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i just thought this would be a useful thread to make. basically, we list and discuss things that could be butterflied in or out of a given timeline--or any timeline, for that matter--without it really affecting that TL. basically, just butterfly effects that one would want to add to their timeline to give it a feel of being genuinely strange or different without affecting the timeline itself

for an example, ill use the subject of a relatively recent thread: instead of vanilla, some other flavor (say, rosewater) is the "default" flavoring. in this case, the non-existance of vanilla doesnt affect anything, as opposed to, say, chocolate which is pretty important to pre-columbian central american culture

as another, a difference of media, basically in terms of the story. i can give an example of my own creation for this: the setting of an Indiana Jones movie analogous to Temple of Doom could be set in central america and focus on a cult dedicated to quetzalcoatl instead of the thugee. in my actual example, the historical setting is very different, but it could easily work for anything: traditionalist aztec empire, spanish america, US takeover of mexico, or whatever

does anyone else have any examples?

incidentally, if i put this in the wrong subforum, please correct me; i figured the pre-1900 board was the best place for this
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