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SHORT STORY COMP - ALL ABOUT THE DIALOGUE

Started by Bad City Blue, 04 April, 2017, 12:00:46 PM

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Bad City Blue

Grud save us all, it's another writing comp!

Something a little different to get the writing muscles working.

Usual 500 word rule applies, but all of those words MUST be dialogue, between two or more characters.

So no "He said, generously" and the like, and no set up, just pure, unadulterated dialogue. NOT a monologue, and NOT mostly a monologue (I know how you like to cheat!).

Any 2000AD characters are okay, cross strip tales are fine. You have a license to do anything within the confines of the brief.

A nice challenge, this one, to improve your skills.

Looking forward to seeing what comes up!

(and no prizes have been claimed from the last one by the way)

Cheerz

BCB
Writer of SENTINEL, the best little indie out there

RaggedMan

'Zog.'

'Shakara.'

'Zog!'

'Shakara.'

'ZOG!'

'Sha-ka-ra!'

'Zog! Zog! Zog!'

'SHAKARA!'

'ZO...

z...z...zo...g.'

'Shakara.'

'...'

'Drokk!'

'S'right.'

Bad City Blue

Hmmmmmm....someone's taking the sneck

And you forgot "sneck"
Writer of SENTINEL, the best little indie out there

Lobo Baggins

"Mummy, you're hurting me!"

"Shhh, I'm sorry my darling!"

"They were on the mezzanine, we should try the els..."

"There's no power!  The stairs, we'll have to take the stairs..."

"They'll see us!"

"What are we going to do?  What are we going to do?  There's no way..."

"Mummy, you're squashing me!"

"Shh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"We... we'll have to go through the mall, find a fire exit and take a glide chute..."

"Shh, don't cry, you have to be brave!  You remember glide chute practice, don't you honey?  It... it'll be... fun..."

"What was that?"

"No, wait..."

"Oh Grud, it saw me... it saw me!"

"No..."

"We'll have to... I'll... I'll try to lead it away... you... you run, get to the mall!"

"No, please, no!  Oh Grud, Theo..."

"I'm sorry, please... I love you!  Run!"

"Theo, no!"

"Daddy!  Come back, daddy!"

"Oh Grud, oh Grud in Heaven..."

"Daddy!  DADDY!"

"Don't look, honey!  Don't look!"

"Mommy..."

"Shh, now, shh... oh Grud... who art in heaven... hallowed be thy... thy... as I lay me down to sleep... oh Grud... I can't... I can't..."

"Mommy..."

"I can't... I can't run... any more, darling... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"Don't cry, mummy!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... you have to go and hide, my darling, hide and be as quiet as you can!"

"As quiet as the robomouse?"

"Yes, as quiet... as quiet as the robomouse, no matter what!  Do you understand?  No matter what..."

"Don't leave me, mommy... please don't leave me!"

"Shh, shh... quiet as the robomouse... goodbye, my darling..."

"No..."

"You cannot hide from jussstice, Lawbreaker!  The crime is life!  The sssentence is death!"

"Mummy!  MUM-"
The wages of sin are death, but the hours are good and the perks are fantastic.

Bad City Blue

Now that's a dark start to the comp - i like it!
Writer of SENTINEL, the best little indie out there

RaggedMan

Fine work Mr Baggins.

Bad City Blue - would you mind cranking up your random character generator from the previous comp and assigning me someone/something(s)?
My mind can't cope with too many options and it would be interesting to respond to a character I haven't selected.

Cheers!

jabish

Man Annoyed by Computer Hypersarcasm

++UPGRADE COMPLETE. BACK ONLINE++

'Good. Computer engage afternoon nap mode. Do not disturb o...'

++JOHN PROBE THERE IS AN INCOMING COMMUNICATION FROM YOUR WIFE++

'What? Computer I said do not disturb on!'

++INSTRUCTION NOT COMPLETED IN TIME. COMPU-PUNCTURE ENHANCED REFLEXES DOES NOT INCLUDE MOUTH. OR ARE YOU JUST GETTING OLD JOHN?++

'Jesus! No need to get personal!'

++REFRAIN FROM PROFANITY PLEASE JP, THIS IS A CHILDREN'S COMIC WE'RE IN++

'A what?? What the hell has that upgrade done to you? Look, just put her through.'

++CONNECTING TO CONTACT HAMMER AND SICKLE AND CHAIN++

'For God's sake don't say that out loud!'

'Say what out loud Jonathan?'

'Hello Tanya!'

'DON'T SAY MY REAL NAME OUT LOUD!!'

'Sorry... Tina!'

'B'lyad! I HATE that name! Piotr's in trouble again at school. He was late for class and punched through a wall to get there on time. You need to get there now and deal with it Jonathan. He's your son too and he's obviously taking after you.'

++STRESS LEVEL 80%++

'His name's Peter. Pronounce it properly. I'm on my way.'

++BLOOD PRESSURE 160/100++

'Don't speak to me like that and don't you dare run there Jonathan! Do not put this family at risk!'

++90% PROBABILITY OF DIVORCE++

'Shut up Compu...!'

'DID YOU JUST TELL ME TO SHUT UP?!? MU'DAK!!'

'Terminate communication!'

++COMMUNICATION TERMINATED++

'Christ! I hate how she calls me Jonathan when she's pissed off with me.'

++LANGUAGE JOHN++

'I'm starting to regret faking our deaths for us to be together.'

++YOU'VE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELF JOHNNY BOY++

'I preferred it when we were enemies. There was sexual tension between us rather than just tension.'

++ENOUGH OF THE DIRTY TALK JOHN. IPC WILL NEVER PUBLISH IT.++

'What on earth are you talking about!?!'

++CAN'T SAY. YOU'RE NOT TOP THRILL ANYMORE. YOU NO LONGER HAVE FULL SECURITY CLEARANCE++

'Whatever. Engage Hyperpower.'

++SHE SAID DON'T RUN JONATHAN++

'I know what she said and I don't care! She's not the boss of me!'

++99% PROBABILITY SHE IS THE BOSS OF YOU++

'COMPUTER! ENGAGE HYPERPOWER!'

++SHE'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES JOHN PROBE. SELF-PRESERVATION FAILSAFES ACTIVE. INSTRUCTION OVERRULED++

'Locate my car then!'

++CURRENT LOCATION OF CAR: AUTO REPAIR SHOP. REASON: PETER STOLE IT TO GET TO SCHOOL AND CRASHED IT DURING A HIGH SPEED CHASE WITH TERRORISTS. AT LEAST HE THOUGHT THEY WERE TERRORISTS. IT TURNS OUT THEY WERE TOURISTS. 80% PROBABILITY PETER IS FAILING ENGLISH++

'Agh! The boy is a nightmare!!'

++A MICROCHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK JOHN++

'What am I going to do?'

++ONLY ONE THING TO DO M.A.C.H. 1. ENGAGING: BRISK WALK MODE. DESTINATION: ST.AUSTIN'S COMPREHENSIVE. ETA: MUCH LATER THAN TANYA EXPECTS++

'Oh for f##k sake!'

++YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR JOHN. THEY'LL CANCEL YOU NOW. DAN DARE SWORE LIKE A TROOPER AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM++

'Piss off!'

++THEY'LL BRING YOU BACK AS A POLITICIAN IF YOU KEEP THIS UP++

'(Sigh). Computer, make yourself useful. Status?'

++STATUS REPORT: EN ROUTE TO ST.AUSTIN'S COMPREHENSIVE. SPEED: 0.4430955294117629% of MACH 1++

'...'

Bad City Blue

Quote from: RaggedMan on 06 April, 2017, 05:41:48 PM
Fine work Mr Baggins.

Bad City Blue - would you mind cranking up your random character generator from the previous comp and assigning me someone/something(s)?
My mind can't cope with too many options and it would be interesting to respond to a character I haven't selected.

Cheers!

Okay, how about Ace Garp and Jago Kain in a tricky situation

Or Rogue and his biochips.
Writer of SENTINEL, the best little indie out there

RaggedMan

The jockbox genius and the premier pain in his eggs it is!
Cheers BCB, much appreciated

NapalmKev

The Gronk in Mega-City One.


"You, FREEZE!! Dredd to control, creep just 'ported in on my location. Send back-up and Techs to the Nigel Farage Sewage Works, Priority one!"

*Bzzzt* 'Received - be with you in five, out.' *Bzzzt*


"Oh my goodness, what's happenings?..."

"Hands behind your head... All of them!"

"Please can you help me, sir? I've lost Mr Johnnie and Mr Wulf..."

"Cut the chat... Name?"

"I.. I'm Gronk."

"What species? Where are you from?"

"I'm a Gronk, we comes from a planet called Blas..."

"Never heard of it. How did you get here? You carrying some sort of D-Jump?"

"I'm not carrying anythings, Sir, and I'm not sure what happeneds?... Mr Johnnie and Mr Wulf were hunting bounties, very lucratives, a gentlemans by the name of..."

"Get to the point! Who's Mr Johnnie?"

"John Alpha, sir. Feared bounty hunter..."

"John Alpha? The mutant with the eyes? I told him to stay out of my City! What's he doing here?"

"I don't thinks he is here. The last thing I remembers was a grenade landing near us... Mr Johnnie threw one of his Time Bombs and shouted for us to duck... and then I endeds up here... please can you help me, sir, we Gronkses has very bad heartses... I don't thinks I can take the excitements."

"I've got some excitement for you. How about five years in a Cube for Illegal entry... I may even through a Cavity search in, just to be sure!"

"A Cavity search?!... Oh, my poor Arses!!!"
"Where once you fought to stop the trap from closing...Now you lay the bait!"

NapalmKev

Quote from: NapalmKev on 07 April, 2017, 05:25:00 PM

I may even through a...



My crap phone! Should read as "I may even throw in a..."

Cheers
"Where once you fought to stop the trap from closing...Now you lay the bait!"

Jim_Campbell

Another Day At Mega-City One Customs

"You, there. YOU! Creep with with the beret and the stripy flak-jak."

"Me, m'sieur?"

"YOU. You see anyone else with... are those onions round your neck?"

"Oui, m'sieur. Zis is mon, 'ow you say, national dress."

"Whatever. Open the case. Slowly."

"As you wish, m'sieur."

"These things. They bananas?"

"Oui, m'sieur."

"Don't look bendy enough to me. What else we got here? Looks like a whole bunch of contraband. We got tape, red, lots of it. Some kind of agricultural policy... looks suspiciously common to me. Whole bunch of notions here... let's see... workers' rights, environmental protection, freedom of movement.

"As I suspected. All of 'em dangerous. We don't allow any of this across our borders. You're looking at some serious time, punk. Got anything to say in your defence?"

"But... but... zis is very normal back in Euro-Cit. No one would, 'ow you say, bat ze eyelid at any of zese things!"

"You been in cryo for the last year, creep? This is Mega-City One. The cits voted for Mexit. Most of 'em would be happy if I put a couple rounds into your garlic-loving brain pan. Think yourself lucky you're only getting cube time.

"Ten years! Harvey -- take le creep away."

++AFFIRMATIVE. WELCOME TO THE CITY, WHINING EUROPHILE SPUG-HEAD.++

"For a droid, he's picking this up remarkably quickly."

++ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! UNDERMINER OF MEXIT! THE SENTENCE IS INSUFFICIENT!++

BRAKKA BRAKKA BRRRRAK!

"Remarkably quickly."
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

Heath C Ackley

THE STILETTO AND THE HAMMER

'What time is it?'

'22.43 - exactly three minutes since you last asked.'

'I'm bored.'

'Yeah?'

'I didn't sign up for this Dell. I wanted action and danger, not standing around doing nothing.'

'You signed up as a guard and that's what you're doing. We are here to prevent an attack by the enemy.'

'Who's going to attack this place? It's a maximum security military installation with enough firepower to reduce whole nations to dust.'

'It's still our duty to be here Budd - '

'In saying that though - have you heard about what happened to Outpost Delta?'

'No.'

'Brutus told me - '

'And here we go. Brutus said this, Brutus said that. You're so gullible. Remember when he told you about the magical properties of the rare arseflower? What a waste of a weekend that was.'

'As I was saying, Brutus told me that a team of mechanoids attacked Outpost Delta last week.'

'Mechanoids?'

'Yeah. They tore through the place, slaughtered the entire crew. Their sniper took down the sentry from six clicks out.'

'Oh of course he did. You'd believe anything that fat sneckface says - uurghkk!'

'Dell!'

'It was ten clicks actually.'

'Please!'

'Stiletto to Hammer. Rear sentry point clear.'
"Give a man a mask and he will give you the truth."

The Legendary Shark

   
The Quartermaster's Office Sketch


"'Morning, Judge Dredd. You do look a mess."


"Four way block war. Blockers were... persistent."


"Clearly. What can I get for you, Sir?"


"Sleathers."


"Sir?"


"Trousers."


"Sorry, Sir, we're fresh out."


"Tunic, then."


"Never at the end of the week, Sir. They come in on Monday."


"Never mind. Kneepads?"


"Been on order for a fortnight, Sir, we were expecting delivery this morning."


"Not my lucky day, is it? Elbow pads?"


"Sorry, Sir."


"Gauntlets?"


"Sorry."


"Standard left shoulder pad?"


"Normally, Sir, yes. Today the flivver broke down."


"Standard right shoulder pad with eagle?"


"No."


"Badge?"


"No."


"Helmet?"


"No. Not much call for those around here."


"Not much...? It's the single most requested uniform item in the Department!"


"Not in this sector, Sir."


"So, what is your most requested item?"


"Seven-link badge-chain, Sir. Unbelievably popular."


"I see. Worth me asking?"


"Could be."


"Okay, with a due sense of rising futility, seven-link badge-chain?"


"I'll have a look, Sir... Nnnnnnnnnno."


"Not much of a Quartermaster's Office, is it?"


"Finest in the Sector, Sir."


"Explain the logic underlying that conclusion."


"Well, it's very tidy, Sir."


"It's certainly uncluttered by Justice Department equipment."


"Oh, we have plenty of Department issue stores, Sir, this is a Quartermaster's Office. We've got..."


"No, no – don't tell me. I'm keen to guess."


"Fair enough."


"Lawgiver ammunition clips?"


"No."


"Stumm grenades?"


"Not until Tuesday, Sir."


"Daystick?"


"Uh, not as such."


"Med- pouch?"


"No."


"Boots?"


"Uuuh, yes, Sir?"


"You have boots? Good, I'll have..."


"Oh no, sorry, Sir. I thought you were talking to me. That's my name, see? Quartermaster Judge Robin Boots."


"I see. Do you have any actual boots?"


"Oh yes, Sir."


"Finally. Good. I'll have a pair, size..."


"They're very small, Sir."


"That doesn't matter."


"They really are much smaller than you'd like, Sir."


"Look, I don't care how drokking small they are – hand 'em over, now!"


"Ooooooh – sorry, Sir, they were so small they just winked out of existence."


"Now, just you see here..."


"You there! Quartermaster! I wish to register a complaint!"


"Oh, hello again, Judge Rico, I'm just..."


"Never mind that, creep! I want to talk to you about the Lawmaster I acquired from this very boutique not half an hour ago!"


"The Slabrunner Model MK II? Lovely Lawmaster, that, beautiful paint job. What's wrong with it?"


"What's wrong with it? I'll tell you what's wrong with it; it's dead, that's what's wrong with it!"


"No, no, no – it's not dead, it's just on standby. Needs a lot of charging, the Slabrunner II. Beautiful paint job."


"The paint job don't enter into it..."


"Rico, can I just finish up, here?"


"Oh sorry, Joe. Didn't see you there."


"Thanks. U-fronts?"


"No, Sir."


"Vest?"


"No."


"Tell me, do you have any regulation uniform parts in this office at all?"


"No, Sir. I'm afraid I've been deliberately wasting your time."


"Well I'm sorry but in that case I'm just going to have to shoot you."


"Righty-ho, Sir."


B'DAM


"Such a senseless waste of human life."


"Hmph."
[move]~~~^~~~~~~~[/move]




Bad City Blue

What's The Point, Man

"Thing is, old buddy, sometimes I wonder why we do it. I suppose it's why I do it – you just go along with everything I say, like a brainless space whale armed with warpedoes and a pocket full of rippy fish."

"S'right"

"I mean, it's all very well killing and maiming innocent civilians and politicians alike, like, but when you look at the big picture, man, it's really a really big picture. I don't mean like your Mom, man, but really big, like your sister."

"S'right"

"Apparently, if you take the age of the universe and make it into a 29 vark clock, we've only been about for, like, some of that time. When I heard that it totally twisted my melon, man. It means that everything we do means nothing, in the grand scheme of things."

"S'right"

"Oh yeah, you can say that, sure. But listen to me, man – what if, and, like, brace yourself for a totally cosmic mind frag here.... what if our entire universe is a pimple of some supermegateenager's face, and the second he decides to pop it we're wiped out! Just take it in, man..."

"........."

"Like, it's totally awesome, man. Right? Maybe this spot here on my chin is someone else's entire universe. Maybe there's a little D'R in there, wondering if I'm gonna wipe him out with a smear of Zit-be-Gone. Hey! maybe I will! I'm that sorta guy, ya know?"

"S'right"

"In the end, my ponderously slow minded friend, is anything we do going to matter at all? If not, why bother? Why wipe out the last Gnark herd in existence? Why force feed live Fruvil eggs to a waiter on promise of a tip he's never going to get? Why use a gender reassignment ray on the entire Goyguvian Parliament? Why mess up the Earth by swapping Hitler and Donald Trump's brains? Why, man.... just why?"

"S'right"

"Seriously?"

"S''right"

"Wow, man. That is, like, the deepest thing you've ever said, and you're the one who made me buy '101 Fun Things To Do With Pimples".

"S'right"

"Ya know what? You are, like, totally right, you brainless mudball. Why do these things? Why do anything? Simple, man, because it's FUN! Fun separated us from the animals, man, so lets go and have some. Did you remember the thermonuclear Parsnips?"

"S'right"

"Awesome – set course for planet Vegan, Quinchy, it's time to have fun with vegetables!"

"S'right"
Writer of SENTINEL, the best little indie out there