Adorableness

He doesn’t collect kawaii things, but he enjoys them in video games—so long as they aren’t overly girly. The latest Hello Kitty game by Sanrio felt too girly for his taste. It was like a bookshelf: one doesn’t need a bookshelf to prove they can read. In the same way, he doesn’t need to spend hours with a game like Resident Evil to affirm his masculinity.

What relaxes him is the pleasure of eye candy or adorable effects in a game, paired with repetitive tasks like in-game farming. There’s a quiet satisfaction in that rhythm.

He also appreciates cats. Unlike dogs, cats aren’t usually loud or bold. They can be affectionate, but more than that, they’re soft, warm, and full of self-will. In his view, dog people are quite different from cat people. One can yell at a cat—it might get anxious, but it rarely responds. Dog owners, on the other hand, often yell at their dogs and expect obedience.

He remembers a cat that adopted him. Its people would yell and expect it to come like a dog. They also owned a dog. But the cat found refuge with him—peace, a nap, and attention it couldn’t get at home.

Being an adult means bending norms in personal life. Anyone who’s had ice cream for breakfast knows this. There’s a small jubilation in such choices.