[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 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."

[summerdude]

Magnus pulls up a seat, but ignores the wine -- he's not really Drinking Dude. "That's great, man," he says. "So she adopted you?"

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe nods. "She was the only mother I've known—the woman who bore me died moments after my birth. She was just a poor washerwoman, but she cared for me more than anyone else ever has." And she tried her best to prepare him for life after her death, not only materially—advising him to seek acceptance into a cultivation sect, buying an expensive jade amulet to protect him—but also in teaching him how to behave. The way Luo Binghe turned out is not her fault. He tried his best to be the person she taught him to be for years, but it only made it easier for people to take advantage of him.

[summerdude]

"You miss her," Magnus observes, watching Luo Binghe. He misses his mom, too. "Was it her health or was it something else?" Then he rolls back what he just said and winces. They're not really close enough to break out the so how did your mom die? questions. "You don't have to say, man. If you don't want to."

[protagonisthalo]

"It was her health. She knew that she would die—she always said she wished she could see me grow up." He doesn't mind answering. His background is public knowledge; he only minds being seen in too emotional a state, and this is all so long past that he can speak of it calmly. He reaches under his robes to pull out the jade Guanyin pendant. In the dream, it is the one his mother gave him, although he has begun wearing it at his waist in waking life.

"This is all I have of her. Jade protects against evil spirits. She worked herself to the bone saving up to buy it for me, as a way to care for me after she was gone." Since it's unlikely that Magnus would know the difference between real and fake jade, Luo Binghe will not disgrace his mother's memory by telling him how she was swindled.

[summerdude]

Magnus leans over to inspect it, but doesn't touch it. Absently, though, he does brush his hands over the dream version of his Jack-pendant, and Lan Wangji's jade token. "That's great, man," he says, smiling up at Luo Binghe. "It's so important to be able to have something that reminds you of your mom." He wishes the Mansion was like Valhalla, able to pull photos and keepsakes that he lost when his childhood apartment exploded, from Ginnungagap, or wherever Valhalla's hookup is. He'd been without any physical reminders of his mom for the two years he was homeless. At least being outside was kind of like a keepsake.

[protagonisthalo]

It seems obvious that Magnus wants Luo Binghe to ask about his tokens in return. Luo Binghe is going to take any opportunity possible to forge any kind of positive connection with Magnus. He gestures at the Jack-pendant. "Was yours a gift?"

[summerdude]

Oh! Magnus wasn't really angling for this question, but he's happy to share. "This? Nah, this is my sword," Magnus says, and draws it. He's not really drawing Jack, obviously, but dream-Jack springs into full form just like regular Jack would. "I mean, I guess Jack used to be my dad's, but he didn't give him to me. He gave Jack up long before I was in the picture." He laughs. "I died rescuing Jack from spending, like, two thousand years under a river. This one fire-jotun wanted him. Let me tell you, dude, I do not recommend having a ball of burning asphalt flung through you. No fun. But, like, finders keepers, you know?" He tilts his head. "I guess you could argue that Jack is meant to protect me, but he mostly just sticks around 'cause he likes me."

[protagonisthalo]

"I have a spiritual sword as well." Luo Binghe manifests Xin Mo, lying coolly on the table. Though motionless, Xin Mo cannot be said to be inert. It thrums with malicious energy—as always, barely contained. "I found it embedded deep within the stomach of a beast I slew, in a hellish rift between realms." It's probably not necessary to add that Xin Mo doesn't like him. It obviously doesn't like anyone.

[summerdude]

"Whoa," Magnus says, peering at Xin Mo. "What does yours do? Mine sings and flies and tears holes through worlds."

[protagonisthalo]

"It can tear holes through worlds," Luo Binghe says with some pride. "And it responds to my will. But mostly, it's a conduit. It focuses and enhances my natural qi, like any spiritual weapon. Xin Mo is special, though. It is so powerful that it will overflow with power and turn on the wielder if not sated from time to time with a strong infusion of spiritual energy, such as from dual cultivation."

[summerdude]

"What's dual cultivation?" Magnus is imagining a literal duel.

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe eyes Magnus. He looks young, but not much younger—if at all—than Luo Binghe was when he used dual cultivation to save Qin Wanyue's life. "It's when two cultivators circulate their qi together through sexual intimacy."

[summerdude]

"Oh. Is that why --" Magnus makes a face. He hadn't meant to bring this up to Luo Binghe, but it's topical now. "Shen Yuan said you had a lot of wives back home?"

[protagonisthalo]

"It's one reason," Luo Binghe admits. "There are also political factors. And sometimes the inciting factor is not Xin Mo, but some kind of curse or poison that also requires dual cultivation to solve."

[summerdude]

"Oh," Magnus says. He offers: "My aunt Freya mostly just, um, does that kind of thing with a lot of different dwarfs because she likes their artwork."

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe considers this. He really only has one question about it. "What kind of artwork?"

[summerdude]

"Jewelry, mostly, but she also likes music and anything beautiful." She's really disconcerting to be around, actually; her aura makes you want to give in to anything she says. Magnus mostly just focuses on her left eyebrow every time they have to interact, for safety. "The dwarfs have this deal where they'll make her whatever she wants for a one-day marriage."

[protagonisthalo]

This sounds entirely sensible to Luo Binghe. Swords that can cut portals between worlds, mutually beneficial but fleeting marriages, and from what Magnus said, he has an inkling that he might have also list his mother... It seems they do have some things in common. Again, he is frustrated with himself for immediately trying to use Magnus, rather than getting to know him, which is obviously what Shen Yuan did. But it would have been the right thing to do, in his world—how is he meant to know? Maybe Magnus, who gets along with many people, can still be a useful resource. "I would like to ask you a question."

[summerdude]

"Yeah, what's up?"

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe takes in a breath. This is humiliating to say, but this is a dream, so if it shames him too deeply he can always muddle the memory. "In my world, I do not approach new acquaintances with the goal of making friends. I am Emperor. My close relationships are built on what we can offer each other, or on sex—which is just another kind of transaction. But things are different here, and... the ways I am accustomed to do not benefit me or anyone else. How do you..." He hesitates. "How do you build goodwill so easily?" How does Shen Yuan? is the question that nearly follows it, but that needs no answer. Shen Yuan needs expend no effort to be universally adored.

[summerdude]

"Ooooh, that's a really good question," Magnus says, frowning in concentration. "I don't really know? I guess it started as, like, a survival instinct. I actually didn't have that many friends when I was homeless after my mom died. And then I died and went to Valhalla, and sort of necessarily became friends with the people on my floor... battle companions, you know how it is. But think part of it is that I was kinda an outsider in Valhalla, so having friends who have your back is really important, and partly that I realized that my community is my biggest strength? So when I got here and didn't know anyone, I really focused on trying to find something I could use to connect with everyone I met, so I could start building a community here, too. I guess I just try to be friendly and approach everything with an open mind and wanting to understand where people are coming from?"

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe turns this over. It's clear that Magnus took the question seriously, and his answer is in earnest. That alone speaks well of him. "It's useful advice," he says in thanks.<sup>1

1</sup>No, you have to actually say thank you...