I see two possible situations for use of this. I hadn't thought them through properly when I posted it.
1. Doug needs a reinforcement for close combat, and wants to avoid visible use of metagifts. So he summons The Dude, who appears in what seems to be a natural way, running out of an alley or something. "I gotcher back, man!" Considering how imposing The Dude appears, just seeing him on Doug's side may be enough to make some adversaries back off.
2. Doug is somewhere that he decidedly doesn't fit in -- racio-ethnically, socio-economically, whatever -- and the locals are inclined to get hostile about it. He calls up The Dude, whom they perceive as "one of us," to vouch for him. The locals don't see The Dude as a specific person they know -- it's not like that hysterical bit in DWV about "little Yuriko from Marketing" -- but he's obviously a local (his appearance is potentially different every time the song plays) and somebody to be reckoned with, so if he says Doug is OK, the locals back off. Their reaction lasts even after the song is over (unless it shuts off in a way that just makes The Dude vanish into thin air), so they won't give Looney any crap unless he does something stupid. Should I say, "Again"?
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Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.
1. Doug needs a reinforcement for close combat, and wants to avoid visible use of metagifts. So he summons The Dude, who appears in what seems to be a natural way, running out of an alley or something. "I gotcher back, man!" Considering how imposing The Dude appears, just seeing him on Doug's side may be enough to make some adversaries back off.
2. Doug is somewhere that he decidedly doesn't fit in -- racio-ethnically, socio-economically, whatever -- and the locals are inclined to get hostile about it. He calls up The Dude, whom they perceive as "one of us," to vouch for him. The locals don't see The Dude as a specific person they know -- it's not like that hysterical bit in DWV about "little Yuriko from Marketing" -- but he's obviously a local (his appearance is potentially different every time the song plays) and somebody to be reckoned with, so if he says Doug is OK, the locals back off. Their reaction lasts even after the song is over (unless it shuts off in a way that just makes The Dude vanish into thin air), so they won't give Looney any crap unless he does something stupid. Should I say, "Again"?
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Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.