Zoe Zimmerman: Week 1

[Note: This was played and written in December 2009, long before the events of the previous two chapters.]

We've been here before - it is the apartment building where some of our graduates have moved, namely Delilah O'Feefe, Jessie Pilferson, DJ Verse and...

...Zoe Zimmerman. Zoe's surname is the last one on the alphabetical list of Maxis-made Sims, and so hers is the last household to complete the 2nd round I play in this neighbourhood. Her aspiration is Popularity, and she wants nothing more than to have 20 simultaneous best friends. By the time she arrives in New Maximiliania, she has 11 already - so she really used her time at university well, apart from graduating Magna Cum Laude in History and having earned membership cards for "Games of Glory" and "Will's Garage".

If you are a Popularity Sim and want to entertain lots of friends all the time, you should make your apartment as welcoming as possible. Her guests will certainly be able to feel at ease, hanging out with Zoe at her very own bar!

Food and drink is not all a perfect host should offer - Zoe also provides entertainment in the form of TV, a stereo and a table to play "Don't Wake The Llama" at, as well as putting her own computer at everyone's disposition instead of tucking it away in a private study or her bedroom.

Delilah, DJ and Jessie (from left to right) all live here, and so does the NPC townie to the far right. Looks like there are some hard feelings growing between DJ and Gunnar Roque - don't tell me these two had something going on at some stage? Umm... indeed they had; she was No. 6 on Gunnar's list of Sims he has had woohoo with!

Other guests are less peculiar, like Leod Broke (née McGreggor and, so far, the only Sim in my game that I ever witnessed turning into a Plantsim), Isabel Baldwin and Aldric Davis.

Zoe loves to gather her guests round the games table and play "Don't Wake The Llama" with them - they all enjoy it!

She also strives to meet & greet as many of her fellow New Maximilianians as possible, like Jacob Martin here. My, has the boy grown since we last saw him! He is a young man now, studying at university.

And of course, he is invited in for a game of Llama.

Uh-oh... looks like Delilah O'Feefe does NOT agree with her landlord on something! I have no idea what it is - the rent? noisy neigbhours? an unkempt front garden?

It must be serious, because they get into a fight, watched helplessly by DJ Verse, who hardly surprising takes her friend's side.

Delilah wins...

...but minutes later, they are at it again!!

Delilah wins again, and instead of waiting for a third fight, I make Zoe call Delilah over and give the landlord a chance to get away from his aggressive tenant.

Zoe is great with people - she manages to persuade Delilah and the landlord to sit next to each other and have a plate of Chef Salad in her apartment. They are joined by Jonah Powers (far left) and Hannah Bell, whose age transition into an Elder we watched only recently.

After the salad, Delilah and the landlord even agree to play the Llama game with Jonah and Zoe. Who would have thought those two were able to smooth over their differences so quickly?

Herbert Goodie and Cynthia Kim are Zoe's latest acquaintances.

Here she is, making her 15th best friend - only 5 more to go and she will be on Permanent Platinum!

One of the NPC tenants in the apartment building, a certain Sandy Fairchild, is best friends with Zoe, and suggests she can set her up with someone she is sure Zoe will not simply like, but LOVE. Zoe agrees, and who other than New Maximiliania's only Zombie, Beaumont DeBateau, appears for the blind date?!

Zoe has 3 bolts for Beaumont (like almost every female Sim who has ever set eyes on him), and needless to say, their date turns out a Dream Date.

Another round of the Llama game, this time with Marcel Jocque (who still looks as ridiculous as when we last saw him coming out of Malcolm Landgraab's beauty salon!), DJ Verse and Sanjay Ramaswami.

Beaumont had already left a bouquet of roses on Zoe's doorstep last night - tonight, he leaves a hot tub for her! She decides to put it in her inventory for now. Although she does not work, she is in no financial trouble, having accumulated quite a nice sum through her grant money at university, but having a little back-up in the form of an expensive object in her inventory is certainly no mistake.

Saturday is here, and the landlord is hosting a BBQ in the playground. (Note: Delilah has not put in an appearance!)

And on Sunday, the first snowflakes silently start falling...

...soon covering the ground...

...until by the time the sun has set, there is enough snow for a snowball fight, in which Zoe and her friends engage with a lot of enthusiasm!

A bit too much enthusiasm - Jessie and Delilah do not seem to be very reasonable when it comes to dealing with the cold, and fall to the ground, frozen stiff.

Are they going to survive and recover? Our Zoe looks a bit off peak herself, to be honest... but she is doing fine: 17 out of the 20 best friends! Round Two is complete - I hope you all enjoyed reading about New Maximiliania as much as I did playing here, and I promise I am going to start on round 3 quite soon

Guy Wrightley and Zoe Zimmerman: Week 2

 It is the beginning of their second week together for Guy Wrightley and Zoe Zimmerman.

Remember, Zoe has been on Permanent Platinum since last Monday. For most of the time, I am not going to control her; the only exceptions are when other New Maximilianians walk by and I tell her to greet them, when bills need paying, and in order to maintain her friendships I am going to make her talk to three different friends of hers on the phone every day.

Guy goes to work, while Zoe can do all day whatever she feels like doing.Sometimes, that even means preparing herself a meal :-)

Guy comes home with a promotion to Commander.

His coming home has distracted Zoe, it seems, and she has left the chili she was making unattended. Of course, this can only mean one thing...

Fire!!! But the apartment has a fire alarm, and the fire brigade arrives moments after this picture was taken. The flames are extinguished, and no harm is done other than a pan of burnt chili.

Pleasant Servo, the first and - so far - only Servo in all of New Max, walks past and is greeted by Zoe. After that one visit, he keeps ringing Zoe almost every day for the rest of the week.

Zoe has actually managed to make herself a dish of salmon without burning it :-)

Guy needs more body points if he wants to be promoted again. While he does his Yoga exercises, Zoe plays with the jack-in-the-box that I found in her inventory. She must have bought it at Sophie Jocques' toy shop.

Zoe is rather good at keeping the place clean; I never tell her to do that, and yet she cleans the toilet, shower, sink and kitchen counters several times during the week. Guy prefers to repair the sink himself instead of requesting the repair from the landlord; he needs more mechanical points anyway.

All the hard work pays off when on Tuesday, Guy is promoted to Astronaut (still in his Commander's uniform here).

On Wednesday, while Guy is at work, Zoe takes one of the two kites off the wall (I found that in her inventory, too) and tries to fly it. At first, she is not very successful.

But soon, the kite is up in the air, and Zoe obviously enjoys herself quite a bit.

Guy makes a dashing figure as an astronaut, Zoe thinks. She is not quite well; in fact, almost the entire week, either she or Guy or both of them are ill.

As you can see, that cough must be quite painful.

On Wednesday, Timothy Riley is greeted by Zoe.

He is closely followed by Wilma Williamson...

...and Barry Beaker.

While Guy, now home from work, brushes up on his mechanical skill, Timothy and Wilma have a chat. Timothy obviously is impressed with Wilma's good grades.

On Thursday, suddenly a loud noise fills the sky: a helicopter is landing on the road in front of the apartment building! Is it the DeBateaux 'copter, with the pilot having missed their own helipad?

No - it is Guy, the Astronaut-cum-General! He has been lucky with a chance card today and, although he was still lacking quite a few skill points, was promoted to General. Now, 19 days from Elderhood, he has reached his LTW.

With both him and Zoe being on PermaPlat, I hardly interfere with the goings-on at this household anymore. All the more I like observing how much in love these two are with each other!

Friday morning (still so early that it almost counts as Thursday night), Zoe makes herself salmon for breakfast.

Later, when Guy is up as well and prepares an omelette, she is in the kitchen with him, cleaning the counter.

In the early afternoon, she meets and greets Pauline Aspir.

Later, Björn Beaker and Charlie Cho are invited in as well. Guy, certainly not the best of hosts, has just finished eating a bowl of chili - which he made only for himself, not as a group meal.

For most of the week, Zoe has been quite good not only at keeping the place clean and tidy without me telling her to, but also at looking after herself. Now, though, she is on the brink of starvation. What is she going to do?

Washing up... and complaining about nearly starving, in spite of having a well-stock fridge standing right behind her!

Instead of getting food from the fridge, she goes back to the living room where she sits down on the floor and writes her diary.

Only when her hunger bar is so low down and red I think she'll die any moment does she finally make herself an omelette.

Saturdays on apartment lots mean landlord-hosted parties for all tenants, and this apartment building is no exception. Zoe and Guy mingle with the other tenants, namely the Monty brothers, Mercutio and Romeo.

On Sunday, Albany Capp and his son Hal are their guests for the day - they turned up independently of each other.

The week ends with Guy and Zoe on the settee, talking to each other.

This really was the last household to be played this round - I can't believe I have finally completed it! 
It does not yet mean the end of the stories for this round, though; I have managed to retrieve some of the older stories I had thought lost, and will post them over the next few days. And eventually, I am going to start the next round, hoping you, my precious few readers and even more precious few commenters stay with me :-)

Guy Wrightley and Zoe Zimmerman: Week 1

We have reached the last household on the alphabetical list of New Maximiliania's residents: Wrightley, Guy. Guy was one of the original first generation playable students and lived at a fraternity during his uni years. He has recently graduated Summa Cum Laude in History and now wants to find a job in the Military career, in order to fulfill his lifetime want, that of being General.

This apartment complex is where he has rented a flat; his is the one on the bottom left. But wait a minute... did I say this is the last household on the alphabetical list? Wasn't there someone else's name after Wrightley?

Indeed there was - Zoe Zimmerman's name! She and Guy have been best friends for a long time... but so far, they had not even been flirting with each other. When Guy invites Zoe over, this is how he greets her, and instantly after that kiss, the two of them are a red-hearts couple and show two bolts. Zoe moves in with Guy and adds a comfortable 14.401 Simoleons to their now joint account.

Guy grills hot dogs for the whole lot of them to celebrate Zoe's move-in - all of their neighbours are former students, and they already knew some of them at university.

Still on Monday, Zoe reaches her lifetime want of having 20 best friends - she is now on Permanent Platinum, 22 days from Elderhood.

The two of them retreat to their bedroom early, and talk well into the night.

On Tuesday, Zoe goes shopping for clothes. The colder season has started, and her short skirt and off-the-shoulder top won't do.

On Wednesday, I leave them pretty much to their own devices. Here, Zoe is making chili con carne while Guy is frying a burger for himself.

They do have a shower upstairs, but no - Guy obviously can't be bothered to climb the stairs, and opts for a sponge bath at the kitchen sink instead. It is Thursday, and he still has not found a job in the Military career.

Finally on Friday morning, he is lucky and lands a position as Senior Officer. He needs a mechanical, a charisma and a body skill point if he wants to be promoted, but he does not have time to start on any of that before he is picked up for work.

A proud and happy Guy is heading off to the first day on the new job!

In the afternoon, he knuckles down with a book about mechanics. The neighbours - here Romeo Monty - often drop in without being invited, but neither Guy nor Zoe do mind.

On Saturday, the Landlord hosts his weekly apartment block party. Everyone enjoys slices of pizza and friendly conversation.

If Zoe and Guy are left to their own devices, they kiss and hug frequently.

Sunday is spent cosily at home, with Zoe writing her diary and Guy repairing the computer. She is now 15 days from Elderhood and Guy 22 days. They are still on two bolts, although Guy's turn-ons are blond hair and formal wear, and I have made Zoe change into a formal dress several times - still, they stay at 2 bolts. Zoe's turn-ons are fitness AND fatness - maybe because one excludes the other, they can't reach 3 bolts; who knows!

When will Guy have a promotion? Is Zoe to take up a hobby, now that she is on Permanent Platinum and has not much to do? 

Anyway, this round is complete - and I am very much looking forward to starting the next! [Note: this was played and written a long time ago - Zoe and Guy are still the last household on the list, so after their next week, it really will be the end of this round.]