Lincoln is on the couch and he's brought all his sisters again. They will be reading Melancholinc, from the same author as Bad Blood.
The story begins with Lincoln in Luna and Luan's room, talking to Luan about ideas for Funny Business, but she rejects them all. He becomes very disappointed, even to the point of losing his appetite. He goes into his room to read a comic, then, Leni comes in and requests help, but she grabs his arm and doesn't say, "please", which the real Lincoln calls out.
It turns out that fanfic Leni wants Lincoln to be her model, read: mannequin. Even though, as the real Lincoln points out, Lori is a lot closer to her than him in size and shape. Fanfic Lincoln comes up with ideas for the dress, but she also rejects all his ideas, and claims he has no fashion sense. When the real Lincoln calls out fanfic Leni's rudeness, Lola tells him he wears the same clothes every day, but he points out that his sisters do, too.
Fanfic Lincoln goes back to reading his comic, which is an Ace Savvy comic about a villain who was jealous of his big brother. The real Lincoln reveals that this is indeed one of his comics, but he hates it, and he goes on a rant but is interrupted by Lori.
Fanfic Lisa enters and asks Lincoln to be her assistant, since apparently only he's smart enough. This leads to the real sisters being offended at the idea that she's calling them dumb. His job is just handing her equipment, but she's mean to him because he hands her the wrong equipment.
Later, fanfic Lincoln tries to build a model spaceship, when Lynn arrives, having won an award and wanting a party, but fanfic Lincoln rudely says, "Then celebrate it without me." Lynn is rude back, demanding he go to the party and rubbing it in how bad an athlete he is compared to her. They argue, then fanfic Lincoln claims he's never happy, which the real Lori points out isn't true and the twins bounce in Lincoln's lap, singing about how he's a happy boy.
Fanfic Lincoln then feels glum about not having any real awards, and the story announces that he will become emo, which nobody likes the sound of, and the real Lucy points out that she's a goth, not an emo. Fanfic Lincoln says that he feels overshadowed by his sisters, and when the real Lincoln says he sometimes feels that way, Luna reassures him that there will always be someone who outshines you, but not to let that bother you, and that she loves having him as a brother.
Fanfic Lincoln then claims he is talentless, and the real sisters point out that he can draw, bake, and play video games. Fanfic Lincoln draws himself in black and white looking sad, listens to a sad song, and then googles "sense of life" and decides to become emo.
He puts on emo clothes, then Leni takes him down to Lynn's party and his sisters discuss his outfit. When he reveals that he's emo now, the girls laugh at him and point out that it's unusual for someone like him, except Leni, who for some reason thinks he's trying to become a limo. Lisa (the real one) points out that depression can affect anyone, but Lori points out that what fanfic Lincoln is going through is clearly not depression.
During the party, fanfic Lincoln sits on the couch and complains and Lori tries to snap him out of it but not very well, then she suggests he go for a walk, which he does.
He goes to the mall and buys some emo makeup and clothes. Then, he goes into the music store and bumps into Tabby. On hearing that he's emo now, she's surprised, and he says that he's living in eternal pain. The real Lucy, while still not an emo, admits that sounds like her. Fanfic Lincoln then goes on poetically about how his sisters are so great compared to him, and the real sisters point out that they're just big fishes in a small pond and there's plenty of others more talented than them. Tabby then runs away crying because she thinks everything she knows about Lincoln is a lie.
Fanfic Lincoln goes to the park and meets up with Clyde, who is playing with his cats. Lincoln explains his new lifestyle to an intimidated Clyde. Fanfic Clyde demands Lincoln go back to normal, but Lincoln only claims to feel misunderstood. Clyde also thinks that Lincoln is feeling inadequate because he's a boy for some reason. Then, Clyde leaves in fear.
Fanfic Lincoln comes home for dinner, then after dinner, Lucy asks him for rhymes for "borrow" and "fame", prompting a tsunami of rhymes and near-rhymes from the real Loud kids and Grammy. Then, when Lori suggests getting back to the story, they start rhyming each other's sentences. Fanfic Lucy admires Lincoln's drawings, and the real Luna brings up Buddhism. However, fanfic Lucy eventually becomes fed up with Lincoln's angsting.
Lynn says that all fanfic Lincoln did was turn into another Lucy, but Lucy points out that while she is gloomy, she doesn't just feel sorry for herself all day, and she doesn't want another her, she wants Lincoln. Meanwhile, fanfic Luan interrupts Lincoln's movie to try to cheer him up with jokes. This doesn't work and Luan begins crying. The real Lana realises that fanfic Lincoln can at least draw and think of rhymes.
Fanfic Lincoln goes to the park again and meets Maggie (real name Margaret), who initially doesn't recognise him, and when she does, she's mad at him for "destroying" her birthday. The real Lincoln points out that, no, he only almost destroyed it. Fanfic Lincoln explains that he feels overshadowed by his sisters... and then suggests he'd be more talented if he were a girl, which confuses the real Loud kids. Then, it switches into the dimension seen in "One of the Boys", where everyone is the opposite sex. Leif and Lexx start arguing over whether boys can bake, and back in the proper universe, Lana and Lola are also fighting.
Fanfic Maggie begins to appreciate Lincoln and reveals that she's emo because she hates seventh grade. Fanfic Lincoln asks Maggie how emos cheer themselves up, and she says that they just commiserate, then invites him to an emo club. Fanfic Lincoln goes home to find his sisters unamused and Luan tells a nonsensical "joke". He keeps angsting to them and they try to get Rita to get him back to normal, but she doesn't.
Later, fanfic Luna tells Lincoln to be himself upon hearing that he made Tabby cry, but he insists he is himself. When Luna clarifies she means the old self who played video games and read comics, he says he hates his past self.
At the emo club, fanfic Lincoln apparently has the saddest life story, then Ronnie Anne thinks he's "cheating" on her with Maggie. This causes some friction, but Lincoln quickly smooths it over, then he tells Ronnie Anne his sob story and she tries to give him a pep talk.
She then shows him some basketball players in wheelchairs, telling him that they thought their life had lost its meaning when they lost the use of their legs, but it didn't. She then reminds fanfic Lincoln that he used to be determined and should be again, and he's not even disabled. This eventually perks him up, and they hug it out.
Fanfic Lincoln decides to go back to normal, then Lori shows up in Vanzilla, very worried about his safety because she's worried the emos would make him suicidal, then Lincoln pretends to still be emo, while Lori tells him about Carol. Fanfic Lincoln goes home and his sisters are very glad to see him back to normal. The end.
Lynn tells Lincoln not to turn into a sad-sack as the result of feeling overshadowed and he promises not to. He then wonders what life would be like if he were a girl, and we cut to Linka and her brothers going to Burpin' Burger. The real Louds then go to Burpin' Burger too.
This episode provides examples of
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Sure, Lincoln sometimes feels down, but fanfic Lincoln is wallowing in misery due to feeling overshadowed and jealous.
- Adaptational Jerkass: A lot of the characters, as Lola points out, are ruder than they would be in canon:
- Fanfic Leni grabs Lincoln's hand and doesn't say, "please".
- Fanfic Lisa berates everyone for being stupid. While Lisa has insulted people's intelligence before, fanfic Lisa goes overboard.
- Fanfic Lincoln rudely refuses to go to Lynn's party, then Lynn is rude back by demanding he go and saying he can't even dream of being a good athlete.
- During the party, nobody tries to make fanfic Lincoln happy or even try to figure out why he's sad.
- Fanfic Lucy reacts to the emo Lincoln by insulting him.
- Fanfic Ronnie Anne punches Lincoln in the stomach, which, as the real Luan points out, would be outright abusive if they really were a couple.
- Adaptational Name Change: Fanfic Maggie's real name is Margaret.
- Age Lift: Fanfic Cleopawtra is apparently a kitten, whereas the real Cleopawtra is a full-grown cat.
- Big, Stupid Doodoo-Head: Lana calls fanfic Lincoln a "big, dumb idiot-head" for not realising he can draw.
- Big "WHAT?!": Luan shouts, "WHAT?!" when Lola thinks Luan and Maggie should go on a date.
- Character Exaggeration:
- Fanfic Lisa is even more snide about people being dumber than her than the real Lisa.
- Lynn likes to brag when she wins. Fanfic Lynn throws a party because she won an award. Also, she's even more boastful than the real Lynn and chastises Lincoln for being a bad athlete.
- Continuity Nod:
- Lincoln and Lynn remember Episode 3 and the story they read then by the same author.
- Lynn and Lola remember learning the hard way that they're just big fishes in a small pond, which happened in "Net Gains" and "Gown and Out" respectively.
- The siblings remember Lily's thumbsucking trophy, which she won in "Making the Case".
- Lincoln remembers being big-headed as Luan's assistant, which happened in "Funny Business".
- Lincoln brings up Bill Buck, who he met in "Pulp Friction".
- Lori remembers finding out that Carol was jealous of her, which happened in "Selfie Improvement".
- Lisa remembers dumbing herself down, which she did in "Making the Grade".
- Copycat Mockery: Luan imitates the fanfic sisters' heartless attitudes by saying, "Lincoln, I know you feel inferior to us... and that's because you are. We all have our roles to play in life, and you've been given the role of the loser who exists to make other people feel better about themselves. Sorry, but those are the breaks."
- Facepalm:
- Fanfic Leni's siblings facepalm when she mishears "emo" as "limo".
- Lincoln facepalms when Luan calls him Linkin Logg.
- Fanfic Lori facepalms after Lincoln reveals he made an emo friend.
- Freudian Excuse: Discussed with Lincoln who berates the cliche of a villain turning evil due to feeling overshadowed by an older sibling.
- Goths Have It Hard: In the story, Lincoln becomes emo because he feels overshadowed, while Maggie does because she hates seventh grade.
- Hidden Depths: Luna is into Eastern religion, including Buddhism, because Mick Swagger once did a concept album about Ancient China.
- I Just Want to Be Special: Fanfic Lincoln angsts over how "ordinary" he is.
- The Killjoy: While he's an emo, fanfic Lincoln wants to make everyone else sad too.
- Lame Pun Reaction: Luan's siblings groan when she jokes about origami being a good idea on paper.
- Least Rhymable Word: Lynn stops the rhyme fest by telling Lincoln his shirt is orange. Luan tries "door hinge", only for Lynn to slap her.
- Limited Wardrobe: Referenced, when the Loud kids realise they always wear the same clothes.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Fanfic Ronnie Anne sees Lincoln with Maggie, assumes they're dating, and slaps him for being "unfaithful".
- Mistakes Are Not the End of the World: Fanfic Luna tries to cheer Lincoln up by reminding him that you can learn from your mistakes, and that mistakes are normal.
- No Sympathy: At the party, fanfic Lincoln's sisters don't feel concern when their brother is moping, they just tell him off for being such a killjoy.
- Out of Character:
- Fanfic Luan claims not to want ventriloquism in her business.
- Fanfic Lincoln probably wouldn't become emo, and if he did, he wouldn't act stoic since emos are far from stoic. Neither would he act all whiny.Fanfic Lincoln: "I am myself."Real Lincoln: "No, you're not. You're not me, I can tell you that."
- Pun: Luan makes a joke about origami being a "good idea on paper".
- Real After All: This episode reveals the "One of the Boys" dimension to be real.
- Shipper on Deck: Lola thinks Luan and Maggie should date, much to Luan's confusion.
- Take That!: The Luaggie shippers get a gentle ribbing when Lola says that Luan should go out with Maggie after Luan just got done explaining that she and Maggie don't talk that much.
- That Cloud Looks Like...: At the park, fanfic Lincoln compares clouds to "various sad things".
- Too Unhappy to Be Hungry: Fanfic Lincoln has no appetite when he's disappointed about Luan rejecting his ideas.
- Twin Telepathy: Lola and Lana improvise a little song-and-dance on the spot, and when Lincoln asks how they did so in perfect sync, Lola just says "We're twins."
- Vulgar Humour: Lane makes a joke about Luke being hungry for wieners after Luke wants a hot dog.
