#this doesn't mean I don't understand shipping something off of vibes(I've done it before)

[the-bright-one-with-black-eyes]

Off topic rant from someone AroAce but.

What does it mean when a ship has "chemistry"?

Does that mean vibes? If so then using chemistry is a terrible arguing point for any ship you're for/against because it is the most subjective take ever.

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonegg doesn't have to make them wholesome. It can be twisted.

I understand that. I know some have more of a Batman/Joker thing in mind with the ship.

But, I mean... it's not for me. It's just not for me. I don't know what else I can say (but I'll try anyway).

As I explained before, regardless of how it's done, Foe Yay in general is a trope that I tend to roll my eyes at more often than not these days, due to how fans will see it in every single hero/villain dynamic they see, even when there's little-to-no official precedent for it beyond the villain having an irrational obsession with beating the hero because... no shit, of course their obsession with beating the hero is uncompromising, that's kind of why they're the villain. Doesn't always mean they're thinking with their pants.

Now take a cliche that I'm already bored of, and apply it to a villain who already has a legendary track record for being disrespected, degraded, downplayed, and dragged through the mud by the fandom in every way it can think of short of actually killing him off (and even that isn't always guaranteed). Years of disrespect in fanworks and several official works alike have made me very picky about which works involving the good doctor I express willingness to lend my time and attention to, and suffice to say, Eggman having a boner for Sonic, even an angry one... nah, ain't cutting it for me. :P

Now don't worry, I'm not part of the purity police. I don't cancel people over ships like a crazy person, I'm not a Tweeter. But I don't need to be a puritan to just not vibe with a ship, and for reasons relating to how it often paints an already disrespected villain that means a lot to me.

The irony of Dream Team causing a spark in the fandom is that from what I've seen, Eggman is actually treated fairly well in the game, meaning if I've not been punk'd, I can consider this a refreshingly good portrayal and usage of him compared to something like Frontiers... but that one moment with Sonic sleeping on his hand is the part everyone keeps directing their attention to. D':

[firelxdykatara]

So if you ship Laura and Travis does that mean you think Stockholm syndrome is okay? Because that is what it basically is. Can you explain what makes you think there is any form of chemistry there? When Laura is obviously more of the strong independent woman and Travis gives off man who belongs in the 50's vibes.

I mean, considering that Stockholm Syndrome is not something that exists and was, in fact, coined by a misogynist who wanted to discredit the victims in the hostage situation (it is steeped in 'female hysteria' rhetoric) for trusting their captors more than the police and the mayor who said they should be willing to die for their job and deliberately put their lives at risk while the hostage takers were actually more concerned with their welfare.... I guess in that sense I think it's 'okay', if by 'okay' you mean 'is fine to portray in fiction (especially as something that doesn't exist and wouldn't apply to Hackearney even if it did)'.

As I've said before, I do not take anyone seriously who uses Stockholm Syndrome as a 'reason' not to ship something, because it tells me they've done approximately zero research, and probably aren't worth listening to.

Also, calling Laura a 'strong independent woman' and then saying that Travis 'belongs in the 50s'.... what??? The man is 56, not 90, and nothing about his characterization gives the impression that he's a guy with 50s values. And Laura being strong and independent doesn't mean she wouldn't have room for romance in her life (as evidenced by the existence of her boyfriend), and beyond that, if you played the game and don't understand where we get their chemistry from, I really can't help you. I could pull up scenes and go line by line and point out their physicality, but I suspect the effort would be entirely lost on you, so why bother?

And by the way, I do also enjoy straight up kidnapper and/or stalker/victim romances that are considerably more problematic than Hackearney's relationship in a survival/horror werewolf game, so I'm genuinely not sure what you're expecting here. I think it is 'okay' to write and enjoy intensely problematic shit in romance and erotica, actually! I think it's sexy! If you disagree, the door is right over there.

[set-in-stardust]

akhldfsl yes i did, in fact, mean chapter 19 oh my god

firstly scar? at the beginning? scamming grian and probably mumbo the same way? beautiful. we love to see it. scar deserved to snap he's been dealing with this for too long. and the fact he used their meetings as the bargaining because he knew neither of them wanted to lose them? adfs;jkl bmmmm

how mumbo doesn't hesitate to come help grian when he said he needed to fly? when mumbo said he wanted to land and, even though grian was questioning it, did it without a doubt? listen i'm soft

your description of the cave: gorgeous. immaculate. i want to go there and have a photoshoot. i could see it in my mind and there are so very few works i can say that about. it sounds beautiful and how in the world did you manage to convey it in a simple 8 sentences? oh my gosh

grian is very,,, selective about what he qualifies as lies and truths, i've noticed. if we end up going very technical on what qualifies as lies grian tells, he most often ends up telling lies of omission- these are 'the intentional exclusion of important information'. when it comes to his wings, he calls these lies. when it comes to anything else, it's a half-truth or doesn't even register it as any lie at all.

also scar what was your plan for the ordering of questions in this tunnel?? yes i understand having a question at the beginning to lure them into a false sense of security to make sure they understand the concept, but how did we go from ship names to favorite traits? please the vibe change is too much between those questions

grian. not even realizing mumbo's kissing him for the first couple seconds. sir what the-

ahh hehehe mumbo being immediately worried he overstepped boundaries again and apologizing immediately! a) it does show, again, he's learned a new response to what to do when he's hurt someone, how to properly convey his emotions. he's telling grian that he doesn't want to put him in a position where he's uncomfortable ever again, and, while stuttery and stilted and very mumbo, it's much more direct than what he's done before.

b) '"It's something that I've given a lot of thought, and if you don't want this, that's okay! Maybe I read into it too much, or if you're just not ready, then I'll wait; I'll wait as long as it takes,"'

i'll wait, i'll wait as long as it takes. bm. BM. hello. hi. uh. yeah.

yeah grian i would agree a mustache seems like it would an odd texture to feel while you're kissing someone but go off i guess? you got the guy after 75000 words so enjoy it all you need. we're all just glad you finally got there.

mumbo reiterating the point that he doesn't want to force grian to do anything. and then grian without a singular hesitation dashing those thoughts away. mm. they ✨

hAH Scar being found out by the two of them! i cannot wait for that conversation. it is going to be one of the funniest things.

the wings the wings the wings came out oh my god i love that trope

and, simply to bring this back to my initial freakout ask, the last 4 lines:

'Mumbo looked over at him. “What’s the right answer?” he asked softly. Grian’s cheeks grew warm. He bit his lip, laughed, then said: “Everything.”'

yes. bm. that dialogue oh my gosh. you have stolen my heart through these two fictional characters. they're so sweet. i- :p i just think they're neat (:

woof. this one is Very Long. sorry about that. i held a lot of thoughts and i've reread the fic just a ~couple~ times over the past 5 days (i've read it over so many times. fun fact- i actually skipped the love tunnel scene the first 2 times i read the fic because i was getting so much second hand embarrassment. i read it the third time and every time since though!). i just. ahhhhhhhh. bm. you are a very good writer and you need to know that.

~☁️

AAAAA I ENJOYED READING UR THOUGHTS ON THIS SM TY FOR THIS SHFHS

It amazes me how much stuff ppl point out that I don't even do on purpose when I plan this stuff,,, like them agreeing easily wasn't on purpose it was just for plot, BUT it does work out to show how close they r now soooo-

Also I don't think scar had much of an order with the questions, just wanted that first one, then a silly one, then I think he'd planned to get more serious the closer they got to the end in hopes that they'd like,, confess right in front of him LMFAO

And ty!!! The description for the tunnel was rlly hard tbh,, I struggled putting what was in my head into words a lot with it

And yep yep yep, grians always telling lies of ommision. They come the easiest, as it's easier to keep his mouth shut and not explain himself than to open up to someone else. Scar tells white lies, and mumbo prefers to not lie at all, or avoid saying anything (also ommision)

And Hehe hehehe u don't even know how much of the dialogue came to me before writing this chapter- hell, before even planning it. I knew I wanted that ending line, I knew what mumbo was going to say when he pulled away. I could literally see so much of this chapter in my head and it took sooooo long to get it just right ahfhhf

Also fun fact I talked to my friend whose ex had a moustache what kissing a man with a moustache was like for this fic,,, she just said it was weird so I left it vague LMFAO

THE WINGS CAME OUT THING WAS SO AAAA get ready for more it's so funny

And omfg yeah I don't blame u for skipping the OG tunnel scene,,, It was hard to write it cuz I kept having to like, step away I was so embarrassed LMFAO

Anyways lovely to hear your thoughts!!! Tysm for this!!!