June 02, 2024.
Hi guys.
Sorry for delay. The chapter has been ready for a few days, but I was without internet.
It's Lola's turn to vent, and one of her dilemmas will be something quite bizarre, but well known to the Loud House fandom. Time for deconstruction…
Seanrudin: Obviously, you know 6-year-old girls who fix cars or fight crocodiles… Or 8-year-old boys who fly planes (like Tails The Fox). You and Conrad probably don't know, but I've read stories of real children who changed their gender on their own accord, and not because some drag queen kept blowing instructions into their ears. So yes, Lana wanting to become a boy is more plausible and realistic than her fighting crocodiles.
Conrad Ogilvy: I really liked your suggestion and decided to include it in this chapter.
Your Saving Grace is Here: Thank you for your reviews. Lola x Winston is doomed to failure, for reasons I will explain in this chapter. I already had watched Sand Hassles, and I was surprised that in cartoon, the Loud Sisters evolved to the point where they themselves realize their mistakes and change their route, without needing Lincoln to warn them. I also read the fanfic The Real Me, but not entirely, and I also think it's plausible that she was born a boy and becomes a girl, and I even made a joke about it in the first chapter of Gylmar Is A Loud!, but for now, she's just a girl in my fanfics.
Enjoy!
Chapter 08:
Lola
Knock Knock Knock Knock!
"Who is?"
"Lola."
"Just 1 minute."
Lola (6 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, Lola looks around the room.
Everything normal.
To Lincoln's surprise, Lola isn't wearing her usual pink dress or princess crown.
Instead, she wears a black cap, a light pink shirt, a dark brown vest, a yellow skirt, black fingerless gloves, blue jeans and pink sneakers.
"Wow!" He praises her. "Great choice, Lola. You have very good taste, as always."
She doesn't say anything.
Instead, she communicates with her pout and her puppy dog eyes.
"Lola? Some problem?"
Lola kisses Lincoln's right hand.
Then she clings to Lincoln's legs.
And she rubs her face against his right leg.
"Forgive me, Lincoln!" She finally screams.
"About what?"
"Because I'm a horrible sister! Especially with you!"
Lincoln kneels and supports his sister:
"Lola, I would never consider you a horrible girl. You are impatient and scandalous... But you are much more than that."
"No need to flatter me now," Lola sneers.
"Of course not," Lincoln quips. "That's your job."
"Enough, Lincoln!" Lola demands, somewhat impatiently. "I need to confess a very intimate secret to you."
"Ah, do you want to vent?" Lincoln reasons. "Okay: whatever we say will die here."
"But let's go to the basement. I prefer to live in a pigsty than let anyone else find out about this."
"Wow, is it that serious?"
"Of course. Because it involves you too."
"Wow, then I'm more than eager to know."
Lincoln and Lola then go down to the basement, where no one else can hear them.
After placing a mattress on the floor, Lincoln clears his throat and deepens his voice. "Doctor Loud is ready to assist you now. You can lie down on the couch."
"Thanks."
Lola takes off her cap, vest and shoes and lies down on the mattress.
Lincoln sits on the floor.
"Now say everything and hide nothing."
Once lying down, Lola swallows hard 3 times.
"Lincoln... I love you."
"I love you too, Lola," Lincoln returns, smiling.
"No," She shakes her head. "Lincoln... I'm passionate about you."
Lincoln's eyes widen!
"WHAT?!" He exclaims, almost jumping off the ground.
"Okay, I'm leaving," Lola gets up from the mattress.
"No, you can stay, I'm not offended," Lincoln assures, returning to his calm tone of voice.
"Serious?"
"Word from Ace Savvy," Lincoln reaffirms, palming his right hand.
"Okay…" Lola goes back to the mattress.
"But what made you fall in love with your own brother?"
"Everything!" Lola throws her arms in the air. "Your loyalty, your affection, your patience, your res...res..."
"Resilience."
"Yes! The love and respect you always gave to us, your sisters, even though we never deserve it, not to mention all your work as my coach in my pageants. As Lisa likes to say, I'm light years away from being someone like you."
"Please, Lola," Lincoln softens. "I am not the greatest saint of humanity." He looks at the fanfic reader. "As much as a considerable part of my fandom wants to paint me like that."
"For me, you're already perfect enough," Lola assures. "Too perfect for a disgusting brat like me. But I want to change."
"What makes you see yourself as disgusting?"
"Do you know Meli Ramos?" Lola reminds him.
"Your newest friend? I Know."
"I tried to make her adapt to school so I could fulfill my community service quota and thus be able to participate in the Little Miss Sunbeam pageant."
"Yes. But you withdrew from the contest at the last minute. What went wrong?"
"I only harmed Meli."
"But you had the best of intentions."
"Yes, but I tried to turn her into a simulacrum of myself. I thought I could just give her a fashion boost and fit her in with my model friends and everything would be fine. I was only focused on my interests, not hers. And since she's not my style, it's obvious that my friends immediately made fun of her. And being a super shy girl, she couldn't adapt well to school. And I didn't feel worthy of the title of Little Miss Sunbeam. That's why I gave up just before they announced the result."
"You should have talked to us about this," Lincoln muses. "But better late than never."
"And there's another problem besides that."
"Which?"
"I feel like the atmosphere at Miss pageants is too toxic for my taste. Basically, my focus is on destroying Lindsey Sweetwater, who, in turn, focuses on destroying me."
"It doesn't have to be like this."
"And there I go obsessively searching for the perfect hair, the perfect pose, the perfect dance, the perfect dress... And even after all this harrowing ordeal, the next day comes and I throw it all in the trash, fighting with you, Lana and the other sisters, shouting nonstop and blackmailing you into doing everything I want."
"True…" Lincoln admits.
"Only you can show me the path to light!" Lola concludes. "You've already enlightened Lucy. Now enlighten me too!"
"How could I do this?" Lincoln wants to know.
"Be my soulmate. My other half. Warm me with your burning kisses and your soft and tender hands."
"You sound more robotic than Lucy," Lincoln sneers. "Which romantic film did you copy this dialogue from?"
"Don't make fun, Lincoln," Lola kneels on the mattress. "Answer my cry. I beg you!"
Lincoln shakes his head:
"No, Lola, I can't do that. I'm your brother."
"Be more than my brother!" Lola demands. "I'll do whatever you want! I sell all my dresses, I buy your smelly snacks, I play Mortal Kombat, I read Ace Savvy in my pants, I say goodbye to pageants forever, I burn down my doll collection..." She takes a breath. "I'll even help you get a second girl, as long as we can keep our relationship a complete secret."
Lincoln rolls his eyes:
"My God, this is so insane."
Lola closes her eyes and hugs herself:
"I've been dreaming about you a lot lately. Last week I dreamed that we were running hand in hand, hiding in a cave at midnight, warming ourselves with our bodies, and letting love overcome us..."
Lincoln scratches his chin:
"I'm also going to reveal a very intimate secret to you."
Lola gets excited and reopens her eyes:
"Serious?"
"I once dreamed that I kissed a dog on the mouth."
Lola is horrified!
"YERK! Disgusting!" She barks.
"Maybe I'm a zoophile," He quips.
"No! You are not!" She decrees.
"So why do you overvalue your dreams?"
"Because… Because…" She chokes.
"Be sincere, Lola: am I the only member of the family with whom you have ever had a passionate dream at night?"
"Hmm... No," She scratches her left arm. "To tell the truth, I've had some dreams where I was dating Lana... Others where I was dating Leni..."
"And do you see yourself dating them?" He crosses his arms.
"No."
"Well, if you must know, I also dreamed that I was dating Lori or Luna, and even Mom. All of this just means that I love and value them very much, and that it would be very hard for me to live without their support."
Lola nods.
"What about Hugh?"
"Who?" Lola doesn't understand.
"My private tutor. What happened to your crush on him?"
"I don't remember this guy. Sincerely."
"Do you see how he wasn't even essential to your life? And you really became headstrong for him."
"If you say..."
"And what about Winston, that boy your age? What did he say when he refused to date you?"
"That I had only approached him because he had given me a 10 in the pageant," Lola lowers her head. "As if I was only interested in what he had to give me. And maybe it was true."
Lincoln sighs:
"Now tell me, Lola: after you've been wrong so many times when it comes to passion... How can you guarantee that you're finally right now?"
...
Lola starts to cry softly.
"I can't... I can't... I'm still the same selfish girl I always was... I'm just worried about my well-being, not yours..."
Lincoln, without resentment, lies down on the mattress, and hugs Lola to his chest, earning tears on his orange shirt.
"You don't need a boyfriend. You need a faithful family, who will help you get up when you fall and guide you when you go off course. When you have a problem, ask for help from those you love: ask God, Mom and Dad, our sisters... and your brother. We will all always have open arms to help you."
Lola wipes away her tears.
And she climbs onto her brother's lap.
"Thank you, brother."
"Any time, Miss Stubborn," He quips.
"You're an incorrigible bore," She teases. "And that's why I love you."
The siblings face each other.
And they bring their faces closer and closer.
Lincoln gets ready to kiss her...
"No," Lola refuses.
"But Lola," Lincoln reminds her. "We always give Peck Kisses between siblings. It's a custom in our family."
"Yes, but now it's like I'm overstepping the line," Lola clarifies. "I don't want to be anything more than a good sister."
"Okay, whatever you want."
The two hug.
"I commit to being the best sister you could have," Lola smiles.
"Very good. But you don't need to pursue it obsessively," Lincoln warns, good-naturedly. "One step at a time."
"Thanks."
Lola puts her shoes back on.
"And I would really like to take a break from pageants. I want to practice other things now, like baking cakes or racing kart."
"Then go ahead. Do like Lucy: try a little of everything. And don't worry about changing your vocation. We are always a box of surprises."
"Yeah," Lola agrees, as she tries to button her vest. "Who would have thought that today Lucy would dance ballet and Lana would be a model, even though she only wears boy's clothes."
"But the most important thing is to have fun in the process," Lincoln adds, helping to button up. "No more pressure to always be the best."
"And hope Lindsey doesn't cross my path," Lola quips, placing her cap on the head.
The siblings laugh.
After putting away the mattress, Lincoln and Lola go up the basement stairs hand in hand.
"I love you, Lincoln."
"I love you too, Lola."
As they leave and close the basement door, Lola reaffirms:
"I'm a box of surprises!"
BLAM!
Since then, Lola announces a break from Miss pageants and begins to review everything she knows about being an elegant lady. She no longer wants to repeat the mistakes of the past.
She compensates Lincoln by making him a small cake with white and orange frosting. Lincoln approves the cake, but he points out that she can still improve it. Lola smiles and says that no one will put pressure on her this time.
One day, Lola gathers the siblings and tells them that Meli Ramos will be her partner at the school dance. But she assures them it's nothing like they think. So no "Fashion Squad" this time. The siblings smile and give Lola a group hug.
Here it is! Lola begins to learn that feelings are often deceptive, and that she still has a long way to go in human relationships.
Lola, like all Loud sisters, harbored a crazy obsession with Hugh, Lincoln's adult tutor, in Study Muffin. She showed a crush on Winston, a boy her age, in L Is For Love. And she befriended Meli Ramos in Community Disservice.
The next and penultimate chapter will be about Lisa.
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See you soon!