#karmo

[trickywicky]

hello queer community i’m officially coming out as a devin x karmo shipper,,, please do not throw stones at me it would make me very sad 👎

i get nervous posting art on this site… sweats!

[bayofwolves]

Perhaps Shane could have chosen better when he formed the Redcloaks and picked his second-in-command.

When my partner first read Broken Ground, he thought Stead was Karmo. Which initially doesn't make sense... but it got me thinking.

After all, why should Alix be second-in-command of the Redcloaks? What has he done to demonstrate that he would be fit for the role? We only see him as his original self briefly in one section of The Book of Shane. He is loyal to Shane, surely. It makes sense that he would be the first to follow him when he has lost everything else. He is sorely lacking, however, in "pagetime", character development, or any leaderlike qualities that I can see. He only serves to reveal that something strange is happening to those Conquerors who kept their spirit animals in passive state.

There is a harsh disconnect between the nervous, timid Alix we are introduced to and the stern, emotionless Stead of the later books. We don't get to see how he shifted from one to the other. We don't really know anything about the guy, whether as a Conqueror or a Redcloak. Indeed, it's up to the reader to infer that Stead is the rather forgettable soldier who showed up for a few pages in The Book of Shane!

What if my partner was onto something, and Karmo was the better choice for this position?

Karmo was introduced all the way back in Hunted, and although he only appears in a few books, he is a lot more developed as a character than Stead. He begins as an antagonist, albeit a sympathetic one, which is evident even before he gives his testimony to Shane in Venture. In that last section of The Book of Shane, we see them work together and build a better rapport than Shane and Alix ever did. Karmo strikes me as exactly the type of person Shane could use at his side. Loyal, but not a blind follower. More of an equal. Clever enough to come up with ideas to counter Shane's. Rational and usually levelheaded. We've seen he has a good moral compass. Shane clearly trusts him and thinks him capable, enough that he sent him to bring Dawson and Rumfuss to safety. He did succeed in retrieving Dawson (and recruiting Devin to the Redcloaks in the process).

And he has cool lightning powers. That's definitely a plus.

In ARHoE, once Karmo joins his ragtag band, Shane finds himself seeking out his new friend's counsel frequently. They become quite close; Karmo is the closest thing Shane has to a best friend. When their numbers grow enough that the order is named and a hierarchy established, the decision to make Jolt his second-in-command comes naturally to King. In the main timeline, he holds this position long into their adulthood. In the alternate timeline, he steps in with a heavy heart to take Shane's place, and leads the Redcloaks well for many years thereafter.

Alix was the first Redcloak, but Karmo was the one Shane chose to lead at his side. He deserves some recognition at the end of his story, I think.

[bluepeachgardenzonk]

So I’ve seen people ship Worthy/Devin with Karmo, and that’s all well and good, but y’all are missing out on the true ship, Worthy X Keeper (Keepthy?)

[incorrectspiritanimalsquotes]

Devin: This is horrible! This is the most humiliating thing to ever happen to me! Karmo: Even more humiliating than- Devin: Let's not do this!

[bayofwolves]

Just rewrote the fates of four characters in the Project. Feeling great

[trickywicky]

i think we are way too ok with the fact that karmo can like. Electrocute people. i think we’ve really normalized that when it is Not normal at all. and also maya. she can set fire to an entire Dock. the fact that everybody is just like Haha yeah they can do that IS ABSOLUTELY CRAZY? HELLO?

[trickywicky]

haha guys i can’t believe this is karmo spirit animals!

as a side note, i genuinely love hamerkops because they’re very interesting birds and they can be pretty funny. here’s some quick hamerkop facts if you’re interested:

• “hamerkop” quite literally translates to hammerhead in afrikaans.

• they are wading birds and live almost anywhere water is available!

• they feed mostly on small fish and amphibians. they use their feet to push around mud and disturb their prey, bringing them closer to the surface.

• they build the biggest nest of any bird in africa!

• they are monogamous 👫 👭 👬

• onto the cool stuff! some african people believe that if a hamerkop flies over your home, it will bring bad luck! you’d better get a move on.

• hamerkops can be an omen of death.

• interestingly, their nickname “lightning bird” is thought to come from the belief that messing with a hamerkop’s nest in any way will bring a bolt of lightning down on your home. these birds like their personal space.

• impundulu, karmo’s hamerkop, has a name that actually means “lightning bird”! it is a name with zulu origins. the impundulu in african myth is associated with witchcraft and is able to control lightning.

• ending on a humorous note, they tend to stand on each other’s backs in a display called “false mounting.” nobody’s quite sure why exactly they do it, but the best guesses are that they’re simply goofing around or bonding. this isn’t limited to female + male bonds either!

in conclusion, impundulu and nazir are some of the coolest birds in the series and need more appreciation.

if you wanna read more about these guys, check these out:

https://www.nyikasilika.org/the-hamerkop-nest-by-the-road/

The all-brown hamerkop has a long, flat crest on its head that gives it the unmistakable look of – you guessed it – a hammer.

An African Safari blog which features news on leopards, lions, elephants, our camps as well as the rest of the Big 5 on Londolozi Game Reser

Nature’s answer to Mjölnir, the Hammer of Thor

This month we are spotlighting a very special and under-appreciated bird; the hamerkop. The hamerkop is an African bird slightly smaller tha

Lightning Bird - Journals of a Botswana Safari Guide

[bladealvis]

devin: u know im really into guuys- karmo: *looks up hopefully* devin: sers, geisers, karmo: *sighs, disappointed* devin: and im super into dudes as well

Karmo: wait a minute how the hell do u know what a geyser is

Devin: I don’t. *winks*