Ingrained - Comments

I really don't know who this Youtuber is, but I see and fee and understand the character in this story. It's really beautiful how you give us so much of Jack without much of the narrator. Through her/his interactions with Jack, we get bits of his/her world and life, and it's easy to see how the world is so much bigger when Jack is in it.

You're a really beautiful writer.

"could i have made this layout any more green" Okay, but LISTEN. This layout is fucking perfect for this perfect masterpiece.

I've reread this like fifty times already because I love it so much. I mean, holy shit, Nikko.
I need a moment to process how your writing has completely left me shook. I. AM. SHOOK.

You have always been so good at characterization and with the way you've described Jack—from his words to his actions to his thoughts—I could picture him so clearly. So like when are you going to admit that at one point you spent time with Jack because in only 1k words you were able to perfectly capture who he is and the way he was described showed just how much the protagonist knew him and loved him. Your diction was simply beautiful and the first time I read this, it brought tears to my eyes. Each line got even more amazing as the story went on and I've practically embedded most of them into my mind because of how hard they hit me and made me feel.

his summer sky eyes — Can I just say that this is such a lovely contrast to the typical "icy blues" we usually get in fics because not only is that another way of saying his eyes are blue, but it also immediately describes the kind of person he is. When I think of Jack, I think of the cute lil goofball that's comforting and warm, not a guy that's distant and cold. If Jack was a season, he would definitely be summer. He's so lively and fun and energetic that you can't help but smile when he comes and miss him when he goes.

"I'd never done a panel on my own," he sighed, reliving his most recent convention with phantom jitters, "but it was so fuckin' fun, y'know?" — I could practically hear his voice. Also help me, the part where you could tell Jack wanted you there as he told you about his trip left me on the floor because HE WANTED YOU THERE AND YOU COULD SEE IT IN THOSE BIG BEAUTIFUL EYES OF HIS BUT HE'S STILL REALLY HAPPY YOU WATCHED THE PANEL BC YOU SUPPORT HIM AND HE LOVES YOU I WANNA DIE.

He was in the bathroom, belting out whatever was floating around in his head as he showered (twenty one pilots turned into anime theme songs, which then turned into an acapella rendition of a few Star Wars themes) — WHY IS THIS SO HIM I CANNOT BELIEVE THE REALNESS. HE'S ALWAYS SINGING AND HIM AND HIS DAMN ANIME THIS FUCKING DORK I LOVE HIM.

He was in my bed, the cold tip of his nose against my neck, his arms curled around my waist. He spoke against my skin, told me his worries about YouTube ("What if it gets too big? Twelve million people is already so fuckin' much, what if I screw it up?") and his impending plane ride ("No,") and, as he began to fall asleep, about how he could have always been a ninja ("I'm so stealthy, did you know? I'm a fuckin' shadow already!"). He slept soundly, a truly soft star that was somehow planted beside me. — Nikko do you want to kill me. This is fucking precious and I like curled into a ball while clutching my heart. Look, I'm only human and no human can handle something this cute. Not even me.

I wonder if, whenever someone brushes their fingers against a spot Jack has grazed, they get a small, burning burst of happiness and love in their chest the way I do when he touches me. — This explains everything. No wonder I'm happy at random times. IT'S ALL JACK'S FAULT. IT'S SPREADING.

Ugh and the ending. I didn't want it to end but with how it left me hugging myself and smiling widely, I'm all good tbh. Despite the long distance, Jack's presence is just that positive and strong that it's almost like he's always there with you. I'M-



Anyways, I'm going to keep rereading this until I die because this is honestly my favorite thing right now. I love you and I can't wait to see what other works you'll kill me with.

Okay, here I am. Are you ready for this, because I might ramble again.

I'll start with, I am A HUGE Jack fan. Like, I can't express my love because it's not possible. He's my favorite youtuber. Though it looks like AH is and Michael is. But no. That's a close second. Anyway. I saw the lovely Jack in your story section and went "YES" instantly.

When I read your summary, I was like "Ohhhhhh no, this is going to be like the whole story here and there will be no surprises or heartstrings being pulled, I am prepared."

Boooooooy was I wrong. I started it, and your style is amazing. I adore it. I love to imagine things, see things as I read them and it's hard sometimes. But the way your wrote about Jack, I felt like I was the person in the story. I heard his voice, saw his smile and eyes. I felt butterflies in my stomach as if Jack was touching me, speaking to me. I felt my heart slowly melt into sadness. Each line, each time she talked about him, I was dying inside.

It probably doesn't help that I fell for someone across the ocean. That I had him in my house for 6 days. It was harmless, then we kissed and maybe it helped me tie this together in my head, make it more real. I was tearing up in the end. I didn't want him to go. I want him to come back. To say "Aw, fuck it" and get on a plane and be there again. To love her the way they both deserve to be loved. Because my heart broke and I could feel theirs break too.

And reading this made me realize that you gave me life tonight. First that you read my story and commented and then I read yours and realized how amazing you are and how you found my story and said it was good. Like, what? I don't see how I deserve that, I'm far too harsh with myself. But damn. That was amazing. <3