froggiesan

am i allowed to do this? sorry guys i dont post on social media. the first half was written in 2024, so i swear it gets good eventually, but the beginning is....... not my best work at ALL.

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Soo… Canto 8, amirite? Close to 2 months ago (when I first played through the LCB checkup and Nocturnal Sweeping), I noticed a ton of parallels between Hong Lu and Heathcliff, as well as some obvious nudges to Heath being important in Canto 8. But I *also* noticed that no one was really talking about it! So here I am to share my thoughts and predictions for the rest of the Canto.

I put off making this post for a while bcs I didn't really want to be loud and wrong and make a fool out of myself, but... it's so obvious it hurts and I'm so excited about the second part that I might as well share. So! Unrelated to Canto 8, there's already a few things to consider between Heath and Hong Lu. I'm scared of posting on social media so pls be nice to me.

Temperament

Polar opposites, especially after Canto 6! Heath has a real bad inferiority complex and has aggressive reactions to anything he perceives as an insult, though not as strongly as before. He also reacts strongly when his fellow sinners are being insulted and has a growing desire to connect with them.

In contrast, Hong Lu has a consistent calm and carefree manner, and doesn't mind being insulted or hurt. He keeps a comfortable distance from the other sinners and doesn't offer much in the 'helping others confront their pasts' category.

While Heath has strong aspirations and goals throughout the story (though slightly changed), Hong Lu has no future plans or wants.

Backgrounds

Not a ton to say here, but I think it's important to point out their differences and similarities in childhoods. While it is mentioned that they both had quite the traumatic childhoods, it *seems* to be that Hong Lu has been regarded highly by his family for his jade eye. Opposite of that, Heathcliff was looked down on and treated very poorly. This difference in treatment leads to a difference in mindset: Heath is very reactionary, while Hong Lu prefers no action at all. Heath is obvious with his emotions and opinions on things, while Hong Lu is unreadable and has no preferences.

LCB Checkup

Arguably the most in-your-face hint hint nudge nudge to Heath's importance in Canto 8. The intervallo spends a suspicious amount of time focused on Heath's morals and values—his persevering, against-all-odds attitude is brought to attention just as it was in Canto 6. It shows his ability to sympathize with others, like Donqui and Hohenheim, both of whom have lost important figures in their lives. Interesting!

Nocturnal Sweeping

Also very important! While somewhat minor, there is something in this intervallo that I find to be very important: how the other sinners treat/see Heath.

There's no sweet way to put it. The other sinners aren't too fond of Heath. Except Don maybe, lol. This is likely because of the memory erasure of Canto 6! They don't remember anything to do with Cathy, which is quite a lot—so we can assume that most of what they remember is the failure to collect the Boughs and the endless fighting, which I can't imagine them being too happy about. Nocturnal Sweeping highlights how the sinners dislike his 'act first think later' mentality, and somewhat stubbon sense of justice.

Now! Here's everything I've noticed during the first part of Canto 8!

Love and Envy

Cathy's mention and Hong Lu's fiancée. A very disastrous duo. Heath's mention of Cathy was way past due, and it speaks for itself! Heath misses her dearly and is still frustrated with himself at his inaction (I'm sure he loves his 'what if' scenarios). It made me laugh that Heath had the same reaction as Rodya when Baochai revealed their engagement, despite not being a part of the conversation. However I did not laugh at him asking Hong Lu why he left. It's pretty clear he's jealous, or at least frustrated, as he wishes he could've had a relationship with Cathy—and here's Hong Lu, completely indifferent to his engagement and fiancée! The nerve!

Mentality

I'm not sure how exactly to transfer this from thoughts to words. So.

Heath chastises Hong Lu for his bystander mentality and finds his self-deprecation frustrating. (This also occurs during Nocturnal Sweeping, but shh..) It's likely this is similar to the above, where he sees his past self in Hong Lu—the version of him that ruined his chances of a happy life with Cathy with his refusal to take action. He's taking out his frustrations with himself on Hong Lu.

That one specific moment they have talking about the garden or whatever

Am I looking too far into things? Maybe! But I think that the scene has a small underlying meaning. Lemme type out the dialogue since I have no idea how else to show this.

HC: Well, that ain't a very big deal, is it? Kids run around, scrape their faces on the branches, trip and eat shite on the pavement all the time.

HL: Hehe, I'm sure you would've run freely around the garden, Heathcliff. But it's important to always be careful.

Could this be yet another nudge to their contrasting reckless and reactionary / passive and detached mentalities??! Who knows!

Time for predictions!!! If anyone care

I definitely think Heath's going to lash out at Hong Lu at some point. Maybe it'll be like Donqui towards Sinclair. My money is on that it'll have something to do with Baochai—maybe she dies and Hong Lu's reaction isn't satisfactory for Heath? There's definitely going to be a focus on Heath's unresolved issues about Cathy's disappearance, and I think it works perfectly with Hong Lu's feelings towards Daiyu. Who knows maybe I'm stupid and wrong forever and everyone's going to throw rocks at me for this post.

I'm pretty ambivalent on the 'Hong Lu's gonna distort!' theory. Would it be a huge new parallel between Heath and Hong Lu? Absolutely. But I'm not totally convinced. We will see!