only fools fall for u

FULL NAME: Talya Mae Pond BIRTHDAY: December 27th, 1999 OCCUPATION: Game Production Student, Streamer & Part-Time Arcade Worker FACECLAIM: Savannah Smith

“It has, kind of missing my arcade buddy.” She jokes with a smile before looking out at the waves. It was almost peaceful like, she liked listening to the waves - it was like white noise for her. “Can I chill with you for a bit? I know Barton’s not really a dangerous place but it’d make me feel safer." 

Her smile faltered ever so slightly, “I know, I know. Please don’t take me being radio silent personally. I’ve been having a tough few weeks.” Talya admitted before mustering her smile back. “Yeah, of course you can. We gotta protect each other if the ghosts from the lighthouse make their way onto the beach.” She joked.

“Congrats Talya! Coffee is on me today.”

“Thanks, Dakota! I’m just ... still in shock.” She laughed, “You sure? You know I’ll never turn down a free coffee.” 

“What! That’s awesome! I’m so happy for you. 

“It doesn’t even feel real, Mer! Like, me, Talya Pond, an official Twitch creator?! Like what the fuck-” Talya laughed in disbelief, still wrapping her head around it all. “They asked me yesterday if I’d agree to letting them use my face and content to promote the event. Said I could potentially be used on their ads and billboards. Like what?!”

“Oh my god!” Sloane exclaimed, excited for her friend. “Wait, and what does this mean? What- what is– I know what Twitchcon is, but what do you do as a- creator?”

“I get to take part in the gaming panels, have my own merch stand, hold meet & greets for people who wanna meet me and like my content-” It still felt too weird for Talya to call people who watched her stream as ‘fans,’ she still felt too new to the online space despite having streamed for three years. “And have a chance to collab with other creators on Twitch! They started promoting the event today and my face is literally on the posters, their instagram - I might even be on a billboard!” 

Jake blinked at her, confused. “I want to be happy for you, but I’m gonna need you to explain to me what the hell that means.”

“The platform I stream on! You know, the one with the purple icon on the living room tv? Where I made you watch that that girl who uses a potato camera filter when she plays Valorant the other night.” T explained, having bombarded Jake with Twitch content ever since they’d moved in together. “They hold this convention where people who stream or are fans of streaming can come together to do fan meet-ups, question panels, gaming events - they’ve invited me to be one of the official creators people can meet and play games with!”

“I bet it’ll be a blast. With those rabunctious bunch, I can’t imagine it.” Jakob chuckled before adding, “And her becoming Lady Thor…well let’s just say it might not end well.” He frowns. “Oh, don’t remind me of those ones.” He makes a face, “But, also, it kind of makes me excited for the future.” Even if the whole multi-verse part of it all was becoming repetitious to him. He also didn’t know where it all was going, yet. 

“Did you watch the D23 livestream? The next few years of movies and projects have already been planned out and it looks fuckin’ dope. Especially Secret Wars.” Talya mentioned, having done a watch-a-long on Twitch when it was live. She’d always been an avid Marvel fan growing up, secretly reading the comics with her brother when their parents were working. “It’s actually wild how built up that franchise is now. Poor DC is still trying.” 

Upon realizing the very person he’d asked for help was not only someone he knew, but someone he was close to, the façade went back up with a forced smile as he looked away from her and back to the selection of spirits before him. “If you’ve known me for a while, you know damn well the answer to that question”, was all he offered as a reply. He’d never been known to be the one for grand displays of emotion, or for talking about his feelings, well… ever. It was a miracle he was surrounded by the most caring people he’d ever met. People who went the extra mile to understand his moods, his fears. As Talya’s footsteps got closer and closer, Jaemin opened the fridge and grabbed the first thing he saw. “That’s a problem for tomorrow, Tal. Besides, it is my birthday, and while I never usually play that card, you kind of have to enable me today. It’s the law.”

Talya cocked her eyebrow when he pulled the birthday card, having already popped round in the morning to drop off a card and gift. It hadn’t been anything too flashy since she knew him better than to make a huge deal about it. However, in terms of their situation right now, she hated that he was right. There was nothing she really could say to him to stop. If he wanted to drink on his birthday, he could. However, she found a way to bypass that fact. “I don’t know about the law but you’re grown. You can make your own choices, even if they are messy.” She leaned against the fridge. “What I will say though is that I’m not gonna let you drink that on your own. So, wherever you’re going, I am. And don’t try to argue.” She crossed her arms. “So, where we going Jae?” 

Jake shook his head. “I know of the Chucky movies. Never watched ‘em though.” He shook his head once more at the mention of the other movie. “Yeah, no. Never saw that one either. When I was a kid, my Mama was really controlling over what my sister and I watched.” Also, once he was older, he didn’t have a TV, nor could he afford to go to the movie theater often. “What kind of Christian? I grew up Baptist.” He wasn’t entirely sure what he considered himself now. “I’d like to meet her. Once we’re done moving shit, that is.”

“They’re Evangelicals. But I like to call em cancerous.” Tal was quick to realise her choice of words might’ve been a bit much, since it was early days for her and Jake still. “Sorry, sorry - I shouldn’t have said that. I just - the whole thing is a bit triggering for me. When they found out I was gay, it was ... a mess. I dunno if Jaemin ever mentioned it to you but.” She shrugged. She hadn’t really wanted to go into it on the first day of them living together. She shook her head, “But, what I WILL say, is that you’re now required to have a movie night with me where we watch the Chucky franchise. You need to be introduced to the goddess that is Jennifer Tilly.” She joked before motioned him to follow her. She took him to her room, opening the door slowly to make sure Tiffany didn’t run out. Thankfully, she was lying down on her bed. “She’s nice, she’ll let her pet you if you want.” 

“There’s something for everyone.” He smiles, nodding. “I, myself, can’t wait to see Jane kick some ass. I’m more worried about what the end credits will be like, though. Those are some of my favorites.”

“I’m very curious on how she’s come to be Lady Thor so that’ll definitely be something. See what Thor is like travelling with the Guardians too.” She made a face when he mentioned post credit sequences, “God, reminds me of the ones for Doctor Strange 2. I was so pissed off waiting in the movie theatre all that time for that.”

𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 : 𝖺𝗇𝗒𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : 𝖽𝖺𝗌𝗁𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗍 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 : 𝟪:𝟦𝟥𝖯𝖬

Stood in front of the liquor fridge, Jaemin eyed its contents up and down, weighing his options. It was a habit he thought he’d kicked (for the most part), and yet here it was again in his hour of need. Nothing quite like getting fucked up to forget your problems. Though, it seemed he’d gotten, well… rusty. He didn’t remember there being so much choice before. He used to just grab whatever he saw and guzzle it down. But now, he was… perplexed. He looked over to the side and caught a glimpse of your character, and an idea came to mind. “Hey”, he called out. Once he had their attention, he nodded towards the liquor fridge. “What would you get if you wanted to forget tonight ever happened?”

The moment Talya’s eyes landed on Jaemin, she could just tell that something was wrong from the off. Anyone ogling a alcohol section like that had to be someone who really just wanted to drown out any pain or negative feelings. Having known J for awhile now, she couldn’t help but show some concern. “You wanna tell me why you’re eyeing up that bottle of white rum like it’s a gay playboy or do I gotta force it out of you?” She asked, having made her way over from the candy aisle she’d been at and stood next to him. A half-serious expression with her arms crossed, she meant business. “You know this shit is only gonna make you feel worse tomorrow. What’s happened?”