Profile
Watchful Collector
"...There's plenty of interesting things going on, if you know where to look."
A laidback and curious individual living in Splatsville.
After watching a ranked tournament on TV, Shades became deeply invested in the competitive world of ink battles. The flingza user they saw in the match inspired them so much that they decided to pick up the same weapon, hoping to one day reach that high level of gameplay. It didn't take them long to step into their first turf battle, and after getting a taste for it they dove right in. The rest is history!
During their free time, Shades loves to unwind with a nice fruit smoothie and spending time with close friends. Other interests include music, shoes, journaling, and people watching. They also have a growing collection of various goods obtained from Hotlantis and the Shell-out machine.
Details
Likes
- Music, Shoes, Glasses
- Fruit Smoothies / Drinks
- People Watching
- Journaling
Imagery
- Blueberries
- Moon / Night Sky
- Sea Shells
- Music
Personality
Laid back
Even at a glance Shades has an undeniable chill vibe about them, living life in a very relaxed manner. This tends to paint them in a distant or aloof light, despite being a good calming presence for those around them.
Observant
As a naturally curious person, they can be quite perceptive of both their surroundings and other people. They possesss a strong attention to detail and can spot even the most minor of differences with relative ease.
Competitive
Contrary to their cool persona, they can be very competitive. They become lively and passionate in the heat of battle. It's not uncommon for them to throw the occassional 'Booyah!' or even be a little more rowdy than usual.
Kind
Once you get to know them, it's clear that Shades is a very generous and warm hearted person. They strive to understand other viewpoints and place great importance on that. Seems to have an almost endless supply of patience, too.
Considerate
In hand with their kindness is thoughtfulness - Shades always puts considerable thought into what they do or say. They are attentive to the people in their life and do what they can to best accomadate them when the need arises.
Sincere
At their core, Shades is a person with incredible sincerity. They are honest in their actions and hold little reservations in giving voice to their thoughts. To those who know them well, they are very heartfelt and authentic.
Miscellaneous
Trivia
- Favorite bands are H2Whoa & Chirpy Chips.
- Owns matching accessories with Sydney (crescent moon hair clip + blueberry necklace).
- Chill outside of games, becomes very lively and passionate in games.
- Only a select few have seen them without their glasses on...
- Shades is NOT their actual name! Their real name is a secret, known only by their family and Sydney.
- Loves fruit smoothies and strawberry milk.
- Enjoys collecting various items and displays them in their apartment.
- Does a variety of part-time jobs on the side. Changes them often.
- Very thoughtful when it comes to gift giving - they prefer to do handmade presents!
- Has social media accounts but hardly ever uses them.
- Texting style: emojis/lower case.
- Speaking style: even toned and slightly slow.
- Loves Rockenberg shoes and owns all of their boots.
- Dresses in mainly dark + cool colors.
- Prefers comfortable weather.
Story
Early Life
Growing up as an only child with parents who weren't often around, Shades spent a lot of their early years alone and left to their own devices. Would wander around the neighborhood and watch passersby to not feel lonely - developed their hobby of people watching from this. During summer they once traveled to Inkopolis to stay with their older cousin while their parents were away on a business trip. Had difficulty forming genuine bonds through high school, with most friendships being casual acquaintances. They watched quite a bit of TV at this time, and one day saw an anarchy rank tournament. This sparked an interest in ink battles.
Getting Into Ink Battles
After graduation Shades decides to try out turf war. They quickly become hooked, forming a strong passion for ink battles. They decide to main the flingza roller, out of inspiration and also as a tribute for their favorite ranked player who retired years prior. Little did they know that they’d eventually come face to face with their hero in battle, except…said hero is behaving very differently. Shades meets Morgan, the retired rank player, who is trying to hide his true identity for unknown reasons. He denies any connection to the person he used to be and pretends to be a total novice in turf. Though Morgan is initially disgruntled by Shades perceptiveness, the two eventually become friends. Seeing their passion for the sport and interest in getting better, Morgan decides to teach Shades what he knows about the flingza.
Meeting Sydney
Shades would sometimes see Sydney, a Makomart employee, cleaning up after turf battles. His hardworking nature gains Shades respect and curiosity. After befriending fellow turf war player Minatoast, they end up seeing Sydney bickering with him over the fruit aisle. After this encounter Shades becomes more interested in Sydney and gets into the habit of observing him. Near the end of October Shades happens upon Sydney working hard during Splatoween. When he goes on his lunch break, Shades buys him a smoothie, and finally introduces themself. Though the two are slow to warm up to each other at the start, they become good friends after realizing they have a lot in common. Shades and Sydney spend a lot of time together - from traveling to Inkopolis, meeting new friends, and even participating in casual turf games.
Shades eventually picks up on Sydney’s exhaustion from his job at Makomart. They then pose a question: does Sydney ever think of working elsewhere? The topic moves on to discussion of what other jobs he could get, which leads to the idea of the shoe store at Barnacle and Dime. Shades encourages their friend to pursue this new job! With a much more open schedule, Sydney is available to hang out more and the two become closer as a result.
Joining a Rank Team + Pressure
After gaining enough experience in Turf, Shades decides to try out rank battles and meets the fiery Wakin. She is impressed by their game together and invites Shades to join a fledgling rank team she’s part of. After participating in a practice tournament at the end of the year, Shades is officially brought on to the team - they meet fellow members Ranchu and Comet. The group then makes a New Year’s resolution to get to A+ rank by the end of the current season! However, Shades starts to feel pressure (self inflicted + other factors ) and stresses out about their performance. This leads them to tunnel vision hard, putting priority on improving over anything else. They start to neglect their health and relationships, much to the concern of their closest friends.
Things come to a head when Shades pushes too far. Fatigue catches up to them and they collapse during a solo evening practice. Sydney, who they made plans to hang out with, grows worried when Shades doesn’t answer his messages and finds them passed out in the lobby. Sydney dances around the topic of their tunnel visioning until he decides to be more direct with his true feelings. Tells Shades that he misses spending time together. This admission shocks Shades, but is a much needed wake up call to them. They strive to put a stop to their rank obsession and take better care of themself.
Appreciation and Affection
After having the time to reflect, Shades realizes how much Sydney means to them. They appreciate that he remained by their side, despite how stressful the tunnel vision situation was on their friendship. The gratitude and affection Shades has for him grows stronger from this realization. As the two continue to hangout and spend time together, Shades’ notices one day that they actually feel quite strongly towards Sydney. They’re not sure what to make of it, but they recognize there’s a warmth and fuzziness in their heart whenever they’re with him. They think of him often and smile at the littlest thing he does - his happiness is their happiness!
Shades can see changes in Sydney’s behavior as well, and though they’re curious (and a little concerned if he’s okay) they decide not to push him on it. They want to give him the time and space to sort his thoughts/feelings out and trust that he’ll approach them when he’s ready. They instead simply enjoy the moment and take their time to feel the experience out. To Shades, just being at his side and having Sydney in their life is more than enough!
Addressing Feelings
One day while hanging out at one of their apartments, Sydney asks a question— what does Shades think of him. He conveys that he notices they’ve been acting differently towards him lately and expresses curiosity over it (they bring WAY MORE snacks to him at work and smile a lot more when together). He seems a little hesitant to say more and even avoids eye contact. Seeing the trace anxiety on his face, Shades decides to take off their glasses and face him with their emotions laid bare in a moment of vulnerability. As a sign of absolute trust.
“How I think of you…I think of you often. A lot. I wonder what you’re doing or how your day is going. The snacks, I bring so many because I like to think about you enjoying them. Even all of the smiling— if I’ve been doing that more often then it’s probably because I’m still thinking of you. Just seeing you happy to spend time together makes me feel really happy too. I just…think of you a lot. You’re always on my mind.”
After this conversation the two of them share a relieved smile and hug. It’s clear that they both mutually feel a strong affection and consider the other as their most important person. Shades recognizes that the feeling they have towards Sydney is love.
Currently...
Nowadays Shades spends most of their time either with Sydney or playing ink battles with friends. Despite the bumpy road, they still very much want to climb the ranks of anarchy with their team. Since their last attempt Shades has now reached S rank and aims to go higher. Just, in a more responsible and healthy way this time!
Relationships
Sydney
[ "My most important person. He means the world to me." ]
Shades' best friend and beloved. They care very deeply for his well being, willing to go to lengths to ensure he's happy. Can be surprisingly sappy when it comes to him. Sydney currently works at the shoe store at Barnacle and Dime!
Morgan
[ "He can be kind of goofy, but he's a good guy." ]
A mentor figure and a friend, Morgan tends to look out for Shades when possible. The two aren't super close due to a lack of transparency on Morgan's side, but overall they get along pretty well. He spends most days helping out at Grizzco.
Comet
[ "Her enthusiasm can be pretty infectious." ]
The lively and optimistic member of Shades team. They really appreciate the energy she brings to games and finds her friendliness refreshing. Comet and Wakin like to occassionally invite Shades to play with them in open rank on free days.
Wakin
[ "A firecracker, that one..." ]
Shades' fiery teammate and fellow Chirpy Chips appreciator. She introduced them to Ranchu and Comet, vouching for their skill when being considered as an addition to the team. Her pestering of Sydney tends to trouble them, but the two otherwise get along.
Ranchu
[ "...He's good at what he does." ]
The self appointed leader of the team, Ranchu tends to keep a neutral standing with Shades. The two have a mutual understanding and respect for each other's skills. Shades can tolerate Ranchu fairly well, except for when he disrespects Sydney.
HTML by Pinky
