#lu speaketh

[lu-is-not-ok]

I made this meme purely to bully a friend who consistently mistakes Yi Sang and Ayin fanart for Kim Dokja. I know nothing about ORV btw.

[smash-bros-endia]

A pure broken heart

Omi: “Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Oof!” Runs into Fou-Lu.

Fou-Lu: “Hmm?”

Omi: “Oh. My apologies Fou-Lu. I’m being chased by a terrifying beast!”

Fou-Lu: “A beast thee sayeth?”

Omi: “Yes.” Turns around. “Be careful! Here it comes!”

A squirrel runs up to them.

Fou-Lu: “...This is the terrifying beast of burden thee speaketh of?”

Omi: “Yes! Squirrels are much more fearsome than they appear!”

Fou-Lu: “...” *Slowly walks up to the squirrel*

Omi: “Fou-Lu! Please be most careful! Oooh...I cannot look!”

Fou-Lu: *Picks up the squirrel and pets it* “There's nothing to fear, Omi.”

Omi: “Huh?” *Sees Fou-Lu holding the squirrel* “Most amazing! How did you manage to tame it?!”

Fou-Lu: “The creature simply meanteth no ill wilt. peradventure twas attracted to thy scent and becameth curious.”

Omi: “My scent? Are you saying that I smell?!”

Fou-Lu: “I meanteth thee smelleth unfamiliar to the creature, but if 't be true that offends thee then wend bathe t hence.”

Omi: “I see...Well, I must thank you for aiding me in my time of need, Fou-Lu. I am in your debt.”

Fou-Lu: “... Don't bother. Carryeth on with thy day."

Omi leaves Fou-Lu alone with the squirrel.

Orphen, Dante, and Zeus were walking by when they notice Fou-Lu surrounded by various animals.

Dante: “The hell is this?!”

Orphen: “There’s being in touch with nature and then there’s this guy. Where did they even come from?”

Zeus: “Fou-Lu, they’re not...disturbing you, are they?”

Fou-Lu: “Lest I fine.”

Dante: “What did he say?”

Orphen: “He said he’s alright.”

Zeus: “Hmm...this reminds me of those stories I used to read to my daughter. Usually animals gather around and aide those that carry a pure heart.”

Dante: “A pure heart?”

Orphen: “I remember those, but usually the ones getting help are princesses.”

Dante: “I don’t know about you, but this guy doesn’t strike me as your typical damsel.”

Orphen: “Yeah, but he is royalty.”

Dante: “Of an empire that he created, then destroyed.”

Zeus: “Perhaps there are actions he made in his journey that fills him with regret. A heart may be pure, but it can still be broken.”

Fou-Lu: “...”

Dante: “Well, can’t argue with that. I’m pretty sure lots of us have been there at least once.”

Orphen: “...Come on. Let’s leave him alone.”

Once the three of them leave, Fou-Lu takes out the bells he keeps in his pocket.

Fou-Lu: “Pure...yet broken?”

[lu-is-not-ok]

Okay I need to know, because this broke me yesterday.

What expression does everyone remember Hong Lu making in his base E.G.O art?

Do you remember him smiling in that illustration?

Because he certainly fucking ain’t.

[lu-is-not-ok]

I have to stop myself from going insane over the coming update so I ranked the Mephi crew based on how buff they are (headcanons may apply).

[lu-is-not-ok]

The PM experience.

[lu-is-not-ok]

Everything you need to know from Leviathan

First things first: this is Not a story summary of Leviathan. This is merely a collection of all the pieces of characterization, backstory, and worldbuilding that I believe is or will be relevant in Limbus Company.

I encourage everyone who has finished Library of Ruina (or doesn't care about spoilers to that game) to read Leviathan yourselves, as I will be skipping over most of the actual plot of the novel.

Also, due to the nature of Leviathan as the direct sequel to Library of Ruina, some endgame spoilers to that game will inevitably come up. That being said, I will try my best to keep those spoilers as minimal and vague as possible.

Preamble: Done. Let's get into this. Something something long post warning ahead. It's also kind of chaotic and borderline incomprehensible. If I missed something then, uh, whoops.

Event Timeline:

The end of Library of Ruina directly causes an event dubbed "the first miracle" by some, and "the second passing of White Nights" by others, during which the people killed in the Library would begin returning to the City as if nothing happened.

An orphanage in the Backstreets of District 22 (V Corp's) was at the epicenter of this event, being destroyed in the process and causing the Ring to take interest in the children raised there.

The events of Leviathan follow half a year after this event, and seem to take place over the course of at least a few days. It's as of yet unclear how much time has passed between the end of Leviathan and the beginning of Limbus Company.

Vergilius:

Vergilius comes from District 22 (V Corp's), a Nest filled with wide water canals and boats that make use of them, making it somewhat reminiscent of Venice.

Vergilius used to be the operator of a highly-experienced and skilled Fixer Office. The lowest Grade Fixer at that Office is Grade 3 until a rookie joins them during the events of Leviathan. This Office seems to be dissolved by the end of Leviathan after half of the Fixers working for it die.

Vergilius's title, the Red Gaze, is a stealth pun in Korean. The word used for Gaze is a homophone to the characters used in an epiphet meaning Immortal Poet.

The red eyes Vergilius is named after appear to have a certain kind of aura to them, which causes him to draw attention to himself and be easily recognised. For missions where stealth is involved, Vergilius has a special pair of glasses to make his gaze less recognisable.

Also, Vergilius owns whole-ass calling cards with his Fixer title and a portrait in a Roman-inspired style.

As a Color Fixer, Vergilius is extremely strong and fast, being able to crack the ground underneath his feet when running at full sprint and literally cut through buildings. In fact, Vergilius's body is heavily augmented with artificially woven muscle fibers, which Vergilius compares to hydraullic cylinders and motors in how it feels to use them, though they're not literally mechanical. Despite that level of power, he's noticeably less experienced or skilled than another Color Fixer seen in Leviathan - Iori, the Purple Tear.

Speaking of her, Vergilius appears to know quite a bit about her, including her name, what happened to her in Library of Ruina, and what one of her goals is. She's also implied to have taught Vergilius a technique called Shin that gets introduced later in Leviathan. Also, Iori calls him a junior, implying a difference in either age or experience between the two. Oh, and he also knew Roland.

In addition to knowing those people, Vergilius appears to have also known Carmen before she died. He recognises the nickname Carmen uses for him within the Light as the one she used for him back when they knew each other. Also, back then, Vergilius's weren't as they are now, implying they've known each other before Vergilius was a Color Fixer.

For some time during his work as a Fixer, Vergilius has had the ability to sense "Flow". A fate-like pressure that he sees as trails of shadows and light, pointing him towards a destination he doesn't know. It's a force he notably struggles to resist, only being able to by following dim Flows, rather than the slow but bright Flow. However, doing so merely brings ruin to Vergilius's life, as the dim Flow inevitably guides him back to the slow Flow.

For ten years, Vergilius has been visitting an orphanage in the local Backstreets, donating money and goods and spending time with the children there. He even keeps an old photograph of him with all the orphanage's residents on him.

Before he found the orphanage for the first time however, Vergilius would go on rampages and kill people he believed were contributing to the horrible current state of the City. One of those rampages involved the slaughter of a whole Syndicate, the leader of which was Lapis's father. It's heavily implied that all the children within the orphanage landed there as a direct result of Vergilius's actions.

Vergilius is consistently shown to be stoic and emotionally distant, yet deeply caring underneath his aloof exterior. This is most clearly shown through his relationship with Garnet, the previously mentioned rookie who was raised at the previously mentioned orphanage. Though Vergilius denies Garnet's claims that he raised him, and regularly thinks about how Garnet's sentimentality is going to get him killed, yet he also can't help but feel proud of Garnet in moments where he truly shines, care a lot about Garnet's safety, and feel horrible guilt when he fails to protect him.

Back during his rampaging days, Vergilius is unable to show mercy, with his "attempt" to do so involving giving the last survivor a cut that would let them survive for a few hours, in gratitude for giving him a code to the door. Inversely, current day Vergilius appears to have softened, as his gladius has a heating mechanism that immediately cauterizes the wounds it inflicts. This ensures non-fatal wounds remain not fatal, even if leaving his target alive could cause him issues later on.

Vergilius's motives for taking care of the kids at the orphanage despite being the one who orphaned them are as complex as they are layered. Guilt is clearly a part of that, as Vergilius believes there's no reason for him to see Lapis again when Garnet offers to take him along for his meeting with her. Another part of it might have been Vergilius secretly wishing that one day, one of the kids would realize what he'd done and take their retribution... however it's unclear how "canon" that particular motivation is due to it only being brought up in a vision of a Mirror World. The orphanage was also a reprieve from his former reality filled with wails and begging for mercy. It was a place of warmth, filled with voices of delight waiting for him every time. At the same time, it was a source of hope for him. A place where he could redeem himself, to raise children who could live with the heart he couldn't have, and who could potentially change the City with their virtues alone. All of these motivated Vergilius to cover up and forget about his true goal. One he's been actively burrying during his visits at the orphanage.

That goal? Redacted from the viewer. The first explicitly set up mystery in Leviathan. However, we know that it is directly tied to how Vergilius wishes to change the City.

Vergilius believes that the City is deeply wounded, with its injuries having festered for a long time. He believes that the way to change it is to continue spilling blood, never letting it dry out. To try and pierce through the City's thick shell into its wounded core. When describing the world he wants, he says it's "a world that can only be understood once you feel it with your whole body".

After a talk with Carmen, Vergilius effloresces into his E.G.O, which allows him to wield blood as both a weapon and armor. It also allows him to become one with pools of blood, however he would be unable to leave them if they were to dry while he's inside. However, the usage of his E.G.O is limited by the amount of other people's blood he has available to him. If he were to run out, he'd be forced to use his own, dying painfully in the process.

Also, Vergilius keeps coming up with one-liners when beating people up. It's kinda funny.

At the end of Leviathan, Vergilius is invited into Limbus Company, being promised to give him Lapis (who had been replaced by Charon) and Garnet (who has been reduced to a tiny glowing jewel) back. Thinking back on his past, Vergilius accepts, though the story ends before we get to see the exact terms of his employment.

Charon:

Previously, Charon was known as Lapis, and was one of the kids at the orphanage Vergilius would regularly visit. She was especially close friends with Garnet, who would later become a Fixer and join Vergilius's Office. In fact, Garnet notes how Lapis wouldn't usually open up to anyone but him, and when they did talk she would often talk about Vergilius. She's also noted to not be a fan of studying.

Lapis ended up at the orphanage after Vergilius killed her father during his slaughter of the Syndicate he led. While we don't get to know much about her father, we do know he cared deeply for her, to the point his last words were calling out her name.

In a flashback to her childhood, we learn that Lapis would always suck on bitter candy as she's able to preserve it and suckle on it little by little, whereas sweet things melt away much sooner. She follows this anecdote of hers up by revealing her wish to "try all the flavors in the world" when she grows up.

After aging out of the orphanage, Lapis got a job at a fruit-harvesting company. During the events of Leviathan, Lapis has decided to meet up with Garnet at a private location. However, the area turned out be occupied by Syndicate members, including that of the Ring, and Lapis was kidnapped to be used in the Ring's experiments with Mirror World technology.

At the end of Leviathan, Lapis turned out to be the only of the "gems" to have survived the experiments. However, she did so because she was the only successful one. Her former identity was completely erased, replaced by that of Charon. Initially, Vergilius is hesitant to make contact with her, feeling like keeping his distant will save both of them from pain. However, he relents when Charon finds a still living piece of the jewel Garnet had turned into.

Gubo:

Gubo is one of the researchers at N Corp, and during the events of Leviathan he comes to an auction held by the Ring for the sole purpose of gaining access to their Corridor and retrieving Aseah.

His connections to a Wing allow him to casually bid 10 billion Ahn like it's nothing. Gubo is also notably frustrated when the auctioneer appears to be breaking their own rules, trying to convince them that doing so would put their gallery in ill repute.

To enter the Corridor despite his failure at the auction, Gubo is willing to sacrifice the lives of the people that had accompanied. Notably, Vergilius is able to tell that Gubo did no fighting himself due to his appearance, reckoning he merely hid while others fought in his stead.

Gubo is someone who's willing to keep himself calm and composed regardless of the situation. He's constantly calculating ways to reach his goal, willing to do anything and pay any price to do so. However, that composure is said to reflect insecurity, obsession, and yearning. He is shown to take some ridiculous risks in pursuit of his goals, attempting to attack Vergilius twice despite being clearly outmatched against a fucking Color.

Despite N Corp being at potential odds with the Ring, due to them kidnapping Aseah, Gubo doesn't act hostile towards the Ring's members outside of getting rid of those who were directly standing in his way.

Aseah:

During Leviathan, Aseah is the main researcher working on the Mirror World technology for the Ring. He's specifically working on modifying and tuning an invention made by Young-Ji, the Glass Window.

By that point in time, Aseah had already joined N Corp, however the Ring kidnapped him to use his knowledge for their own gain. Despite such seemingly dire circumstances, Aseah does not seem bothered to be working for the Ring in the slightest.

Aseah is a cold and usually emotionless individual who only cares about his research. In fact, he only ever shows emotions, specifically passion, when realizing he's made a breakthrough or describing how the technology he's researching works. He's easily swayed to risk other people's lives for the sake of pushing his research even further.

One of this main motives for using the Glass Window is to create a Singularity to surpass Yi Sang's creation, as well as any other competing technology of this kind. Despite his self-imposed rivalry with Yi Sang, Aseah still calls him a friend.

At the end of Leviathan, Aseah is successfully retrieved by Gubo . However, a question is posed: for both to get back out of the Corridor, Aseah must be able to know how to navigate it. If that's the case and he could have escaped this whole time, why didn't he? He must have had reasons to not fly away, even though his cage was wide open. Add that to the mystery counter.

Limbus Company:

Limbus Company shows up at the very end of Leviathan, being a new enough Company for Vergilius to have never heard of them before.

A Special Operations Team from a department called LCA raids the Ring's lab, specifically searching for Vergilius. A woman with hair that seems white from far away, but appears graysih close up, approaches him. This is revealed to be Faust, and she's the one who gives Vergilius an offer.

Work for Limbus Company, and we can bring Lapis and Garnet back.

The Ring:

The Ring are a Syndicate that are said to only believe what they see with their own eyes, and are dedicated to the creation and display of various types of art. They also hold auctions for various pieces.

Some of the Ring's art falls within our understanding of it, such as paintings and sculptures. A large amount of it however includes acts of extreme violence or otherwise cruel behavior.

Many of the lower-ranking members of the Ring and Backstreets residents under their protection are considered to be akin to students, being graded on their pieces and taking art exams. While the Ring does allow resits on their exams, flunking too many times will result in death. In such an environment, a lack of inspiration causes people to have mental breakdowns.

As far as we've seen, the Ring hold two different types of art galleries, which I'll refer to as Syndicate-facing and Public-facing respectively.

Syndicate-facing art galleries are structured more like schools, complete with classrooms and suspicious "art" exhibits within the halls. One of those exhibits we see are "statues" of people with animal heads. However, these statues are actually sill living people that are forced to stay completely still under the threat of violence, or "scolding". Oh, and those people also had their mouths and ears sewn shut. This particular exhibition is revealed to be a part of a test that the Ring was holding that night.

Public-facing art galleries look more akin to modern art galleries we'd see in our world, and their lower floors are accessible to pretty much any public person. These floors are filled with more standard types of art, like paintings and sculptures. The top floor of these galleries is considered the VIP floor, where auctions are held and the true disturbing nature of the Ring is shown to the guests there.

During the auctions, every participant has a veil put over their head, and they are to bow in respect when the one holding the auction enters the stage. The art pieces sold on these auctions can be anything from paintings of real slaughters that took place in the City, to objects made out of or containing pieces of actual people, to straight up dancers stuck eternally dancing in glass stages in which time flows slower. Additionally, the person who wins the bid on the "meister's most cherished work" will be allowed into the Ring's Corridor.

At the time of Leviathan's events, the Ring not only has access to the Corridor, but also Mirror World technology in the form of the Glass Window.

A secret research lab was kept hidden within one such Corridor, where the Ring would test Mirror World technology on "gems" - young people who came from the orphanage at the epicenter of the Miracle. These experiments involved these people experiencing many Mirror Worlds at once within their mind, with those people physically shattering if pushed too far.

The Ring's goal with their research of the Mirror Worlds is to open as many Rifts to as many of them as possible, with one of the high-ranking Ring members saying they wish to open ten thousand rifts at minimum.

This plan appears to be thwarted by the end of Leviathan. It's vaguely implied that N Corp and/or Limbus Company seized the tech in the Ring's possession, leaving it unclear if the Ring still has access to it currently.

Over the course of Leviathan, we learn of two different high positions within the Ring: Docents and Maestros. Each can be identified by the kind of ring they wear on their ring fingers. Also, all of the ones we've seen thus far are gender non-conforming as fuck.

Docents are responsible for taking care of and monitoring the art galleries. Notably, they are responsible for guiding guests and giving lectures on the lower floors of their public-facing galleries. These lectures appear to involve explaining the ideals of their Maestros. Docents wear two-coiled rings that extends down the top of their hands and coils around their wrists.

Maestros are responsible for holding the auctions and appear to have a high amount of control over the Ring's actions. They wear three-coiled rings. They also notably act a lot more according to what they believe is true art, as opposed to the Docents who can still be swayed by money and social standard. As an example, Maestro Jumsoon decides to give his most prized artpiece not to the person bidding billions of Ahn, but to the person who convinces him they can complete the piece due to being personally involved in what it represents.

N Corp:

The physical location of the Ring's secret lab appears to be within N Corp's District. However, due to its entry point being connected to the Corridor, it's unable to be accessed from outside the Corridor.

One of N Corp's main source of income and culture are so-called suicide vending machines, or vending machines that dispense canned experiences that specifically allow a person to experience suicide. This bit of technology is considered both amazing and condemnable, and is said to be one of the main reasons people move to N Corp's Nest.

N Corp Taboos are upheld vehemently. Recorded footage of that secret lab, even without knowing it's located in N Corp, would result in Taboo Hunters being sent out over the breaking of the Nest filming taboo. They are highly efficient, going after everyone who had seen the recording before finally retrieving the footage.

M Corp:

M Corp's full name is MDM Enterprise. In Leviathan, we see M Corp do business with the Ring through delivering their product to them - an entire moonlight stone.

A moonlight stone delivered in a massive box filled with a flesh-like cushion around the stone. Opening the box requires using an unlocking mechanism composed of multiple various levers. Everyone present in the same room as the box during its opening are required to wear ear plugs, while those actually opening it also require airway protection. Upon being pulled open, the stone needs to be cut out of the flesh cushion using a knife.

If sufficient ear protection is not worn during this process, the sound the stone emits while being forced out of its container will cause all that hear it to experience a "wave of hiraeth". This is shown as a sort of dissociative state where the person rambles about the ocean being their home and family, and how they need to return to it.

The moonlight stones themselves appear similar in shape to large pearls. The Ring appears to use them by putting them in translucent containers, where the stone is attached to multiple electrodes and tubes for a yet unclear purpose.

The Light:

After the second passing of White Nights, people would begin transforming into forms similar to cocoons or eggs. This happens when a person becomes aware of how unbearable the world around them is, causing them to retreat from reality.

When seperated from their bodies, people establish their... Redacted. Yet another mystery. However, it's implied to be something along the lines of the ideal world they wish to create, or the dream they wish to make true. If they manage to set this Redacted and endure the process, they can be born anew as a Distortion (or potentially with Effloresced E.G.O). If they can't their bodies are seized by their sins, resulting in the creation of a Peccatulum.

This process is pointed out as being different to the process of Distorting that we're used to seeing, though it's not yet unclear to what extent.

The inside of the Light as utter stillness, shimmering as if somethered in light. When someone is inside the Light, Carmen attempts to guide them towards a specific conclusion, acting kind and trying to absolve them of any guilt over their actions, while showing an utter lack of pity or genuine feeling. She's able to see past the facades people put up, directly looking into what they have been through. She uses that knowledge to direct people towards realizing their true desires and wishes.

Carmen is able to meet and talk with people whose hearts "crack". Who are too overwhelmed with their emotions in the moment. When she discovers a person's true wish has been buried and hidden away, she acts as if the act is so painful that it hurts her by proxy. She uses this opportunity to offer these people the power to create they consider right, one only for their own eyes.

She claims that she's helping everyone paint the City with their own colors, much like the Light, in which all colors perfectly blend together. When it's pointed out to her that doing so would be impossible, due to everyone's colors being different and thus it being impossible for them all to exist together in perfect harmony, Carmen responds by saying everyone should be dedicated to protecting and fighting for the sake of their own world, even if it means fighting the entire world itself.

Carmen describes the process of Distorting or Efflorescing E.G.O as becoming a "self unbound by the eyes and standards of the City", with Carmen attributing the latter to being Ayin's idea. Carmen says that she believes the final destination of everyone's ambitions is Love, specifically unconditional Love towards oneself, as the only person that can truly understand and love them is themself. This is where Carmen and Ayin come into conflict. Ayin believes people should be able fight using clothes and tools, holding the human form in high regard. Carmen, on the other hand, sees that as unnecessary moderation, and argues one should express their love through their body, so that it and their heart can become one.

Effectively, Carmen is trying to guide people to only caring about themselves and their desires, disregarding everything around them. She does so through a "friendly, yet ruthless pressure", by offering the seemingly perfect solution of absolute self-love at the cost of being blind to one's reality. She knows what the "right" choice is, and will be disappointed if one were to choose the other option, but she won't stop anyone from pursuing their desires even if their way is different from what she's envisioned.

...There is a purpose to it all. A goal Carmen has for herself. After all, she's a person too. It's another bit of information that's redacted, setting it up as yet another mystery, but we do have a hint towards what it could be. Somehow, a person who was given power by Carmen failing to fight for their wish appears to contribute towards Carmen's personal purpose.

Speaking of that, Leviathan reveals another, more violent way to defeat a Distortion. By proving the fundamentals of a Distortion's beliefs wrong, by breaking the foundation upon which their wish was built, the Distortion begins to fall apart. With nothing left to its form but vague concepts, an Abnormality is born, tearing out of the Distorted person's body and killing them instantly.

Peccatulae:

The Peccatulae are the result of the process enabled by the second passing of White Nights, in which a person retreats into a cocoon-like form upon finding the world too unbearable and faces an ordeal within. If the person fails the ordeal by not being able to find a wish for which's sake to return to their world, their body is left to be fed on by their sins. This results in their bodies transforming into manifestations of those sins - the Peccatulae. Once this transformation takes place, it cannot be reversed.

Peccatulae are not Distortions, as they are what happens when one lacks the strong desire needed to either Distort or Effloresce E.G.O. They are also not Abnormalities, as unlike them the Peccatulae can be killed.

The Peccatulae visually lack any humanity they may have had before the transformation. At the same time though, the cries they let out are compared to that of humans burdened by life, by the sin of bearing sin.

Those cries are also seemingly able to affect one's mind, causing memories associated with the Peccatulum's Sin Affinity to resurface.

The Glass Window:

The Glass Window is a piece of technology created by Young-Ji, which was co-opted by Aseah and studied by the Ring. This technology is considered to be a Singularity by Wings and Grade 1 Fixers.

The main function of the Glass Window is superimposing Mirror Worlds onto whatever is viewed through it, though in a blurry state. It's noted to be less stable than Yi Sang's Mirror technology, but in exchange it's capable of superimposing a much larger number of Worls at the same time.

The amount of Mirror Worlds and their intensity can be controlled through modifying the Glass Window's Refraction Rate. A higher Refraction Rate allows more overlayed Worlds to stack, at the cost of "yielding more of one's heart to the Glass Window".

Surviving high Refraction Rates without physically shattering involves attaining focus - a process involving perishing one's heart without killing it.

Most weapons cannot damage the Glass Window.

The Corridor:

The Corridor is a piece of technology that the Ring owns during the events of Leviathan. It's a liminal, seemingly-infinite space that can connect to places all over the City. As long as the area they wish to link has an exit, a matching entrance will appear within the Corridor.

Many of the doors within the Corridor are locked using mental locks, to be able to enter them one needs to think specific mental keywords as they attempt to open the door.

Inside the Corridor itself, electronics such as video recorders and ear pieces appear to malfunction.

Despite the Corridor being a mostly linear space, the complex and intricate rules by which its passages connect make it more than possible to get lost within. As such, navigating the Corridor is usually done when accompanied by a guide.

To navigate the Corridor by oneself, one needs to always remember two things - their starting point, and their destination. Knowing those two points will allow one to be able to find their way by feeling which directions to take. This is due to a phenomenon called Reversion of Causality, a phenomenon which some Singularities take advantage of as well.

Breaking through a wall in the Corridor leads to a massive hall made of constantly shifting purposeless surfaces lined within even more purposeless doors. Staying within this outer hall is dangerous, as one would become stuck here if the doors within the Corridor reassembled themselves.

Shin and Mang:

Shin is a technique Vergilius learned from (who's implied to be) the Purple Tear. Shin involves completely relinquishing the control of one's body to one's mind, specifically one's memories and the feelings associated with them. When Shin is used, it causes glowing rings to appear around the weapon (or body part if weaponless) one is using to fight. The glow of these rings is constantly emphasized to be that of the moon.

Vergilius describes Shin as "the power of Light", and "the power of sin".

To use Shin, one needs Mang (referred to as luna/lunae when not a proper noun), often multiple of them. Using Mang is described as filling onces emptied minds with dense and heavy memories, then letting the lunae of these recalled feelings guide one's movements.

Random Miscellanous Bits of Info:

It's a tradition in District 8 (H Corp's) to gift apples on Christmas Eve, to wish the giftee a peaceful night.

Cellphones in the City seem to be at a stage in-between Iphones and slightly older smartphones. The screen only takes up roughly half of the phone, but it appears to be a touchscreen due to the lack of mechanical buttons.

Related to that, payphones also exist in the City. The District the payphone is in gets shown to the one recieving a call from one.

The Seven Association holds seminars for new and aspiring Fixers that teaches them the basics, such as information about major Syndicates, Singularities, spatial awareness, etc. The Seven Association also holds Fixer qualification tests.

Higher education is something one can pursue in the City.

There are still video recorders that use videotapes in the City.

Cognition-warping ID Cards are a thing within the City. However, they are noted to only be useful for brief deception.

One of the canonical Mirror Worlds is literally our world.

Airplanes don't exist in the City.

[lu-is-not-ok]

Me begging Project Moon not to overwork themselves by working on a live service game with regular updates as an indie studio consisting of only 34 people.

[lu-is-not-ok]

I think the funniest thing about Limbus Company is that if you look at its themes and compare them to the contents of Lobotomy Corporation, Limbus begins to look like PM's attempt at going more in depth on themes that were touched upon in LobCorp only in throwaway lines.

Like.

Look at this bit of dialogue.

This is the only time in LobCorp where the idea of X not being the same as Ayin comes up, after which the idea is never brought up again as far as I remember.

But the thing is, this exact idea. Of someone potentially no longer being considered their previous identity after having their memories erased and making new memories. Is a core theme behind Dante.

Once you notice this kind of stuff happening, you can't unsee it.

[lu-is-not-ok]

So is everyone gonna just ignore the fact that the leaked Document that PM sent over to the Union states that Vellmori was the one to resign herself and was the one who didn't want the info being spread around?

Like, I'm not saying PM handled this shit well, because they absolutely didn't, but the whole thing of her being fired is apparently just a straight up fucking lie.

And, if the Document PM sent to the Union is to be trusted (which, if they lied about that, I imagine that would be even more legal trouble than is worth for them with all this shit going on), that means that everyone being mad at PM for not saying anything more is being mad at them for Following Vellmori's Wishes.

Again, I'm not saying that PM handled Any of this well. They absolutely should have made sure that Vellmori didn't feel so threatened that she felt the need to resign. They absolutely fucked up in that department.

But the main thing people focused on, Vellmori's firing, allegedly just wasn't even real.

What the fuck is even going on anymore.

//Btw, here's the source for the translation of the Certificate of Contents that PM sent to the Union and which was later leaked.

[lu-is-not-ok]

Look at him!

Look at his murderous ass and even more feral company!

Awww, he’s so dead inside~ There’s no light in those eyes <3

[lu-is-not-ok]

With each new Hong Lu release I become more and more sure that one of the main themes of his character arc will be freedom. Especially with the utter fucking duality of his 000 Identities.

Tingtang Gangleader is Hong Lu with all the freedom in the world. He’s a leader of a Syndicate, he doesn’t have to follow any rules. However, he has no purpose, and so jumps at any opportunity to get a dopamine rush, whether that’s gambling or solving all of his problems with murder. He’s a Hong Lu driven to depravity by Too Much Freedom.

On the other hand.

K Corp Hong Lu has no freedom outside of the purpose given to him, all the way to effectively ceasing to exist if he has no purpose to fulfill. As such, he finds joy in what he does, no matter how horrible the acts he commits, because he quite literally has nothing else in his life. He’s a Hong Lu driven to depravity by the Utter Lack Of Freedom.

This all strikes the fear of Canto 8 in me.

[lu-is-not-ok]

This fucking guy.

Anyway have some of my incoherent ramblings about this man under the read more because I have a lot to say about him.

Alright, let me split this into three sections because otherwise this ramble will be even more of a mess than it already is.

I'm gonna discuss Yi Sang in the mirror, or Sang Yi, under a couple of different lights.

One, how he relates to the concept of being the opposite reflection to Yi Sang. Two, how he ties back to Yi Sang's wife from "The Wings". And three, some of my thoughts about how he might fit into the wider scope of the plot and world of Limbus Company.

Strap in lads.

Sang Yi as a "left-handed" reflection

Something that becomes increasingly clear as we're shown interactions between Yi Sang and Sang Yi, and what is directly spelled out by the latter at the end of Canto IV's dungeon, is that Sang Yi is effectively the antithesis of much that makes Yi Sang, well... Yi Sang.

Yi Sang, at the core of everything, is a very sentimental and kind man. He cares a lot about the people around him, even if he doesn't always show it outwardly, and struggles to move on from whatever losses he experiences. Though he may claim otherwise, he's also constantly thinking about everything he's going through, which is what eventually leads him to the Mirror as a form of escapism from his curel reality.

Sang Yi on the other hand... is none of that.

Most of the 'comforting' words or advice Sang Yi offers to Yi Sang can be boiled down to "Stop caring or thinking about every little thing.", a sentiment that's directly in opposition of who Yi Sang is as a person.

Sang Yi finds the idea of feeling joy or despair over the past pointless. He thinks Yi Sang shouldn't feel guilty about his technology being used to exploit others because he already knew what he was getting himself into. He doesn't understand why Yi Sang would have trouble moving on if he were to lose Sang Yi.

Whereas Yi Sang is caring and emotionally-driven, Sang Yi is... I don't want to say uncaring, since he does seem to care about Yi Sang to some degree, but at the very least he is rather distant and logically-driven.

I think the moment that exemplifies that the most is when Yi Sang tells him Gubo doesn't care about him beyond using him as an accessory to prop himself up in the limelight, to which Sang Yi responds that it doesn't matter, that Yi Sang should use this as an opportunity to be in that limelight as well.

And, actually, speaking about that. Sang Yi doesn't really seem to think things through nearly as much as Yi Sang does. Or, at the very least, he doesn't care to look deeper than the surface level.

Sang Yi sees Gubo's attempts at connecting with Yi Sang as genuinely caring about him, whereas Yi Sang is able to see through them and realize Gubo is being entirely selfish here. Sang Yi sees the new League of Nine as something worth joining, while Yi Sang notices that it is nothing but a mockery of the old League. When Sang Yi learns of the new League's plan to destroy mirror worlds, his only reaction is that of mild curiosity without even a sign of concern.

All that being said, the biggest example of this might just be the fact that Sang Yi did not even realize just how badly Yi Sang was feeling until Yi Sang straight up told him there was nothing left for him in this world outside of Sang Yi.

Though we can't know for sure what exactly Sang Yi was feeling at the time, as all that we know about him is colored by Yi Sang's own bias towards him, I think it's fair to say that was the moment where it finally hit Sang Yi just how badly he fucked up by keeping Yi Sang stuck there all to himself.

Which, now that I think about it, transitions nicely to the other angle I want to look at.

Sang Yi as Yeongsim / Yi Sang's wife

First of all, just to lay it out there in the open, as fucking hilarious out of context as it sounds to say Yi Sang was his own wife all along, it's... actually not all that far off.

Beyond the fact that the Mirror is directly named after his wife in "The Wings", there's some other obvious signs that point to it. If you were to take the letters Yi Sang was writing to Sang Yi out of context, you could absolutely mistake them for something one would write to a lover too far away to be easily reachable. Plus, the way Yi Sang's first reaction to seeing Sang Yi is to call him "beautiful" in his mind?

Yeah, there's something to that.

And, of course, there's something to be said about the similarities between Sang Yi's role in Yi Sang's life, and the role Yi Sang's wife played in "The Wings".

That being the way both of them end up isolating Yi Sang, how both of them actively withhold information from him, and how Yi Sang sees them as perfect and without a fault even as they're hurting him.

I don't feel like talking about "The Wings" in depth right now as it's almost 5 am and I want to actually finish writing this fucking post at some point, but if you want to know what I'm comparing Sang Yi to, it's a short read that's easy to find a free pdf online for.

The fact that Sang Yi was trying to keep Yi Sang inside is probably the most spelled out one out of everything I'm talking about in this post. Not only does Sang Yi directly tell Yi Sang to stay with him (mind you he doesn't even ask), but Ishmael, as an outside observer, notes how Sang Yi was trying to keep Yi Sang in the room by making him afraid of the outside.

Actually, looking at when he finally offers Yi Sang the choice to leave, it's in a... very interesting way, shall we say?

Not only does Sang Yi try to make the option of staying sound as appealing as possible by bringing up that Yi Sang will be able to continue doing what he loves (or at least what Sang Yi believes Yi Sang loves), like continue working on the Mirror and keep talking to him.

On the other hand, Sang Yi is reluctant to even bring up the option that Yi Sang can leave, and when Yi Sang shows interest (note that Yi Sang's immediate reaction isn't a "I don't want to leave", it's a "I don't think I can leave"), he continues to make the option sound as unappealing as possible, while still making it clear that it is possible.

How Yi Sang doesn't need to be able to fly to leave, but he will struggle endlessly if he does. How Yi Sang can eventually find somewhere to call his home, but he will have to walk until his feet hurt and will have to settle for wherever or whatever he ends up resting at.

I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like the kind of encouragement or advice someone who had a person's best interest in mind would make.

Now, let's make some other facts clear while we're at it.

Sang Yi knew that Yi Sang had wings as well, after all, he calls that fact 'obvious' when he finally mentions it. However, he never directly told him he does, even as Yi Sang lamented to him about how (in his eyes) he himself had no wings. He only brings it up when Yi Sang is truly at his lowest.

Sang Yi knew what the effects of supplements Yi Sang was taking were, as he can tell exactly what will happen if Yi Sang stops taking them, or takes several at once. However, he never directly told him this until he gives Yi Sang a choice, even though he was clearly aware they were not beneficial.

Sang Yi knew that Yi Sang's room was always open, as he was confident that Yi Sang would be able to just leave on his own once the effects of the supplements cleared away. However, he never tells Yi Sang that, even when Yi Sang is making it clear he doesn't think he even can leave. It's actually one of the thing Yi Sang ends up finding out by himself.

Despite all of this... Yi Sang never stops to consider that Sang Yi might not have his best interests in mind. Sang Yi is his everything. He's perfect, flawless, the ideal self. He's the only thing Yi Sang has left.

Call me cynical, but it paints the ending of the Canto in a somewhat bittersweet light to me. After all, Sang Yi never has to apologize or even admit to anything, and Yi Sang still views him as positively as he always has.

I guess at the very least it's accurate to the book. After all, Yi Sang in "The Wings" ends up holding on to that perfect image of his wife to the very end.

Sang Yi as an entity

Okay I have no clever transition here like I did last time, but this is probably the thing about Sang Yi that's been bugging me the most.

Have you guys noticed just how much Sang Yi seems to know about Yi Sangs from different worlds? Those sweeping general statements about "All versions of Yi Sang" or "All Yi Sangs" that he makes with full confidence.

When Yi Sang assumes that Sang Yi can "be anywhere he wants" thanks to his wings, just how correct is he?

With the way Sang Yi talks about other Yi Sangs, it gives the impression that he's met a lot of them in the past. In fact, if that's true, it would recolor the meaning of Sang Yi's comment about his meeting with his particular Yi Sang "peculiar".

What's so peculiar about our Yi Sang specifically, if Sang Yi has met so many of them? Is it the method, the fact that it's through the mirror? Is it that Sang Yi finally found a Yi Sang that also had wings? Is it because our Yi Sang is the first one to contact him rather than the other way around?

And while we're on that topic, isn't the way Sang Yi talks about Yi Sangs kind of odd? It's always "All Yi Sangs" or "All versions of Yi Sang", as if he's not part of those Yi Sangs himself. It's like he's putting himself in the role of an outside observer, seperate from the concept of being a 'Yi Sang'.

Just what is Sang Yi, really? He implies he's the version of our Yi Sang that's inside the mirror, the one that "needs to be opposite, yet is quite alike" to the one outside, to explain why our Yi Sang would have wings if he saw them on Sang Yi, but like... He never directly says that's the case.

In fact, when Yi Sang asks Sang Yi about what the outside is like, Sang Yi weirdly dodges the question, saying it's all "the same tiring stuff". Another example of him withholding information aside, this all makes him seem rather fucking suspicious to me.

Just. What is he really?

God I hope we get to see him again, cause I really want to know what the fuck his actual deal is.

[lu-is-not-ok]

Lu's Guide to Sin Analysis

Welp, since my brain is too focused on having K Corp Hong Lu go full unga bunga in Mirror Dungeons to write full analyses, I decided I might as well give something else to all the people starving for Limbus Theory content.

So, here we are. A basic guide on how I approach the Sin Analysis portion of my analyses, covering my personal interpretations for each Sin, as well as how to use those when analysing both E.G.Os and Identities.

That way, ya'll can dabble in doing some of this on your own when I'm too busy grinding my way to 400 hours of play time on Limbus to write up full analyses.

Sounds good? Awesome. Under the cut we go, wheeeee!

Sin Interpretations

Let's start with the most important part - the Sins themselves.

I want you to take a moment and think about your own associations with those Sins. Perhaps your immediate thought is to take the words used literally. Maybe you immediately think back to the Biblical ideas of the Seven Deadly Sins. Mayhaps there's some other media you know that also uses Sins in some way, which you subconsciously default to when thinking about them.

Whatever those associations are, I want you to throw them away.

That's right. Whatever is telling you that Lust = Horny, Wrath = Angry, Envy = Jealous, etc, etc? Throw all of those preconcieved notions away.

This is the biggest mistake I see people make when trying to analyse Identities and E.G.O based on their Sins - they assume that those Sins have the same meanings in the context of Limbus as the popular, more common interpretations of them.

And while, sure, some of them can definitely overlap with what one would expect them to be, I think relying on those during analysis instead of trying to understand what the game itself is trying to tell us by using those Sins as symbols is doing its storytelling a massive disservice.

Do I think my personal interpretations of the Sins are a 100% accurate reading? No, of course not. I can't see into the mind of Kim Ji-Hoon or whoever else at Project Moon might have been the mastermind behind deciding what Sins connect to what. I have no way of knowing what exactly they intended here.

However, I do wish to believe that my interpretations not only strive to meet the game's storytelling on its own terms, but also hopefully make further analysis based on those interpretations a bit easier to wrap one's head around.

...God I really need to stop writing massive preambles and just get to the fucking point.

So let's actually get to The Fucking Point. Sin Interpretations, one by one. Let's fucking do it.

Wrath

The flames of revolution burn bright in the face of cold winds.

Wrath is the Sin of self-righteousness and defiance. To act with Wrath is to decide that one deserves better, that things around then should bend to their will, and then take matters into their own hands. It's the Sin of deciding one has the right to change something simply because they don't like the current state of things.

There are many ways one can act because of Wrath. It can show through trying to rebel against authority, to subvert one's fate, to escape one's unfavorable circumstances, or to even reject one's own true nature. To act with Wrath is to stand up for oneself and tell reality "No, I refuse!" loud and clear.

A common misconception of Wrath is the idea that anger is an inherent part of it. While it's true that those feelings often coincide with defiance, they're not required for one's acts to be fueled by Wrath. Some can be Wrathful while being completely calm and collected, as their acts of defiance could be more on the quiet and simmering side.

Likewise, being quick to anger isn't always a sign of Wrath. It's very possible for someone to have a short temper, while also being fully accepting of the reality they live in (Ryoshu, I am looking directly at you), thus lacking Wrath.

Lust

One's base insticts go all the way back to that genetic code.

Lust is the Sin of self-indulgence. It's the Sin of letting one's own desires and whims dictate one's actions. It's also the Sin of seeking personal fulfillment above all else. To act with Lust is to give up one's self-control and let one's instincts and wants guide them.

Unlike what the name and symbol might initially imply, Lust can include many different types of desires, not just the carnal.

Likewise, acts of Lust can be just as varied as one's desires. Satisfying one's most basic of needs, searching for a form of spiritual enlightenment, or even just saying the first thing that comes to mind because one feels like it are just a few examples.

Sloth

A stone will not care for what happens to it, nor the world around it.

Sloth is the Sin of apathy and resignation. Unlike other Sins, which mostly show through one's direct actions, Sloth can also show through inaction.

To act with Sloth is to ignore reality, to let oneself go along with whatever is happening with barely any complaints. As such, Sloth is commonly associated with blind obedience or unwillingness to act out.

Due to its nature as a Sin of resignation, Sloth can be seen as the direct opposite of Wrath, the Sin of defiance. This creates a unique situation where the inclusion of one can drastically shift the context of the other if both are a part of the same Identity or E.G.O.

Gluttony

Plants never stop waging wars, always wanting just a little bit more.

Gluttony is the Sin of hunger, and it's unique from the other Sins in that it equally represents two different ideas of that hunger, which can appear together just as often as they can be completely seperated.

The first type of Gluttony is one of the starving hunger of survival. In this context, to act with Gluttony is to do anything for the sake of scraping by and living to see another day.

The second type of Gluttony is the hunger for more, or in other words: greed. In this context, to act with Gluttony is to do everything for the sake of this idea of "more". To gain more wealth, to find more recognition, to make more progress.

Both of these types of Gluttony are unified in one main point - they are, by definition, endless. The struggle for survival never ends, unless one fails to survive. Likewise, there is no finite "more" that greed is reaching towards, it's a neverending process of one-upmanship.

Gloom

When a wave of emotion rises, many will be swept away in its wake.

Gloom is the Sin of dwelling on feelings. To act with Gloom is to be guided by one's negative emotions, to buckle under stress and let it control one's mind and actions.

While sadness, grief, and depression are the states of mind most commonly associated with Gloom, and are often a part of it, they're not inherent to it. The only "requirement" here is the experience of severe emotional duress, and acting out in direct response to it.

In a way, Gloom is the Sin of losing control over oneself, not dissimilar to Lust. However, the main difference here is the cause of losing that control. Gloom is the loss of self-control due to being overwhelmed by negative experiences, while Lust is the loss of self-control due to seeking out positive experiences.

Pride

Be careful, for that double-edged sword may cut you as well.

Pride is the Sin of ignoring consequences. Acts of Pride are all actions taken because of the belief that their benefits outweigh the cost in some way. While the most common way this can present is through actions that benefit oneself at the cost of others, it's not the only way Pride can manifest.

One can be Prideful when believing the benefit to many outweighs the consequences. Likewise, refusing to acknowledge the harm one brings to themself because their actions benefit them in some other way also counts as Pride.

The idea that Pride is inherently tied to selfishness or self-confidence is another common misconception. In fact, Prideful acts can manifest just as often from a lack of self-confidence or a misguided selflessness. Rather, one could interpret Pride as a form of willful ignorance, in a way.

Envy

Thorns don't go out of their way to harm, they merely react to your touch.

Envy is the Sin of reaction and retribution. It's the idea of doing something because of what someone else has done. By definition, one cannot act with Envy without some form of provocation.

Like is the case with many other Sins, acts of Envy can take many forms, from taking revenge to following orders. The main connecting idea here is letting oneself be influenced by another person, whether it's being coerced, provoked, ordered, or otherwise manipulated.

Out of all of the Sin misconceptions, seeing Envy as inherently tied to jealousy might be the worst one of all. While acts done out of jealousy would likely count as acts of Envy, they are but a miniscule part of the sheer scope that Envy represents.

...

Alright, so you know what each of those Sins means. Now it's time to figure out how to Actually Apply Them.

Sin Affinities in the context of Identities

The main way Sins play a role in a given Sinner's Identity is through their Sin Affinities. Mechanically, these are the Sins attributed to each of their skills, signifying both their type of Sin damage and what Sin resource they generate upon being used.

However, this is Project Moon we're talking about, and these fuckers can't keep their gameplay mechanics seperate from the story to save their lives.

So, this begs the question: what can we learn about a Sinner's given Identity through their Sin Affinities?

Here is the method that I believe works best in my experience:

The Sin affinities of each of an Identity's skills represent a different layer of their psyche and motivations. I'm going to try to show what I mean by using base Identities of the four Sinners who already had their own Canto.

Skill 1's Sin Affinity is the surface level motivation of the Sinner's actions. This is the most obvious and "shallow" reading of them and their actions, and also likely the one the Sinners themselves are most aware of.

Gregor's Skill 1 is Gloom due to him being constatly haunted by his trauma, with much of his cynicism and dark-ish sense of humor being shaped by his war experiences. Rodya's Skill 1 is Gluttony due to her tendency to value material goods and love for food, which are signs of her greed and will to survive respectively. Sinclair's Skill 1 is Pride due to him taking many actions (such as sharing his father's secrets or giving Kromer his basement key) for their immediate benefits, without considering the consequences. Yi Sang's Skill 1 is Gloom due to him falling into deep depression and letting the trauma of the past shape his current actions.

Skill 2's Sin Affinity is a deeper motivation of the Sinner's actions. It's delving deeper into their psyche to see what guides them in less obvious ways. This Sin Affinity can also have noticeably closer ties to the Sinner's background in one way or another.

Gregor's Skill 2 is Gluttony due to him being driven by the will to survive, most notably expressed by him leaving the rest of the veterans to escape the war and try to live after it ended. Rodya's Skill 2 is Pride due to her fully believing in what she does working out in her favor, completely ignoring consequences on the way. Her killing the pawnbroker is the biggest example of an act of Pride, as she fully believed that it would help her neighbourhood despite the consequences that murder would bring. Sinclair's Skill 2 is Wrath due to him not accepting his circumstances. His want to defy his future prosthetics procedure is what eventually led him to agreeing with Kromer, and his will to defy her is what drove him through the events of his chapter. Yi Sang's Skill 2 is Envy due to his passive nature and how easily he lets other people dictate his actions. It's especially notable in how after the League fell apart, he would have been willing to do anything Gubo told him at that moment.

Skill 3's Sin Affinity is what I would like to call a Sinner's Core Sin. It's the true main reason behind their actions, and has a much closer and direct tie into their past than the other Sin Affinities. In a way, this is the deepest layer of their psyche.

Gregor's Skill 3 is Sloth as his resignation to his circumstances is what colors much of his past. He learned that resistance is futile early in life, and it shows. Though he didn't want to fight in the war, he felt like he had no choice but to. All of his life, he simply listened to orders without complaint, unable to see a way to change his situation. Rodya's Skill 3 is Wrath as her self-righteousness and defiance is what drove her actions at the deepest level. She first joined the Yurodiviye because she wanted to bring change the state of her neighbourhood, and likewise left them when she no longer agreed with how they did things. Her murder of the pawnbroker was her biggest act of defiance, of taking matters into her own hands and trying to bring change to her reality at all cost. Sinclair's Skill 3 is Envy as much of his actions were dictated by other people. Social pressure was what led to him first breaching the trust of his family, and Kromer's coercion and manipulation is what then led to his family's death. In a way, you could also interpret Sinclair's arc in Canto III as one big act of Envy, as he finally tries to take revenge on Kromer for what she has done. Yi Sang's Skill 3 is Sloth as his apathy to the reality around him is what led to him ignoring the warnings signs of the League falling apart, and the resignation that followed could have resulted in him helping Gubo and the New League out with their horrible plans had there not been an intervention. It's only by the end of Canto IV that he finally manages to break out of this state for long enough to stand up for himself and decide to keep on living.

So, that's the basics of Sin Affinities when it comes to Identities! Now, some of you might be asking, "Hey Lu, what about Sin resources needed for Passives?", and my answer to that is...

Honestly, I don't entirely know! I do think there probably is some reason beyond pure gameplay mechanics... Buuuuut I don't think their importance is as major as the main Sin Affinities of a given Identity, especially since there isn't a single Passive that is activated by a Sin that the given Identity doesn't have any Affinity to.

Sin Affinities in the context of E.G.Os

Alright, so, when it comes to E.G.O, we run into some additional complexities. Unlike Identities, which can usually have their Sins Analysed with minimal additional context, E.G.O Sin Analysis has to be done under a specific angle.

This is because while Identities represent the Sinner as a whole person, E.G.Os represent a specific singular part of that Sinner.

Base E.G.Os usually seem to tie back to a specific event or action or some other thing in that Sinner's past. Likewise, E.G.Os derived from Abnormalities represent the ways that Sinner connects to that Abnormality's own themes.

In a way, the game's worldbuilding even acknowledges the fact that a Sinner can only use the E.G.O of an Abnormality they relate to in some way, as Dante's Notes describe the process of the Sinners using E.G.O as trying to make the Abnormality's emotions and identity their own.

That little tangent aside, there are two main things to analyze sin-wise when it comes to E.G.O - the Sin Affinity, and the Sin Resources necessary to use that E.G.O.

An E.G.O Sin Affinity works similarly to an Identity's Sin Affinities - for a Base E.G.O, it's the main Sin that action manifests as. For an Abno-derived E.G.O, it's the Sin that contextulizes the way the Abno's themes connect to the Sinner in question.

The Sin Resources an E.G.O needs is where things get fun. These are what a Sinner needs to be able to use the E.G.O, both mechanically AND story-wise. The Sins here represent what a Sinner has as their motivation and drive to fully reflect what that E.G.O represents. For Base E.G.Os, it's why they took the actions they did. For Abno E.G.Os, it's why they connect to that Abno's themes and why they're able to relate to it.

Now... There is one more thing about E.G.Os that I don't really talk about.

Sin Resistances.

The reason why I don't talk about them... Is because I have No Fucking Clue how to interpret them. There has to be some importance to them (Hong Lu being weak to Wrath in all of his E.G.O thus far, I am looking at you), I just don't know what it is. In fact, I doubt we even have enough information available to us right now to be able to say for sure.

I don't know how to end these posts dear fucking lord-

So uh. Yeah. That's. Everything that I think is important to mention on the topic of Sin Analysis and how I do it. If I ever change my mind on something or have an epiphany regarding one of the things I currently have no idea about, I'll probably reblog this post with an addendum or something, but until then...

Uh. Yeah. Hope this helps the people who wanna get into analyzing Limbus stuff but don't know where to begin. Or just people who wanna understand the method to my madness a little bit better.

I'm gonna go to sleep now, cause it's 4 AM already and I spent like the whole fucking night writing this post.

[lu-is-not-ok]

Project Moon make a gameplay mechanic that's not diegetic challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)

[lu-is-not-ok]

Let’s talk about K Corp Hong Lu

Look. He got me. He got me bad. I can’t explain just how badly he got me. There is so much I want to dissect about him. So you know what?

This is going to be my first Identity Analysis. Fuck it we ball.

Before I get into it though, let me make myself clear: unlike E.G.O Analysis, I will not be taking Identity Analysis requests. This is because Identities inherently come with A Lot more content to analyse, and it’s not really something I’m willing to sit down and do at the whim of anyone and everyone. E.G.O Analyses already take me a while to do. I hope you guys can understand that.

With that out of the way, let’s get into it. Cue Game Theory intro or some shit.

Let’s start with the obvious, K Corp Hong Lu’s uptie story and his dialogue lines.

While his uptie story serves mostly to introduce more lore about Class 3 Excision Staff, it does provide some additional context to Hong Lu’s situation in this specific Mirror World.

To summarize, Class 3 Excision Staff are effectively K Corp branded super soldiers, whose main trait is nigh invulnerability due to extremely heavy dosage of K Corp ampules. However, this comes at a rather ironic cost - this same dosage could instantly kill them if something within their bodies changes just enough to make them no longer compatible, rendering them extremely fragile to even something as mundane as dreaming. As such, they have to be kept in complete stasis when not deployed, to ensure their state is constantly stable and so that they don’t accidentally get fucking gooped from thinking the wrong way.

Effectively, they are forced to not exist outside of their purpose, as trying to could lead to their death. They have no freedom by nature of what they are.

Besides that lore dump, we also learn some interesting things about Hong Lu in that Mirror World.

For one, it’s his family who got him into this job. Specifically, his grandmother directed him here, stating she wanted Hong Lu to see more of the City and experience new things. A rather... odd motivation for putting your grandson in a position that stays stuck in a tube in suspended animation 90% of the time.

This is something the scientist in charge of waking Hong Lu up doubts it as well, wondering if Excision staff truly is the right position if that’s what she actually wanted for Hong Lu. Hong Lu, for what it’s worth, doesn’t seem to actually care about her motivations, claiming he’s fine with his situation as long as he gets to have new experiences. Put a pin in that, I’ll try to remember to go back to this.

Another thing we learn is that Hong Lu seems to react oddly to being put into complete stasis. It’s noted that he doesn’t seem to suffer from any side-effects upon waking up from suspended animation, and that him being able to immediately talk up researchers for attention is in no way expected behavior. However the process is meant to work, it’s implied to not be as simple as pressing the pause and resume button on a person.

Likewise, it’s noted as odd that he seems refreshed upon being woken up, implying that, again, this is not how it’s supposed to work, as Class 3 Staff doesn’t seem to be able to “rest” in the traditional sense of the word.

In fact, there’s something weird about him that I myself noticed that doesn’t seem to be directly pointed out. Hong Lu notes that he feels extremely bored when not deployed, saying that relieving that boredom is his reason for constantly chatting up researchers whenever he’s woken.

The thing is... by all means, Hong Lu shouldn’t be feeling bored. Being put into suspended animation is outright stated to put one’s consciousness into stasis as well, as subconscious thoughts are one of the things that could destabilize one’s ampule compatibility. Hong Lu, by all means, should not be cognizant enough of his surroundings and time spent in stasis to be able to be aware of how unoccupied he is during that time.

While it could very well be just a figurative figure of speech he uses to carry his point across (as Hong Lu isn’t exactly the most honest person in any Mirror World), the fact that there is Something Clearly Off about how he experiences stasis means there very much could be something more to it.

There is a chance that odd trait of his could be connected to the SP restoration abilities of his alternate versions. While K Corp Hong Lu is the second Hong Lu to not have any mechanics tied to restoring SP (Kurokumo Hong Lu being the first), it’s not impossible that for him specifically, they translate into something not applicable to combat.

Could it be that whatever is able to keep most other Hong Lus’ Sanity up is what’s causing him to potentially stay semi-cognizant in stasis? It might be a stretch, but I feel like the fact that it’s something that’s partially pointed out to us means there’s something more to it.

It would certainly explain a lot of his oddities. Why he’s able to so quickly bounce back upon being woken, why he seems to actually rest when in stasis, and why he seems to be aware enough of his time spent there to feel bored. For whatever reason, his consciousness seems resistant enough to not let itself be fully put into suspended animation.

Remember how I mentioned how Class 3 Staff has no freedom because of the nature of what they are. Well, I think this applies even more for Hong Lu in this specific case. Because of something inherent to him, he can’t be put into full stasis. Whereas other Class 3 Staff are able to stay blissfully unaware of their time spent stuck in their glass coffins, Hong Lu can’t. He perceives it, whether he wants it or not. In a way, he’s even less free than those who already have no freedom.

When it comes to K Corp Hong Lu’s dialogue lines, there’s something I want to note about their delivery. It seems to me that, in general, his dialogue lines carry notably less energy than the dialogue lines of his other Identities. There are a lot more lines where his voice is lowered, or in some way faltering, compared to other Hong Lus.

While most of the actual content of his dialogue lines is hinting at info we learn through the uptie story, there is some interesting things to note.

One - Hong Lu feels like it’s been a very long time since he began his job at K Corp. Hearing about daytime makes him reminisce about how he used to drink at that time of the day, and being asked why he joined K Corp he notes how it feels like it’s been ages ago, and even seems to be slightly unsure about it in fact being his grandmother who sent him there. ...Just how long has he been working there?

Two - Hong Lu’s desperation. It’s clear Hong Lu much prefers actually doing his job to sitting in a glass tube for days on end - he expresses excitement at the idea of being deployed more often, and takes joy in being able to breathe fresh air after a long while. He’s also notably down when he realizes Dante won’t talk to him anymore. However, the one line that stood out to me the most here is his Ex-Clear victory line, where he hesitantly pleads to have just A Little Bit of free time before he has to go back into stasis.

Now, time for the Fun Part. Time to look at the Sin affinities and try to dissect what the fuck they mean on IDs.

Before we talk about what Sin affinities K Corp Hong Lu has, let’s talk about one he doesn’t have - Lust. The Sin representing actions done to indulge desires or seek personal fulfillment.

I feel like this is extremely important, as every other Hong Lu ID has some Lust affinity in one way or another, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this specific one lacks it.

As a quick recap: Kurokumo Hong Lu has Lust as his Skill 1, Tingtang Hong Lu and Liu Hong Lu both have Lust as their Skill 2, and Base Hong Lu has Lust as his Skill 3.

To briefly summarize what I think this all means for each Hong Lu without getting into full Sin affinity analysis for all of them:

Kurokumo Hong Lu’s Lust represents how his actions seem at first glance. He’s acting according to his own desires and whims, not caring to follow other people’s orders if he doesn’t want to.

Tingtang Hong Lu’s Lust presents as a slightly deeper motivation. He seeks out a dopamine rush at every opportunity he has, diving head first into gambling and murder just to satisfy his desires.

Liu Hong Lu’s Lust is similarly a deeper motivation. He likewise seeks to indulge himself, though in his case it’s him fully leaning into the comforts his rich family enables him to enjoy, like the incredibly expensive tea he seems to be obsessed with.

Base Hong Lu’s Lust is what I’d like to call his Core Sin. At their very core, Hong Lu’s actions are driven by his need to have his desires be satisfied, whether it’s his curiosity, his wish for comfort, or his need for attention. That’s the main driving force behind who he is and what he does.

As one can see, Lust is Incredibly Important to who Hong Lu is as a person in every Mirror World. So, what does this mean for K Corp Hong Lu?

It’s bad. It’s Bad? It’s really not good.

Because this means that in his current situation, K Corp Hong Lu does not care to have his needs satisfied. In fact, I don’t think he’s even in a position to be able to care about that. He’s reduced to only truly existing as a tool, a weapon for K Corp to use, and when he has no purpose to fulfill he’s put into stasis that doesn’t even seem to fully work on him.

How would he even begin to try to fulfill his desires in such a state? He’s barely able to resolve his own by-now-probably-chronic boredom, to the point he actually enjoys his job. Hong Lu, whose Mirror Identities consistently mention either not liking to do what other people tell them to do or simply finding it more tiring to do something as a job than doing the same thing off-the-clock? You’re telling me That Hong Lu is actually enjoying his job?

Can you see why this Identity has been fucking with me so much?

But oh wait, we’re not done. Oh hell no we’re not done. We actually have to analyze the Actual affinities K Corp Hong Lu has, cause hoo boy they tell a story.

The Affinity of an ID’s Skill 1 usually represents what Sin that Identity’s actions present as upon first glance. In this case, K Corp Hong Lu’s actions present as Pride, as actions done purely for their benefit while the consequences are ignored.

This, I think, fits what we know about him pretty well. He finds delight in deployment regardless of the harm he has to inflict as part of his job, simply because it provides momentary relief to his boredom. Likewise, one could interpret the action of becoming part of the Excision Staff as prideful. Hong Lu remains in his position for the sake of “new experiences” (and because Granny said so), all the while ignoring the way he suffers because of it.

The Affinity of an ID’s Skill 2 usually reflects a Sin corresponding to an Identity’s deeper motivation behind their actions. For K Corp Hong Lu, this is Gluttony, representing the motivation of hunger, whether in the form of hunger for survival or hunger for more.

In this case, I think we can firmly place K Corp Hong Lu on the Survival part of the Gluttony duality. As I laid out way earlier, Hong Lu here has no choice but to do as K Corp tells him, as otherwise he will literally die. There’s also a way we can interpret it as part of his motivation for joining K Corp in the first place. If his grandmother wanted him to work here, did he really have a choice, or would the consequences of disobeying be far worse than what he has to put up with in here?

Then, there’s Skill 3. I interpret the Affinity of an ID’s Skill 3 as the main driving force of that Identity, their Core Sin, so to speak. For K Corp Hong Lu, this is Sloth, the Sin of apathy, resignation, and inaction.

This, I think, is where K Corp Hong Lu’s deal is truly revealed. He is fully resigned to his fate as a Class 3 Staff. It no longer matters to him to do anything but follow orders without question, because what else does he have left? Staying half-asleep in a glass tube for the rest of his life? Dying? No wonder he’s finding delight in deployment, he has literally nothing else. The only reason he’s not outwardly hopeless is, well, because he’s Hong Lu. And a Hong Lu will try to smile through everything, no matter how badly it hurts.

I also think it’s important to note that there is only one other Hong Lu ID right now that shares K Corp Hong Lu’s Skill 3 Affinity - Kurokumo Hong Lu. This might seem weird, considering Kurokumo Hong Lu’s whole thing is being staunchly against being ordered around... Except this quickly falls apart when you actually look at his actions. Yes, he complains and doesn’t respect his superiors, but. He still follows orders. He’s still good at following orders. As much as he hates doing it, he has no choice but to do it. And so, he’s also just as resigned to his fate at his core as K Corp Hong Lu is.

Now, with all of that being said, there’s one more thing I want to talk about here. What does this mean for Base Hong Lu. Our Hong Lu.

While Dante’s Notes very directly point out that Mirror World versions can be nigh unrecognisable in personality to their Base counterparts, I think it’s a mistake to fully dismiss them.

I think, in one way or another, the alternate Identities of Sinners are meant to tell us something about the Sinner in question, whether by implying something that they may be hiding, or by paralleling the Sinner’s situation in a more symbolic manner.

Remember that part I said to put a pin in? How K Corp Hong Lu doesn’t care for his grandmother’s motivations for making him take this job, since he’s getting something out of it?

That. That feels extremely important to me.

While you could definitely make the argument that in general K Corp Hong Lu’s whole situation could be a symbolic parallel to how his family treats him as nothing but an object that ceases to matter once its purpose is fulfilled (which I think still applies as well by the way), I think there is something more important here.

The idea that as long as Hong Lu is being cared for by his family, as long as he benefits in some way from having to bear the pain, he will not question their motivations and goals.

In a way, we already knew that. We already knew from Base Hong Lu’s dialogue that he still views his family positively despite the abuse he very likely went through at their hands. However, I think K Corp Hong Lu’s attitude here further confirms that idea. That as long as his family shows Some form of love towards him, he won’t question how horrible they have been to him.

Because if they love him, there’s no way they’re Actually being that bad towards him, right?

...

God Canto 8 is gonna hit way too fucking hard for me and not even deep-diving into Hong Lu can prepare me for it.

[lu-is-not-ok]

I think the egos are supposed to be a way to kind of psychoanalyze the sinners; what do you think it means for Hong Lu to have Roseate Desire?

Ok so. Here's the thing about analyzing Hong Lu based on Roseate Desire. A Sinner having a specific E.G.O is one thing. A Sinner sharing an E.G.O with someone else while also showing distinct difference between each other is another.

Under cut because I got rambly again.

First of all, Pink Shoes is an abberration of Red Shoes, which is an abnormality that exploits one's primal desires.

Pink shoes appears to be similarly exploiting desires, according to the in-battle event, though not much is known about Pink Shoes as an abnormality, as all Abno Logs are more focused on its wearers rather than the abnormality itself (reasonably enough, I doubt the Sinners would have a reason to worry about the shoes specifically when they're being beaten to shit by ribbons and people wearing those shoes).

Based on the fact that Hong Lu shares the E.G.O with Ishmael, we can deduce that that is exactly what Roseate Desire signifies, that a Sinner using it is in some way bound (literally in this case) by their desires. With Ishmael it's implied to be the same compulsion that drives her to search for "That bastard" that is still alive, as her Roseate Desire attack very implicitly mimics that of Snagharpoon.

This is actually the first interesting thing I want to note. While for both Hong Lu and Ishmael the weapons they use in Roseate Desire are unique, there is a notable difference to How they are used.

With Ishmael, the anchor and shield are used almost exactly like the weapons we see her use in her base E.G.O.

With Hong Lu however, not only are his clawed gauntlets not resembling of anything else he uses in either E.G.Os nor IDs, they aren't even used as weapons by him.

Which, actually, brings me to my next point. Ishmael, even when corroded, is very notably In Control of Roseate Desire's ribbons. She's using them to swing the anchor around, and pulling on them to do damage. Though swaying, she's standing on her own two feet.

Notably, this is the opposite of how the ribbons treat Hong Lu. His attack animations are notably stilted, with almost doll-like movements, making it unclear if he's the one controlling the ribbons, or if the ribbons are controlling him. Add to that how his idle pose is reminiscent of a puppet, and it becomes very clear how this E.G.O further ties back to Hong Lu's themes of freedom, or lack thereof.

You could say this is further reflected in what Sin Resources the E.G.Os use. While both of them use a lot of Lust, it's notable that Ishmael's uses Wrath, a Sin associated with direct action, while Hong Lu's uses Envy, a Sin more so associated with reacting to the actions of others.

Some other small details that I'd like to note that aren't like. Major factors. But still corroberate what my final verdict is:

The amount of the pink tint singifying Pink Shoes's control over its posessee is noticeably larger on Hong Lu than on Ishmael, in both Awakening and Corrosion sprites.

Ishmael's Awakening dialogue line very explicitly has her trying to resist the Pink Shoes, with a tone of voice that is similar to her usual, while her Corroded one has seemingly given in into the temptation and completely changed how she sounds. Notably, Hong Lu has the same tone of voice across both his dialogue lines for this E.G.O, is already seemingly taken over in his Awakening line, and his Corroded line sounds more like something the shoes themselves would say rather than what someone taken over by them would.

An interesting design detail for this E.G.O is that, in both the illustration and Corroded sprites, Ishmael and Hong Lu have a different part of their face covered, that imo is symbolizing something. Ishmael has one of her eyes covered up, tying back to her one-track obsession that the Pink Shoes are exploiting by seemingly blinding her to everything that isn't her desire. Hong Lu, on the other hand, has his mouth covered up, fitting with his seeming lack of his own will when using this E.G.O.

So uh, my final Verdict? If it were just Hong Lu that had Roseate Desire, I would say that he's easily controlled by his own whims and say that we can't get a better read on him than that because we don't have enough information about him.

HOWEVER! This isn't the case. In fact, being able to compare his Roseate Desire to Ishmael's completely changes the context here. The desires that are controlling him aren't his own, they're what other people want of him. That's why he's moving like a puppet, that's why his version uses Envy, that's why his Corroded sprite has a covered up mouth and has him speak for the Shoes themselves.

Hong Lu's Roseate Desire implies he's the type to buckle and follow whatever other people tell him to do. Which, well, isn't that far off from what we know about him. Hell, even Kurokumo Hong Lu, who very explicitly does not like to follow orders, still notably follows them anyway and is said to be good at doing so when push comes to shove.

It all ties back to Hong Lu's themes of freedom and control over his life, doesn't it?