Tales From The Land of Tigers

A beautiful game.

I've always believed that Genshin's biggest strength was its environments. Here you are, free to explore every corner of a region, unearth its mysteries & culture, meet new friends and best mighty foes. It almost feels like close-up magic how the story tells itself as you discover a region for yourself. Your own way. 

The music envelops you as you play, from heart-pumping percussion to solemn strings signifying a former civilization that once stood where you were. It's an amazing experience to say the least. 

Back then, we only had two regions.

Mondstadt, inspired by Germanic Europe & Liyue, inspired by the port cities of China. In these sprawling cities, you began hearing tales of another region. One across the ocean. A region no one dared to enter, ruled by a terrifying shogun. As murmurs grew stronger, you couldn't help but wonder what such a region would look like. 

There was this odd feeling of wanting to see it, yet doubt of whether you were ready. But we did. And it was unforgettable. 

I remember the day Inazuma was released. I had just finished my internship as a 6th semester student in uni, so you could say I was in a life-changing phase of my life. So getting to travel to a new region was all the more exciting and daunting. Emphasis on daunting. 

We first arrive at Ritou, a small port town full of merchants and traders. And right from the get-go, there was this sensational thrill and anticipation. Being greeted with the shakuhachi (a Japanese flute) along with a koto (Japanese zither instrument), instruments we've never heard yet told us that we were in unfamiliar territory. 

And unfamiliar is an understatement. 

I was in no rush to leave the port or get to the capital. I was set on gawking at every bit of detail I could find to fully take in Inazuman culture and learn what I could. As day turned to night, and we continued hearing tales of this ever-watchful shogun ruling over the land, there was this odd sense of...dread. 

Before this, we've been exploring fully familiar lands. Nothing could jump at you. Or even worse...kill you. But here, it felt like like the complete opposite. Beyond the beautiful plains, Shinto shrines, and serene foxes was a coarse, rugged land. Jagged cliffs hid strange ruin creatures. Rogue ronin leapt out at every corner. And you started to wonder..."why is it always raining?"

Each lash of lightning felt eerily targeted towards you. 

It was a feeling I haven't felt in a game for awhile. 

Suspense. 

Run

After traversing the land, anxious, yet excited, we finally arrive at Inazuma City. And right away, a multitude of emotions encircled me. It felt like arriving in a new country for the first time. There was so much to take in.

Sakura petals dancing around. Japanese street food. The absolutely breathtaking traditional Japanese music. Oh, I remember stumbling into this kimono store and being so enamoured that I spent 10 minutes just staring at all the designs.

a teppanyaki-like restaurant too!

Right then and there I decided I wasn't going to do anything else other than admiring and appreciating every bit of richness they put into this beautiful region. But, that was back then. Inazuma first released in July 2021. And at the time of writing this, it is now the 21st of August 2022. A whole year has passed since then, and looking back at an experience from the perspective of someone who has experienc(ed) is peculiar indeed. 

That is to say, back then we didn't know what was next. Where the story was gonna go. Who was gonna show up. But now, here I am writing this at the very end of our journey in Inazuma. 

I won't go over the full details of the story, in fact that are many more major places that I didn't have time to write about like:

Yashiori Island with the remains of the great serpent, Orobashi

Watatsumi Island, land of the divine priestess

and right below it, the lost civilization of Enkanomiya

Not to mention all the new characters we've met along the way. Perhaps we'll go over them another time. But for now, remember how we talked about how the Shogun wanted eternity for her nation? So what happened in the end? After fearsome battles, fierce duels, and a visit from an old friend, the mighty Raiden Shogun discovered that the only true eternity was...

change.

Change was the only constant thing, a inevitable, threatening force. But she learned to welcome change, nurture it, and let it sweep her nation with a newfound sense of freedom and free will. In the end, Inazuma did become a nation of eternity, fostered by the eternal love of their ruler. 

With every new region's release, a significant amount of time will have passed. In this case, a year. I'm still just a newborn when it comes to adulthood. It's scary how fast I reached this phase, jobs, rent, marriage, all things that seemed so distant now right at your doorstep. 

So every region not only has me reflecting on my experiences with the game, but also, how much my life has changed since the last region. I've changed as a person. People I used to play Genshin with have left. Met a lot of new ones too! 

All in all, despite how much changes, Genshin Impact will forever have that one precious sense of wanderlust, the appreciation for what has been, and anticipation for what has yet to be. And that, is a beautiful eternity. 

See you in Sumeru, dear travellers

Coming Dew

    “Tell me child, what do you see?” asked the mother. The child gazed upon the deep, lustrous darkness of the sky. Stars danced along twinkling paths, akin to his beaming eyes. But the sheer vastness of the night turned his face a pale grey. “Do not fear” calmed the mother. “This is the sky. In the morning, she hugs them with her warmth. At night, they sleep soundly in her blanket”. The child felt relieved knowing someone with such stature was their friend. His eyes widened once more. “Mama, what about them?” he asked, pointing to a myriad of shapes and figures below. “Yes, even the animals are loved by her. And they love her too” she said in a dulcet voice. A strong gale shoved them without permission and sent them hurdling past the lagoon below and above the misty ocean. “Ow!” cried the child. The mother embraced him once more. “You are safe”. “Who was that?” rang the child.

Art by Loish

Cosmic trees. They sway in the wind, dropping precious stars from their branches, each a emitting brilliant crimson. The ground beneath her was red in colour, but unlike the trail of blood she was following, it was violent. Long thin trails here and there, small puddles her boots would splosh in. But other than that, there were birds, purple and blue, each with four wings, gazing down on her from the treetops so they were pretty cute. "Air's getting thin" she whispered. The forest opened up to a field of red stargrass, each blade ever so delicate as they danced to the tune of the wind. Ellery summoned her spear. A dash of kaleidoscopic colours rushed around her arm, forming a magnificent pear-white spear ending in a blade that appears to be in the shape of a lambda. 

"I know you're here" she exclaimed. Silence. A comet the size of a baseball flew straight at her! She tilted her head. The comet brushed past. Except, it stopped mid-air. It turned 360° straight at her once more. This time Ellery twirled her spear. The comet continued to dart around her like an annoying fly. "You really think your little meatball here's enough?" Ellery stuck her spear into the ground and leapt in the air, kicking the comet away. It flew a good distance. This time, it started revolving around an obscure figure. "Csceny". A swirl of gold starlight revealed the dashing figure. Long raging blonde hair, tucking away a pristine face with looks of delightful schemes. His black coat was adorned with fur, the seams of which were traced by gold starlight. "My my, what is little celery doing out in these parts?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "The village nearby, where did you take them?" Csceny was busy twirling his comet, not meeting her furious gaze. "Oh those guys?" he made a finger gun and pointed it towards Ellery. "killed em". Her eyes widened. As horrid as they were, the Zodiac Corps would never take the lives of innocents, let alone those who lived on the outskirts of the city. Besides, killing them beat the whole purpose of their slave stratagem. "Relax" he said. "I shot them all in one go, pow! Straight through the heart!" he said firing his finger gun. "Oh you should've seen the little ones, they were awful. Their height difference messed up my accuracy. But what do sticks and stones have against a Zodiac's Opus?" She felt a weight tug at her throat. "That village was classified non-participating. They did nothing but hunt animals and create pottery to sell to the city. You're telling me the Zodiac Corp sent their ugliest guy to kill all those people?" His gaze finally met hers. "I don't expect a girl like you to understand" said Csceny brushing his hair. 

"Then where are the bodies?" asked Ellery. "Ah, you see umm-" the comet fell into his hand. "I can't tell you". Ellery gripped her spear. "You will". Csceny smiled. "Now now celery, you know pointing your Opus, if you can call it that, at a member of the Zodiac Corp is major offense". Something was off. Ellery's rose pink hair felt as if it was floating. The sky lost its colour, replaced by a faint layer only observable to keen eyes. "Y-you" she said, struck with realization. Csceny wore a different aura. "In addition to the purging of Ragako Village". His feet left the ground. "I was also given another task". The comet spun around him with blazing speed. "If you see Ellery Hunter". His eyes were merely black spaces. "kill her".

NEXT CHAPTER: Commander of the Libra Opus, Csceny

Thanks for reading!

In the year 2011 B.C. (before covid), I started my very first journal. I could've gone digital at the time, but I thought that if everything was hand-written, it'd be more personal. I could draw, I could change the font willy-nilly. And above all, it'd just be cooler to hold a physical piece of time in your hands. 

I was 12 back then. And the world was very very different. At least, my world was different. Being 21 now, I realised that the world is always the same. As the adage goes, "history repeats itself". There'll always be controversy, struggle, tears,   and   celebration, achievements, and laughter. The difference is whether you perceive the former more than the latter, or vice versa. God when did I become such an academic doofus in my writing. 

I mean looking back, I used to write every meticulous detail using words like frickin or holy shinx (as in the Pokémon).  My entries were always headed by a title, the date and time, the chapter number and just a super long description of why I like pizza or something. 

Look at me now, justifying paragraphs and stuff.

But yeah reader, as you probably notice in my blog I haven't written in a long time. In fact, I've only completed two journals between 2012 and 2017. I figured it was worth it for future Syafiq to be able to look back and be like "woahhhh, I forgot this happened". That, and maybe I could publish my journals and make BIG BUCKS MUAHAHAHHA *ok no sorry 

And then....everything just stopped. Life changed. Or did I change? Huh, look at that. I wrote four paragraphs already. By now, I'd read everything again and backspace it all into non-existence. But I feel like, right here, at the edge of 2021, I'll light a lantern and send it off. 

Just to see what happens y'know. I'll talk more about this in my next entry. If you're reading this far, then man...you are amazing. I really appreciate it, cuz I understand why they say pay attention y'know. It ain't cheap. So again, thank you. 

Righto, let's begin. Welcome, dear reader, to Decemberland! 

December. Throughout my entire life, the month of December felt like it held an extremely special place in my heart. And I couldn't quite pinpoint exactly why. Last month of the year? Hype for next years' games and movies? A step closer to flying cars? ("what's that Elon?......whaddya mean 'already built'??")

We tend to go into December thinking bout January. What a babe, that January. Cuz man, the next year seems real promising I tell ya. A blank canvas just screams success, a plethora of new experiences. 5...4...3...2...1....

H A P P Y  N E W  Y E A-

BAM! Loss, betrayal, everything you said you were gonna do didn't happen. This year sucked, but that's okay cuz we got next year. Such is the vicious cycle many of us fall prey to. "Damn Syafiq, might as well call this post *sparkle* Depressionland *sparkle*". Okay, I think it's time for me to confess.

*Ahem*

What you're reading now isn't the real post. Alright, plot twisttttt. Wow this is like Doofenshmirtz and his flashbacks. "Decemberland" is actually very very different. It all started on the eve of December, November 30th. I was lying in bed productively sleeping as all 21 year olds do. And it was that time of year again where I felt like doing something different in my life. So I stayed up after Subuh, came up with a blogpost idea to revive the site, and started working on the poster all morning. 

I was proud. It had been months since I had embarked on a project like this. I started writing and writing but....none of it had the same flare. The same zeal. The same oomph as my previous entries. I wrote and erased, again and again. As I was writing, ghosts of insults-past swirled around my room. 

"I think its mediocre"

"I don't get it"

"It's too long"

Granted, these were valid pieces of criticism. But instead of a bulletproof vest, I felt like I donned a sheet of A4 paper. 

Days go by. I visit the blog occasionally, but to no avail. Weeks. And so Decemberland was folded and tucked into the place where all my unfinished projects went. Life went on, assignments, friends, occasional outings- 

"Woah woah woah, you went out during Covid???"

.....okay "mental" outings *crosses fingers*. But the thought lingered in the back of my mind. I had to tell my story. I had to show the world what December meant to me. So with a jolt of energy, I slammed my fingers onto the keyboard and did it. Decemberland was born!.....as a Twitter thread. This one. 

It was over. I had encompassed everything I wanted to say in that thread. The splendor and wonder of Christmas, getting lost in starry-eyed ideas and possibility, the dichotomy of something ending and something else beginning. It was perfect. 

And yet...I wasn't happy

Why? It didn't make sense. I did it. I mean...I didn't get to use the poster but I did it right? The thought lingered in my head. During my online classes, in the middle of gaming sessions with a bunch of friends, even amidst all the laughter, Decemberland never left my mind. Was I crazy?....okay don't answer that

Fast forward till today. This very moment. 11:16PM on New Years Eve. It took me a whole year to finally, truly, write from the inner depths of my heart. Dear reader, I am hereby making a solemn vow, that I will write by the beauty of the pen, and the wonders of the mind. The follies of the heart, and the world that is sublime. ape bende hang cakap ni

You see...every single draft that never got published in my blog was because I felt like I was writing wrong. No one would read this. No one would care. And if they did read it, they wouldn't like it. 

I felt alone. 

And the world didn't want that. Just look at everyone outside, having a blast with their lives. Why can't I just be normal and not think so much. But now, in this window of time, do I realise that though the writer says goodbye, the pen must never die. I invalidated my own struggles simply because I felt like I shouldn't be this weak. I shouldn't care about writing so much. I shouldn't let something so trivial like this make me down in the dumps. 

But you know what? I believe every struggle should be recognised. Every tear is valuable. And every story is worth hearing. Those things were uttered to me before, but it was as though I was an upside-down cup amidst a curtain of rain. I can never go back to the days I was a kid. That sucks. But I gotta keep moving forward. It took New Years for me to finally publish a piece of my heart. Something that I had written for me, without thinking about every single reader who's gonna read this.

Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are things we can't see -Polar Express (2004)

And that's the end dear reader. If you read this far, then I hope at least a smidget of what I had written benefitted you or at least entertained you hahaha *awkward silence* 

No but for rea-eh...lupa besarkan. No but for real though, thank you for reading this far. Future blog posts won't be this confusing, like it's one thing, but then it's actually another. If I keep this up Christopher Nolan might call me.

Man I feel like I invited a guest into my messy home (╥﹏╥ ). This was such an unorthodox post. I usually start with the poster, but I went for a picture instead. But I'm glad I got something out. Phew,11:50pm, just in the nick of time.

Anyhoo, who knows what the next year will hold. But whatever it is, I'm looking forward to it. I got WAAAAY more stories and tales to share with you guys about all sorts of things. Also, I am planning on re-writing my novel that I lost back in 2013 hahah

"....what"

That's a story for another day xD. Until next time, peace! Oh and here's the link to the real Decemberland post in case you missed it.