if u... notice..

I'm so glad this story has nothing to do with Shotacon, I find it abhorrent personally and I wouldn't touch the story with a ten foot pole.

Wow, good for you, you can do simple math, awesome!

Yep. An age gap between adults is not such a big deal--especially if the two have a strong connection. But any adult involved with a child is sick, and any adult with a teen is taking advantage of the teen's inexperience and inability to use adult understanding and reasoning to see the exploitation. That's kind of how stages of human development work.

Yes, in RL is just as you described it.^^

Haha... yeah...

I just whan to made some joke cuz I just somehow.. find their age gap is funny... but its ojay cuz their adult ... Lol(≧∀≦)

Thank u for that.. LMAo

Yes, I meant IRL. :)

Eh, I think Asami was manipulative and taking advantage of Akihito for the longest time. Nevermind if his feelings were genuine, he was quite abusive. And the "strong connection" was pretty much sex.

Anyway, I think that kind of broad generalization is ultimately hurtful :/. When it comes to the teenager part (obviously can't have a mature relationship with a child lol). Seems really ignorant to think that at 18 you're suddenly all mature and ready for any age gap, and that anyone under, say, 25-30, that is dating a 16-17 years old are all, every single one of them, doing it to exploit the girl.

Maybe it's not always ideal, but to assume ill intentions for every single one of them? Damn.

Just a reminder, at 15 you're physically a young adult. Whether nor you're actually mentally mature or not varies on the individual though. I've been friend some incredibly mature and experienced 15-16 years old (and one that at 13 - already could pass for a legit adult in bars. And she seriously wasn't even childish, just really calm and mature, always looking for her younger siblings. Really cool girl, of course I'm not saying she was dating adults at that age, but older teenagers though). They're not that common obviously, but they do tend to date older guys.

And sometimes there's the girls that hide it from the guys. I wouldn't blame it on them in those cases, and if they truly love her it's tricky huh... And such generalizations make it so much more hurtful.

Stages of human development are cool and all, but every one has their own pace. It's not dictated by an arbitrary number, only the law does that, for practical purposes.

With all that being said, you know, René Angelil? He still loved Celine Dion to his deathbed, when she was well in her forties, and she was 19 (knew her since she was 12) and they had a 26 years gap. But of course, she had the magic "barely over 18" number.

Now, on the other side, I wonder, as a woman that pretty much has a half-prepubescent body that has an innocent aura, is it wrong for guys to hit on me? My puffy cheeks are probably what's most curvy about my body, along with my waist-hip ratio lol. I dress elegantly mixed with cute though. But well, appearance isn't all lol, though I pretty much act accordingly xD. No wonder anime feels like home to me, girls aren't afraid of not looking like "an independent woman" and can enjoy their girlishness in other ways than showing more skin, like being more on the cuter side.

The thing is, some guys (honestly, from experience, a lot) can also like that and not all guys are huge bastards. There's guys just zero ill-intended regardless of that, like Akihito (he reminds me a lot of my partner lol). I'm just saying, and you can't figure out everyone's age on the first sight like you have some shinigami death note eyes :P. And when you're already in love, it's too late, either it's going to hurt or you get yourself in the slippery slope.

Actually a woman's overall appearance is child-like (puffy cheeks, small nose, short, small hands, etc.) due to how they develop in utero. On a primal level this identifies her as a healthy mate, triggering his attraction to her. It's straight-forward, and doesn't make men all abusers. Though it may not be the best idea to proceed with the relationship if the girl is underage, usually waiting until they actually get 18, shaming guys on potentially pure intentions is... Sad.

People really don't like nuances, everyone has to be put in a certain box huh. All *** are ***!!!

Many people feel that way about Asami. I interpret it differntly, but you can read the storyas you wish.

As for real life, there is science behind stages of human development, and I stand by what I said. Teenagers are not fully developed like people in their twenties. There may not be a magic age where every person suddenly becomes "mature" overnight, but there are definitely stages, and teens are not adults.

No one is physically mature at 15, unless you consider the ability to get pregnant the same as being fully grown. MRI imaging shows that the brain is not fully developed until the mid-twenties, and the prefrontal cortex (the area of advanced reasoning) in particular grows at this time. The growth in grey matter is followed by a nautral porcess of "pruning" unesed synapses. The cerebellum (also involved in logic and decision making) continuesto grow. There are otehr differnces--but a teen is still growing, and not fuilly and adult.

You gave me an example of a relationship you say ended up workingout. I don''t know--it's possible. But the fact is that at the time one person is an adult and the otheris a teen, it can never be equal or fair--the teen does not think like an adult even if the teen is mature, or horny, or wantslove or wahtever. Teens are teens--and that's fine. But they are not yet adults.

PS when i was talking about a strong connection, I was thinking of my parents, since my dad is 12 years older than my mom. Of course, they met when my mom was in her late 20's, because my dad is honorable and would never take advantage of a teen--and I know he can tell a teen, just like I can. So, as I said, age gaps in adults are fine.

An age gap between adult is maybe not big deal, as long their have mutual feeling. But there still some people think ... its kinda something. But its okay. As long they never did "it" when one of them still underage. (▰˘◡˘▰)

But between adult and child or teen its not good! Cuz.. child or teen still dont really understand or know..about everything. . And some adult just take advantage about it! Some of them just want rape them or had fun but never really care about what will happend to the child or victim

People who like read shota manga still better.. as long they just read and fantasy but didn't do it in reality. But.. unfortunatly.. something more worse even happen... Some stranges sexual assault other people child its happen around the world.. but.. if the parents do something like that to their own child.. its.. really the worse! And sad story.. evwr.. breaking everyone heart! ┗( T﹏T )┛ especially if the child didnt want that.. but can't sad no.. or protect theirself.. .. How they could do something like that to their own blood related??? !!! （/TДT)/ (╬￣皿￣)凸

And its really.. make people...really really worried what will happens in future... like how if.. its our own child?? Im really worrid about my child future.. (if I become mom).. I hope that kind of thing never really happend to our child... I hope they safe and sound.. Aamiin..

I did not deny there were stages, I just said there's no magic age and some may surprise you by how quick or extremely slow that goes.

I was talking physically as outwardly. Not counting men, of course, it takes more than around 15 years old (it also starts later). Basically, there's not much reason a man would not find a 15+ girl legitimately attractive and may even be fooled into thinking they're actually adults.

Seriously though, I still get people at my door trying to sell things and ask me where are my parents. And I've been friend with 13 years old that could pass in bars no problem. I don't particularly trust people's judgement about age :P

My point was not saying that those relationships work or not. It was that you said the people who ended up in such relationships were all, every single one of them, manipulative bastards just trying to take advantage of the person they fell in love with.

Also, your father, had he dated her sooner, would have been manipulative automatically? Huh?

Anyway, I guess examples would help my point.

There's a guy, you know, who's 25. A 17 years old girl approaches him, as she got a kick on the guy, and she's behaving incredibly maturely (as yes, this is possible for a 17 years old, be it the norm or not). The guy also falls in love with her. A month later, she tells him she's 17.

Was the guy trying to take advantage of her? I'd say no. But surely, the social stigma ended up hurting both. They're still together though.

This sort of paranoia also goes further than that. There's a girl, bisexual, she's 21, and she has a 16 years old FRIEND. People start up rumors she's trying to take advantage of the girl, since she's bisexual. This bothers both the friends very deeply.

Like, why jump into such conclusions every single time?

First, I agree there is no magic age or set time when one moves from one stage to another--but there are still definitely stages. And while I don't recall using the word "bastard", I stand by the statement that it is always unequal when an adult is sexual with a teen (and it is also just as problematic when women do it).

If my dad had dated my mom when she was a teen, it would have been inherently unequal and exploitative--but my dad would never have done that. He is a very thoughtful and deliberate person who always got to know people before he let them get close. He takes marriage and relationships very seriously and it simply would never have happened. If they had met when she was a teen, he would have thought she was a nice girl but too young, and then moved on right away.

I am not talking about physical appearance or being attracted to someone who looks young. It's not about looks or "maturity" in terms of behavior--it's about intellectual, emotional, and social development. It's about knowing who you are, thinking things through, thinking long term, and being able to support yourself and stand on your own before you get involved with an adult. A person may not be able to tell age at first glance, but when you talk to someone, you find out where they work (and if they don't yet), and how they think, and who they live with and spend time with, and what their goals and dreams are, and how they plan to achieve them. When you learn how they act and how they think, you can tell their stage of development. If one person has a career, and thinks like an adult and knows who he or she is, and another is still in high school, figuring out who he or she is and what he or she wants in life, and thinking with...romantic desires and acting young, innocent, and inexperienced, then the adult should notice the other person is a teen and walk away.

Even a mature teen has not had a chance to stand on his or her own feet and discover who he or she really is. Even someone in their late teens who is intellectually advanced and thoughtful does not think the same way as an adult. Socially, no teen has the same status and position as an adult. Teen are not adults, and therefore adults should not have sexual relationships with teens. There will always be a power imbalance.

All of this conversation is making me think about the film 'An Education' and the novel 'Lolita' (￣∇￣")

What you're describing is what I call mature, though. Maybe usually more lacking in the "can support themselves financially", but some already have a clear idea of what they want in their life. Some are already taking care themselves of their siblings, having absent parents, having loads of responsibilities already etc. Those people, do you think dating someone their age seem attractive?

Like, I may be talking about a 2%. I'm not saying every teen, I get that your average one should probably not, but for some cases it may be surprisingly not that bad. And in those cases though, watch out for the social lash out regardless of that.

Some adults still think like teens though. The sister of one of my friend is dating a guy 10 years older (I can't remember if it started when she was 17 or 18), and well, they're both just as immature. That though is not a relationship anyone is comfortable with around here, it's tolerated.

Some people are still trying to figure out what they want to do at 24. And others at that age are seniors in their job lol.

Besides, not sure what it's at in the US, but the age of consent is 16 years old in Canada. As long as you're not over 24 I think, the 16 years old can consent. Trivia facts lol.

Still, I don't think dating a teenager is inherently exploitative. You, as a person, are exploitative of your loved ones or you're not. As far as intentions goes, at the very least.

Hmmm, been sort of following from the sidelines, but here is something to add. My friends mother was married at 14 (Italian family) to a man 10 years (?or so) older. I don't, personally think it was a great marriage, he was pretty domineering. Unfortunately - they tried to arrange the same thing for my friend and she was engaged at 14 (ick) fortunately it fell through, and she did not actually marry until she was 22 - to the man her parents strongly urged her to marry. Her husband was cut from the same cloth as her dad, and he made sure she lost touch with her more liberally minded friends. I have not seen her for a long time so I don't know how it turned out, but I thought the whole thing ridiculous.

That being said, I was on my own at 18 - my choice, and was happy with it.

I just realized however that not everywhere in the world do people get to finish high school at 16 xD.

Some people do take on adult roles at an early age--and I am sure culture plays some role in that. I am glad you are happy with the choice.

There are some cultures that have traditionally married off girls in their teens. I suppose if you are not going to go to college or have a career, and you are the type to put "obey" in the wedding vows, it makes a certain amount of sense--but I personally will always think it is inherently unequal, especially when the female is still young. Hopefully, as she gets older she will gain experience and start asserting herself to become equal (either that or if he truly is a bastard, then, well, everyone sleeps sometimes, right?). I guess if a culture has gender roles that I think of as sexist, it can be hard to separate that from the age issue. Even so, I don't think teens are the same as adults, even when they take on adult roles early.

I am glad you did well for yourself. I think it's a young age to strike out, but not as bad as 15 or 16. People are often remarkable. But if you ever get old like me, I assure you someday you will look at an 18-year-old and think how very young an age it really is.