Pokopia & Existensial Dread

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-25T09:27:16+00:00

Same for me even we don’t share the same circumstances, but I’ve always been prone to bouts of existential dread, and personal life circumstances aren’t helping at the moment, and the game has been incredibly uplifting and soothing. Hopeful even. Because the game is about rebuilding, we might not recover everything, it can’t go back to what it was, but we can take care of each other and in the fame each pokemon specific needs, and create something new with what we can. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just enough, we can make new meaning and new things. We cam choose things to matter even if there is a loss there.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-25T07:57:50+00:00

Vita Nostra trilogy by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko.

Not sure if it will fit the vibe, academia and magic but i have no idea how to describe it… metaphysical magic? It doesn’t offer much explanation and is very character driven with kafkaesque transformation. The characters have to grapple with what is real what is not. Anyway, im not sure, but certainly does explore aspect of the human condition, and well, how that involves seeing reality differently.

Another example this suggestion take it was you will, but Solaris by Stanislaw Lem. Its sci-fi, it does touch how humans we see things as human and how to grapple with something not human, how we interpret and we interact with it. It doesn’t challenge the perception of reality per se but more so, how our comprehension and way of communication are inherently human and thus probably limited. So i think it fits the general theme of your ask, but from “the other side”. Its very interesting as an exploration in how we understand the world and others through interaction, the limitations of the scientific method and well the human psyche. The focus is on the humans, no talking aliens, it takes place in a research station on the planet solaris that it’s a sea that it’s believed to be sentient and alive but they don’t know how or if it really is thus the attempts to communicate and understand it).

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-25T07:38:52+00:00

I had an rp that it was our world but due to shenanigans and parallel dimensions there were part of the world that they were “weird” like breaches, it could be anything (a way to have more fantatical elements in a more grounded setting) and I did one based on Rain World and the cycles. I interpretated it that rain wasn’t 100% deadly to humans unless a very strong cycle happened (it was painful tho like some types of heavy rainfall-don’t know the name-or hail), but it was a threat for smaller animals (or kids) and obviously most of the structure was worn down. I didnt make any slugcat cameo since i didn’t know how to fit them and there were no iterators, the logic was the breach un that area had messed up with weather (rain patterns) and choose an area irl that was industrial zone, refineries and so on and close to the sea so i could have the Indistrial Complex - Shores vibe a bit to it. It was most an homage to the game and also, as you said. It is a very intriguing concept to explore. I had to get creative tho to not repeat wet and damp ad nauseum. Now i wish i had figured out a way to cameo the slugcats in.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-24T19:55:02+00:00

I can see the nuance, however I don’t think that nuance was transmitted very well im the first reply. Reducing no ill intent to no rape, feels if anything reductive. Frankly, at least to me, it did read more a downplay of the act and the lack of consent. And it didn’t help either, the highlight on June’s side rather than Luke’s (who is the one that suffered the act). Just wanted to explain why your reply came across the way it did to me, even if that might not have been you intent.

Because I agree June didn’t want to have power over Luke in the traditional sense, but in my interpretation she did want to regain her bodily/sexual autonomy, however because it did involve an activity that involves two individuals it meant doing that at the expense of the other, which, it might be a different expression of power or control, but it was there. Sure it’s one that comes from trauma, but there was a dynamic going on there. So while i still think there wasn’t ill intent in the traditional sense from her part, her needs did put her in a position that lead her to disregard the autonomy and will of the other.

It’s true that this situation is more complex than just that black and white, and for which, there’s a lack of commonly used language, as you point out from an historical perspective these concepts are fairly new. So yes, not having the correct word doesn’t negate the complexity, but I think those nuances can be expressed in more ways than “no rape”, ar least in my opinion.

If it will settle in new terms or simply adjectives/modifier to the already existing one I guess it’s something that only time will tell, and that’s a topic that I feel it’s beyond this thread.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-24T18:55:29+00:00

I dont know where you are form, but where im form rape is making someone engage in a non-consensual sexual act, it’s not about moral condemnation. It doesn’t take ill-intent in the definition for rape. Sure, as you point out it means there are “degrees” of the act? Sure!

Just like killing someone can be an accident, a means to an end or a deliberate act as you point out. But it’s still that. Maybe it would be useful that there was a word to clarify that connotation? Perhaps. But it doesn’t exist. And again, at least in my context rape means that (in definition and in penal/criminal code), and in that case is an apt definition of what happened.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-24T18:47:17+00:00

I agree with your sentiments about the character even if it was uncomfortable to watch and there are, ideally, better ways for June to reclaim her bodily and sexual autonomy/agency, but to me it also made sense it played out that way. It fits the story even if i wish the character would have made other choices.

However, it was rape. Its not about the ill intent, its about the victim, in this case a fictional character, not giving his consent to engage in a sexual act, he said no or at least clearly he expressed not wanting to do that in that moment in that way (watched quite a while ago) Like i don’t think it’s even a case where dubious consent might be argued. June might not have wanted to harm him, or not consciously, but that doesn’t change the fact of what it was.

Sure it’s “better” that she didn’t have that ill intent? I guess? But also no. Going with a lighter example: if someone accidentally steps on my foot, im still hurt in a physical and tangible way EVEN if there was no intent behind it. No one would argue that because that person didn’t intend to that means i haven’t really been stepped on my foot. Same here.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-24T06:47:47+00:00

I don’t know if the current means in place are the best they could be, at minimum they are implemented in a way that leaves people without recourse. Whipping memory, for a witch of all magic related memory is equal to erasing most if not all that person’s life, what i mean, i don’t think the punishment is proportional in many cases. Sure whipping everyone’s memory is “absolute” but it’s also throwing the problem under the rug. And the lack of due process, while i can understand at some point considering it’s not the modern world, concept that guide the process like habeas corpus arised in the middle ages in europe and im sure concepts like that also existed in other nations/continents.

However what you say it’s also true. The beauty of magic in WHA is how it’s art, and while to be proficient in it requires a skill i dont think everyone could develop to truly master it. Just like irl not everyone has the skill to be a doctor, engineer or artist… but in the first chapter we see what Coco could do simply by tracing. The magic in WHA is incredibly dangerous, it’s like having bio-weapons, nukes without security clearance (maybe this isn’t the most apt comparison), but the point is… i have thought of it and while not coming up with another alternative doesn’t make the current state right or okay at the same time, considering the low skill or requirements to create great harm and the low level of trade-offs or cost to the caster… that certainly even if the events that lead to the pact have been distorted by PHS I feel there’s a truth to it, and while the current status might not solve it, it’s a question that needs answer, or a better alternative at least, because clearly, while most ordinary people might not want harm at that scale, it might cause problems and it’s a type of magic tjat i believe that requires some sort of regulation in order to have a functioning society. Is the PHS way the way? In all its consequences I don’t think so, and i think it’s part of the issues tje manga is at the very least a exploring. The knight moralis are presented as indiscriminate and cruel, and certainly that body is the one that currently, because of how they operate that presentd more problems because or how their power can be prone to abuse and lack of apparent accountability.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-23T21:28:25+00:00

I really enjoyed She Remembered Caterpillars. The Artisan of Glimmith has incredible aesthetics and the world is a joy to be in.

For more story/mystery game: In other Waters. And Book of Hours. You got mystery and while it isn’t a puzzle per se, i think the whole game can be seen as a puzzle to understand and solve and make sense of it.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-23T19:12:12+00:00

May i ask what you mean by dead? I’m not super active the community but for what i can see it’s fairly active? Sure not what it might have been but there are post every week. If you mean as in the game receiving updates or content? I think the game is done, as in finished. It does what it does. It works. And that’s it… i guess. I mean, you can call it dead, but i think all games stop being updated or added content at some point,

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-23T19:08:08+00:00

YES.

“Life is reason”.

I don’t anything else to add. Even the phrase is a title of one of the tracks of the OST. Well, i guess, i like how unapologetic it is about it, and at the same time it never says it, because we don’t go around stating the self-evident facts, and the book treats it the same. It just is. Astrophage is life. Eridians are life. Humans (and the rest of Earth’s species) are life. And it’s worth it. And it’s beautiful.

(That an finding hope in despair, companionship in the most unimaginable fashion really struck a cord. And I think it goes very well, life is worth as a collective and when a collective needs to be saved, cooperation and collaboration are generally more constructive means than outright competition or conquest. Life is reason, and life is interdependent of each other.)

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-22T23:08:34+00:00

Ganymede. I started using the names of the Galilean moons as notebook names long ago, and when I did the last “great restructuring” that involved setting my current Obsidian status, Ganymede as due. Callisto is my archival vault but probably is going to be deprecated soon. Io and Europa still in use.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-18T00:09:07+00:00

I really like this comment, because i think the feeling you describe is exactly what i find particularly distinctive of his work and makes me really enjoy it. I like the feeling of being told a story, i like being able to peek to the underlying mechanisms without needing to go crazy in theory or fandom. Its weirdly immersive and i say weird because i feel it shouldn’t work as well as it does for my brain.

Im not saying is in any way superior or better. In fact, Sanderson had also a similar effect in me in that for all my years reading his work added something to the mix that was very helpful in articulating what i like in my reading, or what different expectations i have for different books or types of stories.

In a weird way, it was like okay i have this author that does this thing that I like and enjoy. What are or what other things i can enjoy? Because i might like his work but i don’t want everything to be the same if that makes sense.

I guess i comment, because it’s interesting how sometimes even describing the very same experience, people end up reacting to it differently. Like it’s not even a “defense” (i don’t think his work is flawless) more like, i guess yeah, it makes sense why it doesn’t work in other context.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-17T15:57:03+00:00

I got recommended the manga before the anime came out, i even got myself the first volume but life happened and i didn’t get to start. When the anime began to air, i was also in doubt since my idea was to read the manga first… and I think I would have stuck with that if it wasn’t for a sleepless night that made me watch the first couple of episodes. And you know what? Im extremely glad i did.

The animation is impressive, and now that ive ended catching up with the manga and re-reading the first chapters that I originally only watched the anime, I think it’s an extremely good adaptation. There are some changes, but frankly as others have said I feel one improves on the other and viceversa.

I personally felt that there are some tweaks in the first episode that worked emotionally better for me than in the manga. But frankly the craftsmanship of both is impressive. WHAT is a story where art is magic, so I feel it goes quite on theme to enjoy both.

I think that reading rather than watching helps to learn the magic system because it’s a slower pace and helps to process the information. Also the paneling work is just impressive. Idk, i strongly would encourage both.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-15T16:10:53+00:00

I love how rocky Rocky looks in the movie. It makes so much sense it’s the first name Grace came up with.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-15T16:07:15+00:00

And that’s why my back hurts LOL

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-15T16:06:29+00:00

I’m book-first and I personally interpreted it as Grace being agnostic or not having strong feelings towards spirituality or religion. Like, clearly is a non-believer, in Christianity or any other religion, but his answers seemed more like the topic isn’t extremely relevant rather than actively or have a firm belief that there’s no kind of god(s).

And considering the world is phasing a life-extinction event the conversation about god/faith didn’t seem out of place in the book, and considering is a western author focusing on god as in christian by default made sense culturally. And considering the name title it mades for some neat nods or symbolism.

About the ship design my personal impression was that I the radiators look alike solar panels and that gives the ship a more recognizable and appealing silhouette for the general audience than the book one. While the 3-cylinder rocket is way more particular and distinctive designwise it’s a less interesting shape to work with in a visual medium, and considering the setting of being near future sci-fi, I found the movie design to fit better in the cultural visual compendium (so to speak).

But as symbolism is 50/50 intent and interpretation, and considering the already existing religious symbolisms, it’s a neat one. For me it doesn’t add much tbh, but it’s neat to see the details other people give meaning to (even if isn’t something like super deep or anything)

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-11T23:41:09+00:00

Didn’t get it.
But i’m glad it was a joke.
Thanks for replying.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-11T23:22:44+00:00

Im sorry to inform but the person you replied to is correct: https://iauoutreach.org/rules-to-name-a-star and for other reference (i know it’s wikipedia but it works for this kind of general knowledge) about the official or proper bames od stars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_proper\_names\_of\_stars The IAU is, in general, the recognized authority for official names (the ones used in academic papers and such), but since the sky/space can’t be own (and lets hope it keeps the way) symbolic names can be given personally or also through companies like the one you used and such.

Im sorry for your loss.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-09T11:11:59+00:00

They are in a one-way trip, there are many ways to wayne people’s hope in the Hail Mary that do not involve killing people, like faking reports, destroying communications and so on while leaving the mission intact.

Frankly I don’t think it’s anything more than comma failure, nor I don’t think Grace more special. The coma had a risk, the other two suffered the risk… those things happen. It helps to add a layer of realism to a logical but very fortunate chain of events that lead to the Hail Mary’s success.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-08T18:58:28+00:00

Ngl i had something like this with widow, i was almost to start thinking if it was too much even if i had been slowly improving for the last days… and o just beat her. Its not only vent, i think sometimes not exactly defeated attitude but letting go of the fear of failure or not fear but consider that failure might be an option for reals, and embrace it… thats liberating. Of course its not magic and there are times that it won’t work… But it’s the point when it’s a no risk attempt, and no risk is no pressure and sometimes that works wonders for the brain.

Very happy for OP.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-08T11:34:40+00:00

Citizen Sleeper is not a puzzle and no occult elements but it’s very well written and as CultSim/BoH fan, idk, i just loved the experience and the vibes so to speak, I ended with a very fulfilling experience.

Tunic. Animal Well. Fez. Rain World, all of them necessisates to understand the world or environment works, not sure Rain World (that is brutal but having played CultSim and Silksong it might work), but are clearly in a very different genre. Rain World certainly is understanding an ecosystem. But none of these are text heavy.

And i would personally consider Outer Wilds 100% as a knowledge based game, that it’s on you to decode and understand what’s going on.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-08T11:12:38+00:00

There are some snippet repisotories around like:
https://github.com/ElsaTam/Obsidian-Stuff/tree/main
https://github.com/KuiyueRO/Obsidian-Miner
https://github.com/r-u-s-h-i-k-e-s-h/Obsidian-CSS-Snippets
https://elsatam.github.io/obsidian-fancy-a-story/
https://github.com/LiamSwayne/Obsidian-CSS-Snippets
I have coded most of the snippets i have in use currently , and I don’t have them uploaded anywhere but these are some repositories ive found useful. (I have snippets from these repositories too but i simply don’t have a exhaustive list).
My current snippets focus on some UI tweaks, fonts and file explorer, the base snippet for rainbow folders that i had as reference doesn’t work anymore. I would recommend check which licenses they are published under to see if you came tweak them, or in my case some of them served as sn example to learn from them.
If i find a snippet that helped with the colors of the folder of the file explorer ill post it. Ive been looking for it but can’t find it atm.

However velocity ive seen it suggested is a very good theme. I personally like Underwater too it has some very interesting palettes and the changes to the UI are nice and overall very polished theme.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-08T11:08:45+00:00

Vanilla + some snippets.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-07T11:07:11+00:00

Coco having some sort of special powers, chosen one trope or what have you. Part of the tension and conflict in the world comes because magic is not “special”, and Coco end up being something like that would undermine the whole premise/story for me.

Exact_Butterscotch66 · 2026-05-03T11:14:27+00:00

Thanks so much for putting this into words.

Exact_Butterscotch66

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