Sibling Rivalries: Chili Edition

[brave_heart_verity]

Flyers have been going up around the Forum and Commercial District for the last week or so. This morning,the lights in the VSW Meadhall came on. By noon, anyone getting close enough to an open door would know: chili's on!

Inside, everything's set up and waiting for the hungry and the curious: Clint's cooking in one corner, and Verity's in the other. Between them, tables are laid out with the necessities: bowls, plates, spoons, and plenty of napkins. There's beer and iced tea, some lovely tres leches cakes provided by the Nexus' favorite Japanese detective, and various toppings for the chili: bottles of sriracha and sweet Thai chili sauce, red pepper flakes, green onions and red, lime wedges, diced bell peppers and jalapeños, crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. Cornbread and tortilla chips round things out.

Long tables with a mix of benches and chairs fill the hall on either side of the fire pits. One has board and card games stacked neatly at one end (they were neat when they were put out, at least). Another has two boxes, one wrapped in purple paper and one in pink, for depositing voting slips.

Poll #17301 1st Annual Chili Cook-Off

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

View Respondents

Who gets your vote?

View Answers

Clint--Avengers Assemble!
3 (42.9%)

Truthfully? Verity.
4 (57.1%)

The fire pits are lit, the food is waiting, and there are games in want of players. What are you waiting for?
((There will doubtless be further Cupid-based shenanigans, but this weekend, it's all about the platonic relationships. Bromances, BFFs, and family ties rule the day! Let's celebrate! Threadhopping, tangents, games, and mischief are all encouraged. Just don't start a food fight or Verity will have to yell.))

Comments

[hellburger]

"Rival chili philosophies! I like it!"

Miller is more intent on toppings this time, just in case he needs to save face. He's no Norse god. Or Norse gods just can't handle spicy food? Who knows. Either way, the chili gets a handful of cheese and sour cream to hedge his bets. He gives it a stir and a taste.

"Wow," he says hoarsely. He clears his throat and tries not to swig his beer too quickly. "Not foolin' around are you?"

[aw_hawkguy]

"Best kinda debate there is: the kind that fits in a bowl."

Toppings are fine, chili was made for customization.

"Buddy, I grew up in a circus, and I fight off space-aliens with a bow and arrows. I'm either never foolin', or completely crazy."

[hellburger]

"Verity mentioned the circus thing. Nothing about aliens and archery, though."

He's pacing himself on this chili, alternating a drink between each bite. "Sounds like a unique career path."

[aw_hawkguy]

That's a smart way to take it. "Not as much as you'd think. How about you, soldier?"

[hellburger]

Miller holds up an index finger while he works through a particularly spicy bite. There's a sheen of sweat forming on his brow.

"Nothing half as dramatic. I help run a PMC based out of Central America," he says thickly. "That is, if they haven't written me off as AWOL at this point."

[aw_hawkguy]

"Oof, private military." Clint gives a wince. "That can be some shady work."

[hellburger]

Miller neither confirms nor denies that, just gives an equivocal side-to-side bob of his head and occupies himself with another bite of chili.

"You've got some military experience, then? Or just keeping up on affairs thereof?"

[aw_hawkguy]

"I've fought my share'a private armies. Folks working for leftover Nazis, or mad scientists, or the mob, or some CEO in a suit costs more'n a car who's worse than the other three put together."

[hellburger]

Miller chuckles at that. "Gotcha. Rest assured, we're not bankrolled by any of those.

"The MSF is more discriminating with our contracts. This isn't just a cash grab -- we're aiming to elevate the business beyond pure mercenary work."

[aw_hawkguy]

"In the 'settle stuff down' sense, or the 'more brushfire wars so we've always got business' sense?"

[hellburger]

"The thought of running out of business doesn't keep me awake at night." Kaz takes a long draw off of his beer.

"Between proxy wars, counter-terrorism efforts, and a growing demand for efficient, surgical combat tactics, I think we'll do just fine."

He shrugs. "And if that helps 'settle stuff down', great. All the better."

[aw_hawkguy]

"Sorry, that was a dick thing fer me to ask. Just had kinda a long year, dealing with some tracksuit guys in my neighborhood and a spy-tape auction on the other side'a the world. Doesn't really excuse it."

[hellburger]

Miller his tone from business back to affable. "Hey, don't sweat it, buddy! I'm just as annoyed with the shitbags who give this line of work a bad rep."

Maybe time for a topic jump. "Hey, so what's the relation to Verity?"

[aw_hawkguy]

Clint relaxes at the tone shift. "Thanks."

"Adoptive brother, sorta. We've both got screwed up family situations, so we lean on each other when we gotta."

[hellburger]

Kaz isn't going to feel bad about flirting with her, then!

"Gotcha. Sounds like she, uh, might not have a lot of family left. With her home being you know."

His face takes on an oh shit look. "Wait, wait-- you're not from the same place are you? Did I seriously do that again?"

[aw_hawkguy]

"Same world, but a couple years in the past, relative to her. So, she was able to get some intel to me that's let us keep it from happening. But that means the timeline diverged, so hers is still, pssh." It sounds insane, but Clint talks about timelines like it's a normal thing.

[hellburger]

"Jesus Christ. So what was it? Space aliens?" He hears himself say that out loud and feels more than a little silly. Time for another beer.

[aw_hawkguy]

"Aliens from, like, outside the multiverse basically wanted to see what happened if they blew it all up. As a science experiment. Dicks."

[hellburger]

"A-alright. Well, that's the shittiest thing I've heard all day."

Miller resumes progress on his chili. He snags a napkin to deal with the sinus-clearing effects of those spices. "Are these aliens still out there? Plotting to run another trial of their 'experiment'?"

[aw_hawkguy]

"Probably. We figured out how to stabilize our universe, keep any others from crashing into it--that's how they'd do it, they'd smash two universes into each other and they'd cancel out. So now that we're not directly under the knife, we're trying to find 'em and apply some size-ten attitude adjustments to space-godly backsides."

[hellburger]

Miller shakes his head in disbelief.

"Who's 'we'? An ex-circus archer can only do so much in this situation, right?"

[aw_hawkguy]

"Uh, heroes. The Avengers, the Fantastic Four..." He pauses. "You don't have people with superpowers and bright costumes where you're from, huh?"

[hellburger]

"Sure. In comic books," he says with a snort.

"You know, with Captain Kirk wandering around, I'm not surprised to hear there's an alternate reality with superheroes."

[aw_hawkguy]

"You know Jim?"

[hellburger]

"Yeah. I've bumped into him a couple of times. Nice guy. Hope I didn't freak him out too much with Star Trek talk. Not sure if that's some kind of faux pas."