Celine nuance point: based on the information the movie gives us, it's possible that Rumi is the result of assault.
Like we want to assume her mom fell in love with a demon, but the movie doesn't actually *say*. And even if she did, she wouldn't tell Celine until after the fact - if Celine only found out when Rumi was born, when she couldn't ask any questions of her battle sister. Well. I can see what she would assume, ya know?
for the record, this is in response to this post, which pushes back against fandom-dominant rampant Celine hate by pointing out that actually there are lots of valid reasons to believe a half-demon might be Deeply Untrustworthy And Dangerous, and my tags on that post:
#all of this is true... BUT FOR the fact that celine did have an example to go off of #which is rumi's father #and her inability to factor him in whatsoever is both a sign of her trying to overcome her biases #and a sign of how she's ruled by them
and like. you're right, we DON'T know the deal with Rumi's dad and whether she was a product of love or rape. but a) we know what genre of movie this is, and that a love match is FAR more likely given the themes and messages, and b)
we know that the audience might not know the answer, but Celine does.
she must! or even if she can't know with certainty, she is the only person alive with any context whatsoever to make a guess
which means our options are the following:
Celine knows Rumi's parents loved each other but does not tell Rumi (either because she cannot accept this and is in denial/bitter to be unrequited, or because she doesn't want to give mixed messages, or both), which leaves Rumi in the position of ASSUMING her father assaulted her mother or else Why Else Would It Be A Big Secret and No Wonder Celine Doesn't Wanna Talk About It
Celine has no idea what the circumstances of Rumi's conception were because Mi-yeong never told her, but did not have the fortitude or grace to tell a kind lie to a lonely child or have the maturity to have a realistic conversation with the grown-ass woman that child became, which again leaves Rumi in the position of assuming, see option 1
Celine knows for a fact that there was no love at all between Rumi's parents and never, not even when Rumi reached adulthood, trusted her with this information even when it could have provided a useful framework for understanding and accepting the need for secrecy, which STILL leaves Rumi to assume the worst without someone to TALK ABOUT IT WITH
like. I'm all for Celine Apologism but part of being a Celine apologist is going "no she sucks in THESE SPECIFIC WAYS," not saying that she doesn't suck at all. She's the worst! she's a nightmare! she was doing the best she could! she was a product of her own training and impulses! she loves her kid and never wanted to hurt her or make her feel broken, but everything she did resulted in Rumi feeling that way! many things can be true at once!
we never actually see Celine put Rumi down. she says "You're not a demon, you're a hunter" in the flashback scene, and the closest we ever get to a proper explanation is in their big confrontation at the tree:
"When we lost your mother, I swore to protect all that was left of her… but I never thought that that would be a child like you. Everything I was taught told me you were wrong, but I made a promise. So I did my best to accept you, and help you."
a child like you is doing a LOT of heavy lifting there. "like you" as in covered in patterns? "like you" as in 'so kind and gentle it took me by surprise?' one COULD read this as "I knew she was pregnant but not with a DEMON'S CHILD and this was a massive shock to me;" one could also read this as "everything you are surpassed my wildest hopes because you're wonderful." or anywhere in between.
but RUMI knows exactly what she is. a mistake. she calls herself a mistake, says she was born a mistake, twice to Jinu - and even if we've never seen Celine say it, it feels like yet another thing she must have internalized, because that verbiage doesn't come from nowhere. it's all too easy to imagine how it could go from "your mother made a mistake" to "you ARE a mistake" in Rumi's head over time. and if Mi-Yeong made a mistake, well. to me that sounds a lot more likely to be code for "decided to love A Demon And Not Me, Celine, The Better Option" than either "was weak enough to let herself become a victim" (WILDLY CRUEL, deeply unlikely, see again This Movie's Genre) or "was too naive to just end the pregnancy when she had the chance" (WILDLY CRUEL, not in Celine's playbook, see also again This Movie's Genre)
which brings me back to my earlier point -- in some ways Celine's biggest flaw is the thing the audience has up on her, which is that she DOESN'T know the genre of movie she's in. she's assumed the worst her whole life, because if she doesn't brace for that she can't survive it. that's the whole thing about that original post, which is that Celine IS valid for having these fears and making contingencies for them, and blaming her for that -- or mischaracterizing that as malice or a lack of affection for Rumi -- is doing a disservice to her character
what i DO blame her for is like. not cracking open a copy of Your Child's Self Esteem about it even once, that shit's been in print since 1975
