Today's "Halsin haters really do miss the entire point of his character huh" rant is the people who say Halsin is "only there because he got horny for you" and similar variations that imply he only feels shallow sexual attraction to you.
Like, we can debunk this JUST with his lines to you in his confession scene.
Halsin: I never quite realised how burdened I was, until I met you. The threat of the shadow curse, the politics of the grove... I was forgetting who I was, but you lifted the fog. Thank you.
He's not just talking about you lifting the curse or helping him work up the courage to leave his leadership role at the Grove behind. He's telling you he was lonely and depressed and that you were the first one to bring him any hope in easily a century, and that you helped him find himself again. You brought him clarity.
Player: You're welcome.
Halsin: You're too modest. I wager you don't even know how extraordinary you truly are. But I do.
Halsin is an extremely humble and modest person himself; in the epilogue, he even jokingly threatens to turn into a mouse from the embarrassment if you tell him how incredible his achievements are. He identifies here with the experience of being both modest and overlooked, seeing the combination in you and knowing from experience how lonely it can be.
Halsin: I have lived a very long time. I have taken many lovers. My heart does not stir lightly. But it does now.
This is the part, hilariously, that people mistake as Halsin being solely motivated by sexual interest- him telling you how many lovers he's had. If they looked past that part into literally the same line they'd see that he's saying that while he will have sex whenever the urge strikes him, he doesn't often fall in love- and likely hasn't for a while. He's telling you that you're so special to him that you've managed to make him fall in love when this rarely happens for him. Kind of the opposite of just wanting sex!
Halsin: But tell me I'm wrong, and the matter can rest. I do not wish to sour our friendship, but I have to know if it can be something more.
And another sign that Halsin cares about you far beyond sex. He wants you in his life in any way, friend or lover, just as long as you're there. He just has to find out what your relationship can be first.
The alternate options to his first lines also show his care for you.
Player: I had my reasons for helping. You're a useful ally.
Halsin: I want to be more than that to you. I have lived a very long time. I have taken many lovers. My heart does not stir lightly. But it does now.
Player: So the fog's lifted - what have you discovered?
Halsin: You. I discovered you. I have lived a very long time. I have taken many lovers. My heart does not stir lightly. But it does now.
Player: It was nothing.
Halsin: No. It was everything. It allowed me to see you. Truly see you. I have lived a very long time. I have taken many lovers. My heart does not stir lightly. But it does now.
All slightly different ways of saying, again, how special you are to him. That seeing you for what you are opened his eyes. And remember how much time Halsin has spent being seen as only what he does, and not for who he actually is; him saying this is really important for him, too. He's telling you this isn't just hero-worship, and isn't just gratitude; it's truly seeing you for what you are, and falling in love with you on that basis.
Then, if you tell him you do feel the same:
Halsin: I was concerned perhaps my imagination was playing tricks on me - my stomach was in knots like some lovelorn ninety-year-old. If we do this, I need you to understand exactly what I do not ask of you: I will not ask you to dedicate yourself to me. I roam as nature wills me to, and your heart remains your own. I just wish to share in it.
He describes himself almost regressing to a younger time in his heartache for you. That's not something someone with his age and wisdom does often. And notice how here, in talking about his poly, he gives another line much of the fandom interprets as a sign he doesn't actually care, while if you look at it deeper, it's the opposite. He's giving you freedom- something incredibly important to him. He believes monogamy is constraining, though in a different dialogue tree, he acknowledges that it is the right fit for some. He is giving you the opportunity to love without being confined- which is his version of an ideal relationship. He is showing you affection the best way he knows how.
Halsin cares about you deeply, and is showing it in ways that a lot of others couldn't understand, but if you pay attention to his arc and characterization, or even just his literal words, it's so clear that he absolutely is head-over-heels in love with you. There's so much more than "just sex" here.
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