Private Finished Returning Patient: Konpeitō

They were definitely getting defensive. That wasn't necessarily bad. He just had to do what they could to minimize it.

"Normal," Valli said, "is not a thing on the island. Not really. People are on the island because they are not normal, and if you decide to wait until you're normal before you date, you'll never date at all. You're seeking a solution for a problem which certainly doesn't have one, and probably isn't even a problem. You will always look like you're in your early twenties. Some people will absolutely find you unattractive based on that fact. The same way that you feel uncomfortable dating someone who looks and acts sixteen is similar to the way someone in their forties feels uncomfortable dating someone who looks and acts like they're in their twenties. Different people have different tolerances, and it sounds as if you're on the edge of Jafars. Enough that they feel a slight discomfort, but not enough they're willing to deny you outright."

"The same way that many people don't want to date someone younger, many wouldn't want to date someone older. Someone in their early twenties might be completely uninterested in a man in their thirties. A difference of... place of life. People in their twenties are just starting to find their place in the world. They are just getting jobs, finding careers, finishing up degrees. People in their thirties tend to be more established. Of course that isn't true for everyone, or even most people, but it's enough of a loose guideline it sounds like Jafar might have been reacting based on that."

He could think of a lot of other reasons, but that was the big one, and the one he wanted to focus on.

"How well do you know him?"

Well that was a lot. It was one thing to have a type. But the way Kon had phrased it was... suspect at best, and downright concerning at worst.

"It sounds like this is a big step for you," Valli said, "but I did want to point out the way you phrased something. It's good you recognized your reasons are initially shallow--there's nothing wrong with that as long as you're aware--but what you said after that was that you wanted someone with a unique appearance you said was yours."

"Generally," Valli said, "it's in the context of mutual sharing." Of being theirs. "And the topic of being owned by someone is one that I imagine you'd want to be extra wary of." A weak spot, really.

They'd kind of gone off on a tangent, hadn't they? And it was obvious that Kon wasn't particularly happy with the subject. But that was therapy: Sometimes you talked about things you didn't want to talk about. Sometimes subjects came up that were unhappy.

"I think it's a difference in language," Valli said, "which is an understandable difference to not think of as being that important. It's very common for people to say something like this is my girlfriend, implying a sense of ownership. But if someone were to say 'she is mine', that can range from 'alright' to 'concerning'. You've put a strong focus on wanting someone unique, and have placed that first in a conversation. That's something I wanted to highlight. How would you describe them, now that you know them better?"