for the twitter layton gift exchange 2023 event - my piece for Kyo @tanggalipet - I thought it might be fun to share here as well! ^^
the pose was inspired by this 1941 palm beach suit ad, something about the silly conspiratorial whispering made me think of the overall tone of LMJ hehe
Ayye i made an animatic!! Thing!! Idk its a trend on Instagram rn and not only did the vocals remind me of Ernest, but i think the concept also fit Alfendi sooo i birthed this out😔 I feel like no one has thought of them as a duo before so im here to take the stage and create the most goofy shit as usual
I recently discovered these Layton Mystery Detective Agency Books that I had never heard of before.
Since I'm an obsessed Layton fan, I immediately bought the entire set, ten books in total.
I looked it up and the books were made by @Layton_Creative.
(Go check out their Twitter they have loads of cute art!)
I have no idea how "official" these books are, but they are ready cute and I really enjoyed them!
Each book is based on a single episode of the anime.
The artstyle is really cute and funny at times.
And this is a Layton book, so there are naturally puzzles to solve!
One thing I really like is there are a few changes and extra scenes that aren't in the anime.
For example, in the final case, Hastings and Brittanias must work together to solve the puzzles to rescue the Dragons.
And by the end of it, they actually become friends!
Also, Clover Pryce doesn't die in this version! A great day for women!
My favorite part however is the end of the final case, where Katrielle walks through town and sees all the people she's helped. I'm glad to see Pastel smiling, he definitely had the most tragic episode.
There's also a cute illustration at the end.
Wait.... who do you see those two men in the window??
I bought my books from here if anybody is interested in adding them to their collection.
The thing I love about Kat and Ernest’s relationship
Kat grew up not just in the shadow of her father, but her older sister (the Golden Apple, Professor Layton’s protege), her older brother (who became a police inspector), her uncle Luke (Layton’s apprentice), Emmy (Number One Assistant) and Desmond (Azran-expert Professor Sycamore), etc. etc…
Basically Kat comes from a family of clever, cool, sophisticated, capable characters, and it would be so easy for her, as the youngest child, to feel overshadowed. (Not that her family would purposely make Kat feel like that! But it’s probably inevitable when your father is THE Professor Layton!)
It’s possible little Kat appeared in the papers alongside her father— if the Professor was even taking on new cases at that point… but any fame Kat did have would be in connection to her father. Then, Layton and Luke disappear when Kat is ten. Would the public even remember the name of Professor Layton’s youngest child? (How many archaeologists can you remember by name? Not fictional ones. Can you remember the names of their children?)
By the time Kat opens her detective agency, at he age of 21, no one (outside of her family and close friends) seems to know who she is. You’d think people working at Scotland Yard would know Kat— her older brother works there— but the average police office like Inspector Hastings doesn’t recognise Kat when she first turns up at his office. (As seen in Ernest’s flashback!) In fact, Hastings seems to resent her!
When Madame Gretchin Doublée requests the assistance of a ‘Layton’, she expects the Professor himself to arrive at her house— but instead, she gets his young parvenu daughter.
We see a similar incident in the first episode of the anime, when Simon Light turns up at the Layton Detective Agency, insisting he wants Professor Layton’s help… much to Kat’s irritation.
It’s safe to say that before she opened her detective agency, Kat was just a nondescript girl in the eyes of the general public.
Sherl is Kat’s first ‘client’ when she opens her detective agency, but before that… Kat helped a young man accused of theft at Gressenheller.
Ernest is a complete stranger to Kat. When they first meet, the only obvious connection the two share is their association to Gressenheller. Ernest mentions that he often encounters bad luck (which, I suppose Kat could relate to with her family) but other than that, Ernest doesn’t recognise Kat or her last name. He claims he chose to attend Gressenheller because his favourite professor (Dr. Ohm) taught classes there— and I believe that. I don’t believe Ernest masterminded a whole plan where he would bump into Hershel Layton’s daughter and she would expose the dragons for him. (Though, this is a cool take and I’d love to read something like that!) Maybe Ernest started developing his plans to bring down the Seven Dragons— keeping his intentions hidden from Kat— when Kat was taking on cases from the Dragons… but his first meeting with Kat was complete coincidence.
The day they met, Kat’s sole pure intention wasn’t to help Ernest out of the goodness of her heart. She was on her way to the university anyway, so she let Ernest accompany her. She may have solved the case partly to boost her own reputation and to stick it to Hastings… but she was still kind was kind to Ernest and, in the end, she cleared his name. No wonder she left such an impression on him!
After that, Ernest decides to drop everything and dedicate himself to the girl who saved him. He pronounces himself Miss Layton’s assistant and seeks her out at her detective agency. Yes, Ernest can be a little obsessive and Kat tells Sherl she doesn’t need an assistant, but actually… she really could use an assistant. Ernest makes her tea. He solves puzzles with her. He reminds her to pay rent. He carries her bags for her. He compliments her outfits. He’s indulges Kat’s wild theories. He’s like her personal cheerleader.
Kat— the overlooked, youngest Layton— LOVES this. She loves having someone to hype her up. She loves how someone (outside of her family) finally recognises her worth. She loves having a friend, who would do anything for her.
Yes, she would be hurt by Ernest’s deception, but she forgives him. When Ernest tries to resign as her assistant and leave her forever, did he really believe Kat would let him go, after the losses she had experienced in the past? (Her father, Luke, Alfendi in hospital…)
Various Professor Layton Headcanons (Including Mystery Room and Mystery Journey)
Luke prefers holding sleeves or wrists over actually holding hands
Flora can successfully make toast
When Layton is tired enough, he can only focus on one thing at a time and becomes oblivious to his surroundings. Randall and Clark have some funny stories.
Potty Prof is surprisingly good at hugs, Placid Prof is very bad at them. It doesn't come up.
Potty Prof is the best cook between him, Placid Katrielle, and Flora, this doesn't mean he does it often
Luke bonded with Alfendi by sharing disturbing animal facts he knew
Ernest is very self-taught when it comes to cooking and sticks to some basic recipes he's good at because, let's be honest, he's too busy to experiment often
Kat, on the other hand, either doesn't cook or goes all out trying a random recipe she found (to mixed success). She has definitely caused a couple of kitchen fires.
Ernest has a small nick on his ear after the fishing hook getting caught on it in episode 8 of the anime
Layton has listened to Luke infodump about various animals and book series on multiple occasions
Flora knows how to pick locks but considers it something to do only when necessary (she doesn't want to be a criminal, after all)
Lucy is stronger than she looks
Katrielle has a self-defense knife Alfendi gave her. It's in her coat pocket, and she forgets it's there half the time
Layton has a former guest room that was kind of Luke's room until he adopted Flora, and it became her room. Luke was chill about this and helped decorate. Now, when he stays over, he sleeps on the couch.
Layton helped the Tritons move from Misthallery to London
Ernest has seen enough horror movies that they don't easily scare him but he still finds them fun
Flora is a pretty good singer and has sung along to songs Luke plays on his violin (I love thinking about these two being friends)