Hong-Long Journal: The Beginnings

03.04.1928

Zeuk-Wan said to keep a journal. She gave it to me for my fourteenth birthday yesterday. Zeuk-Yim gave me a new uniform. It is pretty cool. It has a fire emblem in it. Zeuk-Yim said to write "embroidered" and I don't know what that are strang. Ping-Kuen gave me a training bag. It sits in the courtyard and Zeuk-Yim and me I train with it.

Both Zeuk-Wan and Zeuk-Yim said to write every time I have thoughts. I don't think this little journal has enough space for my thoughts. Will I have to write in a fight? That is unreasonable.

...Zeuk-Yim smaked my head when I asked her that. She said why do you ask dumb questions. I don't.

[ 04.04.1928
- Embroider: to decorate clothing by sewing patterns on it with thread.
- You mean "strange," not "strang". You're stranger than I am...
- Nice job correcting yourself! Remember the trick I taught you.
- "smacked", not "smaked"
- The word "Why" means that a question is being asked. At the end, put a ? instead of a .
I'll check your journal until I think you write well enough, so try not to put too many embarrassing secrets. Or do!

Zeuk-Yim]


04.04.1928

To day is a very unlucky day. It is unlucky since four and death share the same pronunciation. It is a shame to day is so unlucky, because it is supposed to be sunny out to day. I don't understand why Zeuk-Yim wants me to write secrets. I don't really have anything to hide in here. Plus it wouldn't be a good place to hide since anyone can open it.

[04.04.1928
- "Today" not "to day".
- Writing down your thoughts and secrets can help you feel better. But you're right, anyone can open it. Perhaps we can put it in a place that only we can open?

Zeuk-Yim]


06.04.1928

I got yelled at by Zeuk-Yim today for forgetting a day in my journal. I honestly forgot it and i don't know why she is mad at me. Things are still very strange and northwest China is still in the middle of the famine. Also, the monsters from the war still remain. Many scientists are attempting to figure out where they came from but they seem to have been around since the ending of the Great War.

[07.04.1928
I was angry because if you do not write, you will not practice. Just as kung fu means "extra work", you have kung fok, you know!
- The famine is worrisome. I really hope our city can survive it but with all the children on the streets, we cannot feed everyone.
- Those monsters are terrifying. They are why my siblings and I need to learn martial arts: we must protect our city.

Zeuk-Yim]


07.04.1928

I saw a speckled softshell turtle in the Yangtze today. I was on a "nature" (it was in the city) walk with Zeuk-Yim and when she saw it she made a strang enoise and zipped off to the waters edge. I looked at it and it looked very cool. I wish that I was a turtle sometiems. Maybe then everything would be easier to deal with. The monsters are growing in number and it seems like everyday more and more people are disappearing.

[07.04.1928
- Zeuk-Wan loves giant softshell turtles. She will be disappointed she did not come along.
- Remember that for words, you need to write the pieces closer together. It should be "strange noise".
- A "water's edge" means that it's the edge of the water. Thus, the water is in possession (has) an edge, which means you need to write that it possesses that edge.
- "Sometimes", not "sometiems". Remember where the pieces go! If they change, it becomes another word.

Zeuk-Yim]



01.06.1929

We found one of the bodies of someone that had gone missing last week, He was found in a cave about 3.2 km outside of town. His chest cavity had been exposed and he was missing several organs and the flesh and bone looked gnawed upon. His eyes were glazed over in fear and anguish. The emotions attached to the site were also very dark and brooding. I believe it was one of the creatures the we have taken to calling "ying zi long" that killed the man we found.

[02.06.1929
Your writing has improved so much over the year. I am proud to have taught you so well (hehe).
- The comma in the first sentence should be a period since the sentence is finished there.
That guy was gross to look at. After today's meeting with Dad and my siblings about what to do with those wolves, I don't want to think about it anymore.

Zeuk-Yim]


02.06.1929

We managed to capture one of the wolves today. They are very interesting,: most of their body is composed of a strange material that begins to evaporate when they die. It is a very strange animal as it has the appearance of a wolf's shadow that has lifted itself off of the ground and attacked. Even stranger is the lack of any distinguishing characteristics, it has no eyes or mouth. This raises the question of how it eats and if it actually needs to. The lack of a mouth seems to suggest that they in fact don't need to eat and that they corpses are partially consumed means that they are doing so without any real purpose.

[02.06.1929
- "They" is not the right determiner for "corpses". You're looking for "the"
- I still don't understand how the wolves consume the corpses without the mouths… Ew.
Do you still want me to read the journals, now? Most of it is correct with only minor mistakes. It's up to you.

Zeuk-Yim]

[Yes, I would like it if you continued to look over my writing. It helps me retain the information.]


03.06.1929

Zeuk-Yim took me to a place in the city that she told me about to get me more clothing. It is probably a good thing considering the fact that my last set of combat gear got shredded in the hunt yesterday. I will say that it wasn't that bad going shopping with a woman: I don't know why other men make such a fuss about it. After that, Zeuk-Yim even brought me to a place to get more oils for maintaining my glaive. "As a present for going with her," apparently. Some may ask why I still use a melee weapon in an era of guns. To that, I simply say, I'm just that good.

[03.06.1929
You arrogant butt. ...Although you are good, so I guess I can't complain...
Shopping is fun! We need to use our money sparingly, though. Food is running quite low. I didn't see very many of the orphans that you used to lead around town. I hope they're all still alright…

Zeuk-Yim]

[Some are tough and resourceful enough to make it by.]


影子狼": ying zi long: "shadow, emotional darkness" - "wolf"
kung fok: homework (Homework and Kung Fu have the same root words, so basically "Kung Fu" means work outside of regular work, not "martial arts" like the Western world believes! (Thanks mom))


Phy: Dates were written as Day/Month/Year. So Hong-Long was born April 2nd, 1914! I figured it'd be easier for both us and you readers if we used the Western years for everything instead of using Lunar years as we would have.

This is fairly short (and a day late… sorry!) because we did a LOT of historical research. (We have, like, four new documents with our research on it…) The story is quickly becoming a historical fiction mixed with fantasy, not to mention a weird blend of Cantonese and Irish (with a tiny bit of Mandarin) cultures. I hope it piques your interests, because we're learning a lot and it's pretty cool. :)

Also, fun fact: I, Phy, am now questioning about my sexuality! Woohoooooooo~ yay for questions and not knowing my identity~ I figured since this story is basically half my baby and half Umbra's (our kid….?! O_o that got weird), I'd let y'all know. So if you're out there questioning, or (like I was) telling yourself that you're straight when you might not be, I am too! YAAAAAY.

This is fairly important, though, because I'm learning more about the sexuality spectrum. The kind of writer that I am, I want the story to be as accurate to history and experiences as possible. Thus, Yee's love life might have a lot more spice and drama than we'd originally planned...