Submitted by sagittaoftime! Thanks, saggitaoftime!

Blurb: The apocalypse has been cancelled, thanks to the work of scientists Hermann Gottleib and Newton Geizler (although they aren't the rockstars in the giant mecha). Then Hermann has to save Newton from bureaucracy's need to make sure he isn't going to try to get the world-destroying kaiju back, prompting them to move to a new city and start over. After everything that's happened, though, that's going to involve a lot of missteps, miscommunications, and misapprehensions.

Why is it worth your time?: Beautiful prose, accurate descriptions of the weird workings of the human brain, two friends stumbling their way through an asexual romance, it's about living through the end of the world and dealing with the mundanity of life while struggling with trauma. Its ability to pull out the raw human emotion from a summer blockbuster action movie showcases the best of what fanfiction can be. Also has so many references to various fields of science and math and philosophy such that, if you are acquainted in some depth with any of them, you will have a moment of "Hey! I know what they're referencing!"

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse: high focus, people: copies, people: the dead [i.e., copies of dead people], relationships: enmity, relationships: teamwork, type: setting-specific, type: non-switching [mostly; characters switch at two points, but it's experienced as a bug, not a feature]

Content Warnings: Per the author: "The story contains realistic depictions of neurological, physical, and bureaucratic trauma. The prose is powerful. Stop reading if it triggers you. All of that being said, like everything I write, I consider this to be a hopeful story about the ways to carry something beautiful in your heart during the darkest of times." Additionally, there's a point at which Newt goes on top of a very tall wall in an inadvisable mental state (not suicidal but like he's not Okay either), alcohol is consumed at various points, Newt can't stand the sight of the tattoos that cover most of his body, Newt and Hermann Have Issues, frequent references to past character death, horrible communication, frequent semi-graphic flashbacks but no on-screen abuse, grief, not so much ableism as being extremely frustrated with disability preventing you from climbing into a giant robot to fight kaiju, vague unhappy family relations on Newt's part... look, humanity had to fight world-destroying kaiju for twelve years, and everyone and everything is messed up from it. Newt gets nosebleeds a lot. People throw up once or twice but it's not really described. There's neurologist visits. You might think sex is about to happen but it never does and everyone's chill with that. It's life. Also Newt cuts his (and Hermann's) hand open at one point to put in a little computer chip so he can control the lights by snapping his fingers. Also Newt starts experiencing psychosis from sleep deprivation. Also coerced consent to medical procedures (off-screen), traumatic medical procedures (off-screen but the consequences make up a majority of the story). The stress of suddenly being a global superstar (mostly background, Newt's living under a rock). The AO3 tags say self-harm, I think it's in the sense of reckless behavior.

Accessibility Notes: Available on Archive of Our Own (and thus in various EPUB, HTML, and PDF formats) and on the author's website (in webpages, EPUB, and PDF; EPUB and PDF are the 2013 edition that seems to be identical to the 2025 one but I can't tell). Chapters 1 through 21 (of 28 total) are available as an audiobook here, in MP3 format. Website is mobile friendly.

Misc. Notes (if any): It also has a prequel/sequel and a prequel-sequel, which are in the process of being re-uploaded. (yes the author refers to them as that)

Submitted by acorn_squash! Thank you, acorn_squash!

"My age has nothing whatever to do with the age of Andreas, as I did not share flesh and blood with Andreas from the beginning. It was Andreas who possessed supremacy over this body for almost a lifetime. And it was only later that I developed in our common body, so that this body evolved until there was no longer any room for Andreas."

Blurb: In March 1930 Danish artist Einar Wegener entered Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Science (Institut für Sexualwissenschaft) in Berlin, to be interviewed, examined, and photographed before embarking on a series of surgeries that, according to the thinking of the day, would transform him into a woman. Man into Woman (1933) is the life narrative of Lili Ilse Elvenes, popularly known as Lili Elbe and considered by some scholars (and by the narrative itself) to be the first person to undergo what was then called genital transformation surgery (Genitalumwandlung). Elbe’s life story, initially published in 1931 as Fra Mand til Kvinde [From Man into Woman], is the first full-length narrative of a subject who undergoes a surgical change in sex. We would now call this gender confirmation surgery, but Lili saw herself as a distinct person from Einar (Andreas Sparre in the narrative). (from Publication History on LiliElbe.org)

Why is it worth your time?: Lili Elbe gets a lot of attention as (for example) the only trans woman ever to have a uterus transplant, but I had no idea she was plural before I read this. Though she died young, Elbe lived a full and happy life and was accepted and supported by Gerda Wegener (Einar Wegener’s wife) from the beginning. It’s fascinating to learn about her experience as a trans woman in early 20th century Europe and to see how she and others conceptualized her multiplicity.

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse: low-focus, closeting, creator speaks from experience, type: switching

Content Warnings for the American Edition: headmate death, depression, suicidal thoughts, homophobia, transmisogyny, random transmisandry (page 51), corporeal punishment, forced kisses, blood, language now considered ableist

Accessibility Notes: Free, online, and screenreadable in English, Danish, and German. All versions archived on the Wayback Machine.

Misc. Notes: Skip the introduction. It’s not worth reading.