calitsnow

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WAKE UP, CANTO 8 TRAILER SHOWN AND THERES A HONG LU ANIMATION. HONG LU PMOON'S FAVOURITE CHILD ALLEGATIONS REAL?!?!?!?!?1

OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!!!

THE BELL IS TOLLING, THE DAYS ARE NUMBERED, ANIMATION IN LIMBUS ?!! It's too much and it's just the teaser...

{Click for better quality}

And a little Dante’s bonus reaction to this mess:

Loving the energy of the new trailer / identities

[However, the world is more than simple warmth and light]

(Click for better quality)

[A journey to seek the meaning to live...]

(Click for better quality)

Hi 👋 I've seen your theories on limbus company and I'd like to have your opinion on the chapter 8 ? Did you watch the live ? Any theories so far ?

Hi! First, thank you for the ask and sorry I took a long time to answer !

I did watch the live and it was super interesting but of course what I was the most interested in was the preview image for Canto VIII. And so of course I have some things to say regarding this image:

Firstly, regarding the original title, I’ve already seen many people mention the direct translation of the Korean title, which would literally give something like: “There is no other choice but to look.”

If we were to adapt it to make the sentence sound more natural in English, it would be: “I have no choice but to look.”

수밖에 없는 is a grammatical structure often used to express the lack of choice or alternatives.

We can’t help but draw a parallel between this phrase and Hong Lu’s situation: Hong Lu has no choice but to observe and accept his situation and what happens to him. It emphasizes his lack of choice and personal will, as well as his inability to act upon it.

The use of a verb related to the sense of the view is always amusing when talking about Hong Lu.

Now, looking at the English title: “The Surrendered Witnessing”, I think it can be interpreted this way:

Hong Lu is the surrendered one: he is the one who has yielded, abandoned, and submitted.

Thus, he now merely observes and accepts what happens around him, as well as what happens to him/what he is asked to do, etc.

Strangely or not, I can’t help but think, when reading these two titles, of a very important Taoist concept for the character Jia Baoyu: “wu wei” (无为).

In Taoist philosophy, wu wei is often translated as “non-action” or “effortless action”. This does not mean total inaction but rather a way of acting in harmony with the natural flow of things, without forcing or resisting. It’s the idea of letting things unfold naturally.

However, if this concept has been corrupted by the influence of Hong Lu’s family and, in a way, by the tone of Limbus Company’s world, we can quickly see how this concept could have been distorted and used to shape a docile Hong Lu who relies on this idea of non-action to accept and justify what happens to him and what he has likely endured for a long time.

Perhaps this is even the famous concept Faust mentioned, which Hong Lu relies on to avoid breaking down and distorting. After all, if one considers it normal to act and respond according to the influence of one’s surroundings (for Hong Lu, his family) and to accept this as self-evident in a way, then it is probably easier to live with such a situation. But if this foundation is questioned, then everything Hong Lu has accepted and endured is also called into question, inevitably leading to the question: “Then why did I endure all of this if not for that reason?”

Of course, Hong Lu’s character makes it easier for him to accept this vision, and his upbringing and naivety undoubtedly play a role.

As for the Chinese phrase on the right 不思观望: it could be translated as “Do not hesitate or wait and see,” or, to elaborate, “Avoid overthinking and hesitating.”

• 不: not —> mark of negation

• 思: consider / think of / long for / miss / think

• 观望: wait and see, watch something from the sidelines (waiting without taking action)

It seems to respond to the title and directly contradict it.

It appears to encourage taking action and not waiting, emphasizing avoiding overthinking or remaining in passive observation.

Is this the influence of Lin Daiyu?

Regardless, it seems to be adresed to Hong Lu and to invite him to break from this mechanism of « non-action » and to move forward / take action.

Then, if we look a little at this teaser image itself, we can see Hong Lu’s house, his mansion, still in these red colors but appearing much larger and more imposing than I would have thought based on what we could see in his EGO. But what we see in Hong Lu’s EGO might just be an interior part of the mansion.

The mansion indeed seems “closed” and surrounded by walls protecting it from the outside.

Finally, this turquoise luminous mist surrounding the mansion is quite interesting because, first, it obviously evokes the idea that this place is a lost illusion, created through an illusory fog.

The fact that its color is close to that of Hong Lu makes me wonder if this illusion is maintained somehow through Hong Lu’s existence or presence.

Potpourri of small ideas and theories (The first 4 are more affirmative than the others):

1. A theory I’ve had for a long time: Hong Lu actually ran away from his home in our world, and his family is looking for him.

2. Recovering the golden bough won’t be the hardest thing and might even be given to us by Hong Lu’s family in exchange for his return.

3. The golden bough will be located at the center of the mansion in a place called the Prospect Garden —> a place where Jia Baoyu spent part of his childhood/adolescence with his maids and cousins.

4. Hong Lu’s EGO phrase will change to: “Let’s go visit the Paradise of Truth” (the new name for The Land of Illusions during Jia Baoyu’s second visit at the end of the novel).

5. Hong Lu is (linked) to an abnormality (maybe Yin and Yang).

6. Does Hong Lu have a connection with the Moonstone?

7. Does Hong Lu bear the Mark of Cain? (Yes, I want to know which other sinner(s) have this f*cking mark. Sonia hinted at it!)

8. The fairy-like abnormality will appear / be relevant for this Canto to make a parallel between the fairies from Dream of the Red Chamber and the ones from Limbus Company. They also share a color palette similar to the one of Hong Lu’s left eye.

Thank you for the ask!

{La princesse de La Manchaland}

The answer is rather long so I am using a reblog to answer to @buddleu

But their observation was so interesting that I had to write a little thing on it.

I admit I’d never thought of looking at the Spider of Marriage for Hong Lu, but now that you mention it, along with the mention of “naïveté” in his mirror dungeon story, and after going back to review the various possible scenarios in the mirror dungeon, I find your observation very interesting, and I’d like to add my own thoughts.

Firstly, as you say, the theme of marriage is very fitting for Hong Lu because, after all, it’s a very Jia Baoyu theme coded (and also Lin Daiyu), and the theme of a couple being tricked and exploited by those around them due to their naïveté inevitably reminds me of the tragedy of Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, who were lied to and manipulated to achieve something (the marriage of Jia Baoyu to Xue Baochai, which was also intended as a way to motivate Jia Baoyu to behave like an adult and a man of his status/as was expected of him).

They (the abnormality and Hong Lu) didn’t choose to live this way, but they had no choice, and the flowers take advantage of their vulnerability to impose their presence and will:

« Those flowers were not planted or raised by the couple.

The petals were feeding on someone’s naïveté. »

Well, we don’t know if that’s the case for Hong Lu, but given everything we know, and to use the parallel between the two, it’s not far-fetched to say that Hong Lu is likely in a similar situation.

That was my first addition. Then, even if it’s clear that even if the abnormality represents an early commitment and the inability to leave the relationship due to the presence and expectations of others, forcing the grooms to live supporting each other and literally bleeding to fulfill the hunger of others (the flowers):

« The buds appear to be filled with someone’s blood.

The bride and groom crawl between them.

As they scuttle around, blood seeps out of their hands and feet. »

This description is strangely fitting for Hong Lu.

Hong Lu finds himself enduring a situation even if it wounds him, all to satisfy the hunger of, I guess, his family.

It’s even more fitting if the theme of marriage is also addressed and used in Hong Lu’s Canto, echoing Jia Baoyu, who had to marry and enter this relationship because of his family.

But of course, the most interesting thing, as you said, is that the grooms suffer out of naïveté; they don’t know any better. They bleed, they support each other (literally) , but because they think they have no other choices; they accept their situation and see this environment as their home, even if it hurts them, and as it is said:

« When you tore out a vine, it screamed.

As much as it hurts them, it’s still their home.

Those who ruin it will be detested. »

And the flowers (their surroundings) take advantage of this; they exploit the grooms’ naïveté and gullibility in accepting the presence of the flowers as they were offered as congratulations, even though it’s just hypocrisy since these flowers aren’t there to celebrate and honor their union but to feed off the couple and pressure them to stay together:

« Those congratulatory flowers

may be acting as a curse now,

preventing them from leaving the nest. »

And to return to what you said:

« When you plucked a blood-soaked flower, it expressed joy. »

Since the vines are also their home, even though it’s what wounds them, trapped them and makes them bleed over the flowers, it’s their home (the spider web) where they live, which is why they get angry when someone tries to destroy their home. But if someone chooses to remove a flower, it makes the abnormality happy because it’s like removing a part of the problem, an unwanted guest from their home—a freeloader, someone feeding off their suffering and who pressured them to stay together and trapped in this web.

They can’t remove them themselves because they are there under the guise of congratulatory flowers, but if someone else does, they will be pleased because it’s one less problem, one less flower to feed/satisfy.

In short, all this to say that I completely agree with you that Hong Lu and Spider of Marriage are a very good fit, better than I thought, whether in terms of the marriage theme (arranged in a way), of enduring a painful situation to satisfy those around them, being unable to leave this situation due to this entourage that pretends to be there out of goodwill but only wants to exploit their naïveté, or in terms of how both consider this environment created by their surroundings (the flowers) as their home and don’t question it (maybe once again because of their naivety)

I wrote this quickly, so I hope it’s clear, and I apologize if there are any repetitions but anyway thank you for your observation!

Let's talk about why Hong Lu’s left eye (his jade) is getting dimmer and what are the powers and characteristics of Jia Baoyu's jade in Dream of the Red Chamber.

Today, I would like to discuss Dante’s mysterious phrase about Hong Lu, taking the opportunity to explore the jade of Jia Baoyu in more detail, especially its powers and the influence it exerts over Jia Baoyu. Here is the structure of the discussion:

Does the light of Hong Lu symbolize his break from his false reality?

Does the light of Hong Lu symbolize the end of his journey and his will to "live"?

The appearance of Jia Baoyu's jade and its powers + their loss and how they are regained

Its connection with Jia Baoyu

Brief conclusion

Does the light of Hong Lu symbolize his break from his false reality?

In Canto VII, a phrase from Dante naturally captured the attention of all Hong Lu theorists. Dante observes the following thing about Hong Lu’s eye:

"I noticed that the light in Hong Lu's left eye was growing dimmer, like light fading away as it sinks into the depths of the dark waters…"

But what does this mean? To answer that, we must first determine what this light signifies before interpreting its disappearance. For that, we need to consider the dialogue preceding Dante’s remark—the words of Hong Lu himself when he speaks about the sparkling in Don Quixote’s eyes:

"Isn't Don Quixote the most lucid one out of all of us?" "Her eyes, Dante. Always twinkling like two bright stars. They're so fascinating."

To Hong Lu, the glow in the eyes seems to be linked to clarity of mind and awareness. To him, Don Quixote is the most lucid of all because her eyes twinkle like two bright stars. Yet we know this is inaccurate, as Don Quixote is immersed in the illusion she created by erasing her memory at this point. So, it’s reasonable to suspect that Hong Lu's interpretation might be flawed.

This is also consistent with what we know about Hong Lu. Despite his frequent insightful observations and quick understanding of reality, his judgment can sometimes be clouded by his upbringing. After all, one of the first things we learn about him is that his view of the world and his interpretations can be distorted by his sheltered life.

Are we, therefore, dealing with a case where Hong Lu’s upbringing prevents him from perceiving the truth?

Don Quixote’s reality is an illusion, much like Hong Lu’s appears to be. But because he sees his form of reality reflected in Don Quixote’s, he can only conclude that Don Quixote’s twinkling eyes are an expression of clarity when it might actually be the opposite. This could foreshadow Hong Lu’s arc of breaking away from his past, family, and conditioning, realizing that what he associates with reality might be a lie, simply because he didn’t know any better.

After all, Dulcinea connects the term "naive" with Don Quixote’s twinkling eyes, (and "naive" is the adjective used for Hong Lu):

"I almost prefer that naive look from earlier. I still hated your eyes, twinkling or not, but…"

To clarify what “naive” implies, I like relying on The Walking Dead 4’s definition: Naive means you think a certain way because you don’t know the way it really is.

I find this perfectly matches how naivety is understood in the world of Limbus Company, even if we cannot be certain of that. But if we accept that this definition applies to “naive” in Project moon’s world, then being naive implies both innocence—almost childlike—and living in a lie or denial of reality.

Additionally, the emphasis on the sparkles might support the theory of the moonstone, or that Hong Lu is connected to the abnormality Yang, as it involves disregarding reality (to avoid mental breakdown). But we are not here to talk about that.

Thus, if Hong Lu is mistaken, and the twinkling represents disillusionment and denial of reality, then the more Hong Lu's eye sparkles, the more he’s immersed in illusion, a false sense of truth.

So, the first reason Hong Lu’s eye is dimming could be that he’s beginning to realize his reality wasn’t true, symbolizing the start of his awakening. After all, even Vergilius reacted with « … » to Hong Lu’s remark so it could mean that he knows that Hong Lu is in the wrong.

So, if the glow represents the jade influences on Hong Lu’s mental state and perception of reality, then the dimming of his jade’s light might signify that he’s starting to break free from this mental crutch. However this is not what I believe in…

Does the light of Hong Lu symbolize the end of his journey and his will to "live"?

What bothers me is that Dante describes the dimming of Hong Lu’s eye light in a rather pessimistic, almost fatalistic way, as though Hong Lu is fading along with his jade's light, loosing himself:

"I noticed that the light in Hong Lu's left eye was growing dimmer, like light fading away as it sinks into the depths of the dark waters…"

So, if this dimming light is a symbol of breaking free from an illusion why does Dante describe this so negatively with an emphasis on the idea of loosing Hong Lu? Maybe because, it is indeed a bad omen.

According to what Dulcinea says, Don Quixote's eyes were empty of light before when she was Sancho, this absence of twinkling at the time seems to be linked to the fact that Don Quixote/Sancho does not really believe in life and has already suffered too much from the latter. Dad Quixote then offers her a new life and hopes to bring those stars into her eyes by giving her a new family and then inviting her to participate in her adventures with him.

If we follow this analysis, then the light in Hong Lu’s eye equals his will to live and optimism about the future. So if this light is fading, does that mean Hong Lu is beginning to lose the will to live?

Well, yes, I think so... but in a very specific way.

Hear me out, Hong Lu’s eye is dimming because he’s aware his journey is nearing its end, that 7 of the 12 sinners have already regained their golden boughs, and that he may be the next:

Hong Lu’s day is ending, and it is reflected in his eye. I would even go so far as to say Hong Lu, in some way (without being aware of it), equates his return home with the end of his life (this life of new experiences and in the City, and this life with freedom).

So, this take is much more of a speculation than the last one, but if we stick with the idea that twinkling = will to live (forward) then Hong Lu started his journey in a new world with a bright eye with expectations and a desire to live new experiences, but he knows that one day he will have to return home, he knows that his journey will end one day and therefore it is normal that the closer Hong Lu gets to his golden bough moment the more the light of his eye fades, since this will be the end of his "new experiences".

Which could also echo Hong Lu's suicidal tendencies.

But then, why does Hong Lu’s eye produce sparks during Bloodfiend Hunter, Liu Story, and Yurodivy Story?

And it is now, that I would like to propose something. What if we separated the glow of Hong Lu’s eye and the sparks it produces: What if these two manifestations relate to different things? If Hong Lu’s glow reflects his mental state, then perhaps the sparks represent an effect of his jade’s power.

This leads me to discuss Jia Baoyu’s jade, both to support this analysis and to share information about the stone and its powers for those who might not have time to read the novel.

The appearance of Jia Baoyu's jade and its powers + their loss and how they are regained

In Chapter 8, Jia Baoyu’s jade is described as follows:

The size of a sparrow egg (about 22.5 mm)

Shining like a bright coppery cloud

Smooth and lustrous like marbled cream.

On the jade’s face is inscribed:

"Precious Gem of Spiritual Perception (also called Precious Jade of Spiritual Understanding). If thou wilt lose me not and never forget me, Eternal life and constant luck will be with thee!"

This means the stone is a talisman of protection and happiness. If Baoyu (or whoever holds it) keeps it close and never forgets it, they will be blessed with a long, prosperous life.

The reverse side reads:

"To exorcize evil spirits and the accessory visitations; to cure predestined sickness; to prognosticate weal and woe."

This inscription highlights the jade’s protective power: it can ward off evil, cure illness, and predict fortune or disaster. It is both a magical and prophetic object.

This ability is confirmed again in chapter 25 when a Taoist priest says:

“In your family, you have readily at hand a precious thing, the like of which is rare to find in the world. It possesses the virtue of alleviating the ailment, so why need you inquire about remedies?”

It is then revealed that it appears that the jade has lost some of its powers due to the dissipated life Baoyu has led; it has been polluted by music, lust, the pursuit of wealth, and other worldly distractions.

The monk then fix the jade and recites a poem reflecting the spiritual journey of the jade, as well as Baoyu's. In it, we are told:

The jade was once bound neither by heaven nor earth, existing in a state of spiritual purity undisturbed by human emotions (joy or sorrow).

However, upon entering the human world, it was exposed to disturbances. The jade is now tarnished by material elements ("the traces of powder and rouge stains"), symbolizing the carnal pleasures and temptations to which Baoyu has succumbed.

Finally, the monk predicts that, although the jade is currently trapped ("caged like a duck"), it will awaken from its "slumber," and once it fulfills its destiny, it will be freed.

[Little paranthesis]

I find the sentence used by the mond really interesting : "House bars both day and night encage thee like a duck" because it is really fitting for (yes Jia Baoyu but also) Hong's Lu's situation, especially with the use of the word "house".

[End of the little paranthesis]

Its connection with Jia Baoyu

The jade and Baoyu are interconnected and can be seen as one and the same, with each influencing the other. For instance, Baoyu's mood and emotions affect the appearance of the jade (its brightness), and the presence of the jade impacts Jia Baoyu's mental state (its absence renders him completely witless/foolish).

At one point in the novel, Jia Baoyu's jade shines particularly brightly when he believes he will marry Lin Daiyu (when he will actually marry Xue Baochai). This strong light seems to be triggered by Jia Baoyu aligning with his spiritual destiny.

All of this to say that even in the novel the glow of Jia Baoyu’s jade can mean several things at the time.

Brief conclusion

Returning to Hong Lu, I wonder if Project Moon has separated the manifestation of the jade's powers from the expression of its alignment with Hong Lu’s mental state: therefore, when there are small sparks, it indicates that his jade’s powers are manifesting, while the varying intensity of light would reflect a part of his mental state.

It would suggest that Hong Lu, as an individual, is gradually disappearing, maybe renouncing to his will, becoming a puppet entirely under his family's control. Indeed, when Jia Baoyu loses his jade and becomes completely foolish, his behavior shows that he is controllable and malleable; he is so witless that he cannot act independently and only repeats what he is told.

However, I can’t complete this analysis without mentioning that Jia Baoyu’s jade also loses its shine due to worldly influences, like music, lust, the pursuit of wealth, and other earthly distractions. So, does the city’s dark and horrific environment tarnish Hong Lu's jade?

Well, the issue is that, although the city is an apocalyptic world grounded in reality, it can’t truly be described as an environment where Hong Lu experiences lust or wealth, the false pleasures of life; which are what tarnish the jade in DOTRC.

On the contrary, he lives more of a life that Jia Baoyu begins to envy at one point in the novel because it is a life free from the obligations and facades imposed on him by his family. Therefore, what he is currently experiencing should not affect the brightness of his eye.

So, after all this blabla, I think that Hong Lu’s eye is gradually getting dimmer as the end of Hong Lu's journey approaches, which signifies the end of his new experiences and his return to a life of wealth but also to a life with his family and to how things used to be.

We could see this light fading away as an hourglass where the sand is slowly falling down but little by little there will be no more remaining sand at the top.

I fear that when this happens, by going back home, Hong Lu will lose all individuality and will, becoming docile and obedient as he seems to have always been at home. And he is accepting this and it is because he is accepting this that his eye is getting dimmer, it is reflecting Hong Lu’s decline.

I think that during Hong Lu’s Canto, one of the biggest challenges will not only be to retrieve the golden bough but also to convince Hong Lu to leave with us. It’s almost certain that when we reach his home, Hong Lu won’t be able to leave with us because, his family won’t allow it, and above all, he won’t want to either because he’ll convince himself that he can't and that his little trip is over.

I’d like to finish by saying that Hong Lu’s Rose Hunter EGO Corrosion could really be linked to this because we can see that Hong Lu in his corrosion has a hangman’s like rope around his neck, formed by his horse’s reins.

Even if I want to analyse Hong Lu’s EGOs in another post I will just say that for me it is the symbol that Hong Lu is dependent of his (determined) fate and the will of the narrative (his family) even if it has to equal to his death (literally or figuratively or mentally we don’t know). I think it also means that even if Hong Lu believe being in control of his actions and decisions, in reality he is just following the lead of « his horse », the one conducting him, deciding where he is going — and so I think following his family’s wishes.

Voilà, thank you for reading!

Let's talk about why Hong Lu’s left eye (his jade) is getting dimmer and what are the powers and characteristics of Jia Baoyu's jade in Dream of the Red Chamber.

Today, I would like to discuss Dante’s mysterious phrase about Hong Lu, taking the opportunity to explore the jade of Jia Baoyu in more detail, especially its powers and the influence it exerts over Jia Baoyu. Here is the structure of the discussion:

Does the light of Hong Lu symbolize his break from his false reality?

Does the light of Hong Lu symbolize the end of his journey and his will to "live"?

The appearance of Jia Baoyu's jade and its powers + their loss and how they are regained

Its connection with Jia Baoyu

Brief conclusion

Does the light of Hong Lu symbolize his break from his false reality?

In Canto VII, a phrase from Dante naturally captured the attention of all Hong Lu theorists. Dante observes the following thing about Hong Lu’s eye:

"I noticed that the light in Hong Lu's left eye was growing dimmer, like light fading away as it sinks into the depths of the dark waters…"

But what does this mean? To answer that, we must first determine what this light signifies before interpreting its disappearance. For that, we need to consider the dialogue preceding Dante’s remark—the words of Hong Lu himself when he speaks about the sparkling in Don Quixote’s eyes:

"Isn't Don Quixote the most lucid one out of all of us?" "Her eyes, Dante. Always twinkling like two bright stars. They're so fascinating."

To Hong Lu, the glow in the eyes seems to be linked to clarity of mind and awareness. To him, Don Quixote is the most lucid of all because her eyes twinkle like two bright stars. Yet we know this is inaccurate, as Don Quixote is immersed in the illusion she created by erasing her memory at this point. So, it’s reasonable to suspect that Hong Lu's interpretation might be flawed.

This is also consistent with what we know about Hong Lu. Despite his frequent insightful observations and quick understanding of reality, his judgment can sometimes be clouded by his upbringing. After all, one of the first things we learn about him is that his view of the world and his interpretations can be distorted by his sheltered life.

Are we, therefore, dealing with a case where Hong Lu’s upbringing prevents him from perceiving the truth?

Don Quixote’s reality is an illusion, much like Hong Lu’s appears to be. But because he sees his form of reality reflected in Don Quixote’s, he can only conclude that Don Quixote’s twinkling eyes are an expression of clarity when it might actually be the opposite. This could foreshadow Hong Lu’s arc of breaking away from his past, family, and conditioning, realizing that what he associates with reality might be a lie, simply because he didn’t know any better.

After all, Dulcinea connects the term "naive" with Don Quixote’s twinkling eyes, (and "naive" is the adjective used for Hong Lu):

"I almost prefer that naive look from earlier. I still hated your eyes, twinkling or not, but…"

To clarify what “naive” implies, I like relying on The Walking Dead 4’s definition: Naive means you think a certain way because you don’t know the way it really is.

I find this perfectly matches how naivety is understood in the world of Limbus Company, even if we cannot be certain of that. But if we accept that this definition applies to “naive” in Project moon’s world, then being naive implies both innocence—almost childlike—and living in a lie or denial of reality.

Additionally, the emphasis on the sparkles might support the theory of the moonstone, or that Hong Lu is connected to the abnormality Yang, as it involves disregarding reality (to avoid mental breakdown). But we are not here to talk about that.

Thus, if Hong Lu is mistaken, and the twinkling represents disillusionment and denial of reality, then the more Hong Lu's eye sparkles, the more he’s immersed in illusion, a false sense of truth.

So, the first reason Hong Lu’s eye is dimming could be that he’s beginning to realize his reality wasn’t true, symbolizing the start of his awakening. After all, even Vergilius reacted with « … » to Hong Lu’s remark so it could mean that he knows that Hong Lu is in the wrong.

So, if the glow represents the jade influences on Hong Lu’s mental state and perception of reality, then the dimming of his jade’s light might signify that he’s starting to break free from this mental crutch. However this is not what I believe in…

Does the light of Hong Lu symbolize the end of his journey and his will to "live"?

What bothers me is that Dante describes the dimming of Hong Lu’s eye light in a rather pessimistic, almost fatalistic way, as though Hong Lu is fading along with his jade's light, loosing himself:

"I noticed that the light in Hong Lu's left eye was growing dimmer, like light fading away as it sinks into the depths of the dark waters…"

So, if this dimming light is a symbol of breaking free from an illusion why does Dante describe this so negatively with an emphasis on the idea of loosing Hong Lu? Maybe because, it is indeed a bad omen.

According to what Dulcinea says, Don Quixote's eyes were empty of light before when she was Sancho, this absence of twinkling at the time seems to be linked to the fact that Don Quixote/Sancho does not really believe in life and has already suffered too much from the latter. Dad Quixote then offers her a new life and hopes to bring those stars into her eyes by giving her a new family and then inviting her to participate in her adventures with him.

If we follow this analysis, then the light in Hong Lu’s eye equals his will to live and optimism about the future. So if this light is fading, does that mean Hong Lu is beginning to lose the will to live?

Well, yes, I think so... but in a very specific way.

Hear me out, Hong Lu’s eye is dimming because he’s aware his journey is nearing its end, that 7 of the 12 sinners have already regained their golden boughs, and that he may be the next:

Hong Lu’s day is ending, and it is reflected in his eye. I would even go so far as to say Hong Lu, in some way (without being aware of it), equates his return home with the end of his life (this life of new experiences and in the City, and this life with freedom).

So, this take is much more of a speculation than the last one, but if we stick with the idea that twinkling = will to live (forward) then Hong Lu started his journey in a new world with a bright eye with expectations and a desire to live new experiences, but he knows that one day he will have to return home, he knows that his journey will end one day and therefore it is normal that the closer Hong Lu gets to his golden bough moment the more the light of his eye fades, since this will be the end of his "new experiences".

Which could also echo Hong Lu's suicidal tendencies.

But then, why does Hong Lu’s eye produce sparks during Bloodfiend Hunter, Liu Story, and Yurodivy Story?

And it is now, that I would like to propose something. What if we separated the glow of Hong Lu’s eye and the sparks it produces: What if these two manifestations relate to different things? If Hong Lu’s glow reflects his mental state, then perhaps the sparks represent an effect of his jade’s power.

This leads me to discuss Jia Baoyu’s jade, both to support this analysis and to share information about the stone and its powers for those who might not have time to read the novel.

The appearance of Jia Baoyu's jade and its powers + their loss and how they are regained

In Chapter 8, Jia Baoyu’s jade is described as follows:

The size of a sparrow egg (about 22.5 mm)

Shining like a bright coppery cloud

Smooth and lustrous like marbled cream.

On the jade’s face is inscribed:

"Precious Gem of Spiritual Perception (also called Precious Jade of Spiritual Understanding). If thou wilt lose me not and never forget me, Eternal life and constant luck will be with thee!"

This means the stone is a talisman of protection and happiness. If Baoyu (or whoever holds it) keeps it close and never forgets it, they will be blessed with a long, prosperous life.

The reverse side reads:

"To exorcize evil spirits and the accessory visitations; to cure predestined sickness; to prognosticate weal and woe."

This inscription highlights the jade’s protective power: it can ward off evil, cure illness, and predict fortune or disaster. It is both a magical and prophetic object.

This ability is confirmed again in chapter 25 when a Taoist priest says:

“In your family, you have readily at hand a precious thing, the like of which is rare to find in the world. It possesses the virtue of alleviating the ailment, so why need you inquire about remedies?”

It is then revealed that it appears that the jade has lost some of its powers due to the dissipated life Baoyu has led; it has been polluted by music, lust, the pursuit of wealth, and other worldly distractions.

The monk then fix the jade and recites a poem reflecting the spiritual journey of the jade, as well as Baoyu's. In it, we are told:

The jade was once bound neither by heaven nor earth, existing in a state of spiritual purity undisturbed by human emotions (joy or sorrow).

However, upon entering the human world, it was exposed to disturbances. The jade is now tarnished by material elements ("the traces of powder and rouge stains"), symbolizing the carnal pleasures and temptations to which Baoyu has succumbed.

Finally, the monk predicts that, although the jade is currently trapped ("caged like a duck"), it will awaken from its "slumber," and once it fulfills its destiny, it will be freed.

[Little paranthesis]

I find the sentence used by the mond really interesting : "House bars both day and night encage thee like a duck" because it is really fitting for (yes Jia Baoyu but also) Hong's Lu's situation, especially with the use of the word "house".

[End of the little paranthesis]

Its connection with Jia Baoyu

The jade and Baoyu are interconnected and can be seen as one and the same, with each influencing the other. For instance, Baoyu's mood and emotions affect the appearance of the jade (its brightness), and the presence of the jade impacts Jia Baoyu's mental state (its absence renders him completely witless/foolish).

At one point in the novel, Jia Baoyu's jade shines particularly brightly when he believes he will marry Lin Daiyu (when he will actually marry Xue Baochai). This strong light seems to be triggered by Jia Baoyu aligning with his spiritual destiny.

All of this to say that even in the novel the glow of Jia Baoyu’s jade can mean several things at the time.

Brief conclusion

Returning to Hong Lu, I wonder if Project Moon has separated the manifestation of the jade's powers from the expression of its alignment with Hong Lu’s mental state: therefore, when there are small sparks, it indicates that his jade’s powers are manifesting, while the varying intensity of light would reflect a part of his mental state.

It would suggest that Hong Lu, as an individual, is gradually disappearing, maybe renouncing to his will, becoming a puppet entirely under his family's control. Indeed, when Jia Baoyu loses his jade and becomes completely foolish, his behavior shows that he is controllable and malleable; he is so witless that he cannot act independently and only repeats what he is told.

However, I can’t complete this analysis without mentioning that Jia Baoyu’s jade also loses its shine due to worldly influences, like music, lust, the pursuit of wealth, and other earthly distractions. So, does the city’s dark and horrific environment tarnish Hong Lu's jade?

Well, the issue is that, although the city is an apocalyptic world grounded in reality, it can’t truly be described as an environment where Hong Lu experiences lust or wealth, the false pleasures of life; which are what tarnish the jade in DOTRC.

On the contrary, he lives more of a life that Jia Baoyu begins to envy at one point in the novel because it is a life free from the obligations and facades imposed on him by his family. Therefore, what he is currently experiencing should not affect the brightness of his eye.

So, after all this blabla, I think that Hong Lu’s eye is gradually getting dimmer as the end of Hong Lu's journey approaches, which signifies the end of his new experiences and his return to a life of wealth but also to a life with his family and to how things used to be.

We could see this light fading away as an hourglass where the sand is slowly falling down but little by little there will be no more remaining sand at the top.

I fear that when this happens, by going back home, Hong Lu will lose all individuality and will, becoming docile and obedient as he seems to have always been at home. And he is accepting this and it is because he is accepting this that his eye is getting dimmer, it is reflecting Hong Lu’s decline.

I think that during Hong Lu’s Canto, one of the biggest challenges will not only be to retrieve the golden bough but also to convince Hong Lu to leave with us. It’s almost certain that when we reach his home, Hong Lu won’t be able to leave with us because, his family won’t allow it, and above all, he won’t want to either because he’ll convince himself that he can't and that his little trip is over.

I’d like to finish by saying that Hong Lu’s Rose Hunter EGO Corrosion could really be linked to this because we can see that Hong Lu in his corrosion has a hangman’s like rope around his neck, formed by his horse’s reins.

Even if I want to analyse Hong Lu’s EGOs in another post I will just say that for me it is the symbol that Hong Lu is dependent of his (determined) fate and the will of the narrative (his family) even if it has to equal to his death (literally or figuratively or mentally we don’t know). I think it also means that even if Hong Lu believe being in control of his actions and decisions, in reality he is just following the lead of « his horse », the one conducting him, deciding where he is going — and so I think following his family’s wishes.

Voilà, thank you for reading!

Just a little detail / joy of mine in Canton VII

I want to talk about part 1 and 2 of Canto VII but I don’t have time to write everything properly but what I want to say, and that no one has talked about yet, because of course Don is the star it’s normal that people are talking about her especially after everything that has happened but…

Here we are, we have the confirmation that Hong Lu = Baoyu.

It really took me 15 seconds to understand that Baoyu’s name had been used! And to talk about Hong Lu on top of that, I screamed so much when my brain connected these lines and what they implied.

Anyway, even if the theory that Hong Lu = Jia Baoyu was I think at 97% considered canon by the fandom there was still this tiny doubt that Hong Lu was not Baoyu and whoah it’s strange to finally connect the two… T^T

Let’s talk about Hong Lu’s siblings:

Canto VII provides us with a really good amount of lore on Hong Lu. And to be fair it’s pretty normal since he’s the next one to have a therapy session after Don, so it’s only natural that things are speeding up on his side, and what an acceleration it is, as we’ve had the chance to meet a new member of his family. While we’ve already encountered Jia Huan and heard a few mentions here and there of other members of his family (his father, grandmother, and so on), we hadn’t been introduced to a single family member since Canto I. And honestly, fair enough, because even though the Jia family seems large, they also seem very distant from city life, as it feels like no one knows them, or at least no one recognizes Hong Lu, even people in important positions within the family.

But the most interesting part of this encounter is that we’ve now had confirmation, apparently, that Jia Baoyu’s cousins have become siblings for Hong Lu (who is supposed to be Jia Baoyu), and another small detail is that Project Moon didn’t let Hong Lu’s little sister and her bodyguard use his name. Indeed, Hong Lu doesn’t hesitate to say Xichun’s name, but she, on the other hand, simply calls him “brother,” “my naive brother,” while Wei calls him “young master.” So it’s still possible that Hong Lu is not his real name.

With that, I think it’s time for me to make a post recapping Jia Baoyu’s cousins and siblings to help those who haven’t read the novel (and those who have, because oh boy, this family is so big, it’s easy to get lost among the different branches).

This post aims to introduce the various cousins of Jia Baoyu by briefly giving some info about them. If you’re interested, I also made a post about Baoyu’s family members, including his grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts (by blood, not marriage), and his brothers and sisters just here.

For this post, I’ve decided to talk about each of Jia Baoyu’s cousins in order of birth (from the oldest to the youngest) to help figure out where they might stand in relation to Hong Lu, if Project Moon has kept the birth order (Xichun seems to confirm it, but Jia Huan seems to contradict that, so we’ll see…).

Even though I’m not sure of the exact birth order I’m using (I am not even sure there is a 100% clear one, I’m 99% sure about their placement in relation to Jia Baoyu, knowing whether they are older or younger than him. This is the most interesting part, as this information will help us figure out who can be considered an older brother/sister to Hong Lu and who can be considered a little brother/little sister.

That’s also why, even though I’m not explaining again Jia Baoyu’ siblings, I’ve still placed them in this birth order ranking to help with orientation, especially in relation to Jia Baoyu.

I realize this post doesn’t help with visualizing the family as a whole, but my posts are more informational and serve to share snippets of the lore from The Dream of the Red Chamber, rather than creating a family tree.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that the Jia family is split into two main branches: Ningguo and Rongguo, two of the most prestigious aristocratic families in the capital. These branches descend from a common ancestor but are managed separately. I will try to indicate which branch each cousin belongs to.

To note:

The Ningguo house is the elder branch of the Jia family, descended from the elder of the two founding brothers. Although it is the elder branch, the Ningguo house is in decline in terms of wealth and influence compared to the Rongguo branch. Jia Zhen and other members of this branch are often involved in immoral behaviors, which further contributes to the decline of this part of the family.

The Rongguo house is the younger branch, founded by the second brother of the Jia family. It is more prosperous and influential than Ningguo, mainly due to the connections made by Jia Yuanchun, the daughter of Jia Zheng, who becomes an imperial concubine. This gives the branch an advantage and elevates its social status.

Jia Baoyu belongs to this branch.

Wang Ren:

Apparently, he is the elder brother of Wang Xifeng.

Son of the elder brother of Wang Ziteng, Lady Wang, Wang Zisheng, and Aunt Xue.

Jia Zhen, Ningguo House:

Head of the Ningguo House, the elder branch of the Jia Family. He inherited the title of marquis when his father (Jia Jing) became a Taoist practitioner.

Son of Jia Jing.

Husband of Lady You.

Father of Jia Rong.

Older brother of Jia Xichun.

Jia Baoyu’s oldest cousin.

He is not very focused on work and extremely greedy.

Leads a life of debauchery, preferring to chase women with his cousin Jia Lian.

He had an affair with his daughter-in-law Qin Keping (wife of Jia Rong, Jia Baoyu’s nephew).

Wang Xifeng, Rongguo House:

Also known as Sister Phoenix.

Daughter of Wang Ziteng, Lady Wang, Wang Zisheng, and Aunt Xue.

Wife of Jia Lian.

(yes, she is also his cousin by marriage because her mother’s sister is the wife of her husband’s father’s brother, I know it’s complicated.)

Mother of Jia Qiaojie.

Sister of Wang Ren.

Proud, scheming, and incredibly capable, she manages the Jia family with rigor.

However, she is also vain, greedy, devious, and cruel.

She always blames others and takes all the credit for herself.

Her life ends due to a serious illness, and her ruined family eventually disperses.

She is the second person that Aunt Zhao (Jia Huan’s mother) tries to kill (besides Jia Baoyu) using black magic.

She is one of the 12 Beauties of Jin Lin.

Jia Lian, Rongguo House:

First son of Jia She (the older brother of Jia Baoyu’s father, Jia Zheng).

Husband of Wang Xifeng (Sister Phoenix).

(Yes, she’s also his cousin by marriage since her mother’s sister is the wife of his father’s brother, I know it’s complicated.)

He also has a concubine (Second Sister You).

Father of Jia Qiaojie.

Half-brother to Jia Yingchun and Jia Cong.

He bought an official title but has some shady activities.

He is a notorious womanizer and has a strong sexual appetite.

His marriage with Wang Xifeng is only for appearance, and he’s more of a dandy.

He manages the finances and hires people with his wife, but they often argue over this power.

He is a frivolous man with flaws, but he still has a conscience.

Jia Zhu, Baoyu’s older brother (deceased):

Already covered in the previous post

Jia Yuanchun, Baoyu’s older sister, Rongguo House:

She is one of the 12 Beauties of Jin Lin.

She is the first of the quartet of "Springs”, The quartet of springs is the name given to 4 of the Jia daughter

Already covered in the previous post

Xue Pan:

Son of Aunt Xue

Husband of Xia Jingui (wife who seems to have caused many troubles for the family)

Older brother of Xue Baochai

His father died when he was very young, and as a result, his mother indulges him excessively.

He is the opposite of his sister but holds a genuine respect for her.

Nicknamed the “Stupid Despot.”

He leads a leisurely life and enjoys beautiful landscapes but also a dissolute lifestyle, including his attraction to men.

Arrogant, he relies on the powerful ones to bully others.

He has committed several murders as a result of fights and resolves his issues with money.

He is a typical thug and was a local bully in Jinling City, where the Xues came from.

Jia Baoyu, Hong Lu is here :D

Jia Yingchun, Rongguo House:

An extramarital child and the only daughter of Jia She (Jia Baoyu’s uncle).

Half-sister of Jia Lian.

She is honest but timid.

Yingchun is kind-hearted but lacks willpower and is described as having a “listless” personality, indifferent to worldly affairs.

Although she is beautiful and cultured, she does not possess the intelligence or quick wit of her cousins.

Her most notable trait is her refusal to intervene in family matters.

She marries an imperial court official, in a desperate attempt by her father to restore the declining fortune of the Jia family.

After her marriage, she becomes a victim of domestic violence and is ultimately killed by her husband, a general.

She is one of the 12 Beauties of Jinling.

She is the second of the quartet of "Springs”, The quartet of springs is the name given to 4 of the Jia daughter

Jia Cong:

Youngest son of Jia She and Lady Xing

Younger brother of Jia Lian and Jia Yingchun

To be honest I don’t have anything else on him and I only put him here because he appeared in the Jia Family’s tree

Shi Xiangyun, Rongguo House:

Granddaughter of Grandmother Jia’s brother (the Dowager’s brother).

Daughter of Shi Ding.

Favorite of Grandma Jia.

Her connection with Baoyu is strong, causing initial jealousy from Lin Daiyu, but they later become close.

She is exceptionally beautiful and is described as a tomboy, androgynous, dressing like a man and enjoying eating meat and drinking.

She was raised by her uncle after the death of her parents.

Orphaned, she remains optimistic, joyful, and full of humor despite a difficult life filled with tedious tasks like embroidery.

She embodies liveliness, naivety, optimism, and naturalness.

Very talented in poetry, she is almost as skilled as Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. She is part of the Crab Flower Club.

She will become a widow after her marriage.

One of the memorable scenes in the novel is in Chapter 62 when Xiangyun gets drunk and falls asleep among the flowers in the Prospect Garden, surrounded by butterflies.

She is one of the 12 Beauties of Jinling.

Xue Baochai, Rongguo House:

Daughter of Aunt Xue.

Wife of Jia Baoyu.

(Yes, she is also his cousin by blood since her mother is the sister of Jia Baoyu’s mother.)

Sister of Xue Pan.

She is a calm, distinguished, social woman with a pleasant, tolerant character, in contrast to Lin Daiyu.

She is the only one whose talents could rival Lin Daiyu’s and is described as very skilled in poetry.

She receives praise throughout the Jia household and helps Lady Wang with household management.

At the same time, she is very calculating.

Her wishes are fulfilled when she marries Jia Baoyu (as the perfect wife) and bears him a son, but she will remain alone in the end as her husband becomes a monk and disappears.

Her marriage is seen as a maneuver orchestrated by Wang Xifeng and Grandma Jia.

She is one of the 12 Beauties of Jinling.

Lin Daiyu, Rongguo House:

Daughter of Jia Min (sister of Jia She and Jia Zheng) and Lin Ruhai (a scholar and official from Suzhou).

(She is, in fact, Jia Baoyu’s cousin by blood, as her mother is the sister of Jia Baoyu’s father.)

Known by the nickname “Princess of the Water.”

She is said to be the reincarnation of the Crimson Pearl Flower and has a deep connection to the jade stone (which Jia Baoyu embodies) that helped her when she was a flower.

She has lived with her maternal grandmother (Grandmother Jia) since the death of her father and mother (which is roughly when the story begins).

She is exceptionally beautiful, but her life is marked by chronic illness, which affects her fragile appearance.

She is a haughty, distant, and very sensitive young girl with exceptional intelligence.

More specifically, she is emotional, prone to melancholy and mood swings.

She is particularly vulnerable and often experiences jealousy, insecurity, and loneliness despite her elevated position in the household.

She is highly talented in poetry, and her poems are greatly admired, especially those composed during moments of melancholy, such as when she buries flower petals.

Her love for Jia Baoyu is mutual and is a major storyline in the novel (she is his soulmate, while Baochai represents the ideal social match).

On the day of Baoyu and Baochai’s arranged wedding, she dies after crying all the tears from her body.

While Baochai embodies the virtuous and practical woman, Daiyu represents sensitivity and emotional fragility.

She ranks first among the 12 Beauties of Jinling.

Jia Tanchun, Jia Baoyu’s Half-Sister, Rongguo House:

She is one of the 12 Beauties of Jinling.

She is the third of the quartet of "Springs”, The quartet of springs is the name given to 4 of the Jia daughter

Already covered in the previous post

Jia Huan, Half-Brother:

Already covered in the previous post

Jia Xichun, Ningguo House:

Daughter of Jia Jing.

Sister of Jia Zhen.

When she was little, her mother died, and Lady Wang brought her to the Rongguo Mansion.

She has been a devout Buddhist since childhood.

She is mainly depicted as an adolescent or pre-adolescent in the story.

She is a cold woman who always keeps her distance in human relations.

An excellent painter, she is tasked with painting the Prospect Garden for Granny Liu.

The death of the matriarch, the looting of the Prospect Garden, and the family’s expropriation shake her life and drive her to convert to Taoism.

She is one of the 12 Beauties of Jinling.

She is the fourth of the quartet of "Springs”, The quartet of springs is the name given to 4 of the Jia daughter

Voilà! I hope this post will be useful and if i ever made a mistake do not hesitate to notify me :) and I’ll finish this post by saying that apparently Hong Lu would have 15 siblings (14 if we don’t count the one who is dead at the beginning of the novel)

Rodion is not convinced by Hong Lu's new skincare

Continuation of the creation of E.G.O drawing in the form of key rings. I know I promised to show several next time but I ran out of time and was busy with another project but I hope you'll like it anyway

So sorry for the quality T^T i don't know why the preview looks like this, click for better quality

I tried to draw a drawing that could fit the format of a key ring and I'm pretty happy with the result. The exercise was super fun and I hope to be able to continue this "collection" of key chain illustrations based on EGOs or maybe on different identities.

I wanted to post more than one at a time but I couldn't finish the others and I really wanted to post something for the update of today

Anyway, what an intervallo

[Princess…

My valiant daughter…

You, yourself, must become the knight.]

I started this drawing when Aya was first compared to Bram's daughter in the manga but I never found the time to finish it, but the last chapter was like a sign that I had to .... I also put the draft because I like it a lot and I prefer the expression I gave Aya on this last one

I just finished the Time Killing Event, it was awesome, love our trio of detectives. There are just some things I want to ramble about:

Spoilers below:

Tw: suicidal thoughts, suicidal behaviour (even if it is not stated as this and that it may not be to that extent, I prefer to put this in case, so if you’re uncomfortable with these subjects, don’t go past the photo and stay safe)

Just wanted to start with, it was an event so funny, I really liked the comical situations and the story.

I loved all the illustrations (there were so many, it was so nice)

loved the interactions between the members of the bus

loved the focus we got on Rodya and also the bit of focus we got on Ryoshu (it was super nice to see that she had warmed up to the other sinners)

Dante please go talk to Ryoda, she needs to tell someone how she feels and put off her mask for the moment of a conversation

But I have to just ask: Hong Lu, are you okay?

Because like 60% of the time Hong Lu spoke I was like: wait what

Hong Lu are you okay ?! What do you mean “when my siblings tried to kill me”, what do you mean “the first time”?! And what did you just say about your family ?!

I know, we knew Hong Lu’s past was probably as messed up as his family, and this event really confirmed it. But the way he talked about it, the way he talked about the first time (implying that there was others times) his siblings tried to kill him, how he proposed himself to be a bait to this time killing distortion, it was so unsettling but also kind of sad ‘cause Hong Lu clearly doesn’t care about his end or even, in a certain way, himself. And the fact that he understood them wanting him dead, either because Hong Lu also wishes to be dead, or (and that’s probably more this case) Hong Lu understood their hate for him because Hong Lu knows how to read people and how to understand them at a, sometimes, really deep emotional level. We saw it with Yi Sang, we saw it many times, Hong Lu is capable of very profound empathy.

Okay, sometimes he said things that are very off with what the sinner usually meant and so it passes as something pretentious or said by a rich guy who never had to live a hard life but sometimes those lighthearted comments also convey a form of truth or clue for the others to understand.

Hong Lu gave so much the impression that he wouldn’t mind dying or at least doing something akin to dying. And the fact that he just want to experience a lot of things before having to go back to his family I guess, is still concerning for me because even though it seems that his family agreed on having Hong Lu going on a trip, I can’t help but getting the impression that Hong Lu is a teenager who allegedly ran away from home following a crisis with his family. And I know Hong Lu never phrased it like that and everything is pointing toward him going on a little trip with his family’s authorisation , but I can’t shake off this impression that that’s not the case …

And this sentence about the world staying unchanged, what does this mean??? Of course, it made me think about the book, but I don’t know yet how to put it together yet. You see, if I get it right, one of the thing The Dream of Red Chamber tackles is this notion that nothing is truly unchanging, even more, that things are constantly changing and so never the same, never a fix thing/identity. And these changements are something that Jia Baoyu has to learn and recognise as being a part of his mortal life in “our” world. And there is more and more to this theme but I am not going to dwell on this now…

Bref, Hong Lu made it clear that he lived through the Hunger Games when he was with his family and that there are many things wrong with this latest and Hong Lu’s past and everything surrounding it…

Still no mentions of Lin Daiyu, I keep wondering where will she fit in all of this…

Hong Lu also mention his second oldest aunt which could be Lin Daiyu’s mother (Jia Min) or Xue Pan and Xue Baochai’s mother (Aunt Xue) and Baochai is the one who ends up marrying Jia Baoyu in the book …

Anyway, I am also glad that this event highlighted once again that fact that Hong Lu knows how to read people on an emotional level.

On another note, the story of Hong Lu’s new identity was nice because once again it proves that Hong Lu knows how to observe and analyse others and details but his left eye was not mentioned… so idk what to think because is it it hidden between the lines ? Is his left eye not involved in this ? Or is this a reference to the book? See, for the third option, which I find interesting, it reminded me of the fact that even though the jade with which Baoyu was born is recognise as something precious and magical, its existence is not really questioned nor are his magical powers. Nobody really question how, why Jia Baoyu comes to be born with a jade in his mouth, its just a fact.

It doesn't seem like I've seen many people, or anyone at all, point out this detail, but you can distinguish small sparks near Hong Lu's eye, similar to those in the Liu Association story, aka the only story and even the only moment in the game where we focus specifically on Hong Lu's left eye and where it’s described as being able to do something (shine).

Maybe it's a small detail, , with no real meaning other than an aesthetic one, but since Hong Lu's chapter is approaching and we still know very little about his left eye, I'm holding onto the hope that this story will talk about it again. So I’m hype and can’t wait to see what this identity will have in store.

Anyway, I just can't wait to discover this new semi-chapter, so happy that Hong Lu gets some screen time.

Is Hong Lu the tea ?

I really like this title but of course I'm not trying to imply that Hong Lu is literally tea but I would like to talk about a potential foreshadowing or metaphor (?) concerning Hong Lu and which takes place in the story Liu association 5.

It is not so much a theory but more of an analysis which serves to point at elements which seem to reinforce ideas we have about Hong Lu and to better understand or even guess what his canto will look like.

Summary:

Hong Lu is = to the tea of this story

The objectification of Hong Lu

Hong Lu is like water

Spoilers further below

I/ Hong Lu is = to the tea of this story

It's time to talk about the frames that initiated this over-analysis.

Frames that appear to be a rather trivial conversation about tea leading to a humorous exchange between the three characters. But is that really all there is to take from this exchange? What if there was a foreshadowing or/and a metaphor hidden behind it?

It's true that the dialogues at the end of this story, where Hong Lu discusses the ability of his left eye to shine, is more memorable. I admit that it was also the part that caught my attention the most at first. However, upon rereading this passage, I find this exchange very interesting to analyze.

So here we go:

I've seen some people discussing that Hong Lu's age is around 30 years (I think), but I couldn't find the post, so I'll rather assume that Hong Lu is between 20 and 30 years old, as many people (including myself) think.

And this is where it all begins, because when I see Hong Lu talking about a tea "fermented for over 20 years in an ideal environment" and described as "nigh priceless," I can't help but wonder if there's a direct parallel to be made with his character.

We already know that Hong Lu has lived a sheltered life, presumably since forever, in an environment isolated from the rest of the world by and with his family, until finally he joined Limbus Company, which became (it seems) his first experience of the outside world.

If we follow the idea that, Hong Lu is over 20 years old and that him joining Limbus Company was his first interaction with the outside world, then we can see his arrival at the company as if he was taken out of the closet, like the tea that was brought out after more than 20 years of fermanting in this "ideal environment".

It remains to be seen whether Hong Lu escaped this "closet" or if he was brought out for a particular reason.

All this to say that Hong Lu's life until the game’s events could be seen as that of tea fermenting for years before serving its purpose.

We can therefore draw a parallel between the fermentation of the tea Hong Lu talks about and the type of life Hong Lu has led so far: Hong Lu is like the tea, and perhaps this image can give us or confirm what Hong Lu's life was like and how it is meant to be seen: that Hong Lu was fermented within this familial environment to produce an individual nigh priceless.

[SD: Now, if I use the term "fermentation/fermented" to talk about Hong Lu, I will, of course, be referring to his sheltered life with his family, but it will be easier to use the same term to talk about both the tea and Hong Lu and to support the parallel.]

What's also interesting is that the ones behind the fermentation of the tea and Hong Lu happen to be the same: Hong Lu's family.

This, I find, reinforces the legitimacy of this comparison.

We can also note that Hong Lu often talks about the tea he savored while still living with his family, so in a way, tea is a reminder of home for Hong Lu or more precisely, his past life.

I know it's not much, but it could still be an indication inviting us to make this comparison or to pay attention to details where tea is mentioned.

Returning to this idea of fermentation, whereas we know that the fermentation of this tea is supposed to give it a unique taste or/and a unique smell, it's hard to say what the goal of Hong Lu's "fermentation" was.

Perhaps to give him a unique "taste," which for Hong Lu would equate to a predefined personality and/or identity corresponding to his family's expectations.

It may also correspond to the fact that Hong Lu was kept isolated from the rest of the world because: rich people's mentality that doesn't want to coexist with those they consider inferior. Who knows…

But ... I can't help but think that there's another reason for this, but it's still too early to really know which one.

II/ The Objectification of Hong Lu

Small parenthesis: Before continuing with the analysis of the tea, I think it's interesting to dwell on this parallel between Hong Lu and a precious object that might make us understand that the question of objectification is a theme that will be relevant for his character.

After all, if in this story Hong Lu is also supposed to be paralleled with, or even "be" the tea, then his status is reduced to that of a precious object brought out for special occasions or to boast to guests.

Moreover, in the same story, Hong Lu lets slip a phrase that might make us think he is reduced to the status of a precious object in his family's eyes, more precisely a precious stone.

Indeed, his heterochromia wouldn't be due to nothing since, if we follow the original plot of *Dream of the Red Chamber* from which his character is drawn, the color and glow emanating from Hong Lu's eye should be due to him being born with a magic jade in his eye (similar to Jia Baoyu (the character Hong Lu is supposed to be inspired by) who was born with a small magic jade stone in his mouth)).

So, a magic jade stone would be in Hong Lu's left eye or something equivalent that might, at least, looks like a jade stone.

And this discussion around his eye (and in a way, his "jade") is probably the first clue showing us that Hong Lu is reduced to this small stone that is the (only) thing giving him value (for his family).

Returning to the idea of objectification, this seems to be supported by the phrase I mentioned at the beginning of this parenthesis:

"To them… I was a gem of a child"

Which might be more literal than one might think.

What's interesting is that this phrase has the appearance of a "false truth" and of something trivial that might be more nightmare fuel than one might have thought if taken under a certain angle.

This seems to be a recurring mechanism in Hong Lu's character (and ties in with the novel's theme) where the first appearance of something can hide the exact opposite. This trivial phrase suggesting that Hong Lu was pampered by his family because he was their little treasure might actually be a phrase hiding a much crueler and darker reality:

That Hong Lu was literally a precious stone to his family and that his value as a human being was reduced to his eye, which seems to be what his family reduced his being to, if we follow this theory.

And Hong Lu seems to be trying to belittle or/and hide his situation.

Hong Lu was summed up to the precious stone in his eye, and that's all he was to his family: a precious gem.

And I mean, I'm fascinated by this atmosphere of falseness that seems to surround Hong Lu: everything seems to be a mirage, an illusion (pun intended).

No, but seriously, I don't know if these are coincidences or over-interpretation, but most of Hong Lu's stories and dialogues (especially those mentioning his family) are steeped in this atmosphere of smoke and mirrors.

It's all the more fascinating that these moments seem to be a glimpse, a warning of what Hong Lu's canto will be: deceptions everywhere. I find it impressive that even in Hong Lu's mechanics / construction and writing, everything brings us back to this impression that we're facing an illusion.

This last paragraph might not have been very clear, but I'm having a bit of trouble describing my thoughts, hope you’d get a part of what I meant.

III/ Hong Lu is Water

So far, this served to show that it was possible to draw a parallel between what's said about the tea and Hong Lu.

It's time now to look at the last element that might give us more to understand how Hong Lu sees himself or the shape his identity crisis will take.

Indeed, we know that each sinner, through their canto, gets through a sort of identity crisis.

They reconnect in a certain way with their identity and face or evolve from a toxic way they had of dealing with their vision of themselves and their identity: Gregor existed only through his mother's expectations and his trauma related to the war and him being dehumanized, Rodya lived through her guilt feeling responsible for what happened to her neighborhood and the view Sonya had of her, Sinclair also lived with his guilt but also his anger towards Kromer, Ishmael lived only for revenge on her captain, etc...

Well, it is still debatable whether each sinner listed and from future cantos are/will be at the same stage of "personal development" and if they all managed/will manage to detach from their past to live for their future (cough, *cough* Gregor).

But I think that, through their Canto, the sinners learn to reconnect (at least a little) with their identity, their true self by "eliminating" what hindered this recognition so far: Herman, Kromer, Ahab...

And I think that's the essential: this reconnection with oneself.

Moreover, I'm not saying that each sinner has renounced their past, forgetting it in a drawer to live entirely differently without it impacting them, but that they have learned to live for a future rather than for and through their past.

A canto thus serves (in part) to help the concerned Sinner reconnect with their identity and their vision of their life/self.

But how would this apply to Hong Lu?

On one hand, I think first by breaking this image of an object that Hong Lu may possess in his family's eyes and perhaps in his own if he was raised with this vision of himself.

But also by tackling this illusory image of himself that Hong Lu displays.

After all, despite the rarity of this tea, the only remark Faust makes is:

"Despite the intense scent, the taste is essentially blank…" and she emphasizes this again by calling it "scented water."

I find that this image of tea being "scented water" is perfectly reflecting the idea that it's a deception, that what we are presented with is actually an illusion.

Indeed, this description could be an excellent example/metaphor of what an illusion is:

"A false interpretation of what one perceives. and Appearance devoid of reality."

The reality of this tea, which is its taste, is masked by an illusion, its scent, which comes across much more intensely to drown out this reality.

I believe this description underscores one of the themes that I think will be very important regarding Hong Lu: this often blurry distinction between what is real and what is an illusion and the idea that what appears true is false, and what appears false is true. This echoes one of the most important passages in the book from which Hong Lu's character is drawn:

"Truth becomes fiction when the fiction's true;

Real becomes not-real when the unreal's real."

We have seen many examples with Hong Lu where what he shows/says is either the opposite of what we thought, or the first impression was ultimately not the reality. For instance, when Hong Lu tells his story on the abandoned ship, we first think it’s a horror story before the twist reveals a truth radically opposed to what we thought.

The fact that Faust refers to water as a base is logical since we’re talking about tea, but it could also be an intelligent way to create a metaphor/foreshadowing with Hong Lu's behavior, which remains quite subdued and sometimes seems deceptive/false.

Moreover, this metaphor is made through an element that is more than perfect to describe someone who only reflects an image and is never their own reflection or lacks personality: water.

Transparent water can symbolize a lack of true substance or character. Similarly, a person whose personality is transparent can be perceived as lacking authenticity or sincerity. This transparency is masked by a scent to try to hide this emptiness and show the opposite of what it really is.

It’s a bit like Jack Vessalius in Pandora Hearts for those who know it.

Oswald describes Jack as water, as someone who only reflects an image, without true authenticity or a real identity of his own. In a sense, he is always playing a role.

It is also always interesting to remember that one of the most important characters in the novel "Dream of the Red Chamber," Lin Daiyu, who has a close relationship with the main character, Jia Baoyu, is a character associated with the element of water. She spends most of the novel being described as weeping or crying, and this is due to the “debt of tears” she promised to repay to the jade stone that helped her in her previous life when she was a flower. Lin Daiyu, being the reincarnation of the flower, repays her debt by crying in her new reincarnation. Hence her association with water.

But let’s get back to our main point.

Next, what’s interesting is the sentence Faust uses right after to criticize the tea she was served:

“I must wonder though, is there a good reason to pay such a stiff price for… for lack of a better word, scented water.”

We try to mask the transparency of this water with a strong scent, but in the end, it remains an illusion and doesn’t fix the real “problem” of this tea: it’s tasteless, without personality. Could Hong Lu then be just scented water that conveys an image filled with scent (that of a young aristocrat who has had an easy life and has been immersed in wealth all his life) to mask his lack of identity or self/ownness (is that a word)?

Hong Lu is merely scented water; he emits a strong and misleading scent that seems to suggest a certain vision he is or/and others have of him, but in the end, he remains just water to which a scent has been added. Perhaps this water couldn’t develop its own taste because it has been fermenting for over 20 years in an ideal environment, imposing on it a scent that has defined its entire identity.

This could also be seen as a metaphor that ties back to the idea of smoke and mirrors and that this image of a dandy that comes from Hong Lu is just an illusion whose scent is stronger and masks his real "taste".

And it also could be a way to reinforce this idea that Hong Lu try to hide or belittle the/his reality with a stronger "scent", masking the reality with something more noticeable even if it's just an illusion.

Hong Lu should then, during his Canto, learn to renounce the bases that has given him a bit of scent until now, what allowed him to be more than just water, to have an identity, to find a new one/ his true self that would be much more authentic and real.

Just thinking late at night …

Summary of all mentions of members of Hong Lu's family in the game + comparison with the original book

Summary:

Mention of his “family” in general in the game

Mention of the family elders in the game + comparison with the original work

Mention of his grandmother in the game + comparison with the original work

Mention of his grandfather in the game + comparison with the original work

Mention of his father in the game + comparison with the original work

Mention of his siblings in the game + comparison with the original work

Mention of his brother (Jia Huan) in the game

I wanted to recap all the times Hong Lu talks about his family or a particular member of his family while at the same time comparing them to their version of the original novel by giving some info on the latter (assuming that Hong Lu = Jia Baoyu ). I excluded from this list the uncles and aunts by marriage as well as Baoyu's cousins ​​ for various reasons (too long otherwise, not mentioned...) but I will perhaps do a part 2 to talk about them.

Was also excluded, the entire branch which stems from Jia Yan (the brother of Jia Yuan (the father of Jia Daishan, the husband of Grandmother Jia)), a branch which remains important since it is this one who leads to the actual Head of the Ningguo Mansion (Jia Zhen) when the story takes place. But since, they are distant relatives/cousins ​​of Jia Baoyu, that was taking me too far and so I had to remove them from this list. But I still wanted to mention it since it is an important branch of the family

The Jia family is mainly composed of 4 great families: the Jia Family, the Xue Family, the Wang Family and the Shi family in other words those who were born with the name Jia and those who joined the family by marriage / alliance / by being the brother / sister of one of the grooms… (born Xue or Wang or Shi).

There are also other families like the Xing or Lin family joining the Jia family but whose name appears (very) less often and which are also not considered as one of the great families of the novel.

This list of family members is made in relation to the place they occupy in relation to Jia Baoyu.

I/Mention of his “family” in general in the game

LCB sinner, chatter#3

Abn. logs, Pink shoes: lacking data

Abn. Logs, Sign of Roses: level 1

Abn. Logs, Sign of Roses: level 3

Liu Association South Section 5, story

Liu Association South Section 5, story

K Corp. Class 3 excision staff, post-uptie chat 2

W Corp. L2 Cleanup agent, Idle

Main story, Canto II, episode: 3

Detour Tales, Chapter 5.5, Miracle in district 20, episode: 13

Main story, Canto V, episode: 2

Hong Lu’s promo pre-limbus company release (Hong Lu also mentions the family’s chef’s side dishes but I didn’t include it because it was not about his family specifically)

II/Mention of the family elders in the game + comparison with the original work

W Corp. L2 Cleanup agent, story

W Corp. L2 Cleanup agent, story

Main story, Canto IV, episode: 27

To tell the truth, I don't really know what the term "elders" is supposed to encompass in this context in the sense that, I don't know whether or not parents and/or uncles/aunts should be included in addition to the grandparents.

In my opinion the term "elders" refers to all the generations who are above the one who uses this term (in this case Hong Lu / Jia Baoyu) so I would tend to want to count the parents and uncles / aunts but I cannot say this with certainty.

I will therefore base myself on my interpretation so that it will allow me to talk about more characters of the novel but do not hesitate to let me know what this term encompasses!

1st generation:

Grand parents:

Jia Daishan:

Son of Jia Yuan

first Duke of Rong

husband of Grandmother Jia

father of Jia She, Jia Min and Jia Zheng

grandfather of the three first Spring Ladies (Jia Yuanchun, Jia Tanchun and Jia Yingchun), Jia Zhu, Baoyu, Daiyu, Jia Huan, Jia Lian

died before the beginning of the novel, reason why we don’t know much about him

Grandma Jia (the Dowager):

Daughter of the Marquis Shi of Jinling

Wife of Jia Daishan

Grandmother Jia is a generation above the oldest member of the Rongguo Mansion (Jia Jing)

Thus, members of the Jia family all defer to her

For further information, refer to the paragraph dedicated to her below

Great uncle(s):

Dowager’s brother:

We don't know much about the Dowager's brother

He is Grandmother Jia’s brother

He is the father of Shi Ding and Shi Xiangyun's Father

He is Shi Xiangyun’s grandfather

died before the beginning of the novel, reason why we don’t know much about him

2nd generation:

Parents:

Jia Zheng:

Jia Zheng is the second and youngest son of Jia Daishan and Grandmother Jia.

He has a wife, Lady Wang, and two concubines: Zhao (with whom he had two children) and Zhou

For further information, refer to the paragraph dedicated to him below

Lady Wang:

Daughter of one of the four most prominent families of Jinling (Wang)

Primary wife of Jia Zheng

Mother of Baoyu and Yuanchun

Because of her purported ill-health, she hands over the running of the household to her niece, Wang Xifeng

In the eyes of her servants, she appears as a statue of a lifeless Buddha.

Although generous, she is described as without will or conviction.

Lady Wang seems kind and caring but can be cruel and ruthless when her authority is questioned.

She shows excessive concern about her son Baoyu's romantic relationships and closely monitors his maids.

Lady Wang plays a role in the death of Baoyu's maid, Qingwen, due to her suspicion and cruelty toward maids she perceives as threats to her son's virtue.

Uncles:

Jia She:

Elder son of the Dowager

Big brother of Jia Zheng and Jia Min

Husband of Xing furen

He has 2 concubines: Yingchun’s mother and Jia Cong's mother

Father of Jia Lian, Jia Yingchun and Jia Cong

He inherited the title of Marquis Rong

He is treacherous and greedy, as well as seductive/woomanizer.

He feels jealous towards his younger brother, favored by their mother.

He was later stripped of his title and banished by the government.

Father of Wang Ren and Wang Xifeng:

Lady Wang’s brother

Also brother of Wang Ziteng and Wang Zisheng

Father of Wang Ren and Wang Xifeng:

Wang Ziteng:

Lady Wang’s brother

Also brother of Wang Xifeng’s father and Wang Zisheng

Wang Zisheng:

Lady Wang’s brother

Also brother of Wang Xifeng’s father and Wang Ziteng

Aunts:

Jia Min:

Daughter of Jia Daishan and Grandmother Jia

Sister of Jia She and Jia Zheng

Wife of Lin Ruhai

Mother of Lin Daiyu

Xue Yima also known as Aunt Xue:

Sister of Lady Wang

Sister of Wang Ziteng, Wang Zisheng and Wang Xifeng’s father

Mother to Xue Pan and Xue Baochai

She is generally kind and affable.

However, she struggles to control her rambunctious son.

III/ Mention of his grandmother in the game + comparison with the original work

K Corp. Class 3 excision staff, story

K Corp. Class 3 excision staff, story

K Corp. Class 3 excision staff, story

K Corp. Class 3 excision staff, story

W Corp. L2 Cleanup agent, chatter #1

K Corp. Class 3 excision staff, post-uptie chat 1

Detour Tales, Chapter 5.5, S.E.A, episode: 4

If Hong Lu is indeed the equivalent of Jia Baoyu in the world of limbus company, Hong Lu's grandmother should be the one known as Grandmother Jia, née Shi:

Grandmother Jia:

Also called Dowager Shi or simply the Dowager

She is the daughter of the Marquis Shi of Jinling

Grandmother Jia is a generation above the oldest member of the Rongguo Mansion (Jia Jing)

Main elder of the great family, she is the oldest and most respected authority of the Jia Clan

Of an enjoyable temperament, she does not intervene in the private lives of her children provided that they do not disturb her, even if they have become debauched or high rollers.

It was she who arranged for Daiyu, her only "outside" (i.e., maternal) grandchild, to come to the Rongguo Mansion

She spoils her grandson Baoyu whom she carries in adoration

Despite this, she does not approve of his love for Daiyu

She is the one who supports the marriage arranged by Sister Pheonix (Wang Xifeng) between Baoyu and Baochai

She will die at the ripe old age of 83

Maybe it's just me, but she seems to be one of the people if not the person who pays the most attention to Jia Baoyu's jade, reminding him to take care of it, asking him if he knows where it is his jade when he is not wearing it, paying attention to the stone...

IV/ Mention of his grandfather in the game + comparison with the original work

Detour Tales, Chapter 5.5, Yield my flesh to claim their bones, episode: 4

Abn. Logs, Pink shoes: lacking data

Hong Lu’s promo pre-limbus company release (yéyé" (爷爷) meaning "grandfather" or “grandpa”. It is an affectionate term used to refer to one's grandfather in Mandarin.)

So we don’t really know which of his two grandfathers Hong Lu is referring to but knowing that in the novel only his paternal grandfather is mentioned and died before the novel begins, I think the "grandfather" Hong is talking about is Jia Daishan (and that he probably died in the world of Limbus Company too)

Jia Daishan:

Son of Jia Yuan

first Duke of Rong

husband of Grandmother Jia

father of Jia She, Jia Min and Jia Zheng

grandfather of the three first Spring Ladies (Jia Yuanchun, Jia Tanchun and Jia Yingchun), Jia Zhu, Baoyu, Daiyu, Jia Huan, Jia Lian

died before the beginning of the novel, reason why we don't know much about him

V/ Mention of his father in the game + comparison with the original work

LCB sinner, chatter#1

If Hong Lu is indeed the equivalent of Jia Baoyu in the world of limbus company, Hong Lu's father should be Jia Zheng:

Jia Zheng:

He is the second and youngest son of Jia Daishan and Grandmother Jia.

He has a wife, Lady Wang, and two concubines: Zhao (with whom he had two children) and Zhou

Father of Jia Zhu (deceased), Jia Yuanchun, Jia Baoyu, Jia Tanchun and Jia Huan

Confucianism had a great influence on him: he is a Confucian scholar who tries to be an upright and decent person, he fulfills his duties of filial piety towards the Dowager, and wants to educate his children strictly

Afraid his one surviving heir will turn bad, he imposes strict rules on his son (Jia Baoyu), and uses occasional corporal punishment.

Jia Baoyu is afraid of him

He has the ambition to become a good civil servant

But he lacks experience and is easily deceived by others, which earns him a bad reputation.

VI/ Mention of his siblings in the game + comparison with the original work

Main story, Canto III, episode: 2

Detour Tales, Chapter 5.5, episode: 13

Abn. Logs, Pink shoes: lacking data

If Hong Lu is indeed supposed to be the Jia Baoyu of the world of Limbus Company, then, if we refer to the novel The Dream of the Red Room, Hong Lu should, like Baoyu, have 4 siblings:

Jia Zhu:

First son of Jia Zheng and Lady Wang

Big brother of Jia Baoyu and Jia Yuanchun and half-brother of Jia Tanchun and Jia Huan since they share the same father.

In the original novel, Jia Zhu is already dead prior to the action of the novel, so we know very little about him.

He had a son (Jia Lan) with Li Wan

Jia Yuanchun:

First female family member of the quartet of "Springs", first daughter of Jia Zheng and Lady Wang

Big sister of Jia Baoyu and Jia Yuanchun and half-sister of Jia Tanchun and Jia Huan since they share the same father.

She is about 10 years older than Baoyu.

She was raised by her grandmother

As an older sister, she taught Baoyu to read and write when he was liitle like his mother would have done.

Originally one of the ladies-in-waiting in the imperial palace, Yuanchun is later promoted to the highest ranking of imperial concubine "Xiande”, having impressed the Emperor with her virtue and intellect.

Despite her prestigious position, Yuanchun feels imprisoned within the four walls of the imperial palace.

She died at the age of forty, following an illness, in total isolation.

Jia Tanchun:

Third female family member of the quartet of "Springs", second daughter of Jia Zheng and his concubine, concubine Zhao

Big sister of Jia Huan and younger half-sister of Jia Zhu, Jia Yuanchun and Jia Baoyu since they share the same father.

The fact that she is the daughter of a concubine is still such a burden that she often claims Lady Wang, Baoyu's mother, as her own

Tanchun is a very clever and capable person, as much as Sister Phoenix for comparison

But, as the proverb says, "he who comes last will have fewer opportunities than the others", and this is what happened to her, because when her family declined she had not done much and she was sent to a distant region following an arranged marriage

Jia Huan:

Third son of Jia Zheng and his concubine, concubine Zhao

Little brother of Jia Tanchun and younger half-brother of Jia Zhu, Jia Yuanchun and Jia Baoyu since they share the same father.

More info just below

VII/ Mention of his brother (Jia Huan) in the game

Main story, Canto I, episode: 30

Main story, Canto V, episode: 18 (there we don’t know if he is talking about Jia Huan or not but there are not many other options and from what we can deduce from Jia Huan’s behaviour (in game and in the book too) it’s not very out off character)

Jia Huan:

Third male family member of the generation of the Jia household, son of Jia Zheng and his concubine, concubine Zhao

Little brother of Jia Tanchun and half-brother of Jia Zhu, Jia Yuanchun and Jia Baoyu since they share the same father.

He is described as ugly and clumsy

He and his mother are both reviled by the family, and he carries himself like a kicked dog.

He is very cunning but mediocre, he shows his malignant nature by spilling candle wax, intending to blind his half-brother Baoyu

That’s all! If I have forgotten any moments where Hong Lu talks about his family, don't hesitate to tell me and I will add it! Also, I tried to verify and proof-read all the info and everything should be correct but if I made a mistake feel free to point it out to me :)

{It’s like burning…}

[Click for better quality]

Let’s talk about Hong Lu’s poster

Summary:

Introduction

The paifang

Where is Hong Lu?

The reality of Hong Lu

{Skip the introduction if you’re only interested in the analysis of the character of Hong Lu and his poster}

I/ Introduction

Today I would like to offer you an analysis of Hong Lu's character poster. Although it is difficult to know what these character posters seek to show, apart from presenting characters, it is clear that each of them possesses clues about the sinners’ past and especially where the character represented comes from.

For example, we could see the pallid whale destroying the Pequod on Ishmael's poster, although it was easy to make the connection with Moby Dick, the poster also showed us that Ishmael had a history with a white whale and was a survivor of a shipwreck.

I am not sure if all the information is equally valuable according to the posters because, for example, Sinclair's poster is quite enigmatic and does not really show a specific event or place, or at least I do not recognize it.

But that does not stop me from believing that what is depicted behind the sinners is supposed to be related to the sinner, yes, but also, I think, related to a wing or place in the city that was important in the sinner's past.

I even wonder if the moment/place represented is not supposed to represent the place where the sinner decided to join the company.

Why do I say this? Well, you can see behind Rodion's character a casino setting, whereas her ego and space generated by the golden bough were affiliated with a world of ice. So why does Rodion's poster show her in front of an environment reminiscent of a casino? Perhaps it is to evoke her love for gambling as well as her ability to bluff and her desire for money, but if we look at Rodion's photo in the identity archive menu:

We can see Rodion in an outfit we have never seen her in before, an outfit that closely resembles what someone might wear at a casino. We have never seen how Rodion was recruited by Limbus Company, but if we follow the logic I just proposed, Rodion would have been recruited in a casino.

This logic seems credible and yet doubtful when we look at the case of Yi-sang.

For the moment, Yi-Sang is the only sinner whose recruitment by Limbus Company we know:

We know he was coming out of the laboratory where he was held by Gubo, the same laboratory we can see behind him on his poster.

But here's the catch: this is how Yi-sang was dressed when he met Faust VS versus what Yi-sang looks like on his photo in the identity archive:

But hold on! I may have an explanation for this difference:

Yes, in the first image, Yi-Sang is not wearing his scientist coat, but he is indeed wearing the gray shirt, and I think Yi-Sang was indeed dressed with his coat initially, I think he just took it off in the left image.

So yes, it sounds like a lame excuse, but look at how Yi-Sang was dressed before this scene (when he was held captive).

Boom, there it is, that scientist coat. Yi-Sang was indeed dressed as he was in that laboratory when his photo for the company was taken.

But here's the second little hiccup: we don't know how much time separates Yi-Sang's escape and his encounter with Faust...

But if what is depicted behind the sinners is not toward the place/moment where he was recruited by Limbus Company, then I think the place depicted behind the sinner is still a place/moment that shaped the sinner and convinced them to join Limbus Company.

II/ The Paifang

After this brief analysis that raised many questions, I would especially like us to keep the idea that what is depicted behind Hong Lu is related to him and the wing (or other place in the city) where he comes from.

Let's continue:

To make the understanding and analysis of the poster simpler, I decided to divide it into 6 zones:

Red: character

Dark blue: background area with tall buildings —> the city / what is behind the paifang

Purple: Paifang

Light blue: distorted and highly colorful area / portails

Orange: what surrounds the sides of the paifang

Green: the ground and what is in front of the paifang

Even if sometimes I won't do it, I will now also use this color code to target specific areas of the poster when needed.

Well, first of all, I'm going to talk about the purple area, which is everything related to the Paifang, which is a very important element of this poster:

This Paifang, which looks like it's made of (red?) wood, seems to be surrounded by tall walls as we can see in the orange area.

So it seems that this Paifang is the only entrance and exit between two spaces. Indeed, if this Paifang is surrounded by walls and (assuming) they extend over a long distance, we can quickly conclude that this passage is the only one that could allow someone to enter or leave a closed space (we will come back to these ideas a little later).

Returning to the Paifang, it seems to perfectly fit the definition I found of a Paifang: "A Paifang is a traditional Chinese architectural structure in the form of a portico or arch, usually placed at the entrance of important places such as cities, temples, or properties. These symbolic gateways are often richly decorated and serve as monumental entry points."

I think the main idea to remember is that this Paifang is a gate/a means of passage, and I think it is the only gate allowing travel between the two spaces it separates.

But what does this gateway separate? Well, I think we have an answer with the inscription in the middle of this Paifang:

Indeed, what is written in the middle behind Hong Lu is this: 境幻虚太 (Jing Huan Xu Tai), we can recognize 4 distinct characters:

境: Realm

幻: Illusory

虚: Void

太: Great

But what is most surprising is that this phrase is actually written backward; indeed, in Chinese, it should be written 太虚幻境 (especially when we know what this combination means, especially in Dream of the Red Chamber), and here it is written as if it had been reflected in a mirror. We know that mirrors play a very important role in Limbus Company, but we will come back to this idea of a mirror a little later.

{Update : I was informed that the ordering of character written on the paifang is actually correct for traditional Chinese writing and for when the characters have to be placed horizontally (especially when you have to write on a space which does not really allow you to write in the vertical like on this paifan). The fact remains that the name of Hong Lu's weapon is therefore written in backward, so why? I don't really have an explanation now... and I have to admit that I still like my first analysis and I still think it is (a little) relevant in a way, so I invit you to keep reading (while keeping this in mind)}

For now, I would like to return to the meaning of what is written on this Paifang; indeed, once the combination of these 4 characters is reversed, it refers to a very important place in Dream of the Red Chamber: "Illusory Land of Great Void" or "Land of Illusion".

We can therefore conclude that this Paifang overlooks the "Land of Illusion" and separates/is the gateway between these two worlds, which are the "Land of Illusion" and, I think, the city.

Which is reminiscent of its “equivalent” in the novel since in the novel there is also a mention of a gate which separates the world of illusions from the rest or at least which indicates its entry point

{Side note: Strangely, this is not the only time that "太虚幻境" appears on the poster since it also appears just at the bottom right, and yes, "Land of Illusion" is also the name of Hong Lu's weapon, but that's not all! It is of course also the name of his EGO.

We can therefore see that the "Land of Illusion" is used to define many things related to or belonging to Hong Lu.}

In the novel Dream of the Red Chamber, The Land of Illusion is a domain where illusions and fantasies come to life. However, despite its enticing and enchanting appearance, this fictional world is also fraught with dangers and traps as it can lead individuals into deceptive illusions and prevent them from perceiving the truth.

However, a very interesting analysis of the Land of Illusion parallels this place with the Prospect Garden, which is the garden where Baoyu lives with his cousins and servants. It is the setting for many events in the novel and is also a haven of peace cut off from the rest of the world where its inhabitants can indulge in their idle and luxurious lives.

When Baoyu first visits this garden, he feels like he has been here before, and indeed, this garden actually reminds Baoyu of the place he visited in his dreams: the Land of Illusion.

A fantastical literary garden devoted to pleasure and love, which recalls the hero's dream of love and evokes in him a sense of the uncanny, will lead the reader to realize that Prospect Garden is the Land of Illusion. Eden, emptied of humanity, may remain a pristine ideal.

The Prospect Garden becomes a Buddhist allegory of experience. It blooms and withers with the ebb and flow of human desires and longings, but it is also a fictional world, imagined, the stuff of dreams.

The Prospect Garden is the earthly manifestation of the Land of Illusion, just as Baoyu is the physical earthly reincarnation of the stone.

III/ Where is Hong Lu?

After discussing what The Land of Illusion is and what this Paifang separated or rather where it leads to, it's time to ask a question: on which side is Hong Lu on his poster?

The Paifang already gives us an indication of this: since we can read "Land of Illusion" backward.

So I think we can deduce that Hong Lu is currently on the side of the "Land of Illusion" because if we follow the theory that the writing on the Paifang is reversed because Hong Lu is in a mirror world, then it's easy to guess that on the other side (the non-visible face) of the Paifang, we could read "The Land of Illusion" written correctly because this Paifang does lead to the "Land of Illusion."

To support this assertion (that Hong Lu is on the side of "The Land of Illusions"), I invite you to look at the dark blue area.

We can see tall buildings bathed in a red/black color; I think this modern aesthetic and these colors are supposed to remind us of the city, whose red color is often associated with —> just look at the map to notice this.

But that's not all: the color red is associated with the red dust by which Buddhism refers to the earthly realm, which contrasts sharply with the luxury brought to mind by the vernacular use of red.

Red dust is a symbol of the impermanence and transience of human life in Chinese philosophy.

It represents the reality of life as transient and ephemeral, reminding individuals that everything in this world is subject to change and disappearance. This notion is often used in Chinese literature and poetry to express the human condition and the importance of fully living each moment, knowing that nothing is permanent.

Red dust is used to talk about our world and our existence on it, which is but a short-lived illusion filled with suffering, to talk about the mundane world.

In Limbus Company, this world of Red Dust, this illusory world, is the city, and this bubbled paradise is "The Land of Illusion."

But how do we know that Hong Lu is indeed walking on the water of what I have been calling "The Land of Illusion" all this time?

Well, a clue might give us the answer; I invite you to look at the green area.

We can see that Hong Lu is walking on water, which already evokes the notion of "reflection" and this idea that The Land of Illusion is a mirrored world of the world of red dust, as is "The Land of Illusion" in the novel, but that's not all.

I will have to step away from Hong Lu's poster for a moment to look at an image present during the Limbus Company launch trailer.

Although nothing I'm about to say has been confirmed, I don't think it's too farfetched to say that we can see in this image a past version of Hong Lu, before he joined the company when he was at home, probably the Jia family manor (or at least its version of LCB).

What's interesting about this image is the color of the sky: this blue fading towards turquoise. We've seen it elsewhere before:

And yes! I am convinced that this blue space we can see in the cutscene of Hong Lu's EGO is supposed to be the sky from his home. And what is Hong Lu's EGO called? Land of Illusion.

Furthermore, I think that this blue sky is meant to contrast with the red sky of the city. Thus, the separation between the two is even more accentuated, as it was with the Paifang that clearly separated the two realities.

So, I believe that we can conclude that Hong Lu lives in the Land of Illusion.

This idea that the world in which Hong Lu lived is "The Land of Illusion" is emphasized by another detail: the reflection of the moon in the water.

In Buddhism, the image of the moon in the water is often used as a metaphor to illustrate the illusory nature of reality or the nature of conditioned existence. This metaphor is often associated with the practice of meditation and understanding the nature of the mind.

The moon in the water appears clearly and distinctly, but it is unstable and transitory, as it is subject to the movements of the water. Similarly, in daily life, what we perceive as reality is often changing, impermanent, and conditioned by multiple factors.

This metaphor thus emphasizes the importance of recognizing the illusory and impermanent nature of reality and not attaching to appearances or transient phenomena. In summary, in Buddhism, the image of the moon in the water is used to illustrate the illusory nature of reality and to encourage the practice of meditation and the search for the true nature of the mind.

I think that this image of the moon in the water is meant to make us understand the true nature of the place where Hong Lu walks: it is The Land Of Illusion, which is nevertheless Hong Lu's reality.

IV/ The Reality of Hong Lu

Indeed, I will now delve into an explanation, and I will try not to get confused. For this, we must now look at a very important excerpt when analyzing the novel Dream of the Red Chamber:

"Truth becomes fiction when the fiction's true; Real becomes not-real when the unreal's real."

This idiom is not just written anywhere in the world of the novel; it is located on the Paifang serving as the border and gateway to the Land of Illusion, and there is a good chance that it is also on the Paifang that we see behind Hong Lu.

This idiom makes us understand that reality is actually fiction and that fiction is actually the real world. It invites us to reverse our perception of realities and to consider what is called "real" as false and what is called “false” as real.

Here, I think, it is about understanding that Hong Lu's reality, which is (in) the Land of Illusions, is actually a fictitious and false world. Where the city, which is an unknown and completely foreign world to Hong Lu, which could be seen by him as a fictional world that is not real, is actually the real world, whereas the world he considers real is (his home) actually a false world.

To be honest, I cheated a bit because even though the reflection of the moon in the water is used to evoke a world of illusion for Buddhism, and even though I think it can indeed refer to the fact that Hong Lu is on the side of the "Land of Illusion", I think above all that this reflection is meant to make us understand that this world where Hong Lu is located has an illusory nature of reality + a nature of conditioned existence.

This brings me to talk again about Prospect Garden, which I think is the place where Hong Lu grew up but is especially the place from which Hong Lu must escape.

Prospect Garden is, as mentioned earlier, the Land of Illusion materialized in the real world and is therefore a domain where illusions and fantasies come to life, that is, a place where Baoyu bathed in luxury and idleness.

In "Dream of the Red Chamber," Jia Baoyu is often faced with symbolic choices between staying in Prospect Garden, which often represents the materialistic world and earthly pleasures, or setting out in search of spiritual enlightenment. His journey to enlightenment often involves leaving the illusions and distractions of the material world represented by Prospect Garden. Thus, it is often suggested that to achieve enlightenment, Jia Baoyu must move away from Prospect Garden and seek a true understanding of himself and the world around him.

At the end of the novel, Jia Baoyu (the figure who is supposed to have inspired Hong Lu) realizes the illusory nature of his life and realizes that Prospect Garden was only a world where he was trapped by the illusory pleasures of life, and that is why at the end Jia Baoyu decides to break with his previous life and leave the garden (as well as the rest of his family).

I think we are going to go to Hong Lu’s home to realise that he was literally living in a bubbled space and we will go to the Land of Illusion which, I think, will also be the Prospect Garden.

And the fact that the words are reverse like if they were reflected in a mirror helps, I think, to support on the idea that Hong Lu's world/reality is a reflection of the real world but where everything is distorted/inverted (a symbol I also think of Hong Lu's ignorance and his strange vision of the world) and that this illusion glass will break little by little

We also have to remember the sentence

"Truth becomes fiction when the fiction's true; Real becomes not-real when the unreal's real.

And remember that what is true is actually false / wrong according to this. So maybe, if this idea from the novel is kept, the world where Hong Lu is living is just a big lie where everything is just a smoke screen and that Hong Lu is living in denial, prefering to accept this illusion so that his world / vision of reality or truth is not shattered.

So, I think that Hong Lu, during his chapter, will have to understand that his reality is not true and learn to leave the land of illusion to find the truth because it seems to me that one of the theme of Hong Lu will turn around the theme of truth and reality.

{Compass}

I've been wanting to finish this drawing for a while and I've finally arrived at a decent result, even if the color doesn't look exactly as it should.

As you must have understood, I wanted to reproduce the cover of the song Compass by Mili while using the characters of lcb (maybe (probably) someone already did that)

I would like to take this opportunity at the same time to wish a Joyeux 1er anniversaire, as Meursault might say, at lcb.

In terms of colors. for Ishmael I was mainly inspired by the fan art of @idliketochill , so go see their work!

[Click for better quality]

I hope there is going to be a an (attempted) infiltration mission in Canto VI as it has been the case during Canto II or Canto V for example. Just imagining the sinners and Dante trying to infiltrate a ball, it’s just too funny.

I don’t care if they succeed or not in their attempt to infiltrate the place, I just want to see the sinners and Dante dress up in beautiful dresses / suits acting like little gremlins, being so sure that they will be able to infiltrate this ball without being noticed. It would be such a good excuse to have a masked ball.

Of course the running gag would want them to be discovered immediately.

It’s always funny to me when I have the same reactions as Dante and I never feel closer to them than when I am just playing with my vision of this weird reunion of outcasts as a big and loveable found family, only to see that vision crumbled down and challenged every canto by a sinner or Vergilius who exclaims loud and clear and often vehemently that it will never be anything more than a employer / employee relationship.

At those moments I react exactly like Dante when they are like: « Maybe I am the only one who thought we were sharing something together ? Maybe all the sinners are only here for their own goals ? Maybe they would never want to make an effort to create a meaninful relationship between each others ? Was I a fool to believe that this was the start of a friendship … that we could have developpe a bond more or less deep, a feeling of belonging … that we could have been a family. »

First there is the pain of having your hopes shattered but then that doesn’t stop us to continue hoping for it to happen.

We are just two big delulu people

So many things to say regarding the end of this arc of Bungou Stray Dogs but this is what I want to share the most, because I have been saving this for months

Don't forget, the ride is not over ...

I didn't the anime was going to overtake the manga, I was so surprised but oh boy what a ride to get here, so much pain

I can’t take this anymore

Let’s talk about the end of Canto IV and the identity of Dante

Summary :

-Introduction 1.New perspective on the character of Demian 2. Dante and Saint Exupéry 3.Sinclair and the snake: symbol of his incoming death 4. The stars = people 5. Make connections, find friends 6. But in the end what about the sheep?

At the end of canto IV (which was extraordinary) we were treated to a very interesting little “post credits” scene: Dante and Demian talking together and the latter saying a very interesting sentence:

« Just draw me a sheep later »

This sentence just awakened flashbacks of my high school years because this sentence is of course a reference to one of the most famous sentences of Saint-Exupery's Little Prince. In the “Little Prince”, the character of the same name asks the author, who is also the narrator and a character in the book, to draw him a sheep to protect his rose.

But what does this mean for Dante? It is still too early to come to a conclusion, but we can still look at several elements that this new information could highlight.

1. The character of Demian

Although Demian is, of course, inspired by the character of Demian from the book “Demian” by Herman Hesse, it could be possible that he is also inspired by the character of the Little Prince.

Why?

First, the sentence quoted above is a sentence resembling one that is spoken by the Little Prince in the book, as I said at the beginning. However, this is not the only resemblance between Demian and the Little Prince.

Just in terms of appearance we can see a similarity: the scarf that Demian wears around his neck could be a reference to the Little Prince's scarf which is often represented as floating, like Demian's.

Demian is also related to a character who is related to a snake. I am of course talking about the character of Emil Sinclair where we can see a snake behind him in his image.

Although the snake is mostly a reference to the original sin in Hesse's work, I can't help but think that this snake could also be a reference to the snake of “The Little Prince”.

2.Dante and Saint Exupery

But then if Demian is like the Little Prince and he asks Dante to draw him a sheep, would Dante be inspired by Saint-Exupery? Since it is him who draws a sheep to the Little Prince. Maybe…

It is interesting to note that the interactions between Demian and Dante are very similar to that of the Little Prince and Saint-Exupery:

Demian says cryptic things and responds in the same way to Dante's questions, who remain perplexed in front of him. Sometimes Demian ignores or does not even answer Dante's questions. It's very similar to the many scenes between the author and his blonde-haired friend, one asks many questions while the other responds in a "strange" way or ignores them altogether.

What is interesting is that Saint Exupery is the author and a character of his book which makes him a unique case. Plus it should remind you of someone: Dante from “The Divine Comedy”. Where the other 12 sinners are either inspired by a character or the author of their respective works, they are never inspired by someone who is both. Only Dante find themself in this case.

Another element supports this theory linking “The Little Prince” to Dante: the sentence they said to Sinclair when the latter was about to join Kromer:

These sentences are, I’m sure, a reference to a famous quote of another very important character in “The Little Prince”: the Fox

« Here is my secret. It is very simple: we only see well with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye. »

The fox explains that the true perception and understanding of things is not done through the eyes, but with the heart. He emphasizes that the very essence of things, their true value and beauty, can only be perceived by having an inner vision, an emotional connection.

But then, Dante would be the Fox?

As you can see I am more of the opinion that Dante are inspired by the author and not by the Fox but then why do they pronounce words belonging to the Fox. Well I think Dante said the fox’s words because they remembered them unconsciously because it was a moral that touched the narrator in “The Little Prince” and could have touched them in the same way. The Fox could belong to Dante’s past.

This would be why, I think, Demian repeats these words before intervening against Kromer, he recognised them.

3.Sinclair and the snake? A symbol of his incoming death?

A brief parenthesis on Sinclair. Demian says a very enigmatic sentence to Dante regarding Sinclair:

“When he becomes one with beautiful stars…”

Although I think this phrase refers to the fact that when Sinclair will able to see entirely with his heart and not his eyes, then he will "be one with the stars" I also have another interpretation.

This turn of phrase strongly reminds me of a passage from the book (WARNING! SPOILERS REGARDING THE END OF THE LITTLE PRINCE):

At the end of the book the little prince dies from the bite of the snake, thus leaving his body and now able to join B612 — his star. At that moment, the little prince joined the stars and "became" his star. In the book it is mentioned that when a person dies they become a star in the sky. This suggests an idea of ​​continuity and eternal presence beyond earthly life.

This supports the idea that the stars represent each existing individual but also that the stars symbolize the immortality of the soul.

So Sinclair should become a star and one with all the others by dying? Does this sentence announce his death?

Small additional detail: Sinclair strangely resembles the Little Prince from the little we know about him. The only physical detail we have of the Little Prince is that he looks like a child and has wheat-blonde hair.

So yes, blond hair is not the ultimate proof that Sinclair would also be linked to “The Little Prince” because it is not difficult to meet this criterion, as a proof Don Quixote could also very well correspond. But taking into account that Sinclair is already linked with Demian and has an element that distinguishes him from other sinners: the mark of Cain + these mysterious similarities between him and “The Little Prince”, it was worth mentioning.

Additionally, Sinclair is associated with the color green; the color that is often associated with the Little Prince because of his clothes. And the color green used for Sinclair is named: immature green, although this could be a reference to Sinclair's egg, hatching, self-development theme associated with Demian, why not considering that "immature" is a reference to the character of the Little Prince who can be seen as immature because he does not sound like an adult and behaves like a child even in the face of serious situations. I think it's worth looking into.

Also I thinh that this "theory" could also highlight a moment of Hell Chicken: I'm talking about when Sinclair's team (Faust and Outis in particular) comment on Sinclair's height and the various reasons why Sinclair isn't likely to grow taller than that. This comment about Sinclair's height implying that Sinclair remains small even for his age could be a clue to his connection to the Little Prince by making him look like "a child"

4. The stars

I would now like to address the theme of the stars, which is a very important element in the book as in Limbus Company, as Canto IV was able to confirm.

For the Little Prince, the stars are more than just bright spots in the sky. They symbolize the infinite and the inaccessible, awakening in him a feeling of wonder and escape. They offer him a sense of connection with something greater than himself, transporting him beyond.

If we want to connect the phrase "seeing with the heart rather than the eyes" and the stars, we can mention this passage:

The Little Prince observes the stars and says: "All these stars are mine. To me alone. They make me laugh every time I think about them."

It shows how the Little Prince finds meaning and a deep connection with the stars by seeing them with his heart, which allows him to feel joy and wonder. Strangely this is exactly what we saw in Canto IV, and at the same time its exact opposite.

When we were talking about the tale and the "tearful star" singularity, we could see that the stars were also seen as a symbol of hope and joy in the Limbus’ world as is the case for the Little Prince. However, K corp's singularity does the exact opposite of what the stars are for in The Little Prince: it cries in their place. Where the stars of “The Little Prince” are associated with joy, here it is associated with sadness. But is this really the case?

In truth, this star could also be seen as a mean to bring joy or at least to prevent people from feeling sadness by crying for them. This star would therefore be similar to the stars of the Little Prince in this sense.

However in "The Little Prince", the stars can also be interpreted as representing people in a metaphorical way. The Little Prince encounters various stars throughout his journey, and each of them is home to a unique person. It can be seen as a representation of the individuals he meets in his life. By focusing on the stars, Saint-Exupéry emphasizes the importance of human diversity and individuality. Each star and each person has an intrinsic value and contributes to the richness of the universe. The Little Prince himself learns to appreciate the uniqueness of each star, just as he learns to understand and love the different people he meets. This is something Dante are doing: they are learning to know the different sinners (and people) and to appreciate their uniqueness.

Each star, although distant and distinct, has a certain importance and its own identity. In the same way, each person we meet in our own existence is unique, with their own experiences, emotions and perspectives. Which is, I think, a very underlined subject in Limbus Company and that’s not all:

“I wonder,” he said, “if the stars are lit so that everyone can one day find their own.”

For Saint-Exupéry, the object of the quest, the star, is closely linked to the personality and experience of each of us.

“People have stars that are not the same.”

Guides, little lights, problems, precious metal… depending on whether you are a pilot, spectator, scientist or businessman. But for a star to become ours, for the Truth to make mystery beautiful as the invisible rose makes the star beautiful, it must become the seat of our most personal desire, the receptacle of our hopes and of our memories.

To inhabit our star with a meaning that is unique to us, to make it different and to be able to evoke it in the darkest night, it is essential to seek to know oneself with determination, like the Little Prince who "does not never gave up on a question once he had asked it.”

Knowing how to take the time to explore, to step aside “Straight ahead, you can’t go very far.” to be able to assess yourself.

This work on oneself to populate a star with one's hopes is not done without pain. It can bring more disappointment than pride and lead us, like the Little Prince, to cry over the banality of our character:

“I thought I was rich in a unique flower, and I only have an ordinary rose (...) it doesn’t make me a very great prince. And lying in the grass, he cried. That’s when the fox appeared.”

I find this process of acceptance and self-discovery reminiscent of Limbus Company's notion of E.G.O and Fathom of the E.G.O where each sinner learns to make peace with a part of themselves and break the cycle. He doesn't have to reject a part of himself or keep only the "good" in him. He learns to accept it and live with it to make it a source of light for his star, even if it sometimes has to go through a difficult acceptance of a truth or trying trials.

5. Make connections, find friends

I wonder if the notion of « taming » will be mentioned in Limbus Company?

The word « taming » does not have the same meaning as what we might give it on a daily basis. When the fox explains to the Little Prince what « taming » means, he says to him:

"It's something too forgotten, says the fox. It means creating links..."

Taming represents a process where one establishes a deep emotional connection with someone or something, and it is through this heart connection that one can truly see and understand.

The fox explains to the Little Prince the importance of taming, which involves investing time, attention and affection in creating deep and meaningful bonds with others.

The fox also emphasizes the responsibility that comes with taming by saying,

"You become responsible forever for what you have tamed."

The fox explains to the little prince that when you tame someone or something, you become responsible for this relationship. It emphasizes the importance of caring for those you love and cultivating lasting bonds.

Furthermore in "The Little Prince", the themes of loneliness and friendship take center stage.

The Little Prince often feels lonely during his interplanetary travels, as he is the only one of his kind and finds himself far from his planet and his beloved rose. However, as he encounters various characters, he discovers friendship and the power of human connection.

It is in particular thanks to his friendship with the fox that he understands the importance of emotional ties and the need to bond with others.

The book thus explores loneliness as a universal experience, while emphasizing the vital importance of friendship and human relationships in filling this feeling of emptiness. It reminds us that deep and sincere connections with others are essential for our growth and our understanding of the world around us.

So I may be a blind optimist but I feel like this idea fits well with Dante and the bus members:

Even if it's complicated and there's still a long way to go, each member of the bus are becoming close and are developping a bond that could be seen as a form of friendship. And after all as the fox said; it takes time, affection and attention to create this special bond. Every day Dante can sit a little closer to each Sinners respecting their rhythm as the little prince did for the fox.

However, this would mean that Dante could start to feel a sense of responsibility that accompanies the birth of this bond.

In fact, Dante already feels this responsibility but they associate it with their role as a manager who must guide their employees. However I think that Dante could soon see this feeling of responsibility as a feeling that accompanies what they have "tamed" and thus realize that it is not because they are a manager that they feel the need to take care of the Sinners but indeed because a lasting bond is borned between them.

6. But in the end, what about the sheep?

The sheep represents desire / expectations and creativity.

The metaphor of drawing according to Saint-Exupery tells us that, forced to live in a world of realism, we fail to guess and describe this Truth that attracts us: his attempts to realistically draw a sheep fail to satisfy the Little Prince’s desire.

The Little Prince does not only want a sheep, he wants a sheep capable of protecting his rose by eating the trees. Under the surface of this drawing hides the object of the Little Prince’s desire and therefore of our existence as he says in Chapter IV, strange when we know that Demian also asks us for a sheep in Canto IV

“When you want a sheep, it’s proof that you exist”

Would Demian then ask Dante to give him a solution to his problem of realizing his desire? Is this “Truth” linked to the quest of Dante regarding their memories, an attempt to regain the Truth and in a sense gaining back their existence?

The sheep could also be linked to the sacrificial lamb in the Bible, I don’t really know where this information could take us but since the sacred texts are at the core of Project moon’s works it’s always good to mention. Furthermore, the other common point between the Bible and “The Little Prince” is the fact that The Bible is the most translated book in the world but “The Little Prince” is the second one.

Canto IV part 3 spoilers.

I just finished Chapter IV and my god what an emotional journey, I think this is my favorite Canto so far. I'm still so emotional that I need to share the details that stood out to me the most or touched me the most:

Something else; I'm sure the role each sinner held in Yi Sang's memories was not a coincidence, kind of as if depending on each sinner's affinity; the most appropriate role had been assigned to them and therefore a lot of things to analyze if this is the case.

I didn't think I was going to see or needed the Hong Lu / Yi Sang friendship but my god their interactions were so cute and touching I really liked this development between the two. The ending image was really the cherry on the cake when I saw that Hong Lu was the one who came to keep Yi Sang company. In short, I love their friendships and I can't help but think of this very funny meme that illustrated the two visions of nihilism using the characters lmao, two opposites that attract each other. Wholesome.

This is why I immediately want to emphasize the role of Outis in the memories: she was not the traitor in Yi Sang's memories since Dongrang was there and therefore played his role, but I still find it suspicious that 'she was the only one of the sinners (apart from Yi Sang but these are his memories) to have dialogue when the traitor is revealed.

The final boss song is just extraordinary, not to mention the OST which was just to die for but the end song! Mili has really surpassed herself.

I HATE Gubo because even though he "protected" (and again this is a big word) Yi Sang and seems to care about him, I only see that as manipulation and a way to exploit Yi Sang by taking advantage of his unstable mental state for his own benefit. Worst of all he locked Yi Sang up to work while putting him on drugs. It's really awful.

Speaking of the captivity and role of Yi Sang I can’t help but think that Yi Sang and Yosano from Bungou Stray Dogs look alike — in the sense that they are born prodigies (Yi Sang because of his genius and Yosano because of her gift) who have been exploited for their talent and kept at one point in a white room)

Speaking of genius I wonder if the lyrics in the song Lament “If you wanted me to carry on our dreams. Why’d you curse me with “you’re a natural born genius” refers directly to Yi Sang? Because it fits him so much.

But fortunately Yi Sang has found a new home. And oh boy I smile so much when Yi Sang admitted the bus and the Sinners were his new home and mates. It’s so touching seeing that Yi Sang walked without goal in mind or a place to return to, he just walked until he finds a new place where to belong and it happens to be the bus I am so emotional right now because it’s screaming found family and I love that!

In Conclusion awesome Canto I can’t wait for the next one!

Side note: Rodya, Don and Sinclair are so cute together on the end credit image! She looks so much like their mom.

+ I am sorry but at the end Dante is such a parent commenting on how the sinners are eating.

{Tired naivety}

*manifesting Hong Lu’s past*

There is no doubt in my mind that behind all this cheerfulness is hidden a horrible backstory.

{Charon in Wonderland!}

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