User blog:AustinDR/St. Lincoln

OK, so here's another problem that I have with most fanfics on the show: Lincoln. In most fan works, Lincoln is either portrayed as being completely fragile, or flawless. Now, I have stressed several times in my reviews of the episodes that Lincoln isn't perfect. Sometimes, he can be a jerk, or as worse as his sisters on their worst days. Take "4x Loud House." Lincoln actively fights his sisters ovr the hidden money, wrecking the house as well, etc. True, he was pulled into the fight earlier on, but all other times were deliberate on his part. Or there's "Toads and Tiaras." While I love the episode for the bonding between Lana and Lincoln, keep in mind that he forced Lana to be perfect just because he wanted to win some tickets to Dairy Land. While he learns the error of his ways, that was still a bad move on his part. And lastly "No Such Luck." Yes, I know that the sisters force Lincoln into attending their events when he really wants to be left alone. Yes, I know that his punishment was getting blown out of proportion. Yes, I know that what I am saying is polarizing, but I don't care. I'll say it now: Lincoln deserved what he got in that episode. While Lynn believed that he was a jinx, Lincoln uses her superstitious beliefs to his advantage to basically lie to his sisters. I mean, I get that maybe him saying "no, I don't want to go" isn't enough, but I really can't get behind Lincoln in this episode. Unlike say "Brawl in the Family," where he was innocent, here, he set himself up for getting screwed over. He even destroyed Lori's golf clubs to demonstrate his "bad luck." Is the punishment harsh? Yes, it is, but I feel that Lincoln dug his own grave there.

And yet, that's only the beginning. It just seems that every time something remotely happens to Lincoln, the fandom goes wild. I mean, god forbid if Lincoln as much as stubbed his toe. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. It got so bad, that I criticized one user for disliking the fact that Ronnie Anne pranked Lincoln at the end of "Shell Shock." I mean, come on.....Lincoln doesn't suffer any physical harm from the prank, it wasn't spiteful in any way....I get that some people may not like Ronnie Anne, that's fine. But it seems that people keep[ forgetting that the episode showed that she had a more sensitive, caring side to her. I mean, the whole point of the episode is to not judge a book by its cover....which is exactly what most fans are doing. I'm talking to you, Loudcest shippers. Do I feel bad whenever Lincoln is put in a bad spot? Yes, but to an extent. In some of the episodes, I felt that if something were to happen to Lincoln it would be for laughs. He's basically Charlie Brown reincarnated. However, when some fans actually ignore that Lincoln is no saint, taht's where I take offense.

Speaking of saint....there's the problem there. Lincoln is a stronger character than some give him credit for. But in multiple fan works, it's all "wah, I'm so weak; I'm being bullied by my mean sisters!" Look, I'l,l say this now: Lincoln isn't my favorite character. While he is relatable - especially if you're one of those people who have a sibling or siblings to deal with - my issue is he simply takes TOO MUCH SCREEN TIME. I get it, he's the main character, so of course he gets the spotlight. But he sometimes appears in episodes where he doesn't NEED to. Some episodes, like "Patching Things Up," where it cuts into the bonding between the twins. Besides that point, as I've said, some fan works tend to ignore Lincoln's flaws in favor of making him nearly Christlike, or at least godlike. Again, that was my issue with Requiem. I have a lot of offenses at that story, so I'll keep it to a minimum: I do appreciate the story for what it is, I feel that the author is trying to say something meaningful, it is sad, but.....Yeah, I don't find it depressing anymore. Well, I do find the sisters' reactions to Lincoln's oncoming death sad, but the problem is that several stories about Lincoln meeting his maker had arisen, not counting my story where Lincoln gets murdered. Because there are so many stories that go for the Lincoln dies angle, I am no longer surprised. Of course, I also found most of the interactions in Requiem cheesy, and there were a few grammar issues here and there, but I digress.

That doesn't even get into the various fanfics where Lincoln attempts to kill himself. To me, it's not really realistic. He has to share a house with ten sisters; if he wanted to kill himself, he would've done it years ago. To me, the "suicide" angle also is unsurprising as the "Lincoln dies" scenario. It's clear that they're often made just to invoke shock or cheap emotions from the reader. However, one story I liked is Inadequate because it's a deconstruction of Lincoln's butt monkey status. Yes, he still tries to kill himself there (twice), but I felt that it was more impactful. For the most part, I love stories that deconstruct the show. My second favorite, is of course Syngesophobia, or whatever you call it. As someone who hated the episode, I find this story cathartic, because the sisters actually get punished unlike the canon show. Did I want Lincoln to get the everliving stuffing beaten out of him? No, but hey, at least he isn't dead. He has a crippling fear of his sisters, yes, but at least he's still alive, so yay?.... Admittedly, I just loved that story, so much so, that it inspired me to write Shattered Innocence basically to deconstruct "No Such Luck" by introducing realistic consequences for what the family had done. It may not be a perfect story, but I am pleased by most of the positive feedback for teh story, the 88 followers for the story, the 80 faves....there's much I'm appreciative of. I just thank That Engineer for inspiring me.

Overall, I guess that's it for this "rant." So in short: Lincoln is flawed. He is by no means the hapless victim that many fanfic writers portray him as.