Showtime Plot Role Info

[powersthatbe]

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Comments

[not_the_question]

Ah. You're thinking of older Eight. I was thinking of younger:

Also, one can't override presets. You can not select them, but that's different. (I like to leave room for 'accidents')

[ninjayeehaw]

Would I be able to veto one form so Kinji has something to make his own? Like maybe the Doctor keeps a blank for emergency illusion making :D

But the way it's phrased above, Kinji seems like he should be able to edit the default skins, just not on the fly - it'd take actual time and effort. So I think clarification on that would be good first!

[not_the_question]

Sorry, I had to think about it a bit, because I had to figure out details about how/why the Doctor was left on Earth before I could think about how the Tech operates (I know, most people don't care that much, but unlike most writers of actual Who episodes, I like my made-up tech to make sense character-wise LOL).

Given the research the Doctor does(Xeno) and why he was on Earth (he was for some reason I'm still debating intentionally left there) and he already knows humans are idiots, so he wouldn't have a 'blank' setting, because as far as he knew he was stranded on Earth and wouldn't be time travelling. (In other words, there wasn't a need for it, so he wouldn't have it.)

As the mods said above, it can be hacked into, but it'd be difficult - think of a computer programmer working on it 24/7 for about a week (to give you an idea of difficulty). The Doctor's quick way is to blast it with his sonic, but to do it manually would even take the Doctor some time and focus.

All that said, something for your consideration: depending on how CR goes, Kinji could always ask the Doctor for help with it. (The Doctor has allowed others to keep alien tech before and like Earth, this device is mostly harmless.)

[ninjayeehaw]

That seems a little unnecessarily intensive to me, cos like- if the Doctor has to make it again himself from scratch, he's not going to have had his sonic screwdriver to do that, and if it's simple enough technology that a guy can make it in a cave with a nod of scraps, it doesn't seem like it should be very user-friendly - but that's doable!

Kinji's not going to be making huge elaborate changes to the illusions anyway, just 80s glamming one up for his shows, so if he's at it for a few years I reckon he'd probably be able to do that much alone!

[not_the_question]

I think you're confusing the device that Kinji has with the one the Doctor had to build after losing that one.

The device Kinji has is original Time Lord Technology. With Time Lord bits and pieces. And honestly, probably built by the Doctor's TARDIS rather than the Doctor. By that very nature, it wouldn't be easy to hack. Which is why I'm saying that would be the level of difficulty.

The Doctor DID have to build a device similar to it from scratch (with only Earth Technology, or Tech he could accumulate from Area 54) which is why his will not work the way that one does. (IE: it will only hide his purple skin, and will probably not always hide his purple skin.) This one would be 'human' hackable within a few hours. And Doctor fixable within a few minutes (if he has everything he needs and knows what's broken).

ETA: Also, once it's hacked the first time, it's easier to hack again later. It's just the first time that takes that long. After that, (and learning how to reprogram it) making changes would be faster. I just realised that maybe you thought I meant it'd take a week each time Kinji wanted to change something and that's not what I'm saying at all.

[ninjayeehaw]

Mostly I'm just trying to find a middle ground where yes, Kinji can use the device as plot requires with only some difficulty. The way you're describing sounds to me sort of comparable to a phone app - the doctor made it and can program it, but Kinji's not going that deep, he's just using the app and changing some settings.

tl;dr i guess, I just want Kinji to have a straight up Jems style hologram

[not_the_question]

Let's stick with the phone analogy, then. (Not what I was thinking, but it works)

What's actually happening is that the device is like the phone itself. Each individual setting on the device is like individual apps (So you have the Two App, the Eight App, etc).

To get into a phone that is locked, you need to break into it. That takes time and effort, but once it's broken, you have access to use the apps. Once you've done that, if you're happy with the apps, you're good to go, just use those apps.

But if you want to CHANGE those apps, you first need to understand how the apps and the phone work. That takes time to learn. Once you have that understanding, you can start to try to reprogram it, but you might need to jailbreak it to redesign the apps to be what you want the apps to be rather than what is stock for that phone.

[ninjayeehaw]

This is a functional analogy and that's all we need it for! :D

Given the length of time Kinji's had it for and the amount of constant playing he'll have no doubt done with it, I think it's safe to say he has at least one skin inexpertly hacked and usable, and really that's all he needs. And post jaunt, Kinji can get the Doctor to help him unlock the rest for complete access to customisation!

[not_the_question]

My point wasn't to make it impossible, just to say it wouldn't be a perfect/easy thing. :)

And sorry, it took that long. I hack and mod devices all the time so I kind of skipped over the explaining how hacks/mods actually work on devices. (It's also how I have an idea of timing for how long things take to hack.)

And Yes! I'd say that could work well enough. :D But just remember it's imperfect. Just like the Doctor's Earth-built one is imperfect. So, just remember to get creative with malfunctions as well as 'oh look what I can do'.

[ninjayeehaw]

And I am not programming inclined in the slightest, so I always need a 'For Dummies' explanation, haha.

And as long as it doesn't break on Kinji onstage :'D that can only end poorly

[not_the_question]

hahaha so we were talking passed each other. I'm glad both of us gave the other the time to process through it :)

Or could be a heck of a lot of fun! I don't think I'd have the Doctor's do that, because well, people would assume 'lighting effect' and what's the fun of that?

[ninjayeehaw]

Hooray for patient and clear communication!

The image of Kinji making use of it is fantastic, the lights just suddenly flare and he's in completely different hair and make-up. so glamorous~!

[not_the_question]

Yeah, good times :P

[ninjayeehaw]

So with the disguises, people would probably be able to recognise them as the actors themselves, wouldn't they? Since they're just people otherwise, it's not inherently obvious they're affiliated with the Doctor.

Like, a character who knows who David Tennant is would be able to recognise that illusion as David Tennant rather than the Tenth Doctor (unless the character only knows them AS the Tenth Doctor).

[not_the_question]

Obviously depends entirely whether or not such people even existed in their universe. Someone from the movie "how to train your dragon" might recognise his voice. Someone from the Harry Potter universe might recognise him as Barty.

So it goes for all the options. It's unlikely that people from other universes would recognise any of the options as solely whatever Doctor they play. (Since Twelve is the only Doctor Who character in game.) Much more likely to recognise them as the other characters and/or the actor.

IMBD will be your friend in this case :)

[ninjayeehaw]

Yeah, that's the main kicker. I figure it'll be harder to tell on the posters because of the make-up and glorious mullet and shit but it might be more evident when he's on stage. Especially cos I plan on having him do some rounds being social on Day Two for shenanigans, so everyone will get to see it.

[not_the_question]

Just remember all the Doctor Who actors did stuff beyond Doctor Who (Some are actually better known for the other things they did).

That said, Six (Colin Baker) and Seven (Sylvester McCoy) were around in the 80s more as the Doctor, but Two (Patrick Troughton) and Eight (Paul McGann) as actors did other things people from the 80s might know. Obviously, David Tennant is too young for the 80s.

And given this is America, it is highly unlikely that any overlays will recognize any of these men from Doctor Who. (It just wasn't known in the states that well back then.)

[ninjayeehaw]

Very true. This will be hilarious when everyone gets back to Liminal though.