PSA: Adults Writing & Interacting with Child/Teen Muses Isn’t Inherently Bad
This isn’t directed at anyone specific, but I think it’s important to clarify something:
Adults writing teen/child muses - or having adult muses interact with them- is not inherently wrong. In fact, it’s a normal part of storytelling.
1. Fiction Is Full of Cross-Age Interactions
Most media we consume is written by adults, even when it centers young characters. Think about:
Mentorship & Education: Anime like My Hero Academia ( All Might & Deku ), Jujutsu Kaisen ( Gojo & his students ), or Assassination Classroom ( Koro-sensei & his class ).
Parental & Guardian Figures: Spy x Family ( Loid as a father figure ), The Last of Us ( Joel & Ellie ), or One Piece ( Whitebeard & Ace ).
Friendship & Found Family: Haikyuu!! ( adult coaches interacting with teen players ), Hunter x Hunter ( Leorio & Gon/Killua ).
If we treated all adult-minor character interactions as suspicious, we’d have to condemn huge portions of fiction; including stories that are meaningful, wholesome, or even crucial to character development.
2. Context & Intent Matter
The issue isn’t that an adult muse interacts with a minor muse -it’s how it’s done.
Harmful:Â Romanticizing abuse, grooming, or sexualizing minors.
Not Harmful:Â A teacher guiding a student, a guardian caring for a child, or even just two characters existing in the same space platonically.
Assuming that any interaction is inappropriate ignores the vast range of healthy, normal relationships that exist between adults and minors; in real life and in fiction.
3. Roleplaying ≠Real Life
RP is a form of collaborative storytelling. Just because a mun writes an adult character doesn’t mean they, as a person, are trying to engage with minors inappropriately. The same way an actor playing a villain isn’t endorsing evil, an adult writing a teacher/mentor/parent isn’t automatically crossing boundaries.
That said, real-life boundaries should still be respected - but that’s about ooc behavior, not the fictional characters themselves. If someone is uncomfortable with adults writing minors, that's a personal preference, not a moral dilemma. Speaking of --
4. For Those Who Are Uncomfortable
If someone personally doesn’t want to write or interact with certain dynamics, that’s completely valid! Everyone has their own comfort levels. But projecting discomfort onto others as a blanket rule leads to unnecessary policing of harmless storytelling.
Curate your own experience without policing others.