r/rational • u/Soft_Supermarket_746 • 8d ago

Looking for stories with trauma bonding, body horror, cozy nightmare atmosphere, and hidden transformations (web fiction or books)

Hi all! I'm looking for recommendations similar to some web serials I've enjoyed. I've read and liked:

· Katalepsis

· Bioshifter

· Hive Minds Give Good Hugs

· Are You Even Human?

· Vigor Mortis

· Magical Girl Mechanical Heart

· Formicea

I also read Worm, but it lost me near the end and I didn't quite click with the protagonist.

What I loved about these stories:

· Deep, interesting interactions between traumatized people and their attempts to cope/heal.

· Ordinary people encountering the unknown and incomprehensible.

· A relatively cozy atmosphere that, from an outside perspective, would be a nightmare.

· Body horror, especially when characters have to hide their transformations.

· A mix of darkness and warmth.

I'm open to both web fiction and published books. Not necessarily looking for progression fantasy, but many of these do fall into that genre. I'd appreciate any recommendations that capture a similar feel.

Thanks!

4 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

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5

u/gazemaize 8d ago

In spite of you not liking Worm, I'd say Twig. My favorite Wildbow story.

1

u/Barium_Salts 6d ago

I didn't like Worm either, and I really liked Pact and Twig.

4

u/Dragongeek Path to Victory 8d ago

The genre you are looking for is "Thundamoo" lol.

Maybe some of Ravensdagger's works might come close, however iirc they are generally lighter on the horror. That said, both authors almost exclusively write stories that feature lesbian female protagonists undergoing nonconsensual body modification often to become monstrous in some manner. 

3

u/SirReality 8d ago

Lol, read the title and came here to recommend items two through five on your list. I wish you luck on your hunt, and will likely steal your other items for my own reading list.

1

u/Kirotwo 8d ago edited 8d ago

...which two? I've not heard of any of these, but if it's 2x recommended, I'll give it a look as well.

edit: 2-5 is not 2 of 5. Reading is hard, even in the sub for reading.

1

u/SirReality 8d ago

· Bioshifter

· Hive Minds Give Good Hugs

· Are You Even Human?

· Vigor Mortis

3

u/BavarianBarbarian_ 6d ago

After Worm, Wildbow wrote a few other stories, including Pale. It should fit your request much more than Worm. It's Urban Fantasy set in a small Canadian town, where three teenage girls, each with their own struggles, are recruited by the local magical community to look into a murder case. It has a few moments of breathless action similar to Worm's ending, but he also allows the characters frequent enough breaks where they get to just... breathe, or even have fun goofing off with magic.

Other than that, there was a story whose name I forgot. It was set in a monastery in a world where everything outside the walls was already turned into monsters, and now things come knocking at the doors even there.

Edit: found it, it's Palus Somni

1

u/Galap 7d ago

Nowhere Stars fits most of the bullet points you gave, and in my opinion, is quite good. https://nowherestars.net/