Step 1: Don't color your map all pretty like I initially did, expecting to have a normal time.
Step 2: Complete the first boss fight.
Step 3: Quit the game during the cutscene with Blackberry before taking the brush.
Step 4: Enter the game.

If it worked correctly, you should have the brush & Blackberry should be missing. Your character should be permanently sad; even on the title screen!


There is an option to skip cutscene, but I have no idea if it breaks the softlock or is even usable in Blackberry's house. However, at the wielder tower, it doesn't do anything.
You will later find that you cannot talk to Chicory, and your paint is NOT glow in the dark.

And congrats! You broke the game and this save file is no longer functional! I don't know why you'd want to do this, unless you want a niche speedrun or you're bug hunting.

So, here's my guesses on how to avoid this:

I'd advise to never, ever, EVER quit during a cutscene where you get an item or an upgrade. It might permanently break your game, and this will likely cause a softlock. Maybe avoid leaving during character cutscenes as well: this could cause the game to crash next time you talk to them, or, if they're required for 100%, cause an impossible-to-complete save.

Just in case, I'd advise you also back up your save if you have space. DO NOT USE THE BUILT-IN BACKUP FOR STEAM. Chicory supports cloud saves, which means that this will NOT save your save data.
Your best bet is to go to ~/Library/Application Support/com.greglobanov.chicory (mac, press command-shift G to open the panel). I don't fully know how to get there in windows, but I believe you can get there via C:\Users\YourName\AppData\ or C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\

Moral of the story: Don't destroy your save by accident twice in one day like i did. Happy painting!

EDIT: User Leafonzo has proposed a fix; I'm not personally going to softlock to test it, but a possible solution is better than nothing!

Originally posted by Leafonzo:

Accidentally got this.
I was able to fix it by going back to the tree and replaying the boss fight, from there everything continued as normal.