I don't know how to edit a reply, but I missed that all the essays were in the same post. All four are very thought-provoking, and I generally agree with them. Regarding Aeryn, she's stated that she found previous encounters painful, which I assume means she had more than the one with Velorek, but I'd suspect that before him, she did get emotionally attached to her lovers, and it didn't work out, because she'd been infected since childhood with the poisoned words of love, of something more than was usual for PKs. She'd spent her life looking for her mother, she said, and so we know she is both capable of and wants a deep attachment like that which bred her, but I suspect by the time she met Velorek, she'd been burned often enough to want nothing more than the PK hardline. When he wanted so much more from her, it was incredibly disturbing, and she couldn't deal at all. So, she is appalled by his disillusionment, opposal to PK ideals, and his treachery, and it provides her an excuse both to regain her desired career path and to escape his insidious ideas.

I don't think that's undermining her character, that she would desire something different from PK culture once she was actually exposed to others - she has spoken of not wanting to bear a child in that world, not that she didn't want a child. And I think that while she was cock-blocked by the writers when Larraq and Dragon and Crais were available and interested, it was plausible for her not to engage with Larraq, as she was actively deceiving him; Dragon was irritating; ultimately, only the writers kept her from Crais; I agree that they had sufficient chemistry to make a really effective team, both crew and sexually, as you say.