Originally Posted by Michieltjuhh
Originally Posted by autistichalsin
1. It would be nice if the player could tell Halsin they personally don't wish to date others, but it is okay if he does so (so that if the player doesn't want to do it themself, they can still have that boundary, while still respecting this fundamental part of who Halsin is and not demanding he change it for them)
Or they could just rewrite him to be mono in the first place, just like the other 7 romance companions. Solves this issue with it.

Originally Posted by autistichalsin
2. Halsin's sexual assault. It has been addressed many times already, but I think it's the bare minimum that Halsin's sexual assault should be treated AS a sexual assault by the narrative. The way they continuously have Halsin insist he enjoyed it is so beyond hurtful, especially because he also intersperses it with comments that imply Stockholm Syndrome, but are not treated as such. If he feared for his life while imprisoned, it was by definition IMPOSSIBLE for him to give consent- every action he made was under duress. Even if he WASN'T (and he says he was), there is a reason it is in real life considered impossible for prisoners to consent to sex with prison guards. The power imbalances mean that meaningful consent is impossible.
All the more reason his romance just needs a proper rewrite.

Originally Posted by autistichalsin
3. I wish we could go with Halsin in the ending. Especially if this could include the player's other love interest, if they have one, coming with them. I could see Karlach being delighted to help out the kids after her engine is fixed, Astarion could be offered protection from the sun, and Shadowheart would just be over the moon to finally get to climb Mount Halsin herself.
I think you'll find that sufficient arguments have been given here to have these interactions entirely removed, not further expanded upon. It doesn't fit the narrative for any of the companions in the slightest, including Halsin himself, and rewriting them to a point where it does would require infinite time and effort, and likely ruin their actual romance in the process. Considering how incomplete some romances already feel in act 3, if they were to do anything, they'd be better off spending their time working on their actual romance while giving Halsin a fitting mono romance that doesn't require complete rewrites or character assassination of other companions and he himself. Not this out of character side story arc they've thrown in for them at random that at the moment is thankfully all but fleshed out (less than 5 minutes of dialogue with no consequences removes it about as far from canon as it can be).

Let's not start this. People are more than welcome to express they are happy to retain Halsin as a character who prefers open or poly relationships without those who have already made their views clear multiple times jumping in just to repeat their preference yet again, let alone to appear to try to claim - again - that their particular take has somehow a more objective grounding than others'. Everyone is entitled to hold and express their own views and preferences, but everyone should equally recognise when they've made themselves amply clear and accept that others are still going to disagree and that is fine, and it's just going to send us round in circles if they pipe up to let us know they still think the same thing every time someone expresses a different view.

Last edited by The Red Queen; 29/10/23 04:56 PM.
"You may call it 'nonsense' if you like, but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!"