Not so much a fic as a thinking aloud

[nineveh_uk]

Is there a giant archive of Vorkosigan fic (in English) out there that I don’t know about? There are a bare sixteen Ekaterin/Miles stories on AO3. Anyway, what I want is long fic detailing what happens when Ekaterin and Miles separate or divorce after some years of marriage. Since it isn’t there, I have had to write a very short one myself.

You might have been sorry for him—or bewitched by him—or even badgered to death by him

They had said practically everything that two people who still loved one another could say. The relief that some things were un-sayable, that Miles had not once even raised the possibility that he could keep her children from her, was almost enough to make her change her mind. But not quite.

Now even Miles was running out of arguments.

‘There hasn’t been an amicable separation in the Council of Counts since Lord Vorhallen and his wife, and that was only because his wife discovered she was also his sister. Actually,’ he continued, briefly distracted from his own distress, ‘I’m not certain they really did separate more than was necessary for appearances. She lived in the dower house and the second Lady Vorhallen just happened to die in childbirth only three years later.’

‘Then we’ll just have to make history again.’

Comments

[legionseagle]

There's an archive at dendarii.com but I can flatly guarantee you won't find anything much suggesting that everything wasn't rosy in the garden between those two (despite the fact that they go from Strong Poison to the final chapter of Gaudy Night without passing through Have His Carcase first) judging by the - distinctly hostile - reception my HP/Vorkosiverse crossover got for suggesting something similiar ("The one where Miles is the Devil..." was one of the minor comments)

[nineveh_uk]

Certainly HHC following GN doesn’t seem like the perfect recipe for a happy marriage. Honeymoon period, children, children a bit older, “What the hell happened to my plans for training in a professional that interested me and developing a sense of self that didn’t revolve around constantly putting other people before myself?”

[lannamichaels]

Oh, hey, so I'm not alone in getting weird things for Miles criticism! We should have a club.

[legionseagle]

I'm not sure I'd want to draw attention....

My personal view is that I read the Vorkosiverse for the women, mainly, which is why my favourites are Barrayar,Komarr and A Civil Campaign (in no particular order). I don't dislike Miles but I prefer him as a catalyst, to start things moving, rather than the entire focus of attention.

[antisoppist]

Ankaret got me into them by lending me Shards of Honor/Barrayar combined which I read for Cordelia but then I stalled for a long time on Warrior's Apprentice because Miles was so bouncy and irritating. It was Komarr that got me back in and then I went forwards for Ekaterin before going back and filling in the gap. I keep searching for fic that makes up for Ekaterin disappearing in post-marriage canon but have not had much luck.

[legionseagle]

I know what you mean about The Warrior's Apprentice. I like the idea of the scam that gets out of hand, but the details are a bit meh. Also, not enough Ivan until the end (though once he shows up, that's great.) I love the glimpses of the relationship between Ivan and Miles in later books (from Brothers in Arms onwards).

[nineveh_uk]

I rather liked TWA. The Vor Game, on the other hand, I find so dull that I still can't actually work out how the plot works, because I've only managed to read it in isolated sections, missing out much of Gregor's.

[antisoppist]

My reading of The Vor Game was coloured by knowing it was the only one I had left unread and it consequently had to be savoured.

I found Miles more bearable in TWA once I came back to it in the knowledge that he did get slightly less bouncy later on.