See That I Am Not Afraid (Iron Lung Convict x Cosmic Horror Reader)
gif by thedgeofsleep
Author's Note:
So I said Eldritch Abomination Reader?
Consider this my attempt at a fix-it, everything's happy and nothing hurts, kind of ending to Iron Lung. Absolutely incredible movie, by the way, and I loved it. But fanfiction exists for our most guilty of pleasures, and I want to give that pathetic meow meow of a man a lovecraftian horror for a partner that will keep him safe.
Characterisation might be slightly off, I only saw the movie once and I'm working off of my memory as best as I can.
Spoilers for Iron Lung, obviously. Also, I'm quite rusty with writing and this was something I casually jotted down. I'll probably expand on this idea further.
Divider from @/dividers-are-us
Series Masterlist
Content Warnings/Tags: Lovecraftian themes, not-edited, vague descriptions of injuries and gore, spoilers for Iron Lung including Convict's name and mentions of the ending, whump, fluff, slight angst but mostly fluff, Reader is an incomprehensible cosmic horror with not set description so there's that, gender-neutral language for Reader, no use of Y/N, technically power imbalance because Reader is a cosmic entity, not beta-read and barely edited or proof read so there will definitely be grammatical and spelling mistakes. I'll edit it later.
You don't recall being born, much like you don't recall a time when you didn't exist. You simply were. A concept. A feeling. A force of abstract nature given form.
Perhaps you were another being born during the dying of the light. Perhaps you came before then. You don't recall, and it doesn't matter to you, not really. You were quite content with your existence, floating along through a starless void, riding the solar winds.
Sinking into crimson seas whenever the desire found you. The beasts that lurked there, that were a part of Her, often gave you a wide berth. Her influence couldn't reach you, so you merely ignored one another, even as you lurked in the same blood sea.
Existence continued, as it always does.
And then you found him.
A human man, locked in twisted metal, cast into Her crimson sea. Fear and sorrow clinging to the threads of his being. He should have been a blip in your radar, a passing curiosity at best, but something about this human was... different.
For the first time in a long time, too long, you found yourself compelled to... stick around. To watch. To observe. You would not interfere, you told yourself, it was not your place. He was one of Her charges, and She would not be pleased.
He already bore Her mark. His sanity waning. The blood sea twisting around him, pressing down on his metal coffin with clear desire to get in.
You should move on. Leave this man to his fate. It did not concern you.
You did not.
You remained. You watched him fight, you watched his desperation to go home, you watched him beg and rage and war against the unfair tides, and something in you... shifted. A concept such as yourself should not feel so strongly and yet, as he clutched that Black Box and her influence crawled through his body like a disease, you did.
So, you decided to stop being a passive observer.
You decided to interfere.
"Hush now, little one," Your voice, a both new and ancient, whispered through the speaker. A stillness in the raging tide. She fought you, naturally, lashed and raged as you pushed your way in. Her shrieking in silenced, her stolen blood stilled. The human froze, one wide eye darting towards the intercom. His body trembled, and you pressed closer. "You will not cease here."
As a toothy maw sunk down onto the metal coffin, you reached through the chaos and gathered his broken form in your hands. Her screams of rage echoed briefly in your mind, before you sunk back into the shadows, taking your human with you.
Saving him was the easy part. Ridding him of Her influence was... trickier. The Void where you first coalesced was a safe harbour, far from Her reach, but She had sunk her teeth deep into him. Veins and lumps marred his flesh, unnatural growths pulsed and throbbed. He had fallen still when you first gathered him, but you could feel his life-force still rushing in his veins, as weak as it was. He lived, but you had to act quickly.
Thankfully, your influence was stronger than Hers here. While this human slept, your fingers plucked at his tangled threads, picking Her out of him piece by piece. A careful and... finnicky operation. Removing every trace of Her, but you had nothing but time, and dedicated yourself to the task with quiet diligence. Ridding him of every trace of her infection.
You mourned that you could not return what She had stolen, but you patched his wound to the best of your ability, and then settled to watch over your new Charge as he slept. You had done all you could, it was time for him to prove if his desire to survive would outlast Her need to consume.
Time passed, fickle as it was it too remained bound to its laws, and you remained. A vigilante guard. Motionless in Void. Watching your human charge as he rested, recovered. With every passing moment, his heart beat stronger, his blood pumped louder, his breathing steadied. As it was, his desire to survive did indeed hold strong.
Until, finally, he stirred.
With a quiet groan, his eyelids shifted, and you watched in silent fascinating as his breaths deepened, before his eyes fluttered open, greeting the dark expanse of nothingness before him with obvious confusion. "What..." The word left his lips in a ragged whisper, head lolling slowly to the side. With a groan, he pushed himself up to sit, steadying himself on his one remaining hand, head dropping as his dazed eyes found the stump where you could not return what was lost.
"Hello."
Your voice rippled through the infinite darkness around you and he flinched, eyes widening as his head snapped up, panicked gaze resembling a cornered animal as he searched the nothingness. "Who's there?!" He called, voice cracking with his fear. Something stirred in your chest.
"Do not overexert yourself. You are still weakened," You continued, softening your voice as much as you were able to. It did little to calm the man as he scrambled back, further into the darkness, chest heaving.
"This isn't real," He gasped, the words choked by the panicked spasming of his throat. Knees were drawn close to his chest and he curled into himself, fingers digging into long strands of black. "It's not real, it's not real, it's not-" He devolved into frantic whispers. His panic pulled at something in your limitless form.
For a moment, you remained still, uncertain how to proceed. Then, hesitantly, you reached out and soothed finger tips over his head and along his back. "You are safe now. She cannot reach you here," You assured, voice echoing in the silent expanse of the nothing. Despite his fear still roaring within his form, your presense did seem to settle him. He stilled, subconsciously leaning into the pressed gliding along his scalp and spine. "I can only mourn that I could not return all She took from you."
His brow furrowed and you watched as his hand moved, fingers curling around the stump of his missing arm. "You... did this?" He asked, after a heavy swallow.
A moment, then you replied. "I did."
"What are you?"
His question made you still briefly, considering it as you resumed your motions. "I am... uncertain how to answer that question, little one," You admitted after a moment. "I am many things, and I am nothing. I am a concept. An idea. A... belief, given form and sentience. I am unsure if my lack of knowing is a result of being so young I have not yet learned, or so old I have merely... forgotten," You answered, to the best of your abilities.
Your answers did not appear to soothe him as he continued to look around. "Where... where am I? What is this place?" He asked next, panic creeping into his tone.
"My domain. Where I first coalesced. I suppose, in your terms, it would be where I was born." You answered. "You are safe here. She cannot influence you any further."
"She? You mean the- uh-... the thing? The intercom?" He asked, moving then. Struggling to his feet, your touch stilled for a moment before you gently nudged him, helping him gather himself. He stumbled, and you caught him, coiling some of your being around his form to steady him until he could stand on his own, before you pulled back. "I think I've gone insane," He whispered after a moment, tone delirious in a saddened way.
"You are alive and quite sane still, little one," You assured, "and yes, She spoke to you. She showed you Her light. She attempted to lure you in, as She has many others. It is in Her nature to do so. Usually, I would not interfere with such matters but..." And finally, you trailed off, at a loss for words. How do you express that you felt compelled this time? Spurred on by his desire to live?
"So why did you?"
"I... do not know. I felt I had to. You wanted to live."
Silence fell over the Void.
You learnt his name was Simon. A name you tested carefully, your words whispering across his mind in a way that made him shudder as your ancient tongue curled around the name, cradled it as gently as you had cradled him. The expansive nothingness of your 'home' unnerved him, so you dedicated yourself to remedying that.
Grass spread carefully, tall and swaying in a non-existent breeze. His breath had stilled in his chest at the sight as you carefully crafted a more welcoming scene for him to exist in, using your fuzzy memories of humanity's past to build from. Trees grew, flowers bloomed, and above him a dark sky bled into existence because you willed it so. "Is this... more to your liking?" You asked, once you were done.
"Uh- yeah, yeah this is..." He trailed off, turning slowly, lips parted and eyes wide with wonder. "I never thought I'd see anything like this again."
For some reason, his awe pleased you, and you were certain you smiled. Or gave your equivalent of a smile, a feeling more than anything. "I still can't see you though," Simon added after a moment, still looking around. Trying to spot you, you now realised.
"I am with you," You assured, "gazing upon my true form would be... unpleasant. Humans are not meant to view such things as myself, we are incomprehensible. But, if you liked, I could... attempt to take a more fitting form?" The offer felt unusual. You had not been percieved by a mortal in...
Well, you could not recall. Perhaps it had never occured.
"Would it... comfort you, to have a face to see?" You asked, unusually hesitant.
"As long as it won't drive me insane. Don't know how I feel about talking to thin air," He replied, somewhat cautiously. "Don't think I can get more insane." He added under his breath.
You disagreed with that sentiment, but did not voice as such, set as gathering as much as your form as you could and pressing it into a more human shape. Your understanding of them was limited, it would be a shell more than anything. A vessel. A mask, but for this human... you would do it. So you did.
Bare toes curled into false grass and you blinked open your new eyes, swaying slightly. After so long of omnipresense, having a physical form was... disconcerting. To say the least. "Is this... acceptable?" You asked, speaking for the first time, nose curling at the sensation of physical words leaving a physical tongue. Simon spun around, almost tripped over his own feet, and gawked at the sight of you. Or, this form you had taken, for him.
"Yeah, that's..." He trailed off, giving a small, awkward smile and slight wave. "Hi. Hello."
You chuckled, the sound echoing in your hollow chest, and returned the gesture. "Hello, Simon," You replied. The smile on your lips felt new but... pleasant. Nice. "It is nice to meet you properly."
Author's Note:
So, would you believe me if I said this was supposed to be a short collection of bullet points? Yeah. I dunno what happened. I started jutting stuff down in the bath, got out, and things happened. I think I'm turning this into a mini-series of connected one-shots, if people would like to see that? I have some ideas for Reader and Simon, but feel free to shoot me an ask with what you'd like to see from them, if you're so inclined.
More to come regardless, I'm certain. Thank you for reading this far! Sorry if this was eh, I'm kinda rusty.
"If there is still hope, it lies beyond the veil. Hope in this void is as illusionary as the starlight. I will choose to breathe my last at the bottom of an ocean, unseen, unheard, and uncontrolled. They will get their execution. I will get my freedom."
