I walked my cat all across the neighborhood. Despite having run-ins with dogs, both live action and animated, things were going well for me. But I couldn't stop thinking about my hangout that midday. The talks with Luan and Lucy. A big crush on Luna. That good stuff.
I then saw some Toons and some live action people playing basketball at a park. One of the Toons happened to have thick light brown hair pulled back into a short high ponytail that was smaller than Luan's. Her ponytail is held up with a dark red hairband. She was slightly taller than me and had freckles on her cheeks. She had a rounded nose like mine and Lucy's. She wore a red and white jersey with a red "1" on it, red, white, and teal track shorts, and black cleats with striped white knee-high socks.
She and the other folks were playing against a team that had blue jerseys on. I walked over the benches and sat down. I started to see a bit of a pattern with my new acquaintances. A rock star. A comedian. A goth. And now an athlete. I thought about some old friends of mine from my childhood that were like that. They were great and were like the siblings I never had.
"That's my daughter playing out there!"
My thoughts were interrupted by a Toon man who looks like he's in his 40s. He wore a sea green t-shirt, brown slacks and shoes. He had a long pointy nose, brown eyebrows, and curly brown hair that's thinning on the top. His thinning hair was connected to his back hair. He was pointing out in the field.
"That girl with the hair in a ponytail?" he said to me. "That's my daughter. Lynn L. Stepanek Jr."
"She's doing great," I said. "Probably worthy for a sports show on ESPN."
"Pffft," the man said. "She's not that great. A friend of hers?"
"No," I replied. "I'm just exploring the neighborhood. Name's Loud. Lincoln Loud."
"Lynn L. Stepanek Sr.," the man grinned as he shook my hand.
"Wait, Sr.?" I realized. "Isn't that a father and son thing?"
"It can work for a father and daughter too," Lynn Sr. said. "It's no common practice, but dang it, we gotta stand out!"
"Sure," I said. Then Stella jumped on my lap and purred. "Good kitty, Stella!"
"You brought your cat along, huh?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Yep. It's not that common of a practice, but it works," I explained. "She's the only company I have at my own house."
"Aren't you a little young to own a house?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Is twenty-one too young?" I replied.
"You're twenty-one!?" Lynn Sr. was surprised. "I thought you were twelve!"
I laughed. "Dipper Pines is supposed to be twelve years old, yet he sounds like he's nearly three times as old. We Toons are like that. Gravity Falls is just one of those shows I work on."
"Oh, Gravity Falls? Lynn and Lana both just started watching that show," Lynn Sr. smiled. "They both really like it. Jr's planning on being an actor as well as a player. Kind of like The Rock."
"While being the coffee boy and the cameraman was fun and all, I wanted to be an actor too," I admitted.
"My other daughters wanted to be actors too," Lynn Sr. said. "Lola, my other daughter, wanted to be in a television show while Lana wanted to be in a film. It's crazy."
Then we both heard fighting. Two Toon little girls were fighting in a sandbox. One had blonde hair, with two downward pigtails tied down with red scrunchies, and was missing her front teeth. She wore a red baseball cap backwards with a small square hole, white sneakers with blue stripes, and a red t-shirt under dark blue overalls.
The other little Toon girl had long blonde hair that she wore down, and a tuft of hair on top of her head pointed to the right. She was also missing her front teeth. She wore a princess attire; a long frilly pink gown and a white sash, long pink gloves, white earrings, pink high heels, and a decorative tiara on her head.
Lynn Sr. walked over to the girls and broke out the fight as I watched, petting Stella.
"For God's sake, girls," Lynn Sr. scolded. "This is the third time you fought today. Do you two want me to ground you for a week?"
"No," the girls said in unison.
"Then stop, okay?" the father asked. He then turned to me. "Kids."
"Missed being one," I said, cracking a smile. "You four really are a family."
"We do love each other," Lynn Sr. said.
"Who are you talking to, Daddy?" the princess said while she and her twin were walking over.
"Girls, meet Mr. Lincoln Loud. He's from around here," Lynn introduced me. "Lincoln. The princess twin is Lola, and the girl with the overalls is Lana. Get this, Lana. He works on Gravity Falls!"
"Whoa!" Lana's eyes sparkled. Very cute. "Mr. Loud, what do you do? Read mysterious books? Have you ever gone to a summer camp?"
"When I was seven," I told the tomboy. "Although I have never read any mystery books or seen any ghosts. That supernatural weirdness weird me out."
"How old are you?" Lola asked. "You don't sound like you're in sixth grade."
"Lola!" Lynn Sr. scolded.
"No, no, no! It's okay!" I reassured him. "I'm twenty-one!"
"Cool!" the twins said in unison.
"Cute cat!" Lana complimented.
"Oh, Lynn's shooting the hoop!" Lynn Sr. shouted as Lynn Jr. shot and scored. Her team won the game. We all cheer for her victory. After that, she saw me still talking to her family.
"And then Mabel thought the coffee was liquid diarrhea put in a cup so she dumped it in the toilet!" I joked. Lana laughed while Lola retched.
"Gross!" Lola gagged.
"Hey!" Lynn called. "Did you see me with the winning point?"
"We sure did, honey!" the father said to his athletic daughter.
Lynn then saw me and introduced herself. "Name's Lynn Stepanek Jr. Won several trophies in several games and I wanted to become a future star!"
"That's great," I said. "I've been told by your dad that you like Gravity Falls. Huh, kid?"
"Yep!" the athlete smiled. "Bill Cipher is my favorite character."
"He's a good one, huh?" I said. "Hey, since you're going to be a future actress, be sure to have great talent and always be prepared. With us Toons, who knows what'll happen."
"Got it," Lynn said. "Thanks for that!"
"You're welcome!" I smiled. Then my phone rang. I picked it up. "Hello?"
"Loud. Clarence Buttowski is working on his final episode! We need you to go over to Disney and help film it immediately." It was my agent, Chris Savino.
"Alright! Alright! I'll be right there! Yeesh!" I hung up. My agent is a nice guy but he can be a bit of a pushover. "Sorry, guys! I gotta go. Disney wants me."
"Until we meet again, Lincoln," Lynn Sr. said.
"See ya, Mr. Loud!" Lana waved.
"Call me Lincoln," I said as I walked away with my cat.