This is my first fanfiction.

I am not here because I like fanfiction - in fact, I never used to read it - and I don't plan (generally) to write stories. It's just that I want to know what happens to Chihiro and Haku after Spirited Away. I haven't planned out what happens in this story, and what I post is what I have. Other than a document I have on the characters' backgrounds and the two worlds, I don't know any more than you do. That makes it exciting for me :) I wanted to share this with people who love the characters as much as I do, and want their story told.

That being said, though I don't know if I'll be writing more after this story, I do plan on finishing this one. I've been posting (almost) daily since I started, and since it's summer break, I'll hopefully be done by the end of the summer.

It's more important than anything to me that the characters stay themselves.

I should probably say something about myself. I am 19 years old, and I just finished my first year at the University of California, Berkeley. I've tried to write fiction twice before, once in 5th grade, and once freshman year. Neither were completed, nor were they very good. However, both have taught me about what works and doesn't work in a story, and I see their influences in my writing.

My writing is very unorthodox. Please let me know if things are confusing.

It's been an adventure researching Japanese lifestyles, traditions and folklore for this story. Please let me know if anything is inaccurate.

My goal is that the characters drive the story, and in the end, the story is about more than just them, just as Spirited Away is about Chihiro, but it has a special meaning for each of us.

After all, that's why we're here.

- May, 2012

After three and a half years and five full revisions, this story is finally finished, under the title The Other World. There will be no more revisions (although you can still find old drafts on the site under the title Chihiro). Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck with me since then. Thank you for reading, for reviewing, for encouraging me through your messages, for catching typos and grammatical errors. You guys are all the best. I hope I have satisfied you with my answer to the question "What happens after Spirited Away?"

But I can hear you already. "Where is the kiss?" you ask. "Don't they get together?" And I ask you in return, if Chihiro and Haku are meant to be together, what harm comes of waiting? They have a lot of obstacles in their path. There are cultural differences between the Human and Spirit Worlds, differences that people in interracial relationships face every day. (Or even just those of us with different values from our parents - almost all of us.) They will have to deal with a long distance relationship. Chihiro will be in school and Haku has his own responsibilities - another situation that many of us have to learn to deal with. And then there's Akuma. He's not gone. To quote Lady Eboshi - "(S)He is a god. It will take more than that." And he still has Haku's scale, doesn't he? Their troubles aren't over, but that story is best saved for another time. (Sequel? We'll see!) For now though, it's time to say goodbye. I hope you enjoyed reading, and thank you all again!

Don't forget to be awesome.

Swansae

- January, 2016

This is happening much both much sooner and much later than I expected, but I am announcing a sequel! By unanimous vote from you, I will be posting the first draft as it's written. (Impatient, aren't you? I don't blame you at all.) It's called Inheritance and the first couple of chapters are now up. Chihiro is now in college, and for all you people who complained that there was too little romance in The Other World, the first full chapter of Inheritance is called First Date. So there.

The other thing is I want to mention is that ff dot net does not allow stories rated MA. And to preserve the innocence of all the underage readers here (which I know there are many!), I don't want to have a story posted here rated higher than T anyway. However, college life is not rated T, and if I'm going to stay true to my imagination, there will be explicit scenes. I haven't decided yet how I will treat these scenes yet, but most likely I will post a family friendly version here, and if you want to read the original, I will post a link to it. We'll see. Life, as always, is complex, and not all "MA" scenes are "inappropriate." I will leave it up to your discretion.

Love always,

Swansae

- April, 2016

First, I have to laugh. I completely forgot that back in January I promised you guys "no more revisions." Well, I lied. We are back in rewrite mode! As an orchestra director (or really, any director) says, "And once again, from the top!" Let me tell you why. The Other World, while it had a decent plot, was not cohesive as a story; the characters' motives are heavy-handed when they exist; and there are scenes that I just don't like. Am I being harsh? Do you like it? (Contact me if you're looking for a harsh beta reader :P) Anyway, the real reason is that there simply isn't enough world-building in this first story to support the sequel. While I was writing, I had questions for myself like "What does the Dragon King do for his people?" and "If there's a war going on, why don't we see any action in the first part of the story?" I wanted (and you probably did too) more interactions between Haku and Chihiro to show her getting more comfortable around him and to establish their friendship. There is a lot of backstory to Yubaba and Zeniba's relationship that only exists in my notes, with the result that the ending is confusing. These are my goals, and I'm telling you so that when I post this rewrite, you can keep me accountable.

In the meantime, I'd like to share with you guys another writing project I've been working on. This one is more personal, and non-fiction. This year I've started a food blog with my boyfriend documenting our foodie adventures together. If this is something you're interested in (or if you just want to find out about my personal life), you can find it at gourmetsandgluttons dot wordpress dot com.

Get excited. Every time I revise, it seems like the story gets longer by about fifty percent :P That means new scenes and new material for you.

Thank you so much for sticking with me all this time and taking the time to read this. I really appreciate all of you!

Best,

Swansae

- July, 2016