Question Re: The Pure Hearts and Flipside/Flopside
So I've been trying for a while to create as accurate and comprehensive a timeline of the events of 1500 years before Super Paper Mario as possible, and I've run into a major snag. Was Flipside the site of the Pure Hearts' creation with Flopside made after that once problems arose? Or were the Pure Hearts created first and then Flipside and Flopside were simultaneously created together afterwards? We know those are the only two possible options, because the Pure Hearts are confirmed to have existed by the time Flopside did. Below is a list of all the sources of information I know of that we have on this subject, though there may be more:
Garson's story about Flipside
Carson's story about Flipside
Nolrem welcoming the heroes to Flopside
Merlon/Nolrem (?) explaining the purpose of Flopside
Based on all this, it can be definitively said that Flopside was created after the Pure Hearts were. This leaves two possible options.
One: Flipside was created first as a base of operations for the activities of the Sages related to the plan to oppose the Dark Prognosticus, among which was the creation of the Pure Hearts, and at some point the influence from other dimensions proved to make the town unstable, prompting them to create Flopside both to counterbalance that and to make sure only the heroes could reach the Pure Hearts.
Or Two: The Pure Hearts were created first, and Flipside and Flopside were constructed simultaneously afterward in order to ensure it would be stable.
Personally, for a number of reasons, I think the former is more likely, but I'm looking for as much evidence and as high a quality of arguments as I can get for either side of this. My personal argumentation for this is as follows:
. The Sages should only know that constructions in the interdimensional space Flipside resides in would be unstable if they had tried to do so before, and there is no particular hint of a failed experiment before Flipside, making it more likely that it became apparent *after* Flipside came about that instability would occur and that is why Flopside was made.
. Flopside had a specific purpose for its creation related to the ensuring the Pure Hearts and the Heart Pillars would only be reachable by the heroes in addition to its stabilization purpose. The same is not to my knowledge said of Flipside or to the town as a whole, which could imply Flopside was built under different circumstances and for a somewhat different purposes than Flipside, in turn suggesting a different time.
. It is said by the tower enthusiast in Flipside that the Flipside Tower had been there since the town's founding, but that statement is notably absent from his Flopside equivalent.
. The Flipside Pit depicts the Red Pure Heart with a background of Flipside and Flopside, which implies strongly that Flipside had already existed when the Hearts were scattered at the very least, and likely beforehand.
But, I'm open to having my mind changed on this. If there are any bits of evidence and info, questions, interpretations, or arguments people have, I would love to see them.
