#also i'm guessing on selfless being the heart of the world theme

[stone-stars]

i am simply having a lot of feelings about beverly choosing to be a hero because moonshine answered when he reached out and was in need

Transcript:

[Unknown Tome plays in the background.] Bev Sr.: [yelling] I'll tell ya what to do, Bev. Ya turn around, and ya face Thiala. The one who took our home from us. Pick a side, Beverly. Beverly: [softly] … Yes sir. Murph: Um, he holds his hand out to you. Caldwell: I start walking. Uh, and as I'm walking I-- I try to reach out to the spores. I try to reach out to the amulet. I just try to reach out to anything that isn't this. That isn't this duty. That I've always felt deep down. Murph: Moonshine, you feel Beverly in this moment. [Moonshine gasps] Just-- it's faint, it's far away. Beverly: [voice breaking] I don't want to go. I don't wanna go, but I have to. It's my duty. I have to do this! Moonshine: Okay, youngin, I want you to know, I will love you whatever you choose to do. But, here's my two cents. [Unknown Tome fades out.] Moonshine: A child has a duty to his father. [The Blows of a Friend, And Not a Foe plays] Bev Sr: Thanks, Bev. I always-- I knew I could make the deal ‘cause I-- I knew you’d stop me. Moonshine: But a hero has a duty to the world. [Fabric of Fate plays] Melora: Beverly? Beverly: Yes? Melora: I wish you could grow up in a normal world, but the Gods have not blessed you with a normal life. You are afflicted with duty, things thrust upon you far beyond your years. The world should have protected you, but you have been asked to protect it. What an honor, what an injustice. Moonshine: Now, I’ve got my opinion of which you are. [The Writing on the Wall plays] Murph: And you begin to make out what they’re saying. They’re all saying different versions of the same thing. You hear old people, young people, children: Different voices, in prayer: Please, please let my family be safe. I don’t want to die. Give them strength. God bless our Titans in our hour of need. Protect us, Titans! Murph: You realize that these are prayers about you, or to you, by people around Bahumia. You see that the glowing script on the walls begins to make sense to you. The writing is constantly changing to match the words of these prayers depending on what language they’re speaking. And all signs point to this being the way to the Court of Gods. It would make sense that Gods would hear the pleas of their people as they went in to decide their fate. And here you, having a piece of this divine heart, are able to hear the people around Bahumia and their faith in you. [The Bahumia Theme replaces The Writing on the Wall] Moonshine: But it’s time for you to decide. Beverly: [tearful] Where would I be without the wisdom of the crick. [Moonshine gasps. They both laugh softly.] Moonshine: [also tearful] Where would I be without Pelor's light? Beverly: Deeper in hell than we already are, that's for sure. Moonshine: That's for sure. Caldwell: I nod to myself. I stop walking. [The Writing on the Wall returns] Caldwell: Can we write back? Murph: What do you write on the wall? Beverly: We are here. We are here for you. Murph: You feel an overwhelming sense of relief. What you have just done is essentially somebody praying to god, and god coming back and being like "I’m- I’m here." You hear the whispers come back in your head: Different voices: Oh, thank the gods. Thank you, Titans. Thank you! Protect us. We have faith in you!

[madamejadex]

Hi Miss Jade ♡

This isn't my usual educational ask, I thought that I would send in something a little different.

I'm really excited about what I'm about to share, a little nervous too, but it's a big step for me. In a way. I ran out of people to share this with and my excitement is still running high. You came to mind, so here I am.

I'm going to donate blood for the first time tomorrow! I know it maybe doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is to me. I've always wanted to do it, help someone out by willingly sharing a piece of me. And I'm finally going through with it!

It also marks a sort of milestone for me, it made me look back on how much I've grown... I used to absolutely freak out around needles and was very sensitive about myself. Low pain tolerance. That doesn't apply anymore, my tolerance is high now. Even if the way it got higher wasn't ideal, I'm still proud of myself. For surviving, for growing and for doing something to help those in need.

So... That's all, I guess. Forgive my ramblings. I just wanted to brag a little, maybe motivate someone (and you) to perhaps consider donating blood if they can. Personal comfort is important, so no pressure!

I may give an update on how things went if you would like, but i would not want to take up space for more theme relevant asks and posts.

Hope you have a lovely day and the rest of the week and please take care of yourself! 🫶

-🦀

Hi, my sweet one. This was such a precious message to receive, and I want you to know just how proud I am of you. What you’ve done is not only brave, but deeply kind. You're out there helping others, and that’s such a beautiful thing to offer the world. 🤍

And oh, I share your fear of needles, truly I do. I doubt I’ll ever be able to donate myself, but I’m actually getting a bundle of vaccinations tomorrow for an upcoming trip… and let’s just say I’m not exactly thrilled about it.

So yes, my darling girl, I’m extra impressed with you. You're wonderfully brave, and it warms my heart to know you’re out there doing something so selfless. Keep being the beautiful soul that you are.

[mochilorddrakeinferno]

Each paragraph is replying to a certain excerpt of your post, but the character limit won't let me show which. Sigh. Right, yeah, I'd figured you weren't arguing from that perspective, it's a good one to bring up, I was more trying to supplement your point. Yeah, Loki's analysis of Bleck's consistent sense of apathy was really informative about his character in a number of ways, and it's a lens I hadn't really crystallized before seeing that post, it's really neat! Apologies for missing the subtext here, but which character are you referring to here besides Count Bleck re: narrative and design contrast? I'm guessing Tippi, but I'm definitely curious to hear more of what you mean. I have seen it! Definitely one of the better analyses of Super Paper Mario I've ever seen by far, and also the only one I know of that looked from a lens of coercion and power, and that had a pretty significant change in how I see the story. It also ties in perfectly with the nature of the Chaos Heart as the "chaotic power of love", and also patches the flaws in the notion that each world's boss comes from a form of corrupted love in coming at it from the angle that the conflict of each world does (although Chapter 1 still doesn't really fit the mold there imo). Definitely a very fascinating and unique take on it! Yeah, the whole scene has a very different vibe. I'd always thought he was sort of playing up the Bleck identity to ensure the heroes would strike him down and save all worlds and at the same time retreating further into that state out of an internal refusal to allow himself to hope, but I hadn't expected the original script would be so open about that! From what I hear, supposedly he talks in an archaic sort of way that reads like somebody reading a story, which is similar to English, but a bit more subtle. The heroes were following a prophecy, but as you mention it was one designed to achieve a certain future while acknowledging the presence of other possibilities, but it is true that they're still using it as a guide for their actions. What I take from "the very idea of a prophecy is wrong" is not that trying to look into the future is immoral (it'd be a pretty hypocritical message if so), but that something like the Dark Prognosticus that is meant to steal control of the future from others for itself is a perversion of that power that must be defeated. And that's where the difference in the Light Prognosticus is narratively meaningful, why its "if" matters so much. It's using the power of prophecy to create possibilities for others by respecting their free will, rather than constricting and manipulating possibility toward its own end. And in turn I think that relates to a message on how we should behave as people with regard to control over others, both in general and with regard to love. It is alright, even good, to shape and inform the lives of those around us, so long as we do not constrict or control them. We are all prophecies, acting to create our own futures, and influencing others on our path. Yeah, that's one of the main things I'd point to re: his redemption "counting" or not. As soon as he realized it was possible to meaningfully oppose the prophecy, he was willing to sacrifice everything to undo it. I think also important and relevant to him deserving a happy ending is that it was his actions, his act of... self-aware selflessness, I'm tentatively calling it, that restored all worlds. If the worlds the Void consumed remained destroyed, I might feel differently, but that's another key part of things, I feel. AUGH, so true. So much being left open-ended is... in keeping with the themes of the story, and I think probably necessary to make the central narrative of the story focused, but dang, what I wouldn't give to know what the writing process of this game was like (or heck, even who the writers were). Being a Mother fan has kind of spoiled me with regard to the availability of writer interviews and auxiliary information, so it's endlessly frustrating to just have... nothing, here.

What did Blumiere actually DO to be redeemed? 

I know this sounds like a really silly question, to be frank, it really is, and this isn't me trying to say something of the ending should have been changed in any way, because, no, I think the ending of Super is incredible, with Blumiere and Timpani professing their love at the altar with the incredible music, phenomenal. I just pondered this at one point and thought it would be interesting to look at Blumiere through an objective lense as opposed to a thematic one. 

Count Bleck as a character is incredible, so are the rest of the cast, I could go on for multiple essays for each of these wacky characters. One thing I really enjoy is the juxtaposing types of villainy and roles that Blumiere and Dimentio have to each other, how one is intricatley complex and embedded in the narriative with his tragic tale, and the other is quite paper thin on the surface story (Who may have more underneath, though personally I like him being more shallow on the lore for proper contrast to Bleck, but this isn't relevant to the plot nor this discussion), with quite a strong characterisation to pull him through. They're like two extremes of the villain spectrum; between the sympathetic and complex to the more flat twist type of antagonist that balance each other out very well. 

Count Bleck is a very well written character, I love the execution of his narriative, and the question at hand of what he did to be redeemed really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of the narriative, but it's mostly just a personal ponder-

It makes sense to me that Blumiere found happiness because of his ability to "love", how his love stretched the boundaries of comprehension, his ability to truly love is telling of Blumiere's inner good nature despite all that has been comitted. His willingness and persistance to look for Timpani to even the lengths of the Aftergame itself cannot be unoted. I'm pretty sure this is a key takeaway of Blumiere's tale that is wanted: That true love is the foundation of happiness, and without it, one is empty and hollow. Overall, the game redeems Blumiere with the sacrifice at the altar, where that true love that he does have is professed, and he is eligible for his happy ending through his act of love and sacrifice, and can now live a happy aftergame with Timpani. 

But outside of the incredible symbolic perspective, a hypothetical view where Blumiere's actions are analysed from a critical lense rather than a narriative one; What does Blumiere actually do to be redeemed?

Blumiere was implied to have killed the tribe that took Timpani away and searched to the ends of existence to fnd her, to which when her existence was no more, he sought to destroy everything, as nothing else held meaning to him other than Timpani. (Again, symbolically, all works perfectly well) 

He takes in the helpless minions and promises them a perfect world if they aid him in his destruction, though this is a lie, simply so that he can recruit them and follow the passages of the Dark Prognosticus. (In the English version, some subtext implies he manipulated them to join him, though throughout the game, Blumiere still treats his minions with respect and the original implies that Blumiere had a genuine will to help these minions from the start) 

When Timpani is seen alive, he doesn't try to stop the plan, but simly persists forth with destruction all until the very end, where when he is taken down, he immedietly stops with his destructive behaviour and aims to profess his love for Timpani one last time in a sacrifice. Thematically, this is brilliant. 

But from an active standpoint, I don't think Blumiere really didn't DO anything to get a redemption- His sacrifice, again NOT from a thematic standpoint, hardly counts because he still gets a happy ending with Timpani, alive somewhere else. Blumiere's actions across his life have been villanous, despite his intentions being through the persistence of love. 

Technically you could flip the question to say "Was Blumiere at fault for his actions in the first place?" to excuse the actions caused, and therefore be able to justify his redemption more clearly, and I find the take interesting, for perhaps Blumiere wasn't entirely at fault for his own actions.

Blumiere specifically sought for the 'history' of the prognosticus, seen in the Japanese translation, which implies that he perhaps didn't intend to cause harm to anyone and exclusivley wanted to find Timpani. There are also potential implications that he had been controlled by the Dark Prognosticus itself because of this, and the reason why he didn't stop the world's destruction immedietly when he heard Timpani was alive was because he was fighting for control of himself over the will of the Prognosticus over his mind....But I admit I'm not really too sure how probable this idea IS. The game is VERY clear when it wants to show something relevant to the plot foreshadowed, and I feel if this is the takeaway the developers wanted, that this would have been shown directly rather than in implication. Yes, technically it is said that those who read the book do not find happiness, and I think there are hints towards the book controlling him, but...I feel it's a bit vague?

Also, if he were controlled BY the prognosticus, I feel that the narriative weight of Blumiere's character would be detracted, as what makes a lot of his character so powerful is the lengths he went to show how much Timpani meant to him. Him CHOOSING to destroy all of existence because of Timpani's loss is much more powerful to me than the BOOK making him do it, because it shows Blumiere's agency in the decision. Him CHOOSING the destruction of existence proves how, without Timpani, this man did not find value in existence without the source of his true love. Rather than making Blumiere a victim of naivety for causing damages he didn't intend to.

Overall, this isn't really a serious question, I know very well the writers wanted the people playing the game to look at the big picture and perhaps look at the story from a thematic point of view as opposed to an objective one, as this is a fictional game with a story, rather than something to be looked at with an actual objective lense, but it was a fun ponder regardless. I'd be curious to hear any throughts on the matter. Have a nice day!