.
- The Masochism Tango: With Belle/Margot.
- Mythology Gag: His crush on Lovino is another Fan-Preferred Couple from Hetalia: Axis Powers.
- No Accounting for Taste: His apparent conclusion when it comes to Francis's infatuation with Mathieu.
- Not Me This Time: When he's framed by Romae for buying pirated goods from Kirkland. He does buy pirated goods. Just not those particular ones.
- Only in It for the Money: Especially by the climax, where he just wants his cash so he can go home.
- Overly Long Name: Antonio Fernandez Carriedo of Marigon, formerly of Hallar.
- Romantic False Lead: To Lovino.
- Shipper on Deck: For Francis and Mathieu, albeit without wanting to be.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Despite being immensely important to the plot, Antonio gets significantly less screen time than most other characters.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: One of the only characters with no mention in the epilogue.
Government and Police
The characters who act to enforce the will of the Bondsperson Service Protection Agency (BSPA), Border Control, or the Hallar council.
Adnan and Karpusi
A pair of highly inept BSPA buddy cops continually stuck with the Five-Man Band money-laundering case, whose actions are often described solely through mail correspondence.
- Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance: They never even consider the idea that they're missing some parts of this money-laundering story.
- Lawful Stupid: Often. For example, when Suomi tries to explain exactly what the laundered money is for, and the Council's corruption, Karpusi accuses him of "terrorist talk" and ignores it.
- Overt Operative: Which makes it very easy for various characters (usually Suomi) to lead them off-course.
- Police Are Useless:
- Neither are particularly good at being cops, considering their suspects are perfectly aware of everything they do.
- On a larger level, both are completely unaware of the corruption of the Council and why the group launders money.
- Ultimately subverted in that they do catch the Five-Man Band in the end... only for them to escape.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Seem to be this, not that they'd admit it. In the epilogue:It has been conjectured more than once that certain ladies doth protest too much.
Constable Hassan
A higher law enforcement authority figure working to catch the Great Delivery's infamous captain.
- Dirty Cop: On a technical level; he does release prisoners from jail for personal reasons, but that's because of the band's Noble Fugitive status.
- Nice Guy: Not much more to say about him; he's just so darn decent.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Again, despite his importance to the story, he gets very little focus time.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: We know that Kirkland sells him out for releasing the Five-Man Band, but we never find out what happens to him because of it. He also gets no mention in the epilogue.
- What You Are in the Dark: He frees the Five-Man Band from prison because he believes the world is better with them working in it.
Elizaveta Héderváry
A Hallari BSPA agent and Council official, married to Roderich Edelstein.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: She and her husband may be mutually manipulative, but they ultimately seem to like that.
- Happily Married: Despite Ship Tease with Francis, she seems to have a really great relationship with her husband.
- Hot-Blooded: She can be downright fiery, especially when it involves her career.
- Opportunistic Bastard: When it comes to Roderich; she isn't afraid to use him for her own gains. Subverted in that he doesn't much mind.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Francis, who she tends to be harder on than most, though the epilogue seems to imply she might wind up with him eventually.It has been conjectured more than once that certain ladies doth protest too much.
Other
Roderich Edelstein
A pianist and husband of Elizaveta Héderváry, who winds up playing auctioneer at the Decennial auction.
- Ambition Is Evil: Subverted. He's highly ambitious, but mostly he's just a normal dude.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: He and Elizaveta are not always on the same wavelength, but it's made apparent on occasion that he cares about her.
- Elegant Classical Musician: From Elizaveta's perspective, at least.
- Happily Married: To Elizaveta.
- Large Ham: When announcing at the auction.
- Motor Mouth: As the auctioneer, though this is unsurprising.
- Opportunistic Bastard: Not afraid of using Elizaveta to further his career — not that she really minds, 'cause she'd do the same.
Yao
Katya Bragin's preferred suitor, the leader of Veshna, and (to Ivan's disgust) the proud owner of five bondspeople.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Ivan seems to dislike him mostly for this reason, despite being an Emperor himself.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Katya.
- Cloudcuckoolander: He's one odd bird.
- Everybody's Dead, Dave: He actually breaks it rather gently to Katya that the Duma blew up in her absence with her brother inside.
- Mythology Gag: It seems he once again has custody of all the Asians but Japan.
- No Accounting for Taste: He varies from being quirky to outright strange; including but not limited to his delight at the thought of fighting with Katya.