ok here it is

inspired by this post

hawke, seeing the red lyrium idol and looking at varric: i thought you said that shit was in a tupperware

When I see moments like this, I’m reminded of how important it is to remember the context of DA2, which is that this is a story that Varric is telling a hostile audience (hostile in more ways than one). And it would have been so easy -- and smart -- and sane -- for Varric to deflect all the blame for what happened onto Anders and Anders alone, especially if he wanted to protect his friend.

But instead Varric takes pains to make Anders sympathetic and his cause righteous. He takes so many pains that in many ways it becomes dangerous, even subversive.

I mean, think about this scene, where Anders is telling Hawke about his many escape attempts from Kinloch Hold. But layered on top of that we have Varric telling Cassandra this story, right? So, essentially, Varric is saying to Cassandra that the embodiment of Justice himself was so enraged by the idea of the Chantry locking up mages that he literally could not stay silent a single second longer in this conversation; he could not control his rage, he had to let his voice be heard. Varric is saying that denying a mage seeking his freedom is, fundamentally, an unjust thing to do, because Justice himself condemns it. And Varric is saying this to a Chantry Seeker, whose very job is to support the Chantry line, which is that mages are dangerous and must be locked up for everyone’s protection. And if you think about how much of a fuck-you all this is, well, it’s a wonder Cassandra didn’t stab Varric right through the book again.

Varric never publicly picks a side in the mage-Templar war -- as he says in game, he has apostate friends and drinking buddies in the Templars -- but if you sit down to really parse how he tells Hawke’s story to Cassandra, especially what scenes and conversations he chooses to include, I think the side Varric falls on is very, very clear.

like, seriously though— Elthina was DA2’s biggest villain, pass it on

interesting sidenote: if you take Varric into the Chantry in Act 3 (maybe in the other Acts too, IDK; I’ve only ever gotten it to spawn in Act 3), he says:

“The grand cleric reminds me of my mother. A really tall version of Mother. With a nicer hat.“

For what it’s worth, Varric’s mother, Ilsa, was completely unable to deal with the family’s exile from Orzammar and subsequently checked out of life. She didn’t participate in the Merchants Guild, putting the responsibility of running the House entirely on Bartrand, and instead drank and smoke herself to death.

So. Um. Just throwing that out there so you can draw your own conclusions.

it could also apply to his feelings about merrill as well, but: point stands.

エルフ練習と玉座妄想

Anders: *sigh* Hawke, I warned you that drinking contest with Isabela would be a bad idea, didn’t I? Varric: You alright there, Chuckles? Hawke: *groan* Isabela: Oh, don’t be such a drama queen.

Dragon Age drabble: Hawke, Varric, literary criticism

Read More

awwww garrett is such a good beta

Varric has -5000 patience for Sebastian.

I need more time so I can write Sebastian meta.  Need.  Neeeeeeeed.

Man, I love their conversations.  It’s so fascinating, how much Varric needles Sebastian.  I mean, he likes everyone else. He’s quite protective of everyone else, in fact.

Part of it is quite probably the Mama Bear instincts, as Sebastian has potential to hold quite a bit of power over the rest of Hawke’s merry band of misfits … but Varric likes Aveline, whose entire purpose is Law and Order, and if she’s Guard Captain could truly shut them all down.

But she doesn’t.

And I think that, right there, is the clue about her that lets Varric understand her; loyalty to her people is even more important to her than her duty.  He understands her priorities, even if he doesn’t value the Order part of them.

I don’t think he ever figures out what Sebastian’s hook is.  That’s why he’s angry about the emphasis on ‘charity’ and ‘good works’.  That’s why he’s always trying to catch him in a lie or a misstep or a secret.  It’s not that Varric thinks there’s anything inherently wrong with helping people, (though being all upfront and sincere about it is terribly boring), it’s that Varric doesn’t know where Sebastian draws the line.

Where is Sebastian’s us vs them moment?

It ought to be criminals, but he gets along with Isabela. It ought to be mages, but he’s nice to the dalish blood mage and endures the abomination, and despite his doubts (and his conversation with Fenris) he never does turn any of them in.  It ought to be qunari, but he’s the only one who outright admits Kirkwall/The Chantry are failing people, so why shouldn’t they turn to something else?

But on the flip side, while Sebastian doesn’t push anyone into the ‘them’ category, neither does he ever choose an ‘us’.  He doesn’t quite leave the Chantry, but he’s still basically Elthina’s political aide.  He doesn’t take back Starkhaven, but he is slowly improving his reputation across the Marches.  He’s caught in the middle, and for Varric, whose entire life has been spent knowing more than anyone else, being the one in charge of the stories, taking care of everyone else, this is maddening precisely because he doesn’t know which way Sebastian’s going to fall.

Or if maybe, finally, he’ll be the one to push.

I've always thought that Varric hates Sebastian because the two of them are just too similar. Both are princelings exiled from their true homes, haunted by the memories of their lost loved ones. Both are members of powerful financial/political organizations (the Chantry vs. the Merchant's Guild). Both find themselves in the middle of a lot of political intrigue and faction tension--yet neither one takes a side. Both try to be kind and understanding to all of Hawke's companions. Heck, class-wise both are not just rogues, but the exact same kind of archer.

Even their personal story arcs are similar, theme-wise. Both are consumed with wanting to get revenge on those who've done them wrong--but when they get the chance, they discover how pathetic that person really was, controlled by forces outside their understanding. And both must learn that justice comes hand-in-hand with mercy... or else it's just vengeance.

Funny how that dovetails with Anders' arc, right? With Sebastian, I always wonder how much of the naked resentment and hostility Varric displays toward him is a meta thing; a function of the storyteller already knowing how the story ends and unconsciously acting out. Because while both Varric and Sebastian have to learn the same thing about mercy and justice, we know that Sebastian doesn't take it to heart. He demands Anders's death after the explosion; that is, he demands vengeance for Elthina's death, and if Hawke doesn't give it to him then he leaves and promises to carry it out himself.

Dragon Age Drabble

Pre-Anders/Male Hawke, set during “Raiders on the Cliff.” 

Read More

i'd follow that hawke into battle yowza

basically, i have a sneaking suspicion that people will be shocked by the change in Varric. :o(

I'm equal parts terrified and excited to see it. Because, like you said in your tags, witnessing so much death, destruction and sadness in a place you consider home -- and not being there for the catharsis of reconstruction -- that sticks with you. You carry that sadness with you wherever you go; the gravity of it weighs you down, presses you deeper into the earth -- and I wonder what it'll do to a man who's already so close to the ground in so many ways.

I feel like Varric has the potential to go very Vladmir Nabokov in DA:I. I mean, he always was a little bit, what with his love affair of unreliable narrators. But to me, Nabokov's defining characteristic was his homesickness, not just for Russia, but for a Russia that never existed. So I wonder if we'll see Varric's defining characteristic become the same -- nostalgia, not just for Kirkwall, but the Kirkwall that only existed in his stories.