Fiction
"Better I betray the world, than the world betray me!"
— Cao Cao, Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Leobreaker: Whose side are you on today, Sideways? Or should I say: Who are you betraying today?
Sideways: Hah, I'm on my own side, as always.
Sideways: Hah, I'm on my own side, as always.
"Your face does the thinking - two to the skull, yet one gets up. Odds are against you... but they're just numbers after the two to-one. You're playing the hand you've been dealt, but you don't let it rest, you shuffle and stack, and a gamble... a gamble that may pay off? But how?
Forecast: Rapidly changing conditions."
Forecast: Rapidly changing conditions."
— The Forecaster, on The Courier, Fallout: New Vegas
"You know, in my line of work, you gotta be able either to sing 'The Battle Hymn Of The Republic' or 'Dixie' with equal enthusiasm."
— Ferryman, The Outlaw Josey Wales
Mgr. Strasser: I'm not entirely sure which side you're on.
Cpn. Renault: I have no conviction, if that's what you mean. I blow with the wind — and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy.
Strasser: And if it should change?
Cpn. Renault: I have no conviction, if that's what you mean. I blow with the wind — and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy.
Strasser: And if it should change?
Mac: Guys, why aren't the brakes working?
Charlie: Because I cut the brakes! Wild card, bitches! YEE HAW!
Charlie: Because I cut the brakes! Wild card, bitches! YEE HAW!
"Me? I’m dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It’s the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they’re going to do something incredibly… stupid."
— Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
"Aargh! I don't get it! Is he against us or on our side? Which is it?"
— Arata Sanada, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
"I joined Pogtopia 'cause I thought it was like, 'Oh, it's Wilbur and Tommy versus the world', and then everyone on the server is like, 'Don't worry guys, we'll help you from the shadows.' We've got like Dream, we've got Tubbo, we've got Niki, Eret sitting here like, "Hey, guys, I'm gonna do a redemption arc," like, NO! Stop doing a redemption arc, Eret! I need someone to stab! At this rate, the final battle is gonna be the entire server doing a 30 v 1 versus Jschlatt! The man doesn't even have armor! Someone's gotta be the bad guy for the content... Will it have to be me?"
"The Nightsisters...they serve only themselves, padawan. Our goals may align, but the methods they are willing to use to achieve their own ends can be abhorrent. Their power is far more than illusions and healing. Talzin could take me apart as easily as she mended me, and she would have no qualms about doing so if it suited her people's needs. They could have warped Quinlan's mind, as easily as repairing it, taken away his will, washed out everything that makes him who he is. You have to understand, we don't call the Nightsisters dark because they use the Dark Side—we've seen plainly that they commune with both sides of the Force, and other powers besides. We call them Dark because they hold to no concepts of good and evil. Their sole morality is tied to their loyalty to each other, and to the survival of their Clan."
— Ben Naasade, The Desert Storm series
I don't care which way the wind blows — only that I get to feel the breeze.
Zaktan: And if there were a war, are you quite sure whose side you would be on?
Vezok: The same side I'm always on. My own.
— BIONICLE: Legacy of Evil
Sailors pray for my good favor, but I am a fickle wyrm. The storm winds aid or scuttle ships to match my mercurial moods.
— Description of Tyndallion, "Find Out Your Dragon Name As Long As It Isn't Rugarth Because That One Is Mine"
"I never quite had a handle on that one... did I?"
— MOTHER, Oblitus Casa
There's a man on high
With the Devil in his eye
And a golden hand, I'm told
It can hurt you, it can hold you
He can kick you or console you
When you're Sleeping In The Cold Below
With the Devil in his eye
And a golden hand, I'm told
It can hurt you, it can hold you
He can kick you or console you
When you're Sleeping In The Cold Below
— Sleeping in the Cold Below, Warframe
Ryunosuke Naruhodo: Um... Professor Harebrayne...
Albert Harebrayne: Yes?
Ryunosuke: Whose side are you on here?
Harebrayne: I don't take sides, Mr. Naruhodo! No no no! My only interest lies in upholding my hypothesis! I'm a scientist, after all!
Ryunosuke: ......... (thinking) Is he working for us or against us? It's very hard to tell...
Albert Harebrayne: Yes?
Ryunosuke: Whose side are you on here?
Harebrayne: I don't take sides, Mr. Naruhodo! No no no! My only interest lies in upholding my hypothesis! I'm a scientist, after all!
Ryunosuke: ......... (thinking) Is he working for us or against us? It's very hard to tell...
— The Great Ace Attorney: Resolve, Case G2-3: "The Return of the Great Departed Soul"
Real Life
Richard Nixon: I think maybe [Donald] Rumsfeld maybe is not too long for this world. He's ready to jump ship.
H.R. Haldeman : No, I don't think he's ready to jump ship. And I doubt if he ever would, just because it serves his interests more not to. But I sure don't think he's ever going to be a solid member of this ship. Unless it's floating high.
H.R. Haldeman : No, I don't think he's ready to jump ship. And I doubt if he ever would, just because it serves his interests more not to. But I sure don't think he's ever going to be a solid member of this ship. Unless it's floating high.
— Transcripts from White House tapes, 4.7.71
One hears murmurs against Mussolini on the ground that he is a desperado: the real objection to him is that he is a politician. Indeed, he is probably the most perfect specimen of the genus politician on view in the world today. His career has been impeccably classical. Beginning life as a ranting Socialist of the worst type, he abjured Socialism the moment he saw better opportunities for himself on the other side, and ever since then he has devoted himself gaudily to clapping Socialists in jail, filling them with castor oil, sending blacklegs to burn down their houses, and otherwise roughing them. Modern politics has produced no more adept practitioner.
"After everyone’s dead, the Joker reveals himself to the mob boss, who just doesn’t understand the concept of criminal anarchy. He goes on about honor and respect, tenets of omerta that just don’t apply to the Joker. Apparently the Joker is a big Pearl Jam fan, because he has no code."
—Chris Sims, Andy Khouri, and David Uzumeri on
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight"One reason moderate politicians aren't often trusted is that you never know which side of an issue they actually favor until the last moment. A good example is Joe Lieberman, who was in favor of extending Medicare to people aged 55-64 until it seemed that it would actually pass."
— Rational Wiki
