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masterweaverx · 5 years ago

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Hollow Victory

Cinder’s glass heels clipped down the shadowed hall as she dragged the bound and blindfolded girl along by a leash. “Come along,” she purred, emphasizing her order with a tug. “We don’t want to keep Salem waiting, do we?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

“I suppose it is a bit rhetorical,” Cinder allowed, her smirk not fading in the slightest. “You don’t need to hide how you’re feeling, you know... not anymore.”

“Really? I mean I am a bit thirsty, to be honest--”

She jerked the leash, catching Ruby’s chin with her stygian hand. “I can practically taste the mortal terror rushing through your veins.”

“Um.” Ruby cleared her throat. “When I said thirsty, I meant, like, for water. Not, uh, whatever this is.”

Rapidly approaching footsteps alerted Cinder to the arrival of her disciples (and Neopolitan, who she was sure would become one in time). She released Ruby’s chin, gesturing dramatically to her prize. “Ah, Emerald, Mercury. And Neo, of course. We have a... guest to escort to our master.”

“Hey guys,” Ruby said, nodding vaguely in their direction. “How are things?”

Mercury shrugged. “Eh, could be worse. The free room and board is nice, and Hazel’s a surprisingly good cook.”

“Mercury,” Emerald hissed, “shut up.” She bowed to Cinder, offering her a wary smile. “It is ever a joy to see you, of course, but may I be the first to compliment your skill and cunning on this day?”

Cinder hummed approvingly. “By all means!”

“I... uh...” Emerald faltered a bit, but rallied quickly. “I admire the, uh, ease--the talent! The talent with which you have brought this, uh, rebellious child to heel, and, and can only wish to one day witness even further grandeur!”

“Smooth,” Mercury deadpanned. “Get that out of one of the bodice-rippers Salem pretends not to have?”

Ruby leaned toward his voice. “Wait, Salem reads trashy romance novels?”

Cinder frowned, pushing Ruby back with a single finger and glowering pointedly at Mercury. “Now is not the time for such mediocre attempts at humor,” she reprimanded dryly. “Not now, when in truth we have a great victory to celebrate!”

“Wait, what are you talking about?”

Cinder turned to her prize, dark glee curling her lips into a dangerous grin that Ruby could not see through her blindfold. “Why, your capture, of course. You’ve been such an annoying little thorn in our side, for so very long. But now, now you will pay for all you’ve done.”

“You’re going to fine me?” Ruby asked worriedly. “I don’t even have a lawyer!”

“...She means we’re going to torture you,” Mercury said flatly.

“Oh. Oooooooh, right, queen of the Grimm.” Ruby nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I guess she might be a little, uh, aggressive sometimes. Come to think of it, so’s Cinder--is she, like, your mentor or something?”

Cinder stared at Ruby for a few seconds.

Then she slapped her.

“Acfth--! Oh, are we starting now, is that it?”

“Your insolence,” Cinder hissed, “only earns you greater torment in the future.”

“You’re being very poetic,” Ruby observed, seemingly ignoring the faintly bleeding scratches on her cheek. “I mean, with all the fancy words and all--”

Smack went the back of Cinder’s stygian hand, her eye flaring as she sneered at the girl. “Don’t you understand? Our feud has ended. You are at my mercy. I. Have. Won.”

Ruby stared at her for a moment, brows furrowing behind her blindfold. “...Oh.”

Cinder nodded firmly. “Now at last you realize--”

“You see me as a nemesis, don’t you?” she continued in an awkwardly genial tone. “Uh, wow, gee, um... I’m flattered, really, but, I don’t feel the same way.”

“...what.”

“I mean,” Ruby explained as gently as possible, “sure you’ve done a lot of bad things and I’ve always tried to stop you, but, um.... See, I do that because I’m a Huntress. Saving people is my job, right? And that means killing Grimm and stopping bad people, and--you’re really evil,” she assured Cinder quickly, “don’t think I didn’t notice, but it was always just about making sure you didn’t hurt anyone. Well, anyone you hadn’t already hurt. Or killed.”

Cinder’s grip on the leash was tightening, slowly, sparks of flame crawling from between her fingers.

“And yeah,” Ruby barreled on obliviously, “sure I get really into the fighting, but that’s--that’s just because a good fight, gets the blood pumping, you know? It’s never about who I’m fighting. I’m sorry if I led you on or anything, I never meant to toy with your feelings like that. But, uh, you are pretty evil, and you have hurt a lot of people. Maybe there’s somebody out there that will hate you like you deserve, right? We can just be... hmm. Casual enemies, I guess.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Cinder could see the expressions of her three followers. Emerald’s face was a portrait of slowly growing horror, Mercury was keeping a very carefully neutral face, and Neo was slowly spinning her umbrella on her shoulder with a small, smug smirk.

“And what,” she seethed, “about Beacon? What about what happened on the tower?”

“Oh! Oh, is this what--oh, this is awkward.” Ruby chuckled a bit stiffly. “So, uh, I didn’t even know that the silver eyes were, you know, a thing back then. And I did just see you immolate Pyrrha, so... I guess I let my emotions get the better of me and suddenly, fwoosh! I’m honestly surprised you got hurt by that,” she admitted, “I mean other Maidens have been in the blast and they never got hurt.”

“What.”

“Yeah, uh, Raven, Penny now... plus the silver eyes only activate in the presence of the Grimm.” Ruby shrugged, ignoring the faint whiffs of smoke crawling up her leash. “I guess if you had some sort of Grimm essence in your body, my eyes could have... burned it up? And that could be why you got so, uh... you know...”

“The spider-roach,” Emerald breathed. “When you took Amber’s power--”

Cinder silenced her with a glare, but it was too late.

“That could do it,” Ruby admitted. “I mean, I’m not a hundred percent sure, but Salem would know. I’m sure she warned you, right?”

The end of the leash snapped off in Cinder’s grip, embers and flame eating away at the loop.

“So, yeah, that was... way too forward of me,” Ruby admitted. “Way too big an attack. I’m sorry, I should have been more professional.” She gave Cinder an apologetic smile. “What can I say? I was fifteen. Young and stupid.”

The hallway was silent for all of twelve seconds.

Cinder snatched the smoldering tip of the leash, slammed it into Emerald’s hand, and marched briskly away. Nobody reacted until after the clinks of her footsteps had turned the corner.

Then, slowly, deliberately, Neopolitan began to clap, each impact emphasizing the smile spreading across her face.

Mercury shot her a look. "I thought you wanted to kill Ruby too.”

Neo tilted her head for a moment, before waggling a hand noncommitally.

“You only want to kind of kill her?”

“I think that would be maiming,” Ruby mused thoughtfully. “Hey, if you do, can you go for a leg? I mean Yang’s lost an arm, Blake got stabbed in the body, Weiss has a scare on her eye, kinda want to be unique.”

Emerald finally came back to herself. “I should gouge out your eyes!” she snarled, pulling Ruby along. “Disrespecting Cinder like that--”

“Hold on, are you trying to be my nemesis now?”

“SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!”

#RWBY #Fanfiction #Oneshot #Ruby Rose #Cinder Fall #Mercury Black #Emerald Sustrai #Neopolitan #That awkward moment when your enemy doesn't see you that way #Trigger Warning #Trigger Warning: physical abuse #(It's just a couple of slaps but yeah)

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unidentifiedprimate · 7 years ago

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So, I’ve been listening to the Hunchback of Notre Dame off Broadway soundtrack a lot, and I’m having FEELINGS.

This got long so here is a cut in case you don’t want to read ramblings about Quasimodo and co.

I love the Disney movie and the off Broadway musical, but sometimes I wonder what they could have been if they had stuck closer to the book in some respects. Because, of course, Disney changed some stuff. I mean, it’s Disney, and they tend to avoid the more traumatizing aspects of the source materials so their young viewers don’t claw out their own eyes to keep them from seeing the horror. And most of the changes I am okay with. I like seeing Esmeralda being smart and a fierce champion of the outcasts, and I really like seeing her being nice to Quasimodo. I like sweet, innocent Quasimodo being naive and talking to statues. I like... okay I don’t like Phoebus being a hero or being The Love Interest. I hate that, actually. If they absolutely couldn’t bear to go all the way and make Esmeralda love Quasimodo, why oh WHY did they have to choose Phoebus, the handsome, strong, heroic soldier man? Having him turn out to be terrible underneath his beauty would have totally fit with the theme! And then they could have had poor stupid Gringoire be the romantic lead instead of ignoring him completely.

But okay, that’s not what I intended to talk about. Setting aside horrible Phoebus and his golden armor of LIES, the change I actually wanted to talk about was the relationship between Frollo and Quasimodo.

In the Disney movie version, Frollo kills Quasi’s gypsy mother and then when he sees little infant Quasi he is horrified and would have killed him as well except that the Archdeacon reminds him that God is watching. So Frollo reluctantly takes Quasi in, raises him in total isolation, and teaches him to be ashamed of what he looks like. Even the name he gives him is an insult, because it means “half-formed”.

In the musical, Frollo’s sinful brother asks from his deathbed that Frollo take care of his child, who turns out to be Quasimodo. Frollo declares that the infant’s deformity is God’s judgement upon his brother’s wicked ways. He then decides that God is testing him by sending him the monstrous child, and takes Quasi in to raise him and teach him “to think like me”. Again he keeps Quasi in total isolation in the bell tower and teaches him to be ashamed of his deformity. Again, the name is an insult and reveals Frollo’s casual evil.

In the book, however, Quasimodo is left in a spot in Notre Dame for abandoned babies. (This is after being switched by gypsies for a “normal” baby girl oooooooh foreshadowing...) Everyone is horrified by his ugliness and no one will adopt him, until young Claude Frollo wraps him up and carries him away. His only motivation is pity for the poor child who no one wants (which reminds him of his young brother he loves with all his heart, who could have suffered the same fate). He gives him a name that both commemorates the day he found him - Quasimodo Sunday - and which means “almost like”, as in almost like a child. It’s maybe not the best name, but it isn’t meant as an insult. He cares deeply for Quasi, and tries his best to raise him well. He does not lock Quasimodo away and forbid him from ever leaving the bell tower. But whenever Quasi does go out, the townspeople are terrible to him because of his ugliness. Children even like to run up and stick pins in his hump. He has also been deafened by the bells he loves so much, so finds communicating with people very difficult. The only person he can really talk to is Frollo, who uses gestures to help him understand.

Now, I’m definitely not trying to defend Frollo or do the whole “he’s just misunderstood” and that makes everything okay. But I do love a complex villain, and Frollo is not simply evil. He is actually very compassionate and tries really hard to be a good man of the church, a good brother, and a good surrogate father. He’s just also kind of unhinged, and can’t deal with failure. He hates his failure of being unable to turn his brother away from debauchery, hates that he failed to make Quasimodo more normal, and then later hates that he failed to resist the temptation of Esmeralda. It’s only when his frustration and impotence overwhelm him that he uses his position in the church for selfish ends, and uses Quasimodo’s love for him to do wrong. And Quasimodo does love him. In the movie and musical, when Quasi turns on Frollo and kills him it is played as triumphant; finally he sees that Frollo is evil, has never really cared for him, and has been lying to him his whole life. But in the book, when the deed is done Quasimodo acknowledges that he loved both Esmeralda and Frollo, and with them dead he has nothing left. It’s heartbreaking. And I wish we could have had some songs about all THAT.

#hunchback of notre dame #quasimodo #claude frollo #esmeralda #phoebus #that dick #pierre gringoire #my idiot son #my trash poet #disney #musicals #as much as i love the song out there #it really lets the townspeople off the hook #they were dicks too #complex villains

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pendulumprince · 8 years ago

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This is your left, that’s your left!

This is your right, that’s your right!

This is your left, that’s you’re left!

It’s 136—

They’re all gonna die.

*deep breath*

MY GOD THAT IS A MASSIVE DRAGON.

TOKUMATSU AND SHINJI’S REACTIONS ARE RATHEWR MUTED

I CAN’T EVEN BLAME THEM

WHAT THEY’RE LOOKING AT IS UNBELIEVABLE

SAME WITH THE ACADEMIA SOLDIERS, ALLEN AND SAYAKA

BACK IN STANDARD

SHUZOU’S HOLDING DOWN THE FORT WITH THE THREE PRECIOUS DARLINGS

HIMIKA… IDEK WHAT TO CALL HIMIKA’S REACTION

OKAY SO REIJI, REIRA, SORA AND EDO ARE STILL AT ACADEMIA

ZARC’S VOICE IS HORRIFYINGLY DEEP

HE STARTS ATTACKING ACADEMIA SOLDIERS

AM I SUPPOSED TO BE MAD?

TBH I’M NOT REALLY MAD A LOT OF THEM DESERVE IT

A FLASH OF PINK GLITTER FLASHES PAST REIRA

RAY IS THAT YOU?!

REIRA AND REIJI EXCVHANGE SOME WORDS

THEY BOTH RUN BACK INSIDE

EDO AND SORA START FORMULATING A PLAN

BACK WITH LEO, HE’S BUGGING OUT

LEO YOU IGNORANT HILLBILLY

YOU DID THIS

YOU AND YOUR GENOCIDAL WAYS

“RAAAAAAY!”

SO SHE HASN’T COME BACK

THAT WOULD BE FUCKIN HILARIOUS IF NOT FOR THE GIANT DEMON DRAGON DESTROYING EVERYTHING OUTSIDE

ZARC IS DEADASS BLASTING AWAYY AND KILLING PEOPLE

EDO AND SORA CONTINUE TO TALK THINGS OVER

AND

SORA OFFERS EDO A LOLLY?!

THIS IS LEGIT THE FIRST TIME I’VE EVER SEEN THIS KID SHARE HIS CANDY WITH SOMEONE

YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY, KID

MEANWHILE IN THE FUSION D

PEOPLE ARE RUNNING THROUGH THE STREETS, DESPERATELY TRYING TO ESCAPE ZARC

BUT THEY CAN’T ESCAPE A DRAGON AS BIG AS THE FUCKING SKY LOL

ZARC GOES IN FOR THE KILL

BUT

BUT!

SOMETHING BLOCKS THEM!

A MONSTER?!

DYSTOPIAGUY, IS THAT YOU???

ANNNNND EDO AND SORA HAVE ARRIVED ON THE SCENE

YES

RUIN HIS LIFE, MY BOYS

ZARC BECOMES A DARK CLOUD??

LOL GROSS DUDE

THE CLOUD DECENDS ON THE EARTH

OH EW WHAT THE FUCK

YOOOOOOOO YUYA

WHAT’S HAPPENED TO YOU

TIME AND THE POWERS OF DESTRUCTION HAVE NOT BEEN KIND TO YOU

YOU NEED SOME MOISTURIZER OR SOME SHIT

GODDAMN

I THINK EDO AGREES?

SORA DEMANDS ANSWERS

WHATEVER ZARC SAYS FREAKS SORA AND EDO OUT

BUT THEY ALL TAKE OUT THEIR DUEL DISKS

ZARC TAKES FIRST TURN

HE SETS THE SCALES 0 TO 13

YEESH!

HE SUMMONS TWO 1800 ATK DRAGON MONSTERS

HE ENDS HIS TURN

EDO TAKES HIS TURN

PLAYS SUPER FUSION

FUSES TWO OF HIS OWN MONSTERS

SUMMONS DYSTOPIAGUY AT 2800 ATK

AND BY IT’S EFFECT, EDO TRIES TO DEAL DAMAGE

BY THE PENDULUM EFFECT OF ZARC’S PENDULUM MONSTER, THE DAMAGE IS NEGATED

AND ZARC GOES UP TO 5600 LP!

EDO TAKES A CRACK AT TAKING TO YUYA

ZARC: BLANK FACE :|

EDO GOES IN FOR THE ATTACK

PREDICTABLY, ZARC STOPS THE ATTACK VIA MONSTER EFFECR

EDO PLAYS A MAGIC CARD

DYSTOPIAGUY GOES DOWN TO TO 1400 ATK

EDO GOES DOWN TO 2600 LP?!

AND ZARC, TO 7000 LP

FUCK ME SIDEWAYS

BY DYSTOPIAGUYS EFFECT

ONE OF YUYA’S MONSTERS IS TAKEN OFF THE FIELD

EDO SETS A FACEDOWN, ENDS HIS TURN

SORA TAKES HIS TURN

HE PLAYS A MAGIC CARD

IF SCREWS AROUND WITH HIS EXTRA DECK MONSTERS

AND HE PLAYS ANOTHER MAGIC CARD

IT LETS HIM FUSE

IT’S DESTOY CHIMERA

SORA GOES IN FOR THE ATTACK

TAKES OUT ZARC'S OTHER MONSTER

BUT

ALL THAT HAPPENS IS ZARC GOES UP TO 8000 LP

SORAAAAAA DON’T BE IGNORANT

OKAY WAIT THOUGH

HE’S EXPLAING SOMETHING

LOOKS LIKE SORA HAS A PLAN?

AND!

IT’S A FLASHBACK!

TO EPISODE 6!

OMGGGGGGGG THEIR FIRST DUEL

BACK IN THE PRESENT, SORA HOLDS UP YUYA’S PENDULUM!

“SHISHOUUUU!”

*CRYING* YUYA DID END UP BEING HIS TEACHER, THOUGH

HE REALLY DID

THIS ALL GREATLY AMUSES ZARC

AND “YUYA’S” LACK OF A REACTION…

MAKES SORA SHED ONE LONE, SOLITARY TEAR

SORA SETS A FACEDOWN

ENDS HIS TURN

UGHHHHHHH AND ZARC TAKES HIS

HE PENDULUM SUMMONS AGAIN

BRINGS OUT BOTH MONSTERS FROM BEFORE

EDO ACTIVATYES HIS TRAP CARD

AND SORA ACTIVATES HIS IN CONCERT

OOOOOOOH SNAP

ALL OF ZARC’S MONSTERS ARE DESTROYED

AND ZARC GOES DOWN TO 6000 LP

I MEAN… THEY SORT OF PUT A DENT IN HIM?

EDO AND SORA… ARE LOOKING WAY TOO HAPPY

ZARC IS ABOUT TO FUCK UP THEIR SHIT, AINT HE?

YEAH

LOOK AT THAT SMIRK

ZARC SAYS SOME SHIT

EDO AND SORA LOOK… CONCERNED

ZARC SUMMONS ASTRO AND CHRONO’S FUSION

IT’S AT 2500 ATK

YEAH GUYS

THIS IS THE MONSTER THAT FUSED YUYA, HIS COUNTERPARTS, AND THE DRAGONS

OH SNAP

ALL FOUR OF ZARC’S MONSTERS COME BACK ONTO THE FIELD

UGH

YOU’RE ANNOYING, ZARC

FUCK OUTTA HERE WITH THAT EVIL LAUGHTER

ZARC BANISHES HIS MAGICIAN

AND NAMES ALL 4 DRAGONS

HE… BANISHES THEM?

WHAT’S HAPPENING

WHAT’S THIS

WHAT IS

THIS

IT’S THUNDERING?!

THE THUNDER IS RED AHAHAHA WOW THAT’S NOT GOOD

EDO AND SORA BOUNCE

SHUN AND KAITO WATCH IN MUTED HORROR FROM AFAR

THEY CAN SEE WHAT’S GOING ON VIA SOME SORT OF SKY VORTEX?!

THEY SEE SORA AND EDO RUNNING FROM WHAT APPEARS TO BE YUYA

THEY RIGHTLY COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT’S ZARC

BACK TO ZARC, HE… SPECIAL SUMMONS, BUT IN A NEW WAY?!

AND OKAY

SO HE JUST SUMMONED HIS DRAGON FORM

NICE

WE’RENT YOU JUST OUT HERE, DUDE?

I GET IT, YOU LIKE TO SHOW OFF

AND THIS MONSTER STANDS AT 4000 ATK

OKAY, INTIMIDATING. BUT 4000 ATK IS FOR SURE DEFEATABLE

AND

“FIELD MAGIC: CROSS OVER AXEL”

ACTION CARDS DISPERSE!

WHAT’S HAPPENING?!

SOMEONE’S ENTERING THE DUEL?!

KAITO AND SHUN

THEY EACH TAKE THE 2000 LP PENALTY

OH SHIT

BY ZARC’S EFFECT, BOTH SORA AND EDO’S MONSTERS ARE DESTROYED

AND

NO NO NO

BOTH SORA AND EDO GET TAKEN DOWN TO 0

FUUUUUUUUUCK

KAITO AND SHUN RUN OVER TO SEE IF THEY’RE OKAY

KAITO TALKS TO EDO…

SHUN DOES THE SAME TO SORA

AND SORA HANDS OFF YUYA’S PENDULUM TO SHUN

WAIT

DON’T YOU TELL ME THAT MY FUSION SONS ARE DYING

THEY’RE LOOKING WAY TOO WEAK AND THESE ARE LOOKING TOO MUCH LIKE SOMEONE’S FINAL WORDS

SHUN AND KAITO GO ON TO FACE ZARC, WHO IS REALLY FEELING HIMSELF RN

SHUN TAKES HIS TURN!

PREVIEW TIME!

SHUN LOOKS AT YUYA’S PENDULUM

SHUN SUMMONS HIS MONSTERS

AND ZARC

SUMMONS DARK REBELLION?!

OH NO

OH FUCK DAMNIT

#yugioh arc v #arc v episode reactions #arc v episode 136 #zarc #sora shiunin #edo phoenix arc v #leo akaba #kaito tenjo arc v #shun kurosaki #allen kozuki #sayaka sasayama #shuzou hiragi #tatsuya yamashiro #futoshi harada #ayu ayukawa #chojiro tokumatsu #original dimension

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twentysomethinginorlando · 7 years ago

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Wine & Dine Weekend Part Three: Post Race Party

New Post has been published on https://twentysomethinginorlando.com/wine-dine-post-race-party/

Wine & Dine Weekend Part Three: Post Race Party

Welcome to Part Three of the Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend, the character filled conclusion with the Post Race Party! Part One covered the Expo, Jay’s last-minute registration, and the 10K. Part Two followed us along the Half Marathon course as Jay ran his first RunDisney Race.

I knew when I signed Jay up for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon, I would have a hard time convincing him to go to the Post Race Party at Epcot. It wasn’t his fault he was so tired, we signed him up late and he had no time to train even if he wanted to. We went home after the race and spent most the day either sleeping or on our respective computers. The Post Race Party officially started at 10 p.m. with admission as early as 8 p.m. I have an annual pass so we go whenever we please anyway, so there was no rush. Around what I thought was half past seven I suggested we start getting ready. It was actually closer to 6:30 because I had forgotten to change the clocks when we got back. We wound up arriving at Epcot around 8:30 p.m. which turned out fine, because we didn’t realize that nothing would be open from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. It never occurred to me things would close while they swept the regular guests out of the park, because at Magic Kingdom the special event starts the moment the park closes. I assumed Epcot would be closing at 10 p.m.

Silly Chelsea.

Our first stop in Epcot was actually Guest Relations because when we went for Food and Wine in early October we found the normal, not-part-of-Food-and-Wine margarita booth missing. I wanted to know where to find my frozen margaritas! Thankfully, Guest Relations assured me the quick service location in Mexico would have them, and she was right. We made the long, slow, hobbling walk up to World Showcase and got in line at La Cantina de San Angel just before 9 p.m. and were actually ordering as Illuminations went off overhead. It was the first time in what was probably several years watching it, because if I’m in the parks that late at night I’m usually watching one of the other nighttime spectaculars. Epcot is the park I spend the least amount of time in since Duffy was chased out by the evil Daisy Duck. We realized they had closed the line off behind us and that the park was shutting down. Jay looked at me, rather grumpy since that meant the place he wanted his drink from would also be closed. I promised him we’d make it to the Rose and Crown before the night was over and then we headed towards Germany. If we had to sit around waiting until 10 p.m., we might as well do it in line for something.

My sole priority for the Post Race Party was all about the characters, not the food. We had already been to Food and Wine once and had another trip planned so as soon as we had the brochure in our hand back at the Expo, I started planning. There was only one character on the list that I had never met, so we started there: the Witch from Snow White.

When we arrived in Germany there was a small line of about ten people already formed so we jumped in line behind them and sat down. Photos from the races were finally starting to show up on My Disney Experience, so I spent my time waiting downloading those and sending them to my Mom. The Witch appeared promptly at 10 p.m. and we groaned as we got to our feet and the line moved up. It was almost our turn when the Backstage Door beside the Witch opened for several Cast Members on their way to work the Food and Wine booths, and their reactions were priceless. Clearly they didn’t know anything about the event they were working, and they were so excited to see the Witch. We were up in no time and she fussed over Duffy before we took our picture and moved on.

The party had been officially started for ten minutes and we had already met one character! We moved on towards the U.K. since I had promised Jay a Welsh Dragon from the Rose and Crown. He was moving much slower than I was, so I suggested he jump in line for our next character while I went to fetch the drink. As we passed America we saw Mickey Mouse out in his patriotic best, the same outfit I met him in on the Fourth of July. I asked Jay to hop in the extremely long line and I kept going, only to pause as I passed Japan. I saw Minnie Mouse out sporting a kimono! I called Jay as I kept walking as fast as my sore legs could carry me.

“Do you actually want to meet Mickey?”

“No, not really. We met him this morning.”

“Okay, I’ve met him in that outfit. If you don’t care about it, I think you should move over to Japan and get in line for Minnie.”

By the time I got back to him with his Welsh Dragon, (it is a good thing I don’t like that drink considering long as I had to carry it around the park without drinking it) Minnie was being pulled off for a cheese break. She was supposed to be right back, but there was some sort of wardrobe malfunction and it was about half an hour before she reappeared. We were much more patient about this than some of the others in line. One man started yelling at the Character Attendant and it took everything I had not to step in to defend her.

We were in line long enough to see Minnie switch again, but the second time was much more expedient. Minnie immediately took Duffy away from me to hold him for the photo and blew both Jay and I a bunch of kisses. She was super cute. I love meeting different versions or special versions of my favorite characters.

It was about 11:10 p.m. so our second character had taken an hour on her own, but we were still two characters in already. I felt we were doing fairly well. Jay wanted to go see one more character and leave. I kept saying I wanted to see the Adventurers Club, but he seemed to think they wouldn’t be fun. Since we were right next to Morocco and the next show started at 11:15 p.m. I convinced him to stop for just a few minutes to watch the start, and then we could keep going.

We wound up watching the entire show, and laughing our heads off.

Back in the days of Pleasure Island, the adult themed area of Downtown Disney, there was a venue known as the Adventurers Club. I’ve heard about it since I became a Jungle Cruise Skipper, but didn’t really know anything about it because everyone talks to me like I should know what it is. There’s something called a Kungaloosh, and until the Post Race Party that was pretty much all I knew. The Adventurers Club was a multi-act comedy show with different events happening in various rooms all night long. Based in a similar era to the Jungle Cruise, it is a grand organization of the world’s most daring and witty explorers. Due to the nature of Pleasure Island, they told jokes that Skippers would never get away with. Nothing graphic or crude, but lots of clever innuendo. The Kungaloosh is not only the club greeting, but a famous drink. For the better part of a year I’ve listened to the Pirate Crew (Jay, Robert, and Victoria) refer to it like I should be familiar with it. Unlike my friends, I did not grow up with frequent trips to Walt Disney World. When the Adventurers Club closed in September of 2008, I had just turned seventeen and was in my senior year of high school. The last time I had been to Disney I was fourteen, and if my mother had known what the Adventurers Club was she probably wouldn’t have taken me to see it. (Then again, she took me and two friends to the Rocky Horror Picture Show when I was sixteen, so who knows?)

So at long last, on November 5, 2017, almost ten years after the Adventurers Club closed its doors, I learned what they were all about, and I LOVE THEM. I used to frequent (and still do when I am in town) an improv show in Knoxville, and while the Adventurers Club was at least semi-scripted, it was the same kind of dynamic, quick humor. I wish I had gotten more of it on video. They taught the crowd to do the secret handshake, recite the Club Creed, and sing the song. There were three men and one woman, almost all equally funny, and I heard some jokes I never would have guessed I’d hear in a Disney park. With crowd suggestions, they did a rendition of “Old McDonald had a Farm”. We had a pig that went oink, a cow that meow and a moose that went vroom vroom. The final suggestion came from one of the Adventurers Club members, a haystack!

“A haystack doesn’t make noise!”

“Yes, they do, I used to walk past one every day on my way to school and it was always moaning.”

He proceeded to make a moaning noise like someone having a really good time. The Club President, Pamelia Perkins, quickly interrupted.

“It must have been a haunted haystack!”

“It sure was, because it was always shaking all about!”

So sure enough, we sang “Old McDonald had a haystack, ee-ay-ee-ay-oo, here a ooooooooh, there a ooooooh, here a ooooooh, there a oooooooh, everywhere an ooooooh oooh!”

I realize reading it isn’t nearly as funny, but I can’t wait to show some of the videos to my improv friends at Einstein Simplified. We walked away laughing so hard we were almost crying.

The strangest thing about the Post Race Party was instead of the usual soundtrack of World Showcase, they had a DJ playing music that reached around the world. So walking through the U.K. we saw a group of Cast Members dancing to the Cupid Shuffle. Had Jay not been so sore I would have joined them.

We made our way over to Canada where Koda and Kenai from Brother Bear were meeting. I had to make Jay watch the movie a few months ago because he had never seen it. While they’re not Duffy, I do love bears. Koda and Kenai were SO CUTE! They were dancing to music in between guest interactions. I got hug-attacked by both of them, and Koda wanted to keep Duffy.

Apparently, he belongs with other bears. We got our picture taken and I had to tell them Jay wanted a hug. This is a common occurrence; all the Disney characters always want to shake his hand until I say something. So, he got hugs from both and I got another hug from Kenai, and off we headed. We made one last planned stop by the Chocolate booth for the Nitro Almond Truffle. It was one of my favorite items from the Food and Wine Festival this year.

Our actual final stop was by the DJ booth by the Future World Fountains. As much as I love characters, and I loved the Adventurers Club, my favorite thing about this party as much was how much fun the Cast Members were having. A bunch of them were having their own dance party at the DJ Booth. A shift that late at Disney is going to be almost entirely College Program and Part Time Cast Members, and they were having the time of their life. It made me so happy.

It was about 12:40 a.m. by the time we got to the car. Staying awake for the drive home was almost more of a challenge than running both the 10K and the Half Marathon.

I love RunDisney. I love running their races, even if I don’t train for them like I should. The Wine and Dine Half Marathon is my second favorite race I’ve run, just behind the Princess Half Marathon. Especially now that Jay has the RunDisney bug, I hope to be running the Wine and Dine Two Course Challenge again next year. My only concern, as is a lot of RunDisney fans, is the ever-climbing price tag. The Challenges are over $300, and paying for two runners was over $500. That’s on top of the time I have to take off work. With my 30 by 30 plan now thrown off by the hiatus of the West Coast races, I’m not sure if it will be as much of a priority as it was.

I say that now, but we all know come registration day I’ll be signing up. I live here! At least I don’t need a hotel or transportation.

Cost: The Wine and Dine Two Course Challenge was $362.44. It included the 10K and the Half Marathon for 19.3 miles, three runners’ shirts, three medals, and a ticket to the Post Race Party. The Wine and Dine Half Marathon was $224.92. It included the Half Marathon for 13.1 miles, one shirt, one medal and a ticket to the Post Race Party.

Value: Pricey but worth it.

Duration: It’s a minimum of a three-day event if you do the Two Course Challenge because you have to pick up the bib and shirts at the Expo.

Add Ons: There’s all sorts of stuff and it changes with each race. They have VIP Runners’ Retreats and Cheer Squad for spectators.

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#characters #disney #epcot #race #rundisney #Adventure Report #Running

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twentysomethinginorlando · 7 years ago

Text

Wine & Dine Part Three: Post Race Party

New Post has been published on https://twentysomethinginorlando.com/wine-dine-post-race-party/

Wine & Dine Part Three: Post Race Party

“Do you actually want to meet Mickey?”

“No, not really. We met him this morning.”

“Okay, I’ve met him in that outfit. If you don’t care about it, I think you should move over to Japan and get in line for Minnie.”

We wound up watching the entire show, and laughing our heads off.

“A haystack doesn’t make noise!”

“Yes, they do, I used to walk past one every day on my way to school and it was always moaning.”

He proceeded to make a moaning noise like someone having a really good time. The Club President, Pamelia Perkins, quickly interrupted.

“It must have been a haunted haystack!”

“It sure was, because it was always shaking all about!”

So sure enough, we sang “Old McDonald had a haystack, ee-ay-ee-ay-oo, here a ooooooooh, there a ooooooh, here a ooooooh, there a oooooooh, everywhere an ooooooh oooh!”

I realize reading it isn’t nearly as funny, but I can’t wait to show some of the videos to my improv friends at Einstein Simplified. We walked away laughing so hard we were almost crying.

It was about 12:40 a.m. by the time we got to the car. Staying awake for the drive home was almost more of a challenge than running both the 10K and the Half Marathon.

I say that now, but we all know come registration day I’ll be signing up. I live here! At least I don’t need a hotel or transportation.

Value: Pricey but worth it.

Duration: It’s a minimum of a three-day event if you do the Two Course Challenge because you have to pick up the bib and shirts at the Expo.

Add Ons: There’s all sorts of stuff and it changes with each race. They have VIP Runners’ Retreats and Cheer Squad for spectators.

#characters #disney #epcot #rundisney #Adventure Report #Running

0 notes