🪱 Wiggle Wednesday🪱
Thank you @paperbackribs who tagged me last week, I saw it while I was in class and immediately forgot until I saw people posting their things today. But I'm always excited to share my current brainworms
This is a scene from a fic that I pick at every now and then, so it's basically always on the brain. It started as something about Lucas and Steve and trying to explain away the slight anachronism of Steve (popular and rich) being in Nikes before Jordan made them cool (thank you Air) and it has turned into something much more about Lucas and also his Mom relating through a shared love of basketball and Steve is also there.
It’s a Friday night after the end of the world, and strangely Lucas is at a basketball game.
Or maybe it’s only strange because it’s so normal.
A Friday night in a small town and there isn’t much to do except support the home team. Only Mom won’t watch football, she calls it barbaric, so she reserves all her team spirit for November when basketball season starts. Lucas’ skin itches a little under the Hawkins Tigers shirt he’s wearing, as he’s pretending to be normal when a couple weeks ago he learned monsters were real. What can he do though? Mrs. Byers has Will on house arrest, Mike is still mourning Eleven, and Dustin hasn’t been allowed out since Will’s Lazarus act.
Maybe he’s being too sensitive. Steve is here, who Lucas mostly knows from Mike complaining about being Nancy’s stupid boyfriend. Steve is playing like everything is fine, even though Lucas knows Steve knows. He heard whispering about it with Nancy when he went to the bathroom the last time he was at Mike’s. But Steve is smiling as he paces down the court. Miles better than the other players around him, when Steve has the ball Lucas feels like he does when he’s watching a real basketball game on the couch with his Mom.
If Steve can act like things are normal. If he can sink three pointer after rebound after assist, maybe it’s okay that Lucas is wearing his Tiger green. He floats down the court and everyone cheers. But no one cheers right. When #21 Hagan gets a rebound off of Seymour’s best player, a girl’s voice screams so loud it makes his throat hurt. No one cheers that way for Steve. It’s just excitement for the game, not for him and the way he is playing.
When the game ends, Hawkins 73: Seymour 42, and the crowd storms the court Lucas stands by his Mom in the bleachers. She hates feeling the push of the crowd against her and as he gets older, and people’s hands get rougher, he’s starting to understand. He’s too old to be caught standing by his Mom though. After everything, he knows better than to move too far away from her; going to the game with your Mom is one thing, being the kid getting called out over the intercom because she can’t find you would be life ruining.
Lucas watches the thinning crowd while he waits. Parents and girlfriends crowding their sweaty players. He doesn’t want to get caught looking at any of those boys for too long now that they aren’t playing. He isn’t sure why. So he keeps looking for something familiar.
Steve is standing beside a short, dark haired man who’s got what his father calls a beer gut. He doesn’t look anything like Steve, but he’s also the only adult anywhere near him. He’s the only person at all that’s really near Steve. They’re talking excitedly about something. He claps Steve on the back and whatever he says next has Steve looking down toward the floor.
“Is that Steve’s dad?” he asks his mom before thinking about why that might be a weird question to ask her.
“Who?” The way she says it makes him sure she hadn’t actually heard the question. She’d caught a name, when he interrupted her conversation with the lady next to them, but not enough to answer. It’s a free chance to drop the issue. To say sorry, never mind, and go back to watching people move on the floor below them.
“That guy,” she slaps his hand down as he goes to point. “The guy next to Steve, number 8, is that his dad?”
“How do you know him?” The question, instead of an answer, startles him enough that he looks at her instead of Steve. Stern, he knows he doesn’t want to lie to her, but he also isn’t sure how to say that this random high school boy saved two of his best friends’ older siblings' lives.
“He’s Nancy’s boyfriend. Mike talks about him.”
If he’d just waited. He would have gotten his question answered without asking Mom. They both watch as that man says one more thing to Steve, shakes his hand, and walks out of the gym. “I don’t see Nancy here.” Because they both know he doesn’t really need his other question answered anymore.
“I don’t think she really likes sports.”
Mom sucks her teeth, a judgmental tchk that has heat climbing the back of his neck when it's not even for him. "Well that's a shame, he's a good player." There's finally enough space on the floor that they could leave. He wants, desperately, for them to just go cause something about this conversation is making him feel guilty again. "Do you want to to say hi?"
There's nothing he wants less than that. Lucas thinks if he has to go up to this guy, who went toe to toe with a monster, while his mom trails behind he'll die. Lucas thinks if he says hi to a guy who has only seen him maybe twice in the context of Mike Wheeler's house, and has to sit there while Steve blankly accepts his congrats he'll melt into the floor.
"Can we just go home? I still have homework."
And some tags to @fuctacles, @cauldronoflove, @thefreakandthehair, @stevespookington, @stevieharringtonwifeguy
@eriquin, @grasslandgirl, @augustjustice, and anyone else who wants to play!
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Hi!
First of all i love your Ithaqua stories and head canons. Unfortunately, since Ithaqua is a new Hunter, I can't really find stories with him.
But here is my request for you. I really want to see like a Ithaqua x reader story. I was thinking maybe the story can be about the reader is a survivor and like they meet in a match and fall in love or something like that 😅
Thank you for reading this little message. And you don't have to write this request if you don't want to.
💕
aw, thank you so much, anon! i really really appreciate that you like what i write 🥹 lemme know what you think!
request; yes, and they're open! especially ithaqua ones. please gimme them 🥺🤲
wc; 732.
tags; a tiny bit of violence? first meeting, some romantic hints, gn survivor! reader, literal midnight writing 😳
summary; you run into a new hunter who goes by ithaqua during a match, and he invites you to play a small game...
whenever someone enters oletus manor, rumors spread like wildfire.
you’ve heard all about it from your fellow survivors.
how there is a new hunter who carries with him strong gusts of wind that could make the snow dance to his will. a masked and hooded hunter who stood on high blade-like stilts. an axe wielder with a single lantern that glowed blue and yellow as if under a spell.
at first, you were not all that interested. at this point, you have been stuck in this manor doing spontaneous matches for an owner whose face you never saw before.
things were starting to get a bit dull.
that is... until today.
“don’t rescue me!” your teammate shouts, tied securely the tall red chair. “go for the tie!”
you want to win, but you see the navy-clad hunter near the chair, looking at you with his head tilted, as if trying to read what move you will make and when.
eventually, your teammate’s chair starts spinning faster and faster until it flies into the sky, leaving you completely alone with the hunter.
“are you just going to stand there?” the hunter asks. his voice, contrary to his intimidating appearance, is rather light, laced with some curiosity. “if that’s the case, how about we play a little game?”
you pause for a second before responding cautiously, “...what game?”
“a game of tag,” he replies, “i’ll give a 10 second head start. if you don’t get caught by me before reaching the dungeon, you’re free to escape. otherwise, i’ll do the same as i did to your teammate.” with his weapon, the hunter gestures to the now ashen spot on the ground where the chair had unceremoniously flown off. the lantern hangs on the edge below the blade, so it dangles hypnotically back and forth as he swings it. “how about it?”
at the very least, i can snag a tie.
“alright,” you concede after some thought, “deal.”
laughter echoes through the map as you run. the hunter keeps his promise, giving you a full 10 seconds before pursuing you.
there are times as you’re running when you feel your breath being cut short by strong wind pulling you in. sometimes, you slam into a wall, and while the impact hurt, it helps you keep distance. this game of tag continues on with you running him, occasionally playing some mind games to get yourself out of a pinch.
eventually it hits you like a gust that this chase is interesting.
it’s fun.
such fun can only last so long, though, as the hunter hits you from behind, causing you to stumble forward and collapse. your body is aching from running, bumping into walls, and now from being hit, but nonetheless you muster energy to try and struggle when he ties you to a balloon.
oh god, i’m going to be chaired...
thinking about how the chair’s spinning gives you nausea gives more drive to struggle free.
much to your surprise, though, he takes you to the dungeon and pops the balloons, causing you to fall to the ground with a thud.
“you... you’re letting me go?”
the hunter tilts his head again - it reminds you of a cat somewhat - as he replies, “you played the game well, so why not?”
you crawl toward the dungeon’s dark entrance as you half-jokingly reply, “not one to keep promises, are you?”
“normally i would chair you, but take this as an acknowledgement.” his tone matches your own.
you have a feeling you are going to run into him a lot from now on.
inside of matches... and outside of them too.
of course, you don’t know that for sure. it’s just a strange, inexplicable feeling tugging on your chest.
you are about to jump down to the dark depths of the dungeon that is linked back to the manor, but before you do, you turn back. the tugging in your chest grows stronger, feeling like a stretched rubber band, every step you move away from him.
“can you tell me your name?” you ask.
the hunter chuckles, index finger over where his lips are under his mask like sharing a secret. “just call me ithaqua.”
that mysterious taut sensation in your chest seems to subside the moment you hear his name, and with a small smile playing on your lips, you jump, your surroundings turning dark.
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