Talking during battle: Talking is a free action.
— Pathfinder rulebook
Adon: This is the legendary 140-year secret technique of the House of Coborlwitz! Eat this! Stone-splitting Whirlwind!
(Slam!)
Guts: Stone-splitting what?
(Slam!)
Guts: Stone-splitting what?
Mister Kitty
: When your martial arts skills are developed to the Chuck Norris level, you can spit out gigantic chunks of expository dialog in mere seconds without breaking a sweat.
: When your martial arts skills are developed to the Chuck Norris level, you can spit out gigantic chunks of expository dialog in mere seconds without breaking a sweat.Ishida: Apparently 'strongest' here are those who can talk tediously for the longest amount of time.
— Bleach Episode 28
Yahtzee Croshaw: And besides, comic book stories exist in their own reality, the kind of place where a character can bash out a 200 word monologue in the time it takes to leap across a room.
: And besides, comic book stories exist in their own reality, the kind of place where a character can bash out a 200 word monologue in the time it takes to leap across a room. Flonne: Don't interrupt! The rule is the villain waits patiently for the hero to make his entrance speech!
Laharl: Hey, don't assume that I'm the villain here!
Laharl: Hey, don't assume that I'm the villain here!
Qui-Gon: Right, do I hit?
GM: Huh?
Qui-Gon: The 19 I rolled.
GM: That was five minutes ago.
Qui-Gon: I had to think about our tactics and tell the Queen what to do.
GM: In between launching an attack and seeing if that attack hits?
Qui-Gon: Coming up with detailed battle plans and discussing them don't require any time or concentration!
(Beat)
R2-D2: Don't look at me. You're all thinking it.
GM: Huh?
Qui-Gon: The 19 I rolled.
GM: That was five minutes ago.
Qui-Gon: I had to think about our tactics and tell the Queen what to do.
GM: In between launching an attack and seeing if that attack hits?
Qui-Gon: Coming up with detailed battle plans and discussing them don't require any time or concentration!
(Beat)
R2-D2: Don't look at me. You're all thinking it.
"This one belongs to Koshiro Sakana," said the Silver Fish, appearing behind the two Heroes. With that, he lept into the air, the blade of his Daito glowing. "Sakana muda yogen rashii jikan ga kakaru kudaranai tonde kogeki!"
Koshiro's black spiky hair blew about, despite the total lack of wind. "The ultimate attack of the Jikan ga kakaru style! The shining force of a thousand souls, a blade which divides the shadow from the light and causes the mountains to tremble beneath its fury! A flame that consumes the darkness as the breath of Dragons consumes the dry grasses of summer, leaving divine smoke behind in a cloud of holy vapor! The bane of monsters, hope of orphans, thrill of women, and strength of men, bound together by the courage of a master swordsman, wielded against the corruption of the land!"
The Crimson Slash, the Red Death, Duke Tremel, and dozens of soldiers watched the Silver Fish hang in the air, uttering irritating descriptions.
Tremel turned to Reginald. "How long does that usually take?"
"Usually two paragraphs."
"Oh," said the Duke. "In that case..." He began winding his crossbow.
"... as the oceans overwhelm the land...!" Koshiro continued.
Duke Tremel placed a quarrel in his crossbow.
"... from the east to the west in a cataclysmic fury...!"
Duke Tremel aimed his crossbow.
"... in a conflagration seen from the heavens...!"
Duke Tremel fired his crossbow.
"... blasted from the—ghurk!" Koshiro took the crossbow quarrel in the chest and fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Koshiro's black spiky hair blew about, despite the total lack of wind. "The ultimate attack of the Jikan ga kakaru style! The shining force of a thousand souls, a blade which divides the shadow from the light and causes the mountains to tremble beneath its fury! A flame that consumes the darkness as the breath of Dragons consumes the dry grasses of summer, leaving divine smoke behind in a cloud of holy vapor! The bane of monsters, hope of orphans, thrill of women, and strength of men, bound together by the courage of a master swordsman, wielded against the corruption of the land!"
The Crimson Slash, the Red Death, Duke Tremel, and dozens of soldiers watched the Silver Fish hang in the air, uttering irritating descriptions.
Tremel turned to Reginald. "How long does that usually take?"
"Usually two paragraphs."
"Oh," said the Duke. "In that case..." He began winding his crossbow.
"... as the oceans overwhelm the land...!" Koshiro continued.
Duke Tremel placed a quarrel in his crossbow.
"... from the east to the west in a cataclysmic fury...!"
Duke Tremel aimed his crossbow.
"... in a conflagration seen from the heavens...!"
Duke Tremel fired his crossbow.
"... blasted from the—ghurk!" Koshiro took the crossbow quarrel in the chest and fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Rowan: You guys are aware that we are legally allowed to have friendly chats and pep talks when we aren't in the middle of fighting off monsters from another universe, right?
Graystripe: "Whitestorm! You're here!"
Whitestorm: "Move over, youngster. This is a battle, not a reunion."
Whitestorm: "Move over, youngster. This is a battle, not a reunion."
— Warrior Cats: The Last Hope
"Let our extremely protracted duel to the death begin! But let us not, in our haste for glory, forget to observe the one sacred rule of combat! ... When I'm shouting a move name, you have to wait for me to finish. I shall extend the same courtesy to you, as a fellow brother of the Justice Cabal."
—Owain, Fire Emblem: Awakening
"Merrin, I know you think it's super stylish to pause for a monologue in the middle of a fight. But if you're gonna do that, you might as well point to your kidneys and ask for a shanking. With me, the worst you get is a bump on the noggin. A real enemy would eviscerate you."
— Yunaka, Fire Emblem Engage
Daisy: "What are you doing?! He was giving up!"
Warren: "Well, it took him too long, so I done it for him."
I got you, Jotaro! You may not realize it, but you just lost to Dio this game of wits! Does this street look familiar to you? Or, being the tourist that you are, do all streets look the same?!
—Dio Brando in the time it takes to go flying back from a punch, Jojos Bizarre Adventure
Monster Andy: Oh, right, the dinosaur. It was being so polite not attacking us while we bantered that I nearly forgot about it.
Oh, and yeah, they're getting in quite a bit of a conversation in the split-second that the trolley is rushing towards the physicists. It's a bit of artistic license, and I'll take it wherever I can.
—David Morgan-Mar describing one of his comics, Irregular Webcomic!
Joey Wheeler: Are you here to talk, Melvin, or are you here to duel?
Yami Yugi: (thinking) I always thought those were the same thing.
Yami Yugi: (thinking) I always thought those were the same thing.
—Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series, "Desperately Dueling Susan"
Ain't you learned from anime that you never interrupt a transformation sequence? Or an enemy's monologue?
— Blackbeard, Fate/Gamers Only
That was a unique situation, strategy wise. Being in a place where you are obligated to kick a dude in the jewels, that's common. Being able to discuss the pros and cons thereof without losing the element of surprise, that's rare.
"I don't know if you've been in a fight before, but there's usually not this much talking."
—The Falcon to Spider-Man, Captain America: Civil War
Ben Tennyson (as Big Chill): You've gotta let me finish my quips, Vilgax. It's sort of a rule.
—Ben 10: Alien Force, "Vengeance of Vilgax: Part 2"
Ace: I've got 15 seconds to rescue Tina, defeat Hilda and save the ship from shipwreck!
Hugo: Well, 12 seconds after that unnecessary bit of monologuing.
Hugo: Well, 12 seconds after that unnecessary bit of monologuing.
Knuckle: Wow... I'm pretty awesome. I don't think my mind has ever thought this fast before. And I'm still in the middle of my punch!
Maelstrom Boss: (walking toward David) Did you never learn to fly?
(David activates his Sandevistan, and charges to uppercut the boss — who activates his own reflex booster implants and looks at David)
Maelstrom Boss: (Starts swinging his giant hammer) Time for me to teach you!!
(David activates his leg implants and leaps over the boss just before the hammer hits)
David: (Aiming Arm Cannon) No thanks, choom. I know how to fly just fine. (blasts Maelstrom boss' head)
(Cut to a replay of the entire fight in real time. It lasts less than a second from start to finish.)
(David activates his Sandevistan, and charges to uppercut the boss — who activates his own reflex booster implants and looks at David)
Maelstrom Boss: (Starts swinging his giant hammer) Time for me to teach you!!
(David activates his leg implants and leaps over the boss just before the hammer hits)
David: (Aiming Arm Cannon) No thanks, choom. I know how to fly just fine. (blasts Maelstrom boss' head)
(Cut to a replay of the entire fight in real time. It lasts less than a second from start to finish.)
"You sly dog, you caught me monologuing!"
—Syndrome, after Mr. Incredible attacks him while he's gloating, The Incredibles
"Word of advice: Find shorter magic words."
—Dr. Light to Raven, Teen Titans
