Ant reads Sterek fics

Length: 18k

Rating: Mature 

Side pairings: none

Warnings: emotional manipulation, kind of.  

Summary: Stiles must surrender the most important thing in his life to save the group… and no one can figure out what it was.

First time reading it? yes

What was great: Amazingly well written, mega angst fest.  I loved the way Stiles really struggled with himself in this, and Derek was so heartbreaking, and honestly everything about this fic was fantastic.

What wasn’t as great: some bits really hurt to read.  Because of the sad, not because of the writing.

Length: 304k (Divided We Stand is 156k, United We Mend is 147k)

Rating: Mature

Side pairings: Scott/Allison, various others

Warnings: bullying, bigotry, injury

Summary: Derek is being pressured by his family to pick a mate, and somehow stumbles into a choice that they didn't expect and aren't sure they approve of....

First time reading it? yes

What was great: Great build up to Stiles and Derek's relationship, and I really love the way the dynamic between them was written.  I loved the way Stiles worked his way into the Hale family and found a place there.  Fantastic plotting.  Such a well constructed world.  This fic is so big you'll actually forget canon even exists.

What wasn’t as great: I'm sure there were things but I can't remember them.

Length: 3k

Rating: Teen & Up

Side pairings: none

Warnings: none

Summary: What if Stiles and Derek really had spent the summer together? How many memories have the alphas stolen?

First time reading it? yes

What was great: Super bittersweet but still kind of hopeful.  I'm kind of obsessed with fics that fit into canon and explain this period of time and this one is perfect.

What wasn’t as great: nothing

Length: 3k

Rating: Explicit

Side pairings: none

Warnings: none

Summary: “Top or bottom?” Stiles asks, off to Derek's right.

“Bottom,” Derek says automatically, not really looking at him. “Wait, what?”

First time reading it? yes

What was great: Basically a PWP but still very cute and funny and sweet.  Also, Scott was awesome.

What wasn’t as great: nothing

Length: 5k

Rating: Teen & Up

Side pairings: no

Warnings: no

Summary: Derek's a professional chef, and Stiles is a blogger who butchers his recipes.

First time reading it? yes

What was great: Okay, the thing I loved most about this fic was Laura and Cora, and the management team meetings.  I loved the contrast between Derek's and Stiles' cooking styles and how even though they were each offended by the other's, they were still kind of won over by them too. 

What wasn’t as great: there wasn't a lot of actual interaction between Derek and Stiles but at the same time, it really wouldn't have worked with the story if there was.

Length: 33k

Rating: Explicit

Side pairings: Berica, Scallison, Jydia

Warnings: dub-con themes

Summary: prompt: "There is a world where whenever someone fantasizes about you, you can physically feel it, but you have no idea who is thinking it about you."

Stiles knows it's wrong, but he's been Fantasizing about Derek and he can't bring himself to stop. Derek doesn't know who's taken an interest in him, but he's enjoying it way more than he probably should.

First time reading it? yes

What was great: The premise was really interesting, but more than that, it was so well executed.  The world building surrounding the Fantasies was so spot on and the way the writer showed how it affected the characters was masterfully done, I thought.  Derek and Stiles were both kind of heartbreaking in this, in the best of ways, and I loved the way their relationship progressed.

What wasn’t as great: nothing.

Length: 5k

Rating: Explicit

Side pairings: none

Warnings: none

Summary: "Okay!" Stiles throws his hands up, "We’re getting off topic."

"You’re right," Derek smirks at him over his own coffee, "You needed my help with something?"

Stiles narrows his eyes, as if totally aware of Derek exuding smugness over having won that particular argument, and then blurts out, “I need your help filming porn.”

Derek had been taking a victory sip of pumpkin spice latte, and promptly chokes on it. Stiles looks briefly triumphant, and then begins chewing on a thread trailing from one of his fingerless gloves.

First time reading it? yes

What was great: For a fic that's basically about porn, this was so super sweet.  The feels were spot on and everything was as great as you'd expect from this writer.

What wasn’t as great: I thought Derek's love confession seemed a little abrupt/OOC but I don't see any other way it could've gone unless this was like a 30k word fic.

Length: 4k

Rating: Teen & Up

Side pairings: hints of Sheriff/Melissa

Warnings: none

Summary: Derek tries really hard to do the right thing, Stiles thinks Derek's idea of the right thing is the wrong thing, and John does his best to help.

First time reading it? yes

What was great: The Sheriff's characterisation here is just so on point.  Sometimes outsider POV fics just don't work for me because they venture into territory that the POV character just couldn't know, but there was none of that here.  I really loved the Sheriff-Derek scenes and the Sheriff-Stiles scenes but there was also a good amount of Sterek.

What wasn’t as great: nothing

Length: 3k

Rating: General

Side pairings: none

Warnings: none

Summary: "You?" Pierre asks incredulously. "A mere human?"

"Mere?" Stiles repeats, spreading his arms and looking down at himself. This time Derek really does chuckle, and Stiles grins at the noise. "My dad is still inside," he tells Derek. "So can we make this fast?"

In which Stiles has so got this and Derek realizes something important.

First time reading it? yes

What was great: Derek's POV worked so well here.  It's kind of like a series of scenes from s1 to 3a and onward, of Derek observing Stiles and the progression of their relationship.  The writing was really good and I thought the structure/format worked well.

What wasn’t as great: nothing.

Length: 17k

Rating: Explicit

Side pairings: no 

Warnings: no

Summary: There was someone in Derek's house. He was on his way back from a hunt, licking blood from his muzzle when he heard the sound of smashing wood coming from inside. Derek snarled quietly, leaping up onto the back deck without a sound. He paused in the doorway to the living room, eyes burning red in the dim light. The boy whacking the wall with a moldy piece of timber was different than the ones who had come before. He wasn't laughing, wasn't enjoying himself as pieces of rotten flew from both the wall and the wood in his hands. He smelled of sadness and desperation and anger, and when the piece of wood in his hands finally splintered the boy sank to his knees and cried.

First time reading it? yes

What was great: I really love the way the bond between Stiles and Derek was written in this fic - it's something that grimm does consistently well, I think but here it's particularly great.  I love the innocence of their relationship that comes from Derek being in wolf form and how they bonded over their shared grief.  I liked the plot as well though it was kind of secondary to Stiles and Derek's relationship.

What wasn’t as great: nothing

Length: 3k

Rating: General

Side pairings: none

Warnings: none

Summary: Is it really a motorcycle gang if you drive a moped and all your members are old ladies and drag queens?  Derek still isn't sure.

First time reading it? Yes

What was great: It was funny and sweet and I really loved Stiles in this.

What wasn’t as great: nothing

Length: 3k

Rating: Not Rated (probably teen)

Side pairings: none

Warnings: none

Summary: “Dude, did you know that Derek’s into dudes?” Scott asks the question as he shoves a folded piece of meat lover’s pizza in his mouth, last few words turning to mumbled mush.

Stiles tells himself that’s why he has to ask him to repeat it twice, even though Scott-talking-with-his-mouth-full is practically his second language, mastered when they were first graders, along with Scott-needs-to-use-his-puppy-eyes-now-because-words-are-hard-for-him-sometimes and Scott-talking-while-trying-to-pretend-he’s-not-having-an-asthma-attack (now a dead language thanks to the vigorous application of werewolfdom).

First time reading it? yes

What was great: This fic was just so adorable and comforting and basically just everything I want for Derek.  I loved Stiles pretending not to be jealous and the progression of the relationship.  It was just lovely.

What wasn’t as great: nothing

Length: 12k

Rating: Explicit

Side pairings: Scallison

Warnings: none

Summary: Deputy Derek Hale has recently become an alpha, and that changes things for him. Now that he's back after a leave of absence, he's hoping to get what he and Stiles had almost-started back on track. The thing is, it seems Stiles is going through some changes of his own and Derek's not sure how he fits.

First time reading it? yes

What was great: The world-building in this fic was fantastic, so interesting and full of great little details.  I'm kind of obsessed with deputy!Derek at the moment and I loved how Stiles' magic factored into the fic as well.  Stiles and Derek's relationship is perfect here, antagonistic but while still showing how much they care about each other.  

What wasn’t as great: nothing

Length: 5k

Rating: Explicit

Side pairings: none?

Warnings: none

Summary: At first, it’s just sex.

It’s good sex – Derek comes every time, Stiles comes every time, says things like “whoa,” and “do that again, yeah, yeah, like that, fuck,” – but still: it’s just sex. They don’t speak much, at first. They don’t kiss as much as bite down on each other’s bottom lips and breathe heavily into each other’s mouths when they’re about to blow their load. Derek is not sure if it qualifies as kissing at all. He’s not sure if he wants it to.

(He’s not sure why he wants it to.)

First time reading it? yes

What was great: I've been saying this a lot lately, but the writing here is amazing.  Funny and hot but kind of poignant at the same time.  The development of Stiles and Derek's relationship was perfect for canon as it is, and kind of made sense of everything without being terribly meta about it.  It was just lovely, everyone should read it.

What wasn’t as great: it was perfect.

Length: 43k

Rating: Explicit

Side pairings: Scott/Allison, Erica/Boyd

Warnings: crime scenes, forced drug use, injury

Summary: Casting spells, chasing monsters, wooing your coworkers and fucking them in their offices - it's all in a day's work for Stiles Stilinski.

First time reading it? yes

What was great: I really love the world-building here, with the mix of law enforcement and magic.  It was interesting and worked super well.    The Sterek interactions were fantastic and believable and I loved the build up, there were so many great moments between them.

What wasn’t as great: nothing

Length: 2k

Rating: Teen & Up

Side pairings: unrequited Stiles/Parrish

Warnings: no

Summary: dep·u·tize

verb

temporarily act or speak as a deputy.

synonyms: stand in for, sit in for, fill in for, cover for, substitute for, replace

”"He’s too old for you," Derek grunts, and, shit - Stiles looks indignant.

First time reading it? yes

What was great: The writing was great and Derek's POV worked so well.  He was so petty and adorable with his jealousy of Parrish. The tone was great and there was a good amount of pack feels for such a short fic.  

What wasn’t as great: nothing

Length: 5k

Rating: General 

Side pairings: no

Warnings: none

Summary: The cats of Beacon Hills are mysteriously disappearing and it's up to Stiles and Derek, his trusty werewolf sidekick, to find out why!

First time reading it? yes

What was great: Literally everything about this fic was fantastic.  The premise was great, I thought it would be a bit cracky but it was surprisingly heartfelt.  The writing was great, the tone was spot on, I just loved it so much.  They adopted a kitten, you guys.

What wasn’t as great: nothing