Hi, my name is Maggie and I’m addicted to WIPs.

[marguerite_26]

If you ever ever click the Teen Wolf tag on AO3 you will discover in about 3.2 seconds that Teen Wolf is up to their eyeballs in WIPs. I've been following about 20. Yesterday I started another 6. I decided on the following:

Murphy's Law of Teen Wolf WIPS

• It's been so long since the last chapter that when the new chapter starts with: 'Ten days later Derek is still furious' you have about 20 different plots run through your head as to WHY he's furious before you finally give up and re-read previous chapters.


• Summary is the greatest idea ever; author is that one person you'd sworn off after they abandoned their millionth WIP.


• You find a WIP that you'd never seen before, summary looks really interesting and OMG! It’s now complete! 27/27 chapters… you are tingling with hope. Then Scott is called a dumbass, a bad friend and basically the reason for everything shitty in Stiles life, all within the first 2 paragraphs. -_-


• You are 17 chapters in and you realize you honestly don't give shit any longer.


• You've been following along and loving it and the last chapter finally got posted. You can barely breathe until you start reading and WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?


• Fic starts awesomely amazing. Best best best thing. Give me all the WORDS!!! Current status --->1/? Last updated: 3 months ago.

that said... I can't can't can't give them up because there exists the rare glorious beast: the perfect wip. [not to be mistaken with the perfect fic, which is a whole different topic]. The perfect wip is lovely to read, leaves you thinking about it for the days in between updates. It sinks into your mind and you dream about it, thinking of the ways the next scene will go... it becomes a living breathing part of you until that last chapter is posted and you utter a satisfied sigh because yes yes yes the author came through. YES! Damn that was good. *wipes brow*

It's a completely different experience then reading a fic in one sitting, devouring and moving on to the next.

anyway... while we are on the topic, here's a WIP that is now complete and left me very very happy.

Gravity's Got Nothing on You by zosofi
Derek/Stiles | 83k | NC-17
Summary: “Three weeks,” Derek says.

“Still don’t want to,” Stiles says.

“I’ll pay you,” Derek says, and that… that has Stiles interested. Alf’s Antique’s may be a great job, but it’s not a high-paying job, and half of Stiles’s tuition is coming from financial aid, so…

“How much,” Stiles asks, “are we talking here? Because I know your family, dude. And it’ll be kind of awkward after.“

“My family thinks you’re some sort of fucking gift to the world,” Derek seethes, like he’s jealous, “they’ll probably be pissed at me when we break it off, so don’t worry about that. Five hundred bucks.”

“A thousand,” Stiles says, because screw ethics. Also, the Hale family is loaded. Derek can deal.

Pretend boyfriends/no-Hale fire AU. The rest of the world stays intact (ie: Scott is still bitten, Scott/Stiles and best friends, and also have good relations with the Hale pack). This is set outside of Beacon Hills, in a college town where Scott, Stiles and Derek all attend school. When Laura comes for a visit, Derek has to scramble to find a boyfriend and Stiles is conveniently there. Beyond the pretend boyfriend awesome ust stuff they is a great magic!wtf! subplot. This fic is funny and hot. A really charming read.

Comments

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

I just want you to know that I blame you *completely* for the handful of WIPs I'm now following. *sigh* And yep, your Murphy's Law seems pretty dead-on.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. I honestly aim.

I'm painfully addicted, because for each fic that scorns me I need to read 3 more just to ease the burn.

hair of the dog that bit you and all that. D:

I'm afraid to tell people what I'm reading because I'm only encouraging this self-destructive behaviour! D:

[mithborien.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with bullet points 1), 3) and 4). They describe my reading habits perfectly!

And I also really liked the fic you recced. I was subscribed to it as well and thank god the author was updating regularly.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

3 is a bit of a epidemic in fandom. >.> so.

The author of Gravity immediately went on my list of 'trusted wip' authors. Organized, frequent updater, well-executed plot with no surprise 'lol. gotcha'. *stamp of approval*

Emerald's Guild to WIP's

[witchyemerald.livejournal.com]

Yes, I followed that one so hard.

I understand what you mean about WIP, I now have a new system because I really can not follow every WIP and understand what is going on when I read as many fandom as I do.

I now will read the summary and the first few chapters as a preview. If a like what I see I bookmark the story. When it is done then Ill read it. If I LOVE the story in the preview read AND the author has a good update time table(like zosifo did) Ill read as she updates. But I really don't have time to reread the story every time an author take 3 months to update. If no updates after a year I think the aurthor has abanded the story and remove it from my list.

I also started to look at how many WIP a person will have if there is 15 and nothing has been finished I will double think on spending the time on the story. I break that rule for 3 authors but I know them so ...

As a write I NEVER post a WIP, because I know me. I don't think its fair to a reader that you gave me your time and I dropped the story etc.

Re: Emerald's Guild to WIP's

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

OMG. so organized. \o/

tho, I could never... ever... stop at 3 chapters of a fic that I was loving. Not if there were like 7 chapters posted. I just... woah. impossible for me.

I completely lack self control when it comes to reading.

[dornfelder.livejournal.com]

That's so, so true.

I've actually started sorting the Teen Wolf fics by "complete" on Ao3. But I'm still hooked on some WIPs as well.

The worst thing, I'm currently also a WIP author with irregular updates (*hides and runs to edit*), so I can't even blame anyone anymore...

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

The worst thing, I'm currently also a WIP author with irregular updates
OMG!!! GO WRITE!!!!

*g*

I usually sort by 'complete' on AO3 and then I have a bad day (yesterday) and I just fall into every half written thing out there. D:

[wooly-bear.livejournal.com]

*bitter laughter*

It's a slippery slope, my friend. Here (http://archiveofourown.org/works/654177/chapters/1191576)'s another one for your list.

*smirks*

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

ahhaha... you try to trip me up! but la! I am already reading that one, and also Parks and Edifice (http://archiveofourown.org/works/590136/chapters/1228892) just got updated so LIFE IS GOOD!

[littlelostcat.livejournal.com]

First? GGNOY? I want to marry that fic and have dirty sex with it. I know how that sounds but It's true, I'd do the deed with a digital publication.

But -- I think it's interested about the WiPs. I feel like I've been burned so many times that I fall in love with a fic and the authors stops (I've even done it before) ... and I just become so bitter. LOL. Do the WiPs that you follow ever not finish? Does that bother you?

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Do the WiPs that you follow ever not finish? Does that bother you?


OMG. ALL THE TIME.

And I'll be honest, I swore off WIPs in every other fandom. I was strong once upon a time. But I fell into the hole in TW and it feels like the only way I can live with the heartache of an abandoned WIP is to remember the joy of reading those first few chapters. So I every time I curse lack of updates, I go seek out a new WIP. 3/? calls to me like a beacon.

-_-

But those few, those happy few that do in fact finish, and finish in a way that leaves me loving it just as much in the last chapter as the first... those are babies I cherish.

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

The WIP is why I started my idiosyncratic "reviewing" style. I can go back and read each my chapter bullet points rather than having to go back and read twenty, thirty or forty thousand words. AGAIN! So frustrating.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

oh! interesting. And lol that makes so much sense. after awhile they all blur together to summary-like comments really are helpful. ;)

[faithwood.livejournal.com]

Current status --->1/? Last updated: 3 months ago.

D:

It's like my worst nightmare! WHY WOULD YOU CLICK?

[mothlights]

Yes, this!

[mothlights]

You're dead on with all of those!

Not to be an enabler, but I am reading 1 (frequently updating) WIP: A Mating Moon by unpossible. If it isn't one you're already addicted to, I highly recommend.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

unpossible is one of the only WIP writers I ever followed in Merlin fandom. She is amazingly reliable! \o/

And yup, am reading. :)

[ayalleda.livejournal.com]

This!!!!! I fell in love with one M/A wip....reread it over and over again. Then I finally heard (via twitter) that the final chapter had been posted and I swear it wasn't the same author. I still reread it but only to a certain point.

So learnt my lesson for TW and try to only read complete fics...but Gravity has sucked me in!

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

the final chapter had been posted and I swear it wasn't the same author.

I think that is worst than abandoned wips. D: So much impotent fury and disappointment. :/

I've learned my lesson to only ever REC completed fics. So, at least you know that while I'm torturing myself with WIPs, I'll be sure to rec those that I still love at the end of it all. *g*

[moonlitpines.livejournal.com]

I had the best LOL moment reading your Murphy's Law bit. That's so true and has been my experience trying to keep up with the massive amount of WiPs in this fandom! So many of them are by really good writers or I'm entirely in love with the premise and then...I dangle. And wait. And try not to cry. And refresh. It's tough, but fanfic and some pretty things on tumblr are pretty much all I've got in this fandom, so you make do with what's there.

Gravity's Got Nothing on You was the highlight of my WiP experience, thus far, I think. I loved it, from beginning to end. So much mutual bitchiness and feelings and honesty! I loved it.

Thanks for your continuing recs, btw. Sometimes I get them from TW Recs on Twitter, but some of the best I've read have been from links via you. You continue to make my fandom experience better, wherever I go. *mwah* Love to you!

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

So many of them are by really good writers or I'm entirely in love with the premise and then...I dangle. And wait. And try not to cry. And refresh.
YES! *sobs* we should form a support group. WIPs-anonymous (ahaha... tho ppl would get the wrong impression)

I'm so so pleased you liked my recs. :) I get a lot of recs from TW Recs too, and otta_ff and I exchange our favs a lot, but I'm glad you are enjoying what you are finding here. <3 Thank you!

[acadine11.livejournal.com]

Oh god, SO true. I used to read tons of WIPs when I was in HP fandom but eventually got burned by so many I swore off reading any more. And yet, somehow in TW fandom I have fallen back down that well. The summaries, they tempt me!

And now I'll be mean and tempt you with more WIP goodness :D Are you following this one (http://archiveofourown.org/works/648799)? If you aren't, you should definitely give it a try. She updates frequently and she's majorly supportive of Scott and Stiles's friendship, so that's already two points from your list you don't have to worry about.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

The summaries, they tempt me!
so much!!!!


Find It In Our Hearts

D: D:

I'm not sure if I should thank you or plot your death. THAT WIP!!! D:

OMG. IT IS SO GOOD. Dammit. I cannot handle. I've been doing nothing but sneaking around the house with tablet while making dinner, doing dishes... giving the kids baths ... while trying to read a few more paragraphs. D:

And yes, I love love love her Scott & Stiles! so far everyone is so IC.

[wickedcherub.livejournal.com]

I think Transfigurations in the HP fandom is still going.. like it's been something like 8 years. :\

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

I'm still waiting for Shadow of his Wings to finish.

*a thousand tears for that one*

[beck-liz.livejournal.com]

I would like to add one to the list of WIP Murphy's laws: it supposedly only has one chapter left to go, but was last updated over 6 months ago. *whimper*

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

OMG!!! YES!!! That happens so often!

I like to start wips when they are like 9/10. because it's safe right? NO ITS NOT!!! :/

[sullymygoodname.livejournal.com]

That's why I love the "subscribe" function on AO3. When I find a WIP that sounds interesting, I always wait until it's finished before I start reading. I hate it when they get abandoned.

PS. I love your recs! Thank you so much for all of them :)

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

subscribe is my life. the only way i survive in TW.

everytime I enjoy a fic, I subscribe to the author. it's the only way to keep track of anything on AO3. i barely know anyone in this fandom and it's not like they are on LJ and I can just friend them. :/

oh! thank you! glad you like the recs. :)

[kayoko.livejournal.com]

I clicked on the here comments and found more WIPs to add to the list. =(

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

IKR??? PEOPLE ARE EVIL.

though .. this one... http://archiveofourown.org/works/648799

i think you;ll like it.

[fbf.livejournal.com]

Okay, I usually don't rec stuff to folks, but this one is pretty awesome. It's a Teen Wolf/Avengers crossover which shouldn't work as well as it does. So far there are two parts and both are done and both on the longer side. It's a non-linear story telling but it really works. It's about a Stiles owning his magic and becoming a Warden and the dynamics of family and friendship and duty and long-term plans and I think you should give it a read. Its Rattle Loose Your Bones series by Sidara (http://archiveofourown.org/series/36414).

[darlulu.livejournal.com]

You've been following along and loving it and the last chapter finally got posted. You can barely breathe until you start reading and WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?

Oh god, this just happened to me. I'd been following (Sleep)Walking After You, and heard that it'd finally been updated with the final chapter and was so excited, but then I read it and...wow, big disappointment.

I'm more used to sharp left turns happening earlier in wips, but to have it happen in the final chapter is just such a blow.