565. On the Road Again...
the ROAD TRIP meme
You know who likes a good road trip? Everyone likes a good road trip! So aren't you glad you get to go on one now? Of course you are.
How it works:
1. Post with your character, with their name | canon and any preferences in the subject line
2. Someone else tags you. Congratulations, those characters are now on a road trip together! ( Read more... )
You know who likes a good road trip? Everyone likes a good road trip! So aren't you glad you get to go on one now? Of course you are.
How it works:
1. Post with your character, with their name | canon and any preferences in the subject line
2. Someone else tags you. Congratulations, those characters are now on a road trip together! ( Read more... )
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Well, here we are! Florana, the prettiest, most peaceful planet in the universe! Good place for a holiday.
[ Well, that's what he thinks anyway. The likelihood of this planet being Florana is something like 500 to 1. That'd just be boring. ]
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Just in time to see somebody get sucker-punched in the face.]
Oh my god- Oi- knock that off!
[And she's out the door. Oh dear.]
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Hey now, let's all just calm down a bit. What's going on?
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Said man looks a combination of sheepish, angry, and a bit startled at being affronted by a woman stepping out of a police public call box.
The other guy's still laying on the ground, clutching his face and pointing. "He hit me!"]
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--We'll sort it out. What's going on here?
[ "He hit me!" the punched man says again. Not particularly helpful. ]
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[She does't look particularly impressed by the guy on the ground, and glanced over at the Doctor, shooting him a pointed, knowing look. This guy.
It's around this time the punching man recovers, pointing at the guy in the ground just as accusatory. "He was talking rubbish about the harvest! My sister's in the harvest!"
"Yeah, well, your sister's a--"
The punching man lurched forward again, and Rose stepped out of the way to keep from getting barreled over.]
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[ The man grappled with the Doctor's hold on him. He didn't seem particularly interested in talking, and this was made even more evident when he hauled off and slugged the Doctor in the face, and then took off. Now there were two people on the ground, but only for a moment. The punched guy looked at the Doctor's face and scrambled to his feet and ran. ]
[ The Doctor shook his head. ] Should have expected that. [ He doesn't seem particularly hurt by the altercation, at least. ]
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She shifts to help him to his feet.]
Well, that was interesting. Didn't you say something about peace and beauty? This looks like Leadworth. Not that I dislike Leadworth, mind you, but it's not exactly the Caribbean.
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[ At her comment, he looks down at his watch and pokes the crystal. ] 'S not Leadworth. Or Florana. Really have to ask the TARDIS what she doesn't like about Florana. Best way to figure out is to ask, I think.
[ He cranes his neck around, looking at the crowd of people. They seem to have landed in the middle of a festival of sorts -- made sense, given what that man was saying about the harvest. Lots of planets had some sort of celebration for that. He smells something good in a food stall nearby and pulls Rose in that direction. ]
[ He smiles and looks at her. ] Fancy a snack? Doubt they have chips, but we can ask. [ And also ask what we've dropped into the middle of, aha. ]
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Fancy a snack. She knows what that means. They're about to go snooping. She grins at him, bouncing a bit.] Chips would be brilliant. Anything would be brilliant, I'm half starved. Come on!
[She holds out an arm, and moves to tug him out of the alley as soon as he takes it. Festivals were almost always good. Food, dancing, happiness. Some of the best adventures were had during festivals. Which brings to mind the question of why that one bloke seemed to dislike the Harvest, and what was so bad about the other one's sister being 'in it', whatever that meant.]
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"What'll it be?" she asks, and the Doctor flashes the psychic paper in her direction. ]
Just a couple things to test. [ His tone is casual but he gives her a certain pointed look. His paper said that he was some kind of food inspector. That should be good enough to establish his authority. ] And you could tell me about business. Have you been here long or are these people just here for Harvest? How many people do you get for it, eh?
[ The woman's eyes go wide a moment -- perhaps with fear -- and she busies herself with the food, rather than asking questions. He gives Rose a knowing look. Something strange is going on here. ]
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After a minute, she steps in a bit closer to him, and gives him a bit of a nudge when the stallkeeper heads for her supply.]
Doctor. [She mutters under her breath, nodding toward the mass of people.] Notice anything weird about the population?
[A beat.] The only women here are old. Men of all ages, but not a single female under forty.
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[ The sea of people were gravitating in one direction, mostly, once you caught the tide. Clearly the best idea was to follow them. But he held her hand and kept her close to him as they went.
After all, Rose was definitely under forty, and she couldn't pass for a child, either. He didn't want her to get caught up in this mess. ]
Keep your head down. [ His voice was quiet, a warning, as they picked their way through the crowd. ]
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I suppose there's no chance this'll turn out to be a really, really happy thing. Forced participation for women to win the lottery and get a free sports car or something.
[The crowd shifted forward like some united amoeba, heading toward what appeared to be a massive stage, and on it, over a hundred women, teenagers to mid-thirties, dressed in their finest and looking terrified.]
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[ He's a bit torn: normally he'd want to get closer to the stage, to see what was going on, and to stop it if necessary. But he still doesn't want to call attention to Rose. ]
Stay here, I'm going to have a look. Don't get friendly or they'll notice you're not -- [ He points at the stage and frowns. ]
[ Without waiting to see if she'll follow instructions (given that this is Rose, it's probably a losing battle he's fighting), he tries to make his way closer. ]
Nice day for a harvest, yeah? [ The man he's just elbowed by accident gives him a dirty look. "All well and good for you, the man says. "Can't have family up there, do you?" The Doctor stops. ]
No, I don't. What exactly happens to those girls, could you tell me? [ The man looks incredulous. ] Not from around here. Come on, quick, everyone's getting excited.
[ They are, in fact. The crowd is pressing in closer and beginning to chant something unpleasant that the TARDIS doesn't much want to ( ... )
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