| “ | If I can avoid doing annoying things, of course I will. I leave all that bothersome stuff for my future self. | ” |
Bio[]
A lazy young optimist with a serious procrastination problem who will stop at nothing to put off writing her drafts. She is ditzy and flighty and always has a silly smile on her face that people just can't stay mad at, but she's actually kind of cunning. When it comes to things she's not interested in, she can't be asked; but when she does care, she'll go all out and won't rest or eat till she gets to the bottom of it.
Food Introduction[]
Crispy-skinned squab is a famous Guangdong dish in the Cantonese cuisine canon. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, this squab is effective for cleansing the lungs and regulating qi. As cooking techniques developed, three methods of cooking it have formed: cooked and then fried, fried raw, and roasted.
Other Info[]
How to Acquire[]
Associated Events
- Harvest Diary (Crispy Squab)
- Wild Goose Letter
- Forest Chirping
- Deerdream
- Bizarre & Grotesque
- Moon Dance Shadows
- Spring Abounds
Initial Stats[]
 Soul Power
|
1718 |
|---|---|
 Attack
|
71 |
 Defense
|
13 |
 HP
|
435 |
 Crit Rate
|
1025 |
 Crit Dmg
|
876 |
 Atk Spd
|
1089 |
Skills[]
| Flying Book | Basic Skill | |
|---|---|---|
|
Crispy Squab buries her head in a book and writes, and a light glows around her, restoring 153 (1989) HP to the lowest-HP ally and boosting his/her ATK by 20% (36%), lasting 3 seconds. | |
| Letter Storm | Energy Skill | |
|
Crispy Squab shakes out her notebook, scattering pages into a cyclone that attacks the enemy, dealing 40% (80%) ATK as damage plus 251 (3263) extra damage to all enemies, while also silencing them, lasting 3 seconds. | |
| Super Letter Storm | Link Skill | |
|
Crispy Squab shakes out her notebook, scattering pages into a cyclone that attacks the enemy, dealing 60% (120%) ATK as damage plus 298 (3874) extra damage to all enemies, while also silencing them, lasting 3 seconds. | 
|
blue = lvl 1
red = max lvlVoice Lines[]
| JP | CN | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract | Woah—I have a premonition: Attendant, you are most certainly the most interesting person I've ever met! | ||
| Log In | You must be tired from all that running around out there, right? Why don't you come try out this new recliner I bought? Hee-hee, never sit down when you can lie down, am I right?[1] | ||
| Ice Arena | Ah-achoo! ...If I catch a cold... then do I not have to turn in my draft? | ||
| Skills | Let's get this over with! | ||
| Ascend | Wow~ Even more useful than eating sweets! | ||
| Fatigue | I'm so tired... Last night... I shouldn't have stayed up so late reading that novel... | ||
| Recovering | I don't think I'll be able to turn in this month's draft... | ||
| Team Formation | M-me? ...Alright, I'll just close my eyes and go for it...[2] | ||
| Knockout | Ouch — I guess... I'll just stay lying down then![3] | ||
| Notice | *Cough-cough-cough* ...F-finally got it done... Oh man, it's hard to believe anything could be more annoying than cooking... | ||
| Idle 1 | Hm—? Have these clothes... gotten tighter again? ...Ugh—It must have shrunk! Yep! It shrunk in the wash. Definitely not that I've gained weight... | ||
| Idle 2 | Aha~! No one's around, the perfect time for a nap... Slacking off every now and then is probably fine, right? | ||
| Idle 3 | ...Need to pick up the pen... Oh—I can't find the pen. This desk is such a mess... Oh well, better put on a kettle of tea first~[4] | ||
| Interaction 1 | —I'm writing, I'm writing. Really, I'm writing—Oh, it's just you, Attendant... Phew—You scared me... | ||
| Interaction 2 | Ugh—I'm gonna sleep just a bit longer... I'll definitely... hand in that draft today... | ||
| Interaction 3 | What's the rush? I'll start working right after I finish playing this — Yes, really! | ||
| Pledge | I always feel like my life would be a complete mess without you, Attendant... Hee-hee... And that being the case, I'm sure that kind, benevolent Attendant would never just cast me aside, right? —Yay! Attendant, you're the best! Promise to never, ever leave me~ | ||
| Intimacy 1 | ...The poem I said I'd write for you? ...Ha-haha... Of course I didn't forget... I've just been a bit off my game lately... n-next week—er, no—next month, I'll definitely be able to finish it! | ||
| Intimacy 2 | Huh? I have something on my face? ...Oh—I must've accidentally gotten a smudge on there when I was making ink, but it's not a big problem. Just help me wipe it off, Attendant~[5] | ||
| Intimacy 3 | It's such a bright, sunny day outside, and that cool breeze is blowing... Attendant~ How about... you join me for an afternoon nap~[6] | ||
| Victory | Hee-hee-hee, I'm not all that great... | ||
| Defeat | I-I tried to tell you... S-such tiring work... I'm just not... cut out for it... | ||
| Feeding | What a smell! This is an instant pick-me-up! Um, Attendant... it's a bit far... Could I trouble you to scooch it over this way a bit... hee-hee... | ||
Skins
| Happy Letter | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||
| Wild Goose Letter, Scenic Tower, Secluded Nest | |||||||
Notes
- ↑ CN Log In: Being busy outside must be tiring, right~ Well, why don't you try this new armchair I bought? Hehe, in these days, lying down flat is what I call comfy~
- ↑ CN Team Formation: M-Me? ... Okay, be stubborn and close your eyes...
- ↑ CN Knockout: Tskkkk -- You know what... I might as well just lay flat like this!
- ↑ CN Idle 3:... Alright, it's time to get those hands moving... Oh -- The pencil's gone and the table is a mess... Oh well, this must be destiny's way of saying it's time to have a cup of tea first~
- ↑ CN Intimacy 2: Huh? There's something on my face? ... Ah -- It's probably some ink stains that got onto me when I was preparing them just now. Oh don't worry, it's no biggie! All Attendant needs to do is to rub it away and it'll be fine~ Hehe~
- ↑ CN Intimacy 3: The sunlight outside the window is so bright and warm. And there's also the gentle breeze brushing past. Attendant, how about -- you take an afternoon nap with me~
| Food Souls | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Main[]
Sprites[]
Sprite Animations[]
Normal[]
Happy Letter[]
I. Ideal Village
Attendant once told me the walls of the Kunlun Palace were towering and grand, like the armor of a giant guarding over the Light Kingdom.
When it was trampled so easily by the iron heel of that garrison general Gengki, it was the first time this vast empire ever uttered a cry for help in its reluctance to fall.
"Master Attendant, what's the Light Kingdom? Is it something you can eat?"
At the time, I was like a canary that had always been protected by Attendant, still playing at home like before, squatting on the steps and holding up my plump arms as I asked in a loud voice.
"Crispy Squab, the Light Kingdom isn't food. It's... it's the land under our feet. Our eternal home."
Attendant was a gentlemanly man of letters who, even when debating with others, would rarely get red in the face.
But only I knew that inside his paper-thin, frail-looking body, there burned ideals and aspirations beyond what those times could comprehend.
I nodded, pretending to understand, then ran over to Attendant's side and recited his manuscript word by word.
"...When Divine Lord White Tiger passed away, the new Lord Southplume took up the mantle! And General Gen-... Gen-something... revived the soul of the nation and has mustered troops in Jade City, as Heaven wills it! ..."
My brittle voice reverberated down the street, eliciting laughs from passers-by who would pause to listen. Upon discovering the reaction I received was way better than Attendant's, my heart started to flutter, and I hugged Attendant's arm.
"Master Attendant, pretty amazing, right!?"
Attendant nodded and rubbed my head feebly.
"Although, Master Attendant... what is Heaven's will?"
Attendant let out a laugh and in a tender voice, replied:
"Heaven's will, oh... it's just a certain power that you cannot disobey."
A little kid sucking his thumb looked down and picked up the fallen manuscript, getting his saliva on the paper: "My mom said Heaven's will is what puts food on our plate!"
Just as he said that, I picked up a cloth shoe and gave it a swift chuck, hitting him right upside his fat round head.
"Little Tiger! You're smearing your saliva everywhere again!"
"Waaah, Crispy Squab is hitting people again! Run—"
As the crowd hooted and laughed, the two of us started running, one after the other, until we were hauled up by a big, broad hand.
"Hey, who is this bumping into me?! Little whelp, no running around like that on the big street! ...Huh? Are you... this good sir's Food Soul?"
I saw a familiar face. Attendant had said before that this person was Gengki's trusted subordinate.
He gave a look at Little Tiger who had already run off into the distance. Then, apparently understanding what had happened, he let out a resigned sigh and let me go.
"Back home with you! If you let me catch you again, I'll have your master over there teach you a good lesson!"
With that, he paid me no more attention. Rather, he turned his gaze toward the southwest with a bit of a worried look in his eye. But my ears only caught snatches of words.
"...The new Lord Southplume has set out... Even though he's got the nobles' support in some places... I'm afraid..."
His words were carried away on the dusk breeze, taking the faint inklings of worry in my heart with them to melt into the blood-red setting sun.
II. Idle Work
Today while I was off in a daze, I accidentally smashed the fifth flower vase this month.
When the housekeeper asked me in her overwrought tone to make an account for myself, I muttered to her that it was all Master Attendant's fault!
I couldn't say starting when it had begun, but Attendant had been coming home less and less; and a number of times he just passed right by me without even so much as a hello!
But I—Crispy Squab—wasn't one of those Food Souls that would stay obediently cooped up in the house!
I had long before found out that tomorrow before daybreak Attendant would be heading out!
With the fiendish hopes of giving him a good scare, I followed stealthily behind Attendant's caravan, leaving these streets that were now bleak-looking since the army instituted that curfew.
When the lofty ramparts of Jade City were in sight, a sudden black streak split the breeze and darted in between the carriage's wooden wheels. After an ear-splitting crack, the carriage's forward trajectory became erratic.
With the carriage forcibly brought to a halt, several youths in ragged clothes walked out of an alley.
"Kill that Gengki's lacquey and restore the Light Kingdom!"
The leader's cheeks were sunken, and his face was jaundiced. He carried a crude wooden bow in his hand and some coarse arrows.
They let out a roar like I'd never heard before and flung themselves with reckless abandon at the visibly shaken guards.
In but a blink of an eye, the ground below the walls was soaked with blood.
I'd never seen such a chaotic scene. All I could do was look on dumbly. Those arrows made of low-grade iron, clearly so weak and brittle, had ruthlessly laid bare the real world that Attendant had worked so hard to conceal from me.
Bloodshed, conflict, and death... Are these things that happen every day in the Light Kingdom?
If even such a high and noble gentleman as Attendant could... then what of other people? All those kids I played with in lanes and alleys, would they one day suddenly...?
I stood there in a daze for who knows how long, until the bamboo curtain of the carriage stirred, and Attendant's wan face appeared.
"Master Attendant? Master...!"
I felt like I was waking up from a dream. As a Food Soul, I shouldn't think of humans as the enemy, but...
Protecting Attendant was my one and only mission!
When I had dispatched the gang leader with my trembling hands, I sprung up and pulled back the carriage's curtain: There was Attendant, dagger in hand, looking at me speechlessly.
The dagger was but an inch away from his neck. I started to cry and hugged tight this precious treasure I thought I'd lost but now had found.
Attendant put down the dagger and patted my head lightly. After a while, his hand fell. Through my blurry tears, I saw that he was struggling not to shiver.
The trouble-making youth was carried off by guards that soon arrived on the scene. I thought that after a stern talking-to he'd be sent on his way back home, but I learned from Attendant that he had already died in jail.
"Why would he... die?"
This time, Attendant did not answer my question.
His once full cheeks rapidly grew drawn and thin in a few short days, which made me more timid to ask questions.
"Master Attendant, are you... still going to go out and deliver speeches? Let me come with you! I'll protect you, Master Attendant..."
But Attendant shook his head as he changed into a white robe and hurried off to his next engagement.
As I watched him walk away, I could feel that under his jagged spine existed two beliefs that were like polar opposites and that were practically going to tear him apart when they collided.
With grit teeth, I furtively followed behind Attendant, but my mood was nothing like what it was before.
As usual, Attendant arrived at a street where he had performed before; but this time, the people were less than friendly at the news that the youth had died. The first thing that fell on him was a rotten egg, followed by spoiled vegetables and rocks and such.
As the crowd cursed and booed, Attendant stood there silently, as upright as a pine tree, looking like an invisible city wall spread firmly between Jade City and Outlook Fortress.
"Don't throw stuff! Stop... Master Attendant is! A good person! He only wants to help everyone!"
With a sob, I threw myself in front of Attendant, shielding him with my arms awkwardly outstretched, trying to take the brunt of the people's wrath for him.
But the white clothes Attendant was wearing were already stained with a stain that couldn't be washed out.
III. Stop Wishful Thinking
I went along with Attendant, knocking on the door after red-lacquered door of the city's wealthy homes, but we found no one that could help.
The ransacked public halls were a conflagration, and tons of official correspondences had been blown to smithereens.
The military camp that had been so heavily guarded a few days prior was now just an empty space holding only memories.
On the avenue, a white-haired elderly person pointed a finger at the heavens and shouted: "Gengki is dead! The Lord returns!"
I tried to hide Attendant and flee the chaotic street, but a sharp-eyed person spotted his face.
Those people that in former days would pat me on the head and stick a flower in my hair were now so raving mad they were hurling rocks at us.
Did they not know that Food Souls bleed too? Did they not know we cry when we're hurt?
I grit my teeth and pushed my way out, taking Attendant to hide inside a derelict old house.
There was banging on doors from all sides, causing me to shiver more than the thunder from a storm. We would be found sooner or later... and when that time came, what would become of Attendant?
I already knew the answer.
"Master Attendant, please, we have to go!"
Tugging at my mute Attendant, I anxiously implored him.
But he didn't seem to hear my words. His eyes were a swathe of chaotic night sky, and only his chest rose and fell slowly and feebly.
I never thought I'd see the day when pine and bamboo would be broken by the thunderstorm, but my only wish was for that firm and stout evergreen to suffer no more...
"I... I once found a secret path, back when I played in these streets! It has lots of Fallen Angels lurking there, and usually no one dares go near. It's dangerous, but... it's a way out! Attendant, let's escape!"
That one word, "escape", set Attendant off. He looked up at me, his cheeks suddenly turning red, and he brushed aside my hand roughly.
"Escape? Escape how?! If even the farmers are raising their pitchforks against me, then this nation on which I'd hung my ideals and aspirations is nothing but useless dreck! ...But I hope history proves me wrong, and that the hope of a life of sustained peace is returned to the people!"
Having said that, he looked out the window at the crowd. Then for some reason, he grew calm again and said to me, very slowly:
"...Crispy Squab, do you think, back when I walked the streets, if I'd only walked a little slower... perhaps I'd have been like Southplume and seen the looks of yearning on the people's faces? And what kind of future would that have brought?"
I plopped to the floor, my mind in complete disarray. I couldn't understand at all what Attendant was saying. All I could do was sit as he played with my hair, splitting it into ponytails which he tied up into buns.
Then, he gave me a firm push.
"Go on, Crispy Squab. You must live on. Live... and witness history for me. Then tell me whether my decision now was right or not."
I looked at his hand, and his wrist so slender and frail. If I applied just a little force, I could carry him out of there and hide in the secret passage.
But...
...all I could do—I who knew him better than anyone—was to respect his decision.
I curled up under the bed and watched Attendant tie up his hair again in a coil. Then he pushed open the door and openly handed himself over to the judgment of fate.
IV. Stick to Your Roots
The sofa rocked gently under me. I blearily opened my eyes, and as expected, I saw the angry and twisted face of my editor.
"Crispy Squab! I extended the deadline on your draft a whole day, and this is what you give me?!"
I turned over, meeting the editor's fury with the back of my head.
"I'm trying my best, ughh... None of the readers identify with or like what I write anyway. And if that's the case, then what's the point of trying so hard to create something?"
And besides, that person who taught me to try to use words to change the Light Kingdom, he's already...
...long gone.
"What nonsense are you spouting? You write this garbage and have the gall to say you're 'trying your best'?!"
The editor was so angry his ears were red, and he plunked the rolled-up newspaper down on my head.
I held a hand to my reddened forehead and cracked an outraged eyelid: "What're you so riled up about? It's just poorly written is all! What's the big—"
What's the big deal with poor writing? Before I had a chance to finish this defeatist plea, I was brought to halt by tears suddenly welling up in the editor's wide eyes.
I began stuttering: "H-...hey, why're you crying... Such a big strong guy like you..."
"Crispy Squab, I brought you here from a small-time regional paper because your writing was spicy and sophisticated. But spicy does not mean one-sided! Is this the way you see the Light Kingdom? Are you living in the Jade City of seventy years ago?!"
The editor pointed at the story I'd written as he barked his question at me.
My eyes dropped, and I stared at the sentences I'd written.
As a matter of fact, this article really did seem more like a story based wholly on subjective conjecture than an objective news article. The views were outdated, the phrasing was stale, and it was completely untethered to reality.
But... it was the ideal that Attendant wanted to express.
...But was this what I wanted to write?
At some point along the way, I had forgotten what had made me want to write in the first place. I was writing about Attendant's ideas and completely forgot that those thoughts hadn't kept up with the times.
Seeing me sink into silence, the editor took a deep breath, then threw down the paper and left.
"...I need you to actually step foot outside this door and see the current Light Kingdom with your own eyes."
I stood beside the window looking at the editor's shadow stretched long under the noon sun. His receding silhouette overlapped with that of Attendant.
"If you can escape from Jade City alive... perhaps you can personally witness whether my decision now is the right one."
Attendant's words sprang anew to my mind, crystal clear. Like a resounding slap, it knocked down the defenses I'd put up in my attempt to protect his fragmented memory.
When this invisible wall disappeared, every brick in Jade City suddenly seemed to be imbued with color.
Such rich, vibrant color. And until now, I had ignored it.
"I am sorry, Master Attendant. I am sorry... Have I... been misunderstanding you this whole time...?"
As I said this to myself, I held the crumpled paper to my chest. Finally, I could hold back tears no longer and curled up under the windowsill.
"I'm not going to get trapped in the past. I'm going to keep writing, to spur on progress in these times with my own hands, even if... even if only to add one insignificant speck of red to this world!"
"Only by making the Light Kingdom better and better can I truly fulfill Master Attendant's wishes!"
V. Crispy Squab
In a flurry of writing, the words come pouring out, and the article is done!
"Finished!!"
With a wipe of her nose, Crispy Squab tossed her quill pen behind her with an insouciant air. Then she smugly crossed her arms and turned to look at the editor standing behind her.
"I am just too good! What do you think, editor? Is this article great or what! ...*Ahem-cough-cough*..."
Upon seeing her quill pen stuck on the editor's head—which was as smooth and shiny as a chicken egg—all Crispy Squab could do was cough to cover up her fit of laughter.
But the editor, for his part, was unfazed. He just straightened his glasses and dispassionately looked over her new draft from start to finish.
"This won't do. Rewrite it."
Crispy Squab let out a wail: "Are you kidding?! This draft is near-perfect—"
But the editor replied as calm as ever: "If you can't give me a satisfactory article, then you won't get your fee for the month."
"Hey now, a rewrite, is it? Can do, can do. Just don't you touch my monthly fee. I'm counting on that to buy new ink..."
After mustering up a smile and seeing her nemesis out of the room, Crispy Squab instantly flopped down on the sofa in despair. Not until her stomach began to rumble in constant complaint did she cast a look at the desk and let out a long sigh.
"My inspiration's dried up... I can't write a thing—"
A forlorn wail shook the ceiling panels, and dust accumulated on the hanging light over long years fell down, settling on the shiny, black ink.
She hastily cupped her hands over her mouth, then looked at the clock, only then noticing that it had swung around again to twelve o'clock and into a brand new day.
"Oh no. Only eight hours until the deadline!! What'll I do? Will they... will they have to just leave a blank space in the paper?"
Crispy Squab picked up the quill with a whimper. Each word on the page was as clear as day, but somehow they seemed like gobbledy-gook when strung altogether.
She hesitantly took out an envelope from the Jade City Morning Edition, then picked up the previous draft that the editor had despised. The second before she was about to put it into the envelope, Crispy Squab suddenly grit her teeth and crumpled it into a ball, then tossed it away.
"No! ...If Master Attendant were to know... he would most certainly be disappointed!"
The crumpled ball of paper fell off the desk and rolled into a corner. A flickering candle spit out a wisp of white smoke and threw a silhouette on the wall of a young woman hunched over and writing away.
When the rising sun outside the windows was tinging the clouds a rosy hue, the wooden door was creaked open by a young girl up early to sell flowers, startling the birds dozing on their boughs. After a few hoots and coos, the clock inside the room added to the commotion.
A wooden dove popped out driven by a spring mechanism, and its cacophonous squeals woke Crispy Squab's slumbering head up from the table.
"Editor... d-don't hit me. I don't need an extension. I finished it! ...Oh, it's only seven. It's still early. I'll sleep a little more—Hang on, seven?!"
Crispy Squab bounced up like a rubber ball, not even taking the time to wipe the drool from her face.
Meanwhile the wooden dove was wavering left and right on its springed hinge, as if mocking her tardiness.
After staring in a daze at the clock for a few seconds, Crispy Squab let out a wail. Then she snatched up the ink-covered draft off the desk, stuffed it in an envelope, and flew out the door.
"Wait for me, editor! The draft is on the way!"
"Hey—Lady, you're late on a deadline again?"
A kid playing on the side of the road looked up innocently and asked her this, while a matron sweeping the fallen leaves from her courtyard smiled and waved hello. A few other readers also chimed in with some incisive comments about the news content.
As the people made their kind greetings, a thought suddenly popped into her head:
"No matter what, Master Attendant... today, we live in a happy time!"