Since Moody Blues is a reflection of Abbacchio's inner guilt and self-hatered, if, let's say, in an AU where he survived, he managed to finally forgive himself for what happened and let go (probably with Bruno's help), do you think MB would evolve like Echoes and Tusk did?
the short answer: yes
the more elaborate and honest answer:
i'm not sure if abbacchio's guilt would have left him in an everyone lives au. the reason abbacchio's character found forgiveness was because his ex-partner directly said to him in heaven that everything was alright. so i think abbacchio, alive and remaining on earth, wouldn’t have exactly reached an “all is well” state of mind as he did in heaven, since the words would never come in life from someone who is already dead.
the damage that came from the past would remain imprinted on his life, very much like the lines left on the surface of a broken vase. he’ll learn to stay together, but one can only learn how to carry on and live with these marks. so, the bare essentials of Moody Blues, wouldn’t change: time is irrevocable, it doesnt feel or think or want. it simply is.
Now, since abbacchio wouldn't be haunted negatively in such a strong way as before, maybe his stand would have been able to touch on something more than just individual elements. Moody Blues could only register individual history. it could only replay what one person did at one point in time, and allowed Abbacchio to see it. because for Abbacchio, everything hinged in one's own personal mistakes and choices. everything else replayed as a background whisper, echo, or mere feeling, never exactly appearing physically.
After learning to accept that it was circumstancial and that what fault laid in his hands didn’t correlate to his partner’s death in the way he thought, i believe Moody Blues would be able to replay after-images of the surroundings:
We see that Moody Blues “learning” is low, with a C rank. but as we know, Stands are the reflection of the user’s soul and mental strength, so Moody Blues is pretty limited to what Abbacchio is currently experiencing/his mental fortitude. since he was haunted by his past, to the point that his stand manifested as a non-combative one despite Abbacchio being extremely capable in physical fights/had good physical constitution, once the heavy weight of guilt dissipated into something less harming than a penance cross, Moody Blues would no longer be jailed to these stats and would evolve together with Abbacchio’s own personal growth.
personally, I doubt Abbacchio’s stand would be able to foresee the future, since Stands have their own restrictions and there would have to be some sort of “compensation” for the wide range of abilities. time is not linear, but in Jojo universe the abilities follow a simple method of “go forth” or “go back”. these are counted as two different abilities. Moody Blues goes back, while King Crimson goes forth. however, due to Diavolo’s maquiavelic nature, such skip in time allowed him to manipulate what happened within certain lapse. Abbacchio, who lived by “never letting go”, registered past rather than modifying anything.
the “compensation” Diavolo paid for such strong ability was that it could only work on a specific amount of seconds. six to seven, and no more. for the increase of this condition, he would have had to be something inhuman/unearthly, like Dio, whose “World” grew because Dio broke his own limitations as human. that’s what makes stands charming haha, that they can be deadly, helpful, dangerous, etc. all depending on the user’s mindset.
now, back to Abbacchio, who is human, i think Moody Blues would have stayed able to rewind and show a larger view of the past rather than focus on one element, giving Abbacchio more insight of past events as a whole rather than the actions one performs in their lifetime.
i hope this is more or less the answer you expected! also sorry for the long meta, i love talking about abbacchio ;v;
