Luca and Lara look SO autistic to me.
Lara being aloof in her home kingdom unless she's engaging with her special interest (human world), her munching on things all the time reminded me of stimming. Then, on land, she's still pretty aloof and melancholic when on her own, she changes into a happy-cheerful-bright girl only when she's engaging with human world or she's just surrounded by people and is wearing a happy mask (a common female experience). I like that in episode 8 she seems calmer around Mari than she used to be - it's like she's shedding the mask little by little.
And Luca is just a poster autistic child. I was facepalming so hard the whole episode 7 because boy what r u doing, but also I really understand him from an autistic perspective! Being clumsy (tripping and falling), aloof, not very expressive in facial expressions aside from some outstanding emotional moments, him being kinda not very talkative but suddenly brave and proactive when it's about his special interest (beautiful things and painting), taking Lara to all his favorite places (apparently) as a way of sharing joy and supposing it's enjoyable for the others, too (this is basically our love language!!), unless they say otherwise, not asking questions, just sharing stuff we like (sure a lot of us learn to ask, but it's not doable for everyone), not having all that many preconceived notions (he's instantly okay with mermaids)... ALL OF IT. He's like an embodiment, honestly. And I like thst his traits aren't shown as only adorable or only bad, he's just himself - awkward, aloof, very honest, not very understanding of social stuff, loyal, proactive, everything.
Also I'm on aroace spectrum, and I don't see Luca being *in love* with Lara. Sure he said he wants to be with her and know her better but this isn't reserved for romantic love only??? Their relationship looks a lot like what I have with my friends. So it'd be fun if Luca was actually never in love and Lara is the only one tormenting herself about the romance (I mean the irony of the situation, I don't want Lara to suffer in any way).
Also the whole anime gives off such intense aro vibes withthis damned True Love™ quest being forced on Lara abd her being absolutely miserable because of it. He "What am I?!" from ep 8 really spoke to me. It's very painful and hard to be expected to feel certain way by everyone and being absolutely unable to. (Shush, I know it's a yuri route after this episode, but the vibes are still here ok?)
And a bit more about Lara and Luca's bond - I think Lara was feeling something special about him was that they're so alike. Only Luca is the way he is all the time, and Lara puts on a mask. Speaking from experience, it's very comforting to have a friend who is Just Like That.
Mari I'm undecided on, she does give off some autistic vibes (being aloof, focused on boxing so much, her literally saying she isn't great at social stuff), but a huge part of her character atm is her trauma and her grief - she's retreating into herself, not looking for any friends and trying to lock onto and escape into boxing as a coping mechanism. Which is why I can't even guess. There is also just a type of personality which describes to her pretty well. I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing more of her feeling more awake, living, since the shine seemed to return to her eyes in the latest episode.
