History Main / MotiveDecay

* In ''Fanfic/NobodysHero'', Ai reveals [[spoiler:he wanted to do a SuicideByCop because there is a [[ICannotSelfTerminate self-preservation protocol]] built in him, necessitating for him to escalate things until he's killed.]] But two years of grief blinded him and he forgot his original intention, rather, his desire warped into [[KillEmAll terminating humanity]].

* Wrestling/BulletClub was originally an alliance of ''gaijin'' (non-Japanese) wrestlers who banded together to get ahead in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling's Japanese-dominated competitive scene by using brute force and underhanded tactics. Their firearm visual motif, and their general image as uncouth thugs, originally underlined this motive: it emphasized their lack of respect for Japanese traditions and culture, and [[ForeignWrestlingHeel leaned heavily into negative stereotypes about Westerners]]. But as they've become more popular and well-established, this motive has gradually been downplayed, and they've notably [[EqualOpportunityEvil welcomed several Japanese wrestlers into their ranks]] (most notably Wrestling/{{Kenta}}, Wrestling/TaijiIshimori, Wrestling/{{EVIL|Wrestling}}, and Sho). [[EvilIsCool Not that their fans are complaining]].

* Wrestling/BulletClub was originally an alliance of ''gaijin'' (non-Japanese) wrestlers who banded together to get ahead in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling's Japanese-dominated competitive scene by using brute force and underhanded tactics. Their firearm visual motif, and their general image as uncouth thugs, originally underlined this motive: it emphasized their lack of respect for Japanese traditions and culture, and [[ForeignWrestlingHeel leaned heavily into negative stereotypes about Westerners]]. But as they've become more popular and well-established, this motive has gradually been downplayed, and they've notably [[EqualOpportunityEvil welcomed several Japanese wrestlers into their ranks]] (most notably Wrestling/{{Kenta}}, Wrestling/TaijiIshimori, Wrestling/{{EVIL}}, and Sho). [[EvilIsCool Not that their fans are complaining]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8 This video]], which is a loose history of the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia (as told through the eyes of one humble worker) shows this happening to the speaker. Initially he rebels against the cruelties of the Tsar to create "a regime of peace and love" but just a few stanzas later after the defeat of the Nazis, he celebrates the thought of nuclear war with the US. The decay in his motives however is truly complete when the Soviet state falls and he enriches himself on the free market.

This often happens when a story has [[RoguesGallery several antagonists]], one of whom is only needed for {{conflict|Ball}}. Expect the character to become a [[CardCarryingVillain cartoonishly evil megalomaniac]]. If this happens to a side character, it is often followed by {{Flanderization}}. Perhaps even more strangely, the other characters won't notice such decay and will, at the least, be unsurprised that this character is now a walking [[StockCharacters cliche]]. If this happens to a series protagonist, expect a DorkAge, gnashing of teeth and shrieks of DarthWiki/RuinedForever!

** Adam Taurus. Blake's [[UnreliableNarrator initial descriptions]] of him depict a [[LittleBitBeastly Faunus]] rights activist whose dedication takes him too far into [[FantasticTerrorists terrorism]], with many White Fang members, including his mentor High Leader [[WellIntentionedExtremist Sienna Khan]], being fooled. An [[DomesticAbuse abusive]], manipulative ControlFreak who gaslit everyone for years, his true self only becomes clear to Blake in Volume 3, and the rest of the White Fang in Volume 5. He never believed in equality, [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist he wants humanity enslaved]]; his [[PsychoExBoyfriend increasing obsession]] with Blake destroys the White Fang, leaving him with nothing but the need to destroy Blake [[NeverMyFault for ruining his life]].

** Double-Subverted by Adam Taurus. Blake's [[UnreliableNarrator initial descriptions]] of him depict a [[LittleBitBeastly Faunus]] rights activist whose dedication takes him too far into [[FantasticTerrorists terrorism]], with many White Fang members, including his mentor High Leader [[WellIntentionedExtremist Sienna Khan]], being fooled. An [[DomesticAbuse abusive]], manipulative ControlFreak who gaslit everyone for years, his true self only becomes clear to Blake in Volume 3, and the rest of the White Fang in Volume 5. He never believed in equality, [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist he wants humanity enslaved]]; his [[PsychoExBoyfriend increasing obsession]] with Blake destroys the White Fang, leaving him with nothing but the need to destroy Blake [[NeverMyFault for ruining his life]].

* ''WebAnimation/DorklyOriginals'': In "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR_Cebd4lSoRobotnik Finally Wins]]", Robotnik robotizes Sonic and Tails, followed by all the animals of the world. He then spends the whole video lampshading this trope trying to remember why he was spending decades even trying to do that in the first place. Turns out, he was trying to make members for a bagpipe band.

* Robotnik in the titled "Robotnik Finally Wins" [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR_Cebd4lSo]] robotizes Sonic and Tails and then all the animals of the world... then spends the whole video lampshading this trope trying to remember why he was spending decades even trying to do that in the first place. Turns out, he was trying to make members for a bagpipe band.

** Double-Subverted by Adam Taurus. Blake's [[UnreliableNarrator initial descriptions]] of him depict a [[littleBitBeastly Faunus]] rights activist whose dedication takes him too far into [[FantasticTerrorism terrorism]], with many White Fang members, including his mentor High Leader [[WellIntentionedExtremist Sienna Khan]], being fooled. An [[DomesticAbuse abusive]], manipulative ControlFreak who gaslit everyone for years, his true self only becomes clear to Blake in Volume 3, and the rest of the White Fang in Volume 5. He never believed in equality, [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist he wants humanity enslaved]]; his [[PsychoExBoyfriend increasing obsession]] with Blake destroys the White Fang, leaving him with nothing but the need to destroy Blake [[NeverMyFault for ruining his life]].

* [[FantasticRacism Adam Taurus]] in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' is a ''subversion'' of this trope. Thanks to [[UnreliableNarrator Blake's initial abuse-influenced description]] of him "changing over time", many people both in and out of universe interpreted him as a [[LittleBitBeastly Faunus rights activist]] [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters gone too far]]. However, his volume six character short demonstrates that he was always emotionally manipulative and never hesitated to use lethal violence, only briefly showing concern when his superiors reprimanded him. That said, his [[AmbitionIsEvil lust for power]] and [[NeverMyFault refusal to accept consequences]] did start out as fairly hidden, only becoming obvious over the course of the show.

* OlderThanSteam: {{Satan}} in Creator/JohnMilton's ''Literature/ParadiseLost'' initially views corrupting mankind as a continuation of the fight for freedom from God. When he realizes that his rebellion against God has been a terrible mistake from the start, he decides that [[ThenLetMeBeEvil he can no longer be good]] and must embrace [[BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad evil as his good]]. Later on, his motives further degrade to something akin to "Since I'm evil now, I must cause God as much trouble as possible." This decay is likely deliberate, as the whole arc of Satan being diminished in mind (as well as [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman stature]] -- from towering angel to serpent) exemplifies [[EvilIsNotAToy just how destructive evil can be to its practitioners]].

* OlderThanSteam: {{Satan}} in Creator/JohnMilton's ''Literature/ParadiseLost'' initially views corrupting mankind as a continuation of the fight for freedom from God. When he realizes that his rebellion against God has been a terrible mistake from the start, he decides that he can no longer be good and must embrace evil as his good. Later on, his motives further degrade to something akin to "Since I'm evil now, I must cause God as much trouble as possible." This decay is likely deliberate, as the whole arc of Satan being diminished in mind (as well as [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman stature]] -- from towering angel to serpent) exemplifies just how destructive evil can be to its practitioners.

* {{Lampshaded}} in ''[[Literature/TheCircleOpens Magic Steps]], when Alzena's internal monologue notes that she used to love Nurhar and care for the Dihanurs, before the [[LovecraftianSuperpower unmagic]] started eating away at her. Unfortunately, by the time she notices this she's way beyond saving.

* In ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', throughout most of the story, the BigBad, King Radical, has the main goal of saving his world and people by sacrificing the Doctor's world. But when the Doctor ruins his plans beyond repair, the only motive King Radical has left is to make the Doctor suffer as much as possible.
* Thief from ''[[WebComic/EightBitTheater 8-Bit Theater]]'' stole only to pay for his father's medicine. After the whole issue was resolved, he kept being as greedy as ever. When pressed by Black Mage, he was asked "So shouldn't you, y'know, stop stealing?", to which the answer was a simple "No." Every single Elf is a total bastard. It's even part of their (stolen) national anthem.
* An example in [[http://liliy.net/wam/2009/05/31/dragons-are-easy/ this comic]] from ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfWiglafAndMordred'', except the evil one is the one who was attacked, not the attacker. Gawain, the attacker, genuinely forgot why he was attacking Arthur in the first place because he is a zombie with a HealingFactor, and while shooting him in the head won't kill him, he [[JustifiedTrope loses and regains random pieces of memory every time]]. Even though he couldn't remember his original reason, he figured that revenge for being shot in the head so many times was still a decent reason.
* ''WebComic/MuhPhoenix'': The comic doesn't miss the opportunity to point out that, after getting the power of the phoenix, Comicbook/{{Cyclops}} never tried to restore mutantkind ([[ItMakesSenseInContext he decided to form a rap band with the other Phoenix hosts]]).
* ''WebComic/YetAnotherFantasyGamerComic'': In-Universe example, Lewie the Lich King's original goal was [[spoiler:to get sweet, sweet revenge on the barbarian pirates who sacked his kingdom]], but TheFogOfAges and his manipulative goddess convinced him he wanted to rule the world. Once he succeeds in the latter, his oldest living rival [[ArmorPiercingQuestion asks him if he finally got what he wanted]], giving him enough clarity to realize he'd been duped into becoming a PuppetKing and pull a HeelFaceTurn.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* When the heel stable RETRIBUTION debuted in WWE in late 2020, they acknowledged their goal was to upend the current WWE system, which they felt had used and abandoned them, and rebuild it. So after they [[{{Kayfabe}} were given contracts]] they set out to accomplish this goal by...targeting random mid-carders. Not the WWE champion or anyone with titles, just mid-carders with no real importance, who [[NotSoDifferent are essentially in the same boat as their reason for forming in the first place.]] This is one ([[FashionVictimVillain of]] [[AtrociousAlias several]] [[InformedAbility reasons]]) why the group has become the laughingstock of the wrestling world.

** Konrad Curze, the Night Haunter, started off as a WellIntentionedExtremist who believed in maintaining order through fear, tenets he passed on to his Legion. Curze went mad after the Heresy and let himself be assassinated to prove that the Imperium was NotSoDifferent from him. In the years since, his Legion has mostly forgotten his ideals and spreads terror ForTheEvulz.

* Kariya Matou's motivation for entering the Holy Grail War in ''LightNovel/FateZero'' is that by winning, he'll be able to return his adoptive niece Sakura to her mother, a woman he loves from the abuse of the Matou family patriarch Zouken. However, the strain of maintaining a Servant like Berserker and the Matou crest worms eating away at him causes his mind to deteriorate and he becomes obsessed with killing Tokiomi Tohsakah (Sakura's father, the man who unthinkingly gave Sakura to the Maotus).

* When the heel stable RETRIBUTION debuted in WWE in late 2020, they acknowledged their goal was to upend the current WWE system, which they felt had used and abandoned them, and rebuild it. So after they [[{Kayfabe}} were given contracts]] they set out to accomplish this goal by...targeting random mid-carders. Not the WWE champion or anyone with titles, just mid-carders with no real importance, who [[NotSoDifferent are essentially in the same boat as their reason for forming in the first place.]] This is one ([[FashionVictimVillain of]] [[AtrociousAlias several]] [[InformedAbility reasons]]) why the group has become the laughingstock of the wrestling world.

* When Wrestling/RicFlair betrayed his stable Wrestling/{{Fortune}} to side Wrestling/HulkHogan and Wrestling/EricBischoff's Immortal alliance in 2011, it pretty much did away with all his sense of direction in Wrestling/{{TNA}}, both in- and out-of-universe. In-universe he betrayed his own plans to both finally defeat Hogan once and for all and to remake Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen with TNA homegrown talent and proved it was all about the power for him. Out-of-universe he seemed to float around with no purpose, as there wasn't exactly much potential to elevate amongst the Immortal ranks, what with the one young rising star in Gunner being lost in the shuffle at the time. He was such an ineffectual member with Immortal that people were speculating he was being a ReverseMole to help either Fortune or Wrestling/{{Sting}} with taking out Hogan, but this never materialized.