Spikefic FAQ- Please submit questions here! · 7:12pm Nov 17th, 2019
TL;DR -- ASK YOUR QUESTIONS HERE, IN THE COMMENTS
Well, as previously promised I figured I'll do up a little blog post as a repository for questions about Spike of All Trades, its background, and where things might be going from here. We'll start with some basic structural stuff I want to get out there in advance, FAQ'd or not.
The fic is currently at 20 chapters posted, ~20 more uploaded, and somewhere between 20 and 40 more to go after that, the exact number depending on structural judgement calls. Once we hit that point (the end of Act 1, as it were), the continuation will likely be in the form of a direct and immediate sequel: 80,000 words is already a sizable chunk, continuing to stack it up to the heights of its relatives (The Games We Play clocks in over 1,000,000) in a single post might get absurd.
So with that established... Questions! I cannot guarantee everything will get answered to the fullest, but anything reasonable will probably get at least a humorous response. Asking about the specifics and limits of Spike's abilities, the timeline and history of Spike and Twilight's life in Ponyville (which diverges a bit from the way many fics handle it), and things along similar lines? Those are the most-likely questions to be answered.
Obvious speculation, questions about unrelated topics, or digging for future info and spoilers is... less likely to get a reply. :V
Feel free to ask multiple questions all in one post, and folks on the fic's frequent-comment-crew are especially welcome: I've loved every bit of feedback so far, and some of you have made very interesting guesses and postulations already.
Thanks again for joining me so far! we've got a looooong ride ahead of us.
Will there be a fight scene or 2 in the fic? I remember that was what “The Gamer” comic was well known for (as well as differences in combat abilities and how Jihan attempts to overcome or realizes the odds against him).
I’m enjoying this fic so far, but at 33k words there’s gotta be something more amazing for Spike to do with all the powers he’s learning. Are you OK with the slow pacing you established in your fic?
Signed,
A reader from day one
1) "The Games we Play" What is this?
2) If you put a clock into Spike's inventory, does it freeze?
2a) If that works, I assume you can put food in and preserve its "just cooked state"
2b) .... Living things?
2c) .... Lightning bolt?
3) Spike stores giant rock. Spike goes up the side of a water wheel. Puts rock on wheel to rotate wheel. Repeat. Perpetual Motion?
4) Does Spike's bonus HP when larger disappear when he shrinks? Shrink proportionally?
If spikes gamer ability is a dragon ability is it possible its a family line ability? We don't really know jack about his family.
Are surnames a Thing?
Oh what to ask here, what indeed. I'm liking the pacing here with the story so far, it feels homey, a nice slice of life to ease him into the powers. Though we've probably only gone throuh a half a day, each update feels well thought out.
Now, an important question. I know that if you do dungeons and stuff like that, that you'll do the best you can to flesh it out to make it unique, but there's only so far that can go before getting repetitive. So are you going to have large time skips where spike does stuff like power leveling and grinding off camera? Or are you going to avoid that as best as you can? There's few things more disorienting than a large timeskip to a fleshed out character with special abilities.
I love how you've had time pass outside of spike while he's meditating, because spike himself isn't really changing, just observing internally.
Here's another one, will he be able to teach others special abilities if they're capable of it? Say he finds a skill that lets him levitate (just an example) by moving the magic inside himself and his cells, rather than through a spell or horn, similar to DBZ flight. Could he teach another pony/creature to do it if they can move magic inside themselves? Just an example to get the message across, I'm not saying you should have him fly like that and go all DBZ on us.
I'm really enjoying the story so far and I'm glad that you've got so much backlog already written. I look forward to seeing the next chapters.
Perhaps the audience would benefit from a quick primer as to the way the timeline is set up here? We know that it's set when Twilight is still a unicorn, and we've got mentions of Shining Armor and changelings that put us at least up through season 2, but does that mean everything from that point onward is functionally erased? Or are there some grey areas? (without getting too spoilery, of course.)
Has the devteam, in fact, thought of everything?
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Oh, I'd missed the changeling reference, I'd been guessing we were pre-wedding. (In part because Dragon Quest probably hasn't happened, although I guess obviously the canon isn't in chronological order anyway.) How many years have Twilight and Spike been in Ponyville, anyway? There's a few things that make it look like two, but then Spike's internal monologue also mentions "all those years ago" when Twi 'visited' Ponyville, which doesn't feel too 'two' to me.
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I would guess you are right about number 4 but he would have to have proficiency or the skill to manage his inventory like that.
#3 He would run out of magic so no that wouldn't be perpetual.
#2 I would say yes to storing elements because magic and no idea for the rest.
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his inventory uses magic?
Did you mean anything at all with the perceived innuendo in Celestia`s return letter to Spike when she said Twilight was coming soon?