#DEEB Talks

[yakketymax]

Song Bird and Dog Biscuit

These two have been friends for years prior to when I would say the "start" of the story is. They met when Dog Biscuit was still a vagabond and bonded over their ability to speak with animals, spending time working together to help the various critters be happy and healthy wherever they were.

These days, their relationship remains the same ...kind of. Dog Biscuit is the only person in this place that Song Bird explicitly respects and will answer to when she calls, talking about their trust and love for her more openly than anybody else- to the point of sounding like having a mild obsession with the puppy dog lady. Dog Biscuit, though warned of how this behavior looks by others, trusts Song Bird and waves off others concerns and instead chalks up their behavior to SB's usual overzealous way of living and loving life. I mean, she knows Song Bird can be a bit testy when it comes to wildlife safety, but she doesn't think they'd actually be crazy about it. That's silly!

Song Bird is the kindest person she knows!

[mohammedaldeeb]

Hello everyone,🌹

I previously talked to you about my personal work as a medical doctor 😃, and now I am sharing with you my personal life after finishing my work at the hospital🕊🇵🇸 .

My family and I are living in a simple tent that we set up next to the hospital so that I can be close to it in case of any emergency ⛺️😓.

We are living in inhumane conditions that are unacceptable by any human standards 😣💔

We face continuous difficulties in all aspects of life, whether in housing, access to clean drinking water, or good food😥... Not to mention the dire circumstances we experience in the tent between extreme heat during the day🥵,

the skin diseases that are spreading because of it😓💔, and the flooding that occurred to us in the winter season.

I appeal to you and I am hopeful that you can help me and my family to have a chance to live safely, peacefully, and securely, and not to lose my family at any time🥹🙏🏻♥️

And that’s through your generous donation at the link below🙏🏻.

Thank you in advance🖤❤️💚🤍🇵🇸.

Dr. Mohammed Al-Deeb from Gaza.

[bookishdreamer28]

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 🌌

𝑩𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒚𝒔 𝒙 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄✧

Rhysand

You and Rhysand have been known each other since you were babies. Your mother was best friends with his, and ever since then, you have been inseparable.

As the years passed by, you started developing feelings for him, feelings you'd never thought you'd have for Rhysand because all you were to him and all he was to you, was a best friend. But you couldn't deny the fact that throughout the years, every moment with him, all the laughter you shared together, all the sleepless nights you spent on the balcony, counting the falling stars, made you realize just how much you loved him. And just like that, you realized you were in love with him.

But what you didn't know was that Rhysand felt the same way. Every time you two were together, he felt like he couldn't breath properly. It all happened one solstice, you two were far away fro the crowd wanting to spend some quality time together. You were dancing, singing and having fum on your own. And when the statfall happened, his eyes were glued on you only. He was looking at you as if you one of stars that are falling from the sky, and you landed right next to him. That was one of his favorite moments, and it was specifically the one that he was sure he lost his heart to you.

One night as Rhys laid on his bed ready to sleep, he thought of you. He took a deeb breath and exhaled, trying to find a way to sleep. But he knew it was impossible knowing that you were a room away. He turned on his side and closed his eyes. But then he felt something changing in the atmosphere. He felt like something had knocked a breath out of him and he gasped standing up immediately. Rhys touched his chest feeling his heart beating fast, and he tried to calm himself down. Without spending a second more in his room, Rhys opened the door and started walking straight to your room but before he could knock on your door, you opened it fast. You looked like you jumped through hoops.

"You..." Rhys whispered and took a step closer to you slowly. You were panting, looking like you jumped through hoops.

" Rhys...my mate" your eyes welled up with tears and smiled so wide, that your cheeks were hurting. When Rhys heard you calling him your mate, he chuckled not believing you said these words and cupped your face in his hands.

"My mate" he growled and gave you a deep, love-filled kiss that swept you off your feet. His hands went to your waist and pulled you closer, his warmth enveloping you.

"What's all the fuss about I need to slee- oh" Cassian smirked as his eyes fell on you and Rhys. And then his whole expression into a shocking one. "OH! I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU TWO WERE MATES!" He was ready to approach you but stopped in his tracks once he saw Rhys hard expression.

"Don't you dare take a step closer Cassian" he said in a serious, dark voice that gave you shivers and made your legs wobble.

Rhus turned to you and took you in his arms in a bridal style.

"Well guess I'll see you two after a month. Or more"he laughed as Rhus winnowed you to the wind house.

Cassian

Lately everything looked dull to Cassian. Even though he was the life of the party, he recently had become less and less energetic. He felt weird. Watching all these people around him every time he went out being with their other half, made him longing for something like this.

It was late and Cassian wasn't in the mood to rest or talk to anyone at the moment, so he thought it would be best of he took a walk through the beautiful and bright streets of Velaris. When he came across the bar he usually goes with Rhys and Az, he was skeptical about going. Another night getting drunk wouldn't do him any good actually. When he decided to turn around and continue with his walk, a shorter than him figure pumped into him. He heard a small yelp and he instantly made sure that the person wouldn't fall by grabbing them by the shoulders. The girl in front him had her head down, mumbling a few sorrys and once she looked up at him, his breath got caught in his throat. You were so beautiful. He kept staring at you and slowly stepped back.

"I'm so sorry I-"

"It's fine I'm fine a-are you ok? Are you hurt?" He voice was shaking and he wanted to slap himself for that.

You smiled and shook your head.

"Nope I'm good. I'm Y/N"

"Y/N" Cassian whispered, repeating your name. It felt like a sweet nectar rolling down his tongue when he said it.

"Ah...I'm Cassian" He smiled widely and moved closer.

"Nice to meet you! I should go cause I'm in a hurry but I hope to see you again soon!" You said and walked away, looking back one last time.

"Yeah sure bye" he waved and watched you walk away. He wanted to go with you. He didn't care where you went but on thing he knew is that he wanted to be with you. That night when he returned home, he didn't sleep at all. His thoughts were constantly on you.

Ever since that day he made sure to go for a walk every night, with the expectation of seeing you again. And even though he never had the chance to mee you with you yet, he wouldn't give up thay easily.

"Hey Cassian, how about we go for a drink?" Rhys suggested.

"Ah that would be great but I think I'll pass. I thought about going for walk. You know, it's refreshing especially after practicing for hours"

"Whay is up with you lately? Oh don't tell me, is there a woman? Who is it?" Az asked smirking at his brother.

"No nope no woman just me enjoying the chilly fresh air of Velaris anywaysgottago" he said and left Rhys office and his brothers stood there, laughing at his reaction.

Cassian was standing outside the bar, hoping to caught a glimpse of you somewhere in the crowd of the people who passed by. To his disappointment, you were nowhere to be seen and groaned to himself as he took a turn to leave.

"Cassian!" His head whipped up so fast and turned to your direction. There you were. Seeing your beautiful smile after all these days, was the greatest thing to witness. The moment you started walking towards him, something inside him snapped. And he could tell by your expression that you felt it too. You just stood there with your eyes widened. He felt his body shaking and was unable to make a move.

Nothing mattered at the moment. It was just him and you. The bond had finally snapped. And the most unbelievable and extraordinary thing ever, was that you were his mate. You are his other half. You are his everything. You.

He wasted no more time. He ran up to you and swooped you up in his arms. You wrapped your arms around his arms and held him tightly against you. You both started laughing from happiness and when you pulled away from the hug, and leaned in for a kiss. A kiss you both needed more than you thought. Cassian cradled your head and kissed you deeper. He couldn't break away. You couldn't break way.

After a few minutes you pulled away and Cassian looked at you.

"Look at you, my mate. My" he placed a small kiss on your nose "mate" and then another one on your lips again. You giggled and hugged him tight.

"How about we go somewhere with less crowd watching?" You whispered. Cassian didn't look away from your eyes once and said:

"Let them look. I'm the happiest male in Velaris right now." He murmured and sweetly kissed your forehead.

Azriel

His eyes followed your figure carefully. He was captivated by you the moment he stepped foot in the library 2 months ago and saw you reading a book on a table close to the window. He can't really explain what was it that made him want to get to know you but he couldn't help it because he was already intrigued by you. He was sitting on a table a little bit further from yours, and looked your way every now and then. He was now watching you placing the book you've been reading for the past hour back on the shelf, and when you turned around you eyes met. You looked at him with a blushed face since you caught him staring, and hesitantly waved at him.

His eyes widened slightly and cleared his throat standing up from his position. He avoided your gaze at all costs and left the library without glancing once behind him.

The moment he stepped outside he inhaled and exhaled a long breath, trying to take his mind off you. He closed his eyes and yet he could still see your beautiful eyes looking back at him the moment your eyes met his. He opened them again and winnowed away, not wanting to stay any longer here.

The next day he went to practice with Cass, wanting to release some tension and then go help Rhys with some things regarding the court's safety and more. Once he finished with all his tasks he was ready to go back to his room but his heart told him to do otherwise. And that's how he found himself standing outside the library's front door.

"What Am I even doing?" He murmured to himself and stepped inside. Clotho was in her usual position, behind the desk near the entrance and when she saw Azriel coming in, she raised her eyebrows. He awkwardly said hi amd went straight to an empty table. He sat down and rested his head in hos hands. The sound of soft footsteps making their way to him got his attention and when he lifted his head, his whole body got tensed.

"Hi" hearing your soft voice gave him goosebumps.

"Hi" he greeted back not wanting to seem rude and made way for you to sit.

You happily sat on your seat and opened your book. He wanted to get up and leave because being around made him so unusually nervous but he didn't find it in him to abandon you juse like that, so he kept himself busy by staring out the window. And though you were invested in the book you chose, you couldn't help but throwing a few glances at the shadowsinger from time to time. Azriel feeling your stare, he turned his head to your direction and your eyes locked. As you kept staring at each other, not being able to say or do anything more something spectacularly beautiful happened.

The bond locked into place. Nothing else could be heard at that moment but the sound of your hearts beating loud. Azriel was puzzled. You scooted a little closer to him and slowly reached out to grab his hand. The shadow singer's breath hitched the moment he felt your lips on his palm, leaving a soft kiss.

"Can't believe you finally felt it" your hand caressed his face gently. Wait what?

"You knew?! Since when?" He whispered and leaned closer.

"Since the moment I saw you returning a book you borrowed which was, 2 months ago" your little laugh filled his heart with happiness. He chuckled not being able to comprehend what just happened.

"We're mates" Azriel said smiling.

"We're mates!" You nodded and laughed at how happy you were right now.

You just stayed there just holding each other's hands, but Azriel's eyes went to your lips. There was so much tension between you already and he couldn't take it anymore. He needed to feel you. Taste you.

He instinctively ran his thump over the soft flesh of your lips, making you quiver. He knew what he was doing.

He leaned forward a fraction ready to capture your lips in a kiss but he slightly pulled back.

"Do you want this?"

"More than you can imagine"

Azriel then started sliding his hand in your hair slowly and then brought your face closer. Once his lips touched yours, he felt like melting.

In all his life, all he did was to avoid beautiful things in fear of breaking them. But you changed that entirely for him. You made him feel lovable and unique with just one look. One touch. And he knew he had finally found his purpose in life after so long.

¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺ .·

It was about time I posted something ACOTAR related 🙌

Hope you'll enjoy reading this one ♥️

all rights reserved. please do not copy, modify, repost, translate, or claim my content as yours.

[confessxcheese4tcc]

i remember this one girl in the tcc who said she was gonna summon or like try to talk to eric and dylan's ghosts with a tutorial she found in the deeb web and after she made us wait for like a few days or idk she started like making fucking excuses saying like she wasn't gonna risk giving the tutorial or like posting the video here i think also because from WHAT I REMEMBER she didn't want to summon some other angry ghost

and im still mad af till this day because she didn't plan shit she didn't think before saying she was going to do it so she just wasted everyone's time also i think she's still active on here or has mutuals who are active here so im probably gonna get my ass beat online by her mutuals if they recognize this story😭

CONFESSION #805

[cringefaecompilation]

okay i can't find a version of this that doesn't have people talking about ships on it and i didn't wanna be a hater in the tags about that but oh my god it's all i wanted. they're all there. they're all there for her. even if deebs is in the way, they're still around her and with her. even if she's leaning in. they're there for her.

[gryficowa]

Boycott!

Ah, there's nothing like renewing your OCs after many years from the times when creating desings was… What it was like, in a sense, I have the impression that I used to not be very original in this respect lol

Now that I have your attention:

[imperial-nuisance-rudje]

i've seen a lot of "assign exaltations to media" posts recently and i wanted to get in on this, this time with final fantasy 14

major spoilers up to 7.0/Dawntrail! also, only hitting major msq characters bc i will actually lose my mind if i have to do all the side stuff and minor characters too, even though i know i'm already accidentally skipping some characters just bc the cast list is the size of the pacific and my brain is a bit fried.

"wait some of these aren't exaltations at all" sometimes it is more interesting if a heroic character is Just Some Guy

Meteor Survivor/Default Warrior of Light - Dawn Solar. It's not even close. The WoL is a very large hammer and all the world is a nail. Even their more magicy stuff they approach like a Dawn rather than a Zenith! Couple arguments that could be made for their Supernal, for trailer-WoL I'd probably go for Melee. Like I have to actively fight the game for every scrap of Not-Solar I give my own WoL, the default WoL is super fucking Solar-coded.

Minfilia - okay hear me out. she's an Exigent of Hydaelyn and her Exaltation passes down to specifically young girls who fit other certain criteria. “Oracle of Light, Minfilia” ends up a sobriquet that devours even the girls’ names in the end. 

Ryne - See above. Exigent of Hydaelyn, just one able to make her own name for herself after it all. 

Thancred - just some guy!!!!! Not an Exalt at all he's just some dude! the stealth thing he can do could easily be a mutation rather than a power related to Exaltation.

Urianger - mortal sorcerer up to 5.0, exalts as a lunar during the time gap. Can be talked out of this, it's a gut read. E: THE GUT READ IS BC HE DEALS SAFELY WITH THE FAE AND TRICKS THEM IN TURN. Changing Moon, definitely. Spirit shape is something both ominous and benefic in terms of omens.

Y’shtola - gut is that she's a mortal sorcerer but I'm not sure if/when she exalts. I feel like the best point for that if she does is actually in the future for her, assuming my read of the plot thread tea leaves is accurate. Assuming nothing else changes, probably a Solaroid, though you may be able to argue Infernal over Solar for her.

Lyse - Deeb, Fire Aspect, same as her sister. I don't have much reasoning for this, it just feels right.

G’raha - I have tried to come up with not this but he really is just the Exigent of the god of the Crystal Tower… You could probably argue for deeb, bc of the royal eye thing, but i feel very strongly that he hasn't Exalted when he first shows up and that pushes him over the deeb exaltation age limit and I personally need some kind of major explanation to accept breaking that rule and while the Crystal Tower could probably manage it... given the physical changes he shows as the Crystal Exarch in ShB I think it works better if it's a very costly (to the Exalt) Exigent exaltation.

Papalymo - Mortal sorcerer. He dies because it was the only way to fuel the spell caging Shinryu as a mortal.

Alphinaud & Alisaie - I'm torn with the twins, honestly. I lean towards them being mortals but you can definitely argue for them having an Exaltation, especially after Coils or ShB, and they're young enough to be late-bloomer deebs if you want them to light up mid-story.

Erenville - Believe it or not I do think he's an Exalt. He's a Wood Aspect Dragonblooded like his mom and he put all of his points into dealing with critters and logistics and lifting heavy things and absolutely none into combat. (You could probably also argue for Earth, honestly, I can't articulate why I feel so strongly about the Wood aspect.)

Wuk Lamat - Dawn Solar, with her Exaltation coming when she breaks through to reach the Queen Eternal again at the end of MSQ. Shockingly social-focused Dawn, but still a Dawn.

Aymeric - Air aspect Deeb. His idealism nearly gets his ass killed like three times I am not budging on this.

Haurchefant - Water aspect deeb. WAIT HEAR ME OUT: i know the easy answer is to slap Wood on him for horny crimes and call it a day, but the way the rest of his personality actually is he fits water way more, including the part where when he's at his limit he's an unstoppable terror that doesn't know restraint. I could also be convinced to assign him Fire. (He's too flexible for Earth and too practical/grounded for Air, imo.) It also fits with his family since the Fortemps we meet all kind of vibe as damp-adjacent at minimum.

Krile - Joke answer: Sidereal bc i nearly forgot to add her-- :V

More seriously, the whole "refugee from another reflection" thing makes assigning her an Exaltation difficult. Alt timelines exist in this game but reflections are explicitly not those, it's more akin to Autochthon's relationship to Creation, and (barring some serious ass-pulls from the writers in the patches) Krile is an ordinary woman in terms of physiology. She's also not dead or associated with death, so I guess that means there's four options she absolutely cannot be rather than ones she can be.

Zenos yae Galvus - Does not Exalt until after 4.0, where he rises as a Dusk Abyssal. Because it fits with how fucked up he is and StB/his arc that he, a mortal man, is able to cause problems until the WoL starts taking him seriously. I could also be open to him being a Casteless Lunar bc lunisolar bond w/WoL (I love a good Fated Nemesis and so would he) but in general I feel like his everything works better if he doesn't Exalt until he tries to remove his own head and it's important to his story that he is Very Dead-Seeming after that point which makes options very limited.

Varis zos Galvus - If he is an Exalt, he's a deeb. Earth aspect, but I could probably be talked into Fire too. The “if” is because I'm torn between him being a disappointment because he never Exalted or because he's the same aspect as his dad but never reached the same potential in grandpa’s eyes. The Garlean upper class generally maps surprisingly cleanly to Dynasts.

Emet-Selch - Honestly this applies to all three of the Unsundered, I'm just keeping the family together, but: I truly believe those three are narratively closer to Deathlords than anything else in Exalted, and I say this while also acknowledging that Zodiark is more like a Yozi than one of the Neverborn. I do not know how to square that circle.

Thordan - Deeb. Air or Earth aspect, either could work with his personality.

Sphene - Orichalcum Alchemical. Living-Sphene was mortal. (Why not liminal? Quite frankly, bc she is not made of meat and still retains her living memories, both of which are disqualifying factors.)

Zoraal Ja - Mortal. I think it adds to things if part of his violent insecurity is that he never lights up despite being his father's son.

Fandaniel - Could admittedly go with either Abyssal or Infernal, depending on what aspects of him you want to emphasize, but I personally see him as a Daybreak.

Gaius - Fire aspect deeb.

[shy-nightmare]

The Toonz Twins: Toontown Sleuths Chapter One: Point of No Return

Summary: Life is hard, especially if you’re a Toon. But life’s even harder if you’re a Toon hybrid living in a modern-day world where humans and Toons co-exist…and neither play nice. Cast aside by one of their own, a pair of twisted Toon twins finally leave the past one fiery night along with their pack to start a new life. But while they hit the road, the twins accidentally travel back in time and become a part of an investigation like no other.

Note: I’ve actually written this story before way back in 2018, but that was long back then when my old computer was slow AF and I wrote over 14 chapters. Sadly, I didn’t know how to download the original story before I got my new computer TnT. So I’m rewriting this from scratch.

Credit for inspiration goes to @imaginarytoon1, author of “The Birchwood Twins: Toontown Investigators” and @its-metal-mistress, author of “Bendy and the Ink Machine: Learning How to Live”. Please check out their own wonderful content ^^!

WARNING: This chapter contains graphic violence, murder, alcoholism, death, gore, Toon and hybrid Toon discrimination, profanity, attempted murder, and the Author’s terrible sense of humor

Life in Chicago is hard.

It’s hard to survive, it’s hard to get by on a day-to-day basis. New York City may be one of the toughest cities in the world, but Chicago was a city that was also known to make or break a person, but if you could make it in the Second City, you could make it in the Big Apple and that’s a fact.

But life’s even harder for a Toon. It doesn’t matter what generation you’re from, or how things changed back then. Speaking of which, here is a quick history lesson. Up until the year 1928, the world was full of nothing but humans. Humans that went about their daily lives, doing little things here and there to survive. However, that all changed after a…magical incident. Apparently, the animation legend Walt Disney had been working tirelessly to achieve his lifelong goal; make his dream come true. And after years and years of hard work, his dream stepped out of the crisp, clean white sheet of paper.

The first cartoon ever brought to life. Mickey Mouse.

But, you see, Mickey wasn’t really brought to life from an ink pen and white paper. Unbeknownst to humans, another universe existed like all the others in the galaxy. It goes by many names, but it is known as the Tooniverse, an alternate version of the human world ruled and constructed by cartoon characters. Imagine it as a universe where Cool World meets Bonkers, and Disney’s relationship with Mickey was lightly like Jack Deebs’ with the devil-in-disguise bombshell Holli Would. Disney thought he created Mickey, but he existed long before he popped out of the paper.

Shortly after he made his debut to the public, there was a HUGE ruckus. Human citizens began reporting seeing cartoon characters made by Disney and other cartoonists and animators popping up all over the city of New York, and it wasn’t long before Toons began pouring from the woodworks. But despite the love and success Disney and Mickey gained, it did cause a controversy.

Not all humans were thrilled to see cartoon characters coexist in the human world. In fact, most weren’t. Many saw them as nothing more than entertainment for kids, and often talked down to Toons as if they were mere toddlers unable to grasp the concept of human civilization and reality.

And then…things escalated into violent breakouts. Let’s just say Disney wasn’t happy with the humans’ negative response to the new way of life, and with the little help of another entrepreneur named Marvin Acme, they managed to convince Congress to pass the Disney & Acme Civil Rights Movement for Toons Act of 1947 (or Toons’ Rights Act of `47 for short). They pushed politicians to do the right thing, to give Toons civil rights because they were people too and deserved to be free instead of spending their lives caged and living in fear. Although the battle was long and brutal, the politicians gave in and several laws passed, eventually giving Toons equal rights. Life became happier for Toons.

However, humans still discriminate against Toons in the modern generation.

There were hate crimes. There were occasional riots not just outside of Toontown, a safe haven built for Toons located in Los Angeles, California, but literally in other states and even countries. Toon families who lived outside of Toontown were pretty common, but many fled to Toontown in fear of being mugged. Those who stayed, however…well, you get the picture. More laws were put in place to protect Toons living outside of Toontown, but the bloodstained ink still paints the walls to this very day.

But if you think things are bad enough for Toons, imagine your life as a hybrid Toon.

Hybrid Toons, like any hybrid creature, are Toons born between two different Toon species, whether one Toon parent is a cartoon human, animal, insect or even a Toon created through…darker circumstances. A halfie…is probably the only polite term hybrids have other than “hybrid”. Others would call them “half-breeds” and etcetera due to having physical features inherited by their interspecies parents but addressing them as “half-breeds” and such is basically a racial slur. WHICH IS LITERALLY THE WORST THING TO SAY TO A HYBRID TOON!!! Sadly, humans and Toons discriminate against halfies, because they weren’t “fully Toon like one of their parents”, which is bullshit. Thankfully, there are Toons out there who are more accepting of halfies and often at times see them as one of their own, but the hate still plagues the lives of these poor individuals.

Especially if they’re living in Chicago. Until one night in Chatham…

_

In folklore, the Witching Hour or “Devil’s Hour” is a time of night that is known to be associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons, and other supernatural entities are thought to appear and be at their highest of power. Times often vary, such as the hour immediately after midnight, and the time between 3:00 am and 4:00 am.

That won’t be happening for two more hours, Twisted Twyla Toonz thought. She checked the time on her phone. 11:20 pm.

Crossing her arms, she emerged from the darkness of the abandoned warehouse and stepped into the pale, golden light of the streetlamp post.

Twyla’s Toon design appeared as an “emo teenage Minerva Mink” at first glance. But upon noticing her long wolf-like ears and her powerful femininity, she’s blossomed into a young woman reaching her early twenties. She stood just shy of six feet and carried herself with a dark queenly power. Twyla’s hair was as black as a starless midnight with waves hovering her midriff like the wings of a hovering raven and wistful bangs that veiled her left eye like the blade of a curved dagger. Her ghostly pale gray fur was an eerie contrast to her dark hair, so pale it appeared unnerving. Although she was slightly thin, she had a body that was carved with voluptuous curves carefully crafted by the skillful hand of an artist, and between small shoulders hung a large, womanly bust. Her hands and feet were delicate and feminine, but not without their deadly weaponry; sprouting from the tips of four fingers and three paw-toes were lethal, sharp claws painted glossy onyx that can slash through stone, flesh, and bone. Behind her, a long, enormous tail nearly twice her size was covered in soft, thick layers of inky fur swaying in the light like a looming shadow.

Twyla’s face was angelic and youthful, framed like a heart with a small touch of fluff on her cheeks, and she had a small, adorable black puppy nose that could easily sense prey and danger miles away. Two large, slightly rugged wolf ears matched her fur, and her right ear had a notch pierced by a single silver hoop earring. She also had dark, delicate lips soft like petals hiding a fearsome bite. But it was her eyes that gave her name. Twyla’s large, doe-like eyes, shaped like 1930s pie-cuts, were two bewitching shades of midnight and amethyst glittering in the darkness of night like stars.

Since the Witching Hour is close at hand, she thought she would dress for the occasion. For her outfit, she was wearing a gothic midnight purple bustier crop-top, trimmed with black elegant vampiric lace accenting the cleavage and the hem. Despite the month being the middle of August, it gets chilly when nightfall rises so she decided to wear a badass studded black biker jacket with matching biker gloves to keep warm, and like hell she was going to go anywhere without her large broad-brimmed black hat. She also wore skintight black jeans framing the svelte shape of her legs adorned with a silver vampire skull-buckle belt, black biker boots and around her neck she wore a necklace holding a beautiful sparkling silver crescent moon pendant, complimenting her name.

Her right ear perked hearing the sound of walking footsteps and turned to see the three other members of her family.

The first one to walk out the rusty door was the youngest, Echo. Echo was a petite pre-teen Toon mouse, and she had no business in being cute. Her fur was a light soft tan, warming her up from the tips of her ears to the tip of her long, slightly shaky tail. On top of a messy cloud of pink cotton candy for hair were two big mouse ears with pink insides, twitching from every sound they detected, even a heartbeat. Her eyes were pale milky blue, kissed by girlish lashes that fluttered like the wings of a fragile, innocent butterfly. While she had no whiskers, she had cute little buck teeth peeking out of her mouth accented by an adorable pink twitching nose.

Because she was a cartoon mouse, she had to be spoiled with cheese-themed clothing and accessories. She wore a long-sleeved black top with a Tom and Jerry logo with a baby pink tank underneath, cheese-designed pajama bottoms and sky-blue sneakers. Her jewelry only consisted of turquoise cheddar rhinestone earrings and a matching necklace. She was dragging the last remaining suitcase holding precious cargo she needed with her for the trip, and as she walked, her right sleeve accidentally slipped down her shoulder. Twyla’s heart panged spotting a handprint bruise that has been slowly healing and bit her cheek to hold back a murderous growl stuck in her throat from the memory of how Echo got that bruise.

The sweet mouse girl walked over to the slightly older female and requested for her help. They walked over to the back of the expensive silver SUV and Twyla clicked on the key button to open the trunk before helping Echo lift the suitcase in.

“Move faster!”

“Excuse me, asshat, last time I checked I can’t moonwalk without tripping over my fuckin’ tail!”

The girls turned their heads to the source (or should I say, sources) of the ruckus. It was just the boys taking a turn carrying a rather large heavy box, probably for Adam’s computer table.

Adam Rivers Foxington, or “Slick” as he’s nicknamed, was the oldest of the group. He was a young, handsome Toon fox with a lean bod. His fur was a fiery orange, save for his snow-white muzzle and underbelly. His face was cartoonishly vulpine, tufted in fluffy white fur softening his cheeks though his bite wasn’t nearly as soft. His ears were fluffed with cream innards, pointed with keen sharp awareness that matched his eyes like sharp jade razors. His attire of choice only had the intention of blending in, so he only wore a black hoodie with navy blue jeans and black shoes.

The fourth member was Twyla’s twin brother, Tommaso Toonz, or “Gunslinger Tom” for short. Unlike Twyla, he appeared more as a 1930s Toon wolf minus the longer snout and whiskers that haven’t grown in yet. His fur was inky black and quite rugged from the tips of his ears to his long furry tail, warming his sinewy physique. On top of his head was a wild mess of scruffy jet-black hair reaching down the nape of his neck adorned by unkempt bangs veiling over his forehead, casting a dark shadow over his pie-cut eyes that can pierce any man’s heart like two deadly obsidian bullets. Like his sister, he wore biker clothing. He wore a large, bulky black leather jacket over a matching V-neck top that barely concealed his brutal power, and wore dark ripped jeans adorned with a single silver chain dangling his left hip held up by a golden belt with ass-kicking biker boots. And like hell he was going to go anywhere without his own black fedora. His outfit of choice complimented his overall style; big and bad.

The boys lifted the box and with one heavy grunt, they carefully pushed it into the trunk. Tom fanned his sweaty face with his fedora. “All right,” he panted. His voice was smooth gravel smoked by a thick Chicago accent. “Is that everything?”

Echo pulled out her notebook where she’d listed down the essentials they’d bring. After a long moment, she looked up to their leader and nodded. Three sighs of relief exhaled.

This all started with an idea Adam suggested a few months ago, something that they all have been wanting for as long as they knew each other: a new life.

After they all discussed this during a sleepover meeting, the plan was set in motion. While the girls were sleeping, Tom and Adam stayed up all night, planning. They plotted the overall costs –- the cost of gas for hundreds of miles, the cost of food, hotels, and ideas for the ideal location. Thanks to Adam’s tech-wizard and hacker skills, he pointed Tom to a property resided in a few states over in a unique town where security is enhanced and job opportunities are better, and the house was big enough for all four of them. And thanks to Tom’s sleuth skills he learned while taking “odd jobs”, he was able to receive more than enough money to pay for most of the costs. The boys even cracked a chuckle, imagining the girls’ excited squeals when they see their “new home” while discussing what they’d need to bring, what’d they need to leave behind, and how much money they still needed to save. After figuring out how long it would take for them to reach that goal, they set a date: in six months, they’ll pack their bags and leave Chicago for good.

Tonight is the night.

However, only one question remained. Tom and Twyla turned to Adam. “Well, Slick?” Tom asked.

The fox chuckled and whirled himself around in a Toon-Tornado. He was sitting in a judge’s chair with a desk while holding a neat stack of papers. Putting on an antique pair of round spectacles, he spoke in a deep powerful voice. “After reviewing your case in a thorough analysis and inspection with the court, I have concluded the state of your request.”

All three heads zeroed on him, “Well?”

Adam looked up at the twins…and smiled broadly. “Congratulations, Mr. and Ms. Toonz.” He handed them over the papers, “You have been properly and officially emancipated. Case close.” He pounded his table with the gravel.

The silence was monumental before the three Toons let out a huge “WHOOO!!!!”, and the girls hugged each other while Tom did a Smooth Criminal victory dance and finished with a dab. Then, they all pulled Adam in for a powerful group hug, happiness flowing through their bonds, their spirits alive and singing. Their hug lasted for another long moment before Tom reluctantly pulled away. He dusted his arms and his hat, “All right, enough of this gooey emotional shit.” He ignored the girls’ deadpan looks and put his fedora back on. “How’s it lookin’ for transportation?”

Adam pulled out his phone and viewed the contents. “Smooth like silk. The Amtrack will be able to get us to L.A. within two days, seventeen hours and forty minutes, and the train doesn’t leave until midnight. Unfortunately, I couldn’t save two more seats for you guys, so I propose using the only Toon-friendly trolley system Chicago has to offer.”

“The Red Car.” Tom nodded. “Which means, it’s gonna be an even longer trip for us.” He frowned thoughtfully. “That’s not too far from here, so we should be able to catch the Red Car on time.”

Adam could tell there was something else Tom was hesitating to say. “What are you gonna do in the meantime?”

Daring to sneak a glance, Tom softly cursed from the slightly tense look in the older male’s eyes and sighed, knowing damn well how they’re going to take this next news. “Twyla and I are gonna grab a few more things at the Hellhole.”

“What?!” The twins winced from the anger of Adam’s sharply loud voice and the terror in Echo’s eyes. “Toonz, are you shitting me?! You said that you’ll never step one foot in that fuckin’ place again, and we both know why!”

“I know, and I mean that.” Tom placed a hand on the Toon fox’s shoulder. “But there are a few good memories that were stolen from us, and we want those back.”

After hearing “good memories”, Adam’s sharp glare softened, albeit slightly.

“No one’s gonna find us, right?”

Three heads turned to Echo who spoke for the first time since they started packing. She was glancing at them worriedly and her poor ears drooped, which softened their hearts. Sweet, precious Echo. She’s always looking out for them even after she has been through so, so much pain and unimaginable suffering.

Tom walked over and gently placed both hands on her delicate shoulders. “We’re gonna be fine, Candy Girl. Adam and I both made sure that our tracks are well hidden while going over the costs of our plan. Right, Slick?”

“That’s right, pipsqueak.” Adam nodded, “I went through the trouble of tweaking the security footage of the webcams and traffic light cameras to make double-sure we don’t get any unwelcome visitors. Not like that’s ever gonna happen. I mean, I’m already emancipated since I got tossed out. You were pronounced “missing”, basically dead. And the twins…” he trailed off, casting the twins a somber, wary glance. “Well…”

“No one even acknowledged us, so our “disappearances” will barely make it to the news.” Tom finished grimly.

His packmates looked down at the ground, bracing the chilly air of silence or Tom’s ice-cold resentment. Or the memory of the hard pill they’ve all swallowed long ago. After another long moment, Adam was the first to speak. “You sure we can’t tag along?” he asked.

“Trust me, it’s as bad as you remember. And we definitely don’t want Echo to get sick from inhaling the nasty stench of B.O. and booze.” Their leader replied, chuckling from seeing Echo’s cute little face scrunch. “You got your phone set?”

Adam looked at his device. “We’re hot.”

“Good.” Tom nodded. The boys exchanged a quick bro handshake, silently wishing each other good luck while Echo walked over to give Twyla another hug, only to make this one last longer. She finally pulled away, still holding onto the ravenette’s shoulders.

“Promise me you’ll be careful?” she asked, looking her right in the eye.

Twyla nodded. She understood why Adam and Echo were so hesitant to start the trip without them, but she and Tom didn’t want them to take any chances at the Hellhole. Her brother gently nudged her shoulder, getting her attention. Then he looked at the other two. “You gonna buy us a pizza to welcome us home?” He grinned at Adam.

“After making me haul up all your heavy-ass cargo? I don’t think so.” The fox snorted, flipping him the bird.

“Up yours too, asshole.” Tom chuckled, returning him the bird before he and his sister began their trail to the Hellhole.

Adam shook his head, grumbling as he walked over to get into the driver’s seat. Echo watched the twins go, her eyes glistening with inky tears. She held onto the passenger’s handle with one hand, and behind her back she kept her fingers crossed.

__________________

It was practically pitch-black when they stopped at the apartment in East Chatham. The building was four stories in height and held more than 20 apartments, built of crumbling red bricks and mortar that weakened with age, bits and pieces falling off like the paper edges of a torn, tossed model sheet. The sides were caked with moss and mold from rain, age, and neglect. All the windows were closed and most of the lights were off, but the twins could see the cracks that had been left uncared for. Across the left side of the entrance stood a towering tree, its posture hunched over from the weight of the leaves and its branches dangling like a pork pig carcass. The perimeter was guarded by iron black gates tipped with sharp spear points, but no one was really living there. Everyone left, but some stayed to rot.

The twins exchanged a silent conversation, then they both nodded. “You sneak in through the bedroom window, I’ll check the master’s for more cash and heat.” Tom spoke, then he walked off to the other sidewalk.

Twyla observed her surroundings, pondering how she was going to sneak in without having to use the door. Her eyes saw the tree and a lightbulb lit above her head. She spotted the largest and thickest branch, rubbed her gloved hands together, and lunged onto the tree. With one hand on the branch, she hoisted herself up and used her tail to secure her landing before she began to climb. The wolf-mink female prowled across the branch like a graceful panther, moving the thick leaves out of her path, then she spotted the closet roof she could land on. Without taking her eyes off the roof, she took a slow deep breath, and jumped. Her raven hair flew around the air like a dark cape as she adjusted her altitude into a somersault, and like a performer, she landed on the roof with graceful time and finesse.

Twyla walked across the left side of the building, keeping her ears high and her eyes clear. It wasn’t long until she spotted the only window she was looking for, and she crouched down to knee-level before she reached for the bottom rail. It wasn’t locked. She carefully lifted the window up and stepped into the bedroom. Twyla’s and Tom’s old bedroom.

The walls were painted pale gray, almost white and the floor was blanketed in grey carpet padding. Across them were pale shadows of the band posters the twins already took down, and the bookshelf was void of the twins’ favorites, like The Outsiders and The Great Gatsby, and Twyla’s collection of Edgar Allan Poe. On Twyla’s left stood a twin-over full bunk bed, padded in skull-designed pillows and blankets. Sighing, she sat on the larger bottom bed where she once slept, her head in her hands. She thought of the good memories she acquired in the room. The times she spent trying to read while Tom played his favorite video games, days she spent helping Tom with his homework.

There were so many memories in this one room it was crazy. Her mind flittered to nights long ago when she helped clean her brother’s wounds, Tom cheering her up with his goofy voice impressions, but she banished the memories as soon as they came. The pain of remembering was too hard. She already had her bags packed in Adam’s car, and she entrusted him and Echo to look after them. And in spite of everything, she’s not bringing as much as she would need to. She only brought one purse where she kept her most valued and important necessities, and everything else she needed.

Sighing, she got up gingerly, careful to keep her movements quiet as she took her purse. As she grabbed onto the bedroom doorknob, she looked over her shoulder to the opened window, her heart steady and still as she faced the city with a somber glance.

Chicago was no longer her home.

Twyla opened the knob, and carefully pushed the door open without making a sound. She poked her head out, and noticed the long hallway across the living room and kitchen where the master bedroom was. Tom should be finished by now.

She stepped out into the living room and—

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Twyla froze. Her pale gray fur raised, alarming her that she was in grave danger. And when she looked at the balcony, her blood ran cold like ice.

Standing in front of her was another male Toon wolf, older by a few years. Unlike Tom, his fur was a rusty red and dirty compared to Adam’s. His hair was shorter than Tom’s but just as scruffy, and one of his ears was nearly torn off. He wore a stained white tank over worn-out jeans and black western boots adorned with a leather strap studded with flesh-piercing spikes. And he was muscular, but he wasn’t built with a soft layer like Tom has. No. He was huge, shredded, and his arms were packed with heavy muscle like steel armor. He towered over her, standing at an imposing height of seven feet, clenching his fist with one hand and Twyla could see the empty bottle.

Oh fuck, he’s drunk again.

Twyla’s eyes moved back to him, but doing so made her heart stop. He was looking at her the same way he always did, and it always frightened her. His lips bared into a menacing growl, revealing a mouthful of sharp bone-chewing fangs, but it was his eyes that terrified her the most.

Eyes full of ice-cold hate.

Twyla was paralyzed with fear, her heart beating so loud her eardrums would burst. Every fiber of her being trembled, unable to shake off the impending waves of horror from the sight of him, and she fought very hard not to let the memories cloud her vision.

If she spoke, he would only get angrier.

And if she did not speak, he would only get angrier.

She had to be careful.

“I-” she began to stutter but caught herself. He hates it when she stutters. “I’m sorry, Darry. I’ll leave now—”

It happened so fast. Paralyzing pain singed her right cheek. Her head spun so fast she could have gotten whiplash before she fell on the floor, spots popping up in her vision as she tasted blood on her tongue.

“You’re sorry? YOU’RE SORRY?!” the male roared. His voice was like an avalanche of a thunderstorm; loud, booming, and unforgiving. His icy blue eyes flashed like lightning, and a low growl rumbled from his throat like a warning thunder. “You have the fuckin’ nerve to show your ugly-ass mug here in my house, after what you’ve fuckin’ done, and now you’re fucking SORRY?!?!”

Twyla couldn’t breathe. His words dug into her chest like sharp claws, ripping out her heart. It wasn’t the first time he said something like this, not the first time he blamed her. Every day and night was the same back when she and Tom lived with him. He comes home from work. He drinks. And he gets angry. And even on nights he doesn’t drink, he gets angry. She wanted to help him. And she tried—she really tried, but the grief destroyed him.

She tried to speak—but bolted as soon as she saw the bottle flying towards her.

It shattered upon impact against the wall, broken glass shards scattering across the floor like pieces of broken crystal. Twyla was terrified, silent and shocked. He had never raised a hand or threw his beloved Jack Daniels at her before. She faced Darry, but he was already charging at her like a savage animal; luckily, she was able to leap over him despite being in a narrow-spaced apartment just as her opponent slammed headfirst into the stove. He grabbed onto the counter and stove railing for support, but he accidentally knocked over another bottle of alcohol, but it was full, and he switched the burner control knob on. Fire burst from the grate right into Darry’s face and right arm, causing him to recoil and scream in agonizing, burning pain.

Twyla spotted the balcony and its doors wide open. She grabbed her bag and ran over to get ready to jump.

But just as she reached out for the railing, Darry’s large hand grasped onto her tail in a very painful grip and swung her high in the air before slamming her on the ground hard enough to injure her skull. Mind-searing pain coursed her head, and her vision became distorted. And then, the large red beast pounced on her and curled his strong hands around her neck, using his strength and body weight to prevent her from escaping.

Twyla tried gasping for breath, but she could barely breathe due to her lungs being constricted. She writhed and kicked as much as she can, but Darry wouldn’t even budge. Her vision began to darken. Fuck, this is bad! She needed to be stronger!

Despite her deteriorating vision, she saw Darry pull something large and metallic out from his pocket and heard something click. Then she spotted little green splatches drip from the long barrel of the object. She took a whiff, and her heart dropped down to her stomach.

Is that…Dip?! Her amethyst eyes went wide as saucers, stricken in horror. How the hell did he get a Dip-bulleted gun?!

A new burst of adrenaline kicked in her system, and she felt a newfound strength within her fight-or-flight instincts. She clawed and kicked even harder, even as Darry’s vice-grip on her neck tightened.

“It should have been you,” Darry snarled resonantly. Twyla dared to look at his half-burned face. His right eye was bloodshot, marred by the burn scars scorning the side of his forehead all the way down to his cheekbone and neck. He glared down at her with barbaric, murderous hatred before he aimed the barrel of his gun at her face. Twyla’s heart pounded with intense, quivering terror. “IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU!!!”

“GET THE HELL OFF OF HER, YOU BASTARD!!!”  

Darry whirled his head around and Tom lunged onto him, knocking Darry’s gun out of his grasp. Twyla rolled over to her side, gingerly soothing her throat as she coughed heavily. As she slowly regained consciousness and oxygen, she turned to see her brother on top of the larger wolf and beating the absolute shit out of him. His tail whooshed and lashed out like a furious, deadly cobra as he beat his bloodied fists repeatedly in the drunk bastard’s face, screaming curses and obscenities in hateful English and Italian.

And Darry was completely fucked up.

His hair and fur massed with dirt and blood, his left eye nearly swollen shut, and his red cheeks battered with red, purplish bruises. His snout was smeared with traces of blood dripping down his nose and seeping down his lower lip, staining his gritted teeth red. Twyla could see three bleeding claws marks across the older male’s chest, and figured that Tom was trying to rip his heart out.

Tom saw his sister watching and shouted, “GO! I’ll hold him off! GO!”

With him distracted, Darry took advantage of the opportunity to unsheathe his claws and swung his right hand at Tom’s face, scratching him. He was sent flying across the room before he tumbled into the crappy sofa, causing the furniture to fall on top of him. The drunk brute used his hands to steady himself, swaying a bit as he struggled to stand up, his eyes locked on the biker-clad gangster.

No! No! Twyla panicked, looking around to find what she could use. She saw the gun and immediately tucked it into her jacket pocket, but her eyes spotted something. A long glass shard.

Tom clutched onto his left ribcage painfully, gritting his teeth as he held onto the sofa with his one hand before he slowly pulled himself up. A thin trail of blood dripped down his right eyebrow, clouding his vision. He dug in his left pocket, but Darry had him cornered. He grabbed Tom by the scruff of his neck and reared his right fist, ready to punch him.

But before he could throw his fist, Twyla pounced on him from behind and used her delicate arms to pull him into a chokehold. The red Toon wolf dropped Tom and grasped onto the girl’s arm, intent on pulling her off him. But Twyla was quicker.

She pulled out the shard, shoved it around Darry’s neck, and slit his throat.

Slash.

Crimson blood sprayed from Darry’s throat like a sprinkler, staining his shirt. His eye widened in shock. All he could do was grasp his bloodstained neck and let out a garbled symphony of choked screams and groans from the unbearable, flesh-tearing pain. The twins watched him sway, his arms dangling to his sides. Then he fell onto his back motionlessly.

Tom stood up on his feet and quickly walked over to his sister. He knelt and gently held her by her shoulders. “Are you all right?” he asked, then reprimanded himself when he saw the nasty bruises on her cheek and neck. “Fuck that. You’re not all right. Stupid question.”

Twyla nodded, but softly gasped when she saw the scar on his eye. “Tom. Your eye.”

“Huh?” He reached up and touched his eyelid, hissing upon impact. “Oh, I’ll be fine. I’m fuckin’ Gunslinger Tom Toonz, for God’s sakes.” He snickered.

Twyla sighed and shook her head, but she couldn’t hold back a snicker.

A garbled groan interrupted them.

The twins both turned to see Darry, who was still alive. But he was barely breathing. He laid in a puddle of his own blood, gently grasping his slit throat to stop the bleeding, but it was too late. His heartbeat was slowly growing faint, his breaths growing weaker by the minute. He heard two sounds of footsteps walking towards him, and he looked up to see Tom and Twyla standing near him.

They loomed over him like two foreboding phantoms, staring down at him with bared fangs and hellish fury glowing in their eyes. Tom’s hardened, murderous glare suddenly extinguished into a calm but stoic expression. He and Twyla turned to each other and stared right in the eyes, as if they were having a silent conversation.

After a long moment of silence, Tom spoke. “If we do this, we cannot return.”

Twyla looked at him for a moment, then slowly turned to the dying drunkard before them. She stared at him long and tense, unwavering even as he glared hotly at her despite the life slowly draining out of him.

Twyla shut her eyes, then looked away.

Tom jerked a nod, “You might wanna take a step back.”

He dug into his pocket and pulled out his gun.

Darry’s dying heart skipped a beat and opened his mouth to scream.

A gunshot broke the silence, and the bullet pierced right into his heart.

Splatches of dipped red smeared the floor right where Twyla stood and stained the sofa. Smoke rose from the corpse’s bleeding chest where Tom shot him, and Darry’s right hand fell to his side. The slash was so deep Twyla practically cut his head off. Hell, Tom could even see the veins on his jugular. He grinned with proud sadistic mirth.

Suddenly, a harsh brazen screech shrieked, followed by the smell of alcohol and gas. The twins whirled to see a growing fire fueled by the spilled booze, the flames tickling the steel exterior of the stove and dripping down to the floor. “Oh, shit! Fire!” Tom shouted, “Grab your bag and let’s bail!”

Twyla secured her purse and took her brother’s hand, running together towards the balcony. With one great leap, the twins jumped high in the air and soared across the backyard. Tom pulled his sister close protectively while keeping his hat on before he landed on his feet just inches away from the gates. He allowed himself to take a few deep breaths before he and Twyla continued running. They ran across the narrow trail leading to the left side of the apartment, not once releasing their grip even after they stopped out in the open. Twyla’s chest was heaving heavily, inhaling huge gusts of air and suddenly she spotted something red driving down their way. “Look!” she pointed.

Tom looked past his twin’s shoulder and squinted. Then he beamed, “The Red Car!”

Indeed, it was the Red Car. Their own chariot, painted in shining red and gold. Brought to you by the Pacific Electric Railway company. And right on schedule!

With all the energy they had left, the twins darted all the way down to the closest stop on the end of the sidewalk. Once they reached there, Tom pulled out his wallet while Twyla quickly applied some concealer to hide her bruises. Her brother stuck out his thumb, motioning for the vehicle to stop. With a slow, steaming hiss and the brake on the wheels, the Red Car stopped for them. The doors opened, revealing the driver to be an elderly male Toon vulture.

“You here for the midnight trip?” he asked gruffly.

“Yeah.” Tom, being the gracious gentleman he was, dug out a big smack of $20. “Would this do?” he asked, giving the driver the money.

He looked down, then sighed. “All right. Hop in.”

Tom tipped his hat, “Much obliged.”

He led his sister to the back seats at the end of the Red Car and let out an exhausted sigh the moment he sat his ass down. Twyla joined him, digging in her small mirror to check her reflection. The doors closed, the engine started, and the ride began. The Red Car was driving a few blocks past 79th Street when the twins suddenly heard a siren. They looked over Twyla’s right where the window was and saw a Toon firefighter truck zooming down past them. Eyes widening, they turned around and peered through the small glass window to watch the truck drive towards East Chatham where a flaming inferno blazed to life, eating the blackened tree leaves. The glow of the fire shone bright in the dead of night, melting the chains of the unreachable past.

This was the point of no return.

“Boy, am I glad to be out of this hellhole.” The driver grumbled to himself.

“You and me both.” Tom agreed, unaware of the stricken look on his sister’s face.

She shook it off, then looked at the words on the tracker written in glowing neon.

3280 Hyperion Avenue, Los Angeles, California.

Their destination; Toontown.

[ups3tti]

Hello there, 👋

I am Tamer Aldeeb, a dentist from Gaza.

We have suffered greatly from fear, displacement, and the destruction of our home and my clinic, and everything we literally own...

We want to save ourselves from what seems like an inevitable death.

I hope you can take a look at my campaign on the pinned post on my profile ,and help us by donating or sharing our campaign to reach the largest number of supporters.🌹🌹

Our campaign is verified by @90-ghost , @ibtisams , @el-shab-hussein , @nabulsi and @fairuzfan 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

Thanks a lot in advance ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you for reaching out to me!

Hi! I know this isn't my usual post but this is important to me and I wanted to take the time to talk about it 💚

As he says above, This is Tamer Al-deeb. He and his mother, father, and brother have been forced to flee again and again in the midst of the current occupation and genocide happening in Gaza. They currently have no source of income available to them due to Tamer's clinic being destroyed among everything else happening, and are asking for donations so that they can cross the border into Egypt, and take care of living costs thereafter.

Please donate to their campaign if you are able, and I encourage you to share this as well. Thank you for taking the time to read this regardless!

You can find their GoFundMe below, and by visiting Tamer's page. Him and his family's story is also there, which I encourage you to read as well.

[thatwrestlingnerd]

why would you bring deeb back in a position that would be negative if they wanted her to talk about her seizures? a choice.

[mashhistorian]

In a January 1981 syndicated column, Gary Deeb reviewed the PBS documentary “Making M*A*S*H” and offered a short history of the series up to that point. Deeb was a tough critic, but he had nice things to say about M*A*S*H! Learn more in this week’s post!

[coll2mitts]

Movie Minute: Cool World (1992)

Guys, uh, I found something bizarre on YouTube yesterday and I have to talk about it. I can't let myself focus on this for more than a few hours, so enjoy this new thing called Movie Minute where I word vomit out a bunch of stuff in an attempt to purge the subject from my mind.

Cool World is what would happen if Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Heavy Metal procreated. I'm 100% convinced its target audience was middle school-aged boys during a time period where porn was physically printed media and not a 2-second google search away. It tries so hard to be edgy and instead succeeds in being the most uncomfortable thing I've ever seen.

Do you want to know what it'd look like for a real life human to "make it" with a cartoon? No? What if the human was the nerdy German professor from Little Women and the cartoon was Kim Basinger? Well, the director of Cool World, Ralph Bakshi certainly did and now we're all worse off.

Nothing could have prepared me for the plot of this movie. Riffing on Bakshi's original concept, the writing pair that also gave us Starsky and Hutch and 2 Poltergeist movies posits "What if a separate animated world called Toontown Cool World existed? And in that world a down-on-his-luck human detective played by Bob Hoskins Brad Pitt and his cartoon sidekick called Roger Rabbit Nails investigated the extracurricular activities of a sultry singing bombshell named Jessica Rabbit Holli Would? And what if a toon Doodle tried to impersonate a human Noid for their own personal gain disregarding how it affected the citizens of their own town? Like, what if someone told that story?!"

Honestly, I don't want to focus too deeply on the similarities between this and Who Framed Roger Rabbit because that is an entertaining movie and Cool World is teenage spank bank slop. It tries to be more than that, but after the 30th scene of cartoon Kim Basinger doing this exact thing, I think it lost the plot.

See, Brad Pitt's character Frank Harris is a WW2 vet who returns to Las Vegas to be with his mother after the war. During a motorcycle ride they get hit by a drunk driver, and Frank's mom immediately dies. Simultaneously, some cartoon scientist opens a rift between Cool World and Real World using some "spike" he invented, witnesses Frank's emotional break that somehow interferes with the spike and facilitates his transportation into Cool World.

How did this cartoon scientist rip a hole into reality? How did Frank navigate between the real world and Cool World by being really, really upset? I dunno, fuck you for asking.

Instead of being like hm, clearly this is a psychotic break, I should try to get back to reality, Frank spends the next 47 years of his life in Cool World, somehow nagging a job as its only detective. What's he trying to prevent from happening? Holli, a Doodle played by Kim Basinger, fucking a Noid.

First of all, the slang they created in this movie in an attempt to build out Cool World is :chefs kiss: amount of cringe. The animated creatures are called "Doodles" and the humans are "Noids". The antagonist, aptly named Holli Would ("Holli would if she could... And she will" EYEROLL) wants to become a Noid and travel to the real world where powerful woman have agency because Marilyn Monroe seemed to have all her shit together. The only way Holli can do that, however, is to have sex with a real-life Noid because Noid sperm turns Doodles into Noids, I guess.

Since our chaste friend Frank won't give up the goods, Holli targets Jack Deebs, a cartoonist she inspired to write the "Cool World" comic series because of her frequent visits in his dreams. Jack is currently serving time in jail for murdering his wife's lover, but somehow has an entire art studio in his cell and Holli scribbled on his walls. He's going to be released in a few days, and he moans out a thanks to Holli for helping him through his time incarcerated. I don't for a second want to picture Gabriel Byrne jackin' it to a picture he drew of a blonde chick, but here we are.

How has Holli been communicating with Jack? Did she reach out to him first, or did he somehow slip into Cool World by accident? How did Holli pull him into Cool World? Is the "spike" facilitating this interaction somehow? I dunno, fuck you for asking.

Frank catches wind of this new development and hunts down Jack to have a little chat about The Rules. The sexual tension between the two factions is incredibly awkward, but my favorite line in the whole movie is the intimidating way Brad Pitt spits at Gabriel Byrne, "Noids do not have sex with Doodles".

"Keep your PENCIL in your POCKET if you know what I mean."

Someone had to write this. Someone had to print this in a script, give it to a director, have them sign off on it, deliver it to two well-known actors, block it, rehearse it, and then tell Brad Pitt, hot off of Thelma & Louise fame, to deliver this so fucking earnestly that we would believe if Gabriel Byrne stuck his dick in a cartoon the world would explode. And then Brad repeats the rule the same way Tyler reiterates to new members not to talk about Fight Club.

The missed opportunity of Frank not warning Jack with, "Don't diddle a Doodle" breaks my heart if I think about it more than 2 seconds.

So what does Jack do after this encounter? Fuck Holli.

This turns her into a Noid, cause again, magic Noid sperm will do that. Jack and Holli somehow travel back to the Real World and Holli immediately tries to stage fuck Frank Sinatra Jr. in an attempt to get famous. I'm not kidding. I'm not kidding about any of this.

Except the effect of the sperm starts to wear off, threatening to turn Holli back into a Doodle. Jack also starts morphing into a Doodle because cross contamination, I guess? This makes him nervous but he's generally inept and can't think of a way to fix it. Holli decides the best course of action is to hunt down the "spike" to give her power, which she thinks is at the top of the Union Plaza hotel in downtown Las Vegas because of a rumor about a Doodle named Vegas Vinnie who crossed over years before and guys, the last 30 minutes of this movie are come at you fast, please try to stay with me here.

See, Vegas Vinnie is based on the scientist from the beginning of the movie. He was afraid of someone exploiting the rift he created, so he used the "spike" to plug the tunnel between Cool World and Real World lest they bleed into each other. This rift just happens to be at the top of a massive casino, so Holli ditches Jack and attempts to climb up there herself to grab the spike. Frank figures out the plan, relieves the trauma of losing his mother to travel back to the real world, and goes to the site of the spike with intentions to arrest Holli. She Doodle shifts to shove Frank off the building, unsheathes the "spike" like it were Excalibur, and inadvertently triggers the merging of the two worlds.

I'm having Super Mario Bros. flashbacks and this movie came out a year before that.

Jack witnesses Holli murder Frank and only then decides to embrace his inner Doodle and stop this catastrophe from happening. He transforms into a super hero, smashes his way through the Doodle ghouls, bypasses Holli and returns the spike to its home.

The Doodles (including Doodle Jack and Frank's Noid corpse) are returned back to Cool World. I think we're supposed to feel bad Frank died from a 50 story fall, but actually it's fine because when a Doodle murders a Noid the Noid turns into a Doodle somehow. These rules are just... whatever, it doesn't matter, they are what they are.

Now Frank can fuck his Doodle girlfriend that I completely forgot to mention he has guilt-free. The end.

The marketing for this film was bananas. Paramount partnered with DC to release a prequel comic book series and set the stage for the story. They donated money to the parks department to promote the movie by plastering a cutout of Holli on the Hollywood sign, which outraged people exactly as much as you think it would. They also worked with David fucking Bowie to record a song for the soundtrack.

How, as a child of the 80s/90s and teenage fan of Brad Pitt, did I not once encounter Cool World before it randomly appeared as a free movie on YouTube?! Maybe because this had an estimated budget of 30 Million dollars and only grossed shy of half that. The plot is convoluted, the interactions between live action footage and animation never look natural, and the performance of every single one of these decent actors is terrible somehow. Kim Basinger is more of a cartoon character in the live action footage than she is animated, which is a shame because she's absolutely capable of being funny while being seductive. Cool World only solidified my #teamlaurie allegiance cause I can never look Gabriel Byrne in the eyes again. And how did Brad Pitt get cast as a detective in Se7en after his creative accent choices in this?!

So, what did we learn? Uhhhh... Don't fuck a toon, even if they look like Kim Basinger. It always ends bad.

Also, they made several Cool World video games and if I can find one I'm 100% going to play it on twitch.

[trevlad-sounds]

Invisible Club 20

03.07.2024

Intro 00:00

Moray Newlands-The Prodigal 00:41

BEAK>-The Seal 05:02

Metamatics-Kippax Street 10:54

The British Stereo Collective-Tech Talk 15:06

Futuregrapher-Angsutra 17:19

Dark Fidelity Hi Fi-Dark Transit 23:56

µ-Ziq-Hyper Daddy 29:33

Julio Tornero-stormchaser 34:56

Mike Dickinson-Clicking Out 37:42

David Douglas & Applescal-Galibier 41:57

Serge Geyzel-It’s Cancelled 45:08

Deeb-003.1 51:20

Pabellón Sintético & Lucas Tripaldi-Who is on the other side? 55:12

Thought Bubble-Crystal 1:01:05

Fragile X-Hanging By A Thread 1:14:05

Mark Hjorthoy-Stimulus Response Programming 1:19:06

Outré 1:24:01

[gutwrenchflowerbomb]

Here are my Double or Nothing predictions and/or fantasy bookings that no one asked for! These things will absolutely not happen but in my mind, this is what should happen.

Thunder Rosa vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Rosa. I like them both but like Rosa a little more than Deonna.

The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass vs. Brian Cage & Gates of Agony

Daddy Ass and the Acclaimed

The Bang Bang Gang (Jay White, Austin & Colten Gunn) (c) vs. Death Triangle (PAC, Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero M) for the Unified Trios titles

This is a tough one because I low key love the train wreck - one brain cell ass combo of the Bang Bang Gang BUT I’m a Lucha Bros Babe from before AEW so I’m giving the edge to Death Triangle

Orange Cassidy vs. Trent Beretta

Listen. Here’s all I’m gonna say. I’m Team Chuck Taylor above all others. And Chuck chose Orange. So if that’s what Chuck thought, that’s what I think

Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita in an IWGP World Heavyweight championship Eliminator

That arm in the chair spot handicaps Mox a bit which I think leaves this open for Takeshita to take this win (only to lose when the actual title is on the line)

Chris Jericho (c) vs. HOOK vs. Katsuyori Shibata for the FTW title

Anyone but Jericho. Fuck outta here.

(low key rooting for Shibata tho)

Adam Copeland (c) vs. Malakai Black in a Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match for the TNT championship

If I had my way, Adam is gonna come out to the whole old school Brood entrance, I’m talking with the original music, the ring of fire and Gangrel carrying the blood filled chalice.

Anyway I’m thinking Adam has the edge (get it lol) and this is clearly leading, as I said when Adam first got inked by Malakai, to Adam turning evil and taking over HOB (so that Malakai and maybe Buddy can fuck off back to WWE to be with their SOs, which I don’t fault them for wanting)

Roderick Strong (c) vs. Will Ospreay for the International championship

I want Ospreay to come out and immediately decapitate Matt Taven with a round house kick and for Matt Taven’s head to fly into Mike Bennett’s gut and go clean through it leaving a comical hole like in the movie Death Becomes Her.

And then he beats Roderick.

Timeless Toni Storm (c) vs. Serena Deeb for the AEW Women World title

Toni Storm cross body blocks Serena and then just starts mocking a seizure and her acting is so good that Serena immediately submits.

Willow Nightingale (c) vs. Mercedes Moné for the TBS title

Willow picks up Mercedes and tosses her into the rafters like she was a paper plane. When Mercedes floats back down to the ring after 15 mins of gliding, Willow powerbombs her so hard that Earth’s magnetic poles shift

Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Christian Cage for the AEW World championship

Swerve should roll Nick Wayne up in one of Mother Wayne’s dusters and use him like a lance to take out Luchasaurus/Killswitch, since he has a masters degree in Medieval history, I believe Luchaswitch would appreciate it.

Then Swerve would have to defeat Mother Wayne as Christian would be hanging on to her leg like a scared kitten.

Once Mother Wayne was disposed of, Swerve will have Nana dance so hard that Christian will pass out resulting in a win via TKO

The Elite (The Young Bucks, Kazuchika Okada & Jack Perry) vs. Team AEW (FTR, Bryan Danielson & Darby Allin) in Anarchy in the Arena

This is too ripe for wild shit. Nothing I could imagine would come close to whatever inevitable insane shit Darby does.

I’ll just say I’m Team Elite. Because I can’t stand FTR.

[sheinthatfandom]

It’s Double or Nothing weekend and you know what that means……. MY PPV HOPES AND PREDICTIONS!!!! Cause you know I’m super fair impartial and unbiased just like our wonderful EVPs😇

Under the cut cause it’s a lot

Yellow is who I want green is who I think will be booked to win

Now for the buy in they only added this photo

Which is beautiful and Imma share it so

Thunder Vs Deonna: I got no clue honestly. I’ve missed the build up to this. If this is an ongoing feud give it to deonna with shenanigans if this is gonna pave the way for a title end run than give it to thunder

Orange vs Trent: I want orange to win he’s lost everything in his mind doesn’t see that he still has people around him who cares to him he lost Chuck and so he’s lost it all. This is his widowers arc and with callis pushing him a win can make Don act as though he’s the reason for the win and get in oranges head even more. Trent has been winning and this could be another mail in the pushing Trent coffin to aim him toward eventual gold.

Iwgp championship- Mox vs takesita: I do not know the new Japan rules I know many fans are angry but I also know many fans just hate aew so I can not take what’s said in good faith. Also kayfabe is still alive and well so even the stuff wrestlers say I’m like…. Your company did this books this and signs off on it so I’m gonna assume this is kayfabe world building. That said this isn’t for the belt but for a future opportunity for it against whoever is champion after moxs next title defense. So I’d love for it to be Takeshita one the loss won’t hurt mox 2 Takeshita was with ddt not new Japan but callis was and possible is still working with new Japan so more possible story lines and opens up konosuke to start feuding with new Japan guys who are now angry at this opportunity and give him feuds for forbidden door and rebuild him as a powerhouse for when he gets aew gold.

Aew/roh tríos championship- Bang bang gang va death triangle: I know I know okay aew loves death triangle lenta and fénix are an incredible team and pac is a beloved monster I get that. I see the vision aew wants me to see BUT bang bang gang is fun and they’re my silly little gremlin guys and they just beat the acclaimed to get all these belts and now they use the little wagon to wheel it all down to the ring it’s hilarious it’s fun and I need more fun in my wrestling. Plus the boys are doing so well in their promos now like no let them keep cooking. They can even win by shenanigans I’m FINE with that. In fact I’d prefer it. Let my goofy guys win PLEASE.

Ftw championship- Hook vs Chris vs shibata: I want shibata but wil also take hook. I hate that an I hate the learning tree gimmick he needs to go home for 6 months and give me a fucking break. Shibata should never lose he is literally THAT wrestler THAT mf! Matter fact let Joe interrupt and take the Ftw belt. Now no one gets it.

Tnt championship- cope vs black: between the misting the blood cope becoming more and more unhinged he’s gonna win this and idk if he’ll join job/take it over if black doesn’t resign OR and this is my hope he makes his own spooky group pr does his own spooky thing and be a fucking nightmare to the “normal people” roster and the house can win just by him and his spooky existing again kinda like skye

Aew international championship: strong vs Ospreay: did you see that promo? The only way he doesn’t win (and I say this because I am traumatized by the fed) is if it’s to punish him for talking bout/defending ricochet. But tk has never given me a reason to think he’s that damn petty and if anything he’s proven unable to pivot from his original plans.

Aew women’s world championship- Toni vs deeb: she’s got no character, she’s wishy washy on the character she does have, she has no crowd support, she’s got no charisma, and every time she mentions having a fucking dojo I fear what her husband is doing to any young girls she brings around him. This Toni’s it’s not even a question. And instead of these useless boring feuds they need to bring back Toni’s movies and build Mariah up as a serious contender if we really aren’t gonna have hayter come back before all out. And build up both thunder and deonna over again and show them on dynamite and collision cause I don’t watch rampage. Also it’s the women’s world championship and it’s not even in the triple main events

Anarchy in the arena- elite vs team aew? I see the vision I know what they were going for I appreciate the Jackson’s and tk for always trying to see the best in people but the moment ftr was the chosen first members of team aew they lost me. They got me back with Bryan (creator of bcc and part of the committee who freed up from the punk fuckery) and then eddie ( who I wonder if he actually knows wrestling isn’t real sometimes) but now idk someone said if Andrade and Cody were available they woulda been added to team aew and honestly I see it. The legitimacy lost with ftr is staggering. It’s probably gonna be ftr but I really hope the elite win and clean that loss from all out.

Tbs championship- willow vs mone: I get it Mercedes is the bigger star hell she’s one of the biggest stars in the world so why wouldn’t you put the belt on her? Especially the tv title and have her on screens every week and too busy to go after the main title. But… I like willow better and I’d like for her to be able to say to Mercedes I beat you twice now bitch and stokely to try and do the nana dance before kris hits her with the belt. And then Mercedes can go be ceo with the elite.

Aew world championship- swerve vs Christian: my champion is black and that ain’t changing!

[heartsoulrocknroll]

AEW Dynamite 4/24/24

The Bucks and Okada arrive with their titles. Jack Perry gets out of another car and joins them. 

Trent attacks Orange as he is making his entrance. Trent yells for Chuck. Chuck comes out. Trent says he is sorry that they spent five years hugging this narcissistic prick. Orange was supposed to be their mascot, and somehow he made them his lackeys. They fought for him, and he gave them nothing. Orange is not Chuck's friend. Trent cares about Chuck, is his friend, and loves him. He tells Chuck to do the right thing and give the people what they want. Chuck says he always thought Trent was a piece of shit and goes after him with the mic. Chuck doesn't want to fight Trent in the ring. He wants to fight him in the parking lot!!!!!!!! Nice!!!!!

Trent is doing very good heel work. I don't like Chuck choosing Orange, and I would much prefer united, heel Best Friends vs. Orange. But we'll see how it goes. 

Mox promo. Yippee. He says he is confident, but don't mistake that for underestimating Hobbs. He knows who Hobbs is, and he knows if he makes one mistake, his world could coming crashing down around him. Blah blah blah.

Swerve Strickland vs. Kyle Fletcher (AEW World Championship Eliminator Match) -- Fletcher dropkicks Swerve to the outside. Swerve with a backdrop on the floor and a kick to the face from the apron. Swerve lands a backbreaker and drives an elbow and a knee into Fletcher's on the mat. Fletcher lands a Michinoku driver! Swerve lands a neckbreaker on the apron!!! He goes for the stomp off the top, but lands hard and hurts his foot. Fletcher intercepts a House Call attempt with an ankle lock! Swerve gets to the ropes. Fletcher with some round kicks. They trade rolling elbows! Swerve with an overhand chop to the back!!! Swerve with a big double upkick, a rolling flatliner, and a vertical suplex for two! They both attempt Tombstones and reverse on each repeatedly until Fletcher finally lands one for a two count! Vicious running kick in the corner by Fletcher! Geez! Fletcher gets hung in the ropes and Swerve lands the double stomp off the top for two! Swerve then lands House Call for the pinfall!

Good match overall, but kind of awkward in parts, including Fletcher almost dropping Swerve on a Tombstone attempt. Rating: 3

Thunder Rosa is with Renee. She talks about Deonna getting in her business again at Dynasty. Deonna comes in, and they start yelling at each other. 

Mina Shirakawa vs. Anna Jay -- Mina with elbows to the knee, then picks Anna up and drops her on her knees on the mat, then lands an enziguri off the top for two! Mina with more elbow drops to the knee, then a Figure Four, but Anna gets to the ropes. Anna rakes the eyes and lands a neckbreaker over the middle rope for two, then a snap suplex for two. They trade elbows! Mina gets the best of it with a rolling elbow and a spinning backfist, then lands a knee to the face off the top for two! Anna lands a hook kick and a Gory Bomb two. Mina catches a boot attempt and lands a dragon screw, then locks in another Figure Four, but Anna gets to the ropes! Mina lands a missile dropkick off the top, then an enziguri for two! Mina goes for a reverse DDT, but Anna reverses into the Queenslayer choke. Mina escapes and ties Anna up in nice pinning combo for three! Solid, enjoyable match. Rating: 2.5

Mina and Mariah try to celebrate with champagne, but Anna stops it and tries to attack. Storm comes out to save Mariah. But here comes Serena Deeb!!  She sits on the stage beside Storm's championship, looks at the camera, and says the next time she touches this belt, she will be the champion. Hell yeah!!!! Let's go!!!!!

Stokely and Statlander introduce Willow. Stokely says he didn't like Willow at first. But she was like a fungus the doctor just couldn't cut off. Willow says she didn't like Stokely at first either. Willow says she was here looking for her break in 2020. She was here being announced as All Elite in 2022. Tonight, she is not trying to catch a break, she is not a rookie, she is the face of TBS!! 

Mercedes comes out! Willow says this is the fourth time Mercedes has interrupted her. Mercedes says she came to congratulate Willow, because there will be a new TBS Champion at Double or Nothing. She also came to ask if Willow was the bitch who attacked her in the dark. Willow says even before this attack, she felt like Mercedes had a personal vendetta against her. She asks if Mercedes thinks that she intentionally injured her in New Japan. Mercedes asks if Willow is asking if she blames Willow for almost ending her career and for all the suffering and pain she went through and for taking the thing she loves most away for a whole year? She says Willow doesn't want the truth, Willow wants to feel better about what she did to her. 

Willow says after she beat Mercedes in New Japan, she looked at the title and wondered if she could have beat Mercedes at 100%. She says there is an asterisk next to that win and title. But there is no asterisk next to this. She holds up the TBS Championship. At Double or Nothing, Willow wants Mercedes at 100% to show her that she can beat her and to show her why she is the TBS Champion. Stat grabs Mercedes' arm as she turns to walk away. Mercedes thinks it was Willow and turns around and slaps Willow in the face!! 

Good segment here. Mercedes was much better on the mic here than she has been in recent weeks. 

Matt tells Marvez that TK just agreed to meet with Jack live in the ring tonight. 

Sudden Death Gauntlet Match for Number One Contendership for the AEW International Championship -- Jay White and Dante start. White dumps Dante hard over the ropes. Penta lands a Destroyer over the ropes on Dante. O'Reilly comes in with an arm bar on Dante, Jay tries to break it up with a kick, but O'Reilly catches him with a heel hook. 

Ospreay comes in next. White and Ospreay face off. White takes his fingers to the eyes. White with hard chops in the corner. Ospreay with chops of his own. White rolls outside. Lance Archer comes in, and O'Reilly locks him in a guillotine, but Archer escapes with a suplex. Archer lands a uranage on White on the apron! Komander comes in. Archer tries to powerbomb him off the apron, but Komander reverses into a rana, sending Archer through tables!! Komander then lands a DDT to Ospreay inside for two! White lands a huge uranage on Komander for two! Ospreay reverses a Bladerunner attempt into a Liger Bomb on White for two! 

Lethal comes in with a dropkick to Ospreay and Lethal Injection to Penta! White lands a sleeper suplex on Lethal! O'Reilly lands the axe and smash on Dante, then his signature strike combo on Ospreay! O'Reilly goes for the rebound lariat, Ospreay stops it and hooks the arms, O'Reilly escapes and lands a rolling elbow, Ospreay lands a hook kick, O'Reilly goes for the rebound lariat again but runs right into a Hidden Blade!!! O'Reilly kicks out at two!!! Holy shit, what and exchange! Ospreay thinks about the Tiger Driver 91, but hesitates, and O'Reilly locks in an arm bar! Komander breaks it up with a moonsault off the top to O'Reilly. Komander goes for the pin, but Ospreay lays him out with a Hidden Blade for the pinfall!!!

This was a really fun match. I liked not knowing who would enter next, and the action itself was good throughout. I especially loved the exchanges between White and Ospreay, and O'Reilly and Ospreay. But Ospreay winning is the worst case scenario for me. I cannot watch him pin Roddy. I just can't. I will die. Rating: 3.25 

Jericho promo. He says he is changing the name of the FTW title. Now it means for the world, because he and the people won this title together. He says he was trying to teach Hook that he needs to lose the dead weight like Taz and Shibata. Jericho thanks Hook. He says he told Hook to stay down after two Judas Effects, but Hook did not. Hook forced Jericho to hit him in the face with a baseball bat, so that's on Hook. LMAO. He knows Hook is home thinking about what he has learned, and that is exciting to him. Bill comes out and says he needs the advice of the Learning Tree. He says everybody knows Jericho is the Socrates of wrestling. Bill says he is the best fit for the Learning Tree. Jericho says he will be watching Bill and they will see.

Great work from Jericho here. People can bitch about him all they want. Apparently it's never going to stop Jericho from being an endless well of gold and turning every crowd reaction into a new gimmick. Lmao. He truly can't be stopped. 

Renee is with Callis, Ospreay, and Fletcher. Callis congratulates Ospreay on winning the gauntlet match, but says he only has one note. Ospreay had O'Reilly in position for the Tiger Driver 91, but didn't hit it. Ospreay says he doesn't want to do it anymore after what happened to Danielson at Dynasty. He says that move has got to go, Danielson has had a broken neck. Callis doesn't care if he has had five broken necks. Fletcher interjects and says Ospreay won the match anyway. Callis says tonight is not the night for Fletcher to be talking about winning matches. Oof.

Jon Moxley (c) vs. Powerhouse Hobbs for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship -- German suplex by Mox, but Hobbs rolls up to his feet. T-bone by Hobbs. Hobbs lands multiple slams on the apron, then just hurls Mox onto the floor, then lands a vertical suplex on the floor. Hobbs blocks a cutter attempt. Mox lands a tope, Hobbs lands hard on his leg. Mox with some terrible looking shots to Hobbs' head in the corner, then a Paradigm Shift for two, then locks in a sleeper. Hobbs goes out, and Mox wins. Wtf. 

This was a fine match, but certainly nothing special with a boring finish. But what more do I expect from a Moxley match? Moxley winning by submission is too much for me. Rating: 3

Takeshita shows up on the ramp after the match, looks at Mox, and gestures around his waist, indicating his intentions to challenge Mox. Nice!!!!!

Renee is backstage with Shibata. Shibata says Jericho called him dead weight, but next week he is going to destroy Jericho in his hometown of Winnipeg and become the new FTW Champion. He better!!!!!! I swear. I cannot watch Jericho pin Shibata. I cannotttttt. Shibata points out that the rhinestones on Renee's shirt make a heart and says that's fun. Lol. 

Schiavone is in the ring, and he introduces Jack Perry. Jack comes out and says tonight, they have business to handle, and he wants to handle it right now, face to face with Tony Khan. Tony comes out. Jack says the first Double or Nothing was almost five years ago, and since then, AEW has gone on to change the world. He and Tony haven't always seen eye to eye, but the only thing he has ever wanted is what is best for AEW. He asks Tony to shake his hand, reinstate him, and let them go on to change the world together. They shake hands. Tony hugs Jack. Jack smiles evilly at the camera over Tony's shoulder. Oh boy, here we go. Jack raises Tony's hand. Jack takes the mic to Tony's gut!!! The Bucks and Okada come out. The Bucks help Tony up just to put him back down with a TK Driver!!!!! Looool, why am I laughing!!!!

Some refs come out to separate them from Tony. As they leave Tony lying in the ring, Matt says, "Thank you Jacksonville, we love you so much." Lmaoooo, I am in tears. Some wrestlers and Tony's dad come out to check on him. The Bucks, Okada, and Jack join hands and raise them in triumph on the stage. The Bucks close the show brilliantly before walking to the back. Nick: "Thanks everybody for coming to the show." Matt: "What a great show!"

That segment rocked. I really like the angle of The Elite taking out Tony Khan to truly cement that they are taking over AEW. It's a good use of a Tony Khan appearance. Jack's evil smile to the camera as he hugged Tony was an awesome moment. Tony taking the TK Driver was soooo funny to me. And the Bucks thanking the crowd for coming and talking about what a great show it was after physically assaulting the boss in front of everyone? Truly hilarious and brilliant.