Kaemon (The Lux Series): A Ship in My Fleet

A Ship in My Fleet

Kaemon (Katy and Daemon)

From: Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

***Assume spoilers for the entire Lux series***

For years, Kaemon has been one of my go-to favorite ships in the YA lit world. Theirs is like one of those ships that is just so inherently right; as in, I can in no way see either of them with any other character. Even if the series were attempted to be crossed-over with another JLA series or otherwise, it just wouldn't happen. The two of them are just meant to be together, not only because of circumstance (although I think that does add another dimension of depth to their relationship).


I will cop to the fact though that for the longest time I did not know what their ship name was. I read the series a bit late in the game-- I only had to wait for two publications in the series-- so I missed some of the height of figuring out the ship name and hype seeing the name online. And then in terms of fanfiction, I think it's hurting a little. Huge gratitude for those who have written Kaemon fanfics, but my heart wants more of this ship. <3<3<3 Also, it has been a long while since I've read these books, so as I make references and try to tie them down to certain books, I may be slightly off.

When I Started Shipping:
Right away. From the synopsis. I don't even care that it was slightly insta-love-y but also classic teenage angsty. They were this series's OTP and will always be this series's OTP. For me though, their relationship was set in stone (as in, through concrete scenes) when Daemon, in Obsidian, is talking to Katy about beauty and how people who are truly beautiful are beautiful on the inside. And of course he's talking about Katy in this moment so it's super adorable. But more than that, it shows his reflections and introspection on life and it matches what we as readers have seen valued by Katy by that point. It brings out that other side of Daemon in the best way and in a way that makes the partnering of him and Katy so easy to get behind.

Favorite Canon Moment:
There are so many moments where my heart and soul swoon because of these two. A lot of them hilarious, a lot of them making me want to scream, and a whole lot of them wishing I had my own Daemon carbon-copy. I'm going to cheat this section a little and pick two moments, one that brought me to tears and one that made me so incredibly happy.

German edition-- beautiful!

The first is when Katy gets captured by the DOD in Opal. My chest hurts just thinking about that moment when she is separated from everyone, especially Daemon, by only the briefest of moments and the smallest of split seconds. It's worse because we all sort of knew what was about to happen with the testing and stuff to Katy in a way, but had to use our imaginations at the same time (this was when I had to start waiting for the books to come out). Anyway, the real killer in that scene is that it is the first time Daemon every tells Katy he loves her. As she's being taken away from him for God knew what testing. After just getting his brother's girlfriend out of the system. And after three books of them getting to the point of knowing they love each other. And watching Daemon not say it for the entirety of the book. Ugh.... ***lies on floor***

The second is a much happier one, when they decide to get married. It was brilliant. And not just because there is a cameo of another ship from a different series (Kaidan and Anna from The Sweet Evil trilogy by Wendy Higgins). But because it made sense. It all clicked into place so that this spontaneous moment was earned and deserved. And then afterward it was so amazing to see the two of them be so happy together. After everything that they had gone through and despite not knowing what they were going to be facing in their future, they knew that they would always have each other, even if someone catastrophic were to happen. Reading that scene was like releasing a breath that had been building and being held since the beginning of the series.

Sztella Tziotziosz- cover model for Katy

Katy:
As someone who reviews books and has a book blog, I relate to Katy so much it isn't even funny. But that is slightly beside the point. Looking at Katy in the relationship, I think she has such a normal reaction to everything. A little too on the skeptical and hard-to-accept side, but her reasoning is sound. Daemon was an ass to her for a good portion of the beginning. I don't blame her for throwing logic into the conversation of deciding what their relationship or lack thereof would look like. Especially because she knew herself so well that it probably would have hurt like nothing else if she had opened up to Daemon (someone she knew she was interested in at first) if only to be rejected later, or worse mocked later. And nearly all of Daemon's past behaviour to her would have suggested that he would do just that. So when later in the series she tells him she loves him, it makes the moment all the better because Daemon and the readers know it is completely authentic. From that moment on, I love that Katy had the best dedication and faith in the relationship. She was 110% on board.

Daemon:

Pepe Toth- cover model for Daemon

Lovely guy. Great being. Stupid as can be when pursuing Katy. It was so frustrating watching him try to clean the slate with Katy to the point where I would actually get a little upset with him for assuming she should be on board with the relationship sooner than when she did. I will give him credit though for showing great dedication and determination toward Katy for the rest of the series. I love that he was so caring for her and wanted her to be happy and be herself, even in the midst of all the alien craziness. And I think he does a really great job of balancing how he feels for Katy with his ideals and values that he has had for his family and race since before he met her. Yes, he would do anything for Katy and his family, but in his ideal world both and all things coexisted perfectly. And if they couldn't, then he would rearrange something as necessary to find a balance of both.

Kaemon:
As a couple, one of the best things that I loved reading them do were the witty conversations and teasing and/or flirting that they had. Some of the most funny lines from the series were from these moments. And they show how well the two of them balance each other. Where one is overly sarcastic to the point of being rude (typically Daemon), the other would pacify things. Where one is over thinking the details of things (typically Katy), the other would help them step back to take a look. The compliment each other and highlight the best features of the other.


It's been awhile since I've seen Kaemon in the limelight for anything, but let's never forget the love we have for them. As I've been writing this and the more I think about it, the more I really want to reread the series from start to finish. There are some truly painful moments where I felt my heart spiderweb and nearly be ground into powder, but I know it will be worth the ride by the end of it all.

Thanks for reading!