It was an early Saturday morning at the Loud House when Lincoln heard someone shuffling around in his room. Turning on the light, Lincoln saw his twin brother, Lio, scrambling to throw on some clothes. His hair was a bit damp, giving Lincoln the impression that he had just recently taken a shower. As it was 4 o clock in the morning, Lincoln was confused as to why Lio was up and about.
"Lio? What're you doing?" Lincoln asked in a whisper so as not to awaken the pair's sisters. "Why are you up so early?"
"The comic shop's opening in an hour and the latest compiled colour volume of JoJolion comes out today" Lio informed him. "Rather than go through the usual morning antics that happens every Saturday, I decided to get a head start and take a shower early. That way, I can avoid the chaos and get my copy of Volume 20 before they sell out."
Yawning, Lincoln turned to the reader and said "When it comes to our interests, Lio I are pretty similar. However, while I prefer comics, he prefers manga and anime. JoJo, obviously is his favorite, to the point where even his hair is styled after his favorite anime villain"
"Now, all I've got to do is avoid 10 sisters and I'll be home free" Lio said, turning to the reader and adding "Since it's early, I think I'll get a headstart and head down to the comic shop and get back before anyone even notices I'm gone." Lio threw on his red Edward Elric esque longcoat/ hood.
"Good luck" Lincoln said before turning off the light and heading back to sleep.
Lio made his way down the stairs and was reaching for the front door when he heard a sniffle. For a moment, Lio wondered if he'd been caught and thus he froze in his place. If Mom caught him sneaking out at this hour, he'd be grounded for at least a month. He slowly turned around, expecting to see one or both of his parents standing in front of him. Instead, he saw no one and heard nothing but almost eerie silence. Keyword being 'almost'. Coming from the living room, Lio could hear that the TV was on. As he expected himself to be the only person awake, this caught him off guard. Still, Lio thought nothing of it and reached for the door once again… until he heard what sounded like faint sobbing coming from the living room. One of Lio's weaknesses was that he couldn't ignore anyone who was crying as he hated seeing someone sad; it was a weakness that all of his sisters and even his twin had exploited at some point or another. Lio tried blocking out the sound of soft sobbing so that he could go collect his manga, but found that he just couldn't. He peaked his head inside the living room where he saw his normally perky older sister, Luan, sitting on the couch with her knees up to her chest, crying her eyes out.
Like everyone else in the Loud Family, Lio was used to seeing Luan cracking jokes, making puns, or pulling harmless pranks (unless it was April Fools Day, in which case, Lio took refuge at the local bookstore until the day was over). She was seemingly always happy, which is why Lio was freaked out to see her sobbing like this. He slowly tiptoed over to Luan and placed his hand on her shoulder, asking "Luan, is everything alright? What's wrong?"
Luan looked over to him, her eyes red and wet from crying, before she looked away as if she were ashamed, saying "Everything's fine. I was just watching a movie and I got a little emotional"
Lio could tell that she was lying and said "We both know that that's not true. What's bothering you?"
"You wouldn't understand," Luan insisted, keeping her back turned to Lio.
"I could try" Lio offered. "Even if you don't think I'll understand, I can still be someone you can confide in." There were a few moments of silence before Luan asked "Do you find me obnoxious?"
"Why would I find you obnoxious?" Lio asked, the question unintentionally flashing him back to that brief period where Luan considered giving up comedy after overhearing her siblings calling her and her comedy annoying. Lio still felt a bit guilty about the whole ordeal, but had pushed it out of his head, thinking that everything had been resolved.
"Because… everyone else seems to think so," Luan told him. "I'm just the annoying sister who makes a fool out of herself."
"I don't think you're obnoxious," Lio replied. "I actually think you're funny"
"You're the only one who does," Luan said sadly. "Everyone else would probably ditch me in heartbeat if they had the chance. And even if they wouldn't, you'd probably all still be happier if I was gone."
"No. No! NO!" Lio whispered to avoid waking up the rest of the house. "I don't know where you're getting these ideas, but you couldn't be more wrong! How long have you felt this way?"
"For a few months now," Luan admitted. "At first, it didn't really bother me. But then I started to notice how miserable I seemed to make everyone. How my puns only elicit groans, how my jokes only annoy everyone, and how unhappy my pranks make everyone. I began seeing just how useless I was. It started driving me crazy to the point where I even thought about running away from home a couple times, figuring that no one would miss me."
"Please, please don't do that," Lio pleaded with her. "I speak for everyone when I say that we'd be torn apart without you. We'd miss you terribly and personally, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didn't know what had happened to you."
"Really?" Luan asked, genuinely doubting Lio's claims.
"Of course," Lio said. "You're my sister, we're family. Even if I did find you annoying, it would take a lot more than that for me to up and abandon you. It's honestly a but scary to see you like this and to hear you thinking this way. You're normally seem so chipper and joyful."
"That's what I want you all to think when in truth, I'm not as strong as you may think I am" Luan said. "That's the reason I came downstairs in the first place, I didn't want anyone to see me like this, so pathetic."
"You're not pathetic," Lio told her. "I'm curious as to where all this is coming from and why you've been bottling it up all this time"
Luan sighed and said "This might sound weird to you, but I've never really had anyone to talk to. Lori and Leni were always close being the oldest and despite sharing a room with her, Luna and I have never been particularly close with her focusing on music. I've never really had anyone to talk to. That's why I turned to comedy, both for my own comfort and so that I could bring comfort and joy to others."
"I think I know what you're going through," Lio said. "You may not believe me when I say this, but I completely understand; because believe it or not, Lincoln and I aren't the closest either even though we're twins and the only boys in the family. He has a closer connection with Clyde than with me."
"I never knew that," Luan said.
"Yeah, it's true that we don't argue that much, but I've never been able to talk to Lincoln when I'm feeling down," Lio told her. "And since I was rather shy while Lincoln was the more extroverted of the two of us, I've never had friends of my own that I could confide in. Just like how you turned to comedy for your escape, I turned to anime and manga. It's why I aspire to be a mangaka so that I'll always have an outlet for my anxiety and depression and maybe, just maybe, I'll inspire someone else."
"I'm so sorry!" Luan suddenly apologized as she started crying once again. "I know I'm being so selfish right now having a pity party and everything"
"No, no, it's fine!" Lio assured her. "It's for the best that you let this out rather than bottle it up inside. I'm just telling you this to let you know that I can relate. The loneliness, the anxiety, feeling as if everyone hates me. I've been there before. I know exactly how it feels. It's terrible. That's why I want to be someone that you can talk to so that you never have to feel that way again."
Luan wrapped her arms around Lio and proceeded to cry as softly as she could into his shoulder. Lio didn't push her away or recoil and attempt to pull away. Rather, he reciprocated the hug and allowed her to cry on his shoulder. And cry she did, letting out every negative thought that had plagued her mind and every instance of self consciousness. After another five minutes of crying, Luan composed herself, saying "Thank you. Thank you so much." She then noticed Lio's coat was soaking wet with her tears and apologized. "Sorry about ruining your jacket."
"It's okay, really" Lio insisted. "I just want you to be okay"
"I don't know how I could ever repay you," Luan told him. She was surprised by his response.
"You already have" Lio told her, prompting Luan to reply "Huh?"
"Let me explain," Lio said. "You called yourself useless, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Do you remember Lincoln and I's first day of school? When Lincoln and I came home crying because the other kids picked on us because of our white hair? You were the first one to comfort us, telling the two of us that our hair didn't make us weird and that we were the coolest boys you knew. You even told us a few jokes to cheer us up."
Following their first day of school, both Lincoln and Lio return home in tears. The older of the twins seems to be trying to hold back his tears while Lio in contrast is crying openly.
"Mom, do we really have to go back there?" Lincoln asked as he wiped tears from his eyes.
Lio sniffled and said "I'll never do anything bad again, I promise. I'll clean our room, take out the trash, eat my vegetables, anything!" The boy then dropped to his knees and pleaded "Just please don't make me go back there!"
"I know today wasn't the best," Rita said, "but I promise you that things will get better."
"Can't we just stay at home like we used to?" Lincoln asked.
"I'm afraid not, sweetie," Rita said sadly, giving her sons a consoling headpat.
"I'm too young to die!" Lio exclaimed, crying even harder.
"Is everything alright?" Luan asked, peeking her head into the room, "What's going on?"
"Your brothers' first day of school didn't exactly go so well," Rita informed her.
"Oh no," Luan said, "what happened?"
"Some kids started picking on because we had white hair," Lincoln explained through teary eyes.
"They called us old men and said that we were albino freaks," Lio said.
"They wouldn't stop laughing and making fun of us," Lincoln said.
"And they kept pelting us with spitballs when the teacher wasn't looking," Lio explained.
"That sounds terrible," Luan said sympathetically.
"It was," Lio said, "and the worst part is we have to go back!" He cried.
"I'm sure that tomorrow will be better," Luan tried to comfort her brothers.
"No it won't!" Lincoln replied, "We're just gonna get called names again and made fun of some more."
"It's going to be a nightmare," Lio said, already dreading the upcoming next day.
"Maybe I can help turn those frowns upside down," Luan said with a smile.
"How?" Lincoln and Lio asked.
"With a couple of jokes, of course," Luan answered, starting off with "When does a sandwich cook?"
"I don't know," Lincoln said, "when does a sandwich cook?"
"When bacon lettuce and tomato," Luan told him.
"Huh?" Lincoln replied, with it taking a moment for him to get the joke, at which point, he laughed, "Oh, I get it now."
"I still don't get it," Lio said sadly.
"When bacon lettuce and tomato!" Lincoln stressed to him before starting to explain, "Because bacon sounds like-,"
"Sorry, that's on me," Luan apologized, "If you have to explain a joke, there is no joke."
"I feel stupid," Lio said, looking down at his feet.
"Well you can't feel as stupid as the fish who forgot how to swim," Luan joked, "He really floundered."
Luan's joke got a laugh out of Lio and Lincoln.
"Hey Lio, which travels faster, light or sound?" Luan asked.
"Ummm… light!" Lio guessed.
"Correct and that's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak," Luan joked.
Lincoln and Lio laughed once again.
"You know, I don't trust stairs," Luan said, "they're always up to something."
Lincoln and Lio laughed once again.
"Do you have any more jokes?" Lincoln asked.
"I sure do," Luan answered before telling another joke, "One of my friends broke her finger today, on the other hand, she was completely fine," that joke also cracked up the twin brothers, prompting Luan to ask "How about one more joke? Think you're up for another?"
"YEAH!" Lincoln and Lio answered emphatically
"What's the opposite of Slim Shady?" Luan asked.
"I don't know," Lincoln said, "what is the opposite of Slim Shady?"
"Thicc Sunny," Luan answered.
Lio laughed and joked "Hi, my name is (what?), my name is (who?), my name is (chicka chicka) Thicc Sunny!"
"So, are you guys feeling any better?" Luan asked.
"A little bit, yeah," Lincoln answered.
Lio nodded his head in agreement, but admitted "I'm still scared to go back to school tomorrow though."
"Me too," Lincoln said, "I don't know how I'm going to face those kids again."
"Me neither," Lio said before her turned to Rita and asked "Mom, are you sure we have to go back?"
"I'm sorry sweetie, but yes," Rita told him, "you have to go back."
"Hey, who cares what those kids think about you?" Luan said, telling her brothers "I think you two are the coolest boys I know."
"You do?"
"I don't just think so, I know so," Luan replied, "Those other kids are probably just lame-o's jealous of how awesome you guys are."
Lincoln and Lio perked up a little upon hearing that, with a smile forming on their faces.
"Thanks Luan!" Lincoln said before he went upstairs, but Lio stayed behind.
"Are you alright?" Luan asked him.
"I'm fine," Lio muttered with an unsure look on his face.
Luan placed a hand on his shoulder and told him "Don't worry, you're going to be alright. Don't let some stupid bullies ruin things for you. It doesn't matter what they say."
Lio perked up a little, but still seemed unsure of himself.
The very next morning
"Alright kids, time for school," Lynn Sr said as he counted over his kids before school, "Is everyone all set and ready to go?"
"We're all ready!" Lori answered.
Rita did a headcount and remarked, "That seems to be everybody," before noticing that Lio was missing, prompting her to ask "Lincoln, where's your brother?"
"He said that he'd be downstairs in a minute," Lincoln asked.
"How long ago did he say that?" Leni asked.
"About ten minutes ago," Lincoln said, looking at a clock on the wall.
"Poor kid must still be upset over yesterday," Lynn Sr guessed.
"I'll go get him," Rita said.
"No, I'll go," Luan volunteered, "I think I know just what to say to him."
Luan went upstairs and to Lincoln and Lio's room. The young boy was nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, Lio wasn't nearly as good at keeping quiet as he'd later grow up to be. Luan heard a sniffle coming from under the twins' shared bed and quickly looked underneath. As to be expected, she found Lio crying under the bed.
"Lio, are you okay?" Luan asked.
"I can't do it, Luan," Lio said with a sniffle, "I just can't do it. I'm not strong enough to face those kids again."
"I'm guessing that you're still scared of school," Luan said
Lio nodded his head and said "Yes, not just of being called a geezer because of my hair, but of being called a crybaby too."
"I already told you that it doesn't matter what they say about you," Luan said, "they're just a bunch of losers."
"I know," Lio said, more tears welling up in his eyes, "but… they're evil losers."
"Maybe so," Luan said, "but the thing about evil losers is that they always LOSE to the hero in the end."
"But who's going to be the hero?" Lio asked.
"You are," Luan asked.
"Huh?" Lio asked.
"You can't let those bullies win," Luan said, "you've gotta step up and be the hero."
"But-," Lio started to say before Luan interrupted to give him a pep talk.
"All I'm hearing is "but this" and "but that", but that's not the little brother that I know," Luan said, "The Lio that I know wouldn't run away from anybody."
"Don't you get it?" Lio snapped, "I'm just not brave enough! I can't possibly be a hero! I'm too much of a coward."
"So, you think you're a coward?" Luan asked and Lio nodded his head, "Aren't you the same kid who picked up a spider that was scaring Leni senseless?" When Lio nodded again, Luan reminded him, "And aren't you the one who went with dad down into the basement in the dark during a power outage?"
"Yeah," Lio said, starting to regain some confidence.
"Does that sound like a coward to you?" Luan asked.
"I-I guess not," Lio said.
"Then you can totally take this!" Luan assured him. "You've got this in the bag!"
"What if I don't, though?" Lio asked, still unsure of himself.
"Hold on a second, I'll be right back," Luan said before she quickly ran to her room and pulled something from her trunk full of gags.
That object turned out to be a red magician's cape that Luan had fitted and turned into a hood. Upon retrieving the hood, Luan returned to the twins' room, where Lio was still hidden under the bed. She quickly handed the hood to Lio.
"What's this?" Lio asked.
"Every hero needs a cape and a cowl," Luan told him, "so I'm giving you your own."
Lio crawled out from under the bed and asked "Really?" as he took the hood.
"I know that you're still scared, so I'm giving you this cape," Luan explained, telling the young Lio, "Every time you feel afraid or some kids start picking on you, just pull the hood over your face and flex the cape."
"You actually think I can do this?" Lio asked, feeling slightly more confident in himself.
"I know you can do this," Luan stressed to him.
Lio took a moment to think it over before declaring "You're right! I can do this, I'm Lio Loud!" The boy pulled the hood over his face and extended the cape portion, proclaiming "I'm not going to let some losers bring me down!" before he grabbed his backpack and ran downstairs.
Later That Day
The Loud Kids were in vanzilla on the ride back home from school.
"So, did anyone pick on you today?" Luan asked Lio.
"Yeah," Lio said with a frown, "those kids still made fun of me and Lincoln."
"Oh…" Luan said, adopting a frown of her own.
Lio immediately perked up, smiled and said "But I remembered your advice and pulled the hood over my face every time they tried messing with me!"
"That's great!" Luan said.
"Yeah, and I found this great book in the library today during lunch," Lio said before he pulled the book out of his backpack.
"Ooh, what's that?" Lincoln asked.
"It's called Astro-Boy and it's really cool!" Lio explained, "The only problem is that I can't read it."
"Why not?" Luan asked.
"Because it's a "manga" and written in another language," Lio said, "I think the librarian said it was called Japanese. She said she would help me learn how to read it and speak it."
"Well that was very nice of her," Rita noted.
"Yeah!" Lio said, "And one of the first things I found out was that Japanese people have this thing called anorifics…"
"Do you mean honorifics?" Rita asked, politely correcting him.
"Yeah," Lio confirmed, "honorifics like "san" and "kun" and "chan" when referring to someone."
"So I guess it's safe to say that your second day at school went better than your first?" Luan asked.
"Yep," Lio answered, "and it's all thanks to you and this cape you gave me. In fact, Lio-kun…" he said, giving off a big excited grin, "wants to be like Luan-chan when he grows up!" He exclaimed as he hugged Luan.
"Aww," Rita said, "isn't that sweet?"
"I'm just glad that I could help you out," Luan told Lio as she reciprocated the hug.
Luan remembered that event as she had it on videotape. She didn't expect Lio to remember that day as it happened so long ago. Incidentally, it was that day that also spurred Luan's desire to improve her comedy so that she could always cheer up her younger siblings. "I'm surprised you even remember that day. At the time I was just really starting out in comedy, seeing you two so torn apart was what motivated me to get better."
"How could I not remember that day, it's one of the fondest memories I have," Lio revealed. "And that's not the only time you've helped me out when I had a tough day…"
"You are the worst brother ever!" An 8 year Lio shouted at Lincoln as the two were escorted inside the house by their mother. "How could you do this to me!?"
"It was just a joke! I didn't expect it to go the way it did" Lincoln defended himself.
"I'm never talking to you again!" Lio declared.
"Fine by me, drama queen!" Lincoln replied. The two twins huffed and turned their backs to each other, crossing their arms.
"That's enough, both of you!" Rita scolded the twins.
"But mom" They both said.
"No buts," Rita said. "Now Lincoln, I think you owe your brother an apology"
"What's going on?" Luan asked, peeking her head out of the living room.
"Apparently, your brother, Lincoln, thought it would be funny to release all of the mice that the school's biology class were planning on dissecting," Rita told her. "The mice ran amok and Lincoln was caught on camera setting them loose. Since he and Lio are identical twins, the principal couldn't tell which one of them was actually responsible so he suspended both boys for three days."
"It's not fair!" Lio shouted angrily, tears trickling down his face. "How come I have to be punished for something HE did?! I didn't even do anything!" Lio then ran up the stairs to his and Lincoln's room, slamming the door behind him, ignoring his mother as she called for him, trying to calm him down.
"Hmm, let me go see if I can maybe cheer him up" Luan said to her mom before following Lio upstairs. She gently knocked on the door, only to hear Lio say "Go away, Lincoln. I'm not in the mood"
Luan opened the door to see Lio lying on the bed, his face buried in the pillow. "You going to be alright, Lio?"
"No!" Lio said angrily. "I'm tired of always getting mixed up with Lincoln or people thinking that we're the exact same just because we look alike. It's so frustrating! It's even worse whenever I get blamed for something that he did."
"I can imagine so" Luan said, sympathizing with Lio. "I'm sure Lincoln didn't mean to get you in trouble."
"I just wish that there was something I could do so that everyone wouldn't mistake us for one another"
"Maybe there is" Luan suggested.
"How?" Lio asked.
"You could maybe change up your hairstyle or change the way you dress" Luan suggested. "Something that would make you stand out from Lincoln."
"Change up my hair?" Lio asked. "But how should I change it up? I don't want to look too crazy; I just want to look different from Lincoln."
"That's for you to decide," Luan told him. "You can make your hair look however you want. Maybe you can change it up so that it looks like your favorite character from those Japanese comics you always read."
"Like my favorite character?" Lio wondered, thinking for a few seconds before saying "Luan, you're a genius!" He then asked "You wouldn't happen to have any hair dye, would you?"
"As a matter of fact I do" Luan said, handing Lio a bottle of black hair dye. "You never know when the perfect opportunity to prank Lori or Leni may come up"
"I'll be back in a few minutes" Lio said, rushing to the bathroom to change up his hair. A few minutes later, he emerged with a completely new hairstyle. His hair was now perfectly combed back, but rather than being all white as it had originally been, it was striped with black strands. In a way, it resembled an inverse oreo. Lio then returned to Luan, asking "How do I look?"
"You look awesome!" Luan told him. "That'll definitely help you stand out."
It was at that moment that Lincoln came upstairs, saying "Listen, Lio, I'm really sorry about- whoa, what happened to your hair?"
"At Luan's advice, I decided to change up my hairstyle so that we no longer look alike" Lio told him. "Now, no one else will ever mistake me for you again."
"It's because of you that I have the sick hairstyle I'm still rocking today," Lio said happily, running his hand through his hair. "I owe it all to you. And those two examples aren't the only thing I thank you for."
"Remember how earlier I mentioned that I could relate to what you're feeling and how I said that you've already repaid me?" Lio asked. Luan nodded her head. "Part of what helped me through those bad days was you. Whenever I was down, I'd always hang around you because your jokes always made me laugh to the point where I'd forget what was upsetting me. If it weren't for you, I don't know how I would've made it through those depressive episodes. There are still days when I'll hang around you when I feel like I can't go on because you make me laugh. I meant what I said when I said I thought that you were funny. Out of all of my siblings, you're the one I'd say I'm closest to because I can always turn to you. Whether it's to cheer me up or for advice."
Luan started tearing up again, although this time they were tears of joy. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Lio in another hug. "You have no idea how much I needed this!"
"No problem" Lio said.
Luan then glanced at the clock and said "It's 5 AM, aren't you going to head to the comic shop so you can get the latest JoJolion volume before they're sold out?"
"How did you?" Lio asked.
"I overheard you and Lincoln talking," Luan answered. "You're going to be late if you stick around"
"Meh, I can always read it online," Lio replied. "Family is so much more important. Are you going to be okay?"
"I'll be okay," Luan said. "Thank you again"
"We've still got a few hours to kill before the others wake up, let's see what's on TV" Lio said, grabbing the remote. Even if Luan was going to be okay, Lio wanted to stick around just in case. When Luan mentioned that she thought of running away from home, it scared him to his core. He didn't know how he'd be able to cope if he lost one of his siblings. It made him realize that he took his family for granted. That'd be a mistake he'd never make again. The two found a reality TV show and decided to watch that.
"Hey, did you hear that 19 and 20 got into a fight?" Luan asked midway through. "21"
Lio laughed and smiled. It was good to hear Luan joking again. "Promise me you'll never leave us"
"Little Brother, I promise you that I'm not going anywhere" Luan vowed.
A few hours later, the Loud House was hectic as the siblings awoke. Soon, they were all partaking in their favorite activities, with Lori talking to Bobby, Luna writing new music, Leni talking to her friends, Lana playing in mud, Lynn making a new sport, etc.
"Hey, did you manage to get your manga?" Lincoln asked Lio as he stripped down to his underwear to read his comic books.
"Nah, something more important came up," Lio said, working on his own manga, entitled Tokyo Planet Outlaw. "I can always read JoJolion online, it's no big deal."
"Whatcha working on?" Lincoln asked.
"The latest chapter of Tokyo Planet Outlaw" Lio told him. "The theme of this chapter is family and how you should never take them for granted because you never know when they could be gone."
"Sounds like it'll be great," Lincoln said. "Can't wait to read it when you're finished."
"Trust me, I think you'll love it" Lio said as he sketched a panel showing a ponytailed heroine coming to the aid of the protagonist right when he needed it the most. Later that day, Lio returned to his room, where he found something lying on his bed. Picking it up, Lio saw that it was Volume 20 of JoJolion in full colour. It didn't take much thought for him to figure out who it was from. With a smile on his face, Lio lied back so he could read the latest in the Joestars' bizarre adventures.
Okay, so I recently became a fan of The Loud House. By far, my favorite character in the show is Luan (even when she's April Fools psychotic). What can I say? I have a huge weakness for jokes and puns. Anyway, I recently thought up a Loud House OC by the name of Lio Loud. He's the family otaku, being a huge fan of anime and manga as well as an aspiring mangaka. In terms of appearance, he looks identical to Lincoln, except his hair is modeled after Yoshikage Kira's (to get an idea of what it looks like, search up "Matured Kira" on google. This fanfic contains references to other fanfictions, specifically "The Whole Picture (Continuation)" and "Luan: A Loud House Tale". They say the people who are the funniest are usually the most depressed so I decided to explore this concept with Luan. I kinda wrote this for myself for comfort and relaxation before deciding to share it. If you're reading this, I hope you enjoy and apologise as my writing isn't the best. I haven't decided if this'll be a one shot or if I'll make more chapters.