Sharper Valentine

* Museum
* Real

“
Never underestimate what a great man can do given time.
”

— Sharper Valentine

**Sharper Valentine** is an important character in Beacon Pines. He was the owner of the fertilizer company "Valentine's", as well as the founder of Beacon Pines.

## Profile

### Appearance

#### Development

To learn about his development, navigate to Duke Valentine's section on the Minor Characters page.

#### Final Design

Sharper Valentine appears to be a Doberman. He wears a black suit over a white long-sleeved shirt with a tan tie and button. He also possesses black shoes. On his statue in Town Square, he is depicted with a top hat.

### Personality

Sharper Valentine is narcissistic and egotistical, believing himself to be a genius surrounded by a town of fools that need him to survive. On multiple occasions in the game, he makes irrational choices in order to make himself look clever, like having passwords and titles be simple anagrams and rushing deadlines to meet occasions in order to have his reveals feel more spectacular. He constantly belittles others and demonstrates his authority (even to his own children), earning him a negative reputation with many people in Beacon Pines, and is largely blamed for the degradation of the town.

When Sharper wants something, this can lead him to demonstrating how merciless he is to anything or anyone in his way. If anyone breaks their loyalty to him, they are often killed so that his secrets aren’t spread. To analyze Tempus Liquamine, he doesn’t mind forcing children to be test subjects despite its proven harmful nature. The man also shows little remorse for any of his actions, seeing it all as trivial as long as it get he “deserves”.

He also despises the concept of time, throwing away his watch due to it reminding him of his mortality. When he discovers that Tempus Liquamine could keep him young forever, he takes several extreme measures in order to fulfill his dream of immortality.

### Background

For many years, the valley that now sits Beacon Pines was originally a small mining outpost. It wasn't until Sharper Valentine built his fertilizer company “Valentine’s” that Beacon Pines was officially established as a town. While only having seven citizens (who all worked for a mining company) at the start of its founding, it soon grew when the effects of Valentine’s fertilizer became evident, to the point that the next 30 years of the town’s existence had all of its residents either work for Sharper or use his products.

At some point, he had two children; Heiress and Augustus Valentine. He also tried to set time each month for a dinner with his son, though didn't always succeed (as seen in the Cooking Minigame).

Six years before the events of the game, Sharper Valentine had learned of a new chemical below Beacon Pines called "Tempus Liquamine", the effects of which could manipulate time. Seeing the potential it could have, he had it added to his fertilizer, though this resulted in the water of some houses to be contaminated. Seeing the dangers of Tempus Liquamine but determined to harness its power, he reached out to Walter VanHorn and Joseph Nuncreed and offered them a large amount of money if they could uncover its secrets. While Joseph accepted his offer, Walter declined due to not trusting Sharper, and later realized that his actions were the reason some of Beacon Pines’ citizens suddenly fell ill, the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Wilby pushing him to take action against the Founder.

Sharper later found Walter in his laboratory, having broken in so that he could sabotage Sharper’s attempt at manipulating time. During their scuffle, Walter was killed, and Sharper came into contact with the altered Tempus Liquamine. But instead of rapidly aging, his body became younger and now resembled a child.

Being obsessed with using Tempus Liquamine to achieve eternal life after this discovery, Sharper left Beacon Pines just before The Foul Harvest afflicted the town, his death being staged as a “scientific experiment gone wrong” so that he could hatch a plan to mine the town for the chemical without of the residents knowing. Before this, however, he wrote a Last Will and Testament that stipulated that if Heiress Valentine (his daughter) wanted to inherit his fortune and possessions, she would have to take on a child called “Solomon” as her ward (this child actually being Sharper made unrecognizable due to his new appearance), using the rumors of him having multiple partners to his advantage and giving him a way to return to Beacon Pines without his identity being revealed, which he did a few years before the game’s events.

Eventually, Sharper managed to find and recruit Patrick C. Montesquieu and The Clipboards, who would become the CEO and employees of Perennial Harvest respectively, with Patrick now using the persona “William Kerr” to avoid suspicion. 2 years after his apparent death, Perennial Harvest arrive in Beacon Pines in order to start the “Beacon Pines Reborn Initiative”, which on the surface was their attempt to help the town recover from The Foul Harvest, but what in reality served as a way to get to and experiment on Tempus Liquamine.

The first step of their plan was to “decontaminate the groundwater”, which had everyone living there moved into hotels in another town while they worked. In this week, Sharper instead had them construct an almost perfect replica of Beacon Pines so that their gathering of Tempus Liquamine couldn’t be seen (the hole they retrieved the substance being dubbed “The Source”). He then utilized his scientists (including Joesph Nuncreed, who hesitantly remained loyal to his aims) to study it, with the duty of creating his ideal dose of Tempus Liquamine eventually falling to Nelly Moedwil after Sharper interviewed her and when he had her processor Dr. Prescott killed due to his intentional sabotage of his research.

Seeing the progress of his scientists, Valentine decided that on the day of Perennial Harvest’s festival, 6 years after his death, he will make sure a suitable dose of Tempus Liquamine is ready and his “return” would be publicly shown in front of every single person in Beacon Pines.

## Story

### If “Hum” Was Chosen at “Fire and Ice”

To read about his time under the "Solomon Valentine" persona, check Solomon Valentine's page.

After his reveal at the festival, Eleanor is in disbelief over Sharper being alive, which he notices and relishes in. Admiring his new body, he explains to the stunned crowd that the festival was a ruse for his “glorious return”, but notices how displeased his audience looked. Urging them to celebrate, he asks William to uncover the newly revised “SHARPER VALENTINE FESTIVAL” sign, though this only returns frustrated grumbling and heckling from Geoff.

Sharper responds by having Kerr signal The Clipboards to take him away and threatens to do the same thing with rest of the crowd if they act in a similar manner. Now scared into silence, he ridicules the people of Beacon Pines for believing they could ever be free of him and states they should be celebrating his return due to them being “lost” without them. He then turns his attention to his two children, and how disappointed he is with them. Starting with Augustus, despite his son being happy to see his father again, this joy soon evaporates when he accuses him of being a hopeless case, to the point that he doesn’t even consider him to be an adult. Moving onto Heiress, while he admits to seeing potential in her, she still fails him “with admirable consistency”, with him even being able to formulate plans that bank on her incompetency. Claiming she had done nothing in his time away, Heiress retorts that she was focused on cementing the Valentine family’s legacy. Sharper scoffs at this, saying he doesn’t need a legacy when he has eternal life, and concluding that she just doesn’t have the imagination needed to make him proud.

Now finished with his children, Sharper calls out for Mr. Nuncreed, accusing him of slipping away whilst his attention was elsewhere. The man then approaches the Founder (much to his delight), which prompts him to praise Joseph for all he had done for him, and despite the man’s protests, he wants everyone there to know that, without Nuncreed, his return wouldn’t have been possible. Trying to convince the town he had no choice in the matter, Sharper states that he always had a choice, and he was simply not strong enough to take it, though also promising the man that he’ll be made rich by his contributions.

The Founder advises Joesph to follow Mr. Kerr’s example, bringing up who he was before he was under his employ and how he can now not only follow his dreams now, but do so forever so long as he stays loyal to him, promising the same reward for anyone else who aligns themselves with him (unless they have already worn away his good will).

Dawn then pipes up, asking if William Kerr was ever in charge of Perennial Harvest, which Sharper laughs at the thought of. Finally revealing his plan, he explains that that the man they all knew as William Kerr was a persona constructed to be a figurehead that would misdirect those in Beacon Pines whilst Sharper orchestrated his return. Telling “William” to take his bow, he obliges, introduces himself as “Patrick C. Montesquieu” and thanks Valentine for everything he had done for him.

Mrs. Fratelli then brings up the possibility of a rebellion rising against him, though Sharper discloses that he had already accounted for that with The Clipboards, and that due to their incessant questioning, he now knows every citizen’s greatest fear, and that he will make those terrors a reality if anyone wrongs him. This causes Luka to stand up to him, stating to not be afraid of Sharper.  The Founder divulges the fact he had been keeping an eye on the boy due to meddling in his affairs and taunts him, claiming that if things had just gone a little differently, things might’ve ended better for Luka. When the boy refuses to believe that Sharper will get away with all that he’s done, but the man points out that he already has.

Reveling in his newfound control over time even accounting for what it cost to obtain it, he cracks his knuckles and prepares to remake the town as he sees fit. Soon enough, his fertilizer factory reopened and became steadily more successful over time due to word of it being “miraculous” despite it only being available for those who could overcome its steep cost. Its success made Beacon Pines famous but secretive as sales rose, especially due to the length of winters extending further and further as time went on.

### If “Malice” Was Chosen at “Windows to The Soul”

The night after Rolo Cotter is kidnapped, Sharper communicates with William Kerr via radio in order to learn the status of his new Lead Researcher of Deep Engineering (Nelly Moedwil). Kerr reports that she’s integrating well and is currently working to meet the festival deadline, even offering to work overtime before he himself could suggest it. Pleased by this, Sharper asks if she’s capable of finishing the work done by her predecessor on time. Kerr assures him that he’ll make sure she stays days and night until she’s finished her work.

Sharper then brings up Nelly’s long-term prospects in the company, and while Kerr expresses worry over immediately bringing her into the fold, his employer reminds him of the fact they’re in the final phase of their plan, as well as what happened with Dr. Prescott (which he blames Kerr for), ending his argument with a wish to avoid risks. William obeys his wishes, promising no loose ends and that she’ll either be completely devoted to Perennial Harvest or be killed, satisfying Sharper.

William then suggests pushing the deadline back slightly so that their rushing causes no issues (a problem they had faced in the past). Knowing Sharper’s dedication to making the deadline, he emphasizes that he just wants what is best for his boss and that he will always be grateful for everything he has done for him. Sharper responds by stating he brought in William to make everything run smoothly, not have opinions. Kerr once again shelves his worries, and Valentine tells him to “chin up”, as he’s only a few days away from getting what he wants.

On the day of the festival, he spends his time within his office smoking, but when he exits it, he soon sees Luka approach him. Surprised he's there, he quickly composes himself and dons his Solomon persona to gain his trust (go to Solomon's page for details).

Whilst Luka, Rolo, Beck and Nelly were about to make a plan to escape Perennial Harvest Headquarters, "Solomon" opens the door and, after William Kerr and The Clipboards file in, he reveals his true identity. Nelly realises that he had managed to find a way to reverse the effects of Tempus Liquamine, and that this was why she was tasked with finishing her predecessor’s work, causing Sharper to clap in delight and praise her, though he admits the discovery wasn’t intentional and that the effects where too drastic for his liking.

Sharper asks Mr. Kerr for the vial, which he presented with dramatic flair. Before he could finish “presenting” the substance, however, Rolo snatches it, causing the Founder to panic and claim the young Cotter doesn’t know what he’s holding. Rolo dismisses this, as Sharper has just told everyone in the room about its properties and throws it to Luka, who in turn taunts them with the idea of him drinking it. Kerr shouts at The Clipboards to “SEIZE HIM”, but their attempt is stopped by Beck calling for his to throw the vial to her. Luke obliges, and Beck threatens to smash it whilst holding it behind her back.

Sighing, Sharper measuredly ran down the girl’s lack of options. He claims her smashing the vial would either kill everyone in the room, or do nothing, leaving Beck without her bargaining chip and making the punishment she and her accomplices will receive significantly worse. At the same time, he promises her that, should she hand over the vial now, none of them will be harmed. He calls her clever, but also says “there’s no shame to being outwitted by someone smarter than you”.

Despite her friends’ protests, Beck returns the vial. With that blockade removed, Sharper addresses William and tells him he’ll be having a “performance review” the next day due to allowing children to jeopardize his plans (something that terrifies the man). He also commands him to leave for the festival so that he can give his speech. After his departure, the Founder reflects on the fact that this was all done thanks to Luka’s father and informs the boy that he was always getting in his way despite his offer to join him in the research of Tempus Liquamine. Eventually, he mentions Walter’s attempt to sabotage his work and the aftermath of their struggle, stating it was fate that made his dying wish to give the Founder eternal life. Sharper then hears muffled applause through the walls and takes that as his cue to leave for the festival, though not before assuring his enemies that he’ll return to deal with them later. On his way out, he assigns Three Clipboards to guard to stand outside of the office and guard it.

When the group manage to escape the building with the help of Eleanor, Mr. Tolliver and Mrs. Fratelli, they see him down the Tempus Liquamine, unaware Beck had put something in the vial while it was behind her back.

### If “Junk” Was Chosen at “The Vile Vial”

Due to Beck pouring the dust from the office’s ashtray into the vial, Sharper’s body gets completely turned to ash, which gets scattered into the wind after his son reaches out to touch him. The crowd gradually walks away, numb to what has just transpired, knowing that Sharper was now gone for good, thus ending this branch.

### If “Malice” Was Chosen at “The Vile Vial”

Having some of his whiskey poured into the vial causes his body to expand and explode into confetti. The audience is stunned, though the sight of William Kerr running away causes Luka to laugh, which in turn causes everybody else to join in, ushering in another ending.

### If “Change” Was Chosen at “The Vile Vial”

Due to Beck inserting her Unlucky Penny into the vial, Sharper de-ages even more, now resembling a toddler. Heiress picks him up, telling everyone to leave and that she’ll be the one to raise this child due to viewing this version of the Founder as innocent.

Heiress can be found during Epilogue caring for Sharper, noting that he seems to enjoy nature more than she does, which causes her to often stroll around with him. Luka brings up the possibility of him remembering who he used to be, though Heiress informs him that Nelly thinks that, due to his now infant mind, he likely hasn’t retained anything from his past. The young VanHorn expresses his hopes for him to be more altruistic this time, Heiress sharing this wish whilst aiming to try her best and hope for the best. Praising her efforts so, Luka promises that he and the rest of Beacon Pines will be willing to help however they can. Getting emotional at the boy’s words, Heiress states she would like that.

## Cut Content

Before the 1.0.5. update, there would be a scene that plays after the game’s credits. It takes place 10 years later and shows an older Sharper (now resembling the form associated with Solomon) retrieve a ball in Old Beacon Pines after an unseen character had kicked it near The Source (the hole now being filled with ice). The offscreen character calls out for Sharper, asking if he had found the ball, and Sharper shouts back that he had found it. But whilst walking back to his companion, he notices something glowing inside of The Source, and approaches it.

This “ghost monkey” scene (named as such to reference the end-credits scene in Pirates of the Caribbean) was removed because it confused a lot of players.

## Trivia

* While his age is never stated, him founding Beacon Pines 36 years before the game means he is at least in his 50's (assuming he was over the age of 14 at the time).

## References

2. ↑ "There used to be a fertilzer company here called Valentine's" – Luka, Chapter 5: What Big Ears You Have
3. ↑ “But, did you know… when the town was founded there were only 7 citizens? And they all worked for a mining company?” – Bert, Chapter 2: Welcome to Beacon Pines
4. ↑ “Over the next 30 years, the town had grown and prospered.” - Storyteller, Chapter 2: Welcome to Beacon Pines
5. ↑ “Most everyone in town either worked for Sharper Valentine or used his fertilizer.” – Chapter 5: What Big Ears You Have
6. ↑ “It’s hard for me to believe that it was only four years ago when fate brought me here.” - Willaim Kerr, Chapter 9: A Speech to End All Speeches.
7. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSxHkF5qx14&t=6208s
8. ↑ https://discord.com/channels/616982269667704844/616983232214335509/1117434956034088962
9. ↑ https://hidingspot.itch.io/beacon-pines/devlog/438413/105-patch