Woo! Finally, Wish. This legacy is so stop-start it’s embarrassing!

Well, we’re back to ‘start’ now, so let’s get going! Generation Seven in the Goodmoney Patriarchy, and it’s got to the stage of immortalising our family members in ice!

"Does this pose make my bum look evil?"

That’s Sherrie, being sculpted by Nathan!

Yay! I love sculptures. They’re so…befitting the dignity of the Goodmoney lineage.

Heh, you and you ‘befittings’ and your ‘dignities’ – Adam, you really are the original proud founder.

Well, you’re still a relative newcomer, Nathan. But when you’ve been following for such a long time as we have, it does make you sort of proud.

And do you have any idea of how much pressure that puts on us ‘newcomers’. Oh the stress. Oh the effort.

That must be the Neurotic trait. Gotta love that in an Alpha-male. In fact, a lot of you have had your little tragic flaws, haven’t you? I mean…Justin was a coward-

Don’t use italics to make it any more obvious. I’m scared what people might think!

Tobias was childish.

You’re so mean. Waaaaa.

Oli was mad…

Ooo – is that a llama?

I was okay though..

Well, you did fall in love with a psychopath…

Shush!

So, it really just adds to the character of the family. Music is something new for the Goodmonies to develop, mind, and with Tina’s Virtuoso trait, that might just happen. In the meantime though, Nathan is playing to crowded venues using his own considerable piano skill.

"Hmm...hellooooo? Where is everybody....?"

Oh, did I say crowded? I meant empty.

Ouch. That was cold. I’m sure the bartender must have enjoyed it.

He was probably bored too, if you ask me. Nobody to serve drinks to, was there?

So the moral of this little fable is to pick your location, basically.

"They'll never find me here..."

…Isn’t that right, Danny?

…Eheheh.

Still, it hasn’t stopped career progress, with your lifetime wish progress inching over the halfway point and promotions trickling in.

You’d better get 2 points for lifetime happiness like the rest of us, though. Don’t want to break a generation-long family tradition, do we?

See what I mean?! PRESSURE! 

Take it easy, guys. Plenty of time yet.

Sherrie: "Good, it's happened. Show her the xylophone. Mwahaha."

I like Sherrie. The evil laughter grows on you.

Well, I’ll be honest and say it was that that got me head over heels in the first place…

N’aww, how sweet.

"The kids are in bed and Dad's looking after them.........shall we?" "Mwahahaha....that's a yes, by the way." "SWEET!"

I take it that that, too, was a product of the evil laugh.

*Shifty eyes*

I can’t believe after all the children-stress you’ve been having recently you’re risking another one!

Nah – big families have been amiss for a while in the legacy. We need a few children to nail some more LTWs.

All about the points with you guys, isn’t it?

Well, we do want lots of nice points to be remembered by!

Well, let’s see how we go, shall we? One day, in the kitchen, Nathan gave up the ghost. And by ‘gave up’, I mean ‘became’.

"Ah, already? *Sigh* Fiiiine"

Dad, you cretin! Now I have to manage by myself!!!

It was hardly a conscious choice, Danny.  

"Well, if you insist, Mr Reaper."

Gonna miss you around the house, Dad.

Think we all will. You did well, Nathan, especially without a wife by your side to make it easier. 

Praise indeed from our founder. Nathan got four points, of course. Sculpture (1), LTW (1) and LTH (2). He will be missed. Nevertheless, life has to go on, despite omnipresent mourning moodlets, though, so Danny started teaching Tina the art of walking.

"One step at a time, little one. Literally."

Because while she could grow to be an excellent musician, it would be a hollow victory if she can’t walk, talk or use the loo.

The guy’s good at multitasking, I’ll give him that. Far better than hiding, anyway.

"?!"

Ha, he really needs to learn to hide in an actual bush, and not the pavement.

I don’t know what you mean…that’s just an empty photo with a bush to the left of the car. What’s Danny got to do with anything? 

*Facepalm*

*Ahem* Anyway,  just because Sherrie is temporarily away from the workplace, she’s not stopped developing her skillset – she needs to know exactly what she’s going to say to her minions.

"Bow before me, my loyal followers. We shall overwhelm this planet with our forces and the world will be ours!!!"

Time well spent, most certainly, when she can snatch a break from parenting.

"Well, you're my first minion, anyway, Tina...c'mon, walk to me!"

Bit down to earth for a woman with evil on her mind, don’t you think?

Meh, she’s my wife. The Goodmoney attitude is having a positive influence on her at home. She leaves the Evil at work.

Good for her!

Makes a nice change from the last Evil we had in the family. Melissa really was a witch.

Really?! Where was her broomstick?

It’s  figure of speech, Oliver. How you survived as Alpha-male all that time beats me. In the meantime, here comes Atticus. Generation eight is growing up!

"Wheee!"

Time to step up the teaching…

Ugh, tell me about it. I don’t even know where to begin…

You want some advice? Potty train early. Trust me on this.

Wise words from Adam, there. Tina is already specialising – Xylophone music echoes through the house.

Sherrie: "And now for Tina's rendition of Simovitch's 67th Symphony...in F."

 It’s quite exciting to have a musician in the family!

I quite agree. It b-

-befits the designation of our noble blah blah blah. Say something different for a change. 

Oi, less of that childish stuff, you young’un.

A young’un who’s long died of old age?

Shush!

…Right. Of course, there’s more than just our musical child to consider –  we have one and a half more to worry about!

"Argh...what the heck have I signed up for...."

The house is actually going to be vaguely full for a while. As if. Poor parents need to relax…

"Pfff, when did we decide to be parent, Sherrie?" "Since you became Alpha-male?" "Oh...right."

I wonder if somebody will yet roll the big family LTW. Then we’ll be in for a right laugh!

"Okay, I'm feeding you, I'm feeding you!"

I hope the investigator profession doesn’t call a ‘bring your child to work day’ – I think it might be difficult to maintain cover with three noisy, hungry babies…

True enough……wait, three?!

"Here's our third! Lucky us!"

Ah yes, of course. Forgot that slide was coming. Meet our next hope for the future – Joshua R Goodmoney. A potential Alpha-male who is Good and Hates the Outdoors. A candidate to continue the Goodmoney lineage. Meanwhile, the skilling and training continues:

Sherrie: "I think I'll have to scale back my ambitions. Taking over the world must be difficult if I can't manage three kids." Danny: "Oh trust me, the world is nothing to three kids, darling."

Oh the joy of parenting.

Perhaps it’s almost excusable that they all forgot to pay the bills…

What?!

"Hmm, I think..."

Oh don’t you dare. Don’t. You. Dare.

"That one!"

 …And she dared. 

That was Ally’s sculpture. How mortifying. All the more so because it cost us a point.

Ugh. Ah well, it’s done now.

In the meantime, Sherrie prepares to return to work…

"Let the world takeover commence...."

Brace yourselves, Sims of the world. That’s it for now! Until next time, readers!

"This ring means you're in, lovely."

I warned you not to make the mistakes I made, you went ahead regardless and look where it’s got you.

A blissfully happy married man?

Yup. Turns out I was wrong. Oh well. You were braver than I was. And I tackled fires in a suit and tie.

Generation Seven…married. Making me feel old.

Dad, you’re dead, I’m dead…your great-grandchildren are dead. Surely you have the right to feel a little old?

Suppose.

Sherrie Goodmoney joins the family. The wedding was a hit in the party room. Nathan’s still sprightly, and dancing away!

"Err, Sherrie, my love, you're a little bit...off...the dance floor?"

…And Danny took his new wife over to the…err…bubble drinking machine?

"Yum, bubbles!" "Make mine Evil flavoured." "...You just had to say that, didn't you, Sherrie?" "Yup."

It was a nice atmosphere.

I remember back when we had celebrations in the early Gens. 

Oh dear, not a ‘good old days’ speech?

Actually, no. I was going to say how much worse it all was. 

Ha, so Adam’s not a boring old fart after all!

Thanks Oli…wait…HEY!

*Sigh* Let’s continue. Sherrie Goodmoney joins the family!

"Woo! I'm an oxymoron! An evil Goodmoney!"

Evil but Friendly, she’s gone for rather a striking look of green and black stripes with the compulsory purple. Her lifetime wish is to become the Empress of Evil. If that’s what she wants, I’ll guide her to it.

Can you do that a little later, though, WishLine…?

Mmm…why?

Well, the Alpha-male and his bride are a little busy right now…

"I'm going to do something deliciously evil to your-" "Sherrie!!!"

Please leave a message after the beep.

W-

Beeeep.

Well, that’s what the Honeymoon suite is for. Weddings day are beautiful. Then there are Wedding nights…

Yes, and you’re blogging publicly about them to tonnes of readers.

Heh. yes. Tonnes *shifty eyes*. It didn’t take too long for Sherrie to get herself sorted out in terms of her career.

"Nice office...sort of...."

Now a lowly Decoy in the Criminal Career, she has her foot in the door. However this foot has to be a a muscular one, so it was off to the running machine!

"Ouch - I need to have a better rhythm if I'm going to progress from standing around distracting people from the real crime...""

Wouldn’t be awkward if she got more muscular than you, Danny?

Possibly. I’ll have to look into that. Though she’s only doing cardio right now, so I’ll be okay, I hope.

Besides, you want her to do well right? Because she is – promotion in a day!

"Yay! I can be more evil now!"

That’s just as well. Somebody needs to do well on their job. This is Danny, going into camouflage-stakeout mode…

"They'll never find me here..."

I think he’s got some learning to do.

It doesn’t help when you are hovering over me. It’s hard to do anything sneakily like that!

Perhaps – it hasn’t hurt though. He’s about a third to halfway to his lifetime wish already. Good going! There are other reasons why promotions have to be quick for our Sherrie, too. In baby Sim form…

"Yay! Baby!"

Yes – Generation 8 is soon to arrive. While Sherrie is on maternity leave, she’ll be practising her Charisma. To work on those office relationship points which are so important.

"I may be a little bad, but I can be sweet and charming too, right?"

Never a wasted moment. Danny is still doing well at his job, but his celebrity status automatically means he’s followed all over the place. For example, when he wants to quietly sneak out and rifle through some papers for a client.

"Go away! I'm meant to be undercover" ...And...?" *snaps photo*

Undercover Detective…not the best choice of career for the famous.

Well, reporters have to get some news from somewhere. Sunset Valley is quite boring otherwise. It’s for the benefit of the public.

Thus speaks a true journalist, Toby. It’s no use to anybody if I can’t do my job properly!

Even so, Dan got away with it. And returned home in good time, to look after his pregnant wife.

"Ahh, thanks, Danny. Just get my Evil muscle for me" "Where's that?" "Oh, right there. That's perfect...."

Aren’t they sweet.

Yes they are. Opposites attracting. I can be so proud, I seem to have spawned a legacy of loving husbands. A legacy of love. Heh.

Which makes me the odd one out. 

Don’t worry, Nathan. You were loving to Melissa, it’s just she was too warped and twisted to know or care.

Hmm, I’m not sure she didn’t ‘not know’. She most have liked you a bit, because otherwise she would have married you and then…

…Ouch. Oh yeah.

Heh heh, always a silver lining. Of course, pregnancy seemed to just fly by for the couple and it wasn’t long until the time came.

"Ouch...this hurts....this really hurts. DANNYYYYY!"

One massive rush to the hospital and…

"Wow! A baby girl Goodmoney. This hasn't happened in a while."

They rode back carrying their baby girl Tina, a good Virtuoso with a serious music career ahead, no doubt. Nat’s now a grandfather, too!

"Hello Tina. Welcome to the absolute lap of luxury!"

Enjoy it while you can, son, you’re going to die soon.

Thanks, Dad. 

Ah, Oli. Always the diplomat. Danny’s a father now. Bacon-bringer to the young family. Even though there’s more ‘bacon’ already than anybody can ever dream of actually using.

"Hello Tina. You're going to need feeding in 2.4 hours, you want me to cuddle you and you're about to need a diaper change."

How do you know all that just by holding her?

Easy. Perceptive trait. And the smell.

Fair enough. Obviously unperturbed, Danny saw to it that another baby might be coming!

"Danny?" "Mmff...wha-?" "We've got another!" Mmm..." *zzzzz*

Just as well – we need that next male Goodmoney! Nathan is still enjoying his retirement, by the way. He’s really into the piano thing.

"Tip me 'cause you love me! I look good in bed clothes!"

When you’re an elder, you should be able to do what you want, right? So we can’t judge him.

Running around town in a dressing gown? You’re brave.

Yes. Yes I am. 

It was surprising just how quickly Sherries pregnancy went – labour -

"Again? Already? *Sigh* Fiiiine...."

Was followed by a smooth home birth.

"Hello Generation Eight! Your head is off-camera..."

"Much better! Hello little one!"

Meet Atticus L Goodmoney. The Easily Impressed and Good little boy who’s now single-handedly supporting the future hopes of the Goodmoney Patriarchy.

I’ll take some of the weight off him soon. I’ll talk Sherrie into another one. But sooo…many…nappies….argh!

Now’s not the time to be neurotic, Danny. Now’s the time to be a busy career-dad. Get going! Don’t you have some stakeout to be doing?

"Shh! You didn't see me..."

Yup, with your usual style and aptitude for it. I may joke, but he is past level five in the career by now! Well done him! Back at home, Tina became a toddler. Now she can start honing her musical skills.

"Yay...nice rug..."

While Sherrie spends her post-natal maternity leave being sculpted.

"Go for it, Nathan. And make me look devious!" "If you insist, Sherie."

Sculpture done, and soon Nathan went off to play some more piano.

"I'm playing the piano for you while you eat!" "How nice!" "Yes it is. Now pay me, cretin."

And so this is where we finish. Babies from generation eight and the Goodmoney house fills up from just two people to five. And quite possibly counting.

"Babies...so....many...babies..."

Such a promising future ahead. Keep checking back!

Good. Don’t you think we’ve had enough drama on my patch?

Yes, actually, Nathan. Plus you managed to do something very careless.

But more on that later – now, of course, having just two Goodmonies in the household means that time seems to fly by, and there are less earth-shattering announcements to be made.

"Hey Dad...why are we having cake for breakfast again?" "...Because I can't cook?" "Oh. Fair enough."

Even so, it may surprise you to know that we have in fact reached the last in a short line of Generation Six posts.

What?! Already?! Wowzas, Nathan, you sure are efficient.

Hey, thanks a lot, Adam!

He has since retired from his position in the fire department and can now drift around the Estate contentedly in his pink dressing gown (or bath robe if that’s what you call it) -

"Yes, I've had enough! You haven't even bothered to find me a new fire suit. I've been doing my job in a jacket and tie! I retire."

- Yup, that’s the fire service on the phone. Starting as he means to go on during his elder years.

Haha, LOL!!! You’re gonna – like – die…

Yeah, thanks Dad.

So that’s how it went. Perhaps retirement addles Nathan’s brains though, because he did in fact forget to pay the bills. And it cost us dearly.

"Mwahahaha! I'm going to leave behind all the expensive objects and steal the one thing you cannot replace!"

Perhaps…not…quite, so efficient then, Nat.

Such a shame. That costs us a legacy point.The only way to lose them too. And it’s happened twice.

Oh dear. Well, at least there are so many other opportunities to score two lost points won’t be missed. And if that wasn’t enough bad news, we learn that Jackie Goodmoney, Alexander’s wife, has passed on. Old age.

"It's okay, Alexander. You'll see her again soon enough"

He wasn’t very happy at all. Poor Alex. At least I’m not going to have to lose anybody myself.

So typically Nathan. Always the brave one seeing the bright side of things.

Yeah, and besides, I’ve got my ice, right?

Ice?! What?! 

"Yay! CHAINSAW TIME!"

 …Ah.

Heh, I remember how i kept myself occupied during my lonely elder years. I loved that trampoline…

It’s still there, Tobias, if you want a Ghostly go on it – in fact you can just about see it in this next picture which shows Daniel J Goodmoney meeting somebody new.

"Bleugh. Evil sim. And yet...hmm...."

She may be just a little older than him, but his interest is captured. Despite her Evil trait. She has the friendly trait too, you see, and that balances her out.

Plus according to Goodmoney tradition it makes her eligible to join the household by marrying an Alpha-male!

But she’s Evil!

Yeah – hasn’t he learned from my mistakes?

Yes, but, err-who?

Her name is Sherrie Nunez!

Isn’t insane and rotten to the core. Her friendly trait would make a great wife out of her.

Just a minute, just a minute. She hasn’t married him yet.  Let him make his own decision. His party came around soon enough before anybody knew what was happening it was time for Generation Seven.

"You mean to tell me I've got to shoulder a massive responsibility as soon as I blow out these candles?" "Yup."

"Okay, here we go...deep breaths, deep breaths."

 Ah, what the crap?! What is this place?!

Welcome, Daniel J Goodmoney, seventh Alpha-male of the Goodmoney Patriarchy.

Oh, so that’s what all this is about. Argh….right, okay…argh.

Calm down, Danny. If we’ve all done it, so can you.

No…Adam T Goodmoney? The Adam T Goodmoney?!

Less of the ‘the’ business – we don’t want him getting excited. I’m Robbie.

Justin. Tobias. Oli. Me, your Dad, obviously.

And I’m WishLine – the plumbob with all the answers.

So you can tell me who I’m going to marry? And how well I’m going to do?!

…No. That’s up to you.

Whoa…okay.

Right then – on with Generation Seven.  The atmosphere at the party was great! Goodmonies and lots of Danny’s old school friends.

"Mmmugh...awesome party, but I'm going to pass out in front of this flamey thingies and die, sooo...."

A quick zap with the seldom-used moodlet manager later and Danny was back, being the life and soul of his party.

"Now here's one called the Alpha male blues..."

You ought to be careful with those moodlet manager things, Dan. You wouldn’t want to get dependent on them.

Oh is that possible? Oh dear. I better not do that. But what if it’s too late, because I really worry about things like that…oh no…

Easy, Danny. You need to grow a coping mechanism if you’re going to hack this job. Nice to see you playing the piano back there by the way, Nathan!

It’s great fun. I jam so hard my hair flops around all over the place. I feel like a Young Adult again.

Who needs a piano for that?! I’m dead and I feel like a child!

Well just because some of us are permanently childish…

Ooo, low blow, are ya gonna take that, Dad?!

Stop! We need to advance the storyline!!!

Are they always like this?

Yup. Without fail. You’ll also become like it eventually. Once the party was over, Danny got himself dressed up and sorted.

"Does this pose look grandiose enough for you? I don't want my Alpha-male photo to be a let down or anything..."

He rolled the Schmoozer trait, making him a Good, Perceptive, Neurotic, Perfection-seeking Schmoozer who wants to reach the top of the Investigator Profession and solve 35 cases. He didn’t waste a moment getting registered to take cases.

"I'm going to be so perfect at this job I'll put the police themselves out of business"

And then heading off to the park to sweeten up Sherrie.

Heh, sweet sherry.

No pun intended. Seriously – I didn’t notice that until I’d said it.

"Now I'm old enough for you and everything, can we...kiss or something?" "Bit forthright aren't you, Danny?" "Eheh..."

I think Danny has made up his mind. I smell marriage.

But you haven’t got a nose.

It’s a figure of speech.

But she’s got the Evil trait. What about what happened to me, Danny, with your mother?

She didn’t have any redeeming qualities. My Sherrie does. Just wait and see, it’ll work out.

"Is that a yes?" "Suppose." "Awesome!" *leans in*

Coming between an Alpha-male in love and his woman is very dangerous. I’d know, I have seven generations of experience. They had a nice romantic night-time picnic and it already became clear something was going to happen here.

"Danny - would you pass the Evil source?"

The next morning brought in business for his fledgling detective career.

"So you want me to give you a spa treatment?" "No, I want you to hack a computer." "Oh. Fair enough."

In between Danny’s feverish attempts at hacking for money, Nathan perfected sculpting and got his son’s statue done.

"Does this ice make me look fat?"

No, don’t worry, Danny. The ice doesn’t make you look fat.

…Really?

Yes. It’s not the ice. You make you look fat. Try the treadmill, you might benefit from it.

 Or alternatively you might not benefit at all…

Yes, we know, Justin. Didn’t take long before Danny got back to work though.

*Hums* "Just hacking away in clear view in a public library..."

I like your big floppy hat! I wanna big floppy hat!

Well you’ve already got a hat, so no-go.

…D’aww…

Sorry. Well, Danny took Sherrie out for dinner later on…

"I see they've got in some Evil Soup!" "Do you really have to put 'evil' in so many sentences?" "Yes, I do."

And after a wonderful meal and date, he popped the question.

"Will you marry me, you lovely, malicious, beautiful evil love of my life?" "Yes, you wonderful soppy do-gooder, I will!"

She appears to have her eyes closed…

Sorry. Bad photo. In reality, she was thrilled and bouncing up and down. Wedding on the way in the next chapter. Keep a-checking back!

What was the point in the ‘a-’ really?

Oh, never mind.

Mmmurgh….why did I ever commit to this…

Because deep down you know it’s kinda fun?

And immensely rewarding?

…Meh, s’pose

Of course , all this means that Nathan C Goodmoney needs a few hobbies to keep him happy. He’s taken up sculpting to take his mind off the horrific recent events.

"No, Nathan! You're doing it wrong! Hit from the left!"

Heh, have you ever tried sculpting when your mum, a world renowned sculptor, is in the room with you? Now that’s real pressure.e!

And blindingly hot infernos that scare the ghostly excrement out of me?

Meh, a minor stress.

Thus speaks a true fireman. He’s always rushing out to emergences,

"Tch. Easy."

Wow, did that homeowner actually join in with you, son?

Yeah, she did. She had the brave trait and decided she was going to fight it with me. Teamwork!

I’d never seen that before, I have to say. However, he tries to swing it so he makes it back when Danny does.

"Dad, you're back? How was work?" "Bloody hot, son, bloody hot!"

Such a good father, Nathan. If I were you I’d have spent all my time in the fire engine.

Well, yes, Tobias, but that’s because you’re-

I WANNA PLAY IN A FIRE ENGINE!

Childish. And at weekends – well, Nathan takes Danny out and about!

"Alex! How're you doing!"

He takes him to see his uncle and all sorts. Nathan and Alex are both best of friends, so they always enjoy catching up. On this particular day out, Nathan also had an appointment with the Mayor.

"Ah, Nathan. Nice to see you're dressed formally for this one" Eheh..."

Phooey. I’ve just counted the awards in the tomb. I lose. Noooo!

No worries dad, the most respected profession won.

Just because some people don’t believe in ghosts…

Huh, then they haven’t visited the Goodmoney Estate, have they? Anyway, later on that evening, Nathan took Danny out for a meal. On the house, of course.

"Thanks, Dad! You sure know how to get delicious free food!"

In fact it was on ‘his’ house because of course the Goodmonies own the restaurant. However, sadly, they came back to bad news.

"Wait...no....I haven't finished my painting!!!!"

Plain bad luck! Grimmy waited for me to finish mine…

Yay! I’m going to see her again!

If only she could have waited just a little longer – Danny was still a child and I hated leaving him on his own. Poor mum.

So yes, Celeste Goodmoney, wife to the fifth alpha-male of the patriarchy, passed away, dying peacefully of old age. She earned the standard three points – she became an illustrious author (LTW – 1) scored 100,000 LTH points (1) and got a sculpture done (1). Well done her!

"Sorry, Celeste, if I'd have known I'd have found you another hour." No worries, Mr Reaper. Sort me out!"

So life goes on with a mere two Sims living on the Goodmoney Estate. It hasn’t been so empty since generation one.

Yeah, River and I. Those were the days.

Yup. Reminiscing can wait until generation ten, though, so let’s go! Nathan may be fit and strong, but that’s not stopping him from keeping himself in shape. So he spends a little time each day exercising. To keep him good at his job.

"I can't run away from my problems...doesn't mean I can't run!"

Once he’d finished there, it was back to sculpting. Somebody needs to do the next batch of statues – who better than our own Nathan.

"I'm going to make mum proud...brrr...."

That’s the problem going through life without a loving wife. You have to everything yourself.

Well, at least there’s no money worries, right?

Heh, got that right. Over 2 million simoleons at last count.

In other words, enough to get the full twenty money points at the end of the legacy. And only at generation six! Wow! Thanks for all your early investing, Robbie!

You’re all very welcome.

Well done to them! There’s plenty more day-in-the-life stuff to go yet though – Nathan and Danny have been learning the rudiments of chess together!

"Ha dad, you just got pwned." "Surely it should be pawned in this situation?" "...Meh!"

Such father-son bonding. Tear jerking stuff.

Well it would be if you could cry, anyway, Wishy. Plum-bobs don’t have tear ducts, do they?

…Shush. Anyway, I caught this awesome photo of Nathan at work.

"Yay! Dramatic picture!"

Breathtaking stuff.

At least, it would be breathtaking if I didn’t have an oxygen tank.

Again – shush! Of course back from near fire-y death, Nathan comes back to look after Danny. Because I huge sprawling mansion can feel pretty empty without companionship.

"Aren't rocks awesome?" "Can we talk about rocks later, Dad? The programme's getting good!"

Not that it stops Danny from doing his own thing sometimes.

"Stars! Wow!"

That’s how it rolls! Of course, it can’t always work perfectly. Fires wait for no Sim.

"Hi Danny! Gotta run - somebody's house is burning down!" "Argh! Okay! Mustn't...panic..."

It’s not easy to leave your neurotic son to himself, I can tell you. I called a babysitter just for that bit.

You called a babysitter while somebody’s home was on fire?

Of course. For Danny.

Hmm, we’ll let you off then.

Honestly, it’s not like anything went wrong. That fire was handled with no problem!

Which is just as well. By this point, Nathan had saved 28 Sim Lives and needed just two more for that elusive and very difficult lifetime wish. Once Nathan got back from that, he threw Danny a small birthday – teenager time!

"I'm a teen. These clothes aren't perfect. I need to dress perfectly. ARGH!"

He rolled perfectionist!

A neurotic perfectionist? Sounds like a llamaful of awesome.

A llamaful of awesome?

I’ve got the insane trait. Don’t judge me.

Heh! Either way, that’s a good trait and a good birthday. Generation Seven ahoy!

"Hmm, closer to perfection. It'll do!"

If he has a good time as a teenager, the Goodmoney Patriarchy’s future looks great!

And if not?

I don’t think it’ll come to that, Justin. Then, time passed. A lot of it. Nathan was waiting for this one elusive emergency that would give him his Lifetime Wish. A week passed and he didn’t have to save a single life.

And very boring it was too.

It took so long he grew up into an elder.

"Ooof. This'll make fighting fires a little harder. No worries."

At the same party, Alexander grew up too! It was a great double celebration.

"Hey...aren't you meant to be older than me? How did this happen?!" "I don't know, just ask our great-great Aunts."

An aching back and grey hair didn’t keep Nathan delayed for long though. He got him wardrobe sorted…

"Ah, my good old suit. Hair loss is for lesser Sims."

And then he and Danny jazzed. A new thing for them to do together. Neither of them are great yet, though.

"Ha, Dad, you're so tuneless." "Who you calling tuneless, hypocrite?"

Some more time passed, as did some more emergencies. Once day, he decided he didn’t need his firefighting gear. Fine by me – he’s immune to fire now anyway.

"Heh, who needs state-of-the-art protective firefighting equipment, anyway?"

Ha, that’s just mad.

No – it’s awesome! 

Well you’re mad too, so it’s a good match, Oli. Finally, at long last though, the emergency came and Nathan bashed through his Lifetime Wish.

"Yay! I've rescued more Sims. I did it! But this is an awkward moment to celebrate, isn't it?"

He’s done it! Congratulations. He just needs to fulfil a few more wishes and he’s at 200,000 LTH. Not bad for a lonely single dad.

And let me guess, this is the part where you ask a load of rhetorical questions…

And finish off with a hearty ‘keep checking back’.

Ha, they’ve got me all worked out. See you next time!

Pfff…I wanted to create a Patriarchy to stand the test of time, not a soap opera…

"Hello, Danny - Mother is off being evil today, so you've got me instead"

No fuss, Dad, I’m thinking you’ll get both.

At least during my generation. Why me?!

Sorry, Nathan, it all seems to happen to you. At least Celeste is sticking around though – she takes on the role of loving grandmother to baby Danny, keeping him entertained when Nathan cannot. Ah, the life of a top firefighter can make career-juggling difficult. Especially when the mother is insufferable.

*Sniff* And breaks up with me for no reason…

"That's it, we're THROUGH! ...Errr...can I still use the house for a few days though?"

Don’t tell me you let her stick around?!

Well, she needed a day or two to set her affairs in order.

You schmuck, Nathan!

Yup, that sums it up. Okay, so the now single Melissa Pringle has dramatically reduced her relationship with Nathan after providing an heir. Then she aged up.

"My hair is grey?! I'm getting older, but we must hide this!"

She didn’t want to put Byron off though, so she darkened her hair as a form of cover-up. However, on the way in she couldn’t resist a snack…

"...But first...I'm going to steal Danny's candy!"

The vile bitch!!! Her own son?!

She scares the crap out of me, I can tell you…

And just for once, Justin, you are justified in your fears. In fact, things had gotten so ridiculous that while Nathan was putting fires out across the street…

Nathan: *Hums nonchalantly*

…Melissa was inviting Byron over and romancing him outside the Goodmoney Estate! Look by the garage,  and just below me you’ll see her at it again!

Ha. Plumb bobs coming useful for something after all.

Rude, Oli, rude.

She was doing that right behind me?!

She’s got some nerve…

It didn’t take too long before Byron fell hook, line and sinker. The propoal…

"Will you money...err...marry me?"

Was followed swiftly by a quick marriage with no celebration. As soon as Melissa had the marriage certificate in her hand, she moved  Byron in before locking him in a swimming pool created specially for the purpose, by her, with the family’s money.

"But Melissa...I don't want to go swimming!" "Heh-heh-heh, I don't expect you to swim...I expect you to die!"

I teleported to work that day…I didn’t see anything. As if she actually went through with it!

I know! Plain view and everything. Terrifying.

Well, after much suffering and swimming (and high gains in Athletic Skill), Byron found himself starting to struggle.

"This wasn't the wedding night I had in mind...." *glug glug*

 She followed it through right to the end….I…I…ugh….

I know. Awful. As soon as she saw his ghost, that was her lifetime wish sorted and she ran inside feeling really thrilled about her success.

"YAY! I WIN! He's dead and I get his cash!"

How unlucky is that for him? Of all the girls to fall for…

You’re telling me?! I thought I loved that woman with all my heart and…well, to put it bluntly, it could have been me in there.

Poor, poor Nathan. And you’re right, he was unlucky. In fact, he had the trait ‘Unlucky’.

He had the trait?! …But that means…

That means that within half a Sim hour he was back in his solid form and divorcing her…

"I'M BREAKING UP WITH YOU! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!"

 Heh. Utterly foiled. Fail.

Yes indeed, Robbie. He was alive, he broke up with her, she got an outrageously negative moodlet from it, and even though she completed her LTW, she has no benefit from it to enjoy, nor would she ever feel like trying again. She took her anger out on Celeste of all people, the harmless and vulnerable old lady who never hurt anybody…

"I'm foiled and it's YOUR FAULT!" "What n-OUCH!"

 She WHAT?! That’s my wife out there. If I had a solid body to do anything with, I would murder her myself!!!!

Chill Dad, I got this…

Heehee. Go on Nathan, explain what you did as Alpha-male then.

Simple really. I moved out Byron and bought him a nice house with money to apologise for what he went through. As for Melissa – she’s an attempted murderess. I kicked her out without a penny and left her to it. She can go rot somewhere else. She’s not seeing Danny either. She forfeited that right when she stole candy from him and tried to kill somebody after she cheated on me with them behind my back.

So Danny is now going to be the first Goodmoney to have a single parent Alpha-male. He grew up…

*Big sparkly explosion type thing*

He has an interesting life ahead of him. Nathan is a firefighter with a busy schedule, so thank goodness for Celeste, right?

"C'mon then Daniel, grandma will help teach you to walk!"

Of course, Nathan wanted to be an excellent father. With no real mother in the equation any more, he felt it was his responsibility to be there for Danny, so he worked really hard for his last promotion. And he got it.

"Looks like the door's going to be axed...heh...heh..."

Well that’s great, obviously, but how does it help?

Well, it’s a promotion to Fire Chief, which means that Nathan can now work from home! Amazing or what?! He has his own alarm and fire engine and doesn’t have to leave Danny alone very much. He can stay at home so he isn’t reliant on Celeste all the time.

It’s only fair, right?She’s already had to be a mother once.

Yeah, plus I probably was a bit too wacky to be a responsible parent.

Heh, I love the way you’re speaking in the past tense, Oli, as if you’ve suddenly gone all mature and refined. You know you haven’t changed a bit.

Excellent! I’m glad. I’d hate to become stuffy and boring after death. 

What, like the rest of them, you mean?

Errr…

....

…Nooo?

Right. So now he has fire alarms installed in the house…

Nathan: "I haven't thought this through have I...now how am I going to escape work?!"

A smart move? Maybe. A paternal effort? Definitely. Now the walking…

"Fireman's steps, Danny, fireman's steps."

And the talking…

"Fireman's speech, Danny, fireman's speech"

And the potty training…

"Fireman's pooping, Danny, fireman's pooping."

All heavily involved him.

I  need to make it up to him, really. He’s not going to have a real mother figure and he got an awful negative moodlet from the drama from Melissa, so he needs me, don’t you think?

I’d agree, Nathan, you’ll be an excellent Alpha-male. But are you sure you don’t want to find another half to yourself in female form.

After last time? I think my commitment issues are perfectly justified now, so I don’t think that would suit me, I’m afraid.

If you’re sure, Nat, if you’re sure. it’s not that you have too much time to hunt, what with Danny and fire issues to think about.

"My own personal fire engine. This. Is. Awesome."

So we understand. Of course, there is certainly lots to be said about being fire chief. I mean, that’s another award in itself. A key to the city right there.

"...Meh. I should have dressed up for the occasion."

Oh dear. Should I be worried?! I’m going to float down to my tomb to check!

I’m gonna lose my bet. Oh well, money doesn’t matter much when you’re dead and all.

Very true, Adam. It’s worth noting that Danny hasn’t confined himself to essential skills either – no, he’s also working on extra bits!

*Ding* "Yay!"

Hopefully a very well-rounded Sim will emerge from the train-wreck which was Nathan’s relationship with Melissa.

You know, WishLine, you aren’t half  making this sound dramatic.

Nathan, your ex-girlfriend tried to marry and kill somebody for money before her plot was foiled by Death himself and you kicked her out of the family home. I’d say that was pretty dramatic on its own, wouldn’t you?

Yes, what he said. Your whole life is dramatic, Nathan, you fight fires for a living…

"Pff. Fires are only vaguely interesting if there are lives at risk. How else will I get my LTW?!"

Even if you are bored by it, apparently.

Only an obscenely brave Sim could be bored by any type of fire.

Justin’s right about that. However, his hard balancing act paid off marvellously and the result was that Danny grew up a very happy toddler in a small Goodmoney celebration!

"I can't handle this...I SO can't handle this."

I mean, sure, he rolled Neurotic, but given his turbulent toddlerhood, can anybody blame him? He got his clothes sorted out…

"Ugh. Getting dressed is so stressful, you know..."

He’s in a suit already?

Yup. He’s going to be the Alpha-male and he’s a bit unbalanced so I thought I’d give him plenty of time to get used to it.

…Right, okay then, Nathan. So that’s it. The drama seems behind them now. Can the Goodmoney Patriarchy pull itself together? Hope so! Keep checking back.

Nathan: "I'd be worried, Dad - I'm gonna earn more rewards than you!"

Don’t count on it, son. You have to actually do well first.

Oh don’t worry. While you’re floating around the estate in your underwear or whatever, I’ll be earning all sorts of awards!

And the challenge is set. Now, recen-

Ten simoleons on Nathan!

No way, Dad. I’ll put ten on Oli any day!

*Sigh*

My thoughts exactly, Justin. Advancing the story though, and Nathan is spending a lot of time on his phone to Melissa Pringle, the Evil woman he met last post.

"So yeah! I think you'd make a great Alpha-male's wife!"

I’m gonna build up my relationship and prove that Evil people can be successful too!

Oh this will not end well, you mark my words. I’m scared of the future now.

Justin, you’re scared of everything. Such a pessimist. Celeste, though, is at the very other extreme of the stress-and-worry scale. Her trip to the Spa for a 7,500 simoleon chilling-out day has rendered her completely at ease.

"Ahh...it's like fulfilling my Lifetime Wish all over again..."

 HOW MUCH?!

I think he said 7,500, Dad.

I did. But here – the good bit. Due to Celeste’s Celebrity status, it didn’t cost us a simoleon. All that pure pampering for free!

Awesome!

Certainly is. More awesome comes in the form of Alexander Goodmoney. He, with his LTW and 100,000 LTH in the bag, has moved right on and tracked down this lovely woman with a family-oriented trait to match his own. He knew then he wanted to start a family with her.

"I think you will be an amazing wife and mother. Kiss me."

 Go Alexander!!! And…errr…who?

Jackie. Her name is Jackie. Celeste, meanwhile, has been taking her widowhood a little better, being very arty and such. She’s also putting that bookworm trait to good use and reading a lot.

"Ah, my escape...."

She loves to lose herself in books. Alexander, however, is far too distracted to read or do anything else – it was wedding day. He threw a fabulous party on the beach for all his countless friends and married Jackie very publicly.

"Let's start our life together and spawn that family we're always talking about!"

The very opposite of Diana. Alexander M Goodmoney, first spare of the sixth generation, moved out after earning a Generation point (1), his LTW (1), his sculpture (1) and his 100,000 lifetime happiness points (1). Four points for the family and all before his Mature Adult birthday! He moved out with her (she had to spend a few hours living on the plot because she wasn’t based in Sunset Valley. She’s a service Sim. Or rather, was) and used some spare Goodmoney cash to buy a nice beach place next to Ally!

Hmm…

What, Robbie?

I was just thinking. Wasn’t moving the first spare out a risk? I mean, we might have needed him.

Yeah, it was a bit of a risk, I will admit.

A bloody huge one, WishLine.

Yes I know, I know. I’ll be sure to guide your descendants more carefully from now on, shall I?

Yes please. That’s your job, plumbob.

Okay, fine. Nathan is still running around Sunset Valley spraying anything hot and orange with extinguishing powder. For what is getting to be an excellent wage, I might add.

"Bloody fires. Why can't the damn things extinguish themselves?!"

Well, yeah! Don’t you think I deserve it?

Possibly. You are after all a Backdraft Specialist by this point. One who heads home and has invited Melissa for a bit of heavy flirting.

"Does that feel nice, darling?" "Mwaha...err...yes, Nathan, yes it does."

Finally. In the flesh at last. I was getting tired of the relentless PhoneWooHoo you tow were having.

Thanks, Dad. I’m sure the readers really wanted to know that.

Have you seen the readers?! Knowing them, they probably do.

I would like to apologise on behalf of the Goodmoney Patriarchy for any offence caused by the previous remark. You’re not offended are you? No? Good. Anyway, Nathan kissed Melissa goodbye (he’s not ready to propose yet – commitment issues, remember?) and went to work next morning in a sort of lovestruck ecstasy.

"You may be hot, fires, but you're not as hot as Melissa. Wowza!"

But that’s how he rolls. It didn’t stop him from getting a promotion to Assistant Fire Chief though, so it’s all good. At the station one morning, Nathan invited Melissa over for a chat, and ended up proposing.

"No, Nathan, I will not marry you. I don't care that we have a maxed out relationship, either."

It didn’t work.

Awww, no! First time in the family history. Poor Nathan…

*Sniff* Ironic when you think about it. I’m meant to be the one with Commitment Issues.

Still, the basic plan was unchanged. Nathan moved her in as his steady (but not mentally steady you understand. She’s Inappropriate, Insane and Evil!) girlfriend and, *ahem* got it on in the Alpha-male bedroom.

"Can somebody please stop playing that stupid harp music?! ....And what was that lullaby for?!"

Celeste is now in the surviving partner/first spare bedroom. Of course, Melissa needed to pick a lifetime wish, as she would officially be able to earn points once she provided an heir (so the baby has to be male). She accrued some lifetime happiness by following all her bizarre Evil wishes.

"Logic skill! And a sciencey job I'm going to quit right away!"

And then settled on Gold Digger.

WHAT?!

Isn’t gold digger the one where they want to kill off their wealthy spouse?!

Yes, afraid so. But the fact that she didn’t want to marry you suggests that perhaps she does have genuine feelings for you and didn’t want to kill you and take the Goodmoney fortune after all.

Oh the relief.

Of course, you’re forgetting that this means at some point she’s going to trap a man other than yourself.

Oh no…what does this mean for the family?! What have I done?!

…Fallen in love with an utter bitch?

I think Robbie summed it up nicely. Oh dear. Well, at least she’s stalled for now – she is indeed ‘with child’.

"As soon as you're out of me baby, I have big evil plans! Mwahaha!"

This does leave an uneasy feeling for the legacy though. Especially as Nathan is already a Mature Adult, after his party.

"Ugh? Already?! I need to get a move on!"

Yup, that’s Ally Goodmoney you can just see behind the staircase – she always jumps at the chance to return to the Estate and celebrate. Melissa turned up for the cake and then took a back exit – she went straight for a certain Byron, a suitably wealthy individual to take a crack at.

"Hello, wealthy man. Ignore the baby bump and be drawn in by my feminine charms..."

Sheesh, this woman is so evil not even Nathan’s baby will hinder her plans.

Oh no…I don’t know what to say or think anymore…

Well, this is indeed a dramatic thing to happen. She built up her relationship with Byron to Good Friend before long – so technically there’d been no cheating yet.  Whenever Nathan was busy…

"Just another day..."

It would be fair to assume Melissa was also busy in her own nefarious way…so much so that she went into labour at Byron’s house!

"Ow...ow...ow...sorry, I need to take care of this a second. I'll be back soon!" "ARGH! IDON'TKNOWWHATTODO!"

She rushed to hospital and met Nathan there…

So she came from his house to the hospital to have my baby?!

That’s the long and short of it, Nathan, yes. I’m so sorry.

"Hey, Nathan, here's that baby you wanted." "You wanted him too, though, right?" "...Sure!"

But if she’s going to be vile and evil, she did do the family a service in providing a male heir.

C’mon then, let’s hear the facts!

*Opens eyes* "YAY! IT'S A BABY!"

This is Daniel J Goodmoney (he did of course take his father’s surname. The surname.). No doubt he’ll become Danny after a while. He’s a Good and Perceptive individual. Do you detect a strong possibility of a lifetime in the Investigator Profession already? Me too.

Well, he’s got a nice start, anyway!

I’m not so sure. Look at what he has for a mother.

Suppose. I mean, with the baby thing over and done with, she’s been able to turn up the heat.

"What do you mean 'Aren't you worried about what your boyfriend might think'? That's irrelevant, right? Mwah!"

That’s it…she’s actually done it. Oh…no…oh no…

Errr…has anybody got some tissues for Nathan? We need to take a break.

Right, guys. The post is over then. Until next time…

The readers have voted in their THOUSANDS

Psst – tens!

The readers have voted in their TENS OF THOUSANDS

No, Granddad. Just Tens. Twelve people voted.

….Ah. Well, anyway, and they have chosen the next Alpha-male. The Sixth Leader of the Goodmoney Patriarchy is…

Going to wait until a little later on in the post, Adam.

…Awww.

It’s okay, it won’t take long. Then he joins us.

Exciting stuff! My grandchild on the scene!!!

And my own son. I can’t believe it. Soon I’m going to be old news. I’m going to have to make a noise so I’m not forgotten!!!

I’m sure you’ll rise to that challenge magnificently, Oliver. Right - straight to it! Diana cut straight to the chase, and wooed her policing partner…

"I'm tired. Kiss me, would you?"

It seemed fitting. They were best of friends and had worked together a lot of their lives, even if he didn’t have the Good or Friendly traits. She proposed to him and married him privately right there in the dance club…

"YAY! I'MGETTINGMARRIEDRIGHTNOWNOTIMETOLOSELET'SGO!"

 That’s my daughter – a bit quirky to the end.

And that’s just Diana. Just watch me!

So the family size drops to four! Alexander M Goodmoney (yes he’s in a suit, but he’s just come out of a club – don’t jump to conclusions!) has been making a truly staggering number of friends.

"Hey there, mate" *extends hand. Flump.* "Ah..." *takes call*

Mostly celebrities, but also a few others. His Super-friendly skill challenge means they don’t decay either, so it’s all upwards from here! Back home, Celeste grew up into Elderhood with no problems.

"Mmmurgh...I feel weighed down with age...or is it the massive coat?"

She got her wardrobe sorted straight away…

"Ahh, much lighter!"

And can now settle down into her Elder years! Nathan is far from settling down though – he’s working up…or rather working out.

"Ugh...this had better come in handy...ouch..."

Takes after you Dad.

Well, fitness is good. Not for living longer though. No, you need to be a journalist for that, apparently.

Eheh, yeah. I know. I really did live my time.

Your time and somebody else’s.

Yes Justin, yours, we know. Alex is out and about all over the place – his agent is always on the phone with some event or another.

"Yeah, look at me go, wot!"

Nathan has stuck closer to home though, getting his grades up and all. And now he’s finally ready. Birthday time!

"..."

 What, no caption, WishLine?

That’s ’cause I’m right here

Whaaa?!

I’d like you to meet our new Alpha-Male…

"White suit, pink shirt. Feel the awesome!"

Hey guys! It’s me, Nathan! I cannot believe I just committed to this…

Well, the readers committed you, at any rate. He rolled the Star Quality Trait. Alexander is jealous – he could have done with that!

And I get to meet all the Alpha-males?!

Yes, you do – say hi everybody!

Adam, the founder. Hey! Robbie the second one! Hi! Justin, the third! How you doing?  Hey, Nathan. It’s been a while. It’s me again! Tobias! And I’m your dad, you knucklehead. No introduction needed

And I’m WishLine. The plumbob who does the talking and what-not.

Whoooooa! Amazing to meet you all. So what happens?

It’s simple really. I try and narrate the legacy and you lot needle away at me with your pointless interruptions.

*Gasp* No fair, WishLine. Our contributions are valuable!

Yeah, Wishy. Don’t be mean.

Yeah! Ptghptgh!

Okay, okay. Fine – I admit you’re all somewhat useful.

Somewhat?!

*Sigh* Just wait until generation nine, right? That’ll be fun. The party downstairs left Alexander in good spirits, at least.

"You disappointed, son?" "I say! Would you perceive me is so utterly shallow, father?" "...That's a no then?"

A gracious loser.

Indeed, Tobias. Although I do sympathise with the readers – his ‘wot-wot’ thing would have got a bit repetitive.

“Wot-wot”? What?!

No son, you’re only meant to way it twice

What?

No! ‘Wot-wot’ Not one ‘wot’.

WHAT?!

Shouting at me isn’t going to solve anything…you’re still only saying it once.

Oh, just leave it. At any rate, Alex and Oli made good music for the occasion, and everybody had a good time out of it. Alexander can pull strings to get together an immensely fame-filled party with his level 4 celebrity status!

Ally: "Heh, we should elect Alpha-males more often. The party thing is intense!"

Nathan didn’t waste a moment. Heading straight to the fire station, he signed up for a job there and then stayed the night in one of the beds, ready to start the next day.

"Mmmf....is that really appropriate, paparazzi person?"

This fame stuff can be a drag sometimes. I’m only level one, level two and there’s always somebody taking photos of me while I sleep.

Yeah, it’s really not on, is it?!

…*Ahem* WishLine, you’re hardly one to talk. You took photos of us in bed with our wives. That’s worse.

He what?!

Oh just wait and see, Nat, wait and see.

I have that right. I’m a plumb bob. While Nathan busies himself with the hot, Celeste worked with the cold. Ice cold.

"C'mon, mum. Make me look cool. Heh...heh..."

With her skill reward obtained, it was time for permanent ice sculptures down in the family tomb. Well done her! Nathan was also skilling up – level ten handiness meant upgrading everything in the station…

"I read somewhere that if you use a spanner on your fire extinguisher for a few hours, the powder turns orange!"

And then using it to great effect!

"Ooo, a fire! Finally, a chance to practice!"

Emergencies are a regular thing…

"Feeling hot, hot, hot..."

Saving people is a little rarer.

"Yay! You're one thirtieth of my Lifetime Want. Congrats!"

 That must be annoying, Nathan.

Yeah. There simply aren’t enough people in mortal danger of a firey death around here.

Yeah, shame…I think. Of course, some people aren’t always compliant…

"Look, lady, the fire's out now..." "I don't CARE! I'm just going to keep PANICKING!"

And some, not at all…

"Ha! Age is going to get me before the fire does." "Aww, this is going to look so bad on my report..."

He died of old age?!

Yup. And I lost job performance for it. So unfair.

Yeah, that doesn’t seem right. Your job’s harder than Alex’s anyway – the last fame star is always the hardest to get, but he’s not in too much danger playing the piano.

"Look at me, I'm playing the piano! Love me, love me my wonderful fans!"

And only good things can come from being paid vast sums of money to go places!

"I am indeed exceptionally famous, wot!"

I see he’s into sunglasses now?

Yup, he thinks it goes well with his image. Personally, I think that it clashes with the wot-wot snob side of his personality.

Personally, I think your role as the older Alpha-male clashes with your propensity to chat to yourself in your swimwear, but there you go.

Ooo, touche!

Don’t you mean touché?!

You’re so mean to me!!

Honestly…childish sims. Back home, Oli and Celeste enjoyed their quiet elder years together. In the hot tub in Goodmoney tower of course…

"Celeste, dear?" "Yes, Oli?" "Your blur is touching my chin..."

Naked.

Yuck! Nudity! I despise nudity in any form.

Oh yeah? Well what about in the form of my grandmother?

…Any form except that.

Okay, that is quite enough. Especially as Oli wasn’t troubled by the blur for much longer…

"Oh please Grim reaper! Let me find my hat before you take my soul" "Fine, fine. hurry up..."

Yep – his time was up.

Ha! That’s a far more reasonable length of time to live for!

Well of course you would say that, Granddad, wouldn’t you? I personally was hoping to live a bit longer. Oh well. Can’t have everything.

Very philosophical from somebody who swims in his hat. But there you have it. Sadly, Oli’s death was made worse by the repossession that followed.

"Ahaha! I'm taking your fancy golden purple key thing and there is nothing you can do about it!"

Well that was a crap start. My first week as Alpha-male and I’ve already forgotten the bills.

No fuss, Nat, we all make mistakes. Sadly, being celebrities meant an extra negative moodlet because everybody turned on them. This was damaging to Alexander’s LTW, but it all came good in the end. Meanwhile, Nathan, now a Fire Captain, had his work cut out at the science facility when a particle accelerator went wrong.

"Wait...I'm a fireman and you expect me to deal with RAINBOWS?!"

Without any fuss though, he soon sorted the mess out and got an award for it!

"Why thank you. I'll be sure to do it again. Please remember to test your smoke alarm regularly!"

At round about the same time Celeste got an award for being an amazing level 10 painter-career sim!

"Look at my fancy painting ribbon. Sweet."

Our area of the tomb is just covered in awards. We were an awesome generation.

I bet I can beat you with my firefighting, Dad!

You’re on, son!

And the competition begins. Of course, Nathan has more to think about than fire. He has t find something else hot to occupy himself with. A woman-sim.

"Hmm...you're okay, but not what I was looking for. NEXT!"

 So go on, Nathan, what are you looking for?

Something a bit different to what’s gone before.

Oh dear, I don’t like the sound of that. Traditions are awesome. 

His choice Dad, not yours.

S’pose.

And that is exactly what he’ll do. Celeste hasn’t been great without Oli, though. They were so close until the end, so she hasn’t taken it well. Low social need is the norm.

"Oh Oli! I miss you!"

Aww no…I’ll be waiting for her when she’s a ghost, she needn’t worry.

Good for you, Oli. Certainly I still spend time with my dearly loved River.

Good good. Who says death is the end of love? Meanwhile, we have Alexander, who between celebrity events spends plenty of time fishing.

"That has to be the smallest fish I have ever seen."

He’s level five skill, he still loves the outdoors, but it’s not helping him catch anything significant. Except, of course, fame!

"Well I say! I am indeed the most famous sim-gentleman around, wot!"

He’s achieved his fifth star, his LTW and his 100,000 LTH. He’s ready to fall in love and move out! Congratulations to him!

Go Alex! That’s Goodmoney perseverance for you! Success!

Ha, you sound like me.

Oh, not another one. Anyway – Alex may need to find love, but Nathan already is.

"Hey! Alex told me about you! I'm a firefighter, you know?" "Wow, hot!" "Well of course..."

 Her trait? Good or Friendly?

Evil, actually! I thought it would make a difference.

Oh dear.

"Mwah! A firey fireman's kiss for you, gorgeous!"

Oh dear oh dear oh dear…

A plot twist? You bet! Check back for future events!

"Ugh..leave me alone. I'll find a partner when I've recovered..."

Not literally big, you understand. Big in terms of milestone, not size.

Yes, thank you, Adam. That’s Diana btw. After completion of her LTW, her excitement has fizzled out and she needs a while before she can husband-hunt. More on that later. This is Oli, taking up the bass for his own entertainment.

"I'm an old guy playing an instrument. Does this make me cool?"

It’s okay, I’ve talked at length with myself about what form my retirement should take. And I thought musical would be nice!

I’m glad your conversations with yourself are so enlightening, Oliver.

So yes. And furthermore, good old Alexander grew up!

"Oh indeed! Adulthood is a most delightful transition through life, wot-wot!"

The party was immense – Alex has so many friends that the atmosphere was great!

"Confetti? CONFETTI! AWESOME!"

Yes, that’s Oli you see with Celeste right there! And this is Alexander, clothed up!

"Apparel which seems to represent appropriately my high status in society. Most certainly."

 Do we get to hear his trait?

He takes after you, Toby. He’s Childish. A Childish snob.

Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. It’s time for an heir-poll. Somebody needs to take the suit, now, and the result will come into effect in the next post!

Awesome, how are we working this?

Right, well there are two heirs to choose from. Alexander M Goodmoney and Nathan C Goodmoney.

Adam – you are going to argue why Alexander should be elected

Robbie – you are going to argue why Nathan should be.

Okay. Right.

Justin – you’re going to argue why Alexander shouldn’t be elected (without giving evidence for Nathan)

Tobias – same, but for Nathan.

Sure. No problem.

Hey, what about me?!

I wouldn’t ask you to take a side, you shouldn’t have to choose between your children. But you can give the general facts and then the other four Alpha-males can do their thing.

Yep, gotcha!

So then, Alexander!

Alexander M Goodmoney. Young Adult. Older of the two. Traits are Good, Loves the Outdoors, Snob, Childish and Family Oriented. His LTW is Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous, which requires reaching level five fame and 100,000 simoleon net worth.

You should pick him because his Family Oriented trait would make raising future Goodmonies a walk. His LTW is well on its way to achievement already and his voice would make the posts a laugh. His snob trait is acceptable because he already lives an amazing life and has turned it to good use with charisma skill, which is already extremely high.

You shouldn’t pick him because he’s childish. He’ll clash with Tobias and cause arguments in posts. He’s also close to achieving his lifetime wish and would move out quickly and easily once he’d managed it.

Okay, thank you all. And Nathan?

Nathan C Goodmoney. Teenager. Younger of the two. Traits are Good, Commitment Issues, Easily Impressed and Brave. One trait undecided.  His LTW is going to be Firefighter Super Hero, which requires saving 30 lives on the job in the firefighter profession. It will be picked as soon as he ages up.

A good choice due to his excellent Brave trait to have him lead the family. He could roll anther excellent trait along the way. He just…looks more the Alpha-male than Alex does, both in terms of his aspirations and his traits. He seems less shallow, more heartfelt.

Ah, but that’s where I’d have to disagree. What sort of Alpha-male would have commitment issues? That would spell disaster for the family and coupled with the chance he might roll another bad trait, it seems he might have difficulties. From that regard, you could say Alex is a safer bet.

And with that all done, it remains to you, dearest readers, who should put a suit on for the rest of their life. Have fun choosing on the Poll below!

POLL NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR VOTING.

Eheheh…hi?

Uh-oh…WishLine, what did he do?

Oh, just you wait, Adam, just you wait…

Yeah, you’ll have to wait – first off, I’d like to make clear Nathan’s new trait from has birthday last post – he rolled Brave – a great trait!

Tch, took you long enough.

I’ve said sorry! Yeesh. In the meantime, Diana has met her new policing partner, Harlan. They are of course, best friends already.

"YAY! THEYFOUNDSOMEBODYTOREPLACETHEOLDONEWHOIWORKEDTODEATH!" "...What?!"

They must get on well!

Suppose so, but even then, Diana would get on well with anybody to achieve her LTW – which she is of course irrepressibly excited about.

Oli took Harlan on at chess actually, using the match to get his final skill point – now making him a Logical master in his field!

"Sorry, is my awesome level ten chess awesomeness BORING YOU?!"

Which makes what you’re about to find out even more ridiculous.

Seriously – what are you alluding to?

Our old nerves can’t take it. And can you blame them? The nerves in question have been around for four to five generations!

Errr….

All in good time, guys, all in the good time. Since Late Night brought a previously unheard of instrument known only as the piano to homes, Alex M Goodmoney has decided to take it up.

"Fun!!! The xylophone thing really helped!"

He jumped straight to level three, so it’s all good! Back to Diana though, and she’s been promoted. She’s going undercover now…as the Mayoress.

"YAY! I'MANUNDERCOVERSECRETAGENT! ....Oops, was that a bit loud?"

I doubt anybody will notice. Back home, Oli puts his handiness skills to use. He’s taken to upgrading things around the home, which he should do well. He is, after all, a level 7 or 8 at this point.

"I wonder whether doing it while turned on is a good idea..."

So I’m actually pretty good.

So it would seem Oli, so it would seem. Certainly as all his Ghost-hunting and skill building led to another awards ceremony! Although it seemed he lost his patience.

"Ugh. Can't these idiots shut up?"

No, it wasn’t that, I was just really tired.

Haha, son, you sure make an awkward photo.

But I do love what he brought home with him!

Oli: "Yeah, I know. I'm just pure awesome!"

The so called ‘paranormal memento’, the haunted house at the front. Upstairs, though, a conversation between the hot-pink blur which is Generation Six.

"You're a star, Alex, you know that?" "Ha, is that the best compliment you have?"

They have a relationship in Friend status – sweet, no? Especially as Nathan has to put up with Alex’s snobby side.

Ugh. Honestly. Some people can be so elitist, judgemental and plain competitive sometimes, right?

.....

…What?

*Ahem*, moving on. In the name of her career, our Diana has maximised her athletic skill!

"YAY! I'MPRACTICALLYFLYIIIIIIIIING!"

Ooo, take care everybody, she’s probably dangerous!

I’ll be dangerous if you don’t shut up with the strong women fear thing.

…

Why thank you. The second floor bathroom broke. Oliver had a go at repairing it, which failed so he rolled the ‘detonate’ wish.

*Water gushing noises*

 Well that was stupid. That requires buying a new shower!

Well, perhaps I wanted to. When things don’t work, blow them up, right?

I’ll have to remember that mantra when dealing with wayward sims, won’t I?

…Ehehe…help?

So Oli had his way and exploded the shower while Tobias looked on (he didn’t get out of the room in time).

Tobias: "Oli...couldn't you have waited until I was out of the bathroom?"

Indoors. And you can probably guess what happened next.

"AH! OHCRAPWHATSHOULDIDOWHATSHOULDIDOARRRGH!"

Yup. A fire. A blazing inferno that drew every Goodmoney to it and put the whole legacy at risk.

*Gasp* Oli, you absolute moron! How could you be so irresponsible?!

…Sorry, guys…

Luck was on everybody’s side though. While the fire department came, the maid of all people showed up and tackled the blaze!

"Oh you useless bunch of morons. I'll save you!"

At least somebody in the household had some presence of mind.

Argh…fire! SCARY! SO SCARY.

Dad, you are already dead! You were never in any danger. Unlike myself or particularly Diana…

…What about her?

"THISISTHEMOSTEXCITINGTHINGTHATEVERHAPPENEDTOME. AND I DO NOT LIKE IT!"

I almost killed my own sister. Insane or not, I’m not proud of that.

Huh. Well at least she was put out in time.

Thanks to the fire department and the maid, anyway.

Which, incidentally, sparked something off in little Nathan’s mind! The brave trait kicked in when he ran outside to see the fire truck.

"...Woooooooooooooow!"

My plumbob senses were going haywire at this point. I have a good idea of what his LTW might be…

What, a member of the fire department or a maid?

Ugh. Never mind! Outside, Nathan grew up. If any dreams formed in his mind that day, he’s one step closer to them!

"Ugh! I have to go to school still? I feel so tied down!"

Commitment Issues is his new trait, can you guess?

What?! But that’s the worst trait anybody in a legacy can possibly have!

I don’t know. Insane may be a strong contender. Oliver.

*Nervous laughter*

Go easy on him Adam. We all make mistakes.

S’pose. Sorry, Oli, I didn’t mean to upset you or make you uncomfortable in any way.

Well, that’s a re-

Much.

Adam…

Oh right. Sorry Oli.

For that awesome rhyme, I’ll forgive you.

Good – perhaps we can break the flow of text that’s brought the story to a halt and advance the plot now? Great. Here’s Nat in his teenwear

"Now these clothes are something I really can commit to!"

He looks the part, once again. Tobias took advantage of his retirement to visit Ally and keep the friendship going.

"Ally - you have to hear this! The patriarchy nearly came to an abrupt and firey end!!!" "Really?! Tell me more!"

Perhaps Ally is happy to have moved out in all the chaos. No sign of that pianist boyfriend though. That will forever remain a mystery as we couldn’t marry her off. I feel guilty. Back home, Oliver, perhaps trying to make up for his misjudgements, has perfected his Handiness skills.

"Hooray! No more risk of a horrific firey death!"

 I’m hoping that if the legacy is cut short, it won’t be me!

Good for you, Oli! Just remember to cause explosions outside only!

I’m sure he will, Robbie, after last time. Not that Tobias will be at risk any longer…

"Grimmy! Thanks for letting me finish my artwork." "No probs, Toby, what's another hour when you've lived as long as you?"

Yeah! FINALLY! WOO! About time!!!

…Thanks dad. Appreciate that.

Mmm-hmm, Tobias has passed on. He took his time and his artwork was truly second to none by the end, so a long and happy life. He scored well – Generation (1), Became A Star News Anchor (1)

(And it certainly seems a while back!)

200,000 LTH points (2) and he got his sculpture done (1). Five points and the conclusive end of generation four.

A whopping seven posts into Generation Five, I hasten to add.

Don’t be bitter, son.

So the household acquires the usual mourning moodlets and life goes on. Particularly for our Bridget, who just mastered writing.

"Yay I can write. Now to sculpt..."

Yup, that certainly is a lifetime wish achieved. And it’s almost certainly pushed her into 100,000 LTH – double winner!

Yay! Go wifey, go wifey!

Yes, ‘go wifey’  indeed. Alexander (he’s below me in that car) has already chosen his Lifetime Wish. It looks promising – he’s going for ‘Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous’. 100,000 simoleons-

Already done, of course. About 13 times over in a household worth a whopping 1.3 million.

And level-five Celebrity Status.

And the police car with the siren on?

"Unhand me, officer. Don't you know who I am?!"

Oh, he was caught out after curfew chatting to important people. Don’t worry about that. Back home, Celeste celebrated her success with Oli.

"Well done, dear, well done!"

And why not? She’s earned us all two points, after all! Alex carried right on with his fame-quest; he’s already built up a friends list to get him to Three-star celebrity stardom.

"I hope to become exceedingly famous one day, wot."

He’s also gone for Charisma skill classes and worked up from there. The boosts and help that’ll give him really will work.

Hey, is that Diana in the background?

Yup, you can just about see her with the women in pink and green on the centre-top-left. She’s also invested a little in Charisma, and has been compiling reports for the police.

With their LTWs done, Oli and Celeste can relax in Goodmoney Tower. Or at least, they would if their tub worked…

"I think the hot tub is broken" "You don't say, Oliver? IT'S TRANSPARENT!!!" "Argh! Okay I'll fix it!"

I don’t know what happened in this photo, because no matter how bad things got with that tub, it didn’t disappear. A mystery it shall remain. While Oli sorted that out, Celeste has settled into sculpting. She needs to bring in the next lot of ice sculptures – Generation Six’s.

"Hammer...chisel...yawn. I know what I really want..."

That’s going to take a while. But she’s certainly trying!

"AHA! Much better!"

Perhaps that’ll happen in due course! Oh, and the family hired another butler.

Another one?!

"Bleugh. Disgusting family. Rich people. Mmmurgh."

Yup.

For 1,200 simoleons?!

Mmm-hmm.

With a face like that, Better hope the wind doesn’t change…

Oh, it won’t. It’s been the same since the foundation of Sunset Valley itself. I’d know, I was a weatherman.

Very true. Meanwhile, Oli has grown up into an Elder. Nathan used his popularity to get a good party going.

"Ouch...my back. Wait....my hat's disappeared again, hasn't it?"

So Oli heads up to create his Elder Alpha-wardrobe.

"Yup. The hat's back!"

Similar but different. The omnipresent hat hasn’t changed, of course.  Round about this time, Diana gets out of the Police Station. The newest International Superspy!

"YAY! IWINANDEARNPOINTSANDMONEYANDWOO! I'M GOING TO CALL EVERYBODY I KNOW!"

Whoa, as in her lifetime wish?

Mmm-hmm. Another point. And when she pushes over into 100,000 LTH, that’ll be another!

Go Diana!

Exactly. Her moving out is coming right up. This post has been huge, and with lots more to come, keep checking back!

Trying to make me feel old, Wishy?

Ha, that’s a laugh. I’m the one in my hundreds.

Ahem. Unfair. You didn’t even work for it son and look at you compared to me. I ought to file a complaint with the Reaper.

And how do you propose to do that?

I don’t know, but I’ll find a way.

C’mon guys! Seven lines of dialogue and not a single picture? We need to get a move on! Nathan C Goodmoney, on the potty, learning to poop in a way that doesn’t annoy his parents.

"Okay - you know the drill. Get going!"

A success. Nathan C Goodmoney learning how to be a musical success when he’s older?

"Yay! It pinged!"

Sorted.

*Ahem* Ally Goodmoney inviting her pianist boyfriend out for a little beach-bound romancing.

"Don't you think this should be a little more private, paparazzi lady?"

 Check.

Yeah, but the odd thing was I couldn’t initiate a marriage, so Ally had to move out unceremoniously to a quaint little place by the same beach and make her own decisions. For 20k odd simoleons of the family money.

Hah.Practically pocket change.

And good value for money too unlike the butler that charges-

Oh, here we go…

One thousand two hundred simoleons!!

The butler has disappeared though. That’s the strange thing. Derek just…vanished. Left or something. Perhaps he couldn’t cope with the strain.

Huh, and good riddance too at that price.

Mmm, sure. Each evening, Alex can be found relaxing in some form or another in either the playground or the playroom inside. A good source of entertainment!

"Whoa!"

Huh, boring caption.

Well you see Robbie, nobody has enough time for wit on a slide like that, do they? It’s hard to think up something funny in that situation. He was in time, however, to see his mother become a mature adult.

"The midpoint? I need to paint more...like now!"

Brief sparky moment aside, there’s no real change to mention.

Yeah, the wife’s still beautiful. ‘Though she does need to get a move on with her LTW. Heh, she’s  slow.

You’re her husband, Oliver, be supportive. Just because you’ve done really well in your career…

"Fly away spirit! May you have a long and happy afterlife!"

…We can’t expect everybody to rush and do things. Even though you seem to have master the inventing skill. You eccentric lunatic.

"Another feather in my rather elegant and fetching top hat."

I guess I’m just one of those people who’s just born perfect.

Or born completely full of themselves, as the case may be. I raised you better than that. I’m 108 and I’m still helping you run the household, so there!

Moving on, because Oli’s successes, while many and varied, are complemented nicely by Diana’s.

"YAY! HEREIGOSPECICIALAGENTCAREER!"

Our Lieutenant has just become a member of the special agent career branch – a member of Vice Squad.

Heh. Very dramatic sounding name. I swear I caught an episode of that when I was alive.

I agree, it does sound rather like a police show. Now though, for just a few pictures we’re going to slow down the pace and look at one specific evening. Oliver and Celeste lead busy lives, and operate on a pretty much nocturnal cycle due to Oli’s work. It’s not always easy to find time amongst all the work and children-raising to just appreciate each other. So our current Alpha-Male took his wife out to The Prosper Room for a date. Celeste put on her best dress, Oli, his sports apparel, and they kicked out the night wonderfully.

Ha ha ha, Oliver, you smooth old bloke!

"Just you, me and the most expensive surroundings money and status can get you."

Oli, ever the gentleman, bought Celeste a drink and then took her over to the dance floor for a bit.

"Heh, we need more practice. Our dancing is awkward...and we've somehow missed the dance floor."

And proceeded to dance a little to the left of it. The evening was a great success and when Oli and Celeste got home, the conducted the rest of the date in the bedroom.

"We've spent a lot on the evening's entertainment. Now for something free!"

And of course, you had to show a photo of it, didn’t you? I’m always having conversations with myself about your complete lack of regard for my privacy.

Don’t fuss, Oli, we’ve all – quite literally – been there, in the same bed doing the same stuff. Being recorded.

So really that bed has seen generations of wild, passionate and wanton-

WooHooing. Yes, it has. Tobias called up another butler to replace Derek.

Heh. Seems they all come with monocles.

"Ugh. I don't like it here..."

Yes, and an outrageous price tag of-

*Sigh*

1,200 simoleons!!!!

Yes, yes. But perhaps this may sound like good news to you, Adam – he only stayed a day before leaving without charging. I genuinely have no idea where these butlers keep disappearing to. No doubt Toby will try again, but…tch, who knows?

Out in the park one weekend, the friendly orange-clad neighbourhood police officer, Diana, questioned a suspect and filed her report. Always helpful to advance a career.

"Suspect...claims...he...works....out...... Officer...believes....this....unlikely.

In other news both Goodmoney boys have been busy learning life skills for the future. Both involving blocks.

"C'mon Nathan, you need to use blocks like I do. They don't fit in your mouth!"

It’s great to see them playing with educational toys that’ll equip them well for life. Education leads to productive people, unlike Diana.

Why, what’s she done now?

Oh, she just passes her time standing in the family tomb talking to herself in her bikini. As you do.

"Wow, what a wonderful tomb! I know right? Full of great dead people. Definitely. Awesome!"

I do do that. It’s great?

In your bikini?

Well..no. In my swimwear, though.

Yup, I have many-a-time floated above you while you do this. You’ll go down in Alpha-male history for your little quirks, Oli, you mark my words.

We’ve all got them. I was famous for my doctor’s salary.

…And passing out on the floor, Dad! Don’t forget that.

…That too!

Every Sim brings something new to the table. It’s great. Later, Diana did come back to normality somewhat and arranged to meet her policing partner at the gym. Where she proceeded to train her to extremes.

"C'mon partner. You can do it! Push yourself! GO!" "Argh! I'm trying. I'M TRYING!"

Fatal extremes. Within a few hours of intensive training, she was dead.

Diana: "Well, this isn't the best group outing I've ever had...."

Heh…and I thought exercise was healthy.

That’s not funny, Tobias. No need to let your Childish trait make a nasty entrance. Diana blames herself. She had the mourning moodlet for two days afterwards. When she came home he mood was at rock bottom. I’ve not shimmered so red in absolutely ages!

Besides, it hardly did me any good, did it?

We know, Justin. Drop it! Then there’s Alexander, our Loves the Outdoors alpha-male candidate. He decided to try his hand at fishing. Limited success so far, but plenty more chances to shine.

"I've been standing here for three. hours. A fish would be nice..."

No skill is ever wasted, so it’s all useful stuff. Nathan C Goodmoney, our other candidate, has just grown up into a child himself!

"Childhood! Yay! .........I need pink clothing. PINK. NOW."

His overpowering need for pink clothing was soon satisfied.

"Ahhhh....much, much better."

And his trait?

Errr…lemme get back to you on that.

You’ve forgotten his trait?!

…Maybe *shifty*. I’ll grab it in time for next post.

This just isn’t good enough WishLine. My family members expect the best treatment.

Well sor-ree. Diana soon followed suit – Young Adult to Adult, here she is!

"YAY! I'MCOMINGCLOSERTOMIDDLEAGEDHOWAMAZING!"

Funny how birthdays come in waves, isn’t it? Nathan and Oli settled down – it was time for him to learn the rudiments of chess.

"Chess is a lot like...errr...gardening, Nathan." "Sure Dad, sure."

And who better to teach him than his unhinged father, of course. Next door, Celeste just polished off her painting skill. At level ten, with the Brushmaster skill challenge also finished, she’ll be a painting windmill in due course.

"I've got the 'illustrious' bit. Now for the 'author'."

Good news on that front. Her LTW suddenly seems a lot closer. Then it was time for another birthday – Alexander’s

"Hmph. I must admit to expecting a better standard of clothing for my birthday, wot-wot"

Ooo good – did you remember his trait this time, WishLine?

Mmm-hmm. Snob. Kind of a let-down for a trait, but he’s got enough reason to be a little snobbish when his standard of living is like it is.

It also seems he’s picked up a stupid way of speaking.

Another side effect, Adam. No major issue. He went straight for the makeover room for a new wardrobe. Of hot pink outdoorsy clothes.

"A...satisfactory outfit to express my leisure preferences. Acceptable, I suppose."

And with his teenage years spread out gloriously in front of him, the post draws to a natural close. Keep checking back and find out how the passage of time shapes this new generation of Goodmoney leadership!