Raise your hand if you think Flora and Clive could’ve been friends

[101flavoursofweird]

…Well, fake friends on Clive’s part- maybe. That’s where the angsty betrayal comes in. Because as awesome as the ‘there’s no Future Luke’ twist was, it would’ve been even better if the friendship between Flora (and Luke) and Clive was developed more, only for Clive to pull the rug out from everyone’s feet. Clive already has a past connection to Layton and shares some conversations with him as Clive in the epilogue. Luke and Flora don’t really get that, though. Flora gets kidnapped and Luke gets kicked down some stairs. The two of them argue that they have to help Layton shut down the Mobile Fortress, but they never mention Clive. Flora’s pointless kidnapping would have held more weight to it if we got to see how it affected her- how Clive’s betrayal affected her- but her feelings get pushed aside with everything else that’s happening. What about Luke looking up to his brave future self only to find out his future self was a fake? Does he ever worry that people will notice he resembles Clive? 

The three of them share conversations during their adventure and their little dialogue boxes reveal character interactions. I like the part when Layton goes AWOL outside the Towering Pagoda, leaving Clive to babysit Luke and Flora for a little while. 

(Reminds me of the time I stuck a ‘kick me’ sign on my older cousin’s back.)

Clive wasn’t expecting Flora to come to Future London, though he seems to have done his research on her. (”You’re one to talk, Flora! As I recall, you go bright pink and the drop of a hat!”) She instantly talks to him like a friend- Because Future Luke is still her friend, right?- and Clive addresses her more than Luke at times. Like when Flora gets excited about exploring China Town- Luke tells her to focus, but Clive tells Luke to ‘loosen up’…

Flora is enjoying the adventure, and so is Clive deep down, as he tells Layton in the epilogue. (”At some point, I realised I was enjoying our time together.”) Luke is more concerned- having already survived several perilous adventures- and so he bickers with Flora. This could have been an indicator that he isn’t the real Future Luke. Future Luke would have grown up in this hostile Future Luke. Surely he would be more concerned for their safety? But Flora, who has faced nothing but worry from Layton and little Luke, is glad someone is finally taking her feelings into account- that someone believes in her. Then it turns out that Clive was just manipulating her and he shoves her in a cage. 

I imagine her character development could have been similar to Anna’s in Frozen. (Yes, I’m making a Frozen comparison.) She can’t just open her heart to anyone, because there are people in the world who will try to hurt her. But, alternatively, like Elsa, she can’t live her whole life locked away. Flora knows this- it’s Layton who needs to learn this. The two of them could’ve had a quick heart-to-heart during the epilogue or in the Mobile Fortress. 

Am I saying Flora should’ve had a moment with Clive afterwards? Should he have apologised and she forgiven him? Uh, no. Chances are she wouldn’t want to get anywhere near Clive after he kidnapped her- and Layton probably wouldn’t let her. Clive’s too focused on Layton to care about Flora. The only plausible reason why he kidnapped her in the first place was to lure Layton up to the Mobile Fortress. Layton would’ve gone up there to stop him anyway but ah well But Flora at least could’ve acknowledged how she felt.

I just wanted even more sibling angst in my favourite Layton game, okay?