#Randall's enthusiasm helped him see what was awesome about archeology. his relationship with Claire

[magpie-trinkets]

(writing my brain stew on here because tags are difficult. also spoilers. also i haven't finished azran legacy so I don't know how much that plays into this)

This is difficult, because it's both for me. Like a tragicomedy, a contradiction, a puzzle itself borne from his very existence.

Because on the one hand, it's a sort of joy. That he carries these people around with him, that he cares so much he adopts parts of them into his life. We are ourselves but we are also the people we surround ourselves with. It's a joy that these people live through him and that he's happy, carrying them around. The pieces he has found for himself fit him, and they never seen to have jagged edges that make him hurt or be contradicting. He's a gentleman archeologist, a professor, a smart man with a good heart. There's joy in the person he has become, a successful person that everyone loves, everyone looks up to. There's joy in the genuine good heart of him, of helping others and caring a lot about them. There's joy that he can be kind even to enemies, that he can reach out and understand. He's a joy.

But it's a tragedy, too. A very sad tragedy, because these pieces of him are there because of grief. He carries them and can't let go of these people that influenced him, that he loved, that left and left him empty. To fill that gap, he carried their dreams with him. With Randall, he was just an average teenager. He had friends, he didn't want anything to do with puzzles or archaeology, he just followed Randall around. When Randall finally pressured him into going deeper into the ruins, he lost his friend. He decided to carry on his dream of becoming an archaeologist and liking puzzles, because that was what he had left from him. When he met Claire, she bought him that hat as a gift, and told him he looked like a gentleman – he probably expressed a desire to become one once. When she was gone, all that was left was thay hat, and he became a gentleman.

Thus, all he is, a puzzle lover, an archeologist, a gentleman, all these vital pieces that shape his life come from people he can't let go of. And maybe he shouldn't, maybe forgetting isn't the answer. Because these people were influential to him, and he has to accept he'll live with the grief their disappeareances caused. He has to accept that he can let go a little, maybe soften the grip, but not release it altogether. He can meet new people thay will leave their pieces on him too.

And he isn't just a gentleman professor. He has other facets, other traits that are probably his own! He isn't just made of other people, he is a person. He loves his car, he's a bit of a father, he loves music, he doesn't do his job, he has a hidden sense of humour, he's sympathetic, he likes tea and candy and loves the drama of revealing the answer to a mystery when it's more, well, dramatic.

So, on the one hand, it's a joy that he's become this messy, human but wonderful man, but it's a tragedy he reached this point through coping mechanisms and unhealthy repression of grief, that what makes him whole is pieces left after being abandoned by someone. And even if Randall is still alive, he came too late, when Layton had already gotten too deep into archaeology, a subject he genuinely likes now! And we don't know if Randall is in jail for all the stuff he did, and how in touch are they now.

So it depends how you look at the glass of water, is it half-full or half-empty? As a character, ofc. Because it's a joy he is what he is, he's a fun character to analyse, read and poke fun at, he's a kind, heroic character everyone else loves in canon, but he also reached this point through unholy amounts of suffering. He is still suffering, he hasn't really moved on, because if he does he may forget them, and lose what he is.

So, um, it's a good outcome that eas reached through a lot of bad. He does a lot of good, and he generally looks good and happy and content with the life he has, he has made good of the lot he has been thrown, but it's also all the bad he keeps close, all the bad he has allowed himself to cling to. It's probably scary for him. What if one day he starts taking off the hat? It's become part of him. Will he stop being a gentleman? Will the façade break? Will everyone else see him for the mess he is? Will they abandon him, too? Will he forget Claire? Does this mask he wears give him power or stifle him?

Ejem.

THERE'S A TAG LIMIT OF 30 TAGS I'M LOSING MY SHIT

Inspired by this tlt poll: https://www.tumblr.com/whoopseydaisy/730772080893755392/paul-is-a-joy-a-tragedy