Sunday - 8:30pm

After Lynn Sr. and Rita arrived at the hotel reserved for the interviewees, they unpacked their bags, introduced themselves, and decided to speak to other parents on their own

"I can't believe we were invited to this organization. Out of all the families in Michigan we were chosen." one of the parents (named Mr. Mercer) stated.

"I know right, I am glad I decided to go. Seeing that email from the A.P.B.F seemed like a sign…" Lynn Sr. exclaimed hopefully.

"Having all of these kids changes your perspective on life doesn't it." Mr. Mercer commented with a wistful smile.

"Yeah… it really changes everything. One moment you have one kid then suddenly there is 10 more of them." Lynn Sr. remarked. "Where did the time go."

"I remember when my oldest son Craig was born…. he was my pride and joy. We would do everything together. Once he got older, he learned so much from taking care of his 8 younger siblings. Over the years he became more independent as he quickly learned how to cook, clean, drive himself and his siblings, and is overall very responsible. We expected great things from him and now he is completely devoted to his family." Mr. Mercer reminisced.

"My little Lori-Lou…..we would do everything together. I taught her how to drive, I went to all of her golf tournaments, I bought her first phone." Lynn Sr. reminisced. "It was the point where Rita and I had a lot to learn about parenting. "Throughout it all she was so well adjusted, understanding, and dependable; from that point on we had more kids."

"After everything….She is still my little girl…" Lynn Sr. says while crying.

"I can say that my relationship with Craig is basically perfect. I never saw my son be unhappy with his life. I gave him everything, what right does he have to complain?" Mr. Mercer commented.

"The bond a parent has with their first born child is sacred. They are the ones who start the next generation of our bloodline and legacy."

"Pretty soon I will become a grandfather and Lori will become a mom with 11 kids of her own." Lynn Sr. mentioned.

"Rita and I managed to pull through and raise her. We tried so many different things with her… but I don't regret it. It's been a long time since it was just us and Lori but she's been so mature and patient with us." Lynn Sr. stated.

Monday - 11:35am

"Welcome back! Before the break, we saw how the Loud Parents talked to their children right before they left to join our show." Jerry announced as the Loud parents came back to the set. "And here they are now!"

"You are not getting away with this!" Lynn Sr. shouted as he frantically tried to open the doors. "Rita, are you getting any cell service?"

"The phone signal is jammed. I can't call anyone or get any internet." Rita replied.

"That's right. Did you really think you could leave so easily? I locked all the doors and windows, cut off any outside internet and cell service." Jerry mentioned. "If you try to leave again, my guards will find you."

"Before we begin, let's get some things straight." Jerry said to Rita and Lynn Sr. as they both sat down on a couch. "If you lie about anything on this show you will be called out on it."

"We have nothing to hide." Lynn Sr. proclaimed.

*PZZT*

"That's a lie."

"No…. it couldn't be…"

"Yes it is. Your old lie detecting machine." Jerry announced.

"B-b-but how? We destroyed it…." Rita stated with shock and disbelief.

"Lisa isn't the only one who can make a lie detecting machine… or in this case reverse engineer one." Jerry remarked snidely. "And this time don't try to overload the machine with lies…. It won't work again."

"Jokes on you, you can't make us talk." Lynn Sr. stated confidently.

"Lynn, I wouldn't…."

"No, I'm glad you brought it up. Confession is good for the soul, it will help cure your sick selves and it does not cause any harm. In fact, let me introduce you to someone."

Once Jerry said this, two humanoid androids that look like Rita and Lynn Sr…. however the android looks off. Where certain human features are absent, they are replaced with birdlike features.

"What is that!"

"These are androids I created to ensure that you talk." Jerry mentioned to the horror of Rita and Lynn Sr.

"...oh god….you're going to kill us." Rita said in silent horror.

"No… I programmed them just to repeat questions over and over until you speak the truth. Like mockingbirds can't harm anyone under any circumstances, however they are very effective with drawing out answers from people who don't want to admit their wrongdoings." Jerry explained

"Anyway as a part of this show we have the endangerment and death counter. This will keep track of all the times your children were endangered or times they would have died." Jerry announced.

"What?!"

"We would never endanger our kids! We would never let our kids die!" Lynn Sr. and Rita exclaimed in a blaze of fury as their words overlapped.

Jerry's face turned into a widening smile as the sounds of laughter gleefully left his mouth. His deep laughs permeate the room with his eyes tearing up and his fist slamming on the podium.

"Wow… now I see where Luan gets her sense of humor." Jerry commented, regaining his composure to looks of disgust of Rita and Lynn Sr. "Anyway it's for the show, where we see who the Loud parents truly are."

The Loud parents start to understand what is about to happen to them as they nervously sit down on the couch as the monitor showcases the first Loud kid.

"Lori Loud, is your first born child and the first of 10 daughters in your family. Over the years she has suffered from parentification, has control issues because of her status as the eldest sibling, issues regarding her becoming an adult, an unhealthy sense of entitlement, and sees herself as a precedent for the rest of your children." Jerry announced. "And it's all because of you."

"You're lying. If Lori had a problem she would tell us." Rita exclaimed.

"Lori is doing great. She wouldn't falter so easily." Lynn Sr. remarked thinking about his older brother.

"Alright then, let's see what you told her yesterday."

"When you found out that you had to leave, you didn't call a babysitter, you didn't call Mr. Grouse, you didn't call the McBrides, you didn't call anyone. All you did was make Lori watch her siblings on such short notice AND expected her to do all of this throughout a school week." Jerry explained.

"We thought she could handle it. Lori was able to take charge before and nothing bad happened." Lynn Sr. defended.

"How long has she been left alone?" Jerry questioned, to the parents' nervous silence.

"Well… I didn't think I'd have to do this now but… I warned you." Jerry commented as the androids moved onto the stage.

"How long has she been left alone? How long has she been left alone? How long has she been left alone? How long has she been left alone? How long has she been left alone? HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN LEFT ALONE? HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN LEFT ALONE? HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN LEFT ALONE? HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN LEFT ALONE? HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN LEFT ALONE?" the androids repeated.

The androids repeated the question over and over again, each time more demanding and foreboding and robotic than the last. Their voice gets louder and louder through their repetition. Knowing that the androids will not stop until they confess one of them confessed.

"72 hours!"

"We had to leave for three days for a work emergency, but we came back first thing when the kids woke up on the fourth day… and we called Lori whenever we could." Rita added. "This happened not long after Lori turned 17."

"As you will see in a minute there are major flaws in your approach to over-rely on a 17 year old to be your third parent on a regular basis. And no, whether or not you could call or not is not the point. You should have never put her in these situations to begin with. Anything that happens to Lori and your other kids will be on you."

After Jerry states this fact he adds the first number on the endangerment counter for Lori and the first number for endangerment for all 11 Loud kids. The sound effect that played was a swift and bone chilling scream that lasted for 2 seconds.

"For all of your children I see 6 core issues that are negatively affecting them and stunting their development. These core issues that you enabled, ignored, downplayed or sometimes encouraged have gotten so bad that it will negatively impact their lives when they are older." Jerry stated bluntly.

"And when they are older, you won't be able to protect them." Jerry remarked with an ominous tone, watching as the parents flinched.

"Lori struggles with parentification, control issues, entitlement, her status as the oldest child, attachment issues, and becoming an adult."

"That's not true!" Lynn Sr. exclaimed, losing composure. "We never treated her like a parent!"

*PZZT*

"How?" Rita questions in disbelief.

"While all of the older siblings have been parentified to one degree. Two of your children have experienced it the worst; one of them being Lori." Jerry remarked.

"It started out small with only having to watch over Lori, then Leni and Luna, then Luan, and Lynn Jr., and Lincoln, and so on and so forth. Obviously you couldn't do it on your own so what better source for free help than your eldest daughter. You thought this would be a great learning experience for Lori so you allowed her to take care of her siblings more often."

"Over time as you had more kids and they grew up they became rowdier and harder to control. It has gotten to the point where you let them do whatever they want most of the time as a means of escapism."

"You thought that you were chill and laid back giving your kids so much freedom but in reality you just gave the responsibility of watching 11 kids to Lori: a child."

"How old was she when started watching her siblings on her own?" Jerry questioned intensely.

"She was 10 years old." Lynn Sr. answered.

"Her developing years where she could have had more time to be a 10 year old kid was spent looking after her siblings. Given more responsibility each passing year that she wasn't ready for."

"Lori had to become a disciplinarian to keep all of her siblings in check, or she will be blamed. All of that day in and day out even when both of you were in the house, Lori was the one keeping the house in check when you couldn't be bothered to do your job." Jerry snarked adding 7 more endangerment counts for each year.

"Kids who were parentified mainly suffer from the inability to trust others, involvement in violent or unhealthy relationships, academic troubles, higher chance of chronic physical illness, etc."

"Some of these symptoms Lori suffers from an inappropriate sense of entitlement or authority, difficulty functioning independently, social difficulties, aggression, and resentment over the loss of childhood." Jerry commented.

"She couldn't have acted like this for so long, yeah there were issues but she's okay now. What do you know about my daughter?" Lynn Sr. wondered, thoughts morphing from disbelief to skepticism.

"Well, let's see the footage." Jerry announced.

As the footage was shown, Jerry brought up the following: The Loud siblings rebellion against Lori strict rules in "No Guts, No Glori"; Lori's desire to have her siblings need her driving skills in "Driving Miss Hazy"; and her need for independence from her family in "Garage Banned".

Rita and Lynn Sr. looked at the footage seeing everything they had missed with horror. Not just for how Jerry could get this footage in the first place but for what their eldest daughter was going through: The broken golf club, the sunken car in the pool, the posters still in the garage. Every time that she had to sacrifice for the family, seeing her siblings grow up differently than she did throughout the years.

And this was only the start of their kids' problems.

"Well?"

"Um…well…but.. P-parenting is a full time job. We do so much for our kids on a daily basis, yes we made mistakes but we want to be parents." Rita defended.

"Says the mother who would rather intentionally break the law and be punished for it than deal with her kids. The same mother who let things get so bad to the point where you need to resort to drastic measures just to get a break." deadpanned Jerry; adding two more endangerment counts as Rita looks down and Lynn Sr. looks at his wife with disappointment, guilt, and pity over what happened that day.

"Did you really think that the 2 of you could truly raise 11 kids by yourself?"

"We managed to get by." Lynn Sr. responded meekly.

"You just barely "get by". I bet it would be easier if you had extended family to help you. Even if they can help you, they have to live at the house full time to truly make a positive difference." Jerry mentioned.

"Albert may be spry for his age but there is a reason he chose to live in a retirement home despite not wanting to be treated like a baby. He is an old man who knows that wants more stability and structure in his life. He enjoys life because he knows that he doesn't have many years left, something that your kids need to accept as well." Jerry commented.

"The household is too chaotic, you would need to make accommodations around the house because of Albert's age, he may be too old to keep up with the kids day on a full time basis, and seeing how both of you have issues with taking care of your ELEVEN KIDS what makes you think he wouldn't need to be taken care of?"

"Myrtle doesn't live in Sunset Canyon, but like Albert it is not like she is suddenly equip to be a full time parent to 11 kids. Lots of grandparents can help raise their grandkids full time but not ELEVEN GRANDKIDS, because having that many kids is too much."

"Speaking of Albert and Myrtle, they seem to really like each other. If they were smart they would get married sooner than later. Once that happens the kids will have a grandmother and you will have a new stepmom." Jerry stated directly towards Rita as she thinks about her potential stepmom.

"Anyway, Ruth seems to have her own issues that prevent her from being a capable parent. Her home is unsanitary, the food is inedible, her fifteen cats add more maintenance around the house, and has a lack of regard for the safety of her great nieces and great nephew."

"Frankly I don't see how she could raise a child."

After hearing Jerry's thoughts about her aunt Ruth, a wave of anger washed over Rita. Her hand subtlety clenched with rage, frowning as she thought about how important her aunt is especially throughout her childhood.

"Well what about you Lynn, don't you have anything to say? Are there any family members we should know about?"

With that question, Lynn Sr. remembered his little sister: Shirley, his sister-in-law: Sharon, his niece and nephews: Shane, Shelby, and Shiloh. He remembered his older brother Lance, who he both idolized and resented. He remembered about his father Leonard, who favored his older brother over him. And he remembered his….

The silence permeated the room for a full minute before the lie detector went off.

*PZZT*

"Lynn!" Rita remarked in exasperation, bracing herself for the androids. "Lying isn't going to help us."

"Oh don't worry about that. We'll hear the truth about your family soon." Jerry said playfully.

"From what I observed, the Casagrandes are…."

"Wait, you know about the Casagrandes?!" Lynn Sr. and Rita both exclaimed.

"Yes I know who the Casagrandes are. I know everything about your family, the Casagrandes, and every adventure both of you guys have been on in your lives." "I can tell what the future awaits for your family." Jerry answered mysteriously.

"What do you know about our family… our neighbors…our friends?" Rita barely managed to say, disturbing implications flooding her mind.

"You'll know because you are stuck here. I suggest that you leave the questioning to me." Jerry smirked at the Loud parents with an unsettling, playful grin.

"Currently, the Casagrandes family are an extended family that live together in one apartment building. There are 6 kids and 5 adults living together within the family. Out of these adults: Hector Casagrande and Rosa Casagranda are the parents to Carlos Casagrande and Maria Santiago; Carlos Casagrande and Frida Puga-Casagrande are the parents to Carlota, CJ, Carl, and Calitos Casagrande; Maria Santiago is the parent to Bobby Santiago and Ronnie Anne Santiago."

"Since there are 5 parental figures living together, it is much easier to look after 6 kids. Since there are more parents there is a better chance that the kids won't be completely neglected."

"Before she made the decision to move, Maria barely had time to spend with her kids. She is a single mom, a nurse who is at work frequently, and she has no choice but to leave Bobby and Ronnie Anne alone for hours. Maria recognized her mistake and she alongside her brother, parents, and sister-in-law all work together to raise the kids." Jerry described, referring to Maria's family. "And who knows, maybe someone else from Maria's life can help out in the future."

"There is no way either of you can get the same help that Maria had since you have more kids and only you two can look out for your kids full time."

"Wow….I didn't know how important that move was to them." Lynn Sr. muttered in as both Lynn Sr. and Rita looked at each other in a thoughtful way.

"That's right you didn't." Jerry said.

"If you thought that was grueling then there is SO MUCH we have left to see." Jerry commented. "Now we are going to talk about another issue with Lori: her entitlement"

Despite what was just revealed to them, Lynn Sr. and Rita also looked optimistic; after all, they didn't fail their kids. They just made a few simple mistakes, everything is fine, all of this is just a sick joke… that they are not bad parents…

A/N: Based on the results of the poll I decided to release this story into parts so each Loud kid's interview will be 5 parts each. Thank you for all of those who participated in the polls and reviews.

So here it is, the first part in many interviews with the Loud kids. With this part I established how the parents interact with other parents before the interviews, how the lie detector and android work, and the dynamic between Lynn Sr., Rita, and Jerry. With Jerry's personality I wanted him to be entertaining while also being serious enough to fully dissect the problems with the Loud family, it is a fine line to balance so feedback is welcome. Lori's issue with parentification is something that is not explored as much so I wanted to showcase that aspect of her character.

Yes I saw "Twas a Fight before Christmas" and it helped inspire Lynn Sr.'s thoughts on his family. I see Lance as Lynn Sr.'s older brother and Shirley (the aunt named in "Picture Perfect") as Lynn Sr. little sister, which makes Lynn Sr. a middle child. Funny since it would make his poor relationship with his soon even more apparent. I also wanted to explore why he would treat Lori like he does because of how he admired/misunderstood/resented his older brother/eldest sibling.

Here is what I think of the episode:

"T'was the Fight Before Christmas" is disappointing. Just like "The Loudest Thanksgiving" in 2018 for season 3. It features characters that should provide so much character dynamic potential yet they barely interact as they focus on them competing. For "The Loudest Thanksgiving" it was the Louds and Casagrandes competing to see if they get Lori and Bobby for themselves on Thanksgiving. In "T'was the Fight Before Christmas" it is just Lynn Sr. and Lance fighting while the rest of their families put up with it or try to get them to stop.

Lance's family is okay but I wish we would have seen how they would have been fleshed out compared to the Loud family or see Lance as a parent and husband. The narrative could have done more to contrast the Loud brothers outside of superficial squabbling. Lynn Sr.'s kids really don't interact all that much with Lance's kids or with themselves and we don't see how Lance's kids interact with each other either. We don't know if the cousins kept in touch within these five years despite Lynn Sr. and Lance not speaking to each other or if Rita and Sharon allowed their kids to see each other behind their husband's back.

We barely flesh out Lance's family or see how Lance's family got along with the rest of Lynn Sr.'s family. Lance's kids are heavily sidelined, the pacing is bad and it just feels off. The episode spent so long telling us that Lynn Sr and Lance don't get along yet we don't see much underlying causes or flashbacks or any interaction with Lance's family (aside from Lance and Lynn Sr.). Rita and Sharon (Lance's wife) don't really try to navigate their family through this infighting and the inclusion of Lance and his family feel like an afterthought.

This episode is also like "The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos" in which the episode introduces a new family (Maria's side of the family) and how it bounces off with the other characters. With that episode while only Lori and Lincoln interact with the Casagrandes (with Leni being friends with Carlota MUCH LATER on in the show). However "Relative Chaos" did the smart thing by spending the first half establishing the Casagrandes and waiting until the second half to establish the conflict of Ronnie moving from Royal Woods to stay with her extended family.

I didn't expect "T'was the Fight Before Christmas" to have a huge status quo shakeup like in "Relative Chaos" (in which Bobby and Ronnie Anne move away from Royal Woods for good) or even in the first Christmas special "11 Louds a Leapin" (in which the Rita and Lynn Sr.'s faces are revealed for the first time and allowed for the parents to become better characters. But did want something meaningful to come out of this HALF-HOUR EPISODE. At this point this new side of the family has been introduced so late into the show (even more so Leonard's introduction in season 5), I don't know if anything interesting can be done with them. As of the time of writing this The Loud House (the main show that has been airing since 2016) has not been renewed for a season 8.

So now that this part is completed, be on the lookout for new content from this story and other fanfics coming soon. Until Next Time…