Can they rush in after the first two words, before you say “not”? Can they enter if they stuff their ears before they hear the final word?
Can they rush in after the first two words, before you say “not”? Can they enter if they stuff their ears before they hear the final word?
I would say, no, because the same magic rule prompting the vampire to ask permission in the first place also requires the answer to be complete. Otherwise, why bother? They would dart inside even before you had a chance to say “you” with the excuse that since you were taking too long you probably were okay with it.
I wonder if the magic rule understands double negatives. If you tell a vampire “You ain’t never coming in here,” can they enter? What about sarcasm? “Oh yeah, I’m definitely inviting you in.”
I suppose it depends on if you can write a fun story around either one. Since every rule about vampires that sticks basically only has one thing in common, the writing in which it was featured was popular. If what you write around it isn’t very good, then no, I guess retroactively that isn’t how vampires work. But if it becomes popular and part of peoples canon in the future, then yes, that is exactly how vampires work, now.