butterfly effect: the phenomenon whereby a minute localized change in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere. --- A single decision can save lives, or it can destroy them. The most interesting ones can do both.

"Thankfully," says Ignis, "the spiders in this area aren’t of the venomous variety." Prompto perks up, and sets a paper bag of cookware on top of a rock. "Well, that's a relief." "Certain other species," says Ignis, "are not nearly so benign." Noct laughs a little at Prompto's face, which is caught somewhere between terror and disbelief. "C'mon, Specs, quit trolling him. He's gonna wish he didn't come."

They say that prostitution is the world’s oldest profession, and it’s just as true for the Downworld as the mundane one. But this is the first time Magnus has ever heard of a nephilim hustling his crowd.

Wolfgang is no longer alone dealing with his ghosts.

This is an exploration of the Sense8 universe in 8 (of course!) installments. The stories focus on very different character constellations, vary a lot in tone and focus, and they don't necessarily all take place in the same verse/timeline. But they do focus on 8 sensations or feelings that seem to be at the core of this story about friendship and family.

The first time Dr. Rodriguez uses the words emotional abuse and manipulation and controlling boyfriend, Bella freezes. The second time she runs away. The third time she stays, and breathes, and listens. Bella Swan, embracing humanity one year at a time for a decade.

Sanji thinks he's got Zoro's number from day one, and there's not a thing about the swordsman that doesn't look monstrous. Then Sanji runs into the Vinsmokes again and is reminded what real monsters are like.

It's been judged safe to send the students of UA home to their families for the first three weeks of summer, much to the relief of everyone whose name isn't Todoroki Shouto. Luckily, Midoriya has a solution for him, and Midoriya Inko has a lot of love to give.

Jin Ling had begun to suspect years ago that there were parts of his family history that had been crossed out; long streaks of black where Wei Wuxian had been. The truth is more like whole books being brought up from their hiding places again. Or: Jin Ling tries to figure out what family means, now.

Madame Yu has always been irredeemably stubborn. You think a little thing like being taken captive by the Wen sect after they invaded her home, destroyed her husband's golden core, and sent her children fleeing to the winds is going to stop her?

Wen Ning began to go, then hesitated. “Do you need medical assistance, Sect Leader Nie? I know a little…” “Wen Qionglin.” “…yes?” “Take the child and go.” (an unexpected encounter in the aftermath of the Sun Palace)

There was another boy there at the base of the balcony outside of Meng Shi's window, where Meng Yao liked to sit: a boy few years older than him, taller, in finely made clothing that would normally make Meng Yao itch all over in futile envy, but the other boy’s eyes were white around the edges in a way that was immediately, painfully familiar. “Someone’s chasing you?” Meng Yao asked, and the boy’s eyes widened even further, surprised, but he nodded in confirmation. “There’s a trellis around the left side – can you climb up? I'll hide you.” "Thanks," the boy said, later, once the man he called Wen Ruohan had left. "My name is Nie Mingjue. What's yours?"

Rule 63 Modern AU, feat. Chinese Literature professor Lan Zhan and her lingerie model girlfriend, Wei Ying. i. How Lan Zhan's big lesbian university crush convinced her to stop worrying and love her body. ii. How Wei Ying's girlfriend got her to stop worrying and come on home. iii. How Wei Ying and Lan Zhan's relationship is put to the test, and what happens after.

Daylen has no reason to trust this former almost-templar he's gotten stuck with. He's not sure why he finds himself doing it anyway, but while he's figuring that out, what's the harm in the two of them spending more time together? Or: Daylen has trust anger issues, Alistair has abandonment issues, and Zevran and Leliana are happy they're working through all that but would really like them to just kiss already. Barkspawn doesn't care, so long as they're petting her.

Zevran has trust issues, self-worth issues, and general issues. Alistair helps. When he's not making it worse. Or: Giving someone a ring is supposed to be a symbol of deep commitment. A symbol, dammit. Or: Clearly Brosca isn't a Tolkien fan; otherwise, she would know that rings found in questionable cave systems make terrible gifts.

Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue hire Meng Yao to have a baby for them. They want to take things slow, but Meng Yao has other ideas.

Jon Antilles has spent most of the war keeping his head down and staying out of the fighting. But when he and Fay find evidence of a new bioweapon going to production on a Separatist planet, they move to destroy it rather than let it be deployed against the clone armies. Dooku's presence is an unexpected complication, and rather than break cover, Jon lets himself be captured and thrown in the Count's personal dungeon. He's not the only one there, however. Rex and his men have also been captured, and they're not about to trust a stranger in their midst. Jon has to pick between keeping out of the war the way he has been or rescuing the clones, blowing his cover and losing the freedom he's fought so hard for.

Her daughter is five years old when Ursa realises what she and Ozai have been doing to their children. By each choosing one to bestow with their approval, they’re pitting them against one another. Perhaps Ozai is doing it on purpose, but Ursa isn’t. She resolves to heal the damage she has done. In which Ursa tries to be a better parent to Azula, and it doesn’t change very much. And then, quite abruptly, it changes everything.

It's incredible that he doesn't cry. He must just be too tired, too wired, to let it out. Maybe his body is saving the liquid for something.

That sort of tight-curled body almost always means pain. Bly pauses at the edge of the camp, attention caught by the last campfire before the ring of sentries. A man, Human, is seated on a rock by the fire, curled in on himself with his knees drawn up, and the length of his limbs means he’s probably tall, but he’s managed to press himself down into a knot that looks strangely vulnerable. He doesn’t have a cloak, but there's a worn pack on the ground next to him, and he wouldn’t be the first intelligence officer to look a little out of place in the middle of a battalion of clones.

‘…H-how am I still alive?’ Zuko thinks. Sokka flinches back. Whoaaa, how in Spirits name did Zuko project his voice like that? Sokka didn’t even see him move his lips. As if he can hear Sokka’s thoughts, Zuko turns his head to look directly at him, eyes bewildered. And this is where Sokka realises something is very, very wrong. Two minutes later: “No way!” Sokka shakes his head wildly, just as prince jerkbender across him curses. “I’m soul bonded- To him?! No way! That’s just spirit mumbo-jumbo!!!” -or, through some freak Spirit accident involving Zhao, the Avatar, and the continuous joke that is both their existence, Sokka and Zuko have been soul-bonded and mentally linked. Neither of them are particularly happy with this.

Mobei-Jun’s search for Shang Qinghua had taken him to many strange places. He had quickly exhausted all more familiar locations. He had come to this last strange place not because Shang Qinghua was a strange man who knew many strange things (though he was), but because… because… it was becoming evident that if he did not seek out strange methods, he would never find Shang Qinghua if he did not wish to be found. It was becoming evident that Shang Qinghua did not wish to be found. In which Mobei-Jun becomes an accidental time-traveler and gets a second shot at his life with Shang Qinghua.

Ye Baiyi must really, really want to fuck him, Xie thinks. Maybe when he’s asleep Xie can drop poison in his ear. Or steal any treasures he carries. How has he lived this long if he’s actually this stupid?

That night he lies in bed alone until the moon is high. When the rest of the house is deathly silent, except for the light snores coming from behind every door, he sneaks in slippered feet through the halls and over to the covered kitchens. There’s faint light coming from the smoldering hearth, where the coals are piled to keep them warm for tomorrow’s early start. Someone has curled up by it on a mat, like a scullery maid. But it’s not a maid, it’s a man. A tall long-legged man. His husband. The dubiously immortal master of Changming manor. What the fuck, Xie thinks.

Not the Pokémon AU you asked for but the one you’re getting anyway. Featuring: full time gym leader and local cryptid Zuko, badge challenger Sokka, and Katara who can only look at so many memes before she flips.

“Shh, shh, we’re almost there,” Feemor murmurs, and the trembling teenage girl pressed tight to his side gives a jerky nod, though she doesn’t release her death grip on his belt.

“Are you going to kill me right here, Mand’alor?” Obi-Wan manages. Fett freezes, his hold loosening, and shoves away from him as if burned, getting to his feet. Obi-Wan coughs, looks up to where the man is watching him with some strange mix of emotion. His shields are exceptionally strong, for a null. “There is no Mand’alor,” Fett says finally, and walks right out of the room. (Or: 15-year-old Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker crash-lands on Kamino on the one day a cycle when the seas are calm and the storms abate. At the time, he doesn’t think much of it. Later—much later—he will come to see it as an omen.)

Xie'er goes viral dancing a drunken tango with a stranger. It's probably Wen Kexing's fault. (The competitive ballroom AU you didn't know you needed.)

Upending a base full of slavers was supposed to be a straightforward mission. Agen was unprepared for abduction, cloned armies, and the dark edges of the mystery that surrounds them, stretching back a thousand years. Though, in fairness, Alpha wasn't at all prepared for Agen, either.

You are not your biology. Tyler’s mother had told him that so many times growing up. When he told her he wanted to play hockey but was afraid to go up against so many alphas. You are not your biology. When an alpha triggered his heat during a scrum and Tyler had to be carried off the ice, fever already burning up his bones. You are not your biology. Tyler wishes he could believe her.

It had started at a promotional event for the Pens at a sporting goods store. A little boy with bright eyes had handed his new skates over to be autographed and said, very politely, “Will you please sign it? It’ll be super lucky if you do, and I can skate really fast and score a bunch of goals like you.”

Tkachuk’s trade from Calgary to Edmonton happened midseason, so he just shows up in the locker room on a Tuesday morning in early December with no announcement. He looks greasy and tired and wears a wrinkled suit. Leon can’t help but think that there's something odd about Tkachuk’s arrival in Edmonton. With all the effort that Tkachuk puts into establishing himself as a pest on the ice, he’s remarkably un-pest like on dry land.

my hands they shake, my head it spins

When Dark Woman orders him to fall in the name of finding the Sith Lord and ending the war, Jon obeys the way he always does. If it's in the name of saving more lives, he can believe it's worth it, no matter what he has to do. Rex and Cody getting dragged down with him was never something he intended.

Commander Ponds whirls around at the sound of Mace’s step and bolts up to his feet. He begs Mace not to take Boba back to Kamino. He says that he’ll look after him. He’ll take responsibility. With hands pressed together, he pleads for mercy for his brother. Mace tells him not to be ridiculous. Of course he isn’t taking Boba back to Kamino. He’s waiting, that’s all. It is only fair to give everyone a second chance. Even Jango Fett. (An AU where Mace Windu acquires and shares custody over a six-year-old Boba with Jango.)

When Fox and his men capture a Jedi, the first caught in the Empire in decades, it's the final piece Fox needs to set his plans into motion. Assassinating the Emperor isn't going to be an easy task, though, and to get the training he needs to manage it, he'll have to keep Jon close and avoid the Emperor's suspicion, because anything else is a certain death sentence. The solution, of course, is only the start of even more problems.

“Too slow, kid,” a voice calls, half a second before a pebble bounces off the top of Jon's head.

Fenris decides to write Varania a letter. It doesn't go well. At least, not at first. The reason for the T rating should be clear from the tags. There's no detailed discussion of any of it, and it's all in the past, but this just didn't feel like a G-rated story.

Now that he finally has a moment to reflect on what Todoroki told him during the Sports Festival, Izuku realizes there's only one way to take down Endeavor. “Midoriya? It’s half past four in the morning, what the hell do you want?” “Oh, is it really? I hadn’t noticed. Anyway, if I told you I had a way to majorly fuck up your dad in the public eye, would you be okay with it?” He paused in shock that Izuku had sworn. “...Yeah, sure, whatever. Go nuts.” Todoroki hung up.

Obi-wan Kenobi was chosen by a Master when he was a few months shy of his tenth birthday. Twenty plus years later, the galaxy as a whole has rather a lot of cause to regret that. (The longer the war drags on, the more Qui-gon Jinn finds to question; about himself, about the events of history, and about the Sith Lord who was once Jedi Knight Obi-wan Kenobi.)

Jack Drake catches his son sneaking in through the window, and jumps to the wrong conclusion.

When Dabi accidentally uses a gesture that Hawks associates with the Commission's brutal punishments, the league discovers exactly what the hero's life is like. They're not happy about it.

Hawks takes baby steps backwards, getting closer and closer to the door, as everyone continues to get loud and look at eachother for answers. Well, almost everybody; Dabi is watching him limp away with an unimpressed expression. “Those are torture wounds,” Shigaraki points out, crossing his arms and leveling Hawks with a dead-eyed stare. “How do you even know what torture wounds look like?” Hawks throws back as he continues to plan his escape. Shigaraki looks at him with raised eyebrows until Hawks looks away again, feeling like an idiot. These people are villains, he knows that (but its so easy to forget-). “Right, fuck.” Hawks flicks him a two fingered salute before turning tail like the coward he feels like and making for the door. He doesn't get more than four feet before Dabi grabs him by one of his wings and yanks him back.

“It has come to the attention of the staff and myself,” Nezu replies, something dark and calculating in his gaze as he stares at all of them, “that there is a possibility that your relationship with Shinsō-kun is ... non consensual.” Hitoshi can’t help the way he flinches sharply, breathing going shallow and ragged as his heart skips a beat and his eyes squeeze tightly shut. There it is.

“No.” It’s a fair response. “And you found him because…?” An even better response. Hawks isn’t in the mood to answer it though. “I heard a cry; I was first on scene.” Naomasa nods and everyone else buys the tale. They’re all looking at one thing only. Specifically, the A-Rank villain known as Dabi who is, for all intents and purposes, currently five years old. aka, Dabi is turned into a child and suddenly turns a lot more talkative, leading to some (possibly unwanted) revelations.

Shouta gripped the phone tight enough to make the phone case groan. “So it’s true. Midoriya was Quirkless.” “Until soon before the entrance exam,” Nedzu confirmed. “That’s not relevant now, though, because—“ “Relevant?” Shouta hissed. “Midoriya is barely functional, socially. He doesn’t trust any adult. He thinks the whole world hates him. He apologizes for everything except breaking the law, and I’m sure I can trace every single one of those things back to his Quirklessness. You call that irrelevant?” Aizawa visits Aldera Junior High and finds out some disturbing truths.

Teachers and Izuku don't mesh well. If Izuku speaks up, he gets in trouble. If Izuku gets picked on, he gets in trouble. If Izuku lets his guard down for one second, he gets in trouble. Izuku isn't stupid. He knows UA isn't going to be any different.

In one world, the members of Class 1A, for the most part, had support systems and ways to cope that let them take things in stride. In another, they are left far more vulnerable to the traumas inflicted on them over and over. It all started with Todoroki Shouto seeing bruises on Yaoyorozu Momo's arm. The members of Class 1A begin to realize they are all far more alike than they thought, and the insecurities, fears, and pain they are facing are too much to handle- and so they decide to run as far away from them as they can, because if the world won't give them family, they'll be each other's family.

If Rumi Usagiyama had one fatal flaw, it was that she couldn't keep a secret to save her life. She was too used to speaking her mind. If Tsunagu Hakamata had one fatal flaw, it was that he could come off as condescending. He meant well, really, but sometimes other people got the wrong idea. If Hawks had one fatal flaw, he'd be fucking thrilled because one was a massive decrease from the ten to fifteen flaws he got weekly reminders about from the Hero Commission. In which Rumi gets drunk and reveal something she wasn't supposed to know, Tsunagu has been trying to help, and Hawks has been through too much for a 22 year old whose been groomed for the past 14 years.

“What’s got you so jumpy, hero?” Dabi sneers, and Hawks answers him. “I got hit with a truth Quirk.” Hawks swiftly contemplates every decision that has gotten him to this moment, starting with his own birth, and regrets all of them. Dabi’s eyes light up like it’s Christmas Day and Hawks is the present he’s been waiting all year to unwrap. “Really?” He purrs, “Well, isn’t that incredible.” ~~~ Hawks gets hit with a truth quirk right before a meeting with Dabi. Dabi thinks it'll be fun. It isn't.