A DEVIL REBORN
Happy Halloween!!! A detailed ID will be placed under the cut (it's close to being 1K i could literally post this to Ao3)
p1. ड्याम्म (dyamma) - Nepali for "(feeling) full", "hitting something"
p3. Chutiya - Hindi for "idiot", "moron" and other related insults
p5. க்ரீச் (kreech) - Tamil onomatopoeia describing scraping/screeching sounds
[Extended Image ID: DYAMMA! Slamming his hands on a table, Achanba Okram finds himself in the darkness of his laboratory. He is wearing black clothes and a white lab coat on top, and has a bowl cut with rectangular glasses.
His thoughts whirl within boxes that are coloured gold and are outlined with red; they put a voice to the uneasy feelings Okram knows are stirring inside of him. The thought boxes read:
With Pavitr gone, I finally have time to string my thoughts together. Half-drowned answers bleed out of my pores. Coalescing like some great, abysmal creature of unknown origin.
Bracing his hands against the table, Okram is acutely aware of his body, of the gaping holes in his back that bubble with demonic energy. His thoughts narrate, My body quakes when I begin to question, wracked with paranoia. With dread, as if the idea of what I had to face was unbearable.
The holes in back — four of them, spaced evenly from each other — begin to ooze golden liquid, hot like fire and viscous like tar.
And yet, Okram thinks, I felt it all the same: that crawling, scintillating horror of my reality. Of my tainted flesh and blood. My being here is the work of demonic forces.
Golden arms, fluid yet bony, powered by some otherworldly thing, unravel from the void in his back. They flounder and expand around him, filling the lab with a cold glow. The fingers are tipped with talons, and, if he looked hard enough, Okram swears they are edged with blood.
I died years ago, Okram thinks. I lost my humanity to the fire of the devil's madness. Thus, the question remains: what is the future of Achanba Okram, a DEVIL REBORN?
The lights of the lab suddenly brighten, and Okram hears him before he sees him. His arms register the presence of the other person, immediately unraveling and slipping out of reality. Just outside, Pavitr Prabhakar's voice calls, "HEY, DOCTOR OKRAM! Sorry I'm late! Traffic was abysmal today."
Pavitr's entrance catches Okram by surprise, and he stutters out, "PAVITR?! You- ah- you have one of your shifts today?"
His thoughts reprimand him, You CHUTIYA! Pavitr always has his shifts on Tuesdays!
Pavitr is unaware of Okram's turmoil, sauntering into the laboratory while hefting up a white plastic bag. He's wearing a black and white flannel shirt, and he has circular earrings. Pavitr's eyes are trained on the bag in his hand. He answers Okram's question with, "Yeah, I do. I, uh, got a little hungry along the way (I'm always so hungry)." Pavitr whispers the last part as he lifts the bag up. He continues, "so I went and bought some vada pav, and—"
He suddenly pauses, his eyes locking onto Okram. He can't tell what is going beyond Pavitr's eyes, but the other man's analysing gaze unnerves Okram to a degree beyond description.
(In Pavitr's POV: his Spider-Sense was just triggered. Red and gold squiggly lines emanate from and surround his head in a halo.)
Pavitr lowers the bag slightly in concern. "Uhm," Pavitr says "are you okay, Doctor?"
Dread and fear floods Okram's system. Suddenly he is hyperaware of everything in the room, including the golden arm that has sprouted from his back and was lying on the workbench behind him, right in Pavitr's line of sight.
Play dumb! Okram's mind screams at him. Accordingly, Okram replies, a tad too tightly, "Of course I am, Pavitr! Why wouldn't I be?"
KREECH. The golden arm scrapes its taloned fingers across the table, no doubt giving away its location.
Okram chuckles nervously, sweating almost immediately, at which his mind howls, Not that dumb!
Pavitr narrows his eyes at Okram and at the golden arm on the workbench. "Are those...demonic arms?" he asks Okram, a shadow crossing his face.
(In Pavitr's POV: In the back of his mind, Pavitr sees a vague and faded image forming in response to seeing the arms. He remembers Doctor Octopus, the man with two extra sets of arms who had attacked him many years ago; he was one of the first villains Pavitr fought as Spider-Man. But... Doctor Octopus died a long time ago. Perhaps...?)
"Oh, Doctor..."
Pavitr's gaze softens as he asks, "Are you being haunted by demons? Have you been attacked by them? Why didn't you tell me? I'm so sorry this has been happening to you. I can't imagine how stressful this is for you." A moment, and then, "Do you want to talk about?"
Okram hides his face in his hands, quickly responding, "No, I'm alright, Pavitr."
Pavitr walks forward, placing his bag down and reaching down to place a reassuring hand on Okram's shoulder. "But, Doctor, men of your generation have ignored their mental health for too long."
"Yes, I know," Okram sighs.
"It'll be okay, Doctor," Pavitr promises, "we can figure something out!"
"And what?" Okram asks somewhat sarcastically. "You will be here with me 'every step of the way'?"
"One hundred percent!" Pavitr says.
Behind them, one of Okram's demonic arms reaches out to peer at Pavitr and Okram; if an arm could be happy, it certainly was. The arm is seemingly pleased with Pavitr's helpful and understanding nature. /.End ID]
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Fans: "Oh my god they keep putting Spider-Man through so much pain and suffering! They can't let him have one good moment! They need to give him actual support and let him take a break and not put everything on his shoulders!"
Insomniac: *Makes the story about how despite Spider-man being in his prime, Spider-man is at his weakest point due to the affects of the first game and him internalizing his pain and suffering, and is shown getting help from the kid he took in along with the people around him to get him back onto his feet and to help him overcome his pain. He now learned that he can rely on his apprentice to help handle things as a partner rather than a student, so he can find a healthy balance between being Spider-man and being Peter Parker without giving up being either, along with giving him a new set of powers to learn from and discover and a revelation that he isn't alone anymore*
Fans: "Oh my god they nerfed spider-man so much! They made him so emotionally weak and needing to get help from his friends so the game can replace him with this WoKe perfect version of Spider-Man who has a healthier more stable life which means they are trying to make Peter look horrible! The fact he is taking a break means he is retiring and they are gonna kick him to the curb! This is so ridiculous, Spider-man shouldn't need to get help like this! They are just trying to make Miles look better!"
Other fans: "Yeah well Miles is better than Peter anyway!"
Other fans: "No, Peter is better! He is the original! Miles has nothing on him!"
Spider verse fans: "Hey I kind of liked the Easter egg they added in-"
Other fans: "SHUT UP!"
All the fans: *Constant excessive arguing*
FOR FUCKS SAKE MAKE UP YOUR MIND PEOPLE! DO YOU WANT THEM TO BE EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY OR DO YOU WANT THEM TO SUFFER BECAUSE APPARENTLY WE CAN'T HAVE A HEALTHY BALANCE OF BOTH IN THIS HOUSEHOLD
This is LITERALLY ALL that I have been hearing lately and I AM ABOUT READY TO COMICALLY SNATCH SOME SPINES AND CREATE SOME PRETZEL KNOTS
BOTH Peter AND Miles ARE Spider-Men, neither one is better than the other, THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT. Peter lifted up Miles from a dark place in the first game, and in the second game Miles was the one to lift Peter up from a dark place. They both have their own unique traits, and unique abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. No one is taking over and no one is getting replaced.
The spider verse reference was just a fun little easter egg in a Sony game to show off the Sony movie, NOTHING MORE.
SO SHUT UP, SIT DOWN, AND JUST ENJOY THE LOVELY GAME THAT WE SHOULD ALL BE GRATEFUL TO EVEN HAVE BECAUSE I'M STARTING TO THINK THE FANDOM DOESN'T DESERVE TO HAVE SUCH A LOVELY CREATED SPIDER-MAN STORY WITH TWO AMAZINGLY WRITTEN SPIDER-MEN.
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