Dorr is just so much fun! And I really, really wanna know about his and Cairo's backstory. I do think Cairo is telling the truth about not having lovers on his ship, but you know Erret tried flirting with him, too, when he first joined the crew, and I'd pay good money to see how it went XD
I like this Rick guy, too, I find, and even sorta vaguely remember him from Warchild. Interesting background he's got there!
Or he dresses up as jet :P
That's pretty much what I was thinking, yeah XD Or a pilot! One of the extra bits on Lowachee's Tumblr -- one of the deleted scenes, I think? -- reminded me or maybe revealed for the first time that Azarcon was a pilot before he made Captain, and he probably still has his uniform stashed in the back of his closet somewhere.
I'm kind of stuck on the part where Yuri's geisha training gets real -- or, rather, I slowed down but made it to his first client, and haven't read on since then. I also haven't had a commute since then, so I expect I'll finish it tomorrow anyway, or the day after -- I've got a flight in addition to my normal commute -- but it is definitely not currently being a lot of fun.
It would be criminal if you neglected to draw Dorr in drag. Also, ALL the Baby Az haircuts, yes! XD With a new person ruffling his hair for each one XD
Also, please pay attention that Cairo said that in present tense. MAYBE they had something in the past and ended it, for whatever reason? (But yessss, I would have so loved to see it even if it's just Dorr hitting on him. Book 4 promises us Cairo and Erret on Aian-na, and I WANT TO SEE IT TOO :DD)
Also, I think Karin mentions in one of her meta comments that while the sexualities of most characters are left purposefully ambiguous - for a reason I heartily approve, too, because just like race at this point in the future it's a non-issue, and characters don't feel compelled to define themselves with labels - but Dorr is 150% gay :DDD
Rick guy briefly appears in Cagebird! I'm amused Karin called him Erret's best friend in some of her notes, because like, okay, Erret's best friend definition sure sounds like his boyfriend. But I can totally buy that it's both for him.
Geisha stuff gets ugly with that first official assignment, and then Falcone gets ugly, but then it's mostly a slide down to the resolution. I wonder what you think on Yuri/Estienne in general - I have some thoughts on the subject but they are all so melancholy.
Baby Az had his hair DYED blond, right? And it's somewhat darker naturally, right? Also, vaguely Asian features + artificial blue eyes + puppy expression Yuri comments on = such an anime character, goodness gracious XD
PS. also that fanart with Dorr with a tiny topknot ponytail and a massive undercut is not exactly canon description, is he? he must be a regular blond ponytail because he lets his hair down proper in drag, right?
Cairo said that in present tense. MAYBE they had something in the past and ended it, for whatever reason?
That consideration occurred to me also, but I do think Cairo steered cleer of sleeping with any of his crew at least from the point of becoming Captain. I just have a feeling that (his general emotional constipation aside; obviously he's not as bad as Jos in this department) that would've felt too close to Falcone's way for him to consider it. (And before he became Captain, he was probably too focused on getting there, per the baby Cairo vignette.) So I'm thinking celibate while on ship and letting people outside of his chain of command seduce him while on shore leave, that sort of thing.
And YES, can't wait to see Cairo and Erret on Aian-na!
but Dorr is 150% gay
Yes, I came across that, too -- I actually read through the entirety of her Tumblr, too, except for the stuff that looked psoilery for the last third of Cagebird -- and was summarily unsurprised.
I'm amused Karin called him Erret's best friend in some of her notes, because like, okay, Erret's best friend definition sure sounds like his boyfriend. But I can totally buy that it's both for him.
Yeah, I think probably Dorr doesn't think in terms of "boyfriend" (except when tormenting poor Sid... who seems to be the one straight character in the trilogy? Y/N), but Rick seems to be the rare person who is willing to put up with him outside of the sack, too :P
I wonder what you think on Yuri/Estienne in general - I have some thoughts on the subject but they are all so melancholy.
I should probably reserve them until I get to the end... but so far to me it feels like Estienne is doing his job and not much more.
Baby Az had his hair DYED blond, right? And it's somewhat darker naturally, right? Also, vaguely Asian features + artificial blue eyes + puppy expression Yuri comments on = such an anime character,
He totally is an anime character, heh. And, yeah, dyed blond hair, and naturally I assume it would be black or otherwise very dark -- while Song is not just Chinese and Cairo is probably also a mix of things, it sounds like there's at least a fair bit of Chinese and probably Hispanic (of Filipino, I guess) heritage in Ryan, so I would guess black hair. And eyes that would be dark, too, except for the genetic modification.
PS. also that fanart with Dorr with a tiny topknot ponytail and a massive undercut is not exactly canon description, is he? he must be a regular blond ponytail because he lets his hair down proper in drag, right?
That is a good point about his hair while in drag, yes! Although I guess it depends on how thick his hair is... I think it might be possible to have a top layer that's lon and the undercut below that?
As far as I can tell, the ponytail with shaved sides thing comes from that one authorial faceclaim/fancast picture she posted and everybody embraced it?
Yes, very likely, too. Given that Song hit on Cairo in some seedy bar on Azarcon, especially so. I still wish for a full three-act spectacle of Erret hitting on him, though :DD or something.
Sid IS последний оплот человечества in terms of uncompromising heterosexuality in this book, and I think that's precisely why Erret enjoys hitting on him so much. I mean, I accept that Sid might be his type, too, but still - FUN :DD
I'll try to put together my Estienne thoughts at some point, too, but I find myself lacking in any strong judgementalism or pity, just - melancholy. Also mostly on Yuri's behalf, probably. He's kind of awful at existing in an environemnt where he doesn't like anyone,so he starts liking people and that's such a disaster every time.
Yes, I saw that Dorr pic! And I also spent some time discreetly googling male ponytails to see if there is anything I'm missing as a compomise between this dinky topknot and just a regular ponytail - I just don't trust my character design not to look too similar, alas! if i just go with long blond hair, I mean.
I still wish for a full three-act spectacle of Erret hitting on him, though :DD or something.
Saaame. I'd also like to see what it was that finally made him STOP, since nothing seems to be capable of stopping Erret in his incorrigible behaviour. Did Cairo thrash him with, like, dirty fighting Erret did not expect from EarthHub brass? (though possibly that would've just encouraged him...)
Sid IS последний оплот человечества in terms of uncompromising heterosexuality in this book
Ahaha that is perfect, that is exactly what he is, and I agree that's a large part of why Erret fixates on him. Probably also his type (guess we'll see once there's more of Rick...) but in large part because Erret is a trolly troll who trolls, to be sure.
He's kind of awful at existing in an environemnt where he doesn't like anyone,so he starts liking people and that's such a disaster every time.
Yeah, this is very true, and sad. I mean, he manages to find Finch in prison where he knows no-one, and so give people a lever over himself. And it dovetails (heh) quite nicely, I think, with his tendency towards pet ownership, too, under conditions that do not lend themselves to pet ownership at all.
It does make me wonder -- because literally everything in these books comes back to Azarcon for me, sorry! -- what Cairo's coping strategy had been before Ashrafi found him. Even the cutlery throwing vignette doesn't really tell me very much. But, like, Jos repressed and escaped as soon as he could. Yuri -- who, to be fair, had signed on voluntarily, if under false pretenses, and hadn't had his family killed by Falcone -- seems to have coped by caring about people (disasterfully). I wonder what Cairo's deal was... killing Falcone and taking over and running the Khan and the pirate empire right? I can't think of a different motivation that would sustain him...
I'm looking forward to seeing what ponytail construction you arrive at for Dorr! I'm trying to think if I've ever seen a guy with a ponytail (let alone a blond one) where the ponytail wouldn't have been incongruous on a trolly psycho jet, and no luck...
Noo, Erret getting his ass handed to him (heh) is the opposite of stop signal, I agree XDD It has to be something else altogether. WILL WE EVER KNOWWWW.
Oh re:Sid btw, I read this one eyebrow-raising comment in her meta notes on tumblr how one could read Ryan as being almost in love with Sid, and went WHAAAAT??? at that, because that is so utterly and totally not how I see it or will ever see it?? Their relationship is so much that of a family I don't understand why author even said that.
I am glad to see you read Yuri similarly in terms of disasterous attachments - I agree with what you said above (including the questionable pun,lol <3). It hadn't occurred to me to continue this train of through long enough to encompass Dexter, too (yanno me :P), but it absolutely falls under the same paradigm.
With Cairo, I don't have any ready answers, actually. I remember Karin said that Cairo was her favourite character and the one she knows best - and even if we don't get direct insight into his head, she always knows what he's thinking whenever he says or does something. If I had to wager a guess, I'd say he's a person who needs action to keep him balanced in life. It might have been destructive action under Falcone's command and nurture, and maybe that's why he protested when Ashrafi initially adopted him ("put me back") - because he might have suspected that the reality outside deep space is not his space to act, maybe. I could imagine that vengeance kept him going, or maybe the feeling the had to personally eliminate all the pirates. God knows, he's not the most transparent person.
Noo, Erret getting his ass handed to him (heh) is the opposite of stop signal,
Right? I'm genuinely curious!
I read this one eyebrow-raising comment in her meta notes on tumblr how one could read Ryan as being almost in love with Sid, and went WHAAAAT??? at that, because that is so utterly and totally not how I see it or will ever see it?? Their relationship is so much that of a family I don't understand why author even said that.
Yeah, I saw that too, and was surprised. I ended up talking about it a bit in my writeup, but basically... I think Ryan could definitely have a crush on Sid under very different circumestances, where Sid wasn't his brother/surrogate father/sleeping with his mom, but in this current universe, yeah, no. He does keep making cracks at Sid, the whole "we could start an affair" "you wanna watch me shower" stuff, but then, this is a kid who says "do you tie up all your dates" to his father, so, that could well just be Ryan using his talent for riling people up with nothing deeper than that.
It hadn't occurred to me to continue this train of through long enough to encompass Dexter, too
Yeah, not surprised :P
I'd say he's a person who needs action to keep him balanced in life. It might have been destructive action under Falcone's command and nurture, and maybe that's why he protested when Ashrafi initially adopted him ("put me back")
This is a really interesting thought! I could definitely see that.
God, I really wanna know what kind of kid Cairo was at twelve, before all the bad stuff happened...
Dorr is just so much fun! And I really, really wanna know about his and Cairo's backstory. I do think Cairo is telling the truth about not having lovers on his ship, but you know Erret tried flirting with him, too, when he first joined the crew, and I'd pay good money to see how it went XD
I like this Rick guy, too, I find, and even sorta vaguely remember him from Warchild. Interesting background he's got there!
Or he dresses up as jet :P
That's pretty much what I was thinking, yeah XD Or a pilot! One of the extra bits on Lowachee's Tumblr -- one of the deleted scenes, I think? -- reminded me or maybe revealed for the first time that Azarcon was a pilot before he made Captain, and he probably still has his uniform stashed in the back of his closet somewhere.
I'm kind of stuck on the part where Yuri's geisha training gets real -- or, rather, I slowed down but made it to his first client, and haven't read on since then. I also haven't had a commute since then, so I expect I'll finish it tomorrow anyway, or the day after -- I've got a flight in addition to my normal commute -- but it is definitely not currently being a lot of fun.
It would be criminal if you neglected to draw Dorr in drag. Also, ALL the Baby Az haircuts, yes! XD With a new person ruffling his hair for each one XD
Reply
Also, I think Karin mentions in one of her meta comments that while the sexualities of most characters are left purposefully ambiguous - for a reason I heartily approve, too, because just like race at this point in the future it's a non-issue, and characters don't feel compelled to define themselves with labels - but Dorr is 150% gay :DDD
Rick guy briefly appears in Cagebird! I'm amused Karin called him Erret's best friend in some of her notes, because like, okay, Erret's best friend definition sure sounds like his boyfriend. But I can totally buy that it's both for him.
Geisha stuff gets ugly with that first official assignment, and then Falcone gets ugly, but then it's mostly a slide down to the resolution. I wonder what you think on Yuri/Estienne in general - I have some thoughts on the subject but they are all so melancholy.
Baby Az had his hair DYED blond, right? And it's somewhat darker naturally, right? Also, vaguely Asian features + artificial blue eyes + puppy expression Yuri comments on = such an anime character, goodness gracious XD
PS. also that fanart with Dorr with a tiny topknot ponytail and a massive undercut is not exactly canon description, is he? he must be a regular blond ponytail because he lets his hair down proper in drag, right?
Reply
That consideration occurred to me also, but I do think Cairo steered cleer of sleeping with any of his crew at least from the point of becoming Captain. I just have a feeling that (his general emotional constipation aside; obviously he's not as bad as Jos in this department) that would've felt too close to Falcone's way for him to consider it. (And before he became Captain, he was probably too focused on getting there, per the baby Cairo vignette.) So I'm thinking celibate while on ship and letting people outside of his chain of command seduce him while on shore leave, that sort of thing.
And YES, can't wait to see Cairo and Erret on Aian-na!
but Dorr is 150% gay
Yes, I came across that, too -- I actually read through the entirety of her Tumblr, too, except for the stuff that looked psoilery for the last third of Cagebird -- and was summarily unsurprised.
I'm amused Karin called him Erret's best friend in some of her notes, because like, okay, Erret's best friend definition sure sounds like his boyfriend. But I can totally buy that it's both for him.
Yeah, I think probably Dorr doesn't think in terms of "boyfriend" (except when tormenting poor Sid... who seems to be the one straight character in the trilogy? Y/N), but Rick seems to be the rare person who is willing to put up with him outside of the sack, too :P
I wonder what you think on Yuri/Estienne in general - I have some thoughts on the subject but they are all so melancholy.
I should probably reserve them until I get to the end... but so far to me it feels like Estienne is doing his job and not much more.
Baby Az had his hair DYED blond, right? And it's somewhat darker naturally, right? Also, vaguely Asian features + artificial blue eyes + puppy expression Yuri comments on = such an anime character,
He totally is an anime character, heh. And, yeah, dyed blond hair, and naturally I assume it would be black or otherwise very dark -- while Song is not just Chinese and Cairo is probably also a mix of things, it sounds like there's at least a fair bit of Chinese and probably Hispanic (of Filipino, I guess) heritage in Ryan, so I would guess black hair. And eyes that would be dark, too, except for the genetic modification.
PS. also that fanart with Dorr with a tiny topknot ponytail and a massive undercut is not exactly canon description, is he? he must be a regular blond ponytail because he lets his hair down proper in drag, right?
That is a good point about his hair while in drag, yes! Although I guess it depends on how thick his hair is... I think it might be possible to have a top layer that's lon and the undercut below that?
As far as I can tell, the ponytail with shaved sides thing comes from that one authorial faceclaim/fancast picture she posted and everybody embraced it?
Reply
Sid IS последний оплот человечества in terms of uncompromising heterosexuality in this book, and I think that's precisely why Erret enjoys hitting on him so much. I mean, I accept that Sid might be his type, too, but still - FUN :DD
I'll try to put together my Estienne thoughts at some point, too, but I find myself lacking in any strong judgementalism or pity, just - melancholy. Also mostly on Yuri's behalf, probably. He's kind of awful at existing in an environemnt where he doesn't like anyone,so he starts liking people and that's such a disaster every time.
Yes, I saw that Dorr pic! And I also spent some time discreetly googling male ponytails to see if there is anything I'm missing as a compomise between this dinky topknot and just a regular ponytail - I just don't trust my character design not to look too similar, alas! if i just go with long blond hair, I mean.
Reply
Saaame. I'd also like to see what it was that finally made him STOP, since nothing seems to be capable of stopping Erret in his incorrigible behaviour. Did Cairo thrash him with, like, dirty fighting Erret did not expect from EarthHub brass? (though possibly that would've just encouraged him...)
Sid IS последний оплот человечества in terms of uncompromising heterosexuality in this book
Ahaha that is perfect, that is exactly what he is, and I agree that's a large part of why Erret fixates on him. Probably also his type (guess we'll see once there's more of Rick...) but in large part because Erret is a trolly troll who trolls, to be sure.
He's kind of awful at existing in an environemnt where he doesn't like anyone,so he starts liking people and that's such a disaster every time.
Yeah, this is very true, and sad. I mean, he manages to find Finch in prison where he knows no-one, and so give people a lever over himself. And it dovetails (heh) quite nicely, I think, with his tendency towards pet ownership, too, under conditions that do not lend themselves to pet ownership at all.
It does make me wonder -- because literally everything in these books comes back to Azarcon for me, sorry! -- what Cairo's coping strategy had been before Ashrafi found him. Even the cutlery throwing vignette doesn't really tell me very much. But, like, Jos repressed and escaped as soon as he could. Yuri -- who, to be fair, had signed on voluntarily, if under false pretenses, and hadn't had his family killed by Falcone -- seems to have coped by caring about people (disasterfully). I wonder what Cairo's deal was... killing Falcone and taking over and running the Khan and the pirate empire right? I can't think of a different motivation that would sustain him...
I'm looking forward to seeing what ponytail construction you arrive at for Dorr! I'm trying to think if I've ever seen a guy with a ponytail (let alone a blond one) where the ponytail wouldn't have been incongruous on a trolly psycho jet, and no luck...
Reply
Oh re:Sid btw, I read this one eyebrow-raising comment in her meta notes on tumblr how one could read Ryan as being almost in love with Sid, and went WHAAAAT??? at that, because that is so utterly and totally not how I see it or will ever see it?? Their relationship is so much that of a family I don't understand why author even said that.
I am glad to see you read Yuri similarly in terms of disasterous attachments - I agree with what you said above (including the questionable pun,lol <3). It hadn't occurred to me to continue this train of through long enough to encompass Dexter, too (yanno me :P), but it absolutely falls under the same paradigm.
With Cairo, I don't have any ready answers, actually. I remember Karin said that Cairo was her favourite character and the one she knows best - and even if we don't get direct insight into his head, she always knows what he's thinking whenever he says or does something. If I had to wager a guess, I'd say he's a person who needs action to keep him balanced in life. It might have been destructive action under Falcone's command and nurture, and maybe that's why he protested when Ashrafi initially adopted him ("put me back") - because he might have suspected that the reality outside deep space is not his space to act, maybe. I could imagine that vengeance kept him going, or maybe the feeling the had to personally eliminate all the pirates. God knows, he's not the most transparent person.
Reply
Right? I'm genuinely curious!
I read this one eyebrow-raising comment in her meta notes on tumblr how one could read Ryan as being almost in love with Sid, and went WHAAAAT??? at that, because that is so utterly and totally not how I see it or will ever see it?? Their relationship is so much that of a family I don't understand why author even said that.
Yeah, I saw that too, and was surprised. I ended up talking about it a bit in my writeup, but basically... I think Ryan could definitely have a crush on Sid under very different circumestances, where Sid wasn't his brother/surrogate father/sleeping with his mom, but in this current universe, yeah, no. He does keep making cracks at Sid, the whole "we could start an affair" "you wanna watch me shower" stuff, but then, this is a kid who says "do you tie up all your dates" to his father, so, that could well just be Ryan using his talent for riling people up with nothing deeper than that.
It hadn't occurred to me to continue this train of through long enough to encompass Dexter, too
Yeah, not surprised :P
I'd say he's a person who needs action to keep him balanced in life. It might have been destructive action under Falcone's command and nurture, and maybe that's why he protested when Ashrafi initially adopted him ("put me back")
This is a really interesting thought! I could definitely see that.
God, I really wanna know what kind of kid Cairo was at twelve, before all the bad stuff happened...
Reply
Leave a comment