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Sorry if you've already analyzed this recently but it would be neat if I could possibly get your thoughts about this.

I'm currently trying to theory craft for The Surrendered Witnessing (Canto 8), so I was looking at the Limbus TGS Teaser for more hints. Cuz the background art has been quite accurate so far.

When you look up Hong Lu on Google one of the first pictures you get is that art of him in the white outfit with the dandelion.(Which is also briefly shown on the TGS Teaser) At first I thought he was blowing the dandelion as a symbolism of being carefree and whimsical, similar to how children blow on dandelions to make wishes.

But then I noticed a few things. First, he doesn't necessarily seem happy, or really showcasing any kind of 'whimsy'. Also, the dandelion isn't up to his mouth. It's not positioned in a way where he can blow. It seems more likely that he is watching a common weed blow off in the wind with more freedom than he would ever get while he's with his family. Dandelions in general are also a symbol of hope, which means this could be a representation of him feeling hopeless.

But then, the screen briefly shows a zoomed out version before jumpscaring you with Heathcliff.

At first I thought this was a rebellion with the sheer amount of grey bodies seeming desperate. But then I realized they are reaching. Are they possibly reaching for Hong Lu? Do they just wish to be in his shoes-- desperately wanting just a sliver of his family's influence and wealth? Or is their desperation more focused on the red paper?

Hong Lu also doesn't seem that pleased, the zoomed out version seems way more bored than the zoomed in version.

The dandelion seeds turn into something red. It could be red envelopes used to gift money, but I don't know why Hong Lu or his family would even bother using something so formal on people with such low status. A very unlikely theory is that it could also be related to Hong Lu's previous mention of a 'red passport'. Though I'm just assuming it has significance specifically where Hong Lu's family resides, either something important within his house or something that has to do with how the district works.

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Another interesting thing that pops up is a speech bubble. I'm not fluent in any other languages so I had to Google translate it, so it may very likely be wrong, but it says "it's almost like filming a play". I don't have a clue if that has been a previous line from Hong Lu, but the outline is in Hong Lu's color. So maybe he's referencing an event after the sinners return to his residence.

The other thing to note is the positioning of this picture directly over the dandelion picture. The only other person that really has that happen in the teaser is Sinclair, but that is because the Sinclair images happen within the same cutscene in-game. I have zero clue if the positioning in the video is that purposeful to make an entire theory on it, but I think the lineup is interesting. The image used is from The Unloving.

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The last glimpse I'll talk about is the lil angy/displeased Hong Lu.

That looks like Outis' hand grabbing him by the shirt. I was trying to find any other pictures of sinners grabbing each other by the shirt-- but the only shirt threatening content we've gotten are both in The Unconfronting. One by Virgillius (not a sinner) and one by Don Quixote.

So my assumption is that this displeased Hong Lu could either happen during The Nocturnal Sleeping or The Surrendered Witnessing. Likely The Surrendered Witnessing because no intervallo art seems to have been out in the teaser. (All of the characters that already have cantos have art in the TGS that doesn't surpass their focus cantos, though that also could be due to Project Moon not wanting to spoil too much from the initial 3 release cantos)

Anyways! That's my thoughts! I kinda wanna hear yours if possible, no pressure though. :3

(Also, sorry if the formatting is weird I have zero clue how Tumblr's ask formatting works)

Oh boy that's a lot. Ok. Let's see how I wanna get into this.

Let's start with the bits I know I can explain for sure.

First, the dialogue lines. Last time I checked, every single dialogue line shown in the TGS teaser comes from the first three Cantos. Which, if you think about it, makes sense, as those were likely the only Cantos actually fully written by that point.

The line you pointed out specifically comes from Canto 2, it being the second half of this dialogue line that happens after the Sinners beat the Tingtang Gang.

I think its purpose in the teaser is mainly to reinforce the idea that Hong Lu's understanding of reality is very strange compared to other people in the City, him comparing whatever's happening to something as benign as a movie set.

You could probably also make a case for it being used to highlight the theme of the blurred line between Fiction and Reality, what with him comparing a Real situation to that of a Fictional scene one would be filming for a movie.

Second. The angry Hong Lu CG.

I've already discussed that CG at length in this post, but to summarize: this is a scrapped Canto 1 CG, from what I believe to be the original version of the scene where Yuri reveals her backstory, which in the original draft took place outside of the dungeon with all of the Sinners around and thus available to respond. The person grabbing onto Hong Lu's shirt is Gregor, and the reason his skin looks like that in the video is because of the heavy color overlay effects over the teaser itself. I included the clearest picture we have of the full CG in the post I mentioned.

We don't know whether this CG was scrapped before or after the TGS Teaser was made, so it's much harder to ascertain the purpose behind its inclusion here. Regardless of which it is though, it's clear that Project Moon deemed it important to show Hong Lu's capacity for anger in such an early teaser, meaning it was something they were focusing on as a point for his character even back then.

Now. Onto the things I get to actually speculate about.

Let's just first establish this - we have no way of knowing how similar Canto 8 will be to what Project Moon may have initially planned it to be. I'm not one of those people who claims that PM are serial retconners, but I'm also realistic in that I doubt they have more prepared future Cantos than maybe some rough outlines at most. As such, the scene shown in the TGS Teaser might not end up being framed in the exact same way as it was initially planned to be.

This is especially important to note as Vellmori CGs, aka the ones shown in the Teaser itself, are not being used beyond the ones already in the game. We can tell from Canto 6 and 7 that there's no guarantee that we'll get any exactly equivalent CGs from the current artist either. After all, we did get two whole scenes of a Heathcliff arriving to Cathy's funeral, but neither was framed in any way similar to the teased CG.

Here's some of my own observations though.

First - according to recollections from multiple DOTRC readers, the outfit Hong Lu is wearing in both CGs might be a reference to the mourning robes Baoyu wears after Daiyu's death. Considering how sensitive Hong Lu is about things that seem to remind him of an event that is very likely Limbus's equivalent of Daiyu's death (as I discuss in this post), it's likely that Canto 8 will put a notable amount of focus on that event and its aftermath.

Second - in higher quality versions of that first CG, it's possible to see that the shadow cast by the dandelion is a different color to the rest of the shadows being cast - it's notably more red in hue.

This could be another nod to Daiyu, as their Land of Illusion counterpart was the Crimson Pearl Flower. I think you're onto something here with Hong Lu not actively blowing at the dandelion, but rather merely watching it blow away in the wind by itself. It could be a representation of how fragile Daiyu's life ended up being, swept away as if by a gust of wind.

It makes me think of the Flower Burial Song from DOTRC (as do many things around Hong Lu in all fairness), which in itself also represents Daiyu's own mortality. Flowers fall, people perish, and neither of them know.

Third - A few notes about that second CG.

For one, I don't believe that the dandelion seeds are being turned into the red papers (for a lack of a more specific term to call them). You can see that the seeds are actually floating Among the papers, implying they're both falling at the same time rather than one turning into the other.

For two, while it's a bit hard to see in the particular screenshot you took, you can see that Hong Lu has his other arm thrust forward, while still holding the dandelion with the one he held it in the previous CG. This I believe implies he's not just watching the people below, but is actively throwing whatever the red papers are down towards them.

Now.

Here's my own unhinged theory as to what those (now unused) Canto 8 CGs might be showing.

Obviously, I already made it clear that I believe this is taking place after Daiyu's death ,what with both Hong Lu's robes and flower symbolism.

However, I believe the specific event that is happening here is Hong Lu creating a distraction for his Family so that he can escape.

I've made it no secret that I believe Hong Lu is in fact a runaway, and that the "sent out to experience the world" thing he mentions as his reason for leaving his home is in fact a blatant lie. After all, if it were true, why would his Family be searching for him? Why would they want to prematurely cut him off from experiencing more of the world? Add the Lasso Hong Lu corrosion voice line to this, where he's clearly acting out what his Family might sound like once they catch up to him, and you can see why I think this might be the case.

It's also not that hard to imagine why Daiyu's death would be the catalyst to Hong Lu deciding to take a chance and attempt an escape. Daiyu's death has been implied to be an event that not only deeply hurt him, but is also alluded to being the one thing capable of rousing Hong Lu's anger enough to actually lash out. If there was one thing that could make the otherwise docile and obedient Hong Lu act out in such a way, it would be crossing a certain line he believed should never be crossed.

What I believe we're seeing is Hong Lu drawing a group of desperate people towards a likely otherwise very secure household (if his musings about defense systems in Canto 6 are anything to go by). Perhaps, the things he's giving out are specifically invitations, as in Canto 6 Hong Lu mentions (in a way that almost feels like he's speaking from experience mind you) that having an invitation protects one from a mansion's security measures.

So, by "inviting" in as many disruptive people as he can, Hong Lu could be creating the perfect distraction for the Jia Family to deal with while he himself assumedly slips away unnoticed.

At least, that's my theory.

Hope this helps, or is in any way coherent WHEEZE.

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