"This is it, dudes, my favorite place in Gravity Falls. Everything I know, I learned right here. A frog taught me how to cross a street. When my house was haunted, I learned how to eat ghosts. And this thing taught me how to dance."
Soos was explaining as I found myself at the local arcade with Soos, the kids, Wendy, and Stan. I'm not entirely sure why I'm here. I was resting in the shack's museum after finishing all my work, and then suddenly, Soos and the others brought me here, declaring it as "shack bonding day."
"Lighten up, Kid! It's the shack bonding day, just enjoy it for a while!"
"Mr. Pines, You didn't bring me here because you left me and Soos to clean up after the fair, and you're feeling sorry...right?"
Stan awkwardly ran away to another arcade machine, leaving me with Soos and the twins. Hm...Arcade...actually, I've never been so friendly with video games in my life. Studying, reading books, exercising...Might be a good chance to experience some gaming.
"You've never played video games in your life? Man, that's awful! Dipper, We've gotta show him."
"Seriously, Ray. I knew that you were always kinda old-fashioned, but...no video game? Seriously?"
Dipper and Wendy seemed to be half amazed, half pitying at my life. Well...Yeah, to be honest, in my original life when I was young, I tried to play games, but my mother forbade me from using electronic devices when she caught me.
Luckily, in this life, there was not much restriction, but...habit's a habit.
Dipper and Wendy took me to the second floor, where many old arcade machines were. I checked one...it told us to put in 75 cents to play. 75 cents? What a weird choice of money.
"Hm, the arcades in Gravity Falls are weird. 20 cents? Why 75 cents? Can't it just be 50 cents, and then we can just put one coin comfortably?"
Dipper complained, pulling out his wallet. But before he could insert the coins, I put them in. Dipper probably doesn't even have enough allowance to buy himself some soft drinks...I can pay for this.
[FIGHT FIGHTERS!]
With a loud noise, the arcade game machine showed its title. Fight Fighters...Hmm, I heard similar kinds of games from my original world. Aren't those games like...the ones where characters fight each other? But with fists and some weird martial arts or something?
"Okay, Ray. I'll teach you how to play this game. But before, we'll play first. So that you can see and understand how this works."
I nodded at Dipper, who was seemingly excited about playing video games with Wendy. Wendy, also excitedly, chose a character. She chose a middle-aged man with paintbrush-like hair, and Dipper chose a muscular man with yellow hair and no shirt.
[Rumble Mcskirmish! VS...Dr. Karate!]
[Round 1!]
[Fight!]
"Oh! Oh! Yeah!"
The two characters on the screen started to fight brutally against each other. They punched, kicked, grabbed, and did their best to end each other...Dipper and Wendy looked like they were having a lot of fun.
"Ooh! A cutscene!"
Then, as both of the characters' health bars were down to about 50%, some kind of pixel animation showed up.
[DR. KARATE! YOU KILLED MY FATHER AGAIN!
[HHHNGGGHHHH!]
[YOU TAKE THAT BACK!]
[FIGHT!]
The cutscene ended, and the characters fought against each other again.
"Wait, how can he kill his father 'again'? That doesn't make..."
"Yeah! go! go!"
Both were immersed in the game, so they couldn't hear my question. Currently, Dipper was taking advantage against Wendy, though. It seemed like the characters moved and attacked according to the direction the joystick was heading and the button the player was pressing...And unlike Wendy, who seemed like she was mashing buttons without much thinking, Dipper actively used the attack of his character to open its way to another move.
And as I expected...
[K.O! The Winner...RUMBLE MCSKRIMISH!]
[WINNERS DON'T LOSE!]
"Aw, man? You cheated."
"You take that back! Hehe."
Dipper laughed proudly. Then he brought me to the machine.
"Wendy, let's let Ray try this time."
"Oh, right. We were here to teach him. Sure. Ray, go ahead and choose your character...Dipper's better than me, so you should fight me. Since you're a beginner."
To start from the character selection screen, we had to put in another coin...I mean coins.
"It could be way easier if we only had a 75 cents coin." Dipper muttered as I pulled out three quarters from my wallet.
"There is a 75 cents coin, dude." That was when Wendy opened her mouth. We both looked at her with puzzled faces.
"...Um. 75 cents?"
"Yeah, 75 cents...don't you know that? I have a bunch of them at home. I just didn't use it much..."
I looked at her and told her with a serious tone.
"Wendy, the United States of America never made any 75-cent coin. I know it, cause I studied the history of currency in the United States once. I don't know if they ever made a commemorative coin worth 75 cents, but as far as I know, there aren't any."
"But I swear that I saw..."
I thought for a while and concluded.
"Probably the Mandela effect."
"The Mandela effect?" Wendy looked at me with curiosity.
Wendy nodded thoughtfully, absorbing the information. "So, like, some people, like me, collectively think there's a 75-cent coin, but there isn't?"
"Exactly. It's a fascinating phenomenon where our memories don't align with reality."
Wendy chuckled. "Well, you're blowing my mind, Ray. But you might be wrong about the 75-cent thing. I'm pretty sure I have one at home."
I raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Really? Are you certain?"
"Well, yeah. Don't you remember using it when you were young? Hm...Ah, right. I bought you ice cream with the 75-cent coin when you first came here. Don't you remember?"
I paused, reflecting on the memory. Yeah, I remember. When we were young, and when I first came here from Korea...Wendy bought me chocolate ice cream as a welcome gift. It was unexpected and impactful for young me, but a 75-cent coin?
"No. I mean, I do remember you buying me ice cream, but no. I don't remember you using a 75-cent coin. If you did, I should have remembered it."
"Guys, can we stick to the game? I also want a turn," Dipper complained, and we both nodded.
I checked the character selection screen. I didn't have many choices since I had no idea how many characters worked. The only options I had were the muscular guy Dipper chose and Dr...Karate or something.
[Dr. Karate! VS...Dr. Karate!]
[Round 1!]
"Aw man, come on! A mirror match?"
"Sorry, Wendy. I didn't want to use that other character...So, this was the only one left."
[Fight!]
As the in-game referee shouted the start of the game, I immediately moved my character forward and punched the other character. They looked the same, and...well...We had a thing about doppelgangers. I suddenly regretted choosing it...But whatever. I had to win.
Wendy fluently blocked my attacks and countered. Her Dr. Karate grabbed my Dr. Karate's arm and threw me away.
"Yeah, take that!"
"Wendy, you should be teaching me, not beating me out...!"
But it was okay. From what I knew, these characters had some sort of...range attacks. If I could only do it...Okay. Let's try...joystick to the right, hold, and to the left...!
[Pow!]
And then, a purple sphere of energy burst out from my character's hands and went straight to Wendy's character. I started spamming the command, punching and kicking Wendy's Dr. Karate out of its range when it tried to approach.
"Spamming range attacks? That's not cool, Ray."
"What do you expect? I never played this before...All I want to do is win."
As the characters reached about half their HP, a cutscene showed up.
[HHHHNGGGHHHAA!]
[HNNNNNGHHHAAA?!]
[HHHHHHHHNNGHHHAAAAA!]
After a brief animation of two doppelganger middle-aged men screaming at each other, I stuck to my strategy and claimed victory.
"Well, good game for a beginner, I guess," Dipper commented from behind, as Wendy nodded in agreement. I knew my ways were a bit off, not that fun to play against, but well, that was the best I could do.
"Wendy! What's up, babe?... And what the hell are you doing next to my Wendy, Nerd?"
I frowned at the familiar yet disturbing voice of Valentino coming from behind. He was looking at me with definite anger on his face...I don't know why. He tried to push me, so I grabbed his wrist and shoved him away. Yuck. I have to go wash my hands...he probably didn't take a shower for the last three days.
...And why is he angry in the first place? He has no reason to be angry at me. I can be angry at him because I'm the one who's always been attacked by him for no specific or logical reason...And the only thing he should possibly do is saying sorry for the things he's done to me when we were young!
"We were just playing this game, Robbie. Wanna join?" Wendy casually asked.
"Yeah, sure...move the way, nerd. I'm going to have some time with my girlfriend."
"Wait, we were teaching Ray how to..." Dipper tried to go against him, but Valentino ignored him and took the seat.
I looked at what he was doing before...he was putting posters on the wall, with his giant face on it. He had some kind of mascara on his face in the poster...I guess it was for their concert advertisement...I wonder if anyone would actually want to go see the concert with that kind of face.
"Dipper, let's go down."
"But..."
"Come on. Maybe there are other games to play."
We strolled down the stairs. Dipper angrily stomped his way down.
"...I still can't believe it. Why is Wendy dating that jerk? She can date someone way better...anyone but him! It's just illogical!"
"That's why love is a fallacy. It's not logical in the first place...Come on, teach me how to play that fighter jet game."
Trying to change Dipper's attention, I guided him to the nearest arcade machine I could see.
...But inside my mind, I could honestly say that this situation was not great. Valentino is dating Wendy, which means that...he's going to come near the shack more often...
...more stress for me, then.
"King me!"
"Aww, come on!"
It was a peaceful afternoon. Tourists had come and gone, and Stan gave us a breather until the next group rolled in. Poker was in full swing at the table with Stan, Soos, and the kids, while I lounged on Stan's comfortable couch. Wendy was off camping with her dad, so the shack was missing her usual lively energy.
Armed with one of my favorite books, 'Le Petit Prince,' and a warm cup of green tea on the side, I reveled in the tranquility. These moments of calm had become essential—a reward for dealing with the peculiar anomalies around here. I'd face bizarre challenges and kick the bucket a few times more, but my body would reset thanks to the time loop. Yet, what about my mind?
The constant exposure to physical and mental stress made me ponder the resilience of my sanity. Taking a break whenever possible had become a priority.
Especially now, in moments like these. When the quiet envelops everything, I can enjoy my book and drink. It's crucial, particularly after encounters with a giant dying axolotl the size of a moon, a time-controlling giant baby, and the unraveling of time and space. Peace is a rare commodity.
-ZIZIZIZIZIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGG!SCREEECH!
"..."
And just like that, it's gone. Reduced to atoms. My peace, my sweet silence...
"WEEENDYYYY!"
I gritted my teeth as Valentino's obnoxious voice pierced the tranquil air. Hadn't Wendy mentioned she was going camping today? Why the heck was he bellowing at the shack?!
"Ugh, sounds like Robbie."
Dipper groaned, and uncomfortable glances were exchanged between Stan and Mabel.
"Robbie? That obnoxious guy who's constantly making goo-goo eyes at Wendy?"
Soos's question prompted unanimous nods. Yup, that was Valentino.
"He once called me 'Big Dude.' I mean, I get it, I'm big, but it stung a bit," Soos chimed in. As Valentino's guitar continued its assault on my eardrums, Dipper marched toward the door.
"I'll handle it."
Stan, Mabel, and Soos 'Ooohed' in acknowledgment, but without hesitation, I silently followed Dipper. Facing an unpredictable jerk like Valentino alone? That could be dangerous.
"Wendy! Wendy! Wendy! Wendy! C'mon out, girl! C'mon down!"
Valentino, the screamer, was standing there, bellowing Wendy's name, even though she was probably miles away camping.
"You realize she's not here, right?"
"Ha, yes...Wait, what?"
Dipper informed him, irritation in his eyes. Valentino tried to play it off, but realization finally dawned on him.
"She's out camping with her family today, Valentino," I informed him.
"Maybe if you listened to her for once, you'd know that," Dipper added in a calm yet pointed manner.
But that single sentence triggered Valentino.
"...What was that?"
"No...nothing."
"No, no, no! You want to get into it, huh? Let's get into it, kid! You think I don't know what's been going on, huh? It's obvious you've got a thing for my girlfriend, don't you? Don't you?!"
As Valentino shouted at Dipper, I stepped out. Shoving Dipper back into the shack, I glared at Valentino.
"...You...nerd. Get out of my face; I need to teach that little brat a lesson."
"Why not pick on someone your own size, Valentino? Being aggressive towards kids? Grow up."
He glared back, but what could he do? Punch me?
"...You...you also have something for Wendy, right? I know that. You're just jealous that I'm dating..."
"Cut it, Valentino. Do you think I'd be affected by those kinds of emotions to act violently? Just go back home and practice your terrible guitar skills."
Look at his face. Packed with jealousy...Thinking that everyone is against him. And, being illogical with every, single, word.
I can't stand him.
"You don't say that to my guitar skills-"
"Or I can call the police for your act of Tortious Interference. You're scaring off our customers."
"You're just scared, right? Too scared to fight me!"
"..."
I sighed. Stress was already weighing me down, and...I could feel anger bubbling up. Why? Why did I have to deal with this nonsense? Chased by demons, attacked by monsters, and now this. My time to relax, that only fragile yet precious time I could use to rest... shattered. He shattered it with his stupid arguments and that grating voice.
...Usually, I had a grip on my emotions, but not today. Without much thought, I...
-crack!
"Aggh!"
"I said, go back home!"
My fists were already connecting with Valentino's face.