Worth the Candle
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Worth the Candle |
| Abbreviation(s): | WTC or WtC |
| Creator: | Alexander Wales |
| Date(s): | 2017 - 2021 |
| Medium: | webnovel length: 1.65M words in 254 chapters |
| Country of Origin: | United States |
| External Links: | Royal Road mirror AO3 mirror, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Worth the Candle is a webnovel by Alexander Wales. It draws on tropes of isekai and LitRPG or gamerfic.
Canon
A teenager struggling after the death of his best friend finds himself in a fantasy world - one which seems to be an amalgamation of every Dungeons and Dragons campaign they ever played together. Now he's stuck trying to find the answers to why he's there and what this world is trying to say. The most terrifying answer might be that this world is an expression of the person he was back on Earth.summary from RoyalRoad
In adition to the main storyline, Alexander Wales has published worldbuilding notes and sidestories. Listed in publication order:
- The Council of Arches (May 2018) -- side story recounting the main characters' TTRPG game that they play during ch 56 of Worth the Candle
- Darili Irid (November 2018) -- rewrite of ch 136 of Worth the Candle using Groglir (Dwarven language in the story) vocabulary and gender conventions
- Worth the Candle: A Brief Description of Aerb )(September 2019 - May 2021) -- a worldbuilding discussion of Aerb in general
- Variations (August 2020) - a short story taking place in Aerb that is completely unrelated to the main cast and plotlines
- A Worth the Candle Christmas Special (December 2020) -- a noncanonical side story referencing events and characters up to ch 125 of Worth the Candle
- Worth the Candle: The Exclusionary Principle, 9th Edition (May - July 2023) -- a field guide to Exclusion Zones. Was deliberately written to a resource for people running TTRPGs based on Aerb.
Fandom Overview
One of Alexander Wales' most popular works, as of October 2024 it has over 1 million hits on AO3[1] and over 6 million views on Royal Road[2].
Like much of Alexander Wales' writing, the webnovel was a hit in the online Rationalist community, with chapter updates regularly being discussed on r/Rational.[3] as well as on Wales' fan discord server (invite linked below).
A large portion of fanac (including fanfics, memes, and art) are shared primarily said discord server.
Like some other small fandoms whose source material is posted to AO3, the "Worth the Candle" fandom tag was originally synned to "Original Works".[4] Fans of the series have saved searches for finding fanworks on ao3[5] However, as of October 2024 the tag was desynned and canonized as its own fandom.
Example Fanworks
Fanfic
- Out, Brief, Archived version by by HonoreDB -- in which Juniper, apparently back on earth, encounters each of his companions. A deliberately ambiguous treatment of whether Aerb is real.
- Glimmers From a Fluttering Candle by ManMagnificent -- a Ward/WTC crossover in which Victoria Dallon is dropped in the Risen Lands along with Joon and Amaryllis.
Fanart
- A Hexal Map of Aerb by bacontime, was canonized by Alexander Wales.
- Onion Penndraig by mugasofer, 2021
- Oorang Solace and the Six-Eyed Doe by mugasofer, 2021
- Fanfic Exclusion Zone, by bacontime, 2023 -- proposes a fanon "Slug Exclusion Zone"
- more examples of fanon Exclusion Zones in Worth the Candle Exclusions collection on AO3
Fan Videos
Other
Resources
- Worth the Candle on TVTropes
- Alexander Wales discord server for readers of Wales' works (including WTC)
References
- ^ 7 September snapshot on archive.org
- ^ 21 September snapshot on archive.org
- ^ Worth the Candle - All ,. For an example thread, Reddit post for discussion of Ch. 237-238
- ^ Worth the Candle tag on AO3.
- ^ WtC fanfic may be found on AO3 by searching keywords, posted to Alexander Wales' discord server.