History Fanfic / SoldToTheHighestBidder

* ThoseTwoGuys: [[BuddyCops 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.

* OvertOperative: [[LaResistance Raivis]], [[BuddyCops Adnan and Karpusi]], and Danmark are all guilty of this at one point or another.

%%* BuddyCops: Adnan and Karpusi.

* AerithAndBob: Names of characters range from Island to Raivis to Yao to [[TheSixthRanger Tim]]. {{Justified}}, given the [[Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers source material]].

* 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.

* BadassBoast: A few of them. Unsinkable gives an absolutely epic one to [[StockholmSyndrome 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.

* 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.]]

%% ** Feliciano seems awfully sweet, [[spoiler: and he is, but [[LightIsNotGood that's not necessarily a good thing]]]].

* 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]]]].

* 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]].

--->'''Island''': A ''handservant'', big dreams, there... Then again, a handservant ''would'' be easier to impersonate.

--->'''Raivis''': Oh, for - handservant? What, I couldn't be something fun like political aide?\\
'''Toris''': Handservant ''would'' be easier to impersonate.
* BuddyCops: Adnan and Karpusi

* 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.

* 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.

* ClickHello: [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Toris]] [[EstablishingCharacterMoment greets Eduard]] with one of these.

* 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 [[StockholmSyndrome forgives it]].

--> 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, [[StockholmSyndrome Mathieu]] - to anyone but Francis.

* DefectorFromDecadence: Ivan starts out as this.

* DomesticAbuse: All the owners to their bondsmen to some degree. Particularly highlighted by the Francis-and-Mathieu thread, where Mathieu develops a sort of StockholmSyndrome 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.

* DrowningMySorrows: Ivan.

* 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]].]]

* {{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.]]

* 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]].

* 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.
** Which 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. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] 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.

* 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. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]]:

* IJustWantToBeFree: Alfred, Willem and Margot. [[spoiler: All of them get it, to varying levels of satisfaction]].

* 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]].

* 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.

* 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.]]

* 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.

* 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]].

* 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.

* MonumentOfHumiliationAndDefeat: The ruins of Darinys.

** 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.

** 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.

* 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]].

* NakedOnArrival: Eduard.

* 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, [[HoYay Eduard certainly isn't]].
* NoRomanticResolution: The only OfficialCouple at the end is [[spoiler: Eduard and Ivan]].
** [[LadyOfWar Katya]] and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Yao]] may count, since they're getting married, though it's left unclear whether they ever actually [[MarriageBeforeRomance fall for each other]].

* OfCorsetsSexy: There's one [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment odd]] scene where Eduard helps [[AgentPeacock Feliks]] change out of one corset and into another.

** All of the trainers/sellers of bondspeople, especially Romae.
* OppositesAttract: Kirkland and Unsinkable, Danmark and Tim, and Eduard and Ivan.

* 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.]]

* 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]].

* 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''.]]

* RapeAsBackstory: {{Justified}}, given the [[SexSlave premise]].
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The justification for the murder of the Great Delivery's idiot crewmember.

* 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. {{Lampshaded}} 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]].

* 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]].

* SexSlave: In the premise
* ShootTheHostage: Toris does this in his {{Backstory}}.

* SmellsSexy: Bondspeople to the Vitim on their Time, and the Vitim on their Time to bondspeople. {{Justified}} 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]].

* StandingBetweenTheEnemies: [[spoiler: Eduard]] does this in the climax between [[spoiler: [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Toris]] and [[TheEmpire Ivan]].]]

* StarCrossedLovers: Eduard and Ivan, and Danmark and Tim.
* {{Steampunk}}: Duh.
* StockholmSyndrome: 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}} 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.]]

* 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}} by the [[Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers source material]], though.

* 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]].

** Ivan and Katya's parents were brutally assassinated, leaving Ivan to [[AChildShallLeadThem lead the Empire]] and Katya to [[ManBehindTheMan 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]]...

* 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.

* VillainousRescue: [[spoiler: Ivan saves the revolutionaries' lives at Eduard's request.]]

* 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]].

* WillTheyOrWontThey: Unsinkable and Captain Kirkland.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Apparently [[spoiler: Toris, Feliks, and Raivis]] have become expendable, [[spoiler: since their Commander [[TearJerker sends them on a]] SuicideMission]].

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: In full effect. Again {{Justified}} by the source material.

* AdultFear: Alfred gets kidnapped from his home when his parents leave him there alone.
** [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized 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.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: ''[[UpToEleven Both]]'' sides of the war on Olyokin have a few of these; [[LaResistance Toris]]'s ShootTheHostage scene definitely stands out, as does [[TheEmpire Ivan]] ([[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom albeit unintentionally]]) bombing Darinys.

* RealityEnsues: 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.

* NotSoDifferent: [[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.

* PromotionToParent: Katya goes through this for Ivan and Natalya after her parents are assassinated. Of course, being NotSoDifferent, Toris has the same thing happen after the bombing of Darinys leaves him to take care of the orphaned Feliks and Raivis.

''[[http://hetalia-kink.livejournal.com/21125.html?thread=84926597#t84926597 Sold to the Highest Bidder]]'' is an ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' 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.

* AerithAndBob: Names of characters range from Island to Raivis to Yao to [[TheSixthRanger Tim]]. {{Justified}}, given the [[Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia source material]].

* RaceLift: Subtly, but Eduard, who was Eastern European in ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'', now hails from the same place as French characters Francis and Mathieu.

* 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}} by the [[Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia source material]], though.

* BadDreams: [[BrokenBird Tim]] is prone to these, which Danmark happily helps with. It would seem that [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Toris]] has these as well, according to Feliks.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Feliciano seems [[SpoiledSweet 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.

* HypercompetentSidekick: Several. [[MeasuringTheMarigolds Eduard]] to [[ReluctantPsycho Ivan]], [[KnightInSourArmor Lovino]] to [[SpoiledSweet Feliciano]], Mathieu to Francis, and [[TheChessmaster Island]] to [[FiveManBand the other four]].

* SpoiledSweet: Feliciano and Natalya are both this.

-->'''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]].

* PapaWolf: Francis, [[FrenchJerk of all]] [[DomesticAbuser people]], can get this way toward his charges.

-->'''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.]]

* 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 DomesticAbuser 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.

!Tropes

* BrickJoke: A couple, though they're subtle. For example, 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.

-->'''Raivis''': Oh, for - handservant? What, I couldn't be something fun like political aide?
-->'''Toris''': Handservant ''would'' be easier to impersonate.

* DomesticAbuser: All the owners to their bondsmen to some degree. Particularly highlighted by the Francis-and-Mathieu thread, where Mathieu develops a sort of StockholmSyndrome toward his master, as well as describing Francis's constant use of his services and less-than-humane punishments (i.e. shock collars).