Hey guys, I'm back with a new story, and this one was a request from MarlenaLibby. This story has been a lot of fun to write so far, so thanks to them for giving me the idea!
I hope you all enjoy and don't forget to follow and review!
Edit: 12/2/21 - Added italics to the story to make it more clear when we're in the real world and when we're in the restaurant.
Tina Belcher sulks home, following her two younger siblings, Gene and Louise, to their parent's burger restaurant.
"Cheer up, T. It's not the end of the world," Louise tells her.
"Yes, it is!" Tina cries. "Things were just starting to be on again with me and Jimmy Jr. and this date was supposed to make him finally wanna be with me!"
The three kids walk into the restaurant where Linda talks to Teddy while Bob prepares a burger in the kitchen.
"There's my three lil' hooligans!" Linda smiles. "How was school?"
"Eh," replies Louise.
"Fine," says Gene.
Tina remains quiet. Bob walks out of the kitchen with a burger in hand, placing the plate in front of Teddy. He looks at Tina and smirks slightly. "That good, huh?"
"Tina had a bad day," Louise tells them.
"Oh my, gosh! Tina, what happened?" Linda rushes around the counter to Tina, swaddling her in hugs and kisses.
"I'm fine." Tina squirms away from her overprotective mother's grasp.
"But what happened?" Linda looks concerned.
"Just something that probably ruined the rest of my life!"
"Wha—?" Linda looks to Gene and Louise for help. Louise sighs.
"There was a spelling bee at school and the winner in each grade won two tickets to Fro-Yo-Mama," Louise explains.
"Ooh, I love that place!" Linda chimes.
"It's okay," Gene says.
"So, what happened? Did you win?" Linda turns her attention to Tina.
"No! Stupid Tammy won. I was going to take Jimmy Jr. out because I know he likes frozen yogurt and now the plan is ruined because Tammy gets to go and she'll probably take someone stupid like Jocelyn and my whole day is ruined and probably my life all because of a stupid spelling bee!" Tina collapses onto one of the bar stools and her family stares at her.
"Wait, Tammy won? Are we talking about the same Tammy?" Bob asks.
"I know, I was just as surprised as you are," replies Louise.
"It isn't funny! This was supposed to be my way to get Jimmy Jr. to notice me again and now it's ruined! I can't do anything right." Tina begins to sob. Linda rubs her back.
"That reminds me of the one time in college I tried to impress the girl I liked by writing a love story," Teddy choke laughs. "Totally failed that research assignment, and Nicole never talked to me."
"That's it! Let's tell Tina stories!" Linda pipes up.
"What?" Bob asks.
"Yeah, it's perfect! We'll tell our little Tina stories where she's the heroine and cheer her up."
"And that's going to help her how?"
"This is so confusing," says Gene.
"Yeah, I don't know if I—" Tina starts, but Linda cuts her off.
"It's perfect!" she says.
"Fine, we can do it," Louise sighs. "But only if I get to go first."
"Aw, I wanted to go," Linda says.
"Well, you guys have fun," Bob turns to walk back into the kitchen.
"What, you're not gonna join us?" Linda asks.
"Yeah, come on, Dad," Louise says. "My story is going to be amazing."
"Yeah, uh, I think I'll pass and work on running the restaurant. You know, the one we all run together, as a family?"
"I think it'll be fine for a couple of stories," Louise tells him.
"I mean, yeah, it's just Teddy," Gene says.
"Yeah, Bobby, it's just me. Now go on and let Louise start her story," Teddy tells him.
Bob sighs exasperatedly. "Alright, fine. But if we get a customer, I'm helping them."
"I don't think you have to worry about that, Dad," Louise tells him.
"Louise."
"Okay, okay, I'll start." Louise clears her throat and begins. "This story takes place a long time ago in a mysterious land."
We visualize what Louise is saying and suddenly we are transported to a beautiful steampunk like land. It's gorgeous, with colorful buildings, and the town is full of life and people walking around.
"Tina Belcher was a working girl who made high end journals to sell to people who loved writing for some reason."
Now we're inside Tina's house with Tina who is sewing a hot pink cloth cover onto a journal. The cover is decorated with flowers and Tina embroiders it with a gorgeous green thread.
Just as Tina finishes the cover and is admiring her work, there is a knock at her door.
"Yes?" she asks.
"Tina's mother asked her if she could go to the store to get some milk," Louise narrates.
"Ooh, who's Tina's mother? Is it me?" Linda asks, and suddenly we're back at the restaurant.
"No, that's not important. Besides, I need you and Dad for better roles later," Louise tells her, annoyed that her story is being interrupted.
"Oh, how exciting? What do I play?" Linda asks.
"I'll tell you later. Can I get back to the story now?"
"Alright, alright. Sorry. I'm just excited."
Louise sighs. "Anyways," she says, and we're back in her story with Tina, who is now walking along the street. "Tina began the walk to the store, but along the way she ran into two mean girls who wouldn't leave her alone."
The two girls appear out of nowhere, and they both look like Jocelyn.
"Oh, my God, look it's Tina," Jocelyn number one says.
"Yeah, I wonder what she's doing out here," Jocelyn number two replies.
Tina tries to back away from the two. "Leave me alone," she tells them. "I'm just trying to get some milk at the store."
"Wow, that's so lame," Jocelyn says.
"I know, right?" Jocelyn replies.
"Stop it," Tina tells them.
"Suddenly," Louise says, "a weird boy that everyone finds attractive for some reason is directly behind Tina!"
"Ah!" Tina jumps out of fright, as Jimmy Jr. jumps into the picture behind her.
"Need some help?" he asks, and Tina nods. "Watch this," he replies.
"Gosh, what are you supposed to be?" a Jocelyn asks.
"Yeah," replies the second one. "You are totally weird looking."
"Leave her alone!" Jimmy Jr. says and the two Jocelyns laugh.
"Or what?" they ask.
"Or, I'm gonna dance!" Jimmy Jr. responds, which causes Jocelyn and Jocelyn to laugh some more. "Alright, you asked for it!"
Jimmy Jr. begins to dance, and suddenly both Jocelyns appear to be in pain.
"No!" cries one of them.
"Stop!" cries the other, and they both run away.
"This isn't the end!" one yells, but they're both gone.
Jimmy Jr. keeps dancing. Tina turns to speak to him.
"Thank you. You saved my life."
Jimmy Jr. poses. "No problem. I'm the best at that." He strikes a couple more poses.
"Yeah," Tina says, "although feel free to stop dancing at any time."
"Right, sorry," Jimmy Jr. stops.
"You're Jimmy Jr., right? The magical dancing wizard with a castle that walks or something. I've heard the stories about you."
"Yep!" Jimmy Jr. poses dramatically. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"Totally." Tina looks love sick at the sight of him.
"Here, let me get you home," Jimmy Jr. tells her.
"Oh, I'm not going home. I'm going to the store."
"Oh."
Silence.
"But you can take me there if you want," Tina suggests.
"Alright."
Jimmy Jr. leads Tina to a nearby bridge.
"Lemme show you a short cut," he tells her, before jumping off of the bridge, pulling Tina with him.
Tina shrieks and begins hyperventilating. Jimmy Jr. doesn't though, and does a few poses in the air to keep them from falling. The two fly through the air, but Tina never stops hyperventilating.
Finally, they land on the ground in front of the entrance to the store. Tina takes a few deep breaths and looks at Jimmy Jr.
"Well, here we are," she says.
"Yeah. See ya," Jimmy Jr. tells her.
"Wait!" Tina yells, but Jimmy Jr. has jumped into the air and already flown away.
Tina stares after him for a second. She watches him do flips and other cool dance moves in the air, but her vision focuses on his butt.
"Yes," Tina smiles, out of lust.
"Uh, Louise," Bob says, and we snap out of Louise's vision and back to the restaurant.
"Yeah?" she asks.
"Maybe tone it down just a smidge," he tells her.
Louise sighs. "Alright, fine."
We're back with Tina outside of the store now.
"Anyways, Tina finally stops watching him and enters the store, but no one's there."
Tina is in a small, deserted store.
"Hello?" she calls out. "Is anyone here?"
"Suddenly, a great bitch enters the room!"
Tammy enters the room followed by the two Jocelyns from before.
"Louise," Bob interrupts.
"What?" she asks, and yet again we're back at the restaurant.
"Don't—don't say that," Bob tells her.
Louise sighs. "Okay, fine."
Back to the story again. Tammy and her two Jocelyns stare down a scared looking Tina, blocking her only exit from the store.
"A great witch enters the room!"
"Louise," Bob says again.
"What?" Louise's response is more exasperated this time.
"You know what." The two stare at each other for half a second, then Bob sighs. "You know, never mind."
Back to the scene.
"The great witch stares down Tina."
"You need to stay away from Jimmy Jr.," Tammy tells her.
"Please leave," Tina asks.
"No!" Tammy tells her, and walks closer to Tina. Jocelyn and Jocelyn follow her. "I'm gonna teach you a lesson." Tammy snaps her fingers, and Tina overgoes a magical transformation.
"Tammy the witch turned Tina into a hideous old lady. And I mean hideous, like way worse than Mom and Dad," Louise tells her family.
"Hey!" Linda cries out in offence.
"We get it, Louise," Bob tells her.
"Gosh, look how hideous she is," Jocelyn says.
"Yeah, she looks older than my grandma," Tammy says and laughs.
Tammy and Jocelyn and Jocelyn leave the store.
"Wait!" Tina cries and runs out after them. "You have to change me back!"
But when Tina gets outside, the streets are empty and Tammy and the Jocelyns are gone.
"Dammit!" Tina says, to no one in particular.
"Tina decided to head home and rest," Louise narrates. Tina walks home and rushes past her family upstairs to her room. She closes the door behind her.
"Okay, relax, maybe this is just a bad dream or—or temporary. Maybe it'll go away when I wake up." Tina climbs into her bed, pulling the covers over her.
It's now morning, and Tina wakes up to a knock at her door.
"Ugh, just a minute," she groans, and then gasps at the sound of her elderly voice, throwing the blanket off of her, suddenly wide awake. She looks into her mirror, still an old woman. "Dammit."
"You okay in there, Tina?" her mom asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Actually, I've just been feeling a bit sick today, so—"
"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Tina's mom begins to panic.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm just going to try and rest today so I get better soon."
"Are you sure you don't want me to come in and check on—"
"No!" Tina snaps. "I mean, I'll be fine. I just need to rest."
"Alright. I love you, Tina."
Tina hears her mom's footsteps walking away from the door.
"Tina didn't know what to do, but after thinking for a minute, she realized that the only person who could probably fix this mess was the wizard Jimmy Jr.," Louise narrates, "so she went off to find him."
Tina climbs out of her bedroom window and falls onto the ground. She stands up and brushes herself off, and then leaves the town, walking to the mountains.
"Then—"
"Can I be in your story, Louise?"
The immersion is broken and we're back in the restaurant. The whole family turns to stare at Teddy.
"I mean, I don't really have a part for you or anything," Louise responds.
"Please? I've always wanted to be in a story."
Louise sighs. "Okay, fine. On the way to search for Jimmy Jr. and his moving castle, Tina came across a scarecrow."
We're back in Louise's story again as a scarecrow hops towards Tina.
"Oh, hey there scarecrow," Tina says.
"Hi Tina!" Teddy replies.
"Scarecrows don't talk though," Louise tells him.
"Oh," Teddy replies before saying, "hi, Tina," yet again, this time in a quieter voice.
"Anyways," Louise says, and we can sense the annoyance in her voice, "Tina decided to follow the scarecrow."
The scarecrow begins to bounce, jumping down the pathway in front of them. Tina follows it down windy paths and thick forests. Finally, the scarecrow stops and Tina stares up at a very steampunk looking house. It looks like the inside of a clock, full of tons of gears and levers. Smoke and exhaust trails from it.
"Woah," Tina says, looking at the castle. "Jimmy Jr.'s moving castle. I've never seen it so close."
The house makes a loud creaking sound and Tina jumps. "Uh, maybe this is the wrong castle. Maybe I should keep looking."
Tina spots a huge, very obvious sign on the house that reads Jimmy Junior's Moving Castle. The castle creaks again and Tina turns and runs. She runs for a couple of seconds before looking back at the castle to see if it's following her, and when she faces forwards again, she crashes into the scarecrow.
"Ah!" she screams at the unexpectedness of everything. The scarecrow looks down at her, smiling it's scarecrow like smile.
"I—I was just leaving," she says as she backs up from the scarecrow. "I—I don't mind being old, I mean, it was going to happen someday, so why not today?" Tina lets out a nervous laugh. The scarecrow says nothing in response, just stares at Tina.
Finally, Tina sighs. "You're right. I'll just, uh, go inside and sleep, then I'll go home tomorrow I guess. Or not. We'll see. Depends if Jimmy Jr. is there, I guess," Tina says and then backs away from the scarecrow and runs into the castle.
Inside, it's dark and a mess. The only light comes from an orange ball of fire in the fireplace.
Tina looks around for a place to sleep, arranging some of the junk on the floor.
"Hey, what're you doing here?"
Tina looks surprised and scared. "Who—who said that?" she asks.
"Over here!" the voice barks, and Tina finally realizes it's the ball of fire, played by Louise. She hesitantly walks over to it.
"H—hello," she says.
"You need to leave, now," it replies.
"No. I need to see Jimmy Jr."
"Oh, you need to see Jimmy Jr.?" The fire laughs. "Yeah, I don't really care. Now get lost."
"Please at least just let me stay the night?"
"Lemme think about it. No."
"Alright, cool, good night." Tina lies down on her makeshift mattress made out of junk.
"What? No, that's not what I said!"
"I know. But what are you going to do about it?"
The fire groans. "This isn't over."
Tina cuddles up on her mattress and falls asleep.
Tina wakes up to the sound of a knock, and then footsteps. Nervous, she hides under her blanket, yet peeks out enough to watch what's happening. A young boy, played by Gene, runs into the room, and then puts on a fake grey beard. He turns a colorful dial to the right of a wooden front door, then opens the door. Instead of the forest being outside, there is a small farming town. A farmer stands outside.
"Gennie, did you get it?" the farmer asks.
"It'll be ready this afternoon," replies the boy.
"Please hurry," the farmer says.
"Okay, okay," Gennie says, and then slams the door.
The boy takes off his fake beard, but immediately, another knock is heard. He sighs, puts the beard back on, turns the colorful dial, and then opens the door. This time, an average town, similar to the one Tina used to live in, is there. A woman stands outside this time.
"When will my—"
"It'll be ready soon," Gennie replies, and then slams the door. "Jeez."
The boy takes his beard off yet again, and then a third knock is heard at the door. He groans and throws his hands up in frustration, and then puts the beard on again. He pulls the dial and opens the door and a royal town is outside, with a knight standing at the door.
"The king requests Jimmy Jr.'s presence today. He is running out of time to make his decision."
"He'll get to you when he can," Gennie responds.
"It's really important that he gets back to us today," the knight replies.
"He'll get back when he can," Gennie says, and then shuts the door. He takes his beard off, yet again, and then walks towards the kitchen. In order to get there, however, he has to walk past Tina and manages to trip over her.
"Ahh!" he screams, and Tina screams back.
"What are you doing here?" he asks.
"I—I—" but Tina has trouble making words.
"Louisifer, did you let her in?" he asks.
"No, trust me, I don't want her here, but she won't leave," replies the fire, now known as Louisifer.
Gennie turns back to Tina. "You have to leave," he says.
"No, I—I can't, I'm the new—" she looks around, "—cleaning lady!" she chimes. "Yeah, I'm the new cleaning lady. Jimmy Jr. hired me."
"Huh," Gennie says, thinking. "I don't remember this."
"That's because it didn't happen. She's lying to you," replies Louisifer.
"I'm Eugene the Gennie, but my friends call me Gene for short," Gene tells Tina.
"I'm Tina, but my friends call me Tina," Tina replies.
"Gene, can I talk to you for a second?" calls Louisifer.
Gene sighs. "One second," he tells Tina, but that second the dial changes and the front door opens. They're at the spooky forest again, and in walks Jimmy Jr.
"Oh, hey," he says, surprised to see Tina there. "What're you doing here?"
"See, I told you he didn't hire her," Louisifer tells Gene.
"Maybe he just forgot. Jimmy Jr. can be pretty forgetful," Gene replies.
"Oh, uh, I'm Tina and, um, I just was, uh, hoping to be your new cleaning lady?" Tina asks. It's a statement, but her tone of voice makes it a question.
Jimmy Jr. shrugs. "Okay," he says.
"Great!" Tina replies. "I'll start with cleaning the kitchen."
"Well, we should probably eat first," Jimmy Jr. says.
"Oh, yeah."
There's a silence, but then Louisifer interrupts it.
"Uh, hello, Jimmy Jr. I know you're probably just trying to be nice, but she doesn't belong here. She could be a spy for all we know. Why are you letting her stay here?"
Jimmy Jr. shrugs. "I dunno. Let's eat."
Louisifer grumbles.
"Lousifer was not a fan of Tina's plan, and the whole time Jimmy Jr. made breakfast, Louisifer kept glaring at Tina," Louise narrates. "Finally, after they had a huge feast, Jimmy Jr. left for work and left Tina to clean."
"Make this place clean, I guess. Or at least cleaner than before."
"I will," Tina replies.
"Tina spent the whole day cleaning. She cleaned everything, including the fireplace, and by the time Jimmy Jr. got home, Tina had cleaned practically all of the house," says Louise.
Jimmy Jr. enters the house again and looks surprised to see the mess free place.
"Oh, wow," Jimmy Jr. says.
"I know, right? It was really hard, especially after I got upstairs because—"
"Imma go take a bath," Jimmy Jr. responds.
"Oh, cool, can I join you?" Tina asks.
"This is more of a solo thing," Jimmy Jr. tells her.
"Oh, right. I forgot."
"Yeah, a solo thing. That's a little weird."
"Yeah."
Jimmy Jr. heads upstairs and Louisifer complains about having to waste so much energy warming up water.
Suddenly, there's a shriek from upstairs, and Jimmy Jr. runs down the stairs and collapses on the floor. His hair is now black.
"You switched my shampoo!" he cries.
"No, I didn't!" says Tina. "I just cleaned some stuff up and organized things better."
"Yeah, you did! You put it in the wrong spot. I'm hideous now, just look at me!" Jimmy Jr. practically melts on the floor.
"No, you're not. In fact, you're really hot. Like super hot. Like probably even hotter than before," Tina tells him, but Jimmy Jr. doesn't listen, and just continues to literally melt.
"What's happening?" Tina asks.
"You broke him," Louisifer responds.
"What?" asks Tina.
"You better fix this."
"Why do you care so much?"
"Jimmy Jr. and I are pretty much connected. If he dies, I die as well."
"That seems… weird," Tina replies.
"Yeah, it's like a whole curse thing. I don't really get it either," says Gene.
"Well, look what you've done! You better fix this!" Louisifer says.
"Nah, he's fine. He's just throwing a tantrum," Gene says. "Just help me get him to his bed and he'll be better in the morning."
"Get him in bed, got it. No problem," Tina says.
"That's not what he meant," the fire tells her.
"Oh," Tina replies, and her smile fades.
"Here, just help me," Gene says, and the two lift Jimmy Jr. and drag him up the stairs.
Tina wakes up on her mattress the next morning to Jimmy Jr. and Gene arguing.
"They're not going to stop coming back until you talk to them," Gene says.
"I don't want to talk to them," Jimmy Jr. replies.
"You have to."
"No, I don't."
"Yes, you do."
"No."
"Yes."
"No. I won't." Jimmy Jr. turns his back on Gene.
"Urgh!"
Jimmy Jr. spots Tina.
"Hey, I have an idea. Tina, you have to go talk to the queen for me."
"What?"
"Yeah, it's perfect. You're old. You'll just go there and then tell them that you're my mother. Just tell them that you regret to inform them that I'm too busy to take up their offer, and to please keep me in their thoughts if there are any less deadly ideas they have."
"Deadly?" Tina asks.
"Yeah. Or honestly, you don't have to tell them that last part."
"Wait, I'm confused," Tina says.
"You and me both," says Gene.
Jimmy Jr. sighs. "Just go talk to the queen and tell them that you're my mom and that I can't take part in the war."
"Oh, okay."
"Tell him that he's too immature," Louisifer says.
"Yes! Wait, no," Jimmy Jr. says. "Actually, yes, sure, I really don't care. Just get me out of it."
"What if I get in trouble?" Tina asks.
"You won't," Jimmy Jr. replies.
"But what if I have a problem and need help or what if—"
"Okay, fine. I'll be there in disguise, okay? Just go, please. For me, Tina."
Tina takes a deep breath. "Okay, fine."
"Great! Thanks, Tina!"
Jimmy Jr. thrusts a ring on her finger.
"What's this?" she asks.
"For protection. Now, we need to get you dressed up and you need to go. Now."
"So, Tina went to the castle to speak with the queen, but when she got there, it turned out that the great bitch—"
"Louise." Bob interrupts and we're back at the restaurant.
"I said witch," Louise tells him.
"No."
"I did."
Bob shakes his head, and Louise sighs. We go back to the castle scene.
"Anyways, the great witch, Tammy, was there."
"Ew, it's old lady Tina," Tammy says.
"Ew, it's the great bitch, witch, Tammy," Tina replies.
"Oh my God," Bob says.