'''Basic Trope''': Somebody [[HeelFaceTurn changes]] [[FaceHeelTurn sides]] because they can't tolerate the actions of their former team.
* '''Straight''':
** Bob, a paladin working for TheEmpire, protests after being ordered to [[DoomedHometown raze a village]] [[DisproportionateRetribution on the off-chance one of them]] ''[[DisproportionateRetribution might]]'' [[DisproportionateRetribution know a member of]] LaResistance. After failing to keep his allies from [[MoralEventHorizon carrying out their orders]] and [[WatchingTroyBurn seeing the results firsthand]], Bob decides to [[HeelFaceTurn switch sides]] and turn on the empire.
* '''Exaggerated''':
** The resistance is entirely made up of former members of TheEmpire who decided they couldn't put up with their ruler's [[ForTheEvulz evil ways]] any longer.
** The leader of a utopian world accidentally steps on an ant and causes a revolt.
* '''Downplayed''':
** Commander Bob likes the war thing but does not approve the current Evil General's policy and decides to take his troops elsewhere, not helping the Hero, but not killing him either.
** Bob breaks off from the Empire and forms a new faction, one that still does terrible things, but does them to fulfill goals rather then personal [[{{Greed}} profit]] and [[ForTheEvulz pleasure]].
* '''Justified''':
** Bob just had a HeelRealization and acts accordingly.
** Alice isn't really changing sides so much as making where she stands ''clearer'' after her parents seem to pull a FaceHeelTurn.
** Bob and Alice know that [[MortonsFork either option stinks]], and that staying on a side their conscience can't take is just as likely to end with them dead, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath so might as well die with a cleaner one than they'd have otherwise]].
* '''Inverted''':
** Emily, a scout for the resistance, sees the [=rapine/destruction/looting=] TheEmpire's forces are permitted to indulge in and decides [[EvilIsCool the benefits]] are much better on their side.
** [[TheCynic Fred]], adamantly believing that [[BeingGoodSucks heroism is a fool's game]], and that the resistance is doomed, willingly sides with TheEmpire's forces out of sheer spite.
* '''Subverted''':
** Bob is shaken by the village's destruction, but [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans justifies it to himself]] and remains a soldier of the empire.
** While upset, Princess Alice remains with her parents and doesn't run off to join the rebellion.
** It's not actually "TheEmpire" who are the evil side, but the defectors who formed a RenegadeSplinterFaction based off of fringe politics and/or evil means.
* '''Double Subverted''':
** However, the next time Bob's commander orders them across the MoralEventHorizon, he chops off his commander's head and turns on those of his comrades who won't stand down.
** However, she takes advantage of this position to [[TheMole feed the rebellion vital information]] about the empire's plans.
* '''Parodied''':
** Bob has been a LawfulStupid KnightTemplar to the core, but switches sides after witnessing Emperor Evulz [[KickTheDog punting a puppy]] -- who Bob promptly [[PetTheDog adopts]] as his MoralityPet.
** Bob defects when Emperor Evulz refuses to give him a free limousine. However, resistance doesn't want to give him a free limousine either. Bob ends up creating an alliance called "Free Limousine for Bob", but can't get anyone to join.
* '''Zig Zagged''': Bob defects from Emperor Evulz since he could no longer stand [[KickTheDog their excessive cruelty]], but it turns out that resistance [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized is even worse]]. Then we find out the atrocities the resistance committed were actually [[FalseFlagOperation done by the Empire to frame the resistance]], and Bob was one of the many people in the Empire who pretended to defect to commit these atrocities.
* '''Averted''': Bob is fixated on the idea of MyMasterRightOrWrong, no matter how tortured his conscience is.
* '''Enforced''': "Hey, this series is too reliant on [[BlackAndWhiteMorality heroes being heroes and villains being villains]]. Let's add a more nuanced character who feels conflicted about the actions of his former comrades, and switches sides because of it."
* '''Lampshaded''': "Could you do something about the outfit?" "It's the only set of armor I have". "Come on! File down the [[SpikesOfVillainy spikes]], get a paint job, ''something''!" "Sorry".
* '''Invoked''':
** Bob's commander, suspecting that his loyalty isn't absolute, deliberately engineers a SecretTestOfCharacter in the guise of a MoralEventHorizon to see whether or not he'll defect (fully expecting that, if he ''does'' defect, he can kill Bob before he escapes).
** King Charles and Queen Diane decide to align themselves with the empire [[IDidWhatIHadToDo in order to protect their kingdom]], despite suspecting that their daughter will leave and start supporting the rebellion openly.
* '''Exploited''': ???
* '''Defied''': Bob's commander, suspecting that he might defect, sends him to another unit or [[WeHaveReserves simply kills him beforehand]].
* '''Discussed''': "If Emperopr Evulz keeps being such a [[ForTheEvulz pointlessly sadistic bastard]], resistance is going to double in size by the end of the month!"
* '''Conversed''': "That one's too nice, he will never last running with the forces of Emperor Evulz".
* '''Deconstructed''':
** Despite switching sides because he could no longer stand by what his peers were doing, Bob finds himself still judged by their behavior, as well as his past misdeeds. The camadarie he once shared with his comrades is gone, the bonds broken by his own decisions, and he can't forge new ones to replace them because [[ReformedButRejected nobody trusts a traitor]]. Ultimately, Bob becomes a MartyrWithoutACause, seeking to atone for his mistakes by sacrificing himself for his ideals.
** Princess Alice quickly finds that her rank hardly matters in the rebellion, save among those hoping to make her a puppet ruler or otherwise take advantage of her -- something which becomes somewhat of a moot point after her parents disinherit her. She struggles to adjust to the harshness of life as a renegade underground, and questions whether her decision to defect was really all that smart, ideals aside.
* '''Reconstructed''':
** Though distrusted by the bulk of the resistance's forces, Bob manages to prove himself to a few members and forges a new group of TrueCompanions, their bonds strengthened by shared ideals. This reinforces his newfound alliegence and assures him that he made the right decision turning on his former allies after they crossed the line.
** Despite becoming a FallenPrincess, Alice buckles down and becomes a crucial figure in the rebellion, inspiring others through her sacrifices and her absolute ''refusal'' to become anyone's puppet.
* '''Played For Laughs''': The Rebels are just as bloodthirsty and horrible as the Empire, but Bob doesn't mind, the real reason he defected were those awful Imperial Army combat rations.
* '''Played For Drama''': After they extract plenty of useful information from him, [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the revolutionaries]] decide Bob should be RewardedAsATraitorDeserves.
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Back to DefectorFromDecadence. Yes, Troper Tales were my comrades, but they've gone too far this time. If going back to the main page is what it takes to stop them, then that's what it takes.
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%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
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%%* '''Implied''': ???
%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???