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Hey everyone!
First off thank you so much for the kudos, bookmarks, and comments. They genuinely mean more than you know and are part of the reason I'm coming back to this.
I want to be honest with you all. I've been stuck on this story for a long time and a big part of that is because I felt like I rushed the foundation of it. This story has been planned out for years and Hatsumomo means a lot to me personally, so I want to do her justice and I don't feel like I did that initially.
Part of why I've struggled to continue is because Hatsumomo's mental health journey is something I take very seriously. It is deeply personal to me as someone who has struggled with many of the same things she does. I wanted to make sure I was representing and portraying her experiences authentically and accurately because this story was never just a story to me. It helped me through some of my own darker times and I didn't want to do it a disservice by rushing through something that matters so much.
I'm at a point in my life now where after years of struggles, hardships, and my own mental blocks I finally feel like I can give this the attention it deserves and do it right.
At its core Hatsumomo exists because I wanted readers — especially those who struggle with mental health — to see themselves in someone complex and messy and still worthy of love and success and belonging. I wanted you to know you are not alone. That things can and do move forward even when it feels impossible. That the hard times don't last forever even when they feel like they will.
That message hasn't changed. If anything it means more to me now than when I started.
So here's what's happening — I'll be going back and updating some existing chapters and adding new ones to give the story the room it actually needs to breathe. Please note that existing chapters may be updated and changed so it might be worth giving everything a reread as you come back to it. Things will be shifting around and new content will be added so you don't want to miss anything.
I haven't forgotten this story. Life happened, I got stuck, but I'm back and I have a lot planned.
Please be patient with me. It'll be worth it I promise.
Thank you for sticking around.
— MsMaXimus