#lower moon five

(Warnings for PLATONIC yandere themes, kidnapping, etc. If you read my Demonstober prompts from last year, then you'll recognize this as a non cannon sequel to my Drow monster prompt.)

Tagging: @lavenderdropp @samuraioftheopera

@dustybustyy @yimmy-homebase-world11

@anniesblogof2025 @honeybunny75

remember if you wanna be added to the taglist lemme know

The fact that season one ends conflict-wise with Tanjiro vs. Rui is actually really interesting, especially when you consider that Rui is Lower Moon Five but is considered one of Muzan’s “favorites” (mentioned by one of the spider sisters), and we actually had that set up as fact by Tamayo’s confrontation with the Temari Demon:

Rui’s Spider Family has -five- members, and we learn that they aren’t his blood relatives, but other demons that he “took in” as his “family members”. And when you look at Rui and Muzan, once we learn about Muzan’s origins, it’s actually not that surprising that Rui got such special status despite his rank. Out of all the demons we’ve seen Muzan create, Rui’s human situation is the closest to Muzan’s origins. Both of them were born with very sick and frail human bodies, and both had a strong desire to live in spite of their poor health. What’s even more interesting though is once Rui becomes a demon, he is even more like Muzan. All the way down to threats and posturing. Such as how they posture in these two scenes:

When Tanjiro first runs into Rui, the Spider demon warns him that:

Muzan also did this in Volume 2 in the alley:

Up until this point no other demon that was actively under Muzan has given anyone, especially humans warnings or a chance to walk away before killing or harming them. And in both instances they were dealing with an incident and feelings of rage that made them even more short tempered but they still offered the alternative to the interloper. Muzan was dealing with his sudden PTSD of seeing Yoriichi’s earrings, and Rui was dealing with Sister Spider Demon not “properly fulfilling her role.”  In both cases what they were dealing with took priority over the annoying humans who came upon them and they were originally willing to ignore the interloper. Even in dealing with the demons beneath their command they exhibit similar behavior, both of them use fear and violence to intimidate the demons around them and to get them to do as they say.

Rui says this after we had just witnessed him slicing up Spider Sister’s face for making a mistake and him telling her to shut up, cutting her head off so hard that it not only threw her severed body back but his webs hit the tree behind them. Even if Tanjiro hadn’t pointed out that he could smell the fear and contempt we can see it because the actions Rui just did show that he is using fear and violence to control his Spider Family.

The instant the Lower Moons realize that’s Muzan (except Enmu?) they’re sweating bullets and scrambling to appease him, he then proceeds to eat one of them after putting them in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation. Interestingly this is also where one of their differences lies, Rui is willing to grant Spider Demon Family members at least one more real opportunity and sometimes more, as we see with Spider Mother and Spider Elder Sister. Whereas Muzan is typically much quicker to just straight up kill them, Rui believes he is showing mercy and sustaining a relationship whereas Muzan feels no connection or relationship with his demons on any level besides Master-Servant.

Muzan: A doll.

Kokushibo: A cinnamon roll.

Douma: A sweetheart.

Rui:

So I’m making a fic where during the course of the Mt. Natagumo Arc, Rui basically gets adopted by an OC slayer. But, like, I don’t remember the whole Giyuu and Shinobu scene right after Giyuu yeets Rui’s head from the rest of his body, and I sorta need to know that, ya know, to make adjustments where necessary and whatnot. But, like, I really don’t want to see Rui die, because that whole scene just hits me in the soul. 

Thank you for the treats

𝘰𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴–

Anyway, right, the question.

Just casually walked past him with exaggerated swagger of depressed water hashira

Now look at it in 4k 60fps