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I could.

[And the unlicensed merch is mildly annoying when you think about it like that. All the same - Otto grimaces a little.]

Though I hate to play into their marketing hands like that. Last time I went into the HQ, this young kid wouldn't stop badgering me to get a "Tiktok".

[Suffice it to say, Otto did not get an Tiktok.]

[And if there was licensed stuff, maybe the guilds would step on the unlicensed. But David doubted it.]

Yeah, don't do that. No reason to give in to that specific sort of social media horror.

He thought I could get good videos, because of all my hands.

[Which like, objectively he probably could. One dedicated tentacle as he leaps over the rooftops! But, uh, that's really not his scene.]

If I'm honest, I find the idea of using all of this to gain fame distasteful. [A claw taps on the ground for a moment, thoughtful, before he adds:] Especially in my position. Feels like cheating.

[He'd been public enemy number one for a while there. Why should he suddenly just be vaulted to hero status?]

[Okay, yeah, he thinks he gets what the guy would be getting at there, so he chuckles.]

He's not wrong. But yeah, I've done the whole fame thing. Avoid it, as much as you can. It's miserable and people start making fanfic about you and that's just upsetting.

What?

[WHAT MAKES YOU THINK HE KNOWS WHAT FANFICTION IS, IT WAS NOT THAT COMMON PARLANCE IN 2004]

[Oh Otto, you poor thing. At least it isn't Doreen telling you this.]

You know how some people get really into celebrity relationship gossip?

Yes...?

[oh he doesn't love where this is going]

Well, some people go further and write stories about it. It's a mess.

...ugh. No further questions.

[He's done, he has more than sufficient information! And anyway, thank god, there's the timer on dinner!]

Ah, perfect! Let's never talk about that again. [he's smiling but also oh my god]

ANd that's the advantage of being bright. I don't have to draw more of a picture. Trust me. I never want to remember it.

[Even if some of the fanart was good. He rises, time to head back to the kitchen.]

Wish I could help more on the Arc tech too, but I never had the breadth of my powers around Tony, not close enough, so that's something I don't have in my head.

Oh, don't worry about that. I've been enjoying working my way through it! I'm sure if I really wanted, Peter could give me some pointers - the technology seemed common in his world.

[He may have a slightly biased vision of the tech levels there, seeing as he spent most of his time in that world in Peter's (friend's?) apartment. But like, the arc reactor and fabricator were just...sitting there? In someone's residence???

Otto opens the oven and removes the dishes with a careful claw - no oven mitts in sight. If you've got specialized heat-proof tools, may as well use them when you can.]

Looks good!

[It has been good to resume the routine of their swordplay lessons in the weeks after August's chaos, but today Sephiroth seems... in a good mood? He's relaxed in his movements, his tone mild when he corrects David's mistakes.

He's also taking the offensive more than usual, not out of aggression but because he seems to be enjoying himself. But he does make an effort to let up if David seems in danger of being overwhelmed.]

Well, Peter Parkers seem to be prone to genius. It's a facet of theirs that seems to help.

[Those are useful tools and for a moment David is jealous]

This is one place where I don't back down from my pride. Instead I own it and say 'of course it does, I made it'.

[It's definitely a good mood, and he's got energy behind his work. David, on the other hand, has been slightly distracted the whole time. Not dangerously so, but it was definitely hampering his reaction speeds just a little. Really, he's lucky that Sephiroth is such a master at this.

That doesn't mean this is going well for David, because for a moment he thinks about the problem in Excelsior, and how these skills might be needed to save the lives of people he cares for. The moment of insufficient focus means he doesn't direct the blow away enough, and he can feel the blade cut lightly over his cheek.]

Shit!

[Not that he dismisses his weapon. He has to keep it up. That much he has learned.]

[Sephiroth might have pulled back at that, but David is maintaining readiness, so instead he just slows his next strike, making it easier to read and to block.]

My apologies. I thought you had that.

[From operating nuclear fusion reactors to taking casseroles out of the oven...they've really fallen in the world.]

I'll hold you to it. [The arms weave past David to set the dishes on the table, while Otto gets a serving spoon. Time for dinner!] I'm a decent cook at best. It was never my forte.

[It was Rosie's. When there's something missing, in what Otto says, it's nearly always her.]

[Hey, perhaps they've risen. Now they are providing food. That's good.]

It was my father's forte. I chose to make it my own.

[Hey, David's trying to prove he's serious about this. He doesn't want to lose what is clearly a master level instructor just by being distracted by home.

Of course he realizes what's happening with the slowing down and he sighs.]

Maybe we should stop. I'm clearly not at my best focus levels right now.

[It was an admirable effort; one should be able to continue fighting after an injury. But this is just practice, not a real fight, so Sephiroth steps back, sliding his blade to rest behind him.]

Evidently not.

...is something troubling you?

[One really should, and David had more than once in the past. But right now... Right now he might only get hurt.]

You up on what's going on in Excelsior?

I've read news reports. Anti-meta protests, and the like.

Have you been caught up in it?

[They may or may not agree! Otto, for perhaps obvious reasons, doesn't much like to discuss the reactor with anyone, much less them.]

Admirable. Please, sit.

[AND THEN THEY EAT I GUESS]

I try my hardest.

[Indeed they do. And hey, it really is good.]

I'm a hidden identity, for now. But that doesn't mean that it's safe. And that worries me. Which I don't intend to put on your shoulders. Though I thank you for the question.

[Sephiroth nods.] My offer stands, should you get into trouble.

[He can totally stab some people for you.]

Perhaps coming here can be some respite.

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