May 16, 2024.

Hi guys! Now it's Lucy's turn! And yes, she can surprise here, showing hidden facets that we don't even suspect she has!

Angry9guy: What you will read here is more or less what you expected.

Mountain man: Because this is a family custom, at least in this fanfic. Your idea about Lincoln venting about self-sabotage all the time is good, but I already have a different idea for the final chapter.

Guest (May 9): Do you say this from your own experience?

Seanrudin: Not everyone reacts to nudity the same way, and I respect your opinion. But Lynn Jr.'s semi-nudity was healthy, without any carnal connotations. In any case, there will be no nudity involving the rest of the sisters.

Enjoy!

Chapter 06:
Lucy

Knock Knock Knock Knock!

"Who is?"
"Lucy."
"Absurd. She always appears without prior notice."
"How about if I teleport in there?"
"No, wait. Just 1 minute."

Lucy (8 years) puts her ear to the door and hears her brother getting dressed and zipping up his pants.

Soon after, she hears the sound of the key in the lock.
The door opens and she is faced with her younger brother, Lincoln (11 years), wearing his trusty orange shirt and blue jeans.
"Go in and close the door."

After entering and closing the door behind her, Lucy looks around the room.
Everything normal.

Without saying anything, Lucy wraps her brother in a warm hug.

"Wow," He marvels. "This is..."
"Frosty?" She suggests.
"No. Unexpected."
"Are goths forbidden from hugging?" She asks ironically, focusing on her brother's face.
"No, definitely not."
"And kissing?" She kisses him on the cheek.
"Neither," He smiles.

"Good to know," Lucy smiles lightly. "I will never stop kissing and hugging my brother just because I'm a go... because I'm who I am. In fact, that's why I came."
"Did you come to vent?"
"Yes," She confesses, unbuttoning her black vest. "I have a demon trapped in my core that needs to be exorcized."
"And poems aren't enough for you?" He scoffs, crossing his arms.
"Poems are monologues. Me just talking to myself," Lucy explains, untying her gray tie. "I need a frank conversation. And since you're the only one in this house who won't ridicule me, there's nothing better than opening up to you."
"You're being a little hard with your family. And with yourself," Lincoln understates. "But either way, everything we discuss will die here."
"That's how I like it," Lucy approves, undoing two buttons on her white shirt.

Lincoln takes the broom.
"What are you doing?" Lucy doesn't understand.
"I just want to know if Lucy isn't spying through the air pipes."
"I'm Lucy," She emphasizes, in a somewhat stern tone.
"Huh, right," Lincoln drops the broom jokingly. "How could I forget that?"
"Stop imitating Leni," Lucy demands. "You're not stupid and you never will be."
"And neither she," Lincoln adds.
"Lincoln, you need to know something," Lucy puts her hand on the back of her head, a little shy. "I stopped going into the pipes. I'm growing very fast, and the air tunnels are getting narrower and narrower for me."
"Huh? And why would this be a problem? Don't you love lying inside your white coffin?" Lincoln finds strange.
"I stopped that too. I think I'm getting a little… claustrophobic."
"Oh, no problem. I love you anyway."
"Me too."

Lincoln clears his throat and deepens his voice:
"Dr. Loud is ready to attend you now. You can lie down on the couch."
"Thank you, Doctor," Lucy thanks, without emotion.
She takes off her black boots and walks to the bed...
...when her black skirt slips and falls to the floor...
...revealing her pink Princess Pony panties!

"Oh no!" She exclaims, with a little more enthusiasm.
"I didn't see nothing!" Lincoln pulls the collar of his shirt to cover his face.
"Dang it!" Lucy complains, pulling her skirt back up. "I need to look for Leni later to tighten my skirt around my waist."
She finally lies down on the bed.
"You can look now."

Lincoln returns to normal and pulls out the chair.
Lucy pulls the blue and white tiara from behind her head and places it on her forehead to brush aside her bangs, leaving her eyes completely visible.
"What's that for?" Lincoln is intrigued.
"I don't need to have a curtain blocking me all the time," Lucy explains.
"Okay then. Now say everything and hide nothing."

"So here we go," Lucy whispers. Then she drops her somber tone and speaks in her normal voice. "Actually, I really need to take a break."
"What?" Lincoln is surprised.
"I mean: I'm a dark girl, at my core. But I don't need to take on this role full time. Or does a McDonald's cook have to wear his uniform all day so people know he's a cook?"
"I don't think so," Lincoln admits, scratching the back of his head.

"I always think: why can't I leave the goth costume and come back any time? I wanted to be the owner of my own multiverse of madness, where I can be whatever I want whenever I want."
"You can," Lincoln assures.
"No, I can't," Lucy disagrees.
"And who stops you?"
"Everybody!" Lucy raises her arms up. "Our sisters, the kids at school, the Morticians Club…"
"Is there anything you want to do right now, but feel inhibited from doing?"

"Yes," Lucy admits. "My interest in ballet has been increasing, as I watch on YouTube and see Lola practice. I also want to join a ballet corps, so I can discipline myself and learn to work as a team, but without the aggression and obsession of Lynn Jr. But I'm afraid of what they might think of me."
"Think what?" Lincoln wants to know.
"That this is too feminine for me, like I'm not feminine enough already. Or like it's too cute and graceful for a dark lady like me. As if they were wondering if I would have to wear pink to dance. Like Haiku and the other Morticians started looking at me the wrong way."
"And if they look? What's the problem?"
"They are my friends."
"And why do you have to stop doing something you like just because of your friends? Something healthy, of course."
"Because I... I..."

She falls silent.

Lincoln sighs:
"Lucy, why do most kids avoid you at school?"
"Because they're not like me."
"And does that bother you?"
"A little."
"But not to the point where you force yourself to change who you are to please them."
"No."
"And why does it have to be different with your fellow Morticians?"
"I don't know."
"Lucy, you have always been a dreamy girl, who tries a little of everything to see if you likes it."
"Yes."
"This is part of your self, your way of seeing and experiencing the world."
"Yes."
"You never asked anyone for permission to like vampires and supernatural. And it's not now that you have to ask permission to like ballet or even color pink."
"Good point."
"If someone wants to be your friend, they will have to like you the way you are. And the same goes for Haiku and the Morticians. If they can't accept you for who you are, then they're not your real friends."

Lucy sits on the bed and lowers her head.
"You see, Linc, it's not like I don't agree with your reasoning... But it's hard for me to face others like that. That's why you took the blame for me clogging the toilet."
"Yes," Lincoln agrees. "You clogged the toilet with your Princess Pony book, which you bought to read because you needed a break from your dark world."
"That's what I thought," Lucy clarifies, looking at her brother. "But now… I can say that I really like Princess Pony."
"But not to the point of imagining yourself married to her, like you do with vampire Edwin."
"Yes, I imagine."

Lincoln's eyes widen.

"WHAT?!"
"No need to spread that I'm the new Luna Loud," Lucy demands, sternly.
"I'm not saying that," Lincoln dismisses. "But okay, you're free."

"Thank you," Lucy hugs her knees. "But as I'm saying, I already suffered a lot when I became Goth, and I don't want to suffer again now because I like happy things, as if I regret or as if I were a forger. By the way, remember when we voted on our vacation and I voted to go to the beach?"
"I remember."
"What did I say to justify my vote?"
"That you wanted to go to the beach in hopes of seeing a shark attack."
"I lied, and you must have noticed. Why would I want to have fun at the expense of other people's suffering? I'm scary, but not sadist."
"I wasn't sure of your sincerity, but that's okay. So you wanted to go to the beach because you really like the beach."
"Of course. Who doesn't like it?" Lucy smiles slightly, but becomes serious again. "But I don't feel free to like what I want. I can't even buy vanilla ice cream."

Lincoln snorts as he rolls his eyes.

He gets up from the chair.

And heads for the door.

"Where are you going?" Lucy wants to know.
"I'll be back in 1 minute. Don't leave."

He closes the door.

Lucy, sitting on the bed, hears her brother coming down the stairs.

She scratches her head and belly.

She lies down and clasps her hands together, as if dying.

She hears her brother come up.

The door reopens.

"Are you hungry?" Lincoln asks, carrying a small cup with a spoon inside as he closes the door again.
"Now that you say…" Lucy sits back down, now on the edge of the bed. "What is that?"
"Vanilla ice cream. I got it from the fridge. Eat."
"But I..."
"Eat! This is not a suggestion."

Under her brother's stern gaze, Lucy, somewhat hesitantly, takes the cup and begins to eat.
She starts to feel tense.
"This ice cream belongs to Lola, isn't it?" She asks.
"Yeah," Lincoln confirms. "But don't worry: I'll tell her I ate."
"No! Not this again!" Lucy screams, clenching her fists in the air, almost begging someone to stop hitting her.
"Now we're making progress," Lincoln smiles. "What was Luan's training worth to you?"
"Huh?"
"Shouldn't you have thick skin to face the opposition?"
"Yes, but now it's different."
"Why?"
"Because I always faced the problem as a goth girl, not as a pink girl."

"We can take care of this," Lincoln pulls out a drawer in his desk and takes it out…

...a pink sweater!

Lucy 's eyes shine!

"It's yours?" She points.
"And yours too," Lincoln confirms. "Leni made it especially for me. Before I thought she chose pink because she was clueless, but now I understand she just wanted to make fun of me. Sibling stuff, you know."
"Don't even think I'm going to wear that."
"Not here."
"So where?"
"Tomorrow, at school. For everyone to see."
"No! I'd rather bury myself!" Lucy hugs the pillow.

"Those puppy eyes don't fool anyone!" Lincoln teases her. "It's same look that Lola gives when she wants some shoes or accessories at the mall. Tell the truth: you like this."
"Pink is my least favorite color!" Lucy insists.
"So you like pink."
"No, I didn't mean that!"

"You like pink."

…

"You like pink."

…

Lincoln turns into a monster and repeats in slow motion:
"YOU-LIKE-PINK!"

She sweats cold.

Her pupils dilate.

She shakes from top to bottom.

Then she explodes cathartically!

"YES! I LOVE PINK! I LOVE BEACH! I LOVE PRINCESS PONY! JUST LIKE I LOVE BLACK, I LOVE CEMETERIES AND I LOVE EDWIN!"

She lets herself slide and fall to the floor.

Trembling in fetal position.

"We're done here," Lincoln announces, crossing his arms, satisfied.

Lucy slowly lift her eyes.

And she looks at her brother.

He became a giant.

"Thank you…" She whispers.

She reaches out her left arm to touch him, but he seems distant.

Lincoln crouches down and Lucy hugs him tightly.
"Thank you-thank you-thank you-thank you-thank you!" She thanks him, crying copiously. A cry of relief.
"Any time, Lady of Fear," He quips.
The two share a Peck Kiss.

Knock Knock Knock Knock!
"Is everything okay in there?" Lori asks, without opening the bedroom door.
Lincoln and Lucy's eyes widen.
"Mind your business!" She shouts, still holding hands with Lincoln.

"Shh, calm down, it's over. Sorry if I was a little harsh, okay?" Lincoln justifies himself. "I don't know why, but I revolt more to see you suffering than to see our other sisters suffering. I felt it necessary to get tough with you to protect you."
"No, it's fine," Lucy assures, without smiling. "I really needed to be broken. I appreciate your torture."
"Hey, that's not a nice thing to say," Lincoln disagrees. "Don't think that everyone who breaks you wants the best for you."
"No, definitely not."
"Are you going to do what I suggested tomorrow?"
"Yes," Lucy confirms, as she puts on her boots. "I will go to school in a pink sweater. If Haiku asks why I'm wearing pink, I'll answer that I don't know what she's talking about. And if she doesn't want to be my friend anymore, so be it."
"This isn't going to be easy," Lincoln warns her.
"No, it won't," Lucy acknowledges, gathering her clothes. "But it will be worth it. And I'll wash your sweater when I get back."
"No need," Lincoln hands him the sweater. "It's a gift."
"Thanks."

When Lincoln is about to open the door...
"Wait. There's one more thing."
"Speak."

Lucy turns to her brother:
"I've been thinking about removing my bangs. It's really annoying to have your vision obstructed all the time."
"And why don't you remove it?"
"Because bangs have their charm. I look more…scary."
"But you're not just one Lucy. You are many Lucys within your multiverse of madness."
"Well, yes."
"It's not like your bangs define who you are, like you're forced to be a unique version of yours."

"Okay, I've already decided. Thank you so much again, Linc. Thanks to you, I won't even return to dark timbre of my voice, at least for now. I love you. I will in this."
"Well, goodbye then. I love you too."

Lincoln opens the door and sees all of their sisters spread out in the hallway.
"They must have heard your scream…" He whispers.
"For me, whatever," Lucy shrugs.

Lucy takes one last look at her brother:
"Long Live Black and Pink!"

BLAM!

Lincoln opens the door a little and sees Lucy dancing in the hall, holding up the pink sweater like a trophy.
"I'm going to ballet! I'm going to ballet!"
"Lucy, are you okay?" Lola asks, with the same haunted look as all other sisters.
"I couldn't be better!" Lucy assures, smiling legitimately.

Since then, Lucy removes her bangs and alternates between black and pink, earning curious looks and comments at school, even stealing the spotlight from Lola for a few days. Haiku and her Morticians friends clash at first, but end up accepting her passion for pink, as long as she doesn't wear the color to Club meetings.

Lucy compensates Lincoln by taking him to an escape room based on World Of Warcraft, an MMORPG game he loves. They win the challenge and win a nice trophy.

One day, Lucy comes home with a new Princess Pony book and shows it to her entire family. She confesses, with all courage gathered, that was she who blocked the toilet months ago, and that Lincoln decided to lie to protect her, as he didn't want her to become the joke of the family due to her love for the pink heroine. Everyone is shocked, and she apologizes. But the parents anticipate, saying that they are the ones who owe Lincoln forgiveness for having unfairly punished him. They also guarantee that they would never make fun of her for liking Princess Pony, and that they never authorized their daughters to make this. Then all the Loud Sisters, embarrassed, ask Lucy and Lincoln for forgiveness, saying that they will never again mock their love for Princess Pony and Ace Savvy. And the two receive a collective hug from the whole family.

Here it is! Lucy is still goth. But now she realizes that she's not JUST goth. She now feels much more free to be whoever she really wants!

I used the suggestion by TheBlazzore, who had imagined Lynn Jr. wanting to enter ballet, and decided to apply it with Lucy.

The irony is that she wants to join ballet to learn how to play as a team, since in Future Tense, she resisted joining basketball because she is individualistic.

In Sleuth or Consequences, Lincoln lied to protect Lucy.

In Tents Debate, Lucy voted to go to the beach on vacation.

In Head Poet's Anxiety, Luan taught Lucy how to have thick skin to face critics and haters.

It's notable that, in Spell It Out, Lucy says that pink is her "least favorite color." In other words, she really likes pink, but she keeps it hidden in a corner of her heart. In this episode, Lincoln also plays a MMORPG similar to World of Warcraft. And in Game Off!, Lincoln and Lucy win a trophy after winning a zombie escape.

The next chapter will be about Lana (yes, she is 2 minutes older than Lola, as we saw in Ties That Bind).

Fave, follow, review, criticize, suggest... Your contribution is very welcome!

See you soon!