#let's go get halsin

[blackjackkent]

Briefly stopped in to talk to the healer Nettie who the tieflings recommended us to; she's one of the druids and apparently works with Halsin when he's at home. Maybe she knows about tadpoles.

"I see you. Just give me a moment."

Hector is good at waiting and stood very patiently while she finished treating the injured bird.

(Side note that I really enjoy the rendering of all the animals in this game so far.)

Nettie, unsurprisingly, looked more than a little alarmed when Hector told her what he needed help with.

"A tadpole? A *mind flayer* tadpole?"

"You know of them? Can you help me?" Hector can't keep the urgency out of his voice, and he sees Shadowheart edge forward slightly next to him, watching the healer intently.

"I..." The young woman hesitates, looking between the four sets of eyes staring at her. "I'll do what I can. Come, follow me. I might be able to help."

They follow her into a closed off back area, on which a dead drow is lying stretched on a slab of stone.

"This one had the same problem as you. Attacked us in the woods together with some goblins," Nettie says grimly. "Tadpole crawled out of his head soon after."

Hector looks at the dead body with distinct unease. "The drow and I have the same kind of parasite?"

"Seems so," Nettie says with a rueful laugh. "Gave Master Halsin a right start." She frowns, turns away and begins to rummage on a nearby table. "It's why he joined the adventurers on their expedition. To find out what was happening. A pity you got me instead of him. He understands these things - studied them. Still, we have options."

She turns around, gripping an uncomfortably sharp-looking stick in one hand.

All of a sudden Hector is regretting starting this whole conversation.

"You don't have to be here for this," Nettie says to his companions.

Astarion lounges back on his heels with a slight smirk, clearly glad not to be standing at the front of the group.

"Please, don't mind me. I'll just watch."

Nettie nods agreeably, looks back towards Hector, and gestures with the stick. "All right, let's see what we can do."

Hector raises a hand and takes a step backwards. "What's that plant? Will it help?" he asks warily. Visions of an attempt at woodlands surgery are going through his head and he's not sure he likes the idea much more than becoming a mindflayer.

Nettie shrugs noncommittally. "It might, but first things first. Tell me about your symptoms. Have you noticed anything strange happening?"

Perhaps his companions might be less forthcoming about this - but I've decided that if Caden's defining trait was trust, Hector's is honesty. Open truth at all times. -5 to deception (not literally, but in practice. :P ) So he explains exactly what's been happening.

"I can merge my mind with anyone else that's infected," he says bluntly.

Nettie's eyebrows lift. "Victims can identify each other? Not that the others know they're victims of course... How'd you pick up the parasite? Halsin was desperate to find where all this was happening."

"On a mind flayer ship," Hector responds promptly. "I was kidnapped and infected."

Nettie swallows. "A mind flayer ship? But Master Halsin was sure--" She trails off, looks down at the stick in her hand for a moment. "Look, you've been straight with me, so I'll be straight with you. You're dangerous. If you transform here, we're all dead." She pauses, then puts the stick into her belt. "But you seem like a good soul," she continues firmly, looking up again to meet his eyes. "You deserve a chance to save yourself."

She pulls out a narrow vial of green liquid and extends it in his direction. "This is a vial of wyvern poison," she says soberly. "Swear to me you'll swallow it if you feel *any* symptoms."

A chill runs through Hector's blood and he goes very still. "I thought you could cure me?" he says shakily. "What about that branch of yours?"

Nettie looks at him steadily, unblinking. "The thorn?" she says flatly. "Coated in a fatal toxin. It was a last resort, in case I couldn't trust you." Her eyes flick away, then back to him. "I don't have a cure. Only a way out." She turns the vial slowly in her fingertips, watching the torchlight glint off it. "I'm sorry for misleading you, but I had to be sure you weren't a threat before I told you everything."

She extends her hand again, pushing the vial in his direction. "Now, do I have your word or not?"

He swallows, reaches out and takes the vial. Much as it chills him to think of it - she's right. If it comes to it...this is the easier way out.

"I swear," he says.

She seems to relax slightly as he tucks the vial into his pack. "You know, I've spent my life treating folk and never once saw a mind flayer infection," she says thoughtfully, her eyes sweeping over him from head to foot. "Then suddenly there's dozens of you, maybe more. Master Halsin and I were tracking them, studying them, trying to figure out what the hells was going on. Because you should all be changing - there should be a small army of mind flayers out there! But you're not. Weird powers aside, you seem perfectly...normal."

Hector pauses halfway through the motion of turning away, and looks back at her questioningly. This is new information, not something anyone with vague knowledge of the situation has yet mentioned. "What do you mean, 'should' be changing?"

Nettie shrugs uncertainly. "Mind flayers reproduce by infecting someone with their parasite. Seven gruesome days later, the victim transforms and a new mind flayer is born." She gestures towards his face. "The thing in your skull, though? It's different to anything in our records. It's one of their worms, for sure, but this one gives you powers - telepathic connections. And it doesn't turn you into one of them. Not yet, anyhow."

Hector raises his eyebrows, feeling a spark of hope at this information. "That's...good news?" he asks cautiously.

Nettie frowns, clearly frustrated herself with the lack of certainty. "Could be, but there's a lot we don't know. Infected - folks like you - have been converging on an old temple of Selune, and I've no idea why. When Master Halsin heard the adventurers were heading that way, he saw a chance to get answers. Joined on the spot." She pauses, looks down. "Whatever he found there, he didn't make it back."

A temple of Selune. A place where his brethren likely once stood, now corrupted by this same infection. Hector shudders - but in the back of his mind, the seed of hope has been planted, and it centers around this man Halsin. "You think he's still alive?" he asks.

"I think so. I hope so," Nettie says. "I've sent birds to find him, but they can't get close without goblins trying to shoot them down. You, though?" She squints at him. "You're one of them - technically speaking, I mean. They won't kill someone carrying their parasite. If you can find Halsin and get him out of there, we can discover what he learned. And perhaps he can save your life. How's that sound?"

It sounds like the closest thing he's heard to a plan since he woke up on the nautiloid. "All right. I'll find Halsin."

"Thank you," Nettie says fervently. "It would mean everything to the grove. To me. I wish I could tell you more, but only those adventurers know what happened out there. All I can say for sure is they all went to the old temple of Selune and Master Halsin didn't make it back."

She pauses, then leans forward a little. "Good luck out there. And if things start to go bad - remember the vial. Remember your oath."

[sentientsky]

halsin, immediately after being saved from orin: hello i feel an undeniable connection between us. would yuo like to make sweet love with me amongst nature’s beauty

me, an aroace lesbian who a) has already turned him down once, and b) hasn’t romanced ANYONE the entire campaign:

[toxictoad]

I can't find the original post but I keep seeing screenshots of the one person who made their tav basically the party's dad and I love that. I love making old tavs that look at their companions and go "Whelp, I guess I have seven unruly children now" and by the time Jaheira joins in she sees basically one elderly adventurer juggling a vampire spawn, a (formerly) explosive wizard, a tiefling who only recently stopped being on fire all the time, the 24-year-old blade of frontiers, a murderhobo githyanki who was betrayed by her goddess, a recovering Sharran who was betrayed by HER goddess, a Drow who was literally an Absolute general like two days ago, and Tav is just like "My kids :)" While Astarion is pickpocketing people and Minthara is poisoning dinner and Lae'zel and Shadowheart are knife-fighting (Flirting)

[ryewritesstuff]

Thank you @bg-brainrot for the idea 💕 If anyone has any other requests leave a comment

[dyrewrites]

Youtube is trying real hard to make me fall in love with Astarion.

I just want to be friends, he's flirty enough in game, you don't need to do this. Please stop.

[starsofteal]

Hi friends of Halsin!!

I’m trying to create ribbons for a Con later this summer to go with my Genderbent Halsin Cosplay (example ribbon below)

So far all I can think of it “I like ducks!” Which, while a great line, I can’t help but feel like it could be better lol

So I’m turning to creative crowdsourcing!

What are your favorite Halsin one-liners/bear puns/inside jokes for the BG3 fandom?

doesn’t necessarily have to be something he said—it could be a running joke, etc.

Thank you for your help !!!

[crickwater]

I don't know if this is a hot take but halsin is hands down the worst companion and that could be easily solved by having him join you at the beginning of act 2 and giving him literally anything to do in act 3 except hit on you

[elgaladwen]

Gale salvages the sky, even in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, and even with his doom on the horizon.

[jacqcrisis]

Ronan's standing there, watching this, glad there's a pause on the whole sex thing cause otherwise Astarion wasn't making it out this room unravished, the other party members be damned.

[oars]

getting beaten up by abdirak in front of everyone again. ok guys

[birb--birb]

What kind of love are you?

Violet: Love as a Threshold

Your love does not ask for much. Your love does not take. Your love is free, and unquestioned, and here for wherever needs it. When you fall in love, it is as gentle as a breath in the night. It is quiet, and it is effortless. It is tender. If your love was a house, it would readily welcome all who come through. If your love was a hearth, it would warm the hands of whoever stopped by, whether for a day, a month, a year, or forever. When you fall for someone, it is without strings, without conditions, without need. You love for the sake of loving, for the sake of caring for those who need it. You love with a giver’s heart and a giver’s hands and are made so much stronger for it. Being loved by you is to always feel at home. Your love may not always be well-received by those unprepared to linger, but it is unforgettable all the same

The second I saw this answer for Violet I knew it was perfect. Their entire romance with Astarion was about patience. Waiting for him to realize that he's truly safe with them, that they doesn't expect anything from him, that he is in the lead here and they'll follow only when he's ready and okay. And waiting without judgement, Violet knows these things take time and they were more than willing to wait, to be there, to just sit and exist with him while he figures shit out. And when he truly let Violet in, I like to think it was like with a comforting sigh, the feeling of coming home, that feeling when all pressure is lifted and you can just *exist* without fear, without judgement.

Violet has seen violence and hatred and yet chooses to show up for those they love as a place of calm and stability, without judgement, without expectations. Violet's love is patient, it doesn't expect anything back but will give you everything just because we all deserve to feel warmth and safety. They feel so much warmth in their heart that they were able to help Astarion get to a place where he feels safe. I think even if they didn't fall in love or end up together, Violet would have still shown up for him in the same way. They know what suffering is like, they've gone through enough of it themselves and come out the other end alive. They know how much it hurts, but also how much easier it is with someone to lean on.

tagged by @cleric4vampire ty for enabling so many feelies about my bbys

Tagging: @justabiteofspite and @dragon--sage (I know yall were already tagged but doing so again for funzies cause I'd love to hear about your Tavs/Durges) and anyone who wants to join in, please do!!

[threadsun]

Someone scruff me and stop me from deleting all my drafts and starting over because they're too overwhelming for me to even think about writing anything

[princeofhags]

My confession is that I’m enjoying my evil run way too much to really think I’ll enjoy a good one.

[normal-thoughts-official]

sometimes i straight up hope they don't fix this game's bugs

[revvethasmythh]

apparently my favorite line ("even a feral wolf can have the heart of a hound") has changed??? it is "even a feral wolf can have a caring hound at heart" now??

[wearethewitches]

hmm yep. got the lae'zel cut scene. finally.