[ SECRET POST #521 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #521 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

101.


__________________________________________________



102.


__________________________________________________



103.


__________________________________________________



104.


__________________________________________________



105.


__________________________________________________



106.


__________________________________________________



107.


__________________________________________________



108.


__________________________________________________



109.


__________________________________________________



110.


__________________________________________________



111.


__________________________________________________



112.


__________________________________________________



113.


__________________________________________________



114.


__________________________________________________



115.


__________________________________________________



116.


__________________________________________________



117.


__________________________________________________



118.


__________________________________________________



119.


__________________________________________________



120.


__________________________________________________



121.


__________________________________________________



122.


__________________________________________________



123.


__________________________________________________



124.


__________________________________________________



125.


__________________________________________________



126.


__________________________________________________



127.


__________________________________________________



128.


__________________________________________________



129.


__________________________________________________



130.


__________________________________________________



131.


__________________________________________________



132.


__________________________________________________



133.


__________________________________________________



134.


__________________________________________________



135.


__________________________________________________



136.


__________________________________________________



137.


__________________________________________________



138.


__________________________________________________



139.


__________________________________________________



140.


__________________________________________________



141.


__________________________________________________



142.


__________________________________________________



143.


__________________________________________________



144.


__________________________________________________



145.


__________________________________________________



146.


__________________________________________________



147.


__________________________________________________



148.


__________________________________________________



149.


__________________________________________________



150.


__________________________________________________



151.


__________________________________________________



152.


__________________________________________________



153.


__________________________________________________



154.


__________________________________________________



155.


__________________________________________________



156.


__________________________________________________



157.


__________________________________________________



158.


__________________________________________________



159.


__________________________________________________



160.


__________________________________________________



161.


__________________________________________________



162.


__________________________________________________



163.


__________________________________________________



164.


__________________________________________________



165.


__________________________________________________



166.


__________________________________________________



167.


__________________________________________________



168.


__________________________________________________



169.


__________________________________________________



170.



Notes:

If you see technophille (that's two L's) around, it's not me. Just so you know.

Secrets Left to Post: 14 pages, 340 secrets from Secret Submission Post #075.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 - broken links ], [ 1 2 3 - not!secrets ], [ 1 2 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 3 - too big ], [ 1 - what ], [ 1 - here we go again ], [ 1 - person thinks pairings are religion ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: 158

[venusian-eye.livejournal.com]

I was very wrong, and I am sorry. You do not have a lack of suffering; you have an excess. Given that, your reaction to TTGL makes perfect sense. I also apologize for disrespecting your age and experience.

But... isn't blind optimism the only kind? The only way to have any hope in this world is to ignore large parts of it, because reality is bitter and cruel. I'm a hypersensitive kid, to the extent that I'm on meds to control my emotions; I know suffering at least as well as you do. To be pessimistic is to be realistic; suicidal people tend to have extremely accurate perceptions of the world. To put it simply, reality bites.

I defy reality. I won't accept a world in which children are beaten and young girls are raped - where people like you are hurt. Somehow, I'll make this world change, make it saner and less horrible. That's just the sort of person I am. You can call it stupidity or shallowness, but it takes a great deal of willpower to essentially flip reality the bird and batter against it until one or the other breaks. That's what I intend to do with my life - batter against reality until I break through or die. Sure, it's stupid and probably doomed to failure. But I will live this way nonetheless, because I believe that is how my life ought to be lived.

So, perhaps childishly, I see a lot of myself and what I want to strive for in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Hope itself is ridiculous; so Gurren Lagann is a ridiculous and over-the-top series by necessity. Maybe there are other ways to help people change the world, but this is the best one I have found.

What is your opinion? What, precisely, do you find shallow about TTGL? I will admit that the story contains a lot of archetypes, but the story they tell, to me, is important. What do you like the most about Eva's story?

Re: 158

[(Anonymous)]

OP : Haha, I do believe our disagreement stems on polar-opposite life philosophies! Because of everything I've gone through I have an extremely tough skin and I've learned to be exceptionally resilient because I know it's the only way to survive. I have wonderful people in my life and I know they'll help me when they can, but I know I can't expect to depend on them for everything because I'll just be disappointed. I have learned to accept that bad things happen to good people for no apparent reason, and there's nothing more to it than that unfortunately. Yes, hope is very important but within reason. I personally believe it's extremely healthy to get upset and beat yourself up every now and then because this is healthy, and unless you do you'll never be able to improve yourself. However, I also resent anyone who sits around and whines all the time about depression. Personal happiness is a choice; if you chose to be happy, eventually you will be actually happy. Sounds retarded, but as a general rule it's true. Some people genuinely do have chemical imbalances that make achieving that a little more difficult, but most of the population could do it if they actually wanted to.

So in a sense, I do sort of agree GL on that factor. However, while I haven't finished the series as of yet, as far as I can tell that the underlying meaning seems to be one of absolute positivity and determination. I don't necessarily disagree with that in of itself, but I do think that relying on ONLY that is stupid and naive.

I believe what I like the most about Eva is how three-dimensional all the characters are. While Rei is arguably the only one incapable of being three-dimensional since she's a physical embodiment of all of the various sections of Shinji's mother's psyche, I really appreciate the fact that not a single person in Eva is a completely good person. Each character has their dark, weak sides to them, and even most of their villains show some redeeming characteristics at times. I feel like this, as well as The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, is one of the most accurate portrayals of humanity I have ever seen. If nothing else, I appreciate Eva for that. While I disagree with running around being a general douche, I account for moments of moral weakness from everyone I know. It's just how people work. Everyone is inherently flawed and I expect them to behave so every now and then.

As for anything else, my perceived meaning of Eva changes every time I watch it, which I also think makes it an extremely strong piece of art. Everyone can take away something different while still learning from it, which is something I strive for in my literature. It is an exceptionally powerful piece overflowing with interesting symbolism that can be interpreted in many different ways, and THAT above all things to me is what makes something good. I find GL shallow because the meaning is fairly straight-forward and simple; there is very little depth to it which does not make my mind think interesting or unique thoughts at all. It does not challenge me at all. So while I enjoy the animation and character designs, the story and underlying meanings do very little for me.

I did genuinely enjoy this debate, by the way!