swanprophet

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Rujinu + Parallels

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Gift

"The things I’ve always known seem to have changed somehow."

Inspired by this song from MeloMance and this comment from BlueSky.

Completed - 9 July 2025

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in all seriousness though what i like about rujinu (that i think a lot of enemies-to-lovers tropes fail in achieving) is that they establish almost immediately that despite the fact that they're enemies, rumi and jinu understand each other deeply.

jinu discovers rumi's secret when they fight the first time, and instead of using it against her, he immediately grasps the weight of what she’s hiding and why. In a split-second, he decides to help her conceal it before slipping away. that’s the foundation of their bond: a quiet, mutual recognition.

he respects and understands her shame because he feels it too. they stay on opposing sides until almost the very end but in their brief interactions she's able to be free and honest with him, and we see explicitly in the movie how this helps her self-acceptance.

it's also what makes it so devastating when he uses that honesty against her to reveal her patterns! we, like rumi, want him to choose to do the right thing, and it's heartbreaking when he doesnt. and when he then throws his own honesty at her like a weapon afterward, it genuinely feels like a lightbulb moment; he is so deeply ashamed of his past actions that he thinks he can use it to push her away, but instead of turning away she pushes back and tells him she doesn't care, because she knows he can change, that he can choose to be good, and she still believes in his capacity to do that despite him betraying her.

so when he later sacrifices himself for her, the moment feels earned and real and complicated. It's gut wrenching!! because he has the capacity for ruin, as we've seen, but instead he chooses here to do the right thing. they change each other for the better despite being enemies for a majority of the plot.

and that is precisely what a good enemies to lovers arc should do. not being an asshole for no reason, not 'we're on opposing sides but he's hot,' but 'despite everything i've been taught, despite our instincts, despite the world telling us we are different, i have found something in you that calls to me, that ive seen in myself and i am irrecoverably changed as a result.' It's about understanding and mutual vulnerability. about how two people who could destroy each other instead choose to see each other clearly and compassionately. i want to bite something

[swanprophet]

Jinu rapping headcanon - Jinu was being honest with Rumi in "Free" because it is literally the only time he raps

So I realized this as I play "Free" on a loop in the background.

I realized that "Free" is literally the only time Jinu raps and the person he raps to is Rumi. And I don't think this was unintentional.

In "Soda Pop" and "Your Idol" the rap lines all go to Baby Saja as part of his role as the rapper of the Saja Boy in addition to being the maknae. And he is in his role as the leading member of the Saja Boys. In both of these songs he is being deceitful and is luring in fans to steal and drink their souls. These songs were made to capture the masses based on what they know sells.

But in his first appearance Jinu literally shows that he is a good songwriter by singing in Gwi-ma's face about his failure. He did it to get Gwi-ma's attention to change strategies in attacking the hunters. And he highlights this because he is literally the best demon for the job as a musician who was good enough to entertain the king in his time and who is attuned to what sells.

But it is his interactions with Rumi that helps show that he is more complex than a black and white bad guy. He sees Rumi's patterns in their fight, he starts questioning what he knows about hunters. When the little girl gives him her drawing which said that he has a beautiful soul, Rumi is the one who points out that the voices in his head are not the only voices that exist. When he agrees with the old lady that he is a hopeless case, it is Rumi that tells him that hope is up to him not anyone else.

With Rumi Jinu begins thinking differently about himself. Which is why "Free" is the only song that he raps in because to paraphrase something Lin Manuel Miranda said about Hamilton - rap is a medium that allows the most amount of information to be communicated. Jinu rapping in "Free" for his verse is the only time we, the audience are allowed to hear him be complicated in the very medium that he traded his soul for - music. It's also the only time wherein we are allowed to hear the vulnerability in his voice. Many people could easily argue that he could just be pretending because he is an excellent musician. But it takes a lot to fake vulnerability in a song. Personally, it's easier to fake confidence and power with the right music. But faking vulnerability? That takes a lot.

Which is why Rumi could still see right through him when he betrays her in the Idol awards. She knows it's real because it is so hard to fake being vulnerable in song without being obvious. She may not know why he decides to betray her but she knows enough to know that he is a person who is hurting. His guilt hurts him and that spills over to his actions. All because he believes the only thing he deserves is eternal suffering - even if it means hurting someone who he formed a bond with.

Which is probably why Rumi is not surprised that he chooses not to fight her as she walks towards him in the finale fight with Gwi-ma. She knows that he wouldn't want to fight her because the vulnerability they shared was real.

Then he chooses to sacrifice himself for her. To finally choose to change.

[swanprophet]

Finding flowers among the weeds

AO3 FIC LINK.

Summary:

There were times when people needed an extra push, a little more incentive, to agree to a deal with Gwi-Ma. Your average human was - rightfully so - wary of disembodied voices offering to fulfil their greatest desires - for a price, no less. A paltry thing, he would say: some time in the future, Gwi-Ma would require their service. But he never did elaborate on what that service was, nor when he would ask for it. When Gwi-Ma’s whispers would fail to make a supplicant of someone he saw potential in, he would send a honeypot to their doorstep, an offering to show his sincerity.

The story of how Abby and Jinu met and how their relationship developed, the ups and the downs.

A/N: Look at some fanart and now I'm shipping these two, whoops.

[swanprophet]

Oh, but please go on about how Rumi and Huntrix are straight 🥴

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sajamals(?)

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I drew this for something specific, but I figure I would share it with the class since I'm still neck-deep in Kpop Demon Hunters and everyone deserves a little sleeping Jinu. As a treat.

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trying to work on a whole polytrix sketchpage

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KPDH OC

In the past, Chae-ryeong was a concubine of the king. She loved him deeply and was preparing to become his queen, as the reigning queen was unable to bear children. But just as everything seemed nearly settled, the king suddenly became infatuated with a new concubine. He abruptly distanced himself from Chae-ryeong and stopped visiting her palace.

Consumed by unbearable jealousy that gnawed at her from within, Chae-ryeong made a pact with Gwi-Ma: in exchange for eliminating the new concubine and making her queen, she would offer her unborn child—of whose existence she had been unaware until then.

And so it happened: the king's new concubine perished in a fire, along with four other concubines and the queen herself. Chae-ryeong became the new queen, but it brought her no happiness—the king never loved her. On the contrary, he suspected her of murder until his dying day, and every child she gave birth to died before reaching adulthood. This ultimately hardened her heart beyond repair.

After becoming a demon, Chae-ryeong quickly rose in rank. Her specialty, if one could call it that, was breaking apart families and hearts, feeding on distrust and the pain of betrayal.

[swanprophet]

Jinu telling Rumi the truth about why he's even doing what he's doing caught me so off guard cuz homeboi is supposed to be a baddie... but he's literally a puppy in that moment. Joking aside, it highlighted his loneliness to the umpteenth degree.

One thing that makes Jinu so human for me is his contradiction and situational cowardice. He mocks Gwi-Ma when we first meet him (showing he has to potential for courage), yet can't stand up to Gwi-Ma when the latter jerks him back down the Hell and mocks him for not telling Rumi the full truth.

In my opinion, the backstory of Gwi-Ma's manipulation of Jinu was brutal. I could see Gwi-Ma first convincing Jinu that he wasn't worthy of his family, THEN convincing Jinu that they are somehow villainous for this. Gwi-Ma could say, "I can help you, but you know your family doesn't deserve the life I could give you, because they don't see you as you truly are. You're nothing now, but I can make you strong, worth something, because I see what you can be." Gwi-Ma could fan the flames of Jinu's frustrations, slowly turning him against his family.

And imagine Jinu's resentment towards Gwi-Ma after he realizes his error which does involve his arrogance and selfishness, but also his pain and desire for a better life. Gwi-Ma took that simple and NEUTRAL desire and turned it EVIL/SHAMEFUL for Jinu. He magnified Jinu's potential for selfish behavior and Jinu fell for it. He marked Jinu's own desires as a curse from then on. This is serious level manipulation, because now, Gwi-Ma can even shame Jinu for feeling desire at all (i.e. "In 400 years, you've never done a single thing that didn't serve yourself.")

Gwi-Ma literally in Jinu's head after his fall to Hell like:

That being said, Jinu had to redeem himself. Take action on his own terms. And he did. But he had to see past his own self-loathing. Because it was that misbelief which motivated him to betray Rumi in the worst way. Her love for him scared him, as well as his for her. It was also unfamiliar territory. And what if he'd failed her? What if all that she believed of his potential wasn't real? Not only would it break her heart, it would destroy him, because he would have wanted to believe in it, too. Desperately.

Hopelessness was easier than hoping. Hoping lifted his heart, which was tired and wounded and desperate for forgiveness. But he couldn't even begin to forgive himself. He was locked in an endless circle of pain and self-loathing and shame for his weakness. That he could let something like Gwi-Ma, a monster who wasn't someone he even loved or cherished, come between him and his family? His little sister? His mother? We never see the father, so I'm assuming that Jinu was the sole provider for his family in that era, which only added to his pain. He not only failed as a brother, he also failed as a protector. Perhaps at that time, he didn't want the responsibility. He wanted to be free of the burden and not have to worry about his family. Regardless, it was his... and it left him with a mountain of shame.

I believe the deepest shame for Jinu, though, is that he let Gwi-Ma manipulate in the first place. That he let someone twist him like that. If I were in Jinu's shoes, I'd think to myself, "I'm so stupid for believing Gwi-Ma's bullsh*t. How could I be so blind? I'm not smart enough to stand up to him, because he tricked me so easily." That type of fear and hesitation is coded into Jinu's interactions with Gwi-Ma. Jinu plays it off and uses sarcasm and smooth wit, but we see Gwi-Ma reach down into Jinu and remind him why to be afraid.

[swanprophet]

clawdeen!

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✨this is what it sounds like✨

This illustration was based on concept art (by Euni Cho) for HUNTRIX's finale outfits, inspired by traditional hanboks. I hope they can reuse this concept for a future sequel, because it looked beautiful!

manifesting this movie keeps reaching new heights, go huntrix✨

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babby rumi sketches from a few weeks ago

[swanprophet]

On Jinu, Rumi, and Self-Acceptance in K-Pop Demon Hunters

The Jinu we meet in K-Pop Demon Hunters is a “broken soul trapped in the nastiest shell"; A man beaten down from centuries of psychological torture. According to Gwi-ma, he’s so selfish that he has never done anything in 400 years that didn’t serve himself. That’s the kicker though…that’s what Gwi-ma tells us. In this story, demons represent our own self-doubts, the things we believe about ourselves, also known as Cognitive Distortions. Our entire view of Jinu is as distorted as his view of himself. Objectively, it is desperation, not selfishness, that drives Jinu’s choice to make a deal with the demon king. A truly selfish person would not feel such crushing guilt for leaving behind his family. Seriously is this the face of a person who knew he'd have to leave his family?

Anyone who has read folklore knows that making deals often comes with unintended consequences. If you ask a faerie for help, they might make you dance until you die. Ask Rumpelstiltskin to help you spin straw into gold and sign away your first-born child. The devil is tricky. Deals come with loopholes and he always comes to collect. The demon king found a desperate and vulnerable young man and tricked him into trading his soul.

The tragedy of his character is that he can’t see himself objectively. He’s a cautionary tale of what happens when we hide our faults and fears. Jinu’s beliefs about himself become a self-fulfilling prophecy. He’s so detached, so desperate to escape Gwi-ma’s relentless torment, that he’s willing to make another deal, and this time the cost is all of humanity (Side note, I highly doubt this deal would have worked out in his favor in the end even if his plan had succeeded, but unfortunately, he’s also tragically STUPID). The irony is that he is in desperate need of saving, but he doesn’t realize it. Until he meets Rumi.

All we get to do is live with our pain, our misery. That's all we deserve.

Cognitive distortions are tricky; they feel like reality to a person suffering. To beat them, you have to be able to challenge them, and that can be difficult unless someone else points them out to you. That’s what Rumi and Jinu do for each other. Jinu challenges Rumi’s view of herself as a mistake, and Rumi challenges Jinu’s belief that the sum of his worth is only his mistakes. They give each other hope that they can fight back against their respective demons. Unfortunately, Jinu has a literal demon king to contend with beating him into submission, so things go off the rails fairly quickly and he self-destructs.

Jinu’s betrayal was an important, and inevitable, part of Rumi’s journey to self-acceptance. Had her plan succeeded, she would have hid a part of herself away forever. She wasn’t facing it; she was running from it. In hitting rock bottom, she was forced confront her fears, and emerged stronger. She became a beacon for others, including Jinu, giving them the courage to fight. Jinu is not redeemed, he is freed. Rumi now has the capacity to do more than vanquish demons, she can also free other broken souls trapped in Gwi-ma’s domain.

Now, does that completely absolve Jinu of responsibility for his choices? Absolutely not. Regardless of his circumstances, it was his plan that nearly ended the world (Errr South Korea? Eh who knows) and thus it was his responsibility to set things right. No one made him volunteer. He may have had a change of heart halfway through, but by then it was too late because Gwi-ma already knew everything. The moment he hesitated in telling Rumi the truth about his past, and hid his shame again, he gave Gwi-ma the keys to his destruction. Being able to dissect and understand a character’s motivations is not the same of condoning their actions. Jinu made mistakes and he paid for them with his life. With that being said I do not believe Jinu is evil or that he is deserving of continued misery, nor do I think we’ve seen the last of him. In fact, I’d say his journey has just begun, but that discussion is for another post.  For now, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

To forgive is an act of compassion. It’s not done because people deserve it, it’s done because they need it.

Until next time friends!

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@agmaknae | @statiicvhs