I cried so hard at this one. It hurts to see a young boy who just wants to save people but can't get close to them because it will just hurt him because they would die, and the questions of whether or not everything was real and... *sniff*

Nice story, I love how you used him as the "famed genius" it made it sound really sad.

I liked how you used to guote at the beginning to say what poor mark di after the war.

Hi! I read this haha

This is really good

I was wondering if you could make a full version like from the beginning of the game

Very good story, I especially loved how well the exposition scenes were used.

I wonder how Mark would react to Ninian actually dying (temporarily anyway.)

Hi! I'm here because this was rec'd to me. And I have to say, I wasn't disappointed.

This is actually one of two stories ever in which I found myself really caring about the tactician. At first he seems like this stupid little jerkass punk, but as the tale unfolds and we get some painful insight into why he acts that way, you have to feel for the kid, in a horrified kind of way. The premise of the fic contributed a lot to to his believability as a character, but all those little details about his lineage, and his interactions with Nino helped fleshed him out, as well.

I think an idea like this would have lended itself really nicely to a chaptered structure, but it worked as a one-shot too. Nice job!

I know I just said this in a recent review to one of your other fics, but I am particularly fond of your subversion fics. :3 Here, we have the Gary Stu Tactician so often seen in this fandom - perfect battle record, budding romantic relationship with a canon character, noble lineage, and of course, supernatural ability. But then, while your Mark embodies all of these things, with your help he becomes something else entirely; a well-rounded and startlingly human character who the reader is encouraged to grow with as the fic progresses. By the end, I think the reader is left with a great deal of empathy for Mark and his seemingly hopeless situation, something that is certainly not true of your typical Gary Stu Tactician fic.

The other thing that particularly stood out to me, now that I've read this fic again after several months have passed, is the effectiveness of the exposition scene. When I read the story through this time, I found it to be placed perfectly, as well as quite moving and surprising (even though, being very familiar with the fic, I of course knew what was going to happen :-P), and not simply because there is a bit of gore with Nino's wounds and the flashes of those who fell before her. I think Mark's memories of his father blended with the bloody gravity of the present - and then the conclusion, the callous, unknowing actions of the others - all make the scene especially compelling.

So yes, long story short, this is a very unique, interesting piece, and I'm happy that you wrote it and that I reread it. :D And as always, lovely work.

Hi, I read this :)

No seriously, this was great.

Awesome how you turned the whole reloading save states thing into something much deeper and tragic even. It's cooler even that you gave Mark his personality. It changed my perspective XD

Now I ship Nino/Your!Mark.

Thats a pretty epic view. At first I was expecting something different from the parring. But you honestly surprised me. A job well done.

Ahh poor mark. And awww, poor Lyn and Nino! Nino needs a happier fate (

Incrdible.

I would love a nevelisation of this story, It would be amazing.

I liked it. I was really depressed at the end.

but stories that do that are in my opinion the best.

what a sad fic

Here I am, more than a month later. What is that? Oh yeah. HI AMMIE. I would have reviewed this sooner but I do fail at life (and at fandoming, which is life, so...) but I hope to leave you at least a semi-decent review for this well-received shot of AMAZING.

The quote you picked is pretty awesome, but it gives me a bad feeling...

[Lyn paused for a moment before she retorted, "Oh? I know a few other boys who won't behave."] Oooh, TOO SLOW LYN!

First scene was really nice. At first when you mentioned a really young tactician I was curious (but admittedly a bit doubtful) about how you'd pull it off and keep it serious. I like that the group has this...respect for him on the battlefield but can't really stand him off of it.

Whining until Lowen loaned him his horse, indeed.

["It's because of him that we're all alive. All of us. It's nothing short of a miracle."] This, too, says what needs to be said. They're not singing his praises, per se, but they're definitely acknowledged. And if everyone's going to live, that is something that should definitely be acknowledged.

[You shouldn't seek the company of those who mistreat you.] Nino got that advice a little too late, I'd say. Kind of ironic and funny.

The scene with Nino and Mark in his tent was interesting. I almost feel bad for Mark, if only because he's just a kid and does have immense responsibility, but... At the same time I'd like to smack him.

[She clenched her fists behind her back where he couldn't see them and replied with thinning patience, "You should know that most of the army thinks less of you for your attitude."] I REALLY liked this scene. I mean. REALLY. Liked this scene. I always imagined in my head that Lyn and the tactician would have some kind of falling out, or just that they'd grow apart, so this was interesting. And the reasoning behind it even more so. (I mean, Mark's attitude aside, what he said to Nino was pretty mean when it's obvious that in some way, Nino still cared about her mother, because no matter how awful Sonia had been to her, she had still been raised by her.)

Lyn's thinning patience and then a snap of anger there at the end? Really nice. I like how you write Lyn. :)

["I'm good with horses. My dad and I traveled a lot."] ;_;

["A puzzle. They're supposed to make a cube."] It's like a medieval rubix cube...but not. Of course then I imagine a self-insert tactician giving someone like Hector a rubix cube to solve... My brain is hurting.

[There had never been love. Sonia said as much. But Sonia could only speak for herself.] ...WAH. Dammit, that's so sad. And awesome. Best line in the story so far.

["I'm sorry I said that. I'm really sorry."] MY EYES ARE STRANGELY MISTY.

[Then suddenly, he said, "Will you be my girlfriend?"] That word jars me in fanfiction for Fire Emblem for some reason. It doesn't feel dated, I guess. It feels quite modern.

[edge dark ruby beautiful ugly] LOVE this.

[organs and life wasted in spatters] And this.

[It's all the worse when they can die more than once.] AHHH I lied this is the best line in this story. It just fits SO well. I hate stopping reading to type this review, by the way, but I keep wanting to quote things... And then I stop myself because I have to quote something else. His memory of Lyndis dying is really horrible, just so sad, but also really...awesome. I mean, it just fits in so well!

Ugh, so depressing, the scene after he brings Nino back/rewinds time. I think the power is really interesting and, in a Fire Emblem universe, completely believable, in my opinion.

I love that you brought in all of the negative aspects of a "restart" button. Way to make me feel guilty every time I play the game and have to restart a chapter, Ammie!

["Because you're all dead," he muttered to himself in his lonely tent. "You're dead and you're going to die again and maybe you never existed at all."] And this...just as amazing a piece as the rest. It really stuck out to me.

This is one of the best pieces of fic in this fandom, in my opinion. The most creative piece with the tactician, that's for sure. (And well-written to boot, but I'd expect nothing less.)

A novelization/retelling with this "power"/theme would have been just...beyond amazing. This 'fic as a standalone was already amazing, so I can't even imagine how awesome it might have been to live those incidents Mark remembers...with him, so to speak.

The theme is just crazy amazing. AMAZING. Immortality in all its forms is really interesting to me, and the way you painted it here is no less interesting in my eyes.

I love how, in the beginning, we see how Lyndis, and Hector, and even Eliwood view Mark. And Mark isn't exactly likable, isn't someone hate-able, either, but he's kind of...unlikable.

The "time" power he has makes his young age believable, the victories believable. His mistakes make his bitterness real, understandable.

When I was reading this, particularly the scene with Nino dead, and the flashback to a dead Lyndis, and later the sort-of flashback to all the others who had died... I really, truly felt for Mark. Obviously you wrote this, so I assume you can, but can you even imagine the horror, the pain, that having that power would create? On one hand, what an amazing GIFT! (And this reminds me of Ella Enchanted, where the "Gift of Obedience" was more a curse than a gift, but nonetheless...) But how many times did he have to watch Lyn die? (I especially loved the line about how she had mothered him more than his own mother... So sad, but still really sweet. And sadder, still, because in a sense he was seeing a friend and a mother-figure die. At least once, but...how many mistakes do you suppose a 13-year-old might make giving orders to an army? My heart hurts to think of that.

Thank you for writing such a delightful piece. And by delightful I mean absolutely heartbreaking and depressing, but still amazing.

Cheers,

-Manna

Holy **** that was intense. Nightmare time. Urg.

in...credible... i'm shocked. floored. er... *cough* lovely story? XP ah, the restart button feature... and the effects it would have if used in "real" life. very nice.