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Basic Trope: A character is loyal to another character, no matter what.

  • Straight: Alice follows Bob as he goes about his heroic business, trying her best to help him, even when it's not easy.
  • Exaggerated:
  • Downplayed: Alice sticks up for Bob when a person mocks him.
  • Justified:
  • Inverted: Alice will sell Bob out at the first opportunity.
  • Subverted: Alice faithfully follows and supports Bob all the way up to Emperor Evulz' fortress... where it turns out she was one of Evulz' agents assigned to bring Bob there.
  • Double Subverted: But it turns out Alice really has decided she likes being Bob's friend, and she takes a spear for him.
  • Parodied: Alice makes vows of being Bob's best friend till she dies... and the two just met five minutes ago when Bob let Alice go in front of him in the lunch line.
  • Zig Zagged: Alice starts as a Lovable Traitor who frequently tries to sell Bob out. However, as time goes on, she does this less and less. Ultimately, when Bob finds himself in far more danger than ever before, Alice is the one to rescue him at great personal risk to herself, surprising both of them.
  • Averted: Alice is not especially loyal nor disloyal to Bob. Their relationship is strictly business.
  • Enforced: "Alice and Bob may never betray each other throughout the course of the story. In fact, we want you to make it so that would be completely out of character."
  • Lampshaded: "We've been through a lot, but Alice has never once given up on me."
  • Invoked: Emphasizing comradery and loyalty is emphasized during military training. Those who do not exabit this trait are expelled.
  • Exploited: Emperor Evulz has a personal grudge against Alice, so he captures Bob, knowing Alice could never let anything happen to him.
  • Defied: Alice keeps her loyalty to Bob in check by remembering her own ideals. She isn't about to stay glued to his side once he starts killing innocent people, after all.
  • Discussed: "Why don't we try the old Prisoner's Dilemma?" "Don't be ridiculous, that'll never work with these two."
  • Conversed: "Friends in movies are always with you forever."
  • Deconstructed:
    • Alice's devotion to Bob is extreme enough that she neglects her own well-being, her health and/or sanity declining in the process.
    • Bob takes Alice's devotion for granted or even begins using it to boss her around.
    • Bob is a bad person, maybe even evil, and yet Alice remains by his side even through his worst moments, which takes a toll on her.
  • Reconstructed:
    • Alice realizes putting such a burden on herself is ultimately counterproductive.
    • Alice stands up to Bob, demanding she is treated with the respect she deserves after doing so much for him. Bob realizes the effect his actions had on Alice, so he takes steps toward building a more equitable relationship with her.
  • Played For Laughs: Alice's loyalty makes her particularly bad at games like Risk, where betrayal is an essential mechanic.
  • Played For Drama:
    • Alice's loyalty and ideals come into conflict when Bob had to make a particularly nasty moral decision recently.
    • Alice's loyalty to Bob conflicts with her loyalties to her other friends, who feel as if they don't matter to her anymore.
  • Plotted A Good Waste: The author wants to deliver An Aesop about blind loyalty being dangerous.

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