Figure 2. Schematic stress histories of connected branch and transform faults. The branch fault ruptures when it reaches the static failure threshold, causing the shear stress to suddenly drop. As the rupture slams into the transform, shear heating and pore fluid pressurization of the damage zone cause a sudden drop in sliding friction on the transform, enabling it to rupture prematurely (with the attendant shear stress drop), long before it has reached the failure threshold. The jump from branch fault to transform happens within a handful of seconds; the entire transform takes another minute or so to rupture because the fault is hundreds of kilometers long. Credit: after Stein and Bird, SRL (2024)