At first i thought that luke didn't like Dale at all and just said his name to shut Elliot out, like, everytime he was with Dale, Luke acted so indifferently? and that that big fight in Luke's place with Elliot was because Luke was jealous about Adam kissing Elliot... i got it all wrong lol Ps: I loved it anyways <3
You didn’t get it wrong, and you were definitely not alone.
I think it’s not a question of ‘what was going on’ but ‘what did Luke know was going on.’ In an early scene in In Other Lands, Elliot mentions Dale as Luke’s friend, while Dale is in fact some guy who tagged around after Luke on their first day of schooling, and who now is into Trigon like Luke. Elliot adds ‘Dale is very handsome’ which Luke immediately tags as an outrageously positive thing for Elliot to say about anyone, to which Elliot is like ‘Untrue, I constantly compliment Serene.’ What Elliot didn’t put together was that Luke was in fact stunned that Elliot was complimenting some boy who–if Luke’s vague recollections were correct–was a sporty dude like unto himself, so if Dale was fine, what exactly is Elliot’s problem with Luke, and how handsome is this Dale anyway? Luke then paid attention to Dale, and was like: well yes, confirmed, Dale IS very handsome.
What Exactly Is Elliot Schafer’s Problem is a song Luke has been singing for years, with many enthusiastic back-up dancers.
Luke initially had a poor opinion of Elliot, based on the fact that Elliot is none of the things Luke has been taught are worthy, and tries to dismiss him though with lingering irritation because Elliot is dismissing *him*, and that is not the right way around, that is not how these things should work! Then Luke, as he tries to clumsily convey to Elliot, realises that Elliot isn’t a coward, is genuinely trying to help, both Serene and generally, and gets attached. Luke spent the first year of Border camp thinking they were probably going to be official friends at some point - maybe they had an unspoken manly understanding - nope, Elliot was vehemently verbally contradicting that, so not friends yet but probably someday - nope, it just wasn’t going to happen, Elliot just really didn’t think much of him personally for some reason, WHATEVER.
Dale ticks a lot of the worthiness boxes Elliot doesn’t: Dale makes sense to Luke. And then Dale drew attention to himself once again (pretty deliberately, oh poor Dale, you tried) by coming out at the same time Luke did. So Luke combined physical attraction plus surface level compatibility to get a crush. As often happens.
Many people have read Luke as consciously pining after Elliot. And I totally get why: I love me some pining myself! We didn’t get Luke’s PoV in In Other Lands, so what people were going on were Luke’s actions, and Luke’s actions often contradict his thoughts (though not his feelings). For instance, if someone were to posit to Luke ‘How would it be if you got to sit with Dale and discuss Trigon while Elliot went off and joined the school play’ Luke would say and believe that would be a terrific time had by all. As we all know, what Luke actually did was become the most reluctant star of the school play ever to be. Luke says and thinks often that Elliot needs to just deal with the horrible consequences he is bringing on himself–when said horrible consequences hit Elliot, Luke does not leave Elliot to deal with said consequences, he straight-up murders said consequences.
But as Luke points out to Elliot, when Elliot tells him that Serene is his soulmate, ‘we’re thirteen.’ (What Is UP With This GUY, another song in Luke’s silent screaming album.) Elliot and Luke are still super young when they meet, and when you’re that young (and later, but especially then) it’s hard to know what’s going on with your own feelings, the lines between friend and crush waver, and you try to make everything black and white, to have clearly delineated boundaries, because everything is so blurred and scary. Luke wasn’t out yet, even to himself. And when he did come out? A lot of the time our first crush, the one we talk about, is safe–say, on someone in a band. ;) It’s okay to talk about, there’s no possibility of heartbreak involved. Dale was very cute and very nonthreatening, because Luke did not care that much. And Elliot was pushing, and Luke had an answer, SO THERE ELLIOT. Indeed Luke, a man of action, talks about his crush for several years while Elliot begs Luke to ask Dale out, oh my lord, just ask him out, what is wrong with you? Elliot knows Luke, and the ways in which Luke is shy, and this isn’t one of them–that’s why Elliot doesn’t understand why Luke isn’t doing it. If Luke really wanted to, he would. (As we see instantly when Luke does really want to.)
And indeed, I think Luke was jealous of Adam (and many other people) as well as all tangled up by a lot of emotions (he wasn’t yet out to others, but by that time I think he WAS out to himself) when he and Elliot had their fight. I have in fact written up some of what I think was going on with Luke that night: http://sarahreesbrennan.tumblr.com/post/144012893997/okay-i-have-read-and-reread-turn-of-the-story-so
A lot of the time, being privileged means not having to know uncomfortable truths about the world, and not having to interrogate yourself. Luke is more privileged than Elliot is, so Luke has to interrogate himself less than Elliot does. Elliot admits in In Other Lands that he mostly sublimates attraction to Luke… so how much more is Luke sublimating? Well, I think he was sublimating pretty hard. In fact, it is a minor miracle that realizations were had, and revelations were discussed, rather than Elliot just getting seized one day to everyone’s deep confusion. Definitely the night of the school play, things could’ve played out that way. (Excuse me for the pun about plays.)
So I think you were right–you guys are just better at picking up on the subconscious, and the subtext, than Luke is. ;)
I’m so glad you enjoyed despite your kind belief that Luke was more in the know than he was!
