rachelmanija | (Reply)

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Actually, I think that really nails the difference for me between the version that works and the version that doesn't! Most of the "it was all VR!" stories I can think of that I liked involve the protagonists figuring out that it's VR about halfway through due to inconsistencies in the world or other factors, which is basically the second-act twist (sometimes the end-of-first-act twist) that kicks off figuring out how to get out, find who's doing it to them, and deal with that. I definitely get that some people hate this because they were invested in the VR world, but for me the "your reality is a lie, now how do you deal with it?" aspect is really interesting and pleasantly mindbending. Laid out like that, I can totally see why this appeals to me when "It was all a dream!" stories don't, since nothing changes in the character's external universe.