Once Gen finally managed to convince Fenris to take a break (read: headpatted him into submission), the party settled themselves in the campgrounds, among the other adventurers resting there.
“Man, this place looks a bit different than I remembered…” Louis commented.
“... ‘A bit’ is ‘a bit’ of an understatement.” Lily sighed.
When they reached the bridge yesterday, there was basically nothing there; the “campgrounds” were just an empty, grassy area where players had arbitrarily decided to gather. A few people had brought out rough pieces of lumber to use as makeshift seating—but, for the most part, people simply sat on the ground. Naturally, no one had expected any particular changes to this situation (aside from possibly more people bringing their own personal seating).
However, when the next day came around, arriving adventurers were greeted by a completely unexpected sight: somehow, without anyone noticing, the area was transformed into a proper campgrounds overnight, complete with log benches, a fire pit, and an entire gazebo. Nobody knew how or why these things were built, only that they were made for public use. Indeed, the creator of these works would remain shrouded in mystery--
“UOOOOOH!” A group of half-naked, musclebound men in bucket helmets roared. Their leader crossed his arms in front of his chest and shouted,
“WELCOME, ADVENTURERS, TO A——”
““BRAND! NEW! GAZEBO!””
“... Y’know, that actually explains a lot,” Louis said as the machos started posing.
“I don't think it does,” Lily replied, taking mental chip damage.
Noticing their arrival to the camp, the bucket-helmed leader gave a jovial greeting.
“Oh! Louis, you’ve made it! And with all of your wagonmates this time, I see!”
“Yo, Broly!” Louis raised a hand in greeting. “Fen was free today, so we got him to come along.”
Fenris copied Louis’s gesture.
“Hoh…” The leader, Broly, sized up Fenris’s muscles.
“What a splendid body you have, Fenris!” he exclaimed, seemingly moved. “With a little more focused training, you could even pass as one of our own!”
Fenris’s eyes dulled for a moment.
“... I see.”
“Ho ho! Well, I’ll let you folks get to your break! WE HOPE YOU ENJOY—! YOUR—! STAY—!”
““YEAAA—AH!”” The bucket bros gave one last cheer before going back to ‘greeting’ the incoming adventurers.
Louis tapped Fenris on the shoulder.
“You, uh, alright there? You had a weird look on your face for a moment. Did he say something that messed with you, or something?”
“... I reduced my muscles.”
“... Huh?”
“In character creation… I made my muscles smaller…”
Fenris had reduced his muscle mass in-game because his bulk made him look older than he actually was, and he didn't really like being treated that way. When Broly mentioned that Fenris could ‘pass as one of their own’ if his muscles were bigger, it made him realize that…
“... No way, you’re a macho in real life?” Louis asked in disbelief.
“... I’m not.” Fenris rejected that reality.
Louis put a comforting arm around Fenris.
“It's okay; if you want to go join your people--"
“I’m not.”
“Ah. Yep. Got it.” Louis surrendered in a cold sweat.
He immediately decided not to tease Fenris about this ever again.
———
(EXTRA: Ami’s thoughts on the Bucket Bros…)
“Oh, them? They're really nice people, but Fen’s waaay cuter… Huh? Why? Because they're just machos—what's the point of being buff if they don't have the fluff?”
(In the background, Enna and her designers are nodding vigorously.)
———
(EXTRA 2: Bucket Bro interview…)
“So, why'd you guys make all of this in the first place?”
“Our, like, whole purpose is to make the game enjoyable for everyone, bro… We can't just let people sit on the ground. Like, unless they want to, I guess.”
“Did one of you design the gazebo?”
“Nawww bro, we got help from this guy named Belph— uhhhh, Bel… Bellflinger. Yeaaah. That was his name. He cut up that wood real good ‘n stuff, then we used our awesome teamwork to put the pieces together. Yeah, Bellflinger’s a real cool dude, bro.”
Once Gen finally managed to convince Fenris to take a break (read: headpatted him into submission), the party settled themselves in the campgrounds, among the other adventurers resting there.
“Man, this place looks a bit different than I remembered…” Louis commented.
“... ‘A bit’ is ‘a bit’ of an understatement.” Lily sighed.
When they reached the bridge yesterday, there was basically nothing there; the “campgrounds” were just an empty, grassy area where players had arbitrarily decided to gather. A few people had brought out rough pieces of lumber to use as makeshift seating—but, for the most part, people simply sat on the ground. Naturally, no one had expected any particular changes to this situation (aside from possibly more people bringing their own personal seating).
However, when the next day came around, arriving adventurers were greeted by a completely unexpected sight: somehow, without anyone noticing, the area was transformed into a proper campgrounds overnight, complete with log benches, a fire pit, and an entire gazebo. Nobody knew how or why these things were built, only that they were made for public use. Indeed, the creator of these works would remain shrouded in mystery--
“UOOOOOH!” A group of half-naked, musclebound men in bucket helmets roared. Their leader crossed his arms in front of his chest and shouted,
“WELCOME, ADVENTURERS, TO A——”
““BRAND! NEW! GAZEBO!””
“... Y’know, that actually explains a lot,” Louis said as the machos started posing.
“I don't think it does,” Lily replied, taking mental chip damage.
Noticing their arrival to the camp, the bucket-helmed leader gave a jovial greeting.
“Oh! Louis, you’ve made it! And with all of your wagonmates this time, I see!”
“Yo, Broly!” Louis raised a hand in greeting. “Fen was free today, so we got him to come along.”
Fenris copied Louis’s gesture.
“Hoh…” The leader, Broly, sized up Fenris’s muscles.
“What a splendid body you have, Fenris!” he exclaimed, seemingly moved. “With a little more focused training, you could even pass as one of our own!”
Fenris’s eyes dulled for a moment.
“... I see.”
“Ho ho! Well, I’ll let you folks get to your break! WE HOPE YOU ENJOY—! YOUR—! STAY—!”
““YEAAA—AH!”” The bucket bros gave one last cheer before going back to ‘greeting’ the incoming adventurers.
Louis tapped Fenris on the shoulder.
“You, uh, alright there? You had a weird look on your face for a moment. Did he say something that messed with you, or something?”
“... I reduced my muscles.”
“... Huh?”
“In character creation… I made my muscles smaller…”
Fenris had reduced his muscle mass in-game because his bulk made him look older than he actually was, and he didn't really like being treated that way. When Broly mentioned that Fenris could ‘pass as one of their own’ if his muscles were bigger, it made him realize that…
“... No way, you’re a macho in real life?” Louis asked in disbelief.
“... I’m not.” Fenris rejected that reality.
Louis put a comforting arm around Fenris.
“It's okay; if you want to go join your people--"
“I’m not.”
“Ah. Yep. Got it.” Louis surrendered in a cold sweat.
He immediately decided not to tease Fenris about this ever again.
———
(EXTRA: Ami’s thoughts on the Bucket Bros…)
“Oh, them? They're really nice people, but Fen’s waaay cuter… Huh? Why? Because they're just machos—what's the point of being buff if they don't have the fluff?”
(In the background, Enna and her designers are nodding vigorously.)
———
(EXTRA 2: Bucket Bro interview…)
“So, why'd you guys make all of this in the first place?”
“Our, like, whole purpose is to make the game enjoyable for everyone, bro… We can't just let people sit on the ground. Like, unless they want to, I guess.”
“Did one of you design the gazebo?”
“Nawww bro, we got help from this guy named Belph— uhhhh, Bel… Bellflinger. Yeaaah. That was his name. He cut up that wood real good ‘n stuff, then we used our awesome teamwork to put the pieces together. Yeah, Bellflinger’s a real cool dude, bro.”
