Chapter Text
Chapter 1: 1 Boy, 10 Girls
The Loud House.
A chaotic household of 13 people crammed into one 2-floor suburban home. Home to the largest and most chaotic families in the small town of Royal Woods, MI. The Loud Family. Consisting of a couple and their 11 children. 10 daughters and 1 son.
Well… that statement isn’t as accurate as one might think.
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Lincoln Loud woke up that morning to quiet. Which, while normal in a typical household, was an anomaly in the Loud House. With 10 sisters, mornings were chaotic, messy, and yes, Loud. So either one of two things had happened if the house was this quiet during Spring Break. Either the stars had aligned, and Lincoln had finally gotten lucky for once, or a sickness was spreading through the house, and now Lincoln was dealing with an outbreak of apocalyptic proportions. Lincoln looked at his sister’s schedule of events to see if he was forgetting anything. The schedule revealed something he didn’t think he’d get in a long time. Lori was going golfing with some friends; Luna had a gig; Luan was at an early birthday party; Lucy had nothing but would probably be out all day with her mortician friends. Lisa had an early lecture, and Lily would be somewhere; he didn’t remember where. Only Leni, Lynn, and the Twins would be here right now, and they were going to be leaving soon anyway. Apprehensively, he opened his room door to see if anyone was still in the house. Surprisingly, the hallway was empty, although unsurprisingly, he heard voices down below. Must have gotten ready earlier.
Lincoln descended the stairs to find Leni, the twins, and Lynn downstairs.
“Morning Linky!” Leni said cheerfully to him.
“Morning,” Lincoln said back. It was at that moment that Lynn sprang up from her chair and grabbed her stuff.
“No time to chat, bro, I’ve got practice soon. Later!” Lynn said, dashing out the door. Lincoln waved after her as Lola turned to Lincoln.
“Lincoln, do you think Lily will like the gift I got her?” Lola asked innocently. Lana rolled her eyes at that.
“Come on, she’s not going to like your weird doll,” Lana said. Lola turned to her twin.
“Well, she’ll like it better than the wrench you’re giving her,” Lola retorted. Just as it looked like another twin fight was about to break out, Leni spoke up.
“Come on, girls, we have to hurry! We don’t have time for this,” Leni called out. “Mom said I have to drop you two off at the party before my shift starts at Reninger’s, and traffic by the mall is going to be totes un-shoppable!”
Lola grabbed her gift bag as Lana grabbed hers, both giving the other a wary glare, and the three of them swept toward the door like a miniature hurricane.
As Leni left with the twins, the door lock clicked into place, and Vanzilla took off to who knows where. Lincoln smiled from ear to ear as he raced up the stairs to his room so fast, it was hard to say if he actually stepped on the stairs at all. He wasted no time reaching under his bed, grabbing a small box, and running towards the bathroom. The box was the key to his freedom, or rather, HER freedom.
The box was torn open, and inside were a hodgepodge of materials. One of the benefits of having 10 sisters was that she could try to sneak a few things from them without anyone being the wiser. One of Lori’s tops, one of Lucy’s skirts, and some Makeup that the girls had discarded a bit ago. Sure, the skirt was too small, the top too large, and the makeup was old and used, but with a family as large as this, and as nosy as this, she had to take what she could.
She carefully applied some of the dried mascara to her eyelashes. It wasn’t very comfortable, but it made her feel more like herself. Next, she put on some eyeshadow. She had some eyeliner, but the old pencil had broken a while ago, and she hadn’t been able to find a replacement eyeliner without tipping off the owners. Finally, she puckered up and put on some lipstick. She painted her lips a fiery red. As she looked in the mirror, she saw herself. Dysphoria screamed in the back of her brain at how baggy the shirt was, how old the mascara was, at every imperfection and masculine parts of herself. She shook her head at this, banishing the tears back inside. It would be a few hours before anyone got home, so she needed to make the most of it. For once, she didn’t have to be Lincoln Loud, sole boy of 10 sisters. She could be-
“Lydia, my name is Lydia,” she whispered to herself as she looked in the mirror. Building confidence to live her truth for the time being.
As Lydia opened the bathroom door, she wasn’t expecting what she saw.
And from the looks of it, Luan wasn’t expecting it either.