avalononline | 01, video: un: capn

[The video starts out zoomed in really close on a boy's eyeball, catching him mid-sentence.]

--thing working? [A brief pause.] ...Ah! Cool, I think I got it working.

[A brief pause, as the camera pans back to catch a full glimpse of his face.]

Anyway, I dunno how common it is to do this sort of thing when you're new, but I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Bennett, of Benny's Adventure Team! ...Err, I guess that last part doesn't really matter yet. But it leads into my question.

[Another pause, as he considers his words.]

You see, I know this place has things like school, and jobs, but... What I'm really all about is adventuring! You know, traveling the countryside, diving into the darkest depths of caverns and domains, all for the sake of finding treasure and uncovering the lost secrets of the world... That sort of thing? [He speaks with so much passion and love for his chosen "profession" in life.]

There's gotta be so much of this world out there just waiting to be discovered, right? So, umm... What I wanted to know was, there are other people here who feel the same way, right? I'm not the only one who's already itching to explore... Right?

[In other words, he's trying to find adventuring buddies.]

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[ That, of course, is a matter of opinion isn't it? Does he like it? What an odd question. Whether he likes it or not doesn't matter. It is what it is and that isn't really something that will change. ]

Being around others is...

[ Uncomfortable. Because he doesn't know how to be around them. ]

It does not bode well for anyone.

Sure, I get that. Back in Mondstadt, most people avoid me, just because bad luck follows me everywhere. I have to take commissions alone, and go into domains alone, and fight off hilichurls and slimes alone. I have to do everything alone, because people are afraid of my curse.

[These aren't facts Bennett really likes admitting to, but... Xiao has an impeccable talent for getting Bennett to lay his soul bare to him.]

...Being alone sucks. I hate feeling alone. But even though I'm unlucky, I've got people who care about me and are always looking out for me, like my dads, and Katheryne, and Barbara. So even when I have those moments where I feel really alone, I can bounce back because I know that's not true.

[A pause.]

So do you, Xiao, like being alone?

[He asks that question again, not satisfied with the answer he got, but he changes the emphasis this time. You know, since Xiao loves dodging the question so much.]

[ Oh Bennett. They have discussed this before, of course. And Xiao has no idea that others could be listening in on the conversation. Technology... What is that?

The other probably can hear the exasperated ( or is it frustrated? ) sigh. ]

I would prefer to be alone. If I am, that means that I am upholding my contract to Rex Lapis and protecting Liyue.

[ It still isn't really an answer, is it? "Like" isn't really something he can comprehend after all. ]

[You're so difficult to get an answer out of, Xiao...]

But this isn't Liyue, and Rex-whoever isn't even here. [Or he thinks so, at least.] Is upholding a contract with a person to protect a place all that important when neither are here?

It is important.

[ That's said with an actual bite. Be careful what you criticize there, child. ]

However, it is not applicable.

[Yikes, that snap there sent a chill down his spine. But he wasn't backing down.]

Okay, fine, it's not "applicable". But then, in that case, why are you applying it?

[There's a small pause.]

If you prefer being alone, then fine. But you should do it because that's what you want in life, not because you're trying to uphold a contract that doesn't apply here. Whatever's at home is at home, but here, you should live your own life, the way you want it to be.

I have been living my life the way that I desire. Being here has taken that choice out of my hands. I can no longer abide by how I chose to live.

[ ...Partially true. He had chosen to become what he is in the end. Perhaps it is not the only thing that he wants to be, but it is what he is. Being here means that he can no longer follow through with the first free choice he's ever hand. And that...

That doesn't settle well on him.

He doesn't know WHAT to do. ]

Then... choose a new way to live? Life's all about being able to adapt to the curveballs it throws you.

[Bennett made it sound so simple, but to him it was. His motto was to never give up.]

If you get knocked down, you just get back up and try something else.

Are all mortals so fickle with their life choices?

Weren't you the one telling me not to place such little value on my life?

[Maybe that's not exactly what Xiao said to him, but it is what he took away from that conversation.]

You've got a whole lot more life than me, so I think that should apply extra to you. Your life isn't over just because you can't perform your duty.

[ That's... Not quite what he had said, but it is what he had meant. ]

Adepti are not human. My life is not over, no. It will not be for quite some time. However...

[ How to phrase it. ]

If you are not an adventurer, then what would you be.

Mmm... That's a tough one... I'm an adventurer because my whole life revolves around adventurers. I was found by adventurers, I was raised by adventurers... Becoming an adventurers just like my dads just seemed natural to me...

[Realistically speaking, he couldn't imagine his life as anything but an adventurer, as if all roads he could have taken in life led to adventuring. Which is probably what Xiao was trying to get at. But Bennett wasn't going to accept that.]

But if I couldn't be an adventurer, then I'd have found another path. I could have joined the knights, or become part of the church, or started working at a restaurant, or become a bard, or... whatever I wanted to, really. I've got the freedom to do whatever I want.

[Such was the way of life for those under the God of Freedom.]

[ It is what Xiao is getting at. ]

And why is it that you have this freedom?

[ Because most mortals have the freedom of choice. Xiao would argue that adepti are restricted in this regard. ]

Because the Anemo Archon wanted Mondstadt to be a city of freedom, so I'm free to live my life however I choose as a result?

[seemed obvious to him.]

[ A sigh. That is not what he had meant by this... ]

I was not speaking of the matter in such a broad sense.

01, video: un: capn_benny

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