Chapter 2: A Day in the Life of Lincoln Loud.
Now the basic setup has been established, it is time to really get this story going. The status quo, for both this FanFiction and the show itself, is quite clear. Lincoln Loud is the odd one out in a large group of siblings that collectively make up a heavily conflictual and chaotic household. The lyrics in the opening theme to the show explain the situation quite perfectly: "Guy's gotta do what he can to survive! In the Loud House! In the Loud House! Duck, dodge, push and shove, It's how we show our love!" This concept is rooted within the very foundations of what the show is, but the problem is it doesn't always come across that way in some of the tales the Louds experience. Lincoln has to do what he can to survive in this crazy and somewhat hostile environment, but is it always clear that the family genuinely do love each other? This is Lincoln's dilemma in the story; he becomes unsure if they actually do, and his reaction to that uncertainty is not pretty…
Lincoln Loud has always had a reasonably strong and healthy, if occasionally troubled, relationship with his family. Being the one brother among ten other sisters, he sometimes couldn't help but feel the odd one out. Often enough, he would find himself in a 10 vs 1 conflict, more so than the other siblings. He knew the sisters loved him deep down, and they would never mean to inflict serious harm upon him. But sometimes it was difficult for him to remind himself of that. He did draw the short straw a lot when it came to life in The Loud House. It was only a matter of time until some event, even a seemingly insignificant one, would trigger an outburst to erupt.
Indeed, all it would take was another serious incident to occur which somehow caused ill events to happen at his expense. Even just a small-scale squabble would be enough to make him snap, provided it happened at a very poorly timed moment. That's precisely what happened. Lincoln got in trouble for something which happened at school (which wasn't his fault, but he ended up taking the blame for some shenanigans his friends were pulling). Additionally, he had been getting a lot of stress from his teacher lately about getting his homework and school projects in on time as well as in tact (which happened less consistently than you would think. In The Loud House, things had a tendency to break, including various things Lincoln had or made that he needed for school). Add to that, his parents nagging him for the umpteenth time to get up and start exercising more (he knew they were just looking out for his well-being, but he really valued the ability to sit back after a stressful day and read comic books or play video games, and their efforts to divert his attention towards physical activities took away from that luxury). This was all building up. Not to mention, previous incidents where he suffered hardship at the hands of his sisters were not entirely forgotten. Forgiven (since the boy is indeed a kind soul) but not forgotten, and the events of the sister fight protocol and being kicked out of the house for being bad luck still stuck out in his mind, even if he didn't show it. He was particularly stressed and emotionally on edge one night, and the last thing he needed was to deal with another 'catfight' in The Loud House…
Lincoln (to the audience): "Life in The Loud House has its ups and downs, but all in all, I love my family and I know they all love me." He states proudly as he walks out of his room and down the stairs, to where all his sisters are sitting back watching TV.
Lincoln: "Oh cool, Dream Boat is on!" He cheerfully says as he approaches the sofa.
Lori: "Hey, it's a really exciting episode tonight! Karen has a choice between 5 different guys and they're all super cute!" She informs him as she resists the urge to squee over how attractive and appealing all the contestants on the show are to her.
Lincoln: "Oh wow, who's the favourite to win this time around?" He asks intrigued.
Leni: "Oh my gosh! The best guy is totes Adam. He's got such a stylish and on-point fashion sense. His clothes show off his hottest features!"
Lucy: "I prefer Marco, he's dark, grim, gloomy and depressed."
Lincoln: "Those don't seem like very appealing features." He replied confused.
Lucy: "That's why I like him so much! Besides, I just said I like him the best. I don't think he's the best for Karen. She's way too cheerful and perky for him."
Lynn: "Yeah, the best dude for Karen is Bruce. He's a hulk. He's huge! Such bulging biceps and thick, rock hard abs! Awesome!"
Luna: "Loves about more than just big muscles, dudes and dudettes! Rocker Rob is the most rockin' dude in the show! His music will tug her heartstrings and make her submit to the sheer awesomeness that is rock n' roll!"
Lana: "Aw, come on! How come nobody's even mentioned Rocka. He's the coolest dude out of all of 'em! I mean, the guy eats out of the trash and fights Aligators!" She insisted frustratingly.
Lola: "Ew, Lana! The objective of the show is to find the best First Mate for Karen, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't go for guys who are basically fully grown male versions of you!"
Lana: "How do you know what kind of person she's into?" Lana angrily demanded as she stood up, ready for a confrontation.
Lola: "Because I've watched this show before. We ALL have! And Karen certainly wouldn't go for someone like that!" Lola argued back as she also stood up and got right in Lana's face.
The two siblings growled at each other for a couple of seconds. Sensing a fight was imminent, Lincoln stepped like a concerned and responsible older brother…
Lincoln: "Hey, hey! Take it easy! Look, Lana has many appealing qualities and so does that Rocka dude! I'm sure plenty of girls would like him. But maybe Lola has a point in that we know Karen is not likely going to choose him, given that we're experienced viewers of this show."
After listening to reason, the two enraged twins backed off and sat back down, having realised the argument was petty and pointless…
Lola: "Yeah, you're right, Lincoln. It's pointless arguing about something like this. Let's just watch the show."
Lana: "Eh, she wouldn't be a good match for him anyway. She'd be too restrictive and stop him from being his cool self."
Lincoln then sighed in relief as he prevented a pretty testy situation from escalating into something worse. He already experienced situations in which petty squabbles became out of control, and his efforts to mediate or calm the situation only made matters worse. He recalled the conflict between his two oldest sisters over a dress to be the most extreme example of this. He was just thankful most of the conflicts that occurred within the walls of The Loud House were minor and easily resolved. Even the more serious ones eventually came to an end, even if he was informed that his absence was a major reason for that, which disheartened him somewhat.
Lisa: "Shiblings. According to my calculashions, there is less than a shix' percent chance of any of these men actually being able to have a successful long-term relationshunship' with the captivating captain."
Lori: "Well, Lisa. Why don't you just literally ruin the show for all of us!? It's not like it's our favourite show to watch together as a family or anything!"
Luan: "Yeah, talk about sinking all the ships at once." Ha ha ha ha! Get it?" She asks cheerfully.
The other siblings let out a collective groan…
Luna: "Yeah, lady bro. We get it! This show is set on a ship and any one of the dudes on the boat could end up forming a relationship with the captain, which would lead to shipping."
Luan: "Aw, don't explain the pun. That'll ruin it!" She said disappointed.
Lynn: "Pretty sure you don't need anyone else to ruin them! You do that all by yourself the moment you come up with them in your thick skull!"
Lincoln: "Girls, please. Can't we just sit back, relax and enjoy the rest of the show?" He tried to request as he didn't need yet another confrontation between his sisters.
Luan: "You're one to talk, miss brute. If people are annoyed by my puns and pranks, then they find your barbaric nature unbearable!" Get it!?" She spat with venom. "Because you're barbaric like a bear!"
Lana: "She's got you there, sis!" She casually confirmed.
Lynn: "Oh, you're one to talk, little miss 'I use a second potty because I'm disgusting!' You're more of a Neanderthal than I am!"
Lana: "Am not!"
Lynn: "Are too!"
Lola: "Ladies, ladies. Stop it!" This bickering is pointless!"
Lincoln raised his eyebrow curiously for a second amidst all the worrying and panicking. Could it be? Lola, the enfant terrible, is acting as the voice of reason amongst the sisters?
Lola: "Let's just all agree that you're both barbaric, primitive and totally disgusting!" She said smugly.
And with that, Lynn and Lana became even more enraged while Lincoln's head sunk; his last hope of a non-violent resolution to this confrontation had been practically extinguished…
Luna: "You know, for someone so prim and proper, you aren't actually as ladylike and gentle as you'd like to think you are, sis. As girly as you are, you're violent, vicious, brutal and ruthless when you want to be! So, you can talk about being barbaric."
Lola: "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" She screamed lividly, proving her right.
Lincoln (to the viewers): "Oh no, I have a bad feeling about this."
Lori: "Will you all just literally shut up!? I'm trying to watch this! You're all acting so stupid!"
Leni: "Hey, I didn't even say anything!"
Lisa: "Which is probably for the best shibling. Previous records dictate the situation would only be exshasherbated if you contributed to it."
Leni: "What does that mean?" She responded puzzled.
Lori: "I said be QUIET!" Lori began shouting.
Leni: "There's no need to yell at me!" Leni defended.
At this point, all the siblings devolved to just randomly calling each other names…
Lola: "Brutes!"
Lana: "Dweebs!"
Lynn: "Dorks!"
Luan: "Party poopers!"
Lucy: "Day walkers!"
Luna: "Rejects!"
Lisa: "Numbskulls!"
Lori: "Babies!"
Leni: "Meanies!"
Lincoln began to panic in fear as he ejected himself from the situation, leaping off the sofa and slowly exiting from the room. He knew once an argument escalated to this point between his siblings that there was no stopping it. The sisters all looked ready to rip each other's heads off. It was no secret that even on a good day, the slightest little interaction could lead to a brutal brawl.
The sad part was… this was only one of their more light-hearted tiffs.
Mere seconds after Lincoln escaped, the sisters engaged in a brawl which formed one of their typical fight clouds. Lincoln, after having entered the kitchen, pleaded with his parents to stop the fighting, but he got the usual response…
Lincoln: "Mom! Dad! Do something!"
Lynn Sr: "Son, you know how we handle things in this house. We just let them go at it like cats and dogs until they get bored, forget what they were fighting about in the first place and then allow things to just work themselves out!"
Rita: "Yeah, something like that."
As Lincoln looked on at what was the umpteenth conflict-gone-overboard in the house taking place in the living room, and the back to his unresponsive parents in the kitchen, and he realised just how out of control things could be in his house. He never really thought about it as strongly as he did in that moment. Then something in his mind snapped. The thought process triggered a lot of other memories to erupt inside his psyche, plaguing his consciousness. All the times the fighting got out of hand. All the times he himself was the victim as much as anyone else. All the times the violent, selfish and vindictive mindsets of his siblings resulted in him receiving some form of physical or mental pain/trauma. At that point, he decided enough is enough…
Lincoln then left the kitchen and sounded a horn device to divert the attention of his enraged siblings from each other to himself. He had just about enough of this. Normally, he could tolerate the insane amount of violence, antagonism and hostility within the household, but today, he just had enough. He'd been dealing with a lot of stress, was tired, and did not need to be worrying about the petty squabbles of his sisters.
Lincoln: "Guys, please! For once, can we not do this!?"
Luan: "Do what?"
Lincoln: "This!" He stated as he made a gesture with his hands. "All you guys ever do is argue, fight, bicker, moan, and make life in this house miserable. We had a little disagreement about Dream Boat and suddenly we're all at each other's throats."
The sisters ceased in their scuffling, begin to reflect on the words of their brother…
Lincoln: "Honestly, this is all that happens, all the time. And whenever you guys aren't trying to kill each other, you all team up against me!"
Lori: "Pfft. No we don't!"
Lincoln became infuriated by that statement…
Lincoln: "You really don't see it, do you!? Of course not! Yet it's all that ever happens to me around here! I always get dealt the short straw! You guys constantly berate, belittle and exclude me. You always make me feel like a black sheep in this family! Remember when you all locked me outside of the house just because you believed I was bad luck!"
Lisa: "True, but in our defens'h, you played along with the lie and wanted us'h to fall for it for your own personal ends!"
Lincoln: "Yes, I know. And I accept my role in that horrible incident, but even still. The extremes you went to just to save your own skins was completely uncalled for! Do you have any idea how much danger you put me in when you locked me outside!? I was outdoors, alone, in the cold and dark! Anything could have happened!"
Lynn: "Yes, okay. We're sorry! Alright?"
Lincoln: "And what about all the other times?! Remember that stupid sister fight protocol you introduced without me even knowing?! I mean, all that trouble over a stupid dress?! Are you guys nuts!?"
The Loud sisters let go of each other and stood up, facing their brother, before lowering their heads, facing the truth of his statement and feeling ashamed for their past actions…
Lincoln: "Oh, and to top it all off, you eventually resolved everything and then had the gall to tell me that I was the cause of the problem, and that everything is alright once I'm gone! I guess you'd all stop acting like violent nutcases if I just got up and left for good, huh?!"
Lori: "Look, Lincoln. The way we acted then was unacceptable. And it wasn't how we should have treated you!"
Though the sisters realised the error of their ways, it was too little-too late for Lincoln. He had been pushed to breaking point, and was beginning to release the valve of his pent up emotions. And nothing was going to stop him now…
Lincoln: "I guess you all just hate me and want me gone forever! Is that it? Would you all rather I just didn't exist, or that I was a girl like the rest of you?! Is that it? I'm just too different for you all to love me?!"
Leni: "Lincoln, no! Don't even talk like that! Of course we love you!"
Luna: "Yeah, bro. Remember when we all sang a song about how you were the best brother we could ever hope for?"
Lola: "Yeah. Or when we all marched over to Mom and Dad's room and tried to force them not to send you away that time we thought they were going to get rid of you?!"
Lana: "Or when we all gave up the new roommate arrangement we liked because it was unfair for you?"
Lynn: "Yeah, I remember that one. Still got aches from when me and Lana lifted your bed from one room to the other!"
Lincoln: "But that's just it! I don't know if you're going to be friendly, caring or reasonable people from one day to the next. One minute you love me and accept me as one of you. The next you treat me like I'm a burden! Look, I'll admit I'm not the perfect brother myself. I've been selfish and done many things at your expense! I've been responsible for some bad things as much as you guys. But I've always done my best to be a good brother, even if I've not always been completely successful!"
Lori: "And we've always made the effort to be good sisters!"
Lincoln: "Only when it suits you, apparently. How many times have I been ganged up on, 10 against 1 by all of you? How often do I get the harsh treatment from you for anytime I screw up, yet when any one of you guys do it, the rest always let them off the hook easy?! Maybe you don't hate me, but let's face it, I've always been a… second class sibling. Isn't that right?"
The sisters all look befuddled by that. They never intended Lincoln to feel like he was loved or accepted any less than the rest of them. Yet, previous occurrences have caused him to adopt this outlook on the relationship he shares with them. They became desperate to reassure him that is not the case…
Lori: "Lincoln, please listen to me. You are NOT loved less or seen differently by any of us. We all think the world of you. The way we've acted sometimes has not been OK. Please don't take it to heart. We don't think you're the cause of all our problems."
Lincoln: "You're just saying that now to calm me down! You always seem to blame me for everything, and you know it! You probably think I'm responsible for this little altercation you've all just had. Even though I didn't do anything!"
Lincoln had reached the peak of his rage and bitterness at this point. He had a lot on his chest and on some level, was actually relishing the chance to give his siblings a piece of his mind. Yet, there was a sense of regret inside his mind at the same time. The sisters were becoming visibly upset. Even though he was angry with them, Lincoln never liked seeing his loved ones in such a negative state, especially when he was the cause. He used all the remaining will power he had left at that moment to breath deeply and calm himself as much as he possibly could, before declaring…
Lincoln: "Look. I'm sorry. It's just… I can't take all this right now. I need some space. A break from all this madness!"
Lori: "What do you mean?"
Lincoln: "I… think I need a break from you guys. Not for long or anything. Just… until I can recollect myself properly."
Lucy: "Where will you go?"
Lincoln: "I think I'll go to Clyde's house for a while. There's always room for one more at the McBride's. I just need to go there for a while and clear my mind."
Leni: "Linky, please know, we do love you and we promise to change our ways if you just stay here and let us make things up to you."
Lincoln: "Sorry guys, but this is something I have to do. For everyone's sake!" He dictates as he heads for the door.
Lola: "But Lincoln, your clothes, your toothbrush, your stuff. You're just going to leave with nothing!?"
Lincoln just ignored his sister's pleas. He was not thinking very clearly. He was just so mentally drained after all the recent events that had transpired, and after having just vented out of frustration, he was reaching the end of the point in which he could still care about what he did next. He just knew he'd have to get out of those 4 walls quickly or else he'd probably snap. Deep down, he knew he was probably exaggerating when it came to what he said about his sisters. They did love him, even if it didn't always show it… didn't they?
This uncertainty didn't help him. He just knew he needed to clear his mind, so he sadly but strongly left his home. He slowly closed the front door, not even daring to look back at his saddened siblings. The sisters felt a mixture of sadness and shame. The former for losing their brother, and the latter because they felt like it was their fault. But then it got worse. The parents emerged from the kitchen…
Rita: "Is it over?" She asked enthusiastically.
Lori: "Yes." She replied as she closed her eyes and hung her head down.
Lynn Sr: "So everything worked out fine. That's great. And minimal casualties. I think I'll count that as a lucky escape." He said cheerfully.
Luna: "You may wanna think again, brah!"
Rita: "What do you mean?" She asked confused.
Lori: "Mom, Dad. Lincoln's gone."
Rita: "What do you mean gone?"
Luan: "He just left. He said he's had enough of all the harshness, unfair treatment and hostility in this house, so he's gone to Clyde's house to get a break from us!"
Lynn Sr: "And you all just stood there and let him!?" He asked annoyed.
The sisters couldn't say anything in response. They knew whatever they said, it would only make matters worse. Lynn Sr and Rita then became both livid and fearful of the situation. They just couldn't believe it. Their own son just voluntarily walked out, and they were partly to blame…
Lynn Sr: "It's our fault! If we were more responsible parents, none of this would have happened!" He shouted as he began sobbing. Rita then went over to comfort him while the sisters looked on in guilt.
Rita: "Honey, you're right! We thought we could be good parents by letting our children roam free and sort out their own problems. But now it's clear those methods haven't worked. I think it's time we took a more proactive approach in making sure our kids are taught how to behave!" she proclaimed to her husband, trying to reassure him that despite their shortcomings, there are still actions they can take to redeem the situation and their status as parental figures.
Rita then turned her head to face the remaining kids, ready to scald them for what happened…
Rita: "How could you let him leave?! More to the point, how could you let things get to this point!? If Lincoln is so angry and fed up to the point where he felt the need to get out of this house, then surely these feelings have been building up for a very long time!" she deducted as spoke down to her kids with a sense of anger as well as disappointment.
The sisters lacked an answer for her questions, simply continuing to tilt their heads downwards in shame, closing their eyes and dwelling on the loss of their brother. The mother then continued…
Rita: "So, anyone care to explain why Lincoln has been driven to this point!?" she calmly yet frustratingly asked.
The sisters were intimated at this point. They knew their mother was serious in her interrogations. They knew that through discussing this topic that all sorts of bad memories and distasteful past instances would need bringing up, like all the petty fights over car seat spots and hidden money stashes, not to mention the abominable sister fight protocol, Lincoln's jinx treatment, and all the times each one of them allowed the more 'eccentric' aspects of their personalities to take over uncontrollably and have them antagonise Lincoln as well as each other (I.e. Lynn's ultra-competitiveness, Luan's dangerous prank sprees, Lola's tattling and blackmailing, etc.). They shuddered before sucking up their fears and preparing to explain the situation to their furious mother, who was already onto their case…
And so, that concludes the second chapter. Lincoln finally reached his breaking point of tolerance and left the house, but where will he end up now that he's left? I decided not to make Lincoln's moment of calling out the family and telling them he's leaving too overblown in any way. Nothing too extreme takes place, the conflict between the siblings is actually presented in a rather typical fashion, here, just as one of their regular scuffles and nothing more, much like their regular fights in the series. It just happens to catch Lincoln at a bad time and that seemingly average fight was what pushed the boy over the edge. I also tried to write it so that Lincoln didn't go too over the top dramatic when calling out the sisters. No screaming at the top of his lungs, nor a claim that he utterly hates and despises them. Simply just pointing a few truths and calling out some of their faults before taking the logical decision to stay at a friends house because he needs some space. Even at breaking point, Lincoln is not unreasonable, and does not want to exacerbate the situation. But this calm and reasonable boy may not always be so passive and forgiving, especially if he comes across the wrong types of influence…