Judging by the vague time period given as to when Elliot was born, it is possible that he was just old enough to get conscripted into WW1. Technically you had to be 18 to sign up, but based on historical documentation, we know that boys as young as 14 were being accepted.

He strikes me as quite the patriotic guy, so I can definitely see him signing up as a ~16 y/o, especially if his home life wasn’t great. Propaganda was heavy in that era, so it would make sense that an optimistic mind like young Elliot’s would believe every word.

The other reason I’m so convinced that Elliot served, is because of the poppy flower. It is absolutely centric to the entire plot of the game. Poppy flowers are heavily associated with WW1, because they were the one of the only flowers (and the most striking) to grow on the ex-battlefields. So they have a strong symbolism of rebirth, resurrection, etc.

Hell, the man even named his daughter after the flower.

And who was the one who discovered the Poppy Gel, and its regenerative properties? Elliot! Surely that’s too strong of a tie to just be coincidence.

So.

My theory is that Elliot’s idea of making better lives for children, spreading smile and cheer, isn’t just an ideal, it’s an obsession. A coping mechanism. Hence his workaholic nature. I am convinced he has PTSD (as well as depression, which I think pre-dated Poppy’s death— i.e, he was already dealing with untreated mental illness, this tragic event just made it worse).

Do I think his desire to spread joy and give children a better future was genuine? Yes, absolutely. You can see a lot of that similar optimism in society right after WW1. It was described as “the war to end all wars” (propaganda, obviously), so once it was over there was a massive cultural shift toward looking to build a better future in the wake of the horrors. I think Elliot was a part of that movement.

But as he spiralled into a darker and darker mental state… he dragged that ideal down with him. In particular, I think after Poppy’s passing, he developed an intense fear of death. Not necessarily for himself, but for his loved ones.

I could argue that this is supported by canon, as well. In fact what’s really interesting is that you can see it in Harley and Elliot’s conversation in the labs— the one that ultimately lead Elliot to kick Harley out. They’re parallels. Elliot’s experimentation is just as selfish as Harley’s, (as proven by the lengths he was willing to go to) but he’s doing it for his daughter. Harley, on the other hand appears to be experimenting, be pushing for progress, for himself and his own satisfaction/personal gain.

Hence why Elliot tells him “progress should always be for the benefit of humanity”. I think he would have been more accepting of Harley’s desire to immediately jump to human test subjects, if the boy had showed more, what Elliot describes as, “humility”. In fact, since some people are theorising that Harley was originally meant to be the Prototype himself… it could be that Elliot was already considering experimenting on humans before Harley even brought it up. More specifically, on Harley himself. He just didn’t end up being the right “fit”, for his plan.

What’s even more funky is that it’s entirely possible that Harley was also traumatised by a war— WW2. Although in his case it would be from the aftermath of the war, rather than being directly involved in it (WW2 ended in 1945, and Harley studied under Elliot in the early/mid 1960’s, and I doubt he would have been older than 20 during that time). So that gives even more parallels between them.

I saw a theory once that ended with “Poppy Playtime is a story of generational trauma”, and. YEAH. That tracks.

Clem appreciates sustainable design (this is an important tangent I promise), and went into their job hoping to bring some of that to Beaverton. They're not exactly Mabel-levels of passionate about the environment, but it is something they care about. So, they're not thrilled about some of the choices Jerry's making. Especially when they TRY to pitch him some of their more sustainable designs as alternatives, and he dismisses them because they're more costly, or require more time and labour to be built, blah, blah, blah. At the end of the day though, Clem wants their pay check, so they keep their head down and do their job.

So THAT'S why, in the beginning, Clem keeps him at arms length, and isn't interested in pursuing anything romantically with him. As for Jerry, his priorities are very much "being the best mayor ever", and while he's attracted to Clem, it's not strong enough for him to want to give up any of his precious time to pursue them seriously, either.

FAST FORWARDDDD to present day, though, where Mabel becomes a sort of... honary member of the council, and has (and is) influencing Jerry to care more about the environment.

For once, Clem finds their ideas being acknowledged and encouraged, which, naturally, pleases them a lot. They also really like the new challenges being thrown their way, to try and preserve more of Beaverton's local wildlife. So, in better spirits, and happy that Jerry seems to respect what they're trying to do more, they grow more fond of him.

AND AS FOR JERRY. Hoooo boy. He's never seen Clem this passionate about anything. It takes his interest from "I guess they're kind of attractive", to, "OH WOW I HAVE A HUGE CRUSH NOW", so fast that he doesn't know what to do with himself. I'm talking DISASTER levels of cringe: walking into walls, tripping over his own feet, stuttering, unintentionally staring at them, etc. The kind of thing that just embarasses everyone to watch. Jerry, though? Jerry thinks he's being subtle.

Yeah, Clem is absolutely aware of the man's new crush on them. And they're having a LOT of fun with it, greatly enjoying teasing him. Unfortunately for them, it turns out their type is just "pathetic man thing", so it doesn't take more than a few months before they're down just as bad for him, too. So, already aware that he's interested, they ask him out on a "totally not-a-date", and after a while of "not-dating", they both eventually concede defeat and admit, okay, yeah, they're totally dating.

Backstory out of the way, here's some fluff:

I headcanon Jerry as a secretly, pretty anxious guy. The little things get to him, he's a professional overthinker, probably has a prescription for beta-blockers, that kind of thing. Clem on the other hand is a pretty easy going, softly spoken and steady kind of person, so they act as a bit of an anchor for him. They're really good at talking him down from a spiral, calming him down when he gets mad, etc.

Clement comes to every one of Jerry's public events (when they're not working themselves, that is), after they start dating.

Clem draws a lot, especially ink and watercolours of houses/city-scapes (no surprise there), and Jerry has his favourite ones framed and put up in his house. He likes to brag to his mother about them.

Speaking of Jer's mom, Clem will come over and sit with her if he's working late, so she has someone to cook for her, and to keep her company.

And, final one for now, Jerry's really good at making Clem feel special (in fact, no matter who you ship him with, I think he'd be good at this). He may be a busy guy, but he's also older, more mature, and he knows what he wants in a partner. So when he does get into a relationship, it's all in, you know? He learns about Clem's interests, and gives them very specific gifts to cater towards them. New mechanical pencils leads, because he noticed they were running low. Fancy paper, at exactly 130gsm, just how they like it. He appreciates the little things about his partner, and makes sure they know that he's noticed them. And, of course, he loves to cook/bake for them.

ANYWAY. At some point Harley is sitting with Aesop’s shell on the kitchen floor, waiting for him/her to come out so they can play. Until… POP! Out comes Aesop’s head. Harley thinks that’s pretty cute and funny so he giggles a bit.

Elliot, cooking dinner, is immediately like ??!?!?! That is the first time I have heard that kid laugh. He needs to hear it again, because it was such a sweet happy sound. So, my man does the first thing he can think of:

Starts voicing the tortoise. Like the cat TikTok videos? Or how my Ma did for my hamster when we were younger.

Like, “yaaaaawn oh that was a nice nap, oh, where did I leave me legs—“ *tortoise pops their legs out next* “OH thereeee they are!“

As soon as Harley turns his head to look at Elliot— he stops.

Harley narrows his eyes. “I know it’s you, Elliot.”

“…”

Harley slowly turns back. The tortoise magically starts “talking” again:

“Hello, young mister Harley! Ooo I’m famished, I could do with a nice bit of lettuce, will you steal some from that taller human up there, for me?”

Harley, getting a bit grumpy because,,, how old does Elliot think he is? He’s not a baby!!

“ELLIOT.”

“Yes Harley?”

(STARING MATCH)

“……..”

“…………….”

Harley turns away again—

“Pretty please? Lettuce? May I?”

Anyway this keeps going on and Elliot keeps pretending nothing’s happening until Harley gives in and “steals” a bit of lettuce from Elliot’s chopping board to give to Aesop.

As soon as it goes in the tortoise’s mouth—

“Nom nom nom nom! Smack! Oooh, fine cuisine, five stars! Give my compliments to the chef!“

And Harley can’t help but start to snigger because it’s just so. DUMB. It’s so dumb and stupid, but he’s still young and un-jaded enough that the humour reaches him, and eventually he’s properly laughing— and then Elliot joins in and does a ridiculous laugh for the tortoise which just makes them both laugh even more.