Ask-a-lotl

## Premise

After the events of Fixing News and Stress Testing, there's nothing Nikola would like more than to curl up and hide away from world for a month or two. Unfortunately, he made an engagement with Lina--plucky reporter extraordinaire!--the following day. As if Nikola wasn't bad enough at keeping secrets *without* a point of exhaustion.

## Cast

* Nikola N. Change (Authorticity)
* Carolina "Lina" Noticia (kt)

## Plot Summary

The day after Stress Testing, Nikola is waiting outside the school for Lina so they can walk to Nikola's home together. Nikola sits on the ground to bring the frame down and have a better chance at spotting Lina, but still fails to see her and she surprises Nikola. Nikola apologizes for not seeing Lina, which Lina brushes off. Lina pulls a tray of decorates cookies and brownies form her hammerspace, saying she brought snacks for Nikola and his grandparents, and offers them to Nikola. Nikola takes a cookie to eat on the walk and compliments Lina's baking.

As they walk, Nikola asks how the rest of Lina's day went, and Lina describes a busy evening. Lina starts discussing her homemade planner and organization techniques, which Nikola admires, and he admits to having trouble staying organized. Lina offers to help Nikola make a planner, which Nikola says sounds fun. As Lina describes more how busy her schedule is, Nikola worriedly asks if she sleeps, and she answers "sometimes".

The two arrive at Nikola's home, a floor of an apartment building that is currently in a state of chaos. Lina expresses some concern for other people that live in the building with the grandparents, and pulls out some records for the building that show most other tenants move out within 3 months. Lina asks which of the grandparents Nikola thinks she should interview, and Nikola says the one she thinks would be best is off in Toontown. Lina goes to set the treats she brought down in the kitchen, where they find a plate of cupcakes one of the grandparents left for Lina. Lina tears up and takes a cupcake from the plate, which is bland and kind of gross. Lina fails to hide her dislike for the cupcake, but insists on eating the whole thing despite Nikola telling her she doesn't have to, for the principle.

Nikola invites Lina into his room to set up for the interview, and Lina is very excited to see the lively shenanigans of Nikola's grandparents, saying it reminds her of the press rooms for the city newspaper. Nikola says he didn't know Lina's parents were reporters, and she says they work on the main paper in the city, and she'd like to write for the paper herself one day. Lina suggests interviewing Nikola instead of one of their grandparents, which Nikola agrees to.

The two arrive at Nikola's room, which is fairly plain, and Lina asks Nikola why their room is so sad with no momentos or decorations. Nikola says they don't spend much time in the room, and will let decor accumulate naturally. Lina offers to help decorate Nikola's room, which Nikola says they can do while holding the interview, and Lina pulls out some art supplies and suggests they scrap the interview and just get to know each other instead. Nikola agrees and says they also want to talk about the news with Lina, and mentions the news here in Wellspring City is very different than it is in his hometown of Dollarton. Lina remarks on the pun and how toony Nikola's name combined with their hometown is, and Nikola plays dumb and acts like they haven't realized the pun.

Lina asks Nikola about life in Dollarton, and Nikola talks a little about the town and their farm, but says that life there is normal for him and he has trouble describing it as anything but home. Nikola asks Lina what her thoughts on freedom of the press are, and Lina says she thinks it's important for there to be different viewpoints and starts to say that she wishes for something before she cuts herself off and says Wellspring City is just such a nice place. Nikola reads Lina's thoughts and hears that she is just repeating *Wellspring City, such a nice place!* over and over. Lina asks if Nikola has any photos he might want to hang up, and Nikola says her mom might have some but it would take a while for her to send them. Lina says she keeps getting more concerned about Nikola not having anything in their room that makes them happy, and Nikola says he has things like friends that make him happy but they aren't physical objects. Nikola assures Lina that he's not opposed to the idea of decorating, but his room currently being undecorated isn't a cause for concern. Lina suggests the two of them take a photo together, which Nikola says would be nice. The two take a selfie on Lina's phone. Lina prints the photo on a portable printer and suggests they make a frame together.

Nikola brings up that they want to be an engineer, and Lina asks if that's why they hang out with Tailwind. Nikola says that's not quite it, and he's more interested in agricultural engineering than Tailwind's mechanical engineering. Lina asks if Nikola plans on taking over the family farm, which Nikola considers, but ultimately answers that they don't want to stay in the country forever. Lina mentions that she wants to travel out of Wellspring City one day, which Nikola encourages, though he says the rest of the world isn't perfect either. Nikola asks what one thing Lina would want to change about Wellspring City, and she answers that she wishes Bronson had more support. Nikola expresses surprise, saying they haven't really seen anyone voice anything but support for Bronson. Lina then says she wishes the other side of the river could be developed a bit further and maybe a park or some other greenery could be added, and Nikola says there's something of an appeal to a mysterious abandoned city, pretending he hasn't visited himself.

Nikola says his main concern is that Wellspring City can be kind of a lonely place, and Lina gets concerned about him again. Nikola reassures her that he's fine, but Lina points out that Nikola only hangs out with a few people and seems tired a lot. Lina teases Nikola about worrying about her sleep, and Nikola jokingly threatens her with a glitter pen, which Lina snatches and uses to draw a heart on his hand. Nikola reassures Lina that he will either get more support or less work soon, and at least there are nice people like Lina in the city that will help him. Lina says of course that's the case, because Wellspring City is such a wonderful place, but Nikola can tell she doesn't believe it. Nikola says the best thing about Wellspring City is that no matter what you think, there are people like you somewhere in the city, and Lina invites Nikola to do some projects with her, starting with planting a garden at a local senior center that Saturday. Nikola agrees, and Lina gets a little nervous.

Nikola asks Lina "what's something that you want to tell someone, but you haven't?". Lina answers that she thinks things will get better, though things are also wonderful right now. Nikola can tell Lina is thinking about hating having to do this (thought what *this* is isn't specified), and that she really likes Nikola but doesn't know if she can trust him. Nikola offers to tell Lina a secret, and says he came to Wellspring City because he didn't feel safe at home, but he sometimes doesn't feel safe in the city either. He says that's okay as long as people can acknowledge what's wrong, and nothing is more infuriating than seeing something wrong that everyone else insists is right. Lina says she's sorry that Nikola doesn't feel safe, and puts a heart sticker on the photo frame they're putting together. Nikola says it's a problem he can work on, which he prefers to problems he can't do anything about. Lina says almost any problem can be fixed as long as you have help, and thinks that she hopes Nikola can help, and also thinks *he's got to know* while looking at the heart sticker. Nikola passes an Insight check and figures out that Lina has been trying to flirt with him, and promptly falls over in shock.

Lina is concerned about Nikola falling over, and Nikola sits back up after a moment, asking what they were talking about, which Lina has also forgotten. Lina offers Nikola a brownie, which they accept. Nikola asks if the flower planting event is a group thing they should bring other people to, and Lina is reluctant about Nikola trying to bring more people, so Nikola brushes off the possibility of trying to spread the word, switching their attention to the photo frame instead. The two of them finish making the photo frame, and Nikola leaves the room to get some Command strips to hang the picture on the wall.

While Nikola is out of the room, Lina snoops around his room. She finds some letters Nikola wrote to their ma and mother, one of which includes the fact that Nikola wants to make the city better, which Lina is very happy to read. She also finds some books Nikola is reading, a worn plush piggy bank, and an anime DVD borrowed from Kat. Lina also notices that Nikola's calendar has several dates marked on it (the dates of previous games in the campaign) and takes a picture. She double-checks the dates against something on a second phone, then deletes the photo. Nikola comes back into the room with the Command strips, and reads Lina's thoughts. Lina is wondering why Nikola has those dates marked on his calendar, and Nikola struggles to keep their cool as they try to focus on hanging the picture. Nikola asks Lina to check if the picture is level while he hangs it, and proceeds to be very bad at getting the picture level to distract Lina. Lina asks Nikola to pick her up, he complies, and Lina hangs the picture easily. The two talk for a moment before Nikola puts Lina down.

Lina asks if she's overstayed her welcome, and Nikola says they want to keep hanging out with her. Lina mentions the anime she saw under Nikola's bed, and suggests they watch it together sometime. Lina then can't figure out what to do next, and Nikola suggests they go for a walk together by the river. Nikola asks if Lina's ever been in the river, and Lina says a couple times as a kid, before she knew better. Lina suggests they stop by the 8-12 when they go to the river. Lina suggests they pick up anything Nikola's grandparents might need, and nervously asks if she can stay for dinner. Nikola says she can, grabs a grocery list from the grandparents, and the two head out for their walk. Lina starts a game of tag with Nikola and they race each other down to the ground floor. Lina slides down the stair railing, landing with an anime flip, and the two race each other to the 8-12. Lina wins the race, arriving at the 8-12 shortly before Nikola, and Nikola applauds her.

Perspicuity greets the two and Nikola gives him their grandparents' shopping list, which he starts pulling off the shelves and boxing up. Nikola also asks about some lead-lined boxes their Grandma May called about, and the two joke about radiation a bit. Lina pulls out a Geiger counter, which Nikola sets off with a moderate amount of beeping. Lina also points the Geiger counter at Perspicuity, and it has a very mild reaction to him. Lina gets a huge marmalade slushy about as big as she is, and Nikola gets a normal-sized blueberry-raspberry slushy. The two try each other's slushies, and Nikola tries to flirt with Lina by talking about her slushy. Lina buys both of their slushies, saying Nikola can pay next time, causing Nikola to blush. Nikola hangs back to ask Perspicuity if they can use the 8-12's roof to have a meeting and offers to pay for any resulting damage. Perspicuity agrees to let them use the roof, then says they'd better not keep their *friend* waiting, and Lina holds the door for Nikola as they leave.

Outside, Nikola offers to hold Lina's slushy, but she turns him down, somehow not struggling with the enormous cup. Nikola flirts with Lina again, saying it's no surprise she's so sweet with all that sugar in her, and Lina sparkles in agreement. The two walk to the river, and by the time they arrive, Lina has finished her slushy. Nikola looks across the river at Endsville, and hears Lina mentally wondering what one of her friends is up to. Nikola asks what's on her mind, and Lina tells them she's thinking about an old friend she met in a recycling club, telling a half-truth. Lina encourages Nikola to check out the community center to find some similar groups, and Nikola says it's heartening to see people trying to improve the city. Lina's thoughts drift between a bunch of upcoming and ongoing projects she has going on. Nikola asks how much of a sense of community Lina feels in Wellspring City, and Lina says it takes some work to get events and groups together.

Lina pulls out and starts eating a slice of cake, and offers another to Nikola, who accepts it. Nikola says he likes Lina and thinks she's really special, and he looks forward to seeing her more. Both of them are flustered, and Nikola considers jumping in the river to escape their embarrassment. Lina notices Nikola getting flustered and acting weird, Nikola collapses and buries his face in the ground, and Lina sits down next to him. Lina puts a blanket over Nikola's shoulders while he tries to compose himself. Lina thinks about the school dance in a few weeks, prompting Nikola to be a bit embarrassed with himself. Lina tries putting a pillow under Nikola's head, and offers for Nikola to yell into the pillow, yelling into it herself to demonstrate. Lina drapes the blanket over Nikola's head, reminding Nikola of their "angst blanket" aka hero disguise, and he pulls the blanket off to lessen the chances of Lina recognizing him in his hero costume. Nikola puts the blanket over Lina instead, making her a bedsheet ghost, and the two hug. Nikola ducks under the blanket and tells Lina she's really cute and kind, making Lina blush. Nikola retreats from the blanket, and Lina says he's also very nice. Nikola asks Lina to go to the school dance with him, and Lina falls over and rolls down the hill the two were sitting on. Nikola runs to catch her and pulls the blanket off of her. Lina anime points at Nikola and says she'd like to go to the dance with Nikola. Lina puts the blanket over her head again, and the two walk back to Nikola's apartment with Nikola guiding Lina. The two have dinner with Nikola's grandparents, and Lina leaves the pillow she gave to Nikola at the apartment on purpose.

That night, Nikola has trouble sleeping because of excitement about Lina, but also has the realization that either they have to convince the group to let them tell Lina about the whole superhero thing, or they have to keep a secret from their new partner like their mom kept a secret from their ma and mother. Lina texts Nikola a meme about being tired and wishes them a good night, and Nikola types for a while before saying he had fun and wants to hang out again sometime, then sends a heart emoji. Lina says she'll see him Saturday and sends a sparkle heart emoji. Nikola stays up for several hours contemplating calling Shaun for advice before realizing it's way too late at night.

Meanwhile, at her own home, Lina pulls out her second phone from earlier, and starts texting someone about the nice person they met today. She also says she thinks that who she's texting knew Nikola's mom.

Nikola sends all of their moms a goodnight text.

## Notes

Lina has a special interest in planners and organization

Sentry has been put in the sunroom for Lina's visit so she won't encounter them

Lina is experienced at taking good photos on her phone, and sometimes takes photos for the school paper with it

Lina tells Nikola that it's best to look like you know what you're doing in the city, and high-vis jackets are helpful for getting into places

Lina's dad taught her how to bake

Nikola blushes magenta

Lina has a water bed and fish-print sheets