so, like, why is Rumi likeable in So We Were Liars?
hi everyone!!! i'm back with more kpop demon hunters posting. this time an analysis of another fic!!
This post assumes you have read So We Were Liars by arendellesfirstwinter (ao3) (hi Aren!) in its entirety, I do not plan to recap the plot. Significant spoilers ahead. Also, mentions of manipulation, death, sexual topics. It’s heavy. But good!
In SWWL, Rumi’s flaws are increased tenfold. Thousandfold? Increased significantly. Throughout the fic, she lies repeatedly, disregards her own safety, lies during and for sexual favors, and is generally an all around bad person. If we were to list everything she did, it would be almost comical. Going by her actions alone, Rumi is not a good person and hard to root for.
So why is she still likeable? Why do I tear up when they finally reconnect? Why do I want her to find happiness? What is this fic doing to portray her in a good light?
The key actually hides in the scene everyone talks about as super angsty. It is angsty, yes, but also integral to the story. Without it, Rumi is a terrible person. To figure out why this works, we need to look at the Why of Rumi. A Root Cause Analysis, if you will. Why does SWWL Rumi lie, manipulate, etc etc.
She lies to hide her patterns, same as the movie. Her patterns out her as a half demon, she doesn’t want her friends (“friends”) to know, so she lies. One step deeper, she doesn’t want her friends to know since they have been trained to hunt demons. Demons hurt people, demons are bad, so she hides out of fear of retribution. Not just for being “other” but for lying about it this entire time. This creates a negative feedback loop where Rumi lies to hide, then hides her lies with more lies.
Rumi’s fundamental fear and source of anxiety in this fic (and in the movie!) is that Mira and Zoey will have a negative reaction to finding out she is half demon. Whether this be social exclusion, violence, confrontation, she fears this negative reaction more than anything. This, along with her self esteem issues around being half “bad” drive most of her actions in this story.
A key to making these anxieties sympathetic and not frustrating is realism. Let's say there was a character, X, that was deathly afraid of Y finding out they, I don’t know, stole cookies. But Y states to X repeatedly “I don’t like cookies, take all the cookies you want, I hate them. I would not care if you took the cookies.”
X looks… less favorable here. They may even look silly, or stupid. How can X possibly think Y finding out they stole the cookies is an issue? Maybe X has cookie-stealing trauma, which will garner sympathy, but only to a point. If Y is perfectly patient and makes it excruciatingly clear that they do not like cookies, X’s fears now look silly instead of serious. This would make X lying very, very unlikable. Because the audience is screaming “Just tell them you ate the fucking cookie!” If we know nothing bad will happen from the reveal, doing unlikeable actions to hide the reveal just seems like angsty writing.
Back to KPDH, Rumi is hiding a very big cookie. The entire jar, if you will. Yet, in many fics, Zoey and Mira don’t really care that Rumi is a demon. Sometimes the author will even have them joke in front of Rumi that Demons are attractive, not that bad, or something similar. Even the movie, attempting to make Mira and Zoey more likeable, does this. During the confrontation, Mira and Zoey raise their weapons at Rumi, seemingly validating Rumi’s anxiety. But their weapons shake, they look conflicted. This makes Mira and Zoey more likeable, but also makes Rumi’s anxieties look less serious. I’ve seen many a people watch the movie and react “Why didn’t she just tell them? They recovered pretty quickly.” Liar-revealed plots run a very fine line of being interesting and being frustrating.
And yes, I know Celine told Rumi from birth that stealing cookies was a cardinal sin that deserved death. She has a lot to unpack there. But this only stretches audience sympathy so far. Once again, if you make it abundantly clear that nothing bad will happen, the audience will lose sympathy with every shitty action the cookie-eater takes.
This is where we round back to SWWL. SWWL actually takes it a step further than the movie. Mira and Zoey don’t just raise their weapons at Rumi. They kill her for it. Sure, there’s misdirection planted with “Demons have tried to imitate them before” but Mira and Zoey see Rumi as a demon, and their reaction is to kill her. Since Demons need to be killed. On a first read, this may just appear as angst. But it’s finally a story that validates Rumi.
Shell-shocked, Mira blurts, “We’re saving a demon.”
Zoey stiffens. She turns to look at Mira incredulously. “...We’re saving Rumi.”
“Who’s a demon.” Mira repeats. She doesn’t know why she’s focusing on this so suddenly, but the abrupt insistence of the patterns’ presence worms its way into her thoughts.
Rumi lying during sex is abhorrent. But, the alternative is death. It’s still abhorrent, but it’s sympathetic. I can see why she did this, even if it's a terrible, awful, no good decision. Rumi rushing into battle alone is reckless and dangerous. But is it more dangerous than being loved by Mira? We see where that love led.
“Do you think I’m not grossed out at the thought that I’ve potentially been having sex with a demon who was just using us?”
Okay, that was mean. I’m not saying Mira and Zoey are evil. They’re not. What we see is a tragic miscommunication over years, forcing their entire belief system against their feelings. And, realistically, the training won. When Demons eat souls the girls can’t afford to be sympathetic. Combining the miscommunication, misdirection of demons, and Rumi’s behavior, no one can really say that Mira and Zoey are in the wrong. Any more than Rumi. They dispatched a dangerous demon. But the blame can’t be fully placed on Rumi, either. She did hide it, but the alternative was death. So who’s to blame?
This is where SWWL really shines on a re-read. The first time I read Rumi borderline giving herself a panic attack, I was rolling my eyes at her. Girl, just tell them. It’s not that bad. But the fic showed it is that bad. This is where chapter 7 and 8 shine. It may appear angsty. Rumi got revived, the lie is revealed, why can’t they kiss? But everyone in this fic is looking for sources of blame, and internalizing. Even fucking Celine joins the battle of internalizing. Mira and Zoey blame themselves for not seeing through Rumi’s lies. Celine blames herself for how she raised them. Rumi blames herself for her terrible actions.
They all blame themselves and retreat. Which, they all share blame. I really like the conclusion of they all just sort of.. Accept it happened. Apologize. Cry. And try to move on. It’s realistic. None of these girls are monsters. They all did terrible things in the fic, and took accountability. (Mira touching Rumi’s scar really shows this the best, I think. Mutual forgiveness. This happened, you did it, it was partly my fault, but I forgive whatever part was your fault.
“I love you. I love you Zoey. I love you Mira. And I forgive you.”
“We forgive you too, you know that, right?” Mira mutters uncertainly, Zoey adding a quick agreement.
They *all* share blame, they all share forgiveness. Just three girls who love each other very much going through a genuinely shitty situation that's the world's fault.
It’s a really good fic guys! I really like the themes of blame and forgiveness. I love the ending. I love that they’re all kind of bad people, by action alone. But they each find redemption in the end. This is a fic with borderline gaslighting, lying, murder, but none of the characters are the villain.
Anyway, go read it! Again! It shines on re-reads. Every time you think Rumi is being stupid, remember what it leads to. Wouldn’t you do the same?
