Addressing Those Weird Age Gap Crushes In Cartoons 

I'm alive again.

It's quite common for a young person to have a crush on someone older, the important thing when writing this type of relationship is that the older person DOES NOT reciprocate, because then we have the"Batman and Batgirl" situation.

Love how Gravity Falls handles this where dipper realizes it’s creepy when he time travels and a younger Wendy develops a crush on him that he finds very creepy, which makes him realize how uncomfortable he’s been making Wendy feel Edit: yes I know the age gap between them in the two scenes is quite different but it was still a good moment of reflection for dipper…I also thought Wendy was way older than him than she actually is.

"She's 16" BASED DOOFENSMIRTZ

The Ferb and Vanessa one doesn't feel right... It's like if you had a baby sitter and had a crush on her, then eventually when you grew up and end up dating them.

It's always perfectly fine as long as the older person doesn't reciprocate the feelings and the show doesn't get weird with it.

Weird thing is, I never felt this was cringe-worthy because it was clear from the outset that Dipper was never going to win over Wendy, and it was clearly being played for comedic effect. That said, I'm glad they abandoned this storyline early in Season 2 and didn't give Dipper another genuine love-interest for the rest of the series.

Surprised, you didn't mention adventure time with finn's one-sided crush on Princess Bubblegum. It's kinda tragic. Finn was legitimately in love with Princess Bubblegum, and being a 12 year old, he mistook a lot of her platonic affection as romantic interest (kiss on the cheek, calling him her hero,etc). The show even leans into this as whenever we see her from finn's point of view, she looks sparkly and more alluring. The only time they had a genuine connection and romantic chemistry was when she made younger and they hung out together, when she gors back to being her regular age she once again keeps him at a distance. But other than that, she told him more than once to stop being weird.

I always found it a bit weird that Clyde, an 11 year old, would literally nosebleed for Lori, an 18 year old

I feel like Frankie definitely knows about Mac's crush but is just mature enough to think, "Yeah it's adorable and he's a kid who will grow out of it."

The Loud house's situation was really REALLY creepy. Especially that one episode, where Lori believes Clydes moved on from her and desperately tries to win him back, when in reality he never did. Its just.... eugh. So Lori is either 1, selfish to the point where she'd rather lead a literal 11 year old on for the sake of the attention and gifts he gives her, or she genuinely does like him like that which, to me, is predatory. Pick your poison I guess.

Tbh I had crushes on grown men and teens when I was much younger, and like any normal kid I grew out of it and started liking people my own age. It’s pretty normal as long as the adult is not reciprocating those feelings or “leading them on” because THEN it’s pretty weird.

in the case of turning red I think it's a classic and Real trope of Asian mothers using social embarrassment as a weapon against their kids to punish them stepping beyond what the mother sees as acceptably bounders

It happens in real life all the time. You get a crush on someone way older than you but you don't act on it.

I don’t think it’s all that weird for a younger party to have a crush on a significantly older party. The problem starts when it’s reciprocated. Dipper and Wendy wouldn’t really be a good couple even if they were the same age so I’m glad they nipped that in the bud at the start of the second season. Probably should’ve happened a bit sooner but whatever, at least they ended up being good friends.

I love how in Gravity Falls: Boy Crazy that at the end when she snaps at Robby, I like how when Dipper asks if she wants hang out with them, this is the only time Wendy blows up at Dipper. Its refreshing to see her react like this because it would be accurate and gives Dipper some real comeuppance for treating her like a prize

Well technically "Act your age", aka the episode where Ferb and Vanessa get together, is de-canonized by Dan Povenmire himself. As he stated in one of his tweets answering a question about Doofenshmirtz having a middle age crisis despite knowing that he wil become Professor Time ("Milo Murphy's Law" timeline). So in other words, "Act your age" is only a possible timeline, not a main one. I like how fans theorize that it's Isabella's fanfiction or something like that lol

As a child, weird age gap like this always confused me because I always thought the younger person was being weird since i haven't figure myself out.

Honestly it's fine as long as they stay crushes because honestly it's pretty normal to have a crush on someone that's older as long as it doesn't go into stalker territory, example it's like no longer funny it's just outright plainly creepy. So I am kind of fine with it

As a young kid watching these cartoons, it was perfectly normal to admire older kids especially teenagers because you think you also want to be an "adult". And even after growing up, I never really thought it was super weird nor that it implied something sinister. It was relatable as a kid/teenager and the shows I've watched never made it bigger than a comic relief- even looking back now. At least they never went Usagi Drop

0:29 Fosters Home 4:34 Jimmy Neutron 7:25 Turning Red 9:14 Loud House 14:42 Gravity Falls 19:57 Phineas and Ferb

Let’s not forget about how in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, a kid dragon named Spike used to have this crush on a young adult unicorn named Rarity.

I really liked the way Recess tackled the subject. Mikey’s singing teacher explained to him that someday he would find a girl his age and that she’d be the luckiest person. I thought that was really sweet, and the teacher offered Mikey encouragement when he needed it

This trope is basically what puppy love is. When you love someone but that love is at face value because the person is way too immature physically or emotionally or both to understand what love actually means. Its a common feeling for some young people to have.

Younger people having crushes on older people is something that actually happens in real life, and it's not all that weird. What makes it weird is when the other reciprocates it, especially if they know it's wrong. That's when it gets weird and creepy.

I was never comfortable with Ferb and Vanessa ending up together, tbh. If the genders were reversed, I think more people would find it creepy. There's just such a difference in maturity and power dynamics at those ages.

The fact that most of these are boys crushing on older girls and people not seeing a problem in that but will quickly say something if the roles were reversed is the real issue.

The Ferb and Vanessa relationship never sat right with me. And the fact they get together is a bit disturbing. It can't have been confirmed for any reason other than fan service, but now that P&F is coming back and is supposed to have flashes to the future, it's gonna be interesting and telling to see how they explain and justify it.

20:28 it's always weird to me to hear Ferb's original voice. I'm so used to hearing the deep middle aged voice he has in the German dub.

I think out of all the boys that have this kinda dynamic, Ferb is probably the most mature about it. He has not been overly obsessed about Vanessa, and he's never shown any jealousy towards other boys that Vanessa had been dating (in fact, it seems that he doesn't mind Vanessa dating Monty during her Halloween party in "Druselsteinoween"). I think "Summer Belongs To You" had been the only time Ferb tried to make a move, and while he was a bit saddened that Vanessa left him before he could confess, Ferb also seemed content with remaining to be just friends with her. I mean, they're still very well-acquainted with each other in "Night of the Living Pharmacists". Seeing that Ferb and Vanessa eventually did get together in "Act Your Age", when both had grown to be adults, it actually makes me curious _how_ they ended up dating each other, or even how that confession went (or when that happened). Phineas and Ferb is getting a couple new seasons alongside Season 2 of Hamster & Gretel, and I believe Dan Povenmire had confirmed there might be a couple of episodes in the "Act Your Age" era, there might be a possibility that they could explore how Ferbnessa became an official thing (then again, with the recent hatred for the ship, there might also be a possibility they want to avoid it).

there's one you may've missed. In Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race, starting at Episode 4, Junior started to have a crush on Carrie, although Junior is only 13 and Carrie is 18, although this lasts until Episode 12 when Devin told Junior that Carrie wouldn't date someone as young as he is, until he gets older of course, then Junior did eventually let go of the crush towards Carrie.

Reminds me of the 1993 film The Sandlot in which Squints had a crush on a lifeguard named Wendy (I know ironic) who was way older than him but ended up marrying her by the end in the epilogue.

The thing with Vanessa and Ferb's relationship is that they actually handled it pretty well. Both characters were mature and calm about the situation, and no romantic relationships were started until after they were both over 18. And, assuming Ferb was 10 during the show, then by the time they were in a relationship, they were 20 and 26. I'll admit here, that's a smaller age gap than my parents. And like you said in the video, 6 years is a big deal to kids, but not so much to adults.

in this trope, i prefer when it's the younger one liking the older one instead of the other way around.. at least it's one sided and nothing actually creepy ends up happening.. i do however find it a bit too much how it's handled in The Loud House

I was REALLY curious on how you would address Ferb and Vanessa and having watched it, it makes sense. The two characters never exactly got together TOGETHER until both of them were of age and if any cartoon were to go that route then that is probably the best way to handle it at least without getting too much traction.

I have absolutely no issues when a younger character has a crush on an older one. Because, hey, it happens irl. I crushed HARD on one of my friends sisters. I was 13 and she was 22 xD. But when the older character reciprocates the feelings, that's where it gets weird. Since the Loud House is the thumbnail I'm gonna bring up a situation where that actually happened. Clyde has a crush on Lori, he's obsessed with her. There's an episode where he wants to get over being weird around her. But as soon as Clyde stops giving Lori attention, she wants to "win him back". That was weird to me.

Age-gap relationships sure are an interesting trope to use, but one that must be treated carefully. Normally when it happens, you know from the first time that it simply won't work and it's because it's something normal for many, have a crush on someone older than you, even if the age gap is so little, is a thing that happens, along that in a certain moment the one with the crush (or both) will have to realize it's just awkward. So, it was a surprise that Ferb and Vanessa actually ended together, it was reciprocated and honestly I don't complain, I feel like this one simply works well.

I got introduced to this trope through mlp's rarity x spike and since I was a kid I DEFINITELY wanted to see them get together when they were older!! Now, that I'M older, I'm so so glad it didn't become canon. Spike AT BEST is 10 or younger, and only later in the series started to have a dragon equivalent of puberty. And rarity is most likely in her twenties... not good....

Don't forget Varian's crush on Cassandra in Tangled: the Series! I think he eventually got over it though.

You could have also done a segment on Codename: Kids Next Door with Number 2 and Cree (Number 5's older sister). Their relationship is interesting because she seemed to like him when he was aged up but clearly was disgusted once she found out who he really was. Edit: There's also the episode of Powerpuff Girls where Buttercup gets a crush on Ace of the Gangreen Gang, but that only lasts for one episode and gets one reference in the later season.

Wait, when did it become bad for cartoon kids to just have unreciprocated crushes??????? When I was 6 I had a crush on my brother’s best friend (who was 16). Used to bring him capri suns all the time and snacks and stuff when he’d come over to hang out. One Valentine’s Day he gave me a teddy bear and I’ve been chasing that high for two decades lol. As far as I remember everyone just thought it was cute.

I am shocked that you didn’t mention Yakko, Wakko, and Hello Nurse from Animaniacs. That is honestly the first thing that I think of when I think of the “Age Gap Crush” trope.

At some way it's similar to crushes on celebrities- they're older, but also (much more) out of reach. Kinda like it's life lesson out wanting something is not at our limits.

"Age is but a number" Me:Prison is but a bedroom. :)

This is personally a trope that s both uncomfortable and adorable depending how it is used and handled. In the end it’s still very interesting to see the end of the trope in a show.whether they address it well or not

While weird in cartoons I'm sure we all had that moment where we had a crush on someone older in life due to them being "mature" or intelligent. It just doesn't translate well in tv shows or anime as it looks very off putting seeing this in action

AAAH!!! A TALKING PAN- oh, it’s Jay. Yay! This trope can range from cute (in the sense of a child just learning about the concept of a crush in the most naive ways) to uncomfortable (we all know which ones those are). There are good ones out there though to teach children about emotional maturity and the concept of rejection not being the end of the world.

I definitely agree that I'd prefer it was left out most of the time, but i feel like it was important in Turning Red since the way they showed it in the movie was very realistic and made the characters a lot more relatable.

God now I'm remembering the Naked Brother's Band and how Alex Wolf (like around 6-8 in the show??) had a crush on his babysitter and even referred to her as his girlfriend. That was so much worse that all these because it was a live action mockumentary with a real life little boy and adult woman. Oh, and it's worth noting that in real life outside the show, the two are cousins and the show was created by Nat and Alex's mother.

You forgot my little pony friendship is magic. Spike has a crush on rarity.

Tbh I have never had a problem with this trope, because it isn't actual romance. Why I think this trope works is because it is very clear from the moment the minor crushes on their adult crush, they are never meant to be a ship or endgame, it's just purely from the perspective of the minor. I feel like Mac is a good example, he is in love with Frankie, but that's all it is, the comedy is how say the characters react to it rather than making note over whether or not they are endgame. There are also hints in the show (specially the Dare episode) where Frankie knows of Mac's crush, but Mac being a kid (and minor) just see it as cute in a little kid sort of way, and thinks it is just a phase. Mac sees it one way while Frankie clearly sees it as another, you aren't supposed to see them as a couple that's the point. And while I do think it can be funny, I do find Carl's more extreme advances toward Judy to be very creepy, not because its portrayed as romantic, but that's because Carl tries to push it to that way. Especially in the Valentine's episode where he goes as far as to get Hugh out of the picture. Which was also the episode where Cindy has her awful Valentine song. The same applies to Clyde's nosebleeds for Lori. The same thing with Mac and Frankie is the same with Dipper and Wendy, the age gap might be closer, but is also clear it was never going to be a thing, so it's fine.

Didnt even know people found this weird, almost everyone i know had a crush on someone way older as a kid (some still do to this day, and some achieved their goals in the end and im not elaborating further lol)

Here's the thing, Carl & Jimmy's mom was handled fine in the love potion episode, now the weird part is we're shown that Carl can be borderline creepy if not outright *outside* of that episode. See, it was fine since we thought it's one-time thing and would've been resolved by the end of episode, but it's clear it's not the case. Sheen & Libby obviously still has things for each other, so does Jimmy & Cindy with their classic tsundere approach. And for Carl, his infatuation would show up time and time again. Dude still have Judy's picture (not sure where did he get it), has dream sequence where Judy become his servant, and ultimately, in that Fairly Oddparents crossover, he ask Cosmo & Wanda to turn shrunken Prof. Calamitous into mini Judy... in a jar. Make of that what you will.

I always find it funny how by the time Ferb’s off to college, Vanessa’s already 26. And everyone is okay about them dating

"What we have is beautiful and you can't destroy it!" *"Already then"*

Honestly I don't see anything wrong with these crush dynamics as long as the older person isn't reciprocating. I've yet to meet a single person that didnt have a crush on someone older. Their English teacher. KPop boy bands. Actors. Anime characters. It's up to the adult in the dynamic to maintain an appropriate relationship.

I’ve thought the reason why writers kept using this “trope” is because in the real world sometimes kids and teens can have feelings for some older (regardless of how wide the age gap) Now I’m not saying that it isn’t a real problem or that can lead to potential problems down the line…just that happens sometimes and that cartoons (whether for kids or adults) are potentially going to address the sometimes 0:59

I personally hate any sort of age gap trope when the characters actually get together. However, none of the shows mention here actually do that--the only exception being Phineas and Ferb, but this is shown years in the future where, as mentioned, the age gap isn't an issue since they're both adults. These shows do this trope well. I was initially skeptical that any show that depicts this sort of age gap would encourage younger viewers to start pursuing or harassing their older crushes, the resolution of all of these feelings is addressed by explaining that the age gap is an issue, and that the relationship wouldn't work at the moment. This resolution may help viewers with those feelings get over their crushes.

It's fairly common for kids to have innocent crushes on adults and I don't think that's weird. It's only bad if the adult has a crush on the kid back so I don't really think Carl Wheezer or Mac having crushes on older people is weird sense those feeling were not reciprocated by Frankie or Judy.

I love how every section leads into the next so naturally.

I definitely am ok with it some times since a kid having a crush on someone older is something I think that everyone goes through at some point. Though i think these scenarios also only really happen for teens and children because only a few years difference stops mattering as you age

waaaaaaaait now that i think about it gravity falls summerween is kind of a plothole mabel says "on our favorite holiday!" and also a bit plotpoint is that they're yk tryina trick or treat, but earlier in the episode, stan mentions that summerween is celebrated in gravity falls, and what i got from the episode no one else celebrates it why couldnt they just wait till october halloween, to do their trick or treating, instead of fighting over dipper wanting wendy or whatever

I’m happy to see that a lot of the comments are about how the trope is perfectly fine so long as it’s portrayed correctly, in that it doesn’t go anywhere and is resolved well

I have not seen an Alpha Jay video in quite a while but I can just tell from the thumbnail alone it'll be great. The loud house one was always a bit strange considering Lori had a boyfriend who wasn't fond of it and that it seemed like thats all the younger Clyde's character was about sometimes. As others pointed out though its great how Gravity Falls solved it!

It's so good to see a video from you again Alpha Jay! I often theorize that even though the whole age gap crush trope is pretty common in animation, I believe one of the many reasons why it's even a thing at all is because even though it's 100% wrong, In some ways it also can create drama between characters, Mostly emotional drama.

Isabella and Phineas' ship isn't geometrically possible

3 years is hardly an age gap at all.

I think with tropes like this it’s perfectly fine as long as the older person doesn’t reciprocate those feelings since it’s perfectly normal to have an older crush I’m sure everyone has had an older crush but once the older person reciprocates those feelings that’s when it’s an issue

This can also happen in live action shows. One example is Jessie where Luke, played by the late Cameron Boyce, had a huge crush on Jessie, played by Debby Ryan. Honestly I didn’t like the way this was shown in Jessie as some of the things Luke said to Jessie were definitely sexual harassment as she had told him that she had no interest in him.

It’s normal for a child to have a crush on someone who is older or having a celebrity crush but the problem when it comes to it is when the older person pursuing a relationship to the younger person and that just makes it weird like get someone the same age as you

Wendy and dipper was handled the best when wendy simply drops reality on him. And dipper being emotionally mature enough to realize when he was in the dream world that the real wendy would never persue him romantically.

In my opinion, I think that when it comes to the age gap crushes in The Loud House and Gravity Falls, one handles the age gap crush better than the other, and the one that deals with it better would be Gravity Falls. Of course, the team behind the show might’ve had Dipper’s crush on Wendy as a running gag, but it wasn’t overdone too much with Clyde and Lori. What I am saying is that When it came to Dipper and Wendy’s relationship, when you look at season two, episode two (how did I forget the name), near the end of the episode, when Wendy and Dipper had their little conversation, Dipper handled it a little more maturely than usual. He understood why Wendy just wanted to be his friend, and all the episodes after that, including the Weirdmaggedon episodes, showed how the team is able to not mention his crush on Wendy (except for that one scene in the second Weirdmaggedon episode), and only show it as a regular and normal relationship. When it came to the Loud House, Clyde’s crush on Lori was VERY overdone in the early seasons before he started to have a relationship with Chloe. The show never gave an explanation to HOW his crush on Lori drifted away from his personality, but I like that in some terms. Going as far to the point of him nosebleed, REALLY isn’t a good way to “try” and make the audience laugh. But that is my opinion!

There's another example that could've been brought up, that one episode of Recess. One of the kids develops a crush on his teacher and even fantasizes about being married to her iirc. Then at the end, he sees her with her husband and gets heartbroken. The teacher ends up talking with him and how the kid being with her wouldn't work at all, the fact he's in 4th grade and she's not. That episode stuck to me for years and it's one of a few Recess episodes I remember from my childhood. I feel like that episode handled the age gap dynamic well, giving a nice lesson on how while children crushing on adults is normal, adults can't reciprocate for obvious reasons.

You can be friends with anyone within reason, age doesn’t matter, so long as the friendship is platonic.

I think taken seriously, as a kid's cartoon the primary function of having these sort of storylines is to teach kids how to handle their crushes on older peers and that it's unacceptable to have these age gap relationships even if the show doesn't delve into why. The why usually explained away as adults and teens being incapable of falling in love with their much younger peers or at makes it out to be the norm.

I think Hey Arnold was one of those I experienced with the age gap where Arnold and Gerald going out with sixth graders and Arnold having a crush on his substitute teacher once. There was even a love triangle episode with Gerald having a crush on a new girl in town but she has a crush on Gerald’s older brother.

And even when Clyde was able to act normal around Lori, we eventually had Carl Casagrande want to bang Lori, who is YOUNGER than Clyde.

This is one of the best videos i've ever watched, amazing editing, scripting, and research. Kudos to you

"What happened back there?" "I was weak." The god himself Ferb, at it yet again.

I feel that age gap crush are fine if it only stays as crushes that the kid grows out of over time. Kids crushing on someone older than them is normal, I mean when I was 10 I was crushing on multiple celebrities who were twice my age, but as I got older I grew out of it like all kids do. Something like Ferb and Venessa with them getting together never sat right with me while something like Dipper and Wendy was handled perfectly with Dipper moving on from his crush on her and them not getting together in the end.

I had totally forgotten about the context with the crush pheromone, I just thought Carl was a creep. The weirdest cartoon age gap thing I've seen in a kid's show is a cat with the voice of a grown man having a crush on a literal eight year old...and then another cat with the voice of a grown man also gets a crush on her for an episode. Who wants to guess what cartoon that was?

“Frankie my dear” has one of my favorite quotes of all time. When Bloo is telling her real date about how they met and he ends it with “and then I tell her Hey baby I’m a gazillionaire”

Alpha Jay, you are wholesome for showing these dynamics

I remember being young and crushing on someone older. It's a weird time when kids aren't sure what things mean, and mistake thoughts of respect, admiration and seniority, or heck, just a simple observation that somebody looks pretty, and thinking they're what this Disney concept of "love" is. Like, in Sleeping Beauty, it's 'poetic' that a prince wakes a girl with a kiss, and not at all creepy. And that 'love at first sight' is a thing. Of course a childhood crush is not romantic love. At least I hope not. It's young people trying to understand what feelings are. They're introduced to Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Little Mermaid and see love as something that comes to everyone just like that. Like... "Oh the prince kissed me! That means we love each other now!" That's why Mac mistakes Frankie kissing him on the cheek as a romantic kiss, rather than a kiss of appreciation like an auntie might give for helping to clear the table. I mean, even as an adult I mistook an episode of infatuation as love, but snapped out of it afterwards. It's not even intuitive for adults either. To complicate things further, philosophy types would even argue there are several types of love, like eros, philia, agape, storge. Romantic love is the obvious one, as well as love for family and love for friends. All distinct, but share elements, too. And when I mentioned before about thoughts of respect and admiration, some argue that's a type of love too. (Was it Marilyn Frye who said that?) Edit: Since we're talking cartoons, I like what happened in Steven Universe -- I haven't watched a lot of the show, but in one episode, there's this side character who's a mail carrier with a love for theatre. It's not so much an age difference thing, but more to illustrate my point of mistaking other feelings for romantic love. Garnet emerges from the ocean and walks toward him and Steven still dripping wet (she's in full armor, so it's less lewd that it sounds from me describing it). He mistakes seeing a tall, suave, strong woman on the beach for love and the episode revolves around this. Long story short, Garnet tries to smack him out of these feelings because she recognises this isn't love; it's infatuation. And she gives a pretty real speech regarding love, to counter what people often see in media. "Love at first sight doesn't exist. Love takes time. It takes effort and work. And you have to know the person first."

Kids should be able to have crushes on adults, but not the other way around.

As I grew up these relationships were completely normal and it wasn't until recently, when I found out there was another case of it in The Loud House that I realized how weird they could be if they aren't developed the right way. My favorite will always be Wendy and Dipper, I feel it gave Dipper way more personality than what he already had and the conclusion was sad but expected and showed how mature Wendy was, Lori and Clyde's story is also really good and it got me even more interested in watching The Loud House.

by far my favorite video analysis ever !! its just so interesting and wonderfully done

I mean I was attracted to a thirty year old when I was 16 so I can relate to some of these characters

Once I heard the age gap between Dipper & Wendy, it made me think of the age gap between Sonic & Amy in Sonic Boom. (15 for Sonic & 12 for Amy) Amy keeps her crush on Sonic to herself, but in a few episodes, it does show a little bit. Sonic even mentioned SonAmy in "The Biggest Fan".

Act Your Age is so good and then Vanessa and Ferb show up and it completely throws you

I like how Phineas and Ferb handled it. Vanessa thought Ferb was just a cute kid who liked her, she laughed him off even though she was genuinely impressed by him. They only eventually got together when Ferb was older.

I personally liked Vanessa better with Monty. They fit better. 🤷🏻‍♀️

i really like what they did in adventure time with Finn and PB for the most part, like they showed that it could work if they were the same age, then how he got over PB with FP but they stay as really good friends in the end.

I really like how Gravity falls showed this intruduced us to that dynamic And Gravity falls in comon...tbh

its also in my series about dating my babysitter. hahahahah lol

Honestly I’m not surprised at the weird jokes and that fact that Lori wanted Clyde’s attention and love since the creator of the show is a creep himself. He used to make comics depicting a little cat boy being attracted to his cat mom, purposely dropping things on the floor to look up her skirt and wanting to take baths with her to look at her boobs. It really gives another reason as to why the Loud House fandom is so gross.

Young kids have crushes on older kids. It's not that weird.

shocked you didnt talk about finn and princess bubblegum!!

Do people just not remember being kids or what? I'm 34 but I rememeber every single crush I had since I was a small child and at least a 3 times I had crushes on girls that were older when I was a little kid.

My very first "real people" crushes were all on older people so I don't see the big deal It is incredibly normal to have crushes on someone who seems cooler and more mature than you, but even just considering putting these crushes in a fictional media seems to make people rabid with rage