Leela was sick of it.
she was sick of following the footsteps of her mother Lynn.
she was sick of Lamis, her sister always having her dad around.
No, you disgusting fuck, she didn't wanna fuck her dad, she just wanted to have quality time with him. normal daughter-father stuff.
But every day is the same thing. Dad either had to raffle to who he spends time with during the weekend, or he'd have all his kids together. even then, she still never got enough fucking time.
But today wasn't the case. today was when she called it quits. that's right. today she quit soccer and her mother was furious. the whole drive home was her screeching and yelling. it was as if Leela committed the ultimate sin!
"How can you quit soccer?"
Leela's reply was: "Sports are for faggots"
Boy, she never saw her mother's face turn so red, not since she found out her dad was dating margo (with luna, her wife's permission of course) but yeah, her mother didn't talk to her the rest of that day.
She heard her that evening bitching to her father of that day's events. of course, her father didn't seem to see there was a big friggin' deal. no sir. he told her that maybe sports wasn't Leela's thing, and you know what? he was right.
Leela didn't like him. okay maybe she did, she craved his attention, his approval. she was Leela Loud Daughter of Lynncoln! - well, that's what she called it. the rest of her siblings thought it was stupid. giving her parents a ship name. lamis told her that this wasn't a stupid cartoon.
Yeah, sure, whatever asswipe. mom and I stay at home alone like everyone else. except for you and ruby Lester and Lugosi. yeah, no one ever called her out on this but dad married and lived with aunt luna (and ruth greenwood and his daughter Ruby) lucy and Lisa.
Well...technically she was a loud now. he married Ruth a few months ago. that really burn her. he would marry those two, but not her mother? - fucking shit, her mom lost her right leg during an accident.
She would think maybe he'd take the relationship seriously and marry her and dump luna and stay with them and be a real family. yeah. she didn't like the fact he had so many kids, more kids meant no attention or no time for Leela.
The one thing, the ONLY thing she and her father could bond with was The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings. how did this came to be you may ask? well... it was simple.
Leela had one weekend to spend real time with her father. her mother was sick, so they stayed at home. he brought a DVD of the lord of the rings. it was a three day weekend too. they stayed at home, dad cared for her mother while she was ill, but the rest of that time, they binged watched lord of the rings. this was the first taste of J.J.R. Tolkien. and Leela was hooked.
She needed more, wanted more, she became obsessed in secret she used her allowance to buy the books, instead of new gear she needed for football..ya know pads and shit, blah. once you go Tolkien there was no coming back.
She watched the animated film the Hobbit, and return of the king by Juel bass productions on and she fell more in love with the whimsical, wonderful epic fantasy. there was no turning back now. Leela rebuke sports. she refused to be a Lynn clone.
She was her own person, and it was from that day forward that she wanted to be a writer.
That night she decided to come clean. she walked towards her mother nervously and stood before her. lynn was watching tv, and raised an eyebrow at her. her brown eyes looking up and down and muttered.
"what?"
Leela gulped.
"I need to tell you something."
She could feel the sweat already, her heart beating fast. this was the equivalent of coming out as a homosexual. yeah, this was pretty much the same thing. to Leela anyway. she took in a breath and blurt it out.
"I don't want to be in sports anymore."
her mother gawked.
"... I want to be..."
their eyes met.
"a writer."
Lynn gawked, her hand dropped the remote, and they just stared for what seemed like forever. Lynn blinked. her mouth shut, and tighten. her eyes narrowed as she sat up straight her eyes closed for a moment, then open, her eyebrows furrowed down and stared at her daughter.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
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She made her run fucking laps around the neighborhood. while Leela was running, Lynn was behind her, driving her car shouting. leela was tired as fuck. the sweatband, it did nothing. her body ached and her muscles burned. the neighbors watched on this spectacle. she only hopes they didn't call CPS.
She regrets coming out. fuck man, her mom took shit way too seriously. after the grueling exercise, she hit the shower. while her mother was yelling through the door about how badly she made a poor choice. leela's head pressed against the wall as she let the hot water hit her back. she didn't regret telling her. she was dead set on it. like her mother, she was a stubborn bull.
That night her body felt pretty dead. her hand barely held the phone as she texts her father what had happened. she really shouldn't get him involved but she needed someone to knock some sense into her mother. after that he replied he'll take care of it.
The next morning at 12 pm sharp the doorbell rang. Leela was eating a hot pocket. and she knew it was her father. lynn walked to the door grumbling and muttering.
"who is it now? I gotta go to the bank and deal with some shit."
She opens the door. but instead of Leela's father, it was grandma Rita. Leela blinked, confused. but it didn't take a scientist that... dad send his mother for some dumbass reason. she wore jeans, and a pink button-up shirt and held a large purse.
"Honey, I came to see Leela."
Lynn raised a brow, but then shrugged.
"Okay, I needed to go anyway. I'll be back in an hour or so..."
She turned her head over her shoulder and glared.
"I left a 20 for pizza..."
After that she left, leaving her with her grandmother.
Rita smiled and sat with her granddaughter.
"so Lincoln said you're interested in the fantasy genre?"
Leela blushed and sniffed loudly.
"yup."
Rita put a bag that looked more like a purse.
"J.R.R. Tolkien is just the tip of the iceberg, Leela."
she raised a grow.
"what do you mean?"
the elder blond with few grey hairs in her hair turned her head to her granddaughter. and there was a fire in her eyes. leela saw a sudden passion she only saw when SHE was in that writing mood. yes, Leela had written, but only fanfiction.
but still, Rita leans forward and asked her-
"Tolkien and c. s. lewis were friends, you know."
Leela nodded.
"Yeah, I know. it's a fact."
Rita opens her bag and took out two thick books.
"H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard had forged the same friendship."
leela snorted.
"wasn't Lovecraft straight up insane and sheltered?"
Rita set the two books. leela looked at Lovecraft that had that usual picture of a squid head in a human body and wings, the other was a barbarian. she read 'Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian barbarian. 'the complete weird tales omnibus.'
"Lovecraft wasn't insane, it was Howard who was insane. The people in his town thought he was a nut."
she commented, with a smirk.
"He was very paranoid. Lovecraft was sheltered though, And maybe a few fries short of a happy meal"
Leela giggled. but Rita's face turned serious.
"Sweetie, I learn that you have to be a little insane to be creative."
she paused.
"I mean, look at me, I am screwing your biological father."
leela facepalmed and groan.
"but seriously, Leela.. if you are thinking of becoming a writer, you have to do more than just action and romance, more than horror."
she put her hands on the two books.
"read these and understand what a world they build."
her eyes were all but shining.
"research their lives, their friendships, their passion even through their darkest hour."
Leela nodded suddenly looking at her grandmother with interest.
"I've read you're adventure stories about Linc-man louder."
she nodded.
"what I want you to do is create your own, draw inspiration from others."
leela smiled.
"I guess dad send you for a reason, huh?"
she nodded.
"he figured you needed a pep talk from another author."
she nodded, paused.
"...is it true aunt lucy's publishing a story?"
rita smiled.
"yes, it's called wolf moon: forbidden desire"
leela made a face.
"sounds like a cheap erotic romance novel"
rita giggled.
"it's about a werewolf girl who had a thing for her vampire brother, and the main villain is a Mexican ghoul who has a thing for her brother"
she rolled her eyes.
"Oh, yeah, that's gonna be a best seller."
she snorted.
rita smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Sweetie, I want you to read these books, then write something and show it to me... I'm going to help you become something more than a girl who just likes to read."
leela stared at her grandmother. then nodded slowly. then she smiled widely. rita took the book of Conan. and looked at her granddaughter.
"let's start with this."
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The desert shimmered in the heat waves. Conan the Cimmerian stared out over the aching desolation and involuntarily drew the back of his powerful hand over his blackened lips. he stood like a bronze image in the sand, apparently impervious to the murderous sun though his only garment was a silk loin-cloth girdled by a wide gold-buckled felt from which-
"LEELA!"
Leela shut the book and hid it under her pillow.
"Yeah, mom?"
lynn open the door and looked at her.
"c' mon. we need to get you ready for baseball season"
leela stared. it had been a week. and during that time her mother signed her up for baseball season. yuck. but at that same time, she was reading what her grandmother told her to do.
alas, she had to get dress and grab her bat and followed her mother the drive wasn't quiet, she sat on her seat and listen to her mother talks about her glory days. how she had a legacy to continue. she was excited for Leela loud to become the champ, that Lynn never got to be but all that turned to white noise.
once she was dropped off at the pitching field where a coach would be waiting. the moment her mother left, a go-cart drove forward and honked. she turns to see Lugosi in a black shirt with an image of a rat-fink, and Lester at the wheel, wearing his usual long sleeve shirt, and sweater vest. her brothers from other mothers (aunts)
"Get in loser, we're going talk literature"
she raised a brow.
"Grandma Rita told us you wanna be a writer. and we're forming a writers club"
she stared blankly at them as if they were fucking gay.
"it's either this or be around butch women playing stickball"
lester commented. leela was going to bitch him out but she looked at her bat. and it begs to question, did she want to continue this...meaningless sport? was she doomed to be just like her mother? maybe, in another universe. not her though. she was her own person with her own interests.
"move over"
she dropped her bat and got into the cart. Lester started up the cart and they ditch the baseball field to spend their time on more important matters.
Leela found herself in the old basement in the old family home of her father, mother, and aunts. there was a round table, with magazines, books. she sat on a bean bag as did Lugosi while Lester sat on a recliner.
"I admit, john w. campbell made amazing stories into something more, hell ushering in the golden age of science fiction, but he was still an asshat."
Lugosi nodded as he poked his nose.
"Arthur c. Clarke, Robert a. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, those guys were the big boys"
Lester leans forward towards Leela.
"did grandmother talk to you of Jules Verne? H.G. Wells?"
she stared.
"look, I'm just starting out, I'm more into fantasy, but I do know a lot of Marry Shelley"
she sat and gave some thought.
"I know Hugo Gernsback begin pulp! amazing stories."
lugosi perked up and had a soft smile.
"the radio was the big thing in his time"
Lester nodded.
"a community of the genre grew, and a fan community began"
lugosi gestured.
"still, he submitted sci-fi. those fonts, he created sci-fi in a way, star trek, lost I space, it wouldn't exist without him, or in fact any other author, despite his failure and business practices"
Leela rolled her eyes.
"nerds"
"Ya know, that's something your mother would say to you."
lester snapped back.
"Isacc's work made you think,"
lugosi muttered.
"Grandma wants you to write a story, you got anything you have in mind?"
Leela blushed and muttered.
"nothing original, yet...i-i've been...writing fanfiction."
Lester rolled his eyes.
"lowest form of writing."
lugosi turned his head and raised a brow.
"says the guy who likes to write about SpongeBob all gritty and edgy, who lives a shit life"
Lugosi grinned.
"that's right, i know who you are mrsciencewizard2021"
Lester blushed and glared at him.
"by the way, that part where you had Spongebob, drunk and raping pearl was so edged."
lester glared his teeth.
"Shut up! at least I don't write my little pony fanfiction!"
Leela's brain hurt.
"you two are faggots. why am I even here?"
Lugosi gestured.
"we already told you, this is a writing club."
lester sniffed loudly.
"and a book club, I guess. see, when I'm not writing raunchy fics, I'm writing science fiction, Lugosi likes to write horror, fantasy, and adventure"
leela turned her head.
"fantasy and adventure, huh?"
lugosi nodded.
"every read treasure island?"
she shook her head.
"no, not yet at least."
lugosi got up and walked over to a shelf, filled with books.
"we also enjoy pulp fiction, we have a collection of the shadow by Walter B. Gibson"
Lester said, Lugosi, grab a copy of treasure island and turned.
"I thought it was The Phantom?"
Lester shook his head.
"no. nimb rod, you're thinking about Lee Falk's comic strip, before Batman, there was the shadow."
lugosi sat and slide the book to Leela who looked at the boys.
"what of the man of bronze, doc savage."
lester nodded.
"ah yes, doc savage, the shadow, Tarzan... those were the golden heroes before Superman or any 'superhero' "
leela was curious now.
"doc-savage huh?"
lester perked up and puffed up his chest. she realizes he was gonna give her some insight.
"Doc Savage is a fictional character originally published in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. He was created by publisher Henry W. Ralston and Lester Dent"
Leela thought these two were dorks, but she couldn't deny this one fact: she was having fun. in fact, this is as close to getting to know her brothers in like, ever. they never shared anything in common, but it seems that fiction, such as fantasy, adventure, science fiction, these were the building blocks that would have her bond with her brothers...
they spent hours talking about these pulp fiction heroes, suddenly Leela wanted to read about doc savage, the phantom, and Tarzan, it was like a drug. you couldn't get enough of it. lovecraft was fine and all, but she leans more towards Robert e. Howard and his Kull character, Conan, and Sonja.
she looked at the treasure island book and handed it back to Lugosi. he blinked a questionable look. she coughed.
"I'm reading Conan, so I'll save treasure island for another day"
lester drank some Brisk sweet tea.
"so...you got an idea what you wanna write?"
Leela paused and thought about it.
"I really don't know, but when I do...I'll let you guys know"
she tilts her head.
"you guys got any stories of your own?"
they looked at each other and grinned. oh...shit. what pandora's box did she opened...
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Lugosi's short fanfic was called the black fox.
it had this Edgar Allen Poe inspired thing.
basically an old woman came to this rich guy's house, and she was like a beggar, and was testing him, when he refused her and shut the door, she turned into this murderous vulpine, and chased him all around his home, till he met his death by accidentally tripping and falling down the stairs, breaking his neck.
standard, kinda predictable. but it was alright, she guessed. lester's was more on the sci-fi side. about a human soldier being stuck with an anthro-lizard warrior during a battle the two enemies were alone, stuck together. she realizes this trope. the enemy of my enemy was my friend. when they had to work together to fight this huge bug like monster.
wasn't this in a movie? ya know the one where the human had to live with this alien dude who looks like a fish or something? and he ends up friends, living together for god knows how long. and the alien was pregnant? something like that. she also remembers seeing something similar to this in star wars rebels. and he-man and the masters of the universe (2002)
anyway. the story was just like that, the only difference was the lizard soldier was a girl, and they ended up falling in love. the ending was fucking depressing though. the human guy's platoon found him. and they were gonna gun down the lizard. but he took the multiple shots as he shields her.
she ends up in a rage. and took down a few, but eventually, she was gunned down too, and their bodies laid side by side, staring, claw and hand interlocked. and bam. they died together. while she was impressed with that, that shit... was pretty depressing. but she understood the meaning...she thinks...
in any case, these weren't bad stories, she could see they had a passion, just like she did. her mother came to the house though and was pretty pissed. she heard her yell her name. and she scrambled out before she could discover her dirty secret.
when she met her mother in the living room, she held a book of Conan. the book her grandma gave to her. lynn stood, in a tank top, her hair in a ponytail. she stood there with her fake leg on the right, her remaining one to the left. spread as if ready to take her on like holly wood hogan.
she slams the book to the carpet and gave her daggers. rita walked in and saw the book, then picked it up. and raised a brow at her daughter. Lynn didn't hold back.
"Stop encouraging my daughter with that fictional crap, mom!"
rita raised a brow.
"honey, it's okay for a girl her age to find intrest in reading, it doesn't matter if it's horror. or adven-"
"that's nerd. shit, mom! my daughter is gonna be a sports star, not some hasbeen writer, shit! howard whats his face, and lovecrap, were barely making money, you don't make money writing shittty stories, mom!"
she wiggled her fingers and sneered.
"Books are for fucking losers who can't find a chick to screw."
rita didn't like how she was talking. her eyes narrowed into slits.
"now you see here, those men are famous and-"
" one lived a shitty life, and killed himself cause his mother died, the other one lived a shittier life and died of cancer, hell, even edward allen emo fag' had a depressing life!"
she spread her arms.
"you don't see magic johnson live a shit life, or Michael Jordan, or-"
rita sighed heavily.
"the more you try to oppress her from reading, the more she's gonna do it"
lynn snarled.
"Like Hell!"
she grabbed her daughter by the wrist and dragged her out of her childhood home and pushed her daughter into the car, before driving away leaving tire tracks. leela sat and looked down at her mother was barking at her about books being for faggot nerds, how sports was her real future.
leela couldn't say a word. and did her best to try and ignore this anti-reading attitude she seems to have. when they got home. she got out of the car. but her mother was on her like flies on shit.
"and i know you've been hiding more books!"
she loomed over her like a figure-like death. she felt her heart drop to the pits of her guts.
she knew. god, she knew! she looked up at her with pleading eyes.
"mom. I promise I'll go to baseball practice, just let me keep-"
lynn roared.
"YOU SKIPPED IT TO READ BOOKS, YOU LITTLE IDIOT!"
With that, she walked towards the house and jam the key into the slot, turned and unlocked it before ramming the door open. leela followed and watched as she saw her book collection of the hobbit, the lord of the rings trilogy, the Silmarillion, and books of lost tales 1 and 1 in lynn's arms. this alarmed her and grab her arm and tugged.
"mom, mom! what are you doing?!"
she said, scared out of her wits.
"getting rid of this fucking garbage"
lynn moved forward. but Leela got in her way.
"mom, no! no please! you can't do that!"
lynn lifted her left leg and pressed it on Leela's gut and kicked her out of her way, Leela fell on the carpet. and looked up as her mother walk out. leela's heart was pounding. as she got off the floor and dashed. she saw her mother on the driveway, splashing lighter fluid all over her treasures.
"MOM NO!"
Lynn grabs a box of matches. leela leap and grab and hung on to her mother's shoulder, pulling and tugging.
"mom! mom please!"
tears begin to form as she felt desperate to save her possessions.
"mom you can't do this!"
lynn barked.
"this is punishment for lying to me, for skipping baseball season practice!"
lynn flicked the match, and to Leela's horror watch as it falls on her books- and they became all aflame. the crackling of the fire, the orange hue casting over Lynn's stern expression, and Leela's horrified features. for leela it was like watching her world, her escape meeting its doomsday. this was a holocaust, this was fascism, this was what Hitler did to books. this...this was a crime, worse than rape, worse than murder, worse than pedophilia. this was a crime to the highest degree in her view. slowly she looked at her mother. the young girl's body trembled.
"...How could you?"
she turned her body and faced her mother.
"HOW COULD YOU!?"
she shrieked.
"those were mine! you have NO RIGHT!"
lynn grab her by her shirt and yanked her forward and shook her.
"what isn't right is turning your back on what you're good at!"
good at? GOOD AT?! Sports was a living hell! it stressed her, made her frustrated because she lived under her mom's shadow. she was like a clone, a windup toy. do this, do that, get into sports like me and succeed where I failed.
"Sports are for faggots."
she hissed.
lynn struck Leela's face so fast not even fucking superman could have prevented it. leela's eyes widen. and looked at her mother, who stared at her with a hardened gaze.
"you're grounded. and I don't want you to catch you reading... you are GOING to baseball practice and you're going to like it. it's for your own good, Leela. you'll thank me when-"
leela yanked her shirt back so fast it tore from her mother's grip.
"FUCK YOU! I HATE YOU!"
She turned and ran inside the house and slammed it. she ran inside her room and shut the door behind her. she flicked on the lights and saw her room was ransacked. like Hitler's Gestapo.
she felt weak, helpless. she wanted to cry, yell. her eyes fell to the many trophies she earns from various sports... and photo frames of herself, and her mother...some of them with her dad, some of them not... in fact... she noticed the younger years her father was there. but as time went by he was there less and less.
sports didn't do shit... sports drove her dad away... no... lamis took her dad away... her mother didn't do hard enough to keep him around. when she looked at those worthless trophy's she wondered what was the point?
she clenched her teeth and leap at the trophy case and pushed it over, all the earning spilled all over the carpet floor. she begin grabbing them and putting them in the trash. she rushed towards the wall grabbing the framed photo and tossing them like Frisby's across the wall each smashing loudly serving her satisfaction.
if she couldn't get her dad's attention by doing sports, maybe her writing will. her lips curled back and she growled like a savage. she looked at the ceiling. if there was a god, and she knew there was, he must be looking right at her. she raised her fists up high, shaking with determination.
"No one, not even my mother will stop me from becoming a writer, an author. I swear to you, God, I will become one of the greats!"
there was a fire in her eyes, she stood in a stance, and she thrust a finger forward.
"I'll make J.K. Rowlings look like a hack, I'll make Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series look like kindergarten novels!"
"Jr.r. Tolkien, c.s. lewis, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson, John Steinbeck, mark twain, I'll make you all proud of me, I swear to you, i will be like one of you, one of the greats!"
she turned. her nose crinkled in anger. her tongue licked her dry lips. and swallowed thickly.
"and one day, I'll show my mother that literature isn't for losers..."
her hands became fists.
"and one day...when i am famous...she's gonna kiss my ass. and dad... I'm finally gonna get him to notice the importance of me. Leela Loud, Daughter of Lynn and Lincoln loud!"
her cockiness was showing, but she didn't give a shit. as she grinned.
"and as god as my witness, I will make my father proud of me!"
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to be continued.