Rick Shades

**"Just gonna out me like that, huh? You're no fun."**

This article or section contains heavy spoilers for *Prison of Plastic*. Read with caution.

## Toidei Gourami

* Casual
* Chameleon
* Gargoyle

### Nickname(s)

Shades (Giovanni Potage)Mr. Shades (Naven Nuknuk)

### Alias

Rick ShadesOdi
Black Bear

## Personal Status

### Friend(s)

Phoenica Fleecity XV (Best Surface Friend)
Trixie Roughhouse
Giovanni Potage
Molly Blyndeff

## Media

### Voice Actor

Ray ChaseJay Barrett (in Winner Take All)

### First Appearance

Winner Take All (post-credit scene)Prison of Plastic, Chapter 1: Fish Out of Water (full)

**Toidei "Odi" Gourami**, also known as **Rick Shades**, is a former Ocean Country wizard who escaped the Colosseum with the help of his fellow combatants and friends. After being found by The Neo Trio on the Sweet Jazz City beaches, he helped in the three's rescue of Naven Nuknuk from Lorelai Blyndeff's dream bubble. During which Rick took a near fatal spell from Lorelai which eventually led to him and Molly Blyndeff bonding. Afterwards, Rick was given housing and work by Naven at the STEM Building.

Rick's Epithet, "**Soulmates**", allows him to copy the powers and abilities of anyone who becomes friends with him, including those of other Inscribed.

## Physical Appearance

Rick Shades is a lanky man with a dusky complexion, a pointed nose, pointy ears, and deep neon purple hair with bright red strands coming from the parting. He wears jet black sunglasses, a red scarf, and a dulled purple jacket with a red heart-shaped patch over his right breast (the wrong side) worn over an off-white shirt and black trousers. He also wears dull purple shoes and red fingerless gloves. When Molly Blyndeff finds him on a beach, he's covered in sea water and has some seaweed and a star fish on him. His eyes glow like a candle in the dark out of his shades.

Because of his clothing and unkempt appearance, he is said to give off the appearance of a drifter, or some strange purple hobo who might travel by boxcar.

He also has a great smile! But he doesn't blink.

## Personality

Rick is very mysterious, but in a comedic way. He does casual stuff in a very formal but off-putting matter, like saying "The Pact Is Sealed!" when he becomes friends with Phoenica Fleecity. He also has a habit of cackling maniacally and screaming (though the latter is due to the fact that his default response to feeling an emotion is to scream). Despite these quirks, Rick seems to be very polite and friendly (albeit a bit too friendly). Because of his Epithet, he is obsessed with making friends and insists that he'll eventually become friends with Molly and Trixie as well, the same way he became friends with Phoenica.

Being an ocean dweller, Rick is ignorant to concepts from the surface world, such as something as simple as "schoolwork", and tends to rely on his allies' powers and abilities via his Epithet to perform tasks which are related to said concepts.

Often he seems to have some conceit in himself, but is overall delightfully incompetent.

## History

### Past

Born in Ocean Country, Toidei Gourami made many friends and became a powerful epithet user. This led to the supreme leader of Ocean Country, an ancient warlock named He Who Hungers Endlessly, to take notice and harvest him at the age of 12. However, due to his epithet relying on friendship and not wanting to hurt his newly found friends, he became weaker as the Colosseum battles continued on. Eventually, he decided he would throw all his battles under the persona, "Rick Shades". This way, he would both regain his power and keep his friends.

However, after years of his friends dying and, as a result, him becoming weaker, Rick realized that he would soon be disposed of. At the age of 20, he planned an escape with the help of his remaining friends and their epithets. After evading the Colosseum guards, breaking through the sea dome, and swimming away with the shared epithets, Rick successfully escaped from Ocean Country. But, after some time of navigating the ocean, Rick ran outside the range of his friends' soulmate bond and he passed out in the water.

### Prison of Plastic

     **"Yeah! Those are... words!"**

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Three days later, a little girl named Molly Blyndeff finds Rick, who assumed his slumped over form to be a dead body. Her two other friends, Phoenica Fleecity and Trixie Roughhouse, catch up to her and they argue about what to do, before he stands up and introduces himself. They scream and proceed to argue about what he could be, after which Rick says he is a wizard. Phoenica then introduces herself and explains that she needs to assemble of group of magical girls to save the world, and asks if he would like to be one. This leads to an argument about whether or not one needs magic to be a magical girl between Trixie and Phoenica. Molly, thinking Rick is likely dangerous, grabs her friends and attempts to drag them away from the strange man.

Rick manages to catch up to them and gets Phoenica to shake his hand, forming a 'pact' by becoming friends, summoning a swarm of black lighting. Molly and Trixie try to persuade Phoenica to flee but she doesn't listen, and Rick explains his epithet. He says it's called "Soulmates" and Phoenica gets flustered by the name until he explains that it simply means he keeps his friends within his soul. He explains further, using Phoenica's book-smarts on her homework as an example. Phoenica is appalled that he used her knowledge to complete his homework, which is cheating, and which causes her to no longer consider him a friend, thus breaking the 'pact'.

After Rick shared his past and apologized, Phoenica forgave him, reforming their 'pact'. He then attempted to learn the other two's powers, and after failing, he simply declared that he'll befriend them eventually. He then recalls them discussing winning and asks about it, to which Trixie clarifies what he's talking about. He then explains that he has not eaten in days, prompting the three to try and find food for him and failing, only managing to procure some lip balm. Molly explains what lip balm is and gives it to him and he eats it. Everyone panics and begins looking for a solution, as lip balm is likely poisonous, and also learn that he has drank nothing but sea water for the last three days. Trixie finds a potion in her bag and Rick goes to drink it before they stop him. Rick confirms that they were friends before he collapses.

     **"You see, the trick of this challenge is figuring out what to do with an incomplete recipe."**

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## Unique Abilities

     **"You see, the trick of this challenge is figuring out what to do with an incomplete recipe."**

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* **Epithet: Soulmates:** Rick's Epithet is Soulmates. Despite the implications, his power has nothing to do with romantic soulmates. Whenever he makes friends with someone, he can generate black electricity that can be spun together into a single string that spears his friend's heart and his own, allowing him to not only regain his own magic (said black electricity), but also gain the abilities of his friend (for example: Phoenica's book smarts). Strangely, if Rick is under the false impression that a soulmate has an ability, he is still able to perform said ability, like how Rick successfully made a potion because he believed that Trixie could make them. His power works like a "switchboard", with each ability coming as a whole but he is able to turn each ability on and off separately. He'd also be able to have the upsides of an ability and not the downsides, if he is unaware of the downsides. If a friend decides they no longer are friends, the pact is broken. The pact is also broken if Rick moves too far away from a friend.

* **Black Lightning Manipulation**: Rick appears to be able to manipulate Black Lightning to some capacity. It both being used in relation to his epithet, manifesting when pacts are formed or broken, or when an attempt is made. It can also be used as an attack, the only known time being when he tried to attack Lorelai Blyndeff with it when he first entered her Dream Bubble.

### Former Abilities

* **Former Soulmates Power**
	+ **Glass-Breaking**: One of Rick's Colosseum friends had the power to break glass. Rick used it to break the dome they were trapped in so he could escape the Colosseum.
	+ **Fast-Swimming**: One of Rick's Colosseum friends had the power to swim incredibly fast. Rick used it to outswim the sentries and escape the Colosseum, however his powers gave out before he reached the surface.
	+ **Underwater-Breathing**: One of Rick's Colosseum friends had the power breathe underwater. Rick used it while escaping the Colosseum, however his powers gave out before he reached the surface and he ended up being pulled by current before landing on a beach in Sweet Jazz City.
* **Lizard Form**: *to be added*

## Trivia

* His last name may be a reference to his choice of eye wear, that being sunglasses, or otherwise known as shades.
* Rick appears as the protagonist under the name "Viafble", in his creator's randomizer of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.[Citation Needed]
* Along with Phoenica, he appears as a player character in a Pokemon Tabletop Oneshot, played by Jay Barrett, who played him in "Winner Take All".
* He is "Ocean Race" which, despite the name, do not have any fish abilities besides their hair looking like poisonous fish. Instead, they wield Dark Magic.[Citation Needed]
* His height is 6'2".
* His birthday is June 6.
* His favorite animal is the anemone.
* His favorite food is Karmal.
	+ "Karmal" is an underwater treat used by wizards to fuel their magic. It is not eaten and is instead sacrificed for power.
* He likes friendship, arts & crafts, and nice socks.
* Rick once raised a shark as if it was a dog.
	+ Sharks aren't kept as dogs in Ocean Country; he was just being weird.
* On Twitter, Jello made a tier list of how well liked in the fandom each character is, placing Rick in "Well-Liked (w/ Rare Exceptions)"
* On Twitter, Jello made a tier list of Stardew Valley spouses, Rick being paired with Abigail because "Trixie and Rick are here for the weird magic girl who likes ghosts."
* His favorite flavor is black licorice.
* On Twitter, Jello retweeted a promotion for "Rick Steeps", a chocolate chai pu-erh & watermelon cooler tea with Rick's likeness on the tin, after having been sent another Epithet Erased inspired tea collection from the same creator.. The tin's caption reads "The Only Thing Darker Than The Cocoa And Anise Mix Is The Deep!"

### Adaption from *Anime Campaign*

* In *Prison of Plastic*, his epithet is "Soulmates." In *Anime Campaign*, it is "Companion."[Citation Needed]
* In *Prison of Plastic*, he was found by Molly Blyndeff, Phoenica Fleecity, and Trixie Roughhouse. In *Anime Campaign*, he was found by Stan Goldstein.[Citation Needed]
* In *Epithet Erased*, his original name was Toidei Gourami. In *Anime Campaign*, his name was Oblivious Obsequious.[Citation Needed]

## Gallery

### Trivia

Pormotional Infocard for Prison of PlasticPormotional Trivia for Prison of Plastic

### Other

Sketch by Bo HelloSketch made by Bo Hello of Percy and RickArtwork by Bo HelloArtwork by Bo HelloArtwork by Bo HelloArtwork by Bo HelloArtwork by Rhea BurtramRick Shades holiday artwork by Rhea BurtramArt of Rick and Sylvie for PatreonCustom Doodle for Prison of PlasticCustom Doodle for Prison of PlasticDoodle by Rhea Burtram
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Rick Promotional Infocard for Prison of Plastic
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Prison of Plastic, Chapter 8: Bridging the Distance
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Prison of Plastic, Chapter 12: A Little Burnt but Still Good
4. ↑ Prison of Plastic, Chapter 7: Prison of Plastic
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Prison of Plastic, Chapter 1: Fish Out of Water
6. ↑ Prison of Plastic, Chapter 9: A Real Mess of Things
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/EpithetErased/status/1614575316655308800
8. ↑ https://twitter.com/EpithetErased/status/1614575417847066625
9. ↑ Epithet Erased, Chapter 6: As the Crow Flies
10. ↑ Prison of Plastic, Chapter 3: Distance
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 More Epithet Erased TOMORROW!
12. ↑ Epithet Erased on Twitter - 12/20/22
13. ↑ EpithetErased character Stardew Spouses - 12/13/2023 - Epithet Erased on Twitter
14. ↑ https://twitter.com/EpithetErased/status/1241818221474430980
15. ↑ https://twitter.com/mac\_toons/status/1614068829281464320?s=20&t=4g9T4iL-u5nmq2y8zCc86g