FANFIC: DEAD GARDEN
Finished my first multi chapter reylo story for the first time in years.
AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/78761256/chapters/206545236
Summary: Jaded software engineering manager Ben Solo has spent a decade suffocating under a toxic boss, estranged from his parents, and too spent to care about anything outside of work.
Then, he accidentally emailed Rey Smith instead of Ray Smith, and his world started to move again.
(Or: A fully formatted modern epistolary love story set in Silicon Valley)
Written for: @thetenderest as part of RFFA 2026
Director of A Dream Within A Dream’s Weibo Post on Show and Character
The director of the show has posted a very long post on theme of the show on 7/5. Here’s my translation.
I am very happy that many audience and friends have noticed certain details and foreshadowings in "A Dream within a Dream" that we buried in the show, such as the fact the four famous scenes in main show, happens in the same episode as in "A Dream of Qingning". As of today, more than half of "A Dream within a Dream" has been broadcasted, and I think I can share with you the theme we want to express:
How how one sees "me", change "me", and become the real "me";
And how one sees "you", eliminate the inherent prejudice against "you", and see the real "you".
At the beginning of the story, we entered the world of the script with Song Xiaoyu. However, unlike Xiaoyu, each of us viewers has a omnipotent perspective, while the only information Song Xiaoyu can get from the script is: Nan Heng used and deceived Song Yimeng, and turned her into a human jar, and wiped out the Song family. So at first she had only one goal: to stay away from Nan Heng and save her own life. Through interactions with Nan Heng, she has empathized with Nan Heng several times and felt his kindness, but the Song Yimeng from those moments still found the famous scenes from the script happening one after another, which meant that everything was predestined. Therefore, as her feelings with Nan Heng progressed, her inner struggle became more intense: if she accepted his love and repeated the path of the script, Song Yiting would kill her own happiness, and the whole Song family would be wiped out! In other words, as more time passes, the more obvious her inner struggle becomes, and from the beginning her point of view was trapped by her knowledge of the ending.
The Song Xiaoyu from later in the show stops classifying herself as an entity outside of the [script] world. She integrates into the world, and her focus expands from herself to everyone close to her. This, in the end, expands to an even grander observation, and together with the characters in the script and Passerby A, B, and C in the script world, fights and change fate, and thus finally completes Song Xiaoyu’s character growth arc.
In contrast to Song Yimeng, as a main character in the script world, Nan Heng is an object of "critical gaze" and misinterpretation. He is labeled as the "God of death", and he is ruthless and kills without blinking. This is also the "prejudice" that Song Yimeng, who has read the script, inevitably has against him. But gradually we find out that a Li Shiliu with flesh and blood has been born as if he had broken through the script. If "Nan Heng" represents the repressed version of him created by his twisted childhood, then Li Shiliu is the sunflower that newly grew out of the parch land from the aftermath of Nan Hen’s struggles. He represents both Nan Heng's ideal and what Nan Heng would have become by nature, because if you tear off Nan Heng’s label, he is Li Shiliu; if you take off Li Shiliu's mask, he is Nan Heng. The complexity of this character lies not in all his strengths, but in his hidden fragility and the way, in places the “scriptwriter” cannot touch, he rescues himself over and over again.
If there is something that "A Dream within a Dream" wants to examine with everyone, firstly, I think it is to rip up labels and let go of prejudice. As the lines in the drama say, "Break the rules and destroy destiny." Secondly, through the changes of Song Xiaoyu and Nan Heng, we also want to appeal to all of us in real life, to redefine our self-worth and abandon the useless labels imposed on ourselves and by the world, and through our own hard work to "change fate".
No matter what you choose, as long as you hold onto the brush of fate, then wherever the brush passes, it can develop into a painting.
Finally, thank you for your support for "A Dream Within A Dream" in the past, present and future. We look forward to exploring the remaining famous scenes with our audience, Song Xiaoyu's choices, exposure of Li Shiliu's identity and a series of "butterfly effects" in the future.
Looks like many people are unsure about how to interpret The Double’s ending. Many people think that it is implausible for Xiao Heng to break out among so many troops, and that his appearance at the end is Xue Fangfei's imagination, but actually that’s not how I view the ending. Think about it, when Xue Fangfei was buried alive in the beginning, shouldn’t that not be survivable? Yet she was able to crawl out of the grave with her own hands. Why couldn't Xiao Heng? Even if you can’t imagine him singlehandedly defeat the troops, then could there be some opposing soldiers who admire him try to convince him to surrender? Perhaps afterwards he became an undercover agent? And then…
In fact, there are thousands of possibilities in life. As long as you believe that he is back, he will be back. The ending of the drama corresponds to our attitude towards things in life. My idea is that by the sound of horse hooves, Xiao Heng is back, and Fang Fei turns around and the story ends happily. I don’t want to shoot the kind of show that leaves us wordless and in tears. This is why I told fans that it’s a HE, which is also what I believe down to my bones.
On the night of the 16th, Xingyue suddenly sent me a WeChat message saying that the platform wanted him to write a narration to explain the ending. I thought about it and suddenly realized that just as there are optimistic people there are also pessimistic people, and generally the voice of pessimistic people will overpower the optimistic people. Those that are pessimistic, will chatter endlessly and want to prove that they are right, while optimistic people just live their life and can’t be bother to argue. So I slapped my thigh and decided that instead of a narration, it would be better to show it to everyone. So I got director Ma Shishi and screenwriter Yangzhou together overnight, brought along some internet memes and concocted this bonus clip for everyone. The script was born that night, then I found time on the actors' schedule, and shot it on the 20th. I finished editing overnight and did post-production, and it was released immediately. I think it was pretty good. It allowed everyone to see the ending of the story more clearly and it’s definitely better than just an explanation. Moving forward, all my dramas have clear HE, including those that have been filmed and those that are currently being filmed. Everyone is very tired in real life, so I won’t do BE anymore and I won’t make you guess. Please bear with me.
The Double’s divisive producer posted a really nice long post today about The Double today so I translated it so I can share with you.
The show just ended, and I didn't have time to watch it, or perhaps it’s because I was afraid the comments [on the episode] would cause sadness, so I deliberately avoided it. This song is over, and I have reconciled with myself. There have been countless times when I have questioned whether I am suitable for this industry, whether I have talent, and even looked down on the refreshing drama I made myself. I wanted to switch to making some films that are recognized by people for its highbrows value. Even if the platform wants me to write a refreshing drama, I insist on adding all kinds of "extra" to it, which made the shows incongruous, and I wastes many years doing that. I didn’t make anything in 2022, and I spent time thinking about a few questions.
What is the point of dramas? What is considered peak drama? What is not mainstream? Who set this awful rule?
Why do I film things? For the praise of others, or for my own expression?
Is my heart still in the right place after getting to where I am today?
And the answer is my future path - drama should touch people's hearts, should be popular with the audience, should make everyone laugh and relieve stress after being busy and stressed. It should be a safe haven, a shelter, and a healing and immersive experience.
What I need to do should be what interests me, what I excel at, and stay in the territory I command with ease. My heart remains the same, to spread Chinese culture outside, to give intangible cultural heritage a chance to be reborn, and to let the world immerse in Chinese fairy tales. Yes, you read it right, Chinese fairy tales.
Here I want to apologize to myself. I should have respected my heart and keep walking my way, instead of seeking fame and reputation to gain recognition from a certain circle. In fact, I should have let go a long time ago on whether I can rise from the mud, and instead do what I enjoy, as long as my work can resonate with some people, it’s good enough. How can you expect everyone to understand you in this life? The reason why drama is moving is because you are watching it from a God's perspective. If you ask me if Xue Fangfei's story is possible? I would say I think it is possible. Because the only constant in life is change.
This drama does not aim to be famous for generations, nor does it look to gain the unexpected praises it got. It just wants to comfort you and me in adversity, so that we can find temporary relieve and have some courage to move forward.
so. I do think it's quite possible that Crowley was formerly the archangel known as Lucifer and I've written about how the narrative so far supports this theory (or at least hasn't jossed it yet) already.
I want to clarify what I really mean when I say "I think Crowley was Lucifer before he Fell". I think he was the angel humanity sometimes calls Lucifer.
First, here's the wiki on Lucifer. It's not a traditional angel name, but actually a Latin word for "the one who brings light". Lucifer has been both synonymous and separate from Satan, Beelzebub, and the Devil - humanity just can't decide or agree who this tricky one is!
As a former catholic school girl with years of qualifying religious trauma, I can say that I only know of one mention of the name Lucifer in the Bible, and it's something like "Lucifer, oh fallen angel, the morning star who struck the ground blah blah" whatever. In Revelation Jesus actually calls himself the "morning star" which is... funny in this context.
So not a lot of bible canon to go off. We could look at Milton, or Dante, or literally any other intentionally fictitious stuff about Lucifer to look for Clues!, but honestly? I think that's kinda pointless. I think only Good Omens canon matters.
And we've gotten exactly one name drop of Lucifer so far. By Crowley. While he's wasted, thinks Aziraphale is dead, and is waiting for the world to end. He's talking about his Fall. He says:
"I was just minding my own business one day, and then it's 'oh look here it's Lucifer and the guys'."
It's ambiguous if he's referring to himself or someone else.
But really, I'm not super interested in that, either. What's in a name, right? Crowley changes his all the time.
I don't think it matters if Crowley's Name was Lucifer. What I'm interested in is if Crowley is the fallen angel that humanity sometimes calls Lucifer. The things we sometimes attribute to Lucifer in western culture include: being the serpent of Eden, tempting Christ in the desert with the kingdoms of the world, and causing a third of all angels to Fall by challenging the authority of god.
I think Crowley was the other Prince of Heaven mentioned in s2. I think he was the former Supreme Archangel of Heaven. I think he was the/one of the Morningstars. I think he was God's first angel.
Aside from the scene where we see him literally creating the heavens (flowery archaic term for the cosmos), Crowley says he worked closely with "upstairs" on the design. He seems confident enough in his relationship with god to question her. He makes the statement "if I was running things" which is... hugely blasphemous and definitely something humanity has attributed to the fallen angel we sometimes call Lucifer.
I don't really think Crowley's angel name will ever be revealed, tbh? But I think enough about him and his former angelic identity will be revealed that we'll know. I think names, especially Crowley's, are super important in Good Omens as signifiers of identity, and Crowley's whole existence, the Point of him, is about casting off the identities others put on you, and forging your own.
Who cares what his name was? I wanna know why he's so certain that Aziraphale won't be able to make a single bit of difference by going back to Heaven, even as the Supreme Archangel. I wanna know why Crowley could access those high clearance files, why the actual archangels followed him around, listened to him, and seemed to give him a weird measure of respect, why Shax called him "arch-traitor", why he said "I know" when Gabriel said it hurt to try to remember, why he and the Metatron did That look, why he's so different from all the other demons and angels. What's the story there? What's he hiding from Aziraphale when he chooses not to tell him about any of this? Why does he give different accounts and reasons for his Fall? What's his secret shame, besties?
I think Crowley was the angel who inadvertently triggered a rebellion by asking too many of the "wrong" kinds of questions. I think he thinks he's responsible for the First War, and for the Fall, and by extension, for the different Sides.
The Loki Little Golden Book is now out! I hope if you check it out you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed working on it! It’s Written By Arie Kaplan and Published by Penguin Random House. <3
( So as I promised here’s my Episode IX re-make, part 1 💙) ( TROS does not exist, my epIX re-creation is not related to that garbage movie at all )
Rey goes for a walk in the forest, to find peace…to find answers within herself….Then suddenly she feels something in the Force…a figure of a small boy runs across the path in front of her. He feels somehow familiar…
As she watches the child, the trees begin to thin and transform into tall white pillars…
A tall figure appears in the distance, the little boy happily runs to him…the man holds out its arms, swinging the laughing child into the air..she could recognize “him” anywhere…Ben. And their child. Her family.
When she opened her teary eyes again…the force vision was gone.
She was alone with her thoughts again…but was she tho?
Ben took a step toward her. Not exactly menacing, but his eyes were narrowed as he asked in a low voice, “Why what? Say it.”
Rey bit the inside of her cheek. Continuing the conversation was probably a terrible idea, but she knew the question about Han was going to come out one day or another. If they were destined to fight over it, he might as well do this now versus later when she needed him to play nice for her visa. “Why do you hate him?”
“My parents sent me away to boarding school when I was ten,” he explained. He was walking again, and Rey couldn’t see his face, but she heard the same bitterness in his voice as the other night when he brooded about his family’s rings.
To be fair, ten sounded… young, but still, Han and Leia must have had their reasons. “Was it a super elite school for the gifted or something?”
“It was just a place rich parents abandoned their kids,” Ben said dryly with a wave. “I didn’t help my mother’s reputation and I didn’t fit my father’s lifestyle, so they sent me away.”
“Don’t say that,” Rey said before she could stop herself. They had been barely married for an hour and she really didn’t want to start an argument over their deep rooted mummy and daddy issues, but it just pained her too much to hear him speak of his parents like this.
Ben abruptly stopped and turned toward her. “Why not?” He demanded. “I was only saying the truth.”
She threw her arms up in frustration. Leia, in her own repressed, poorly communicated ways, obviously cared and Han… the few times he talked of his son in the year they worked together, it was always with such wistful fondness that always made her heart squeeze. She could only wish her own parents cared for her half as much as Han did for him. “Han loved you, he gave a damn about you. Why?”
Ben took a step toward her. Not exactly menacing, but his eyes were narrowed as he asked in a low voice, “Why what? Say it.”
Rey bit the inside of her cheek. Continuing the conversation was probably a terrible idea, but she knew the question about Han was going to come out one day or another. If they were destined to fight over it, he might as well do this now versus later when she needed him to play nice for her visa. “Why do you hate him?”
Ben took a sharp breath. “I don’t hate him.”
The space between them suddenly felt so cold and distant. Rey could only shake her head. “Then why did you go out of your way to ruin his life? I don’t understand.”
“No? Didn’t your parents throw you out like garbage when you were six?”
Rey silently cursed at his good memory, and had to stop herself from flinching and giving him the satisfaction of seeing her react further to the blunt question. “It’s not the same.”
“It is,” he said, his voice didn’t rise, but his eyes caught hers in a way that didn’t allow her to look away. “We were both thrown out like garbage. The only difference is that you keep needing them. You look for them in others, in my father and mother.”
His words burned like acid. She stood her ground and crossed her arms. “Right, you don’t need your parents at all,” she said sarcastically, her temper sharpening her words. “Oh no, you just get triggered every time you’re reminded of them because you keep wondering what was so wrong with you that your perfectly rational and good parents would replace you with—” She stopped short, but it was too late.
The waves crashed around them onto the ruins of the Death Star, licking their feet. Their sabers were nowhere to be seen. In her dreams they never fought like they did in life.
“I hate you,” she said to him, finally.
He shot her an infuriating amused, lopsided smile. “I know.”
She would have kicked him if he was closer. “But I miss you more.”
“I know.”
The complete work will be released on February 14 as part this year’s Reylo Charity Anthology: Across the Stars. Donate by February 13 to receive your copy!
Donor FAQ | Contributors | Spread the word: reblog a promo! | See our other teasers!
So, TROS inspired me to draw a corresponding piece to my old ‘Hellfire’ fanart from 2015.
Now I feel like I have to redraw Hellfire :)
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