#witty banter

[marlynnofmany]

Too Many Limbs

“Wait — hold still,” I said. “Waterspheres by your foot.” I readjusted my grip on the broken storage crate and tried to free an arm to sweep the floor clear. “Don’t step on them.”

Zhee’s many bug legs froze in place, his own armload of supplies making it hard to get a clear view. Even compound eyes can’t see through that many layers of alien silk. Sounding irritated, he asked, “Which foot?”

“Jeez, I can’t tell.” I leaned back, trying to get a better view, and bumped into another crate. “A front one? I don’t know how you keep track of this many limbs, honestly.”

“You think this is a lot?” Zhee laughed in a deliberately human fashion as he felt around with one foot at a time. “You say that within earshot of a Strongarm?”

Blue-black tentacles shoved a plastic tub aside. “You called?” asked Mur.

I sighed as Zhee cheerfully ratted me out. “The human has opinions about how many limbs are too many.”

“I did not say that.”

“Oh really?” asked Mur, clearly looking for a distraction. He clambered on top of the tub and curled up like a squid who’d been raised by housecats. “Do tell.”

I wrestled a safety strap around the broken crate. “All I said was that it’s hard to keep track of which foot I’m looking at when I can’t see the rest of him for context.” I jerked my head toward Zhee.

Zhee folded the cloth into a smaller bundle, looking for all the world like a praying mantis trying to eat a Kleenex. “Yes, how rude of me not to color-code them for your sake. You were so kind as to do the same for us.”

I finally had a hand free to point at him. “You know full well that the cat put a hole in my other blue sock. You were there when I told Paint about it.”

“What, it wasn’t a deliberate fashion statement? Shocking.” Zhee was warming up to this. “Clearly you need the help in telling one limb from the next.”

Mur waved a tentacle in my direction. “You realize your own limb arrangement would be baffling to a Solo, right?”

The crate secured, I sat back and took a breath. “Which ones are those?”

Mur folded his tentacles in a way that meant nothing to me. “The species with unilateral symmetry.”

Zhee added, “Amphibious, usually seen with humidity masks.”

“Ohhhh, right,” I said. “The one-eyed, one-armed hopping purple people aliens.”

Mur settled his tentacles. “They’re not all purple.”

“Some are,” I insisted.

“Only the classiest,” Zhee said. He glided forward, stepping carefully through the scattered waterspheres and cans of offworld tuna or whatever those were. I hadn’t bothered to read the labels. At any rate, he didn’t step on anything.

I shook my head and started gathering up waterspheres. My shirt was long enough that I could make a basket in the manner of fruit-picking kids everywhere. Well, everywhere that kids wear shirts.

Mur, who did not wear humans clothes and who was apparently not interested in getting back to cleaning, watched for a moment. Then he said with a smile, “We could get you ankle bands with ‘left’ and ‘right’ on them.”

I threw a small watersphere at his head. He caught it with one deft spiral of tentacle, then popped it into his mouth like a grape and slid off the tub, chuckling.

“The floor’s dirty!” I called after him.

“No it’s not!” he replied. “I cleaned it right before the gravity hiccuped!”

“Well, it’s got Zhee’s foot germs.”

“I’ll take my chances!”

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. More to come!

#my writing #the Token Human #humans are weird #and so are the aliens #haso #hfy #eiad #aliens #witty banter #in spaaace

[howifeltabouthim]

'What are my duties?' 'The normal ones,' I said. 'You have to save me.' 'You need saving?' 'I do.' . . . 'And after I save you? Then what?' 'Well, then I'll owe you.' 'What will I get?' I shrugged. 'Whatever you want. You saved my life, after all. I'll even be brave and swim across the sea to see you if you ask.' 'Who says I'll be there when you get there, waiting for you?' 'I'll wait for you, then,' I said. 'I'll wait on my knees at your doorstep until you come home.'

Katherine Lin, from You Can't Stay Here Forever

#if you are not too long i will wait here for you all my life #witty banter #flirting #waiting for you #steadfast #devotion #romance novel inspo #fanfic inspo #quotes #lit #words #excerpts #quote #literature #katherine lin #you can't stay here forever

[pandoramarsh]

and the best couple dynamic goes to—

pretentious 'would insult u without u knowing until 6 years later when ur on ur bed at 3 am' smooth talker X has an entire mental encyclopedia of the filthiest profanities 'i kissed UR fucking mother with this dirty dirty mouth and WHAT ABT IT JENSEN' swear user

#wangxian #bingyuan #ranwan #sokoku #sokouku #wolfstar #glitter #as u can see i'm reaching quite a bit due to the shortage of ships with this exact dynamic #couple dynamics #when they #witty banter #thinly veiled insults #subtle jabs in casual conversations #😍

[ghostflowerdreams]

How to...Witty Banter/Dialogue

Witty banter is a playful, clever, and humorous conversation technique that every writer uses to spice up their characters’ interactions and convey a sense of depth when they speak. And depending on the situation it can be witty flirting, mild sarcasm, self-deprecating humor, playful teasing and whatnot.

For example a little bit of playful, lighthearted teasing between two people in an already-established relationship is a wonderful way to demonstrate how well they know one another.

“I can’t believe you worn that stupid suit again.” “How else was I gonna get you to rip my clothes off.”

“Do you want lasagna or parmigiana for supper?” “Lasagna.” “Me too. Stop by Olive Garden on the way home.”

However, banter should never be rude, offensive, or condescending. There is a crucial balance between mild teasing or sarcasm and crossing the line into insulting remarks. The only way to truly be good at coming up with witty banter/dialogue is to study it by listening to people, watching movies, and reading books with clever dialogue and narration.

Science of People - Be an Expert at Witty Banter…How to Charm With Your Words

Social Self - How To Banter (With Examples For Any Situation)

Regain - What Is Banter? Examples And Applications For Your Relationship

Fast Company - The Elements of Wit: 5 Ways to Be Smarter, Funnier, And Better At Parties

Art of Charm - 5 Witty and Playful Banter Examples That Work Effortlessly

Social Confidence Mastery - How To Be Witty: 12 Tips That Work

The Feminine Woman - What Is Banter & How To Banter With Men To Build Attraction?

Paging Dr. LoveNerd - How To Banter (Without Being an Asshole)

Fluently Forward - My favorite examples of witty, flirty banter in movies

BBC: WorkLife - The secret to a quick-witted comeback

Writer’s Digest - Writing Better Banter: 4 Tips for Making Your Readers Laugh Out Loud

Literary Terms - When & How to Write Wit

wikiHow - How to Write Playful Banter

Willow Writes - How To Write Playful Banter

Screenwriting U - Writing Dialogue Banter That Works

Helping Writers Become Authors - Are Your Characters Bantering or Bickering?

SpringHole - Basic Tips To Be Witty & Funny

Thanet Writers - How to Write Humorous Dialogue

Masterclass - How to Write Funny Dialogue: 15 Tips for Making Readers Laugh

Kingdom Pen - Beyond Banter: 4 Tips for Writing Hilarious Dialogue

Reddit: r/Screenwriting - What’s your favorite moment of witty dialogue in film?

TV Tropes - Witty Banter

Reddit: r/MovieSuggestions - Fast Witty Dialogue Movies

Reddit: r/BookSuggestions - Books with a dry, witty British humor

Reddit: r/IfYouLikeBlank - TV comedies with intelligent/witty humor

Taste of Cinema - 10 Great Comedy Movies With Witty Humor

#writing #writing help #writing advice #writing reference #writing references #witty banter #witty character #witty dialogue #wisecracker #quick wit #dialogue #banter #how to

[elizabethsway]

I got this little postcard book that featured the Golden Girls and I know my Sis got the same one. I feel like it would be funny for me if she receives the same card she has.

But on top of it, she went to Maine recently so I made some witty banter in the style of Golden Girls for the back of the postcard. Sadly, I often have the handwriting of a first grade boy.

So fun and cute. Plus it has puff sticker quotes I can add places.

#the golden girls #golden girls #blanche #rose #maine #sister #trip #travel #book #postcard #mail #snail mail #funny #quote #witty banter #banter #witty #lol #betty white

[klenda-v]

Justice and Seven21 had a single audio drama together in which they spar and admire each other and they have some of the best banter I’ve seen in Ultraman in YEARS

#Ultraman #fanart #watercolor sketch #ultraman seven21 #ultraman justice #witty banter #they’re besties your honor #battle couple

[fictional-men-have-my-heart]

I just want to say thank you to those who have been following along or may have just joined, I didn't think when starting this or getting back into Tumblr I'd end up with a post with more than 20 notes, and now I've got multiple over 50 and one that topped 80. Little sappy blurb over, now:

Day 17: Can you imagine the zingers that would be flying around with these guys? All of the 141, Los Vaqueros, and König are sassy and sarcastic at times, so imagine getting stuck in a long haul mission with them.

• It starts out as cringe dad jokes. Mostly Price and Gaz coming in with stuff like

• "What side of the street did the kids wait for the bus on?"

°"Which side Captain?"

° "The right side. Otherwise, they'd get left."

• Groans would sound in the comms. You knew some of the team would be shaking their heads and laughing under their breath.

• As hours turned into days, the jokes would steadily become darker in nature.

• Your Lt was especially bad about these. Once, when Rudy was trying to light a small fire to warm up some food in camp, he used too much accelerant and lit his glove on fire.

• Ghost immediately piped up.

• "Give a man a match, and he'll be warm for a few hours. Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life."

° "Is now really the best time for that Ghost?" Gaz asked. You and Soap were cracking up, hiding your faces in your hands.

• Jokes were also used to check in with each other.

• "Hey, rookie, why should you not break people's hearts?" Soap had asked.

° "Enlighten me."

° "Cause they've only got one. Break their bones instead, they've got 206 of 'em."

° "Good one, Johnny." Ghost's voice rumbled in your ear.

• Alejandro and König were just overall sassy when in the field.

° "Get your ass out of the air rookie; you don't need another hole in it." Alejandro had said as he planted a boot on your lower back.

° "Look at you, so little like a mouse." König had chuckled when you were paired to spar when you both weren't on watch.

° "The bigger they are, the harder they fall buddy." You retorted, watching him closely.

° A well placed kick to his chest had him stumbling, but when you rushed him, he caught you effortlessly and pinned you to him.

° "Nice try, Kleiner." He had crowed. A sweep of one leg behind him had you two on the ground, and you straddled his back, pinning his arms behind him.

° "You ever heard the phrase "Dynamite comes in small packages?". Keep that in mind."

I just feel like with how much banter we saw in the campaign, we'd get a lot of the same in the crew on a mission. I'm always a fan of witty and fun shit-talking on your friends. We roast each other damn near constantly haha.

#call of duty modern warfare #cod mwii #headcanons #simon 'ghost' riley #john 'soap' mactavish #alejandro vargas #rodolfo parra #captain john price #kyle 'gaz' garrick #könig call of duty #roasting each other #witty banter #feel free to use #tag me if you do #i want to see it #thanks yall #i appreciate the love so far #fluffy #they're basically shitposters #interact like siblings

[yeniasworld]

I am in the process of creating a completely new era, vibe, and mood for this generation. Both knowingly and unknowingly. Wow!

Oh, you won't believe the exciting things I'm cooking up! I'm about to revolutionize this generation with a brand new era, vibe, and mood. It's going to be mind-blowing, and trust me, it's going to leave everyone speechless. Absolutely wow-worthy!

I am currently in the process of creating a brand new era, with a fresh vibe and an enchanting mood specifically designed for this generation. And guess what? Whether people realize it or not, they are in for a mind-blowing surprise.

#witty #witty humor #witty banter #mood #true #truth #love #earth 1 #the eras tour #silent era #good vibes #chill vibes #2014 vibes #generation #yeniasworld

[basic-e]

Dark lessons of life

There is no other option to live until we die, whether it be by choice or not.

Life doesn’t look beautiful all the time.

It may or may not carry a different perspective from time to time.

What’s one of yours?

#dark writing #dark #life lessons #black and white #dark humor #witty banter #philosophy #writing #nature #quotes

[shironezuninja]

Not enough alcoholic cider of wine glasses is enough to block out my Old Hag’s crazy attempt to put Thanksgiving food away.

#layouts #screenshots #hobby #habit #spider man #spider man comics #marvel comics #peter parker #ultimate spider man #deadpool #spideypool #danger mouse 2015 #old friend #nezu chan #tied up in webbing #witty banter #hot peter parker #spidey in a bottle #comic book pages #comic book panels #speech bubbles #winter spidey #cold spidey #shivering spidey #sick spidey #silk marvel #spiderverse #dialogue boxes #spidey sense #snowing

[effingcat]

Witty banter is so underrated

#flirting #banter #witty banter #humor #dating #queer #lgbtq #gay #lesbian

[howifeltabouthim]

'You're . . . very eligible. You don't have to feign modesty, because I'm sure you know it. I personally would never go out with you, but you're tall, you went to fancy schools, and you're a doctor. To the general public, which has no idea what a condescending elitist you are, you're a catch.'

Curtis Sittenfeld, from Eligible

#darcy and lizzy #witty banter #insult #takedown #if you were the last man on earth #snob #arrogant #narcissist #characterization #dialogue #pride and prejudice #fitzwilliam darcy #lizzy bennet #quotes #lit #words #excerpts #quote #literature #eligible #curtis sittenfeld

[fake-elizabeth-bennet]

The wifi provider company shared contact no. of the representative who will come to install router at my place. I was about to text him the address but saw his WhatsApp about as "Mom says avoid girls". Wondering if I should request him to go against his mom just this once!!!!!!!

#tumblrposts #tumblr #tumblrtextpost #darkacademia #bookstagram #writers on tumblr #library #artists on tumblr #books & libraries #crazy girl #girlblogging #tumblr girls #witty humor #witty banter #funnyshit #funnystories #girl boss gaslight gatekeep #half witted talk #my silly little posts #humorous #funny post

[xboxlr]

These Game Pass price adjustments are not related to the Activision Blizzard deal, and are intended to match local market conditions.

So the Activision Blizzard related price increases are coming later?

#xbox #game pass #xbox game pass #witty banter

[t-ess-e]

Stepping outside my comfort zone has been a very uncomfortable experience

#comfort zone #outside your comfort zone #witty banter #witty humor #uncomfortable

[marlynnofmany]

These are all from the beginning of the book, except the one that’s from near the end. I’m not saying which. (There’s plenty more in between.)

#witty banter #diologue #my writing #book recs #Spectacular Silver Earthling #robots #science fiction #videos #TikToks by me #this main character is a delight and a joy #Hubcap the Egomaniacal Sassmaster #I'm scheduling this for a time of day when people are likely to actually see it #and I will still be asleep #cuz I'm getting over The Plague #almost better though! hooray! #should be back to my brand of off-normal in no time