Cheslea’s Curated Chaos

These are a 4to2 conversion from AbbyPIGGG, low poly. This set contains two double beds (left and right version) with 7 deco slots, two desks (to be attached to the left or right version of the bed), a computer (monique version too but choose only one), a chair and two kind of books (work like a bookshelf). A bunch of recolors are included.

DOWNLOAD HERE

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Beards? Beards. Beards!

A sharp turn from my recent kids' outfits, here are some beards to match 4t2 clay hair and enabled for all genders!

First up, I extracted the property sets for all facial hair without meshes* and made them unisex. You can use these with any default replacement textures you want (or none at all).

Download Facial Hair for Everyone

Next up, the default replacement textures themselves. I recolored @withlovefromsimtown's Beardly defaults since I had them on hand.

Download Defaults

And finally, for some extras (and more Beardly), I took @kaluxsims' EveryBeardly set - the inspiration for this whole pan-gender beard endeavor! - and edited the blonds. (I thought the Poppet colors looked good otherwise.)

Download Extras

Now go forth and give all your Sims facial hair the holidays. Don't they deserve it?

MP3 Player Default: RECOLORABLE iPod Nano

Back in the 2000s, I had an iPod Nano, and although there have been iPod defaults before, they were only the original model. Plus it wasn't recolorable. But now there's both things, together!

I'm not that great at file/mesh stuff, so I used Graverobber's default as a base since it was already recolorable. Then @annachibi helped by editing the mesh so that the screen fit the texture I wanted to use.

There's 2 recolorable parts: The iPod itself, and the screen.

(The swatches inside the .zip folder are labeled with filenames)

I guess I felt like being thorough with this, so I made every single color that was released for iPod Nano generations 2 through 5.

Generation 1 was skipped because it didn't come in any colors lol.

I skipped generations 6 & 7 because the last time I owned an iPod was before those existed :P

Some of the colors are very very similar to each other, especially the reds & pinks, but they were just different enough that I kept both.

Plus idk, maybe you prefer Gen 2 pink over Gen 3 pink (or vice versa), now you can choose either one :)

I've also included PSDs of both the iPod and the screen so you can easily create more colors. One thing to note however, is that the screen part is... Weird.

This seems to just be how the MP3 player functions as an object, but there's both a "lit" and "unlit" image for the screen. The thing is, it flips between these 2 images every few seconds, regardless of whether a sim is using it or it's just sitting on the floor.

Graverobber's default combined these 2 images into one texture file, so the "lit" and "unlit" images are next to each other, but that means they've both been squished. The screen is so tiny however that I don't think it makes that much of a difference.

For my screen recolors, I put an exact duplicate of the image on both the "lit" and "unlit" parts of the texture. It flips back & forth between the 2 so frequently I couldn't think of anything better to do with it.

If you use my PSD to recolor the screen, after you make your image, you'll have to shrink & squish it to fit on the actual screen texture. I thought it would be easier to make recolors if it hadn't been squished yet.

Credits:

Graverobber's default files

@annachibi's mesh edit

@franzillasims's Nootrasim simlish font

REQUIRED TO USE RECOLORS: CEP and MP3 Player CEP

ADDITIONAL RECOLOR OPTIONS

Cellphone Default: RECOLORABLE Moto Razr V3

💥💥‼️THIS IS FOR THE SIMS *2*‼️💥💥

This idea came on super suddenly, but I wanted it so much I kept trying at it until I got it. It wouldn't have been possible without @loonyjelly helping me create the recolorable default file, as my attempts had me crashing the game lol.

The mesh and base textures are the work of mohd14 on MTS.

All I did was edit the Motorola brand name, the screen/UI, and the letters on the numpad so that they would be in simlish. Mohd14 made 9 colors of the Motorola Razr V3, so those 9 are included, plus I set up a PSD file for easy recolors, so there's a 10th recolor included that I made (the red one).

In addition to the PSD, I've also included transparent PNGs of all 10 recolors. The transparent part is the wallpaper/background on the phone screens (front & back), so you can add in any picture you want with the little network/battery/UI symbols remaining where they are!

Credits:

mohd14's mesh/textures

@loonyjelly's recolorable default file

@franzillasims's Nootrasim & Simply There simlish fonts

💥💥‼️THIS IS FOR THE SIMS *2*‼️💥💥

REQUIRED TO USE RECOLORS: CEP and Cellphone CEP

Handheld Game Default: Recolorable Nintendo DS

Finally, I've covered all 3 handheld things from Uni; First it was the Moto Razr cell phone, then it was the iPod Nano MP3 player, and now... The Nintendo DS handheld game!

Texture-wise, it's a blend of both Mohd14's original default and Jacob A O'Connor's maxis match edit.

The simlish buttons are from JAO, the extra outlines on the sides/back and the text on the bottom are from Mohd14. The llama on the back of the top screen is my own addition though lol

Every color option (all 31 of them) is a real life color that the Nintendo DS was produced in. Although Mohd14's model is that of a DS Lite, I included colors from the original DS, DS Lite, and DSi.

I also took all of the game screenshots myself via emulator, and hand-edited out the English text on all of them to stay in line with Maxis Match. I tried to represent a wide variety of genres, so there could be an option for most sims personality-wise.

Some games I included for example are Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3: Defiance, Need for Speed: Nitro, Orcs & Elves, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, and The World Ends with You. Of course I also included the most popular games everyone remembers from the DS as well, like Animal Crossing: Wild World and Cooking Mama.

In the .zip folder there is both a PSD file for recolors, as well as transparent PNGs of all 31 colors I made - The transparent part being the screens, so you can add in any game/image you want!

Those transparent PNGs have the same names as the package files, and since I couldn't come up with a way to label the swatch without it becoming a huge cluster, those PNGs might be the best way to look through and decide which ones you'd want to delete.

REQUIRED TO USE RECOLORS: CEP and Handheld Game CEP

@johnnysimmer's zayvier hair converted for ym-em sims

baby's first hair conversion. this was originally done for personal use but i may as well share with fellow mullet truthers.

ym-em sims only

quite high poly at 14.1k

recolored in natural color picks from my beloved witching hour palette (v2), made by @/pyxidiis. the colors aren't drastically different from ea colors, but they do look much better in my opinion. it should fit right in with other 4t2 conversions you may have in your game.

pick and choose swatches as you like, but bear in mind that grey is linked to black magic only. a labeled swatch is provided in the witching hour page

colors binned as such: black - black magic, sigil, eerie. brown - baphomet, demon king, grave digger, wormwood, voodoo. red - seance, sinister, candlelight. blonde - sacrifice, exorcism, comburent, enochian, regent, fog.

from an indie author who's published 4 books and written 20+, as well as 400k in fanfiction (who is also a professional beta reader who encounters the same issues in my clients' books over and over)

show don't tell is every bit as important as they say it is, no matter how sick you are of hearing about it. "the floor shifted beneath her feet" hits harder than "she felt sick with shock."

no head hopping. if you want to change pov mid scene, put a scene break. you can change it multiple times in the same scene! just put a break so your readers know you've changed pov.

if you have to infodump, do it through dialogue instead of exposition. your reader will feel like they're learning alongside the character, and it will flow naturally into your story.

never open your book with an exposition dump. instead, your opening scene should drop into the heart of the action with little to no context. raise questions to the reader and sprinkle in the answers bit by bit. let your reader discover the context slowly instead of holding their hand from the start. trust your reader; don't overexplain the details. this is how you create a perfect hook.

every chapter should end on a cliffhanger. doesn't have to be major, can be as simple as ending a chapter mid conversation and picking it up immediately on the next one. tease your reader and make them need to turn the page.

every scene should subvert the character's expectations, as big as a plot twist or as small as a conversation having a surprising outcome. scenes that meet the character's expectations, such as a boring supply run, should be summarized.

arrive late and leave early to every scene. if you're character's at a party, open with them mid conversation instead of describing how they got dressed, left their house, arrived at the party, (because those things don't subvert their expectations). and when you're done with the reason for the scene is there, i.e. an important conversation, end it. once you've shown what you needed to show, get out, instead of describing your character commuting home (because it doesn't subvert expectations!)

epithets are the devil. "the blond man smiled--" you've lost me. use their name. use it often. don't be afraid of it. the reader won't get tired of it. it will serve you far better than epithets, especially if you have two people of the same pronouns interacting.

your character should always be working towards a goal, internal or external (i.e learning to love themself/killing the villain.) try to establish that goal as soon as possible in the reader's mind. the goal can change, the goal can evolve. as long as the reader knows the character isn't floating aimlessly through the world around them with no agency and no desire. that gets boring fast.

plan scenes that you know you'll have fun writing, instead of scenes that might seem cool in your head but you know you'll loathe every second of. besides the fact that your top priority in writing should be writing for only yourself and having fun, if you're just dragging through a scene you really hate, the scene will suffer for it, and readers can tell. the scenes i get the most praise on are always the scenes i had the most fun writing. an ideal outline shouldn't have parts that make you groan to look at. you'll thank yourself later.

(no ✨vibes✨, just structure, stakes, and first-sentence sweat)

hello writer friends 💌 so you opened a doc. you sat down. you cracked your knuckles. maybe you even made a playlist or moodboard. and then… you stared at the blinking cursor like it personally insulted your entire bloodline.

here’s your intervention. this post is for when you want to write chapter one, but all you have is aesthetic, maybe a plot bunny, maybe a world idea, maybe nothing at all. here’s how to actually start a book, from structure to sentence one.

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🌶️ STEP 1: THE SPICE BASE ~ “WHAT’S CHANGING?”

start with this question:

what changes in the protagonist’s life in the first 5–10 pages?

doesn’t have to be earth-shattering. they could get a letter, lose a job, run late, break a rule, wake up hungover in the wrong house. what matters is disruption. the opening of your book should mark a shift. if their day starts normal, it shouldn’t end that way.

🏁 opening chapters are about motion. forward movement. tension. momentum. if nothing is changing, your story isn’t starting, you’re just doing a prequel.

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⚙️ STEP 2: THE CRUNCHY BITS - CHOOSE AN ENTRY POINT

there are 3 classic places to start a novel. each one works if you’re intentional:

The Day Everything Changes most popular. you drop us in right before or during the inciting incident. clean, fast, efficient.

pro: immediate stakes con: harder to sneak in worldbuilding or character grounding

The Calm Before the Storm starts slightly earlier. show the character’s “normal” life, then break it. useful if the change won’t make sense without context.

pro: space to introduce your character’s routine/flaws con: risky if it drags or feels like setup

The Aftermath drop us in after the big event and fill in gaps as we go. works well for thrillers, mysteries, or emotionally heavy plots.

pro: instant drama con: requires precision to avoid confusion

📝 pick one. commit. don’t blend them or you’ll write three intros at once and cry.

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🧠 STEP 3: CHARACTER FIRST, ALWAYS

readers don’t care about your setting, your magic system, or your cool mafia politics unless they’re anchored in someone.

in the first scene, we need to know:

what this person wants

what’s bothering them (externally or internally)

one trait they lead with (bold, anxious, calculating, naive, etc.)

that’s it. just one want, one tension, one vibe. no bios. no monologues. no “they weren’t like other girls” essays. put them in a situation and show how they act.

—

⛓️ STEP 4: OPEN WITH FRICTION

first scenes should create questions, not answer them.

there should be tension between:

what the character wants vs. what they’re getting

what’s happening vs. what they expected

what’s being said vs. what’s being felt

you don’t need a gunshot or a car crash (unless you want one). you need conflict. tension = momentum = readers keep reading.

—

✏️ STEP 5: WRITE THE FIRST SENTENCE - THEN IGNORE IT

okay. now you write it.

no pressure. you’re not tattooing it on your soul. this isn’t the final line on the final page. you just need something.

tricks that work:

start in the middle of an action

start with a contradiction

start with something unexpected, funny, or sharp

start with a small lie or a weird detail

💬 examples:

“The body was exactly where she’d left it - rude.” “He was already two hours late to his own kidnapping.” “There was blood on the welcome mat. Again.” “They said don’t open the door. She opened it anyway.”

once you’ve got it? keep going. don’t revise yet. don’t edit. just build momentum.

you can come back and make it ✨iconic✨ later.

—

📦 BONUS: WHAT NOT TO DO IN YOUR OPENING

don’t start with a dream

don’t info-dump lore in paragraph one

don’t give me three pages of your OC making toast

don’t try to sound like a Victorian cryptid unless it’s on purpose

don’t introduce 7 named characters in one scene

don’t start with a quote unless you are 800% sure it slaps

be weird. be sharp. be specific. aim for interest, not perfection.

—

🏁 TL;DR (but make it ✨useful✨)

something in your MC’s life should change immediately

pick a structural entry point and stick to it

give us a person, not a setting

friction = good

first lines are disposable, just make them interesting

and if you needed a sign to just start the damn book, this is it.

💌 love, -rin t.

P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:

You’ve met her before. The girl with “flowing ebony hair,” “emerald eyes,” and “lips like rose petals.” Or him, with “chiseled jawlines,” “stormy gray eyes,” and “shoulders like a Greek statue.”

We don’t know them.

We’ve just met their tropes.

Describing physical appearance is one of the trickiest — and most overdone — parts of character writing. It’s tempting to reach for shorthand: hair color, eye color, maybe a quick body scan. But if we want a reader to see someone — to feel the charge in the air when they enter a room — we need to stop writing mannequins and start writing people.

So let’s get granular. Here’s how to write physical appearance in a way that’s textured, meaningful, and deeply character-driven.

1. Hair: It’s About Story, Texture, and Care

Hair says a lot — not just about genetics, but about choices. Does your character tame it? Let it run wild? Is it dyed, greying, braided, buzzed, or piled on top of her head in a hurry?

Good hair description considers:

Texture (fine, coiled, wiry, limp, soft)

Context (windblown, sweat-damp, scorched by bleach)

Emotion (does she twist it when nervous? Is he ashamed of losing it?)

Flat: “Her long brown hair framed her face.”

Better: “Her ponytail was too tight, the kind that whispered of control issues and caffeine-fueled 4 a.m. library shifts.”

You don’t need to romanticise it. You need to make it feel real.

2. Eyes: Less Color, More Connection

We get it: her eyes are violet. Cool. But that doesn’t tell us much.

Instead of focusing solely on eye color, think about:

What the eyes do (do they dart, linger, harden?)

What others feel under them (seen, judged, safe?)

The surrounding features (dark circles, crow’s feet, smudged mascara)

Flat: “His piercing blue eyes locked on hers.”

Better: “His gaze was the kind that looked through you — like it had already weighed your worth and moved on.”

You’re not describing a passport photo. You’re describing what it feels like to be seen by them.

3. Facial Features: Use Contrast and Texture

Faces are not symmetrical ovals with random features. They’re full of tension, softness, age, emotion, and life.

Things to look for:

Asymmetry and character (a crooked nose, a scar)

Expression patterns (smiling without the eyes, habitual frowns)

Evidence of lifestyle (laugh lines, sun spots, stress acne)

Flat: “She had a delicate face.”

Better: “There was something unfinished about her face — as if her cheekbones hadn’t quite agreed on where to settle, and her mouth always seemed on the verge of disagreement.”

Let the face be a map of experience.

4. Bodies: Movement > Measurement

Forget dress sizes and six packs. Think about how bodies occupy space. How do they move? What are they hiding or showing? How do they wear their clothes — or how do the clothes wear them?

Ask:

What do others notice first? (a presence, a posture, a sound?)

How does their body express emotion? (do they go rigid, fold inwards, puff up?)

Flat: “He was tall and muscular.”

Better: “He had the kind of height that made ceilings nervous — but he moved like he was trying not to take up too much space.”

Describing someone’s body isn’t about cataloguing. It’s about showing how they exist in the world.

5. Let Emotion Tint the Lens

Who’s doing the describing? A lover? An enemy? A tired narrator? The emotional lens will shape what’s noticed and how it’s described.

In love: The chipped tooth becomes charming.

In rivalry: The smirk becomes smug.

In mourning: The face becomes blurred with memory.

Same person. Different lens. Different description.

6. Specificity is Your Superpower

Generic description = generic character. One well-chosen detail creates intimacy. Let us feel the scratch of their scarf, the clink of her earrings, the smudge of ink on their fingertips.

Examples:

“He had a habit of adjusting his collar when he lied — always clockwise, always twice.”

“Her nail polish was always chipped, but never accidentally.”

Make the reader feel like they’re the only one close enough to notice.

Describing appearance isn’t just about what your character looks like. It’s about what their appearance says — about how they move through the world, how others see them, and how they see themselves.