Halsin - Blog Posts
reddit was talking about this, but i feel like tumblr could get a scholarly debate going
In case anyone wants to hear it in game or keep his approval level low so that he never brings up romantic feelings, casting charm or friendship scrolls or spells on him will artificially lower it for you every time it's cast. Just make sure to stop once he hits Low Approval and you'll get to hear the disapproving snark in all its glory without him leaving the party.
Or just keep going if you want him to leave.
low approval/annoyed Halsin is so funny he's just
"I can NOT be assed to help you useless twats but FINE... I will anyway for FUCK'S sake"
Thinking about Halsin coping with the stress of the city through sex with Tav, trying to soothe his ravaged nerves by burying his nose into their neck until their scent drives out the unwelcome reminders of death in the streets, of unwashed bodies and pollution toxins in the air. Thinking about him seeking comfort in their warmth, of wanting them clasped around his arousal until he and they are mindlessly driving each through another orgasm, his hands splintering and cracking the edges of the wooden table holding Tav's weight because nothing of this artificial world can withstand his strength. How the patches of greenery and trees make his longing worse because it reminds him of the world he wants to share with Tav, to hold them close so they can hear the birdsong that's not here in this crowded hell and feel the moonlight he would have summoned to bathe them both in at night. Halsin holding Tav a bit more tightly, a bit longer than they usually would have, deciding that one more dive, one more taste of his dazed lover's body will give him the peace he needs to endure another day until their mission is done. And all the while, Tav is unaware of the comfort he's taking into their presence, seeing them as an unspoken dream he has no right to ask for, his selfish need for them manifesting as desperate passion each night.
Tavs I've made so far:
Luth
It felt like tasting a forest for her, when she kissed Halsin. Greenery and wood in her minds eye, the cooled touch of a breeze, the warmth of the sun in his arms. Everywhere, surrounding her, she could not hide from it nor did she want to. He was there, fully present for her like the peace of early morning after a night of war. She does not need to prove herself anymore. He is here and he sees her struggle and he will not leave her to face it alone.
It feels like relief from a long fight, the blessed mindlessness of sleep and the sweet leisure of a spring day.
Just be.
Nothing further be needed than the connection between them.
Hemera
She was not given to flights of fancy, she thought. But the gentle delight of that twirl and Wyll's smile sent promises she thought long broken.
"It's ok," His movements told her, "It's ok to dream and believe again."
"Utter foolishness." She said to herself. It's a doomed fool's fancy before they'll hit the cobblestones, bloody and broken.
And yet
Yet he stands before her, defiant in the face of the fate that his patron would have forced onto him. He's free and proud, unbroken in his honor. Through it all, he's just as kind as he started when they first met.
Maybe it's ok to hope.
Halsin strikes me as one of those workaholics who get antsy after about an hour of sitting down even if he had been doing hard labor since early morning.
Tav: Halsin. Halsin! Don't you dare.
Halsin: It will be just a moment, my heart.
Tav: Last time you said that, you were there for over an hour!
Halsin: But the scavengers will go after the dried meats if I don't take them down.
Tav: I swear, I will sit on you to get you to relax.
Halsin: Do what you must, my love.
*Halsin stands up and casually walks off with Tav clinging to his back like it's nothing*
Tav: 😐 *Clings for dear life*
I'll never get tired of seeing Halsin included in this cutscene. It was....not a fun discovery back in the older versions seeing him missing. I figured I'd at least settle for Tav exploring this tower without anyone on the team if Halsin wasn't showing up, but the game auto selected 2 random teammates instead 😑.
It's often the little things like that, that can enhance a game for me.
Reach
Female Tav x Halsin
(Just a personal headcanon for one of my Tavs)
The Imp patagium laid on the highest shelf, just a few inches out of her reach if she went on tiptoe. Normally, not a terrible inconvenience if she floated a bit, but with the lambent flames cooking the suspensions and the steam of the sublimates, she was reluctant to risk an accidental brush with her robes. She tried approaching from the side, but the distance just felt longer. She tried placing a knee on the edge of the stone slab used as an alchemical workspace, but the shelf was behind the arrangement of vials and flames and stinging steam.
"Let me, my heart." One long, broad arm reached above her head to pluck the small vial. Looking upwards, she could see the smile on his face.
"I could have gotten that."
"Indeed you could." Wrapping one arm around her waist, Halsin laid a gentle kiss on her head. "But I figured this was easier for you."
Luth could feel herself relaxing into his embrace, swaying with him as they often did during their moments alone.
"Thank you. Really." She turned around, smiling as she reached up to take the patagium from him.
He kept it out of her grasp.
Puzzled, she extended her arm, all the while looking at his broadly grinning face that never changed. He inched it further from her hand. Dawning comprehension revealed the mischievousness in his smile as he leaned a bit further back.
"You're almost there," One step, then two before he had already led her away from the alchemy bench and had sat down on a nearby slab. Every time her fingertips grazed the glass, he'd swap hands with it.
"How-" She let out a huff of laughter. "-how are you so tall?!"
Frustration had her gripping his forearm with both hands, hands that still could not encircle his arm completely, pulling herself further up until she finally snatched the elusive ingredient with a triumphant cry.
"Aha!"
"Very well done, my heart."
His grin had never faded and she had now realized, that he had maneuvered her so that she'd be draped all over him. Only the clothing they wore separated them from fully feeling the length of each other's bodies. From his vantage, he had the satisfaction of watching his beloved's face flush redder and redder, mere inches from his.
"You planned this."
"Mm-hmm." Thick fingers had already slid under her embroidered robes, rubbing circles on bare skin. "Whatever should be done about that now?"
"You-" Luth could not even pretend to be mad, not with growing evidence of his interest beneath where her legs were straddling him. "This is why we're behind on our potion stock."
"By all means, don't let me stop you, my love."
Luth had to laugh. "You are dangerous."
His chuckle joined hers as the vial of patagium fell to the ground.
I'm actually super surprised to see that there are people who don't like Halsin. I guess I've found myself in the right circles because I've never seen anything but love for him!
Ok, so I've been trying to gather my thoughts on this, because it's not a fun topic to discuss. But some of the most insane takes I have seen has been like this:
While others are pointing out how insane it sounds and getting call out posts for it as though they have had no good reason to talk about it:
It's gotten bad enough that Dave Jones, Halsin's voice actor, is being quoted by people saying he should be put on a list:
Dave is a voice actor. A goddamn voice actor. He doesn't have control over how Halsin is written nor is he endorsing any creepy behavior. This is a serious accusation to make and honestly, why are Halsin haters following the voice actor of a character they hate?!
People are entitled to their feelings and they have a right to feel safe, but that does not give them the right to falsely accuse real people for things that did not happen.
This is fictional work. Fictional characters who are written out with a set plan in mind. We know Halsin's intent from start to finish and it's never changed like other, more controversial characters are intended like:
Halsin: I understand, and I will cherish our relationship.
Minthara: I already know your mind. I will know your body, one way or another.
This is not a condemnation of Minthara. She's intended to be difficult and bossy, because she had to be in the cutthroat world of the Underdark. This is, however, intended to be a comparison of the double standards I've been seeing from fans and wish would be applied fairly and civilly. I would deeply dislike being deceived if I was a new player trying out this game and found out I had been misled so badly on different characters. I've already felt aggravation finding out fans pushed a popular headcanon over what's actually in the game in other games.
*Halsin kissing Tav while holding them so tightly that not one mote of light could come between them, kissing them so deeply that there is no room for thought, only sensation of his scent, the calluses on his hands, the firmness of his body, the heat emanating from him. Every touch he gives is to bring them closer until it feels like they'll be consumed by his passion before it ends.*
Halsin: *smiling* Was there something you wanted, my heart?
Tav: 😶
Halsin: ....my heart?
Tav: .......I think I forgot my name.
Gortash fans are saying this?! Gortash fans?! Fans of a guy:
-Who violated Karlach's bodily autonomy
-Sold Karlach into slavery
-Who experimented on people
-Streamlined the interrogation of people's brains in a jar by using an elven woman's head to voice their thoughts in that Mindflayer pit. One of those brains was a child's by the way.
-Ran a dictatorship through the Steel Watch with innocent civilian brains running them
-Whose own fans admit that part of Gortash's appeal is his "rapey" look?!
And they have the gall to act self righteous about nonexistent creepy behavior from a character?!
I fucking HATE the Facebook girlies sometimes.
Ripped this from the comments of a post in a Gortash simp group that was talking about which of them smelled better/worse
The amount of people who think he's creepy TRULY confuses me. Like where do you get this from, who hurt you????
He's an autistic man who loves animals and nature and has a soft spot for orphaned children????? If you romance him, he is the most loving, comforting, and supportive character in the game and is ALL ABOUT CONSENT????? And you think he's A CREEPY PREDATOR????
I'm convinced that polyamory is nature's way of granting mercy to Halsin's lovers who have severely underestimated his unholy sexual stamina.