hollis (they/them) currently studying classics and archaeology.
listening to the banters on youtube, and man, varric’s nicknames just kill me
in da2, his nicknames were fond: junior, daisy, sunshine, blondie. rivaini, elf. superficial, all of them; a laughable and good-natured attempt to sum up someone’s entire being by some minor quirk he noticed at first glance. and ok, choir boy is a little nastier, but varric also makes no secret of his dislike of sebastian, and sebastian seems to think its a compliment anyway.
but in this game, varric’s nicknames are decidedly not fond. instead, he makes a point to call his companions by what they are not: iron bull is not tiny. blackwall is not a hero. cole is definitely not a kid. and solas is anything but full of chuckles.
there’s a mocking, even cruel tone to some of them. Vivienne is known as Madame de Fer, but by calling her Iron Lady Varric is reminding her that she’s not as tough or mysterious as she likes to pretend (and letting her know his less than complimentary thoughts on Orlesian as well). He gives Sera the nickname “buttercup”, fully knowing that a) being compared to a sweet flower will piss her off most, and b) buttercups are essentially weeds. And he all but confirms that he calls Dorian Sparkler because he thinks the tevinter is “all flash, no heat”.
with the exception of cole’s, varric’s nicknames this time around are colder — just shy of mean. they reflect how much harder he’s become in the years past the chantry explosion; how his bitterness has seeped into his life in ways that he doesn’t even necessarily realize
because if he gives somebody by a name that they are not, then varric can never again forget who they are, and who they aren’t; nor will he ever again be taken by surprise when the mask is removed and their true natures are revealed; when a pleasant face is torn away to reveal what darkness lurks inside