#he uses the story that he just got attacked by bellum and knocked out while link fought bellum

[waywardsalt]

im thinking about possession aftereffects that linebeck experiences immediately after the events of phantom hourglass, so here are bullet points i have down for my own ideas

he’s out cold for roughly five days after the fight. he’s conscious for a bit after being freed, but it doesn’t take long for him to collapse once he’s transported back to the great sea. link finds him when he reaches his ship to see him again (he takes a lifeboat or w/e from tetras ship its a whole thing and not the point) and ends up having to take care of him for those five-ish days.

while he’s out cold, he develops a bad fever, and has a good few physical injures from being possessed; all of his wounds from being possessed manifest as burns, the worst wounds bring cauterized and mostly closed, while smaller ones are still open wounds. the largest wound is a large burn covering most of his back, which is cauterized by the time he passes out, and then there are smaller, still open burns on his upper arms and legs. (the smaller wounds are manageable by link when he follows some medical instructions, [there are some medical books on the ship] the larger one is also manageable, but takes a lot longer to properly heal).

(link asks tetra and her crew to stick around for a while to keep linebeck stabilized while he’s unconscious. when linebeck wakes up, tetra and her crew are good to leave because then linebeck can better report what’s going on, and knows how to handle injuries).

linebeck’s fever persists after he wakes up, and he experiences… pretty much every fever symptom, with especially bad chills and full-body aches. the aches are really bad for the first few days after he wakes up, he’s extremely physically weak and shaky for a while, too. that weakness and shakiness get better with time, but he doesnt go entirely back to normal without actually moving around and doing things to build that strength back up.

he’s delirious and struggles to stay awake for those first few conscious days, too, which makes that weakness and shakiness worse; he struggles to eat and drink water, and struggles to string together thoughts or words to talk to link, and both of them figure out pretty quickly that they’ll have to wait a bit longer before so much as an attempt to coax him out of bed can be made.

beyond existing problems with food, linebeck struggles to keep anything down while he recovers, and becomes ill pretty much every time after he eats anything, so a bucket is kept near his bed. with water, he obviously needs to drink a lot of it considering that he’s feverish, injured, and vomiting frequently, but while he’s sick he has a bit of an irrational fear of water (along with an irrational fear of air and the wind, which makes him hesitant to go outside while he’s sick).

he’s generally pretty irritable, which isn’t particularly new, but it makes him prone to refusing help with certain things. he’s less irritable when tired and just resting. he’s also especially nervous, and despite the overall fatigue, he struggles to sleep for very long while he’s sick, and as said before, is often delirious and even confused when things are bad.

along with the other difficulties eating, linebeck has a hard time swallowing for a bit, and salivates a lot more than normal while he’s sick. he is soooo fucking dehydrated the whole time and that really doesn’t help.

while the weakness and shakiness stays for the entire time he’s sick and even a bit afterwards, for the first few days after he wakes up he’s stiff and also experiences some muscle spasms and numbness in his limbs, and has a hard time keeping his balance the first few times he gets out of bed.

once the sickness clears up fully, linebeck has to still be careful with the scar on his back; it’s sensitive to touch for a while and hurts when exposed to the sun or air for too long and when he stretches his back too far, but eventually just reaches the point where it’s a bit sensitive but is otherwise just a large scar.

obviously he’s also going through the wringer in an emotional and mental illness sense too but those would require a whole new bullet point list.

#ask to tag #loz #legend of zelda #linebeck #phantom hourglass #this kinda just turned into early post ph chapter notes and you know what? i really needed it to be that way actually #post bellumbeck wounds manifest as burns bc i think that purple… ooze? from bellum is like fucking acid #also magic shit yadda yadda bellum burns those he possesses cuz like. melt skin so it fuses to whats touching it. yknow #salty talks #why does tetra’s crew leave when linebeck wakes up? linebeck wants them to leave and he wants to keep secret the fact that he got possessed #hes lucky that link doesnt say anything and lucky that tetra never saw any of it #he uses the story that he just got attacked by bellum and knocked out while link fought bellum #i might just leave his long term bellumbeck aftereffects at. huge burn scar on his back and some fun magic stuff #cuz he does go through all of this shit and survives what is basically literally fucking rabies its a lot of rabies symptoms #its like. mixture of real sickness/disease and Burn Wounds with a dash of. hmm what would he be experiencing as like #his body gets use to actually being in control of itself after that control is forcibly and violently hijacked by something else #also theres just some nasty shit in his blood/body in general which is why he vomits most of the time. get that shit outta here #also this whole scenario is ig a fun reversal since all of ph link is the one who gets injured/sick snd linebeck has to take care of him #so. switch things around. link is Going Through It as well this is DISTRESSING for him but he feels better while talking with linebeck #link being present seriously tipped things in linebecks favor. if he was alone he wouldve still survived. it wouldve fucking sucked tho #wouldve been really really hard but with enough effort and will to live linebeck could survive on his own thats important #seriously considering adding that at his worst he has seizures but i dont know enough abt those rn so maybe layer

[vaingloriosa]

dulce bellum inexpertis

Summary: War is sweet to those who have never fought.

Word count: 1.7k

Characters: John Wick, neutral reader

Warnings: Canon-typical violence (not too gore-y aka my haemophobia (fear of blood) keeps me at bay), fatal attraction perhaps?

Author’s note: this was requested by @bikuai!! and HELLO! this is my first story written under my new username. i know it has been a hot minute since i’ve written something for y’all and i thank you 3000 for sticking by my side! i do have some more tricks up my sleeves so i hope you stick around for that :) be sure to check out my masterlist link in my description!

Deep breath.

Nothing that you do can alleviate your racing heart from pounding against your chest. Even after a few gigs like this, you still haven’t honed in on your skill of being a professional assassin. Not many people hire such a liability since you have only been in the game for a few months now. Low-level kills were more within your comfort zone thus why you were freaking out right this very minute, this very second, this very moment.

Sitting across the bar sat John Wick, the Baba Yaga himself.

Rumor has it that he could kill a man by just merely staring at them.

Your blood runs cold, sending a fresh goose flesh in its wake. You stir your drink with the straw provided, watching the cherry bob in and out of the liquid. The music coming from the orchestra drowns out most of your heartbeats but you can’t seem to focus much on anything but. However, you remember the money reward for his head and with the tight rut that you currently found yourself in, you weren’t going to go down without a fight. Even if you thought you were weak, you know you are not a quitter.

Your eyes catch your reflection on the mirror behind the bar and observe the rest of the crowd. Nothing too out of the ordinary except everyone in the room is an assassin looking to seek out revenge on the excommunicated Wick along with that cash money reward. You take a sip out of your drink after you were done playing with the maraschino cherry in it. The drink does little to take the edge off but you enjoy the sensation you get from just one sip. You lick the seam of your bottom lip, savoring the taste of cherry. You look inconspicuously through your peripheral vision and catch another sight of the man of the hour. The way his suit snugged in all the right places, how the worn and battle-torn face looks good on him, his hair reflecting against the light of the chandelier...

The blade and the handgun concealed against your garment reminds you of the reason why you’re here.

You take a bigger gulp of your drink.

Just as the orchestra pauses for a second to move onto the next selection, you hear shuffling behind you. As you look up to check in the mirror, there’s a loud declaration in a language that you aren’t familiar with that rings through the hall. A tall man in an all dark suit raises a gun fixed with a silencer at the barrel towards John. Others draw their own weapons from their blazers and jackets and all crowd around the bar. You watch as the orchestra members begin to scatter out the room and flee to somewhere far, far away from the shit that will soon unfold.

Ever unwavering, John continues to stare down at his glass of whiskey that has remained untouched when he got here. Slowly, he brings the glass closer to his lips then takes a modest sip. You spin slowly from your stool to stand up and raise your own handgun towards his direction and join the others.

“Now,” says the assassin who first started the commotion in a thick, heavy accent, “shall we begin?”

Without missing a single beat, a bullet pierces between the man’s eyes. Then, all hell breaks loose.

You have one advantage in this fight, you aren’t as cocky as the rest of them.

As the others pay attention towards the man of the hour, you dive behind the bar. You had noticed the bartender slip away earlier for he knew the tension was becoming overwhelming at best. The glasses that lined the bar shatter as bullets fly almost everywhere but the main target. You peer over the bar as cover then try to get a hit of your own. Of course you bullet whizzes behind John’s head while he tackles another man to the ground. You duck again when you hear the sound of bullet coming then colliding with the mirror, causing it to break into several million pieces. In a small window of clarity, you wonder if all this fighting is worth the money.

Then again, you remind yourself of the status this can bring you and how your life can finally improve after this. You take another deep breath then join the rest of the mob. It’s significantly smaller from before but at least you made it this far from being strategic.

Maybe being a coward does have its perks.

You recognize some of the faces of the rest of the assassins, some of legendary status within the organization. You’ve heard stories about them, wondered if you would leave such a legacy if you really applied yourself to your job. You could almost admire them if you weren’t after the same target and money. You draw your gun once more and fire at John but as quick as your bullets may be, he’s quicker and dodges them effortless all the while being with another opponent.

Even you have to applaud such skill and technique where need be.

You’re nearly blindsided as a man near your right shoves you right into a wooden cocktail table. You wince at the pain but bury the pain as you deliver two bullets to the unfamiliar assailant. Perhaps they may have been on your level, thirsty for a big game kill as yourself.

Though you may be weak, you are not a quitter.

You do what you have to do to get to the prize.

Now there are only five people left standing. John looks unfazed by the situation, continuing to throw blows and bullets in each of his attackers. Each assassin seems to drop like flies until it’s just you, another, and him. The other, a woman, begins to deliver blows to his chest with her heavy boots, making John walk backwards until he is pinned up against the bar. You know the woman isn’t going to let you have this kill at all but you still try and take a shot while she reaches for the gun holstered on her belt

Click. The sounds of an empty chamber.

You toss the empty gun aside then grab the blade you packed beforehand. You feel almost uncomfortable with it in your hand, preferring your gun over this any day but sometimes you have to improvise.

You give it a twirl in your hands then securely wrap your fingers around the handle like your life depends on it.

The sound of a bullet rings through the room and you watch as the woman’s body limps on the floor, making a disgusting sound as it makes impact on the tile. You chest rises then falls as your breath quickens once you are face-to-face with the man you are tasked to kill.

He’s dangerous, he’s hell, he’s every nightmare and haunting lore from your childhood. He stands tall with his shoulders squared to you, intimidating, intriguing. Your lips part slightly at the sight of him, how the room smells of copper and death yet here you are, wondering if the money is still worth the pain.

You let out a deafening scream then charge forward into war.

A hero’s harrowing journey.

Perhaps you may have always been predictable but this level of forethought on John’s part is otherworldly. Every blow you deliver is blocked by his quick reflexes and you wonder if you are even tiring the man out. You try to elbow John to strike at that chiseled jaw of his but, lo and behold, his arm pushes you away from him. You slightly stumble yet you don’t give up just yet. You weren’t the last one standing for no reason.

You get a slight running start from the stumble then wrap a leg on his shoulder, using your upper body strength to spin him around towards the bar. You drive your knife into the blade of his shoulder yet he still doesn’t go down. You release the tension from your muscles as you predict that John will slam your back against the counter top. Some of his blood splatters on your face as he attacks you, shoving his arm to your neck in an attempt to knock you out. You struggle underneath the overwhelming power he has over you, in both strength and experience. You try to fling your legs across John’s waist but he pins you down even harder at your attempt. With the near body slam, your knife slid across the counter top away from you.

You were now defenseless.

Yet you still carried hope.

The tiny glass shards begin to tear into your body as John presses your back further and further. You can taste the familiar copper twang inside your mouth, feeling yourself become lightheaded as John constricts your airways. Maybe this is how you die, at the hands of your side job that no one in your family knew about, in the hands of a rather handsome fugitive you were tasked to kill.

Perhaps this is destiny.

Your eyes meet his as you struggle for breath. His eyes are dark, in the shadows of his rather long jet black hair. Some strands are matted to his face from the lacerations that the others gave him. You can tell he is struggling to keep his composure with his arm slightly wavering from the jabs of your knife. John almost growls when his eyes lock into yours.

The stars begin to dance in front of your line of vision.

Then the pressure is off your neck.

You gasp for air, your hands instinctively wrapping themselves around your neck to make sure nothing is off. You grip the edge of the bar, nearly clawing at it as you try to lift yourself away. The sound of heavy leather shoes hitting the tiled floor is the only thing that echoes besides your straggled breathing.

“Why...?” Your raspy voice is barely above a whisper and you know the man clearly can’t hear you.

Had this been an act of mercy or something out of pity?

You slump down until you are seated on the floor with your back against the bar. The double doors shut close behind John as he makes his escape with his life.

You take another sharp breath in.

The stars begin to dance in front of your line of vision.

Tagging: @kwaiky, @cura-posterior (on SPIDER-MAN dori you are a keanu reeves stan now)

#angel writes #john wick x reader #john wick #john x reader #john wick imagine #john wick imagines #john wick fanfic #keanu reeves x reader #keanu x reader #keanu reeves imagine #keanu reeves imagines #keanu reeves #bruh moment it's been several months since i've written everyone scream #dulce bellum inexpertis