Ivan/Byerly
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Ivan Vorpatril/Byerly Vorrutyer |
| Alternative name(s): | Ivan/By |
| Gender category: | m/m slash |
| Fandom: | Vorkosigan series |
| Canonical?: | no |
| Prevalence: | popular |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Ivan/Byerly is the m/m slash pairing of cousins Ivan Vorpatril and Byerly Vorrutyer in the Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. It is not canonical, and was jossed by Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (CVA), which introduces female partners for the duo
Fandom
Ivan/By is one of the earliest and more popular slash pairings of the fandom. Byerly is often read as queer, and while Ivan is usually read as straight, both characters are canonically sexually adventurous. Another possible factor is that they are the only characters left unpaired after A Civil Campaign, and some fans speculated that the pairing might subsequently become canon.[1] A story had appeared as early as June 2001, and the pairing was already common in 2006, when fanfiction migrated to livejournal.[2] In 2016 it is the most popular m/m pairing on Archive of Our Own.[3]
CVA's publication does not appear to have dented the pairing's popularity, and as of 2016, it remains substantially more common than either Ivan/Tej or Byerly/Rish. Melannen comments, in a review of the novel: Meanwhile, let's take fandom's favorite slash pairing, and have them marry sisters, because that isn't a tradition that goes back past Austen! Even better, have them marry sisters who come from a culture that is extremely flexible about monogamy, has no sexual taboos, and has slightly different notions of family.[4] Some fans were dismayed at the heterosexualising of Byerly and the jossing of the pairing.[5]
Fanfiction ranges from humorous drunk experimentation to a serious examination of attitudes to homosexuality on Barrayar or in the military. There several are long casefics with Ivan & Byerly working together. Some stories bring in By's other cousin Dono Vorrutyer, with whom Ivan had an affair before his transition to being a man.
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfiction
- Your Voluntary Love by Little Alex/Litalex. Perhaps the earliest online slash in the fandom (2001)
- Diversionary Tactics by Misura. An early story involving Dono (2005)
- Foolproof by Millefiori. Discusses the nature of By's work for ImpSec (2005)
- Fluidity by Sahiya. Dono plays a provocateur role (2006)
- The Long Con by Lightgetsin. A popular early story for the pairing (2006)
- A Covert Affair by Sahiya. Coming out story, in the context of Ivan/Donna & Aral/Ges (2010)
- Twenty-Year Man by Ellen Fremedon. Popular casefic for the pair (2011)
- By Any Means Necessary by Tevildo. Popular casefic for the pair (2011)
- A Fine and Public Place by cest_what. First kiss (2011)
- A Flower of the Vor by Chrys. Addresses the effect of Barrayaran homophobia on the relationship (2013)
Fan Art
- Byerly and Ivan by GetNine. Digital art joint portrait (2009)
Meta
References
- ^ For example, Busaikko writes When Etrangere first mentioned the pairing, I thought, "Huh?" But ... I realised that every major character paired off in Civil Campaign... except Ivan. And we had the addition of By as a new character. So I started to wonder if LMB is considering this to be a hint of canon-to-come.... Which would make me a happy girl... in the comments to "Fluidity" -- fic for Zortified in the 2006 Bujold Ficathon.
- ^ crack-van: Vorkosigan Universe: An Overview (accessed 2 July 2016)
- ^ As of 2 July 2016, there were 54 works tagged 'Ivan Vorpatril/Byerly Vorrutyer' compared with Gregor Vorbarra/Miles Vorkosigan (49), Aral Vorkosigan/Ges Vorrutyer (40) & Simon Illyan/Aral Vorkosigan (19).
- ^ melannen: This post appears to be mostly about poly. HMM. (accessed 2 July 2016)
- ^ For example, see comments to Melannen's review.