#varricmancer

[new-austin]

Proposing my theory:

The Merchant's Guild is convinced Varric made up the whole "Champion of Kirkwall" arishok thing and all other Hawke Facts™️ because Hawke is obviously just Varric's favorite sugar baby. He makes up stories about Hawke so no one is suspicious when they can suddenly afford a nice house in high town or show up at important parties. If Hawke passes through the merchant guild's market in high town everyone there calls him the "Champion of Kirkwall" with a voice like they know exactly how much varric is paying the human nobles to pretend to gush about them.

[thyredwarden]

Do you ever feel so moved by your love for a character you feel like a poet and in a Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer Day mood but all that leaves your mouth are gurgles as you stare at a picture you've looked at a thousand times. Because same.

[cadaveerie]

related to this post about the gameinformer articles.... but also kinda unrelated: here are some funny things that i realized while putting it together:

the names of the pictures that you can read on the drive are the names they were originally uploaded with by gameinformer. my hightlights are "davris" and "tassh".

i'm. sorry. it's driving me insane that when talking about romance they have A PICTURE OF HARDING AND VARRIC to accompany it. like ok, we know we can romance her, BUT WHY VARRICCC WHYYYY

THE SAME PICTURE IS USED IN THE NUDITY ARTICLE. AND THE COVER IMAGE FOR THAT ONE IS SOLAS. WHAT AFJSHGHSGL ARE WE FINALLY GONNA SEE THEM NAKED-

*loads the game* *a varric x solas very explicit sex scene unfolds before my eyes* wow... goty

sorry i just thought it was. funny. and weird. and suspicious. *tries very hard not to make this post part of his varricmancer agenda* auuuggghhh..

anyway that's it.. can't believe we'll FINALLY see varric's hairy ass and solas' massive schlong in 4k *gets shot*

[high-dragon-bait]

Varricmancers. My friends. Do not do this to yourself again. I know he's back, I know he's hot, I know you should be able to romance him, but if Hawke couldn't have him, no one can. Find peace. Do not break your heart again besties

[pinacoladamatata]

Bianca *gets exploded*

The fans: Here's how Varricmancers can still win

[herearedragons]

1, 2, 11, 16 from the fandom asks for dragon age? :]

love your fandom asks

list 3 positive things about your current fandom(s)

the art. it's so good. there's so much good art

this fandom is pretty big on Themes and Symbolism, which I really enjoy (I know many fandoms have this, but in DA it feels very... iconic, somehow?? like there's something about all the tarot and religious imagery and having each of your characters be a historical figure in the game's world that really lends itself to representing their stories through symbols and archetypes)

the fact that no game in the series is underappreciated. like, if you go looking, you will find people who are the most invested in Origins and people who are the most invested in DA2 and people who are the most invested in DA:I and all of those groups exist at the same time and all of them still make stuff about their favorite game/s.

2. a headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like!

I guess this kind of leans into the "say good things about a ship" territory, but I'm going to say the "actually Hawke romanced Varric and he left it out of his story to protect their privacy" headcanon. I'm not a Varricmancer but I believe in their beliefs

11. if you're a writer or artist, what fic or piece of art are you proud of making?

sdjfsldfjk well, Homecoming is an easy answer, and even though I've been talking about it for days at this point, I think I still have to go with this one? it's the first high-effort fic I've posted since coming back to tumblr and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

I'll have to go with everything about the Valo-Kas company and the potential for creepy shenanigans with an Inquisitor who drank from the Well of Sorrows. as. uh. as you might have been able to tell by the fact that two of my OCs are dedicated to exploring these exact topics in detail

[tethrras]

OH OH forgot to say it in the last ask but also YES about his codependency issues which absolutely tie into his fear of change (and of loss and of loss of a certain level of control which i am Not going to start a whole thing about him being his mother's caretaker his entire childhood and then also picking up the job of looking after bartrand pre-da2 but like . i could psychoanalyze this man .) and just . i totally agree about a love that challenges him and it's funny considering the whole herald of andraste -> followers -> he has uprooted his entire life staying here stuff but the relationship between him and the inquisitor actually feels Less like he's orbiting around them ??? like they really do inspire him to be a better version of himself and that includes him being there because *he* thinks it's right, not just bc he's loyal etc etc

yup i really like the relationship if you look at it from choosing to do things from inspiration vs obligation. he is obligated to stick with hawke even if he doesn't agree with them because to him, love = unquestionable loyalty*. (or just. unquestionable loyalty when he's decided on someone to be loyal to period - he is one of the only companions who will never abandon the mc no matter how he feels abt them) (which also ties in with his resistance to align himself with a cause because if he was wrong about something he would still not feel like he was capable of leaving because he already aligned himself and his values and his self worth with this cause and leaving would undo that. his worth comes from the work he does and not the intent behind it which i will circle back to later

he was obligated to take care of his mother, obligated to pick up the family business after bartrand fucked him over... i've talked about this so much lately but ultimately i think what varric has always wanted is someone to believe in HIM and choose HIM (greys anatomy pick me choose me love me gif here) but what he gets is the returned end of that obligatory relationship with the people he is closest to. maybe not hawke, but the other da2 companions i think only stick around varric bc he stands up for them, helps them, pays to keep them safe, etc, but they don't really care about Him which is why he perpetuates this cycle of being the haha funny storyteller sidekick because HE has come to believe he has no more worth than that. i do think varric is an incredibly lonely person who is also afraid of finding out whether or not he IS worthy of love because HE has not ever been shown the love he shows other people - if they were going to love him, wouldn't it be hard not to love him with how much he loves THEM (which is an oversimplification of his relationship with his mom and even bartrand, which we ultimately don't know much about but can glean from the text, but is also i think a good summation of his relationship with bianca) but this is coming back to his ideology of worth = work. no one cares about HIS intent behind the things he does so neither does he which also in turn allows him to be blind to his shortcomings and let himself off the hook wrt not choosing a side literally ever lol. and i think a relationship built off inspiration INSTEAD of obligation will help him with that feeling because, besides maybe in his subconscious, he's not doing things With The Hopes people will love him back or do the same things back to him, he's just inspired to do things with the point to make himself proud of himself and love himself. you know??? is this fucking making any sense at all?

*as a varricmancer i am not a fan of bianca but i think another interesting thing about the decision to make varric NOT a romance option is because he comes built in with that love = unquestionable loyalty mindset. he LOVES bianca and will always love bianca so no one else, no matter how close he feels to them or how much he loves them, is an option. i think this is why I truly believe on a fundamental level that there are maybe 2 situations out of 100000 where varric would approach a relationship with hawke first and that they would have to do SERIOUS SERIOUS work for him to even consider it. even when they reach the same level of love with bianca in his mind, he was loyal to bianca first, so he has to pick her. it's only until he realizes hawke will be FAR more loyal to him and return that same love where he's like maybe letting go of bianca wouldn't be a bad thing because that's what he's always wanted and she was never willing to give it to him. you know? you know? you know???

[solastia]

Chapters: 12/? Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Varric Tethras/Original Female Character(s), Rylen (Dragon Age)/Original Female Character(s) Characters: Male Inquisitor (Dragon Age), Cassandra Pentaghast, Varric Tethras, Solas (Dragon Age), The Iron Bull (Dragon Age), Dorian Pavus, Cole (Dragon Age), Cullen Rutherford, Sera (Dragon Age), Leliana (Dragon Age), Vivienne (Dragon Age), Trevelyan (Dragon Age), Rylen (Dragon Age) Additional Tags: Suicide Attempt, Modern Girl in Thedas, MGiT, Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn, eventual smut so the rating will change, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Flirting and bad jokes because this is Varric we are talking about, Crystal is very soft and sensitive, don't expect the badass female warrior thing, Varric may usually go for that type, but I think he would benefit more from someone that actively needs him and someone he can coddle, Past Abuse, Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, a bit of jealousy until we get rid of she-who-shall-not-be-named, OC learns to love herself, Did I just promo BTS here?, maybe so, Canon-Typical Violence, Minor Character Death, Demons Are Assholes, Love Triangles, Found Family, Adoption, no beta we die like Leandra, Masturbation, Explicit Sexual Content Summary:

Instead of the nothingness she had craved, Crystal woke up in the world of Thedas. What had once been merely a story that she loved now seemed very real and she was right in the heart of it all. She soon finds a reason to live again and a love in the arms of someone as quietly broken as her.

[wrdn-tabris]

MAYBE ILL FINALLY MAKE THAT VARRICMANCER I ALWAYS THINK ABOUT

[varricmancer]

Varric couldn’t seem to stop his gaze from straying to the newest member of their crew as he spun a (only slightly embellished) tale to entertain them for the evening. He was used to his audiences gasping in shock or staring raptly with excitement. Instead, she was watching him with a smirk that tilted her pretty lips, like she knew he was full of crap and was letting him spew it all anyway. But even more captivating was the look in her eyes - warm and fond, dangerously so. Like all he had to do was say the right words for her to tumble into his arms. 

The wonderful @the-commanderjaneshepard gifted me some fanart for my birthday! Varric and my OC Crystal from my fic Lost and Found. The snippet is from the upcoming chapter that is from Varric’s POV. 

[lyrium-lavellan]

could you tell me a bit about vel and varric?? what draws them to one another? which characteristics immediately attract the other, and which do they grow to love?

Of course, I love yelling about my babies! Ok so initially, Vel was really apprehensive about the whole Herald of Andraste thing. She just wanted to go home and never deal with humans ever again. She bonded with Solas and Varric(later Sera and Bull) because they were the only other non-humans who had joined the Inquisition. Varric helped her realize that it wasn’t all bad, and supported her through some especially rough patches, vouching for her character.

Varric was drawn to Vel because she’s just so sweet. Almost sickeningly so. He instantly admires her honesty and unadulterated sense of self, how unapologetic she is especially when it comes to her being an elf. As they get to know one another better, her resilience impresses him. Her past is so tragic but she still manages to remain positive, if a little timid. He grows to care for her more and more, a little more than a friend should. And then suddenly, they’re no longer “just friends”.

Vel was drawn to Varric for so many reasons(none of them being his chest hair). His wit and intelligence, his talent with a pen, and his intriguing past attracted her, among other qualities. At first it was innocent curiosity, then it graduated into a genuine desire to speak with him - about nothing and everything. She wanted to know about Hawke, and he was curious about her life with her Clan. Soon, she was completely smitten.

They grew to love each other’s awkward qualities, specifically the way Varric loses his cool around Vel towards the later end of their friendship(which Dorian notices, and promptly points out). Vel, being on the receiving end of Varric’s kindness and generosity, falls head over heels. Literally. She suddenly becomes very clumsy, tripping on air. Varric also loves Vel’s curiosity - the way she looks nose-deep in a book, tracing her fingers under the words to keep her place. They gradually realize they love all of the little, almost unnoticeable qualities of the other. Then, they realize they love the other person. It’s a very slow process, full of hesitant touches and stolen glances from across packed rooms, but eventually they get their moment. It’s all very romantic and sappy, perfect material for a trashy novel(Cassandra gets the first copy, by the way). The Storyteller and The Heroine make one hell of a pair.

send obscure asks about my dragon age OCs!

[bearsizedant]

actually my art looks different when i use a hard brush. who knew

[crackinglamb]

Chapters: 11/29 Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Female Lavellan/Solas, Fen'Harel | Solas/Female Lavellan, Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus, Female Hawke/Varric Tethras, Cullen Rutherford/Original Female Character(s) Characters: Cremisius "Krem" Aclassi, Hawke's Mabari (Dragon Age), Abelas (Dragon Age) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Modern Girl in Thedas, Established Relationship, Fluff-uary 2021, Tumblr Prompt, Fluff, Romance, Carly & the Ancient Elvhen Boyband, Explicit Sexual Content Series: Part 4 of Til It Squeaks: A Modern Girl's Take on Thedas Summary:

A multi-ship romp of fluffy prompts! Featuring Carly and Solas, Dorian and Iron Bull, Varric and Hawke and more. These all exist within the worldstate of Twist, an MGIT AU. Pairings will head each prompt in the author's notes.

NSFW will be marked with **.

As always, beta'd by Iron_Angel.

Chapter 11 - Take Them Dancing**

The door was barely closed behind him before Hawke began stripping off her sweaty clothes.  Her skin gleamed in the firelight from the hearth and he leaned back against the door to watch her sashay around the room, still idly dancing to some tune in her head.  Her skin was a roadmap of scars, and he knew the name of each one.  It was strange to think about, how long they'd been together, how much they'd done together.  He was still in awe of her love for him.

“You're staring, darling,” Hawke said, finally collapsing onto the edge of the bed.

“I like watching you.”

Her brilliant sapphire eyes looked black in the darkness, and they gleamed with a mix of humor and desire.  “So come watch a little closer.”

Well, he couldn't ignore an invitation like that.

[sapphim]

are there any slutty armor mods out there for varric I NEED to KNOW

[sinsbymanka]

Thank you @tevivinter​ for the lovely prompt. I agree, it screams Varric trying to talk down his very angry, yet adorable, girlfriend. ;-) For @dadrunkwriting​, I present... 

Pairing: Maria Cadash/Varric 

Carta. 

The fucking Carta. It was always the Carta. Like clockwork, just like it always was. First, as usual, Bianca showed up trailing trouble and fluttering her lashes. 

Then, she left him holding a dustpan and a broom. This time she didn’t even leave with a sweet goodbye kiss. This time, she may well have damn left forever. Varric, oddly, wasn’t as bothered by that as he should have been.

What did bother him, honestly, was the final act of the repeating drama. The damn Carta assassins that snuck into Skyhold like rats. He honestly hoped they could skip this step in the dance. Apparently, it wasn’t meant to be. He opened his bedroom door and saw the flash of steel just in time to twist his wrist and slam the heavy oak slab back on the would-be assassin’s wrist. It broke with a satisfying crack and a rather less-than-manly yelp. 

The second one threw a flask of Antivan fire, which was more troublesome. Varric sprung back into the room, his bad knee protesting vigorously, reminding him he was far too old for this tragic lovers shit. Still, he had the more reliable version of Bianca in his hands in a moment, ready to give a hello kiss to the second dwarf rolling through the door. One bolt, clean and simple, through the right eye. 

“Beautiful, baby.” He murmured affectionately. “That was beautiful.” 

Limp-wrist rolled into the room over top his friend, bolt-in-the-eye. He still held one of his daggers, although Varric was pleased to see he didn’t try to pick up the second. Varric’s bolt just missed anything vital as the man threw himself to the left, knocking over the table just inside the door and spilling a pitcher of water all over the letters laying there. 

Well, honestly, it wasn’t like Varic was going to answer them anyway. 

His next bolt hit the mark, right through the heart, just in time to reveal the biggest and ugliest bastard they’d sent this time. This one used the body of the second as a shield, Varric’s third bolt thudding uselessly beside the second as the brute rushed forward. 

Then stopped, comically stunned. He dropped the body of his comrade, reaching up to grasp his throat, fingers slashing themselves on the pointed arrowhead through his artery. 

He too swayed, then dropped. Varric would never get the stench of cheap ale and blood out of his carpet. Behind him, Maria Cadash already had a second arrow she didn’t need strung. 

Thank Andraste they’d been preparing to set out for some Maker-forsaken desert today. She usually simply roamed with nothing but the dagger on her hip.

“There are Carta.” Maria stated, nose twitching with anger. “In my castle.” 

He shouldn’t have said it, but the words were out of his mouth before he could think them through. “I mean, there’s usually at least one.” 

His very own Carta princess drew herself up straighter, eyes flashing, and Varric winced. “You’re far classier, though.” 

“Varric, why are there Carta in my castle?” 

Oh ancestors did he not want to answer that question. “Jealous. Probably. You started a trend. Got yourself a nice castle and now every duster with a chip on his shoulder...” 

“Varric.” 

Her voice. Her damned voice and those silver eyes framed by wisps of red hair. She saw right through him, cut right through him, just like she always did. He dropped his gaze away, shrugging his shoulders. 

He thought they could move on without revisiting the past. Varric should have known better. He was trapped in the past and always would be. 

“Listen.” He began softly, praying she could already hear the remorse under his words. “I haven’t exactly been truthful with you.” 

“Really?” Maria asked. “You’re joking. You, dishonest?” 

Ah. Sarcasm. Hello, old friend. 

“I... Bianca and I had a thing. A long time ago. And, well, sometimes the thing resumed and you know how dwarves are with their grudges.” 

She watched him warily as he struggled to find the words. “It... even though nothing happened. And I swear, nothing happened, her family... her family found out. As they do. And they sent assassins.” 

“As they usually do?” Maria queried.

Varric shrugged. “You would think they’d finally spring for someone a bit better at this than the Carta, but they’re snobs. Wouldn’t want to pay a human the money.” 

“How many times?” Maria asked incredulously. Varric winced. 

“Bianca and I...” 

“No, not Bianca.” Maria waved the name away like a gnat. “I don’t give a nug’s ass about how many time you two explored the deep roads. How many assassination attempts?” 

Oh. Varric paused, considered. “Fourteen?” 

“Fourteen.” She repeated. “Her family tried to kill you fourteen times and she sat on her ass?” 

“Princess, you know how clans...” 

“Bullshit.” Maria finally lowered her bow, crossed her arms over her chest. “If my family tries to kill you, you bleedin’ try and kill them back. None of this ‘fourteen assassination attempts’ later fuckin’ around.” 

She turned on her heel. Varric wasn’t certain, because it didn’t make much sense, but he swore she muttered something about feeding Bianca her eyeballs. 

Varric watched her go, torn between amusement, awe, and a wild, irrational blaze of lust. 

Kill ‘em back. The fucking Carta, he swore to the Maker. They’d get him yet. 

[ranawaytothedas]

I was looking at all my screenshots I have edited and I like done very little for Varric (how dare I? right?) so a little Varric love for my Varric lovers. 

I do really enjoy Varric’s character. I don’t have like romantic feels for Varric, to me he is firmly in the friendzone... because he was like my Hawkes big brother, best friend.... like he is perma-friendzonded for me.

I respect the Varric shippers like hell though! Being a die-hard Deacon from FO4 fangirl myself (my other eggy husband) I get what it’s like to love a character so much but have no cannon romance for them. To my fellow non-cannon romance shippers, I give you loads of love! Cuz loving a rare pair ain’t easy!