Everyone jokes about Elias and Peter and all the reasons they get divorced over and over again over the course of their very long lifespans, and those jokes are hilarious, but it begs the question: if there are so many reasons (extremely petty ones, too) for them to break up, what reasons could they possibly have to get back together? And honestly I find the answer to that more interesting and fun to work with than even the jokes about them getting divorced.
And there is not a cute, fluffy answer to this, like I’m gonna be honest with you. The interesting thing about LonelyEyes for me is the fact that it is completely dysfunctional, so if you’re hoping for anything cute in this post, it’s probably not going to be your cup of tea.
Here’s the thing about Elias and Peter: they’re both drama queens, and the reason they can work as a couple at all is because the types of drama they enjoy are complementary. Elias loves being the center of attention, pulling people’s strings, and feeling like everything and everyone is revolving around him precisely as he planned. He has to have the upper hand on everyone else constantly. In a relationship with a normal person, that would never work (see the numerous letters to him from people being like “I am choosing to cut off contact with you because you are crazy.”) Any attempt at emotional intimacy turns into a chess match, which is alienating and frustrating for anyone actually trying to make lasting connections with someone. Who could stomach that?
A dude who thrives off making no meaningful connections with absolutely anyone, that’s who. Peter doesn’t care about emotional intimacy. Being close to people is the exact opposite of what he wants, but at the same time, he still needs people. He talks about how he wants to be alone a lot, but if he really wanted to be totally alone, he wouldn’t keep coming back to mingle with the rest of society. He keeps coming back because being around people but never being able to connect with them is something he’s experienced since he was a child, so it’s safe and familiar to him. The type of loneliness that he craves isn’t the physical absence of people; it’s the presence of people but the absence of connection with them. That’s something else that a normal person would never be able to stand, but that Elias would never have a problem with.
So the bottom line here is that both Elias and Peter need to be around other people to find fulfillment. The kinds of fulfillment they crave are complete poison when paired with normal people, but they’re perfectly complementary when paired with each other. Elias can play as many mind games as he wants with Peter, and that won’t ever drive Peter away because he too enjoys drama, and he knows that since Elias is too busy trying to be the center of attention, he’ll never actually try to connect with him in a meaningful way. They both get what they want, and in it’s own terrible way, it works perfectly.
Then of course they’ll break up because Peter made one too many terrible puns and this time! This time it’s the last fucking straw! But of course it’s not going to be the last fucking straw, it’s never going to be, because breaking up and getting back together again is just part of the game, and the game doesn’t get to continue if they stay apart permanently.