For the sake of being a huge jerk let's adopt a regressive anthropocentric worldview and make the blanket claim that all animals, save humans, lack a subconscious.

This may not be that big of a leap for you depending on your own personal viewpoints when it comes to animals. That's fine, we aren't calling you a jerk or anything. Just that perhaps you weren't listening when we were talking about how homeostasis only works if you have a sense of "self", or maybe you read all that and didn't agree with it: that's fine too.

Just because a tree does not cry like a little baby after its limbs get chopped off doesn't mean it doesn't feel pain. It just means that it's not a little baby, unlike you. Probably- none of us are trees so there isn't any way of knowing for sure, and maybe you've had a limb cut off and you just, like, adjusted your sunglasses and were all "pfft, is that it?" like a total badass.

But a kitty cat probably has a consciousness, it thinks and reacts and judges based on its experiences. But a kitty cat probably does not have a subconsciousness the way that we do, a subconsciousness influenced by communication. A kitty cat probably does not talk to other kitty cats about memories or deep seated desires, it doesn't exist trapped in its own head filled with symbols and regrets and longings imprinted passively by a kitty cat society. A kitty cat just meows, a dog barks, the cow moos, the axolotl axolotls, and so forth. Probably because animals just don't give a damn about stuff. They just live their lives and don't care about designer jeans, luxury 2-door vehicles, follower counts, or cool screen-printed graphic t-shirts. Animals have no "swag", perhaps because they are "swag" intrinsically.

The same cannot be said about humans.

Animals have this thing called "territory", something man does not. A dude or dudette can own a house, rent an apartment, or stay with their parents. But that all depends on money, if a made-up number of a made-up currency in a made-up account isn't high enough: you don't have a territory. If something can be taken from you it isn't yours. A kitty cat can just go outside and live there, a dude cannot do that without getting brutalized by a police officer. You can go "off-the-grid" and go live in the forest and eat berries, or whatever, but you won't because there are no cool as hell screen-printed graphic t-shirts. And eventually someone will come find you and be all: "bro/broette you cannot live here, you are farting all over my land that I spent all that made-up currency to purchase" and you will leave out of embarrassment.

You can lasso up a gorilla and throw it in a cage, but the gorilla doesn't live in anxiety over whether or not he can afford the rent of his bohemian studio apartment. Mankind has tricked itself into thinking that you need to opt-in to some kind of weird system where you feel like you need a 2-door luxury vehicle, even though you only really need one door to get into a car. A kitty cat can just walk to a place and doesn't need a car, let alone a car with superfluous doors.

Cliff, the resident kitty cat of 1216 Franklin Avenue, believes that his territory is the whole house. And that his litter box is Lola's incredibly expensive shoes. Lola gets mad about this, but can't really bring herself to hold it against him: if she were a kitty cat she would pee on them too to mark her territory. And, despite Lola's reluctance to spend her (very large reserves of) made-up currency, she does love buying new shoes she will never wear.

Cliff greeted Lincoln outside his door with a tilt of his head as if to say, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's the big idea, kid? That ain't your usual haunt…"

Lincoln stooped down to pet Cliff, "Yep, got myself a new ro-" Cliff immediately slipped from his grasp and scratched the door and gave him a look.

This look seemed to convey, "Letmeinletmeinletme-"

"No, Cliff. I just got the place… I don't need you peeing over everything," Cliff let out a angry meow and left deep scars in the wood of the door, "No, seriously, Cliff. Not right now, I gotta go talk to Luna…"

Cliff simply curled himself into a ball outside Lincoln's room, shaking his head he made his way to Luna.

Now, in the context of 1216 Franklin Avenue, man actually does have access to territory. Every sibling has their own room, their own space. Sure: this space and the objects in them can be taken away as disciplinary actions, but in the mental landscape of the siblings it may as well be an unalienable right.

"Territory", in the context of humans who exist in a society predicated on communication, has a different utility than territory for animals. An individual's "territory" acts as the physical manifestation of their personhood. There are a lot of different ways in which this is observed.

If you were so inclined (and nosy) you can take a look at the objects that person has decided to surround themselves with and figure out their deal. If we were to take a look at your room and all your posters and old magazines and collection of broken vintage technology we get a pretty good picture of what you are into, what facets of our social landscape you identify with and enjoy. Or at least: the facets that you present to others in order for them to think you are a certain person.

If we take into account the cleanliness and how you organize your objects we can get a good idea of your mental state and how you carry yourself in society. Maybe you are the person who only finds peace when things are nice and tidy, you never make messes in the first place. Or maybe you only own a social security card, a monogrammed insulated water bottle, and credit card bills: in this case, you have more problems to worry about but at least you don't have to worry about messes. Of course, this also could be a performance of sorts, both a messy room and a clean one.

Lincoln walked into Luna's room and observed that it was clean. At least her parts of the room were clean. Luan's various prank accouterments still layed menacingly about, a bear trap with its teeth plugged with comically oversized wine corks smiled at him. But, Luna's various musical instruments were put in their places. Her collection of guitar effect pedals sat organized in a bin, their patch cables and various power sources all neatly tied together. Her Sterett stacks sat stacked on top of each other facing the wall, only one lone 3 watt travel-amp remained plugged into her purple signature Epison X-Factor that languished mournfully in its stand by her bunk bed.

Luna only put up her stuff when she was in a mood and pouty, but Lincoln considered the fact that her stuff was still in the room and not thrown out the window in an overdramatic externalization of anguish like that time Segan and Tara tickets sold out before she could buy them in time for her and Sam's first anniversary. So really, her mental state is probably better than that time but Lincoln couldn't help but worry that the only thing separating her heavy-as-all-hell guitar amps and the backyard patio was how tired she was from crying.

Lincoln did not see Luna on the floor and looked up into the top bunk to see Lynn giving a quick side hug to Luna before quietly snaking down to meet Lincoln. Lincoln noted slightly misted eyes on Lynn and quirked his head and nodded, Lynn quickly wiped her eyes with a sleeve and rolled them. Lincoln held up his arms, asking for a hug too, his face screwed up in a mocking grin and Lynn socked his shoulder for being a jerk. He simply shrugged his shoulders and pursed his lips in a pout and opted for a handshake. Lynn rolled her eyes, this time counter-clockwise, and reached out to give him a shake only to be pulled into a hug.

Lincoln's chuckle slowly turned into panic as Lynn picked him up and walked him to Luan's beartrap, "sorrysorrysorrysorr-", his pleading interrupted as he was slowly pressed onto the steel trap only to be greeted by the sound of a loud fart from a whoopie-cushion.

"You deserved that," Lynn whispered with a smirk, "Anyways, things are okay, just keep frosty- and let us know what's up afterwards… I couldn't get a word outta her…"

Lincoln regained his composure before flashing Lynn a thumbs-up as Lynn tiptoed out of the room. Lincoln waited until the door was closed before he thought about what to do next.

After some deliberation he turned around to face the bed and was startled by the sight of Luna watching him.

She looked a bit less catatonic. Her mouth was closed and her face was free of smudged make-up, or any make-up at all. Her eyes still drooped in a morose fashion, she looked a bit more dull than usual. But lucid. She was swaddled in a purple blanket and sat cross-legged atop the bed and was looking down on him.

"Uh," Lincoln didn't really like climbing up the bunk bed, not because he was afraid of heights but because he wasn't entirely sure how that old-ass bunk bed was still standing in one piece, "Do you mind if I sit down here? It's not that I'm afraid you have cooties or anything, I just think it'd be kinda cramped up there."

Luna blinked and let out a tiny frown. After working up her courage she shook her head, "N-" Her voice was raspier than usual, "Sorry, n- no. Could you come up here? I can scoot over, it- my voice is a bit bad right now, dude…"

Lincoln blinked and moved his jaw side-to-side in contemplation before speaking, "Sure, just, uh, give me a sec…" He walked up to the bed and braced himself before climbing up the makeshift rungs to meet Luna on the top bunk.

Luna scooted over to where her pillow was and hugged it. Lincoln opted to sit cross legged and faced her only to let out a grimace, "Oh, crud. My shoes… let me jus-"

"No, it's fine you don't gotta worry, bro. I've been meaning to do some laundry."

Lincoln already had both his shoes off before raising his eyebrow, "Uh, alright then-" he casually tossed his shoes behind his shoulder only for them to bounce off the ceiling and land on his head, "Ouch…"

Luna gave a slight chuckle but strained from the pain from her throat, "Sorry, that was kinda rude of me…"

Lincoln rubbed his head before laughing, "Nah, I totally did that on purpose," Lincoln lied, "Just wanted to hear your laugh- kinda wish I didn't though, is your throat okay? Want me to get you some water or something?"

Luna quickly shook her head, "Nah, Lynn said she'd go grab me a wat-"

As if on cue, Lynn arrived with Lily riding on her shoulders. Lynn softly walked up to the bed, bringing Lily to eye-level. The youngest Loud handed Luna a water bottle and gave her a tender kiss on the forehead, "I'm sorry you feel bad, Luna…"

"No, Lily. I'm the one who's sorry… uh, can you tell everyone I'm sorry for bumming everyone out?", asked a misty eyed Luna.

"S-sure!" Lily smiled and patted her head, "But only if you promise to feel better…"

"Okay… I promise…" Luna gave a sad smile, "I- I'll be all smiles tomorrow, Lily. I promise…"

"Hooray!" Lily flashed her a smile and the two of them promptly exited the room.

Lincoln saw Luna's face darken and she drooped her head down. Lincoln opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it. He silently shifted positions and placed both of his hands on the back of his head and layed down to face the ceiling.

"Drink it."

Lincoln could her stir, a bit startled at the sudden noise. The noises of her opening the bottle and downing its contents filled the room.

"Huh, the whole bottle? I'd grab you another, but we wouldn't want you to have to wake up in the middle of the night to potty- that's a real pet peeve of mine. I've been having trouble sleeping lately, so if I wake up I'm pretty much doomed to not being able to fall asleep again."

"Y- yeah." Luna let out a small chuckle, "I guess I cried until I didn't have any water left in me…"

Lincoln winced and sat up again, "Party foul, my bad." Lincoln was relieved when he saw that she wasn't as bummed out as he thought she was, "So, uh. We don't have to talk about it."

Luna's eyes immediately went dead before she snapped back to semi-normal, "Y-yeah, thanks, Linc. Maybe tomorrow? Um, not to change the subject, but you've been sleeping bad lately? What's the deal?"

Lincoln fished a piece of broccoli out from his molars, "Oh, that's kinda been solved. I guess it's because I've been living in a cramped as heck closet for years, and now that I've hit puberty I kinda grew out of it. So the girls gave me the go-ahead to steal Lori and Leni's room. S- sorry for going behind your back and just calling dib-"

Luna quickly shook her head again, this time with her whole body, "No! No. That's fine, dude. Uh. Wow. Yeah, about time you got a bigger pad. I didn't realize it because I've been too in my head lately… I'm sorry for not noticing."

Lincoln noted that Luna retreated within her blanket slowly at the end of that sentence before continuing, "Oh. Well thanks. Er, I know this might be sudden, but could you give me a ride to the furniture store or something tomorrow? Full disclosure: it's also an excuse to get you out of the house."

Luna rolled her eyes, "Suuuure, Boss. Whateva' you need." Luna laughed, Lincoln noted a wave of pain flashing on her face, probably from her throat, "Ahem, sorry… But yeah, that's no prob, dude. We'll take vanzilla if that's available and take some of the seats out."

Lincoln didn't even think of that, "Whoa, good idea…" Lincoln raised his eyebrows, "I was just gonna pay for delivery or something…"

It was Luna's turn to raise her eyebrow, "Where'd you get that money from, Lin-" Luna raised her other brow and nodded, "Oh, yeah… from your job, duh."

"Yep," Lincoln tried to change the subject from The Moon Goats as fast as possible, "And also: I kinda wanted to hang out with you. It's just been a while, you know?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." Luna smiled and gave a yawn, "Anyways, I'm thinking that I'm feeling better enough to finally get some sleep… I just wanna say: thank you, Lincoln. You're a really good brother."

Lincoln laughed, "Luna, you already know how big my ego is…" He pirouetted around while sitting and grabbed his shoes, "But, don't thank me… Thank yourself. I've learned this whole mellow nice person shtick from you, sis."

"Ha! Is that so? Well, in any case: I love you, brah. And make sure you give me until like 1 PM tomorrow before we head out, I'm tired…"

Lincoln silently slipped down the bed and opened the door, "Not a prob, Luna. I'm probably gonna be out like a light too. Lori's got this memory fo-" Lincoln was interrupted by another yawn from Luna and rolled his eyes, "Okay, yeah, yeah… I love you too, sis. See you tomorrow."

Lincoln closed the door behind him with a smile. He quickly pirouetted and busted out some dance moves in celebration-

He did it. He was able to survive day-1 of a sister's break-up with no casualties.

He looked up to his sisters, who were apparently watching him go ham on the wood flooring, after finishing his dance with a death-drop.

"Yeah, we good!" Lincoln announced to cheers and applause, "Also, don't sneak up on me while I'm dancing- you know I hate that."

"Yeah, yeah," Luan was there, along with a comically oversized teddy bear that almost filled the hallways, "Good job and all, but check out this teddy bear."

"Heya, Linc!" Greeted the teddy bear as Lincoln grabbed one of its arms.

Lincoln recoiled in horror and screamed, "OHGODITCANTALKANDITKNOWSMYNA-"

"Dude," A voice behind the bear announced, "Chillax, it's a-me," Benny stepped behind the bear and hiked a thumb to his chest, "Benny!"

Lincoln got up from the floor after regaining his composure.

And promptly punched Benny in the gut.

Benny almost collapsed on the floor, but Lincoln caught him and pulled him in for a hug, "Bro, do not do that again." Lincoln laughed.

"You're a rascal, Linc. A rascal!" Benny chuckled as he gave his 'lil bro' a noogie.

The day is coming to a close, whoa, wow. Took me long enough. Just one more chapter until the next day.

For those who are wondering: LDNT Lincoln is not LR Lincoln. LDNT Lincoln is all about the "man" while LR Lincoln is all about the "plan". Even the other characters aren't the exact same, Girl Jordan isn't going to be insane and Stella doesn't have a crush on Lincoln in this one, and Carol isn't nearly a big part of this one as the other one. LDNT was about how that Lincoln is obsessed with "growing up" and this Lincoln doesn't really care about being "cool" and "introspective" and if he ever is it's to get people off his back (and LDNT Lincoln would actually date in MS). So imagine the "narrator" character of this fic as the Lincoln from LDNT all grown up and this new Lincoln as just some guy. Also this Lincoln is 13 going on 14 and LDNT Lincoln is 12. Both stories are happening at the same time in different universes, I dont like the idea of them interacting because that's crazy and they'd probably hate each other. But if you really want I could slam up a 10,000 word side story of them meeting up at the annual Pan-Universe Loud Family Potluck Reunion.

When I am done with this day I might take some time to edit some of this, I just slam "post" as soon as I'm done typing. I'm also working on a fic with a 15 year old Lincoln who is the manager of Lola and is currently helping her out in Hollywood and he meets up with that actress who plays that Ronnie Anne lookalike from that soap opera (spades). I'm also working on a fic with a Lincoln with brothers who has to maneuver around them taking a game of Risk waaay too far (clubs). A fic about a Linka who has to clean up after a mess her brothers made (diamonds). And a Linka who might have accidentally pushed her sister's into some trouble with the Pan-Universe Sibling Council (hearts). Those stories will be interconnected. But that's enough of me being insane, I'll see you later.