Defector From Decadence/Playing With

Basic Trope: Somebody changes sides because they can't tolerate the actions of their former team.
 * Straight:
 * Mason, a Lawful Stupid paladin working for The Empire, protests after being ordered to raze a village on the off-chance one of them might know a member of La Résistance. After failing to keep his allies from carrying out their orders and seeing the results firsthand, Mason decides to switch sides and turn on the empire.
 * Princess Velvet is horrified when her parents, King Sable and Queen Satine, decide to align with The Empire, so she chooses to take off and joins La Résistance as their strategist.
 * Exaggerated:
 * La Résistance is entirely made up of former members of The Empire who decided they couldn't put up with their ruler's evil ways any longer.
 * The leader of a utopian world accidentally steps on an ant and causes a revolt.
 * Justified:
 * Mason just had a Heel Realization and acts accordingly.
 * Velvet isn't really changing sides so much as making where she stands clearer after her parents seem to pull a Face Heel Turn.
 * Inverted: Bob, a scout for La Résistance, sees the rapine/destruction/looting The Empire's forces are permitted to indulge in and decides the benefits are much better on thier side
 * Subverted:
 * Mason is shaken by the village's destruction, but justifies it to himself and remains a soldier of the empire.
 * While upset, Princess Velvet remains with her parents and doesn't run off to join the rebellion.
 * Double Subverted:
 * However, the next time Mason's commander orders them across the Moral Event Horizon, he chops off his commander's head and turns on those of his comrades who won't stand down.
 * However, she takes advantage of this position to feed the rebellion vital information about the empire's plans.
 * Parodied: Mason has been a Lawful Stupid Knight Templar to the core, but switches sides after witnessing Emperor Evulz punting a puppy -- who Mason promptly adopts as his Morality Pet.
 * Deconstructed:
 * Despite switching sides because he could no longer stand by what his peers were doing, Mason finds himself still judged by their behavior, as well as his past misdeeds. The camadarie he once shared with his comrades is gone, the bonds broken by his own decisions, and he can't forge new ones to replace them because nobody trusts a traitor. Ultimately, Mason becomes a Martyr Without a Cause, seeking to atone for his mistakes by sacrificing himself for his ideals.
 * Princess Velvet quickly finds that her rank hardly matters in the rebellion, save among those hoping to make her a puppet ruler or otherwise take advantage of her -- something which becomes somewhat of a moot point after her parents disinherit her. She struggles to adjust to the harshness of life as a renegade underground, and questions whether her decision to defect was really all that smart, ideals aside.
 * Reconstructed:
 * Though distrusted by the bulk of the resistance's forces, Mason manages to prove himself to a few members and forges a new group of Nakama, their bonds strengthened by shared ideals. This reinforces his newfound alliegence and assures him that he made the right decision turning on his former allies after they crossed the line.
 * Despite becoming a Fallen Princess, Velvet buckles down and becomes a crucial figure in the rebellion, inspiring others through her sacrifices and her absolute refusal to become anyone's puppet.
 * Zig Zagged: Mason defects from Emperor Evulz since he could no longer stand their excessive cruelty, but it turns out that La Résistance is even worse.
 * Averted: Mason is fixated on the idea of My Master, Right or Wrong, no matter how tortured his conciense is.
 * Enforced: Because of his reluctance, the Empire tries to kill him, forcing him to switch sides.
 * Lampshaded: "Could you do something about the outfit?" "It's the only set of armor I have." "Come on! File down the spikes, get a paint job, something!" "Sorry."
 * Invoked:
 * Mason's commander, suspecting that his loyalty isn't absolute, deliberately engineers a Secret Test of Character in the guise of a Moral Event Horizon to see whether or not he'll defect (fully expecting that, if he does defect, he can kill Mason before he escapes).
 * King Sable and Queen Satine decide to align themselves with the empire in order to protect their kingdom, despite suspecting that their daughter will leave and start supporting the rebellion openly.
 * Defied: Mason's commander, suspecting that he might defect, sends him to another unit or simply kills him beforehand.
 * Discussed: "If Emperopr Evulz keeps being such a pointlessly sadistic bastard, La Résistance is going to double in size by the end of the month!"
 * Conversed: "That one's too nice, he will never last running with the forces of Emperor Evulz."
 * Played For Laughs: The Rebels are just as bloodthirsty and horrible as the Empire, but Mason doesn't mind, the real reason he defected were those awful Imperial Army combat rations.
 * Played For Drama: After they extract plenty of useful information from him, the revolutionaries decide Mason should be Rewarded As a Traitor Deserves.

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