Hey guys! Been a while since I did one of these. I think the last one was 2017? Anyway, hope y'all like the title lmao.

So don't worry, the new chapter is on its way. I've got around 1600 words so far, but obviously I'm not gonna be able to finish it tonight. I already posted a thingy on Tumblr yesterday about why this has been so difficult for me, but obviously most of you probs haven't seen that, so I'll sorta give the gist of it again:

I had a pretty bad breakdown a couple of months ago, and while I did manage to come out of it fairly okay, I still haven't fully recovered from it. It got quite bad again recently over the last couple of weeks, and although it probably sounds stupid, writing Ash Song has always been very therapeutic for me. I've said since pretty much the beginning that this fic is above all a recovery story- not just for England, but for me too. I've used it to vent out so much in my life, and I always feel better when I update it and read all your lovely comments. But this time around, I've had no motivation or inspiration whatsoever. I know how I want to end the story, and I've planned out a bunch of other shit for later on in the story, but I've spent months wondering just how to progress this particular part that it's on. And with everything else that's happened recently, it's just been really hard. Right now, it feels like I'm just forcing myself to the write for the sake of it being the 5th of November- and the 5 year anniversary on top of that.

It's been really hard trying to convince myself that it doesn't need to be today. But I've gotten there, thank fuck. I'm already feeling miles better than I did yesterday, and even if I feel like crap again tomorrow, I know it's a much better call to just pack it in and go to bed.

I don't know when the update will actually come, but I'm hoping it will be sometime in the next week. I'll delete this announcement when I do, but I just wanted to let you guys know what's up. I know that once I have an idea, once I get into the flow of writing, I'll be just as invested as I usually am, and honestly I'm feeling pretty optimistic and excited about it. There's nothing I enjoy more than that feeling when I'm completely hooked on what I'm writing and I can just sit there for hours, practically killing my fingers over the keyboard. I've already got a few ideas bouncing around my head that I might be able to build upon, and I'm sure something will come out of it.

I hope you guys understand, and that you're all staying safe out there.

Happy 5th of November to those who celebrate, and hopefully I'll see you all soon!