nocturnalazure

[nocturnalazure]

More AI generated content (last post, I promise - I'm done with wasting water and energy on this). Under the cut for those who don't want to see it.

The closest it's gonna get. Theo looks like Ted Danson. And Sam like Marion Cotillard. Laurie surely also looks like a celebrity but I don't know which one.

Nate is off, once again and forever so.

Bonus pic of Erik that I actually LIKE:

And if you wanna meet Sunrise on Pluto: Uli and Kyle are actually quite good - Tim is meh.

[nocturnalazure]

Okay so you wanted it, you will get it.

But under the cut because I don't want to be accused of shitposting.

Obviously, the one character that I want to see the most in a (somewhat) realistic style is...

*drumroll*

NOAH'S TWIN BROTHER JOSHUA!

...

Just kidding.

It's Lau-lau.

To no one's surprise at all.

So this is the pic that I asked our bot to use.

And this is what I got.

(you're so not ready for this)

....

I swear you're not ready.

.......

🙃

I shouldn't have included the "artfully messy hair" in the prompt. 🥲

Seriously?! Is that your best try, ChatGPTHING??? He looks way too old and what's up with that 5 o' clock shadow that Laurie never sports because his beard is so blond it's basically invisible? And that "I'm a killer" look??

So let's rectify that, I'm willing to accept some trial and error.

...not so messy hair please.

...and a bit younger-looking, he's 20 year old not 35, thank you very much.

...a teasing smile because that's Laurie for ya.

...and no beard.

Voilà.

...

......

🫠🫠🫠

HOLY F***ING SH*T I SWEAR TO GOD!!!

WHAT IS HE, LIKE, 12 NOW???

A SCHOOLBOY, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE GIVING ME?

Okay, okay... *takes a deep breath* Let's do this again, shall we?

Botty doesn't know what a teasing smile is or at least has a very literal understanding of it. It's a bot. Let's try for something more descriptive. FFS.

A little smile?

A bit contemplative?

....pretty please?

....

... And now we've got a choirboy, ladies and gentlemen. 🤡

Alright, so Mr. Bot obviously doesn't react well to its own self-generated pics.

At this stage, I'm desperate so I'll feed it 3 different pics of Lau-lau and let it do whatever it wants.

Come on, man.

Hit me with all you got.

...

That's...

I don't know, actually.

I don't LIKE it.

But I don't HATE it.

I'm neutral.

Still not my Lau-lau, I assure you.

But.

There's a tiny bit of the beginning of something. Probably the black shirt. Very Lau-lau.

But let's forget about Lau-lau before this becomes my new nightmare, and feed it something different. Like, a group pic. Of my banner.

This, ya know?

And let's be VERY descriptive because Mr. Bot is not the sharpest tool in the box, it would seem.

...

I...

😭

Okay, let's take this step by step. Theo is actually okay. Sam's hair is all wrong and she's pudgy when she's supposed to be super fit. Laurie looks too old but what else is new. And Nathaniel is an Al Pacino rip-off. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that they were a family of gangsters in the prompt. That was too much information.

That's okay. I've learned from experience. Don't re-feed it the same shit it's sprouting. Same Sims pic, but more description.

Theo: okay, but prouder.

Sam: complete revamp. Better dress. Sexier. Longer hair.

Laurie: slender, younger.

Nathaniel: longer hair. Glasses. Also looks younger than his age.

And they're not gangsters okay? Perfectly normal people from the same family.

Okaaaay... Theo and Laurie are now okay-ish. Sam is... too busty and long-faced. Nate is again completely off.

Also, why is the lighting different suddenly? Wtf.

Anyway, more tweaks are needed, my friends.

More descriptions.

...

Ah. Yes. I see.

I have no clue why Sam's pose has changed. But she's looking good. Theo is also getting better.

But Laurie and Nathaniel? NO THANK YOU.

Ah right.

I didn't specify that they were from the same family this time.

That explains why Nathaniel looks like he's half-Filipino, half-Chilean.

So same prompt but adding "They're all from the same family".

'Cause there's such a thing as genes.

THE FUCK??? Why have Theo and Sam changed now?? Theo is leaning on thin air!! Who does that to an old man?? And Sam's weird horse face is back in full force!!

...Nathaniel is looking noticeably better though. Slightly.

No comment on Laurie. I got worse from Botty before.

...this will be my last try. Maybe Botty is smart enough to combine two pictures. Like leaving Theo and Sam totally unchanged from the previous pic. And adding Laurie and Nate from this one since they are not too cringy.

Here we go.

Prove me there is some intelligence in there.

... well, I tried. 🥲 I won't even make a list of everything that's wrong. Starting with the wraith paintings in the background.

Finally, FINALLY, ChatJeePeeTee, can you maybe be useful and do things that I can't, like Photoshop stuff on pics for me?

This will be my last request.

My last prayer to you.

Like this pic for example, you see:

I want to add some blood to Erik's stomach wound. The pixel man on the left.

LEAVE THE REST UNCHANGED.

Just some blood.

On his gloved hand too.

He's got a glove.

Do you see that?

Don't change anything else.

Just blood.

Not gore.

Blood.

...'kay?

Lured by @danjaley's recent use of AI to make impressively realistic portraits of her Sims, I've attempted to do the same. My results are laughable, you guys wanna see?

[nocturnalazure]

Lured by @danjaley's recent use of AI to make impressively realistic portraits of her Sims, I've attempted to do the same. My results are laughable, you guys wanna see?

[nocturnalazure]

I finally have time this weekend to go in-game for shooting (first time in 1,5 month!). But of course, it's a thousand degrees and my brain already feels like jelly. How come stars never seem to align?

[nocturnalazure]

Guys I'm dying.

This is unbearably adorable.

I can't.

☠️

@thesweetsimmer111

[nocturnalazure]

Talking about subconscious influence...

...of what we read/watch on what we end up writing. Just had an epiphany of sorts that Omar is so clearly a hybrid of Umibouzu (or Hayato Ijuuin) from City Hunter...

...and Jet Black from Cowboy Bebop.

Don't ask me how I hadn't noticed until now. It is so obvious.

[nocturnalazure]

Tell me one thing tag

Tell me one thing about yourself and tag whoever you want.

Tagged by @bool-prop, thank you so much!

I've just sold my house. I had already bought a new one a year ago, but the tenants needed to stay for a while. Once they're gone, we've got works to do. Possibly (finally!) moving in early 2026!

Tagging @hazely-sims, @toadifylackoffantasy, @anamoon63, @sircesimblr and @greenplumbboblover

[nocturnalazure]

Story Questionnaire

Thank you for the tag @bool-prop! It's such an interesting one too!

1) How did you come up with such unique & fascinating characters?

I don't know if they are "unique and fascinating" but my characters grow pretty much organically. With a game like The Sims, it's easy to shape your character's background when you know exactly who their ancestors were. I imagine what their personality would be depending on who raised them and how, what life events impacted them and who they have met. Knowing this, I can conclude what their family dynamics is, how they would react if such and such happened to them, or what the outcome would be if they met this or that other character. What kind of relationship are they after? How is their perspective influenced by who they became? Those kinds of questions. It usually falls into place quite naturally as the story unfolds, but sometimes (and I know some of my writer friends have had the same experience ;)), characters take a life of their own and just choose their own personality, and therefore their future.

I've occasionally needed to add a character for plot reasons, to play a certain role at a certain moment. Funnily enough, many of those supposedly minor characters quickly became favorites of mine and developed their own personality. Ivy is the most brilliant example of this. Her role was just to be "Nathaniel's sassy rebound and Risa's diametrical opposite". She became Nathaniel's wife, partner in crime and mother to Sam and Laurie. Romeo was supposed to be "the noble-minded son who disagreed with his father's cowardice and cruelty". He wasn't even gay at that stage and now he is the most developed member of the syndicate and Laurie's equal. Ulrich started out as "a teen drummer with a punk style" before he became the aloof and eccentric weirdo that we know, more fleshed out than his co-member Kyle who joined the story before him!

2) When you started writing your story, what did you take into consideration?

I didn't take anything into consideration, tbh. :D It was mostly just freewheel until now! At the very beginning, I used to include more of the in-game micro-events into the story but I haven't done that in ages (and thank God, because Story Progression is awful and my family trees are all messed up because of it!). I should have been more consistent and stuck to some rules for typical Sims stuff like aging, dying and general passage of time. Oh well. Too late for that now.

3) How did you shape each character’s background/family?

As explained above, most of my characters already have parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents. I know each of them intimately, usually from cradle to death, so I know exactly where my characters come from.

For those characters that I just plopped into the story, it depends on whether I have time to allocate to their background development (or whether it's needed at all). Ivy regrettably didn't have much background (but I may give you a glimpse of her parents at some point, I've got an idea!). Uli had a whole chapter dedicated to his background. Same for Jamie. I kind of like using Xmas Specials for the specific purpose of showing a side character's family.

4) Do you plan everything before starting, or are you more spontaneous?

I do plan quite a bit now, but I used to be more spontaneous and I sometimes miss that playfulness. Overplanning tends to turn me off when it comes to storytelling. I often get stuck and annoyed. However, I do recognize the usefulness of having a clear timeline, especially when you mess around with time travel..... (feel my pain)

5) Does reality inspire you, or do you rely more on your imagination?

Doesn't reality inevitably inspire our imagination at a subconscious level? We are all influenced by what we read or watch, and also by who we are. That is obviously reflected in the way we write our stories. So I can't say it's more one than the other.

And if the question actually is "Did you incorporate some of your own real-life experiences into the story?", I can say that yes, I did. Although of course, they were modified to fit into the plot. I won't say which parts because it's deeply personal.

6) When did you KNOW you were going to make this story?

I think it happened very gradually as I played the game?

Step 1 (2012): Why don't I just write all those silly little stories I keep making up with my Sims? lol lmao

Step 2 (2013): Hey, why don't I create a WordPress instead of keeping everything in a million Word documents?

Step 3 (2013 - a bit later): Mmh... French isn't really the main language around here, I'll just switch to English!

Step 4 (2013 - a bit later still): Tumblr seems to be really popular for Sims stories. I don't like microblogging but I can use it to advertise for my story!

Step 5 (2014): Maybe I should publish the whole chapter on Tumblr instead of just the link to WordPress?

Step 6 (2015): Wait a sec... this story is now mainly made up of dialogues. I could make it an actual graphic novel!

And here we are, 10 years later. Nothing's changed, except for screenshot quality and speech bubble placement.

7) What has shaped your story into being the way it is?

My love for visual storytelling. :) I know that now about myself: I love nothing more than using pictures to get ideas and emotions across. My preference for images over text is why I'll probably never be a novelist. It's an entirely different skillset.

____

Tagging @kimmiessimmies, @danjaley, @nekrophoria, @aisakalegacy and @eljeebee!

[nocturnalazure]

⚔️ - How does this oc handle conflict?

For your faves

Thank you and sorry that it took me so long to respond to this!

My faves? Mmh, I wonder who they might be. (:p)

Laurie - Between compromise and collaboration, depending on what his strategy is. But he tends to avoid conflict whenever he can.

Erik - What do you expect? He dives right into it. He's not necessarily aggressive though. If he feels that he has hurt someone he cares about, he will simply deflate.

Anh - She's competitive and she hates being wrong: she's gonna fight.

Eloise - Sensitive as she is, conflict makes her uncomfortable to the point of tears.

[nocturnalazure]

So I don’t know what happened, Tumblr has randomly reposted an old post of mine. I have no idea why, it’s not as if I could have accidentally hit reblog as I haven’t even checked out that post before!

Weird… sorry about that.

[nocturnalazure]

News from the front

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I've had crazy weeks of work and now I'm finally on holidays. I won't be able to sim at all though, as I won't be at home. The next update is still a long way away, I'm afraid.

@bool-prop Thank you for the ask and the tag, I haven't been able to get to it but I will!

That being said, I've seen @thesweetsimmer111's new romantic interactions mod, and I love that it gives me ideas! (now, who am I going to test it with, I wonder?)

[nocturnalazure]

Non-sims interests

I wasn't tagged but I feel like yapping so... here you go!

Many of my interests have sub-interests because when I'm obsessed... well, I'm obsessed. ;)

Japan

This is a big one. When I was around 13, I got interested in Japanese language and culture through reading manga. I went to Japan for the first time when I was 17, and I've been returning there about every 5 to 6 year. Most of my Japanese language skills are self-taught, although I did take evening courses every now and then. I'm far from being fluent, but I can get by in basic conversations. I've read countless books on Japan, and I have a degree on Asian culture. I'm often identified at the "Japan expert" everywhere I go, and I'm frequently asked for traveling tips.

Sub-interest was manga and anime of course. It used to be a huge interest of mine when I was younger. It wasn't that common in the 90's/early 2000's and I was so obsessed that I had read almost everything that was published at the time. I had my favorites of course, which were sub-interests in themselves because I collected everything related to them. I had even started building a website (we're talking about 2001 here, if you wanted a website, you literally had to code it yourself). I also drew my own manga (*cringe*). And I met my husband on a manga/anime forum. :) Now, I only occasionally read manga or watch anime, but it's been a huge part of my life for a very long time and I can still obsess for months over an anime or a manga that I really enjoy.

I've always listened to a lot of Jmusic, particularly when I was a manga nerd, but even now. I listen to any genre as long as it's in Japanese: pop, rock, metal, funk, soul, reggae, rap, jazz, electro, traditional... I know obscure Japanese bands that even Japanese know nothing about. I can also sing in Japanese and karaoke is a sub-interest of mine. ;) I sometimes organize karaoke sessions with myself!

And then when my manga obsession was decreasing, I got into Jdramas (that was around 2008-2012). I watched more than a hundred of them, at a time when it was a lot less available than it is now. You had to actually download each episode on malware-ridden websites. Even if I don't watch as many dramas as I did at the time, I still know many Japanese actors. :)

Reading

I'm on GoodReads and The Story Graph so I can keep up with my library (I love stats and lists!). I've tried to list all the books I've ever read, and without counting manga or comics, it reaches more than a thousand (70% English - 30% French). My average for the past 5 years is 80 books per year, of which 20% are comics/manga/graphic novels. My favorite genre is fantasy, followed closely by historical novels, romance and sci-fi. I read about 15-20% non-fiction (psychology, history, sociology, feminism, biographies/memoirs, essays,...). I love anything set anywhere in the world between the 1800s and 1930. Regency and Victorian eras, as well as the Meiji period in Japan, are sub-interests of mine.

Another sub-interest I've developed is analyzing plot and character development, what works and what doesn't. Also: the different themes and sensitivities in different cultures. I find it fascinating, and of course since writing is a sub-interest of mine, I do try to get some tips for myself.

Dogs

I never do things in halves, so when my husband and I decided to adopt a dog, I went all in. I started reading about dog breeds, about how to take care of a dog, how to train them and the kind of food they can eat. Now I can't see a dog and not go 'awww'. If there's a dog in the room, you'll find me right next to it, trying to make friends.

Sustainable Lifestyle

I've bought my groceries from organic shops for more than 15 years. I've always loved good food, made with quality products, so combined with my interest for environment, that was an obvious choice for me. I cook myself just about every single meal. I like to make it nutritious, balanced and healthy, and I use tons of fresh herbs and spices. I'm careful about what I buy, so that there is no waste and so that I buy at a fair price from a local producer preferably.

My cosmetics are entirely natural and for the minor injuries and diseases, I use natural solutions as much as I can. I know quite a bit about essential oils, aloe vera and the like. ;) I've tested a lot of different products before I could identify those I liked best, so I know many organic cosmetic brands. I also clean my house with products that are both biodegradable and environment-friendly.

I love fashion and decoration, but I've drastically cut my shopping expenses for the past 10 years. I've been very careful about what I buy, trying instead to find the one quality piece that matches best with the rest of my clothes or with my general style. I've spent a lot of time analyzing my closet to identify the colors that most suit my skin tone and how to match outfits in the best way. If I have to buy something, I try to buy it second hand if I can. Having less clothes and a consistent style seems to pay off, because it takes me less time to get dressed in the morning and I often get compliments. :)

Food

As explained above, I love good, homemade food, but I also love going to the restaurant. My cooking is simple and unsophisticated, so I really enjoy ordering stuff that I could never do myself. I'm curious about new experiences, I can try just about anything: roasted grasshoppers, natto, pig's ear or even cow's teat. I've been lucky enough to go to very fancy restaurants (unlike Erik, I'm quite comfortable with menus ;)) and it's always a pleasure for my taste buds. My friends know I'm a food buff and I'm often asked for restaurant recommendations or to explain an ingredient.

[nocturnalazure]

[nocturnalazure]

Yes, my bloodline runs like a stream My bloodline grows wild and free My bloodline, just like a river, it flows Oh, my bloodline runs like a creek My bloodline grows wild and free My bloodline will die with me

[nocturnalazure]

Of course! @eljeebee

[nocturnalazure]

⚠️ - If this oc came with a warning sign, what would it be?

For whoever :)

Thank you :)

Here it is!

[nocturnalazure]

🌈 dealer's choice

Thank you for the question!

🌈 - Do you associate any colors with them?

I could do others if anyone's interested!