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* '''Deconstructed''': With all of these backstabbings, Evulz's army has a major disadvantage against Alice's LaResistance, who had found a way to avoid encouraging backstabbing with ThePowerOfFriendship and his army is toppeled not with a bang, but with a whimper.

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* '''Deconstructed''': With all of these backstabbings, Evulz's army has a major disadvantage against Alice's LaResistance, who had found a way to avoid encouraging backstabbing with ThePowerOfFriendship and his army is toppeled toppled not with a bang, but with a whimper.
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* '''Deconstructed''': With all of these backstabbings, Evulz's army has a major disadvantage against Alice's LaResistance, who had found a way to avoid encouraging backstabbing with ThePowerOfFriendship and his army is toppeled not with a bang, but with a whimper.
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* '''Played for Laughs''': A group of StupidCrooks suffer [[ButtMonkey repeated comical humiliations]] more often from each other.
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** Bob convinced Alice that he wanted an alliance with her to make a heist strictly so she would do all of the planning. Once she's done explaining how to do the heist, Bob kills her and follows her instructions all the way to victory.

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** Bob convinced Alice that he wanted an alliance with her to make a heist strictly so she would do all of the planning. Once she's done explaining how to do the heist, [[ShootTheBuilder Bob kills her her]] and follows her instructions all the way to victory.
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* '''Conversed''': ???

to:

* '''Conversed''': ???"We'll have to come to terms with the fact that backstabbing and total selfishness are in the DNA of villains. That's why they don't team up that often."
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** Bob convinced Alice that he wanted an alliance with her to make a heist strictly so she would do all of the planning. Once she's done explaining how to do the heist, Bob kills her and follows her instructions all the way to victory.
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** HonorAmongThieves

Added: 3370

Changed: 3719

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* '''Straight''': Emperor Evulz is on the cusp of defeating Alice's rebellion... but his lieutenant Bob screws that up by assassinating Charlie, a loyal and competent general, because Bob [[KlingonPromotion wants his position]] and share of the glory.
* '''Exaggerated''': ''Everyone'' on Emperor Evulz's side suffers ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, including Evulz. Nobody gets anything done because they're too busy plotting to make sure no one else on their side upstages them by actually doing something.
* '''Downplayed''': Emperor Evulz hires mercenaries. They want to make sure they get paid as much as possible, so they won't do anything Evulz doesn't explicitly pay them for. If he tells them to slaughter everyone in the rebel base, they'll do that, but that's ''all'' he gets. If they find important documents in the ruins, they won't bring them back.
* '''Justified''': No person who is actually interested in doing good would sign up with someone who calls himself [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Emperor Evulz]] and rules with an iron fist, so most of Evulz's recruits are the sort who are more interested in having power for themselves rather than helping the welfare of others. And if they put their personal ambitions above everyone else in their country, they're probably going to put said personal ambitions above their boss, too.
* '''Inverted''': Alice's rebellion suffers from WeAreStrugglingTogether, while with Emperor Evulz, EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily.
* '''Subverted''': Bob resents Charlie's success, and talks about killing him to advance up the ranks... but eventually decides that he wants to do so on his own merits, and resolves to just do better than Charlie.
* '''Double Subverted''': Bob's work pays off and an impressed Evulz promotes him to general... causing Charlie to arrange his death out of jealousy.
* '''Parodied''': Alice gets Bob to switch sides by offering him a candy bar.
* '''Zig-Zagged''': Emperor Evulz's office politics are very, very confusing. Sometimes it seems like his underlings are ready to backstab anyone to get ahead, but other times they willingly team up and work together without a hint of animosity. ''Series/GameOfThrones'' wasn't this bad...

to:

* '''Straight''': '''Straight''':
**
Emperor Evulz is on the cusp of defeating Alice's rebellion... but his lieutenant Bob screws that up by assassinating Charlie, a loyal and competent general, because Bob [[KlingonPromotion wants his position]] and share of the glory.
** Alice and Bob plan to rob Charlie. They pull off their heist, but when they're arrested afterwards, Bob rats out Alice in order to go free. When he does, he realizes that Alice lied to him about where she hid the loot in order to have it all for herself.
* '''Exaggerated''': '''Exaggerated''':
**
''Everyone'' on Emperor Evulz's side suffers ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, including Evulz. Nobody gets anything done because they're too busy plotting to make sure no one else on their side upstages them by actually doing something.
** Alice and Bob only planned the heist in order to betray each other afterwards. Their creative plans to rat each other out were made ''far'' in advance of the actual robbery plans, and are better thought out too.
* '''Downplayed''': '''Downplayed''':
**
Emperor Evulz hires mercenaries. They want to make sure they get paid as much as possible, so they won't do anything Evulz doesn't explicitly pay them for. If he tells them to slaughter everyone in the rebel base, they'll do that, but that's ''all'' he gets. If they find important documents in the ruins, they won't bring them back.
back, and may actually sell them back to Alice.
** Neither Alice nor Bob breaks the deal they made to back each other up and share the loot... but that only goes as far as ExactWords.
* '''Justified''': '''Justified''':
**
No person who is actually interested in doing good would sign up with someone who calls himself [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Emperor Evulz]] and rules with an iron fist, so most of Evulz's recruits are the sort who are more interested in having power for themselves rather than helping the welfare of others. And if they put their personal ambitions above everyone else in their country, they're probably going to put said personal ambitions above their boss, too.
** Being criminals, by definition, involves screwing others over for one's own gain. The only thing different about the others also being criminals is that now one ''knows'' they're untrustworthy.
* '''Inverted''': '''Inverted''':
**
Alice's rebellion suffers from WeAreStrugglingTogether, while with Emperor Evulz, EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily.
** The policemen going after Alice and Bob are so busy making sure that each other can't get the credit that Alice and Bob get away with robbing Charlie.
* '''Subverted''': '''Subverted''':
**
Bob resents Charlie's success, and talks about killing him to advance open up the ranks...his position... but eventually decides that he wants to do so on his own merits, and resolves to just do better than Charlie.
** Bob apparently rats Alice out, but really he's giving the police false information so she can get away.
* '''Double Subverted''': Subverted''':
**
Bob's work pays off and an impressed Evulz promotes him to general... causing Charlie to arrange his death out of jealousy.
** But the location the police were lead to contains evidence of Alice's ''previous'' crimes, enough to put her away for life when she's caught (and Bob knows she can't hide from the oncoming manhunt). Bob sent the police there in hopes that they could deal with her permanently, not for the few years she'd get if she was just busted for one robbery.
* '''Parodied''': '''Parodied''':
**
Alice gets Bob to switch sides by offering him a candy bar.
** Alice and Bob's plan fails because they can't agree on minor details like which shoes they should wear.
* '''Zig-Zagged''': '''Zig-Zagged''':
**
Emperor Evulz's office politics are very, very confusing. Sometimes it seems like his underlings are ready to backstab anyone to get ahead, for a candy bar, but other times they willingly team up and work together without a hint of animosity. ''Series/GameOfThrones'' wasn't this bad...bad...
** Bob rats out Alice, but this was a scheme so they could bust out of prison together, but then he leaves her to be busted for escaping prison, because this way he can go to court and paint her as an innocent victim who was framed for the robbery and then conned into escaping by some scapegoat. But Alice is sick of all the betrayals and not knowing if she can trust him or not and decides to rat ''Bob'' out, sending him to prison along with her.



* '''Invoked''': Bob is actually TheMole for Alice. He makes it ''look'' like he's just another ambitious underling backstabbing the dude above him to get ahead to disguise the fact that he ''actually'' killed Charlie because he would have defeated Alice had he lived.
* '''Exploited''': Alice makes sure to encourage paranoia and jealousy among Evulz's underlings, since a house divided against itself cannot stand...
* '''Defied''': Emperor Evulz makes sure to reward teamwork and punish people who sabotage their coworkers.

to:

* '''Invoked''': Bob '''Invoked''':
**Bob
is actually TheMole for Alice. He makes it ''look'' like he's just another ambitious underling backstabbing the dude above him to get ahead to disguise the fact that he ''actually'' killed Charlie because he would have defeated Alice had he lived.
** Bob is a police informant. The police stage a harsh questioning and all sorts of temptations to betray Alice, to hide the fact that he was actually on police payroll and was going to do it from the beginning.
* '''Exploited''': '''Exploited''':
**
Alice makes sure to encourage paranoia and jealousy among Evulz's underlings, since a house divided against itself cannot stand...
** The police offer witness protection, reduced sentences, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and candy bars]] for criminals who decide to rat out their coworkers. This makes busting big operations easier for the police, since most minor catches can lead to big busts when the criminals happen to know something and think it will be better for them if they give it up.
* '''Defied''': Emperor Evulz makes sure to reward teamwork and punish people who sabotage their coworkers. He wants underlings he can ''trust''.
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* '''Conversed''': ???

to:

* '''Conversed''': ??????
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Back to NoHonorAmongThieves
----
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* '''Played Straight''': Emperor Evulz is on the cusp of defeating Alice's rebellion... but his lieutenant Bob screws that up by assassinating Charlie, a loyal and competent general, because Bob [[KlingonPromotion wants his position]] and share of the glory.

to:

* '''Played Straight''': '''Straight''': Emperor Evulz is on the cusp of defeating Alice's rebellion... but his lieutenant Bob screws that up by assassinating Charlie, a loyal and competent general, because Bob [[KlingonPromotion wants his position]] and share of the glory.



* '''ZigZagged''': Emperor Evulz's office politics are very, very confusing. Sometimes it seems like his underlings are ready to backstab anyone to get ahead, but other times they willingly team up and work together without a hint of animosity. ''Series/GameOfThrones'' wasn't this bad...

to:

* '''ZigZagged''': '''Zig-Zagged''': Emperor Evulz's office politics are very, very confusing. Sometimes it seems like his underlings are ready to backstab anyone to get ahead, but other times they willingly team up and work together without a hint of animosity. ''Series/GameOfThrones'' wasn't this bad...
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* '''Enforced''': "TheAesop is supposed to be about teamwork, and Alice is never going to win against Emperor Evulz if his subordinates work together. Somebody on Evulz's side needs to betray someone else. Hmm, Bob has been established as a ruthless GloryHound, so why not have him do the deed in order to get some more reknown?"

to:

* '''Enforced''': "TheAesop "AnAesop is supposed to be about teamwork, and Alice is never going to win against Emperor Evulz if his subordinates work together. Somebody on Evulz's side needs to betray someone else. Hmm, Bob has been established as a ruthless GloryHound, so why not have him do the deed in order to get some more reknown?"
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'''Played Straight''': Emperor Evulz is on the cusp of defeating Alice's rebellion... but his lieutenant Bob screws that up by assassinating Charlie, a loyal and competent general, because Bob [[KlingonPromotion wants his position]] and share of the glory.
'''Exaggerated''': ''Everyone'' on Emperor Evulz's side suffers ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, including Evulz. Nobody gets anything done because they're too busy plotting to make sure no one else on their side upstages them by actually doing something.
'''Downplayed''': Emperor Evulz hires mercenaries. They want to make sure they get paid as much as possible, so they won't do anything Evulz doesn't explicitly pay them for. If he tells them to slaughter everyone in the rebel base, they'll do that, but that's ''all'' he gets. If they find important documents in the ruins, they won't bring them back.
'''Justified''': No person who is actually interested in doing good would sign up with someone who calls himself [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Emperor Evulz]] and rules with an iron fist, so most of Evulz's recruits are the sort who are more interested in having power for themselves rather than helping the welfare of others. And if they put their personal ambitions above everyone else in their country, they're probably going to put said personal ambitions above their boss, too.

to:

* '''Played Straight''': Emperor Evulz is on the cusp of defeating Alice's rebellion... but his lieutenant Bob screws that up by assassinating Charlie, a loyal and competent general, because Bob [[KlingonPromotion wants his position]] and share of the glory.
* '''Exaggerated''': ''Everyone'' on Emperor Evulz's side suffers ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, including Evulz. Nobody gets anything done because they're too busy plotting to make sure no one else on their side upstages them by actually doing something.
* '''Downplayed''': Emperor Evulz hires mercenaries. They want to make sure they get paid as much as possible, so they won't do anything Evulz doesn't explicitly pay them for. If he tells them to slaughter everyone in the rebel base, they'll do that, but that's ''all'' he gets. If they find important documents in the ruins, they won't bring them back.
'''Justified''': *'''Justified''': No person who is actually interested in doing good would sign up with someone who calls himself [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Emperor Evulz]] and rules with an iron fist, so most of Evulz's recruits are the sort who are more interested in having power for themselves rather than helping the welfare of others. And if they put their personal ambitions above everyone else in their country, they're probably going to put said personal ambitions above their boss, too.
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'''Basic Trope''': Villainous groups tend to suffer because the people in them are willing to backstab their compatriots for personal gain.
'''Played Straight''': Emperor Evulz is on the cusp of defeating Alice's rebellion... but his lieutenant Bob screws that up by assassinating Charlie, a loyal and competent general, because Bob [[KlingonPromotion wants his position]] and share of the glory.
'''Exaggerated''': ''Everyone'' on Emperor Evulz's side suffers ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, including Evulz. Nobody gets anything done because they're too busy plotting to make sure no one else on their side upstages them by actually doing something.
'''Downplayed''': Emperor Evulz hires mercenaries. They want to make sure they get paid as much as possible, so they won't do anything Evulz doesn't explicitly pay them for. If he tells them to slaughter everyone in the rebel base, they'll do that, but that's ''all'' he gets. If they find important documents in the ruins, they won't bring them back.
'''Justified''': No person who is actually interested in doing good would sign up with someone who calls himself [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Emperor Evulz]] and rules with an iron fist, so most of Evulz's recruits are the sort who are more interested in having power for themselves rather than helping the welfare of others. And if they put their personal ambitions above everyone else in their country, they're probably going to put said personal ambitions above their boss, too.
* '''Inverted''': Alice's rebellion suffers from WeAreStrugglingTogether, while with Emperor Evulz, EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily.
* '''Subverted''': Bob resents Charlie's success, and talks about killing him to advance up the ranks... but eventually decides that he wants to do so on his own merits, and resolves to just do better than Charlie.
* '''Double Subverted''': Bob's work pays off and an impressed Evulz promotes him to general... causing Charlie to arrange his death out of jealousy.
* '''Parodied''': Alice gets Bob to switch sides by offering him a candy bar.
* '''ZigZagged''': Emperor Evulz's office politics are very, very confusing. Sometimes it seems like his underlings are ready to backstab anyone to get ahead, but other times they willingly team up and work together without a hint of animosity. ''Series/GameOfThrones'' wasn't this bad...
* '''Averted''': HonorAmongThieves
* '''Enforced''': "TheAesop is supposed to be about teamwork, and Alice is never going to win against Emperor Evulz if his subordinates work together. Somebody on Evulz's side needs to betray someone else. Hmm, Bob has been established as a ruthless GloryHound, so why not have him do the deed in order to get some more reknown?"
* '''Lampshaded''': "It's always betrayal. These criminal types just can't wait for a chance to backstab for their own gain."
* '''Invoked''': Bob is actually TheMole for Alice. He makes it ''look'' like he's just another ambitious underling backstabbing the dude above him to get ahead to disguise the fact that he ''actually'' killed Charlie because he would have defeated Alice had he lived.
* '''Exploited''': Alice makes sure to encourage paranoia and jealousy among Evulz's underlings, since a house divided against itself cannot stand...
* '''Defied''': Emperor Evulz makes sure to reward teamwork and punish people who sabotage their coworkers.
* '''Discussed''': "Bob's the sort of selfish asshole who would sell out anything if you offered him some of the glory. This makes him a potential weak point- we need to watch him."
* '''Conversed''': ???

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