As I said, it’s mostly all common sense. Of course there’s gonna be exceptions. And everyone is made uncomfortable and feel “gross” (for lack of a better term) by different things. For me, in a world so exceptionally vibrant sexually and otherwise (well put btw), it was only natural to find people who are like that in such a big universe. The world wouldn’t seem normal without realistic interpersonal hate and the like—and villains and evil-doers only do so much to present that. That’s just me though. I in no way agree with the act of shaming someone who sleeps around, but there are people who would. So that’s why the inclusion of it is important, at least for me.
As for the lore, it both condemned and celebrated same sex relationships. And all the Lore is written with the release of the games. So with every iteration of an ES game since Arena in 94’.
I also like the amount of thought that has been put into this btw. I’ve been in this community for a while and almost nobody has ever discussed the sexuality of the different peoples in game.
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I get the inclusion of people like Svana, I think what I find most weird about the quest, is that it *is* a quest. And her motivation is weird. I just don't buy it that her Aunt being shamed by a total stranger will have the positive impact on Svana's life that she imagines it will. What reason does Haelga have to treat Svana differently? She didn't know her niece was involved. And she doesn't even seem to care that much anyway.
For this reason, it takes me completely out of the narrative and role-playing, which is probably why I've been over-thinking it. Maybe if she was complaining that Haelga encouraged her to date men she didn't know (which I know she does), or Svana had a particular problem with her sleeping with married men (which would make more sense) but the biggest problem in her life is being over-worked, and this quest is not the appropriate solution to that problem. What are we even doing? Why can't we just tell Haelga to back the fluff off, or give Svana money to move to Whiterun or whatever? The solution does not solve the problem, and it's weird.
That's not even beginning to talk about the weird religious aspect of Haelga's explanation. I know the other Dibella devotee's are probably not shacking up with all of Markarth, but what exactly is the nature of these "erotic teachings" and if she's one of the Nine Divines why aren't people more into it?
See ^ all that over-thinking is because of one small sidequest that pulled me out of the game.
I know, I also spend a lot of time reading the game manuals for lore. I didn't really mean to sound so snarky when I mentioned the lore thing. It just reminds me of that weird diegetic argument. Like the weird bunny girl from Final Fantasy has to be wearing sexy stilettos all the time, because of the shape of her feet. Weird.
So to get back to your point. I don't think it would have been as uncomfortable for me if Svana's motivations had been clear, and her character was fleshed-out around this. But it seemed more like the writers just wanted to make sure you knew Haelga was a loose woman, in case you didn't get all the *very* subtle hints, and this made her a bad person.