Wait a cluckin' minute, is that the new bad girl?!?! And she is seducing Debbie? I didn't think we would get her this early. Can't wait for the new update.
Well ... maybe. Which is why I was crossing my fingers.
In the development update posted 2/22/2022, when discussing what content we could expect for 0.13, Altos stated that we would be getting all of the content that was slated for 0.12 but did not make it in,
and he specifically mentions Zoe. However, it should be noted that this was before the scope of 0.13 expanded, back when Altos was expecting to release the build by the middle of May. Since then, the scope of the update has expanded - but while he has written about the BDSM training and the completion of Rachel's punishment system at length, he has not mentioned Zoe since. Considering how important Zoe is going to be in the story, this might mean that she has been postponed - remember, Altos has already indicated that there is content in the BDSM training storyline that might not make the initial release. So if one of the two main storylines are at risk for not being finished, then as I see it, there is a real risk that auxiliary content, like Zoe's arrival might not make it in either. Compounding this fear is that Zoe was not featured in the release date announcement, or in any of the preview images.
Now, you are probably thinking, "Wait, if Zoe was not in any of the previews, then where the Hell did the image of her with Debbie come from?" Well ... that was from a set of image previews, posted back on 7/31/2020 for build 0.9. Which is the real reason I am crossing my fingers. Zoe's introduction has been postponed several times now. To my knowledge, she was first slated for arrival and a repeatable placeholder spanking in 0.8, along with Priti, Faye, and Liz (which they didn't even get until 0.9). When that fell through, she was slated for 0.9 instead, and I think this was the closest we were to actually getting her, because we got Miss Swallows in our office to set her arrival up, not to mention the preview images of her in the office, but again she fell through. Then she was going to be 0.10, but that did not pan out either. Tellingly, at no point was she ever going to be in 0.11 - which speaks to how complex writing and implementing her arrival must be - but for 0.12, Altos declared that 'he could not put her off any longer', and that her arrival and the group medicals were going to be in the update. Unfortunately, neither of which made it in the end.
What seems to be happening is that early in the development of a build, she is promised, but as the release date gets closer and cuts need to be made, she goes on the chopping block first. Again, this is probably because writing and implementing her is going to be fairly involved, especially for the actual amount of content that she is going to be in. The fact that Altos has not mentioned her or shown her since early in development of 0.13, could be taken to indicate that the proverbial lightning has struck the same girl for a fifth time now. That said, he has mentioned that there were things that he was keeping close to his chest, so ... fingers crossed.
And just to be clear, as much as I want to see Zoe taken across the knee, I am perfectly happy waiting for her. If there was a part of a story that should not be rushed, it would have to be the introduction of the antagonist. After three and half years, Altos has earned some trust. If he keeps pushing her off, I trust that it is because he simply cannot do her justice in the time that remains to him before the next release.
