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tavyliasin · 18 days

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Writer Interview Tag

I was tagged by @redroomroaving and once I'd finished feeling about a hundred emotions from reading I managed to follow it up.

I definitely got a little personal as well, and I know I’m prone to rambling so I’ll pop the questions and answers below the cut. A mild CW for discussion of physical pain and some very very light mentions of mental health. Tagging @morb-untamed @sweetmage @dmbakura @hydropyro @ineadhyn @nicocoer @wixed to do this if you would like to, but there is absolutely no pressure to talk about yourselves or in any personal detail. And anyone else reading this who I missed tagging (I forget names and tags so often, forgive me) please feel free to use me as your tag-in and let me know so I can read your answers too.

When did you start writing?

I have no idea, truly. Stories and reading were a big part of my life since before I could read, and as soon as I could read independently I devoured books and imagined stories in quiet moments. There are a few things I’ve worked on under another name, another identity, but no massive published works. A couple of unfinished SFW fanfics, and some larger original projects that remain on hiatus. As for writing smut and spice and taking fanfic more seriously? That all started in September 2023, and has just grown from there. I was hesitant at first, and you’ll see that in my early author notes, but from there I feel I’ve truly grown in my style and skill, as well as my creativity and ability to delve into character details and kink alike.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

Since writing more, I’ve become a terrible reader. I can’t really focus on it for long because my brain goes into ADHD rebellion and says “no, no, we don’t want to read story we want to create story” which is endlessly frustrating when I have stacks of unread books and a ton of fics earmarked by very talented authors. I will say there is a particular thing many may notice in my works – when writing, I very rarely refer to genitalia in direct terms. It’s just a personal preference when writing, you won’t find the word “cock” in any of my works, but contrary to how it might sound I have absolutely no issue with reading it in the works of others. I am an odd creature, I freely admit that. So…yes, there are themes, pairings, styles, and vocabulary features that I enjoy reading but do not write myself.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I don’t hear comparisons really, and I don’t aim to emulate anyone either, though I will admit I try to keep just a few little moments of humour or sly winks to the audience in similar ways to Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. Just those quick lines or cutaways that for a moment join reader and author in a little shared joke.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I can only really write comfortably in one place, at my PC. I have 3 screens set up around my seat, which is actually the end seat of a reclining sofa, so I have a heated pad behind my back to reduce pain. I have a mini fridge with drinks on the table beside me with the side screen that has Discord on it at all times, my larger screen (the TV) sometimes has character images for reference or notes or just Spotify up so I can swap songs and playlists quickly. The last screen is in front of me on a table that goes over my footrest, and my keyboard is on a lap desk over my legs.

I’ll almost always have my headphones on, and a small fan when it gets too warm. Sometimes I do end up a little chaotic with snacks in reach and meds also on the table so I don’t have to have anyone fetch them for me.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

It can’t be controlled. The muse is as fickle as it is demanding, when it’s there it wants everything all at once, and when it’s gone?... It leaves a devastating emptiness that honestly I struggle with at times. Even right now, tonight I planned to write, but when I finally got the free time and got set up…nothing feels appealing to try. So I’m doing this instead, and not forcing it.

There are things I try at times, and things I recommend, too. First? Before you start writing, tend to your basic needs. Do you need a drink? Food? Relevant medication? A nap? A talk with a friend? A bit of fresh air or physical movement? If one of these needs hasn’t been met, it’ll likely soon become an obstacle to your writing. I like to have a drink and snack ready and with me when I start so it’s there as and when I might need it, and I do rely on caffeine like a stereotypically unmedicated ADHD author…

Second, set the mood. It can help for some people to have this routine, to get their playlist going, to be in the right place, to have the things that set a whole zone and bubble. For a while, I had a specific hat I would wear when writing for another project. I could tell myself “I am putting the hat on now, so I will focus and do this thing” and in some way it trained me to write more. I know others who have done things like always listening to a specific genre of music to write, so now when they hear that genre they get the urge to write. Third is take a shower. Nothing gives me more ideas than a good shower, and I even bought a waterproof notepad and pencil set so I can make those notes whilst in there and not fret about forgetting an idea. Other than that, I recommend going back to the thing that inspired you to write. Play the game or watch scenes with the characters you want to write about, find their voices and mindsets. You can also close your eyes and imagine the scene like a play – put the characters on your stage at the start of the scene and watch what they do in the scenario. Let them show you how they react. Some people also do well to write out a plan or bulletpoints, but I find personally this can bite me in the ass because the process of writing can often stray from my original plan. Which isn’t a bad thing, but it can feel frustrating that I didn’t use ideas that I was initially passionate about.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Ah here it is. Whilst I could go quite simply with the kinks that I keep utilising that don’t surprise me in the slightest – I know well that I enjoy writing a spicy shifting of power balance between strong-minded characters, as well as a lot of BDSM kink – there are deeper parts to this. Identity. That’s a theme that keeps rearing its head beneath a lot of works, and you’ll find it most noticeable in how I write both Haarlep and He Who Was, but it tends to worm its way into other things too. It…did not surprise me, though, because it’s something I have struggled with over this past year within myself.

I created this name, this identity, as a way to be comfortable in sharing kink fiction and spicy works without it being easily identifiable under my actual name. I still don’t like to be too personal, or share my face or real name under this one, because I would rather keep a few close friends and family out of sight of my fandom thirsting. I’m certain a lot of us are the same – it isn’t really about shame but knowing that I, and they, would likely not be comfortable discussing this level of subject matter. I’ve relaxed a little over time, and have no doubt that a few may have worked out who I am and simply kept it quiet which I appreciate endlessly, just as I appreciate that those who do know both of my identities have never shared that information or made it public. I’m happy to meet people in person, just not to have my self online shared with my other self, as I’m sure you can understand. Anyway, I digress…

Something that the keen-eyed accomplice might have noticed in me is a shift in my speech. I used a few more mannerisms and speech patterns, particularly terms of endearment, under this name when I began. It was a way to separate the self, as well as to engage with a different audience in a different way. I explained it to the few who knew both early on as “same person, different font”, because I don’t change who I am just a few parts of how I speak or interact…but I’ve dropped a lot of the endearments now. Partly because there were more than a few who expressed they were uncomfortable with this in conversation – which I fully respect and understand – so it was easier to just drop them entirely rather than double checking or switching vocabulary between people and servers. But it has also fallen away a little as I have become more comfortable with both sides of myself, allowing them to integrate again more, and I owe a good amount of that to being able to meet fandom friends in person and find that they didn’t turn away from knowing all of me and instead have become even better friends.

So…yes, the theme of names and identity keeps popping up. The power of names, the importance of identity, how one can hold on to one’s sense of self when it feels as if it is wavering, or when a role must be played. It’s little wonder I was so strongly drawn to so many favourites. Another recurring theme, of course, is pain. Physical. Whilst this is often in the form of kink and pain play, I’ve written a few pieces where it has been a point that is not about the sexual and positive side. I am in pain. 24/7. Without end. It will not get better. It has been this way for over 10 years. The level of the pain is “I cannot walk more than 10 metres before it is too much”, and “I have to drastically reduce and monitor my physical activity to prevent pain getting worse”, so I feel very intimately familiar with pain. You’ll find it in my writing as visceral and detailed descriptions of the sensations, because I’ve felt every one of them and might just be feeling them in that moment as I write.

I’m going to keep trying to write short comfort pieces, too. Because as I once wrote as a dialogue line for Halsin, when Tav asked how he always seemed to know the right thing to say:

“Sometimes we say the things we need to hear the most.”

What is your reason for writing?

Every reason ever. There’s…not a lot I can do in this body. So many hopes and dreams and even careers I’ve had to leave behind, through the struggles of mental and physical health. Whilst the former is far better, the latter is the issue… But writing is something I can do with little physical effort. If I’m in pain, I can take my medication and absorb into fiction.

I started writing smut as a challenge, but also as a way to tell a story I was becoming rather attached to. My main longfic was one born from playing the game, and wondering about telling the story between the lines, giving reason to the choice the player character was making under my instruction. Since then, it has grown to be so much more.

I’d love to sit here and tell you “I only write for myself, I don’t need external validation” but that…would be a half-truth at best. I write because I love sharing these stories, I love that they can reach out and touch hearts and minds in ways I might never know, but I adore when someone does send back their echo across the vast void between us to say “I enjoyed this” or “this story made me feel something”. That’s…it’s everything to know I have some value. Which sounds a lot like I’m pinning my self-worth on feedback or kudos, and whilst I can’t deny that’s a hard habit to break, I do know it isn’t everything. I just want it to still be something. To know I can do more than just…exist.

Truly if you were to ask me what I feel the purpose is to my entire life, it would be “to leave each corner of the world I touch a little brighter and better than it was before I got there”, and whilst I know that’s impossible to do all the time I still want to try. And writing? Sharing stories? That’s leaving a positive mark, giving someone enjoyment in their day – yes, even sexually, with the kinky and sexy writing. That is still a positive to someone’s day, an indulgence, something that lifts them and certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

If I can do more than that with emotional writing, with comfort pieces, with cathartic moments and with stories that have more meaning behind the words…all the better.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

The best are the ones that pull out favourite lines or moments, but honestly every single comment means the world to me. An incoherent keysmash, a simple “I loved this”, even those are such a boost particularly on a hard day.

Readers, please know how much it helps. Even a click on the kudos as an anonymous guest, it’s…it lets us know we aren’t just shouting into the void. It tells us those Hits are not people just opening up the fic then closing it because they hated it. It means the whole world to know we’ve done something that you enjoyed, in whatever way that was.

I’ll also say that some of the ones that have meant the most and have stuck with me are comments on the more personal pieces, like with The Love of Loviatar – the Abdirak x Reader fic where I play a little with worlds colliding to allow a reader character who experiences chronic pain (remarkably similar to my own, don’t think about that too hard) to have that moment with Abdirak who validates and appreciates them exactly how they are. Gentle care mixed with BDSM, trading the bad pain for the good pain, the pain that is welcome and has purpose, a little fantasy of enjoying what the body can do rather than being trapped by what it cannot… Every time I get a comment there, I damn near cry. Or just openly cry. They mean so much. I know how much Abdirak can mean to us, and I am so glad I can reach you all.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I…well… To be thought of at all is an honour. I’m shocked any time I encounter someone who has read my works, despite logically knowing I have a good number of readers from the numbers alone. I just…don’t look at those numbers often, it’s not good for me.

I’d like readers to know I care about them. Every last one. To know I would love to tell all the stories they want to read, and that I fully welcome their messages, comments, and even friendship when we share social spaces. There’s something special about the connections we can make in unexpected places, and I’m just delighted to be here sharing stories with you all.

I don’t need high respect, endless adoration, or some kind of pedestal. I’m a human, unfortunately – squishy and fallible and flawed and suffering and there is still beauty and worth to me even when I don’t see it myself. Just saying that last part louder for everyone else who has loud negative thoughts of themselves. It’s ok for you to see my flaws, and it’s ok for us all to have love for one another despite those flaws. Love in the platonic sense, of course – there are levels of connections we make with people from a distant echo of a brief exchange of words to the direct warmth of a friendship. It’s as important to not underestimate the value as it is important to not overestimate our closeness to people we don’t truly know.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I am beginning to believe it is the wild ideas I have for crackship pairings and turning them into something serious and meaningful. I love taking an unlikely coupling then finding what makes them actually genuinely work.

I’m also getting quite confident in sensual writing as well as kink, in the particular style that I have for it. I know well that it isn’t to everyone’s tastes, but those who do enjoy my style and method will always have something in the buffet of fic to fill their plate.

I really hope to transfer this to my original work when I get it finished, as I feel like just maybe I might have a niche of style that isn’t as often seen in published works. Then again, I’m not exactly devouring raunchy original fiction so perhaps I’m entirely mistaken and would get ripped to shreds by critics of the genre. Who knows? But I will try to get published when it’s done. I hope a few of you might even read it someday.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

Ahh definitely both. I have written characters and pairings I’m not personally into that much, though sometimes (Yurgir) I have found myself enjoying the character after writing with them. It’s a fun little quirk, I start writing something thinking “am I into this?” and realise later “oops new kink acquired” or “ahh ok I see why people like [character] so much now.”

I do really love writing requests or rare pairings/characters that readers haven’t seen before or are excited to see more of. I hope to keep doing a mix of that and the characters/pairings that I love most myself. If there’s something you’d like to see, I’m more than happy to take suggestions – there are a few kinks, characters, and tropes that I have a hard “nope” line on (not kink shaming, just personal comfort levels – I love that you can enjoy those things elsewhere I am just not the chef to cook that dish for you) but otherwise I love wild ideas and writing something that someone explicitly wants to read~

How do you feel about your own writing?

I really struggle with this one, but I think many of us do. I go from feeling confident that people enjoy what I’ve written and that I have this skill to bring worlds and characters to life with mere words on a page, yet other times? I will freely admit some works of mine take longer because I just hit this point where I just cannot tell if it’s any good. I know intellectually that I have the same style, tropes, stories, kinks that people like and enjoy, but as I’m sat there staring at it I’m questioning everything because I’m just not feeling it. That seems pretty natural, I think, that we are the worst critics of our own works because we’ve read them so many times or thought far too hard about every word and line… But I tend to solve this with an external view. Beta Readers have saved works from near extinction by checking it over, telling me what does need fixing, and reminding me that actually the rest of it is just fine I’m simply overthinking it all because my mind is struggling with something else like fatigue or pain or just a low kind of day.

So… Overall, writing has been a new life for me. Particularly in this last year, trying something new – expanding into NSFW fanfic has found me countless new connections, friends, experiences I wouldn’t have had otherwise and a real feeling of accomplishment and validation that just wasn’t happening in WIPs that were taking too long and getting no feedback at all.

Writing isn’t just something I do, it’s inextricably a part of who I am, and in its own way it continues to shape exactly what “who I am” can mean.

And I am grateful to every single one of you who has shared this journey with me so far. I cannot wait to see how far we can go together~

#Fanfiction #about the author #writer interview #tag game #chronic pain #chronic illness

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lovewyll · 7 months

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Day 1: Date

Time is Short by @sweetmage. A short but sweet snippet to Sweet Mage's Bladeweave fic!

You can read more here:

#wyllweek2024 #love wyll event: wyll week 2024 #wyll ravengard #bg3 wyll ravengard #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 wyll ravengard #baldur's gate iii #baldur's gate iii wyll ravengard #bg3 wyll

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yurissweettooth · 2 years

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Click for full res! 🌈

Still completely insane over Anders Dragon Age🥰

[Also I have a DA side blog now @sweetmage so all new art will be there from now on!✌🏾😊]

#dragon age #dragon age 2 #anders #anders dragon age #da2 #jun art

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dude-wheres-my-ankheg · 7 months

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Huge thank you to @sweetmage for the help in this! I now have a new outlet for my Elorin/Abdirak brainrot.

I can guarantee you, there are a LOT of Abdirak and Elorin smooching screenshots in your future.

#Bg3 #Baldur's Gate 3 #Abdirak #bg3 abdirak #He's so pretty help me #His smile???? I am dead #Elorin #Ankheg screenshots

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snowfolly · 8 months

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✨Wip Wednesday✨ (I barely made it)

I was tagged by @pursuitseternal - thank you so much for the tag!

One day I’ll eventually finish my character sheet for Tali but today is not that day lol

Tagging (if you haven’t already done it and only if y’all want to do the thing ofc!) : @sweetmage @tallymonster @vixstarria @tragedybunny @shanaraharlyah @wingsy-keeper-of-songs

#tagged!#wip wednesday #tag game #bg3 tav #this boy loves his taters

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sweetmage · 3 months

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I normally don't post such things, but it's still Juneteenth in my area! I'm a black disabled queer person that could use some help restocking my vitamins and hygiene stuff I am low on/out of this month if anyone wants to buy me a Kofi! 💖

#juneteenth

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nowandthane · 9 months

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thanks to @luinen-bluewater for tagging me in this! this is kind of a joke one 😅 Coco (they/them) is the Tav I made in my multiplayer game with @sweetmage and they are the most pathetic idiot ever. I named them after my cat (pictured above) which has honestly made me look at my cat in a different way...

anyways. corspe flower because it's apparently the stinkiest flower. animal is Coco (the cat). scent? just stinky. they are the stinkiest person ever. everyone keeps commenting on it. you stupid bitch by girl in red is just because of these lines:

'You stupid bitch, can't you see The perfect one for you is me?'

because they are desperate for love.

they keep getting rejected. because they are stinky. but we still have hope that someone will want them. perhaps minthara 👀 coco is on a quest for love and no amount of stinkiness will stop them!

no pressure tagging @sweetmage @azurechicken @sillyliterature and anyone else who wants to do this!! <3

#bg3 #coco #tag games

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pinkfadespirit · 3 months

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Hi! Happy Friday! 😊🎉 How about "I'm real. I'm here." for Handers from the Hit 'em Where It Hurts prompts? - sweetmage

Thank you for the prompt! This is some post Hawke left in/rescued from the Fade angst and hurt/comfort (though the details of the rescue are kind of vague).

For @dadrunkwriting

Hawke was sleeping. He’d been doing a lot of that since they got somewhere safe enough to do so. Or, he’d been trying to at least. It was clearly a struggle, despite his exhaustion. For Anders too, it was hard to think about sleeping when his thoughts were consumed by worry. He’d thought that part would be over now that they had found each other again, but it had been days and though Hawke was free now there were times when it seemed like his mind remained in that place. And he returned every time he slept.

Whatever his dreams might be at the moment, they didn’t seem to be too distressing, as far as Anders could tell. But Anders couldn’t bring himself to relax. They had a room in the closest village to where Hawke had been found. It was just a small space between the two of them. There was a bed and a fireplace and a chair. Anders occupied the chair by the window, trying to keep his attention focused on a book but failing miserably. His eyes kept wandering over to where Hawke lay in the bed. The blanket only covered him partially, leaving his arms bare. Anders’ gaze lingered on the scars of wounds he hadn’t been there to heal. There were so many. Most of them were covered by the shirt he wore now but Anders had been the one to check him over; he knew the extent of them too well.

He’d been through so much while trapped in the Fade. Anders didn’t know the extent of it beyond the scars it had left on his skin, but he had seen in Hawke’s eyes that it had gone much further than that. He saw it every time Hawke hesitated to reach for him. The way he looked at him sometimes as though not quite trusting what he saw.

Hawke hadn’t spoken of it, but it couldn’t be clearer to Anders that the demons had used his face to torment him. It had been a long time — since before Justice — since Anders had experienced anything of the sort, but he knew how demons worked. From the look of it, Anders was sure they had been the only company Hawke had had for weeks.

He didn’t know if he’d ever forgive himself for letting Hawke go.

He never wanted to be parted from him again.

It might not be the most realistic plan, given that they couldn’t stay in this room forever, but he could at least watch over him while he slept.

Anders was still caught up in his terrible thoughts when he noticed Hawke begin to stir. He got to his feet instinctively, looking closer for any sign that Hawke was under further attack from the demons that had plagued him while he was trapped. He wondered if he might be able to sense it somehow if he was. Perhaps through Justice? Anders wasn’t given the chance to find out. He reached Hawke’s side just as his eyes flew open.

That look again. Disoriented, not trusting what was in front of him. It hurt every time he saw it. Both that the demon could have damaged something as precious as Hawke’s trust in him and that he didn’t know what to do about it. Anders feared he was only hurting him more by staying. Perhaps if Hawke was to recover from what he’d been through, someone else’s care might be better for him. Selfish as it was, Anders didn’t know if he had it in him to allow that. Unless Hawke asked for it outright.

“Hawke,” he tried, hoping to break through that confusion. Hoping confusion was all it was. Just a temporary thing that they could both move past. “Garrett. I’m here.” Hawke’s brow furrowed and Anders’ heart ached. “I’m real. I’m here.”

Hawke sat up, blinking and looking around him, taking in the mostly unfamiliar room.

“You’re safe now, remember?” Anders whispered.

“Yeah,” Hawke croaked eventually, to Anders’ relief. “I remember.” He looked back at Anders. That instinctive fear seemed to have eased away but there was still something assessing in his look. Anders didn’t know what to say to it. Some of the hurt must have shown, though, because his expression softened. “Sorry,” he muttered. Then he reached out for Anders.

It was all the encouragement Anders needed to move onto the bed beside him and lean into his touch. “You don’t have to be sorry,” he said close to his ear as he wrapped his arms around Hawke’s middle. “It wasn’t you that did this.” Then, not for the first time, “I should have been there with you.”

“No…” Hawke answered wearily. “I asked you to stay behind for good reason. I didn’t think it’d get as bad as it did. But at least the Chantry didn’t get their hands on you.”

“It’s not better this way,” Anders argued, then realised now probably wasn’t the time. “But it’s over now.” He squeezed Hawke a little tighter for a moment as he said it, needing him to believe it. “It’ll get easier, love.”

Hawke held onto him and Anders had to believe that it brought him some comfort.

“I love you so much,” he said, lips brushing against Hawke’s skin as he spoke.

Hawke pulled back, not letting go of him entirely, but enough to look him in the eyes. The guarded look he’d been wearing had lessened now. He reached up and traced his fingers along Anders’ jaw, fingers brushing over the rough beard that had grown in the time he’d spent too worried over Hawke to think of shaving it.

“It looked different,” he said eventually. At Anders’ puzzled frown, he elaborated, “The demon wearing your face.” Anders tried not to flinch as he said it out loud, confirming his fears. It was a close thing, though, but not enough to detract Hawke from what he was saying, “Not the Nightmare. That came before. But the one trying to promise me a better life. Safety. Freedom. You. It looked like it had got a lot more sleep than you have in a while. Cleaner clothes… None of this…” with that, his fingers sank into the beard. Anders leaned into the touch, unable to help himself. He placed his hand over Hawke’s, gently holding it there. Holding on to him.

“I know you’re you,” Hawke murmured.

Anders let go of his hand, but only to lean in closer and lightly brush their lips together. Hawke responded, kissing back gently.

A moment later, Hawke tugged him down with him as he lay back on the bed. “Come on. Stay here with me for a bit.”

Anders allowed himself to be folded up in his arms.

“I always will,” he said, hugging back tightly. “I won’t make the mistake of letting you go again.”

Hawke pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Sounds good to me.”

#da drunk writing #handers #anders x male hawke #dragon age fanfic

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roksiksimps · 8 months

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How to get an Abdirak of your own!

Here are some mods you need if you want Abdirak (or any other NPC really) to travel with your party!

Abdirak as an NPC companion

Recruit any NPC is the first mod you need. For those who are new to modding, here's how you can install it. First you need the software that this mod requires to work:

Get the Norbytes script extender. Unzip the archive, put the extender's 'DWrite.dll' file into your '[Steam folder]\steamapps\common\Baldurs Gate 3\bin' folder.

Get the BG3 Mod Manager. Unzip it, launch it, go to the Preferences and link your game's exutable and folder in its settings.

Download the mod itself, unzip, drag the 'RemoveMultiplayerCharacter.pak' file into you Mod Manager's 'active mods' leftside field, then press 'save'.

It gives you this wonderful ability:

Get to the goblin camp, target Abdirak with it, and he will become your companion!

He still can be interacted with as well, so if you wanted to take some screenshots in a more scenic environment, now you can. (The penance itself is bugged though. I was able to reenact it once near the bloodstained chapel's wall, but it's not guaranteed. More testing needed. Do it before you aggro the whole goblin camp, as per usual, cause he will try to leave the camp (and the game) after if you're anywhere close to the goblin camp.)

The only problem with this method is that he's still an NPC, he can't be leveled up (and he doesn't have much in terms of abilities), and the gear doesn't show up, so if you want to take him through the rest of the game, he won't fare well.

So if you want to have a functional cleric with you, you will want:

Abdirak as Tav

First, you need a second Tav. Getting a second player through multiplayer is an option, but the Recruit any NPC mod we already installed gives you a second ability:

Target Abdirak, and you'll be taken to the character creation screen to create a second Tav for you to control. There, you can select the 'Clone' option when you choose the race. It'll give you an Abdirak that CAN be leveled up and has the selected class's abilities, but his visuals still can't be changed.

If you want an Abdirak who can wear gear that will show up on him, we need more mods (also, you don't have to target Abdirak when you create a second Tav. Target anyone, so you can have Abdirak from the very start of the game). @sweetmage has already made Abdirak as the main Tav, but he lacked the body scars. Let me rectify that!

The Customizer's Compendium modwill give you Abdirak's face (drag the 'Customizer.pak' file into the Mod Manager; you also need the ImprovedUI mod for it to show up properly, place it under the Customizer mod in the list) , facial scars included. The hair is already in the game, the colors need to be eyeballed. Here's a closeup of the NPC. In my estimation, he's got Cool Tone 5 for his skin, Solid White for his eyes, and Grey 1 for hair, but YMMV.

The body scars are a different matter. If you're playing as a human/elf/drow/half-elf male Tav, there's currently no way to give Abdirak his scars without also giving them to your Tav. If you don't mind, or play a different race, or if you're playing a female Tav, you will need:

Unique Tav (as well as Trip's old shaderpack for the mod to work, drag it into the Mod Manager). It's a bit more tricky to set it up.

- Find in the mod's 'Files' section, download and install with Mod Manager the 'Unique Tav PAK'.

- Download 'Unique Tav Data', unzip, and manually put the 'Generated' folder inside of your '[Baldur's Gate 3 steam folder]\Data' folder.

- THEN download the 'Unique Tav Body Variants'.

- Find the 3 filed inside of the 'body_variants\NORMIES\male_hairy_lovitar_actually_hairless' folder you just downloaded.

- Copy these files to your '[Baldur's Gate 3 steam folder]\Generated\Public\Shared\Assets\unique_tav\BODY\NORMIES\MALE' folder, replace the files that are already there.

Ta-da! Your Abdirak (and human/elf male Tavs) will have the body scars!

Not on their legs though. If you want that, you will have to edit the texture files yourself.

You can download a tutorial on how to do that over at Many scars for unique Tav. You will need Photoshop (and knowing how to use it), a Photoshop plugin to open dds files, and a bit of creativity (or, you know, you can just take the scars from this mod and replace Abdirak's leg segment).

Edit UNIQUE_M_NKD_BODY_A_NM to add texture.

Edit UNIQUE_M_NKD_BODY_A_HMVY to add color. I'm still working on the latter, but I can upload my files sometimes later when I have it, if anyone's interested.

If you want his outfit, you need the Basket full of equipment mod (install with Mod Manager, read the mod's rescription to learn how to gain access to the basket), the clothes are in the 'exotic gear' bag. If you want that outfit as camp clothes, you also need to install the Basket Equipment to Camp Clothing mod.

That should cover it. Let me know if you have any questions, I'll try to help!

#abdirak #resources #mods #bg3 #bg3 mods

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