#also a fun fact: this ballet actually didn't do well when it was first staged!

[victorluvsalice]

Merry Christmas VanDork!

@vand0rk Your request involved your version of the Van Dort family (Victor, Victoria, and daughter Lily) going to see The Nutcracker ballet, and I have delivered! I still find it amusing that Lily was born the year this premiered. XD Anyway, hope you like!

--

“Oh, that was amazing! All the dancers were so graceful and elegant – and the scenery! So beautiful! Oh, Daddy, wasn’t it incredible how they made the Christmas tree grow like that?”

“It was!” Victor agreed, smiling at the bright gleaming joy in his daughter’s eyes. “And so quickly too! I would have thought it would take longer.”

“Me too!” Lily bounced in place, looking rather like she wanted to start pirouetting around the lobby. “And then the battle between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker – oh, I knew that they wouldn’t actually let the Mouse King win, that they couldn’t kill off the title character, but still! I was so nervous for him!”

“I was too – they had quite the fight,” Victoria said with a soft chuckle. “Though, really, what impressed me the most were all those dancers playing mice. I couldn’t believe how smoothly they performed in those costumes! They can’t be light.”

“I imagine they’ve practiced for months and months with them on,” Victor said, trying to picture the scene. “I would have immediately run into a wall the minute I put one on, I’m sure.”

“Oh, Daddy.” Lily gave him a hug. “I’m sure you’d be amazing as a mouse!” She looked up at him, and her brow furrowed. “Granted, you’d be a very tall mouse...”

Victor laughed. “I would, wouldn’t I? I’d tower over all the rest of my fellows. Perhaps I’d be better suited as a tin soldier then.”

“Or the Nutcracker himself, even! He’s one of the main characters – he’s supposed to be tall! And then I could be Clara, and stop the Mouse King from killing you by throwing my shoe!” Lily declared, miming doing just that. “And then you could pick me up and whisk me off into the forest, along the path to – er – where is it they’re going for Act II?”

“The Land of Sweets,” Victoria informed her, checking their programme. “Where they will be met by the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Clara’s bravery in saving the Nutcracker will be honored by a grand dance of sweets from around the world.”

“Ooooh – yes, please, sweep me off to the Land of Sweets,” Lily said with an eager nod.

Victor chuckled. “I’m sure we can make arrangements after the ballet,” he assured her, lightly ruffling her hair. “I’m so glad that you’re enjoying this so much. We were a little worried it wouldn’t be your cup of tea, so to speak.”

“Oh no – it’s absolutely lovely,” Lily said, giving into her impulses and doing a little spin. “I can’t thank you and Mamma enough for bringing me along. Everything is just so – so beautiful, and elegant, and – and I’ve never felt so Christmassy before!”

“The performance does very much suit the season,” Victoria agreed – then let out a little gasp, pointing at the nearby wall. “Oh – speaking of which...”

Victor followed her finger to see a light snow beginning to fall just outside the lobby windows. “Oh! I didn’t think it was supposed to snow tonight,” he said, scratching his head.

“I didn’t either – but it certainly adds to the Christmassy mood, doesn’t it?” Victoria said, giving Lily a smile.

“Definitely!” Lily hurried over to the window for a better look, Victor and Victoria following in her wake. “It’s so light and delicate – perhaps the Sugar Plum Fairy has paid us a visit, sprinkling powdered sugar all over the city.”

“It certainly looks that way,” Victor nodded. “Imagine stepping outside and catching snowflakes on your tongue then.”

Lily beamed at him. “That would be the best,” she agreed, before turning her attention back to the snow. “So pretty...”

Victor grinned at her, then wrapped his arm around Victoria’s shoulders. “What a lovely way to spend the holiday,” he murmured in her ear.

“It is,” she whispered back to him, putting her arm around his middle. “I don’t think I’ve had a Christmas season happier since Lily was born.” She glanced over her shoulder for eavesdroppers, then leaned in. “And I hope a certain someone is enjoying it too.”

Victor opened his mouth to agree – then blinked as movement outside caught his eye. Looking out the window, he thought he saw, just for a moment, the shadow of a blue-tinged figure spinning in the swirl of flakes, arms held wide and head tilted back. He stared for a moment, then smiled and turned back to his wife. “Oh – I think she very much is.”

[crownwillow]

ENHYPEN FUTURE SPOUSES.

Disclaimer: Do not take this as fact, I am not a professional tarot reader nor does tarot control the future. This reading is for fun and entertainment purposes only.

MAKNAE LINE: Hyung line has already been done. You can find it on my page.

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Sunoo.

A Gemini. I feel like the fans reactions to this relationship may not be the best, some people may go too far in their reactions. There could also be a sasaeng involved, like them attacking Sunoo's partner or something similar.

This person is very focused on the internet. They may be an influencer, like a tiktoker, YouTuber or Instagram model. They could also be just someone that is popular online, possibly like an ulzzang.

This person really loves nature. Going out bushwalking and going on hikes, having picnics in the park, receiving flowers. They may even like gardening.

This person's career involves something that they learned as a child. They probably had childhood classes for whatever talent of theirs, their career focuses around.

This person may be a fashion designer or a model, a nod at the possibility of being an ulzzang. Could also be a beautician or a makeup artist.

I feel like this person is just a bit older than Sunoo, I'm feeling like they're born in 2000.

Black hair, I feel like this person wears blue contact lenses, fair skin, tall, skinny.

Jungwon.

A Taurus or Capricorn. This person likes their freedom. I'm also getting the sense that this attraction/crush will be secretive.

Either they keep their relationship secret for a while or Jungwon may keep his feelings for this person hidden.

These two are definitely going to get married though. Their relationship may be a slow burn, hidden from the public and awkward around each other at first but they will be a good pairing, overall.

This person may be a writer or a teacher. Possibly an English teacher (language or literature).

I feel that this person is 5-6 years younger than Jungwon.

Black hair, brown eyes, pale to olive skin, fit.

Ni-Ki.

A Capricorn or Sagittarius. My first impression is that this person is from the city or at a minimum, lives in the city. My first thought was New York but it could be any well-populated city.

I feel like this person was really lonely before Ni-Ki came along. They probably lived alone, away from their parent/s and/or siblings, probably didn't have a shining social life. Introverted, most possibly.

Despite this, I feel like they're very good, performing arts wise. They may be an amazing dancer, I'm getting ballet and they perform on stage often.

These two will definitely be in love. They will love spending time together and texting + calling when they're not physically around one another.

I feel like these two may be soulmates or twin flames, like they were meant to find each other. This will definitely be a successful and happy relationship.

Despite their abilities as a dancer, I do feel like they have another job. Possibly in IT or they may actually be self employed.

I feel like their may be an age gap, Ni-Ki being the older. I do feel like he will be the more dominant in this connection. I'm getting that this person will be 7 or so years younger than Ni-Ki.

Black hair, brown eyes, average height, their skin is fair but tans easily and well.

[sanstropfremir]

oh my god i am SO in love with lord of the dance. however i never think about michael flatley first when i think about it because in my mind gillian norris is the most important and iconic person in that show.

i used to have it on a dvd when i was little, i must have watched it like two times a week and never got bored of it. it was the original 1996 dublin stage, the only version i enjoy to its maximum capacity. fun fact, they came to bucharest in 2014, and i wanted to go, but ultimately didn't. and thank god for that. i found clips on youtube after that and everything was worse: the music, the outfits, the acting.

fortunately there are clips on youtube of the 1996 dublin stage too, as well as the whole show. i still sometimes watch them. and after much consideration, i have come to the conclusion that fiery nights, warriors and gypsy (however unfortunate the name) are my favorite numbers, in that respective order.

fiery nights wouldn't be what it is without the soundtrack, that fucking saxophone. i saw somebody say that that is what sex sounds like. i have heard the same thing said about ateez's desire outro. these things are so unrelated right now but i honestly can hear it and feel it for both and it makes so much sense to describe them that way. gillian norris is so mesmerizing, so captivating, like i am fucking seduced through the screen. and when she starts dancing with the guy who plays don dorcha and gives him that smile you can only see a brief second in shitty 360p quality? i am positively passed out. after they leave the stage the rest of the performance is kinda meh because the other girls don't give me any passion, much less the guys. they're lucky the choreography is so tight tho.

warriors is a fucking experience from start to finish. the "oh shit it's going down" vibe right from the beginning, the intensity of the dance, the speed, the accuracy, the synchronization, the piercing looks of don dorcha - i am both horny and intimidated. today's warriors number doesn't even come close to sparking up the same kind of heavy feeling the original did. it's so... cartoonish.

and finally, gypsy, which was my og favorite. i really wonder how i did not turn out bisexual, because gillian norris definitely made me question some things. i was always impressed with her elegance and power of seduction, my dream was to be sexy like her but also to jump as high as her for my birdies. sadly i never did learn irish dance. also i really wanted her hair.

special shoutout goes to breakout tho. i don't even know if i love the first half of it or the second more. bernadette flynn as the leader all the other girls follow, girlboss moment. her unspoken duel with gillian, exchanging those fucking murderous looks, i was SO there for it!!! again, watching today's version, it's like watching a bad disney channel series. there's no seriousness to it, no commitment, it's like putting on a puppet show for kids, which this musical is so not.

ugh, i'm probably gonna go and watch some scenes again. thank you for letting me rant in your inbox!! i've only really shared my interest and love for this show with my parents, who only like it a moderate amount (not because they think it's bad but because it's just not something they're passionate about) and my ex, who couldn't care less about dance and acting and who wasn't really interested in it.

if it's okay, let me ask, how did you get interested in stage performances, dance, theatre, all that jazz? for me, it was because i did cheerleading and dance for 5 years when i was little (then i quit because i thought i had it hard in school in 5th grade). i regret not continuing with it so much. and i daresay i was pretty good at it too. oh well, at least the passion for dance remained. it's the main part i got into kpop!!

it's no problem at all!! like i said, this is my virtual pub please come talk about about random things while i serve you a pint!! i love reading about other people's passions, this was lovely!

i only think of michael flatley because he's top billed and also one of the producers so his name is always on it, and also i haven't actually seen the whole show since probably 2005 because it didn't much strike a nerve with me as a kid. i think it was probably because i watched waaaaaayyyy too much cirque. i won't say very much on it but i will say that adolphe saxe knew what he was doing when he unleashed the saxophone on the world and we are still dealing with the repercussions (i say this lovingly as a saxophone player). i'm also a horrible person and i cannot watch any fiddle + flute based musical and not think of the the lord of the rings musical, because i love the lord of the rings musical.

well i got into theatre kind of unintentionally because i thought it might be fun to try doing stage crew for the musical when i started high school and then a year later i was the stage manager. my tragic flaw is that i need to be in a position of knowledge and authority at all times, but i’m slowly getting over it. i liked it so much that i decided at like 14 that it was going to be my career and here i am over a decade later. but i also watched a lot of perfomance and art programming as a child because my parents were weird hippies, so lots of cirque du soleil, a lot of classical ballet, and also shows like toy castle (do not click on this is you are in any way afraid of clowns or frogs) which is mildly horrifying in the way all children's content is mildly horrifying in hindsight but as a child in 2000 i ate that shit with a spoon. i also dated a contemp/ballet dancer in high school and then had a very weird and ethically dubious affair with another ballet dancer in undergrad. it's a long story. it helps that i'm truly obsessed with performance and art in pretty much all its forms and i'm one of those awful people that draws in art galleries and watches shows that i know are going to be bad so i can analyze them and avoid making the same mistakes in the future. kpop was a thing that just happened as a byproduct of being friends with lot of first gen asian immigrants as a kid. i've been around and aware since 2008 but i didn't get that deep into actually following releases until first lockdown because i just didn't have the time. but i'm glad i did, because it's been a really nice hobby!