Child-like characters?

[Melichoir]

In regards to lalafell, they’re in a sort of grey space already and it’s not going to be unusual for people to have inconsistent attitudes towards them. They look like kids and they also look different enough for it to be less iffy.

This is a self contradicting statement: They look like kids, but they dont look like kids. Which is it?

But I don’t see how someone thinking that punting lalas is funny and at the same time thinking that lalas in risqué circumstances is gross because they’re child-like invalidates their beliefs or arguments.

I asked the question a few pages back to what was more important: A character who acts and appears as an adult but is confirmed to be a minor, or a character who is more childish and has childish characteristics but is confirmed to be an adult. Ive seen both sides to this, as there are literally people who are more ok with a minor being in adult situations so long as that minor looks and behaves like an adult over an adult being in adult situations who behaves childishly or has a more childish stature.

This gets more complicated because its not about the jokes, its about the context. Most people arent gonna bat an eye at "punting potatoes" or "Lalafells are backup food source". Theyre jokes, and most people get this. Where you get people starting to be "Wait a moment" is when sexualization is applied. As I mentioned above, there is a disconnect in regards to sexualization. Some people have an issue with adult characters participating in adult activities if they appear child like, but do not have the same qualms when it is a minor as long as said minor appears to be an adult. Haurchefant flirting with you as a lalafell? Nope. Bad. Alisae flirting with you as a Elezen? A-Ok.

This gets more complicated because the same people who have the issue with lalafells or children sexualization seem to turn a blind eye to horror and violence done to children in this game. ShB has literally has Halric, who was in the MSQ more or less condemned to become an eldritch horror. And they didnt hide the ball on what that meant. No off screen thing happening or someone brushing it over with a vague explanation. We literally see what happens and how messed up it is, and that Halric is gonna end up the same. So in game kids are definitely being exposed to violence. This doesnt also include playing as Alphinaud and if you fail its implied theyre killed. It gets even more inconsistent if people see Lalafells as children and yet lalafells are killed or implied to be killed in this game for reals (read some of the monster descriptions as an example, or that syndicate guy who gets killed, or Nanamo's poisoning, etc etc) or if youre a lalafell WoL and how you can die on a regular basis.

Point is that there is a lot of hubbub over this that focuses on sexualization, but ignores blatant violence, which is kind of messed up when you consider it. Even with just dealing with sexuality, there are double standards and inconsistencies in the positions people are holding regarding that same sexualization. This includes the devs. If the devs or anyone wants to say it should be this way or that, fine. But at least be consistent in that position and apply it equally. If its an issue of "We dont want degeneracy with child like character" then quite a bit needs to be addressed. If its about age, then there should be no problem releasing a race or sex that has a more childish or diminutive build if its clearly stated that theyre adults and treated as such. Just be consistent about it.