fractals56

"This is the strange life of my family. We are the likenesses of ancient figures, but we are not those people. We are only ourselves."

Blurb: Michelangelo's David and a street mural on the side of a donut shop fall in love. What is life to artwork, away from human eyes?

Why is it worth your time?: There are a bunch of works in this catalog about the independent life of fictional beings, but this is the only one I've found where the human creators/audience are completely not involved and the focus is on the statue and mural's relationship to EACH OTHER. The art is gorgeous, and it's short and free to read online; give it a shot!

Plural Tags: abuse not mentioned, otherworld, fictioneers (Michelangelo's David), romantic relationships

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Not screenreadable. Available for free reading on bsky and pillowfort, or as a $10 ebook in the creator's Shorts Collection.

"That was her true gift to them: she taught them how to keep hoping in the face of the world that told them their memories were delusions, their lived experiences were lies, and there dreams were never going to come true. Perhaps that was her secret for engendering loyalty in a student body that was otherwise disinclined to trust adults, listen to them, or answer when they called. She believed."

Blurb: Jack and Jill were twins sent to a Gothic mad science world, and when they got kicked out, they came to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children until they could return. Now Jack's back again, having been bodyjacked by Jill; can she get her own body back, save her twice-dead mentor, and keep her undead girlfriend going? Lucky for her, she has other wayward child heroes to help her...

Why is it worth your time?: The Wayward Children series is a weird edge case; many a gateway system, fictionkin, or walk-in can sympathize with the longing to return to a world very unlike this one, and McGuire expresses that longing and need beautifully. It also has one of the best depictions of body dissonance I've ever seen; Jack and Jill might be identical twins, but their bodies are NOT the same, and Jack KNOWS it. The whole series may be well worth a look, though even Come Tumbling Down doesn't exactly have bodySHARING, just bodyswapping and theft.

Plural Tags: abuse intermediate focus, bodyhopping, otherworld, enmity, setting-specific

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: Available in hardback, paperback, audiobook, and ebook.

Misc Notes: Though Come Tumbling Down is #5 in this series, if you only want the Jack and Jill books, you can read #1 (Every Heart a Doorway) and #2 (Down Among the Sticks and Bones). Honestly, I would've preferred to have read #2 first. If you want those books, #1 is available in Hebrew, Portuguese, and German, while #2 is available in German and Portuguese.

"-- I am not a monkey, she signs. -- I am a girl.

Blurb: A chimp, taught ASL and implanted with the personality of a man's dead daughter, is raised as that daughter until his death. Taken to a scientific research facility, it's up to Rachel to decide who and what she is, and how she wants her life to go.

Why is it worth your time?: Rachel's experience of species dissonance, deciding where she fits in (among humans? among apes?) and reconciling her past, human self with her current chimpanzee self feels relevant to anyone who's had to undergo a major identity change (and move from one species to another). Check it out!

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse not mentioned, identityblending, copies, nonhumans (chimpanzee), setting-specific, serially singlet

Content Warnings: Contain spoilers; see comments

Accessibility Notes: Available in German, Dutch, Japanese, and French. This story has been reprinted oodles of times, and is available in paperback, hardback,

Misc. Notes (if any): This story has also won some awards. It's well-reputed!