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1[[quoteright:320:[[ComicBook/SupermansPalJimmyOlsen https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Fast-talking_Jimmy.jpg]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:320:If you have time to talk about how you don't have enough time to dodge it, then you have time to... you know, ''dodge it''.]]
3
4->'''Ilaney:''' [[[Characters/MarvelComicsLogan Wolverine]]] says much during one leap, no?\
5'''Doctor Bong:''' Excellent observation, Ilaney... I believe lengthy speeches in mid-leap are a form of mutant power.
6-->-- ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' #27
7
8Time in comics is flexible. Each panel shows a single event, which is usually accompanied by a length of dialog, which must take ''some time'' to say. This disparity is usually accepted if it isn't taken to extremes.
9
10But often, characters will {{exposit|ion}} when it's most needed: at the story's climax, when both the intricacies of the plot and the intensity of action hit their highest.
11
12While the heroes OutrunTheFireball, MrExposition might explain why the EvilOverlord's death [[LoadBearingBoss caused the explosion]]. The ActionGirl can deliver impressive lectures on why the monster's AchillesHeel will work, while still engaging in WaifFu. The {{Superhero}} can [[YouFightLikeACow quip]] to his heart's content and [[ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy explain his abilities]] while dueling one insignificant mobster, or deliver a KirkSummation during the course of a single FinishingMove. Sometimes, even mere mortals can give a lecture on what is happening when it would be a much better idea to simply ''run like hell''.
13
14This trope is mostly found in comics and similar non-audio visual media: ComicBooks, NewspaperComics, {{Manga}}, and WebComics. It's become less common in the era of {{Decompressed Comic}}s, possibly because it was taken to silly degrees at times, but it has [[UndeadHorseTrope never really gone away]].
15
16This is particularly common when a comic is translated into an animated medium where time is a factor, such as {{anime}} adaptations of {{manga}}, where the action -- or even [[TimeStandsStill time itself]] -- might stop in the middle of the action just so that the hero can deliver a speech of some sort.
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18Another variant can occur in roleplaying video games, where battle can stop for dialogue scenes, either for CharacterDevelopment or [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits rules description]]. Enemies will often be present, but they'll hold off on attacking for this purpose.
19
20The Trope Namer is ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', in which certain actions (most notably talking) are designated "free actions" and can be taken in addition to any other actions within the normal limit of a turn. A turn in ''D&D'' is said to take six seconds in-universe; being restricted to only what a player could say in six seconds wouldn't allow any time for planning, strategizing, or just calling out what you're going to do. Talking does not distract the player from any other actions, and there is no word count limit on how much the player can say. This is a case of RuleOfFun and AcceptableBreaksFromReality; spouting a BondOneLiner during combat is awesome, but no one would do it when it would impair combat performance.
21
22Compare ComicBookTime, WebcomicTime, {{Expolabel}}, WallOfText, ChangingClothesIsAFreeAction, and TransformationIsAFreeAction. TalkToTheFist is this trope's feared enemy, KilledMidSentence is its biggest subversion, and ExpositionBeam can bypass it. Where it's exaggerated, the audience may tend to start wondering WhyDontYouJustShootHim Contrast DistractingDisambiguation, where there is some amount of cooperation on the enemies' part that enables this, and HoldingTheFloor, where a character talks to deliberately buy time. See also YearInsideHourOutside, LuckilyMyPowersWillProtectMe, PlotTime, AcousticLicense, and MagicCountdown.
23----
24!!Examples
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26[[foldercontrol]]
27
28[[folder:Advertising]]
29* An ad for Red Bull subverts this for laughs. Two people are falling from a plane, and one is giving exposition to the other on how Red Bull could save them (by giving them wings, of course). But he takes so long that by the time he's finished, they've already crashed into the ground, prompting the other to say, "Too late." They survive anyway due to ToonPhysics.
30* Deconstructed with the Advertising/TrixRabbit once. He was participating in a speed eating contest for Trix cereal [[WholesomeCrossdresser disguised as a young girl named Trixie Lee.]] When the contest began, instead of eating, he got caught up in the usual spiel about how good the cereal was. By the time he finished talking and was ready to start eating, the contest was over.
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
34* One episode of ''Manga/AirGear'' had several people carry on a full length conversation (including a character's arrival) in the time it took the main character to fall down two floors.
35* In the manga ''Manga/Area88'' moreso than in the anime adaptation. In the fight against the Wolfpack, one of the Wolfpack members is actually explaining the "bloody screw" attack while carrying it out. Keeping in mind that aerial combat with jet fighters takes place in the realm of seconds. Another instance is when [[spoiler: Charlie reveals that he was sent to assassinate Shin and attempts to shoot him down while of course, failing]]. The manga has four pages of dialogue while in the anime, the whole affair is over is fifteen seconds. The mercenaries do a lot of exposition while actually engaging in high speed aerial combat. Mainly it's an excuse for Kaoru Shintani to [[ShownTheirWork show how much of an aviation otaku he is]]. Sometimes, the air combat will be filled with Shin's existential thoughts about how much he hates what he has to do, as if a real combat pilot would be thinking about anything other than what's on his heads up display. Conversations while just flying tend to get a pass, however. The anime keeps this to a minimum but in the English dub of the 2004 TV series, they add a lot of CallingYourAttacks to Shin's dialogue, presmuably as an homage to ''Film/TopGun'', even though ''Area 88'' is in every way antithesis to ''Top Gun''.
36* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', the characters use grappling devices to swing rapidly between buildings or trees, and must retract and re-launch their cables every few seconds as they fly past each grapple point. They can also blast themselves along, jetpack-style, but only for very short periods. When they need to have a lengthy in-flight conversation, though, all these rules go out the window, and they can levitate through the air horizontally at a constant speed, seemingly on cables that are thousands of feet long.
37* ''Manga/BakiTheGrappler'': Taken to an extreme in Chapter 147 of ''Baki Dou'', where there's an on-page timer counting the passing seconds during the fight. At the 6-second mark, we cut to three onlookers calmly commenting on the fight for several panels... and after their conversation is over, the timer shows 7 seconds.
38* ''Manga/BattleAngelAlita'', especially in the ''Last Order'' sequel:
39** Characters can exchange threats or discuss each other's every move while fighting at [[SuperSpeed supersonic speed]] (which [[FridgeLogic makes you wonder]] how they can hear each other).
40** The two {{Combat Commentator}}s of the television network are an odd example. On the one hand, they frequently have to resort to slow-motion replays, as the actual attacks were way too fast for them to even see. But on the other hand, they watch and comment those replays while the combat is still going on. Presumably, the characters take a minute's break between each series of blows to allow the commentators to catch up.
41%% zce * Subverted in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}''. Then again, if a person is spouting a speech about how good his troops are, or how screwed his enemy is, or whatever, this marks him as important right in front of our protagonist, nicknamed the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Hundred Man Slayer]] -- he probably deserves to be cut off in mid-sentence.
42* Averted in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' when Fritz Stanford talks about how amazing he and (especially) his gun are. Revy takes the time to reload her empty pistols before shooting him and asking if he was trying to sell her the damn gun.
43* The subversion is a plot point in ''Manga/BlazingTransferStudent''. The delinquent villain wins every fight because he can call his attack, "Insect Punch", faster than his opponents (who have elaborate names for their attacks) thus allowing him to get in his strike first. You're apparently not allowed to actually do the attack before you say it. [[spoiler:He is defeated in the end when the {{Love Interest|s}} convinces him to adopt an extremely long-named attack, allowing the protagonist enough time to pronounce his own attack and do it.]]
44* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
45** During Ichigo's second fight with Grimmjow, his hollow mask stays active for around eleven seconds, but it lasts the whole fight. The dialogue alone during the fight would take much longer than eleven seconds; the fight as a whole easily lasts a few minutes, even taking into account the characters' superhuman speed.
46** During Ichigo's final fight with Byakuya, he proves to be much too fast for Byakuya -- and he uses this advantage to taunt him rather than [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim just stab him in the back]]. Fortunately, Byakuya is too stunned to react until he's finished taunting.
47** D-Roy tries to subvert this by attacking Rukia in the middle of her introductory speech, but he waited five minutes before doing even that, and it gave him no advantage anyway.
48** [[FunctionalMagic Kido]] uses spells with obscenely long incantations, even for basic things like fireballs. More advanced users can get away without them, but the resulting spell is much less powerful. The only way to truly master this art is to be a MotorMouth.
49** The first half of the Soifon-Vega fight started out well, but eventually lapsed into this trope -- as the fighters {{lampshade|hanging}} the trope and spend all their time talking about how they ''don't'' do this. However, Soifon then states near the end that she ''intentionally'' did this to drag out the fight and test the Arrancar's mettle, and when Vega tries to push his luck [[TransformationIsAFreeAction with the sister trope]], Soifon proceeds to two-shot him and helpfully explains what she did to him before he dies.
50** Some fighters have been known to {{def|iedtrope}}y this trope and attack their opponents in the middle of their exposition. Ichigo did this to Ishida on two separate occasions, and Love did this to his only ally Visored Rose to get him to shut up and focus on the battle. Old [[BigBad Aizen]] is impervious to this, though; he just {{No Sell}}s the attempt (occasionally cutting down whoever tried to interrupt him) and continues talking.
51** [[BloodKnight Kenpachi Zaraki]] likes to parody this trope:
52*** In the Lost Substitute Shinigami arc, while Giriko is explaining how his current contract with the God of Time makes him more powerful than ever, Kenpachi [[KilledMidSentence slices him in half]] and says the battle was boring.
53*** In the Thousand Years Blood War arc, he shows up with corpses of three Sternritter members. One of them is Berenice Gabrielli, whom he killed while she was explaining her powers instead of defending herself. Kenpachi further mockingly points out he couldn't hear her explanation anyway because of the other Sternritter's loud screaming.
54* ''Manga/BusoRenkin'': During a kendo sparring session between [[StockShonenHero Kazuki]] and [[KendoTeamCaptain Shusui]], four people comment on Shusui's reverse-dou strike between the time he starts swinging and the time it connects. This then {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d when one of Kazuki's fainds says that it is taking too long.
55* In ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'''s adaptations, especially the original 1994 anime, characters spend so much time monologuing the field seems twice as long as it should be. The newer adaptations use slow motions and abridged matches, which causes another problem where everybody is capable of thinking illogically fast.
56* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' frequently had minutes-long conversations in improbable timeframes, including one in the span of a character running across a room no more than twenty feet wide. The light novel (but [[AdaptationExplanationExtrication not the anime]]) [[JustifiedTrope explains]] the room as being much larger than it seemed thanks to a magical optical illusion.
57* This occurs quite a bit in ''Manga/{{Claymore}}''. The characters will face off against [[EldritchAbomination enemies that can bring them to their knees within seconds]] (and they do). Instead of killing them, though, their opponent will politely wait while they discuss how they were beaten and how they might be able to turn the fight around.
58* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' often does this in a ''Gundam''-like manner, especially with [[WarriorTherapist pilots talking during Knightmare battles]] -- Urabe's sacrifice is probably the best example. Lelouch also has a habit of making dramatic remarks even when his opponents are standing there pointing guns at him, as they never take the opportunity to [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim just shoot him]].
59* ''Anime/CuteyHoney'' does this OncePerEpisode when Honey [[TransformationIsAFreeAction transforms]], usually with a speech that [[MadLibsDialogue follows the same formula]]. At least one villain tried to take advantage of this to escape, prompting her to yell, "Hey! It's not polite to run off when the hero is talking!"
60* In ''Anime/CyberpunkEdgerunners'', this occurs when David has to fight someone else with a reflex boosting implant. The most blatant example is after the TimeSkip, when David fights the leader of a Maelstrom gang. The overall fight takes less than a second in real time, however, the slow-mo shows the two conversing with one another while it happens.
61* Invoked inconsistently in the ''Literature/DateALive'' anime. The protagonist's date occasions are often steered by dialogues with both his partner and his prompter ([[EarpieceConversation via discreet headset]]). Sometimes he gets called out on being distracted, other times things go quite smoothly.
62* The final volume of ''Manga/DeathNote'' features an entire chapter of {{infodump}}ing which supposedly takes less than 30 seconds. It's even more blatant in the anime, in which the monologuing takes a good nine minutes of screentime to deliver, but it's still portrayed to be confined to a less than 30-second timeframe. In one case, time even appears to stop while an infodump takes place.
63* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', the anime gives one egregious moment in the climax of the Red-Light District arc, in which the manga version didn't quite give the same vibe. During the final maneuver to kill [[spoiler:Daki and Gyutaro for good, while Tanjiro tries to behead Gyutaro, Zenitsu is doing his part by giving it all to behead Daki with his Thunderclap and Flash: God Speed attack; after ripping across half of the whole district Zentisu remarks that he is losing speed and strength before Daki is beheaded, that's where the previously thought to be dead Inosuke intercepted Zenitsu and Daki, to say he can shift his organs around, so Gyutaro failed to pierce his heart, the anime has Inosuke be suspended in mid-air, effortlessly following Zenitsu's trajectory, while saying that, to only then help Zenitsu behead Daki. Inosuke following Zenitsu like a magnet to say his line comes off a little odd in the anime, in the manga it was clear Zentisu was already crawling to a halt before Inosuke just jumped to help, without actually following him; some anime viewers actually thought Inosuke just simply caught up to Zenitsu's top speed]].
64* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'':
65** While ''Manga/DigimonVTamer01'' at one point lambasts the "CallingYourAttacks" trope, and while it explicitly states the digivice 01 was created specifically for non-verbal communication, the characters are still able to hold conversations in situations where they logically shouldn't be able to understand one another (''e.g.'' while submerged) or even be able to vocalize (''e.g.'' [[BreathWeapon with their mouths full of energy attacks]]).
66** In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', when Beelzemon shoots his bullets on Takato and Megidramon, the others, who try to warn Takato, suddenly talk in slow-motion, as do the flying bullets. During this time, Takato and the de-volved Guilmon have apparently an extremely fast talk which takes about two minutes of screen-time.
67** Exaggerated in an episode of ''Anime/DigimonFusion'': Zamielmon can FlashStep, but after doing so he freezes for a split second. When Taiki realises this after he does so for the last time, it takes him a good ten seconds to explain it to the audience before Shoutmon DX actually gets in there and kills him, but Zamielmon is still frozen.
68* ''Manga/DragonBall'' and ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' abuse this trope frequently; every villain has an urgent need to exposit or otherwise yammer at the heroes.
69** Freeza destroys Namek's core during the fight with Goku and gives the planet five minutes before it blows up. Infamously, it took ten episodes, about 3 hours of screentime, and over 300 lines of dialogue for those "five minutes" to happen. ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' mocks this by having Goku ask Freeza if he's even sure what a minute ''is''.
70** In spite of its reputation, though, ''Dragon Ball'' has more than its share of fighters who will take advantage of this tendency:
71*** Goku attacks Jeice mid-sentence during the Namek arc. ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' parodies this by having him get hit like this eight times in a single conversation.
72*** In Goku's fight with Piccolo Jr., he takes advantage of Piccolo's monologuing to rest up for the next phase of the fight.
73*** Piccolo lets Cell yammer on about himself, where he came from, and his end goal, while he buys time to recover his strength (with the added bonus of learning everything there is to know about Cell).
74*** In ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'', all the talking between Goku and Beerus actually lasts long enough to [[spoiler:run out the time limit on the Super Saiyan God transformation]].
75*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSXey1YIrbA Super Buu gets sick of Gotenks' conversations with Piccolo]] and responds by [[StuffBlowingUp blowing stuff up]].
76---->'''Buu:''' [[RageBreakingPoint ALL YOU PEOPLE DO IS]] '''[[RageBreakingPoint TAAAAAAAALLLK!]]'''
77** The Tournament of Power in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' constantly uses this trope. Since the characters move at superhuman speed even while having a normal conversation, it's a bit of a stretch but still somewhat justified. The whole tournament lasts 48 minutes in-universe, which takes up 34 episodes. The first episode of the tournament alone (which is about 20-25 minutes long) took only 1 minute in-universe, and by that time, two of the 80 contestants were knocked off the ring.
78* ''Manga/DrStone'': During Chrome's fight against Magma in the [[TournamentArc Grand Bout]], Senku explains to him and the others on their team how Chrome needs to hold the lens steady for at least a minute to start a fire, the explanation of which takes well over a minute in the anime. Magma is surprisingly patient, not immediately attacking Chrome.
79* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d early in ''Manga/ElementalGelade''. The [[LivingWeapon Eden Raids]] transform and can be commanded to perform various actions only after singing short songs. Coud goes into an extended piece to unlock Ren's power against a foe, when the enemy moves to attack him in mid-song. [[SmallGirlBigGun Cisqa]] keeps the enemy back with a warning shot, saying, "When someone sings, listening until the end is good manners."
80* Happens all the time in ''Manga/Eyeshield21''. Football players and spectators can have entire conversations in the middle of plays that last five seconds. The pinnacle is the Deimon-Shinryuji game, where Agon demeans Sena during every block, and Sena has roughly five flashbacks in the course of scoring a single touchdown.
81* ''Manga/FairyTail'' has been known to {{subvert|edtrope}} the trope:
82** As the QuirkyMinibossSquad are introducing themselves in Chapter 32, Natsu hurls two giant fireballs at them mid-sentence.
83** In Chapter 81, [[spoiler: one of the other slaves tries to confess his love for Erza]]. He happened to be doing that in the middle of a violent revolt and gets violently gunned down for his trouble, losing an eye and getting his jaw badly scarred in the process.
84** During the "[[CurbStompBattle battle]]" between [[spoiler:[[SmugSuper Wizard Saint/Spriggan Twelve God Serena]] and [[TheDreaded Dragon King Acnologia]]]] in Chapter 470, the latter [[NoNonsenseNemesis doesn't even give the former time to finish boasting]] before [[KilledMidSentence tearing a massive hole in his side and leaving him to die]].
85* Frequently subverted in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', as many fighters are {{Combat Pragmatist}}s:
86** During the CurbStompBattle between [[spoiler:Roy Mustang and Envy]], [[spoiler:Roy]] almost never lets [[spoiler:Envy]] finish a complete sentence.
87** In [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 the 2003 anime]], Basque Grand is killed by Scar in the middle of his speech explaining just how outmatched the latter is against him.
88** Played straight twice in ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa'', where both [[spoiler:Wrath]] and [[spoiler:Hohenheim]] are ''somehow'' able to say their last words while inside the jaws of [[spoiler:Gluttony]] (who's been turned into a mindless eating machine) and [[spoiler:Envy]] (whose entire life goal is to kill this man) respectively.
89* Subverted throughout ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'', where not only do people not have time to talk in the heat of a big HumongousMecha battle, but they also lose more time searching for radio frequencies that they keep losing. In the final episode of ''Anime/FullMetalPanicFumoffu'', Tsubaki's pre-battle speech is so long that Sousuke has time to calmly find his bag, take out his gun, load it with rubber bullets, aim carefully for his head, and shoot him.
90* In one episode of ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure'', the girls' post-transformation-sequence demand that the creature of evil return to the darkness from whence it came ends -- to the revelation that the creature of evil has run off while they were talking.
91* ''Manga/{{Gantz}}''. To excess. Then again, ''everything'' in ''Gantz'' is a free action, and nothing happens unless directly caused by such a free action, in what can only be described as the anime equivalent of event-driven programming. It's probably the only show where even ''sex'' is a free action. This is necessary, as the show's protagonists are perhaps the single most hesitant gaggle of mooks in all of anime. The aliens [[spoiler:OR ARE THEY?]] seem to be getting about as tired of this as us, with Inaba being [[spoiler: stomped to paste after his triumphant return]] and the [[spoiler: Hiroshima team member having an arm and part of his head taken off mid-conversation]].
92* Used fairly frequently in ''Anime/GenesisOfAquarion''. Basically, any time the focus is in the Vector cockpit, you can rest assured that the MonsterOfTheWeek will wait patiently for the pilots to finish whatever strategic discussion, CharacterDevelopment, or general exposition may be going on.
93* In ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'', Motoko Kusanagi {{exploit|edtrope}}s this trope in order to take down an assassin. The assassin is hired to kill a low-profile billionaire. She walks up to his bed and points her gun at him, thinking that she's all alone in the room, and decides to monologue about the problems with capitalism. Motoko uses this time to sneak up and arrest her.
94-->'''Motoko:''' A ''smarter'' hitman [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim would have shot first.]]
95* Episode 3 of ''Anime/GingaDensetsuWeed'' has a especially ridiculous example. Weed and the other dogs blabber on and on, and Kaibutsu even has time to turn around and prepare to attack, while Weed is in mid-air. He was not near far enough away before he jumped for them to have done and said all that. He had to have just floated there or something, despite the action lines that seem to indicate he's moving very quickly through the air.
96* Happens twice in ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'' when Onizuka accidentally knocks people off the top of high buildings. Somehow, there's enough time in midair for several paragraphs of internal monologue, lots of screaming from astonished bystanders, and for him to finally reach a decision and run down the side of the wall to catch them.
97* If internal monologues during the bouts of ''Manga/HajimeNoIppo'' took place in real time, every single character would have been counted out. Oftentimes the flow of time is shown slowing down for dramatic effect, but even when the characters are speaking normally it feels like the ten-count takes ages.
98* ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' has been known to poke fun at this trope:
99** During the Hakuou Gakuin marathon, Nagi is getting cold feet, so Hayate gives her a DareToBeBadass speech to encourage her -- only for the starter to interrupt them to tell them that the race had started in the interim.
100** A {{flashback}} chapter showing Nagi and Tama's first meeting has Nagi saving the then-baby Tama from a group of wild animals in [[DarkestAfrica the African jungle]]. She makes a dramatic resolution to protect Tama, only to see that the animals had closed in on them while she was doing so.
101* ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'':
102** In Volume 7, a vampire manages to explain how he can tell the difference between bloodtypes by taste -- all the while a shell from Harkonen II floats ominously over his shoulder before impact in the next panel.
103** Father Anderson reels off whole Bible passages before he actually starts fighting his opponent, who usually waits patiently for him to walk over and engage them.
104* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' has fun with this trope. In one chapter, a character (Knuckle) thinks several paragraphs' worth of stuff, then realizes that he's thought entirely too much in so short a timeframe. He then realizes that the reason this is happening is because one's perception of time slows greatly in the seconds before death. Zoom out to reveal the guy he's fighting (Menthuthuyoupi), all set to beat the shit out of him.
105* Played with in one scene of ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' with Megane talking to Shuuyou Meito, a team of {{Otaku}}. As he's kicking the ball down the field, Megane starts with an annoyed lecture about Shuuyou Meito's reliance on dirty tactics. One of the opponents tries to steal the ball mid-speech; Megane's response directly mentions this trope:
106-->'''Megane:''' How dare you attack in the middle of a stirring lecture or a fusion! As a robot otaku, you fail!
107* This trope is {{invoked|Trope}} in episode 4 of ''Literature/InfiniteStratos''. While fighting a rogue [=IS=] that interrupted their match, Rin and Ichika realize that it stops attacking every time they talk to each other. It's almost as if it's ''curious'' about their conversation, [[{{Foreshadowing}} which is a pretty big clue to its creator's identity.]]
108* In ''Manga/InuYasha'', characters often explain what's going on during a FightScene or speak defiant lines to their opponent in the middle of the action. The most extreme example is in the FinalBattle, when Sesshoumaru is in one panel about to get a faceful of CombatTentacles, he speaks a whole sentence about what's going on, and then effortlessly destroys the attacking tendrils before they hit.
109* Taken to ridiculous extremes in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''. The manga is full of lengthy situational analyses, often spoken out loud, and often delivered in the time it takes for a bullet to travel less than a dozen feet. But the anime takes the ridiculousness even further:
110** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood Phantom Blood]]'':
111*** Jonathan, Dio, and Zepelli manage to have a full conversation while two of them are hanging in midair.
112*** As Jonathan and Dio are falling down the chimney shaft, the two of them exchange insults and boasts for a good five minutes in the anime, even though exterior shots of the mansion show the chimney can't possibly be taller than 40 meters or so.
113** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'':
114*** During Joseph's first encounter with Wamuu, the Pillar Man cuts his wrist, explicitly stating that he's only got one minute to stop the bleeding before passing out ("Here is an hourglass measured in blood.") In that time, he manages to hit Wamuu with his Clacker Boomerang attack, follow that up with a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, then gets hit by the Divine Sandstorm, survives, plays dead for long enough to fool the Pillar Men into thinking he's dead while slowly sneaking towards a minecart, rides down a tunnel, then talks Wamuu into letting him go. This takes up more than half the episode. Adding another layer to the free-action-ness of this, Joseph lights a stick of dynamite after getting on the minecart. It doesn't go off until after he's finished giving Wamuu his speech and Esidisi's swallowed it, several real-time minutes later.
115*** When Joseph and Kars tumble off a cliff in St. Moritz, the narrator explicitly states that they have five seconds of falling until they impact the ground below. Yet, the both of them seem to have enough time to fight for the Red Stone and attempt to outwit each other.
116** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'':
117*** Although [[spoiler:Dio's time-stopping ability]] explicitly only lasts nine seconds at its maximum seen duration, it can easily turn into nearly a minute of gloating even when [[spoiler:the limit was initially five seconds]]. Taken to truly impressive extremes when [[spoiler:Dio uses his five-second time-freeze to fatally-stab Joseph. He stops time, drops to the ground, monologues about his ability, kills a cat and pushes past some people in the frozen time, walks up to Joseph, ''almost'' attacks with his hand before reprimanding himself and monologuing some more before pulling out a knife and throwing it at Joseph's throat... and then has the balls to say he still has ''one second'' left before time goes back to normal and counts it down himself]].
118*** And when [[spoiler:Jotaro's Star Platinum stops time for the first time (right after Dio's roadroller attack), Dio freezes completely, as he should, but ''he's still able to move his mouth to talk'']]!
119** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Diamond is Unbreakable]]'':
120*** [[InsufferableGenius Rohan Kishibe]] has an internal monologue to weigh his options as an attack is speeding toward his head. An [[PaintingTheMedium onscreen stopwatch]] determines that Rohan analyzes his foe, estimates his success rate, and decides to act within 0.2 seconds.
121*** [[SerialKiller Yoshikage Kira]], the main antagonist of Part 4, gets beaten up by Jotaro Kujo using Star Platinum. While he is going flying from an onslaught of ORA's, he has time to have a brief soliloquy to himself about how Jotaro's attacks are so fast "it's like he stopped time".
122** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Golden Wind]]'':
123*** In the battle with Ghiaccio, Mista fires several bullets that get reflected back by ice crystals, and the time Ghiaccio takes to talk back to Mista shows the bullet is still ricocheting off the crystal before flying off.
124*** After striking Cioccolata with a bullet, Giorno immediately assumes he's PlayingPossum and takes the time to explain how he knows Cioccolata is faking it, accounting the injuries he sustained on his body during the fight, and how he'll be able to heal himself with Gold Experience after explaining its abilities. Cioccolata then exposes himself and rushes to kill Mista... just as a stag beetle pops out from his head as Giorno used the time he was talking to him allowed the bullet that was lodged in Cioccolata to transform after being hit by Gold Experience.
125** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'':
126*** During the battle with Donatello Versus, Jolyne and Ermes get trap in the [[APlaceHoldsMemories memory]] of a plane that's going to crash at a specific time. When ''one exact minute'' is left, Jolyne manages to contact Emporio who looks up information about the plane on a computer to learn there's a safe spot where Jolyne and Ermes won't get hit by the explosion. Afterwhich with mere seconds, Donatello drops children into the plane to prevent Jolyne from escaping, with all the remaining 'seconds' being enough time for Jolyne and Ermes to formulate a plan to protect themselves and the children.
127*** In a particularly [[ExaggeratedTrope extreme example]], the final battle includes a sequence where Ermes uses Kiss to let the gang ride on a bullet. Anasui then manages to explain a strategy to defeat Pucci, go over multiple concerns that his allies have about said plan, and receive a heartfelt speech from Jolyne, all in the time it takes for the bullet to hit its target.
128* In ''Literature/JuniTaisenZodiacWar'', it is tradition to introduce oneself before attacking.
129** Played for laughs during the Ox versus Tiger fight, when Snake [[TalkToTheFist launches a sneak attack]] before they can finish it, offending them.
130* Happens all the time in ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'' and ''Ultimate Muscle''. One of the most blatant examples is the match between [[spoiler:the newly-returned Ramenman]] and Motorman in the Throne arc. Although one of the shorter fights in the arc, it still goes on for a solid nine or so minutes during the anime -- even though they clearly state in the next episode that the fight only lasted 37 seconds.
131* Poked fun at in ''Manga/KotaroMakariTooru'': During a martial arts tournament, one of the contenders launches a mid-air attack, whereupon the surprised announcer proceeds to exclaim his shock, admiration, expectations, exposition of the move, and prediction in the same panel. A little pop-up head in the corner of the panel quips, "How much time does he have to say this much anyway?"
132* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d and PlayedForLaughs in the chapter 107 bloopers omake of ''Manga/KurokosBasketball'', where Kuroko misses the ball he's trying to pass because of the speech he's making. But it's otherwise used frequently in the anime, especially during the last few seconds of a quarter in a basketball game, when players commentate on their own plays or make a lengthy explanation. (Admittedly, the last minute of real basketball games can be interminably long because of all the timeouts.)
133* ''Manga/TheLawOfUeki'' does this quite often, both with the standard talking and occasional flashbacks. Apparently, it takes less time to revisit all your motivations for becoming a fighter (taking five minutes of screen time) than it does for a fist to cross a foot or two. At one point, Ueki pole vaults onto someone, and they manage a four-line dialogue explaining his move before he even gets close to landing. On the other hand, in one episode, Ueki defeats an opponent [[CurbStompBattle in one blow]] in the middle of his adversary's explanation about his powers, perhaps because it was just ''that boring''.
134* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' saga just loves doing this, especially [[WarriorTherapist during epic battles]]. It does vary series to series; some will have more pragmatic fighters than others. But ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack'' takes the cake with its shameless use of this type of exposition.
135* Subverted in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans''. Carta Issue shows up and introduces her squad with a LargeHam monologue, only to be interrupted by Akihiro by shooting her subordinate.
136-->'''Akihiro:''' ''(With a confused look complete with sweatdrop)'' [[CombatPragmatist It was... okay to shoot, right?]]
137-->''{{Beat}}''
138-->'''Mikazuki:''' [[LampshadeHanging Of course]].
139** Done again during Tekkedan's 2nd encounter with Carta Issue. Mikazuki sees the opportunity to attack her during all her LargeHam boasting. Carta's men call him out on it.
140* Frequent in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''; most characters can spout off exposition in the middle of a fight. Specifically:
141** Lee has a habit of kicking his opponent into the air, jumping after him, and expositing for 30 seconds before finishing him off.
142** Zabuza tries to {{def|iedtrope}}y this trope early in the series when he tries to interrupt Naruto's explanation of how he broke Kakashi out of his water prison; Kakashi blocks his sword with his kunai, and they all remain still while Naruto finishes his exposition.
143** Sakura, when fighting Sasori, injects herself with an antidote that will protect her from poison for three minutes. They then spend the next ''five'' minutes talking, but this apparently doesn't count against this limit.
144** The fight between [[spoiler:Kisame, Killer Bee, and Sabu]] sees a lot of banter and exposition of this sort between the fighters, including characters expositing on attacks being thrown at them less than two feet away. What's amazing is that they're doing this ''underwater''.
145** Itachi [[spoiler:or rather his underling-clone-thing]] stays completely still while Kakashi and Chiyo have a long discussion of how to defeat him. He was sort of counting on this, as he only needed to delay them.
146** Characters have been known to get in perfect position for a surprise attack -- and then exposit for several seconds about how awesome the attack will be before actually launching it. The victim could presumably hear them (and thus easily turn around and avoid the attack), but this never happens, so such attacks always work anyway. In particular, Pain does this to Jiraiya, and [[spoiler:Danzo to Sasuke]].
147** Naruto's fight with Pain mostly averts this, with both of them barely talking during the actual fight, except when Katsuyu provides some {{infodump}} to Naruto regarding Pain's abilities, the anime is even more blatant, when Naruto's going against one of the Pain paths in close combat, the camera goes slow motion to give him time to talk. And then it's played straight during the last part of the fight (after Naruto comes back to his senses), where two of the times Pain uses Shinra Tensei, one takes 78 onscreen seconds of cooldown instead of the informed 5 seconds, and the other takes more than 90 seconds (which Naruto uses to give the final Rasengan).
148** The Fourth Shinobi War {{deconstruct|edTrope}}s this to an extent; the enemies are CameBackWrong ninja whose bodies are being manipulated but whose mouths are not. Since they're often acquainted with the ninja on the other side of the war, this leads to a lot of friendly or emotional conversations in the middle of the fight. All sorts of ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy, almost-surprise attacks, and even a lampshade from Kabuto when he allows (and sarcastically thanks his opponents for) discussing strategy on how to beat him right in front of him.
149** Naruto himself, despite being an IdiotHero, {{exploit|edtrope}}s this trope in chapter 642 when he devises a strategy to defeat his opponent while he's in the middle of a HannibalLecture.
150** Parodied in ''WebVideo/NarutoTheAbridgedSeries'', where attacking someone mid-sentence or mid-flashback is considered rude or dishonorable.
151---> '''Hokage:''' He attacked during a flashback! He's not going to become hokage that way! He's just fine as a genin.
152---> '''Naruto:''' Damn you, old man!
153* Used to a ridiculous extent in ''Manga/{{Needless}}''. A common occurrence involves the main group fighting two or more enemies, only for the enemy that is currently being focused on to actually be doing anything, with the others apparently standing completely still as if waiting for their turn. On top of that, the heroes will often involve themselves in lengthy speeches to each other while in the middle of battle with all of the surrounding enemies seeming to have nothing better to do than politely wait for them to finish speaking.
154* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', talking is explicitly ''not'' a free action; Negi has to speak in order to use magic, and he has to plan his spellcasting so as not to be cut off in the middle of it. In his first fight with Evangeline, he was very easily dealt with when Chachamaru punched him in the face every time he started to recite a spell. That said, he has at least once been able to teleport to an opponent to gain a surprise advantage -- only to negate that advantage by spouting a two-sentence declaration before attacking.
155* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Apparently, there isn't enough time for Rei to dodge the sixteenth Angel's attack in the incredible fast and agile EVA-00 during the 23rd episode, but there's certainly enough time for Hyuga to point that out.
156* Exaggerated in ''Manga/{{Noragami}}'', wherein Yato manages to carry out a very extended conversation with a potential customer, going as far as to exchange ''business cards'', as they both plummet from a skyscraper. This does not go unnoticed by his [[EquippableAlly Shinki]], Yukine.
157-->'''Yukine:''' Is it just me, or is this a ''really'' [[IFellForHours long fall]]?
158* During the climax of ''Manga/OnePiece'''s Arabasta arc, the Straw Hats are able to call out to each other and execute an improvised plan in the course of less than a minute (three in the anime), in spite of the dialogue taking much longer. It's not like they're not aware of this, though; Luffy had taken advantage of it earlier in the arc when he attacked Crocodile mid-sentence, though [[NoSell it fails to do anything]] aside from pissing him off:
159-->'''Crocodile:''' No matter how hard you try, you will never def--''pppppp''\
160'''Luffy:''' "Defp"? Just what the hell are you trying to say?
161** Happens again in Enies Lobby as Luffy is running around clobbering large groups of Marine soldiers tasked to defeat him. Spandam, leader of [=CP9=], a secret branch of law enforcement, asks for a report on how many men Luffy has taken down. The man in the office running the numbers intends to say "[[PersonOfMassDestruction five thousand]]," but Luffy crashes through his office's window and knocks him out when he's only said "five." This leads Spandam into thinking Luffy's [[MartialPacifist trying to cause as little harm as possible]] when it's [[DestructiveSaviour the exact opposite]].
162** This aversion becomes a RunningGag whenever Caesar Clown is involved: Caesar is a MadScientist and is prone to EvilGloating, but he never gets to finish whenever Luffy is around, as Luffy tends to deck him in the face mid-monologue. This is played with even more later on, as Caesar's monologues start containing [[JustBetweenYouAndMe his so-called secret plans]], and Luffy beating him up as he's talking makes it harder to know how to stop him.
163** Another frequent example involves two characters having a lengthy conversation or a touching moment in the middle of a fight, while other combatants stand around and let them. Happens over and over in Marineford, for example.
164* ''Manga/{{Parasyte}}!'' uses this to highlight an increase in the main character's reaction time. We see a punch fly at his head, he pauses to muse on the source of his new found strength for a couple of paragraphs, and then parries the attack without difficulty.
165* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
166** Flashing your Pokédex at an unknown Pokémon causes all other activities to cease. Even if it is hellbent on the protagonist's destruction, it will politely wait until the protagonists know exactly what they're up against. We actually saw this {{averted|Trope}} in [=SM018=]. While [=RotomDex=] does its WikiWalk for Mallow's newly-evolved Steenee, she's [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beating the ever-loving shit out of Meowth]].
167** Trainers have been known to give their Pokémon complex battle instructions. One even gave some very detailed maneuvers, complete with degree measurements, all in the heat of battle.
168** The Team Rocket motto, which happens OncePerEpisode, is usually a free action; the Rockets will drop everything to introduce themselves, and the heroes will usually wait for them to finish (occasionally even being visibly bored waiting for that to happen). Some don't, though, especially Barry, who has never actually heard the entire motto for this reason; the Rockets get ''[[SeriousBusiness pissed]]'' whenever their motto gets interrupted. The biggest {{lampshade|hanging}}s are when the heroes take the opportunity to rescue Pokémon or people during this time.
169* In ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'', tennis players can not just [[CallingYourAttacks call their attacks]], but also fully describe their moves or deliver other exposition, during a single shot. Inui in particular is fond of this, especially when he rattles off the percentage chance of any particular event happening during the game.
170* ''Manga/RamenFighterMiki'', being a deconstruction of the FightingSeries PlayedForLaughs, plays this trope so straight it could be a parody in episode 2B. Kankuro and Miki are less than ten meters apart before their fight. Kankuro begins to run towards Miki to attack her, and [[CallingYourAttacks he manages to imitate the sound of a local train]]. Miki stays immobile while [[ToThePain she begins to imitate the sound of a bullet train]] and adopts an AssKickingPose. Then she begins to run towards Kankuro. [[CombatCommentator Akihiko desperately cries to Kankuro to stop]]. Kankuro manages to answer that he will increase the power. Miki and Kankuro take one minute and ten seconds running into themselves a distance of less than ten meters. [[RuleOfCool And it’s epic]].
171* Mocked in ''Manga/RealBoutHighSchool''. After Ryoko effortlessly takes out a powerful hood, his friends get angry. The leader is calmed by his [[TheDragon Dragon]], who wishes to test his sword skills against hers. Or at least that's the sentiment he was ''trying'' to express -- he got as far as "She's good. I'll g-" before she smashed his face in with her wooden sword.
172* Especially evident in the Rain Guardian battle in ''Manga/Reborn2004'', where the fight stops every minute for CombatCommentator Reborn to explain what Yamamoto just did.
173* Subverted and PlayedForLaughs in ''Manga/TheRedRangerBecomesAnAdventurerInAnotherWorld''. Idola is busy protecting the others from Lurguat's monsters with a barrier when Red, Rosie, and Teltina all decide to work out their issues along with dropping an ExpositionDump about their backstories. Idola becomes increasingly frantic as the barrier cracks and she becomes nauseous from the effort needed to maintain it. Luckily for her, they finish and finally get their act together by the time the barrier collapses completely.
174* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'': During Saitou's fight with Usui, they jump and meet each other in midair. Saitou tries to use a stab, but Usui deflects it with his shield. In between deflection and counterattack, ''while still midair'', Usui gets off a couple lines about how round his shield is.
175* Somewhere between this and ChangingClothesIsAFreeAction is Luke from ''Literature/TheSacredBlacksmith'' and his magical sword forging. The first time he does it, he tells Cecily to hold off the giant crystal spider that's attacking them, and she instead watches him. The spider is happy to wait.
176* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'':
177** While its [[Manga/SailorMoon source material]]'s panel blocking is ambiguous, Act 1 of ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'' has Tuxedo Mask fully introducing himself and assuring Sailor Moon he'll remember her in ''mid jump'', while looking over his shoulder at her, almost suggesting full power of {{Flight}}.
178** Averted when Eudial whips out her flamethrower ''during'' Sailor Moon's Moon Spiral Heart Attack -- and successfully deflects it. It hits the Daimon she summoned and destroys it, though.
179** Averted for laughs in ''[[Anime/SailorMoon Sailor Moon Super S]]'', when Cere Cere summons a MonsterOfTheWeek named Toge Toge Jo. While Toge Toge Jo is arguing with Cere Cere, Sailor Moon and Chibi Moon then attack Toge Toge Jo and defeat her. The "defeated monster" screen then shows, with Toge Toge Jo saying, "I haven't even ''done'' anything!"
180* Played with in ''Literature/ScrappedPrincess''. In an early episode, Raquel fights an enemy spellcaster, who never gets to complete his lengthy invocation because her own invocation is much shorter and the spell interrupts him. He even protests that there shouldn't be any spells that quick.
181* In ''Manga/SlamDunk'', characters sometimes manage to have long conversations in the time it takes to sprint from one end of the court to the other. Sakuragi and Rukawa once had a heated argument while attacking on a fast break, both insulting the other all the way down the apparently very lengthy basketball court.
182* ''Manga/SPYxFamily'' plays with this:
183** Zig-zagged during the dodgeball game in Episode 10. Some players are struck by [[TheBigGuy Bill Watkins]] while in mid-speech, while others have plenty of time to finish what they're saying before he throws. The funniest example is what Emile [[TakingTheBullet takes a hit meant for Damian]]; as he launches into a parodic "death speech", Ewen cradles him and assures him everything will be okay, only to be unceremoniously hit by a dodgeball mid-sentence.
184** Justified on another occasion - when Yuri demands that Loid and Yor kiss to prove that they're a real married couple, Loid launches into an InnerMonologue that takes up a decent amount of screentime, while an on-screen clock establishes that it's only taking him a fraction of a second in real-time.
185** Defied in Chapter 52. When Yor has to protect Olka Gretcher and her infant son from a CarnivalOfKillers sent to kill them, a RazorFloss assassin introduces herself when attacking Yor. The very next panel shows her dead on the floor with a hole through her forehead. The same happens to the [[RingsOfDeath Chakram]]-wielding assassin right after, except [[KilledMidSentence he doesn't even get to finish his sentence]].
186*** The anime adaptation plays this straight at another point in the same arc. Realising another of the killers is heading straight towards Yor and Olka, intent on attacking them in the open, Anya manages to distract Loid so that he won't see it. This takes her about two minutes of screen time - including a brief TimeSkip - and when she finally manages to slip away, Yor and the killer are ''still'' approaching one another. It's not even a particularly long corridor.
187* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''. The action in any fight will typically pause so that the bad guy can listen to whatever Kamina has to say. For example, episode 4 has him delivering a speech on the true nature of combining, while individual mecha from the 16-part combiner just orbit Gurren Lagann rather than dare interrupting such a [[HoYay suspiciously homoerotic]] speech.
188* Abused in ''Anime/TransformersSuperGodMasterforce'' when Ranger is introduced; Ginrai is able to give him a tutorial on transformation while Ranger is falling from a cliff.
189* In ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'', mid-battle conversation makes the final fight with the BigBad last for a dozen chapters, each of which seems to cover about two seconds and eight pages of exposition.
190* ''Manga/WorldTrigger'' had fun with this trope. When [[ChildSoldiers Miwa and Yoneya]] fought against an enemy, they started to talk to the enemy when the fight was stuck in a stalemate. The enemy lampshaded that talking to enemy mid-fight was foolish. Cue both sides incapacitating each other mid-talk. Turns out that both sides used the talk just to earn a few seconds to set up sneak attacks.
191* Since a lot of the card game in ''Anime/YuGiOh'' and its sequels involves somebody attacking and the other guy making a miraculous recovery, giant blasts of raw holographic energy must understandably be paused while the card is activated and its effects are explained. This gets especially obvious when the shot is drawn so that the attack is in view, like when Red Daemon's Dragon/Red Dragon Archfiend patiently waits with a glowing fist so that it can punch into the oddly named [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Scrum_Force Scrum Force]].
192* Happens all the time in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Particularly egregious examples include:
193** When the super-fast flier Jin is flying at Yusuke with his Tornado Fist, Hiei and the Masked Fighter take several seconds to explain what will happen if Yusuke fires his Spirit Gun point blank into the tornado fist. Then Yusuke has time to say, "Let's see who can take a bigger ass-kicking" and call out his attack.
194** During the Dark Tournament, the announcer Koto is very lax on counting when a fighter has left the ring or collapsed on the ground. She often won't start as long as someone is talking. Lampshaded several times, most notably when the games committe rules that Yusuke lost a fight after staying outside the ring for too long, which causes Koto to yell, "Since when do we pay attention to that?". [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] because Koto and several demons in the crowd say that the count is always intentionally delayed to make things more entertaining.
195** Toguro is running at Yusuke to punch him, Yusuke prepares to catch it, and Kuwabara has time to say "Are you crazy?! There's no way in heck you can block his straight-on punch!"
196[[/folder]]
197
198[[folder:Comic Books]]
199* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
200** Spider-Man has a reputation for panels mostly dedicated to the protagonist talking. Sometimes it's done artistically -- Spidey will be drawn in several places in the same panel to showcase his agility, so presumably he has more time to say all that. Other times it's really an InnerMonologue. But one way or another, that's a ''lot'' of talking. Fortunately, it works for the character; Spider-Man [[YouFightLikeACow is known for using witty banter]] to annoy the hell out of his enemies (and hide his own insecurities) during battle. In fact, he came off as more "emo" in [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy the movies]] because it's hard to work this battle tactic into a live-action fight scene.
201** Subverted by [[KidSidekick Spider-By]]. Bailey's Spider-Sense doesn't alert him to danger, leaving him reliant on his expanded field of vision to see incoming threats. But he also has a habit of running his mouth and arguing with others, which often distracts him long enough to get into deep trouble. In one flashback, Arcade captures Bailey while the boy was too busy arguing with Peter over the phone to notice Arcade driving up behind him. In another, Bailey argues with Otto (who Bailey doesn't know took over Peter's body) long enough for Mr. Negative to clap a hand on Bailey's shoulder.
202--->'''Bailey:''' ''[when Otto tells Bailey not to touch him]'' "Lay a hand"? Of course! You've been fighting Mr. Negative! And he's got that corrupting touch of his that can turn anyone into a jerkish version of themselves!\
203'''Mr. Negative:''' ''[puts a hand on Bailey's shoulder]'' Yes, I do. And it places that person under my ''complete control.''\
204'''Bailey:''' [[OhCrap Eep.]]
205* Spoofed in an issue of Keith Giffen's ''ComicBook/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}'', where General Glory is falling from a great height and spends several paragraphs describing the improbable maneuver he is performing as he performs it. It prompts one of the other characters to ponder how he can say so much so quickly.
206* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the Creator/DCComics mini-series ''ComicBook/DCOneMillion'': An [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to Eleven]] version of Batman from [[TheFuture the far future]] delivers, in the space of a single flying kick, an implausibly large {{infodump}} ''about'' [[MindScrew the fact that he's delivering an implausibly large infodump]] in the space of a single flying kick. From his description and the move itself, it seems the attack is about 50% a flying kick and 50% ramming a lengthy narration into your opponent's brain.
207-->"You see, you have to go and this is a martial arts move developed by a telepathic octopus species inhabiting the oceans of Durla; the attack's telepathic as well as physical, and by the time you realize this sentence seems way too long and Huntress was right... it'll all be over."
208* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''ComicBook/DCeased'' when [[spoiler: the narrator points out that Superman may have flown far enough away from the earth in time to run out of oxygen before his infected self could cause any damage if he hadn’t taken the time to talk to his family]].
209* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsDeadpool Deadpool]]'s lung capacity cannot be matched. It has been acknowledged that his endless, inane banter is actually his most dangerous ability, since most opponents are too distracted to pay attention to his moves.
210** Parodied in issue #27 of Vol. 3. [[Characters/MarvelComicsLogan Wolverine]] gives a long speech during a single leap, making Deadpool's friend Ilaney wonder how that's even possible. Former supervillain (and current therapist) Doctor Bong then posits that lengthy mid-air speeches are some kind of mutant power.
211->'''Ilaney:''' [[[Characters/MarvelComicsLogan Wolverine]]] says much during one leap, no?\
212'''Doctor Bong:''' Excellent observation, Ilaney... I believe lengthy speeches in mid-leap are a form of mutant power.
213* ComicBook/XMen member Banshee has to scream constantly [[NotQuiteFlight in order to fly]]. This often manifests itself as talking to himself or others while flying.
214* {{Justified|trope}} in ''Comicbook/TheAuthority'' with a clever plot device: the main characters communicate via telepathy in combat, not speech. And opponents who think Midnighter's [[AwesomenessByAnalysis lengthy]] BadassBoast leaves him open to attack are in for a serious disappointment: he paralyzes them, then finishes his speech, [[SociopathicHero then kills them.]]
215* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'':
216** During the climactic fight, [[spoiler:Ozymandias]] manages to get in an entire JustBetweenYouAndMe [[EvilGloating Monologue]] revealing all the twists and turns of the mystery plot, while dodging attacks by Rorschach and Nite Owl -- without even interrupting his dinner.
217** Any scene where Rorschach's journal is read while the "camera" zooms in and out comes off like this. It's made more obvious in the Motion Comic, which is made up of animated panels of the book, where the zoom-out is done rather slowly, even though barely half of the dialog in that scene is shown.
218* Parodied in ''[[Comicbook/TheSimpsons Radioactive Man]]'':
219** A character is standing next to a huge mainframe when it topples toward him. His reaction: "No time to leap out of the way! Only time to ''talk'' about it!"
220** Humorously subverted in a scene in the first issue where Radioactive Man is punching out a [[DirtyCommunists Communist sympathizer]]:
221--->'''Radioactive Man:''' Talk, you Commie rat!\
222'''Crook:''' If you want me to talk, why are you knocking me into [[TalkToTheFist unconsciousn-]]
223* In a 1960s ''ComicBook/TheFlash'' comic, Flash and a villain have a badass conversation, even though the Flash is apparently travelling ''faster'' than the speed of light (never mind the speed of sound).
224* Pointedly averted by Creator/MaxAllanCollins; he never has people talk during fight scenes. In an interview in ''Amazing Heroes'' #119, Collins notes that he finds this an annoying cliche, and DC editors would describe his scripts as lean just because he never had people talk during fight scenes.
225* In the climax of the ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' storyline ''Comicbook/ADeathInTheFamily'', [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] releases a deadly gas at a UN meeting. Characters/{{Superman|TheCharacter}} saves everybody by inhaling the gas and then, with his mouth securely shut to prevent any gas from escaping his lungs, ''shouts some instructions to Batman'' before flying off. Ahhh, but this was Pre-Crisis Superman, who possessed the power of super-ventriloquism, which was always handy in a pinch.
226* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the Creator/ImageComics miniseries ''Meltdown'', when Caliente (''a.k.a.'' "[[PlayingWithFire The Flare]]") monologues how, [[ThisIsReality unlike in comic books]], in real fights you're too busy trying not to die to engage in witty banter.
227* ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'': An old man who can beat up ninjas and talk while doing a flip, as seen [[http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/3251498.html?#cutid1 here]].
228* At one point in the second issue of the original ''Comicbook/{{Cyberforce}}'', Ripclaw says enough to fill five speech bubbles in the time it takes him to pounce on Velocity from a tree. And somehow this was simultaneously enough time for him to say all this and ''not'' enough time for Velocity, whose power is super-speed, to avoid his attack.
229* Averted in the ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' story ''The Crab With The Golden Claws'' -- Tintin needs a cab to [[FollowThatCar follow a car]], but first needs to convince another man to get out of the cab. The short conversation allows the car to get away, so there's nothing left to follow.
230* ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'': At the end of ''Treachery'', in the small fraction of a second during which Roland turns, aims and fires, he has enough time to utter a 21-syllable BadassCreed. [[spoiler:But not enough time to realize he's shooting his mother.]]
231* Subverted in ''Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard'': After a ''[[Film/ThePrincessBride Princess Bride]]'' reference by Sigurd, [[Characters/MarvelComicsLoki Loki]] begins to say he has seen the movie as well -- and is kicked out the window by Sigurd, taking advantage of the distraction.
232* Action Comics #367 has this nonsensical exchange:
233--> '''Supergirl:''' Superman, STOP! If you break through this force shield, Stanhope College instantly blows up!\
234'''Superman:''' ''(inches away)'' TOO LATE! One power I ''don't'' have is to stop on a dime when I'm flying at such terrific velocity!
235* The ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' story "Yesterday's Shadows!" has two ordinary guys jump at Captain America. They then somehow manage to yell "He--he jumped back so quickly--we're gonna fall!" [[https://i.imgur.com/CVIUMnw.jpg while falling from a metre-high stage]].
236* An all-time prize-winner happens at the start of Tales to Astonish #53 (published 1964), where the Porcupine knocks [[ComicBook/AntMan Giant-Man]] and [[Characters/AntManHeroes The Wasp]] off a not-very-tall roof. During a fall that should take less than 3 seconds, Hank and Jan have a back-and-forth conversation totaling '''163''' words, including Hank reminding a forgetful Jan that she could shrink down and fly away and Jan complimenting Hank on his quick thinking.
237* ''ComicBook/ExMachina'': Zig-zagged. While facing off against an enemy, Hundred blabs away about what he's doing. Then in turns out that the fight was just a training exercise with his friend Kremlin, who tells him that he shouldn't talk so much when he's fighting. However, since some of the training is just simulated role-playing, it actually makes sense for Hundred to be stating out loud to his trainer what he'd be doing in a real-life situation.
238* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': A crooked doctor has time to stutter "A- A- Homing bullet!" before said bullet drills into his head. Even with a bullet flying a zigzag course, it would be most likely impossible - try it.
239* The Marvel Comic incarnation of ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts}}'' had this in spades given that it was written by Creator/BillMantlo. Acroyear and Marionette tended to do this a lot (both with a big dollops of PurpleProse that Shakespeare would be proud of), despite the fact that their weapon of choice was swords. Swordplay, in real life, leaves little time or breath for long speeches. Baron Karza regularly did a lot of TrashTalk whenever he was beating the Micronauts or whomever to a pulp (like he did in Issue 50 [[note]] The issue noted where most of the supporting characters are killed off and TheBadGuyWins[[/note]]).
240--> '''Acroyear''': "Foul Fiend! It is to you whom I own my sorrow! To slay you, I drew upon the soul of my planet. To destroy you, I possessed the World Mind. It cost me my world, my throne, and the heart of the woman I love. I sacrificed all!"
241--> '''Baron Karza''': "And yet I live, Man of Spartak. As I shall always live. I am Karza. I am Evil. One can no more erase evil, than one can erase the sun."
242* This is one of the reasons why the historic issue of ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'' where Northstar comes out as gay is generally judged as not having aged well. Northstar reveals he is gay in the midst of a fight with one-off antagonist Major Mapleleaf, as they have a long and in-depth argument about society's reaction to the AIDS crisis while beating the tar out of each other.
243* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Discussed by Hawkeye and Black Widow. Black Widow complains about the poor resistance of the Chitauri in the office building, but Hawkeye protests: unlike her, with her cyborg implants, he can not have a superhero fight and hold a conversation at the same time.
244* "Apokolips...Now" was a 1982 X-Men/Teen Titans crossover story which featured a sequence where Characters/{{Deathstroke}} is overseeing construction of a "psi-phon," a device to absorb Phoenix's residual power, when a cigar appears behind him and its smoker asks for a light. While spending a fraction of a second taking a swing at the smoker (who turns out to be Wolverine, whom he misses), Deathstroke says:
245-->I'm impressed. I didn't think ''anyone'' could get the drop on me. You should have struck while you had the chance, fella. That bit of bravado will cost you. What--?! [[CaptainObvious I]] ''[[CaptainObvious missed!]]''
246[[/folder]]
247
248[[folder:Comic Strips]]
249* ''ComicStrip/BeetleBailey'': "That's it, Beetle! Now roll with the punch!" Given as actual advice during a fight.
250* In a ''Comicstrip/{{Peanuts}}'' Sunday comic (October 1956), Snoopy gets a scrap of hot dog. He has an entire monologue between the throw and the catch about the little scrap, while the scrap flies as in slow motion between panels. Then Snoopy lampshades this by remarking "Its funny how much can pass through your mind between the toss and the gulp..."
251* In a ''Bash Street Kids'' strip from ComicBook/TheBeano, Winston the cat runs out in front of a speeding bus while the kids are preparing to splatter people at the bus stop with a giant snowball catapult, prompting them to redirect their aim to stop the bus and save him. However, instead of gasping and slamming the brakes like you'd expect, he says "Hope I can stop in time!" before even attempting to brake and then announces that the bus can't stop due to the icy road, all before the snowball hits the bus.
252[[/folder]]
253
254[[folder:Fan Works]]
255* ''Fanfic/{{Contraptionology}}'': Rarity stops running from a swarm of mutant bees long enough to compliment Applejack on her outfit. She then promptly goes back to running away while screaming in terror.
256* ''Fanfic/FracturedSovereignGFC'': Discussed Characters often lampshade that this trope is ''not'' in effect, as battles that started while they were talking have kept going, or them talking actually takes them ''away'' from something they need to be doing.
257* ''FanFic/TheTaintedGrimoire'':
258** Played straight when [[spoiler:Crow]] takes time out of a duel with Luso to explain how a certain spell was possible.
259** Averted/subverted:
260--->'''Luso:''' I still can't believe you blew up our wagon.\
261'''Adelle:''' Well... I'd like to think of it more as... saving a life.\
262'''Sir Loin:''' IF YOU GUYS DON'T MIND, WE COULD USE SOME HELP HERE!
263* ''FanFic/InTheService'' takes ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'''s tendency to talk a lot and exploits it; usually, if somebody is talking or allowing their opponent to talk, they're doing it to buy time for more serious firepower to arrive.
264* Generally averted in ''Fanfic/{{Game Theory|LyricalNanoha}}'', another ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' fanfic. People trying to hold a conversation in the middle of a fight [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome are likely to get smacked in the face]].
265* Often played straight in ''Fanfic/TheWizardInTheShadows'', usually by Harry. Since he's a MotorMouth in the Spider-Man range, this isn't entirely surprising.
266* Played straight, reconstructed, and averted in ''FanFic/ANewOrder''. Anime/SailorMoon occasionally indulges in her InTheNameOfTheMoon speeches, but she's been attacked in the middle of a few of them, and consequently sometimes skips the speech, or uses it to stall and distract. A youma also attacks Tuxedo Kamen in the middle of speech and begins mocking him for talking, only for Moon to cut it off mid-sentence with an attack of her own.
267* ''FanFic/KyoshiRising'': during most fights, both combatants have enough time to say a few things, but they usually keep it simple. Averted when Kyoshi gets into a fight with a FakeUltimateHero, who stops fighting briefly to try and make a BadassBoast. Unfortunately, Kyoshi keeps attacking him, wearing him down until she is able to knock him out.
268* Averted in the ''FanFic/GoldenAge'' series. The highblood captain repeatedly attacks Queen Jane as she offers his crew asylum. Of course, since she showed up as a hologram, his attacks weren't exactly doing anything.
269* In ''Fanfic/OpeningDangerousGates'', Lucy, Natsu, and their friends often end up getting into arguments, leaving their opponents staring at them confused. A few do attack them while they are arguing.
270* ''Fanfic/SoulEaterTroubledSouls'':
271** [[StarterVillain The Brother and Sister of the Gemini]] just stand there and watch as Maka, Soul, Caius, and Claudia settle on using Chain Resonance. It’s somewhat mitigated by the fact that the Brother said it’s better to counter their attack and kill them in the ensuing chaos, but still.
272** Happens again with they confront Project Omega in Venice. The thing just stops advancing and decides to listen to everything like it’s watching a soap opera. This is lessened by the fact Project Omega was just a [[FlawedPrototype prototype]], but realistically, it had them dead to rights.
273* In ''Fanfic/SugarPlums'' this is averted by the protagonist who frequently interrupt monologues to attack people and has done death blows on opponents who otherwise had the upper hand but then stopped [[EvilGloating to gloat]].
274* Subverted in ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku''. Izuku stops to mutter about what he should do next after blasting away the Sludge Villain with HeatVision and SuperBreath. He considers running away and trying to find a Hero to subdue the Villain, but figures that the latter would move on to another target. He then considers freezing the villain with his freezing breath, but decides against it because it might be considered vigilantism. After this, he wonders if the police will go easy on him because he's fighting out of self-defense, but decides that it isn't worth it. After all this deliberation, the Sludge Villain has more than enough time to pull himself back together and attack Izuku again. [[DynamicEntry Then All Might arrives.]]
275* In the ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' fanfic, ''Fanfic/TotalDramaGenesis'', the Virtual Reality challenge's use of TurnBasedCombat permits a good deal of conversation during battles, especially when Melissa is involved.
276* Subverted ''painfully'' in the ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' fic ''FanFic/ErasedPotential'': after freeing themselves of their bonds, Izuku and Bakugo stumble in one of their kidnappers, who starts a MotiveRant and gets interrupted by Izuku with a punch to the throat.
277* ''Webcomic/FateGamersOnly'': Defied at the start of the rematch with Blackbeard, where Rikku interrupts his speech by trying to fire a cannon at him, but misses because she never used one before and her hand slipped. Blackbeard calls her out on it, saying that it's a common anime trope to not interrupt [[TransformationIsAFreeAction a transformation sequence]] or an enemy's monologue, but Rikku says that anyone who lets the former finish deserves to lose, and the latter only happens if both sides are idiots.
278* ''WebComic/ScarletLady'' has two aversions in back-to-back episodes. When Reflekta demands to know where Chloé is, Scarlet Lady starts bragging about getting her to safety, only to be interrupted by a blast of Reflekta's power shooting past her ear in a narrow miss. Unfortunately, she learns nothing from this incident; when Marinette [[WhatTheHellHero calls her out]] for lounging on a rooftop while everyone else struggles against Timebreaker, she hops down to [[SkewedPriorities yell at her]] for an implied threat (namely sharing the footage she was shooting of her ignoring the akuma). Timebreaker interrupts the argument by [[spoiler:tagging her in the back, absorbing her energy in a OneHitKill]].
279* ''Fanfic/{{DNMC}}'': Zig-zagged. In "DNMC: Dearg", D'Arg had plenty of time before the slaughter to talk down the Grimm that surrounded him, but in "DNMC: Naranja", Paul E. Kracko was taken out in one hit because [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome he was talking when he should have been attacking.]]
280* The aversion is discussed in the ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' fanfic [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/el-ahrairah-worm.372987/page-83#post-35825017 El-Ahrairah]], during [[spoiler:Administrator's game against Jack Slash in Las Vegas]].
281-->'''[[spoiler:Administrator]]''': And now, I think we've bought enough time. The fact that Thinkers are so prone to bantering is useful--it means that they're still talking long past the point when they should have tried to do something instead.
282
283* ''Fanfic/MyHeroAcademiaUnchainedPredator'': [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]]. While it occurs between Miruko, Izuku, Curator and Volcano in Chapter 17, it's largely to either buy time (on Izuku and Miruko's end) or to sew doubts (Curator and Volcano's end). When the Slayer shows up and Curator tries to speak in Chapter 18, [[BoomHeadshot the Slayer instantly pulls out his Super Shotgun and blasts Curator in the face, destroying his helmet and disorienting him]].
284--> '''Curator''': Well, well, well… The invincible barbarian finally arrives to face the perpetrators behind the siege. I suppose there’s some form of-.\
285'''Narration''': [[ShutUpHannibal Curator received the ultimate “Shut the fuck up” from the Great Slayer when he whipped out his Super Shotgun faster than anyone could follow and blasted Curator’s helmet off his face!]]\
286
287[[/folder]]
288
289[[folder:Film — Animated]]
290* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1''. During the initial encounter between Mr. Incredible and Syndrome, Mr. Incredible attempts to catch Syndrome off guard by [[TalkToTheFist attacking him]] while he's [[JustBetweenYouAndMe explaining the source of his powers]]. Unfortunately, Syndrome dodges the thrown tree and catches Mr. Incredible with his tractor beam.
291-->'''Syndrome:''' You sly dog, you caught me [[EvilGloating monologuing]]!
292** Earlier in the movie, Mr. Incredible and Frozone reminisce about a time where the latter faced a villain with a death ray. The villain had him dead to rights, but instead of shooting he starts to [[EvilGloating monologue]]. The audience doesn’t hear the rest of the story, but the implication is that Frozone took advantage of the villain being distracted.
293** Subverted again even ''earlier'' in the movie when Bomb Voyage tries to sneak away while Mr. Incredible and Buddy/Incrediboy are arguing. Incredible spots the attempt and grabs him.
294* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}''. Just as Yao is on the verge of saving Mulan and Shang from getting knocked off the cliff by the avalanche by firing a rope-tied arrow to them, he takes the time before grabbing the rope to say out loud that he should grab it, causing him to just miss it.
295* Played straight in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfTheTitanic''. The female lead finds out she can communicate with dolphins, who jump out of the water to the level of the ship's deck to speak with her. They can apparently fly, because whenever the dolphins jump they conveniently pause in mid-air for several seconds while they say what they wanted to, sometimes getting out multiple sentences at a time.
296* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGoToTheMovies'': The Teen Titans clearly think this is in effect when they decide to introduce themselves to Balloon Man with a rap song, but they get so caught up in singing that they don't notice Balloon Man walk away and continue to terrorize the city. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern show up and defeat Balloon Man just as the song ends, then the Titans assume that their song was what defeated him.
297[[/folder]]
298
299[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
300* At the climax of ''Film/PointBreak1991'', [[Creator/KeanuReeves Johnny Utah]] and [[Creator/PatrickSwayze Bodhi]] fall out of an airplane at four thousand feet and have a ninety-second shouting match which, as ''Series/MythBusters'' demonstrated, is about three times as long as it would take to actually fall that distance. And that's not getting into the problems with being able to [[AcousticLicense hear someone in free fall]].
301* ''Film/{{Crank}}'' has a character fall out of a helicopter (at what looked like a relatively low altitude), have a fight to the death, and still have time to pull out his phone, connect to an answering machine, listen to a whole message, leave one of his own, and ''hang up''.
302* In ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'', [[NoFourthWall narrating]] is a free action for Ferris, and none of the other characters are aware that he's doing it.
303* Subverted in ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly''. A bounty hunter who tried unsuccessfully to kill Tuco at the beginning of the movie locates him again much later, in the bath, naked. He's clearly got the jump on him, but can't resist going into a speech about how glad he is to have finally cornered him. Tuco immediately whips out the revolver around his neck and kills him, [[LampshadeHanging saying]] to the corpse, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZXlhSgq7us If you have to shoot, shoot! Don't talk!]]" A memorable case of ThrowItIn.
304* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'': When Will and Elizabeth ask Barbossa to marry them during the final battle, they are constantly interrupted by Davy Jones's crew. He finally has enough and yells, "[[SkipToTheEnd Just kiss!]]" Funnily enough, Will and Elizabeth kiss for several seconds, and their enemies are too preoccupied to kill them during that time.
305* In ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve'', John Cusack's character is given a pretty short ExactTimeToFailure before going to unjam some machinery -- but the time he takes to speak to his family doesn't count.
306* In ''Film/Armageddon1998'', Creator/BruceWillis knows that he has only a few minutes to press the detonator that will destroy the giant asteroid and [[HeroicSuicide kill him in the process]]. So naturally, he finds a camera and spends several of those minutes giving a tearful goodbye to his daughter, still managing to press the button at the last second.
307* In ''Film/RunLolaRun'', anachronic editing makes it look like Lola drops a bag full of money, then walks over to her dying boyfriend, remembers a lengthy flashback, and shares a few words with the boyfriend, all before the bag hits the ground.
308* At the end of ''Film/FightClub'', when Tyler [[spoiler:who is really the narrator]] is holding the narrator at gunpoint and there are only sixty seconds before the [[spoiler: all the buildings explode]], Tyler starts monologuing for at least five minutes. In fact, nothing happens until [[spoiler:the narrator gives the Space Monkeys orders, has a touching scene with Marla Singer, ''and'' shoots himself in the head to remove the delusions of Tyler.]]. But since [[spoiler:that whole sequence was just part of his imagination]], all the narrator really had to do was [[spoiler:shoot himself]], which would only take a few seconds.
309%%* The final battle in ''Film/FreddysDeadTheFinalNightmare'' suffered from this.
310* In ''Film/TheBackupPlan'', the main character goes into labor, but miraculously stops having contractions to have some important dialogue with the male lead.
311* Spoofed in ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'':
312** Ramona has enough time to tell Scott about Roxy's AchillesHeel while Roxy is throwing a kick at his face. The lines are ''slightly'' slowed down, which mostly just makes them sound drunk.
313** In the final battle with Gideon [[spoiler:well, its first attempt]], Scott manages to tell both Ramona and Knives that he cheated on both of them. [[spoiler:Only for Gideon to sneak up on Scott and stab him from behind, killing him. However, Scott did get better, thanks to the 1-Up.]]
314* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:''
315** ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'':
316*** When Coulson confronts Loki, he talks about how the gun he's holding is a SuperPrototype, but is cut off by [[spoiler: Loki stabbing him. He still manages to monologue about Loki's eventual downfall while dying, however]].
317*** Loki does this himself later, in LargeHam fashion, before [[spoiler:The Hulk... well, smashes]]. Puny god.
318** Exploited in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', in which [[spoiler: Armin Zola]] only keeps talking to distract Cap and Natasha and give time for an inbound missile to arrive.
319** In ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}'':
320*** Rocket, standing on Groot's shoulders in the open, has enough time to cock a machine gun dramatically and exclaim "Oh... ''yeah''." This despite hovering drones blasting at Groot with automatic weapons mere inches away from his feet.
321*** Wonderfully averted later when Nebula, confronting Gamora for her betrayal, begins to deliver a scathing insult [[spoiler: only for Drax to blow her across the room with a rocket launcher before she can finish]]. Similarly, Ronan starts getting into a big EvilGloating monologue at his moment of triumph, [[spoiler:only for Peter to interrupt by [[RefugeInAudacity challenging him to a dance-off]], baffling Ronan long enough for Drax to shoot him]].
322** ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' features a battle in which Spider-Man and [[spoiler:the two other Spider-Men from alternate universes]] are fighting no fewer than ''three'' supervillains. They still have enough time to spend a good minute discussing strategy and cracking a joke or two while the villains seem to politely wait.
323* Averted in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'': [[spoiler:Talia's EvilGloating over a wounded Batman]] allows Gordon time to [[spoiler:attach a jammer to the fusion bomb, preventing her from triggering it remotely]].
324* In the opening scene of ''Film/GalaxyQuest'', in an episode of the [[ShowWithinAShow original show]], the ship is under attack and the core is about to explode, but the crew still finds time to debate on their best course of action with no interruption by further bombardment or alarm signals.
325* Played with in ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014''. When clinging onto a structure falling from a 54-story building, Raphael makes a long-winded speech to his brothers about how he loves them despite being hard on them -- while the structure and accompanying debris falls in slow motion. Right as he's caught up in the speech, however, he discovers that they have made it safely to the ground in the time that he's taken to make the speech.
326* Nearly every ''Franchise/StarWars'' film shows the characters exchanging dialogue during fight scenes, especially lightsaber duels. Often, the fighting will cease entirely just so the villain can [[IShallTauntYou taunt the heroes]] about his allegedly superior skills or the success of his EvilPlan. This sometimes backfires when the hero either is unaffected or it spurs him to defeat the villain. Justified because, like Spider-Man, they have SuperReflexes and can talk while fighting without suffering a loss in concentration.
327** ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' is notable because of the ''absence'' of this trope. There is no dialogue whatsoever during the lengthy duel between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Darth Maul. This wound up with the opposite problem, as it gets hard to remember why they're fighting to begin with.
328** In ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', Dooku tries to intimidate Obi-Wan with threats and Force lightning, but Obi-Wan disregards it. He also tries to intimidate Yoda with his Force powers, but Yoda just responds by blocking all of his attacks.
329** In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Dooku taunts Anakin, which just angers him and drives him to defeat Dooku [[OffWithHisHead particularly brutally]]. General Grievous tries verbal intimidation on Obi-Wan during their duel, but it doesn't work. Obi-Wan and Anakin exchange words during their duel with Obi-Wan trying to reason with Anakin, but it doesn't work in that case either.
330** In ''Film/ANewHope'', Vader taunts Obi-Wan during their duel, but Obi-Wan calmly dismisses him.
331** In ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', Vader tries psychological warfare on Luke, which Luke resists at first. But then Luke gets disarmed of both his hand and weapon, so Vader has all the time in the world to do the famed IAmYourFather speech that leads Luke into a HeroicBSOD.
332** In ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Luke turns this trope around by [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight trying to convince Vader to return to the Light Side]], while Vader tries to do the opposite to him. Ultimately, Luke is successful.
333* Averted in the final duel in ''Film/RobRoy''. Neither Cunningham nor [=MacGregor=] speaks a single word during the fight -- even though for much of it, Cunningham is toying with [=MacGregor=], enjoying drawing out his death. Then, at the end, when he has [=MacGregor=] unarmed and on his knees, a sword at his throat, Cunningham pauses for a moment to speak just four words -- which is enough of a pause for [=MacGregor=] to rally, [[BarehandedBladeBlock trap his sword]], and strike a single, deadly, blow.
334* Parodied in ''Film/TheGamers'', which chronicles a TabletopRPG session: one character repeatedly tries to shoot a side villain in the middle of his EvilGloating, only for the DungeonMaster to RetCon it and insist on finishing the villain's speech first.
335* ''Film/TheMatrix'': An Agent is about to shoot a helpless Neo, but pauses for a second to mock him. This gives Trinity time to appear behind the Agent and pull her gun on him. Trinity then decides to take a second to mock the Agent before shooting him. Despite his SuperSpeed, the Agent is too slow to pull his trigger before dying.
336[[/folder]]
337
338[[folder:Literature]]
339* Averted in ''Literature/AnOutcastInAnotherWorld''. The only times that people are able to talk in the middle of a fight is during brief lulls where enemies are sizing each other up.
340* One of the characters in ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}: Literature/TheAlloyOfLaw'' has the ability to create bubbles of slowed-down time; it's repeatedly used to create moments where the characters can have a quick chat in the middle of combat.
341* In the Japanese play ''Chusingura'', Kanpei commits {{seppuku}}. Before his death, his companions arrive with news. Kanpei proceeds to have several pages worth of dialogue before he finally succumbs.
342* Subverted in ''Literature/SwordOfTruth: Confessor'', when Snakeface, as Richard is approaching him with a sword, launches into a speech about how he's been looking forward to the throw down. Or tries to. Five words in, [[spoiler:[[KilledMidSentence he loses his head]], and Richard barely breaks his stride]]. Apparently, he [[WrongGenreSavvy thought he was the good guy]].
343* ''Franchise/{{Discworld}}'':
344** ''Literature/{{Maskerade}}'' parodies the use of Singing is a Free Action common in opera, when the villain [[spoiler: with a stage sword between his arm and chest]] takes five minutes to die, while repeatedly jumping up and delivering yet another infodump each time.
345---> "You know what ''really'' gets me down is [[LampshadeHanging the way everyone takes such]] a ''long''!!!!! time!!!!! ... to!!!!! ... argh ... argh ... argh ..."
346** Later invoked by Tiffany in ''Literature/IShallWearMidnight'':
347---> "[[LampshadeHanging Did you know that people very seldom start screaming while someone is talking to them]]? I don't know why. [[PolitenessJudo I suppose it's because we are brought up to be polite]]."
348* Averted in ''Literature/{{Distortionverse}}'' ''Chapter 5 - Rumori di Fondo''. When the BigBad [[spoiler:kills Akima]], Michelle starts speaking with her, completely neglecting the EldritchAbomination which is going to devour her as well. When Michelle exits her {{Heroic BSOD}}, she realizes she's still alive only thanks to François's intervention. Obviously, François yells at her in anger:
349--> '''François:''' Welcome back, miss. If you haven't realized it yet, [[DeadlyEuphemism we are in serious troubles]]. Now, what do you think about stopping crying for the dead ones and helping the ''living'' ones? Perhaps, they need it the most, don't they?
350* The damned and penitents from ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'' can fire off whole poetic speeches to the protagonists even as they're being sent flying in the air by a lust-hurricane or having the pride crushed out of them by the boulders of humility. The only exception might be the Slothful in Purgatory, who say little because they're too busy running off sloth to have long dialogues.
351* {{Lampshade|hanging}}d in ''Literature/CiaphasCain's The Emperor's Finest'', in an "editor's" footnote on the main account from the protagonist's journal:
352-->"I suspect a little exaggeration may be creeping in here, as close combat against a creature as formidable as a purestrain genestealer is hardly likely to leave enough time for defiant speeches."
353* In Creator/OrsonScottCard's novel ''[[Literature/OrsonScottCardsEmpire Empire]]'' the main characters, while fighting for their lives during surprise attacks from never-before-seen HumongousMecha, basically have a full conversation, complete with sarcastic political commentary.
354%%* ''Literature/TheEyeOfArgon'':
355%%-->"All that you hear is less than I hear! I heard footsteps coming towards us. Silence yourself that we may find out whom we are being brought into contact with. I doubt that any would have thought as yet of searching this passage for us. The advantage of surprise will be upon our side." Grignr warned.
356* The sundry supernatural menaces of the ''Literature/GhostFinders'' series seem remarkably polite about waiting for the trio of heroes to speculate, plan, or snark off to one another before actually attacking them. Sometimes the menaces are merely toying with the heroes, but even mindless entities seem to do the same.
357* Subverted in the first ''Literature/GuardiansOfTheFlame'' book, ''The Sleeping Dragon.'' Karl Cullinane attempts a BondOneLiner in the middle of a fight, only to get attacked from behind in mid-sentence. Lampshaded immediately after when he mentally tells himself "You know better than to talk while a fight's going on!"
358* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
359** In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]'', Harry fails to stop Lockhart from casting a Memory Charm to wipe his brain, in spite of the fact that Harry has a wand in his hand and Lockhart has been [[EvilGloating gloating]] for four lines. He lucks out that Lockhart was using Ron's busted wand, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard which backfired on him]].
360** In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]'', we see a different problem; in a duel between Harry and Malfoy, Malfoy gets his "Crucio" out first, except that Harry can yell "Sectumsempra!" faster than Malfoy can say the last syllable. Possible subversion in that Malfoy is clearly hesitant to cross the line into actual villainy (such as by casting an Unforgivable Curse), and the scene creates a WhatHaveIDone moment for Harry.
361* Averted in ''Literature/HowToSurviveAZombieApocalypse'': ThePollyanna April has a moment of enlightenment and starts philosophizing, while Duff and Lucas yell at her to shut up and help them fight off the zombie horde.
362* ''Literature/TheIliad'':
363** {{Lampshade|hanging}}d, which is not what you'd expect from the ''Iliad''. Then again, Patroclos stops to give the lampshade in the middle of battle.
364---> '''Patroclos:''' My good man, why do you bandy words like this? You are wasting time. Taunts and jibes will not drive the Trojans away from that dead body. Many a man will fall before that! Words are potent in debate, deeds in war decide your fate. Then don't go on piling up the words, but fight!
365** Also, just before Hector is killed, king Priam sees Achilles charging toward Hector as fast as he can. In the time it takes the two of them to meet, Priam gets out a 45-line speech about what he would do to save his son, how much he hates Achilles, how great his wife is, and why it's going to suck when he dies of old age [[MartyrdomCulture rather than in a fight]].
366* Lampshaded in ''Literature/PrincessHolyAura'', where making long pre-asskicking speeches are not only free actions, they are mandatory.
367* In Creator/MaryJaniceDavidson's ''Literature/QueenBetsy'' series, the eponymous character frequently has internal monologues and musings, only to find she's completely checked out and missed something important. It's possibly a commentary on Betsy's questionable state of mind.
368* This is the only way Jon-Tom's magic could possibly work in the ''Literature/{{Spellsinger}}'' novels. He's got to sing while playing an instrument, and it usually takes an entire song in order to cast a spell. And he can cast spells while in a melee fight without getting attacked.
369* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' novel ''The Last Hope'', Graystripe is overjoyed to see Whitestorm again when the [=StarClan=] shows up for the FinalBattle, but Whitestorm cuts him off, saying, "This is a battle, not a reunion." Then, on the next page, [[spoiler:a random Dark Forest mook offs Mousefur when she stops fighting to talk with Longtail]]. However, when [[BigBad Tigerstar]] shows up, he stands around talking with [[TheChosenOne Firestar]] for a few pages before they actually fight.
370* In ''Literature/AWizardInRhyme'', magic is controlled by spoken verse. Although rhyming couplets will usually work, longer ([[TrueArtIsAncient and older]]) poetry tends to work the best, which leads characters to spouting long passages in the middle of battle. Despite this, talking is ''not'' always a free action in this verse, as people have been known to stop spellcasters [[TalkToTheFist through physical force]] -- or even just a faster poem.
371* True to its superhero setting, ''Literature/SuperPowereds'' goes to town with this trope. The characters don't merely make speeches in the middle of action scenes, often they'll have entire conversations. And that's not counting all the internal monologues and narrative asides.
372* In ''Literature/{{Spellsinger}}'', main character Jon-Tom casts spells by playing rock songs. This trope is the only explanation for how he can pull off countering an enemy who's coming at him with a knife or has already cast a spell that ought to hit him before he can get three notes out.
373* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
374** At one point in ''Solo Command'', Wedge is updated about the current situation, realizing that the squadron is likely heading towards a trap. He closes his eyes and has a complex internal monlogue about the necessity and morality of [[TrapIsTheOnlyOption walking into the trap anyway]], and when he opens his eyes to respond back, a nearby chrono ([[CallARabbitASmeerp clock]]) shows that only a second has passed.
375[[/folder]]
376
377[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
378* ''[[Series/NineOneOne 9-1-1]]'' includes a scene of paramedics responding to a woman suffocating as her whole face is covered in wax but taking the time for introductions:
379-->'''Diaz''': This is her; this is her bracelet. Lisa, this is firefighter Diaz. Yeah, we met at your house.
380* ''Series/Batman1966'' had a scene where Batman and Robin are pursuing a villain only to find a civilian placed in a DeathTrap by the villains. Batman pauses to explain to Robin that a hero must always cease pursuing a villain to save a life. During this conversation, they do nothing to free the endangered person.
381* Subverted in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E13TheZeppo The Zeppo]]" where Xander starts making a speech and the other guy runs off. "I wasn't finished!"
382* In ''Series/Charmed1998'' whenever using the ''Power of Three'', the demons always remain motionless or nearly so, awaiting their destruction for no obvious reason, during sometimes-long rhymes. There's some evidence to suggest that the spell can affect the demon while it is being said (only blowing the demon up at the end), and when they first defeated the Source, the heroes needed a destruction chant so long that they needed to find a way to hold it down while they said it.
383* Averted in an episode of ''Series/CSIMiami'', where Horatio is facing off against a bad guy with a MoreDakka weapon. While the guy is going on about how he can fire a thousand rounds before Horatio can shoot a single- BoomHeadshot.
384-->'''Horatio Caine:''' [[BondOneLiner Turns out, you only need one]].
385* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Doctor often lapses into long, [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech mocking speeches]] during battle; he usually gets away with it because his enemies are stunned by his sheer audacity. It doesn't always go as you'd expect, though:
386** The Daleks usually take time to shout "[[AC:Exterminate!]]" before actually shooting at the Doctor, which gives him time to get away. [[spoiler:[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth Not always]], though: the Dalek in this instance ''does'' yell "Exterminate!", but still manages to catch the Doctor by surprise and actually shoot him.]]
387** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays "The Parting of the Ways"]]: A group of Daleks get in a shootout with a robot that's designed to spout a catchphrase before firing. The robot defeats the first wave due to the Daleks hesitating in confusion at encountering it, but the next wave [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome simply blow it away before it can finish its sentence]].
388** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E7TheIdiotsLantern "The Idiot's Lantern"]]: The Doctor starts: "Hold on a minute! There are three important, brilliant, and complicated reasons why you should listen to me. One–" and is promptly [[TalkToTheFist KO'd with a punch to the face]].
389** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E9TheSatanPit "The Satan Pit"]]: The Ood pursuing the crew through the ventilation shafts stops several feet out of range of killing the security chief, apparently for no other reason than to let the captain and the chief of security finish their goodbyes.
390** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E1PartnersInCrime "Partners in Crime"]]: The Doctor and Donna spy on Miss Foster detailing her plan to a captive reporter, spot each other from their vantage points, and begin to mouth at each other. Foster conspicuously pauses as they prattle on, and when Donna eventually looks at her again, she's just standing, hands on hips, waiting for them to finish.
391--->'''Miss Foster:''' Are we interrupting you?
392** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E6TheVampiresOfVenice "The Vampires of Venice"]]: The Doctor attempts to stall the pursuing vampires by yelling, "Tell me the whole plan!" They don't even pause, causing him to turn and run, muttering "One day, that will work..."
393** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent "Heaven Sent"]]: It's revealed that the Doctor has the power to accelerate his consciousness, experiencing hours or days mentally in a second or less. It's the secret source of his ability to always come up with a plan or idea in a pinch.
394* ''Series/TheFlash2014'': When Barry is running around the city or in battle, he often has conversations with his MissionControl, despite the fact that with his SuperSpeed, they shouldn't have time to talk to him, or even be able to hear him.
395* ''Franchise/KamenRider'':
396** ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'': Tsukasa loves making big speeches and people love standing around to listen to them. Pulling out cards, swiping them, and using the K-Touch, however, is blatant off-the-clock action.
397** Subverted twice in episode 14 of ''Series/KamenRiderDrive''. [[LargeHam Kamen Rider Mach]] gets attacked by the {{monster of the week}} while doing his pose-tastic pre-asskicking routine ("Come on, man, at least let me finish!"). Then he fights back and subdues the monster long enough just to go back and do the speech again, which is uninterrupted this time, but Mach realizes the enemy just used the opportunity to run the hell away and is long gone. The next time Mach transforms, he starts doing his catchphrase then just goes "eh, you know the rest" to cut straight to the point and avoid losing the enemy again.
398* Mocked by ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'': Whenever an egregious example appears, the characters riff, "Oh, he got away," or "Oh, he's dead now," when the hero or villain [[EvilGloating monologues]] for too long.
399* Inverted in the Season 7 opener of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', where Tony babbles on for several minutes to the terrorist villain, even stopping him from shooting [=McGee=], so he could explain his plan for escaping (borrowed from ''Film/TrueLies''). The point of his monologue was to HoldTheLine for Gibbs to show up [[spoiler:in a sniper's nest and shoot the terrorist through the window]].
400* In the season 3 mid-season finale of ''Series/OnceUponATime'', there's a terrible curse about to descend on the town, with clouds billowing through the streets to indicate its arrival -- and our heroes are still perfectly fine taking 20 minutes or so to discuss how they can stop it, what the result of stopping it will be, and anything else they feel like talking about. This curse pops up again several times over the course of the series, and the same thing happens, leading one to suspect that it only takes effect when the characters have finished their conversations.
401* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' and ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' all have lengthy morphing, zord summoning, and weapon invocation scenes. The giant monsters never seem able to step on the Rangers in the minute or so it takes them to summon and assemble their Megazord.
402** ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' embraces the ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' version of this trope fully. Almost all the fights in the series are filled to the brim with snarky dialogue, LampshadeHanging, and YouFightLikeACow.
403** In ''Series/PowerRangersLightspeedRescue'', when the characters first get the Rescue Zords, it takes forever for them to get the Zords out of the Lightspeed Aquabase, alter the Zord modes, and finish their conversations; it's a wonder the people stuck in the elevator weren't already dead by the time they got there.
404** Sometimes you come across {{subver|tedtrope}}sions:
405*** In ''Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', the Rangers finish morphing only to discover their opponents have vanished, and then have to track them back down.
406*** In ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'', the MonsterOfTheWeek attacks the Red Ranger while he's in the middle of his TransformationSequence.
407*** DoubleSubversion in an episode of ''Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger'', where an enemy monster attempts to fire on the heroic mecha as it's going through the motions invoking its final attack. We discover that the graphics superimposed over the motions actually function as an energy shield, and divert the attack.
408*** It's not limited to the good guys, either; [[TheDragon Tenaya 7]] of ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' had an early gag where people would [[TalkToTheFist interrupt her monologues with attacks or quips]].
409*** ''Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger'', an AffectionateParody of ''Franchise/SuperSentai'', spoofed this with the series' [[ThePsychoRangers Psycho Rangers]], the Zokurangers. [=ZokuRed=] attempts to use his FinishingMove, whose name is at least fifteen words long before getting KilledMidSentence by the Carrangers' HumongousMecha. The name appears to be an homage to other series' mecha finishers, and there are a ''lot'' of them.
410*** Subverted in ''Series/ShurikenSentaiNinninger'' episode 29. The MonsterOfTheWeek, Sugoroku Ninja Ikkakusai, sets up a city-wide board game once he goes big, but then prattles on about the history of board games. This bores the Ninningers so much that they go ahead and kill him.
411* ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'':
412** Ami invokes her first [[TransformationSequence transformation into Sailor Mercury]] during a 20-foot fall -- and she does it by reciting a trigger phrase that takes about three or four times longer to say than she should have taken to fall.
413** Usagi, Rei, and Ami have to defeat a monster that can split into three parts, all of which must be destroyed at the same time. To accomplish this, they try to sync their attacks to the beat of a pop song. They don't get it right the first (or second, or third) try, but the monster just stands there and taunts them until they get it right. It probably didn't think they could pull it off.
414** Averted at other points in the series; one episode's MonsterOfTheWeek hits Rei in the stomach while she's trying to utter her transformation phrase.
415* Played so straight it wraps around to being a hilarious aversion on ''Series/SavedByTheBell'', where [[TheAce Zack Morris]] could literally ''freeze time'' while he [[BreakingTheFourthWall talked to the audience]].
416* Averted in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}''; sometimes J.D. will come out of his InnerMonologue or fantasy sequence to realize he's missed something and now has no idea what's going on. On other occasions, people complain about J.D. always staring off into space while they're talking to him.
417* Throughout ''Franchise/StarTrek'', the famous CaptainsLog is often recorded in the middle of a dramatic incident (or at least in the present tense). This even in situations where the Captain has no time or equipment to actually record a log. The real reason for this is to bring viewers up to speed on events after a commercial break. Specifically:
418** In "By Any Other Name", as the Enterprise approaches the Energy Barrier, Kirk records a log detailing a plan to defeat the Kelvans -- while the Kelvans are on the Bridge with him. In "The Armageddon Game," Scotty (temporarily in command) is actually shown narrating the log in front of everyone.
419** In the ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Next Generation]]'' episode "Encounter at Farpoint", Q makes his first appearance before a commercial break. Returning from the break, Picard somehow manages to record a log summing up the current situation and wondering whether to oppose Q, while Q is standing right in front of him.
420** In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Julian falls foul of this ''not'' working during a holonovel when Odo pops in to ask for some advice... which gives O'Brien, playing the villain, time to sneak up on him with both an in-character quip and a casual "Hi, Odo!" Julian protests to no avail.
421** During the Dominion ambush of the Cardassian/Romulan fleet in 'The Die is Cast' the curb-stomp feeding frenzy takes a break to let Odo and the Founder pretending to be a Romulan talk for a minute and escape the ship that gets hammered as soon as they depart in their shuttle.
422* Spoofed in ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' when Angel Summoner and the BMX Bandit have a back-and-forth as the latter makes a long and seemingly impossible jump on his BMX. It's this fact that clues the BMX Bandit in that, contrary to his previous agreement, Angel Summoner has in fact summoned a bunch of angels.
423-->'''BMX Bandit:''' What's impressive is that we're able to have this [[LampshadeHanging quite long]] conversation while I'm still airborne.\
424'''Angel Summoner:''' It's a real testament to your BMX skills.\
425'''BMX Bandit:''' It is, especially since this is the longest conversation I, or anyone else, has been able to have while flying unai... ded... Oh, I get it. You ''shit!''
426[[/folder]]
427
428[[folder:Music]]
429* In the "Motorcycle Song", Music/ArloGuthrie accidentally goes off the road on his motorcycle, 500 feet up a mountain. As he starts falling, has a great idea for a song, so he gets out paper and a pen to write it down. Still falling, he finds out the pen is dry, so he replaces the ink cartridge.
430[[/folder]]
431
432[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]
433* In ''Literature/TheBible'', Joshua needed the Israelites to shout when the trumpets were blown on the seventh lap around Jericho. So when the moment comes, he tells them to shout...and then proceeds to keep talking for three more verses. The next verse, however, says that the people shouted as soon as they heard the trumpets.
434* In The Iliad Diomedes actually [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this trope not only mid battle, but ''in the middle of his own speech which is demonstrating this trope,'' essentially saying "Why am I standing here monologing? Let's fight!"
435* Myth/IrishMythology: Averted during the Battle of Ventry. One of The King of the World's generals, Caisle of the Plumes, has been decimating The Fianna's troops with his [[FireBreathingWeapon flaming sword and shield]] then in the middle of all this, he stops and begins [[EvilLaugh laughing over the destruction he caused]] which gives one of the Fianna the chance to [[AttackTheMouth throw a spear into his open mouth]], the one spot [[AttackItsWeakPoint not covered in armor]], and kill him.
436[[/folder]]
437
438[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
439* At the 2002 ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble'', Maven pulls off a huge upset by eliminating Wrestling/TheUndertaker from the ring when 'Taker has his head turned. Ordinarily, the match would continue with new entrants coming out every 90 seconds or so, but this time, the match stops dead for several minutes just so 'Taker can dish out some DisproportionateRetribution (which culminates in them leaving the ring, Maven getting slammed into a concession stand on the arena concourse, and 'Taker [[PassThePopcorn stealing some of the popcorn]] lying around). Only then does the TV camera cut back to the actual ring, where the next scheduled entrant is only starting to make his way toward the ring. It's almost as if it were scripted for TV.
440* Wrestling/{{WWE}} frequently uses commercial breaks as a free action. Sometimes, a wrestler will start posing or spouting his catchphrase at they cut away and be shown doing the same thing when the show resumes, leaving the TV audience wondering if they have just been standing there doing the same thing for several minutes. In reality, the audience at the live shows tends to get some smack talk, promos, or [[CaughtOnTheJumbotron the kiss cam]] to keep them entertained. You're pretty much guaranteed that nothing interesting will happen during a match, nor will it end, during a commercial break.\
441\
442With the development of second screen technology, however, this trope is averted. Action can and does continue during the commercial break, and people watching on the second screen through the WWE App (now the WWE Network) can see it all. This leads to a different manner of confusion for the TV audience, where a wrestler who was dominating the match before it went to commercial can suddenly end up being the one dominated when it comes back from commercial. Fortunately, the TV Broadcast usually shows an instant replay of the major events that took place during the break so the TV Audience is brought up to speed on how the other wrestler took control.
443[[/folder]]
444
445[[folder:Podcasts]]
446* ''Podcast/CriticalHit'', a real play ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' podcast, follows the {{Trope Namer|s}} as per the game rules. The characters do not usually abuse it in combat and restrict themselves to a few short sentences. The [[InAndOutOfCharacter players]], however, are another matter, with quips, pop-culture references, and tactics discussions spanning the majority of combat time.
447[[/folder]]
448
449[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
450* The {{trope namer|s}} is ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. Most talking is a "free action", which can be performed freely within the normal limit of a turn. Requests to "[[ShutUpAndSaveMe stop talking and get fighting]]" aren't necessary -- in the game world. But in the real world, players debating each move can slow combat to a crawl. The rules have also shifted in this regard; early editions had combat rounds of up to a minute, whereas these days they're only around six seconds long. Some books suggested additional caveats, such as only talking during one's own turn, or no talking if you're caught flat-footed. Safe to say, the game wouldn't be much fun if you could only say what could logically fit in six seconds on each turn (less, if you're a spell caster).
451* ''TabletopGame/VillainsAndVigilantes'', though, was the first to actually have this mechanic, explicitly calling talking a "free action" in the early 1980s. It was then popularized by ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'', the original[[note]]although ''Villains & Vigilantes'' was published 2 years earlier[[/note]] superhero roleplaying game (in which the rule was that soliloquies take no time), and its generic outgrowth ''HERO System'' after that.
452* ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'' has a mechanic called "Monologuing" in which you trick the villain into [[EvilGloating talking on and on]] for several rounds, thereby giving your characters a chance to escape. Beyond using this trick, however, the villain can monologue as much as he wants, as talking is a free action, and Monologuing is a full round action.
453* Talking is technically ''not'' a free action in ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' (with its ''one-second'' combat rounds), but the Basic Set points out that unless you're going for hyper-realism, it's usually best to use this trope.
454** ''TabletopGame/DiscworldRolePlayingGame'' ''does'' list talking as a free action, and says that realistically, you're limited to one sentence per round, but it's more fun if you ignore this.
455* The [[TabletopGame/DCHeroes Mayfair Exponential Game System]] allows one or two free {{Bond One Liner}}s per phase of combat; however, if the dialog takes more than four or five seconds to deliver, it costs the player an Action.
456* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' recommends the Game Master limit players to somewhere around 25 words in a round and no more than one gesture as a free action.
457* In ''TabletopGame/RogueTrader'', you can even play an Astropath and have "mindtalk" as a free action. ''TabletopGame/OnlyWar'', though, specifically says that the GM should place limits on how much one can say without it being a Half-Action or Full Action.
458* The rules for the Swedish game ''Drakar och Demoner'' are explicit that during battle, each five-second interval can only be used for one action, where speaking is one possible action. Short interjections like "Attack!" are free actions though.
459* ''TabletopGame/{{Ironclaw}}'' states that while talking is a free action on your turn, you need to wait for another's response until their turn. "Talking may be free, but a conversation is not."
460* Unintentionally subverted in the Western RPG ''TabletopGame/AcesAndEightsShatteredFrontiers''; combat time is tracked in tenths of a second, so in the time it takes to yell "Stop!" the typical gunfighter has already opened fire.
461* Averted in ''TabletopGame/{{FATAL}}''; you have stats for both average talking speed and maximum talking speed (and, being FATAL, it's entirely possible for your maximum to be less than your average).
462* Averted in ''TabletopGame/IsItAPlane'' where players in a situation get a fixed amount of time to talk, 10 seconds per minute of drawing time, to model the immediacy of the situation, although this is potentially averted in actual panels where a single punctuation mark in a speech or thought bubble can get expanded out into several sentences during interpretation of a panel.
463[[/folder]]
464
465[[folder:Theatre]]
466* {{Opera}} is notorious for its use of this trope. As Ed Gardner put it, "Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back, and [[FinalSpeech instead of dying, he sings.]]" ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute'' is particularly funky with this, as Papageno and Pamina sing an entire aria about how they must hurry to escape Sarastro's palace, and Tamino and Papageno later sing about [[MindScrew how good they are at staying silent.]] Of course, this is more of an OutsideJoke. Actual arias are intended to express a character's complicated emotions, or (as above) an understanding between several, as felt in ''a single moment''. So, no, pursuers don't stop and wait until you're done singing, etc.
467* ''Theatre/AnyoneCanWhistle'': Fay sings "There Won't Be Trumpets" while on the run from the local authorities, who abruptly freeze in mid-pursuit as the lights go down for the song.
468* ''Theatre/CesareIlCreatoreCheHaDistrutto'' has 16-year-old Cesare Borgia rather soundly defeating the leader of the France's student association, BarbaricBully Henri, who made racist comments against Cesare's Jewish best friend and their home country of Spain. In the [[Manga/CesareIlCreatoreCheHaDistrutto manga source material]], Cesare's lectures on tolerance and the benefits of diversity, delivered in between whipping and choking Henri with a cape (yes, a ''cape'' -- he's playing toreador), are this trope in its classic form. But when the manga was adapted into a musical? Of course he struts up and down the stairs while singing the lines, and Henri stands by and waits for him to finish, because even he knows better than to interrupt such fabulousness.
469* In ''Theatre/LOrfeo'', Orpheus putting Charon to sleep and telling himself to hurry before he wakes is done through several verses of music.
470[[/folder]]
471
472[[folder:Video Games]]
473* In ''VideoGame/{{Achaea}}'', talking is one of the few actions that doesn't require balance (which is lost when most actions are used, and takes a few seconds to come back). Even emoting requires balance, which can result in the rather odd circumstance of the character apparently having the composure to recite entire paragraphs, but not being able to blink. Talking is also instant, although this effect is limited by the time the player spends typing it out.
474* ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars'' plays this straight, although given that it's a turn-based strategy game (the in-game turns are called ''days''; battles can take weeks) [[JustifiedTrope the player has as much time as they need]].
475** Spoofed in the American English version of ''Advance Wars: Days of Ruin'' despite the rapidly dropping altitude of the plane the scene is set on no one except an unnamed IDS agent (who is panicking at her oncoming doom, and even asks if anyone else cares) cares, every other character is casually talking to the [[BigBad Big Bad's]] TykeBomb [[spoiler:convincing her to HeelFaceTurn and allowing them to make it out alive]].
476*** Played straight in the separately translated British English version ''Dark Conflict'', where the IDS agent does nothing but read the altitude.
477* Averted in ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'': outside of scripted events that place xenomorphs elsewhere, you are very much liable to get killed while talking with someone or using a computer.
478* A variant of this trope is used in ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'': when talking to [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection his handler]] over his earpiece, Mike speaks at normal conversational volume, even while in hiding. Every patrol is apparently deaf to it.
479* In ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'', the action pauses and enemies disappear whenever dialogue comes up, reappearing and causing the action to start where it left off when the dialogue ends.
480* Though in-game events are (obviously) not frozen should someone talk, ''VideoGame/ArmageddonMUD'' nevertheless plays this one straight where it comes to talking not interrupting any other actions at all. Telepathic communication still takes time and effort, though; only speech can be done indefinitely regardless of any action the player is performing at that time.
481* Assassination targets in ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' have the uncanny ability to freeze gameplay in order to deliver cryptic, rambling speeches about [[MotiveRant their motives]] and [[NotSoDifferentRemark how you aren't so different]]. This despite their having been stabbed through the neck immediately prior. These speeches take place in the Animus WhiteVoidRoom, implying that the scene in reality may not have played out exactly as it did in the game.
482* Played around with in ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath''; at certain points during certain deity fights, you can shut them up by punching them in the face. You even get a few trophies for it.
483* Frequently occurs in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', ''VideoGame/IcewindDale'', and the other Infinity Engine game. Depending on the circumstances, it's even possible to have lengthy dialogs with some of the villains while arrows and fireballs are hovering in midair, politely waiting for the conversation to end before they explode.
484* In the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'', this is mostly averted, since Batman usually can’t trigger any conversations with enemies nearby. However, there are still a few places where if he’s fast enough, he can trigger a conversation and the thugs that just noticed him will wait until he’s finished before attacking.
485* Talking tends to be a free action in ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth'' - no matter what the interlocutors are doing (even if they're engaged in a fight to the death), if someone has a message for them, they'll stop to have word. Not to mention the time they'll spend parleying with the enemy general(s) at the beginning of a battle. It's worth noting that all messages can reach any character at any point, and the people don't even have to move, even when they're in opposing fortresses, or over the other side of the battlefield.
486* ''VideoGame/BioShock'': In the first two games, the important plot-essential monologues will continue no matter what you do, but you can interrupt random lines of dialogue with various actions.
487* ''VideoGame/BodyHarvest'' actually says that when you get blurbs from the [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection girl in your lander]], your receiver [[LampshadeHanging injects a drug into you that speeds up your perception hundredsfold for a fraction of a second, gives you the transmission, and then dispenses another drug to bring you back down to normal speed]].
488* The game pauses whenever there is dialog in ''VideoGame/BunnyMustDie''.
489* Averted in ''VideoGame/BushidoBlade'' - while the enemy is introducing themselves, you are free to walk up and stab them. However, this is ''blatantly'' dishonorable, and a quick way to disqualify yourself from seeing the ending.
490* In ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarez'', characters you've just duelled with get last words, despite having just been shot in the head at extremely short range.
491* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'': The enemies are refusing to attack since they're the ones giving the rules and game information; apparently the ''heroes'' just stand there and listen.
492* ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' plays it much straighter, with your party members frequently discussing their approach to the current fight before taking their turns.
493* ''VideoGame/DemonHunterTheReturnOfTheWings'': Gun and [[spoiler:Chu's ghost]] manage to make an entire conversation between the Blood Demon's attacks.
494* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' features some intricate dialogue with friendly characters -that can thankfully be fastforwarded- while enemies are either advancing on the player or waiting to attack. Notable instances: Paul blabbing away to JC in his room at the 'Ton Hotel while a gaggle of [[TheMenInBlack Men In Black]] and [[{{Mooks}} UNATCO troopers]] are converging on their location, and [[spoiler:Illuminati contact]] Stanton Dowd briefing JC on his next assignment in the middle of a street patrolled by mooks and bots, while a thug visibly hovers behind his back.
495** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9N0eYLBPGs This video is a shining example.]]
496* ''VideoGame/DiabloII'': In the cinematic between Act II and Act III, Tyrael somehow finds the time to deliver a ten-second monologue to Marius while ostensibly in battle with two Prime Evils. The background clearly shows that time has stopped while he does this. Also, he's an angel. And furthermore, the moment his time-stop ends, Baal catches him off-guard and disarms him. Triple {{justified|Trope}}.
497* ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'' has a truly remarkable example of this; the party bursts into the middle of a fight, where the brother of one of the main characters is in the middle of a suicidal assault on the BigBad's bodyguard. Apparently, however, MookChivalry prevents them from attacking while brother and sister share a lengthy retrospect, debate the value of life, make plans for the future, and learn new super-moves from their combined powers. Of course, it IS a turn-based game, and the characters are almost universally GenreSavvy, so maybe they were just aware that the enemy ''couldn't'' move until someone hit the "End Turn" button...
498** Then again, the trope is subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea|Hour of Darkness}}'', in which Etna takes out two out of three Power Ranger knockoffs in the middle of their intro speech, before [[AllYourColorsCombined all their colors combine.]] This does earn her a stern lecture, though. Later, Laharl gets a scolding from Flonne too when he suggests that they should attack while TheRival is busy monologuing
499** It's also subverted by the prinnies at the beginning of ''Disgaea 2'', where they're A-OK with scoring a cheap critical hit while Rozalin is busy with an InternalMonologue.
500*** It's also lampshaded in the tutorial, where Etna notices that the monsters apparently have the courtesy to wait for their asses to be beat.
501** Gets lampshaded by Almaz in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'', after the savvy side of Mao waits for Raspberyl and her friends to complete their impromptu graduation ceremony before he attacks.
502* Averted/inverted in ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}''. Because of it's sandbox-y type gameplay, time-stopping dialogue would be impractical. Conversely, the developers created a lot of fluff/non-critical dialogue to ensure that characters and the world would seem alive while the player was wandering around. They intentionally made any plot-critical dialogue very very short and succinct since the player could conceivably kill the character at any time.
503* The final boss of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' will sit there on the brink of death, politely waiting while you and Alistair [[spoiler: (or Loghain)]] discuss which of you should be the one to finish it off. Of course, it ''is'' on the brink of death.
504** An often hilarious side effect of accidentally clicking on a party member with the wrong mouse button during combat. The scripted conversations can happen anywhere, not just at camp, which can lead to things like Wynn grilling you about your romantic relationship while spattered in blood and surrounded by darkspawn. Who will politely stand and wait until you finish.
505** In [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII the sequel]], however, [[spoiler: Meredith only [[VillainousBreakdown monologues]] during an attack that temporarily stuns everyone in your party--except Aveline who, if she has the Indomitable ability, is immune and can continue whaling away on her]].
506* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'', you can talk to your party members before each round of combat by just choosing 'Talk' instead of picking everyone's next actions. However, if you try talking [[RuleOfThree three times]], the enemy stops waiting and gets a free round of hits. (Surprisingly, [[{{Tsundere}} Maribel]] does not chew you out if you choose to start the ''next'' round by 'Talk'ing again...)
507* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
508** Throughout much of the series, engaging in conversation with a NPC effectively freezes time around you. This occurs even if you are in the middle of battle surrounded by enemies. Because game time is frozen, this also has the consequence of making the effects of spells/potions/enchantments with set durations freeze as well. You can, for example, create a fairly cheap spell which boosts your Personality attribute or Speechcraft skill by a large amount for one second. The short duration will make it cheap to create and cheap to cast (in terms of [[{{Mana}} Magicka]]). However, if you enter a conversation immediately after casting it, the effect will persist for the entire duration, allowing you to be a CharmPerson and get whatever you need from that person.
509** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' lampshades it at one point early in the main quest. When you return to Weynon Priory and find it under attack, you are informed by a NPC after a reasonably long conversation that he's fairly sure a [[ApocalypseCult Mythic Dawn]] agent is right behind him. Sure enough, when you exit the conversation, the agent is there and immediately attacks.
510** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' averts it for the first time in the series. Even when engaged in a conversation, the game world continues to go on around you. While more realistic, this has downsides as well. For example, it opens up the possibility of you and the person you are talking with being attacked while conversing. In some cases, the conversation is involuntary, such as when a Courier runs up to you to initiate a conversation and deliver a letter. If he does this when you're say, fleeing from a Giant, it will likely result in both of your deaths. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking It can also result in]] [=NPCs=] wandering up to you and [[WelcomeToCorneria delivering their atmospheric lines]] while you're in the middle of a different conversation.
511** Averted rather annoyingly in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsAdventuresRedguard'' spin-off game, where opening dialogue with an NPC leaves you open to attack from any nearby enemies.
512* Parodied in ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier'': at one point, the appearance of a boss causes your party members to have a whole conversation among themselves until it politely coughs to remind them of its presence.
513* Narrative in ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'' is almost entirely conveyed through dialogue, with narrative descriptions typically being rare and very short (along the lines of '*hugs him*'). In addition, the characters tend to be [[RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic extremely wordy]], prone to long-winded flowery monologues despite all being between the ages of 15 and 18. As a result, the characters often end up having long conversations during times that, when you think about it, they shouldn't really be able to - most commonly this involves intimate, complex discussions taking place while the characters are literally on stage and apparently performing a concert, but there are even more extreme examples, such as in the first part of the Main Story where several characters commentate on the situation for what must have been at least several minutes in between Kuro kicking Kouga and the moment he lands on top of Anzu. (In the anime, the action happens over a few seconds without commentary.)
514* Talking is a free action for characters in ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'' when they deliver their lines prior to delivering a charged-up special attack. Which is good, because some of these lines seem to take longer to deliver than all of the time on the Action Gauge. "When the plants die, the earth does not tremble. When the hills crack, the flowers are bright. Morning Frost! Shadow Beam!" (Well, good for your own characters anyway, but the human villains get their own lines and are granted the same sort of immunity.)
515* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':
516** In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', if you manage to Mezmerize an enemy during combat, you can run right up and talk to them, pick their pockets, take their weapons, and slap a slave collar on, all while their allies patiently wait for your conversation to end.
517*** That's just the start of it... While under enemy fire, you can run up to a computer terminal and access it, then spend as long as you want patiently figuring out the password - as long as you don't quit or use up your four tries - and then browse the terminal's contents at a leisurely pace. When you finally exit, you'll still be in the thick of the firefight - unless one of your free actions was to shut down the turret connected to the terminal!
518*** At the end of ''Operation Anchorage'', after you open the fortress door, you can waste as much time as you like talking to General Jingwei despite all the fighting happening around you.
519** ZigZaggingTrope in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}''. Unlike in previous games, conversing with [=NPCs=] does not pause the game, and if you and the people you are talking to are attacked, the conversation will be cut short. Hacking and lockpicking, on the other hand, pauses the action.
520* In many, many {{Fighting Game}}s with "[[LimitBreak super]]" {{special attack}}s, when a character executes such a technique, the battle will freeze for a split-second while they give a battle cry.
521* Several ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games have dialogue scenes for character development or rules description during battle screens, with enemies present, but refusing to attack.
522** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' (ab)uses long dialogue in two of the instances where gameplay is timed (the Karnak Castle escape and the underwater Walse tower); in the case of Karnak, you can skip the boss entirely if you kill the enemies quick enough, but there's no getting past Gogo's introductory dialogue, the SheatheYourSword puzzle, or the final string of congratulatory text Gogo gives if you "battle" Gogo properly unless you forego the fight.
523*** Since so many of the bosses have unskippable text, the Career Day randomizer (which shuffles what bosses can appear at which locations) has opted to remove the 1-minute timer at the Odin fight.
524** Perhaps played most notably straight in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', in which the first time you have Terra use magic in battle with Locke and Edgar in the party, the Active Time Battle system will pause for a looooooong conversation in which they freak out, break off to the side to whisper among themselves, FAINT, recover, and finally get back to fighting. Naturally, the enemies wait patiently throughout this entire exchange.
525** ZigZaggingTrope in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''. This trope is played straight in cutscenes, but averted when conversing with [=NPCs=] outside of towns and sanctuaries; if you draw aggro from a monster and they attack you in mid-conversation, the conversation will be cancelled and you'll need to start the dialogue over after dealing with the monster.
526** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', some battles are programmed to have characters exchange dialogue if the objective hasn't yet been achieved. If one of the dialogue's participants is a Dragoon, and has been set to do a Jump attack, they'll fall back to the ground ''just'' to deliver their line before vaulting into the stratosphere again.
527** Both averted -- in the same way as above -- and played straight in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2''; Sometimes main characters go into lengthy monologues mid-battle, and other times you have to use your turn to talk. It seems mostly dependent on if you're talking to yourself or not.
528* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' sometimes has dialogue or monologue delivered before attacking particularly important characters. In some cases, units with a special connection with the enemy unit may have a unique conversation.
529** Starting with ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', units that could talk to another unit can still perform another action, including attack. Very useful upon recruiting an ally through talking and still be able to attack or another action.
530** It also has Support conversations, in which two compatible characters can start gabbing in the middle of battle to raise their stats using ThePowerOfFriendship...but this eats a turn, at least in some of the games.
531*** Not just gabbing but such activities as: painting (Forde); showing off (Ewan to Amelia); getting intimate (Gerik and Tethys).
532*** The Tellius games, ''Awakening'', ''Fates'', and ''Three Houses'' avert this in regards to supports, but it still happens in all of the [=GBA=] games and ''Shadows of Valentia''. Naturally, ''Shadows of Valentia'' continues the inappropriate battlefield activities in some supports, including Forsyth ''reading mid-combat'', much to Lukas's confusion.
533** Mechanically averted in ''Genealogy of the Holy War''. Mounted units are able to move after attacking but if they talk their turn immediately ends.
534** A ''lampshaded'' example actually occurs just before the final battle of ''Shadows of Valentia''. Boey and Saber get into an argument while everyone is fighting off Terrors, and Conrad angrily asks them to stop talking and get back to fighting.
535** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' deconstructs this in Merrin and Yunaka's supports. Merrin is annoyed that Yunaka went straight for her throat during their sparring matches, but Yunaka points out that Merrin's monologuing only serves to give her opponents opportunities to go in for the kill, and tries to break Merrin of that habit.
536* Inverted in ''GetterLove!!'', where you can only perform one action each time you arrive somewhere, including talking to someone (but not counting your interaction with a pop-up character if you happen to be the first person there; ''that's'' a free action). Yet, if someone arrives at the same place after you, they can still talk to you anyway. So, if you had a date with, say, Natsuki, at the Panda Department Store, whether or not you can spend some time gift-shopping first depends on who gets there first. (Unrealistic, in exactly the opposite way of this page's trope, but considering that this was meant to resemble a board game, there you go.)
537* During the "four minutes before death" in ''VideoGame/GhostTrickPhantomDetective'', time only pauses when you're in the ghost world--or when dialogue is taking place. Only justified for between-ghost dialogue, which seems to take place instantaneously via telepathy.
538* ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'': [[spoiler: When Pholia [[TakingTheBullet takes on the energy orb]] that Gilbert fires at his sister, the siblings exchange dialogues while Gilbert does absolutely nothing else but watch. This allows the Grandcypher crew to catch up on Gilbert and fight him head-on]].
539* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': {{Subverted|trope}} for laughs in ''Completing the Mission'' in the Government[=/=]Allies ending route, where, when Henry, Ellie and Charles tried to come up with a plan to stop the Toppats' rocket, Charles' plan had him explain his signature plan ([[DynamicEntry to crash his helicopter into the rocket window]]) to Henry and Ellie, and Ellie gets confused with how that might help. Ultimately, Charles manages to convince her, but [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome their talk lasted for so long the rocket was already beyond the helicopter reach]].
540-->'''FAIL screen message:''' It would've been awesome, Charles.
541* One of [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Joseph]]'s moves in ''VideoGame/JoJosBizarreAdventureAllStarBattle'' is a counter taunt that, if triggered, has him stop everything to [[HeyThatsMyLine guess what his opponent is going to say.]] [[ParrotExposition In a amusingly odd way]], the target only gasps in surprise after fully saying their (sometimes rather long) expected catchphrase.
542* {{Averted|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising''. Dialog often occurs while Pit is in combat and sometimes may be silenced by certain actions (almost always triggering another piece of dialog). Usually played straight in cutscenes. {{Subverted|Trope}} once when Phosphora attacks Pit during his InTheNameOfTheMoon speech in the cutscene before battle.
543* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'': In the battle at the Keyblade Graveyard, Sora and his friends fight against 2-3 members of the Seekers of Dark at different locations. After one of the members is defeated, a scene follows with the beaten member talking with Sora for a few minutes before vanishing, then the fight between the other members resumes.
544* Averted in both ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' games, where occasionally you'll be dragged into dialogue while your party members and possibly even your character will still be fighting. Gameplay doesn't stop at all during dialogue, which makes it a good way to pass time while your Mana regenerates.
545* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
546** In both ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', all other action pauses while Link is either listening to someone speak or reading.
547** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', you only have a limited amount of time on any given cycle to do things. Any cutscene or dialogue pauses the timer until it's over. This is only really visible during the last 6 "hours" of the game. This is probably best demonstrated in the good ending to the Anju/Kafei sidequest: Kafei's entrance stops the timer at 1:27, only allowing it to continue when they tell you they'll greet the morning together. Probably a good thing, as the moon would likely crash into Termina while they were talking, otherwise. On the other hand, listening to an old lady ramble on and on and on (and falling asleep in the middle of it) is a great way to skip ahead in time.
548* At the climax of Chapter 2 of ''VideoGame/{{MARDEK}}'', when [[spoiler: Deugan declares he has to make a HeroicSacrifice to stop the dracelon from attacking their escape pod when they flee the self-destructing saucer, Vehrn spoils the drama by wondering why the dracelon is just standing there while they have this conversation. The self-destruct timer seems to have stopped as well]].
549* Subverted several times in ''Franchise/MassEffect''. While certain conversations are in designated cutscenes and therefore enemies will not attack during them, there's a number of times when squadmates make comments or talk to one another without going into a cutscene. If you then enter combat or do anything else, it will interrupt the conversation abruptly.
550** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' has a notable scene with a krogan who goes on a rant that lasts several minutes until the player gets tired of waiting and hits the interrupt key. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OloRlyyZxpI "You talk too much."]]
551** The Extended Cut of ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' contains a very noticeable example of this. During the desperate charge against Harbinger, your squad mates are injured. The Normandy flies down, picks up your squadmate (complete with a heartwarming goodbye), and then flies away, all without Harbinger firing a single shot. As soon as the Normandy is gone, the charge resumes as though nothing happened.
552*** The same DLC allows you to have a very long conversation with the Catalyst while spaceships are battling with the Reapers outside. Some of them protect the Crucible, which, if you don't take any of the ending options after the conversation for a couple of minutes or so, will be destroyed, resulting in a [[NonStandardGameOver Non-Standard Game Over]]. The Catalyst will even {{lampshade|Hanging}} this at certain points, pointing out how they're short on time, and sometimes even refusing to elaborate on its answers. Before the Extended Cut was released, there was much less dialogue with the Catalyst - kinda more logical, considering the circumstances, but providing much less closure and answers.
553* Bosses in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' (after the first one) always take the opportunity to chat up the hero just before exploding. Even if they've just been visibly bisected down the middle.
554* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
555** Actually evoked by [[BigBad Liquid Snake]] at one point in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''. He actually tells Snake to "call your precious Colonel Campbell" and sits back and waits while Snake does exactly that. [[spoiler:He wants Snake to hear from Campbell himself that Snake was played and that B-52 Bombers are en-route to nuke the entire compound, for seemingly no reason other than taunt the man and make sure he knows that he's dead no matter what the outcome of their FinalBattle.]]
556** ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}'''s codec conversations, even if they ''are'' purely an act of thought on the part of Raiden (at least when they need to be), are pretty unbelievable. Particularly infamous is the ''three-minute'' argument over ''weapon naming conventions'' with [[spoiler:the AI construct the Patriots built to rule the world]] that occurs ''[[spoiler:during the final boss battle]]''. And this is just after a ''twelve-minute long'' {{infodump}} from the same guys, while [[spoiler:Solidus Snake just stands there, waiting to deliver his shocking revelation]]. Don't worry, he'll wait.
557** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' has a time limit on the final boss battle of ten minutes - when those ten minutes are up, [=MiG=]-21's will arrive and bomb the field you're in, killing you both. You can defeat the boss with only one minute to spare, at which point another multi-minute-long cutscene happens, with no [=MiGs=] in sight until you're attempting to escape another 5+ minutes later. There is, however, a jokey version of this featured in the Secret Theater short "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBVQHI6S9Bg Metal Gear S]]", wherein Snake manages to defeat the final boss (after having Sigint steal every other significant accomplishment in the game from him), only to be left behind in the escape and subsequently bombed into oblivion.
558* Played with in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'', where scanning is a free action. Scanning enemies itself is not a free action, but once the scan is complete the game basically pauses so you can read the scan. With your scanner, you can get information about bosses and enemies and learn weaknesses. Averted for one specific mechanic of ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes''. Safe zones in Dark Aether slowly replenish your health, and if you are standing in one when a cutscene starts, you will continue replenishing health for its duration.
559* ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'': Orc captains and above will introduce themselves for about one to fifteen seconds while Talion remains motionless and the rest of the uruks completely ignore their existence. The same goes for one of the first clashes of weapons that will go on without either opponent pressing their attack until the orc is done talking.
560* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' averts this by not letting you enter conversations in combat and immediately stopping conversations if one of the participants is attacked. ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' keeps the first part, but cinematic conversations pause the rest of the game while they are occurring, so it both averts and plays this trope straight. In the expansion, ''NeverwinterNights2/MaskOfTheBetrayer'', the player character becomes a spirit-eater and has to replenish their energy by devouring spirits or die, because you constantly lose it as the time passes. Fortunately, the energy meter freezes when you engage in a conversation.
561* You have to do a ''lot'' of talking in ''VideoGame/NexusClash'' before it uses up any actions, even if you just delivered a filibuster in the middle of a battle.
562* The ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'' GameMod ''VideoGame/OperationNaPali'' has the talkative [[PlayerCharacter 046]]. During certain set-pieces such as the imprisonment near the beginning [[spoiler:and after being captured a second time]], he engages in long monologues that stop the player from moving (they can only take a look at the surroundings).
563* Soundly averted in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor''. In Chapter 2, Crump snags the Crystal Star, starts the timer on a time bomb, and [[{{Pun}} leaves]]. Neither battle nor dialogue stop the timer, so if you took longer than you really should have, you'd better mash to get through Crump's confrontation with the elder. (Thankfully, he shuts off the timer before actual battle, as he doesn't want to be blown up himself.)
564* One of the few AcceptableBreaksFromReality used in ''VideoGame/{{Pathologic}}''. And ''you will be grateful for it'', given the [[TimedMission extremely constrictive]] InUniverseGameClock, the plot-heavy nature of the game, and the [[WallOfText Walls of Text]] in most conversations.
565* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'', Chris battles with Alexia despite the countdown of the base's self-destruct system ([[OncePerEpisode A franchise staple]]). No matter how quickly you beat her, Chris barely outruns the countdown and escapes. However, the UpdatedRerelease adds in a lengthy conversation/fight scene with Wesker ''after'' you defeat Alexia, but does not change the countdown timer.
566* Averted in ''VideoGame/RiverCityRansom'': The player can attack bosses while they're still talking. In the [[UpdatedRerelease GBA remake]], doing this has one of the greatest effects on your character's [[GuideDangIt invisible]] KarmaMeter, and the bosses will lament the interruption with lines like, "[[LampshadeHanging You can't do that!]]"
567* ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' displays a similar behavior to ''Super Robot Wars''. In ''Sakura Taisen 4'', there are even occasions where several minute long cut scenes occur between turns.
568* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' avert this: a Press Turn will be consumed if you try Talking to a demon (unless you can't). How many Press Turns are taken up depends on whether you're successful or not.
569** Other [=MegaTen=] games with demon dialogue also suggest an aversion if not outright declaring it - in many games, if you try to talk to a demon that's hostile or unable to talk, or anger it in dialogue, the demon gets a free attack because it's implied you left yourself open or just wasted too much time trying to talk to something that would rather gnaw off your face.
570** Played straight with the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series when it comes to cutscenes. People will go on {{Motive Rant}}s and all sorts of emotional speeches even when they're surrounded by enemies or right in the middle of performing a HeroicSacrifice.
571** Averted in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' in the "Explosive Epidemic in Mikado" DLC, in which you have 25 turns to defeat all waves of enemies and when you confront the last enemy of the mission, you can hear their story out...at the cost of one of those turns.
572* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' seems to like this trope a bit. Whenever he has a conversation with someone while running, he suddenly goes in a straight line and doesn't need to look where he's going. The most prominent example of this is in his team's intro in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes''. While running through a rather rocky and cactus-heavy desert, Tails shows up in the X-Tornado and hands him a letter from Eggman, which Sonic reads while running backwards. Tails himself seems to have forgotten to pilot the plane during this, and him and Knuckles eventually just ditch it and run after Sonic.
573* In ''VideoGame/{{Sonny}}'', the majority of dialogue in both games takes place during battle scenarios rather than traditional cutscenes (though they've got a few of those too). Veradux, Roald, and Felicity all join your party in a battle scene (Veradux appeals to you for help when ZPCI soldiers chase him down after he takes an experimental armor from them, Roald joins you after he and his ally lower their weapons once they realize that you're not like the other zombies, and Felicity meets up with your party in Hew (complete with [[BrickJoke Sonny warning Veradux to cover his face]])).
574* Averted in the ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'' series, where the game doesn't pause when you talk to someone, making it very easy to be attacked while you read the dialogue. This also applies to using your PDA, and looking in your inventory. Better to find somewhere quiet, than risk getting your face chewed off.
575* ''VideoGame/StarControl'': subverted in the backstory, when the Mael-Num demanded to know why the Kohr-Ah, their former friends and allies, were suddenly killing them all, the Kohr-Ah's guilty conscience lead them to take so long explaining themselves that it bought time for the Kzer-Za to show up and distract the Kohr-Ah by attacking them. The Mael-Num used this opportunity to evacuate their homeworld and escape destruction.
576* For the sake of [[RuleOfCool flavour]], virtually all of the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' games have the characters, whether hero or villain, delivering a couple of lines of dialogue (well, actually monologue) with ''every attack''. This is especially amusing in the case of unmanned drone enemies, who actually go "beep beep beep" in place of their dialogue. Sometimes the characters will chat ''before'' they attack, and then they get the "combat chatter" on top of that.
577** Using the actual ''Talk'' command, however, uses that units' turn.
578** And in the case of important dialogue, the villain really is stopping to chat with the protagonist. Throwaway chatter is along the lines of "Villain X! What you've done can't be forgiven! Let's go!", and as for attack animations... it wouldn't be {{Super Robot|Genre}} without liberal CallingYourAttacks and {{Invocation}}.
579* The ''VideoGame/TalesOf'' series loves this; typically there will be cutscene exposition before a plot-important fight and then the characters will banter ''during'' it, apparently not even needing to breathe.
580** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' takes a jab at this trope when Yuri and Flynn work together to defend a village of refugees from monsters. Yuri can't concentrate if he isn't talking and Flynn can't concentrate when someone is talking.
581*** And then [[spoiler:they fight each other and trash-talk each other while they're kicking each other's ass]].
582** Played in full force by ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' where there is some quite lengthy dialogue between the party and some bosses, while running round shouting out arte names and casting spells that require incantations.
583*** PlayedForLaughs when the party is running from Alice and Decus in the Ice Temple. When they try to hold a conversation in a skit like they always do, Tenebrae reminds them that they're supposed to be running like hell and declares a ban on speaking. It doesn't take long for the party to turn this on him and prevent ''him'' from speaking as well.
584* ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter'' has a time limit on each patient you treat as well as other conditions that can drop their vitals or even kill them. Whenever one of the characters is speaking, the timer and vitals will pause until the character(s) is done talking.
585* Mostly downplayed in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', where enemies deliver monologues during battle but it's split up into short chunks that are frequently only a fraction of a sentence each. You may very well lose track of what they were saying in the time it takes to dodge their attack and choose your next action. Meanwhile, if you choose to talk to your opponent, that takes up a turn.
586** Parodied/subverted in one scene: While you're fleeing from Undyne, you get a phone call from Papyrus, who talks about how he thinks you and Undyne would be great friends and should hang out sometime. Somehow, you manage to do this without being attacked. After befriending Undyne and calling her from the same place you received the phone call, you find out that Undyne ''saw you were on the phone and waited for you to finish,'' because interrupting someone while they're on the phone [[EveryoneHasStandards is just not done]].
587* Gawn, from ''VideoGame/{{Wild ARMs 4}}'', having already defied physics to shoot down 11 missiles in mid-air and ''punching the last one with his bare hands'', decides to twist up the flow of time too. In the one second or less it takes for the last missile ''that he had just punched'' to explode, Gawn manages to give the protagonists an [[FinalSpeech entire speech]] on reaching for the future. Of course, everyone else has to move in slow motion while it happens. You don't believe me, do you? There is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9KFOJzn3u4 proof]].
588* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''VideoGame/TheWonderful101'' by Wonder Blue, who gets slightly worried by Wonder Red's long winded final attack name. It is fair to note that they are currently staring down an [[EarthShatteringKaboom Earth Destroying]] [[WaveMotionGun Laser]].
589-->Wonder Red: Final Ultimate Legendary Earth Power Super Max Justice Future Miracle Dream Beautiful Galaxy Big Bang Little Bang Sunrise Starlight Infinite Fabulous Totally Final Wonderful Arrow...Fire!
590* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' many [=NPCs=] have prolonged conversations with other [=NPCs=] before a fight where they are not viable targets (even killing them with you totally incapable of stopping them), chat arrogantly while you fight them, and give speeches of varying lengths when they die. You can't do that because it would mean you have to stop clicking on the battle keys to talk back.
591** Played especially straight in the original Kael'thas boss fight in Tempest Keep, where he delivered a several minutes-long speech every time you initiated the fight, with you being forced to stand and listen to it.
592** Particularly bad are times when an NPC or mob will say something and die before they're apparently done talking. One of the most blatant examples of this would be the captured blood elf on Bloodmyst Island, who, as he's being taken back to his cell, commits SuicideByCop by mocking one of the stronger draenei's dead friends. In this case, his mocking is a long speech, which he's scripted to be killed by in the middle of, at which point the bubble containing his text hovers over his corpse for a good twenty seconds afterward, making it look like his dead body is still talking.
593[[/folder]]
594
595[[folder:Webcomics]]
596* Demonstrated greatly in [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2001/04/06/episode-013-the-dramatic-flashback/ this]] ''WebComic/EightBitTheater'', where Fighter has a full flashback, gets an idea, and draws both swords before hitting opponents Black Mage [[FastballSpecial threw him at]] that were apparently at most fifteen feet away. In [[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/79149 the flash version]] it's even more obvious, and even funnier.
597** The comic for [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2008/11/11/episode-1058-talking-is-a-free-action/ 11/11/08]] is literally titled "Talking Is A Free Action".
598* Shown in [[http://achewood.com/index.php?date=06232005 this]] ''Webcomic/{{Achewood}}'' comic.
599** And again [[http://achewood.com/index.php?date=12122005 here]], where Ray demonstrates Writing Is A Free Action, by writing 19+ words (we don't see the other side) on a board during a pause in a conversation.
600* In ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' the players have a long, complex discussion, ''[[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0006.html while insisting their characters are holding their breath]]''.
601** Also {{lampshade|Hanging}}d ''[[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0167.html here]]''.
602* Subverted [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_899.php in]] ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures.''
603** And [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_923.php again]]. Owch.
604* In ''Webcomic/TheChosenFour'', Frank nearly trounces Ness, but takes the time to give a BadassBoast, complete with his backstory. While he's doing this, Ness beats up some of his goons for EXP, granting him another level and allowing him to fight Frank on more even grounds.
605* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' doesn't seem to be [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080305 immune to this either]]
606** Lampshaded [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050720 at one point]]
607** Subverted [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090513 at another]]
608** Magnificently so in [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20101231 this strip.]]
609* ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'': The comic likes subverting this one. People get attacked in the middle of talking all the time, and Math once got grabbed because he tried to take a selfie during a fight. Harem, a HiveMind with five teleporting bodies, will often act as a relay between two groups to exchange information, which tends to result in people staring at her and wondering what's taking so long.
610-->'''Harem:''' Conversations don't actually happen instantly.
611* ''Webcomic/VGCats'' subverted the trope with [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=159 this comic]] parodying frequent offender ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}''.
612* Lampshaded [[http://nowhereu.comicgenesis.com/d/20081112.html here]] in ''Webcomic/NowhereUniversity''.
613* Although Dr [=McNinja=] was busy running away from a horde of killer robots that were almost literally breathing at his neck, he still [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/14p52 found enough time to read a note he discovered.]]
614* Seen shortly after Ellen's creation in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive''. Sure, she may not have said that much and got interrupted at the end, but it was still ''a lot'' more then should have been possible during the time it takes [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-08-08 to fall from a second story window]].
615* ''Webcomic/{{Sidekicks}}'':
616** Averted by Snatcher who attacks Lightning while he is in the middle of a speech.
617** Later lampshaded somewhat in season 2 by a villain while he is fighting against Lamia and Jina.
618* ''Webcomic/SuicideForHire'' does this a lot. [[http://suicideforhire.comicgenesis.com/d/20060312.html Lampshaded in the sidenote here]].
619* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'':
620** Blacksoul [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/060113 Blacksoul]] and [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/060115 Bun-bun]] monologue during their fight.
621** In "The Circle", Master Urja tries to say "Isabella is here? How serendipitous." during (at most) the time it takes for a quickly swinging chain to go from the level of her face to that of her thigh. Only the last syllable is left unsaid when she's cut off as the chain hits her thigh. She may have trained up her vampire abilities to the point of having SuperSpeed, but for speech as well?
622** "Six Months Later" has the line, "For example, watch my silent speed as I cover your mouth with a chloroform-soaked rag and..." The line is conspicuously silly if you think about it and it's not clear whether the character just ''[[ParodiedTrope thinks]]'' that talking is a free action. He does get interrupted, only because his target passes out instantly as soon as the chloroform bottle opens.
623* Obviously, being a D&D comic, ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' not plays it straight after Haley makes a speech to Roy and then proceeds to say "Relax, talking is a free action".
624** Not to mention that they talk a lot while fighting, even though they don't mention this trope explicitly.
625*** Except sometimes that [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0166.html they do]].
626** Subverted when Vaarsuvius ends up [[MrExposition taking twelve seconds to]] [[ExpospeakGag explain that the remaining duration of a spell was three turns]]. Well, one turn now.[[note]]For those not in the know, a turn in D&D is roughly six seconds.[[/note]]
627*** V is rather long-winded. In ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickOnTheOriginOfPCs On the Origin of PCs]]'', they spend most of their hour to prepare for the "Iron Mage" competition rambling about their power and only stops at the "one minute" warning.
628** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0875.html Malack takes this for granted; Durkon exploits the absence.]]
629** In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1173.html this]] strip the Lord Speaker manages to say two sentences between the letters of one short word said by another character.
630* How about [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/42.html this]] ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic''? The characters have taken several strips talking about elven philosophy and gods.
631* Lampshaded in [[http://wayofthemetagamer.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/22223 this]] ''Webcomic/TheWayOfTheMetagamer'' comic.
632* Subverted in ''Webcomic/DMOfTheRings'', where the Player Characters normally try to kill villains during monologues since they'd rather get on with it already. This leads to Legolas killing Grima and Saruman, much to the [[GameMaster Dungeon Master]]'s frustration.
633** And Gollum.
634* ''Webcomic/ElfOnlyInn'' subverts this right before a server reboot [[http://www.elfonlyinn.net/d/20070309.html here]].
635* After [[MadScientist an eloquent breakdown of his reasoning by Kevyn]], Elf in ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' lampshades [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20070204.html that comic's aversion of the trope]].
636* Lampshaded and averted in [[http://www.chillinlikevillains.ryanestrada.com/?m=20091028 this]] [[http://www.chillinlikevillains.ryanestrada.com/?m=20091029 pair]] of Creator/RyanEstrada comics.
637* Played straight in [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1800/fc01780.htm this]] ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' strip.
638** {{Subverted|Trope}} [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff500/fv00422.htm earlier]], with Winston.
639** [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2300/fc02274.htm Florence is actually caught because she stops to monologue]], [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2300/fc02275.htm with Sam deserting her because she has to learn the danger.]]
640* In ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'', not only is talking a free action, but interrupting someone with [[http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp12102010.shtml a highly-detailed threat]] is even more of a free action. However that works.
641* [[https://www.awkwardzombie.com/comic/horse-remorse This]] ''Webcomic/AwkwardZombie'' is [[BlatantLies totally not an example]], as [[TheRant Katie assures us]] she too often has conversations in mid-air with passers-by.
642* Used in [[https://web.archive.org/web/20120327004322/https://www.whatisdeepfried.com/2011/08/18/weapon-brown-250/ this]] strip of ''Webcomic/WeaponBrown''.
643* ''Webcomic/BladeBunny'' does this a lot, one memorable example involving a rude poem.
644* Lampshaded in [[http://xkcd.com/1010/ this]] Webcomic/{{xkcd}} comic, concerning etymology.
645* [[http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/1107 Apparently not]] in ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings.''
646* In ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'', averted with a lampshade in AltText.
647-->'''Mimic:''' Do somethin'!\
648'''Prestige:''' I can't, I'm too busy screaaaaaaaaming!
649* In ''Webcomic/{{Godslave}}'', Edith thinks that this is the case, as she turns from the fight for a moment to comment on Turner {{No Sell}}ing her MegatonPunch. He quickly uses this to attack her from behind.
650* ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'': Apparently, the Arkendish (satellite dish in a tabletop-fantasy world) makes talking a free action. Or maybe Charlie is lying. Talking is not a free action otherwise.
651* Subverted in ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons''; White Chain has a tendency to [[CallingYourAttacks call their attacks]], until one time where they don’t get it out fast enough and a {{Mook|s}} manages to score a nasty hit on them while they’re speaking. Unfortunately for said Mook, White Chain is so startled by the sudden aversion of this trope that [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength they reflexively hit back with a series of ultra-powerful punches that pretty much obliterates the poor guy’s head]].
652* ''Webcomic/SweetHome2017'': Averted. Every time characters stop to talk in the middle of a fight or tense situation, it's only because the action is currently happening somewhere else. These side conversations also have a tendency to be interrupted.
653* ''Webcomic/SaffronAndSage'': After disabling Sage with a sneak attack, Cinnamon introduces herself in a monologue [[https://www.saffroncomic.com/comic/p0016/ only to be interrupted by an ax thrown at her]]. Her attempt to restart her speech results in the same thing so she doesn't bother with the rest of the speech and goes back to attacking.
654* In Creator/{{Tailsteak}}'s aborted comic ''Band'', Brian and Paul are able to debate whether to use a GroinAttack against a raver who is currently humping Paul's leg because the raver is too stoned on ecstasy to understand them. In the following strip, Brian [[DiscussedTrope points out]] how rarely one gets that opportunity:
655-->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.
656* ''Webcomic/StrangeSchool'': During the [[https://strangeschoolnotsogreat.tumblr.com/post/130915908742/battle-enraged-meatlet-jr Enraged Meatlet Jr fight]]:
657--> 73: …Hey shouldn’t we do something? Won’t it attack while we’re talking.\
658Enraged Meatlet Jr: NO̴̼̞̝͍̲͓ ͍̰Ǹ͎͈̬̩̮̖ͅO͚͎͚̰̘ ̧̪̬͇̦̝̬̰I ̠̖͔̳ͅW̲O͇̗͢N͔̭̘͈T̙\
659Enraged Meatlet Jr: I̷͕͉̲̞̫͎ ̧̣͖K̹N̜̥Ò͎̮͈̼̺̬͈W͞S̜͚̥̻̺̝͢ ͙͞T̵̫̗͉̘̞H̴̹E̪̟̠͉̖̳ ̢R̭̪U͈̲̩̥̳̫LE̸̥̲̲̲̮S̢͍̥̹̘̼͔̳ ̪̜̗̝͝ͅO͓͙͖̠̞͜ͅͅF͏̜̠̟̹̙̣̞ ̭̘̠̙͎̩F̫̘̩͕̭̕I̵͍̘̣͎̳̝G̷̭̦͍̱H̝̥͖̠̬̪Ṱ͖̼S̠̳̲̤̼.̪.͙̫̝͖̺͘.̀ G̥̖̦̯O̡̫̤̯T̶̙͎̣SA͍̟̣͎̹ ̛W̜A̼̹̝͓̤͇͡ÍT̯ ̭M̠̭͇͙͝Y̦͇͢ T̼̤͙U͖̼̖͢R̶̲͎̻̪̻ͅN!̥̟̩͔̻̘ ͇͈̠̥̝̼͇͘S̴̱T̰͔͝I̸͇̝̜͖̘ͅL̻̮̩L̯̯͍̕ U T͔U͙R̢͔Ṋ̳̺
660[[/folder]]
661
662[[folder:Web Original]]
663* Played with a bit in ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', where characters will frequently talk to each other while fighting an enemy (or each other), though fighting is still evident, usually through stray shots crossing the camera or striking visible scenery. Lampshaded by Wash in season 6.
664-->'''Wash: ''' Don't you people ever do anything besides stand around and talk?\
665'''Church''' ''[shouts]'' No! It's part of our charm, stop fucking it up!
666%%* Occurs sometimes in ''Literature/GreekNinja''.
667* {{Parodied|Trope}} in [[http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=JoeEe3tqeIQ this]] ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC'' episode, in which Lex and Gobby are able to have a discussion over whether Ang Lee's [[Film/{{Hulk}} version]] of ''Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk'' is superior to [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008 the 2008 version]] while the Hulk is shaking the car they're in.
668* SubvertedTrope for this ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' parody animation [[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/603731 "Weakheart"]]. William Wallace suffers a HollywoodHeartAttack, and his second-in-command is dubious about fighting. [[spoiler:Some of his troops tell him it's his duty to lead the charge and he decides to do it... but then an arrow goes through his throat from behind as he's still trying to finish saying they're going to start the charge.]]
669* From ''Blog/ThingsMrWelchIsNoLongerAllowedToDoInAnRPG'':
670--> 1335. I cannot filibuster in the middle of my dying speech to buy the cleric more time.\
6712033. Even if the rules allow it, I can't conduct a television interview and maintain a choke hold at the same time.
672* Parodied in ''WebAnimation/StarWreck: In the Pirkining''. The film's parody version of John Sheridan spends so long making a dramatic speech to his enemies that they plan their attack and open fire before he finishes, and he goes on for another minute before he notices this.
673* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
674** Late in Volume 3, while [[spoiler: the Grimm are invading Beacon Academy]], Weiss and Blake have time to stop and watch the entire thing happening and comment on how terrible it is, before making a quick phone call and ''then'' summoning their weapons to get into the fight.
675** It gets horrifically subverted in the next episode when Roman Torchwick is making an angry, grandiose MotiveRant at a battered Ruby while they're surrounded by hundreds of Grimm. After several scenes where he's been making speeches and rants at her, and then beating the crap out of her, he starts telling her how, unlike idealistic Huntsmen, he stays alive by being a liar, a cheater, a thief, and [[spoiler: then he gets eaten by one of the Grimm with zero warning]].
676** In Volume 4, this gets subverted when Qrow is confronting Tyrian. The two are bantering, and then Tyrian abruptly cuts off one of Qrow's taunts by charging him mid-sentence. Later on, when Qrow rescues Ruby from a falling beam, the two pause to look at each other, and Qrow flashes Ruby a reassuring smile... only for [[spoiler: Tyrian to interrupt by stabbing him with his scorpion tail]].
677** Volume 5 uses this a lot. One of the most notable examples occurs in "A Perfect Storm." Blake uses an [[NinjaLog ice substitution]] to immobilize Corsac and Fennec. She then converses with her father and Sun, who tell her they can finish them off alone, while standing a few feet away from them. Corsac and Fennec don't break out for thirty seconds.
678* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': Usually this is played straight, but it ends up being subverted at one point in episode 7. In the middle of the battle with Melinda, Dylan tells the group how he and Pita (who was one of Melinda's minions) met. It later turns out the other heroes of the group used this time to come up with a plan to restrain Melinda while she was listening to Dylan's story.
679-->'''Eleenin''': We mean no disrespect to you, but it was a strategy we came up with while you were telling us about Pita.\
680'''Dylan''': [[SarcasmMode Oh, yeah, thats real nice.]]\
681'''Melissa''': Deal with it. It distracted Melinda for awhile, and you have no idea how much of a golden opportunity that was.\
682'''Betty''': Hey, I listened to ya.
683* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': Lampshaded by Monster Andy when he, Monster Martha, and Monster Bill are fighting [[Franchise/{{Digimon}} Tyrannomon.]]
684-->'''Monster Andy''': Oh, right, the dinosaur. It was being so polite not attacking us while we bantered that I nearly forgot about it.
685* Entirely justified in ''WebAnimation/GenLock''. While [[BrainUploading uploaded]], gen:LOCK pilots have their computerized minds [[ElectronicTelepathy linked]] via the built-in network, allowing them to hold lengthy conversations and debates in the space of seconds.
686* Duly mocked by ''WebVideo/DoorMonster'' in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgBySAs6MVw Free Speech]]", where the adventurers discuss their strategy mid-combat.
687-->'''Villain''': I'm sorry, [[LampshadeHanging I don't mean to interrupt your planning session]], but weren't we in the middle of a ''fight'' here?
688* In ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' this has been [[DefiedTrope defied]] for the sake of [[PlayedForLaughs comedy]] in the case to Jeice by Goku with the latter repetitively punching Jeice in the face, even cutting off a memory too.
689-->'''Jeice''': Alright you bastard!! Prepare to feel the wrath of the Ginyu-(gets punched in the face)Daaugh!! You goddamn wanker! You punched me in the-(gets punched in the face again)Daaugh!! You did it again!(gets punched a third time)Stop it stop I-(gets punched yet again)[[{{Angrish}} PISS!!]] Auugh, what did the Cap'n tell us to do in this situation!?!?!\
690'''Captain Ginyu''': (Flashback) Jeice, if you ever find yourself being punched repeatedly in the face, always remember to-(memory gets cut off by another punch)\
691'''Jeice''': Ohh Oww! [[Goku]] cut off the Cap'n!!!\
692'''Goku''': So.. are you gonna *dodge* any of these?\
693'''Jeice''': Ohhhh! So that's what the Captain-(gets punched again)
694* Averted in the ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' song "Slipping", as singing that song wastes all of the time his Freeze Ray had to hold Hammer in place.
695[[/folder]]
696
697[[folder:Western Animation]]
698* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'':
699** Finn can usually leap at an enemy and have the time to yell some ridiculous battle cry like "Get ready for an uppercut, you dog!" or "I'm a cat! I'm an agile cat!" before reaching them.
700** Averted in "Mama Said", when the giant flying mushroom monster attacks Jake in the middle of his one-liner.
701--->'''Jake:''' Hey now, that was poor ''spore''-tsmansh... ''Woah'', mid-joke?! [[ComicalOverreacting You monster]]!
702* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', where Roger (disguised as a Russian exchange student) is wrestling Barry and gets pinned. The referee starts doing a 3-count and Stan tells him to use is super leg strength to get free, but it's apparently opposite day. The two go back and forth until Stan tells Roger to quit screwing around before the ref stops politely waiting for them to finish the conversation and says "3".
703** Also parodied in "Escape From Pearl Bailey" when Steve and his friends manage to escape from the school unscathed([[ItMakesSenseInContext due to Lewis putting out a bounty on them for Steve getting his revenge on his daughter]]) and they see Francine waiting to pick them up and they stand and celebrate having made it only for the students to close in on them causing Snot to remark that they should've been running instead of celebrating.
704* ''WesternAnimation/BlazeAndTheMonsterMachines'' has this happen almost every time when there’s a situation where Blaze has to hurry to get it done. For example, in “Runaway Rocket” as Crusher and Pickle are blasting toward a garbage dump and are getting very close, Blaze has time to ask the viewer to help him transform into a pogo stick so he can catch up with them and save them. It takes Crusher and Pickle about three minutes for them to reach the dump before they jump to safety.
705* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Beast War|s}}riors'' sometimes abused this, giving speeches to each other before an ambush, then transforming and fighting. Somewhat subverted in the final episode:
706-->'''Megatron''': "Well, come on, let's have it. The usual 'destiny and honor' speech."\
707'''Optimus Primal''': "[[VerbThis Speech this]]!"\
708Then Megatron is punched square in the face by Optimus Primal.
709* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': In the midst of heated battle, foes often seem to just stop and let Danny finish his superheroic, corny jokes. A subversion of this appears as well. Danny apparently has no qualms about attacking Technus during his usual lengthy monologues.
710* ''WesternAnimation/TheDickTracyShow'' zig-zags this as much it abuses it. During a confrontation with the episode's villain, the officer of the episode will stop the action ("Hold everything!") and report via wrist radio to Tracy on the case's progress. The report usually gets embellished with a {{pun}}.
711* Some episodes of ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'' may be contenders for the crown, though: when Baby Gorilla falls out of a tree, Dora has time to [[FakeInteractivity ask the viewer for help]]. "Will you help us catch baby gorilla? <2 second pause> Great! We have to hold out our hands like this! Can you hold out your hands?". The gorilla takes about 20 seconds to fall 3 meters.
712* Played straight in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents: WesternAnimation/SchoolsOutTheMusical''. When Cosmo and Wanda are fleeing Fairy World, there is a rapidly approaching wave of Pixie Magic just behind them and the bridge to Earth is rapidly dwindling. However, Cosmo and Wanda can still discuss the situation for two minutes.
713* Deconstructed in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Mars University". Gunther the super-intelligent monkey is sitting on a log attached to a vine which is breaking. He is suspended over a waterfall, and begins to debate with himself whether to climb up the vine or not. After listing reasons why he shouldn't bother, he says "On the other hand-" and the vine snaps. [[spoiler: He survives, though.]]
714* People in ''WesternAnimation/HuntikSecretsAndSeekers'' can hold incredibly long conversations before releasing their titans... all while an enemy titan is rushing toward them.
715* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': On and off, but "The Twin Factor" has plenty of examples of characters visibly hanging about waiting for others to finish their lines instead of taking advantage of the moment.
716* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'': Defied in "[[Recap/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeastsS1E10BeyondTheValleyOfTheDogs Beyond the Valley of the Dogs]]", where Wolf discourages Kipo from chatting during a fight sequence by saying "Lesson 68: Never talk during a fight".
717* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': Wile E. Coyote does this in his first encounter with WesternAnimation/BugsBunny in "Operation: Rabbit." Instead of grabbing Bugs as he comes out of his hole, Wile E. bores him to death with a long-winded spiel about his supposed superiority.
718* The all-time winner of this trope is ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelSuperHeroes'' cartoon from 1966. These barely-animated six-minute gems were often directly adapted from '60s Creator/MarvelComics scripts -- in their full-blown long-winded Creator/StanLee glory. It often included such moments as [[Characters/MarvelComicsSteveRogers Captain America]] giving an inspiring speech as he leaps across the screen -- with the leap dragged out to fill the full length of the speech. Watch a few of these, and you'll see just how damned silly this trope can ''get'' in a medium where time actually, you know, ''happens''.
719* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
720** Subverted when Rainbow Dash lets her reputation as a hero go to her head. She insists on making grandiose speeches before she actually does anything to save ponies in danger, until they ask her to just save them already. Ironically, the request to stop screwing around took far longer than the remainder of her catchphrase.
721** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 Twilights Kingdom Part 2]]", after Twilight surrenders her alicorn magic to Tirek, Tirek immediately grows to [[OneWingedAngel monstrous proportions]] and should be able to easily squash the heroes...yet Discord has plenty of time to explain his sincerity in giving the medallion to Twilight as a sign of their friendship.
722** At the climax of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E13DoPrincessesDreamOfMagicSheep Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?]]", the Tantabus, having grown powerful from Luna's sense of guilt, is big enough to walk to the portal to real world in just a few seconds. However, the Mane Six seem to have enough time to talk to Princess Luna to get her to stop blaming herself.
723** Subverted in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E2AllBottledUp All Bottled Up]]". The FriendshipSong that the Mane 6 sing during their friendship retreat happens to occur in real time and causes them to miss their intended escape room record by two seconds.
724* ''WesternAnimation/NikoAndTheSwordOfLight'' - Combined with the fact that Niko tends to [[CallingYourAttacks call his attacks]] and makes use of LargeHam a lot, this is bound to happen.
725* Occasionally subverted in ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' for gags where Kowalski tries to explain what he is about to do to help the situation only to be interrupted before he gets the chance.
726-->''(The Penguins are being chased by the rats)''\
727'''Kowalski''': Rico, rat cannon!\
728''(Rico spits up a cannon)''\
729'''Kowalski''': ''(Stopping to take aim)'' Fortunately, I devised an anti-rat missile for this exact occasi- ''(Is tackled by the rats and the cannon misfires)''
730* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' when Jack is being threatened by Ezekiel Clench. Jack ''assumes'' talking is a free action and banters back -- Zeke ''quickly'' [[TalkToTheFist corrects him]].
731--> '''Zeke:''' I'm gonna make a lot of money cashin' in on yer hide.
732--> '''Jack:''' I hear that often, but only from poor men.
733--> '''Zeke:''' Well... I got bills to pay and I done already addressed the envelopes.
734--> '''Jack:''' Well I hope you have yet to stamp the postage on your parcels, for you --
735--> (Zeke punches Jack in the face)
736--> '''Zeke:''' Consider 'em stamped!
737* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
738** This occurs whenever the family is watching a CoincidentalBroadcast: They all briefly stop to have a conversation regarding the report, spew pop culture reference jokes, bring up past adventures related to it, etc. then when they finally get back to watching, the report is exactly where they left off, almost as if the world stopped just for their conversation. Naturally, it's been {{lampshade|Hanging}}d a few times.
739** Also directly parodied during Homer's insanity pepper-fueled hallucination: "An oncoming train! And so little time to get out of the way! ... Now less! ... Now NONE!!"
740* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan,'' though a very [[YouFightLikeACow talky]] series by nature, has a notable {{subver|tedTrope}}sion. When a net is launched at Spider-Man from behind, he takes the time to say "Woah! My SpiderSense is tingli--!" only to be caught in the net before he can finish. Afterwards, his sense is shown, but never announced again.
741* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has an aversion of this trope in "Steven the Sword Fighter", when [[MrExposition Pearl]] is trying to explain sword techniques in the middle of a spar... Her Holo-Pearl opponent takes advantage of the distraction and stabs her in the back. Luckily, because gems regenerate after "dying", it's not permanent.
742* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' is just as bad with exclamations like "I've only got a fraction of a second to avoid that car!". One episode even had Superman moving at a normal speed, but monologuing about how his super speed could help him rescue Lois Lane. Apparently, when Superman talks, everything becomes a free action.
743* ''WesternAnimation/TeamUmizoomi'' may be ''even worse'' than Dora in this regard. During almost every chase sequence in the show, the team will be stopped dead by some sort of puzzle for several minutes. But no matter what, even if it takes five minutes to get past the obstacles, whatever they're chasing will apparently also stop just out of frame and wait for them to catch up before continuing the chase.
744* Talking most definitely seems to be a free action for ''WesternAnimation/WordGirl'' when she stops in the middle of a pitched battle to define a word.
745[[/folder]]

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