WIPs I'm reading

[emmagrant01]

I know some people hate reading WIPs for a variety of good reasons, but I LOVE them, OMG. I think I love them for the exact reasons many people hate them, actually. I adore getting the story in little chunks, eagerly awaiting the next part, that delicious feeling of excitement I get when the next chapter has been posted, and being part of the collective squee that is OMG, fic XYZ has been updated all the FEELZ YOU GAIZ. I love the way WIPs allow me as a reader to stop and think about the story and where it's going, to analyze it and give the writer a level of feedback that I find I don't give on finished works. It's also fun to read other people's comments on the latest chapter and see how others are responding as the story unfolds. The level of thought and conversation is sometimes truly inspiring.

Sometimes WIPs get abandoned, and that's sad, but that's okay with me. I can enjoy them for what they are and imagine my own ending. I prefer it when authors update regularly, but if the story is good I will hang on even if months go by with no updates.

The HP fandom back in the day was full of WIPs; everyone had one. And at some point it became a fandom of one-shots instead, perhaps because the fandom seemed to become so fest-driven around 2005. I can't remember the last time I read a WIP in HP. It's been ages.

In other fandoms I've been working and reading in lately, the WIP is alive and well, and oh how I missed it! Here are a few WIPs I'm following that I am loving and highly recommend.

The Fabric of Life by holyfant (Sherlock BBC, John/Sherlock)
Links: On AO3 | On LJ
A gorgeously written post-Reichenbach fic with a fantastically angsty and damaged Sherlock and John who is trying to work Sherlock back into his life again. Another one I don't want to ever end.

The Quiet Man by ivyblossom (Sherlock BBC, John/Sherlock)
Links: On AO3
Everyone is reading this one already, I know. Wah, so much love for this John. So much post-Reichenbach angst and UST and then the last two chapters OMFG. That is WIP gold, right there. And done in that glorious first person POV that no one pulls off as well as Ivy does. I don't really want this one to end.

Roses of Picardy by splix (War Horse, Jamie/Jim)
Links: On AO3 | On LJ
If you fangirl either or both of Benedict Cumberbatch or Tom Hiddleston and watched War Horse for that reason, you need to read this fic. OMG, so angsty and period and good, and I can't wait to see where it's going. I can't get over the voice of this fic and the dialogue. Gorgeous!

A Study in Doubles by jupiter_ash (Sherlock BBC AU, John/Sherlock)
Links: On AO3 | On LJ
Sequel to A Study in Winning, which should also be read. Glorious tennis AU! It sounds cracktastic, but it isn't. Even if tennis isn't something you find interesting, you'll get sucked in, I promise. I eagerly await more.

Overclocked by Abundantlyqueer (Sherlock BBC AU,John/Sherlock)
Links: On AO3
Updated only sporadically, currently only 3 chapters, but oh what a fascinating premise for an AU. It's a sort of dystopian futuristic thing and honestly, I haven't quite worked out all the details yet because there are only 3 chapters. But the potential is fantastic. When it's updated, my squee will be epic.

Edit: I'm mortified that I forgot these amazing WIPs as well:

Long Ago and Far Away series by lotherington (Sherlock BBC AU, John/Sherlock)
Links: On AO3 | On LJ
She had me at the summary: WWII AU in which John is an army doctor and Sherlock is a cryptographer at Bletchley Park. But what I really love is the way she's taken these particular incarnations of John and Sherlock and has transported them to WWII-era London -- a time when being gay was still something that could land one in prison. Oh, it's lovely, and she brings the time alive in such heartwrenching ways.

In Deed Accomplish our Designs by greywash (Sherlock BBC, John/Sherlock)
Links: On AO3
Sequel to the amazing post-Reichenbach The Sensation of Falling as You Hit Sleep (which OMG you should READ if you haven't yet). YUM. Just... yeah, yum. OMG.

I could swear there was a Cabin Pressure WIP I was following, but maybe not. What WIPs are you following that I should read too?

Comments

[winstonmom.livejournal.com]

Oh! thanks for sharing. I am only reading the Jupiter one (you mentioned before) so you just gave me more stories to read before summer school (pathophysiology) class begins!
Muchas gracias

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I live to enable. :-D

[spiderine.livejournal.com]

I LOVE "Overclocked". I've subscribed to it and wish it would continue! Thanks for reminding me to go back to it and comment again to tell the author how much I anticipate a new chapter.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

AQ ROCKS. Anything she writes is GOLDEN.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I KNOW, RIGHT??? I need MOAR. *whimper*

[shadowfireflame.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha, I enjoy WIPs, too. I think somehow they end up getting more comments than stories posted in full, even if comments are just "OMG PLEASE FINISH I WILL DIE IF YOU DON'T!!!" That's my only concern with WIPs, that they might stop at any moment on a cliffhanger and I will go nuts. It's a relationship of pleasure and pain, lol.

Here are some of my favorites right now:

You didn't mention greywash's second part of the Good Morrow verse, but I assume--I hope!--you're reading it. Absolutely phenomenal. And just one chapter to go!

I'm also a bit obsessed with the Powerful, Beautiful, and Without Regret series, one part of which is still a WIP, by song_lin (actually, I love all her work).

Also Bird’s Bone by thesardine, which has some superb characterization of everyone, but especially Moriarty and Mycroft.

The Long Ago And Far Away series by lotherington--I literally squealed with joy when I see that this one has been updated.

And finally, What To Do When Your Flatmate is Homicidal by hyacinth_sky747, which makes me so ridiculously happy when it's updated. :)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I am indeed reading both Greywash's and Lotherington's fics, and I totally meant to include them on this list. I will have to edit them in when I get a chance. And thanks for the recs! I'll check those out as well. :-D

[shadowfireflame.livejournal.com]

Ah, I forgot one! *facepalm*

nightshade1120’s mind-blowing Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy crossover with nuanced portrayals of all the characters in both universes, The Fraternity. Highly recommended.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'd forgotten The Fraternity. SO BLOODY GOOD. Peter! Sherlock!

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Oh, that sounds amazing. *drools*

[foxestacado.livejournal.com]

I'm reading Abundantlyqueer's WIPs, as well as velvet_mace's Chameleon and Fraternity by nightshade1120. Other than those, I am really bad about reading WIPs. I have a tendency to save WIPs for when I don't have anything else to read, mainly because I'm OCD about the idea of completion. And right now, my reading list is so long that it's hard to go back and forth between a WIP and a finished piece.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I didn't include Two-Two-One-Bravo-Baker up there, even though it's technically a WIP, because it feels finished to me, you know? If she never finishes it, I'll be okay with that because it stops in such a good place IMO.

I'll have to look into Chameleon. Thanks!

[foxestacado.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, Chameleon. Yes, a must-read.

I keep checking to see if 221BravoBaker is going to be updated...and always kind of disappointed it's not. It feels finished, but at the same time, I'm curious what the next two chapters are supposed to be about.

[floppybelly.livejournal.com]

Chameleon, of course. I've also got one from the Portal 2 fandom, called "The Punishment," and a strange pairing from the HP fandom called "Pet Project" that does a fantastic job of justifying a ship that makes many people squick.

221B Drabbles, by Moonblossom, is another favorite of mine. I've been having fun keeping up with her, and hers counts more as a WIP because she has a set number of chapters that she's working towards.

I never know whether to count mine as a WIP- It's constantly having more added to it, but there isn't a set point where it's meant to end. There is a timeline that it works from, occasionally sampling other AUs, but the timeline is so broad that it doesn't really count as a single narrative which is in the progress of being written. What would you count that as?

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I'll have to check out 221 Drabbles. Is Moonblossom her LJ name? (Basically: got a link?)

It sounds like you're writing a series rather than a WIP, kind of liek lotherington's WWII AU series. Each part is a separate fic and they aren't necessarily written in order, but they're all part of the same story arc. Got a link?

[floppybelly.livejournal.com]

Here's hers, http://archiveofourown.org/works/270813
And here's mine, http://archiveofourown.org/works/380088

[ias.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this. I've been deliberately filtering out fandom this pas semester due to newborn and trying to do a p/t MA so my reading time has been severely limited so I've had to prioritise the academic stuff

But now the summer's [1] here and I can get on with recreational reading :)

[1] for British values of summer, as she looks ouy on rain and the thermotre barely reaching 15 degC

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I filtered out fandom for more than a year when my son was born, LOL. I'm impressed you're wandering back in! Welcome back! Oh, there's so much lovely fic to read while your baby snoozes on your chest... :-D

[capra-maritimus.livejournal.com]

Well there was this one called A Cure For Boredom but I think it's finished now... *snicker*

There's more in the A Study In Winning verse? Excellent!

I was a reading a really cute Martin Crieff/ Molly Hooper WIP but i can't remember the title. Argh.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

OMG if you remember that fic let me know! It sounds fantastic! I've read some lovely Cabin Pressure fic, I have to say. Martin just suffers so nicely, doesn't he? :-P

And from a certain point of view, Cure is still a WIP...

Found it. :D

[capra-maritimus.livejournal.com]

http://painted-ship.livejournal.com/3207.html

On That Midnight Street by painted_ship (Martin/Molly)

long comment is long

[starduchess.livejournal.com]

Oh! I love WIPs for all those same reasaons, too! Even if I'm reading a one-shot or a completed novel, I'll pause part way through and think up what will happen next or make my own ending based on that moment I'm at in the story. It's a wonderful, creative exercise. I know it's frustrating to have a WIP abandoned and not to have any clue what the author wanted to have happen next, but at least we have the setup and can extrapolate from there.

I'm still in HP and there are a few WIPs I follow, mostly on FanFiction, though for how much longer, I don't know. One of them that was on a long hiatus but I was hoping to help the author finish it just got deleted for the M+ rating purge. Bleh. Anyway, here are some others:

Draco's Dilemma by FoggyByTheBay, Draco/Hermione. Love the premise that Hermione is the long-lost Slytherin heir, and she has a good, helpful Ron and a really mean Harry - both of which are refreshing ideas.

Digging for the Bones by Paganaidd, Severitus. Since James was infertile, Lily asked Snape to make a potion and have sex with him to become pregnant with Harry. Now in his third year, suicidal events are forcing Snape to claim Harry as his son.

Proof of Life by Emily Waters, Severus/Harry. Everything by this author is awesome and the slavery issue in this is deftly handled.

In Care Of (complete) and Tightrope (WIP sequel) by Fang's Fawn, mentor!Severus + Harry. Stuck in animagus form while injured, Snape is taken care of by Harry and learns of his horrible childhood (summer after fifth year) in the first story. Second story goes into sixth year mostly following canon. Interesting fic about trust.

Unwell by Socks4Dobby, Severus/Harry. Another slave fic, I love love love this one! It's graphic in an off-camera kind of way and really heart-wrenching, as both slave!Severus and addictedtosleeppotion!Harry are trying to muddle through post-war life and survive. It's slow going and very long, but very realistically portrayed.

The Curse of Artemis by ShortSnout, Severus/Harry/Artemis(the-werewolf). Different take on werewolf creature fic, as Artemis has a different personality/motivations from Severus himself and they are sometimes in conflict in Severus' head.

Where Once Was Light by Emerald-Leaves, Severitus. Not recently updated, but I love it anyway. Lily left proof with Petunia as to Severus' status as Harry's real father, and he takes Harry away for the summer. Nothing really surprising in this fic yet, but the writing is top notch. I really like her in-depth descriptions that are full and rich but don't bog the story down.

also,

The Waltz Continues by Ms.MaraJade, Voltron, Keith/Alura. This is high romance with incredibly good writing. I really like what she did with the spirit-magic in the Voltron Lions. This is a sequel to Midnight Interlude and The Dance Begins.

If Only by DearestDawn, Legend of Zelda, Link/Zelda. Really different twist in that Zelda became a murderess vigilante after Ganondorf took over Hyrule. Link is sent to assassinate her, but will ultimately help her regain her throne.

Free as the Wind by S.R.H. Fade, Legend of Zelda, gen. Link from Ocarina of Time and Link from Twilight Princess are thrown together on Outset Island with Link from Windwaker. Yeah, all the Links get really confusing, and each one is dysfunctional. Not crack, but definitely some humorous situations.

Re: long comment is long

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Oooh, so many recs! Thank you!

[shezan.livejournal.com]

The Sustain series by Maybe Amanda andOnMillionAndNine. Vol3, Obbligato, is a WIP at the AO3, and the previous two are complete. It is TERRIFIC!

I'm delighted that you're reading Roses of Picardy. I take it you followed Splix's EXCELLENT Sherlock fic, Staircase Wit? OH SO BRILLIANT. Also at the AO3.

HAVE YOU READ AJ Hall's Queen of Gondal series? (ongoing) Sherlock does Prisoner of Zenda, and how! Sensational AU, and there's even a Cabin Pressure insert, part 7 or 8, The Master's Mate Stratagem. Sherlock as the Crown Prince of Gaaldine is DIVINE, swashbuckling the way your buckles should be swashed, dammit. AO3 or AJ's own website, shoesforindustry.net

Pull The Stars From The Sky by Roane is a very nice rock music Sherlock AU WIP. Also @ the AO3.

Little Boy Blue And The Man In The Moon BY Ariana_Paris, also @the AO3, is a Sherlock/House crossover WIP. VERY shrewd.

...I'm sure I'll think of more, but that should do for a beginning! :D

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Yes, I LOVED splix's Staircase Wit. Fantastic!

Oooh, AJ Hall is writing Sherlock fic, seriously? OMG, MUST READ.

Thanks for the recs!

[silvarfic.livejournal.com]

I recommend AJ Hall's Breakfast at 221B over on AO3 - very funny!

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

No lie: I was up until 8am last night 'cause I started reading an ivyblossom fic someone posted to your old thread looking for recs and I had to finish it. Oh my gooood. It's so hard to believably write from Sherlock's POV and IMHO she totally nailed it.

Someone on that thread meantioned that Sherlock fic tends towards the cracky, and she wasn't kidding. Bleh. I did read one AU fic I liked, but I'm not a fan of crossover fics at all, and Sherlock has SO MANY of them. So, so much crackfic. So, so not my thing. Hmph.

I'm finding that, surprise surprise, I have to do what I've done with any of my other fandoms--find an author or two I really like, and then only read what they rec, and if I really like an author they rec, read stuff that they rec, etc.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Weirdly, I haven't encountered a heck of a lot of crack. But then, I don't really read on the kink meme much, heh.

AUs, though -- I adore well-done AUs and they were so rare in the HP fandom (for fairly obvious reasons, I suppose). I need to do a whole separate post on Sherlock AUs I love.

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

I think part of it is that my tastes in slash have changed somewhat. I've never been a big AU/crossover person (then again, I've been a fanfiction reader in exactly three fandoms: Lord of the Rings, HP, and Sherlock), but I used to be far more tolerant of fics that just got the characters into bed together without a lot of fussing about how they got there. (I was especially fond of PWP's with H/D.) And I'm finding that I tend to dislike those stories in Sherlock. I don't enjoy them if Sherlock isn't in character (or at least, my mental version of his character), for instance, and he's tricky. I tend to enjoy the most stories that are either totally heartbreaking, or contain a ridiculous quantity of UST (that resolves at some point), or both.

Also, there's been one author where I liked a couple of their stories, went to read more, and realized that they all had a rather high number of proofreading errors (one or two typos is forgivable, but we're talking multiple errors that look like they'd done some heavy editing but hadn't read it over afterward) and I quickly realized that the sex scenes were getting repetitive, and the author always got them into bed a bit too fast in a way that didn't feel plausible.

I think what it comes down to is that I got spoiled reading your fanfic and there's not a lot of other writers who are up the same standards! So far ivyblossom is up there, though, along with madlori (she has "heartbreaking" down to an exquisitely painful art, holy crap).

Or maybe I'm just getting older and crankier? (You kids! Get off my lawn!) I guess I've been reading slash long enough (a little over ten years, holy crap) that just reading gay sex isn't enough for me anymore. There's only so many ways to write blow job and assfucking scenes. It's how the characters get to said blow jobs and assfucking that makes the sex interesting, in addition to descriptions about what's going on in their heads/heart as much as what their dicks/mouths are doing.

Well. I meant to get all ranty on my own LJ on this topic, and instead I did it here. Oops. (Thank you for tolerating it.)

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I haven't read any of the kink memes at all (I found out what the hell they were, like, yesterday) but I might at some point.

Part of me is like, "Oh god, new and active fandom with SO MUCH fanfiction to read!" *hyperventilates with excitement*

[ariannagray.livejournal.com]

You, my dear, are one evil enabler. *stares at all the pretty*

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

That I am! :-D

[rotaryphones.livejournal.com]

Oh great, just what I need...more fic to stalk. It's a miracle I ever get any work done. :)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I know, right? ;-)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

You are the third person to rec this! I'll take that as a sign that I must read it. :-D

(Sorry this is so long....)

[silvarfic.livejournal.com]

Man, the list of WIPs I'm reading gets longer every day - I have a sticky post on my LJ just to keep track! And now you've gone and ADDED to the list! ;) Here are a few things I've got on my list that you've not got on yours... all BBC Sherlock.

Watches 'verse, starting with "The World on His Wrist," by bendingsignpost (modern day AU with maybe a hint of the supernatural...)
http://bendingsignpost.livejournal.com/16509.html#cutid1
The Watches 'verse is possibly the best piece of fanfic I have ever read, and I have been around the block a few times in many fandoms... can't recommend it enough.

Taxonomy, by Lindentreeisle (Captain Blue), whose Push!verse series was great (AU set in the Harry Potter 'verse)
http://archiveofourown.org/works/405836/chapters/669487

Given in Evidence by verityburns (post-Reichenbach)
http://verityburns.livejournal.com/18408.html

Pull the Stars from the Sky, by roane (A band AU!)
http://archiveofourown.org/works/378901/chapters/618402

The Seven Day Virgin, by keelywolfe (sexytimes fun :)
http://archiveofourown.org/works/367511/chapters/597533

The Distance Between Then and Now, by feverishsea (post-Reichenbach)
http://archiveofourown.org/works/377930/chapters/616801

Invisible Bonds, by Mamishka (Angel AU; A sequel to "Fallen", which should be read first.)
Link to Fallen: http://archiveofourown.org/works/226432/chapters/343087

2 fic by random_nexus, but be forewarned - a lot of WIPs by this author, and you never know when one will be updated or go dormant....
Always Miss Something (modern-day magical AU)
http://archiveofourown.org/works/240098/chapters/369046

When the Impossible Refuses to Be Eliminated (werewolf AU)
http://archiveofourown.org/works/245795/chapters/379033

[zeitgeistic.livejournal.com]

Do you read het? Because I am in love with the Sustain series (Sherlock/Molly) as much as I was with the Good Morrow series. It's really fantastic.

[sianna21.livejournal.com]

All the Sherlock WIPs you've listed but also:

The Fraternity by nightshade1120 (or atropabelladonna1120 on AO3) is brilliant.

In My Father's House series by brighteyed_jill (slave-fic).

Given in Evidence by Verityburns.

[meadowrue.livejournal.com]

If you've read bendingsignpost's Watches Universe, Stranger at the Gate and Behavioural Modification he is currently posting an AU of those fics (http://bendingsignpost.livejournal.com/15315.html?thread=985555&#t985555) that is absolutely EPIC. If you haven't read those stories I can't recommend them highly enough. You'd have to read them first to enjoy the AU of the AUs though.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

There are two wonderfully well-written genderswapped WIPs that you might enjoy. They are richly characterized, at times funny and at other times heartbreaking but always utterly true to the characters. I really think they're something special.

The Least of All Possible Mistakes (http://archiveofourown.org/works/330685/chapters/533662) by rageprufrock. (The first time Georgiana Lestrade meets Mycroft Holmes, she tasers him.)

The Compatible Damage (http://archiveofourown.org/series/13134) series by branwyn (2 completed stories, 1 WIP) Joanna knows that enlisting as the only recruit in Sherlock's private army isn't going to make her less damaged. But Sherlock puts her damage to good use. Joanna thinks that is by far the best thing that could have happened to her.

[n4im4.livejournal.com]

How nice to find so many hints ^_^ it will take me some time to start to read all of the WIP I don't know..

I'm reading "The Fabric of Life" and "Long Ago And Far Away" too, and I highly recommend "Chameleon" as many others did.

I don't think these were mentioned yet:
- Collared (http://velvet-mace.livejournal.com/346676.html) by velvet_mace
- Misdialed (http://dlanadhz.livejournal.com/34277.html) by dlanadhz
- The Man No One Liked (http://shouldboverthis.livejournal.com/141908.html) by shouldboverthis
- To Light Another's Path (http://truths-in-lies.livejournal.com/59958.html) by truths_in_lies

I hope you like them :)

[(Anonymous)]

I'm enjoying The Reichenbach Tapes on AO3--very BAMF!John and nice handling of a Sherlock who has trouble being touched (first time I've ever read a fanfic that deals with paraphasia, and a very believable treatment of Sherlock's non-asexual celibacy).
-dashcommaslash