[open post - dream big]

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe does not need to sleep every night, and at home he is too busy to do so. But there is less to do here, and he grows bored in the nighttime when there is no chance of seeing any of the few people he likes. And Nina must not have any nightmares on his watch.

He curls up on his bed now, enduring the ache he always feels to be in it alone. Sleeping alone is one of the things he most despises. The only saving grace is that his powers let him make himself sleep instantly. In his youth, he often ended up fighting his thoughts for hours in place of sleep, even when physically exhausted. He wishes Shen Yuan were here, or if not, perhaps Sagramore—not to do anything that would disrespect Shen Yuan, but just to warm Luo Binghe's bed with his presence. But he would prefer almost anyone in the mansion over no one.

He ignores this customary melancholy and forces himself to sleep. He will first check on Nina, to guide her mind towards its best dreams without intruding, as he promised. After that, all dream paths are open to him.

[If you'd like a Luo Binghe dream visitation, please comment with how and where your character is sleeping, and perhaps what might be on their mind. If Luo Binghe does not know the character well, the dream will be more generic. However, he can read thoughts and memories, so feel free to DM the typist if there's anything you'd like Binghe to pick up on. Sweet dreams!]

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[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe laughs. "Doesn't that make me something like a god after all?"

[summerdude]

"Demigods are nothing like gods," Magnus says, immediately and stoutly. Luo Binghe might not recognize it, but this is, in truth, a compliment.

[protagonisthalo]

"What are they, then? I have told you about my kind. Although we do not have a term for half-demons—I call myself a demon because I know it is what people think of me. I am as human as I am demonic, but humans would not tolerate one such as I counting myself among them."

[summerdude]

"Well, most gods suck, so," Magnus shrugs. "I guess us demigods are less powerful but a lot more useful. Um, they tend to live apart in my world, too. But that's mostly because most regular, um, mortals can't see the truth, so it gets dangerous to spend all your time around them."

[protagonisthalo]

"What truth can they not see?"

[summerdude]

"That gods and giants and monsters exist," Magnus shrugs. "Anything that would break their brains. They bounce right off of it instead."

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe has never met a god—they don't leave the heavens in his world. He is contemplating this when he suddenly realizes that Magnus might know something he's very curious about. "Have you ever fought the son of a god?"

[summerdude]

Magnus frowns. "I mean, I don't know their heritage for certain, but I probably end up killing about five or six of them every Battle Practice?" he says. "Mostly Thor's kids. Those guys are like cockroaches in Valhalla."

[protagonisthalo]

"How do you kill them? There is one I keep hearing of who sounds like a vicious tyrant—I should very much like to fight him, but in my world the gods do not walk amongst us." He thinks for a moment. "Does the god that fathered them make a difference in their powers? I don't know the name of the one who sired the man of which I speak."

[summerdude]

"It does matter," Magnus says. "I have alf seidr and summer powers because of my dad. My buddy TJ is physically incapable of turning down a challenge because his dad is the god of duels. Sam and Alex can shapeshift because of Loki. Usually I kill them with my sword, unless its Dragons day, in which case I mostly just duck and let them take the heat, or Siege Warfare day, in which case I usually die too fast to get anyone else." He tilts his head. "Which guy do you want to fight? It's possible I've heard of him. I did a lot of research on different pantheons when I was trying to figure out what you were a god of."

[protagonisthalo]

"Christ?"

[summerdude]

Magnus stares at Luo Binghe for a moment, and then doubles over laughing. "Jesus Christ?"

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe frowns. "Sagramore calls him Jesu."

[summerdude]

"Yeah, I've heard that too," Magnus says, still laughing. "I'm sorry, dude, I don't think he's real." Then he stills, frowning. Galahad's god has talked to him, which implies that he exists, at least in some versions of history, which would suggest -- because all gods love to sleep around and leave little demigods to their own devices in their wake -- that Jesus is, at least, a possibility. "I guess... he might not be just some made-up story. But I'm not sure."

[protagonisthalo]

"He doesn't exist in my world, but he seems to be a common feature of others. Perhaps he is mythical in yours, the way demons are mythical to many, and yet here I stand. It seems some elements manifest in many different worlds, in different circumstances, and the echoes may reverberate throughout the cosmos and be felt even through the boundaries of reality. But he is very real in Susan's world—she told me that his followers consume his flesh. It seems to me he runs mad with power, and someone should check him."

[summerdude]

"Oh, gross," Magnus says, with great relish, making a mental note to ask Galahad if people eat Jesus in Camelot. "I know a bunch of his, um, followers? Real mixed bag. Some of them really suck, but some are really nice."

[protagonisthalo]

"From what Susan said, I think they are afraid—bound to follow his rules, lest they be branded as sinful. And it seems other humans exploit that fear. If such a mad, controlling deity ran wild in my own world, I would slay him, and free those in his thrall. Yet his power seems unchecked in many worlds from which our companions hail." Luo Binghe sighs—yet another frustration of being trapped here. "Is that what you've found?"

[summerdude]

"Some of his followers are definitely assholes," Magnus says, remembering some of the park preachers and shelter evangelists he's encountered in his time. "And some are definitely messed up by the way that religion is used. But I think the myth goes that he was already killed for his followers? And that's why they like him. So I don't know if finding a living version of him and killing him would be particularly helpful."

[protagonisthalo]

Ragnelle did say the godling was dead, but she didn't tell Luo Binghe he was killed. He is perplexed. "But that makes no sense. Who killed him? If his followers were demons, they would quit him and follow that person instead. It's already been proven who is stronger."

[summerdude]

"Oh, I think it's this whole martyr thing," says Magnus. "I think maybe his dad killed him? You should ask Galahad, though; he knows a lot more about this than I do. I'm an atheist from a pagan afterlife. This super isn't my area of expertise."

[protagonisthalo]

His own father? That is a difficult lot. As another son of a very powerful being, Luo Binghe could understand how your father trying to kill you might drive someone a little mad. "You've answered my questions as best you can, and that speaks well of you. Is there anything you wish to know of me? I will tell you truthfully." This time goes unsaid.

Regarding Galahad, they have barely spoken, but he does now know that Shen Yuan counts him among his close friends. Perhaps Luo Binghe will have the opportunity to ask him.¹

¹This is a message from the future: nope!

[summerdude]

Magnus considers this offer seriously. He doesn't really know where to start, with Luo Binghe. He's not certain that he has a read on the guy yet: just Lan Wangji's admonition to be wary of him, and Shen Yuan's effervescent nervousness preparing for his date, and the inkling that Luo Binghe doesn't have a ton of friends and might benefit from being socialized, like Otis or Marvin. He's still curious if dream manipulation is something that can be learned -- Luo Binghe said, once, only that it took a long time to master it, but then again, it could be his specific demigod (demi... demon?) thing, and there's no chance Magnus could even begin to pick it up. Magnus isn't all that interested in magic -- he's seen what Hearthstone has had to sacrifice to learn it -- but dream powers seem pretty handy.

"Okay," he says, partly to buy himself time to think. He's not going to ignore the warnings to take caution from someone he trusts as much as Hanguang-jun, but he's also willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. It's not like Magnus has never misrepresented himself for years on end on purpose to ensure his own survival... if he's guessing in the right direction about Luo Binghe's entire thing, then he gets it. So maybe he can use this offer as a way to get to know Luo Binghe on his own terms, so that he can make up his own mind about the guy? "What's something you wish I would ask you about? Or... not even me. Anyone. What kind of stuff do you wish anyone would ask you about?"

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe understands this to be a test. Maybe Magnus doesn't even mean it as one, but he will judge Luo Binghe based on the answer, the way he will judge him by this whole conversation. It's likely that a personal answer will go over better than to say he wants to be asked about his military victories or his most impressive hunts or something like that. But while there are many personal topics Luo Binghe doesn't mind people knowing about, he's also hesitant to seem too maudlin and moody in front of someone he barely knows.

So he considers it seriously, and comes up with an answer that is true. "My mother. I rarely have the opportunity to speak of her."

[summerdude]

"Okay," Magnus says, nodding. He can identify with that. "Tell me about your mother?"

[protagonisthalo]

Well, there's no need for them to keep standing around here. Luo Binghe waves a hand and takes them to a generic amalgamation of the little inns they have in the borderlands between the human and demon realms. He kneels on the floor by a table. There are wine and cups in front of them, but only for ambiance—if Magnus chooses to drink the wine, it will have no flavor or effect.

"She was the kindest person I've ever known. She took me in when I was just a child, even though she was so poor she could hardly feed herself. And she worked very hard to support both of us, even though her health was not good."