JoJo the magic tea drinker

Laojun’s confession of never understanding or having romantic feelings and losing valued friendships to the point where he stopped getting close to people to avoid them developing feelings that he couldn’t reciprocate resonated with me a lot. I think it’s because his aromanticism here isn’t being used to mystify him, in actuality it’s a lot more humanizing. It’s probably the most vulnerable he had ever been and his aromanticism doesn’t come across as “cool and mysterious otherworldly immortal who doesn’t quite yet understand this human emotion” (Laojun is actually very emotionally intelligent) but as someone who quite awkwardly had to learn to live within a love obsessed world while never understanding the feeling and that’s something that I can relate to a lot. It’s not that he doesn’t have time, or he isn’t interested, or is scared or disgusted by it, he just doesn’t understand because he’s never experienced it.

His aromanticism is not used to punish Qing Ning’s feelings for him either, again it feels like something that humanizes and deepens their bond. This seems to be the one time he’s been confessed to where he doesn’t retreat into solitude because he loves Qing Ning too much to abandon her. He tells her that he can’t empathize but he wants to make her happy. Of course she walks out of this more conflicted than before but the conversation isn’t centered around Qing Ning being rejected, but the first equally vulnerable moment between teacher and student and is some of the most human and open we’ve ever seen Laojun.

Another thing I love about Laojun is that he’s so deeply caring for so many people. Of the aroace characters I’ve consumed they always feel like a third wheel of the main group so to speak. Not that they don’t contribute or are complete outcasts but they just don’t seem to understand or be able to wiggle their way into the main group’s bond. Laojun on the other hand is the center of Xuanli and Qing Ning’s bond. He’s personable, great at managing people, and has great chemistry with the majority of people he interacts with. Despite being practically a recluse he never feels like an outcast.

I love that his aromanticism isn’t smth abt him that needs to be fixed or is a shortcoming or is a marker of his development or a product of him being nonhuman. It’s not a personality thing, it’s not a magic thing, It’s just a facet of who he is. He was born that way, it does affect his life, and it doesn’t change and I have never before nor since seen a character like that.