Dream Theory - Commentary - Ch. 21-22 (Patreon)

I can’t believe Dream Theory is over already!  It feels like just yesterday that I was so excited to start posting it, and now I’m so excited to post the next story.  Completing a story is a great feeling!  There’s also an element of sadness to it since this is something I’ve spent hundreds of hours working on over the course of the year, but there’s excitement for what comes next.

Especially because a new story means a different set of emotions and a different atmosphere!  In this case, The Winter Challenge is decidedly more upbeat.  It’s sarcastic Weiss at her finest, and I’m pretty sure the world needs more sarcastic Weiss.

Before we get into that, we need to discuss the last two chapters of Dream Theory, which were the ending and then the epilogue.  Essentially, two endings.

We had a bit of a time skip between Chapter 20 and 21 which meant we didn’t see Blake and Yang’s conversation after the danger was finally over.  I spent quite a while deliberating on how I wanted this ending to go before deciding to write it how it is. 

On the one hand, I wanted to write their conversation.  They could get everything out in the open.  Yang could talk about how important trust is to her.  Blake could explain why she did what she did.  They could both promise to be better or different or otherwise change things for the future.

On the other hand...didn’t we get all of that information in bits and pieces throughout the story?  Through Yang and Blake’s POVs, we learned how they thought about the decisions that were made and what they wished was done differently.  We know that Blake is repentant and willing to do anything to make things up to Yang, and we know that Yang wants Blake to open up and be more honest even when Blake just wants to run.  If we already know what each of them wants and what they’re willing to do for each other (anything), do we really need to hear it all again?

Ultimately, I decided it would be overkill.  Also, I liked leaving it up to our imaginations and only writing the aftermath.  I think we all have a good idea of what they talked about and the resolutions that came out of it.  Yang is determined to forgive - Blake is determined to be open and honest.

But that’s not all that needs fixing in their lives at the moment.  Solidifying their relationship is their biggest priority because they need and want to rely on each other to get through the other issues they have to conquer.  For Yang, she still has the whole ‘was kidnapped and forced into dreams’ thing.  For Blake, she spent a long time isolating herself and refusing to trust anyone.

As she’d explained to Yang, she still wanted to hide in the shadows - out of sight and out of mind - but she also understood that she couldn’t live her life that way.

Now that the excitement is over, Blake’s instinct is to return to hiding.  Thankfully, Yang won’t let her do that.  They’re getting their life back, dammit!  Even though their life together is a bit of a mess right now.

Speaking of a mess...did you remember suspicious Detective Saffold - the person Yang gave a piece of evidence to before chaos suddenly erupted?  Well, she’s still being suspicious!  From her comments, we can assume that her allegiances fall a little less with the police department than we would like.  Actually, she sounds like she might be far more loyal to the big ol’ tech company running the city than to the police.

From the last chapter (Chapter 22), you know that there are still bad characters around, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that Detective Saffold is one of them.  I don’t know definitively, of course, but I was thinking she is more...informed and fearful.  She’s the one you think is a mole or working for the bad guy, but she’s actually just so afraid that her actions come off that way.  At least, if I were to ever write a sequel, I think that’s how I’d fill out her story.

Everything subject to change, of course!  Plus, I have no plans of writing a sequel at this moment, so we might never know.

Returning to the issues Blake and Yang need to work on, you could probably tell what Blake was thinking when she walked into Yang’s office.  We saw what happened last time she was there, with Lyla calling the shots, and you have to imagine that she’s a little worried about it being yet another trick.

What convinces her though?  The feeling of Yang’s mechanical arm.  As soon as she feels Yang’s arm, she relaxes and believes that it’s not another dream.  I think she’s realized that no one can recreate Yang’s arm the way she knows it.  She has each and every scratch memorized, and she should keep that information near and dear for the future!  (For that non-existent sequel…)

I realized midway through the story that I wouldn’t be able to reach a 100% happy ending without writing about a gazillion words, but I thought it was really important that we can see the 100% happy ending in the future.  Yang and Blake still have work to do on their relationship, but they’re laying the groundwork to be even better as a couple than they were before.

I’m glad that we got to see these last couple of chapters through Yang’s POV because I think she has the most positive outlook on their future.  She says all the things that Blake needs to hear, and Blake must feel so encouraged by it.  Such as:

“From now on, we’re focused on being honest and open, not on apologizing - ok?”

Blake’s probably thinking…‘I can do that.  I can be honest and open.  That doesn’t sound so hard.’  Which is great because she needs to keep up that line of thinking!

While Blake’s focused on being honest and forthcoming, Yang has a really great summation of where they’re at:

She knew they had a lot of work to do, but that wouldn’t stop her from giving her all.  No relationship was perfect, and no person was perfect.  What mattered most was that they loved each other, and they’d already proven that they were willing to do whatever it took to protect one another.

Also, Yang as a little task of her own that she needs to get better at:

Tapping her fingers against the desk, Yang looked at Blake and - trying out one of the new skills she needed to learn - actually listened.

I’m really proud of them!  I know everything isn’t perfect, but seeing how much effort they’re willing to put into their relationship was more than good enough for me.  And I loved putting in little moments where Blake made a concerted effort to voice thoughts she might not have earlier in the story.

Even better is that Yang notices the effort, so it’s not as if Blake’s trying to be better and Yang’s completely oblivious.  Because it takes two people to make a relationship work, which is what makes them so perfect!  They’re more than willing to put in the effort for each other.

And, even though we didn’t get to see their conversation, Yang gives us a nice summary of it: 

It was one of the best conversations they’d ever shared.  They’d always had great talks together, but this one...it felt like nothing stood between them anymore.  Everything, and Yang meant everything, was out in the open.  Secrets, insecurities, fears...they left no stone unturned in rebuilding their foundation.

I felt like this was more than enough description for us to go on while using our imaginations to fill in the details.  It sounds like a really difficult conversation, but they came out of it determined and happy.  The fact that Yang describes it as one of the best conversations they’ve ever had should tell us even more.  They were already great together, now they’re on the way to becoming even better.  (100% happiness, here we come!)

On the way to 110% happiness is Weiss.  Think about how much her life has changed over the course of this story, and particularly in the last couple chapters.  At the beginning, she’s a high-powered defense attorney with a secret relationship that she doesn’t want to be secret anymore.  Then Blake returns, Ruby’s apartment is destroyed, and suddenly...Ruby is basically living with her.  

How long do you think it took her to realize that that’s what she wanted?  She already mentioned thinking about quitting her job, but getting a taste of what it could be like undoubtedly pushed her over the edge.

At the end of the story, Weiss is a high-powered prosecuting attorney with a not-so-secret relationship, living the life she never dreamed of having.  She quit her job for Ruby.  We didn’t get to see much of how their relationship developed, but let’s just say that Weiss lived for her job before she met Ruby.

They’ve all grown, really.  Except Ruby.  Ruby was already pretty dang perfect.  Even Weiss describes her as the ‘hero,’ and Yang aptly summarizes:

“Basically, Ruby helps us do everything.”

Blake grew the most, I think.  Obviously, she had the most growing to do since she’s the one who made the biggest mistake (also, I’m sure you picked out the What Defines Us reference in this chapter!  “We’re not going to let our mistakes define us.”).  At the end of the story, she’s speaking more of her thoughts, even when that means being super cute and romantic (read: mushy) with Yang like this:

“It’s funny how you can find someone like that.  Suddenly, everything else in your life is second priority, and they’re all that matters.”

“Sounds like you’re talking from experience,” Yang joked, and smiled when Blake looked her way. 

“I am.  That’s how I feel about you.”

She’s also conquered her jealousy of Casey enough to give him a legitimate ‘thank you’ for his help:

It sounded like that was all she had to say but, when he turned to leave, she reached out to stop him.  “And...thank you.”

And she offers to explain to the Dreamscape interns what she did and how it impacted their lives.  This, in particular, is the furthest thing from running from her mistakes.  She’s now ready to face the music, so to speak, and explain her actions to people who probably won’t be very thrilled with her.  

(Actually, they’ll probably be all starstruck that The Blake Belladonna is back and speaking to them.  From how overzealous I made the interns, they’ll probably immediately jump to the ‘it’s so cool my senpai brainwashed me’ phase.)

The end of Chapter 21 featured a small news segment where the newscasters talk about Lyla being essentially disowned by Dreamscape.  Originally, I planned on the segment talking about how dreams were being hacked already.  I thought that was a bit more ‘the world’s about to dissolve into chaos, but our main characters are ok for now.’

But...I want them to be ok for longer than just now!  They literally just got through that whole mess.  Heroes need sandwiches and breaks every once in a while.  

So I altered course and decided to throw Lyla to the wolves.  Rather than Dreamscape rushing to her aid, they cut her off.  I liked this better because it lays the groundwork for more sinister, powerful forces to be at play.  We thought Lyla was the mastermind, but what if she’s not?  If she’s so easily cast aside, we have to assume she wasn’t at the top.

Flash forward an unspecified number of months, and we’re at the epilogue.  Things have settled down in their lives enough for them to return to ‘normal.’  Although only Yang and Ruby are working, so it’s not quite resolved yet.

Yang is now the bleeding-heart detective who takes any grieving parent case that comes through the door.  I feel like this fits her personality and lines up with what she went through in the story.  It also goes with her willingness to see the best in people, just like she sees the best in Blake.

Ruby’s still a tech whiz and living with Weiss.

Blake’s still being open and honest - almost too much so, as Yang somewhat-humorously describes:

If anything, Blake was almost too trustworthy now.  She told Yang everything, save for a little surprise Weiss planned.  She answered Yang’s questions before even asked.  And she went out of her way to express her emotions in some way, shape, or form.

And Weiss...Weiss has a surprise in store for all of them.

I can’t remember when I decided to have Weiss join the prosecutor’s office, but I’m so happy that I thought of it somehow!  The police department probably tripped over themselves in their rush to hire her.  She probably walked into the office (when Ruby wasn’t on duty, because then Ruby might run into her and wonder what was going on) and said “I’d like to be your lead prosecutor.”  And the person in charge was probably like “Done.  Hired.  You can start tomorrow.”

With Weiss on board, plus Blake, Ruby, and Yang...you suddenly have, as Ruby puts it, the dream team.  (Dream team, get it??  Please don’t make me explain it - just know that I’m way too proud of it.)

The police force just got a lot scarier.

I love the relationship Weiss has with Yang in this story.  And I thought it was so sweet of Weiss to say that she would love to be Yang’s sister-in-law.  I also love how Blake and Weiss’ relationship has grown since their initial meeting, which was...confrontational, shall we say?  But they had a lot of free time on their hands with both of them being unemployed  (I’m sure Weiss would argue that statement.  She chose to quit her job - that doesn’t make her unemployed.  That makes her ‘willingly forgoing work.’)

I think that Blake and Weiss would actually make really great friends in this universe since they’re both very intellectual and observant.  While Blake’s form of observation is very, very detailed, I like to believe that Weiss also needs a certain level of observational skill in order to be a good attorney.  When she’s questioning witnesses or taking testimonies, she needs to have an intuitive understanding of when someone is telling the truth or lying, which she probably does through observations she probably can’t even put into words.

Blake’s trying to teach Yang to be more observational, which is adorable.  Yang will probably never be as good as Blake, but at least she can learn to protect herself more should she ever find herself living through a series of nightmares.  (Not saying that it will happen, but...wouldn’t it be apropos for it to happen again, only this time Yang’s so much more prepared?)

Getting back to the larger plot, and our slightly cliffhanger-y ending.  I anticipate some people to be upset about it, but what you didn’t realize was that you were actually reading a team formation story.  

That’s right!  A story that leads to the creation or formation of a group that then goes on to conquer the world/do great things/eradicate evil.

Dream Theory was never supposed to end on a finite note because there’s always a bigger bad.  There’s always someone else calling the shots.  Just when you think you’ve got the bad guy, there’s another one standing right behind them.  In that sense, I wanted the four main characters to come together in a way that we know they’re ready and capable to deal with whoever is left in their path.

It’s no longer Weiss snapping at Blake, Blake keeping secrets, and Yang/Ruby trying to get their girlfriends to behave.  They’ve come together to form the ultimate team (the dream team!), and now they’re ready to solve the bigger mystery.

That being said, I did leave a couple of clues as to who the ultimate villains are.  The first is in Chapter 21 when Yang describes Lyla’s possessions:

She didn’t have much with her,” she explained while flipping through the photos one-by-one.  “Daydreamer - that I might’ve smashed a little, her ID and three fake ones, two holomasks, two phones, her cane, and some weird cards with numbers on them.”  Yang tilted her head to look at the skinny ‘8’ on what looked like a playing card, then shook her head and pushed the images off the screen.

What would an ‘8’ look like flipped on its side?  Possibly...an infinity symbol?

Then there’s what Taven says in the epilogue:

“Get out of my head!” Taven screamed when Redd grabbed his arms to hold him back.  “You think you’ll get away with this??  I’ll bury you!  You won’t even know what forever means when I’m done with you!”

‘Forever,’ you say?  Infinity and forever are basically the same things, don’t you think?

And where have we heard mention of forever before?  (I know what you’re thinking...forever is a super popular word!  I’ve probably typed it about a hundred quadrillion times!)  

But also back in Chapter 8, which is itself a flashback to the day Blake and Yang met.  Blake glosses over the interaction, but could this group be more sinister than she ever thought?

“Theoretically though, Dreamscape Industries could program a sequence of dreams to simulate any life the dreamer wanted.”

Understanding that the man - who must be a member of one of those ‘forever dreamer’ groups - wasn’t giving up anytime soon, Blake shook her head.

“We aren’t working on that at the moment,” she told him flatly.  “The science could be there, but first we need to solidify a co-dreamer’s form, don’t you think?”  

The answer is yes, but also...what did I just say about there always being a bigger bad?

Ok, I’m just messing with you now because I really don’t know!  I set up the Forever Dreamers to take the fall because they seem like just the right fanatical group.  Plus, their ultimate goal of spending forever in a dream lines up with Lyla’s wish to be viewed as anything but a cripple ever again.

I feel ok about not writing the sequel because I think we already know that our new dream team is more than capable of handling any trouble that comes their way.  After the Forever Dreamers, there will always be someone else that needs putting in line, but those are stories for people who have the time and energy to write them (ie, not me at the moment...).

Also, about the last line...I think it’s fascinating to think about - what if Yang never made it out of the dreams?  What if she only thought that she did?  What if Blake got pulled into a dream too, but while she’s still halfway across the world?  What if she isn’t even halfway across the world?  What if they’re both right next to each other but sleeping this entire time??

That being said, no, it’s not a dream.  But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to cast doubt over the entire story!  It would be interesting to read again with the mindset that the entire thing is a dream...that would probably be a little trippy.

In my mind, the ending of Dream Theory is comparable to the ending of Rush, where we learn that we were actually reading Blake’s retelling of Weiss and Ruby’s story rather than the story itself.  I like to flip stories on their heads like that.  I’ll agree that it’s a little evil, but I like making people question everything they just read!

A little extra note since I never did a Rush commentary - when I reached the end of the story, I realized that Blake hardly said two words the entire time.  Yang had a role as protective older sister, but Blake was just kind of...there.  Therefore...I decided to make her role even bigger.  She had hardly any lines, but she’s actually telling the entire story.  How’s that for not having any lines?  The entire thing was in her words!

Alright, that was a tangent, but I think we’ve reached the end of yet another story.  I hope that you enjoyed it!  Personally, I had a lot of fun playing with the futuristic setting where pretty much anything goes as long as you can pass it off as ‘technology.  Adding in the mystery aspect of what happened and who the bad guy is was also fun - it reminded me of What Defines Us in how bits and pieces are revealed over time.  It’s also (unsurprisingly) much harder to write this way.

In terms of the overall lesson/moral of this story, I wanted to emphasize both trust and forgiveness.  Trust, for Blake, isn’t necessarily her strong suit, which is why she keeps so much information to herself until late in the story.  Trust is easy for Yang, but then she finds herself in a situation where she feels like she can’t trust one of the most important people in her life.

That leads us to forgiveness, which is equally important!  This echoes What Defines Us, in a way, because Weiss had to learn to forgive herself in that story.  Dream Theory is also about Blake forgiving herself for her mistake, but it’s much more about Yang learning to forgive Blake.

And, of course, it’s about the two of them growing closer and stronger because of what they went through, and because they’re determined to make their relationship work.  Through love and support and all that great mushy stuff.  Ultimately, they get their happily-ever-after!  And they get to catch a lot of bad guys in the process.  That’s a win-win if I’ve ever seen one.

With that said, we’re saying goodbye to this universe for now.  I started the White Rose prequel, but then paused and started another new story instead, so I’m not sure when we might be returning.  All I know is that we have The Winter Challenge up next (as well as the start of V7!), and who knows where we’ll go from there.  Could be some mythical land, could be the real world, could be space, who knows…

Once again, thank you so much for the support!  It’s really encouraged me to write more consistently and actually finish stories rather than starting and abandoning lots of them.  For that, I thank you!

Until next time, 

Miko

(Dream team, indeed!  XD)