Stop the Presses
(A/N: Takes place before chapter 3)
Synopsis: Lucy starts modifying her Lynn's room after a new column in the school newspaper starts giving advice in gothic homemaking. When Lynn starts getting creeped out, she recruits the help of Lincoln Clyde in investigating the column's author and put a stop to it.
After a hard day of practising and working out, Lynn is looking forward to kicking back and relaxing. As she walks into her and Lucy's bedroom, one thing she doesn't expect to see is the rabid crazed face of a gray wolf seemingly lunging at her with its mouth open, revealing razor sharp teeth with dark red stains. Lynn quickly recoils and jumps in horror, only to thankfully find that the wolf isn't actually alive. Lynn cautiously reaches out to touch it, only for Lucy to suddenly snatch it out of her reach.*
Lucy: Please don't touch Bela.
Lynn: Bela? Is that what you call this thing? *points at 'Bela'*
Lucy: He's my taxidermied werewolf. Or at least, he would be if I actually knew anything about taxidermy.
Lynn: So if this thing isn't actually a stuffed werewolf, why does it look so lifelike?
Lucy: Believe it or not, it's actually made mostly of paper mache with some fake fur and fake fangs made from a combination of polymorph plastic and acrylic nails for good measure. It took hours of work and I did my best to make it look realistic, but it was honestly worth it.
Lynn: Well it did give me a scare so I think you accomplished your goal of realism. But what possessed you to make a werewolf in the first place? I thought your thing was vampires and porcelain dolls, not werewolves."
Lucy: Normally yes, but our school's newspaper recently added a column known as "Gothic DIY". It's been giving tips on how to transform your home into the perfect gothic setting.
Lynn: That sounds a bit costly if I'm being honest and besides, couldn't you wait until Halloween before you transformed our room into a creepshow?
Lucy: That's the beauty of it. Not only are the writer's methods advice good for creating a sinister atmosphere all year long, they truly are do it yourself and cost next to nothing. I can finally create my perfect lair and I can do it with stuff you'd find in arts and craft class.
Lynn: Just make sure to keep it confined to your half of the room.
Lucy: Got it.
Lynn's stomach suddenly growls rather loudly*
Lynn *jokingly: I guess your werewolf isn't the only one hungry. Guess I'll head down to the kitchen and grab a snack. Try not to scare me half to death in the future. *turns to leave and head downstairs*
Lucy: Will do.
Lynn *slightly absentminded as she heads down the stairs: Just when I thought Lucy couldn't get any creepier. *scoffs* Gothic D.I.Y.? I wonder who's the weird freaky kid writing that article. *In her absentmindedness, she accidentally bumps into Lio, causing the latter to drop his notepad.* Sorry, bro, I didn't see you there.
Lio *picks up notepad: It's alright. *looks at Lynn* Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost.
Lynn: I'm fine. Just that Lucy spooked me with this paper mache werewolf she created. Like, I thought her primary interest was in vampires.
Lio: I see. Speaking of vampires and werewolves, did you know that in some versions of the original vampire lore/mythos, a human bitten by a vampire became a werewolf rather than another vampire.
Lynn: Where did you learn that?
Lio: As an aspiring mangaka, I research all forms of mythology to help me better craft a compelling story. That was simply one of the tidbits of trivia I found during my research. *looks at his watch* Oh, I hate to cut things short, but I've got to go. I promised Lana that I'd help her find this pack of rabbits a safe home.
Lana (from outside): Come on, Lio! Those rabbits aren't going to help themselves. *Lio heads out the door*
Lynn *as she opens the fridge and grabs an apple: Between him Lucy, sometimes I don't know which one is stranger.
Three Days Later*
Lynn is lying on the couch, watching TV with a few of the other sisters (Lola, Lisa, Luna and Lori). Lucy walks through the door, holding a large black pentagram star with a bulging, pale blue eye in the center. This catches the attention of the sisters.*
Lori: What you got there, Lucy?
Lucy: Oh this? This is a piece of wall art I made at school.
Lola: It looks waaaayyyyy freaky.
Lisa: What inspired you to make something like that?
Lucy: It's based on the latest edition of Gothic D.I.Y. It's inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe story
.
Luna: If it's based off the Tell Tale Heart, why isn't it, I dunno, a heart?
Lucy: Creating a heart would be too cliche. The article recommended that we instead make a model based off of the Old Man's wicked eye. *looks at the star and gives a slight smile, taking pride in how well her work turned out* Honestly, I find this to be a lot more unnerving than a typical disembodied heart.
Lynn: You're not actually going to hang that up in our room, are you?
Lucy: Don't worry, I'll keep it on my side of the room. You won't even know it's there.
Lynn: Yeah, but just knowing that that eye will be hanging on the wall… *shivers* that thing is seriously going to kill my mood.
Lucy: I promise, you'll hardly even know that it's there.
Lisa: If it helps ease your concerns, I doubt that Lucy's projects will have that much of an effect on your state of mind.
Lynn: As long as that's her last creation involving this gothic homemaking stuff, I guess I'll be alright.
Lucy: Well, about that… *Pulls out a mask. The mask is made out of clay and has an Aztec-inspired design and depicts a screaming face with its mouth agape in horror. There are red streaks of paint going down the eye sockets that serve to make the mask look like a crying child. The mask is scary enough that it makes the other sisters jump in terror.*
Lola: Man, I'm glad I don't have to sleep in your room.
Lori: Same, I don't know how I'd be able to sleep with something like that watching over me.
Luna: Yeah, not going to lie, I don't envy having to sleep in your room with that thing hanging overhead.
Lynn: *takes a deep breath* Alright. No problem. I'm not going to let this get to me.
Cut to the middle of the night, where Lynn is trying, in vain, to get some sleep. She tosses and turns in bed and sits up to see Lucy's fake werewolf seemingly staring at her. Due to the lack of lighting, it almost feels as if the werewolf is alive and licking its lips hungrily at Lynn, eyeing her as its next meal. This causes Lynn to nearly leap out of her bed in horror before she calms down*
Lynn: Calm down, Lynn. It's not even real.
closes her eyes and tries to get some sleep. She fails and when she opens her eyes, she sees Aztec-esque mask on Lucy's side of the room hanging on the wall. In Lynn's sleepless state, she swears that she can almost hear it screaming in pain. Lynn covers her ears so that she doesn't have to hear it scream. When the 'screaming' dies down, Lynn lets go and tries sleeping again. This time, however, she sees the Pentagram Eye staring at her. Out of all of Lucy's creations, this one is the creepiest to Lynn as even though it clearly is just an inanimate object, the pale blue eye seemingly watches her obsessively. When Lynn looks directly at it, it feels as if the eye is staring into her soul.*
Lynn: *groans* This is going to be a long night.
The Next Morning, Lincoln walks into the kitchen to see a groggy (and grumpy) Lynn drinking a cup of coffee. She has bags under her eyes and her hair is in slight disarray*
Lincoln: Good morning, Lynn!
Lynn (muttering under her breath): What's so good about it?
Lincoln *noticing that something is off: What's wrong with you?
Lynn (defensively): Me!? What's wrong with you!? You just come in here and say *mimics Lincoln* "Good morning, Lynn" as if everything is peachy and cheerful, and then you ask what's wrong with me!?
Lincoln: *looks at Lynn as if to say "WTF"*
Lynn: *sighs* Sorry. I didn't exactly get a good night's sleep last night.
Lincoln: Why is that?
Lynn: Your school's newspaper has this new gothic decor column and Lucy's been taking their advice. Of course, that means she's been creating all these creepy crafts. I wouldn't mind so much if she didn't hang them up in our room, creeping me out to the point I can't sleep.
Lincoln: Gothic decor? You mean the Gothic D.I.Y. section.
Lynn: So you know about this? Do you know who writes it?
Lincoln: To answer your first question: yes. It's a relatively new addition to our school's newspaper and only started about a month and a half ago. To answer your second question: yes and no. The author of the article goes by the pseudonym Solido Naso, but nobody knows who they are. Why do you wanna know who's writing it?
Lynn: Because, I want to find whoever's writing the article and make them stop. I love Lucy, but if she keeps up with this gothic homemaking stuff, I feel like I'm going to lose it.
Lincoln: So you're just going to threaten the author to stop. I'm not sure that'll work out for you.
Lynn: Maybe not for me, but perhaps you can convince them to stop on my behalf.
Lincoln: I'm not sure I follow.
Lynn: You can find out who this Solido Naso guy is and ask them not stop. *Lincoln opens his mouth to object, but Lynn quickly adds* Plus, this could be a chance for Ace Savvy One Eyed Jack to solve another mystery. You know, put their detective skills to the test. *Lincoln's eyes light up at the chance to solve another case.*
Lincoln: Well, when you put it like that, I'd be happy to find this mystery author and persuade him to end his article for you. *Lynn smirks at having manipulated Lynn into helping her.*
The scene cuts to the Elementary school, where Lincoln Clyde are walking to the editing room for the school's journalism club.*
Lincoln:Thanks for agreeing to help.
Clyde: Are you kidding me? I wouldn't pass up on an opportunity like this in a million years. All of the goths are wondering who this Solido person really is. If we find out who they are, not only will we further our reputations as ace detectives, but we may just be able to score some cool points from the goths.
Lincoln: All the more incentive we need to crack this case. And what better place to start than here, the editing room? If we're lucky, we may even be able to catch Naso in the act.
The boys open the door to the editing room, where they are immediately greeted by a teacher with auburn hair, wearing a white shirt and black pants.*
Teacher: Hello boys, how can I help you? Are you here to apply for the school's journalism club?
Clyde: Hello, Mrs. Reilly Afraid not, we're actually here to investigate one of your writers.
Mrs. Reilly: Which one?
Lincoln: Solido Naso, the writer of Gothic D.I.Y. Could you tell us who they are?
Mrs. Reilly *shakes her head: I wish I could, but whoever they are, they have quite the obsession with maintaining their anonymity. Signing up for the club is easy enough, you can either apply in person or you write your name on the sign up sheet. No matter which method you choose, you have to submit a sample story for approval before you're officially allowed to be a member. The morning after Solido signed up, we found their story sitting on the table. No one saw who wrote the story or who left it behind.
Lincoln: Well, that's just great. Given the circumstances, there's no evidence that Solido Naso even exists.
Mrs. Reilly: Actually, we do have onepiece of proof. We still have Solido's signature from when they signed up. *pulls out a scrap of paper with the name "Solido Naso" written on it in cursive and hands it to Lincoln Clyde.*
Clyde: Looks like we've got our first lead. It's not much, but at least it proves we're not chasing a ghost.
Lincoln: Is it just me or does the handwriting look familiar?
Clyde: What do you mean?
Lincoln: It's just that, I swear I've seen this style of handwriting before.
Clyde: When is the next edition of the paper supposed to come out?
Mrs. Reilly: This Friday. We release our paper biweekly every Tuesday and Friday. We always edit it together on the day prior to the release date. Meaning our Tuesday releases are completed on Monday and our Friday releases are finished on Thursday. All stories must be submitted by those days or they get omitted until the next edition.
Lincoln*looks at the teacher* You say you've never seen Solido's face? How do they submit their column to the paper?
Mrs. Reilly: Usually, the day before we're supposed to edit the paper together, we find Solido's addition already uploaded to the main computer. *points to the desk at the front of the room with a computer on it.* While students can complete their stories independently, they must be uploaded to the main computer in order to be added. Fortunately, every story that's published is timestamped as to when they were uploaded to the computer so we can keep track of every contributor.
Clyde: Is there a set time when Solido submits their stories?
Mrs. Reilly: As a matter of fact, there is. Checking the timestamps, we find that Naso typically uploads their stories between 1 2 PM.
Lincoln: Hmm, today is Wednesday and given what you've told us about them uploading the day before final editing, that means it's likely that they'll be submitting the latest edition of Gothic D.I.Y. today. And since it's only 10:15 right now, that means we've got a couple hours until Naso comes to upload.
Clyde: Sounds like a stakeout is in order. What do you say, Ace?
Lincoln: Sounds like the perfect idea if we wanna catch Naso in the act. *turns to the teacher* Do you think that you can help us out?
Mrs. Reilly: I'd be delighted to. Believe it or not, I'm just as interested in finding out Solido's identity as you are. Their column is incredibly popular, even with the non goths and part of the appeal is the mystery surrounding their identity. If you can find out who they actually are, it would likely be the biggest story ever published in the paper.
Lincoln: Well, we promise you we'll get you the identity of Solido Naso. Ace Savvy One Eyed Jack always solve their case.
Mrs. Reilly: I'll keep the door locked until just before 1 so that you can come back here and wait for them to show up. I'll write a note to your teachers excusing your absence. Good luck.
scene cuts to later that day at 1PM (a clock on the wall shows the time as 1:04 PM to be exact), where Lincoln Clyde are sitting inside the editing room, waiting hidden in the room's closet.*
Lincoln *whispering: Okay, this should be simple enough. All we have to do is stay here and wait until we see someone go into the room. After that, we can confront them and ask them to stop writing the column under the threat of revealing their identity.
Clyde *whispering: But, aren't we going to unveil their identity anyway? Or at least, to Mrs. Reilly?
Lincoln *shaking his head: If they agree to stop writing the column, we can pretend that we're still investigating the case until the end of the year. At the very least, we could convince Mrs. Reilly that keeping Solido Naso's identity a secret would generate more interest in the paper.
Clyde: How do we know that Mrs. Reilly herself isn't Solido Naso? What if she did it just to generate interest in the school paper?
Lincoln: I doubt it. I caught a glimpse of her handwriting and it didn't match Solido's at all. Of course, it's too early to rule her out completely, but I'd be surprised if that turned out to be the case.
Clyde: Well, we've got an hour to find out.
A time lapse goes by, showing Lincoln Clyde staying hidden in the closet, peeking out as they wait for the mysterious Solido Naso to show up. As time ticks by, the boys become very bored just sitting and waiting. Eventually, they hear the door open and peek their heads out of the closet, hoping to see the anonymous writer. Instead, they see Mrs. Reilly returning.*
Mrs. Reilly: Hello boys! Any luck catching Naso?
Lincoln: No. *looks at his watch* It's 2:30 already? We've been here this whole time and no one's come in here.
Mrs. Reilly: That's odd. Normally they'll have uploaded their story by now. *walks over to computer and checks it.* No way.
Clyde: What?
Mrs. Reilly: The next edition of Gothic homemaking, it's right here, plain as day. They've already submitted their story! And the timestamp says it was uploaded at 1:02 PM today!
Lincoln: But that's impossible! We've been here the entire time and we didn't see or hear anyone enter or leave. We would've caught them red handed! There's no way they could've uploaded their story without us knowing.
Clyde: Unless they got in, uploaded the story and left before we got here.
Mrs. Reilly: I guess Solido takes their anonymity very seriously if they're going to these lengths to keep their identity a secret.
Lincoln: I guess this stakeout was a bust, but I'm not ready to give up just yet.
The scene transitions to the Loud House*
Lynn: So, any luck finding who's writing that article?
Lincoln: Well, we've got their signature and we know when they submit their story. Other than that we know nothing. Clyde I tried setting up a stakeout to catch them in the act, but they somehow still got away from us. Also, Lucy may be bringing home something new on Friday; that's when the next edition of Gothic DIY comes out.
Lynn: Darn it! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you two geeks to do this.
Lincoln: Don't worry, I promise you that this'll be the last Gothic Homemaking published.
Leni *walking into the room: What're you guys talking about?
Lynn: Stinkcoln Clyde are supposed to be finding out who's writing this goth decorating article at their school, but they messed up and now Lucy's probably going to bring home some new freaky sculpture.
Leni: You mean like that freaky skeleton figurine she brought home today?
Lynn: Great. The new edition hasn't even come out yet and she's already bringing home something weird. I can already tell that this is going to be a sleepless night.
Lincoln: Like I said: Don't worry. Clyde I are going to find Solido Naso and get them to stop. We promise.
Leni: Solido Naso? Isn't that an Italian name or something? *Both Lincoln Lynn look at Leni, amazed that she said something smart*
Lynn: Leni, how do you know that?
Leni: So, do you remember that Chaz guy I've been talking about? Well, he has a cousin stationed in Italy and he wants to visit her so we've been learning Italian together. I don't know what it means, but I do know that "Solido Naso" is Italian. *Both Lincoln Lynn are stunned silent for a second.*
Lincoln: Looks like Clyde I just got our next lead. This narrows down our search considerably.
Lynn: How so?
Lincoln: There's a cliq at our school who act like your typical mafia. They have the stereotypical accent, dress like greasers, and use random Italian words in their speech even though they're not actually Italian. Given this information, it's possible that Solido Naso is a member of this group. It also explains why they'd be obsessed with keeping their identity a secret. None of the mobsters would wanna be outed as a secret goth. I'm positive we've solved the case now.
Lio *coming out of the kitchen with two apples in his hand: Hey guys, what're you talking about?
Lincoln: I think we may have just cracked the case regarding Solido Naso's identity.
Lio: Oh. Nice!
Clyde: Why do you have two apples in your hand?
Lio: Oh, this? I didn't get a chance to eat lunch today so I'm pretty hungry. Anyway, good luck in your search. *leaves*
Scene cuts the elementary school's basement, where a group of four are hanging out, talking amongst themselves. True to Lincoln's description, they have thick (obviously) fake Italian accents and are all dressed like movie mobsters. One of them is average size with black hair, another has brown hair, the third has red hair and the fourth is a large boy with black hair..*
Kid #1 (black hair): So then, I told the bambino to hand over his lunch money.
Kid #2 (brunette): What happened next, Anthony?
Kid #3 (redhead): Yeah Boss, I gotta know how it ends.
Anthony: That's when the teacher comes over and interrupts me. So I turn to the teacher and say- *pauses in his story when Lincoln Clyde enter the basement* Hey, who are these two mammoni? Mickey, see what they want, will ya?
Mickey (big guy): You two best scram now otherwise you the floor are going to be getting real intimate. Capisce?
Clyde: We'll be outta your hair in a minute, we just wanna ask a few questions.
Anthony: Well you don't look like the law so that's bought you a minute now explain why you're here.
Lincoln: We're looking for Solido Naso and our search has led us here.
Anthony: Solido Naso?! That goth creep! Alright, you've bought yourself some more time. If I could get my hands on that Naso guy, why I'd… *grunts angrily* The nerve of that guy, making a mockery out of us Italians!
Kid #2: But boss, we aren't actually Italian. *Anthony slaps him on the back of the head*
Anthony: Shut up, you mook! *addresses Lincoln Clyde* Back to you two, you say your search for Solido has led you here? For your sake, I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying.
Lincoln: We have reason to believe that Solido Naso is amongst your ranks. After all, you four are the only ones in the school who speak Italian.
Anthony: I can't believe what I'm hearing! Mickey, take care of these clowns.
Clyde *shaking in fear as Mickey approaches them while pounding his fist: Um… Lincoln?
Lincoln *thinking quick: Wait! There's no need to beat us up. We're on your side. We're trying to prove your innocence. All we need are you signatures to confirm you're not the
Solido Naso. After all, think about what'll happen if the rest of the school finds out Solido is an Italian name. They'll instantly think it's one of you guys. We're trying to prove that's not the case.
Anthony: *thinks about it for a second before calling off Mickey* Let em' go, Mickey. *Lincoln Clyde breathe a sigh of relief* Alright, you've bought yourself another two minutes. We'll give you our signatures, but I swear you better not be pulling any funny business.
Clyde *handing the four boys a piece of paper: Just sign your names right here and we'll be on our way. *The four "mobsters" each write their signature on the paper and give it back to Lincoln to look over.* Well, Ace, what does it look like?
Lincoln: None of them are a match. Their handwriting doesn't look anything like Solido's. Safe to say, these aren't the guys we're looking for,
Kid #3: Molto bene! What did we tell ya? There's no way any of us would be caught dead doing that weird goth stuff!
Anthony: Now that you boys have got the answer to your question, why don't you say "Arrivederci" and get out of here?
Transition to the Loud House, where Lynn is watching TV in the living room when Lincoln Clyde enter the house, looking dejected and disappointed. Lynn can instantly tell that their latest attempt at solving the mystery has failed.*
Lynn: Let me guess, you still don't know who Naso is, do you?
Lincoln: I just don't get it! It doesn't make any sense! Other than a signature, we have no sign that they're even real!
Clyde: I still think it's Mrs. Reilly. Think about it: she's the only one with the keys to the editing room, meaning she can access it at any time. She could've uploaded the story before we staked out the room and played dumb. Not to mention that she has all the motive: boost the paper's readership by way of introducing a mysterious character who no one knows exist and then make a story out of the identity of this unknown writer. And now that I think about it: she seemed a bit too eager to help us solve the case. That's because she knows we'll never find out who Solido Naso is. She can keep the mystery going for as long as she wants to get students to keep reading.
Lincoln: You know, now that I think about it, even the signature could've been a false piece of evidence meant to throw us off her trail. After all, why would she keep the random signature of some student she doesn't know? *looks at the signature again* However, I still can't shake the feeling that I've seen this handwriting somewhere before.
Lynn: We can worry about how this Mrs. Reilly faked the signature later. Right now, I'm going to go give her a piece of my mind and get her to shut down this goth article! *storms out the door and heads for the Elementary school with Lincoln Clyde following behind her.*
Transition back to the Editing room, where Mrs. Reilly is sitting at the computer when Lynn suddenly kicks in the door.*
Mrs. Reilly: Goodness gracious, what's going on!?
Lynn: Alright, Reilly, I'm just going to make this real simple. We figured out your little game!
Reilly: What are you talking about?
Lincoln: Don't play dumb. We know that you're the one who's actually behind the Solido Naso article!
Reilly: What Earth could give you such a ridiculous idea?
Clyde: You're the only one with around the clock access to the main editing computer, meaning you could've uploaded the story at any time.
Lincoln: You also have the most to gain from the mystery of Naso's identity. All of the goths are wondering who they are and buzz is spreading to the other student groups as well. You can capitalize off the interest in all of this and boost readership.
Mrs. Reilly: Look, I know this looks suspicious but I...
Lynn: Listen, I don't care what your reasonings are for posing as a made up student; I just want you to stop putting out the gothic homemaking section!
Mrs. Reilly: But-
Lynn: My little sister has been making these freaky figurines that've been keeping me from sleeping! If she makes one more sculpture I'm going to-
Mrs. Reilly: But-
Lynn: No buts! Either cancel the column or-
Mrs. Reilly: Just let me explain! *Lynn becomes quiet and Reilly explains* I know that this all looks suspicious, but I am not Solido Naso.
Lynn: Yeah right! If you're not, then who is?
Reilly: I don't know. Really, I don't. As I told these two gentlemen, I'm just as interested in finding out who they are as you are. I've been waiting for two weeks now to see if they slip up and leave behind another clue, but they're really efficient when it comes to not leaving a trace.
Clyde: How do we know we can trust you?
Lynn: We can't! She's lying! Can't you see that?
Lincoln: I thought something like this might come up so I brought these. *Pulls out Lisa's lie detecting glasses*
Lynn: I thought we destroyed those.
Lincoln: We did, but Lisa made a second pair. Something about selling them to the CIA. *puts on the glasses and asks Mrs. Reilly* Are you Solido Naso?
Reilly: No, I am not. *The glasses determine that she is telling the truth.*
Clyde: Do you know the true identity of Solido Naso?
Reilly: No. *The glasses determine that she is telling the truth.*
Lynn: Great, just great. I thought we had finally found them, it turns out to be another dead end.
Lincoln: What are we going to do now?
Lynn: *sighs* Come on, let's go home.
Scene cuts back to the Loud House, where Lynn Lincoln sit disappointed that they haven't been able to crack the case.*
Luan *noticing their downer expressions: What's wrong with you two? Why the long faces?
Lynn: We still haven't been able to find out who the writer of the Gothic D.I.Y. column is.
Lincoln: All we've got is their name and a signature, but aside from that we know nothing about them. We've followed every lead and all of them have turned out to be a dead end. Clyde I even set up a stakeout to catch them in the act, but they still somehow managed to evade us.
Luan: Well, what's the name of the author?
Lynn: Solido Naso. *Luan gives Lincoln Lynn a strange look before she starts giggling, causing Lynn to get angry* What's so funny?
Luan: I think I may have just solved your mystery.
Lincoln: Explain.
Luan: The name "Solido Naso" is the alias of the main antagonist of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind.
Lincoln *as a lightbulb goes off in his head: There's only one person I know who loves gothic horror and JoJo enough to make his alias a reference to it…
Lynn Lincoln (simultaneously as they reach the same conclusion): Lio! *start running upstairs to Lincoln Lio's room*
Lynn: I don't know how I didn't see it sooner, the clues were right in front of us. From the moment he mentioned that trivia about werewolves and vampires, I should've suspected him. Also, when I bumped into him and made him drop his notepad, I should've paid more attention to it. At the time, I just assumed he was writing his silly little comics in it. I didn't think he was writing for the school newspaper.
Lincoln: It also explains why Solido's signature looked familiar to me. How could I not recognize my own twin's handwriting? And then the other day when Lio said that he didn't get a chance to eat lunch; well of course he didn't because he was busy uploading his column to the editing room computer before Clyde I got the chance to scope out the room.
Lynn: Now that I think about it, I don't recall either of us mentioning to him who "Solido Naso" was or why we were looking for them in the first place. Him wishing us luck rather than inquiring about who we were talking about should've been another giveaway. *The two open the door to Lincoln Lio's room, startling Lio, who is writing in his notepad. Lynn then points aggressively at Lio* You!
Lio: Whoa! What's all this about?
Lynn: Drop the act! We know you're the one behind the Gothic D.I.Y. column!
Lio: What are you talking about?
Lincoln *picking up Lio's notepad and comparing the writing in it to Solido's signature: Yep. There's no mistaking it. You're definitely Solido Naso. And from the looks of it, you're already writing your next story.
Lio *sighs as he admits to being discovered: I suppose that if I was going to be found out, it's better that I was found out by my own family than some random stranger. How did you figure it out?
Lincoln: Your close sibling bond with Luan proved to be your undoing as she's the one who pointed that you were using a JoJo reference as your pseudonym. That was the biggest clue. Also, the fact that you had to physically sign up means you left behind a sample of your handwriting. If it wasn't for that little tidbit of information, we might have never found you out.
Lynn: Now let's cut to the chase: I want you to stop writing that column now.
Lio: Yeah, about that, I can't exactly do that.
Lynn: Oh, you will stop, otherwise I'll tell your whole school who you are and you'll have to deal with being the talk of the classroom.
Lio: Listen, I don't know what your issue with the article is, but I'm doing it for a very important reason. I can't just stop it right now.
Lynn: My issue with the article is that I haven't been able to get a good sleep because Lucy's been following your decorating advice and making all these freaky things! I'm telling you to cut it out now or else I'll…
Lio: Lucy's the reason I've been writing the Gothic D.I.Y. series in the first place.
Lincoln: What do you mean by that?
Lio: Allow me to elucidate ya. It all started about two months ago… *scene segues into a flashback.*
Flashback:
*Lio is coming back from the manga store when he finds Lucy lying outside on the ground.*
Lio: Lucy? What's wrong? Why are you out here lying on the ground?
Lucy:... Can I ask you a question?
Lio: Sure. What's on your mind?
Lucy: Do you think I'm… weird, for being into the occult?
Lio: Not at all, why do you ask?
Lucy: It's just that the school's newspaper ran an article on the weirdest groups in the school and goths came in at number one. The paper has all kinds of articles that appeal to every group from the athletes to the nerds to even the mafia wannabes. All except for the goths. Apparently we're too weird and depressing to be the focus of anything. Sigh. Maybe they're right. Maybe we are just a bunch of creepy freaks. *gets up and heads inside the house*
Lio (narrating over the rest of the flashback): That gave me an idea that I could do something to make Lucy feel more accepted. So early one morning I went to the school's journalism club and signed up for the paper. Let me tell you, it was not easy doing that without being seen. Immediately after that, I went to the library to work on my first story and submitted it the next day. Soon after I became an official member of the club, Gothic D.I.Y. became more popular than I anticipated and the mystery surrounding my identity became its own story. Safe to say my initial mission was accomplished.
Lincoln: How did you come up with the idea of gothic decor?
Lio: Lincoln, my favorite musician is Aurelio Voltaire.
Lincoln: Oh, yeah, that's right.
Lynn: But why did you sign up under a fake name? And why go through all the trouble to remain anonymous?
Lio: Because… you know I hate bringing attention of any type to myself. Not to mention my shyness around others. I just wouldn't be able to handle the attention if my secret got out without suffering a panic attack. My goal was to make Lucy not feel like a freak, not to gain recognition. *sighs as he turns to Lynn* For that reason, I'm going to continue with the article. If it means that the cat will be let out of the proverbial bag, then so be it.
Lucy: That won't be necessary *Lincoln, Lynn, and Lio all jump in fright upon being surprised by Lucy.*
Lynn: Okay, seriously! How do you do that?
Lucy *ignoring Lynn as she addresses Lio: The fact you would go to such lengths to help make me feel normal, even if it meant risking getting exposed, is one of the kindest things anyone has done for me. *hugs Lio and she even cracks a (very small) smile* Thank you for that. *Lucy then addresses Lynn* Sorry that I was freaking you out with all the things I was creating. I didn't think that they'd creep you out so much. I can get rid of it if you want to.
Lynn: You don't have to do that. Maybe I overreacted to everything. If that's what makes you feel normal then go ahead, just maybe don't put them in places where it looks like they're watching me.
Lucy: Deal. *She Lynn hug*
Lincoln: And once again, another case closed thanks to the wonderful deduction skills of Ace Savvy.
Lio *smirking: You literally said you wouldn't have been able to solve the mystery if it wasn't for Luan.
Lincoln *with a smirk of his own: Careful, Lio. If I were you, I wouldn't taunt one of the three people capable of revealing your secret. *Lio gulps and Lincoln walks off*
Lio: (beat) Wait a second, Linc! You wouldn't actually sell out your own brother like that, would you? *chases after him*
Lincoln: I don't know, maybe if you buy me tickets to the upcoming Ace Savvy movie, I'll keep quiet.
Lynn: You know, Luc, as long as our brothers are around, I don't think you have to worry about being a freak.
Lucy: I think you're right.
Lucy Lynn share a laugh as the episode irises out*
END.
I've made it a tradition to post chapters on my birthday. Normally, it's my DP fic God Save the Queen, but I kinda hit a bump with that so I decided to upload my Loud House fic instead. Okay, so I got this idea during a Discord conversation with a friend where we were talking about our OCs. I got this idea for an episode and decided to write this chapter in script form as if it were an actual episode. Hope you enjoyed it.