Various Luke Essays
I was really bored today, okay?
Contains minor spoilers for game.
Luke on Sleep-
In canon, Jade notices that Luke lies awake at night and shakes in his bed, unable to sleep. I have to point out that this observation SEEMS completely out of the blue, because while Luke had BIG ISSUES with accepting killing, and continues to avoid it as much as possible, he never again drags down the team with his issues with killing. I had pretty much forgotten about it until, suddenly, fifty hours in we hear that Luke still has nightmares, still has trouble sleeping because of it.
That... hasn't changed significantly. It's slowly but steadily less frequent, but he'll still do this. And it's not EVERY night just on days when he has to kill humans instead of just monsters, or when he's spent too much time thinking about particularly bad stuff. At camp it'll happen a lot less since he won't have to kill people here, but it'll still be there, some nights. And the nightmares are fairly constant, just about new and emo stuff now!
HOWEVER Luke's REALLY QUITE GOOD about never letting on to this stuff. He's emo, sure, but he... will let the subject go. He won't drag other people down if it doesn't serve a purpose. He's pretty okay to emo alone.
Luke on Complexes-
EASY MISUNDERSTANDING: Luke does not have an inferiority complex, he has a guilt complex. It's true that, through most of the game, Luke thinks he's worth less-than-nothing. However, he gets over this mostly by the end of the game. Luke can honestly say that while he's not the best person on the planet, while there are a LOT of people who deserve to live more than him, that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to live. Luke knows that being a replica doesn't mean he isn't human. If you suggest to him that he isn't, he'll be a little sad, but you won't convince him his life is worthless. He knows better.
HOWEVER he still feels REALLY BAD about a LOT of issues. It's really, really easy to find Luke's various buttons. And because of the things he's done in his life, the way he's treated people, the stuff he's had to do, if you told him he deserved to die he might agree with you. He uh. Still wouldn't agree to go die though. =\ He'd just try REALLY HARD to make up it to you. By living. Cause if he tries anything else Guy will beat him up again.
Luke on Intelligence-
Lol OKAY. I like to make fun of Luke for being stupid a lot, but in reality he's actually fairly clever. He's just... really. really. really ignorant. The kid only has seven years worth of experience in life (or fourteen, depending on how you wanna take Auldrant's crazy calendar) and he spent all but the past half a year confined to his manor. He'd probably met less than, oh, fifty people in his entire life. IF that. And he was raised by Guy meaning if Guy didn't remember to teach him something, he missed that memo.
So. REALLY ignorant. It doesn't help that, until recently, he wasn't particularly curious either. I imagine if he was the type to ask questions about stuff all his life, Guy would've answered. But until Luke starts to shape up he's pretty content to go through life saying "I don't know >\" and never really asking anyone to explain.
However, when people DO tell Luke things, he usually retains it the first time. Really complicated stuff he'll reiterate or question to make sure he has it right. But he actually picks up stuff really darn fast.
Not to say Luke's a genius. Not by a long shot. He's got a maaaybe slightly higher than average intelligence, at least average. He's never going to be a scientist, and he's ALWAYS going to need someone helping him with matters of politics or military or whatever he has to do once he grows up. But he's not actually mentally retarded and he does try REALLY hard, so he's more than capable of knowing and learning as much as your typical smart kid would.
Luke on Sex -
So you know I mentioned that SOMETIMES GUY FORGETS TO TEACH LUKE THINGS? Well, along with MANNERS and PAY FOR YOUR FOOD he forgot about Insert Tab A Into Slot B.
I'm basing a lot of Luke's knowledge on sex and his own sexuality based on what I knew when I was about eleven, before I read a porn scene in Mists of Avalon and realized How Things Worked.
Luke DOES know what sex is. He knows it involves a man and wife (preferably) and nudity and kissing and he has enough experience masturbating that he knows what an orgasm is and that it's like that only WITH another person. A girl person.
However, he doesn't know what 'seed' is, how exactly babies come about, he's probably never seen a pregnant woman (or realized she was pregnant and not just fat) though that might've been covered in basic story books I imagine Guy raised him on. But he knows babies come FROM mommies just uh. Not the gory details or the technical stuff.
Hilariously, Luke has a fiancé he's expected to marry in about two years. I'm sure NATALIA knows how this stuff works but she's going to have a thing or three to say to Guy after their wedding night =\
As for his curiosity? Well... Luke's never seen a fully naked woman, probably. Unless maybe his mom and we all know that doesn't count. So he probably doesn't uh. Know what a vagina is =D And if he does, if say, Guy ever mentioned that part, then definitely still doesn't know what one does with it. But as it is...? Luke isn't really aware that he doesn't fully understand it. He knows enough that his mind can mentally jump the gaps he's missing, and Luke's never been the most imaginative boy, so he can't really tell he's lacking important details. But he's never read porn, or seen it, or considered that there is a way you CAN see that sort of thing before you do it yourself. It's also not for two years which is a long time for Luke! So he's not really worried about it. He's not considering it RIGHT NOW because... I really doubt anyone was ever like "O Luke you can have sex without getting married!" even if it isn't an issue on the world of Auldrant (hard to say) there's still the fact that his life was basically going to be: be locked up in a manor until he turns twenty and probably gets married. There is no dating or courting option there. Marrying Natalia was never a question. So it's not like Luke needs to know what you do if you date a girl. And frankly? He was never interested.
Luke on Sexuality-
Well. Luke likes boobs. We can't deny this. Luke has EXACTLY the kind of juvenile fascination with a girl's assets as you would expect from a thirteen year old. Part genuine interest part "haha I can make fun of her". Beyond that? He seems pretty oblivious.
As an Example: people comment on Tear and Luke's arguments as "lover's quarrels" a number of times throughout the game. AFAIR Tear is the only one to get flustered and deny this. Luke tends to range from oblivious to irritated. Later on he might blush and shut up. I wouldn't argue that Luke has something of a crush on Tear, but it NEVER comes off as a sexual or perverted thing. Infact, when Luke gets a chance to see all of the girls in their bathing suits his main concern is to use this opportunity to harass Guy. Again. Juvenile!
It's not say Luke doesn't have hormones. He's physically seventeen, perfectly healthy, and has just as many hormones as you would expect of a boy that age. However, he has a lack of understanding and a lack of interest and... a lack of options. Like I said, as far as who he's going to marry, that's all been decided for him his entire life and so he's never put much thought into any alternatives.
And of course, he identifies as straight, if you ask him, because A) he didn't know there WERE any other options and B) he's marrying a girl. Of course, if you were to ask if he's ever had any FUNNY FEELINGS about men. Well. =\ As far as how he feels about homosexuality or being ‘sly’ or ‘gay’. He… doesn’t really. Luke’s surprised he’s never heard that men can have sex with men before (he hasn’t yet realized this means women can have sex with women, lol) but Luke’s pretty used to finding out that he missed something obvious to everyone else. However, the idea wasn’t presented to him as something disgusting or something to be ostracized or something that even really MATTERS. The main reason it bugs him is because PEOPLE KEEP ASKING HIM IF HE IS and he can’t see why, even if it was (he’s not) it would be any of their business. But as far as he’s concerned, homosexuality is probably perfectly normal and he just never heard about it before. This would not be something new. It would never occur to him to judge anyone based on this.
And as for how all this applies or matters? Well, we don’t know really. At this point in time, Luke really doesn't know IF he's still marrying Natalia or not. Due to various things it was up in the air at the end of the game, and not resolved by where I've taken him from. Furthermore, Kimlasca CHANGES a lot in the game and it's possible they might just let Natalia be Queen ALL ON HER OWN. Or at least let her choose who she wants to marry. (Or, more likely, Natalia would tell Luke to choose who HE wants to marry). Luke likes Natalia a lot but he's really not particularly interested in her Like That. But again, no one ever asked him to be.
AND FINALLY due to *spoilerspoiler* there is a question of whether or not Luke was EVER really intended to be marry Natalia and become King to begin with. He certainly wasn't raised as someone who would be expected to lead the country ^^; Though by the end of the game Luke has so much loyalty behind him I doubt they'd take that away from him NOW. But uh. It's possible.
Contains minor spoilers for game.
Luke on Sleep-
In canon, Jade notices that Luke lies awake at night and shakes in his bed, unable to sleep. I have to point out that this observation SEEMS completely out of the blue, because while Luke had BIG ISSUES with accepting killing, and continues to avoid it as much as possible, he never again drags down the team with his issues with killing. I had pretty much forgotten about it until, suddenly, fifty hours in we hear that Luke still has nightmares, still has trouble sleeping because of it.
That... hasn't changed significantly. It's slowly but steadily less frequent, but he'll still do this. And it's not EVERY night just on days when he has to kill humans instead of just monsters, or when he's spent too much time thinking about particularly bad stuff. At camp it'll happen a lot less since he won't have to kill people here, but it'll still be there, some nights. And the nightmares are fairly constant, just about new and emo stuff now!
HOWEVER Luke's REALLY QUITE GOOD about never letting on to this stuff. He's emo, sure, but he... will let the subject go. He won't drag other people down if it doesn't serve a purpose. He's pretty okay to emo alone.
Luke on Complexes-
EASY MISUNDERSTANDING: Luke does not have an inferiority complex, he has a guilt complex. It's true that, through most of the game, Luke thinks he's worth less-than-nothing. However, he gets over this mostly by the end of the game. Luke can honestly say that while he's not the best person on the planet, while there are a LOT of people who deserve to live more than him, that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to live. Luke knows that being a replica doesn't mean he isn't human. If you suggest to him that he isn't, he'll be a little sad, but you won't convince him his life is worthless. He knows better.
HOWEVER he still feels REALLY BAD about a LOT of issues. It's really, really easy to find Luke's various buttons. And because of the things he's done in his life, the way he's treated people, the stuff he's had to do, if you told him he deserved to die he might agree with you. He uh. Still wouldn't agree to go die though. =\ He'd just try REALLY HARD to make up it to you. By living. Cause if he tries anything else Guy will beat him up again.
Luke on Intelligence-
Lol OKAY. I like to make fun of Luke for being stupid a lot, but in reality he's actually fairly clever. He's just... really. really. really ignorant. The kid only has seven years worth of experience in life (or fourteen, depending on how you wanna take Auldrant's crazy calendar) and he spent all but the past half a year confined to his manor. He'd probably met less than, oh, fifty people in his entire life. IF that. And he was raised by Guy meaning if Guy didn't remember to teach him something, he missed that memo.
So. REALLY ignorant. It doesn't help that, until recently, he wasn't particularly curious either. I imagine if he was the type to ask questions about stuff all his life, Guy would've answered. But until Luke starts to shape up he's pretty content to go through life saying "I don't know >\" and never really asking anyone to explain.
However, when people DO tell Luke things, he usually retains it the first time. Really complicated stuff he'll reiterate or question to make sure he has it right. But he actually picks up stuff really darn fast.
Not to say Luke's a genius. Not by a long shot. He's got a maaaybe slightly higher than average intelligence, at least average. He's never going to be a scientist, and he's ALWAYS going to need someone helping him with matters of politics or military or whatever he has to do once he grows up. But he's not actually mentally retarded and he does try REALLY hard, so he's more than capable of knowing and learning as much as your typical smart kid would.
Luke on Sex -
So you know I mentioned that SOMETIMES GUY FORGETS TO TEACH LUKE THINGS? Well, along with MANNERS and PAY FOR YOUR FOOD he forgot about Insert Tab A Into Slot B.
I'm basing a lot of Luke's knowledge on sex and his own sexuality based on what I knew when I was about eleven, before I read a porn scene in Mists of Avalon and realized How Things Worked.
Luke DOES know what sex is. He knows it involves a man and wife (preferably) and nudity and kissing and he has enough experience masturbating that he knows what an orgasm is and that it's like that only WITH another person. A girl person.
However, he doesn't know what 'seed' is, how exactly babies come about, he's probably never seen a pregnant woman (or realized she was pregnant and not just fat) though that might've been covered in basic story books I imagine Guy raised him on. But he knows babies come FROM mommies just uh. Not the gory details or the technical stuff.
Hilariously, Luke has a fiancé he's expected to marry in about two years. I'm sure NATALIA knows how this stuff works but she's going to have a thing or three to say to Guy after their wedding night =\
As for his curiosity? Well... Luke's never seen a fully naked woman, probably. Unless maybe his mom and we all know that doesn't count. So he probably doesn't uh. Know what a vagina is =D And if he does, if say, Guy ever mentioned that part, then definitely still doesn't know what one does with it. But as it is...? Luke isn't really aware that he doesn't fully understand it. He knows enough that his mind can mentally jump the gaps he's missing, and Luke's never been the most imaginative boy, so he can't really tell he's lacking important details. But he's never read porn, or seen it, or considered that there is a way you CAN see that sort of thing before you do it yourself. It's also not for two years which is a long time for Luke! So he's not really worried about it. He's not considering it RIGHT NOW because... I really doubt anyone was ever like "O Luke you can have sex without getting married!" even if it isn't an issue on the world of Auldrant (hard to say) there's still the fact that his life was basically going to be: be locked up in a manor until he turns twenty and probably gets married. There is no dating or courting option there. Marrying Natalia was never a question. So it's not like Luke needs to know what you do if you date a girl. And frankly? He was never interested.
Luke on Sexuality-
Well. Luke likes boobs. We can't deny this. Luke has EXACTLY the kind of juvenile fascination with a girl's assets as you would expect from a thirteen year old. Part genuine interest part "haha I can make fun of her". Beyond that? He seems pretty oblivious.
As an Example: people comment on Tear and Luke's arguments as "lover's quarrels" a number of times throughout the game. AFAIR Tear is the only one to get flustered and deny this. Luke tends to range from oblivious to irritated. Later on he might blush and shut up. I wouldn't argue that Luke has something of a crush on Tear, but it NEVER comes off as a sexual or perverted thing. Infact, when Luke gets a chance to see all of the girls in their bathing suits his main concern is to use this opportunity to harass Guy. Again. Juvenile!
It's not say Luke doesn't have hormones. He's physically seventeen, perfectly healthy, and has just as many hormones as you would expect of a boy that age. However, he has a lack of understanding and a lack of interest and... a lack of options. Like I said, as far as who he's going to marry, that's all been decided for him his entire life and so he's never put much thought into any alternatives.
And of course, he identifies as straight, if you ask him, because A) he didn't know there WERE any other options and B) he's marrying a girl. Of course, if you were to ask if he's ever had any FUNNY FEELINGS about men. Well. =\ As far as how he feels about homosexuality or being ‘sly’ or ‘gay’. He… doesn’t really. Luke’s surprised he’s never heard that men can have sex with men before (he hasn’t yet realized this means women can have sex with women, lol) but Luke’s pretty used to finding out that he missed something obvious to everyone else. However, the idea wasn’t presented to him as something disgusting or something to be ostracized or something that even really MATTERS. The main reason it bugs him is because PEOPLE KEEP ASKING HIM IF HE IS and he can’t see why, even if it was (he’s not) it would be any of their business. But as far as he’s concerned, homosexuality is probably perfectly normal and he just never heard about it before. This would not be something new. It would never occur to him to judge anyone based on this.
And as for how all this applies or matters? Well, we don’t know really. At this point in time, Luke really doesn't know IF he's still marrying Natalia or not. Due to various things it was up in the air at the end of the game, and not resolved by where I've taken him from. Furthermore, Kimlasca CHANGES a lot in the game and it's possible they might just let Natalia be Queen ALL ON HER OWN. Or at least let her choose who she wants to marry. (Or, more likely, Natalia would tell Luke to choose who HE wants to marry). Luke likes Natalia a lot but he's really not particularly interested in her Like That. But again, no one ever asked him to be.
AND FINALLY due to *spoilerspoiler* there is a question of whether or not Luke was EVER really intended to be marry Natalia and become King to begin with. He certainly wasn't raised as someone who would be expected to lead the country ^^; Though by the end of the game Luke has so much loyalty behind him I doubt they'd take that away from him NOW. But uh. It's possible.