4072/Coming To America 2: The Princess and The Nerd

Coming To America 2: The Princess and The Nerd
Date of Scene:	08 November 2020
Location:	Steve's Comic Books
Synopsis:	Virgil Hawkins incidentally means Princess Shuri of Wakanda in a comic book start, and loses his entire mind, to her amusement.
Cast of Characters:	Virgil Hawkins, Shuri

---

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
After dealing with goddamned //Skeleton Ki// and his ability to //unlock magnetism// a day before, Virgil needs a break after one of his classes. So he's just chilling out with his purple jacket hanging over the back of a chair not far from the counter, sitting at a small table just kind of for hanging out. He's in a black t-shirt that visually describes the Doppler Effect, some blue jeans, and his fresh pair of red and white Pumas.

He's not doing much other than sipping a drink and occasionally munching some chips, reading a hardcover of a graphic novel called Cobra King: Fist Blade Extraordinaire, a hot comic from the 90s. "I don't care what anyone says, Bob Mayfield is a pretty cool artist. I can't believe how many belts he can fit on one character!"

Steve is just at the counter nodding at the idle nerd chatter.

Shuri has posed:
It is not unknown for Shuri to both sneak out and also to avoid her escort. Today is a day for both. So, outside the simple comic shop, there are a couple of gasps when a winged girl flies over, the wings suddenly turn into a burst of dissappearing lights and she easily lands outside

"What?" She asks of a man nearby before shrugging and walking inside to a place she figured no one would look for her. Immediately she approaches a shelf of comics and begins perusing them. The Look on her face is one of curiosity, though, rather than excitement.

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
Virgil's still reading for a few moments, not immediately looking over when the door opens, he's used to people coming and going. But finally he looks up, and, well, a guy like him, a nerd like him, a black kid like him, Shuri's face is pretty recognizable. However...

There's no fucking way, but the fact that there's some girl who looks like her is close enough.

He immediately starts texting.

Virgil: 'Frieda, there's a girl in here who looks like the motherfucking Princess of Wakanda.'
Frieda: 'What are you going to do about it?'
Virgil: 'I don't know, stare?'
Frieda: ...
Frieda: 'Talk to her idiot.'
Virgil: 'What if I just put on my superhero costume and then show up dramatically.'
Frieda: 'Just be normal for ten seconds.'
Virgil: 'Whyyyyyyyyyyy'

Virgil looks up from his phone and slips it back into his pocket, walking over to her with his hands awkwardly on his hips, as if trying to look kind of big and tough. "Hey." he tries to say in his most smooth voice, the super obvious voice that any guy uses when he's trying to seem impressive. "I hang out here... I mean, it's obvious that I hang out here. But, you know, this is my spot. The cool spot."

He takes a deep breath.

Nailed it???

Shuri has posed:
A slow blink as he says 'Hey' and already she begins to be amused. It is not that he did horribly but Shuri has legends and literal titans in her life. She slowly tilts her head as he speaks and then she nods slowly as she responds.

"I see, so this is the cool spot then?" And the mystery of who this girl that 'looks' like Shuri thickens as her accent is definitely African, possibly Wakandan in nature. She idly shifts weight to one leg and looks Virgil over before adding, "OK, so tell me about this cool spot then, Mister..." She then let's it hang there, as if asking him to fill in the blank for what comes after Mister.

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
"Virgil Hawkins, professional nerd, college student, physics genius, oppressed by minimum wage, but at least there is a wage involved." Virgil tries to express his stats in as cool a way as possible, taking note of her accent with a tilt of his head.

He's no accent expert, or even really an Africa expert, but knowing who Wakandans are, well, it's just a thing that you //do//. But still, it isn't quite clear to him by accent, other than somewhere in Africa...

There's a few moments of thought, an awkward pause as the wheels turn in his brain.

Of course.

The ultimate compliment, it's perfect...

"You know..." He clears his throat. "You look like Princess Shuri, you know, the cute Wakandan princess? You look //just like her//. I take it you're from Africa too? I'm from Dakota City."

Shuri has posed:
A hmm as she hears him try to impress. Shuri seems to nod along with those stats even as she shifts her weight to the other leg and then nods again. She assumes those are all impressive things by standards of someone his age and in America.

And then he adds that in and what she suspected becomes made clear by his compliment. "Oh, you think so? Cute, huh?" She considers that, "Well, I personally think she is beautiful." She nods her head, "And yes, I am from Africa."

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
"I mean she's a //whole princess/, like a black Disney princess. If I was in Wakanda I'd be like..." Virgil casually leans his hand against a comic shelf, suddenly putting on his best impression of how cool he'd play it in Wakanda. "Oh, hey, Princess of Wakanda? It's an honor. Oh, who am I? Virgil Hawkins, some might say I'm the Prince of Dakota, but that's just my charming good looks. Oh, you wanna do some math? You want me to help you build a hoverboard? Sure thing, Princess, anything you want. Wakanda Forever." He gives her a casual fingergun with a click of his tongue and a wink.

"That's how I'd do it." Then, smiling. "But let's talk about //you//. What are //you// the princess of? Because there's no way anyone who looks like you from Africa isn't at least a duchess or //something//." he asks, laying it on thick, or so he believes.

Shuri has posed:
Oh, she tries desperately to keep a straight face but she just starts laughing and turns away, "A hoverboard?" She then shakes her head, putting a hand to her face, "Math?" She sighs out another laugh and shakes her head, "I am so sorry." She shakes her head, "But that is just..." She then tries her best to recover and finally clears her throat, pushing down a few more chuckles.

,"I am so sorry but yes, yes." She nods, trying not to cry from laughter, "I am a princess. Princess of Wakanda, Shuri." She nods her head, "It is good to meet you, Prince Virgil of Dakota."

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
Virgil stands there, staring for a long moment. Perhaps something broke in his brain? Perhaps shock in disbelief?

Actually...

He starts laughing, hand on his stomach as he pushes off the comic shelf. "That's ridiculous. Why would the Princess of Wakanda be in a comic shop, talking to //me// of all people? And, to answer an earlier question, this //is// a comic shop."

Motioning to the various comics on the long shelf next to him. "Lots of superhero stories, and other kinds of stories, all illustrated and mostly awesome. And then we've got different card and board games to play in the back. This your first comic shop, 'Shuri'?" he says her name in a joking manner, like he still thinks she's joking.

Shuri has posed:
A smirk and she tilts her head. He doesn't believe her, then? Yeah, makes some degree of sense but she is still amused so she nods, "First comic book shop, yes. I usually only have access online, when I have time. I thought today I'd just fly over and have a look around." She nods her head, gesturing to the comics, "Why don't you show me your favorites?" She asks and waits for him to look as she then idly touches the beads on her wrist, causing a small screen to pop up into the air and she pushes a few things only for something to zip out of her hip pocket and right toward a TV in the shop. Then another to the other TV. Then another seems to float in the air above them. Within moments they are on the TVs.

"Really sell me on comic book shops, Prince of Dakota." She smirks as she says it and tilts her head, "Really act like you are trying to convince a princess that this is the cool spot."

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
Virgil watches the display, his eyes wide. He knows ridiculously advanced tech when he sees it, that it's not just some new hot gadget. As he stares at the screens, then to her, the screens, then back to her again. "Oh shit, oh shit..."

He rushes over to the table, taking a loooong sip of his straw. "Oh man..." He looks over at her. "I've written whole essays, I mean, your work, I've read a bunch of your stuff!"

He stands up straight, inhale, exhale. "Okay, pretend I reacted in a //much// cooler way than that."

"I uh... comics..." He walks over to the shelf, looking around. He doesn't grab the comic he was reading, not for the //Princess of Wakanda//. No, he grabs a different graphic novel, where there appears to be a young black man in a chef's outfit, making various pots, pans, and kitchen utensils float around him. "Detective Chef Leroy: The Esper Life. It's about a psychic detective who is struggling with maintaining passion for his detective career, so he starts moonlighting as a chef, putting so much of his passion into his food that when people truly enjoy his dishes, he develops a temporary empathic link with them! So in each issue, he helps them solve a big problem in their life, and has to solve a mystery in the b plot!"

After that long-winded answer, he hands the book over to her. "Uh, can I buy you food?" A brief pause, and he quickly adds, "I mean, is that appropriate Wakanda etiquette?"

Shuri has posed:
A smirk as she watches him scramble about and she tilts her head a little. She waits for him to finish as she keeps him on camera before finally pushing something on her wrist beads and all three of the mini-drones fly back to her pocket easily as she nods her head, "I shall take that under advisement." She takes the comic and chuckles even as she notes the people staring, "And if you wish to buy me food, I am down for that." She idly takes the book over to the counter and waits for the man to ring her out for it, looking back to Virgil.

"I take it you are a fan, Prince of Dakota, Virgil Hawkins?" She asks and idly taps the credit card machine and nothing more. The man behind hte counter is simply told that it is paid for after that tap and she takes the comic book.

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
"Yeah, I mean, I didn't mean any disrespect about all that cute stuff! I mean..." Virgil swallows hard. "I mean, you //are// cute and beautiful and the coolest princess who ever existed basically, I'm just saying, no disrespect meant."

He walks to the door, holding it open for her, his posture mysteriously much straighter now. "You're a genius, you're like a better Tony Stark. Reading your papers is like, wow. I'm smart, I was figuring out complex chemistry and physics concepts in high school, but you're like..."

As they step outside, he takes another deep breath. "I'm just saying that I'd be in love even if you weren't a princess."

Shuri has posed:
A laugh and as she walks out with Virgil and shakes her head, "Slow down, Romeo." She shakes her head as she walks out the door and eyes him, "We only just met. I can also be quite insufferable." She nods her head, "I am a princess, after all." She nods again before she looks forward as they move, "Now, you are taking me to get food so I suggest you pick a place." She nods her head, "Would be quite odd if I had to choose." She then gestures, "Besides, this is your home turf, right? After all, you know the cool spot." SHe gives quotation marks aroudn 'cool' with a tease in her voice.

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
"Sorry, this is a lot. I spent most of the day trying to figure out how to buy some new sneakers, and thinking of a weird hypothetical situation, and now I'm taking a princess to eat. Wakanda must have some bomb ass barbecues." Virgil walks down the street a few blocks with her as they walk, clearly knowing exactly where he's going. "Hey, you're smart, you wanna hear a weird hypothetical scenario that I'm trying to figure out?" he asks, opening a door for her as the smell of a Chinese takeout place hits her face. "And we're having an authentic African-American staple. This is some cultural exchange."

The takeout place is pretty small, and not //strictly// takeout. There's maybe four tables in the small restaurant, various food items on the incredibly faded menu hanging from the ceiling. Bizarrely, to the left of them, there's an old motorcycle just kind of sitting next to the wall. At one of the tables some children are by themselves watching Shin-chan dubbed in Cantonese, while the woman behind the counter briefly smiles at them before going back to wiping the counter.

Shuri has posed:
The woman simply follows along, letting him talk himself out. She's not unused to this kind of reception but it has been a while. She's been mostly hanging out with pretty amazing people but for now she's making someone's day so that works fine, too. She looks around as they walk in, immediately a bit skeptical of the place but she does walk over to the motorcycle as he speaks, scanning it over quietly and squatting down to get a closer look at the parts.

"Go ahead, what is this hypothetical that you are working on?" She asks and idly reaches out to touch various parts of the motorcycle and hmming to herself. Combustion engines are so last century but they still have a neat charm.

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
The motorcycle is pretty average, though has obviously been sitting there for a long time, likely non-functional from the looks of things.

Virgil walks up to the woman, casually drumming with his knuckles a few times on the counter before he orders. "Four piece chicken wings and french fries platter, salt pepper and ketchup. Two sweet teas, and two pizza rolls."

While the woman's writing things down and telling the guy in the back to prepare the food, Virgil turns around to watch Shuri. "Okay, hypothetically speaking, let's say you've got a martial artist, some kind of master thief ninja type shit. Now, let's say that this guy seems to just punch stuff and it just unlocks. It's //wild//, this guy seems to be able to unlock anything with a few punches. But it gets crazier... let's say he can punch something and unlock //magnetism//. Like, he's stuck to something, with electromagnetism, and he just //unlocks himself// from it."

"Now, I know a lot about science, none of that seems scientific to me, so I just wanted to confirm, in this hypothetical situation, with a science princess of basically the coolest country in Africa where all the cool people come from, that this //definitely does not sound like science// to you, does it?" He has to ask, like it's something that's been grinding around in his mind.

Shuri has posed:
A blink as she hears that and Shuri tilts her head, standing up easily and looking at him carefully, "You are saying that he can just open up things, unlock things from things with a touch?" She blinks slowly and then considers that for a long moment, "I'd have to see it in action to be sure but it does sound more like something akin to magic than to science." She then adds, "Though I have said that magic is simply a different application of science." She grins, "Working on proving that." Shuri then walks over toward the counter to wait on the food.

"I would tell you that we'd need to have some way to properly scan the actions as they happen." She nods her head, "Two things though." She idly tilts her head.

"Why is Prince Virgil of Dakota interested in such a hypothetical and have you thought about non-lock related options? Zip ties, for instance, aren't actually a locking mechanism."

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
"Uh, you know, writing a superhero comic." Virgil answers with a bit of hesitation. It's not //technically// a lie, he is writing a superhero comic! "Zip ties... so, if I can, in my comic, trap him but not //lock// him..." He nods, considering this very carefully.

It doesn't take long for the food to come. They both get styrofoam platters that are a little warm to the touch, and he nods her over to one of the tables. More like booths really, with hard seats that have a smooth, artificial orange sort of material covering wood, to resist stains and damage and such.

Pointing at the platter, he shows her how to open it by pulling his open, as they were stapled together, since there's so many fries stuffed in there with the still steaming chicken wings. "So... additionally hypothetically speaking... could I get your number?"

Shuri has posed:
A laugh as she sits down at the table and then she nods, "Yes, find a way to trap such a man without using locks. Put him between heavy things, trap him in a room with no doors." She shrugs, "Anything that doesn't involve a form of locking. And technically, magnets lock two things together in a magnetic field so simply remove that possibility." She nods her head and then takes a seat.

"As for my number? I really don't have one." She states simply, "We don't use that sort of thing where I come from but if you give me yours, I can link whatever type of phone you have to my communication device and then be able to reach out or you can reach out to me." She states, "Lucky for you, I bypass international costs with this. It is all internet based."

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
"Fighting the crooked telecom companies with black science!" Virgil takes his phone out, sliding it over to her, figuring she'll just be able to science it up. It's a pretty cheap smartphone, even by American standards, and the screen is cracked. He doesn't have the most money!

He breaks his first chicken wing with his fingers, the meat very moist, while under the fried skin, rather than strictly white, it's actually slightly yellow, from the way that a combination of the marinade and the fat of the chicken itself cooks into it. It's a more unique taste than the average chicken wing pretty much anywhere else, though it does bizarrely share a similarity with the way some Vietnamese Pho restaurants cook quail.

"So, real talk, who is the Princess of Wakanda?" he asks, leaning his elbows on the table to give her his full attention. "What's your deal? I hear the news gushing over you and stuff, I read your papers, but I wanna hear who Princess Shuri is from her own mouth."

Shuri has posed:
A smirk as she looks at the phone and then she idly touches the screen and shakes her head as she touches a bead and a light comes on above her beads. Holographic hardlight projection. A moment later his phone dings and then she slides it back to him, "There you go, I am an app now." She states with a smirk before she takes a wing and bites into it, blinking as she eats it and then she tilts her head, "That's different." She grins and takes another bite before looking at him with a blink, "Who are any of us?" She asks and shrugs.

"I mean to say, can you describe yourself in a few words and convey who you really are?" She smirks, "That seems like a complicated question for someone you just met." She laughs, "Besides, I can't stay long enough to convey it all." She winks before picking up the pizza roll that had arrived and looking it over.

Virgil Hawkins has posed:
The pizza roll looks exactly like an eggroll, except if she takes a bite, it's full of mozzarella cheese and pizza sauce, among various herbs one might find in a pizza. Though roll also has a little more oiliness to it than an eggroll, though in a good way.

"Damn, I don't know... I guess I'm a pretty complicated guy. Complicated and sophisticated, desired by all." Virgil smiles, he can't help but joke a lot, taking his phone back to look it over. "I got the Shuri app. The hell do I need Siri for, not that I can afford Siri. Well, I sure as hell can't afford Shuri either, so I'll just call this a blessing."

"So yeah, I'll text you, call you, whatever you wanna do. If you gotta leave, well..." He motions to her food, as their food's already in a to-go platter by default. "Share my cultural gifts with the whole of Wakanda. Uh, tell the king I think he's cool as hell, if he isn't busy."

Shuri has posed:
"I will see what I can do." She laughs a little at his words and then she takes the food and starts wrapping it up, "As for the app, it's mainly for just texting. If you must, you can call but I prefer texting." She then puts the food away, "And if I must describe myself, it's busy." She grins even as she idly takes a step back, "See you around, Prince Virgil." She then starts out the door quickly and he might just catch a glimpse of wings forming out of her back like some kind of hardlight angel and then she takes off. A moment later, a bald woman in a business suit steps in, looking around seriously and then looking upset before simply rushing back out and grumbling something in a foriegn language.