[Processing] Baranova's Dr. Smile

BYOND Key: Rechkalov

Character name: Daniela Baranova

Item name: Dr. Smile

Why is your character carrying said item to work? Baranova is a psychologist, and as such, she spends most of her time consulting her patients. However, this can get a bit tricky, seeing as her office is fairly well hidden deep in the Medbay, so her patients often have trouble both reaching there and finding the time to stay there, given their own duties.

Dr. Smile helps her connect with her patients right away, without wasting anyone's time both reaching the office and then their workplace again - basically makes the consultations depend on patient's free time and will, and not the doctor's.

Item function(s): A fairly simple communication device independent on the ship comms; what happens on Dr. Smile, stays on Dr. Smile. (if possible, I'd also like it to have a "button" for encouraging and/or enlightening quotes, which I would gladly provide; you know, ranging from "Expectations lead to disappointment" to "Your parents never loved you", that kind of thing.)

Item description: We are talking two identical, simple direct-line communication devices resembling discreet suitcases.

Item appearance: A black suitcase with a simple yet soothing/supportive smiley-face on them.

Additional comments: Should you give this a go, I'd be happy to provide the sprites.

Add: While I like the idea of this being "Daniela's thing", I think it wouldn't be all that bad an idea to make it a standard psychologist's equipment.

I mean, there are plenty people running around who could use the support and having somebody to talk to always at hand, only they are somewhat discouraged by the long trip to the shrink's office - it would seem that visiting a shrink effectively puts you out of the game for a good while.

Can't people just PDA the shrink for advice? It'd be great if the Psychologists office wasn't crammed in the back of medbay, but instead placed somewhere public where people can walk in and have a chat.

Can't people just PDA the shrink for advice? It'd be great if the Psychologists office wasn't crammed in the back of medbay, but instead placed somewhere public where people can walk in and have a chat.

Both the Psych's office and PDA are actually fairly easy to eavesdrop on. The AI can listen in through the intercom, as well as anyone else who can get a hold of it and the AI private channel (Engineers and Cyborgs, Scientists.) The PDA messenging server is harder to crack, since only one person on station should know the password, although there are clever ways to get around that. But I like the idea of having a little two-way radio just for the psych. It make it harder to listen in, yet easier to spy on them once you have a method of hacking it because there are only two devices.

Frankly, I didn't even think of eavesdropping (what's to gain from that, anyway - I mean, who'd even want to listen to that, unless it was their job?), more the... general "feel".

PDA is fairly impersonal. Dr. Smile might seem more... special. Your friend in a box.

Besides, the main reason that made me suggest it - except the very scarce times when they bring in somebody acting completely bonkers (usually some new player who disregards RP altogether and throws people down the disposals), I deal with people who are just bloody lonely.

Carrying around Dr. Smile would both ensure them some sort of a company, listener at least, at all times, but more importantly it could bring attention to them, raise questions from the other players whom from my experience are fairly kind and have nice words to spare, but simply don't suspect the 'patient' is in need of them.

It's damn late and I feel like I'm terrible with words right now, but I hope I've emphasized my point - that it might attract attention, and serve as ice-breaker in a sense.

And if that quotes button would be there, it could also be sorta amusing.

This is actually crazy-sounding enough to be able to actually work. I like the idea of a smiley-faced suitcase to set patients at ease (or, better yet, creep them the fuck out) in order to generate some interesting RP.

+1 from me, I got no qualms about this.

Yes.

+1

+1,rped with Baranova once,nice doctor.

+1, I am frankly intimidated by the amount of writing Rech has done for this role.

Item has been approved and is currently in the works. Keep checking back in the archives as I will change your topic's prefix to [Processing]. Once it is set to [Completed], then the item will have been implemented in the code.