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Feb. 23rd, 2005 09:05 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsSet yesterday. Doug comes by to visit Hank and pick up the lesson plans for the CompSci class he and Kitty are handling. He shoots the breeze with Hank, and discusses an independent study project idea that he's doing for the university. Unfortunately, in his enthusiasm, he has his monthly case of foot-in-mouth-itis (maybe Hank can whip up a cure for that when he gets better...). Hank is a little brusque, Doug realizes his mistake and apologizes before heading out.
uiting action to his words in the thread with Kitty, Doug decided that he would head up to Doc McCoy's room to check in on him. Besides, he had a perfect excuse in the email that Alison had sent to him. Discussing lesson plans for the computer science class would hopefully take his mind off of the illness and keep his emotional state up.
"Doc?" Doug called as he tapped softly at the door. "You fit for visitors?" he asked jokingly.
"Come in," Hank called. He'd gotten more visitors since the diagnosis... which he was trying not to think about.... than for months beforehand. It was nice to know that everyone cared.
"Hey, doc," Doug greeted Hank as he came in through the door. The frustration in Hank's body language was self-evident, even to someone without Doug's mutation. "How you feeling?" he asked brightly, trying to cover his awareness of Hank's emotional state.
"I've been better," Hank said, smiling wryly. "I suspect you want the lesson plans for the Comp Sci class? I printed out the file, for you..." He found the sheaf of papers on his desk, and offered it to Doug. "Thank you for taking over..."
"That was one of my reasons, yes," Doug replied with a smile, taking the file of papers. "I'll be sure to keep the Comp Sci class in line." He sat in a chair and grinned. "Also, I just thought I'd stop by, shoot the breeze..." He fished a crinkly wrapper with Hank's favorite yellow cake confection in it. "Sneak a Twinkie or two past Doc Bartlet..."
"Thank you." Hank smiled, accepting the Twinkie gravely. "And I'm sure you can handle the class. Maybe teaching it will be less dull for you than learning it." Doug had learned so fast that by the end of the class, he'd been bored stiff.
"It isn't that you're a boring teacher, Doc," Doug was quick to assert. "Just that my mutation gave me a leg up on everyone else. As a matter of fact, did I tell you about the independent study project I proposed to the university?" He grinned. He still couldn't believe the computer science department had approved the proposal.
"No, what was it?" Hank smiled. He knew he might not understand all of it, right now, but... well. He could still be encouraging. Doug was obviously happy about it, and he wasn't going to spoil it for the boy.
"At its most basic...I'm going to try and write my own video game. Or, well, I'm going to start with an existing game, try and break down the code to understand how it works, and then possibly use that as a basis for creating my own. I imagine it'll take longer than a semester, but the committee seems genuinely interested in it." Doug still thought he'd managed to completely snow them. Get college credit for playing, analyzing, and then creating his own video game? It was just too good to be true.
"That sounds like a lot of fun!" Hank beamed. Thank goodness, something he could understand, more or less. "Have you decided what your game will be about, yet?" He grinned. "A school for superheroes, maybe? You could write what you know, like people say you should."
"Something to do with superheroes, at least," Doug replied. "My idea was actually as a sort of publicity for the X-Men, possibly. I mean, most every other superhero or team of superheroes you can think of has video games, T-shirts, lunchboxes...it sort of ties into the idea Jamie had about movies and television shows that portray mutants in a positive light." He shrugged. "It would take a lot of thinking through, and making sure identities weren't compromised or anything, but even if it wound up being something I couldn't release to the public, can you imagine how much fun something like that could be?"
"It does sound like a lot of fun." Hank nodded. "Maybe I could help, when I'm better," he said, a little wistfully. "With the powers part. I have a lot of files on different powers and how they work. I could maybe put together some stuff for you to use."
"That sounds great," Doug said cheerfully, heartened a bit by the fact that Doctor McCoy was still at least thinking in terms of when he became better, not if. "I thought for a start I'd try deconstructing a relatively simple fighting game, like Street Fighter II. Then, when I understand how the game works relatively well, I can replace one of the characters with one of the X-Men. Say...replace Ryu with Mister Summers, so that when you make the controller motion for Ryu's fireball, it does Mister Summers' optic blast instead. I mean, that way I'm not building it from the ground up, at least at the start." He leaned forward, gesturing animatedly with his hands, excited about the project. He paused for a moment and grinned. "For that matter, I don't see why we couldn't get a bit of...er...research done right now." He raised an eyebrow. "That is, if you didn't have anything else planned?"
Hank winced a little and looked away. "Not right now," he said, a little more dismissively than he'd meant to. But he did NOT want Doug to see how much he was struggling with his computer now, how difficult it was to remember the words he wanted to use... and how impossible to spell them. "Maybe another time, okay? Now... isn't a good time."
Doug chuckled a bit dryly in response to cover his own knowledge of Hank's frustration. "C'mon, Doc, lighten up. I meant we should head down to the rec room and play some video games. I mean, it's perfect. Playing video games as research for a project. And the college is going to give me a _grade_ for this. Man, do I have _them_ snowed..." He grinned infectiously.
Hank scowled. This was hard enough, without having people laughing at him about it. He hated being laughed at. "Not now," he said grimly. "And if you don't mind, Douglas, I have... things I should be doing." Actually, his day was an empty wasteland of boredom... but that was better than having the slow loss of his mind made light of.
And there it went, the monthly case of Doug-puts-his-foot-in-his-mouth-again. At least now he could wait another month or so before it happened again, hopefully. "Sorry, Doc," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to poke fun or anything. Just was hoping to get you out a bit, play some video games, have some fun. Nothing too strenuous. I...I worry." He ran a hand roughly through his hair. "Sorry if I upset you." He turned towards the door sadly.
Hank relaxed a little, and nodded. "It's all right," he said quietly. "It just... doesn't make it any easier, being reminded how much I can't do anymore." He managed a wry smile. "Take care, Doug."
"Brain first, then mouth," Doug responded with a sheepish smile. "Sometimes I get it backward." He looked back from the doorway. "You take care too, Doc."
uiting action to his words in the thread with Kitty, Doug decided that he would head up to Doc McCoy's room to check in on him. Besides, he had a perfect excuse in the email that Alison had sent to him. Discussing lesson plans for the computer science class would hopefully take his mind off of the illness and keep his emotional state up.
"Doc?" Doug called as he tapped softly at the door. "You fit for visitors?" he asked jokingly.
"Come in," Hank called. He'd gotten more visitors since the diagnosis... which he was trying not to think about.... than for months beforehand. It was nice to know that everyone cared.
"Hey, doc," Doug greeted Hank as he came in through the door. The frustration in Hank's body language was self-evident, even to someone without Doug's mutation. "How you feeling?" he asked brightly, trying to cover his awareness of Hank's emotional state.
"I've been better," Hank said, smiling wryly. "I suspect you want the lesson plans for the Comp Sci class? I printed out the file, for you..." He found the sheaf of papers on his desk, and offered it to Doug. "Thank you for taking over..."
"That was one of my reasons, yes," Doug replied with a smile, taking the file of papers. "I'll be sure to keep the Comp Sci class in line." He sat in a chair and grinned. "Also, I just thought I'd stop by, shoot the breeze..." He fished a crinkly wrapper with Hank's favorite yellow cake confection in it. "Sneak a Twinkie or two past Doc Bartlet..."
"Thank you." Hank smiled, accepting the Twinkie gravely. "And I'm sure you can handle the class. Maybe teaching it will be less dull for you than learning it." Doug had learned so fast that by the end of the class, he'd been bored stiff.
"It isn't that you're a boring teacher, Doc," Doug was quick to assert. "Just that my mutation gave me a leg up on everyone else. As a matter of fact, did I tell you about the independent study project I proposed to the university?" He grinned. He still couldn't believe the computer science department had approved the proposal.
"No, what was it?" Hank smiled. He knew he might not understand all of it, right now, but... well. He could still be encouraging. Doug was obviously happy about it, and he wasn't going to spoil it for the boy.
"At its most basic...I'm going to try and write my own video game. Or, well, I'm going to start with an existing game, try and break down the code to understand how it works, and then possibly use that as a basis for creating my own. I imagine it'll take longer than a semester, but the committee seems genuinely interested in it." Doug still thought he'd managed to completely snow them. Get college credit for playing, analyzing, and then creating his own video game? It was just too good to be true.
"That sounds like a lot of fun!" Hank beamed. Thank goodness, something he could understand, more or less. "Have you decided what your game will be about, yet?" He grinned. "A school for superheroes, maybe? You could write what you know, like people say you should."
"Something to do with superheroes, at least," Doug replied. "My idea was actually as a sort of publicity for the X-Men, possibly. I mean, most every other superhero or team of superheroes you can think of has video games, T-shirts, lunchboxes...it sort of ties into the idea Jamie had about movies and television shows that portray mutants in a positive light." He shrugged. "It would take a lot of thinking through, and making sure identities weren't compromised or anything, but even if it wound up being something I couldn't release to the public, can you imagine how much fun something like that could be?"
"It does sound like a lot of fun." Hank nodded. "Maybe I could help, when I'm better," he said, a little wistfully. "With the powers part. I have a lot of files on different powers and how they work. I could maybe put together some stuff for you to use."
"That sounds great," Doug said cheerfully, heartened a bit by the fact that Doctor McCoy was still at least thinking in terms of when he became better, not if. "I thought for a start I'd try deconstructing a relatively simple fighting game, like Street Fighter II. Then, when I understand how the game works relatively well, I can replace one of the characters with one of the X-Men. Say...replace Ryu with Mister Summers, so that when you make the controller motion for Ryu's fireball, it does Mister Summers' optic blast instead. I mean, that way I'm not building it from the ground up, at least at the start." He leaned forward, gesturing animatedly with his hands, excited about the project. He paused for a moment and grinned. "For that matter, I don't see why we couldn't get a bit of...er...research done right now." He raised an eyebrow. "That is, if you didn't have anything else planned?"
Hank winced a little and looked away. "Not right now," he said, a little more dismissively than he'd meant to. But he did NOT want Doug to see how much he was struggling with his computer now, how difficult it was to remember the words he wanted to use... and how impossible to spell them. "Maybe another time, okay? Now... isn't a good time."
Doug chuckled a bit dryly in response to cover his own knowledge of Hank's frustration. "C'mon, Doc, lighten up. I meant we should head down to the rec room and play some video games. I mean, it's perfect. Playing video games as research for a project. And the college is going to give me a _grade_ for this. Man, do I have _them_ snowed..." He grinned infectiously.
Hank scowled. This was hard enough, without having people laughing at him about it. He hated being laughed at. "Not now," he said grimly. "And if you don't mind, Douglas, I have... things I should be doing." Actually, his day was an empty wasteland of boredom... but that was better than having the slow loss of his mind made light of.
And there it went, the monthly case of Doug-puts-his-foot-in-his-mouth-again. At least now he could wait another month or so before it happened again, hopefully. "Sorry, Doc," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to poke fun or anything. Just was hoping to get you out a bit, play some video games, have some fun. Nothing too strenuous. I...I worry." He ran a hand roughly through his hair. "Sorry if I upset you." He turned towards the door sadly.
Hank relaxed a little, and nodded. "It's all right," he said quietly. "It just... doesn't make it any easier, being reminded how much I can't do anymore." He managed a wry smile. "Take care, Doug."
"Brain first, then mouth," Doug responded with a sheepish smile. "Sometimes I get it backward." He looked back from the doorway. "You take care too, Doc."
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Date: 2005-02-24 02:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-24 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-24 02:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-24 02:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-24 02:40 am (UTC)you copycatChun Li/Psylocke for me.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-24 02:46 am (UTC)Everyone knows the true game is 3v3 Marvel v. Capcom.
War Machine/Juggernaut/Dr. Doom, baby. Or barring that, the Summers clan. :)
no subject
Date: 2005-02-24 02:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-24 02:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-24 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-24 03:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-24 05:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-24 06:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-24 06:42 pm (UTC)Besides, both of us got our clocks cleaned by the skinny Young Republican from Philly, so we don't have much of a case either way.