Basic Trope: A character repeatedly and unexpectedly switches affiliation or moral alignment out of convenience.
- Straight: It appears that Bob has betrayed the Evil Empire and pulled a Heel–Face Turn, only to leave the heroes and join the bandits because it's more profitable.
- Exaggerated: Each time Bob reappears in the story, he's a member of a different group.
- Downplayed: While his true motives are revealed only later, Bob switches sides just once.
- Justified:
- Bob has long-term goals that can only be achieved by utilizing resources of different factions.
- Bob is cursed to not be able to stay with one group for long.
- Bob doesn't believe in morality or loyalty and is being pragmatic.
- Inverted: Bob's group often change their moral values while he remains consistent.
- Subverted: It's revealed that Bob was The Mole of the first faction the entire time...
- Double Subverted: ...only to quit when a new opportunity arrives.
- Parodied: Bob has a designated game to help him choose who to side with next.
- Zig-Zagged: Bob goes back and forth between a few factions for varying reasons.
- Averted: Bob's morality and affiliation doesn't change.
- Enforced: The writer wants to build suspense with an enigmatic character who may or may not help the heroes at any given moment.
- Lampshaded: Characters remind Bob that his habit of switching sides makes him untrustworthy.
- Invoked: Emperor Evulz wants Bob to unwittingly act as his MacGuffin Delivery Service by filling him with distrust in everyone.
- Exploited: Alice plants a spying device on Bob, knowing he'll soon defect to a different faction.
- Defied: Bob's second group doesn't respect him, and he is known for being disloyal. Still, he sticks with them till the end.
- Discussed: Bob argues that by spending time with opposing factions, he can learn or do more than he could by staying with one of them.
- Conversed: "See you. You better not join another group next time I see you."
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