Welcome everyone to another chapter! This week, we will examine Blooey's past. Also, Hershel's story has been updated to be a better fit for the story. I recommend that you read last chapter just for the rewrite. Hopefully it's much better.

Disclaimer: Paper Mario belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

Chapter 7: A Blooper's Tale of Woe

Blooey sighed as he walked through the gates of Rumblebump Village. The villagers were busy repairing them after the monkey raid. As he walked, a voice echoed. "Blooey!" He shrugged and continued walking. "Blooey! Don't go! Wait!" Mr. Tumbleton ran to him at a slow pace. Blooey sighed. "Wait! Let me chat with you about something."

"I don't have the time, Mr. Tumbleton," Blooey said. "Look, I must go. I don't have time for any chats."

"Look, I think you should join the Luigi feller." The blooper stopped in his tracks. "Look, you need help. Please, why don't you-"

Blooey rolled his eyes. "We had this conversation before. I don't need anyone's help. Why must you bring this up again? It's not anyone else's problem, just mine. You want me to repeat it for your old ears? It's my problem, not his, so just leave me be. I have to leave." He walked to the gates.

Mr. Tumbleton wasn't gonna have it. "When will you actually get your life together?!" he hissed. "Listen to me! You've been searching for your parents for over a decade now! You're twenty years old! You don't deserve this kind of misery! Why must you have all the burden to yourself?!"

"You already know! I have to know why! Why did they leave me? Was it money? Was it anger issues? Did they even love me?! I have to know! I'm gonna go straight in their faces and ask that question, and you can't stop me, Mr. Tumbleton! It's my life! It's my burden! I will find them by myself! I don't need help!"

"But why?" Mr. Tumbleton asked in a lower voice. "Why? Is it pride? Are you that stubborn that you'll use nothing but yourself to find them? You don't even know what they look like. Why must you keep going like this?"

"I'm not repeating myself," Blooey hissed. "I'm gonna find them on my own without anyone's help. You think I want to burden anyone with this problem? They shouldn't be burdened. It's my job to find them myself, so back off. I made up my mind. There's nothing you can to stop me." He walked through the gates.

"Fine!" Mr. Tumbleton yelled. "Be that way! Be your stubborn self that you've always been! One day, you're gonna find yourself so low that you've wished that you'd accept our help the moment you found out about it! You're gonna regret it!"

"Not gonna happen!" was the blooper's response. The old man shook his head. For many years, the two would always squander about that topic. Ever since Blooey found out about his missing parents when he was ten, that was all he was committed to. He had such a fixation that he had to find them by himself. He would rent a boat and travel from one place to another, and in the end, he would come up empty-handed. It frustrated the old man. He always offered his help to the blooper, but it was the same result again and again.

He shook his head and scoffed. "Whatever. I don't even care anymore. Let that blooper suffer to eternity for all I care."

"Do you really mean that?" his wife said. "I hope you don't mean that."

"I've been offering my help to that blooper for over ten years! I'm done! He's too stubborn for change! If that's how he wants to live his life, then so be it! I don't care anymore! Let him rot in misery for all I care, unless you want to have a stab at it. Anyone? The chance's up for grabs!" There were a couple moments of silence as no one raised their hand. "I didn't think so!" He glared at his wife. "Now you understand how I feel. I'm done." He walked away and scoffed.

Mrs. Tumbleton sighed. "Then I suppose the only way for him to accept help is if he understands it himself."

Blooper snorted as he walked along the jungle. For many years he has lived with the Tumbletons in Rumblebump Village, yet the two never saw eye-to-eye, but rather toe-to-toe with each other. The blooper old man's words echoed in his head, but he shook it, trying to block them. He didn't care. All he wanted was to find his parents, no matter what it took. He wandered into another town to find a sailor lying to himself. He snorted himself awake. "Well, Blooey! How are you doing? You here for-"

"Take me to Jazzafrazz Town," Blooey said, pulling out money and handing it to the sailor.

He scratched his head. "Again? We went there last week. Look, why don't you-"

"Take me there now," the blooper growled. "No more delays. I've already had enough." The sailor looked into his eyes. Redness clouded the sides of his irises.

"Dude. When was the last time you slept? No offense, but you look awful. How long did you sleep last night?"

"I don't care. Take me to Jazzafrazz Town now." The sailor rolled his eyes. He and Blooey have been traveling together for the past week. Every now and then, Blooey would go through many sailors. Many would be tired of the same old goose chase and would quit. Others would leave him for other interests. It was the same thing the blooper has seen over and over, but he never gave up. He would continue to find his parents, even if it killed him. Blooey developed a tough skin over the years. He never learned to cry or feel any kind of emotion. All he would think about is his parents because nothing else mattered. The sailor had to find out why.

"Hey," he said, "Can I show you something real quick?"

"Does it have to do with our trip? I'm not wasting anymore time. Make this quick and let's get on the water." The sailor nodded and guided him below decks. He went into a bathroom and stood in front of a mirror. Blooey rolled his eyes. "What is this?"

"Come stand in front of this mirror."

"Why?"

"I know how tough you are. You don't let your emotion get the best of you. I think that you have a soft skin inside you. You hide it. You reject emotion like it's some kind of obstacle. It's unhealthy. I want to try something. Come stand in front of the mirror." Blooey snorted. "Come on. Stand here." He grabbed the blooper's tentacles and dragged him in front of the mirror. "Now, I want you to tell me what you see in the mirror."

"This is stupid," Blooey snorted. "This has nothing to do with our trip. Fine. Since you're gonna be so incompetent about our trip, I'll find a sailor who won't be." Before he could leave, the sailor slammed him against the wall. "Let me go!"

"No!" he hissed. "You're stubborn as the devil! I'm gonna draw out your weak side, no matter what it takes! Quit being an idiot and do the exercise already!" Blooey snorted and stood at the mirror or else he would've never heard the end of it. "Now, tell me what you see in the mirror. Don't try to sway away from the answer. Be honest and tell me what you truly see in the mirror."

Blooey glanced at it. "I just see myself. My black eyes. My skin. Are we done?"

"What do you see past that? You need to look deeper in yourself. I'm not gonna allow you to swerve around the answer. Be honest and tell me what you see."

Blooey was silent. All he saw was himself. What more was there to say? "I don't understand."

"What emotions do you see? Anger? Sadness? The face is excellent at conveying emotion. Look at your eyes, anything that conveys emotion, and tell me what you see."

Blooey stared at the mirror. As stupid as he thought it was, he carried on. So many things stood out to him. The darkness of his eyes. The constant growl he had on his face. "I see anger. That's all."

"Are you sure? Surely there must be something else hidden. Dig deeper in yourself. Really glance hard at that face of yours." Blooey nodded and glanced at his face. He gasped. His eyes seemed to have some sort of softness to them due to a tear or two, but they were always held back by his eyes' stoic and hard expression, like they were blocked and couldn't come through. "I think I see sadness. Why? I don't feel sad right now. I can't ever remember a time I've felt sad. Why do I see sadness?"

"Well that just became the question of the moment. Why do you see sadness? You've always been so rock hard. Why do you think you see sadness?" For once, Blooey was stumped. Was it because of his fights with Mr. Tumbleton? No, that couldn't be it. He would always brush them away like some sort of kink. He thought that they weren't important and were more like a distraction than anything else. Was it because of the constant travel? No, because that never burdened him because of his goal to see his parents. What was it? He scratched his head. Nothing came to the blooper. "I… I don't know."

"Well," the sailor said, "Perhaps we can look at it from a different perspective. You've mentioned anger. Why do you feel angry? What reason is your body conveying this to you?"

"That's easy. Because everyone gets in the way of my goal of finding my parents."

The sailor nodded. "OK. Good, now explain why you are finding your parents."

Blooey snorted. "Because they abandoned me. I have to know why. Was it wealth? Was it jealousy? Did they even love me? I have to know why!"

"Did they truly abandon you? Let's think about other possibilities for a second. What if they were in an accident? What if-"

Blooey wrapped his tentacles around the sailor and pinned him to the wall. "Don't you dare finish that sentence! Th-They can't be dead!"

"I'm not suggesting such a possibility to be true," the sailor said. "We truly don't know if they are alive. We just don't know. Look, all I was doing was trying to get you to think differently. That's the whole point of this exercise."

"You just wanted to get on my bad side," Blooey growled, releasing his grip on him. "I don't see the worth in this exercise anymore. I'm heading above deck."

The sailor sighed. Why was he so stubborn? He had one more trick up his sleeve. "Why did you enlist my help?" The blooper stopped midway up the stairs. "Why did you enlist my help?"

"Why did you ask a stupid question?" he retorted.

"I'm quite serious, Blooey. You've recruited me and many other sailors for help getting across the sea. Knowing you, you could've learned how to sail on your own and would've ended up fine, but that wasn't how it happened. Yes, you could say that you didn't know how to operate a ship, which is true, but I believe there is something more. Tell me the truth. Why did you recruit my help?"

Blooey sighed. The sailor was really pushing his buttons. He felt like punching him, but he felt reluctant to answer. Deep down, he did need help, but should people be burdened by problems that were his? That was why he always rejected help from Mr. Tumbleton. Was asking for help a bad thing? He didn't know. "I guess I needed help."

The sailor held his arms out. "Finally, the truth comes out. Let's delve deeper into this. Why do you think asking for help puts a burden on someone? Do you think they won't say yes? Or is it something else? Why is it?"

Blooey took a couple minutes to answer. "I guess because it would be too much for them. That's what happens with every sailor I meet. It's the same cycle. You think someone should be put through that? No one does."

"While what you say makes sense," the sailor said, "In reality, do you know what you're really doing?" The blooper shrugged. "You're isolating people. I'm willing to bet at one point in your life, you've felt lonely. When you push people away, you create rifts between yourself and them. That's how your attitude is created. In order to change, you must ask for help. It's not a crime to ask. If they do reject, they know their limits. Don't be afraid to ask anymore. Now, do you know what you should do?" The blooper was silent. "You need to go ask for Mr. Tumbleton's help. No more 'on your own' stuff. Start relying on other people." He was still silent. "I'll give you a moment to think about it." The sailor went upstairs.

Blooey went into his thoughts. What should he do? Should he run away? Should he give up on his parents? That was the only thing driving him in his adulthood. Should he go to Mr. Tumbleton? He loved the old man, but he didn't want to burden him. Burden. That word always crept in Blooey's mind when it came to every decision, every single time. Blooey gasped. Has he been burdening himself this whole time? The thought seemed odd to the blooper, but it coincided with what the sailor said. Perhaps he should ask for help. He nodded. No more self burden. From now on, he was gonna change his ways for good. He ran upstairs and jumped off the ship, scaring the sailor. "Thank you so much!"

The sailor smiled. "Anytime, friend!" He smirked as the blooper ran off into the jungle. "About dang-on time that blooper made up his mind."

Blooey smiled as he ran back into Rumblebump Village. "Mr. Tumbleton!" He gasped for breath, trying to find the old man. "Mr. Tumbleton! Where are you?"

"Blooey?"

"Mrs. Tumbleton! Where's Mr. Tumbleton? I have to find him! Tell me where he is!"

"OK!" she hissed. "Calm down! I'll tell you where he is in a second!" He nodded and breathed. "I'm quite surprised you haven't left yet."

"I'm not going to," the blooper said. "I have to know where Mr. Tumbleton is. I have to ask for his help. Where is he?"

"Follow me." He nodded and the two went into a house and walked upstairs to find him lying on his bed with a grumpy look in his face.

"Why did you return?" he asked without facing him. "Don't you leave for your trip? Or is that more important than me? Hmm?"

The blooper was a bit speechless. "Mr. Tumbleton. I-"

"You're here to ask for my help, aren't you? After all the years of fighting, you finally open yourself to me, is that correct?"

Blooey sighed. "Yes."

"As I thought." The old man stood up. "Take your thing and leave. You're not welcome here anymore."

"Mr. Tumbleton. Why-"

"Leave!" he snarled. "You are no longer welcome in my village! I'm done playing the merry-go-round game with you! You're too stubborn for your own good! Since you think that way, it's best we make it permanent. Get out and never show your face around here ever again."

"Mr. Tumbleton, I'm sorry! Please, listen to me!"

"Save your breath! I heard it over a thousand times! No more, I say! Leave at once!"

Mrs. Tumbleton grabbed his arm. "Listen to him."

"I have for the past ten years, Linda! I can't take it anymore! Since he wants to find his parents by himself, I'm doing him a favor. He'll thank me for the act. Now, get out!"

"I need help!" Blooey knelt on the ground. "Mr. Tumbleton, I'm sorry for rejecting your help! I didn't want to burden you, but I need help! I have to find my parents! P-Please forgive me!" The emotional outburst surprised the old man. Where did it come from? He didn't know, but one thing was for sure. Blooey missed his parents, and that was a cry Mr. Tumbleton couldn't ignore.

"Hey," he said, "Sit up." The blooper stood up. "Look, I don't know where this came from, but clearly something changed within you. What happened?"

"The sailor talked me out of it. He must've used reverse psychology or something like that."

Mr. Tumbleton chuckled. "I bet he did nothing of the sort. He must've had a degree in therapy because this transformation is crazy. I'm glad he did. I suppose all you needed was a little self-reflection. Look at you. What made you change?"

"I was burdening myself," Blooey said, gazing at the ground. "I thought I was doing the right thing by not burdening other people with my problems, but all I was doing was pushing people away. I'm sorry. I need help."

Mr. Tumbleton smiled. "You're very mature to admit such things. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but of strength. You did the right thing. Unfortunately, I don't know if I could do anything about it right now. I'm old, but that doesn't stop me from giving advice. Go with the Luigi feller. Travel with him. You might have some luck if you do that. I wish I knew your parents, but I don't. You must discover that for yourself. He went into the jungle towards the volcano. He-" The volcano spewed lava above its spout, shaking the island. "That volcano's gonna erupt! Why's it doing it now? It's been dormant for years!"

Blooey shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm not waiting to find out." He ran to the jungle.

"That's my boy!" Mr. Tumbleton cheered. "Go to him, Blooey! Show him the White Torpedo you are meant to be!" He nodded and zoomed into the jungle. The old man smiled. "That's my boy." The volcano erupted once more, lava pouring out the sides. "Oh no. Blooey, please be quick. We're counting on you."

Thank you everyone for reading. I hope you enjoyed his backstory. Next time, we will finish this arc. See you all then!