To recognize Heaven, we must first know Hell.
It happened. It happened on the weekend, and no one saw it coming. Not like this. Not by a long shot.
It started with Lacy, Lupa and Liby, three of the many kids born through incest. They were hanging out together that Saturday afternoon, comfortable in their favorite place in all of Royal Woods, which happened to be the park. Its calm and peaceful nature and atmosphere made it the best one, for different reasons to all three.
For Lupa, she didn't have to deal with other people around, unlike all those other places where folks with ugly mugs, annoying voices and irritable habits would get to her. She was a girl who loved the sweet sound of silence playing non-stop for her to be alone with her thoughts .
For Lacy, she had an entire field to exercise; from running laps to jumping jacks and sit-ups, this was by far a better place to do these fat-burning exercises. She was as fit as could be, the same way her mother was around her age.
And for Liby, she was the one who admired true mother nature for what it was. The birds chirping, the squirrels scavenging for acorns, the warmth of the sun, and if there was also a nice wind, these were part of the correct scenery that Liby was almost enamored with. Hell, maybe she actually was enamored with mother nature. Who knows, maybe she could wind up an activist?
As crazy as it seemed to Lupa, she didn't question it, and secretly thought of Liby as adorable for it, although Lupa could never compliment or support Liby directly. Maybe she'd throw a suggestion to her often like "Be a photographer" or "Biology looks cool" or something else she'd have to verbally toss quickly.
Right now, and before the dark tsunami had arrived, the three had laid down in a grassy field, specifically in the slope of a hill, looking over much of the park. For the most part, they genuinely loved each other and enjoyed the company they shared. Liby and Lacy were on the same scale, but Lupa was more reluctant to hide what and how she felt. It wasn't easy to rope her into expressing her feelings, but Lupa handed out rare rations around and satisfied them enough in their unspoken comprimse.
The sun was setting down just before the night would show, and Lacy was wiggling her legs around, looking up at the clouds. "You know," she spoke to Liby. "I've always wondered which one of us..."
"Hm?" Liby was lost in her gaze of the park until the athlete brought her back. "Which one of us...?"
"Get it over with, we're not getting any younger, sweetheart," Lupa sassed rudely.
"Well... I had a thought, and-" Lacy explained.
Lupa snorted with a laugh, struck by a look of Liby's serious face.
"-Well, it's about that, guys. We're not going to be doing this forever-" Lacy spoke words not of her own MO. Liby and Lupa both turned their heads to her, taken by surprise of how realistically dark she had just become, almost like a switch was flicked by some invisible force.
The reason Lacy brought this to attention was because of Lyra; the tranquil but strict daughter of Luna Loud had left for college already, taking her first step into adulthood. She left for half of that year, coming back only for the winter holidays, as was Loan, daughter of the eldest aunt. The two were on break up until the next year, so they all had only a limited window to be with each other like those easier days. They had returned back to the house on Franklin Avenue, where they all lived with Uncle Lincoln for the entirety of their lives.
The layout was; aunt Lori and Loan took up the bedroom once hers and Leni's; Lily and Lisa weren't involved in this particular incest harem, so they weren't around, and this room belonged to Leni, Liena and Lyle; Luna and Luan reached a compromise where their kids would have their room, and they'd both sleep in a separate bed in the bedroom, sharing with Lincoln; Lucy and Lynn settled for bunk beds in their old room, so that Lupa and Lacy would not have to be on the couch; Lana and Lola did the same thing for Leia and Lizy, and it worked out well for them all, except Lucy who was tall that her legs were sticking right out over the bottom end of her bed.
And the best part, no one would suffer the comical hell of sleeping in a closet.
"I mean... Yeesh, you are so mopey, is this about them?" Lupa wondered.
It wasn't the fact that Lacy might've missed those two, but it was that Liby, seventeen years already, was the next person to fall in the line of adulthood, and she'd grow up and leave Lacy behind. It was a fear that she could not believe, or even prevent. She didn't know what was worse; that Liby was going to grow up, or that Lacy, a girl of physical strength, was actually powerless to stop it?
"Lace, what makes you say that?" Liby didn't know why she had brought this out at random. "What's wrong?"
The short athlete with a pale brown hair color had trouble forging her words together. She had only given it some low-key thought, and that alone was painful to realize. What they had bullt over the years, had it been for nothing? Was the plan to wind up on different paths? If so... Then... Why did she have the thought of seeing this as-?
Which one of us will remember what we had in the future? She remained silent to Liby's questions, only thinking to herself.
"Is this about death? News flash, Lace! We're all going to die eventually," Lupa bluntly stated. "Some maybe faster than others."
"Lupa, no," Liby grumbled.
"Lupa, yes," Lupa giggled sarcastically. She stopped when Lacy had a look of hurt on her face. "Okay, fine."
"Lace... Y-you're right, we won't be doing this forever..." Liby leaned close to her younger cousin, close enough to bump shoulders with her. "And that itself is a reason why we're here together."
Lupa sensed mush incoming and turned away from them.
"I want to spend as much time as I can with the both of you, because... I love you two, and we make a hell of a trio." Liby dragged Lacy into her and hugged away the athlete's pain. "I know what you feel because I've felt the same way," she admitted .
Lacy figured they wouldn't know what she was thinking, but Liby had proved her wrong, maybe due to them having hung out so many times that the girl with the autumn hair could practically pick them both apart. Liby was that type of person who would deduce one's facts about them in only a matter of days. Maybe she knew to analyze well, or maybe she could simply relate to anyone and everyone in some way Lacy couldn't comprehend.
Was that why Liby was part of this trio of different girls? Was she this selflessly nice and kind-hearted to pick them up when they fell? What was it about Liby that made her do what she did? Lacy would never know, she assumed.
"What-? You were afraid-?" Lacy gathered from Liby's context. "Really?"
"Look," Liby explained. "I knew that someday things were going to change. I knew it for awhile but I just... I never had the time to think about it until recently."
Lacy listened closely, subconsciously wanting an answer that could help her overcome this inevitable event. She could not picture herself saying goodbye to Liby just yet.
Then again, was that actually her fear? Or was there more underneath the surface?
"Yes, I won't lie to the both of you," Liby went on, stroking away at Lacy's hair. "Change terrifies me, because I can never tell what to expect. Like, say Loan develops a heart disease, or something bad happens to our precious Lupa, or something unbearably horrible in tomorrow's schedule-"
"Way to jinx me, you fool," Lupa cut in.
"-And while I'm scared, I also think that it's okay, because... Because I make the most of my time with you guys as I did with both Lyra and Loan. And now that they're back, we can add more to where we left off. You know what I also think?"
"Uh?" Lacy snuggled herself to Liby.
"I think that we're supposed to be afraid, guys."
"Oh?" Lupa crossed her arms, unsure of Liby's logic. "Explain."
"Like, I think it's supposed to, like, wake us up and push us. Like, it's a test to us as people, and motivation for us to get stronger and overcome that which makes us stop."
The winds howled as the air waves moved above a graceful pattern. The tree right behind them had its branches and leaves wiggle around, making some leaves fall out of their place, falling around them in a slow movement. They, who didn't take notice originally, were met with the shower of leaves. One such leaf landed on the side of Liby's head, making her pick it off and move it to the grass underneath her.
"That's some dumb logic," Lupa protested. "If I was afraid of like, say, being buried alive, would I have to live in a tree house for the rest of my life? Or maybe go as far as to cement the ground of where I live?"
"No-"
"That's how I'd overcome it if I had it, am I right?"
Liby shook her head. "No, yes, but- Look, I'm saying is that good things can come of being afraid. In my case, I'm spending just as much time as I can possibly have with you guys before... You know. I've loved all the times we've had, and I wanna make the remainder of my time with you both to be memorable. That's what it compels me to do."
"Geez, you make it sound like you're going to die," Lupa huffed.
"Well, whatever, I'm not wrong here, and neither is Lacy."
"But... I don't want to be scared of this," Lacy told her older cousin. "This... Change. I... Don't want us to change."
"I know-" Liby didn't expect the next few words from Lacy, albeit she should have.
"C-can you... Promise me that you won't ever f-f-forget us?"
Lupa raised an eyebrow, mouth propping open. "What's this?"
"L-Lacy... I would-" And Liby then had it click for her. It wasn't that she was going to go away and shift their thing that drove Lacy to have these thoughts, and hell, not the concept of her leaving was the main bug, but it could have been one. No, what made Lacy dread the most was-
Liby slapped Lacy after turning her around, right before she began to cry. "You idiot! H-how can-? How can you think I could ever forget you in life?"
Lupa gasped, eyes half open. "That's what this is about?"
"I..." Lacy stuttered, rubbing her cheek with one arm. "I mean... P-people, and- And they- Things-" She moved her fingers around with her other arm, hopelessly trying to form a presentation with them as she pointed around. "M-move on-"
"What the hell gave you that idea?" Lupa placed her arms on her hips once sitting up and eyeing them closely. "That... It's nothing more than a dramatic element in-"
Lacy dug into her phone and showed them a text thread between her and Lemy, conversing about Lyra.
Lemy: Hey, thanks again for training me last weekend. These abs are sure to impress Gloom!
Lacy: No problem, my man! You make that girl yours and pay me back later!
Lemy: Hell yeah I will! I'm still bummed about Lyra not being around to help coach me. It used to be her, you know
Lacy: Yeah, I guess I can say I do
Lemy: I just wished she'd call or text me. Haven't heard from her in awhile
Lacy: Y and how come?
Lemy: Idk, its like she disappeared. Cant lie, I miss her alot, it sucks that she had to move on with her life
Lacy: oh...
"You..." Liby wiped away her tears. "You think-?"
"Lacy, this is too adorable," Lupa giggled. "At least we know you're still you."
"Wh-what's so funny?" She asked before being hugged by Liby. "What?"
"You have me crying for this? Lacy, you- You are too much of a sweetheart, dang it!" And Liby was then smiling and laughing. "Lyra is just busy with her work! College isn't a walk in the park, you know?"
Lacy scratched her head. "I don't know, Libster."
Lupa smirked before joining in. "You're a little puffball, alright. Come here, you two."
None of them wanted their special bond to come to an end, and not at any point in time, or in this life. It would only be a matter of time until a darker catastrophe hit, and for this one there was absolutely no planning for.
It started first with Liby, when she got a call from the boy she was currently dating. She pulled her phone out once breaking away from their group hug. "Oh, its Connor," she informed them. "Give me a sec here."
Lupa made a pucked kissy face while pressing her hands to her face, making Lacy laugh while Liby had her back to them.
"Hey, babe, what-?"
"Is it true?"
She had no idea what it was he was referring to. "I'm sorry? Is what true?"
At the same time, Lupa was spammed with a few texts from actual random, unlisted numbers, with all of them having been insults;
I've always known you were a freak, bitch.
Holy shit! If I were you, I'd hang myself off a tree
Wow, you're legit a product of incest? Freakshow!
Product of incest? Is this some kind of fucking joke?
She thought to reply, only she noticed that Lacy's phone was also being bombarded with vibrating sounds. "What's up with you?" Lupa asked about it.
Lacy was about to check her messages when Lynn called. "What-? Hang on, Lupa," she told her cousin before answering her mother. "Hi, mom-"
"LACY, GET BACK TO THE HOUSE RIGHT NOW!" Lynn erupted through the phone in the strictly highest tone of voice she could form before straining. "AND PRONTO!"
"M-mom, what's this all about?" Lacy had the feeling that she was in trouble.
Lupa received another text, only this one stood out from the others; it was a link of a site that caught her attention. She clicked on the link and was then redirected to the site. And not just any site. "What the-?"
This site was dedicated all for the entire Loud family tree; photos of the kids decorated both sides of the site, followed by words in a black font right in the middle;
Incest babies, born and raised by their father and many mothers, actually brother and sisters!
There was a bottom square option that said Evidence of passion crimes! at the bottom of the text, motivating her to click it. The way it felt to her was that this was some cruel prank that someone had went too far with. At least, she thought so to until she was scrolling through the gallery.
Photos of their mothers with her uncle as kids appeared, then followed by other photos in a time lapse sequence. Many of the girls were kissing the familiar boy with white hair, which struck her horribly, her stomach feeling queasy enough for her to wish to throw up. There were also medical records and files, which had two versions of it, both the original and the modified one. She went on and saw that the birth father of the kids was officially labelled unknown, a pattern that some of the kids had pointed out as a mutual occurrence. The grand finale happened to be screenshots of message threads, where it was heavily suggested that there had indeed been incest going on behind the scenes of the Loud name.
She got off the site, trying to form words and keep a straight face. Her uncle had white hair, and her mother had told her that she had it because she had that gene he had as well, which made them more alike on a relatable level. She had it because it was passed down to her, but it happened to have been him who passed it down.
In other words... He was her actual father. The father of one of many products of incest.
"Lupa?!" Lacy shook her to get her attention. "I said we have to go!"
There was no time to think about the who, how or why. Lacy and Liby were already sprinting down the hill, running back home. Lupa followed them close behind as the three of them started receiving more notifications for messages.
Liby was distraught by what just happened to her; Connor had just dumped her over the phone, for a reason he didn't go into, going about it as of he had expected her to know. She was hurt, but has already given her fair share of tears. No problem, maybe they could talk it over like a proper couple to see what the problem was.
"Hey, d-don't look at your texts!" Lupa warned.
"I think we've got more pressing matters than that!" Lacy fired back. "Mom sounded serious!"
The facts weren't lost on Lupa. Someone had found out about this thing that not even she had known. A damn, dark secret that was not to be known among their children. Actual kids born of incest. Her, and her... Half-siblings, and not cousins. What made this worse what that this particular person had thrown this out in the open for the internet to see, and without warning either.
For what was the reason this happened? In any case, there would have to be explaining to do.
When they got back to the house, the trio was met with the other kids and adults, all huddled around the living room, cramming it. Lynn, Luan and Lucy moved to their daughters, holding out a hand.
"What's going on?" Lacy wondered, studying the faces of the others. Most of them, a dead serious set of faces, gave her the deadly chills. "Mom?"
"Lace, sweetie, we're gonna need you to hand over your phones," Lynn ordered.
"What? Why?" Liby looked around them, confused. "I might need it-"
"This is not up for debate, Liby," Luan cut in. "Please."
Both of them surrendered their phones without a fight, but Lupa was another case. When it was her turn to, she stepped back from Lucy and dropped her own phone between them. "I have to know..."
All the mothers present looked closely at Lupa, having a gut feeling that she might have seen what they had seen. Lucy lowered her hand, staring ominously at little Lupa. "What is it you must know?"
Lincoln helped himself to a beer bottle in the kitchen while he eavesdropped.
"Is he really my father?" Lupa asked, breaking the atmosphere. The fact that Lucy didn't answer only confirmed what she read.
Among the collective of mothers, they started their little whispers as if none of the kids were there. Leia, Lizy and Lemy gave each other weird looks at each other. Lyle looked to the kitchen, wondering why his uncle was currently drinking at this hour, while Liena was just confused. Lyra raised an eyebrow, trying to piece Lupa's context, and Loan squeaked.
"What?" Liby tried to make sense of what Lupa had asked. "Is who your father?"
"Mom?" Lacy asked again.
"Listen, all of you," Lynn spoke to their children. "I'm going to have you all to no longer talk to your friends, and I mean all of them. Anyone you care about or are close to, you cannot contact them anymore, not for any reason."
"Wait, what?!" Leia wailed. "B-but my friends- I had plans with Gwen and Marsha!"
"What did I just say?" Lynn scoffed.
Leia crossed her arms like a brat, fuming. "This is so unfair."
"Like I was saying, you also cannot use any social media at all, so no computer or console, or anything else for that matter."
"WHAT?!" Lemy and Lyle cried in unison.
"And for the entirety of the winter break, you will no longer be going out as much as you are used to. The only reason to do this would to go grocery shopping, and you will not be going on solo runs, is that clear?"
"What's with the dictatorship?" Leia found herself questioning the new world order, reluctant to follow through what this was for what she didn't understand. "Hmph."
"But what's the deal for this?" Lemy turned to his mom for answers. "Is something happening? I feel like something is happening, so like... Don't you think we should know?"
"Y-yeah," Liby seconded. "At least give us a reason why this is-"
Lincoln broke the beer bottle after drinking it whole, having smashed it on the edge of the table. He got up and moved to the living room, still holding the cracked piece of bottle in his hand. "Because I say so."
"Uncle..." Liby raised a finger, but she found her voice to have been gone. "Yes, uncle..."
Lupa looked at Lincoln with a different set of eyes, from a new perspective she was exposed to. She had no words to say, as she was more angry that this secret, the hidden truth, was kept from her all this time. Fifteen years of living a lie, with the truth living around her. Why didn't she suspect it before?
"Lyra, Loan, sorry you two had to come back to this," Lincoln apologized. "I'm glad to have you back for a short time."
Lyra gave a weak smile while Loan had hers wiggle out of proportion. Lincoln went into his bedroom, bottle still in his hand, and locked himself in.
"Okay," Lynn spoke for him. "Uncle would like to get some sleep, and the rest of us are going to have a little chat, so... Just... You know, do what you want, but don't leave. Backyard's okay."
Later
Leia and Lizy took to the basement door, trying to eavesdrop on the emergency meeting taking place down below. Loan and Lyra were giving the others the rundown of daily life in college, to which Lemy and Lyle had stopped being interested in when it was apparent they were listening to a girl's experience. Lupa sat underneath the front window, head still wrapped around the chaos. The only reason they were stripped away from the world was so they wouldn't find out, and that applied to even Lyra and Loan, legal adults who were treated as babies.
Lupa had a funny feeling that the worse was only beginning. If her aunts and parents had known, what was it that they were planning? Where they subjecting them here to protect them?
Maybe that was it, simple enough. They were being under lockdown for their own good, but did they know that? Would they ever?
Lupa moved up as she listened to Lyra go on with her roommate, some skank Lupa gave no damn about. The albino looked through the window- and caught an eyesight of something interesting. A black truck with tinted windows was moving slowly across the street, and it wasn't until Lupa looked outside that it sped away fast. It made her uneasy, but enough to think anything of it.
Lacy took notice and joined Lupa. "Hey, what are we looking at?"
"Huh? Oh... Nothing really," Lupa replied. "Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Uh, I'm fine, Lupa." Lacy scratched the back of her neck. "Honestly, I feel a little embarrassed to have shared all that in the park."
Lupa smiled. "Nonsense, Lace. I think it's cute that you care, princess."
Lacy squealed. "P-princess?! How dare!" She flicked Lupa's forehead.
"It's gonna take harder to hurt me, shorty," Lupa mocked.
"You're short, too!" Lacy countered back, fists raised.
"Am I?"
"Curses," Lacy muttered. "There is no hitting your nerves easily."
Lupa gave the girl a pat on the head. "One day, you will surpass me, but for now I'm the ice queen of all of Royal Woods, baby," she assured Lacy before they hugged again.
Lupa was crawling on her stomach, trying to reach someone. Someone who was all bloodied up from a serious case of torture, a brutal beat down they didn't deserve. She moaned and cried out, hoping it wasn't who she thought it was when they started to become familiar. And when she did see this person, laid on their stomach, Lupa screamed into the night
Everything was going to be fine. Lacy had them both, and the bigger picture was that they had each other. Together, and for the remainder of their time as a trio, they were an unstoppable force. No one could ever hurt them or bring them down, and as long as Lupa stood, she'd make sure that they'd be okay no matter what.
Damned be her soul should she fail.
AN: Three years since the show first aired, can you believe it? It feels longer to me, but then again, time works differently the more time passes... Ha. This has to be my contribution to it, for sure.
Now, I've mentioned this on the threads already, but the angle I'm going for would have to be similar to Assassination Nation by plot and angle, but of course there will be more than that. I figured something out about writing that will help me vastly improve, so I have faith in this new SK story, but of course, I only speak for myself when I say so.
The inspiration for this, heh, get this, but it comes from a scene from another fic that has nothing to do with the Sin Kids. Why, I'd never.
Another thing I wanna say is, I've finalized what fics I will handle, as updated in my bio, plus a few requests/one-shot pieces with the OCs of others. Originally I was going to do a wholesome collab piece with Epikalroo for his Sinful Days fic, but that fell through due to creative differences. It's quite a shame, too. Maybe sometime in the future, I can team-up with Flagg to bring twice the average edgefest. Oh, we've had ideas, yes.
And lastly, I've made a Discord server of my own, I thought I'd try it out and stuff. Screw making a , I put exclusive content for free. /3U24j7a after , or just ask for it through my Discord, found on my bio.