...
Oh, I'm done hidin' now I'm shinin'
Like I'm born to be
Oh, our time, no fears, no lies
That's who we're born to be
Waited so long to break these walls down
To wake up and feel like me
Put these patterns all in the past now
And finally live like the girl they all see"
In these lyrics, a paradox is presented. The song talks about not hiding your potential, your power, and taking full control of it. It talks off using your 'flaws' to your advantage.
But that's not what Rumi was doing, was it?
She thought she had to get rid of her patterns to feel like herself.
To finally live like the girl they all see.
But there's a difference between the girl they want to see and the girl they see.
And the girl they wanted to see—
Was her.
In her rawest form.
That's how she was supposed to be 'Golden'.
But in the end, she becomes something much more beautiful—
She becomes rainbow.
The entire spectrum of colors.
Because none of us are just one, solid color;
We're undefined, varying, beautiful.
We are a spectrum.
In another scene, while practicing lines alone in her bedroom, Rumi sings,
"
When your patterns start to show, I see a pain that lies below
"
This line represents behavioral patterns.
In modern society, especially on social media, people with 'red flags' that might be considered extreme are cast out—isolated, hated.
Do we ever really consider why they are the way they are?
Maybe they were treated that exact same way.
Maybe they grew up thinking those 'red flags' were normal.
Now, imagine growing up in a world where that's normalized.
Don't you think it was more painful for them?
To be numbed by such things in society?
I'm not saying being a red flag is justified—
I'm saying that isolating red flags isn't justified either.
Because how do you heal something when you don't even want to touch it?
How do you decode the pain beneath the pattern when you don't want to be anywhere near it?
In 'How it's Done' by Huntr/x, Rumi sings:
"
Hear our voice unwaverin'
'Til our song defeats the night
Makin' fear afraid to breathe
'Til the dark meets the light (how it's done, done, done)
"
"
We are hunters, voices strong
Slaying demons with our song
Fix the world and make it right
When darkness finally meets the light
"
These are the lines of the haunting mantra that Huntr/x, and so many other hunters before them, lived by.
So, Huntr/x's entire mission surrounds making the 'dark meet the light'.
But they never actually let the dark meet the light.
Not until Rumi reached rock bottom.
"Our faults and fears must never be seen"
The burden of concealment eventually sank Rumi to rock bottom.
So, she decided to cut it off.
Because the only place she could go now—
Was up.
Takedown by Huntr/x is the song that symbolizes the moment Rumi hits rock bottom, her 'dark moment' before her 'AHA! moment'.
"
So sweet, so easy on the eyes, but hideous on the inside
Whole life spreading lies, but you can't hide, baby, nice try
I'm 'bout to switch up these vibes, I finally opened my eyes
It's time to kick you straight back into the night
'Cause I see your real face and it's ugly as sin
Time to put you in your place 'cause you're rotten within
When your patterns start to show
It makes the hatrеd wanna grow outta my veins
I don't think you're ready for thе takedown
Break you into pieces in a world of pain, 'cause you're all the same
Yeah, it's a takedown
A demon with no feelings don't deserve to live, it's so obvious
...
Look at all the masses that you're foolin'
But they'll turn on you soon, so how?
How can you sleep or live with yourself?
A broken soul trapped in the nastiest shell"
I believe this song is something that Rumi sings to herself, and not just the demon boy band, the Saja Boys.
Self-loathing is a horrifying spiral to be stuck in.
Sometimes (or a lot of times), you don't sleep.
Imagine the fear of somebody hating you for who you really are.
For your past.
For all the untold truths you hide beneath the covers.
At the price of your own peace of mind.
Your own sleep.
Another line in Takedown:
"
Confidently stepping up to the dark, I’ll tear it all down
"
We were supposed to embrace the shadows of our past.
Not tear it all down.
Because in the end, it's a part of who we are.
A part of who we became.
The part that elicits the choice:
Are we heroes, or are we villains?
Spoiler:
Choosing to be compassionate with yourself makes you a hero.
'Soda Pop' by the Saja Boys is actually a perfect companion song to this because, despite it's deceptively sweet, fun-sounding, and romantic lines, it actually describes the soal-sucking nature of fighting your demons.
"Keeping you in check (Uh), keeping you obsessed (Uh)
Play me on repeat, endlessly in your head
Anytime it hurts (Uh), play another verse (Uh)
I can be your sanctuary
Know I'm the only one right now (Now)
I will love you more when it all burns down
More than power, more than gold (Yeah)
Yeah, you gavе me your heart, now I'm herе for your soul
I'm the only one who'll love your sins
Feel the way my voice gets underneath your skin
...
Gimme your desire
I can be the star you rely on (You rely on)
You're lost in my daze, yeah, you can't look away (Hey)
Don't you know I'm here to save you?
Now we runnin' wild
Yeah, I'm all you need, I'ma be your idol
...
Thank you for the pain 'cause it got me going viral
...
Don't let it show, keep it all inside
The pain and the shame, keep it outta sight
Your obsession feeds our connection
So right now give me all your attention
...
Living in your mind now
Too late 'cause you're mine now
I will make you free
When you're all part of me
...
Gimme your desire
Watch me set your world on fire
You're lost in my daze, yeah, you can't look away (Hey)
No one is coming to save you
Now we runnin' wild
You're down on your knees, I'ma be your idol
"
'Your Idol' talks about how the singers are the release, the 'sanctuary' for their listeners.
This song is sung by anything you're addicted to.
Because addiction stems from a lack of connection.
It's literally scientifically proven.
And true connection is only possible when you've bared all parts of yourselves—
Even the ones that you guard.
Your addiction fuels those who benefit from the object of your addiction, not yourself.
It benefits those who profit off your vulnerabilities.
Who take advantage of your trauma.
They let you hide it from those who deserve it, from those who deserve you, from those your deserve. They let you not develop proper connections—
While they profit.
This song adds fire to the fuel by 'preaching to the choir'.
It is the emblem of tucking your imperfections in a dark corner.
Where they can't be enlightened.
Where they won't be treated as perfect imperfections.
AHA! Moment Journey
"In order to heal a part, we must understand the whole.” – Tonic man
“Focus is good, but focusing on one part leads to ignoring other parts, making you separated, isolated.” – Tonic man
Better words could not have been said to describe the necessity of transparency.
No matter the awful things you've done in your life, I believe everyone deserves compassion.
Second chances.
Love.
Especially the parts you think are 'unlovable'.
Because healing starts with love.
"
I tried to hide, but something broke
I tried to sing, couldn't hit the notes
The words kept catching in my throat
I tried to smile, I was suffocating though
But here with you, I can finally breathe
...
You got a dark side, guess you're not the only one
What if we both tried fighting what we're running from?
We can't fix it if we never face it
What if we find a way to escape it?"
The lyrics here from 'Free' highlight the importance of transparency by showing how it became easier for Rumi to 'breathe' when she let herself be seen by someone.
Now, they continue to sing, about how facing and fighting what they're running from will help them escape it.
In the end, they'll realize—
They never had to fight it.
They had to embrace it.
In 'What it Sounds Like':
"
Nothing but the truth now
Nothing but the proof of what I am
The worst of what I came from, patterns I'm ashamed of
Things that even I don't understand
I tried to fix it, I tried to fight it
My head was twisted, my heart divided
My lies all collided
I don't know why I didn't trust you to be on my side
I broke into a million pieces, and I can't go back
But now I'm seeing all the beauty in the broken glass
The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony
My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like
Why did I cover up the colors stuck inside my head?
I should've let the jagged edges meet the light instead
Show me what's underneath, I'll find your harmony
The song we couldn't write, this is what it sounds like
...
My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like
Fearless and undefined, this is what it sounds like
Truth after all this time, our voices all combined
When darkness meets the light, this is what it sounds like
"
Essentially, what's being said here is that the light meeting the dark doesn't mean the dark's going to be destroyed by the light.
It just means you bring the cracks into the light.
You show the imperfections.
Because, no matter how unflattering the lighting—
It's you.
And you are beautiful.
Because you're human.
And you're real.
They thought the way to heal was by killing/sealing off the demons.
They didn't realize it meant they'd actually have to face them, though.
Not with the thing that fueled them, but with what empowered them.
Not hate—
But acceptance.
Hope.
Kindness.
Love.
In 'Free', Rumi
The songs don't just echo the story—they echo the reality of living with your demons.
And this brings me to something I think a lot about: how we frame mental health in our world.
Bonus: Link with Mental Health Awareness.
In an era where awareness of mental health has spread considerably, what I've noticed is the way it's spread.
Terming mental conditions mental illnesses is dehumanizing in my opinion, because you can't just say somebody's mentally ill just because their brain works differently. Everyone has trauma.
"But it's like the difference between having cancer and having a fever."
You still treat people who have cancer with humanity, don't you?
With even more gentleness, in fact.
So why do we dehumanize those with mental conditions?
Why do we treat them like they're some monsters in society?
Like their past, and maybe even present, is something to be ashamed of?
People say Romeo and Juliette are goals, I say Alicia and John Nash are.
Despite John being schizophrenic, that woman stayed by his side and loved him.
And literally died by his side.
Something many people wouldn't bother to do today.
They'd run because they fear what they don't understand.
They fear reality.
The reality is that nobody is mentally stable.
Mental conditions stem from trauma. Trauma stems from life.
No one will ever be untouched by the dark.
And that's okay.
We weren't built to be perfect, unshattered glass.
We were built to be stained and shattered. To form a beautiful masterpiece.
I've heard all sorts of views on mental health.
"Mental health is real."
"Mental health is made up; people can conquer it if they have enough willpower."
The thing that I've learned, as someone who's struggled with their own mind, is that mental conditions aren't an excuse.
They aren't fake.
They aren't an excuse for you to slack off, or do things that aren't ethical.
It just means you have to take care of yourself differently.
Taylor Tomlinson once said in her Netflix Special, 'Look At You':
"...there's nothing wrong with it...like not knowing how to swim. It might be embarrassing to tell people, and it might be hard to take you certain places. But they have arm floaties. And if you just take your arm floaties, you can go wherever the hell you want. And... I know some of you are, like, "But Taylor, what if people judge me for taking arm floaties?' Well, those people don't care if you live or die, so maybe who cares? Maybe f*ck those people a little."
I like to think of it as this, though.
You can swim.
You just learn differently.
Your body works differently in the water.
Some people are mermaids, others are sirens, others are fish, others are human, so on and so forth.
But, despite all that, you can learn how to swim.
Just because you have different needs doesn't mean you aren't human.
It doesn't mean you'll never learn to swim on your own, without the help of arm floaties.
It just means you'll learn to swim at your own pace.
And you will get there.
So long as you want to get there.
Conclusion
I feel like we forget that people are human.
That they have feelings.
That they have a life.
We lash out at their mistakes; we persecute them.
Never considering the fact that they might have a change of heart.
Or maybe their intentions were never bad.
People say actions speak louder than words.
I say intentions speak louder than either.
Intention elicits action; without it, action is meaningless.
Now, of course, there's a difference between flaws and sin.
Sin is animalistic.
It's using the shattered glass not to heal, but harm.
Instead of staining the glass with paint, staining it with blood.
We have been given shards of ourselves.
To see what we do with them.
Now, the thing is, even if you have drawn blood, that doesn't mean you're too far gone—
It just means you have to make the paint work with the blood, too.
But it'll never work—
Unless you truly want it to.
You won't ever be able to cover up the blood.
But you can make it something you learn from.
We need progress, not perfection.
You will always be capable of change.
You will always be worthy of second chances.
As long as you are willing to undergo metamorphosis.
In the end, it wasn't about letting our demons rule us—
It was about befriending them, and letting them make us stronger.
And that's exactly what KPop Demon Hunters teaches us.
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