man thinking about ranlayclaire has given me a great idea for an UF au:
Clive, whilst researching everything he can about the professor in preparation to play the role of his apprentice, stumbles upon an article about one Randall Ascot, archaeology enthusiast and man of abundant wealth. He decides that Randall is an excellent candidate to kidnap into the future; having him would be a useful bargaining chip should things go wrong with the professor, and if nothing else his riches and status could prove useful to Clive’s plans.
What Clive doesn’t count on is Claire. Conducting her own investigation of Future London’s research facility, she stumbles upon Randall, a man she’s never met but knows all too well. She recognises him from the faded photographs that hung in Hershel’s flat, and from tipsy, late night conversations about the past, regret, and lost friends (read: loves).
Randall, who’d been biding his time whilst he thought up an escape plan, is more than happy to go with her - he may not know her in return but anyone close with Hershel is someone he could trust (it also helps that she seems to have a keen eye for puzzles). With his sharp mind, Randall is already wise to the fact that this Future London is not all that it seems, so the duo form an unlikely partnership to solve its mysteries.
The two form a strong bond, sharing in troubled pasts, even joking about their situations as the ‘undead lovers of Hershel Layton’. Randall’s heart aches for Claire knowing that she won’t get the same second chance at life he’d been given. He promises to do everything he can to help settle things so that she can return to her time knowing that the future is safer.
When the professor and the rest of the gang eventually meet up with the duo they are of course surprised to find that Randall is also in Future London. They don’t reveal everything they know for risk of jeopardising the investigation, cautious that ‘Future Luke’ is still accompanying them. Randall is somewhat surprised when Claire introduces herself as ‘Celeste’ however. He understands her wanting to avoid putting Hershel through any more pain, but encourages her to be honest with him so that they can enjoy their remaining time together. When they find the time to meet with the professor alone they reveal everything to him, and the three begin working on a plan to defeat both Dimitri and Clive, and ensure the safety of both Londons.
For the rest of their adventure together the three grow even closer. For the professor it’s a chance to reconnect with his two favourite people. In the case of Randall it’s the most time they’ve spent together since the events at Monte D’Or, and with the complicated feelings from the Masked Gentleman incident given time to heal they fall seamlessly back into their old friendship. Claire is the perfect addition to their dynamic; Hershel is of course already head over heels for her, and she and Randall get on like they’d been friends for years. He supposes it makes sense given their many similarities, both bold and confident, intelligent and inquisitive, shared terrible sense of humour and no, Hershel Layton does not have a type. He’s not sure what to make of what the three of them have, especially given the strange circumstances, but he knows it puts a warmth in his chest he’d been lacking for a while. If only they had more time to see what could happen.
When Claire’s inevitable departure finally arrives it happens much the same, though this time an additional heart is broken in the fallout. Randall, much like Hershel, had grown to love Claire deeply and had cherished the time they’d all spent together, however brief and unusual it was. She kisses each of them in turn before joining their hands, happy that the future is secure and that her boys will have each other. As she walks away, Hershel cradles his top hat to his chest with a pained smile and tears in his eyes. Randall simply stays there beside him, clinging tightly to the hand still entwined with his.
basic overview is that randall and hershel are both professors of archaeology at gressenheller. they have offices next door to each other, work closely as members of the same department, and they do not like each other, resulting in a sort of rivalry between them. the games all happen mostly the same (except miracle mask) but this time a spite-fuelled randall tags along and they bicker constantly.
the set up for this au has the two of them as best friends in stansbury in the same way as canon. randall struggles with the other town’s people, his family and close friends not believing in him and his ambitions, but finds comfort in the support of his best friend hershel.
the key difference in this au is hershel refusing to go to akbadain with randall, refusing to support the idea even. randall has had some wild ideas before but an expedition like this is way too far; at best it’s risky, at worst it’s madness. fearing for his friend’s safety, he refuses to condone the idea in any way. already wounded by the dismissal and contempt from everyone else in his life, randall sees this as a massive betrayal and the two have a big argument over it, causing a major rift between them.
randall storms off to akbadain alone and miraculously somehow doesn’t get himself killed in the ruins. i’m undecided on if he’d go public with his findings at this point, perhaps he’d suspect a wider mystery relating to the azran and choose to continuing researching privately. either way he feels vindication of everyone who looked down on him or doubted him in his home town. he never returns to stansbury, believing there to be nothing and no one left for him there, and goes on to study archaeology at university.
meanwhile in stansbury, hershel feels guilt over the disappearance of his former friend, with no way of knowing his fate. compared to canon it’s a less personal responsibility than letting him fall to his supposed death, but the loss of randall weighs on hershel all the same. not wanting to let randall’s grand ambitions go to waste should the worst have happened to him, and unsure of anything else he’d rather pursue, hershel goes on to study archaeology at gressenheller.
through his years of study and hard work, hershel does grow an affinity and love for the subject, becoming the professor layton we know and love. he’s most excited when his first day as professor of archaeology rolls around, that is until he is introduced to the other newest professor at gressenheller.
at the door of the office next door to his, he is greeted by a familiar pair of thick-rimmed glasses sitting below bright red hair, styled a bit neater than before though still just as vibrant. his initial reaction is shock followed by relief and joy to see his friend alive and well. this is cut short when the man opens his mouth. this randall is very bitter, all snarky comments and disdain (i imagine his personality in this au as a toned-down version of how he is in the climax of miracle mask, and also somewhat similar to sycamore, minus the tragic backstory, plotting for revenge and maniacal alter ego). hershel does his best to remain civil - he is trying his best to be gentlemanly these days after all - but randall is making it very clear he doesn’t want to be friends in a way that is oh so infuriating.
over the years of working next door to each other they settle into a comfortable mutual dislike of each other. they are competitive in both their work place and archaeology careers, their relationship developing into a fierce rivalry. this remains constant for several years, until one day hershel is summoned by an old friend to aid with a troubling situation involving a spectre. randall insists on tagging along, forming a most unlikely investigative duo. little do they know this will be the first in a series of perplexing and exciting mysteries, incredible archaeological finds, and perhaps some reconciliation for the pair.
highlights of this au include:
bickering. constantly and unendingly. hershel tries not to rise to it at first but his resolve breaks very quickly. their students joke about it a lot.
they frequently try to outdo each other in their research work, to the point where any and all arguments can be trumped by ‘yeah, well i discovered ___ so…’
randall’s insistence on tagging along out of spite causing even more problems for the uni because now they’re down two professors and dammit you two, someone has to teach the classes.
post- last spectre, luke spending time at gressenheller often finds himself in randall’s office. cue them competing to be luke’s favourite. luke is now the apprentice of not one professor but two.
randall interacting with emmy. randall interacting with clark. randall interacting with sycamore. basically randall with everyone.
possibly even randall meeting claire? and being around whilst hershel is grieving her death. they still don’t get on in this time but there are small moments of concern when needed - they may dislike each other but randall isn’t completely heartless.
miracle mask would be entirely different. i’m not really sure what the plot of it would be and who it would involve, but it should still involve as akbadain as this would have them confronting their past and bad feelings for each other, acting as the turning point in their dynamic towards a more positive one.
it’s enemies to lovers because it’s my au and i get to choose the tropes i cannot be stopped >:)
randall being present for azran legacy and witnessing the truth of the azran civilisation first hand.
this got super long but if i have any more thoughts i might post some more about it (and if anyone wants to add anything that would be awesome i’d love to hear more thoughts 👀)
