History InSpiteOfANail / FanWorks

* ''FanFic/TheSenshiFiles'': Despite Harry adopting [[Franchise/SailorMoon Makoto Kino]] shortly after the events of ''Literature/StormFront'', the basic canon of the Dresden-verse seems to be unchanged. {{Justified}} in that the earlier plots tend to happen to Dresden, rather than as a result of him, and the story itself being focused on the Tokyo end of things.

* In spite of major troublemaker Komaeda being much saner, and by extension, much less troublesome during ''Fanfic/PointOfDivergence'', several events still turn out the same.

[[AC:{{Crossover}}s]]

[[AC:''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'']]
* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': Although this Franchise/MonsterVerse fic's events create [[ForWantOfANail some]] [[AlternateUniverseFic divergences]] from ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' and its spin-offs, other things remain the same:
** Despite the Titans from [[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 the Mass Awakening]] remaining awake in this continuity instead of returning to hibernation, [[spoiler:Camazotz]] still [[spoiler:attempts to invade Skull Island]] as he did in ''Kingdom Kong''.
** Madison and Mark Russell still move to Pensacola, Florida, albeit a year or three earlier than when the ''Godzilla vs. Kong'' novelization said they did, and Mark still [[spoiler:rejoins Monarch]].
** [[AdaptationalHeroism Ren Serizawa]] still [[spoiler:takes a high-ranking job at Apex Cybernetics]], albeit for very different reasons than in Franchise/MonsterVerse canon.
** [[spoiler:Apex Cybernetics still obtain a remnant of Ghidorah via a black market dealing (though not a direct piece of the three-headed creature itself this time)]], and they obtain it just over a year after the events of ''Godzilla: King of the Monsters''[[note]][[spoiler:The ''Godzilla vs. Kong'' novelization, which has a bad case of WritersCannotDoMath regarding chronology consistency with the years, indicates Apex buying Ghidorah's remains occurred roughly fourteen months after Ghidorah's death at Boston]][[/note]].
* [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/34734553/ This]] ''Abraxas'' RecursiveFanfiction by [=SyfyGuy2=] has one across the last two stories, which are set in alternate timelines to each-other. In both the Genocide Route[[note]]A timeline where the Titans have [[AfterTheEnd reset the clock on human civilization]][[/note]] and the Coexistence Route[[note]]The Titans and humanity have found a lasting coexistence with each-other[[/note]], [[AdaptationalHeroism Monster X]] travels across the world to Mothra's shrine [[spoiler:to see an older Madison Russell]], and X is delayed by a [=MonsterVerse=] antagonistic creature which Monster X duels and defeats.

* In ''A Different Dursley Family'', it's said Vernon and Petunia were destined lovers. The "nail" of this fic was Vernon trying to steal a statue from Smeltings (his secondary school) for a prank. In that fic, Vernon was caught and expelled for this, which resulted on him being cut from his father's will and becoming a mechanic to earn a living. This prevented him from being the intolerant man who'd force Franchise/HarryPotter into abuse and yet, he and Petunia met, fell in love and had a child. Prior to the fic's proper beginning, the author briefly mentioned other alternative timelines coming from the statue prank and the only one specifically stating Vernon wouldn't marry Petunia was one where the statue fell on him, causing his death. And even then Harry's life wouldn't be different from canon since Petunia would marry a squib who was as envious of his magical relations as Petunia was of her sister.

** ''Chloe's Lament'': Despite swapping positions, Marinette and Chloe retain their respective personalities, meaning Chloe is still despised for being a bullying SpoiledBrat while Marinette is well liked for her thoughtfulness and kindness.

*** Miss Bustier remains sympathetic to Chloe, still seeing her as a troubled girl who needs guidance more than she does disclipine. Unfortunately for Chloe, that decision hasn't been left in her homeroom teacher's hands.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2818481/1/Beautiful-Release Beautiful Release]]'' shows a world where Ross and Rachel are still married to Carol and Barry respectively, Rachel having never left her wedding and Carol never realising her sexuality. Despite this, Chandler and Monica are still engaged by the time that would have been the events of the seventh season, and when Ross and Rachel run into each other at a dinner, they eventually end up falling in love and leaving their spouses after a brief affair, and a few years later Rachel is working in fashion and pregnant with their daughter.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/657356/1/The-One-With-The-Thanksgiving-Kiss The One With the Thanksgiving Kiss]]'' creates a world where Monica and Chandler have had a complex on-off near-relationship since early in the first season, which led to Ross and Rachel starting to date earlier than in canon and thus avoiding breaking up after "The Break". Despite these changes, Chandler and Monica still make their relationship official while Ross is getting married in London, and two of the gang get married in Vegas a year later, although this time around Ross marries ''Rachel'' in London and the Vegas wedding is between Chandler and Phoebe (Phoebe was trying to help Chandler get over his fear of marriage and he was drunk enough to believe her argument that a marriage in Vegas was ''only'' valid in Vegas).

* ''Fanfic/NotThisTimeFate'': A major premise is that no matter what Jaune does, he is never able to prevent both the Fall of Beacon and the death of ''at least'' one of his closest friends. In the one case in which he did so, he was killed almost immediately afterwards, resetting the timeline anyway. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that Fate itself was actively preventing him from succeeding]].

* In ''FanFic/CustodyBattle'', a My Hero Academia fanfiction, All Might never received One for All, but he became the first quirkless hero instead.

* Lampshaded in ''FanFic/IAmNOTGoingThroughPubertyAgain'', when the seating arrangement for the Chunin Exams ends up identical to the original timeline despite Sakura stating that it would be statistically impossible. Most of the characters also end up with the same significant others despite vastly different circumstances.
* ''[[Fanfic/AWrinkleInTimeNaruto A Wrinkle In Time]]'': Despite two more teams passing the second round of the Chuunin Exams, the match-ups all end up being the same and the same people still end up going to the finals.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11742711/1/We-Choose-Good-Auradon-Force-Saga We Choose Good- Auradon Force Saga]]'': In a story arc depicting a world where the characters of ''Film/{{Descendants}}'' are chosen as Franchise/PowerRangers, at one point a time-altering spell causes the memories of almost all the Rangers to change so that they remember a world where the Villain Kids never left the Isle of the Lost and the characters were never chosen as Power Rangers. However, Aziz and Ally, the son of Aladdin and Jasmine and the daughter of Alice respectively, retain their memories of the original timeline despite the spell. They eventually deduce that this is because they would still have gotten together whether or not they were Rangers, whereas everyone else's life would have been drastically different; as a result, the spell basically failed to edit their memories, allowing Aziz and Ally to reassemble the team while Fairy Godmother recruits Zordon's Rangers to help the Auradon Rangers restore their powers.

* In ''Fanfic/AvengerOfSteel'', although the Avengers and Superman are involved in stopping the Hand's schemes in New York, Matt Murdock still makes his public debut as Daredevil (initially wearing the suit during the Siege of Avengers Tower) to help capture Fisk.
* A somewhat meta example occurs in ''Fanfic/AvengersInfiniteWars''; despite the fact that Spider-Man obviously never saw [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack the same film]] as he referenced in [[Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar the Battle of Leipzig Airport]], Spider-Man still uses a similar plan to stop the Zillo beast when it's rampaging through Coruscant as he used against Ant-Man during the aforementioned battle. As another "meta" example, during a later mission Peter is given the code-name "[[Film/SpiderManFarFromHome Night-Monkey]]". On a wider note, Anakin has a vision on Mortis which implies that, [[spoiler:despite all of the new allies and enemies the Avengers have assembled, the events of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' and the Snap are still going to happen]].
* In the ''Fanfic/AvengersOfTheRing'' series, where key Avengers assist in the quests of both trilogies (Wanda Maximoff joins the Company of Thorin Oakenshield and Steve Rogers, Thor and Bruce Banner assist the Fellowship of the Ring), certain key events still play out as they did without the Avengers' aid, such as Bard killing Smaug or Gandalf bringing Eomer's forces to assist in the siege at Helm's Deep.

* ''Fanfic/{{Boldores and Boomsticks}}'': Faba still created Type: Null, even though the Ultra Beasts have been replaced by the Grimm.

* Stoick still ventures to the Dragon's Nest woefully unprepared despite the different circumstances behind him meeting the Red Death in ''Fanfic/TheDragonAndTheButterfly''.

* In ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'', the author notes reveal that despite Chloe getting on the Infinity Train, the episodes starting from Episode 29 (which is a Chloe focused episode) still happen in some capacity.
** After Ash learns that Goh knows about the Infinity Train -- which was something he's ''not'' supposed to know, else the fear of him trying to enter it to save Chloe. But since Chloe ''doesn't'' want to see Goh again, it would probably keep her trapped forever -- along with Trip having called him out on never doing more to help Chloe[[labelnote:Explanation]]All Ash did was just ask Chloe to come along and not go past that and his only information about her came from Goh who is not the most reliable source of info out there and Trip has pointed out that Ash went an extra mile for everyone ''else'' in his life[[/labelnote]], he finally breaks down and ask if things could've gone different if he did something more. Trip sadly notes that with how Goh and Chloe's problems go back years, Ash probably wouldn't have been able to change things either way.

* In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', Izuku's origins and powers are radically different thanks to arriving on Earth as [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Kal-El]]. Despite winning the SuperpowerLottery, he's still lonely and a NervousWreck out of guilt and fear after he nearly kills Bakugou as a child. When he does get to U.A., his costume still has the bunny-eared hood designed after All Might's hair despite the Kryptonian elements incorporated into it.
* The ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''/''Film/Titanic1997'' fic “[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8342386/1/Never-Letting-Go Never Letting Go]]” sees Jack and Rose swap times and places with Bella and Edward, leaving Bella and Edward in Rose’s stateroom on the night of the sinking. Apart from [[spoiler:Jack surviving and Rose joining him in the future]], it appears that the sinking as a whole unfolded as it always did, with no clear sign that Edward’s presence on the ship saved anyone new (he insisted that Bella take a lifeboat but remained behind to go down with the ship until he and other survivors were rescued).

* The ''Naruto''[=/=]''Manga/OnePiece'' crossover fanfic ''FanFic/ShinobiOfTheHighSeas'' takes InSpiteOfANail to ridiculous extremes. Despite Naruto being there and regularly interacting with the Straw Hats (including adding Nami and Robin to his harem), every major event of the anime/manga happens without fail, even if he's there. It's to the point he completely misses the entire Marineford arc, only hearing of it second-hand.
* In ''Fanfic/ASpecialKindOfMagic'', it's been confirmed that ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' exists in both the MCU and Ren's home universe, despite the wildly different histories and timelines.

* According to Azmuth in the ''Fanfic/ThereWasOnceAnAvengerFromKrypton'' series, despite the circumstances always differing in how he acquires the Omnitrix, Ben's first alien is ''always'' Pyronite (except for the [[WesternAnimation/Ben102016 reboot]] where Ben's first alien is Fourarms). This is even the case for counterparts in universes where the species doesn't exist.

* During a story arc in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11742711/1/We-Choose-Good-Auradon-Force-Saga We Choose Good- Auradon Force Saga]]'' - depicting a world where the characters of ''Film/{{Descendants}}'' are chosen as Franchise/PowerRangers- at one point a time-altering spell causes the memories of almost all the Rangers to change so that they remember a world where the Villain Kids never left the Isle of the Lost and the characters were never chosen as Power Rangers. However, Aziz and Ally, the son of Aladdin and Jasmine and the daughter of Alice respectively, retain their memories of the original timeline despite the spell. They eventually deduce that this is because they would still have gotten together whether or not they were Rangers, whereas everyone else's life would have been drastically different; as a result, the spell basically failed to edit their memories, allowing Aziz and Ally to reassemble the team while Fairy Godmother recruits Zordon's Rangers to help the Auradon Rangers restore their powers.
* Creator/KhaosOmega invokes one in a story set during the events of ''Yu-Gi-Oh GX'': Anise (replacing Jaden, who thanks to a Meme Storm tangent is an Obelisk girl named Jade) is determined to avoid the Abandoned Dorm Incident fearing a Meme Storm-activated reincarnation tangent happens. Crowler and Titan, respectively the mastermind and instigator of the incident in both canon and the tangent Anise wants to avoid, willingly align with her. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, someone else overheard Titan's end of the call behind his aligning with Anise and took it upon themselves to make the incident happen anyway. To make matters worse for Anise, the new instigator's deck even included some cards to ensure one particular reincarnate met the requirements to trigger the condition codenamed '2811 Aether'. On learning just who the particular reincarnate is (the one friend of hers from her five-year stint at an otherworld brothel during her days thinking she was an orphan who actually saw the arrival of Fontina Evans the day after she left) via eavesdropping on a meeting involving the incident's four victims at the suggestion of a DAS member, her fury at the instigator is so high she fires an energy storm so massive she nearly rips an entire ''multiverse'' apart. At least said energy storm enabled her to finally fully burn off the Mark II curse tied into '2811 Aether'.]]

* ''Fanfic/TheChosenSix'';

** Accidental magic still ends up being used to get revenge on a bully during Dudley’s trip to the zoo for his eleventh birthday. Specifically, [[spoiler:Dudley himself ends up using his magic to trap his former friend Piers Polkiss in the monkey exhibit, as the latter purposely pretended to still be the former’s friend to enjoy a free trip to the zoo while giving the former a hard time]].

** Related to the above, Harry still becomes the Gryffindor seeker after one of the teachers sees his natural talent at flying when he catches Neville’s Remembrall. The difference here is that Madam Hooch is the one who sees him catch it after it falls out of Neville’s pocket when the latter was having trouble with his broomstick, whereas in canon, Professor [=McGonagall=] sees him catch it after Malfoy steals and drops it. Moreover, Harry insists on earning the position fairly by opening tryouts to all first years rather than just straight up accepting the offer.

* In ''Fanfic/TheLamentSeriesChaoticNeutral'', [[RealityWarpingIsNotAToy Wishes]] tend to [[RoleSwapAU shuffle the cast of the metaphorical play around]]. So there's still a villain, and heroes still rise up to stand against them, but the results vary depending on who winds up in what roles and other factors.

* The RecursiveFanfiction for the Lament Series, ''Fanfic/YourWishIsMyCommandMiraculousLadybug'', sees Lila make her wish to have Adrien’s life, creating a world where she is Gabriel Agreste’s daughter and Adrien lives with his mom, aunt and cousin. Despite many things changing, like Lila’s KarmaHoudiniWarranty becoming void having [[ControlFreak Gabriel]] as a father, and Adrien no longer being an ExtremeDoormat ''without'' Gabriel as a father, a few things remain unchanged.
** The heroes are still active, they’re just not Marinette and Adrien anymore.
** There is still an "Umbrella Scene" between the new holders.
** The Love Square is different now, too, as the heroes share mutual attraction to each other both in and out of the mask.
** Alya still creates a blog centered around the heroes, like the Ladyblog for Ladybug, dubbed CocciNews after the new Ladybug hero Coccinelle.
* The RoleSwapAU ''Fanfic/MiraculousTalesOfScarletBeetleAndIkatiBlack'' sees different characters take up the Ladybug, Black Cat, and Butterfly Miraculouses (Kim, Max, and Nathaniel, respectively); however, some things remain the same despite the circumstances.

* ''FanFic/OhYouDontHaveToDoThatCommunication''

** ''Fanfic/ShadowsTheHorrorMovieHeroes'': Izuku still saves Bakugou from the Sludge Villain in spite of All Might's time limit having run out for the day - [[EstablishingSeriesMoment appropriately enough]], its by exploiting the Sludge Villain's fear of All Might by bluffing that he was just down the street.

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Crisis on Two Equestrias''. When the Celestiaverse Twilight encounters the visitors from [[FanFic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse the Lunaverse]], she goes off on a rant about how despite the two universes having had radically different histories for the past millennium, the same ponies were still born, ended up in much the same places, and even developed recognizably similar personalities. She's well on her way to a full-fledged existential breakdown before Spike [[GetAholdOfYourselfMan helpfully pokes her]].

* In the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'', despite unforeseen circumstances like the Windigos, Discord's first reign, and Nightmare Moon, the version of Ponyville designed by the Alicorns and Draconequi during [[spoiler: the CosmicRetcon of G3]] still comes into existence as planned.
* FanFic/{{Quiververse}}: In this storyline, thanks to everything regarding Sunset Shimmer and a desire to avoid becoming a BrokenPedestal, Princess Celestia fills Twilight in on a number of things, particularly the Tree of Harmony. [[spoiler: Thanks to this foreknowledge, Twilight's able to put two and two together regarding the plundervines very quickly once the time comes, and convinces Discord to help deal with them. The vines, however, attack Discord, and she and the rest of the Mane Six are forced to return the Elements to the Tree of Harmony anyway.]]
* ''Fanfic/SliceOfVelvetAndPear'' has Twilight Sparkle and her mother meeting the Apple Family and becoming close friends with them as a filly, leading to her discovering ThePowerOfFriendship and moving to Ponyville early. But [[ForWantOfANail the Butterfly Effect of this]] leads to her never becoming Princess Celestia's student or Spike's main guardian. With Moondancer instead taking those roles. Despite this, Twilight Sparkle and her friends still go through the trials they went through and discover The Elements of Harmony of Harmony like in canon... But [[spoiler: The Element of Magic's now split between Twilight and Moondancer. Who then moves in with Twilight alongside Spike.]]

* In ''Fanfic/HoldingTheWorldOnTheirShoulders'', a RoleSwapAU where Cinder becomes Ironwood's NumberTwo, Winter Schnee becomes a Happy Huntress, and May Marigold becomes Salem's [[TheDragon Dragon]], Cinder still ends up losing one of her eyes. In the original show, it was burned out by Ruby's silver eyes. Here, it's [[spoiler:shot out by May, who actually intended on killing her, but had second thoughts at the last second]]

* A major premise of ''Fanfic/NotThisTimeFate'' is that no matter what Jaune does, he is never able to prevent both the Fall of Beacon and the death of ''at least'' one of his closest friends. In the one case in which he did so, he was killed almost immediately afterwards, resetting the timeline anyway. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that Fate itself was actively preventing him from succeeding]].

[[AC:''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'']]
* In ''Fanfic/TheSuperStarrChronicles'', the third and fourth chapters show the story's version of the events of the episode "Growing Pains". The X-Men and Brotherhood still have a brawl at Bayville High's soccer field. The difference is [[spoiler: instead of fighting each other, the X-Men and Brotherhood end up joining forces to fight [[http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/bountyss.htm Bounty]], a space bounty hunter who was after the Brotherhood's new members and mentor.]]

* In ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero'', practically every world [[OCStandIn Michikyuu Kanae]] has been to contains Kyon, and generally Haruhi.
* The ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' fanfic ''FanFic/ARoseAndAThorn 4'' features a character going back in time to save the Ark. Despite knowing everything that can happen, she still cannot stop the destruction of the Ark or the death of Maria. It all happens anyway, so ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' happens anyway.
* ''FanFic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40K'' is an inversion of this... it isn't the fanfic that needed the nail, it was ''canon''. It still plays the first several Angels almost completely to canon (with minor changes in character attitudes and relationships and much greater levels of awesomeness) but at about Chapters 15 to 20, depending on the reader, it suddenly stops being anything close to canon. Probably best summed up with the following line.
-->[[spoiler:'''Shinji''': Then hear my command. Send the assassins. Plant the evidence. All the things we talked about before...let it be done...Begin The Purge. Protect my city.]]

* ''FanFic/TheInfiniteLoops'' have this hardcoded into their premise. An anchor is intended to stabilize a universe, no matter how many variant loops it goes through. Though the Anchor can sometimes replace other characters within a Loop, so they aren't always playing the same role. Also, Fused Loops can have non-native Anchors present.
** There's a running gag in the ''MLP'' Loops where no matter what Twilight does, her library will end up being destroyed by the end of the Loop.
* Pretty much the whole point of the ''NewspaperComics/ForBetterOrForWorse'' FixFic ''Foobar''. Try as Elly might to use magic to make her future better, her very limited ability to influence events (and ignorance of the fact that her victims are aware of what she's trying to do) results in only a minor change in her surroundings. Said minor change is a true awareness of how damaged she is.

* Although history progressively changes over the course of the ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' AU fic ''FanFic/MonarchyOverTheDanube,'' some events still happen more or less as in real life, such as the Spanish Civil War and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Even further on, a few {{Historical Domain Character}}s still manage to become prominent heads of state, like Queen UsefulNotes/ElizabethII for England.
* To Paragon![[Franchise/MassEffect John Shepard]]'s shock, when he meets his Renegade!Female counterpart in ''[[FanFic/TheLifeIsAGameMultiverse Mass Effect: Life is a Game]]'', Jane says that she killed Wrex, Mordin and Legion in her first playthrough. Except, despite her joking about it, there is absolutely no way [[spoiler:she'd promote Uldina to the Council over Anderson]], something she and John are in complete agreement about.
** The fact that the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45PdtGDGhac divergent]] Paragon and Renegade paths both inevitably led to them facing down the Star Child in the same way at the same time ''really'' ticks her off.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10333814/1/In-the-Shadow-of-the-Moon In the Shadow of the Moon]]'' is a crossover fic where [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Homura Akemi]] lives in the [[Franchise/SailorMoon Moon Kingdom]] and Walpurgisnacht doesn't exist. But Madoka still dies, and Homura still [[spoiler:goes demon]]. Homura herself lampshades this trope, insisting that the narrator (Sailor Venus) cannot help her and shouldn't feel guilty about that.
* Despite the [[AlternateUniverse very]] [[DarkerAndEdgier different]] [[CrapsackWorld setting]] and tons of [=OCs=] added in, ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'' still [[BroadStrokes roughly follows]] the general plot arc of the original ''Anime/SonicX''. Sonic fights new villain, Cosmo arrives, the heroes go into space to find the Chaos Emeralds, meet several canon alien races, and the adventure ends with a huge final battle and [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice BittersweetEnding]].
** Also, the Seedrians are still utterly wiped out and Dark Oak forms the Metarex in both the canon and ''Dark Chaos'' universes, even though the ''Dark Chaos'' backstory is very different.

* ''FanFic/ThousandShinji'': In spite of his completely different upbringing, new powers and improved relationships with the remaining main characters, Shinji was unable to avert most of tragedies: [[spoiler:Touji still got crippled when Bardiel hijacked an Eva, he himself still got stuck inside Unit-01, Asuka still was mind-raped by Arael, Rei still blew up when she fought Armisael and Third Impact still happened.]]

* While non-[=DL6=] world in an ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' fanfic ''FanFic/ACompleteTurnabout'' is completely different from the one we know some things don't change. Phoenix and Iris still meet and fall in love, Phoenix and Maya still become friends, SL-9 still happens and [[spoiler: Karma still kills Gregory Edgeworth although much later]].

* In the ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Bloom|Mogatrat}}'', [[spoiler: Kate Marsh still gets drugged and assaulted at a Vortex Club party]], despite the fact that [[spoiler: the person responsible for that incident in the game, Mark Jefferson,]] has been AdaptedOut. However, [[spoiler: his absence does mean that Rachel Amber is alive and is able to intervene, getting Kate out of there and destroying the video of the incident that caused Kate a lot of trouble in the game.]]

* ''FanFic/LeaveForMendeleiev'' sees [[WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug Marinette]] transferred into Mendeleiev's classroom at the start of the series, rather than staying in Miss Bustier's. Despite this change, Alya still ends up creating the Ladyblog and pursuing Ladybug's identity... and despite the strain this naturally causes between them, she and Marinette gradually forge a connection, to the point of [[spoiler:making a new blog together after she deletes the original one]].
* ''Series/TheTudors'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Handmaid}}'' has a few examples:
** Anne still becomes Marquess of Pembroke, though in this case it was Katherine's idea (largely as an act of spite to Thomas Boleyn for his poor treatment of Anne).
** Anne still suffers a miscarriage for her second pregnancy. [[spoiler:Though, instead of being poisoned, she was pushed down a flight of stairs by Thomas Seymour]].
** Edward, Henry's son by Jane Seymour, is still born. [[spoiler:However, he is unambiguously a bastard and didn't reconcile with his father and siblings until he was twelve due to his mother and uncle being considered traitors. He's also born several years earlier, which is presumably why Jane survived his birth]].
** Jane still dies days after Edward's birth, [[spoiler:as she was charged with high treason months prior and was set to be executed after her son was born]].
** England and Scotland are eventually united under one crown [[spoiler: decades earlier when Henry and Anne's son Edmund marries Mary, Queen of Scots.]]

* In the ''Literature/GoodOmens'' fic ''Fanfic/ShiftingHeavenAndEarth'', Crowley didn't Fall and is instead an angel named Kralel who idolizes Gabriel and is sent to Earth to spy on Aziraphale who he looks down on for being potentially corrupted. Despite this, he and Aziraphale become good friends like in canon and he eventually Falls, adopts the demon name of Crowley, and helps Aziraphale thwart the Apocalypse. The summary of the Apocalypse-that-almost-was even lists all the major things that still remained the same in spite of Crowley and Aziraphale's different backgrounds.

* In ''Fanfic/WonderShock'', despite the story being set in the ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock}}'' universe, everything that took place in ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'' and ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' happened exactly the same way as they did in their games, with the only things changing being that the real-world settings were in Rapture rather than England. Though this is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] due to the games [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind taking place in Alice's mind]], so not much in Rapture would have any affect on them.

* Oh, god -- the gradually broadening, world-engulfing trope that is [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/403644/chapters/665489 OmegaVerse.]] A human culture that had normal male and female "betas", powerful "alphas" that ''whether they appear as male or female'' can impregnate, and "omegas" that ''whether they appear as male or female'' undergo periodic sexual "heats" during which they can be impregnated -- and during which they are irresistibly attracted to ''any'' alpha within scent range, said alpha inevitably reciprocating -- would not be in ''any'' conceivable way the same as ours. Not remotely.

* The ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' fanfic "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/1369843 When the Rest of the World Walks Out]]" is an AU of the famous ''[[ComicBook/DaredevilBornAgain Born Again]]'' arc. In the original story, after Matt gets disbarred by Wilson Fisk's machinations, Matt and Foggy part ways and don't meet up again for a long time. In this alternate story, Foggy decides to go to Matt's brownstone to make sure Matt's okay. He arrives just moments after Fisk blows up the brownstone, and finds Matt kneeling in the rubble clutching his costume. Most of the original story's beats still happen with altered details: Foggy learns Matt's identity now, something that wouldn't happen for another decade in the comics. Because of Foggy's presence, Matt is still very much active after Fisk's attempt to have him killed in the cab. As a result of Matt being active, he's able to thwart Fisk's attempt to get rid of [[SparedByTheAdaptation Nick Manolis]], the cop Fisk had bribed to discredit Matt. Spider-Man has a lengthy appearance that incorporates a meeting with Fisk from his comic line, along with Flash Thompson's legal troubles. Ultimately, all of the immediate problems (Fisk's vendetta, Matt's disbarment, Karen's addiction and stalker) are still solved and the characters end "Born Again" actually in roughly the same place they got to in canon, just a few years ahead of schedule and with a lot less angst and lies/miscommunication.

** In ''[[FanFic/{{Facade}} Façade]]'', despite the fact that Yu Narukami is [[GenderFlip female]], the plot chugs on as usual as far as events go. [[spoiler:Thus far at least -- Yu's budding friendship with Mitsuo might change things...]]

* Fanfic/KhaosOmega invokes one in a story set during the events of ''Yu-Gi-Oh GX'': Anise (replacing Jaden, who thanks to a Meme Storm tangent is an Obelisk girl named Jade) is determined to avoid the Abandoned Dorm Incident fearing a Meme Storm-activated reincarnation tangent happens. Crowler and Titan, respectively the mastermind and instigator of the incident in both canon and the tangent Anise wants to avoid, willingly align with her. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, someone else overheard Titan's end of the call behind his aligning with Anise and took it upon themselves to make the incident happen anyway. To make matters worse for Anise, the new instigator's deck even included some cards to ensure one particular reincarnate met the requirements to trigger the condition codenamed '2811 Aether'. On learning just who the particular reincarnate is (the one friend of hers from her five-year stint at an otherworld brothel during her days thinking she was an orphan who actually saw the arrival of Fontina Evans the day after she left) via eavesdropping on a meeting involving the incident's four victims at the suggestion of a DAS member, her fury at the instigator is so high she fires an energy storm so massive she nearly rips an entire ''multiverse'' apart. At least said energy storm enabled her to finally fully burn off the Mark II curse tied into '2811 Aether'.]]
** Anise later learns that the replacement instigator possesses a Meme Storm shield (codenamed 'Future Past') that protected him alone from interference by Io Martinez, who Fontina Evans and Michaela Martin had tasked with helping Anise get her desired 'normal' school-based mission. She only truly learns it when he intervenes late in her VideoGame/BombermanHero mission (having not only taken the disks Garaden needed to revive Bagular, Anise (in disguise as 'Jade Bomb') blindsiding Natia (disguised as Princess Millian), but also releasing a captured Nitros before Anise could break Garaden's brainwashing). Anise forces Bomberman to defend Bomber Base and protect Millian while she sorts out the revived earlier bosses plus Bagular (using her true form now).

* ''Fanfic/MyChoicesTwistedTalesThroughTime'': Despite all the social changes that Blue Star brought about and Luna's continued presence as a leader of Equestria, the world still developed very similarly, with Twilight still becoming Celestia's student, Shining Armor still developing a crush on Cadance, and so forth. WordOfGod is that this is an inherent trait of time travel in this setting: the timeline tries to stay as static as possible, and pushes probability around to do so; therefore, any change which can actually have a longterm effect on the timeline has to be ''big''.

* In the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'', despite unforeseen circumstances like the Windigos, Discord's first reign, and Nightmare Moon, the version of Ponyville designed by the Alicorns and Draconequi during [[spoiler: the CosmicRetcon of G3]] still comes into existence as planned.

* FanFic/{{Quiververse}}: In this storyline, thanks to everything regarding Sunset Shimmer and a desire to avoid becoming a BrokenPedestal, Princess Celestia fills Twilight in on a number of things, particularly the Tree of Harmony. [[spoiler: Thanks to this foreknowledge, Twilight's able to put two and two together regarding the plundervines very quickly once the time comes, and convinces Discord to help deal with them. The vines, however, attack Discord, and she and the rest of the Mane Six are forced to return the Elements to the Tree of Harmony anyway.]]

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Crisis on Two Equestrias''. When the Celestiaverse Twilight encounters the visitors from [[FanFic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse the Lunaverse]], she goes off on a rant about how despite the two universes having had radically different histories for the past millennium, the same ponies were still born, ended up in much the same places, and even developed recognizably similar personalities. She's well on her way to a full-fledged existential breakdown before Spike [[GetAholdOfYourselfMan helpfully pokes her]].

* ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'':
** As chapter 10 of ''Diplomacy Through Schooling'' notes, even without Spike's presence during the events of "It's Not Easy Being Breezies", some of the Breezies ''still'' got separated from the rest of their group and had to be helped back home.
** [[spoiler: Despite an early warning that something had escaped from Tartarus, Tirek is still able to avoid detection and launch his attack.]]

* ''Fanfic/NewVegasShowtime'': Despite Ryuji taking the Courier's place in Old World Blues, the events (at least initially) unfold more or less as in canon, [[spoiler:implying there's something special about Ryuji's brain, equivalent to the Courier's brain damage from the double tap]].

* "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13541656/1/Anatomy-of-a-Secret Anatomy of a Secret]]" looks at [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]] at the start of Sisko's second year of command in [[Film/StarTrek2009 the world created by Nero]]. Despite the other changes caused by such events as the destruction of Vulcan, the station's senior staff still include Benjamin Sisko, Kira Nerys, Odo, Quark, and Julian Bashir (nothing is said to indicate whether O'Brien is there or he's been replaced). While Jadzia Dax is not the station's science officer, she arrives on DS9 as part of a scientific study and ends up revealing her true nature to Sisko.

* ''Fanfic/PurpleDays'': Being a fic where there's a GroundhogDayLoop, there's quite a bit of this alongside ForWantOfANail. Notably, it's very damn difficult for [[GroundhogPeggySue Joffrey]] to avoid the War of the Five Kings or a parallel breaking out due to the schemers of King's Landing, or to avoid Ned Stark dying. Robert is pretty much already a dead man walking before the loop starts, because even without the boar and wine that caused his death the original timeline, Robert's body is simply ''too'' unhealthy from a lifetime of multiple excesses to keep going for much longer by the starting point of the loop.

* A major premise of ''Fanfic/NotThisTimeFate'' is that no matter what Jaune does, he is never able to prevent either the Fall of Beacon or Pyrrha's death; in the one case in which he did so, he was killed almost immediately afterwards, resetting the timeline anyway. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that Fate itself was preventing him from succeeding]].

* ''Fanfic/PurpleDays'': Being a fic where there's a GroundhogDayLoop, there's quite a bit of this alongside ForWantOfANail. Notably, it's very damn difficult for [[GroundhogPeggySue Joffrey]] to avoid the War of the Five Kings or a parallel breaking out due to the schemers of King's Landing, or to avoid Ned Stark dying. Robert is pretty much already a dead man walking before the loop starts, because even without the boar and wine of the original timeline, Robert's body is simply too unhealthy by the starting point of the loop.

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': Although the story's events create [[ForWantOfANail some]] [[AlternateUniverseFic divergences]] from ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' and its spin-offs, other things remain the same:
** Despite the Titans from [[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 the Mass Awakening]] remaining awake in this continuity instead of returning to hibernation, it's hinted [[spoiler:Camazotz]] will still [[spoiler:invade Skull Island]] as in ''Kingdom Kong''.

** [[spoiler:Apex Cybernetics still obtain a remnant of Ghidorah via a black market dealing (though not a piece of the three-headed creature itself this time)]], and they obtain it just over a year after the events of ''Godzilla: King of the Monsters''[[note]][[spoiler:The ''Godzilla vs. Kong'' novelization, which has a bad case of WritersCannotDoMath regarding chronology consistency with the years, indicates Apex buying Ghidorah's remains occurred roughly fourteen months after Ghidorah's death at Boston]][[/note]].
* [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/34734553/ This]] ''Abraxas'' RecursiveFanfiction by [=SyfyGuy2=] has one across the last two stories, which are set in alternate timelines to each-other. In both the Genocide Route[[note]]A timeline where the Titans have [[AfterTheEnd reset the clock on human civilization]][[/note]] and the Coexistence Route[[note]]The Titans and humanity have found a lasting coexistence with each-other[[/note]], [[AdaptationalHeroism Monster X]] travels across the world to Mothra's shrine [[spoiler:to see an older Madison Russell]], and X is delayed by a Franchise/MonsterVerse antagonistic creature which Monster X duels and defeats.

** The time between Shen's takeover of Gongmen City and the Furious Five's arrival is changed from three days to three weeks for pacing reasons, but the overall plot from [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2 the movie]] still remains largely unchanged.

[[AC:''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'']]

[[AC:''Franchise/{{Persona}}'']]
* ''VideoGame/Persona4'':
** In ''[[FanFic/{{Facade}} Façade]]'', despite the fact that Yu Narukami is [[GenderFlip female]], the plot chugs on as usual as far as events go. [[spoiler:Thus far at least -- Yu's budding friendship with Mitsuo might change things...]]
* ''VideoGame/Persona5'':
** At the end of the PeggySue fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/8665855/chapters/19866451 Succession]]'', despite all of Akechi's changes to the timeline, [[spoiler:Akira Kurusu still comes to Tokyo to live with Sojiro and attend Shujin Academy for his second year of high school. The details are vastly different, though; in this timeline, Wakaba's survival dramatically increases the popularity of [=LeBlanc=], to the point where Sojiro needs to hire a part-time employee to keep up. Akira is able to accept due to not being framed for assault by Shido, and so he comes to [=LeBlanc=] to line his own pockets with spending money.]]
** ''Webcomic/Persona5AdultConfidantAU'':
*** While all the others characters have [[AgeLift had their ages]] [[RoleSwapAU and roles adjusted]] for the story, Igor still retains his usual appearance and role as head of the Velvet Room. According to WordOfGod, this is because the age swap only applies to ''Persona 5'' exclusive characters, while Igor is a recurring character throughout the series.
*** Even as a teenager, Kawakami still works at a maid café.
*** The first mission is still about a Shujin authority figure's sexual harassment and rape of someone close to one of the leads, who eventually attempts suicide as a result. Kamoshida is also present (as a JerkJock rather than a CreepyGymCoach), is still a creep, and managed to hurt Shiho (previously ''his'' gym teacher) anyway.
*** Wakaba Isshiki still dies, leaving Futaba with SurvivorsGuilt. [[spoiler:The events eventually lead up to her becoming a Palace target as in canon]].
*** In spite of not being the Phantom Thieves in this universe, Futaba is still portrayed as being friends with the other members.

[[AC:''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'']]
* ''Fanfic/{{Martyshka}}'':
** Despite having been raised under the name "Rasha" instead of "Razputin", everyone still calls him "Raz" for short.
** Raz and Lili are still friends in this version and Raz develops a crush on her.
** Norma is still an AlphaBitch that antagonizes Raz, though by the events of the story they had fallen into a FriendlyRivalry.
* ''Fanfic/RazputinVodelloAU'':
** While the circumstances of Raz's presence at the Motherlobe are completely different, Raz still winds up exploring Helmut, Compton, Bob and Cassie's minds and fixes their respective minds much like his canon-counterpart.
*** While Raz alerts Otto of Helmut's brain in the Brainframe, Raz still has to go in Helmut's mind to help him process his sensory overload and regain all of his memories. In this case, it's due a malfunction in Otto's machine meant to ease Helmut into it one at a time.
*** While this version of Helmut meets with Bob before Raz can fix him, Bob is too far into his alcohol-infused angst to listen. When Raz and Helmut enter his mind, Helmut is too weak to stay and his astral projection fades out, leaving Raz to fix things himself.
** Even with Nona dead in this version, the story still ends with a volatile hydrokinetic rampaging across Green Needle Gulch and the Quarry. [[spoiler:In this case, it's Raz.]]