Unloved: A Sims Story by orenjiAi
Hi! I'm orenjiAi15! I've posted a few of my works (builds and some of my game's happening) on these forums but I've always wondered how my life would've been if I didn't take that architecture deg...
Forum Discussion
I started a new playthrough based on otome games or Japanese dating simulators. In these kind of games, the end goal is to develop a relationship with any one or sometimes all of the “conquerable” romantic interests. Which honestly is not unlike the trashy romance dramas I put my sims through. Except of course that otome games are actually visual novels that follow a preset string of events instead of my sandbox playstyle. With multidimensional characters, personal development, and an actual story to boot... Anyway!
Unloved 1
It all started at the San Myshuno Children’s Home. This is Elia (blonde toddler out front).
https://i.imgur.com/Ek1nZW9.png
She doesn’t know how she ended up at the orphanage; all she knows is she’s been there longer than anyone else. Every time they have "guests", "mother" makes them line up, and a lucky kid gets "loved" into a family. But guests came after guests. A child gets loved after another. And yet Elia remains in the orphanage unloved.
https://i.imgur.com/mYEBXrN.gif
It's not that she was unlikeable. She was a sweet, kind girl. It's just her eyes—a vivid purple—throws off any potential parents or friends. It was piercing and humbling. Feelings everyone was uncomfortable with. Everyone except her "younger brother" Adriel.
https://i.imgur.com/tuO5yxM.png
Adriel is a fun-loving and sunny young boy. He doesn't shun Elia away and he's always ready to brighten up her mood when she's feeling unwell which had been an awful lot lately.
Not considering her eyes, Elia is almost of age now too. Not many are looking forward to rearing adolescents. Mother says teenagers who do not get adopted after 18 are kicked out of the system and into the streets. She can, of course, continue to live at the Children's Home but she has to work for it now. Not that she'd like it; according to the cook, the matron can be such a b*sh to other employees sometimes.
One day the Children's Home got an interesting call. The parent was looking to adopt a blonde teenage girl—one with violet/purple eyes.
https://i.imgur.com/yhKFzKk.png
Wanting to get rid of Elia soon (she too finds her eyes intimidating and she was losing money on raising her too), Mother ignored the oddly specific request and immediately made arrangements for a visit.
https://i.imgur.com/KL8wyoj.png
The mysterious guest came after sundown as heavy rain poured.
https://i.imgur.com/lta0vpG.png
Elia was helping Adriel clean up dinner when she was summoned. The cook happily announced, much to her surprise (and Adriel’s worry), that she might get adopted soon. In fact, the guest is requesting her presence in the drawing room right now!
https://i.imgur.com/fiJk2l5.png
Elia puts up a nervous smile as she enters the room, straightening her uniform, eager to impress her potential parent. She was expecting an elderly couple, or a middle-aged spinster who desperately wanted someone to dote on...
https://i.imgur.com/a3jO69W.png
Instead, to her surprise, it was a handsome, dapper, gentleman—perhaps only a few years older than herself. He bolted right up and charged at the sight of her. Elia didn’t have time to react as he reached out and slammed his left hand into the wall just above her ear. He lowered his face into Elia’s and looked her straight into her eyes.
https://i.imgur.com/QLCyI6s.png
Elia felt a fluttering sensation rising in her stomach. She wondered for a second what she was doing in the drawing room and why she was pinned against the wall. She found herself unable to breathe. She wasn’t even capable of thinking to push away the strange not-so-gentleman. She just leaned against the wall unblinkingly staring back into his eyes.
“Uncanny...” she heard him say under his breath breaking the awkward situation.
https://i.imgur.com/JGcA8bZ.png
Oddly, she caught herself standing upright. And him a few feet away. "Pardon my intrusion, my lady," the gentleman whispered to her with a wink. In a louder, more dignified voice, he addressed the other two women. "I am your humble servant, Robert Dubois, emissary to the Royal Thebes..."
Elia couldn't make out the rest of his speech. She was still thinking about what happened earlier. Her heart was racing but she didn't know why. Maybe she's not used to being looked at. After all, people always averted her gaze. And then here comes this guy; looking into her souls with his dreamy grey eyes for a solid minute or so.
"Y-you can't just take her!" a shrill voice cut through her thoughts.
It was Mother. She was still firmly seated in her chair but there was a hint of panic in her face. And her despair was evident in her voice. "W-what about...m-my investments, huh!? I spent a fortune keeping her safe! A-and there's also the...the legal process! You haven't even done the paperwork!"
"Ahh yes, compensation," Robert said calmly. "I believe this should be enough to reimburse your expenses."
https://i.imgur.com/lOYJPYK.png
He slammed two bags full of money onto the table. Mother was at a lost for words; so was Elia as she felt her jaw drop.
"As for paperwork, our lawyers will visit your office in the morning." he continued curtly, "They shall see to it that everything is legally taken care of. Now then."
He turned to Elia and asked her, more gently, if she needed assistance in packing her things.
Elia shook her head. She didn't have many stuff to pack in the first place. All she has is her uniforms and that one too-large "nice" dress that Mother only lets her wear when the media visits around Christmastime. In five minutes, a black car, the longest Elia has ever seen, rolled into the Children's Home's driveway. "This is all so surreal", she said to herself. So many were the thoughts going through her head that she didn't even know what she should be thinking! She was sure of one thing, though. She's no longer the unloved! In fact she's getting adopted tonight!
Mother and the cook saw her off—as they do with all the other beloved children for show—even though it was raining and late at night.
https://i.imgur.com/90pwOmy.png
As Elia took a step into the limousine, Robert offered her a posh coat and a fuzzy hat. ("You might get cold in here."). Elia looked back and saw confused kids' faces peering through the front doors of the orphanage. She had hoped to see Adriel to wave him goodbye but he was nowhere to be found.
Elia woke up to the sound of tapping on the limo's windows. She sat up and saw they had stopped. They were parked in front of what she thought looked like a museum. What an odd place to take a toilet break! The chauffer helped her off the car and up the steps of a large oaken double door.
https://i.imgur.com/Ec7rLCd.png
The front doors opened and she walked into a dimly lit chamber. It was early in the morning and rain was still pouring heavily outside. A single candle was the only source of light inside and it barely did enough. The doors closed behind her as soon as she walked in. She jumped when a voice said in the darkness,
https://i.imgur.com/xh8WihX.png
"Welcome home, my princess."
It all started at the San Myshuno Children’s Home. This is Elia (blonde toddler out front).
https://i.imgur.com/Ek1nZW9.png
She doesn’t know how she ended up at the orphanage; all she knows is she’s been there longer than anyone else. Every time they have "guests", "mother" makes them line up, and a lucky kid gets "loved" into a family. But guests came after guests. A child gets loved after another. And yet Elia remains in the orphanage unloved.
https://i.imgur.com/mYEBXrN.gif
It's not that she was unlikeable. She was a sweet, kind girl. It's just her eyes—a vivid purple—throws off any potential parents or friends. It was piercing and humbling. Feelings everyone was uncomfortable with. Everyone except her "younger brother" Adriel.
https://i.imgur.com/tuO5yxM.png
Adriel is a fun-loving and sunny young boy. He doesn't shun Elia away and he's always ready to brighten up her mood when she's feeling unwell which had been an awful lot lately.
Not considering her eyes, Elia is almost of age now too. Not many are looking forward to rearing adolescents. Mother says teenagers who do not get adopted after 18 are kicked out of the system and into the streets. She can, of course, continue to live at the Children's Home but she has to work for it now. Not that she'd like it; according to the cook, the matron can be such a b*sh to other employees sometimes.
One day the Children's Home got an interesting call. The parent was looking to adopt a blonde teenage girl—one with violet/purple eyes.
https://i.imgur.com/yhKFzKk.png
Wanting to get rid of Elia soon (she too finds her eyes intimidating and she was losing money on raising her too), Mother ignored the oddly specific request and immediately made arrangements for a visit.
https://i.imgur.com/KL8wyoj.png
The mysterious guest came after sundown as heavy rain poured.
https://i.imgur.com/lta0vpG.png
Elia was helping Adriel clean up dinner when she was summoned. The cook happily announced, much to her surprise (and Adriel’s worry), that she might get adopted soon. In fact, the guest is requesting her presence in the drawing room right now!
https://i.imgur.com/fiJk2l5.png
Elia puts up a nervous smile as she enters the room, straightening her uniform, eager to impress her potential parent. She was expecting an elderly couple, or a middle-aged spinster who desperately wanted someone to dote on...
https://i.imgur.com/a3jO69W.png
Instead, to her surprise, it was a handsome, dapper, gentleman—perhaps only a few years older than herself. He bolted right up and charged at the sight of her. Elia didn’t have time to react as he reached out and slammed his left hand into the wall just above her ear. He lowered his face into Elia’s and looked her straight into her eyes.
https://i.imgur.com/QLCyI6s.png
Elia felt a fluttering sensation rising in her stomach. She wondered for a second what she was doing in the drawing room and why she was pinned against the wall. She found herself unable to breathe. She wasn’t even capable of thinking to push away the strange not-so-gentleman. She just leaned against the wall unblinkingly staring back into his eyes.
“Uncanny...” she heard him say under his breath breaking the awkward situation.
https://i.imgur.com/JGcA8bZ.png
Oddly, she caught herself standing upright. And him a few feet away. "Pardon my intrusion, my lady," the gentleman whispered to her with a wink. In a louder, more dignified voice, he addressed the other two women. "I am your humble servant, Robert Dubois, emissary to the Royal Thebes..."
Elia couldn't make out the rest of his speech. She was still thinking about what happened earlier. Her heart was racing but she didn't know why. Maybe she's not used to being looked at. After all, people always averted her gaze. And then here comes this guy; looking into her souls with his dreamy grey eyes for a solid minute or so.
"Y-you can't just take her!" a shrill voice cut through her thoughts.
It was Mother. She was still firmly seated in her chair but there was a hint of panic in her face. And her despair was evident in her voice. "W-what about...m-my investments, huh!? I spent a fortune keeping her safe! A-and there's also the...the legal process! You haven't even done the paperwork!"
"Ahh yes, compensation," Robert said calmly. "I believe this should be enough to reimburse your expenses."
https://i.imgur.com/lOYJPYK.png
He slammed two bags full of money onto the table. Mother was at a lost for words; so was Elia as she felt her jaw drop.
"As for paperwork, our lawyers will visit your office in the morning." he continued curtly, "They shall see to it that everything is legally taken care of. Now then."
He turned to Elia and asked her, more gently, if she needed assistance in packing her things.
Elia shook her head. She didn't have many stuff to pack in the first place. All she has is her uniforms and that one too-large "nice" dress that Mother only lets her wear when the media visits around Christmastime. In five minutes, a black car, the longest Elia has ever seen, rolled into the Children's Home's driveway. "This is all so surreal", she said to herself. So many were the thoughts going through her head that she didn't even know what she should be thinking! She was sure of one thing, though. She's no longer the unloved! In fact she's getting adopted tonight!
Mother and the cook saw her off—as they do with all the other beloved children for show—even though it was raining and late at night.
https://i.imgur.com/90pwOmy.png
As Elia took a step into the limousine, Robert offered her a posh coat and a fuzzy hat. ("You might get cold in here."). Elia looked back and saw confused kids' faces peering through the front doors of the orphanage. She had hoped to see Adriel to wave him goodbye but he was nowhere to be found.
Elia woke up to the sound of tapping on the limo's windows. She sat up and saw they had stopped. They were parked in front of what she thought looked like a museum. What an odd place to take a toilet break! The chauffer helped her off the car and up the steps of a large oaken double door.
https://i.imgur.com/Ec7rLCd.png
The front doors opened and she walked into a dimly lit chamber. It was early in the morning and rain was still pouring heavily outside. A single candle was the only source of light inside and it barely did enough. The doors closed behind her as soon as she walked in. She jumped when a voice said in the darkness,
https://i.imgur.com/xh8WihX.png
"Welcome home, my princess."
