The Inner Workings of Evil - Top 10 Couples
Over the past (almost four years!) I have been called many names for my various cliff-hangers, fake deaths, and couple splitting. And I take great revel in it. Who knows, I’ve been quite good recently, I’m sure it won’t last ;)
And I have also not delivered on some of the plot devices that I had set up or was considering. And I wonder how things would have differed if I have.
Also, May 23rd, the Tale series as a whole turns 4. Hooray :D I’m glad I’m finally active enough to remember this year! And because I did nothing for the 3rd year anniversary I decided to make up for it. 12 times over.
So on the 23rd of every month, I’ll take a break from the crazy cursed lives of the Tales and present a list of some sort, to explain some of my decisions, my opinions and my thoughts on where I could have improved.
So if you want to read on after hearing this, please do! You don’t need to if you don’t want to, and please don’t be offended if a character that belongs to you is on the list. I love each and every character that someone allowed me to use, it will be my own interpretation or involvement in the story that will be critiqued. Or praised. Depending on the list XD
So without further ado…I present
10. Ash + Zella (Gen 3)
Now this….this is going to be a hard piece to write. I loved the idea of this couple. I loved it so much that as soon as Ash was born I began to plan it. But…as you’ll see in a later countdown. Things did not go the way I had planned for these two.
Zella Winter, was originally a character that Courtney and I had planned in our written story Fallen. She was the daughter of the two main characters, one of which Chelsea was involved in a prophecy of great importance.
So I figured she in turn would have to be pretty incredible in some way shape or form. Which is why as soon as she had revealed to Ash that she was a vampire, she also revealed she was on the run. From a council of vampires.
Important to note that at this point Carys and I had never once discussed a corrupt council of vampires and I don’t think we were even speaking at this point. Funny how it all works out eh?
This of course meant the family had to be on guard at all times, and move from place to place. It was also supposed to bring on the ‘cursed Tale line’ which is hinted at once Zella turned Ash into a vampire. Only for him to reject the chance and instead loose his sanity and eventually turn into a killer.
Here is where the problems start. I realise looking back on the generation it was a very…dominating relationship on the part of Zella. She took control in everything and eventually took the choice away from Ash and turned him herself.
And he was just accepted that and moved on. Granted after a affair but that in itself was very forced and just felt like an attempt to make Zella’s actions look less wrong.
These two were meant to be in love with each other, that’s how I wanted it to come across. Zella knew who was after her, and yet she allowed herself to fall for a human, a fatally ill human no less, and the romance was meant to be magical.
But it wasn’t, and I wish I could go back and show all of you what I had originally had in store for them. It is important to note though, that their end to the gen is probably one of my favourites, which is hard to explain because in truth they both decided to end their own lives for the sake of their kids.
But Zella admitted she had done wrong, she took partial responsibility for her part in the events that took place and I think it was written somewhat decent.
9. Hunter and Leila (Gen 10)
First things first, I’d like to correct a statement I made to most of you during the comments lately…Darcy is not the first human to join the family since the early gens. Leila was strictly human. Oops.
So, why are Hunter and Leila one of my personal favourites? In short it’s because they are flawed. Not in a bad way, but most of my couples seem to meet, experience love and they live on happily ever after. With these two it was different.
Hunter used to be a dick, no denying it and didn’t even know who Leila was going as far to continuously call her by the wrong name. And granted, he only did end up talking to her in the end because she was a suspect because she might have possibly seen him shift, but that’s where the beauty of it starts.
Leila helped him realise he was a dick, that he wasn’t the only victim in the world and the two bonded not as lovers but at first just as friends. And it did wonders for Hunter to have someone he could be himself around and not have to act or worry about his attitude around.
In away, I’m glad that he was rejected by Leila the way he was once he proposed. By this point he had developed genuine feelings for her, even overcoming fear of hurting her thanks to a incorrect vision about him, and his temporary inability to control his shifts. It’s important to note Leila had always crushed on him, and despite being afraid when she saw him shift late at night, was still worried about him. She wanted to accept his proposal regardless, but he had kept things from her throughout their relationship. She wasn’t sure how long he would continue to do so.
So I think it helped both of them overcome their trust issues and develop as stronger people. I didn’t plan on getting them back together the way I did, Leila just turned up at Hunter’s concert and sometimes you just have to listen to the sims!
8. Anna and Chase (Gen 12)
Not a main couple, who would have thought huh? For those who are unsure of who they are, Anna is Kaiden’s little sister, Chase is the Fae who was sent to watch over Kaiden and ensure he reunited with Arya to break the spell placed upon her.
But why are they one of my favourites you might ask?
Well Chase had no understanding of the human world, at all. He found the entire thing pointless and beneath him until Anna put him in his place. I will admit I wish I had explored this period more thoroughly in the story, but in my own mind it was a really sweet, yet slow progress. Chase was only meant to be in the human world a month or two, but stayed for her.
The sad part is I had a lot planned for these two, as somewhat hinted at in a short story that Mandy posted a while back. Chase is actually the illegitimate prince of a fae nation, the one neighbouring Arya’s nation. Like it was planned, Arya and Anna swapped places, Arya becoming human and Anna was to be a fae, with no ruler and because of his heritage, Anna and Chase took over.
I was going to do an entire series based on this, about the struggles Anna had adjusting, and how Chase struggled having people suddenly depend on him and finding himself having to defend his love with a human. As well as face the father who pretty much denied his existence.
Avery their son even appears in Opal’s gen at the very beginning as a set up to the series. Alas, around that time work didn’t allow me to continue with the plan and I kind of left them both hanging.
7. Kaiden and Arya (Gen 12)
I feel kind of cheeky putting 2 couples from generation 12 on this list right next to each other, but it’s the way it panned out in my head. The way I see it is this,
Kaiden was never meant to get with Arya at first. I had the idea in my head of trying an auracy out again and using a sim that was born into it the last time I attempted it. So naturally my first trail of thought was that Kai would fall for Lyss. Generic happy ending.
But as I started typing chapters out I realised it felt a little…forced. I tried and tried to think of a way to make their love seem real, but I couldn’t. Kaiden was a bullied kid, he was forced to leave home suddenly and I couldn’t see him just being okay with all of that and helping out Lyss, a vamp who has been enslaved for centuries.
Around that time Mandy and I got talking about Arya and how cute she was. I realised someone like Arya, who could relate to Kaiden would be a much better love interest for him. I didn’t think I’d be able to use her, but I’m so thankful Mandy managed to fit Kaiden in.
Both of them were forced away from their parents as kids, and because they met when around the same age the relationship just flowed and seemed natural.
It was actually hard for me to split them up as we had to, because Arya had her part to play being a royal fae and all, but at least it worked out and I managed to get my cursed child out of it!
The only thing that holds them back from being higher up on the list is that I am not happy with how I actually handled their romance as teenagers. The first part was fine, they were playful and teasing with the idea of a romance. But then I played the ‘drunk’ card and after that they both seemed to just know it was love.
If I could redo it again, I would have put more effort into the lead up to the romance…and then Astrid. Because she was kind of needed for the plot.
6. Finn and Reagan (Gen 12)
It seems really weird going back to the days when my heirs were just humans with real jobs and real life problems. Which is one of the reasons Finn and Reagan hold a special little place in my heart..despite the fact I nearly, nearly killed Finn off. My bad.
So yet again, Finn wasn’t originally going to get with Reagan. He was going to be with Tate and it was originally going to be her that ended up shot because Finn let a suspect get away and eventually tracked his family down at home, so then why did Tate’s attitude change so suddenly toward Finn?
Sim Tate wanted it that way is the answer. She just randomly stopped accepting any romantic interactions Finn had, and it made me seriously stop and consider what other options I had. I believe it was around that time Abby started reading, and I left a comment saying I’d love to use one of her sims later on down the line.
I never imagined we’d actually end up collaborating the stories. Granted they vary enough to be separate but the story is still the same at it’s roots. The only thing I look back on and cringe a little bit at, is Finn’s initial reaction to Reagan. Calling anyone a ‘slut’ is totally out of his character and I wish I’d tackled it differently. However how their relationship grows is honestly one of my favourites.
It goes from professional towards finding Dominic to really good friends, and then Reagan helps him realise he’s being used. Because Finn needed it to be said, being a bit of a doormat that he is. It’s also nice to see Finn treat her sensitively and help her recover from her ordeals.
I’m not sure how I covered the parts during Finn’s recovery. I’d like to think Reagan reacted realistically and looking back the scene still feels really powerful…even without pictures.
In the end it was nice for one of my couples to fall in love, raise a family and grow old and die together, a day apart as it happened.
5. Bethany and Lance (Gen 9)
Bethany’s generation was the first for a long time, where I had no involvement with someone else's project. Lance was made by me and it linked with no one else's story. This allowed me to do pretty much anything for the gen and I tackled werewolves, a supernatural that even I didn’t have any previous experience with.
Their teens years are by far one of my favourite parts of the legacy. Period. Bethany was such an interesting and different female role than I was used to and with Lance I got to show a ‘sensitivity’ that I felt I hadn’t managed to write about for a male. In my opinion the ‘expected role’ was switched over and it was Beth that helped Lance come to terms with his weakness’ and what he was.
Their romance also felt rather real to me, despite the whole running away together thing. As teens they were a joy to write and the response I received from it was very moving.
Of course I also need to talk about what happened after they returned and their romance got a little…stale, but they were one of the more stable parents in the series. Until Beth was killed…..oops.
I’d like to think even Lance’s grief over her loss was somewhat realistic. He’d relied on Bethany for so much and then to lose her so suddenly, because of his own father destroyed him. It’s not that he wanted to neglect Hunter the way he did…but it was that guilt and blame that crippled him emotionally.
In the end I couldn’t not get them back together, even reviving the dead to do so. I never stated in the story, but the two died peacefully within a few days (years) of each other.
4. Xander and Malik (Gen 11)
Xander and Malik are probably the couple I was most shocked to see place this high once I started planning all of this out. I’ll admit, they are not a couple I often think about these days, but then I realise it’s because they have the ‘perfect’ ending, and it was well earned in my opinion.
Sure, technically Malik is still a slave, and Xander technically his master, but it never comes up. Ever. So much so that neither of them think of it either. What I love most about their romance is that neither of them saw it coming, Xander wanted to help him because it was the right thing to do, it was Malik, someone raised in a time where being gay wasn’t even considered was something he had to deal with and it was nice to write albeit it briefly about how he learned to love Xander just because of what kind of person he is.
The same for Xander really. He’d never considered loving Malik in that way until Mal made his feelings known, and then began to realise he felt the same. It was a interesting dynamic and I’m surprised so many of you didn’t see it coming but were thankful that it did.
Both them are immortal, so it’s not like they’re going anywhere. Who knows, maybe they’ll appear again in the future. Nothing is out of the question when it comes to these two.
3. Opal and Daniel (Gen 13)
It feels kind of cheeky to put my last completed generation on this list, this high in fact but in the end I couldn’t not. I love Opal and Daniel. To pieces.
Honestly the ‘love’ generation of the auracy was what always put me off. How could I write a gen about someone that just wanted everyone to love them. The reverse side of that never actually made it into my mind. Until I went in game and Opal’s IF came to life. Even in his doll form he was super nice to Opal.
And then a idea randomly came back into my head. Truthfully Daniel was supposed to come back into the main storyline and marry one of Brooke’s decendants. Which is why he was given to Elijah in the Gen 2. Obviously that never came up, so I had to include him here..
The idea of Opal never growing out of IF intrigued me. He was in a sense, a part of her so couldn’t be affected by her eyes, and thus his sweet, protective nature began to form. Opal in term is a character I’m very proud of because of what she overcomes both because of Daniel and through her own actions.
It’s ironic really, Daniel shows Opal how to love, by looking to Opal to help him understand the feelings that he does, knowing that it’s ‘impossible’ for an IF to do so. And the way he stood up during the last few chapters is really sweet to me and showing how strong a person he became.
He helped Opal overcome a curse that had dominated her life for years and put up with so much in order to get to that point. I love them to pieces.
2. Lilly and Zero (Gen 2)
Honestly I bet most of you are surprised at how high Lilly and Zero are on this list, that’s probably because most of you weren’t readers at the very beginning. Lilly was the first heir that I tried to give a true story too. Zero is a beloved sim of a friend of mine and we tried to collab our stories around the two, my first collab in fact, so it was a welcome challenge.
My plans for Generation 2 were a lot different to the actual ending for a number of reasons, Lilly was going to have MPS (multi personality syndrome) which became worse once he left, but I didn’t feel confident enough writing it so it never happened.
Because of that there was a lot of gaps in the relationship that I had planned to fill. Zero had no emotional ties to anyone before Lilly because of his upbringing and powers, so it was nice for them to have this bond. Their romance and lifestyle was surprisingly realistic to me, because of the problems their son’s medical condition presented, I had them go through a number of realistic scenarios and I’m proud of how i turned out.
Ironically, it’s the sections after Lilly’s death that really make their relationship stand out because of the levels Zero goes to earn Lily’s ‘forgiveness’ because of his actions such as leaving when she was a teen and the arguments they had in later life. In the end he even sacrificed himself for their family and learned he never even needed to earn her forgiveness. Which was the tragically sad thing.
It’s also important to note Zero currently holds the record of ‘living’ through the most gens. He appeared albeit it briefly in Gen 8 when Storm asked for his help. Quinn and Danni are vastly approaching this record too.
1. Daniela and Quinn (Gen 7)
Speaking of Quinn and Danni….is this one really a surprise? I hate to say this list’s top spot was probably obvious. I apologise guys but…..I can’t not pick them.
Danni is an extremely flawed character. She’s not mentally stable luckily it’s a lot better than I originally planned though, so there is that. Because of the way she was turned, she suffers from panic attacks at random intervals and regularly struggles being immortal and debating whether she wants to take the potion and join those she’s lost.
She’s also in my opinion a perfect contrast to Quinn, someone who masks a lot of what he’s thinking for the good of those around him. He’s very dedicated and just, and having Danni who can stick up for herself and others, while seeing things in a different manner helps him deal with everything that went on.
Danni never saw herself as anything special despite having psychic powers as a human. Quinn helped her see that she is worth something and gave her the strength so she could help defend both those in need and the ones she loves.
We are currently seven generations on from when they joined us and they both still feature strongly in the series simply because I enjoy writing for them, and they still both have a role in things. You may remember when Danni turned she at first couldn’t control herself, just like Ash before her. This was all for a reason.
A reason to be revealed soon.
So that was my personal list of couples that I have grown to love during the series, that doesn’t mean all of the ones not mentioned are not adored by me either, and I felt putting Calen on here would be a little cheeky considering he’s not even officially with anyone yet, but he may shoot up the list. I won’t lie.
So look out for Feb 23rd for the next countdown. And feel free to leave comments on who your favourite was, or to discuss any of the points I made here.
Happy Simming :)