I've had quite a few people ask me about the status of Of Age lately, so I figured I'd make a post about it to make things easier for those with questions. I'm not one to give status updates when there's nothing huge to announce but I'm truly flattered that people remember my little story after so long and I want to give you some information.

No, the story is not done, and I'm not going to begin posting it again until it is. I made people wait months in between chapters before and...yeah, that was not nice. So no postings 'till I can guarantee that there'll be an update in a reasonable amount of time - which I can only do if it's completed. I can tell you that I am actively working on it! I'm rewriting the thing from the beginning and totally overhauling it with the help of some lovely and much appreciated friends who are offering me constructive criticism.

As for a projected date? I'm hesitant to give one, but deadlines do motivate me... without promising anything, I'll say that I hope -- HOPE -- to begin posting in October. *crosses fingers*

I hope that answers some of your questions! (And also, if you've noticed I haven't been posting much fic lately...now you know why!) ^_^

The beginning of the end of the world meaning that yes, I am finally planning to finish that damn epic...what was it called again? ^^ The world will REALLY end when it's done, I guess?

Anyway, the new community for concrit is now ready for all those that responded to my post. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please go read this FAQ which explains it all.

of_age_crit is now officially open for business!! I chose a fiery motif which I felt was rather fitting. ^_^ Join here!

Membership is moderated; if you commented to me on one of the FAQ posts I'll add you. If you didn't please read the above linked post in full and comment there before requesting membership. ^_^ For everyone who gets approved for membership, please read this post (link available to members only).

First posting should be tonight or whenever these uploads finish *grumble*.

*bounces off*

I posted this over on my regular LJ, but reposting it here in the hopes of added help. I may ask some questions of anyone interested since I don't know most of you, but if you want to help please don't hesitate! I only need a few more people, so I may not be able to include everyone; please be understanding of that.

It's getting on to February, which means it's almost time to start working at finishing Of Age. I hope some people will be happy about that... ^_^

But, I could really use the help of anyone willing, because I really want to make this story the best thing I can put out there. In other words, I want to start a community for the story; a community where I can get advice on how to improve it. However, as usual, there is a give and take to be had...

( Why I need your help to finish and revise Of Age )

Any other questions? Anyone interested? Please comment!

This is a summary recap of chapter 7 for all of you who don't want to reread the entire thing before moving on to Chapter 8. I was forced to leave out a lot of details for the sake of brevity but I hit all the main points, so this is not really intended to use as a substitute for reading the chapter for any cheaters out there ^_^ but rather as a refresher for people who read the thing back in November and need a reminder.

( Chapter 7 recap! )

I know this LJ is for writing only, but I have been meaning to post some fanarts from Of Age that were done for me for quite awhile and I finally got around to it. ^_^ Each art is in a separate post so that I can link to them within the chapter text (a cool trick I learned from toshimalfoy), but I purposefully kept the separate posts off your respective f-lists because spamming is just not cool. ^^ However! I love the art and it is amazing and glorious and too beautiful to not share, so here it is! Linked for your convenience, because I'm all about making it easier for you. ^_^

Here are links to all four fanarts. Please note that none of these were done by me! The artist's names are indicated beside the link and on the separate posts; all credit, accolades, and worship go to them and them alone.

++Fanart from Of Age, chapter 4 by ruby_dream
++Fanart from Of Age, chapter 5 by ruby_dream with coloring by tiam_atardecer
++Fanart for Of Age, chapter 6 by wolfram_kyo
++Bonus fanart! This parodies my endless frustration with Chapter 8. Done by the talented anchan1107!

There was one other fanart done for me, but I lost the art when my flashdrive crashed and the person has since deleted their LJ so I can't find it, which is devastating. I'll keep looking for it and hopefully I can find it, because it was truly beautiful work. T_T

Hope you like them, and if so please comment and tell the amazing artists how incredible they are! ^_^

This is a long overdue posting of a fanart done for me by the talented wolfram_kyo. It's from chapter six of Of Age.

Once again, this art is not mine and I take no credit. Many thanks to wolfram_kyo for drawing this for me!

( Large image under the cut, with description of the scene including fic spoilers )

This is a long overdue posting of a fanart done for me by the fabulously talented ruby_dream and colored by the equally fabulous tiam_atardecer. It's from chapter five of Of Age.

Once again, this art is not mine and I take no credit. Many thanks to ruby_dream for drawing this for me and to tiam_atardecer for the coloring!

( Large image under the cut, with description of the scene including fic spoilers )

This is a long overdue posting of a fanart done for me by the fabulously talented ruby_dream. It's from chapter four of Of Age.

Once again, this art is not mine and I take no credit. Many thanks to ruby_dream for drawing this for me!

( Large image under the cut, with description of the scene including fic spoilers )