Folk . Tales . of . Exandria

You've heard it from the Cobalt Soul archivists. Now hear it from the wandering bards of Exandria... - The official tumblr of the unofficial Critical Role fanfiction zine, organised by @sparxwrites and @notalwaysweak.

[vexing-imogen]

it’s finally here and I am SO EXCITED! getting to be a part of @folktalesofexandria was a major highlight of this past year, and I’m so pumped that we finally get to share these stories

will I ever stop screaming about this? signs point to no

[pagerunner-j]

Hey howdy hey, look what got here today! (cc: @folktalesofexandria )

[folktalesofexandria]

The promised financials breakdown is here!

Money Received This section was just to remind me what money we had gotten, where it had come from, and what it was earmarked for. Overall, we raised a total of £341.50 through pre-orders (and a little bit of my own money). 

We had 19 book preorders via BigCartel, at £10 a book. 

Some kind soul also bought an extra two books, as a donation to the authors who had worked on the project. 

11 authors wanted books, so after the two donated ones that meant 9 ‘free’ books. 

I personally bought 7 extra copies (the price shown here is the amount of money it cost to add 7 more copies to our print run, hence it being significantly lower than the pre-order price), as spares in case anything got lost in the post and also so we can send a copy to the OTW’s zine archive.

We got a total of £95 of postage payments via BigCartel.

Income/Outgoings This is the section where I kept track of how much money we’d received, and were it was going - our balance, basically.

Some people paid BigCartel by Stripe, some by PayPal, and this combined counts for all the money we received (for both books and postage). Both companies took a cut of the profits (PayPal more so than Stripe...), hence the ‘fees’ outgoings.

“Pay-in for extra copies” was the aforementioned extra money I’d put in to buy some extra books.

“Mixam book order” was the actual purchase of the books! We used a UK company called Mixam (who were excellent, shoutout to their customer service reps for dealing with my endless questions).

“Packaging” is, oddly enough, the cost of buying all those comfy bubble-wrap envelopes to keep the books safe in the post.

“Shipping” was the cost of posting them all - significantly higher than expected because the books came in 50g over the weight limit for the shipping bracket I’d been expecting.

As you can see, we ended up with -£80 - meaning I payed a significant chunk of the shipping out of my own pocket - because I hadn’t charged enough for the postage on BigCartel. The authors have, very kindly, helped with that by covering the shipping for their own copies. I’m now significantly less in the red; I think I’m at about -£20 now, which is a cost I can comfortably eat (unlike £80). That does, however, mean that unfortunately there was absolutely no money left over to donate to OTW or 826LA.

If anyone has any questions or concerns about the information provided here (or anything else), please do get in touch at [email protected] or via ask/message!

[wildmagicplant]

AAAHHHHH OMG i forgot i had gotten a copy of @folktalesofexandria honestly, so what a FANTASTIC surprise i had today!!! this looks so incredibly legit and i'm so excited to read these stories

[folktalesofexandria]

Ah, so the first of the copies are arriving! Fabulous - we’re really excited to see people getting them and liking them after all the hard work that’s gone into them over the past year.

@everyone who purchased, please do continue to post pictures of the zine and tag/@ us as you get them, because we’d love to see your reactions!

[folktalesofexandria]

A little belatedly - all copies of Folk Tales of Exandria were shipped on January 20th! Those of you who ordered them should have gotten a notification from BigCartel, but I can definitely confirm they’re on their way. For those of you in the UK and Europe, they should either have arrived or be arriving very soon; for those of you elsewhere, they should theoretically be arriving some time this week (though I feel that may be ambitious for Australia and some of the more distant reaches of Asia).

So! One year, thirteen fics, one book, thirty orders, fifty minutes at the post office, and two people mistaking me for a postal worker from the sheer volume of parcels I had with me, and we are done. Thank you so much to all our writers - I (very literally) couldn't have done this without them, and appreciate their patience with the delays, their tolerance of my continual pestering, and the wonderful fanfiction they’ve all produced. Thank you, too, to everyone who preordered the zine, and especially to our mystery donor who very kindly bought two copies of the zine to be given to authors. We’d never have been able to do a print run without all of you, and I’m so amazingly grateful for your financial support (and emotional support! It’s such a lovely feeling to know there are people out there who love something you’re doing enough to pay for it.

Regarding finances: we actually ended up in the red on this project (mostly because the books were 50g heavier than expected, which pushed shipping up a price bracket), so there will unfortunately be no donation to either 826LA or the OTW - though I’d always encourage any Critter reading this to support both of these wonderful projects if they have the means. I’ll be posting a breakdown of our income and how we spent it in the next few days, for the purposes of transparency.

I’ll keep checking this blog for the next month or two, just to make sure everything’s running smoothly, and to reblog any photos people post of their shiny new zine. If you have any issues, please do get in touch with us either here or at [email protected], and we’ll do what we can to help. Other than that - from me, and @notalwaysweak, and all the writers, thank you, and goodbye. <3

-Sparx

[folktalesofexandria]

Apologies for the low quality photos (my phone camera and the lighting in my room are both suboptimal), but they’re here! The Folk Tales of Exandria physical copies have arrived, and they’re beautiful. The photos here really don’t do them justice.

Most of these bad boys have been parcelled up and are ready to ship - they should be going out Saturday 18th January, at which point I’ll have more information about the shipping times you can expect depending on where in the world you are. I’m just waiting on the last of the envelopes I need... (Amazon, in its wisdom, sent me most of the envelopes I ordered, and then sent me 50 micro-SD card holders in lieu of the rest.) At that point, I’ll also give you all a breakdown of the money we’ve gotten, and where we’ve spent it, in the interests of transparency.

Thank you to everyone who’s supported us to this point - our wonderful authors who’ve written the fics, everyone who’s bought a copy and given us the money to get these printed, and especially to the mystery donor who donated two extra copies to our authors. This has been one hell of a year-long ride, and I’m so excited for everyone to finally be able to hold the end results in their hands!

-sparx

[folktalesofexandria]

I’ve been informed by our supplier that copies of the zine should be arriving tomorrow! I’m very excited, I’ll share a picture of them with you all as soon as I’ve got them.

Shipping should occur some time within the next week (subject to purchasing packaging etc., which I can’t do until I have the books and know their exact thickness), and I’ll keep you updated on times and the like. You should get a notification from bigcartel when they’ve shipped though!

-sparx

[folktalesofexandria]

And that’s all, folks!

Not all of our fics, of course, there’s a few we didn’t preview - we’ve got to leave a little mystery, after all - but that’s it for the pre-orders. They’re officially closed, so we can move on to the next phase: distribution.

Thank you to everyone who ordered a copy, and a special, massive thanks to the very kind person who ordered two extra copies to go to the writers. You’re amazing.

The next steps are now to purchase the books, and then get them all shipped out. We’ll post some pictures when we’ve got actual physical copies, and let you all know when we get them shipped, so you can know when to expect them.

As always - any questions or comments, just message us here, or see out ‘contact us’ page for more ways to get in touch.

[folktalesofexandria]

But time heals many things, and though Lady Vex’ahlia’s broken heart never truly healed, she began to smile more. She made the effort to chat with us in the halls, making certain that we were doing well and making whatever changes she needed if we were dissatisfied. It’s no surprise that she easily became the favorite of the De Rolo family amongst the guards and servants.

Then, we found a gun that didn’t belong to us.

- What is a Legacy?, by cinderpaw1

If you want to see more, check out the Folk Tales of Exandria fanfiction zine, now available to pre-order! All proceeds go to charity. See this post for more info; pre-orders close on November 30th. 

[folktalesofexandria]

What’s a- What’s this? You mean to tell me an aspiring musician such as yourself has never heard the name Shorthalt? Who slew the Shadow Terror of the Umbra Hills? Who single-handedly negotiated the peace of Bronbog? Who ventured beyond the Netherfields to restore the Crown of the Lawbearer? 

Good gods, child, what do they teach in schools these days. Very well. Barkeep! Another round for my friend and I here. I’ve a tale and I’d like to wet my whistle before I do.

- The Troubadour’s Tale, by @mischief7manager

[folktalesofexandria]

“And how are you doing, little lady?” the tallest of them – a half-orc whom she’d avoided their whole journey – asked, sitting down in the seat next to her. “Doesn’t seem like you’re the type to lounge around in a bar.”

“Well, I’m not,” JB admitted simply, side-eyeing Johann, who was dipping and spinning the halfling around the dance floor. 

“Rather prefer to spend the evening with your books?” 

She startled at the plain statement. “Well, yes.” “

I’ve seen you around the campfire, kid. Always angled so you can read late into the night. I commend you for the dedication, honestly. Books never really were my thing.” 

“They’re nice distractions,” JB says with a shrug. 

“What, from players like your brother?” Dr. Dranzel says with a guffaw. 

- Myths and Migrants, by dancer4813 (@dancerwrites)

If you want to see more, check out the Folk Tales of Exandria fanfiction zine, now available to pre-order! All proceeds go to charity. See this post for more info; pre-orders close on November 30th.

[folktalesofexandria]

It took Callie a minute to make sense of it: too wide, too dark, far too indistinct. It was all too easy to imagine any number of monstrous things. But oddly, the figure at the center looked almost human. And the shapes to either side… she slowly realized that they were wings. Great, black, feathered wings, large and strong enough to carry a man into the sky.

They also made it difficult for him to fit through the door, so there was a moment of muttering and awkward side-stepping before he got far enough inside for the candlelight to reveal his face. When they saw each other properly, his eyes widened.

“Well,” he said. “You’re not what I expected.”

- Within the Weave, by pagerunner

If you want to see more, check out the Folk Tales of Exandria fanfiction zine, now available to pre-order! All proceeds go to charity. See this post for more info; pre-orders close on November 30th.

[folktalesofexandria]

Vox Machina had installed themselves at a small keep, and Jarett began to follow Geddmore's charge. He came to them in disguise, dressed as a mercenary himself. 

 "I am but a guard," he told them. "I have two strong arms and naught else; will you allow me to defend you?"

- The Soldier and the Runechild, by sabinelagrande

If you want to see more, check out the Folk Tales of Exandria fanfiction zine, now available to pre-order! All proceeds go to charity. See this post for more info; pre-orders close on November 30th.

[folktalesofexandria]

Ten days after the birth of Vex’ahlia and Percival’s first child, Artagan walks through the doorway. From there, it is a simple question of taking another step. He lands on the border of the Parchwood. It smells like magic and the wood smoke that drifts off of the nearby town. Perhaps it’s a city. It does not matter. There is a celebration he has to attend.

This world does not look the way that he expected. It’s very white at the moment. The sky is grey, and the bare branches crisscross it like iron bars. It’s also cold. In all, it’s… rather disappointing. He can walk across the tops of the deep drifts, his hands tucked into his trailing sleeves, his green hood drawn up. He keeps his Glamour drawn in around him. It would be unfortunate if someone were to run ahead and tell certain someones that he was on his way, after all. Perhaps a little good company is exactly what this underwhelming day needs.

- The Thirteenth Guest, by ladyofrosefire (@ask-ladyofrosefire)

If you want to see more, check out the Folk Tales of Exandria fanfiction zine, now available to pre-order! All proceeds go to charity. See this post for more info; pre-orders close on November 30th.

[folktalesofexandria]

“I brought wine, by the way,” said Vax against Gilmore’s neck, when the silence stretched on long enough that he half worried Gilmore had fallen asleep standing up. He wouldn’t be surprised – he hadn’t been lying when he’d said Shaun looked ill. “And massage oil, and some other… goodies.”

Groaning theatrically, Gilmore pulled back from the hug so he could look Vax in the eye, before pressing a kiss to his forehead. “This,” he declared, disentangling himself and crossing the room to retrieve some glasses from the drinks cabinet across the room, dangling them casually from one hand, “is why you’re my favourite, Vax’ildan.”

“I thought I was your favourite because of my good looks and roguish charm?”

- A Moment’s Peace, by @sparxwrites

If you want to see more, check out the Folk Tales of Exandria fanfiction zine, now available to pre-order! All proceeds go to charity. See this post for more info; pre-orders close on November 30th.

[folktalesofexandria]

Trinket doesn’t realise that he’s fallen asleep again until Vex is shaking him awake. There’s a strange expression on her face. Something tired and sad, but determined all the same. She’s kneeling on the ground beside him, and when he tries to ask her what’s wrong, she simply wraps her arms around his neck, buries her face in his fur, and breathes in as deep as she can. 

 “Come for a walk with me, buddy?” she asks. “Kiki’s waiting for us at your uncle’s shrine.”

- Exit, Pursued by a Bear, by ashley_in_the_know (@jenkinsjester)

If you want to see more, check out the Folk Tales of Exandria fanfiction zine, now available to pre-order! All proceeds go to charity. See this post for more info; pre-orders close on November 30th.

[folktalesofexandria]

“I’m not looking for romantic advice,” Allura says, lying. “I’m looking for a battle strategy. And even if I was asking for romantic advice there’s no way I’d be asking Dohla for help. I’ve met his exes. They’re all crazy.”

“Ah, but you see, you’ve met his exes. So he obviously did something right at some point in time.” 

The look Allura gives him is frankly dubious, which– well, fair. 

“The last one tried to stab Kima,” she says. 

“Kima thought it was funny,” Drake says. Though Allura certainly hadn’t.

- Crazy as This, by @mnemememory

If you want to see more, check out the Folk Tales of Exandria fanfiction zine, now available to pre-order! All proceeds go to charity. See this post for more info; pre-orders close on November 30th.