Ivan Vorpatril

Ivan Vorpatril is a major character in the Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. Introduced in the novel Barrayar, where he is born shortly after his father's murder during the Vordarian Pretendership, Ivan appears as Miles Vorkosigan's sidekick in many subsequent novels, particularly in The Warrior's Apprentice, Cetaganda, Brothers in Arms & Memory, before getting to be the hero in Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (CVA). Widely referred to as 'that idiot Ivan', he nevertheless manages to reach adulthood sane while being third in line to the Barrayaran throne.
==Fannish Opinion==
==Fandom==
Ivan's charm, good looks & habit of getting Miles out of difficulties make him a highly popular character in fanworks, with many fans foregrounding his adventures before Bujold got the idea. Sahiya commented in 2006 that Ivan's story not having come to a conclusion makes him attractive to fanwriters.In the comments to Bujold Fanfic Musings by Kilerkki (accessed 2 July 2016) There seems to have been an uptick in Ivan-centric fanworks with the 2010 announcement of a forthcoming Ivan novel. 
There are many gen works about his childhood with Miles, Gregor Vorbarra & Elena Bothari, as well as humour focusing on him evading his mother's matrimonial ambitions or his reaction to her relationship with Simon Illyan. His canonical claustrophobia after the events of Brothers in Arms features in some stories. 
The most popular pairing for the character is Ivan/Byerly, which is one of the major slash pairings of the fandom. Occasional slash partners include Gregor & Duv Galeni. In het, his affair with Donna Vorrutyer is sometimes explored, and his canonical relationship with the Jacksonian Tej Arqua has a small following. He is only rarely paired with Milesbujold-fic: Something I never see (accessed 2 July 2016) or any other canon character, but got a range of female original character partners before Tej's introduction in CVA. His good looks make him a popular subject for fan art.
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanfiction===
Gen
*Creeping Ambition by Mara Greengrass. Crossover with Firefly (2005)
*A Maze of Twisty Passages, All Alike by Molly. Popular adventure with Gregor, an early story to posit his concealed competence (2006)
*Offerings by Philomytha. Ivan's reaction to Simon/Alys (2009)
*Guerilla by Glishara. An AU in which Ivan becomes emperor; Ivan/f (2010)
*Ship Duty by Miss Lanyon. Ivan & Byerly; tackles his claustrophobia problem (2010)
*Aptitude by Philomytha. Young-Ivan & Miles adventure with Simon Illyan (2011)
*White Knights by Elvaron. A Simon/Alys AU in which they marry and have children when Ivan is a chld; WiP (2011–)
*Evasive Maneuvers by Avanti_90. Ivan & his mother have a political conversation during The Vor Game (2012)
*Pretender by Anyjay. A very young Ivan decides to hide his talents (2014)
*Burying Baron Burr by A_T_Rain. Futurefic with Ivan & By on Jackson's Whole (2015)
Het
*"It's Not My Fault!" by Juan Suros. Ivan/f (2000)
*Seeds by Lightgetsin & Sahiya. Ivan/Ekaterin Vorsoisson in the ADS-verse; a rare example of Ivan paired with a canon female (2007)
*Home by Ana. Ivan/Tej futurefic (2012)
* Hostage Negotiation Is the Family Business by A_T_Rain. Ivan negotiates children with the Arquas; Ivan/Tej (2015)
*Just Another Family Dinner by Gwynne. Ivan defends Tej to her family (2015)
Slash
*Mid-winter Dance by Adina. Ivan/Dono short (2003)
*The Long Con by Lightgetsin. A popular early story for the Ivan/Byerly pairing (2006) 
*Twenty-Year Man by Ellen Fremedon. Popular adventure; Ivan/Byerly (2011)
*Disciplinary Problems by Philomytha. Ivan/Galeni humour (2011)
*See Ivan/Byerly for more examples of this pairing
===Fan Art===
*Ivan & Miles; Miles & Ivan; Ivan, Donno, Byerly by Didodikali. Pencil sketches (2003–6)
*Ivan Vorpatril by Madlore. Seated figure; monochrome digital art (2007)
*A Civil Campaign Art: Ivan, Miles, Kitten by _infinite_enemy. Pencil sketch of a scene from A Civil Campaign, showing seated Ivan with kitten & Miles (2007)
*Ivan Vorpatril by Gemmiona. Digital art portrait (2010)
*Ivan Vorpatril - face by DeanGirl5581. Digital art portrait (2013)
*Lord & Lady Vorpatril by Harbinger5581. Full-length double portrait; Ivan/Tej; digital art (2014)
*Ivan and and steely-eyed middle-aged Vor ladies by AmiMercredire. Digital art cartoon (2014)
*Officer and Gentleman by Airin-ater. Ivan slumped in a chair; monochrome digital art (2015)
===Meta===
==References==
Category:Vorkosigan Characters