I’m curious what your opinion is on the different occasions that Dick calls Nix Lewis vs Lew vs Nix. Like what name does he use for which occasion/place/situation? Also do you think he has any other pet names or nicknames he uses for him like baby, sweetheart, etc.
OKAY SO. i looked up every instance of nixon nix lewis and lew with the shows transcripts and i came away with two observations:
the real intimate name is not lewis its lew
no other character besides dick calls him lew.
OKAY. FIRST of all i was under the impression the usage of “lewis” by dick would be so emotional and raw and intimate that we don’t really see it. but the only usages of “lewis” by dick is in currahee and points. he calls him lewis in the mess (aka in the public sphere) in 1x01 and introduces him to harry as lewis. interestingly, harry calls him lewis in the last patrol so like that’s an accepted name for his friends. its only harry and dick that call him lewis though. dick also refers to him as “lewis nixon” directly to the audience in points when he says “it had been two years since lewis nixon and i joined the paratroopers”
dick calls him nix in the field. that’s his accepted nickname when they’re at work and i think that helps dick differentiate between his friend lewis and Nixon, The Intelligence Officer. he calls him nix when he jumps on the tank with him in day of days, he calls him nix when nix’s helmet gets shot so know its obviously a fond nickname. even when dicks stomach drops and he thinks lewis is dead for half a second he calls him nix—not because hes self censoring but because thats the name of the man he loves. notably no one else calls him nix. i think col sink might have called him nix once but to everyone else he’s “captain nixon.” and that’s really where the rubber meets the road is that the men call him nixon or capt nixon (perconte calls him nixon in why we fight, webster calls him capt nixon in last patrol), obviously out of respect/deference for his rank and the fact that like, they dont really know him as a person just as the intelligence officer
but LEW? that’s the real intimate one. dick is the ONLY person who calls him lew. and its only when they’re alone the uses of lew i found were
in crossroads when he’s waking him up and theyre alone in their billet
in breaking point when nix gets the 30 day pass and theyre talking in their tent away from the men
in why we fight when nix is getting divorced* dick asks lew? when theyre all packing into their trucks
in points when dicks voice over is talking about my friend lew died in 1995
*okay so like, the why we fight lew breaks the pattern cus its the only one where theyre around other people. i could argue dick slips up and uses lew instead of nix cus hes still freaked about operation varsity and treating nix with kid gloves . but idk feels like kind of a stretch i think he just said lew instead of nix cus he did, not for any particular reason
OBSERVATIONS:
“nix” is his name in the field and at work but its still a little nickname for him and used everyday. i can see dick calling him nix even after they get home. i think people assume nix is a formal name dick is using cus its his last name, but its the opposite because nix is still called “nixon” by other men THATS the formal one
“lewis” is used casually and formally but used by dick and their friends. well just harry thats their only friend
“lew” thats dicks private nickname for lewis that is him staking his claim on his babygirl. only dick gets to call him that. and if its a question of what i think dick calls him in bed im definitely gonna go with lew.
as for other nicknames i think they call each other honey absentmindedly yknow in that married couple way (“honey, where do we keep the whisk?” “honey could you not leave your dirty clothes on the floor in the bathroom?” stuff like that) i did read this fic where dick calls nix “darling” like very rarely, only when it’s the two of them i love that. also i read somewhere that when nix calls dick “guts n glory” (points) that means hes fucking furious at him (he called him guts and glory for applying for the transfer to japan) which i 100% take as fact. also nix doesn't have any everyday nickname for dick but the way his voice drops three registers and he goes “...dick 🫦” is obscenely sexual