#kpdh rant

Like… yeah? It was really selfish of Rumi to do what she did, and really inconsiderate of her to completely skip Huntr/x’s well deserved break, and to ask to change Takedown last minute.

People in the replies were acting like being selfish would mean Rumi was like… a bad person or smth, but yeah, people are selfish some times? People can do the wrong thing some times and still be good people guys.

And I see people saying that Rumi wasn’t being selfish cause she had a reason- and like- no? Thats still being selfish? It’s not like hiding her patterns protected Zoey or Mira. It’s not like it helped them. No, she kept lying to them, and pushing them to work as hard as her when they all deserved breaks

I don't have a lot of time to sit down and watch a movie so, I actually hadn't really rewatched the movie until last Saturday and I realized I'd been thinking that there was a very distinct height difference among the boys.

There is not.

Baby is the shortest, it's visible in the movie, and he's clearly wearing platform sneakers.

Which is kind of interesting when you think about how his whole thing is the infatilization of kpop idols, cause the whole fandom really went "oh yeah he's tiny"

Like the irony is delicious, but the decision to make him appear taller when the crux of his character is being infantilized is curious. Furthermore, why did this demon boy band thriving on tropes of the industry didn't take full advantage of the tiniest member?

Seems like a missed opportunity, really.

I saw someone point out it could be for aesthetic purposes, like having one member just be way shorter can throw their choreo and group shots off balance.

But that doesn't make a lot of sense when Zoey is visibly shorter than Mira and Rumi by a decent margin.

I haven't seen anybody talk about this, so I thought I might as well.

There's always a duo in a trio, and Huntr/x goes along that line subtly. Or obviously..

How? Here.

Mira and Zoey are always together, always close. Near each other, the same changing room--

They *are* the duo in the group. But they don't mean to be.

Almost always, Rumi is between the two of them, in the middle.

This could just be because she's the leader of the group, yes.

And with Jinu? He's almost always in the middle as well, because he leads the Saja Boys.

But I feel like she's between them so she doesn't feel left out between the two.

Mira and Zoey don't mean to separate each other from Rumi. They still love Rumi, they care for her. That's their best friend.

But at the end, it feels lighter in a way. All secrets were revealed, they accepted Rumi for who she was - everything was okay.

And that end bathhouse scene, Rumi finally joined them.

Rumi isn't hiding herself from them anymore, she isn't distancing herself to protect them from the truth.

The bathhouse is important.

When Rumi didn't go, it brought Mira and Zoey closer since it was just them. They know more about each other than they know Rumi, and Rumi doesn't know them like they know each other.

Again, they still care for her. They're concerned for her when she's distressed or acting off.

And the movie shows that with Zoey and Rumi or Mira and Rumi moments.

Like when Mira came to check on Rumi to see if she was okay. And Zoey wanting to help Rumi with her voice at the start-half of the movie.

Most of the movie shows care and the genuine love between the three girls.

The girls know each other, but like I said, not extremely well.

And the whole "Takedown" situation is relevant to this.

When Rumi wanted to change the Takedown lyrics and when Rumi started acting strange/off from her usual self, Mira and Zoey started to notice.

This moment. Zoey and Mira knew something was going on with Rumi.

The train scene, Mira called Rumi out on it, both of the girls lashing out.

The pause made Mira and Zoey think. The distance started to grow again.

Mira and Zoey believe / know now that Rumi is hiding something from them, and is keeping them away from the truth by pushing them away.

By the end of that scene, Mira and Zoey stop trying. They show Rumi they're concerned and want to help, but they stop pushing.

The talk here is important. So is "What It Sounds Like," but we'll get to that later.

The girls are vulnerable around each other, including Rumi. Rumi talks to them and they try to figure something out.

This was enough for Mira and Zoey. When Rumi said they could go to the bathhouse together, this was a sign of opening up and spending time with them, which they took. The distance was still there, but it closed back to normal.

Also, the only thing Rumi shared was she was scared of losing them. I won't mention that later, but it will make sense the more you read, so keep it in mind.

Toward end of the movie, Rumi was exposed. When Mira and Zoey confronted her, they still cared deep down. But they were scared and betrayed.

The duo part comes in here (I couldn't find the actual photo cuz I don't have Insta - and everywhere else is useless. But if you go to their "Climax" part, there will be a link with "(Mira Protecting Zoey)" credits to them !)

Mira protects Zoey from Rumi in that deleted scene, which shows the distance spreading out more and more.

This is where "What It Sounds Like" comes in and the end of the movie.

What It Sounds Like is one accepting themselves for who they are, but it also came as an apology to Mira and Zoey.

The song showed the girls that Rumi was sorry for keeping such a big thing from them and didn't think they'd understand.

Another thing, the distance was also created by Celine.

Celine made Rumi cover up, hide her patterns from her best friends, and lie about who she was truly.

In flashbacks when Rumi was running away to get air before the live performance of "Golden", Rumi wanted to tell Mira and Zoey - but Celine put the thought that they would hate her and wouldn't understand into Rumi's head, and she believed it for the longest time.

And if you look closely enough, Mira and Zoey's clothes have a very light purple pattern that blends in, showing they do accept Rumi for who she is and what she is.

The song was a hope that the girls would accept the apology and her altogether, and they did.

I’m holding your hand when I say it.

I rlly don’t know if I want them to bring Jinu back completely and IK IK DONT HURT ME. But this was his redemption arc. This was his turnaround. I feel like maybe- MAYBE if they rlly wanted to, they could bring Jinu back through the whole “His soul is in the sword thing”. But I don’t know. I’d be okay with it, purely bc of RuJinu, but idk if I’d love it. If it’s done well, I could.

The whole arc for Jinu is quite literally about his guilt and how he can’t escape it. He knows he did something wrong, he knows he made a mistake. Even before he made the deal with Gwi-ma he had guilt for just not being enough and not providing for his family. So of course when he finds a solution to his problem from a voice saying that he can help him he’s going to take that out stretched hand. He’s a struggling boy who’s probably been his family’s sole provider for years and given the time setting probably the only eligible one who could since it just him, his mother and his sister.

Another thing is that he brought his family with him when he went to the palace. What person in their right mind brings their family, who they know aren’t going to be let in, to the palace just so they can be ripped apart and watch as their family begs them to stay?

He’s out on the spot at the front gates where he makes a decision. To leave his family and save himself, OR to possibly die for rejecting the kings offer to go back and be with his family in poverty. We can see his conflicting emotions all over his face. Seeing confusion, guilt all while he also just kind of seems out of it. He’s in fight or flight mode which is normal for someone on his position. He probably made his deal thinking it wouldn’t just benefit him. But again he was put on the spot to make a decision and his decision was to save himself. A decision many of us would make ourselves. A decision that he would regret for the rest of his life. He knew what he did was wrong but his life was on the line and it wouldn’t have made any different for his family if he was dead. If he truly was an evil person he would not be feeling guilt for leaving. Guilt implies that you care. If he was truly evil his guilt wouldn’t be for the family he left, it would’ve been for his image. But seeing as that didn’t seem to matter what would he be guilty for if was heartless and bad?

——

Now for the part where people say “oh he humiliated Rumi.” “The ‘takedown’ performance was his idea.”

No.1 the entire sabotage of HUNTR/X was HIS idea! Demon boy band? Jinu’s idea. Stealing the fans to weaken the Honmoon? Jinu’s idea. Ruining them was the goal from the start. It’s continuing his arc of wanting to escape and making a decision to save his life once again and ditching the person he loves and values. Another decision that he regrets. Yet Rumi still finds a way to try to show that he is worth forgiving RIGHT AFTER HUMILIATING HER! If that’s not love idk what is. His entire arc is a person whose guilt is eating away at them thinking that they could never amount to the standards that could make them forgivable.

No.2 This is an enemies to lovers story. Whether you like that canon ship or not, that is their trope. If your definition of enemies to lovers is just them saying they hate each other and having verbal banter and being mildly annoying to one another, I hate to break it to you but that’s not enemies to lovers. Those are two vanilla teens flirting (coming from a teen herself). The point of the trope is for them to show the other the most worst parts of each other in action, showing their deep imbedded hatred for one another, and still finding a way to love one another. Let me remind us all that Rumi not once but twice tried to kill this man and said he couldn’t feel shit cuz he’s a demon.

——

Now I’m not excusing his bad behavior and decision making. They were wrong and selfish but let’s not forget who’s been talking in his ear this entire time for the past 400 years. Let us not forget who tf Gwi-ma is. He’s a manipulator who guilts his followers and shames them into submission. Whether they like it or not, Gwi-ma has them believing that even if they get treated bad by him he still is giving them some kind of purpose, some kind of life compared to what anyone else would because of their sins and wrong doings. Stripping their self worth away, making them believe all they are worthy of are to be his servants. Feeding them lies by telling half truths.

——

I JUST found out about the deluxe versions of the kpdh songs, so obviously with Takedown being my 2nd favorite song, i searched for it first. Mostly because in the movie, Takedown has this one harmony when they say “I’ma gear up” AND ITS SO FUCKING PRETTY

RAAAHHH

Its sooooooo pretty, yet its not in the official track. There are a ton of cool movie versions, but none of them have that part specifically. Basically, if you don’t know what I’m referring to, when they say “I’ma gear up” the lowest note (which i assum was sung by Mira) is a lot louder and comes out above the other notes. Tbh, i just love how the lower notes are much more audible in the movie.

When I heard that the deluxe amplified and enhanced a bunch of the harmonies I was so excited and happy. Then when I finally find the Takedown deluxe track, its just the same :(

I’m so sad about it. I was genuinely really excited because I sometimes just go back to the movie to hear that part, and I was thinking that maybe I finally didn’t have to. But I’ve never seen anyone talk about the harmony that’s always lost, and I wonder if I’m the only one who liked it :(

It makes me really sad to think that I can’t listen to that in a proper movie version.