History Literature / WorthTheCandle

*** Turns out [[spoiler:our Juniper is actually just a copy of the original Juniper, instead of a wholesale transfer to another world. [[TheOmnipotent The Game Master]] made the original Juniper an offer. Oh, and the typical "died and ended up in another world" protagonist? That already happened, and it was Juniper's best friend, who became the aforementioned legendary king. The story goes into great detail how that loss affected Juniper and his friends, which most of those Isekai stories ignore. And they weren't the only ones sent over; most just weren't as successful at causing changes.]]

* TheoryOfNarrativeCausality: Frequently discussed and [[spoiler:partially Jossed. According to the Dungeon Master, it doesn't have nearly as much weight as the characters seem to think.]]Despite this, after [[spoiler: Fenn's death]] Amarylliss bushes for it even harder.

* FromASingleCell: One of the many reasons Fel Seed is impossible to get rid of, although even literally destroying all life within its exclusion zone (as confirmed by a god) didn't stop it from coming back.

* MedievalStasis: Aerb has SchizoTech. Aside from certain technologies (such as nuclear weapons in particular) being "excluded", one reason for this is that the Infinite Library has books describing that certain technologies, such as cathode-ray tubes, turn out to have strange properties that lead to disaster when mass produced, so the librarians take action to preven them from being invented. This is why Aerb has radio but not television.

* MedievalStasis: Aerb has SchizoTech. Aside from certain technologies (such as nuclear weapons in particular) being "excluded", one reason for this is that the Infinite Library has books describing that certain technologies, such as cathode-ray tubes, turn out to have stramge properties that lead to disaster when mass produced, so the librarians take action to preven them from being invented. This is why Aerb has radio but not television.

* GameBreakingBug: The "game layer" seemed to break for a moment when Juniper made "[Null Pointer Exception]" a companion and raised her loyalty to 10.

* SpeakOfTheDevil: Saying the name [[spoiler: Creator/ShiaLaBoeuf]] summons a horror movie villain version of him that will inevitably kill the person who says the name, along with anyone else in the area he feels like killing.

* GameBreaker: [[invoked]] Anything that's too powerful or world-destroying tends to get "excluded", restricted to a single individual and/or geographic region.

* SelfDuplication: Doris Finch learned how to do this when she was nine years old. Unfortunately she grew up to be a total bitch, and there are now about nine million of her in the exclusion zone that her and her power are restricted to.

* SpeakOfTheDevil: Saying the name [[spoiler: Shia LaBoeuf]] summons a horror movie villain version of him that will inevitably kill the person who says the name, along with anyone else in the area he feels like killing.

* TookALevelInKindness: Juniper was a total JerkAss to his friends on Earth after Arthur died. He's aware of this and has been trying to be better to his friends on Aerb, but being aware of his flaws - that he's basically an immature, self-centered teenager who doesn't understand people very well - only goes so far in helping him actually act like a better person.

* SelfInsertFic: Juniper, purportedly - though the author keeps quiet about the extent to which Juniper is an AuthorAvatar, .

* SuddenGameInterface: It's revealed at the end of the first chapter that Juniper has access to a character sheet that appears when he closes his eyes for three seconds - but even before that there are text pop-ups.

* TheoryOfNarrativeCausality: Frequently discussed and [[spoiler:partially Jossed. According to the Dungeon Master, it doesn't have nearly as much weight as the characters seem to think.]]

** Juniper's stat growth directly changes his body, mind and values. Instead of gleefully exploiting it like in, say, any given fanfic based on ''WebComic/TheGamer'', the cast spends plenty of time agonising over the terrifying existential implications of this - only to go ahead and exploit it anyway, because it's the only way to survive.

''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/11478249 Worth the Candle]]'' is an ongoing "TrappedInAnotherWorld" WebSerialNovel by big-name RationalFic writer Alexander Wales (of ''Fanfic/TheMetropolitanMan'' fame) under his "[[https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/7x3ifv/rtwip_worth_the_candle_ch_76_date_night_start/#du56bh2 cthulhuraejepsen]]" PenName. The story's first few chapters were released in July 2017, and it has periodically updated ever since.

[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/11478249?view_full_work=true Worth the Candle]] by cthulhuraejepsen ([[https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/7x3ifv/rtwip_worth_the_candle_ch_76_date_night_start/#du56bh2 a pseudonym of Alexander Wales]]) is a litRPG portal fantasy self-insert that follows a teenager from Kansas who finds himself trapped in a world that seems to be drawing inspiration from many of the places that he created for his weekly D&D games. The plot mostly follows the protagonist, Juniper Smith, and the traveling companions that he picks up along the way.

* {{Deconstruction}}: Of "TrappedInAnotherWorld" and Isekai stories.

** The first girl Juniper meets is a merciless killer who attempts to sacrifice him on several occasions, which she admits, and is largely frosty. He's still attracted to her, which he knows isn't healthy. Oh, and she openly admits she wants to exploit his powers for her benefit. She's like Kwon Shi-Yun from ''WebComic/TheGamer'', or an archetypal {{Kuudere}}, except she's ''actually'' vaguely sociopathic, possibly to the point of an AmbiguousDisorder.
** The world contains certain elements from Juniper's DM notes, and his stat growth actually changes the way he thinks. Instead of gleefully exploiting it like in, say, any given fanfic based on ''WebComic/TheGamer'', the cast actually sits down and discusses the terrifying existential implications. And when they try to game or understand the narrative, they frequently tie themselves in logical knots.
** Many areas have what amounts to evil magical overlords...which are magically isolated from the rest of the world, because ''nobody can actually defeat them''. And they do a lot worse than [[OrcusOnHisThrone sitting on their throne in black armor]].
** Amaryllis is a beautiful ActionGirl princess who's the most direct descendant of the legendary king from ages past. Her family is chock-full of intrigue and backstabbing, and she's as cutthroat as any other member.
** Speaking of said legendary king, he never really got to enjoy peace because plot hooks kept coming up. The characters figure being near him, especially as a lover, [[StuffedIntoTheFridge might have been actively dangerous]].
** The historical record of said king is fragmented and occasionally contradictory, because he lived and vanished centuries ago.
** Juniper tries a DangerousForbiddenTechnique - not to defeat a bad guy, but simply to survive. Thing is, he didn't actually know enough to know it was a DFT, and it just leaves him more fragile instead of killing him.
** Video games are often designed to give the player a rush of dopamine upon leveling up. This still happens to Juniper, ''and'' heals his injuries, so it starts trending toward an addiction in a hurry.
* FlashbackEcho: The main story is often broken up by relevant flashbacks to Juniper's gaming group in Kansas.

* LampshadeHanging: All over the place, mostly by Juniper, who is well-versed in fantasy and tropes.

* NatureAdoresAVirgin: Unicorns like virgins. This is not depicted as a good or healthy thing, and more as a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything psychosexual obsession with purity]]. They are also incredibly deadly when people try to take their girls away.

* NotUsingTheZWord: People get up in arms when Juniper uses that word.
* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Mostly played straight, except that they're a literal OneGenderRace thanks to BizarreAlienSexes.

* RationalFic: The film seems to be a rational look at TrappedInAnotherWorld stories.
* SelfInsertFic: Juniper, purportedly.
* SuddenGameInterface: It's revealed at the end of the first chapter that Juniper has access to a character sheet that appears when he closes his eyes for three seconds, but even before that there are text pop-ups.
* TabletopRPG: The primary focus of the story, both in flashbacks and in the elements of the world. At one point the primary characters sit down to play a game-within-a-game.
* TitleDrop: Juniper finishes his "prayer" to the DM by making a list of the things he wants, and remarks "that's the only way that this game is ever going to be worth the candle."
* TheEveryman: Juniper is specifically mentioned as looking "like a default character".
* TheoryOfNarrativeCausality: Discussed and [[spoiler:partially Jossed. According to the DM, it doesn't have nearly as much weight as the characters seem to think.]]

** The first girl Juniper meets is a merciless killer who attempts to sacrifice him on several occasions, which she admits, and is largely frosty. He's still attracted to her, which he knows isn't healthy. Oh, and she openly admits she wants to exploit his powers for her benefit.
** The world contains certain elements from Juniper's DM notes, and his stat growth actually changes the way he thinks. This has no small amount of existential implications, which the characters regularly discuss. And when they try to game or understand the narrative, they frequently tie themselves in logical knots.

** Amaryllis is a beautiful Action girl princess who's the most direct descendant of the legendary king from ages past. Her family is chock-full of intrigue and backstabbing.

* FlashbackEcho: The main story is often broken up by flashbacks to Juniper's gaming group in Kansas.

* TitleDrop: At the end of chapter 36, Juniper finishes his "prayer" to the DM by making a list of the things he wants, and remarks "that's the only way that this game is ever going to be worth the candle."

[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/11478249?view_full_work=true Worth the Candle]] by cthulhuraejepsen (a pseudonym of Alexander Wales) is a litRPG portal fantasy self-insert that follows a teenager from Kansas who finds himself trapped in a world that seems to be drawing inspiration from many of the places that he created for his weekly D&D games. The plot mostly follows the protagonist, Juniper Smith, and the traveling companions that he picks up along the way.

[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/11478249?view_full_work=true Worth the Candle]] by cthulhuraejepsen is a litRPG portal fantasy self-insert that follows a teenager from Kansas who finds himself trapped in a world that seems to be drawing inspiration from many of the places that he created for his weekly D&D games. The plot mostly follows the protagonist, Juniper Smith, and the traveling companions that he picks up along the way.

** Many areas have what amounts to evil magical overlords...which are magically isolated from the rest of the world, because ''nobody can actually defeat them''. And they do a lot worse than sitting on their throne is black armor.

* NatureAdoresAVirgin: Unicorns like virgins. This is not depicted as a good or healthy thing.

* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Mostly played straight, except that they're a literal OneGenderedRace thanks to BizarreAlienSexes.

* Egregious: Noted as