I'm just incredibly exhausted today with very low brainpower, but I decided to come here and hopefully get my inspiration back up and running.
Stepping into a brand-new medium and fandom space naturally brings up a few questions—especially for those of you used to my regular editing and writing updates 😊🌻
So, while I’m resting and steadily chipping away at the final chapters, I put together a quick FAQ covering everything from the world of Remnant to why this project became such an unexpected creative lifeline for me ✨
So, to start us off, let's focus on the biggest question I've been asked from those who've heard about what I'm doing:
1. "What actually is RWBY, and what does 'AU' mean?"
To answer this one, I think I first have to explain—AU means "alternate universe". Now, I'm sure most of you are undoubtedly familiar with this concept and term, but just in case—"AU" stands for "Alternate Universe." In fanfiction ("fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, film, etc." -Webster Dictionary) it simply means taking the characters and world from an existing series and asking: "What if things went differently?" Whether that means exploring an unwritten future, playing with new storylines, shifting character dynamics, or creating a whole new setting or character(s), an AU gives writers the freedom to legally tell a story that official canon never had the chance to.
And that's what I'm doing with the series, RWBY.
At its core, RWBY (pronounced "Ruby") is the culmination of fairy-tale mythology colliding with anime-style fight choreography, incredible weapons, and deep ensemble drama.
It's an animated science-fantasy series set in the world of Remnant—a place where humanity fights for survival against soul-less shadow monsters called the Grimm. The story centers on fairy-tale inspirations and predominately features four young women (as Huntresses of the Grimm)—Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang—who train at an elite Huntsman Academy.
What starts out as a stylish, high-energy school adventure quickly spirals into an epic, high-stakes war to save their entire world. Not just from the Grimm, but from wicked human forces.
Over the years, the universe has canonically grown beyond the main animated show into official canon novels, companion books, and manga (like the After the Fall and Before the Dawn novels). These stories expand the lore, diving into rival teams, far-off kingdoms, and side adventures that happened between the main seasons.
For my AU, I've kept the primary focus on the canon show, although I've also alluded to certain scenes and situations in the canon literary series as well.
2. Which of course leads us to the next common question I'm usually asked: "Do I need to watch the entire show to read and enjoy your story?"
Honestly...I'm not sure about this one. As someone who's SUPER familiar with the series (and only partly familiar with the spin-off lit) I don't think I'm the right person to ask.
Try it! That's about all I can say is try it. And if you feel super lost...then quit.
Although I'll always recommend watching the original series just because it's otherwise awesome as heck.
But do be forewarned -- the first few episodes of the series (known as Volume 1 instead of Season 1) are SUPER short. But they do get longer though as Volume 1 & 2 proceeds, and eventually turn into actual full-length 20-30 minute episodes.
3. "What genre would you classify this as? What’s the overall vibe?"
The RWBY canon series as well as my own are very much in their own superhero genre, I'd say. And very much in the typical coming-of-age variety. But also with dystopian vibes.
The majority of characters do NOT have magic (though there is a shocking twist on that!) -- they have unique abilities that might SEEM like magic to us, in the form of something called "Aura" and "Semblances". Aura's keep characters safe and essentially act as a shield (with cool caveats!) and Semblances are a manifestation of one's Aura; of their soul. These are what act as unique "superpowers" so to speak.
Does it also feature dark fantasy vibes? Have high emotional character drama? High-octane battle action? Political intrigue? Psychological recovery? Yes to all of the above. And that's what makes it awesome.
And in my AU...I wanted to bring all of that to focus in an even heavier way the show typically can't due to time constraints, animation, age restrictions, and other limiting factors.
4. "Why did you choose to publish to Wattpad? And can anyone read it for free?"
This is a question I've been getting asked by my family A LOT! Truth is, I don't exactly remember how I was led to Wattpad. I mean, I've heard of it (often through memes, so I'd never really taken it seriously before as a writing/publishing platform), but then I'd started learning about some authors who've actually gotten published to Netflix from Wattpad and I decided to give it a serious thought and almost immediately fell in love with its super easy-to-use interface and before I knew it, I was drafting up my profile and posting my first 3 chapters.
Now...I know what several of you might be thinking at this point but no, I did not choose Wattpad because I thought it would land me an adaptation deal 😂 But seeing the platform gain recognition in broader media spaces made me realize it is a space worth taking seriously.
That said, navigating the platform today comes with real hurdles. Between the surge of automated, low-effort content flooding digital spaces and the sheer volume of completely unedited first drafts getting "published" the second they're typed...yes, gaining visibility is tough.
Everyone starts somewhere—my own work is far from flawless 🤪 and self-editing is a continuous learning curve for all of us. But without basic editorial passes or quality filters, the discoverability feed lumps thoroughly revised passion projects alongside raw, zero-draft uploads, and AI-written noise.
For writers striving to offer a readable, thoughtfully shaped narrative, breaking through that swampy mess takes extra persistence. Which is an admitted downside to Wattpad. But I still love it and I admit, I refuse to change my platform.
Oh...and yes, my RWBY AU is 100% free to read 😊
5. I know; I tend to focus on original realistic fiction. It was a pretty crazy jump for me when I made the "sudden" transition to sci-fi decades ago. So it's understandable I've been getting asked this one a lot: "What made you suddenly pivot to fanfiction?"
I feel like I've already talked about this extensively so I'm just going to keep this answer short and sweet: Writing within an existing sandbox removed the paralyzing pressure of building a world from scratch when my body was flaring up, letting me rediscover pure writing flow. I first got inspired to try my hand at it years ago after I was recovering from my first (or was it second?) major surgery. I did so with Teen Wolf, originally working to build an AU timeline around the series. But my brain power at the time was so limited and the project quickly failed as I couldn't keep up with it, I kept losing the threads, and I was ultimately making everything so much more complicated than it needed to be. Why it worked this time with RWBY I don't know. Then again, I've kept the timeline simple. I've also kept quite true to the show (at least as true as I've allowed myself to be😜)
6. I really love this question: "How has writing this AU helped you through your recent health flares?
Honestly, I don’t fully know the exact mechanics of why it’s worked—only that it has. There’s something deeply grounding for me about the world of RWBY.
One thing I noticed...when I started doing some deep rabbit-hole digging into the behind-the-scenes craft, heavily researching how and why the creative team made specific narrative choices—I found myself continually inspired by the late Monty Oum’s creative philosophy. Gaining insight into how his mind seemed to work and how he visibly approached worldbuilding and movement felt weirdly familiar; it clicked with how my own brain processes art and storytelling. Perhaps there's a creative resonance there. Maybe it's something else entirely. Either way, the show managed to build a bridge back to my writing when everything else felt inaccessible. And I can't fully explain it.
What I can explain, is that when chronic pain, fatigue, and brain fog are at their worst, this AU gives my mind somewhere vibrant to go. I still have to pace myself strictly and carefully—working in short, gentle bursts from bed or the couch between long resting spells. During the hours when I’m too exhausted to type even a sentence, I’ll rewatch favorite fight sequences, study character beats and always start jotting down small notes for future scenes. It’s turned my recovery downtime from something isolating into part of the creative process itself. And that's truly been a blessing 🙏💖🌻
7. Now, focusing on the story itself, I've been asked this one a few times: "Where in the canon timeline does Between Two Worlds pick up?"
It's drop-off, I won't lie. I think it'll feel like walking along a shallow pool and then discovering you've been plunged into the deep end. It picks up just moments before Volume 9 ends in the "Ever After". Actually, that's not entirely true. There is a prologue that takes us through—in what I hope is unique dialogue form—the 'previously on' canon version of events, but also explains in tandem exactly where the canon events deviate from my AU events. There's also a preface at the beginning which is my actual letter to the reader(s) of my AU series.
But the first chapter immediately takes us into the moments before Volume 9 actually ended. And I fear saying anything beyond that. "No spoilers!" 🤫-River Song -Dylan K. Regan
8. This is a question I actually asked myself when I was drafting up the earliest aspects of my AU series: "Which characters get the biggest spotlight in my version?"
Now, one might think the answer should be obvious: Team RWBY. But actually, in my AU—at least in "my" Volume 10—I think the spotlight focuses more heavily on Emerald Sustrai, and a new character I've concocted, Toto Dorian (the AU niece of Headmaster Theodore Frank). Although there's also a lot of focus on Ruby too (for obvious reasons!). But I actually think I might give Emerald top billing in this AU. At least in the portions that focus on Remnant. And I specify because...well, it is called Between Two Worlds for a reason!
9. And now...of course, as I've been wrapping up...I haven't been asked this question yet, but I'm sure it's coming: "What's the schedule like for the remaining chapters?"
I wish I knew. I'm once again in a spot where I have to re-read everything I write at least twice just to understand the last thing I wrote. And to understand the plot. That alone is exhausting enough. Trying to get a few coherent words out to carry that plot is...a lot. In fact even as I write this now I can feel my brain starting shut down on me.
But I will say this: There's going to be a final chapter (22) and then a...not afterward...not prologue...postlog? No, I don't think that's the word. But I think I'm getting closer. Oh! Oh! I got it! Epilogue. I think the word I'm looking for is epilogue. I'm like 99% certain. Okay, hopefully I'm right on that. Like I said, brain fogs really fogging right now. I've been writing too long. But yeah, there will be a little thing at the end after the final chapter that will wrap up some stuff but also pave the way for the next book, Volume 10.5: The Clock Ticks On.
10. Yes, I actually called the next volume 10.5. Why? And have I already started it?
The Clock Ticks On will serve as a bridge between my AU's Volume 10 and Volume 11. I'm not sure at this point if it'll be entirely necessary to read V10.5 before V11—kind of like how you don't have to read RWBY: Roman Holiday before watching the series, but I've heard it helps. (I've never read it myself but I know a lot about it from my research). But V10.5 will definitely set the stage and set up the events between the two novels.
I also thought it'd be a fun idea to showcase how everyone manages to continue getting along and going along without Team RWBY, which is what 10.5 is really all about.
And yes, I've already started the writing process for both V10.5 and V11! I'm not sure at this point how much I'll keep from either novel given I started the process long before I was even half-way done with V10. Which means some stuff might not be viable anymore (it's been a while since I looked through what I started). But I will say this; it's definitely already started.
11. And finally here's the question I get asked so frequently: "Does this mean you're abandoning your other original projects/novels? Like Entwined Fates or Shattered Lives?"
No. Hard no. Never. I just haven't been able to give them the thoughtfulness they deserve, or put what little brainpower I have (and sometimes don't have!) into them. For some reason, writing these AU RWBY projects have been much easier. Maybe because I've been working from scratch. Maybe it's because the world of Remnant (RWBY's home planet) have already been so heavily established I can just look up whatever I need to and fill in the gaps wherever I want to. I also don't have to go back and reread hundreds upon hundreds of pages of an old manuscript I'm struggling to remember.
But I do have hope to one day get my brain back online again! Then I can finish my current V10 project, and get to work on my Shattered Lives novel which I also hope to publish to Wattpad.
Though the same can't be said for my Entwined Fates series, I'm sure; I think it'd break too many Wattpad restrictions to be allowed! But I'm still hoping to publish that one through "traditional means" anyway. Or perhaps I'll publish it chapter by chapter to my ReganWrites blog. Or...well, I'll brainstorm some other non-traditional ideas.
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And on that note...I think I'll end the Q&A there for now. Unfortunately, this didn't quite help my brain fog the way I was originally hoping it would! If anything I might've made it a little worse. I'm also hungry. So there's that too.
But I did enjoy this! And hopefully you did, too.
And if you've got any other questions for me -- you know what to do! Just ask in the comments below💖😊
As always, thanks for sticking with me throughout all this -- your support means everything to me🌷
~Dylan
