#marvel quite literally did not invent that style of humor

[yllowpages]

[insane-control-room]

The Concept, Chapter Two

Happy Ending

Johan was trying to keep it together. He was. It was so addictive to let it all go.

There are warnings to be listed, among the most important, implied rape, child death, and non traditional drug use.

Chapter One Here

Their studio expanded, Henry insisting on making more room for more workers. They built up one floor, for Joey’s apartment, and down one floor for the actual studio.

It felt good to build something with someone special to him.

What makes one special?

The most rare form of the word special is in reference to a train car used on rare occasions.

But we don’t have time to unpack all that.

Many things can create a form of peculiar distinction, and that pulls on a form of something special. Items are special when they have something different about them. For example, a computer made in nineteen twenty seven is something special compared to one made in two thousand seven. A scar composed of words is something special when you see it next to one from, let us assume, one from a broken arm. A person with a talent is called a person with a specialty. Holding a loved one in a dire situation is a special and terrible feeling, even if the gentle caresses will be forgotten a moment later.

Special means something different and awesome, yet awesome has two meanings.

That makes one special, when something is valuable and unique to them.

Joey met a good deal of talented and special people in the week he opened for hiring.

Sammy Lawrence was someone special. Jack Fain was someone special as well.

Sammy and Jack were like a diagnoser and a surgeon, one knowing what must be done and the other knowing how to do it, and these roles easily swapped between them.

Sammy and Jack came in together, one with a banjo and the other with lyrics. They performed wonderfully as a pair, clearly close friends, despite their obvious differences in styles. Sammy was harsh, taciturn, and smooth, whereas Jack was a mellow, soft spoken, and wry fellow.

They made quite the musical pair, the duo seemingly capable of all sorts of admirable ‘note’worthy (Dear reader, allow me to have my humor in this dire and grotesque situation. These small prods are my only special comfort in the pain of chronicling his side of the tale.) melodies. Joey and Henry hired them immediately.

Susie, the wonderful voice actress was someone special.

Her voice was nigh angelic, though when Henry had mentioned it so, Joey flinched, almost expecting something abnormal to occur, relaxing when nothing happened. Joey then quietly agreed that her singing was a heavenly marvel. Susie showed her voicing talent, and both Henry and Joey gave her a standing ovation along with her hiring. Joey laughed when she joked of a character just for her, shrugging and replying with a maybe.

Susie sent him a special smile, her eyes flicking over him, making him blush with the question if she was blind to see the pin stuck on his suit. At the same time, the rainbow was not a popularized symbol at the moment, and so this small incident was dismissed.

Lacie Benton and Thomas Connor introduced themselves by their quarreling over who was the better technician.

Lacie had a cool head and a passive aggressive attitude toward Thomas, and he was a foul mouthed temperamental man. Henry broke them apart by clearing his throat and cocking his eyebrow, he face asking if they were three year olds fighting over a toy. Faces, of course, cannot ask questions, but Henry was such a cartoonish being that it positively radiated from him. Had Joey been any more picturelike than he was, his eyes would be hearts at the confident and fluid manner Henry took control of the scene.

Henry asked Thomas who he was.

Thomas explained he was from a company called Gent, Gent Piping and Metal Wares, from Pittsburgh. He could duct up and fix anything they wanted done, and he had a cousin who could help with voice acting. He pulled out a little invention of his, something he called a clean reel, a reel with the same properties of all the others, but erasable simply by dipping into acetone. They all were aware it was a special and handy asset to any animation studio.

Lacie rolled hir eyes, saying that she could fix anything Thomas could and fix it better, and robotics were hir specialty. Joey’s eyes lit up, and he quietly begged Henry to let hir show them a model. Henry acquiesced as Joey’s big red brown puppy eyes won him over.

Henry was impressed.

Thomas and Lacie were both hired, Lacie for robotics and complex machinery, Thomas as a handy man and production analyzer.

Wally Franks was hired nearly on accident, but Joey would always call him the best person to break a window. He fell in through the half set pane, and his specific accent completely floored both Henry and Joey. He was a good young man, with a dazzling special grin and wonderful, bouncy, dichotometric personality.

Though they had not really needed the assistance, they offered him the janitorial job, which he accepted with a shrug and wink, leaving their presence with a special, “Well, I’m outta here!”

(In a slow period as they were filling out paperwork, Henry’s hand wandered onto Joey’s knee.)

(Joey’s blush went unnoticed.)

(Not really.)

Grant Cohen was hired instantly, Joey relaxing and practically vibrating when the accountant showed his skill. Numbers were his specialty, and he had a knack for solving any little problem that proposed itself. Johan was delighted, Henry rolling his eyes and grinning at his business partner’s simple happiness over such a small matter.

Shawn Flynn was someone special. A right down cursing and energetic blackguard, he never ceased to make Johan and Henry howl and guffaw with laughter, his special positivity blazing from his unique swears and beautiful smile. Yeah, he wanted to apply as a toy maker. Mhm, knows every stitch in the salmonella filled book. Of course he has fookin’ samples!

Joey put the little Bendy in his pocket, adoring it’s special miniature size, and Henry’s Boris ended up on their shared desk.

Norman Polk was their last hire for the time, a special bright intelligence simmering out of his eyes, and he introduced himself as a projectionist. He knew what he was doing. He knew how to handle the reels and the stands. He was a special find, not only knowing how to man the projectors, but knew their maintenance in and out.

Johan and Henry were ecstatic. They did not get any new drawing hirees, but between the two of them, it was perfect. Nothing more, nothing less than wonderful.

Hours spent early in the morning or evening with Wallace telling them that everyone had gone home already. Johan’s arm wrapped over Henry’s shoulders a drunken night after animations were completed, Henry splaying himself over Joey with the migraine that followed the morning after. People noting they leaned toward each other, in more ways than one. It was a glorious time, Diane hardly noticeable as Henry managed to schedule himself better, finding out how to time himself correctly. Joey always reminded him of his girlfriend when it got too late, and it was always a bittersweet moment for the both of them when he went home.

Joey would often stay up late, so late, until the wee hours of the morning, escaping to the workshop literally beneath his feet to draw, trying to remove something (the thought of Henry) out of his mind. He always woke up with a blanket over his thin shoulders, and a note from Henry telling him to ‘sleep at normal goddamn hours!’

Johan accumulated an entire drawer of these notes.

Henry would stand behind him as they spoke of other episodes and new ideas, his arms wrapped around his shoulders as Johan sat and talked, so full of wonderful new ideas.

Henry could almost sense his teal eyes go green with the envy of Joey’s plans and stories and concepts. He forced the jealousy from his system, making himself feel happy for their success. Theirs, together.

Damn Joey and his infinite ideas.

His beautiful mind and heart, so kind and open.

Oh, Henry could play on him.

He knew how Joey would gaze at him, dreamy and loving.

So useable.

He began to speak of Diane and Linda more often.

Joey pushed back slowly.

Hired Bertrum without consulting Henry, but asking Lacie.

Henry’s blood was hot at the action, but he was a patient man. He could wait, and he hired Johnny, a sleezy but excellent organist. Johan did not trust nor like him, but Henry had already hired him, so he bit back his concerns, trying to ignore the way Johnny eyed his pride pin. He turned to Bertrum as a safety.

Bertrum was like an uncle to Johan, the younger man easily accepting him as such a figure.

Called him Uncle Bertie after a few months, the first time Henry hearing it in the late summer. He mentioned it to Lacie, who shrugged and said he started calling him that in the early spring.

It made him furious. He held his cool, though, and simply laughed it off.

He will get his revenge soon enough.

He thought he had it at one point, when they went to a meeting of their investors.

He thought it would be the end of anything pleasant between Johan and Bertrum.

“Ah, yes,” Joey grinned, “This is Bertie Piedmont.”

Henry held back a smirk at the pink flush on the park maker’s face, the reddish shade so contrasting with his olive skin.

“Bertie?” one man snorted. Joey’s eyebrows shot up and he laughed. “What?”

“He is my uncle, apologies,” Joey shrugged. “He is Bertrum. Force of habit.”

Henry was stunned at the understanding on their investors faces.

“But you don’t look anything like each other,” another pointed out.

“I’m adopted,” Johan stiffly replied. The man who made the comment blushed and hastily apologized. Joey waved it off. “Now, let’s discuss this - we’ll do a bid.”

They returned to the studio with metaphorically much fuller pockets.

A shriek interrupted everyone’s work the next day.

Sammy looked over at Henry.

“Was that Mr. Dre-”

The shriek repeated itself, but was suddenly cut off by howls of laughter.

“Henr- AHAHAH! HEN, HELP!”

Henry rolled his eyes and got up, making his way to where the voice was coming from on the lower levels.

Sure enough, Joey was there, on the floor, his wrists held down by a smiling Lacie and his sides being tickled by Bertrum.

The long man writhed and guffawed and was on the verge of tears from laughing so hard.

Henry felt a grin cross his lips, and he leaned against the wall. Joey somehow managed to notice him, his face darker than ever, and he called out to him.

“Please! Henry, help!” he gasped, tears leaking out of his eyes between fits of giggles and laughter. “Henry!”

“Oh, I’ll help alright,” he answered, his grin growing as he made his way to them. He leaned down, sitting beside Lacie, and gently brushed his fingers on the underside of Joey’s chin.

His eyes widened and he sucked in a breath, before his laughter erupted louder than before.

He shook from the abuse, no longer able to even laugh, and he choked on every breath, his face dark maroon and his eyes streaming tears.

Henry smirked. This was a good enough revenge for now.

They let him up about three minutes later, and as he sat up, he instantly flopped back down, trying to catch his breath.

Henry lay beside him on the floor, wrapping an arm around him. Joey put a hand over his.

Bertrum and Lacie retreated to the other room, Bertrum saying, “You and I need to talk, Joey.”

Joey nodded, eyes closed and face flushed, and he leaned his head on Henry’s golden and pink curls. Henry listened to him breathe, his own breathing unintentionally syncing up to his.

Eventually Joey pushed himself off the wooden floor, extending a hand to Henry. Henry took it, standing as Joey tugged him up, their combined effort leaving them sprawling back, Joey landing on a chair with Henry pressed to his chest. Henry felt his, Johan’s, breath hitch.

He grinned, pulling himself back off of him.

“See you, Joey,” he hummed, making his way back upstairs. Joey blushed even more, simply so stunned by all recent events that he just sat in the chair for another five minutes, getting up with a, “Well then.”

He stumbled into the room Bertrum was waiting for him in, and the older man smiled gently when he saw him. He wrapped an arm over Joey’s tall shoulder, pulling him down to sit with him on a couch. He laughed quietly.

“Johan, Johan,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “Had you been anyone else, I literally would have crushed you like a bug.”

Joey laughed nervously.

“C’mere, you insolent nephew,” Bertrum tugged him into an awkward but comforting hug. Johan sighed, smiling and relaxing into the touch. “Love you, Joey.”

“I love you too, Uncle Bertie,” he replied, hugging him tighter. Lacie’s arms wrapped around both of them. They looked up at hir with gentle smiles. “And you, Aunt Lacie.”

“Yeah yeah, cut the sentimentalities,” she muttered. Bertrum rolled his eyes. They stayed like that for a long time, Johan trying to hold onto every moment like it was his last.

Disney was gone.

What had he done?!

What if he lost his temper and deleted someone in his studio!?

What if he deleted Bertrum or Lacie?

What if he deleted Henry?

He would not be able to live with himself.

His heart ached as he felt his humanity slowly slipping through his fingers like sand.

Other names had joined Disney’s, pinned to the side of the binary computer.

Who else would he remove from life, remove from the entirety of the world?

That would be in the future. Right now, he was in Bertrum and Lacie’s arms, his family, the whole studio was his family, the only family he ever had, and he swore to never delete any of them. He would do his best to hold onto himself.

Despite how much he detested every breath he made.

He hated that he was continuously living.

He did not deserve it. Only good people deserved to live.

He was anything but good.

Disgusting.

Joey Drew, the man who did not exist, would be better than him.

“Johan? Are you okay?” Bertrum’s worried - no, not worried, concerned - concerned voice asked, pulling him out of his mind. Joey hummed in question. “You’re crying.”

“I’m fine,” he murmured. “Just tired is all. Maybe I’m coming down with something.”

“Are you sure?” Lacie asked, putting a hand on his forehead. No temperature, but he leaned into hir touch. “You don’t have a fever.”

“I’ll take a nap,” he replied, getting up. Lacie and Bertrum exchanged a look. “Good night.”

He stared at the ceiling of his room. The music of the orchestra played beneath him.

He looked over at the computer on his desk, feeling sickened. The computer was hooked up to the ink machine downstairs, at first just to monitor the goings on and how much ink was used, then to control it and have ink, living ink , coming from it, the life sapped from those he deleted. Oh, how he regretted it! How he hated it! How he wanted to smash both creations to bits!

But he was addicted. It was an escape, a fantasy world, a world where nothing could go wrong and everything stayed right. No bankruptcy, no fights, no competition, no sickness, everything was perfect.

Everything but him.

He was scared, he was terrified. He knew how easy it was to completely remove someone from ever existing with just two clicks, he had already done it to six people, and he knew the number would grow.

He fell asleep while staring at the blinking green line on the screen, his mind plagued by night terrors as he drifted off.

“Papa?” he woke up to being poked on the face. Aramis was looking at him, sitting on his chest with a pout. “Papa, get up, I want breakfast.”

“Jus’ a second,” he slurred, his motions slow and his head heavy. Aramis tried to pull him up, and Johan made it seem like he did, getting up with each of his child’s tugs. “What do you want to eat?”

“Cereal,” the six year old answered. Johan smiled, going to the cabinet and pulling out the box. “That one.”

Johan hummed as he pulled down a bowl, opening the box and pouring some out.

He screamed.

Maggots and blood, and were those bits of brain?!

Memories slammed into him.

“Aramis!” he shouted, turning to his little boy, tears already pouring down his face. His son’s head was on the table he was slouched on, his eyes glazed over and lips parted. Johan knew what he would see if he lifted his head, but shakily went to him anyways, carefully picking up his head from where it was pressed to the table. The bullet hole straight through his skull made his stomach lurch. Laughter escaped his lips, painful, aching, sobbing laughter, joined by a deep chuckle. He snapped to face the man beside him. “You! Murderer!”

Rico simply smiled at him, leaning the shotgun on his shoulder.

“You killed my son!”

“You let me.”

“How could I have known!?”

“He was in your arms.”

“I couldn’t protect him….”

“No. You’re weak, you’re worthless. You couldn’t even save your own child.”

“Shut up!”

“You let me shoot him while you held him.”

“Stop!”

“You begged me to not shoot, but you did nothing to stop me.”

“Be quiet! Shut up, shut up!”

“He’s dead, and it’s all your fault.”

“Please, stop,” Johan fell to his knees, the blood of his son covering his shirt. He could taste his blood and bone on his lips. “Ricky, please, make it all stop… please… please just kill me….”

“You’re sick.”

“Rico….”

A slap sent him sprawling onto the floor, his legs splayed with numbness, the polio inching into every muscle and nerve. A kick to his face made him cough numbers, the ones and zeros escaping his mouth.

He was yanked up by his messy hair, his step brother smiling at him.

“Smile back, Johan,” he said in a sing song tone. Joey forced his lips up. “Good boy.”

He slammed him back to the floor.

“Keep smiling!”

The shotgun cocked, and Johan found it shoved in his face.

“Three!”

“Rico! Please, please, wait wait wait!”

“I thought you wanted me to end it all?”

“I don’t know!” he wailed.

“Two!”

“Please no! God, please wait, please, no, wait!”

“One!”

“Rico!”

The gun fired, time slowing, Johan able to see the bullet slowly making its way to him.

He stared at the golden shell, his eyes widening, his lips parting, and

He woke up, gasping, clutching at his hearts, his other hand scrambling against his sheets, trying to find a grip to hold on to.

He stumbled to the computer, typing in the formula for the numbing solution, feeling himself disconnect with each virtual dose.

He drooped against the wall, sighing with relief as the pain vanished.

Hehe… who was Aramis again? Oh, right, his son. Dead son. Baby shot in his arms. Right. Blood. Mmm. Blood. He had blood, right? He did not like it. His blood made him feel scared for some reason. Some stupid reason. Stupid. He was stupid. Yeah. He reached up to administer another shot.

Rico. Step brother? Horrible man. Hated him. Both of them hated each other. Ricky was going to inherit everything that should have been left for him because their mother, Johan’s birth mother, wrote him out of the will. Another click, more numbness overtaking him.

Why did she write him out again?

More ones and zeros transferred into his system, relaxing more and more, a dopey smile on his lips. He was feeling much better.

He caught his reflection in his window. The rainbow on his chest glinted at him.

Oh, right! That’s why!

Gay!

He was fucking gay!

He liked men!

How fucked up is that, huh!?

Worthless!

He grinned, wide and would be painful if not for the drug in his body.

Gay means happy! Be happy!

Keep smiling!

Keep smiling!

You’re worthless, you should not own this company, even beside the man you love!

Joey Drew, what a liar! What a thief!

He would be much better than Johan Ramirez ever could be.

He would be better in every regard.

If only his workers could see beyond the mask, if they knew who Johan Ramirez was, and not Joey Drew, they would hate him, they would jeer at him, they would spit and curse at him.

He clicked thrice more, hissing as the sting hit his brain, giggling when the invisible narcotic seeped into his neurons.

He would remove it all in the morning and let the pain sink in. But right then, he did not want to remember. He wanted to not feel.

He giggled.

How pathetic.

“Joey, you alright?” Allison, Susie’s apprentice and possible partner asked him. He looked up from animating, dark circles under his eyes. “You, no offence, you look awful, Mr. Drew.”

“M’fine, thank you for asking,” he mumbled, returning to his work. Allison looked at him uneasily. He seemed drunk, in a way. But he did not show any signs of drinking or drugs. He waved her off. “I’m sure Susie is waiting for you, dear.”

She looked at him for another moment before slipping away, leaving Joey alone. Henry was not in today because he was with Diane, so that left Joey with all the work.

He was fine.

Henry had made a new character recently, an “Alice Angel”, and Joey was trying to get the hang of drawing her.

She reminded him too much of Diane.

That was probably who Henry based her on.

His heart ached with each stroke.

It took him four hours to finish the short.

He sighed, getting up with a huff, and was startled to see Johnny looking at him with a smirk, blocking the doorway by leaning on it.

“He-llo, Mr. Drew,” he said, looking over him with a meticulous laziness. Joey felt exposed, and he shifted where he stood. Johnny got off the doorpost, closing and… oh god, he locked the door. “You’re looking good.”

Red flags literally swarmed Johan’s vision as he backed up.

“Come now, Johnny, I, uh, don’t thin-”

Johnny chuckled, and he stalked over to Joey in four quick steps.

“Joey, let’s not think.”

His hand pressed to his chest and shoved him against the wall.

“You’re gay, right?” Johnny smirked at him, eyes narrow as he knocked his legs out from under him. Johan looked up at him in fear. “So you wouldn’t mind helping a guy out, hmm?”

“That’s not how being gay works!” he retorted, trying to scramble away, but Johnny’s hand held him down. “Stop, let me g-”

“Shh,” Johnny’s hand pressed to his mouth, the other undoing his belt. Joey squirmed and tried to escape from his grip, but his knee pressed to his chest and forced him to stay against the wall. Johnny rolled his eyes at his struggles. “Joey, the less you fight, the sooner I’ll let you go.”

Joey screamed against his hand.

Not again!

Please, no!

No no no no no no no n-

He could not breathe.

Johnny zipped back up his pants, leaving the choking Johan on his knees.

He leaned down to him.

“Swallow.”

He did, feeling disgusting, feeling so horrible and weak.

Johnny smirked, satisfied.

He left.

Johan gasped, still tasting bitterness on his tongue, rubbing his arms and shaking.

He saw wetness on the floor, a mix of the devil’s drink and his own tears.

He was crying, and he could not stop, his pinkened vision blurry and shuddering. He gripped his arms as he trembled, his throat raw.

He stumbled up, trying to make out what to do. Henry was out, and he would be terrified to talk to him of all people about this. Bertrum and Lacie were out scoping a site that they could use. He pulled himself up, stumbling out. Sammy. Sammy. Sammy Lawrence.

He tried to call for him, but his voice came out as a croak.

He stiffly made his way down to the man’s office. He knocked on his door. Sammy, at first irritated at the interruption, froze when he beheld the artist.

“Joey! What happened, you look terrible!” he gasped, pulling him into his office and pulling down the shades. Joey opened his mouth to speak, but he could not get a sound out. Tears splashed onto Sammy’s desk, and he carefully patted his back. He tried to sooth him with his softest tones. “There there, Joey, it’s alright. You can tell me what happened.”

Joey sobbed, burying his face against Sammy’s chest, wrapping his arms around the music director.

He told him everything, and begged and pleaded for him not to tell anyone.

Sammy clearly was appalled, but he acquiesced, scowling at the thought of someone even thinking of doing what was done.

Joey was a mess over the next few days, slowly, slowly getting better.

Things seemed to finally start looking up, though he did not fire Johnny. He was scared of the questions that would follow. He did not want anyone else to know.

Sammy would be there for him when he needed.

His computer was always ready to give him another boost of impossible drugs.

His nightmares became more frequent, more souls deleted, more strain in the studio between workers, and he could only watch things fall apart.

Henry seemed to cause so many of the rifts and strifes, and Joey did not like it. Henry caused fights and arguments and splits, but Johan could do nothing about it. He could only watch the damage.

Henry and Diane became engaged.

Joey felt like vomiting, but he congratulated him, went up to his room, and just numbed himself like he always did.

Henry’s marriage approached.

The night before.

Joey was going to be his best man.

He and Henry had a bottle of strawberry champagne, another two bottles drained by their feet in the hotel room.

Henry was going to be married.

Joey was drinking to numb himself. The alcohol was jarring to his system a system already used to and addicted to the virtual version.

Henry was on his lap Joey playing with his hair between glasses.

Henry’s lips latched onto his neck and collar, and he gasped, shocked.

“What are you doing?” he whispered, confused. Henry chuckled, licking Joey’s neck, making him squirm. “Henry, you’re going to be married, tomorrow!”

“Exactly,” he muttered, continuing to kiss his neck. “Joey, this is the last time you can be with me. Do you want it?”

“I… Henry….”

“Joey.”

“I can’t…” Joey gasped, gripping Henry’s shoulders. Henry froze. “I won’t let you cheat on Diane, no matter if I want something or not.”

“Johan,” Henry chuckled, kissing him in that one sweet spot that would melt him, that one place no goddamn person would even think of, right under where his jawline met his ear, making him moan. He nibbled the spot, Joey gasping and wriggling under him, one hand tightening on Henry’s shoulder, the other tangled in blonde and strawberry curls. “She’s not here right now.”

“Henry, it’s not right,” he breathed, pushing him back. “You can’t do this.”

“I can and I will,” Henry pouted, eyes narrowed. Joey smiled at him sadly. Henry kept up the unspoken staring contest for some time before sighing and lowering his head. “You’re right.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“Sorry.”

Henry got up, picking Joey up. Joey tucked his head to Henry’s heart, listening to it beat.

“We don’t need to have sex, you know,” Henry murmured, taking them both to the king size bed, gently putting Joey down and slipping on after. Joey’s hand came to rest on his cheek. Henry leaned close, their breath mingling. “Can I kiss you?”

“Henry….” Joey whispered, closing his eyes. “I love you.”

Henry swallowed roughly, and pressed his lips to Joey’s.

Johan whimpered, wrapping his arms around him.

They laid down, their lips still in the kiss, arms wrapped around each other, tears silently making their way onto silk pillows. Johan shook with silent sobs. Henry trembled with locked emotions.

“I love you, too.”

They woke up in the middle of the night, sobered up, tangled together, their foreheads pressed together, and neither wanted to let go.

They kissed again, trying to hold onto being together.

As the minutes ticked by, the wedding became nearer and nearer, and it ripped out Johan’s heart. It was not fair, they both knew it.

“Joey, you know why we can’t be together.”

“I know.”

“We’d be killed for it….”

“I know. Henry, I’d die for you….”

“Joey… don’t make this harder than it needs to be….”

“You’re going to be married soon, Henry, I know, I hope you can be happy with her….”

Their kisses lasted until the afternoon, tangled together, weeping silently over the pain of the stigmas and laws tearing them apart.

Joey took him to the altar, giving away the man he loved more than anything in all the universes.

He mouthed the words with Diane, tears in his eyes as he whispered, “I do.”

He spoke, his eyes trained on Henry, Henry’s on his, as he spoke of how happy he was for him, how much he wished the best for him, how much he was glad to have met him and how special he was to him.

So special.

Henry went on his honeymoon, leaving Joey alone again in the studio. He numbed himself every night, pumping his code full of the addictive chemical.

When Henry came back, he did not say a word to Joey.

It hurt.

So much, it ripped at whatever was left of his heart, it clawed at his brain and thoughts, it hurt.

Henry still caused problems with the other workers.

He would argue and mess around with parts and music.

Tension rose.

He still refused to talk to Joey.

Johan let him get away with it.

Complaints rose.

Especially from the junior animators he hired in Henry’s absence.

Johan tried to keep the peace, but he did not talk to Henry, he would wait for him to come to him, holding himself back from causing a scene.

Until he gave in.

Joey confronted him.

“Henry, we need to talk about what you’re doing.”

“My job?” Henry cocked an eyebrow, folding his arms. His golden ring glinted brightly. Joey swallowed roughly. “I do it.”

“Yes, but people are complaining about how you act,” Johan bolstered his courage. “You’ve been very… aggressive as of late, though it’s gotten worse after your marriage.”

“Johan, Johan,” Henry chuckled, rolling his eyes. “I own half this company, I can act as I please.”

“Henry, that’s just another reason for you to act properly,” Joey insisted. Henry scowled. “Be a role model, not only for this company, but for your daughter!”

“You know nothing about being a father,” Henry snarled. Joey felt his lips twitch, snaking into an incredulous grin. “You don’t!”

“Henry, I helped you raise Linda,” Joey smiled, his eyebrows joining in pain as he recalled a small hand in his. He choked, tearing up. “I had a son, too.”

Henry fell silent, the retort on his lips vanishing.

“I know what it’s like to want to give your child everything,” he whispered, smiling as he remembered Aramis’ smile when he gave him gifts and candies. “My sweet little boy….”

“What happened to him? Is he with his mother?”

“He’s dead. He was going to turn six this year.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Henry froze, looking at him with some horror. “Wait. How old are you, again?”

Joey could not breathe.

“Johan! Answer me!”

“Twenty one,” he whispered, biting his lip. Henry stared at him. “Aramis… he… I… they tried to fix me. Tried to make me not gay. Thought that if they… if they made me… h-have… have a child… thought it would fix me. I was sixteen.”

“Joey….”

“I’m fine.”

He was high as a kite that night, giggling to himself as he continuously pumped himself full of the numerical drug. Another two names joined the lengthy list of deleted lives, the number raising to twenty seven. The ink machine rumbled with contentedness beneath him.

He still giggled as he cried.

He hated the addiction.

Joey Drew would be a better person, at least he would probably kill people in their face rather than removing them from existence while cowardly hiding away.

The resignation killed him.

Henry left.

Henry said something about putting more time into his family life and school work.

Henry did not meet his eye as he said it, stuttering on the word family.

He twisted his ring uneasily.

Joey nodded, he knew that Diane wanted Henry to quit, she had even voiced it in Joey’s presence. They both knew the real reason.

“I love you,” he whispered as he hugged his best and closest friend for a final time.

“I love you, too,” Henry choked out, gripping him. They stayed like that for a long time. Henry pulled away. “I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah, of course, feel free to come by whenever you want.”

Joey knew he would not, as did Henry.

Joey did not drug himself that night. He just cried. He cried and cried until the morning light dried his tears.

It was his twenty second birthday, and he cut his arms this year as well, the even eleven and eleven on each arm, adding a new snick on his left arm.

Perfectly even.

Nothing right, nothing good.

Joey Drew would be a much better person than Johan Ramirez.

Joey Drew would not be a coward.

Joey Drew would not be sick.

Johan Ramirez was disgusting, a fraud, a freak, a liar.

Joey Drew was his mask.

People liked Joey Drew. They liked Bendy the Demon. They liked the moving ink.

Johan Ramirez? No one even knew him.

[hentaihunblog-blog]

Best Anime Movies To Watch – OtakuKart

New Post has been published on https://hentaihun.com/blog/2017/12/12/best-anime-movies-to-watch-otakukart-2/

Best Anime Movies To Watch – OtakuKart

Looking for some Marvelous Anime movie? I have got you some astonishing hand-picked collection of the movie. Here is a list of  Top 10 Best Anime Movies You Must Watch.So without any further delay let’s start with our Top 10 Anime Movie List

Top 10 Best Anime Movies Of All Time

Patlabor: The Movie (1989)

Many of the films on this list are here because they’re landmark films for their directors, or that they move the art form of Japanese animation forward in meaningful ways. Patlabor is just a good-ass movie made by a bunch of talented people, including future Ghost in the Shell collaborators Mamoru Oshii and I.G Tatsunoko (the early name for the production company that would become Production I.G). Set in the distant future of 1999, Patlabor’s hardboiled sci-fi police procedural explores the connection between humanity and technology, and how we approach law enforcement in an age of automation. Also, this list would otherwise be sorely lacking in giant mech movies – this film has them in spades, and they fight a bunch. It’s pretty cool.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

Studio Ghibli commissioned director Mamoru Hosoda to make Howl’s Moving Castle, but sent him packing after rejecting his initial concepts. Hosoda then turned around and directed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, an abounding and inventive dramedy that’s as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Based on a novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, the film follows high schooler Makoto Konno as she learns that she has the power to quite literally leap through time. First, she uses these powers to get good grades, but she quickly learns that her actions have consequences. It’s a wildly imaginative slice of life and marked the emergence of an important voice in animated films.

Your Name (2016)

Since the release of his first short film Voices of a Distant Star (which he wrote, directed, and animated by himself over seven months), Makoto Shinkai has been described by multiple critics as the next Hayao Miyazaki. With his most recent film Your Name. (yes, the period is part of the title), Shinkai finally steps out steps out of the shadows of the greats and finds his own voice. To describe it as a mere body-swapping film does it a great disservice, as it finds the humor and humanity in a situation where two young high schoolers find themselves in each others shoes and desperately want to find each other. But then, Shinkai pulls the rug out from under you halfway through and Your Name. turns into a different kind of film entirely.

Vampire Hunter D (1985)

Vampire Hunter D is often credited as being one of the first anime films specifically targeted for an older audience, and its success paved the way for many of the films on this list. It’s a slow, haunting burn that follows the titular, monosyllabic vampire hunter as he aids and protects a young woman from a demonic menace. Featuring the brooding character design of none other than Final Fantasy concept artist Yoshitaka Amano, Vampire Hunter D is the dark glimpse into the maturation of anime as a genuine theatrical art form.

Ninja Scroll (1993)

If Akira and Ghost in the Shell were the opening salvos for anime’s initial resurgence in the West as more than Saturday morning fodder, Ninja Scroll was the knockout punch. Releasing in the West around the same time as Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll is a stylish, hyper-violent flurry of over-the-top battles and geysers of blood. Ex-ninja Jubei is coerced under threat of death by a Tokugawa spy to hunt down and defeat the Eight Devils of Kimon, each one with its own mystical set of powers. In an hour and a half, Jubei fights a dude whose skin can turn into stone, a naked snake lady, a guy who can melt into shadows, and a woman who plants gunpowder in people’s bodies and uses them as living time bombs.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Studio Ghibli is perhaps second only to Disney in terms of cultural relevance and worldwide recognition in animation, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is where it all started. It follows the eponymous young woman as she navigates a post-apocalyptic future where venturing outside small population centers means having to contend with giant insects and a deadly miasma. Here, you will see many of Ghibli’s themes on humanity, community, mortality, and environmentalism converge, accompanied by lush hand-drawn animation and swashbuckling action.

Perfect Blue (1997)

After working as an animator on other films, Satoshi Kon made his explosive directorial debut with Perfect Blue. It’s about a J-Pop idol who leaves behind a music career to pursue acting, and the further she dives into the role, the more reality and fiction begin to blur together. Kon’s signature style seems to spring forth fully realized from the first frame, his unique take on magical realism ensuring you never see the seams until he wants you to. Kon’s career was cut short due to pancreatic cancer, but his influence can be seen everywhere, including Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan and Christopher Nolan’s Inception.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Oshii’s adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s seminal graphic novel series is simultaneously one of the most influential and enigmatic anime films ever made. There’s definitely a plot here, as a team of armored police officers leads by Major Motoko Kusanagi attempt to hunt down a mysterious hacker known as the Puppet Master, but Ghost in the Shell is far more concerned with exploring the philosophical ramifications of its transhumanist themes than it is providing any sort of narrative payoff. It’s a strange one to watch, packing a lot of information and world-building into its brisk 82-minute runtime, but its length and structure allow for repeat viewings that are as rewarding as the first.

Spirited Away (2001)

If you want a good snapshot of Studio Ghibli’s history, first watch Nausicaa, then watch this one. Here is Miyazaki at the height of his craft, using advancements in animation technology to enhance but not overpower an Alice in a Wonderland-esque story filled to the brim with strange creatures and imaginative scenarios. It’s a coming of age story about a young girl who finds herself lost in a bathhouse for the spirits, interacting with an assortment of fantastical creatures as she attempts to rescue her parents. That Miyazaki still explores the consequences of the convergence of nature and technology shows how timeless and important these themes are.

Akira (1988)

Akira is a powerhouse of a film, every frame of animation exploding off the screen with kinetic energy and effortless style. It’s based off the first half of Otomo’s massive graphic novel series of the same name (the second half created after the film was completed, explaining the wild divergence in plotlines), following a group of delinquent teenagers in Neo-Tokyo decades after the end of World War 3. One of these boys, named Tetsuo, is abducted by a secretive government unit and experimented on, awakening his latent psychic abilities which quickly spiral out of control. What follows is a strange, gut-wrenching landmark of science-fiction, filled with rad bikes and an absurd amount of destruction.

Did you like this list.Comment your reaction after completing any one of these.Also if you want any list to be done by me feel free and lemme know, If you wanna get in touch with me on social media like Snapchat-Vibsz16 and Instagram you can follow me there ^_^

Top 10 Best Anime Antagonists And Their Quotes

A major and most part of a show’s appeal is the villain. Be they suave and sophisticated, or insane and genocidal, they’re always one of the more memorable aspects of a series. With this in mind, I have constructed a list of the Top 10 anime antagonists.

10.Future Rouge – Fairy Tail

Quote – The earth will crumble, the skies shall burn, and the flames of light shall be extinguished, for I am the Dragon King: the emperor born from the.Dragon King Festival!

9.Satou – Ajin

Quote- When I Play Games, I always play on hard mode.Because higher the difficulty….more fun it gets.

8.Neferpitou – Hunter X Hunter 2011

Quote- This person is important to someone who’s important to me.

7.Envy – Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Quote-uit your pathetic blubbering, you idiot! You were trying to kill one of our most important sacrifices. Do you understand me?! You could’ve messed up the entire plan! What would we have done then?! Huh?!

6.Vicious – Cowboy Bebop

Quote- I’m the only one who can keep you alive… And I’m the only one that can kill you.

5….

CONT READING…

[hentaihunblog-blog]

Best Anime Movies To Watch – OtakuKart

New Post has been published on https://hentaihun.com/blog/2017/12/12/best-anime-movies-to-watch-otakukart/

Best Anime Movies To Watch – OtakuKart

Looking for some Marvelous Anime movie? I have got you some astonishing hand-picked collection of the movie. Here is a list of  Top 10 Best Anime Movies You Must Watch.So without any further delay let’s start with our Top 10 Anime Movie List

Top 10 Best Anime Movies Of All Time

Patlabor: The Movie (1989)

Many of the films on this list are here because they’re landmark films for their directors, or that they move the art form of Japanese animation forward in meaningful ways. Patlabor is just a good-ass movie made by a bunch of talented people, including future Ghost in the Shell collaborators Mamoru Oshii and I.G Tatsunoko (the early name for the production company that would become Production I.G). Set in the distant future of 1999, Patlabor’s hardboiled sci-fi police procedural explores the connection between humanity and technology, and how we approach law enforcement in an age of automation. Also, this list would otherwise be sorely lacking in giant mech movies – this film has them in spades, and they fight a bunch. It’s pretty cool.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

Studio Ghibli commissioned director Mamoru Hosoda to make Howl’s Moving Castle, but sent him packing after rejecting his initial concepts. Hosoda then turned around and directed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, an abounding and inventive dramedy that’s as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Based on a novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, the film follows high schooler Makoto Konno as she learns that she has the power to quite literally leap through time. First, she uses these powers to get good grades, but she quickly learns that her actions have consequences. It’s a wildly imaginative slice of life and marked the emergence of an important voice in animated films.

Your Name (2016)

Since the release of his first short film Voices of a Distant Star (which he wrote, directed, and animated by himself over seven months), Makoto Shinkai has been described by multiple critics as the next Hayao Miyazaki. With his most recent film Your Name. (yes, the period is part of the title), Shinkai finally steps out steps out of the shadows of the greats and finds his own voice. To describe it as a mere body-swapping film does it a great disservice, as it finds the humor and humanity in a situation where two young high schoolers find themselves in each others shoes and desperately want to find each other. But then, Shinkai pulls the rug out from under you halfway through and Your Name. turns into a different kind of film entirely.

Vampire Hunter D (1985)

Vampire Hunter D is often credited as being one of the first anime films specifically targeted for an older audience, and its success paved the way for many of the films on this list. It’s a slow, haunting burn that follows the titular, monosyllabic vampire hunter as he aids and protects a young woman from a demonic menace. Featuring the brooding character design of none other than Final Fantasy concept artist Yoshitaka Amano, Vampire Hunter D is the dark glimpse into the maturation of anime as a genuine theatrical art form.

Ninja Scroll (1993)

If Akira and Ghost in the Shell were the opening salvos for anime’s initial resurgence in the West as more than Saturday morning fodder, Ninja Scroll was the knockout punch. Releasing in the West around the same time as Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll is a stylish, hyper-violent flurry of over-the-top battles and geysers of blood. Ex-ninja Jubei is coerced under threat of death by a Tokugawa spy to hunt down and defeat the Eight Devils of Kimon, each one with its own mystical set of powers. In an hour and a half, Jubei fights a dude whose skin can turn into stone, a naked snake lady, a guy who can melt into shadows, and a woman who plants gunpowder in people’s bodies and uses them as living time bombs.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Studio Ghibli is perhaps second only to Disney in terms of cultural relevance and worldwide recognition in animation, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is where it all started. It follows the eponymous young woman as she navigates a post-apocalyptic future where venturing outside small population centers means having to contend with giant insects and a deadly miasma. Here, you will see many of Ghibli’s themes on humanity, community, mortality, and environmentalism converge, accompanied by lush hand-drawn animation and swashbuckling action.

Perfect Blue (1997)

After working as an animator on other films, Satoshi Kon made his explosive directorial debut with Perfect Blue. It’s about a J-Pop idol who leaves behind a music career to pursue acting, and the further she dives into the role, the more reality and fiction begin to blur together. Kon’s signature style seems to spring forth fully realized from the first frame, his unique take on magical realism ensuring you never see the seams until he wants you to. Kon’s career was cut short due to pancreatic cancer, but his influence can be seen everywhere, including Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan and Christopher Nolan’s Inception.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Oshii’s adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s seminal graphic novel series is simultaneously one of the most influential and enigmatic anime films ever made. There’s definitely a plot here, as a team of armored police officers leads by Major Motoko Kusanagi attempt to hunt down a mysterious hacker known as the Puppet Master, but Ghost in the Shell is far more concerned with exploring the philosophical ramifications of its transhumanist themes than it is providing any sort of narrative payoff. It’s a strange one to watch, packing a lot of information and world-building into its brisk 82-minute runtime, but its length and structure allow for repeat viewings that are as rewarding as the first.

Spirited Away (2001)

If you want a good snapshot of Studio Ghibli’s history, first watch Nausicaa, then watch this one. Here is Miyazaki at the height of his craft, using advancements in animation technology to enhance but not overpower an Alice in a Wonderland-esque story filled to the brim with strange creatures and imaginative scenarios. It’s a coming of age story about a young girl who finds herself lost in a bathhouse for the spirits, interacting with an assortment of fantastical creatures as she attempts to rescue her parents. That Miyazaki still explores the consequences of the convergence of nature and technology shows how timeless and important these themes are.

Akira (1988)

Akira is a powerhouse of a film, every frame of animation exploding off the screen with kinetic energy and effortless style. It’s based off the first half of Otomo’s massive graphic novel series of the same name (the second half created after the film was completed, explaining the wild divergence in plotlines), following a group of delinquent teenagers in Neo-Tokyo decades after the end of World War 3. One of these boys, named Tetsuo, is abducted by a secretive government unit and experimented on, awakening his latent psychic abilities which quickly spiral out of control. What follows is a strange, gut-wrenching landmark of science-fiction, filled with rad bikes and an absurd amount of destruction.

Did you like this list.Comment your reaction after completing any one of these.Also if you want any list to be done by me feel free and lemme know, If you wanna get in touch with me on social media like Snapchat-Vibsz16 and Instagram you can follow me there ^_^

Top 10 Best Anime Antagonists And Their Quotes

A major and most part of a show’s appeal is the villain. Be they suave and sophisticated, or insane and genocidal, they’re always one of the more memorable aspects of a series. With this in mind, I have constructed a list of the Top 10 anime antagonists.

10.Future Rouge – Fairy Tail

Quote – The earth will crumble, the skies shall burn, and the flames of light shall be extinguished, for I am the Dragon King: the emperor born from the.Dragon King Festival!

9.Satou – Ajin

Quote- When I Play Games, I always play on hard mode.Because higher the difficulty….more fun it gets.

8.Neferpitou – Hunter X Hunter 2011

Quote- This person is important to someone who’s important to me.

7.Envy – Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Quote-uit your pathetic blubbering, you idiot! You were trying to kill one of our most important sacrifices. Do you understand me?! You could’ve messed up the entire plan! What would we have done then?! Huh?!

6.Vicious – Cowboy Bebop

Quote- I’m the only one who can keep you alive… And I’m the only one that can kill you.

5….

CONT READING…