Line #27 PlayingWith/AFistfulOfRehashes


1	'''Basic Trope''': A character walks into a town with two rival factions, plays them both for suckers, and eliminates them when [[LetsYouAndHimFight the fighting]] weakens them. Sometimes at a cost for said character, sometimes with plenty of gain. [[BlackAndGrayMorality Moral]] [[GrayAndGrayMorality reasons]] [[BlackAndWhiteMorality vary]].
2	* '''Straight''': Read "Basic Trope".
3	* '''Exaggerated''': One man playing both sides triggers a barrage of GambitPileup, ManBehindTheMan, IKnowYouKnowIKnow, IAmNotLeftHanded, MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot and ContrivedCoincidence [[TheReveal Reveals]] that are just nuts.
4	* '''Downplayed''': The war is already on its dying embers when the characters arrive. All that is left is (by all means and purposes) the clean-up.
5	* '''Justified''':
6	** The character walking into town [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge has]] [[RoaringRampageOfRescue a beef]] with both sides.
7	** The character is a [[ArmsDealer War Profiteer]]
8	* '''Inverted''': [[EnemyMine Both sides join forces]] to take out someone too badass for one side to defeat. Or they join forces to [[TakingOverTheTown take over the town]]-and thus the hero (or heroes) must fight the newly-allied bad guy army.
9	* '''Subverted''': The character picks up one side to support and sticks to it, [[IFightForTheStrongestSide for]] [[HiredGuns which]][[ConsummateProfessional ev]][[MoneyDearBoy er]] [[MyMasterRightOrWrong reason]] [[BloodKnight he]] prefers.
10	* '''Double Subverted''': EveryoneHasStandards, [[EvenEvilHasStandards even the most loyal and vile of mercs]]. Once both sides have done lots of on-screen [[KickTheDog dog kicking]], they will probably cross whatever the protagonist deems as [[MoralEventHorizon the line]], making him choose to kill everyone. Or maybe he decides to kill them all [[EvilerThanThou because they're not evil enough for him]].
11	* '''Parodied''': The character which walks into town is TheFool or otherwise MistakenForBadass and his bumbling just triggers (or exacerbates) [[DisasterDominoes a chain reaction]] that was already set in place to go.
12	* '''Zig Zagged''': The character wants nothing to do with either side, so he decides to try and leave. Unfortunately, his actions have attracted the attention of the factions, and so they give him AnOfferYouCantRefuse. But one has a stronger offer than the other, and so is taken by the protagonist, who tries to drive both factions to kill each other-only that the leaders are pretty smart and take steps to prevent this... only for the protagonist to showcase that he's the spy for TheMagnificentSevenSamurai or the local HeroesRUs, and the intelligence he gets is enough for this third faction to find a weak enough spot to shake the factions' convictions, and the factions declare EnemyMine and go after this new faction... only to be backstabbed by the protagonist, who has become BeneathSuspicion by the enemies becoming targets to DeathByGenreSavviness... and the HeroesRUs ends up being EvilAllAlong, so the protagonist must do what he can to rally the other factions and thus ensure a perfect mutual kill, all the while trying to run for it because things are just becoming ''too'' crazy...
13	* '''Averted''': Character arrives to town, and simply [[OneManArmy proceeds ]] [[ConservationOfNinjutsu to]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge kick]] [[RoaringRampageOfRescue both]] [[OmnicidalNeutral sides']] [[CurbStompBattle asses]].
14	* '''Enforced''': The writer is a fan of ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'', so he decided to pay {{Homage}} to the story.... even if it involves [[ContrivedCoincidence pulling a lot]] of [[{{AssPull}} things out of his ass]], giving the character [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse no other choice]] [[ClosedCircle but]] [[BeefGate to]] fight both sides.
15	* '''Lampshaded''': ???
16	* '''Invoked''': The character is hired by a third party to eliminate the other two. Or he decides to do it [[ForTheLulz for]] [[ForTheEvulz kicks]].
17	* '''Exploited''': Both sides have something that the characters want. Neither of them will give that up willingly, and so the spy game begins.
18	* '''Defied''': Either a smart character will immediately choose a side and stick to it upon arrival, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere try to get the hell out of Dodge first chance he gets]], or one (or both) sides will immediately eliminate anybody who arrives to town that looks even remotely like a threat.
19	* '''Discussed''': "Ok, so Jack walks into town and he's [[IWorkAlone a loner]] badass, so there is no way he's going to be under anybody's employ unless he's looking for a way to [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder stab them in the back]]... as far as I can see, we can make it so [[AssholeVictim these guys]] [[KickTheDog deserve it]]."
20	* '''Conversed''': ???
21	* '''Deconstructed''':
22	** Depending on the story, you can end up with [[AntiHero a character]] [[VillainProtagonist who]] [[BloodKnight doesn't]] [[OmnicidalNeutral have]] [[BlueAndOrangeMorality a good reason]] [[TheSociopath to]] do such things other than "they were in my way"...
23	** The character is not familiar with the culture of the land, leading to ValuesDissonance with the locals, causing them to see the character as [[EvilerThanThou even worse than the two factions at war]].
24	* '''Reconstructed''':
25	** ...On the other hand, [[AssholeVictim nobody will deny]] that [[PayEvilUntoEvil the town is definitely]] [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing better off with both sides dead]].
26	** Given the area's in the middle of a war caused by locals, they decide to embrace a cultural change since they realize the two factions at war are products of the current culture.
27	* '''Played For Laughs''': The "war" is about the SeriousBusiness ''du jour''. One side supports ''Pokemon'', one side supports ''Digimon'', and the man PlayingBothSides is not some kind of badass expert manipulator, but that one poor bastard who happens to like both shows.
28	* '''Played For Drama''': The protagonist manages to overthrow the bosses, but [[PyrrhicVictory the collateral damage]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero is somehow excessive]]. Likewise one side could be shown as being [[ALighterShadeOfBlack a]] [[PetTheDog (maybe slightly)]] [[NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters lighter]] [[BlackAndGrayMorality side]] and their loss is understandably [[{{TearJerker}} heartbreaking]] to watch.
29	* '''Played For Horror''': The MobWar has no holds barred, and nothing is sacred -- there are no non-combatants, there is no truce, there is no care for collateral damage, and the only kind of victory that will be accepted is total annihilation. The city soon is burning and massacres are constant.
30	----
31	Back to AFistfulOfRehashes, Yojimbo; there's two bosses there, and when there are two, then I'd say that there is one too many!
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33	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
34	%%
35	%%* '''Implied''': ???
36	%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???

Context PlayingWith / AFistfulOfRehashes