I need some help for one of my lectures - and also I am interested in as well - so
1. please take it seriously
2. I would really appreciate if you could reblog this, and in case you know someone on tumblr who’s from the countries listed below, please tag them.
Hey users from Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand!
Could you stop for a minute and help me with answering to this question:
Is there any habit/custom or (either cultural or historical) event of your country that you would like to see represented in a class of English as a foreign language?
You can reply as a comment/message under this original post or by rebloging with your answer but in that case please tag me in it!
Also, I’m collecting data until 1st May.
This is my Sterek Secret Santa gift for ritarmandi, who wanted magical/druid!Stiles and Sterek as mates, and those two just go so well together, I simply had to write something for that. I hope you enjoy it and Merry Christmas!
Read on AO3
*****
Anchor Me
Stiles had always known that being a spark would someday get him into the worst trouble possible. He had thought that had happened when Scott had been bitten by Peter, essentially inviting the supernatural into Stiles’ every day life, even though he had tried so hard to keep that side to himself.
He had never told anyone that he was a born spark, not even Deaton, just like his mother wanted, and over the years even his father forgot that there was something not quite human about Stiles.
But then Peter had gone on a rampage and Derek had come back and that was a can of worms Stiles was in no way ready to open.
Because sparks had one ideal partner, one mate if you wanted to use werewolf lingo, that would bind the magic inside the spark and center them, not unlike an anchor. And sparks immediately recognized these special people; once glance was enough to seal Stiles’ fate.
And hopefully the fate of the person his magic had chosen as the perfect match for him.
Ever since his mother had told him about that, told him about the beautiful love story Stiles would one day have, he had dreamed of this moment. He had still been elated when Derek stepped into the clearing, essentially telling Stiles and Scott to get off his lawn, because he had known.
Stiles had known instantly that Derek was it for him.
But just as soon he had known that Derek didn’t feel the same about him. Because the guy was a werewolf, and werewolves recognized their mates just like sparks did. Instantly and without doubt. And Derek hadn’t given any reaction, had never breathed a word of the connection between Stiles and himself.
It wasn’t common, but it also wasn’t unheard of, that mates didn’t match up, even though one person felt the pull, and Stiles could honestly say that he wasn’t too surprised that this didn’t work out for him. Things like this never did, and why the hell would Derek even want him to begin with.
He was a gangly teenager who talked too much and too loudly about topics no one cared about, and he was barely able to walk a straight line. Not really mate material. Especially not for supernaturally awesome werewolves.
But since Derek wasn’t anchoring him, it also meant that his magic was still unbound, spilling over everywhere, so to speak, and it had led right to this damn moment.
Because there were things out there that ate magic, sucked it right up and the life out of the person it belonged to in the process as well. And of course one of these magic suckers had to pass through Beacon Hills. The nemeton was too big of a magic source after all, and Stiles could only imagine that the laraken was all too happy to find him as well.
And since it was here for Stiles, he felt the need to warn the pack.
“So you know what the monster is?” Scott asked, after Stiles had told them that they didn’t need any research on this one.
“Yeah, I do,” Stiles said with a sigh and shrugged. “It’s a laraken and it’s here to eat magic. I think it came for the nemeton, since it’s overflowing with it, but then it saw me and decided to stay.”
“You,” Lydia said, disdain clear in her voice. “Why would it want you? You’re human.”
“Not quite,” Stiles said and cringed when everyone started to glare at him.
“What?” Derek growled out, clearly angry enough to be beyond words and Stiles made himself small, before he thought ‘Fuck it’ and straightened up instead.
“I’m a spark,” Stiles said, raising his hands to let the magic take form for once, casting flames and shapes with a mere thought.
“Wow,” Scott breathed, and he seemed honestly fascinated.
The same couldn’t be said for all the others. Lydia watched him with a clinical gaze, clearly already trying to take his powers apart in her mind, while the puppies had all stepped back from him. Derek continued to frown at Stiles, before his face almost crumbled in on itself and he sharply turned away.
“It’s going to eat this?” Scott asked, stepping closer and hands hesitantly hovering over the flames.
Stiles nodded at him, and Scott touched the flames, laughing out loud when they didn’t hurt him, and Stiles formed a little rabbit that ran up his arm.
“My magic isn’t bound,” Stiles started to explain but Lydia immediately interrupted him.
“You’re dangerous,” she stated as if that was the only logical conclusion.
“No,” Stiles rushed to reassure her. “Think of it like this: I need an anchor, just like the wolves do. My magic is unbound, all over the place, so to speak. It’s leaking out and the laraken feels that. It knows it can eat that. If my magic was bound, we wouldn’t even be in this mess.”
“Bound as in restricted?” Scott asked but Stiles shook his head.
“Centered. My magic would be centered, focused, and it would make me even stronger.”
“Then why is your magic still unbound? What do you have to do to bind it?” Isaac wanted to know, and Stiles couldn’t help but dart a glance at Derek, who was still turned away from him.
“I need a mate, if we want to stay with the werewolf terminology. There’s this one person out there for me, who could anchor my magic.”
“And you haven’t found them yet,” Scott said with his puppy eyes, looking all sad on Stiles’ behalf and his not yet found true love.
“No, I haven’t,” Stiles said, and every single werewolf gaze went to his chest.
Stupid lie detectors.
“I have to go,” Stiles rushed out, grabbing his jacket and jamming his feet into his shoes. “My house is warded so that no magic can spill out. The laraken won’t find me there. I’ll send you the info on how to kill it,” Stiles yelled over his shoulder and didn’t even take the time to close the door behind him.
He just needed to get away before he could spill even more.
They would pester him until Stiles spilled the name, he knew Lydia and Erica too damn well by now, and he didn’t want to put his on Derek. He didn’t feel the same about Stiles and it would only make him feel responsible for the plight Stiles found himself in now.
But Derek was carrying around enough guilt already, and he didn’t need this on his conscience as well.
Stiles ran the way from his jeep to the house, looking around for the laraken frantically, but he safely made it inside. Only to nearly have a heart attack when he entered his room because Derek was standing at his desk.
“You shouldn’t drive around alone,” Derek immediately chided him, Stiles still gaping in shock at him, hand clutched to his chest.
“And you shouldn’t scare helpless humans,” Stiles snarked back when he found his voice and Derek’s brow furrowed again.
“But you’re neither, are you.”
Stiles only shrugged with one shoulder, because no, technically he wasn’t. But he wasn’t quite ready to leave that persona behind.
“Anyway, it could have snatched you during your drive,” Derek went on, rolling a pen on Stiles’ desk around.
“No. The jeep is warded as well. I’m not stupid.”
“No, you just don’t trust easily,” Derek immediately gave back, and Stiles bristled with outrage at that.
“If I remember correctly it was you who told me to my face that you don’t trust me, even though it was me who was holding you up in eight fucking feet of water for hours. Magic doesn’t help with that, just fyi.”
Derek stared at him in silence, until eventually it was Stiles who looked away.
“I do trust you,” he heard Derek mumble just as Stiles was gearing up to throw him out.
“What do you want, Derek?” Stiles asked, and he was tired, so damn tired of this.
He had known that everyone would be mad at him once they found out about his little secret, but having this confrontation with Derek was the worst. Stiles could barely stand to be in his presence, his magic pulling like crazy at him, but somehow they kept being thrown together, over and over again.
“You need a mate.”
“Yes, I do,” Stiles said with an eyeroll and then whirled around, narrowing his eyes at Derek suspiciously. “Why?”
“What do I need to do?”
“No,” Stiles immediately said. “No, no no no no.”
Derek almost flinched under his words, but Stiles couldn’t allow this, even though it was everything he wanted. His magic might have chosen Derek for him, but Stiles’ human side had quickly followed, fallen for Derek hard and fast, and he wouldn’t allow him to bind himself to Stiles, forever. Not if he still had a mate out there somewhere.
Derek deserved to find love and be happy with whoever it was life chose for him. He shouldn’t be bound to a flailing spark for the rest of his life out of a sense of duty.
“Absolutely not,” Stiles reiterated, almost missing the way Derek seemed to fold in on himself.
“I didn’t know my presence was so unwanted here,” Derek forced out, and Stiles instinctively stepped forward, but stopped when Derek took a step back.
“It’s not,” Stiles reassuringly said. “But I know you don’t feel that way about me, and you deserve better. This would be for life, and you deserve to have a chance with your mate.”
“My—mate,” Derek haltingly repeated and Stiles vigorously nodded.
“I know you would instantly recognize them, just like sparks do. And you didn’t—you know, in the clearing—anyway, I know I’m not it, so I’m sorry, but I can’t let you bind yourself to me like that.”
“I did instantly recognize my mate,” Derek lowly told him, and Stiles was sure that nothing had ever hurt as much as this one stupid sentence.
He knew he never had a chance with Derek, but it still didn’t make it any easier.
“I am so sorry,” Stiles whispered, horribly aware of how his voice shook. “Was it Paige?” he gently asked, because he was masochist enough to want to know.
“No it wasn’t,” Derek softly said.
On the one hand Stiles was relieved that Derek didn’t had to suffer through the death of his mate, but on the other hand that also meant Derek’s perfect match was out there and he knew who it was, and Stiles would eventually have to pretend not to die a little bit every time he saw them together.
“Well, I mean, that’s good,” Stiles rambled. “I hope you told them. Because you tend to keep your words all to yourself, and these are words that need to be shared, so you should do that, you know, share, and tell them, because it’s important they know.”
Stiles slammed his mouth shut, because this whole situation was already bad enough. He didn’t need to keep Derek any longer, didn’t need to babble at him like some brainless idiot. It was no wonder that Derek didn’t want him.
“You didn’t say anything either,” Derek said, voice barely above a whisper and Stiles could do nothing but gape at him.
“You know it’s not nice that all of you always listen to my heartbeat,” he eventually snapped out. “And you don’t know if I told them or not. Maybe I told them the second I recognized them.”
“But the only thing you did was explain to Scott who I was,” Derek said, and he seemed almost shy now, and so terribly hopeful that something squeezed Stiles’ heart in his chest.
“I—what?” Stiles very intelligently got out and Derek shrugged.
“I didn’t say anything because you deserve better than me,” he said, almost easily, like this was still something he deeply believed, and Stiles couldn’t even deal with that.
He rushed forward, throwing his hands around Derek’s neck and hugging the ever-loving hell out of him.
“Maybe I don’t want anything better. Maybe there isn’t anything better for me out there,” Stiles whispered into Derek’s ear, who shuddered delightfully against him.
“You never said anything,” Derek muttered and carefully, lightly, rested his hands on Stiles hips.
“I thought werewolves knew instantly. And if you didn’t react then that had to mean I wasn’t it for you.”
“You’re everything for me,” Derek instantly replied, and Stiles buried his face in Derek’s neck, deeply breathing in, because Derek couldn’t just throw that out there like that.
He barely used his words at all, he wasn’t allowed to almost kill Stiles with a single sentence.
“You’re everything for me, too,” Stiles eventually gave back, and Derek finally slid his arms around Stiles, hugging him just as hard as Stiles was hugging him.
“You’re going to anchor me so well,” Stiles said, could already feel the leakage of his magic stop, just because he was being held by Derek and Derek chuckled.
“You are already anchoring me so well,” he gave back, and Stiles felt like he could burst, he was so full of love for this ridiculous, broken, wonderful man.
And for the first time since he had recognized Derek as his mate, the thought wasn’t accompanied by a sharp stab to his heart. Because Derek felt the same about him.
I know I was offline in the last three monthes bc of personal issues, but now, accidentally I was here to read about your fic rec post, and I want to send an open message to your depression, Andi: WE LOVE YOU (at least all my 9 alterego do) and your well-being (both menthal and physical) is one of the most important thing on earth, so please, take care, do stuffs what makes you happy, take as many time as you need. Okay? If you and your depression need a virtual hug, I'm here
Thank you, Rita, you’re a treasure and I appreciate you so much <3 <3 <3 I hope everything is better for you <3
Isaac, you're awsome! I want you to know that you're very strong and inspirative, and we love you! ❤ I'm crossing my fingers to your first therapy! Also it's so cool that you're going. ❤
First impression: Wow, her art is fascInating and unique. Have you seen her Sterek art? *Shows your works to all hungarian Sterek shippers - yeah, I might be one of the admins of the group...xD* Have you seen any kind of her art? Bc you should! Impression of now: OMG OMG OMG THERE IS SOMETHING NEW! OMG OMG OMG HOW AMAZING HER ART IS. Breathtaking! OMG A NEW UPDATE AND A WIP. HOW SOMEONE COULD BE THIS TALENTED? So perfect. AND SHE EVEN BECAME BETTER. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?
My face already starts to hurt because I have to laugh and to smile so much, ha ha~. Thank you!!
