*PINK CADILLAC. @aribraganca - Tumblr Blog

VOLTA ! DEBUTS AS #1 NEW RELEASE

new york, ny — penguin random house is proud to debut a collection of short stories by newly discovered author: s.t fausto. the dreamlike exploration of meaning was featured in an excerpt of the titular short story published in the new yorker’s november 1st issue, to critical acclaim. a contemplative and visionary search for the meaning behind loss and happiness, fausto describes her debut book as six short stories that explores a particular emotion in minute detail. the act of examining a morsel of truth and thought so that it might extend into the depths of feeling.

the titular story; volta ! examines the feeling of love, and lack thereof. despite so; it is not a love story. a woman falls contemplative after the swift demise of her two-year-long relationship, only to fall in love at the very first sight a week after. which prompts the question: is it real? in her desperation, she begins a dream-like conversation with essayist roland barthes in moments of solitude, of whom guides her journey into being confronted by the truth.

volta ! is 256 pages, with two language versions: english and italian, both written by the author. it is now available in ebook and print versions, at amazon, barnes and noble, and wherever books are sold.

about the author: sabina tertina fausto is both a painter and writer, who enjoys starless nights and early mornings. she is not based anywhere, but more often than not, she could be found in rome. the illustration on the cover of her debut novel is said to have been a self-portrait, as she believes in the art of hiding in plain sight.

#hshqtabloid #i made that edit months ago finally i can use it!!!#anw hi wld u like a starter?#icb i forgot to post this when she got accepted lmao

beaudebelgique

"the university? or the hospital? or parliament?" hadn't he done it all? gone and turned into a proper little representative for his family in a way he had simply never expected, and he thinks the people around him felt the same. disbelief in his sudden stepping up had been all too common in the belgian court. everyone seemed to be under the impression he would never grow up, he thinks his parents shared that thought too, and he wondered what they would think of him now. "she's a belgian countess. her father needed to be brought back into the fold. i'm the sacrificial lamb if you will." the smile he flashed her was tight, terse, he wondered if she still recognised when he was struggling to produce a genuine smile. "she's awful. i've had one dinner with her and i faked stomach problems to leave." but it was too late to reneg on the deal, a ring had been brought from the vaults, a photoshoot scheduled. "i just," he sighed and looked up at her. "i wanted to make it clear to you that this isn't a rebound or... i don't even know. it isn't anything. i wish it wasn't happening at all."

aribraganca

she smiled, slightly — it had all looked so impressive when he lined them all like that, and now an influential countess! it's just as well, perhaps, ariel will never make a particularly proper political wife. "ah..." her smile vanished, the expression upon beau's face was enough to tug painfully at her heartstrings. "you can't fake stomach problems during an entire marriage, it's supposed to be a liftetime, you know." she tried to crack a grin, a poor attempt in making light of the situation. the attempt was abandoned as quickly as it was started. "it's— no, you don't need to think about me in this." she shook her head, placing her mug down upon her coffee table and making a move to sit closer to him. "this is your life, your future... is there—" ariel hesitated, wondering if the question was even worth asking out loud. "—there isn't any other way? wouldn't your sister understand?"

#*leopold scg.#*leopold 23

beaudebelgique

he resisted the urge to reach out and hold her hand, old habits certainly died hard. "hm, well enough considering." could one be good after becoming an orphan, dealing with his little sister's health scares and still having to project a happy front to the world? he wondered when, if, the world would ever be kind to him again. "you know me, i keep myself occupied," when he's busy he doesn't have to think. beau held onto his mug like it was a lifeline, alternating between watching the steam billow from the coffee, and watching ariel, hoping words would spring to mind that would make this conversation easier. but she was the writer, and he was hardly eloquent. "i'm engaged," the words tumbled from his mouth, and then it was there, laid out on the table. "you deserved to know first, before the news breaks. and you deserve to hear it from me, in person." he took to busying himself, instead of looking at her, he sipped his coffee, fixed his collar, and then looked up at her again. "it's not... i didn't choose this."

aribraganca

he looked older, somehow, as if he had aged into a man she no longer recognised within the time they've been apart. the boyish smile he once wore felt a little mismatched to the sharp features he now had. it squeezed her heart in the way she thought she would never feel again. "i saw you at the— um... there was an article about you opening the— ..." she racked her brain for something she hadn't fully erased after reading. although she could muster up another word, his revelation rushed upon her like a particularly vicious wave in an otherwise calm sea. "oh!" what else is there to say? ariel had to set down her mug, worried that her shaking fingers might spill the coffee. "oh..." it was an unfortunate reality of their world, but it doesn't make things any less difficult. "congratulations, i... suppose... well—" ariel ran her fingers through her hair. "did your sister have to... i thought that there are better ways to do politics nowadays." she stayed silent for a few moments before continuing. "who is it?"

#*leopold scg.#*leopold 23

beaudebelgique

it was a strange situation to fly to a new continent to discuss his relationship status with his ex. how was he meant to even begin broaching the conversation? all he knew was that it was, if nothing else, an in-person conversation. there was no respectful way to tell his ex-girlfriend that he had a fiancée over the phone. so, it wasn’t even a question, he got on a jet and he flew to casablanca, to the program, to her. “i didn’t know if you’d take my call.” he could have told biel, he could have asked araya to tell her, he could have done a million things, but none felt right. “thank you, it was a long flight, i came here right off the plane.” beau followed after her awkwardly, how was it that they once lived together, hardly separating, and now he felt like an outsider again in her home. “how have you been? are you well?”

aribraganca

she would, and probably mumble awkwardly throughout the call — it was an unfortunate reality that made her wince pronouncedly. "yes... well, as well as someone could be after..." one abduction was too much for a lifetime, let alone two! "pretty well, considering. and you've been alright, haven't you?" truthfully, everything she had heard about him had not been of her own choice. an offhand comment from biel, or an article regarding central european politics with him on the cover photo that appeared on her feed. "keeping busy, looks like." it was his excuse, wasn't it? ariel handed him a mug of steaming coffee, and sat gingerly upon her sofa with her own. "so... what's up? are you just visiting... erm— araya? biel?"

#*leopold scg.#*leopold 23

APRIL 2024

"oh." she hadn't pictured him in the threshold of her casablanca villa. it was one of the few places in the programme that hadn't been infused with the memory of him — somehow she thought that she would be safe in this place that she claimed for her own. "when they told me i had a visitor, i didn't think that it would be you..." it had been close to a year since they've seen each other in person, and enough time for her to feel as if she could face him again. however, the mere thought did not prepare her for the actual man standing before her — ariel suddenly realised that she did not feel anywhere close to ready, at all. "come in, i'll . . . i was making coffee, i'll pour you a cup." @beaudebelgique

#*leopold scg.#*leopold 23

" sooo — when are you telling people? you're not showing yet, so if you need me to drink all of this champagne for you, just say the word. " ( @barbiebraganca )

#*barbie b.#*barbie 29 #*event: 45

blazcj

" christ, don't eat that, " blažej told the other, taking the cocktail bite out of their hand. " i don't know why they're serving these, these are... really bad. " ( &. @hshqstarters )

aribraganca

" oh? " she didn't even know what she had picked up — only that it looked more colourful than the rest. " i have to say the presentation was the one that did it for me — which one should i have instead? " ( @blazcj )

#*event: 45

ariel de bragança at the wine tasting party

#hshqevent042 #*event: 42

barbiebraganca:

- ‘ JESUS, NO. why would i ? ’ she couldn’t jump from civil conversations with the man straight to asking whether his wife was carrying another man’s child or not. they weren’t that close even in their closest days. ‘ it sure will be one of the biggest scandals the royal times has ever published about but, what’s that saying- ’ the nail on her index finger tapped against her leg a few times like that would help her remember. ‘ if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. that’s the one. ’

god — she wanted to know the truth more than anything! “please tell me you can get to the bottom of this...” scandal was ten million times more pleasing when it happened to someone that deserved it, and one could argue very easily that arnauld d’orleans surely does. “or at least, i hope this gets out somehow, the full story might be a lot worse than we think. did mathilde hear anything else?”

#*barbie b.#*barbie 28

barbiebraganca:

- ‘ THERE’S NO way to know why it happened unless you ask either of them. ’ and she doubted anyone would have the courage to do so. ‘ i think it was after the second moving around. matilde said it was just the three of them in the room: the men fighting and her watching. maybe they were thinking this might’ve been their last chance to put clean plates on the table. ’ people had different reactions to being in harmful situations. ‘ perhaps he simply think he untouchable and none of this would ever weight on him in the grand scheme of things. or he simply does not care. ’

that made sense. people could do ridiculous things when they thought they were going to die. “are you going to talk to levente about it?” surely her sister could get to the bottom of things. “this could really be bad to everyone involved... it’s only a matter of time until everyone knows, it’s inevitable.”

#*barbie b.#*barbie 28

aurcls:

“ i’m just saying… ” he shrugged. he wasn’t just saying but he had been curious to see ariel’s reaction. if there was something rotten, the details had not reached ari. “ yeah, a quarter of them are dead. ”

she felt guilty immediately, and her frown transformed into a light grimace. “sorry i didn’t mean to—” she placed a hand on aurel’s arm and gave him a little squeeze, in what she hoped was as comforting gesture. “it’s really a horrible situation for everyone to be in... i honestly can’t understand how some people could see their staff get killed right in front of them and still get into a fist fight because of some personal drama...” in the middle of a kidnapping ! it would be more shocking for her if it wasn’t for the exact root of the conflict. “—i mean... i don’t blame levente croÿ, the french king breaking his sister’s heart is one thing but him ruining his marriage is definitely something else. but still ! people just died...”

#*aurel h.#*aurel 06

barbiebraganca:

- ‘ WHAT DO you mean that horrible ? did you hear he’s been horrible to her at all ? ’ she’d ignore the fact ariel chose to not share this piece of information with her. but now, adding it to the pieces she already knew, the entire thing made even more sense. ‘ i have no idea. i think levente is far too cautious to not claim the child as his this far into the pregnancy. i also don’t believe arnauld would want a scandal as big as his first born being a bastard with a married woman. ’ there was also the chance that none of the parties involved was certain of who the father really was and that’s what caused the animosity between the two men. ‘ the french’s relationship with that family’s really truly twisted. i mean, we all have preferences but is there even anyone in his dating history that does not have croÿ as a surname ? karyna, fanni, now ines. i’d sure be sleeping with one eye open if i were thore glücksburg now that we know being married isn’t a deal breaker for arnauld. ’

“no no— i don’t mean it like that... it’s just ines really isn’t the type of person who would just cheat on her husband just because ! ” there must be a good enough reason, shouldn’t it? “mio dio... when did this actually happen? shouldn’t they be way too preoccupied with being... — y’know — to actually think about things like that?” technically, they could be shot dead in any moment. in hindsight, it was too shockingly easy for their captors to kill the emperor of china, surely shooting down european monarchs would not be too difficult a feat. ariel shook her head, still turning the information over and over in her mind. “that’s so... weird. i don’t—” she heaved a deep breath. “—why is he so careless?”

#*barbie b.#*barbie 28

barbiebraganca:

- ‘ THEY’RE FOUR ! ’ walking and talking. ‘ all these people pregnant and having babies around us are making me miss all of it and i’m thirty-four now, if i want another, it will have to be by next year at best. i do not want to be responsible for a toddler at forty. ’ she wouldn’t have the energy for it. as her sister showed interest in hearing the gossip, barbie rushed to sit next to ariel so she could share the details of a story she wished she had witnessed instead of just hearing about. ‘ well, just know if you see a big bruise on arnauld d’orléans’ jaw, pax aeterna had nothing to do with it. in fact, that was caused by levente croÿ’s fist. and, given what was said before and after said punch was thrown, we’re ninety-eight percent sure it was because his majesty is having an affair with ines. he mentioned something about bringing her to france and everything. ’

technically, it made perfect sense. despite so ariel marvelled at just how big her little niece and nephew had grown! however, the excitement of yet another little one to coddle was suddenly replaced by a different excitement altogether. “oh... my—” her mouth fell open, wide blues blinking slowly. this wasn’t just any bit of gossip— this has the potential to topple an entire royal dynasty off their throne! “that’s... horrible! i mean, i can’t believe ines would actually do that! has levente been that horrible to her?” her sister was close with him, surely she would know if he was secretly an asshole. “is levente going to tell everyone that the kid is his? or... arnauld d’orleans technically isn’t married so he could— oh my god!” she shrieked, eyes widening with renewed shock as she gripped her sister’s arm. “he used to be engaged to levente’s sister! ines’ sister-in-law! that’s so twisted...”

#*barbie b.#*barbie 28

barbiebraganca:

- ‘ THAT’S GOOD. ’ constant headaches was far more than just a minor inconvenience. barbara shook her head softly while placing the glass on the counter. ‘ i don’t. probably trying to get information from him. no, he’s a tiny yet quite significant part of a much bigger international security problem. ’ and she had little to no interest in seeing the man’s face again. ‘ i’ll make sure you’ll be the first they visit when they arrive. i, uhm… been thinking of trying for another but now i’m not quite sure anymore. just thinking of being in another of these situations and pregnant is terrifying. ’ the words reminded her of something else. ‘ oh, ariel, you will not believe what matilde witnessed. ’

“another?!” as far as ariel was concerned, there was no such thing as too many children in one family, as such, another little bragança baby could only be yet another blessing. the smile upon her face was radiant as a hand beckoned fervently for her sister to come nearer. “it feels like you just had the twins yesterday...” she had remembered just how little eva was when she held her in her arms for the first time. “hm? like— ...during the—” she bit down a frown, not quite comfortable in trying to say the word ‘kidnapping’ out loud. it had been a while since that word felt quite that heavy. “—...what did she see?”

#*barbie b.#*barbie 28

barbiebraganca:

- ‘ SO THE headaches have diminished, at least ?! ’ she asked, walking towards ariel’s kitchen to get herself a glass of water. ‘ i never imagined having multiple meetings with interpol agents before. ’ and her entire staff under investigation. ‘ i don’t know how much he knows but he calls every other hour now, it’s– ’ she sighed. ‘ he’d probably be less shaken if i’d allowed them to come earlier but i didn’t want them here while i was still handling all of that. they should be here in a couple days. ’

“yeah... i mean they barely come up anymore.” she shrugged, blinking up at her sister from her position on her couch. it was the ultimate violation; the thought of allowing this snake into their garden — he was just one step away from sinking his poisonous fangs into their family. “what is he... do you know what they’re doing to him? will we be prosecuting him?” the mention of the kids caused a flutter of a smile to appear upon her lips. “i can’t wait until they’re here again. it’ll make things more normal, right? the faster we get back into our routines the more we wont have time to dwell... outside of therapy, that is.” it wasn’t every day that she found herself more knowledgable than her sister!

#*barbie b.#*barbie 28

barbiebraganca:

- ‘ HOW’S THE head ? ’ she’d always be happy to have ariel just across the street, where it would take barbara less than a minute to reach her. ‘ sorry i didn’t come sooner, i’ve been kind of busy with– well, everything. ’ dealing with one of your guards being a terrorist wasn’t an easy thing. / @aribraganca

she waved a hand around. “it’s fine, technically. they just keep telling me to be careful.” it certainly didn’t do anything to alleviate her fear. a tentative smile instinctively came upon her lips. “no, no, don’t apologise. i understand it’s—” unprecedented, and strange. no one quite knows how to act when it was just ariel, and now it is multiplied tenfold. “—anyway. how are the kids? the twins wouldn’t know but... dani?”

#*barbie b.#*barbie 28

aurcls:

“ how well do you know your aunt ? like do you really know her ? i’m just saying someone should maybe look into her. didn’t she recommend the crazy dude to your sister ? ” ( &. @aribraganca )

“watch it...” her little frown was only a touch disapproving, although her face paled at the mere thought. “crazy people fall through the cracks! the programme fucking up and literally driving us into pax aeterna is even worse... have you checked all of your guards?”

#*aurel h.#*aurel 06

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

*PINK CADILLAC.