The Nutcracker
Okay, I had to write this for my dance school, because they needed a five minute script of the story of The Nutcracker. So I took the job.
Chilly air grips the night on Christmas Eve in New England, 1830. The Stahlbaum family is hosting a party, and eager guests are joyfully mingling and enjoying the dances, gifts, and drinks. Clara Stahlbaum, a young girl, receives the Nutcracker doll from Herr Drosselmeyer, her godfather, who is a famous clock and toy maker.
Later, just before midnight, Clara sneaks back to take her Nutcracker. When she finds it, she goes to sleep on the couch. Then, at exactly twelve, she wakes up. Herr Drosselmeyer enters, and brings the Nutcracker to life, into a Prince.
After battling with the Mouse King, and defeating him, the Nutcracker Prince invites her on a majestic adventure to his home, the Kingdom of Sweets.
Sometimes life just doesn't seem real. Sometimes the things you take for granted suddenly don't make sense anymore. Sometimes one small detail can change your view of the world forever.
Well, that hasn't happened to me. Naw, it has. Well not really. Actually, I'm not sure.
I happen to beextremely short for my age, I'm fourteen and I'm not even five feet. Almost, but not. I know I'm short. It's like a subconscious thought that lingers in my head, and others. But when I think about it, it doesn't even make sense.
Like how can I be short? Everyone is the same. And why should I be short? Why can't I be like the others, who are tall? I'm not frustrated, but confused. What's the deal here?
And why am I not flexible? Are we really that different?
Sometimes you get really bored. Sometimes you haven't written anything interesting in while. Sometimes you decided to make a new post and write something completely random, just type whatever flows through your fingers.
As the pair journey to the Kingdom of Sweets, they pass through the Winter Wonderland, where Clara watches the Snow Queen dance beautifully and frolics with her and the snowflakes.
When they reach the Kingdom of Sweets, they meet the beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy, who dances for her. Soon, Spanish dancers arrive and energetically pirouette in performance for Clara.
After, soft, fluffy lambs hop and jump gleefully, showing off their white fur.
Many more people and animals come, also, and Clara joins them in a dance. Then, she goes back to sleep.
~11/22/11
Have you ever eaten a chocolate? And experienced, the delicate, melting taste of the sweetness on you tongue? Does it bring you joy, sweet joy?
Well not for me.
Every time I eat a bite into a chocolate, I relish the taste of it, bite into it, enjoy it. But then comes the end. It's so saddening to finish a chocolate. It's extremely depressing when you only have three squares of a Hershey bar and you're trying to savor it, trying to extend the length of happiness. But every time you glance over to your side, every time you catch a glimpse of the chocolatey brown chocolate, your heart melts, yearning for you to take another square.
And then the very last one. Perhaps it's more of a rectangle than a square actually. You nibble on it, barely taking a bite, trying to save it. But then craving takes over you, and you have the rest in one gulp.
Guilt floods through your mind. You think, I'm sure, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
But it's over. You can't go back. And then you start bawling. Well no, I don't, but i am cooler than many people. ;)
~12/17/11
Scalding hot water falls on your arm, and you scream in pain. Walking around, you stub your toe hard. Fiddling around with your cats' claws, you stab yourself and scratch yourself out of carelessness.
Well get over it. It doesn't hurt. (Well, maybe the water does. I'm talking about the other two.)
Have you ever thought about what pain is? Have you ever wondered, why do I not like this feeling? Because that's what it really is. Pain is just a feeling, a sensation tingling on your skin. It's like when you get distracted, all the pain disappears, doesn't it? It's almost the same concept.
The difference is, you have to focus on it. When I crash into a wall, when I fall down, when I get attacked by my cat, I shrug it off. I think about it, I isolate the pain it is giving me, and remind myself, "It's only a sensation." And it vanishes. Instead of the normal feeling you have, all it is is a different one. One that doesn't even bother you.
This is a knowledge I've been holding for many months now, perhaps even a year. It works. A lot. And I am thankful for discovering such a secret, because as a dancer, I tend to hurt myself often. But I'm able to just ignore it. I don't even need to concentrate on it anymore because I use this power so often, I'm able to get into that state of mind whenever I wish it.
And now, I bestow this knowledge upon your shoulders as well.
~12/17/11
~11/22/11
The Depression of Chocolate
Have you ever eaten a chocolate? And experienced, the delicate, melting taste of the sweetness on you tongue? Does it bring you joy, sweet joy?
Well not for me.
Every time I eat a bite into a chocolate, I relish the taste of it, bite into it, enjoy it. But then comes the end. It's so saddening to finish a chocolate. It's extremely depressing when you only have three squares of a Hershey bar and you're trying to savor it, trying to extend the length of happiness. But every time you glance over to your side, every time you catch a glimpse of the chocolatey brown chocolate, your heart melts, yearning for you to take another square.
And then the very last one. Perhaps it's more of a rectangle than a square actually. You nibble on it, barely taking a bite, trying to save it. But then craving takes over you, and you have the rest in one gulp.
Guilt floods through your mind. You think, I'm sure, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
But it's over. You can't go back. And then you start bawling. Well no, I don't, but i am cooler than many people. ;)
~12/17/11
Pain
Scalding hot water falls on your arm, and you scream in pain. Walking around, you stub your toe hard. Fiddling around with your cats' claws, you stab yourself and scratch yourself out of carelessness.
Well get over it. It doesn't hurt. (Well, maybe the water does. I'm talking about the other two.)
Have you ever thought about what pain is? Have you ever wondered, why do I not like this feeling? Because that's what it really is. Pain is just a feeling, a sensation tingling on your skin. It's like when you get distracted, all the pain disappears, doesn't it? It's almost the same concept.
The difference is, you have to focus on it. When I crash into a wall, when I fall down, when I get attacked by my cat, I shrug it off. I think about it, I isolate the pain it is giving me, and remind myself, "It's only a sensation." And it vanishes. Instead of the normal feeling you have, all it is is a different one. One that doesn't even bother you.
This is a knowledge I've been holding for many months now, perhaps even a year. It works. A lot. And I am thankful for discovering such a secret, because as a dancer, I tend to hurt myself often. But I'm able to just ignore it. I don't even need to concentrate on it anymore because I use this power so often, I'm able to get into that state of mind whenever I wish it.
And now, I bestow this knowledge upon your shoulders as well.
~12/17/11
I Have No Clue What This Is
Sometimes life just doesn't seem real. Sometimes the things you take for granted suddenly don't make sense anymore. Sometimes one small detail can change your view of the world forever.
Well, that hasn't happened to me. Naw, it has. Well not really. Actually, I'm not sure.
I happen to be
Like how can I be short? Everyone is the same. And why should I be short? Why can't I be like the others, who are tall? I'm not frustrated, but confused. What's the deal here?
And why am I not flexible? Are we really that different?
Sometimes you get really bored. Sometimes you haven't written anything interesting in while. Sometimes you decided to make a new post and write something completely random, just type whatever flows through your fingers.
~12/29/11
What would happen if there were no time? What would it mean? How would it compare to our normal lives? Time is based off of the solar system, the Earth's revolution and rotation. If there were no time,would those even exist?
More importantly, would anything even be completed? How can you turn in things at a deadline? It would be a mess. No one would have there work finished on time. But on what time? If the concept is nonexistent, it wouldn't matter what you do, would it?
Everything would be at a standstill. Either, the sun beating down on you, or the cold moon, its icy gaze taunting, testing you. The same chronic, perennial situations.
What if it were your fault?
Imagine racing, racing against some hidden, unknown force, to restore life to the normal balance. Before it's too late, you have to fix things. And discover something about yourself that suddenly pieced every moment of confusion you've ever had. For freedom, you have to race in a timeless place.
~03/11/12
Percy stood with the Romans in Camp Jupiter, staring into the sky. He knew that even though they had made him praetor, they didn’t fully trust him. He could not blame them, really. For hundreds of years, Greeks and Romans had hated each other. They had been enemies as long as anyone could remember. And now here they were, welcoming a group of Greeks from Camp Half-Blood on a flying warship into their camp.
Definitely not something to make him very trustworthy. And if anything went wrong,he would be sentenced to death.
None of it mattered anyway. Soon, he was going to see Annabeth. For so long, he only dreamed of her, not truly knowing if she even existed or not. He was still going to have to slap Juno through for stealing his memories.
Percy was jerked out of his thoughts when the ship landed right in front of him on the ground. After taking a few steps back, he waited for someone to step out of the ship. All was silent, even Octavian wasn’t making a fuss about nonsense. Everyone wanted to see what they would do.
Finally, Leo stepped out. In person, he looked even more like the boy in Hazel’s photograph, Sammy. Somehow they were related. Or maybe they were the same person. Percy had seen enough strange things in his life to not be too surprised if the second theory turned out to be true.
The only problem would be that what would happen to Frank and Hazel? They were definitely made for each other...but Hazel had been in love with Sammy Valdez in her previous life. This would definitely bring up some complications there.
Again his thoughts drifted back to Annabeth. Where was she? After a couple more familiar people stepped out, there she was, her Yankees cap firmly rested on her head, her blond hair spilling down on her shoulders. Her gray eyes met Percy’s gaze. No one moved.
Then she started walking toward him. Percy could feel his heart racing. Would she kiss him? It had been so long since they had seen each other.
His hopes vanished when she slapped him clear across the face. Before he could even ask why she did that, she started yelling at him. “Where were you? What happened to staying in one place so Tyson could find you easily? And most of all, why did you leave?”
Again, she didn’t let him respond. Instead, she went to go stand by the members of camp Half-Blood again.
Suddenly, Percy didn’t know what to do. Where did he belong? he’d grown up, learned the world of gods through Camp Half-Blood, but now he was the appointed praetor of Camp Jupiter. And wouldn’t Octavian love it if he just left them for the Greeks? It would confirm his most desired suspicions.
But the gaze in Annabeth’s eyes had been so challenging. As if she were daring him to come back. He could just hear her telling him, You’re a coward. You always run away. Without another moment’s hesitation, Percy spoke up.
“Well...hi.”
Okay, it wasn’t much. But it was something, something at all to break the frosted silence that marked the boundary between the two groups of demigods.
Leo grinned. “‘Sup.”
That guy seemed friendly enough. Maybe if Annabeth wanted to remain all silent, he could talk with him instead.
It turned out that they all met in the same room. Percy, Frank and Hazel seemed nice enough. Though there was that way that they were looking at him, Hazel especially. As if she’d seen a ghost or something. Leo couldn’t figure it out.
Annabeth had come too, with him, Jason, and Piper. Reyna settled herself in the room too. Honestly, Leo would have preferred it if she hadn’t been there too; there was something very unsettling about the way she looked around, but he guessed he shouldn’t challenge her, since she was the real power between the two praetors.
“Right,” Percy began. “I’m pretty sure you all know the details of why we’re here, so let’s get right to it. We need to figure out what our plan to go about this is. And we need to figure out who our seventh person is.” Leo could see the hesitation behind Percy’s last statement, as his eyes lingered on Annabeth. He definitely liked her a lot, but she still wouldn’t talk to him.
Jason nodded in agreement. He probably seemed the most uncomfortable in the room. Leo knew that Jason liked Piper. But the way that he was avoiding meeting both Reyna’s and Piper’s eyes, he suspected that there was something going on. If Jason hurt Piper...well he would pay. Piper didn’t deserve anything like that.
Hazel spoke up. “Wait, Percy, I think we should tell them about Nico...,” her voice trailed off when she saw Percy’s and Annabeth’s expressions darken.
“What happened to Nico?” Annabeth asked. Leo had to give it to her, she finally spoke without glaring at Percy. He almost felt bad for the guy.
Percy shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Er..well. Nico thought he might be able to find the Doors of Death from the other side. And Gaea has him now. We have no idea if he is even alive at this point.”
Annabeth’s eyes widened. “Oh,” was all she said. Leo had heard about this Nico from Annabeth, but he really didn’t know who he was. Except that he was a child of Hades.
Leo met Piper’s eyes. She noticed the discomfort about Nico too. “I guess it’s decided then,” she said. “We find this Nico person first.”
Percy looked as if he were about to argue, then sighed. “We shouldn’t...but we have to.”
Hazel looked grateful. Annabeth just looked shocked still.
“But I don’t get it. Nico is powerful. Like stay-hidden-from-anything powerful. How did he get caught?” Annabeth asked.
Hazel sighed. “I don’t know,” she said. She looked as if she were going to cry soon. Leo noticed how much younger she was to the rest of them, about three years of a difference. “Gaea spoke to me, telling me she had him.”
“She could have been lying,” Frank told her softly.
Hazel nodded. “She could have been. But he should have been back by now. Made some kind of...contact that he was still alive.” No one disagreed at the table.
“Do we have any idea where to begin?” Leo asked, looking around the table.
Nico moaned in pain as the chains that shackled him tugged again. He was beat up and bloody, for an earth goddess, Gaea could be pretty violent. You would think she had someone else do her dirty work, but no, there she was, slowly torturing Nico.
He kept forcing his hopes out that his friends might come and find him. As much as he wanted to live, there were so many reasons to let him just die here. For one, he wasn’t important. It was obvious he wasn’t the seventh in the prophecy, therefore it couldn’t be bad if he died.
Second, he knew what Gaea’s plan was. She was trying to lure them into finding him. But she won’t let Nico go, she’ll keep him and let one of her supporters possess his mind so that he could go and kill the demigods of the prophecy. And the only way to stop him would be to slay him.
Nico would rather be dead than be forced to fight his friends.
A boy walked into the room. He was probably only a few years older than Nico, possibly seventeen, shaggy blond hair covering his eyes. His clothes were threadbare, and a bright celestial bronze sword swung at his side.
“Hello, Nico,” he grinned.
Nico didn’t respond, unwilling to even pretend to cooperate with the one who was going to kill him in a few moments. Alec.
Alec shot him a look. “Oh, no manners, have we?” he said in that taunting tone while sliding at his sword and poking it in Nico’s side. He was aware of a warm liquid beginning to trickle down from where the poke was.
Before Nico could move, or react in any way, Alec stuck the sword just under his heart, not deep enough for the wound to be fatal, but enough for it to feel like it. Nico stifled a scream and his back arched in pain.
Alec walked away silently. Before long, Nico heard a voice he never thought he would hear again.
“Nico...?”
“Percy?” Nico gasped, barely able to choke out any words.
~05/21/12
Race in a Timeless Place
What would happen if there were no time? What would it mean? How would it compare to our normal lives? Time is based off of the solar system, the Earth's revolution and rotation. If there were no time,would those even exist?
More importantly, would anything even be completed? How can you turn in things at a deadline? It would be a mess. No one would have there work finished on time. But on what time? If the concept is nonexistent, it wouldn't matter what you do, would it?
Everything would be at a standstill. Either, the sun beating down on you, or the cold moon, its icy gaze taunting, testing you. The same chronic, perennial situations.
What if it were your fault?
Imagine racing, racing against some hidden, unknown force, to restore life to the normal balance. Before it's too late, you have to fix things. And discover something about yourself that suddenly pieced every moment of confusion you've ever had. For freedom, you have to race in a timeless place.
~03/11/12
Son of Neptune Continuation
Percy stood with the Romans in Camp Jupiter, staring into the sky. He knew that even though they had made him praetor, they didn’t fully trust him. He could not blame them, really. For hundreds of years, Greeks and Romans had hated each other. They had been enemies as long as anyone could remember. And now here they were, welcoming a group of Greeks from Camp Half-Blood on a flying warship into their camp.
Definitely not something to make him very trustworthy. And if anything went wrong,he would be sentenced to death.
None of it mattered anyway. Soon, he was going to see Annabeth. For so long, he only dreamed of her, not truly knowing if she even existed or not. He was still going to have to slap Juno through for stealing his memories.
Percy was jerked out of his thoughts when the ship landed right in front of him on the ground. After taking a few steps back, he waited for someone to step out of the ship. All was silent, even Octavian wasn’t making a fuss about nonsense. Everyone wanted to see what they would do.
Finally, Leo stepped out. In person, he looked even more like the boy in Hazel’s photograph, Sammy. Somehow they were related. Or maybe they were the same person. Percy had seen enough strange things in his life to not be too surprised if the second theory turned out to be true.
The only problem would be that what would happen to Frank and Hazel? They were definitely made for each other...but Hazel had been in love with Sammy Valdez in her previous life. This would definitely bring up some complications there.
Again his thoughts drifted back to Annabeth. Where was she? After a couple more familiar people stepped out, there she was, her Yankees cap firmly rested on her head, her blond hair spilling down on her shoulders. Her gray eyes met Percy’s gaze. No one moved.
Then she started walking toward him. Percy could feel his heart racing. Would she kiss him? It had been so long since they had seen each other.
His hopes vanished when she slapped him clear across the face. Before he could even ask why she did that, she started yelling at him. “Where were you? What happened to staying in one place so Tyson could find you easily? And most of all, why did you leave?”
Again, she didn’t let him respond. Instead, she went to go stand by the members of camp Half-Blood again.
Suddenly, Percy didn’t know what to do. Where did he belong? he’d grown up, learned the world of gods through Camp Half-Blood, but now he was the appointed praetor of Camp Jupiter. And wouldn’t Octavian love it if he just left them for the Greeks? It would confirm his most desired suspicions.
But the gaze in Annabeth’s eyes had been so challenging. As if she were daring him to come back. He could just hear her telling him, You’re a coward. You always run away. Without another moment’s hesitation, Percy spoke up.
“Well...hi.”
Okay, it wasn’t much. But it was something, something at all to break the frosted silence that marked the boundary between the two groups of demigods.
Leo grinned. “‘Sup.”
That guy seemed friendly enough. Maybe if Annabeth wanted to remain all silent, he could talk with him instead.
It turned out that they all met in the same room. Percy, Frank and Hazel seemed nice enough. Though there was that way that they were looking at him, Hazel especially. As if she’d seen a ghost or something. Leo couldn’t figure it out.
Annabeth had come too, with him, Jason, and Piper. Reyna settled herself in the room too. Honestly, Leo would have preferred it if she hadn’t been there too; there was something very unsettling about the way she looked around, but he guessed he shouldn’t challenge her, since she was the real power between the two praetors.
“Right,” Percy began. “I’m pretty sure you all know the details of why we’re here, so let’s get right to it. We need to figure out what our plan to go about this is. And we need to figure out who our seventh person is.” Leo could see the hesitation behind Percy’s last statement, as his eyes lingered on Annabeth. He definitely liked her a lot, but she still wouldn’t talk to him.
Jason nodded in agreement. He probably seemed the most uncomfortable in the room. Leo knew that Jason liked Piper. But the way that he was avoiding meeting both Reyna’s and Piper’s eyes, he suspected that there was something going on. If Jason hurt Piper...well he would pay. Piper didn’t deserve anything like that.
Hazel spoke up. “Wait, Percy, I think we should tell them about Nico...,” her voice trailed off when she saw Percy’s and Annabeth’s expressions darken.
“What happened to Nico?” Annabeth asked. Leo had to give it to her, she finally spoke without glaring at Percy. He almost felt bad for the guy.
Percy shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Er..well. Nico thought he might be able to find the Doors of Death from the other side. And Gaea has him now. We have no idea if he is even alive at this point.”
Annabeth’s eyes widened. “Oh,” was all she said. Leo had heard about this Nico from Annabeth, but he really didn’t know who he was. Except that he was a child of Hades.
Leo met Piper’s eyes. She noticed the discomfort about Nico too. “I guess it’s decided then,” she said. “We find this Nico person first.”
Percy looked as if he were about to argue, then sighed. “We shouldn’t...but we have to.”
Hazel looked grateful. Annabeth just looked shocked still.
“But I don’t get it. Nico is powerful. Like stay-hidden-from-anything powerful. How did he get caught?” Annabeth asked.
Hazel sighed. “I don’t know,” she said. She looked as if she were going to cry soon. Leo noticed how much younger she was to the rest of them, about three years of a difference. “Gaea spoke to me, telling me she had him.”
“She could have been lying,” Frank told her softly.
Hazel nodded. “She could have been. But he should have been back by now. Made some kind of...contact that he was still alive.” No one disagreed at the table.
“Do we have any idea where to begin?” Leo asked, looking around the table.
Nico moaned in pain as the chains that shackled him tugged again. He was beat up and bloody, for an earth goddess, Gaea could be pretty violent. You would think she had someone else do her dirty work, but no, there she was, slowly torturing Nico.
He kept forcing his hopes out that his friends might come and find him. As much as he wanted to live, there were so many reasons to let him just die here. For one, he wasn’t important. It was obvious he wasn’t the seventh in the prophecy, therefore it couldn’t be bad if he died.
Second, he knew what Gaea’s plan was. She was trying to lure them into finding him. But she won’t let Nico go, she’ll keep him and let one of her supporters possess his mind so that he could go and kill the demigods of the prophecy. And the only way to stop him would be to slay him.
Nico would rather be dead than be forced to fight his friends.
A boy walked into the room. He was probably only a few years older than Nico, possibly seventeen, shaggy blond hair covering his eyes. His clothes were threadbare, and a bright celestial bronze sword swung at his side.
“Hello, Nico,” he grinned.
Nico didn’t respond, unwilling to even pretend to cooperate with the one who was going to kill him in a few moments. Alec.
Alec shot him a look. “Oh, no manners, have we?” he said in that taunting tone while sliding at his sword and poking it in Nico’s side. He was aware of a warm liquid beginning to trickle down from where the poke was.
Before Nico could move, or react in any way, Alec stuck the sword just under his heart, not deep enough for the wound to be fatal, but enough for it to feel like it. Nico stifled a scream and his back arched in pain.
Alec walked away silently. Before long, Nico heard a voice he never thought he would hear again.
“Nico...?”
“Percy?” Nico gasped, barely able to choke out any words.
~05/21/12
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