OK, so the only other thing I can imagine here is that you put the `vapp` and `vdc` in the template somehow, and use that object to pass them through to the eventual `createNode...` call.

I don't know what promises we make about the template object and how evil we consider that to be, but since that's the "recipe" for making the object and `vapp` and `vdc` seem to be part of that recipe (albeit not things the user knows about) the would seem to be the closest possible fit..?