#also i’m pretty sure i edited this but idk y it’s so pixelated!!! :(

[chenlesoulmate]

[nitewrighter]

idk if you’re still taking the winter/holiday prompts but if you are how bout a 15 spiderbyte uwu

15. “You Clean Up Nice”

This fic also references my old Spiderbyte ficlet “Touching the Ground.”

—

In Talon, one had to be used to one’s coworker’s popping out of nowhere. Between Moira’s fade, Reaper’s shadowstep and wraith form, Sigma not even making footsteps, Widowmaker’s silent, slinking gait, and Sombra being, well, Sombra, Doomfist was used to being pretty much the only one people could hear coming–which he didn’t mind, of course. He made a point of turning heads when he entered a room, but he didn’t bat an eye when Sombra materialized in his office in a burst of pixels. 

“Hey. I need your help with something.”

Doomfist didn’t even glance up from his tablet. “We brought you on this team with your insistence on your own independence in your work,” he said, sipping his espresso.

“It’s only semi-work related,” said Sombra, “You know this stuff better than me.”

Akande would be lying if he said he didn’t find pleasure hearing that sentence coming out of Sombra’s mouth. He glanced up from his tablet to see Sombra projecting two purple-tinted screens over her outstretched palms, each screen displaying a dress. Both were perfectly decent dresses, on the left, a cocktail dress of opaque pink silk in origami-esque folds with black sequins starbursting out from a black sequined belt at the waist cut a few inches above the knee, the other a lavender tulle confection of equal shortness. 

“Is this for the New Ye–” Akande started

“It’s for the New Year’s party,” said Sombra, shoving the two screens forward a bit more insistently.

“Pink,” said Doomfist glancing back down at his tablet, “The lavender one runs a bit too close to ‘loofah’ territory.”

“I knew it,” Sombra hissed under her breath, her brow furrowing as she waved the screen with the lavender dress on it out of existence.

“I find it amusing that one who makes a point of getting in and out unseen would be so concerned with her–”

Sombra disappeared in another purple pixelated flash.

“…appearance,” said Akande before sighing a little and sipping his espresso.

He choked on that sip as Sombra suddenly reappeared in another flash. “One last thing,” she said, presenting two new screens now displaying two different shoes. “Pumps or strappy?”

Akande coughed on his coffee, “Pumps,” he managed, his voice hoarse.

“I knew it,” Sombra hissed again before disappearing.

Akande slumped back in his seat, set his espresso cup down, then started rifling through his desk for his heavily dog-eared and highlighted paperback copy of Managing the Unmanageable (47th Edition).

–3 Weeks Later–

Maximilien really did like his ‘Statement Parties.’ A skyscraper-top party in New York was daring, even by Talon’s standards. Widowmaker stood out in the cold, outside of the crystalline viewing room where most of the party had amassed out of the cold. Strands of her hair loosened by dancing and drink and wind rippled and wafted about her face and collarbones. The light pollution of the city turned the sky the color of dirty steel as snow flurries fluttered down. It was freezing, supposedly. The skyscraper they were in was high enough for them to see the big gaudy ball ready to drop and hear the din of the crowd below. 

“Hoo!” she heard a voice behind her and glancd over her shoulder to see Sombra stepping out of the viewing room, holding two cocktail glasses and clearly flinching in the wind, “You really mean that ‘I don’t even feel the cold’ stuff, don’t you?”

“…You dressed up,” said Widowmaker, arching an eyebrow.

“I dressed up,” said Sombra, turning around demonstrably, “All by myself.”

“Akande helped,” said Widowmaker, smirking a little.

“…Akande helped,” Sombra admitted, stepping up alongside her, “Here take this.” She held out one of the cocktail glasses to her, filled with a what looked to be a cosmopolitan garnished with a curled orange peel and gold edible glitter. Widowmaker took it.

“I’d say it would warm you up but… y’know,” said Sombra with a grin and a shrug.

Widowmaker just smiled and sipped it. “You look good,” she said after a few beats.

“Really!?” Sombra’s face lit up then she tried to play it off coolly, “I mean… I know.”

“No toe-leggings,” said Widowmaker with a wry grin.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” said Sombra, looking down at her pumps, “I danced for like, two songs in these things and they’re already killing me.”

“You danced?” said Widowmaker.

“I’m a good dancer!” said Sombra. She kicked off her pumps and her shoulders bunched up with the cold as her bare feet touched the concrete of the roof. “Hoo! Cold!” she sipped her drink. Widowmaker looked at Sombra’s bare feet against the concrete. She remembered tossing her shoes off the night she and Gérard first met, the way he let her lean on him as she toed them back on before heading back into whatever party they were just in. Unconsciously,  Widowmaker languidly brought an arm around Sombra.

“…no offense, but you’re not that much warmer, Araña,” said Sombra.

“Consider me a windbreak,” said Widowmaker.

“I can live with that,” said Sombra, leaning against her a little more. Widowmaker’s own shoulders bunched up as she felt something tickle up the back of her sheer black stockinged leg, and glanced down to see Sombra was mindlessly playing footsie up her calf. Sombra’s own expression wasn’t at her–Sombra’s purple neural implants were glowing slightly as they did when she was deep in thought, but Sombra wasn’t looking to her for a reaction. Obviously she was a few drinks in, to be expected on New Years–not gone, but the defenses lowered–enough for her to ignore the cold this long, anyway. This wasn’t one of Sombra’s games, it was a mindless intimacy that frankly bewildered Widowmaker. She didn’t flinch away from it. She didn’t want Sombra to stop.

There was the blast of an airhorn and cheering from streets below and both of them glanced down. Not too long until the ball dropped now. “Always roofs with us, huh?” said Sombra.“How many cities have we been in where we haven’t touched the ground?”

“You’ve asked that before,” said Widowmaker, sipping her drink.

“And the answer is ‘too many,’“ said Sombra, “So let’s fix that before I get shot again.”

“…Don’t joke about that,” the words fell out of Widowmaker on instinct.

“I’m fine, you know,” said Sombra.

“You represent too much of Talon’s intel network to joke about it,” said Widowmaker a bit stiffly.

Sombra just made a ‘never mind’ expression, glanced off, and sipped her drink. 

“You sure you don’t want to see things on the street level?” said Sombra.

“More of this cold? Loud crowds?” said Widowmaker, “Cheap beer being sloshed on you? Vomit on your nice high heels?”

“Those heels deserve it for killing my feet,” said Sombra, grinning, then she shrugged, “But… can’t argue with sniper logic. Can’t argue with the view either.” Sombra sipped her drink again and looked at the Times square ball.

“It… is beautiful,” said Widowmaker, looking out over the city.”

“Any resolutions?” said Sombra.

“Talon made me perfect,” Widowmaker said on reflex and then she seemed genuinely perplexed by her own statement. She sipped her drink and looked down, thinking for a few moments, “I… I used to read more,” she said, “I liked it. It was… relaxing. I don’t know why I don’t read like I used to.”

It’s because Talon shut down those neural pathways so you literally can’t be bothered to, thought Sombra, but she sipped her drink and said nothing. She wondered if all the time Amélie used to spend reading was being used to put Widowmaker in suspended animation now. The thought depressed her.

“I’m going to read more,” said Widowmaker, firmly, “A book a month. That is my resolution. What’s yours?” 

“I’m going to eat better,” Sombra said a little sullenly.

“…really?” said Widowmaker, “You look fine though.”

“Yeah but… I forget to eat, or I eat crappy food, and then Moira goes on about the neural implants doing some shit to my metabolism, and whenever I stand up too fast and get lightheaded I just… I feel her near, you know? Like she can’t wait to inject me with something horrible that will ‘solve all my problems.’ So I gotta solve those problems first. Which means… eating food. Apples and carrots and whatever.”

“A noble cause,” said Widowmaker, smiling a little.

“15!” the call suddenly thrummed up from the crowd below, “14! 13!”

“Oh mierda– it’s happening–” said Sombra, looking over at the ball. They could hear the crowd of Talon and Talon shell company executives count down from within the viewing room as well.

“5! 4!” 

Sombra quickly knocked back the last of her drink and Widowmaker did the same.

“3! 2! 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The city seemed to throb with the words and Sombra whooped, sticking her empty cocktail glass high in the air.

“FELIZ AÑO NUE–mm–” Sombra was cut off as Widowmaker cupped her face in her hands and kissed her, hard. Hard enough to be a ‘Okay you’re a few drinks in’ kiss, but not so hard as to be unenjoyable. Sombra leaned into it and the cheers from the crowd below and the pop of fireworks above turned to a hum around her before Widowmaker broke away.

“Happy New Year,” said Widowmaker, her breath fogging a little.

Should her breath be fogging? thought Sombra, Or did she just rob me of some body heat?

“Y-you too,” Sombra said a little breathlessly.

[briteboy]

WHO is Santi and WHERE is his face?

i am LIVING for your warm & colorful posts right now!! your editing is so amazing and it brightens my day everytime i see a new post of yours *.*

THANK YOU!!!! <3 i am so happy/relieved to be using warm colors once more, i feel like myself again. don’t get me wrong, i do like evoking different moods, but sometimes (a lot of the time, especially with santi) too much is too much. today’s posts were HOPEfully my last emo edits..............for now

LOL I actually made a comment about Fiona naming a cat/dog (once Pets comes out) Rodrigo. I'll go back underground now haha (still a great story, cant wait to read more) -Runaway NONY

OH I DIDN’T EVEN SEE THAT wtf. either tumblr ate it or i accidentally scrolled past it i’m sorry. i always enjoy seeing messages from anons who return to my inbox! but lmAO that’s a good idea. i actually met the most perfect dog today and now i know the breed and name of dog santi needs immediately

Hii! If you dont mind me askin, how do you edit your darker screenshots? I always end up making them too light or too dark to see a thing :( Thank you!

hmmm idk what to tell you about making them too light or too dark, because that’s a very specific thing that really depends on the picture. BUT i know that the dodge tool is my bff for brightening up dark pictures while still retaining some of the darker elements you want in them (aversely, the burn tool will help darken parts), messing with the exposure can also really help, coloring can also help too, selective color is my bff especially with blue shadows and orangey skin...this is kind of a broad answer, i’m sorry, but if you needed help with something specific, let me know!

I remember you answered an ask and said you drew tears when you edit right? Is there a reason you don't use CC tears?

i answered this like two weeks ago but i can’t find it so whateveR i’ve used cc tears a few times but there’s only like three of those in existence and my characters have cried a LOT. i feel like it would be kinda weird if they had the same tears every time. also there are just some variations that i like to customize myself by drawing, like sometimes they’ll be full on sobbing, sometimes just one single tear...it just depends on the situation, that’s why i draw ‘em.

Santi is my favorite Harvest Moon character.

idk shit about harvest moon so idk how to respond to this :[ here’s a small picture of michael cera with a cactus

Would you recommend buying a macbook for playing sims?

if a macbook is what you already have, then yeah, i’d say it suffices without many problems. if you’re specifically going out and buying a computer with the knowledge that you’ll be playing sims on it, then mmmmmm i’d probably say no...but it also depends on if you’re like gonna get REALLY into storytelling and cc n shit or if it’s just casual gameplay with a mods folder that’s like 5 gb or less...if it’s the latter i think it should also be fine. but yeah it just depends on what kind of gaming you’re planning on doing.

How can I read your story from the beginning? Is there a link or something? I keep seeing it on my feet and it looks so great!

thank you! there’s a button at the top of my page that says “story directory” but if you’re on mobile you can just go here or copy this link: http://femmesim.tumblr.com/tagged/story/chrono

I've talked to u like once before and I'm to shy to talk to u again... Why am I like fish?

This**

we are all like fish if you really think about it lmao but really just reach out my dude! if we talked once then y’know you already broke the ice so just go for it!! i am here and ready to talk about all the things under the sun

Do you use Topaz Clean?

yep

hi hello so maybe I am just a blind bean but may I ask how in god's name do you get your images to be so crisp? I have everything set up, but it seems as if when I do my thing in Photoshop, everything turns out lookin like a blobfish. I'm not sure if you use another person's topaz settings or if you have your own. Thank you so much if you do respond bc I was too much of a wuss to message you *cries in Spanish*

OMG well it’s mostly just resizing, smart sharpening, and most importantly topaz clean (see above) that makes them so crisp. i also use the sharpen tool on sims’ faces, and the smudge tool when something is particularly pixelated or whatever. everything i do is listed in here! UR NOT A WUSS *hugs you in spanish*

youre my inspiration to be a better writer. I know i'm good and giving characters depth and backgrounds and coming up with a rough story idea. but i rush things and i'm not great at putting it into a good story so ya. My story on simblr started out as casual gameplay but i wanted it to be more and i'm trying to get better @ everything

OMG ;_________; it sounds like you are a good writer already, and it’s awesome that you recognize your strengths while also acknowledging that you need to work on some things as well. i try to do the same and i think that’s what keeps me level headed. it sounds like you just need to dedicate some time to planning, that way you start to realize all the nuances of your story that come together to flesh out that initial rough idea. you seem to have a positive attitude, so that’s great!! you’re already getting better and better, i know it <3

now Santi's song is Post Malone - Congratulations

OMF LMAO u sent this when santi finally got to mexico and it’s fitting

sos i was listening to the song fight song by rachel platten when i saw the photoset of santi making it to mexico and now i can't stop ugly crying please make it stop

omG i see it TAKE BACK UR LIFE SANTI U GOT THIS

This is so random but like, can I just say that you're so amazing like?? Why?? You're so sweet and funny and I love you very much ok

AKJSKJDFKJS THANK YOU THIS IS SO NICEEEE ;-; i try but a lot of the time i feel like a sarcastic asshole lmao thank u for thinking otherwise <3

Am I the only one who's like... really mad about pets being NPCs? I just feel like being able to control them was the best part. I don't really feel like the EP is worth it without them. Like, don't get me wrong, I understand that the team worked really hard on it, but I feel like they didn't do it as well as they could have.

hmm i’m kind of meh on that front because like on one hand i did like controlling pets and the novelty of the fact that you could just see their different interactions firsthand, but ultimately i think i’m okay with not controlling them because it makes it more realistic for me and honestly they’re probably more likely to take care of themselves a little bit more if they’re automated, because i’m just thinking about ts3 pets and how i literally had to make them go pee outside otherwise they’d pee in the house...even if they were well trained and stuff lmao. plus there might be a cheat or mod that lets you control them, like there was in ts2? so don’t lose hope yet.

hey your blog is AWESOME, i read through your stories in a day and am obsessed (kind of in love with gianni) ❤ what are some of your favorite ts4 blogs? i'm trying to find more awesome blogs to read through during my miserable journey of trying to get the game to work on my computer lol

heyo here’s some! thank you btw, and i hope your miserable journey ends soon :{

(I really need to get this off my chest) ok so my aunt is currently in a critical condition after having a kidney failure and she's in desperate need for a new one and I'm the only one in my family that's a match (so far) but I'm not allowed to donate bc I myself have severe health issues affecting my day to day life that would make it extremely dangerous for me to remove a kidney. I'm so fucking frustrated you don't understand like I just want to cry most of the time

first off i’m so sorry that this is even happening to you ;__; and you’re an amazing person for being willing to help out your aunt like that, so just know it isn’t your fault that you’re unable to. don’t guilt yourself for it okay? is there any other possible donor at all? i wanna know how this situation ends up. i really hope your aunt will be okay. just stay close to your family for support and don’t blame yourself.

how did you get photoshop for free? I'm trying to find a link that won't give me a virus, but I had no luck yet

the pirate bay is ur friend

Ok I gotta rant. GoT does NOT deserve the hype/amazing ratings. Like, sure the cinematography is pretty great and they have ok actors but the freaking script is so mediocre I actually think I could write a better one. Me. A 16 y/o tiny child. There are so much better shows out there! Hell, even Supernatural has a better script than GoT

whenever ppl agree with me about how much GoT sucks i grow stronger and stronger even the actors are iffy at this point. watching daenerys act is painful, jon snow is wooden as hell, it’s just bad. ur 16 yr old self has more potential than these writers tbh. it’s just completely mediocre; it started out as something great because it followed the same layered storytelling pattern as the books, but it’s diverged from that completely because the writers got too caught up in the hype. and you’re right, it doesn’t deserve that hype! omfdkjsgkj i’ve never watched supernatural but i haven’t heard good things. that’s a low bar