Comment on Mad Yuri's War

  1. Nikki

    Wow, this was awesome, history is written by the victors indeed. Poor Sonia longing to flee to Beta but too bound to Barrayar, trying to save her sister. Oh and the original Ivan that Idiot, being seduced by power and plotting with Xav's son, but not Piotr or Xav, the ones who will live with the consequences of this treason.

    And you did a really nice job of making me feel sorry for Yuri here, with Sonia's view of him and his sisters' plotting against him and each other, the family madness coming out in all of them.

    Posted Mon 30 Apr 2012 07:59AM EDT

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    1. avanti_90

      Thank you!
      Yuri found out about the plot and didn't know its extent or who was involved, and couldn't get hard evidence. So he ordered the execution of just about everybody. If anything, it was ordering the executions that finally pushed him over the edge, though Annalise's Cetagandan drugs certainly played a role. And Piotr and Xav, never knowing the truth, went after Yuri for their bloody vengeance.
      History being written by the victors was what I wanted to bring out here - we only get Aral's perspective on the events of this time, but he might not have known what was really going on.

      Posted Mon 30 Apr 2012 08:25AM EDT

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      1. Nikki

        Yeah there’s definitely room for Aral not to know what happened, the years after the Cetagandans left and Dorca died must have been extra paranoid even for Barrayar, especially if the Imperial Family actually were jockeying for power. It’s really haunting that Xav and Piotr, who might never have plotted against him like this, never realise that it wasn’t a totally unprovoked attack.

        Although if ordering the executions (and deciding to use death squads not trials (Ivan never thought of that) finally did push Yuri over the edge into insanity, then no one was safe afterwards anyway. Which is the Princess who ends up married to Ezar?

        Posted Mon 30 Apr 2012 10:44AM EDT

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        1. avanti_90

          Yuri's full sister Constantia ends up married to Ezar, at least partly against her wishes (she supported Yuri). She died sometime when Serg was a kid, and no one was quite sure whether Negri assassinated her or not.
          This is not out of my head - Constantia belongs to AellaIrene, whose Yuri-era fics are wonderful.

          Posted Mon 30 Apr 2012 11:14AM EDT

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