It is the Virtual 2040's. Our protagonist wakes up face-down in the sands of the Shores of Awakening - a starter area of their favorite VRMMO, Another World Online: Mundane Phantasy Historia - as avatar Deedee Yeowoo, a foxgirl healer. Something's wrong - she can't log out, and as part of the lategame raiding guild, Dungeon-Crawling And Chill, shouldn't be at first level. Moreover, she's not alone - at least some of her friends in the guild, as well as the wide-eyed newbie streamer Ace Striker, are along for the ride.
How can they survive such an adventure friendly - which is to say, violent and monster-filled - world? Why are they here? And why does this avatar feel more comfortable to Deedee Yeowoo's player than her real life body ever did?
Volume 1 of a queer cyberpunk MMO isekai story about a gamer just realizing they're transgender.
I/O is by Talia Belser and the Other Worlds Tourism Bureau, made available under a Creative Commons 4.0 BY-SA-NC license. Cover image by Quantum Vaudeville (https://quantumvaudeville.tumblr.com/commission).
Now available as an ebook on itch.io! https://taliaellib.itch.io/vol1rebornontheshoresofawakening
The sequel, "Isekai/Online Volume 2: Out-Of-Bounds Interactions" is now live on Scribblehub!
- Epilogue, by BiiDec 21, 2021
- Chapter 23: Outside Context ProblemsDec 21, 2021
- Chapter 22: Duties CompletedDec 21, 2021
- Chapter 21: And Her Eyes OpenDec 15, 2021
- X4p73r_$_14: #str: The Tower Sways, The Mikvah WelcomesDec 15, 2021
- Chapter 19: Griefer MadnessDec 14, 2021
- Chapter 18: Mouse Hunting EarsDec 9, 2021
- Chapter 17: A Hairline CrackDec 8, 2021
- Chapter 16: To Spit On His Hands, And Hoist A Black FlagNov 4, 2021
- Chapter 15: Every Man Must At Times Be Tempted…Nov 2, 2021
- Chapter 14: Motte and Baliey TacticsOct 15, 2021
- Chapter 13: Lead Soldiers Were N’eer Meant To Leave Lead Widows Or Lead OrphansOct 15, 2021
- Chapter 12: Palisades and PlunderersOct 12, 2021
- Chapter 11: A Stoppered FoxhornOct 6, 2021
- X4p73r_$_0A: #str: “See It Very Well”Oct 6, 2021
- Content Warning
Creative Commons- Completed
- 233 reading
- 75 plan to read
- 46 completed
- 11 paused
- 21 dropped
Very nice start.
Great cast, fun setting, intriguing mystery.
I am very much enjoying the depth there appears for the characters. Not some shallow 1D or 2D cutouts, but people who had actual lives and relationships before the story started, and how it impacts how they act. Of course, it's all preliminary. Only so far you can dive into that sort of thing in 26k words.
The pictures are also a nice addition as well. It's always nice to have art to help reinforce the various descriptions. I hope the main casts' art is reused each volume to help cement their image to the readers, as repetition helps a lot, and it's easy to skip for those who have a good memory.
If I had to place a downside, it's that the story is divided up by volumes as separate series.
In theory, this is how the system should be used, however in practice I fear that it would only make it more difficult to find this great start of a story.
Either way, great story so far!
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