[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!]

Comments

[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...

[summerdude]

"Is it?!" Magnus mostly felt like he was rambling.

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe nods. "You learned how to make friends for survival, because you needed support. I had a different path. When I tried to make myself easy to like, it only made me easier to hurt. For me, my survival has always depended on not caring what people think of me—or actively courting hatred. The difference is illuminating."

[summerdude]

"Oh, see," Magnus says. "Plenty of people hate me. There's at least twelve gods that actively want me dead right now? To me that makes me want friends even more, not less."

[protagonisthalo]

It's not that Luo Binghe doesn't want friends. What he meant was that it's a difference in how strength is measured. In Magnus' circumstances,¹ it's an advantage for him to have people he likes and trusts; for Luo Binghe, it weakens him. But it's exhausting to keep trying to explain this to people who don't understand why he's not simply nicer, so he simply says, "I've found other ways."

¹Genre.

[summerdude]

Magnus gives Luo Binghe a long, searching look. "I think maybe this place can be different," he says, a little hesitant. "Like, there are no vengeful gods here." Joke time? Joke time! "Like, now that I know you're not a Wisdom King..." he says, with an affable grin. "And so maybe, if you decide you do want to be liked..." He shrugs. "I've been trying to make friends here without the pressing threat of violence or death."

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe both catches and appreciates the joke. "Maybe," he concedes.

[summerdude]

"Just let me know," says Magnus. He shifts his weight from foot to foot. "I think I'm ready to wake up now, man. But if you wanna talk more when we're awake... I'm not that hard to find."

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe is just as disinclined to thank people outright as he is to apologize for his actions. He meticulously tracks and repays his debts, but to thank someone plainly—without promising something in return—is so vulnerable that he saves it for his closest companions. But he is appreciative that Magnus gave him another chance, when he had no reason to, and even went out of his way to try and talk to Luo Binghe and understand him. It makes sense that he's a friend of Shen Yuan's, and if Luo Binghe thinks of this as being for Shen Yuan, it's easier to say.

"Thank you." He fades out of the dream.