People go on vacations to foreign locals in order to feel like they're somewhere else other than where they are at. You can easily just pull up a travel channel documentary or just search up photos of some place online and get a pretty good idea of what it's like. And most of the time you have more fun actually planning out the trip than showing up in person.
So why do people go about vacations if they are pretty much always more trouble than they are worth? Maybe because our daily lives are so saturated with going-ons and different happenstance that when we are at home it feels like we are everywhere on the planet. 24 hour updates of all the stupid stuff going on all around the world; your stupid friends uploading photos of stupid food in stupid restaurants, celebrities doing stupid antics like getting coffee or wearing swimwear, strangers getting mad at strangers for being strange. Just a never ending deluge of content that you cannot opt out of, even if you have a good ad-block.
So being at home sometimes feels like being everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
When you find yourself in a non-familiar locale your brain goes into overdrive and scenes that would be pretty much identical to stuff that would happen at home feel absolutely foreign just because the context of the memories you are making is a bit different. This stupid restaurant serves the same kind of stupid food as one in your town, but it's in a different city maybe in a different country. How wild! The people around you are all saying the same stuff that they say back in your town, but maybe in a different accent or a different language. It's all the same hot air being breathed out by people you can't stand that can't stand you, but it's a different flavor.
Maybe you've been on a road trip before and found yourself unable to fall asleep. The familiar, yet somehow foreign, hum of the blocky AC unit keeping you up. The ceiling is still the same color of dull gray in the night, but you make out unfamiliar faces in the blotchy patterns of the drywall. These new locations with the combination of your excited brain usually leads to some interesting dreams that you will never be able to remember:
Lincoln looked down and saw that he was in an orange shirt. Not a polo, but a t-shirt. This should be incredibly troubling to him, but he is deciding to be a brave 5 year old boy about it.
"Listen." A pint-sized Lori hissed, "Mom just got the twins to stop crying so we need to kill enough time until dinner. It is Lincoln's turn to choose the activity today so we are at Gus's Games and Grub. Literally be on your best behavior."
Lincoln saw Lynn, Luan, Luna and Leni to his side quickly salute and he followed suit, only to miss and smack his nose. Tears welled in his eyes but quickly died with a glare from Lori. Lucy was silent beside Lori, she tilted her head at Lincoln and raised her arm to touch her forehead when his expression changed from hurt to fear.
None of the siblings dared move until Lori nodded her head.
"L-Lori…" Luan asked as she twiddled a pigtail, "What's for din-din today?"
"It will be Hot Dog Casserole and White Mac and Cheese with broccoli…" Lori squinted her eyes and squatted down to Luan's level, "And I will literally not hear one complaint."
The other siblings nodded, Luan's followed suit after a while. Her fear of Lori caused her to hesitate and this hesitation was misinterpreted as defiance, Lori let out a puff of air from her nose that hit Luan's face and a single tear dripped from Luan's eyes.
"Oh my! What's this?" Lori asked as she took the tear with her index finger and held it into the summer sun, "A diamond?" She asked, cicadas chirped in answer, she took the tear to her lips, "No, much too salty to be a diamond…" She tilted her head and Luan's blood ran cold, "Now: how are we to afford your tears?"
Luan shook in silence. Lucy poked a finger in her own mouth, grimaced and let it fall to her side.
Lori addressed the siblings, "As you all know: with the twins being born money is tight. Complaining isn't going to help, it literally isn't fair to mom and dad. And- And I don't want to be mean. I don- I don't want to be a mean person…" Lori's voice had a vibrato of sadness that she quieted with a clench of her jaw, "Mom told me that I had to grow up, and if I have to grow up so do all of you."
The eldest sibling quickly took Luan into a hug and released her, "I love you, Luan. I love all of you. And I know it's unfair," Lori softened her voice, "B- but if you're upset with something do not take it out on mom and dad by misbehaving. Just talk to me about it…"
Lincoln looked up to his towering older sisters and watched them all come forward to hug Lori. He raised his arms a millimeter but let them fall to his sides when he saw that there was no room for him, he looked down to Lucy and saw her looking up at the group while clenching and unclenching her hands. He walked up to his little sister and patted her on the head, Lucy hugged him and he could feel wetness on his shirt. A line of snot bridged between a wet spot on his shirt and her nose and she quickly hung her head down in shame.
"I-it's okay, Lucy… I promise…" Lincoln cooed as he pat her head. The young toddler nodded in response and wiped her nose.
"Alright." Lori announced and the hug was broken, she turned her attention to Leni, "Leni, you are in charge of the girls. Take them to the ballpit and keep an eye on them."
"A-are you sure, Lori?" Leni squeaked.
"Yes, Leni." Lori nodded, "I trust you."
The eldest sibling opened the door and Leni took the other girls, save Lucy, and skipped into the arcade.
"Alright, Lincoln, follow me." Lori didn't look back before entering the gargantuan double doors that made Lincoln feel like an ant.
Lincoln took Lucy's hand and entered the arcade, he looked up and found that the ceiling stretched up for miles. He felt the tiny hand in his tighten. Lincoln guessed that the flashing lights, sudden noises, and loud booming voices were all probably terrifying to his little sister and slowed his pace to match Lucy's.
"Don't worry, Lucy. I'm not going to let go." Lincoln tried his hardest to cheer up his scared sister. Lucy gave a jittery head nod in response and quickened her waddle a bit with her eye's glued to the floor.
Lori pushed on further and further, he felt fear run down his spine and unconsciously tightened his grip on Lucy's hand but quickly calmed down to not frighten her. Lincoln's anxieties were almost coming to a head before Lori finally turned around and moaned. She looked down at Lucy and adjusted her bargain-bin black frames before calmly stepping up to the pair.
"Lucy?", Lori bent down and spoke softly, "You didn't want to play with your other sisters?"
Lucy shook her head.
"Let's use our words, please." Lori gave a smile. Lincoln grimaced in annoyance before stifling the emotion out of fear. Lucy doesn't like talking, Lincoln knew this and was okay with it, but he didn't like it very much when other people tried to force her to talk.
Lucy was silent and took a deep breath. "N- no. I want to play with Lori and Lincoln. Please."
"Okay, Lucy. That's fine." Lori smiled and ruffled her black hair, "And thank you for using your words, that was very brave of you. Now, come on." Without missing a beat Lori turned around and started walking again, still ahead the two of them, but slower.
Lincoln felt Lucy grip his hand again and looked down to see Lucy looking up at him while the two walked.
"How do I be brave?" Lucy asked.
This was the first time Lincoln can remember Lucy ever saying something that wasn't forced out of her. He let out a tiny gasp and thought of an answer.
And couldn't find one.
The first question Lucy ever asked and he didn't have an answer for her. He felt like a failure.
Mom and Dad are brave. Lori is brave. Ace Savvy is brave. But Lincoln isn't.
"I- I don't know Lucy," His voice was shaking but he tried to steady it, "B-but I'll find out one day, I promise… and when I do I'll let you know a- and then we can both be brave."
Lucy tilted her head and nodded.
The two of them finally made it up to Lori standing in front of an arcade cabinet, she gave the two of them a nod. Lincoln looked up at the cabinet and almost squealed in delight, but caught himself. It was Muscle Fish: Turbo Fighter II! His favorite.
"Now, do not get upset, but I only have 2 dollars. I- I saved up my milk money so we can at least play 4 games," Lori gave a stern look to Lincoln, "Do. Not. Tell. Mom. She'd literally kill me."
"Thank you, Lori! You're the best!" Lincoln gave Lori a hug.
"W-wait, Lincoln." Lori sighed, "Lucy gets a turn too, s-"
"No." Lucy tried to be loud enough for Lori to hear her but it didn't work so she tugged on her elder sister's shorts, "No. It's okay, Lori… Lincoln can take my turn. I want to watch…"
Lori's eyebrows raised, "S-sure, Lucy. Wow!" Lori ruffled Lucy's hair and gave her a quick hug, "I'm so glad that you are talking today. It makes me really happy…"
Lori gave Lucy a sad smile and Lucy hugged her back and slowly released her grip from Lincoln's hand. He scrambled up to a tall plastic chair and picked up Lucy to put in his lap while Lori fished in her pockets and eyed the coin slot.
Lori let out a loud groan, "He- Gus-" She pulled her hair in frustration, "He raised the prices!? 75 cents? For one game?" She quickly turned to Lincoln and gave an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, Linc'... It looks like we only have enough for two games…"
"It's okay, Lori." Lincoln tried his hardest to reassure his sister, "That's fine… m… maybe this time I can beat you! B- because of the pressure- or something…"
"S-sure, Lincoln." Lori sighed and fixed her glasses, "But don't get your hopes up too high, I'm not going to go easy on you."
Lincoln steeled himself and chose his favorite character, General Jellyfish, just as quick as Lori chose her's: Braveheart Barracuda. Lincoln's blood chilled as he saw the fish draw his sword out and pointed it at the camera, but shook his head and focused on the match.
Like she usually does, Lori let Lincoln get the first win. Lori groaned in fake annoyance and Lucy let out a tiny cheer, but Lincoln knew she was just toying with him. As soon as the second round started Lori started spamming a slide kick and took his health down to one single sliver.
"C-cmon, Lori!" Lincoln whined, "That move is cheap!"
Lori laughed, "I'm just trying to teach you a lesson, Lincoln." Lori sighed and spared him a glance, "This world is unfair. And you need to use every advantage you have in order to get ahead." Lincoln sensed a tinge of sadness in her voice and saw her frown.
As the timer almost hit "0" Lori downed him with a simple jab. Lucy shook a bit, as if the impact hit her too. Lincoln sighed.
"I'm sorry, Lincoln…" Lucy spoke so only he could hear her, "I hope you win the next round." Lincoln nodded his head and cracked his neck, not wanting to disappoint his sister.
The third round happened and Lori immediately spammed until he was at a sliver and toyed with him, jumping and blocking to ensure he didn't get a hit in. But, to her surprise, he did. He pushed her down to half health before the timer went down and she finished him off.
"Okay, Lincoln." Lori pointed at Braveheart Barracuda, "Choose him and do what I did, and you might actually win."
"But I don't wanna be Braveheart Barracuda…" Lincoln whined, "I wanna be my character…"
"Lincoln," Lori sighed, "S-sometimes you have to do things you don't want. Sometimes you have to pretend to be someone else in order to win. And it literally sucks… but that's- that's what growing up is like."
Lincoln blinked at the screen, her voice was like a growl. He knew she wasn't upset with him, and wanted to know why she was angry. But he wasn't brave enough to face her.
As the timer on the character selection almost hit zero he quickly chose Lori's character and the match began.
"Forward, back, low jab." Lori intoned.
Lincoln repeated those words in his mind like a mantra. To his amazement it was working, Lucy let out a laugh as Lincoln won his first ever round against Lori.
"You did it Lincoln!" Lucy giggled, he looked down at her smiling face- but for some reason felt a knot tie in his stomach.
The second match began, and he quickly got Lori down to a sliver. They were now neck and neck. Maybe it was hubris, or maybe it was overeagerness, but Lori misjudged a dive and ended up right in front of Lincoln's character, defenseless. Lori smiled and thought he would try the slide kick again and readied a low block, Lincoln saw this coming and finished her off with a single mid blow.
"Wow! You did it, Lincoln!" Lori congratulated him, she gave the two of them quick pecks on the forehead, "See, that's what happens when you listen to your big sister's advice: you win!"
Lincoln stared at the ticking down "Continue?" screen. He wanted to feel happy, but he didn't. He felt a bit confused.
"Now, I'm going to go check on the other girls, can you watch Lucy?" Lori asked, Lincoln gave a dazed nod, "Ha! That feeling you're feeling right now? That's how it feels to win! Now you two be good and stick around here, maybe someone else will come and they'll be nice and let you watch them play."
Lori ruffled Lincoln's hair and walked off. Lucy was a bit confused by Lincoln's silence, but was happy nonetheless.
"Lincoln, you did it! You were brave!" Lucy spoke fast and nodded her head.
"N-no." Lincoln shook his head, "I don't think I was being brave, Lucy…"
"Why not?" Lucy wondered.
"I wasn't playing as my character, I was someone else and I was using uh- tactics that weren't mine. I had to pretend to be Lori…" Lincoln closed his eyes and spoke into Lucy's hair, "That wasn't me winning, th- that was someone who I didn't wanna be… I can't win as myself… because I'm not brave enough."
Lincoln opened his eyes and saw himself in a familiar place. He looked down to see that he was wearing a pair of orange coveralls, a new addition to his usual attire was added: a nametag labeled "0205". He raised an eyebrow at it and shrugged his shoulders.
He shuffled his feet and heard the creak of loose floorboards and looked up. A tiny circular window, secured with a cross section of iron barns, hung above him. The ceiling was up, high up, miles up, but that lone window shone enough light to illuminate the little room.
Lincoln quickly looked down and gave himself a case of vertigo. He spun around and tried to get his bearings, after steadying himself he sniffed, cleared his throat, and walked over to sit on the only object in the room besides him: a small cramped bed.
He quickly looked around and got up, there were no doors here but he pressed his ear up against the walls to see if anyone was listening.
Silence.
He let loose a sigh of relief and wandered over to the bed and carefully stuck his hand into a hole on the bottom side of the mattress. Luckily, he did not poke himself with the rusty springs and retrieved a small handheld radio. A familiar sight, but a bit different, this one was grey and not purple.
He ever so slowly turned the volume dial up enough for it to make enough noise for him to faintly hear in one ear. Pressing the plastic radio up to his face he was greeted with the sound of upbeat big band music and smiled.
He slowly set himself down on the mattress and let the memories that just flashed by play out in his head again. He rolled his eyes and laughed in embarrassment, his tiny guffaw echoed and he shot up at the sudden noise. After turning the radio off he took another listen.
Still as quiet as ever.
He raised an eyebrow as an odd feeling of courage welled within him and turned the radio up as high as he could. He let out a joyous laugh that was drowned out by the horns, and closed his eyes to hum along with the song.
"Ding-Ding a-round one
Now the bout has begun
Ding-Ding a-round two
Fredo, I'm-a-comin for you
Ding-Ding a-round three
I'm on the ropes, there go my hopes
Ding-Ding round four
I'm on the floor
È questa la vita
C'est la vie!"
Ding Ding by Daniel Farrent
Wow, an intermission. Isn't that fun and not at all lame as hell?
I'm gonna be writing up like 5 chapters and post them day by day while I'm writing the next batch, just to have a healthy pace. I lost like 5k words in this chapter because my phone kinda blows, but it was all self-indulgent Ace Savvy OC shit: so you dodged a bullet, you probably aren't reading this fic for that. I had a lot of fun writing it though, so I am going to do that next intermission as I introduce more characters and concepts to better understand why and how the Ace dreamsequences are "significant". I wanted to do a flashback so we can get a little bit more context of what growing up with Lori was like and her development and why she feels pretty crummy about being a jerk. I know dreamsequences are the most self-indulgent farces that an author can do, but I mean: I'm writing fanfiction for the loud house. But whatever man. I'll see you later.