Ineffable.

"What's on your mind, little panther?"

I'm gonna add to this.

It stifles adult's creativity too.

Don't put restrictions on people's creativity.

That Mary-Sue OC you made as a child? That's a template for a well rounded character. Develop that shit. Flesh them out. Make them even better. Figure out what superpowers they really need and what ones are just extra. Let the character grow with you.

But you won't have that template to work off of if you were told not to make it.

Also, let people have power fantasies. Let that bullied isolated kid have an OC who's super powerful and surrounded by friends.

Like, the Divine Comedy.

Sailor Moon was created because the author wanted some friends and she created some.

Just reminding you that you can play with Weird Ed's computer in the game.

I'm gonna add to this.

It stifles adult's creativity too.

Don't put restrictions on people's creativity.

That Mary-Sue OC you made as a child? That's a template for a well rounded character. Develop that shit. Flesh them out. Make them even better. Figure out what superpowers they really need and what ones are just extra. Let the character grow with you.

But you won't have that template to work off of if you were told not to make it.

Also, let people have power fantasies. Let that bullied isolated kid have an OC who's super powerful and surrounded by friends.

His playful, sarcastic "I AM?!" when you say he's big for an elf! He has banters where he teasingly roasts Shadowheart AND Gale at different times! He teases that you might be a lunatic for freeing a bear without knowing if it would attack you, he indulges the Drow twins by changing into a bear and letting the player ride him around, he loves bear puns (or really animal jokes in general), the way he flexes his muscles if the player mentions him moving things three grown men couldn't...

He wants to PLAY!!! The reason he's so serious for most of the story isn't because he's just the "sage wise archdruid" but because all the trauma he's faced FORCED him to be. Given the slightest bit of a chance to be himself (like traveling with a camp full of weirdos), he instantly shows his playful side, and it only comes out more in his epilogue.

For so long he had such a weight on his shoulders. The Grove. The threats. The politics. A job he probably didn't ask for and he tried to do the best he could anyway.

Because Halsin Wants to Do Things Good.

At long last he can be himself. He has a purpose and friends who love him the way he is. Not being the leader. Not being the one in charge. Just himself.

Maybe that's why his good ending doesn't totally satisfy me.

I crave for an alternate ending when Halsin and Tav retire and explore Faerun peacefully. Discovering new places. Making new friends. Being goofy tourists. Spending nights stargazing, enjoying the peace. Sharing jokes and anecdotes on the road, stealing kisses when no one is looking.

Do I read fanfiction about him? Yes I do.

Do I look at photos of Halsin cosplay? Of course.

Do I write dozens of pages of stupid stuff about equally stupid OC's I'll never publish? Yup.

Do I collect fanart like a dragon collects gems? I have several P*treon subscriptions who only do that.

It's so sweet and soft it breaks my heart a little.

"they need to be beaten up, tortured, opened up!" no but how about them getting their wounds bandaged? how about them being stopped from inflicting pain on themselves? how about them being stopped from drowning in their toxic coping mechanisms and find new and healthier ones?

how about that character finally feeling loved and accepted, and having that support to become a better person?

how about things getting better after years of abuse, misunderstanding, and depression, and imprisonment (physical or mental)?

I thought that these two OC who got each their lot of hardship and finally find peace in the arms of each other, nobody would like them.

I read somewhere that in literature, happiness looks torridly boring. This citation always disturbed me.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're quite large for an elf"