Period-piece Stories

A continued saga -- The Kebaya, a classic in design only, for the execution of every line and fold were transcendent. Malayan heritage elevated to high fashion-marking them as the artisans responsible for this transformation of tradition into art. "Good heavens," one British matron whispered to her companion, her voice carrying more shock than admiration. "The Princess is wearing village clothing to a Christmas Ball." "Village clothing?" The retort came from a French diplomat's wife, whose Parisian gown suddenly felt ordinary. "My dear, look closer. Clearly an artisan's hand was behind that. Look at the weave-those motifs aren't printed, they're sung into the fabric. It hugs her like it was born on her skin, yet flows like the ocean itself. That's not provincial. It's haute couture at its finest." The first woman's face flushed as she realized her designer gown, for all its European sophistication, had been rendered invisible by the Princess's confident embrace of her own heritage. Around them, other guests were beginning to take notice, conversations dying as heads turned to follow the royal party's progress across the marble floor. When reporters from the Singapore Free Press approached the Princess with notebooks and cameras ready, she smiled with the particular satisfaction of someone whose calculated risk had paid dividends beyond her expectations. "Your Highness, your ensemble tonight is quite... distinctive. Stunning, I might add. Would you tell our readers about your choice?" The Princess's smile deepened as she gestured gracefully toward Swee Eng and Mei Ying. "These remarkable artisans said something to me yesterday that I shall never forget. They told me, 'We create what our hearts know to be true.' Tonight, I wear the truth of who we are-not an imitation of who others think we should become."

A continued saga , part 3. -- He spoke fluent Bahasa with the coolies, his tone clipped, official. Then he switched to English for the British clerk beside him, instructing him to jot something down. The change was so smooth it unsettled even those accustomed to hearing two tongues at once. The dockworkers answered his questions, but their voices carried the careful neutrality of men who knew too much was dangerous. They kept their eyes down-until Kai appeared. It began quietly. A spine straightening here, a head lifting there. Then it spread. Men who had slouched under questioning now stood taller. Dockhands turned their faces toward Van Der Berg instead of away. Even sailors from neighboring wharves drifted closer, silent, watchful. No one spoke, but the current had shifted. Van Der Berg felt it immediately. The air seemed to press differently against his collar. He looked up, and there was Kai Sung-pale eyes steady, still as stone, watching. The Dutchman had never met him, yet recognition was instant. Not European, not local, but unmistakably the man who commanded this wharf.

Mr. Sunshine fanfiction | Romance, Angst, Smut | Gu Dong-Mae in a very alternate universe, made to let him enjoy some life in peace ♥ | Paired with a Western lady, for obvious reasons (me), who might just offer him a way out of his not-so-great existence. WIP, so we'll see :P, but the draft is going in that direction so far. It was supposed to be a short one-shot, but the narrative demanded a much slower burn due to the very different backgrounds of the couple. | This is being written purely for my satisfaction, as I'm obsessed with Gu Dong-Mae atm, with an appendix of hope that it might satisfy someone else, too. I'm new to K-drama and still have a very faint understanding of how their society works (and worked in the past), so please omit any inacuracies. I'll get better as I continue studying this exciting culture :). Trigger warnings always mentioned at the beginnings of chapters containing them. (I don't write stuff with heavy triggers, but I'll still warn you to be safe.)

Western Living Women...WLW...yea they're gay. Sally was a preacher's daughter, Jezebel was an outlaw on the run. Only the lord could guess what happens when the two cross paths on a Western Ranch. All chapter titles are songs that correspond with the chapter. Listen to the entire playlist here -> Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4SFA0dkvKUTESXiyiiv4mb?si=__7FzC4PTN2_0n-It6V-uw&nd=1

People who are lost have a way of finding each other. It's remarkable really, how bad you can be at taking care of yourself, but be just what someone else needs to survive. Ms. Jane of Cherry Hill learns this when a simple downtown visit puts her in the path of three wayward boys on the streets of Victorian England. Each of them with their own talents and needs, each looking for something they've never had a name for. Home. Can she give it to them? Or will they be the ones to finally make that word a reality for her?

Christian Romance. Alice and Caleb meet by chance.

Lord Lyndsay is dying from an exotic disease. His two children Lydia and James are identical twins and are 17 years old. Upon their father’s death British law states that the estate goes to the eldest son. Therefore, the son inherits everything and his daughter will get nothing, or next to nothing. James hates country life, finding it so restricting. He wants to be wild, explore, be free and have many adventures. James has a romantic idea about being a sailor, running away to sea, to be a Captain of a ship, however his father has strictly forbidden it and to reinforce his wishes Lord Lyndsay has written a special clause within his Last Will and Testament that if James should abandon his Lordly duties he would be automatically disinherited. James has a cunning plan, which involves convincing his sister to pretend to be him, which leads to all sorts of funny misunderstandings, embarrassments and trouble. Romance is out of the question if you are a girl pretending to be a boy. When Lydia is forced, by her wicked half Uncle Rupert, to visit their plantations in the Caribbean all sorts of adventures befall her; including ship wreck and evil pirates (who cannot read…). “Where there be pirates there be treasure an’ a killin’ an’ a thievin’...” “Pirates be the scum of the earth and the sea be the only mistress that is a willin’ to have us.” Her greatest challenge is when she discovers where her brother is and what her beloved father had been up to whilst visiting the Caribbean islands… Finally, James and Lydia must return home to celebrate their twenty first birthday before their wicked half Uncle Rupert discovers what James has been doing…

King Solomon once said, "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting". Welcome to the land of Umueze, where a lion is King. Many will look like an innocent flower, but they will be as the serpent beneath it. Dear reader, you have been warned.

What if you woke up one morning... and everything around you belonged to another century? One moment, I was moving through my mundane routine. The next, a mysterious silver box - and a cryptic warning - hurled me through time. All I ever wanted was a simple life: quiet, steady, normal. Instead, I've landed in a world where I hold no power, know no one, and understand nothing about the rules shaping every breath I take. To survive, I have to learn the laws of a world determined to silence me - and find a way home before it's too late, especially with a war on the horizon. But how do you change the course of history when you barely understand how it began? And just when I think things can't get any more complicated, a pair of ocean-blue eyes threatens to rewrite everything I thought I wanted. Can I return to the life I lost? Or will the past - and the man I was never meant to meet - change my future forever? Author's Note: For readers who crave time-travel romance, historical drama, and slow-burn love that keeps you up way past midnight - welcome. You're in the right place.