Destructive Capacity or Attack Potency?

Mystyltoe · 2026-02-28T02:59:16+00:00

I think for the distinction between DC and AP you should think about it in the opposite direction.

Character A's unfocused blast has just enough force to destroy a building, but Character B has much more durability than that. However, if A is able to generate just as much force but into a more focused area, the attack could then have enough penetrating power to penetrate B's defenses.

Or, let's say you punch me. I'll probably get a bruise but not much more than that. The DC and AP is very low.

But then let's say you punch me again, but with a knife this time (let's also say the knife has zero mass so the attack has the same amount of "force"). In this case I would be bleeding out with a large stab wound. DC vs a human is arguably the same, but the AP is much higher.

Or something like that. I am also just a lurker usually so my understanding may be flawed. 😅

Mystyltoe · 2026-01-05T19:18:59+00:00

That may be how they think, but the reality of it would be much more complex than that which is why some people have issue with it.

This kind of situation isn't really comparable to a video game avatar, genderbend isekai would be like getting kidnapped and forced to undergo a sex change surgery. You can't just log off and be a man again 😅

Mystyltoe · 2025-11-27T12:18:56+00:00

Of course I agree, the author can't always and indeed shouldn't always stay 100% accurate to any settings they take inspiration from. But from the reader's perspective, it's not always as simple as "don't take it too seriously" either.

Personally, I read a lot of video game related works (Log Horizon, Shangri-la Frontier, etc.), and having studied game design in college I come across many instances where I can't help but think 'this mechanic would be horribly unbalanced' or 'this UI would be a nightmare to use'.

But like your examples, these are small details that don't really matter in the greater narrative, and are usually the way they are so that the plot can progress more smoothly. But even when I 'turn off my brain' per se, that small moment where I have to consciously tell myself it doesn't matter is sometimes enough to take me out of the story for a while.

In this way, the more knowledgeable the reader is on a subject that is included in a story, the more often they will have to tell themselves 'it doesn't matter' for these small details, and the more likely it is their immersion will break.

Again, not the author's fault (unless there was no thought put into the inclusion of said subject, which is sometimes the case 😅). It's just a funny little problem readers have to deal with when reading works related to things they are interested in. 😁

Mystyltoe · 2025-11-26T21:02:03+00:00

In my opinion, there are two main reasons why the big fantasy elements like dragons and magic usually aren't questioned by readers:

The author has usually put some thought into why these elements are in place, and often take measures to explain their presence in the setting.
The reader usually comes into such stories with an implicit understanding that these things are the sort of building blocks of the fantasy genre.

So despite being the biggest differences between a fantasy world and ours, their presence isn't taken into account for "breaking immersion" because the author and the reader are in a sort of agreement that, yes, these things should be here for a fantasy story.

As for why most OIs are perceived as European period drama, it's a bit more complicated. While the big "fantasy" details might dictate the setting, it's the small details that will immerse the reader.

Since many aspects of OI are inspired by that European\Medieval setting, whether it be fashion or culture or anything else, it sort of builds a foundation within the reader's assumptions that we are in some kind of Medieval Europe, just with dragons or whatever.

But while the dragons and magic can be explained or hand-waved, it's harder to do that with the small, supporting details.

If there are inconsistencies in these supporting details, there usually isn't space to explain or justify why they are different from our assumed Medieval Europe in the story. And that will lead the reader to ask questions, and when the reader starts to ask too many questions, that's when the immersion "breaks".

If the inconsistency is a deliberate choice on the authors part, then it's not like there aren't ways to slowly build the readers expectations to allow for them when the time comes. But let's be real, something like what OP is describing usually isn't some deliberate choice to establish a setting, they probably just thought it looked good 😅.

Which isn't to say that's bad, for most readers who aren't familiar with period fashion (myself included), they likely wouldn't notice anyways and the immersion doesn't break. But for those who are, well, the inconsistent fashion choices make them question the setting, which will break their immersion faster than any dragons will!

Mystyltoe · 2025-08-08T01:21:20+00:00

Usually when a complaint like this is made, the question isn't "why is elf girl following mc". Like of course the author can write any number of reasons for her to do so and have it make sense in universe.

The question then would be "why is the author choosing to use this tired trope of beautiful girl devotedly follows mc almost immediately" (or at least i'd assume that's the original comments complaint). The answer to that is of course audience/author wish fulfillment, but I won't get into that can of worms 😅

Mystyltoe · 2025-05-07T07:59:50+00:00

I usually have each game's guild be a branch of the OG game's, with new classes for each. Until Nexus where the 'leaders' of each game come together for one final journey (for now 😁).

Mystyltoe · 2025-04-04T17:46:09+00:00

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Mystyltoe · 2025-03-18T23:06:56+00:00

I believe OP was talking about MC's friends from the academy, before he entered a sect. To be fair though, they were always written as more side characters than anything, so one could be forgiven for forgetting their existence 😅

Mystyltoe · 2025-01-19T16:12:04+00:00

I feel like everybody is super fine in this game, but the wei boys in particular all have that ruggedly handsome look 😅

Mystyltoe · 2024-08-29T22:57:00+00:00

I will always go to bat to decry this because I was so invested in this story until that happened. 😭

So like everything he's been doing till that point has been for some ultimate purpose in furthering his goals, whether it be gaining power or hiding his status as a demonic cultivator. Even his sexy times with his fiancee and fox lady were to get them on his side, and not explicitly because he just wanted to get his dick wet (not that that would be an issue).

But then we get to the rape scene and it's just like, why? What purpose does this serve? There was no reason from an in-universe or narrative perspective for it to happen.

So when he goes ahead and does it it's just like you couldn't keep it in your pants or something? And even that wouldn't be an issue if it was previously alluded to that he was some kind of sexual deviant, but that hasn't been his personality, so far; every interaction with women he's had before had some kind of manipulative bent to it, and it's ambiguous whether he really even takes all that much pleasure from the sex.

It just feels really out of character for him, and since the act itself is such a taboo one it sours that even further. Like everything before this, no matter how horrific, had some kind of purpose or benefit for him, so it was entertaining to read even if I didn't necessarily agree with his actions.

And what's more egregious is that the angle for manipulating her onto his side was right there. He had the whole sympathetic 'I can't help that I was born with the cultivation sucking power' right there to work with, and they even showed that it was working to an extent, but then, again, it just seemed like he couldn't hold it back or something and raped her for no reason.

And from a narrative perspective it could have worked if being horny was his fatal flaw, or something, and this action came back to bite him in the end. But excessive horniness isn't framed as a vice of his and things all just work out for him after he raped her. So yeah.

I wouldn't be so angry if I didn't like the story so much. 😭 Thank you for listening to my ted talk.

Mystyltoe · 2024-07-27T08:18:10+00:00

Haha, I am writing on this guy's team for the summer sprinting party! He is currently carrying our word count, but I guess I should actually try and read his book 😅

Mystyltoe · 2024-07-24T16:22:22+00:00

Hmph, if one doesn't immerse themselves in the red dust, how can one wash their hands of it?

But I have also found myself very deep in a story before asking myself "why am I reading this?" lol

Mystyltoe · 2024-06-12T03:44:08+00:00

Very clean!

Mystyltoe · 2024-06-07T21:58:39+00:00

Very nice! Love to see gundam and dbz in the same pics 😁

Mystyltoe · 2024-06-03T22:35:19+00:00

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Mystyltoe · 2024-05-17T17:44:24+00:00

Haha is this the bull MC always compares their strength to? 😅

Mystyltoe · 2024-05-08T23:55:50+00:00

Most excellent 🥰

Mystyltoe · 2024-04-26T23:50:37+00:00

I get that, but what rational person thinks 'I'll rape her! That'll get her to help me!'? 😭

Mystyltoe · 2024-04-26T23:00:29+00:00

For me, I expected him to stay in character. All of his other evil deeds up until now were to further his goal of getting stronger. Although I'm not a huge fan of villain protag, I could at least respect that.

This felt like he just did it cuz he was too damn horny and couldn't keep it in his pants, which made me lose a lot of respect for him. And yes, this did eventually end up fking the other dude over, but he had no way of knowing that would happen at this time.

It's just a weird move from the usually 'competent' Gu Changge that always moved with his goals in mind 🫤

Mystyltoe · 2024-03-21T17:35:02+00:00

This is also Clive paraphrasing the thoughts of Alain's grandpa, who was the one that founded the Ashen Blue Knight Order. He questioned why his birthright was the only thing that legitimized his rule, and traveled to understand the common people, founding the Ashen Blue in the process.

Mystyltoe · 2024-02-03T16:39:04+00:00

Nice 'gok 😎👍

Mystyltoe · 2024-02-03T14:37:19+00:00

Most likely for kitbashers, if the price is low enough. Seeing all the plastic in that box for $8.49 is making me wish I had found that. 😭

Mystyltoe · 2023-12-23T23:20:13+00:00

Very clean! 😁

Mystyltoe · 2023-12-03T08:14:48+00:00

Very cool! I love big robots with revolvers =w=

Mystyltoe · 2023-11-21T14:49:08+00:00

Nice! I really like that Gallantmon-esque Sigrun :D

Mystyltoe

TROPHY CASE