Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. It's such a full of all that makes up Viral as a beastman, as a person. You can't help but admire Viral's bravery, his fragile strength; it's so difficult to imagine what an eternal life would be like, after all. The friendship between Simon & Viral was inspiring - there's a sense of invariable closeness between the two who had lingered and existed for so long after the last of their generation had departed. The scene you chose for Viral to reminisce about, the fleeting dream of that impossible family, and the way it continued to haunt him says a lot about him as a person. And when he finally, finally succeeds in rescuing his daughter... that moment was just beyond words. Thank you so much for sharing!

Im honestly out of words.

Your story made me cry all the time I read it. It was so beautiful and so terribly sad, that I cant begin to describe it. This is one of the best Viral-fics I have ever read.

this was beautiful. you really seem to have a firm understanding of viral's character—not just his personality, but his insecurities and just basically how he's wired. as far as I'm concerned, this totally could have been canon.

I think you really captured the essence of TTGL in this—like tobu ishi said, it's all about struggling through whatever life throws at you and overcoming it.

really, really good job. this is probably my favorite story in the entire gurren lagann section.

Pardon my incoherence.

o.o

Oh my god. You - this - it -

This is the kind of fic I would write if I had three times as much talent as I do and a metaphorical golden tongue. I am humbled by your skill.

Congratulations, you made me cry!

I really, really loved this story so much. It was a nice touch to start with the death of Simon, then continue with the general public's reaction and last show Viral's POV.

Some of my favorite parts in this section included:

-Viral being upset that Simon didn't leave any last words or anything behind for him. It

seemed very realistic because when someone dies there are often "loose ends" rather than a neat resolution for everything right before death.

-Viral wrapping Simon's cloak around him in his grief because it smelled like Simon. So sad and

yet so incredibly sweet.

-that Viral's alternate universe wife was based off on someone he knew

-how he thought that his behavior was childish and immature because Simon's past loss was

more "real" so he shouldn't be so worked up with it.

-that so much remained unspoken between them (Viral being unable to aplogize even after he resolved to do so, how little they spoke, etc.) and somehow they were still able to come to an understanding. I especially liked that Simon gave him very little advice but it was very powerful because it showed how much he cared about Viral and that he didn't view his pain as "lesser" at all.

-how Viral finally broke down and then right when Simon silently comforted him he was startled back to reality from his reminescing. So bittersweet.

-the whole bit on how Simon had a bigger "office" now

-how Viral was finally able to save his daughter in his dream when he found the resolution for his problems

-generally how Viral was so self-aware and yet self-deprecating even after everything he accomplished and how he eventually got over it. He somehow always struck me as someone who probably struggled with feelings inadequacy at times and generally felt quite intensely, even if he had sometimes trouble showing or admitting it to others, like in your story, but eventually got on his feet again in his own unique way like many of the other TTGL characters.

You really wrote a beautiful and moving story about one of the series' most fascinating characters.

why is this not labeled angst? it made me cry so friggin much!

Very good.

::sobs::

You...make immortality sound so...bad...I mean, I know it is, but people don't realize it. Until something like this happens...er, would happen? Something like that. It makes you really think about whether it'd really be all that to be immortal - watching everyone die like that.

...

;_;

Beautiful story.

This is a fantastic story.

Extremely well written and it brought tears to my eyes.

Good job!

Lovely, lovely work. I like the flow of it, and the realization of Viral's fate-and I particularly like that you end it on a rising note, with the flow of energy that ran through Kamina to save Simon and Simon to save Nia and Nia back to Simon again and then out to the whole Dai-Gurren team, finally coming home to roost with Viral, the last of them all. Immortality can be such a bitter theme, and you address that here but then move on to mastering the bitterness and finding hope within it. The Dai-Gurren spirit is life struggling against all odds to win and thrive, and Viral embodies that at the end of this piece.

Aside from the overarching themes, I really liked the description of the worldwide wake celebrations for Simon, and the mention that the earth is, in fact, the rightful place for a digger to rest. Viral's phantom loss was as heartbreaking as the original fantasy scene, and as little as I have against yaoi, it was refreshing to see a strong male friendship celebrated as just such. It seemed to wander a little into a monologue about Viral's past for a bit, unrelated to the relationship with Simon that drives the piece, but got back on track and finished strongly.

Thanks for a great read!

You're a very good writer. D This is one of the best crafted short fanfictions I've read in quite a while, and you use subtle action very well. The line: "An empty bottle clattered to the floor. Viral didn't bother to pick it up" really struck me as genius in stating his mental temperament without spelling it out in the narration.

You've done a fantastic job keeping everyone in character and this was an enjoyable read. Thanks for writing!

Well, damn. You're an amazing writer (your fics are far and away the best I've read in this section on ), but now I've read everything you've got posted here! As with your other TTGL fics, this fits with my view of the canon seamlessly. Your characterization is incredibly spot-on. You've done a remarkable job of evoking the emotions that Viral feels - I feel like I'm riding inside his head right along with you. Anyway, great job, and thank you!

Beautiful.

Tears in my eyes. It's that good.