#And ahhh poor Alfredo

[executionersghost]

What is your place in the royal court?

Claire

The Queen.

dignified in your regality, you are a beacon of reason... the true power behind the throne, you take heed of all, cautious in each move you make. some may call you callous in your calculation, but they do not know your heart.

Mecaela

The King.

you hold yourself above the rest; a heavy crown on your head, you consider yourself a step above, the sole decision maker, the one in control. but, is your power only an illusion? take heed, your majesty, the crowds would cheer your beheading fervently as they cheer your speeches.

Alfred

The Fool.

you spark humor wherever you wander, always seeking to brighten a room with the roar of laughter. but, you are no fool. you have seen the pain in the world, and you would give anything to keep others from feeling it, too. though, humor is a balm, not a cure. take care you do not merely conceal your tragedy beneath a smile.

Tagged by: @derjaegermond

Tagging: uhhh I think y’all have been tagged already, but steal and tag me if ya wanna!

[the-duchess-of-domination]

(🍰) Ok so fantasy thoughts + a little response to ☂️

I don't have much advice to offer but I wanted to say I so get you on the vulnerability part ahhh. Its very hard for me to be vulnerable, especially when it comes to kinks. I'm very lucky to have friends n partners who are open to (or enjoy) this kinda stuff, I think the more you start to talk about it with people the easier it starts to get! It also helps that I seem to have a switch in my brain where my need to be an affectionate lovey dovey bastard overrides my embaressment a bit lmao.

Speaking of which: ahhh, the need to make someone a big nice dinner and then feed them all of it. People talk a lot about stuffing on fast food and stuff like that. Which I do enjoy a lot, but there's a certain allure to getting a tummy ache on home cooked food. Like a big pot of stew or alfredo pasta, something nice and heavy. With bread and dessert of course 😉, its not a meal without cake at the end. And in the end he's so stuffed and dazed all he can do his moan and whine while I rub his belly. It'd be a perfect night 💗

well said, 🍰 anon. i second that talking with friends and partners makes things a ton easier. i literally used to get embarrassed even saying words like “tummy,” “belly,” “stomach,” or “stomach ache,” but because i talk to my roommate so heavily, i am able to say these words without feeling weird about it.

i also REALLY love stuffings with home cooked meals. i sometimes fantasize about preparing a feast for one with all the fixings: gravy, turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, black forest cake. you put so much effort into it that your boyfriend just goes wild and eats himself into a stupor.

oh, his poor belly 💗

[kayeorosuto]

Tagged by @little-murmaider Rules: Answer thirty questions, then tag twenty blogs you would like to know better. (Omg hello ^///^ I love your blog! Also, hello again as it is also I, Soft Anon! I am ready to not be quite so shy on here! :) Thank you for tagging me!) 1. Nicknames? - Kayeo Rosuto is taken from an OC who was designed to be an alter ego way back in middle school lol. In real life my name is so short (only four letters!) that I don't have many nicknames. Only Biscotti's Mom, at my work place lol. 2. Gender? - Cis female 3. Star sign? - Sagittarius! Tho I'm technically the new sign if you follow the new zodiac where they added the snake man/person? 4. Height? - 5' 4" on a good day lol 5. Time? - Currently? 1am. Having insomnia is fun guys. Also the street light outside my house is about to go out so it's buzzing and flickering a lot, so it's very Silent Hill outside and that's partially keeping me awake. 6. Birthday? - Born in '93! Go 90's kids! 7. Favorite bands? - Oh lord, so many. Um, top bands currently would have to be Panic! At the Disco, Ludo, Motion City Soundtrack. Think all the classic emo bands of the early 2000's and you've got my preference lol. 8. Favorite solo artists? - GACKT ALL THE FUCKING WAY! He's a 90's Japanese rock/pop star and oh my god is he beautiful. He's probably like 50 now, but I would still fan girl like an idiot if I ever met him. "Vanilla" is one of his best songs. 9. Song stuck in my head? - Currently "L.A Devote" by P!atD. 10. Last movie watched? - I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. It's a really interesting Indy film that Netflix picked up from a film festival. It's along the horror/psychological thriller vein, and I have mixed feelings about the ending. 11. Last show watched? - Metalocalypse! My roomie and I needed to watch something funny after our scary movie marathon lol. We've been rewatching the series with subtitles to better understand what Nathan is singing in the show. 12. When did I create my blog? - I think around '12 or '13? Had it for a while and never used it, then got back into it last year I wanna say. I'm so bad with dates lol. 13. What do I post? - A very wide variety of things lol! Usually what's interesting me most at the current moment. Right now that's been Metalocalypse, One Piece, Kuroshitsuji, Breath of the Wild and general shit posting memes lol. 14. Last thing I "googled"? - "Animal Crossing New Leaf how can you tell if a painting is fake" 'cause you can't waste all those hard earned bells on fake paintings from Redd! 15. Do you have other blogs? - So far just this one! :) I have been toying with the idea of making a One Piece or Metalocalypse side blog... 16. Do you get asks? - Haven't so far. I've done some asking of my own, but it's usually on anon cause I'm shy af lol. 17. Why did you choose your url? - Whoops answering this twice lol. From an OC created back in middle school. 18. Following? - I have never actually checked how many lol, probs 300ish? 19. Followers? - Ehhhh, like 40ish? I think? Probably would be more if I didn't block porn bots lol 20. Favorite colours? Black, purple, teal, maroon/deep red, electric blue (same color as my car!) 21. Average hours of sleep? - Depends on the night. If I'm unlucky about 3, if I'm lucky I'll just crash for a good 10 hours. 22. Lucky number? - Not sure actually? I do see repeating numbers and 45 a lot when I look at clocks and receipts. 23. Instruments? - Zero! I am musically challenged! Plus in elementary school they made us take violin lessons in like 3rdish grade which I HATED. I picked up one of the violin's and had a string snap and hit me in the face. I took that as I my sign I was not meant to play music, and had such bad anxiety any time I went to touch any instrument after I never chose to play one in middle school. I would definitely learn Cello if I could go back and redo everything. Maybe I'll learn after I retire? 24. What am I wearing? - PJ's! Tonight those are black shorts and a very old purple cami that has some how survived 3 dryers that have destroyed all the new cami's I've ever gotten. 25. How many blankets I sleep with? - 1 if it's summer and it has to be light. 2 or a heavy comforter if its winter. My guy is a very warm sleeper so I usually end up kicking on and off however many we have on anyway lol. 26. Dream job? - I would love to a professional artist and have my work displayed in gallery's, or a writer and publish novels. In reality I'll just be happy with something that lets me have a good balance between work and family/friends, and makes enough that I'm not constantly checking my bank account. Yay poor college kid woes lol. Part time was definitely worth the 6 years its taken, but I'm so ready to be done lol. 27. Dream trip? - I would love to go back to Japan and explore the northern half of the country more. I went in high school and mainly was in Okinawa, and the big cities like Kyoto and Tokyo. It would be so cool to see Mt. Fuji in person. 28. Favorite food? - Give me all the carbs and sodium; pizza, pasta (especially Alfredo), tacos, cheese (I fucking love cheese. It's amazing) and Chinese food. All your stereotypically shitty college foods lol. 29. Nationality? - American. 30. Favorite song now? - hmmm... I've been listening to "Na na na na na na na" by My Chemical Romance a lot recently, but it's not a current song. A more current song I've really been enjoying is "Square Hammer" by Ghost. I TAG (ahhh, this is where my shyness comes into play) @gnrslashandmcr @justaminorthreat @hella-gay-ships @tornadowatchimminent and anyone else who wants to do this! :)

[kdfrqqg]

Surprised

Summary: My version of how Sam will react when he catches Cas and Dean in the heat of passion.

Destiel Smut with some fluff. 

NSFW

Word count: 2,164

It had been about two and half months, since Dean sent the infamous ‘hand holding’ text message. Sam really hadn’t let Dean live it down about how much of a girl Dean had become since him and Cas became a couple. Sam was truly happy that his older brother and best friend were finally together.

At the kitchen table, Sam would just roll his eyes and say “Can you guys just go back to the bedroom? I don’t need to see this!” Whenever Dean and Cas would start kissing. Normally, Dean would say something smart like, “Sammy, that’s a great idea! What cha say Cas?” The two would then run back to bedroom for some extra fun. Sam just looked down, smiled and went back to eating his lunch.

“Hey Sammy! I put the pizza order in.” Dean hollered from the kitchen. “OK, I’ll go grab it. I’m taking your car.” Sam shouted back from the library.

Dean walked back to the library and as he sat down at the end of the table, he said, “Hey babe,” to Cas and kissed him quickly on the lips. Sam watched and smiled. “Alright guys, I am gone!” as he addressed the boys while standing up from the library table.

As soon as Dean heard Sam shut the garage door, Dean kissed Cas forcibly sliding his tongue in and out of his mouth. Cas pulled back and said with a moan, “Dean, I enjoy this very much but we have to continue researching and Sam will be back soon.” “I know Cas but you look so good and I need you now!” Dean whined. Dean pulled Cas up on the edge of the table and started to kiss his neck and undid his tie then threw it on the floor.

“Dean!” Cas moaned. “We need to resear… Oh Dean!” He wanted Dean to stop but he really wanted him to continue. Cas pulled Dean in to him and claimed a hard kiss. Dean pulled away a gave him a devilish grin as he continued to kiss down Cas’ shirt until his was on his knees. Dean undid Cas’ belt, top pant button and zipper. Dean could tell that Cas’ cock was starting to grow and he smiled up at Cas. He looked down at Dean with desire. Dean knew what his angel wanted so he pulled down Cas’ pants and boxers. “Ahhh..” Cas moaned loudly as Dean started to lick the soft under side of Cas’ dick. He licked the tip of Cas’ penis with a swirl of his tounge. Dean knew he had to be quick so he didn’t tease Cas as much he normally would. Instead, Dean engulfed Cas’ cock. “Dean, that feels so good…” Cas panted. A minute or three later… Cas asked “How much time do we have before Sam returns?”

Dean slid his mouth off of his angel’s dick and said “I don’t know. I guess about 30 minutes maybe?” Shrugging his shoulders and making hand gestures. “OK..” Cas replied and bent down and grabbed Dean from the floor. With one motion, Cas spun Dean and pushed him up against the end of table. The two men kissed. The feel of each other’s tongues in their mouths was amazing. Both men were getting hot and sweaty as they grinded against each other. Cas’ dick rubbed roughly against Dean’s denim jeans. Cas didn’t mind, he kind of liked the rough feel, it turned him on even more. Cas put his hands up Dean’s shirt and pulled it up over his head and flung it on the table.

Cas thought, I am so glad we stopped wearing all those layers they were just getting in the way. Dean couldn’t wait for Cas, so he started to undo his own pants. Sliding his shoes off while Cas pushed Dean’s pants and tight fitting boxer briefs to the ground. Dean was so hard but Cas didn’t have enough time appreciate the beauty of Dean’s long, thick penis. Cas grabbed Dean’s ass and sat him on the library table and finished undressing Dean. Dean then unbuttoned Cas’ white button down collared shirt. He ripped Cas’ shirt off of his shoulders. Cas continued to strip. Kicking off his shoes, and finally stepping out of his pants and boxers. He just wanted to be naked next to his hunter so badly. Looking at the clock on the wall, Dean exclaimed, “We have to be quick!”

“I know, Dean but not too quick.” His angel replied with lust in his deep blue eyes Cas licked two fingers and pushed them in Dean’s hole. Dean moaned.

In less than thirty seconds Dean panted out, “Oh God Cas! Yes! Oh moorree…” “You want more, Dean?” Cas asked.

“Oh yeah!” Dean nodded looking at his boyfriend’s penis. Cas pumped his dick three times with his enormous hands to make sure he was good and hard for Dean. Instinctually, Dean spread his thighs more and leaned back on his elbows. He readied himself as Cas pushed his dick inside of Dean’s slightly streched hole. The two men moan. “Yeah, Cas!” Dean whispered in Cas’ ear as he wrapped his arms around him. “Oh!” Dean yelled as Cas began to thrust into him.

Meanwhile, Dean’s time estimate was a little skewed. For Dean who likes to drive baby more leisurely thirty minutes was about right. Sam on the other hand liked to drive the Impala harder than Dean would appreciate. Sam made it to the pizza shop in about eight minutes and the pizzas were ready to go. One spinach artichoke chicken Alfredo, one meat lovers and one cheese pizza. The spinach artichoke was for Sam but Dean normally could eat a third of it before the weekend was over. Sam was so proud of himself he had made it back to the bunker in under twenty minutes. He knew Dean could get a little hangary at times.

He put both ear buds back in when he got to the bunker and continued to listen to his pod cast. Sam wasn’t very quiet getting out of the car or leaving the garage. Unfortunately, Dean and Cas didn’t hear him come down the hall because Cas had just gotten a good rhythm going. Dean was grabbing Cas’ hair and he arched his head back as Cas admired Dean’s chiseled chest. Neither men could see the hall way from that position. As Sam turned corner, to the library hallway his eyes were looking down at his phone and still engrossed in his pod cast. He almost made it into the library before he looked up. There before him, all he saw were the naked bodies of his brother and best friend. Dean had wrapped his legs around Cas, while Cas trusted into Dean. Cas was almost on top of Dean.

Sam had thought about, what do I do if I catch them together before this moment.  He had already made up his mind and he was going call them on it. It was his home too, ya know. He had caught Dean before with numerous women over the years and normally, he would say something and the walk out, or more likely run, out of the room.

As he watched for just a few seconds, he couldn’t ruin it for the guys. He thought this is beautiful, this is passion that Sam had witnessed building for years and Dean just looked so damn happy. Sam turned on his heels and walked silently down the hallway towards the bedrooms. He pulled one ear bud out and heard Dean cry out, “Cas! Harder! More!”

Sam put the other ear bud back in, smiled and placed the pizza boxes on the floor. Sam then sat down crossed legged on the smooth, cool ground. He thought to himself, I’ll just give them about another five or ten minutes. Five minutes past and Sam took out his ear bud to listen to see if it was OK to go back to the library.

From down the hall he heard Cas’ deep voice, “I love you too, Dean but we have to get dressed.”

“Oh shit! Sammy will be here any minute!” Dean panicked. He must have forgotten that he went on his pizza run.

“It will be OK.” Cas said in a comforting tone.

“Yeah! Yeah it will be! We just put our clothes on and wipe down the table and no one will be the wiser. ” Dean said trying to calm himself down. He kept repeating this mantra in his head until it was completed. Sam almost busted out laughing when he heard “no one will be wiser” but he caught himself and just chuckled quietly to himself. Sam gave Dean and Cas another five minutes before he decided to walk back to the garage and shut the door with a large slam.

“He is here!” Dean said to Cas. “Just play it cool”. Sam walked down the hallway and announced. “I got the pizzas!” “Hey Sammy! What took you so long?”. Dean asked. Sam once again had to hold back laughter. He lied and told Dean, “Actually, the pizza parlor got our order wrong and somehow. Then I hit every red light there and back.” Sam just smiled and looked down. He couldn’t look Dean in the eyes yet.

Over the next few weeks, Sam was the witness to way to much naked flesh. One morning, Sam came back from a run. He was sweaty and in need of a shower. He heard the water running in the bathroom. Angels don’t shower so by default it had to be Dean. “Hey Dean, save me some hot water!” He shouted as he walked into the bathroom.

“OK, Sammy!” Dean yelled back. “Shhh… ” Sam heard Dean whisper.

Sam noticed the Cas’ trench coat, and tie clearly visible, balled up in the floor under the sink. “Cas, you in there?” Sam asked.

Cas got up off of his knees and stood up. “Hello, Sam.” Cas said in his deep voice peering over the shower curtain to look at Sam.

“Never mind, you guys have fun!” Sam said as he rolled his eyes and walked out.

Dean thought, I have to say something.  He stopped the water and grabbed a towel.  “Sammy, hey wait up!” he yelled down the hallway. “Shit, what have we done?” Dean asked to Cas.  Cas remained silent as he didn’t know how to respond to Dean.

Both men followed Sam into kitchen still dripping with water.  “Hey Sam, I am sorry that you had to witness that, man. I know that you aren’t really used to us together.”  Dean apologized.

“Dude, it is ok.  That is tame to what I have been witnessing.”

“What you mean the kissing? We can turn that down a little, if it bothers you.”

“No, that doesn’t bother me.”  Sam replied. “I am so glad that you two are together now.  Watching you guys kiss doesn’t gross me out.  I just like picking on you, man.”

“Oh Ok.” Dean sighed a bit of relief. “So then what the hell have you been witnessing?”

“Oh well the fuck fest on the library table, the blow job in the kitchen, and Cas bent over the poor Impala while you were giving it to him hard.”

Dean’s mouth dropped and his face went white.  “What the fuck?! Why didn’t you say something? If I knew saw that, we would have stopped doing it around the bunker.” Dean exclaimed

“It is ok, Dean! Really, it is.” Sam explained.  

“How is watching your brother fucking his boyfriend, ok?” Dean asked.

“It just is.  I know how much you two love each other.  Hell, if I was in a relationship and I loved my girl that much.  Believe me; I would be doing unspeakable acts to her all over the bunker as well.”

Cas chimed in, “So we can just keep our love making to our room, since you keep catching us.”

“Guys, really it’s fine.” Sam said.  “When the mood strikes, it strikes! I understand.”

“Maybe we could use a signal, like in those college, coming of age films you enjoy.” Looking at Dean.  “Like a tie or sock on the doorknob.” Cas added.

Dean agreed. “That’s good! Sammy this is your home too.  You shouldn’t have to walk around here having to anticipate seeing an eye full of Cas’ ass.” Dean laughed a little

“Ok, that’s cool.” Sam agreed.

“Now that we have that resolved.  My boyfriend and I were trying to figure out how to have sex in the shower.”  Dean said jokingly.

“Dean, I don’t think this is best time to continue.” Cas scolded.

“Sammy, said it was fine.  Now is the perfect time!”  Dean gave Cas the sexy look.  Both men walked back to the bathroom.

As the two walked, Sam yelled, “Hey! Dean! Save me some hot water!”

“Not a chance, Sammy!” Dean yelled back.  All three men smiled.

I love all the likes and reblogs but I really do want your feedback. Please leave me a comment; let me know what worked or what didn’t. If you hated it let me know what I could do different. It may determine how I write my next fic.

“Give it to me! You know you want to!” Writer winks at reader.

MY MASTER LIST Thanks for reading! Let me know if you want to be tagged.

[jayne-hecate-writer]

More Opera, not enough Death!

Thursday 25th October, 2018. La Traviata by Verdi.

Friday 26th October, 2018. La Cenerentola, Cinderella by Rossini.

Bristol Hippodrome

La Traviata

This is now my third or fourth opera, but who is counting? Because by now I am a seasoned opera goer! I know enough to make sure that I don't drink too much water before going in, thus avoiding the kidney punching dance for a wee during the first act! I know enough to make sure that I am dressed comfortably in thin layers of clothing that I can strip off as the auditorium heats up during the performance. I also know enough to make sure that I read the synopsis before hand, so that when the story unfolds on stage, I can sink into it, allowing the beauty to flow over me without effort and tonight's opera was yet another exercise in beauty of sound layered upon beauty of visuals.

The stage was minimally decorated with drapes and almost translucent windows and just enough furniture to give the hard working cast somewhere to sit or lean against as they performed. Prior to the first curtain raise, three gentlemen in brown jackets could be seen checking the stage, but the way they moved implied that they were more dancers than mere safety officers. When the curtain rose from the floor, it was a luxuriant black drape that seemed to rise up from within the depths of the earth itself and when the stage was revealed once again, it had changed in an instant! With every subsequent stage change, it was revealed to be yet another simple if exquisite set. It is hard not to admire the effort that goes into such elegant stage design.

When the cast are introduced, it is en-mass and the singing was explosive and instantly recognisable. The costumes were heart-rendingly beautiful and straight away were introduced to our main cast, as they sang, while they drank and made merry. The atmosphere was so welcoming on stage that it felt like we the audience were also a part of the party. But as the crowd wandered out of the main party room and into the next, carefully arranged just out of view at the back of the stage, we are able to see them chatting, kissing and playfully flirting through the windows. It was here that the main story arc is laid out, the love between Alfredo and Violetta, sang by Kang Wang and Lynda Richardson respectively. Their voices were a mixture of gentle melodies with sudden energetic supernovae of power and I sat on the front edge of my seat in rapture, this was a moment that will stay with me, as Alfredo declared his love for Violetta, a love that had lasted for a year or more. At first she is dismissive of his affections, she shuns him demurely becoming more forceful, but as he leaves, she ponders the feelings that she has, asking herself has she finally met the man who can win her heart, despite her illness? Oh yeah, she is ill, but more of that later.

Act two see the two lovers waking and once again, the movements on stage are barely visible, but each step taken is urgent and leads quickly to Alfredo discovering that his beloved is almost bankrupt. His shame at having living off of her rises in him and he departs for Paris to reclaim her money so that she can stop selling her worldly possessions. While he is gone, Alfredo's father performed by Roland Wood enters and tasks Violetta with leaving his son so that he can return to his family who miss him terribly. Reluctantly she does as she is asked despite the emotional pain that it causes her. But there is the dark cloud of her illness hanging over her and so she lets him go so that he can lead a long and happy life.

Alfredo is devastated when he discovers that Violetta has left him and when he turns up at a party thrown by their mutual friend and sees that Violetta is on the arm of Baron Douphol he gets drunk, wins several rounds of cards and then in disgust throws his winnings at Violetta, claiming that she has betrayed him. Alfredo's father witnesses his son's outburst and chides him for his poor manners and shocking conduct, which leads the Baron challenging Alfredo to a duel. The party is then crashed by several Gypsy dancers who offer fortune telling and lascivious fun to the revellers. One of the leading Gypsy dancers is revealed to be a drag queen, and despite the gentle clues from the dancer that this is the case, it still comes as a surprise. Quite frankly, the Gypsy dancers was one of my most favourite parts of the show, the dancing is frenetic, the costumes are utterly beautiful and quite frankly I would sell a kidney just to buy the cerise dress worn by one of them!

The final act sees Violetta living in poverty with her only companion being her long standing friend and servant Annina, performed exquisitely by Sian Meinir. It is very clear that Violetta is dying of Tuberculosis, her blood splattered night dress, her hacking and coughing into her chamber pot after which she is left wiping the blood from her mouth. I can honestly say that it was then that I was sat with tears in my eyes. At this point in her performance, Lynda Richardson was came across as fragile, incredibly vulnerable and utterly believable as she coughed up her last remaining breaths, despite the sheer power and devastating beauty of her voice. However, I found that my tears suddenly turned to evil black humour and I was appalled with myself for laughing albeit silently. While a heart broken Violetta dies on stage from the awful disease Tuberculosis, it became apparent that quite a few people in the audience around me had come along while suffering with coughs and colds. In a strange dark way, this added an extra if rather distracting layer to the show. However, I seemed alone in noticing this and was soon engaged back into the story and was once again on the verge of tears as Alfredo bursts in the decrepit room and discovers his lost love on her deathbed, where upon she dies in his arms.

This show is a tragedy, it starts with such promise of fun and it slowly and gently winds down into heart break, I would quite honestly be surprised if during this performance I was the only person in that auditorium who was so emotionally involved in the story that I shed actual tears. The Welsh National Opera are an experience that every music lover should have at least once, the power of their shows cannot be underestimated, from the more fun shows such as Die Fledermaus to the tragedies of La Traviata and I have sat rapt through every show. Now bare in mind that I am more well known for my love of extreme metal, in particularly the genre of Black Metal, with bands such as Marduk, Voices and Enslaved being my most recent concerts. In a strange kind of way, opera gives me a similar feeling, the music bites into my soul and takes hold. There is no mosh pit here and opera goers do not violently slam dance into each other, but the sensation of a live orchestra is the same, the power of it is the same and the experience is the same as seeing a Black Metal band at the height of their rage and power, utterly devastating beauty.

Cinderella

In complete contrast to La Traviata's darkness, the second show I was able to see, Rossini's La Cenerentola, more commonly known as Cinderella, is a sugar coated technicolour fairy tale. Where La Traviata is darkness and death and misery, Cinderella is laughter, joy and forgiveness. It is only when one sees the production that we realise that actually, Cinderella is an abused, neglected and despised first child of a remarried and then deceased Mother. Her step sisters and her step father have her pretty much imprisoned in the house, where she is used as a source of cheap labour, bordering on slavery, as such her life is really an unending cruelty of beatings and berating. We all know the story and we all know that it has a happy ending, although to my mind, a happier ending would have seen Cinderella laying waste to her family with the ferocity and vengeance of an executioner! However, this is a fairy tale and as such we have to be nice, so she forgives her family and tells them that her revenge against them for all of their cruelties is for her to love them and be happy. Am I alone in thinking that this is some form of PTSD or survivor guilt?

Now before we get ahead of ourselves, let's get the introductions over with. Angelina (Cinderella's real name), is preparing the house for the waking of her stepsisters and step father, she lights the fire and sweeps the floors and snuggles with the rats, while singing softly to herself a folk song about a King who marries a faithful and lovely girl, dragging her from her poverty. The sisters when the emerge from their beds in their underwear react badly to this and start hurling their shoes at her, until the rumpus wakes their father from his dreams. Annoyed and unshaven, Don Magnifico explains that the girls have woken him his happy dreams of wealth and power.

Following this, a beggar comes to the house seeking sustenance and Angelina gives him food and coffee, much to the disgust of her family. Seeing her in such poverty, the beggar reveals himself to be the tutor to the ruling Prince Ramiro who will shortly be looking for a wife. Angelina's kindness makes her the perfect choice! Now I am going to pause here for a moment because the treacle is being firmly sloshed about and yes, I know that this is a fairy story and there is not much time to tell it all and still make it coherent, but one has to ask, where is the young woman's autonomy? Why the subterfuge from the Royal household? Also, why is the misogynistic prick of a prince allowed to choose the prettiest girl from the local aristocracy? After all, we all know that the lifestyles of these people leads to bankruptcy and then a painful and miserable death from TB! Ahhh, I must put La Traviata out of my mind, this is a happy story with a happy ending. But a girl can dream...

When the prince arrives, he is disguised and is seen creeping, pervert like, around the house of Don Magnifico so that he can spy on the Don's daughters. He instantly falls in love with Angelina and she too falls for him, believing him to be a simple page to the Prince. It is all so bloody nice... With the arrival of the fake prince, the Prince's actual servant Dandini dressed up in finery and acting with the pomp and arrogance of the prince, we see the stepsisters and their father begin to worm their way towards power and wealth. Angelina is not nearly so coarse and it is her innocence which attracts the prince to her, because he clearly has his own despicable agenda! Oops, must not forget, this is a happy story, evil does not dwell in its telling!

So the girls are invited to the Prince's ball at which he will choose a wife or risk losing his inheritance. Don Magnifico informs Angelina that she is not going anywhere near it and it is revealed that whoever her Mother was, she left Angelina a significant fortune, which her step father has spent. So we can add financial abuse to the list of crimes that her family has committed against her! The Princes tutor tells Angelina that she will attend the ball and that her life will change from one of misery and hard labour to one of love and joy. Well as much joy as being the wife of a Prince in seventeenth century Italy can bring, with no proper medicine, unhealthy food and a complete lack of internet!

On the night of the ball, Angelina's family are doing their very best to win favour with who they think is the Prince, while showing themselves to be the vain and unkind monsters that they are. The Prince's valet can see right through their act and merely gives them enough rope to hang themselves with. Although Don Magnifico is seemingly able to almost drink the wine cellar dry without collapsing, meaning that we can add alcoholism to his character failings. Angelina arrives at the ball in a veil and almost no one recognises her. The real prince is awestruck and his valet attempts to seduce her, but she states that her heart is sworn to another, the prince's servant, who we all know is really the prince in disguise. When the subterfuge is revealed, she warns him that he has no idea who she is and that he may not want her when he finds out that she is effectively a servant and she gives him a bracelet, one of a matched pair so that he can track her down.

Sure enough he finds her, all is revealed and the stepsisters and their father are revealed to be insincere and vile. The Prince marries Angelina and she is taken away from her life of misery and married, to live happily ever after, after magnanimously forgiving her family for their abuse.

Where La Traviata was black metal, this is sickly sweet pop music. There is very little depth to the story, it is a crowd pleaser, a happy little fairy tale and sadly for me, I just did not engage with it to the same depth. I cannot in all honesty say that this was due to bad performances because each performer was wonderful. The stepsisters sang beautifully, their father although a cad was perfectly portrayed, the prince's servant was a delight and although to my mind the prince was a drip, he was played beautifully. Angelina was performed wonderfully by Tara Erraught, her voice a perfect mix of power and beauty and I am sure that in other productions I would have sat in rapture just to hear her sing. The costumes were fabulously fun, reminding me in style of those wonderful old films such as The Wizard of Oz or even Labyrinth.

But despite all of this, I just really struggled to engage with the show. I cannot in good conscience tell you that this was it was badly performed because it absolutely wasn't, but for me it was too light, too happy, too... er, fairy tale! The reason I listen to Black Metal is because I love the power of something so brutal, so visceral, so dark. In contrast, this show is a chocolate box filled to the brim with soft centred, two dimensional characters, some of whom are shown to be villains but without any actual evil to their substance. Yet it seems I need that evil, I crave the darkness and brutality in the substance. When I see a child being beaten and disowned by her family, I want to see the perpetrators leaving the stage in irons, on their way to the gallows, weeping their last tears in shame and fear. I want the desolation and the horror. This I think says more about me than it does the show because I am clearly a very bad person and I know this to be true because even at La Traviata, I found myself laughing during the terribly sad death scene of Violetta!

Both of these operas are wonderfully performed by a cast that truly give it their absolute best, the live music played a professional orchestra is worth the ticket price alone and to be honest I am just being a spoilt brat by saying that I preferred one show over another because they are both wonderful. Thursday evenings performance was thoroughly enjoyable to hear and completely mesmerising to view. The surtitles on the screen above the stage for both shows were intermittent, but whether this is through design or accidental failure, I couldn't say. The story of each was easy enough to follow anyway even without the words above. It has never struck me as a problem that even though I do not speak Italian, the operas are performed in this language. Also La Traviata may be a little dark for the first time opera goer who wants the brighter and more vibrant if ultimately slightly more shallow experience of Cinderella. For me, this was as Goth and dark as any Black Metal gig, it had the heart break, it had the despair, the only real difference is that in this opera, religion is seen as a good thing and God is praised by the characters, rather than derided. With an open mind and a desire to feel the music, not just listen to it, operas such as these are both soul enhancing and in some instances heart breaking and I cannot recommend a visit to the Welsh National Opera enough. Do check them out through November in the Bristol hippodrome, because just like me, you will not regret it.