hi! hopefully you've been well :) i just wanted to ask - how do you feel about underage followers? i'm asking on anon because i've been your follower since the close protection days and i was definitely underage then (i literally turned 18 this past month)

I started reading explicit fanfiction when I was 14, so it’d be pretty hypocritical of me to object to people under the age of 18 doing something similar. I certainly don’t think I suffered any ill effects. In fact, fanfiction was my first real exposure to same-sex relationships (this was in the early 2000s, when LGBT media representation was far less prevalent than it is today), and it helped me explore and understand my own bisexuality during what was a very confusing time for me.

That’s my opinion as a human being. Here’s my opinion as a creator, and it’s going to be perhaps uncharacteristically blunt:

The age of my readers is neither my responsibility nor any of my business. I’m not anyone’s parent, and I’m not the age of consent police.

All of my works are and always have been clearly labeled as containing explicit content. That’s where my ethical duty begins and ends. The responsibility for what minors consume on the internet (assuming such content is appropriately labeled) rests entirely with that minor and their guardian(s). 

If you’re a parent or guardian and you don’t want your underage kids reading explicit stories, don’t rely on a stranger on the internet to limit their access. That’s your job.

All of that being said, if you’re underage and you’re reading explicit fiction, whether fanfiction or original, don’t tell the author that you’re underage. (What this question-asker did is fine, since they remained anonymous, which I appreciate.) Your age isn’t the creator’s problem, so please don’t go out of your way to make it their problem. Honestly, if you’re underage, you really shouldn’t be telling anyone on the internet that in any context!