Sim in the City III: Too Hot to Handle

Previously: Although she still hasn't reached a final decision on which of her three potential love matches is the one, Zora asked Salim to move in with her, mostly because she needed the extra income to redecorate her apartment. Totally sound reasoning, right? Meanwhile, she's climbing one rung at a time up the cutthroat ladder that is the professional music world, both at her daytime gig and on the mean local busker circuit. She also had a near-death encounter with a rogue lightning bolt and experienced a life-affirming epiphany courtesy of the bubble blower. Fun times all around!

Both Salim and Zora have been working hard at their respective careers, but it's paying off in the form of promotions, even if they're accompanied by some major stress.

They took what I thought would be a relaxing day trip to the desert to go fishing (that's sort of oxymoronic, isn't it?), but it looks like Salim's having a hard time shaking off the work-related tension. Either that or he's pissed Zora managed to catch something before he did.

Our girl Zora couldn't be more delighted by her own success, and it's absolutely adorable!

Turns out Salim started having a lot more fun once he ran off to do a bunch of real manly-man activities, like chipping away at precious metals embedded in rocks with a hammer and chisel...

And reaching elbow-deep into small, dark, slimy crevices to search for frogs. Typical.

Miko's always calling Zora up at, like, three in the morning to go on romantic late night dates, which is somehow totally fitting for the general elusiveness of her personality. And, of course, Zora always accepts the invitation without question, since she and I both are just that smitten with Miko.

They spent hours canoodling adorably, unable to take their eyes (or hands) away from one another for even a single second, at this rooftop bar, which seems to be one of Miko's favorite destinations.

She was happy to stand by and swoon as Zora recited one devotional ode to her enigmatic beauty after another into the wee hours of the morning.

The consequence of her late night trysts is having to immediately crash on the bed in her clothes when she gets home because she just can't keep her eyes open long enough to take them off.

It's all good, though. She's still young. A two-hour power nap and an entire pot of coffee later, she's as refreshed as ever.

Salim, naturally, is entirely oblivious to Zora's secret second life. Between work and video games, he's too occupied to notice anything amiss.

He's also hard at work writing his first book, which is a Very Big Deal and could make or break his entire livelihood.

It's a book of love poems for Zora, of course, because he's head-over-heels and has no idea she's off on a nightly basis breaking his heart.

Still, even she has to draw the line somewhere. Juggling two lovers at once is more than enough, so she gently breaks the news to Maki that she thinks they should just be friends. Maki takes it surprisingly well, probably because she's too much of a free spirit to tie herself down to a committed relationship anyway.

I think Salim has a fetish for doing household chores completely in the buff.

The naked bug has infected Zora, too! What is this, a nudist colony?

While Zora's at work, Salim heads across town to check out the Spice Festival.

He's immediately drawn to the Spicy Curry Challenge because he's a man and we all know men will do anything to prove their tolerance for pain.

Townie: You sure you want to take that, bud? One bite and you'll never be the same.
Salim: Haha, very funny, as if I can't handle a little bit of spice. What do you take me for, a total wuss?

Salim, five minutes later: Oh my fuck. Oh good god. Lord have mercy, that is spicy!

Salim: THE BURN! THE BURN! MAKE IT STOP! *breathes literal fire, like some sort of fucking spice dragon*

He immediately abandons ship and makes a beeline for the bar, where he begs for a drink to take the edge off.

Salim: The memory of it lingers on my tongue, imprinted like a brand, a lung-searingly spicy tattoo. *takes a sad and unsatisfactorily quenching sip*

He has much better luck with the harvestables and plucks some tomatoes, parsley, and sage to take home with him.

After a good, long bubble-blowing session (bubbles in this instance not actually being a euphemism for something more potent), he's back to new.

Who knew Maki was a secret guitar legend all along! Plus, it looks like she's finally found her tribe in the form of this wrestling-mask-clad weirdo.

Once she gets back from work and hears all about Salim's failure to master the Spicy Curry Challenge, Zora makes it her mission to one-up him.

Zora: Hey, loser! I'm about to show this curry who's boss!

Zora: Uhhhhhh, on second thought... It appears as though my weak stomach is no match for the curry devil.

Salim: It's okay, babe. My weak stomach still loves your weak stomach. Let's not make out for a good hour or two, though, just to be safe.

Zora: Come on, honey. You're clearly exhausted, and all the masked freaks are coming out of the woodwork now. Let's go home and save the bubble blower for another day.

This image was honestly one of the biggest shocks I've had in my life. I was zooming in to catch Zora sneakily texting Miko hangout details, only to find what is clearly a baby bump when I was not trying to impregnate her or even expecting it at all. I guess her super fertile young adult body had different ideas, though, and I guess that means she's having a baby!

For her part, Miko doesn't seem too bothered by this development, even in the face of Zora's frequent bouts of pregnancy-induced nausea.

Baby be damned! Zora's still going to karaoke all night long just like she would have in the good old days before a tiny human was pressing uncomfortably against her insides.

Zora: Listen, we both know there's something real going on between us. And, okay, sure, I got knocked up by this dude I'm sort of seeing, but what do you say we finally make this official? I even think I know the perfect spot to do it.

Miko couldn't be more stoked on Zora's suggestion, and I guess this is as good a time as any to admit that she's really not such a mysterious figure in Zora's eyes anymore. By this point, Zora has discovered that she's a geeky, good-hearted neat freak with a passion for social justice, which honestly just makes her even more of a catch.

Look at her run! Girl is ready to get her woohoo on! To be fair, Zora is just as excited. It's just that she can't run that fast because there's a large protruding bump getting in her way right now.