Overlord Legacy - Chapter Five - Why I Fell In Love With You

Despite having an evil overlord for a husband, Bambi has been sincerely trying implant some normalcy into young Dungeon's life. She doesn't know what he will grow up to be, and she is confused about even what she wants him to be. On one hand, she wants her son to be successful and loved and appreciated by the world. But on the other hand, if he doesn't carry on his father's overlord legacy, Rufus will be crushed.

Regardless, Bambi puts in hours teaching Dungeon some basic skills.

She succeeds in getting Dungeon potty-trained and walking, but he's been having some difficulty learning how to talk. Bambi tries to convince herself that it's normal (he learned to walk early, after all, so perhaps he's more physically adept than he is verbally), but she knows she doesn't have much time left to try and get him speaking. Will she be thought of as a horrible mother if she takes Dungeon out in public and he can't even say simple words? Most other children around Dungeon's age can at least say some words. Oh, how motherhood has brought on so many worries.

Bambi is pleased at how well Dungeon plays by himself, though. Due to their demanding work criteria, Bambi and Rufus can't always spend a lot of time with their son, but Dungeon has learned how to entertain himself.

He's gotten quite good on the xylophone, concentrating so hard that he apparently doesn't notice the overpowering smell of his own poo.

Dungeon also plays a lot with his rag doll, Jigsaw (Bambi made the mistake of letting Rufus name the doll too). Some relative named Aunt Joanie sent the toy in the mail one day, which concerned Bambi because neither she nor Rufus has a relative named Joanie. Rufus especially checked the doll thoroughly to make sure there weren't cameras, explosives, or any other device that would threaten his world domination plans. The doll turned out to be safe, and now Dungeon often sings to it. In fact, Dungeon sings much of the time. 

Much to Bambi's delight, Rufus also has chosen to spend some time with his son. Bambi doesn't quite know what they do together, but she's glad Rufus spends quality time with Dungeon. Perhaps it's best she doesn't know what they do together.

Rufus: "Your daddy's a wonderful man, Dungeon. He wants to turn the world into a more enjoyable place. He wants to blow lots of stuff up, because blowing stuff up is fun. But somewhere out there...is a HERO! And he wants to HARM daddy and come attack him like THIS! Aaaaaagh! That's why we don't trust heroes, Dungeon."

Rufus: "Hello, Dungeon. I want to play a game. Heroes are bad. They need to be eliminated. You have twenty seconds to activate the block switch that will destroy the heroes who pick on us so much."

And just for poops and giggles, Rufus likes to give Dungeon candy just to steal it from him. It puts him in a good mood before he goes to work.

And here's a random picture showing how much Dungeon actually looks like his father. His hair's just a little bit lighter and he doesn't seem to have his daddy's nose (praise the Lord), but otherwise they're quite similar.

--

Shortly after Dungeon became a toddler, Bambi secretly began going back to work. Because her husband works at night (from (9:00pm to 3:00am), he's often sleeping when she gets up to go to work. Then when she comes back home, she just has to change her clothes and tell him she was out jogging or shopping. A big part of her is still very nervous, though. In her heart she knows she wants to work in law enforcement and make the world a better place, but she's afraid of how her husband would react if he found out. Would their marriage be over? As hard a man as Rufus is sometimes, Bambi doesn't know what she would do without him.

It's also difficult to try and interact with her partner while Rufus isn't around. Her previous werewolf partner apparently got fired (something about shedding in the boss's coffee), so no more freakish transformations when the full moon comes out. However, her new partner's a vampire, so she's not sure that's much better.

Bambi prays and prays Rufus doesn't return from the gym right now. She'd never be able to explain why a police car is casually parked in their driveway.

--
Rufus' birthday is approaching (as much as he tries to deny it), and several events have occurred in those days leading up to it. Rufus has been promoted to a Bagman at his work.

Rufus: "My plans are working, honey. I now have the job of breaking into stores and stealing their valuable goods. Of course I'm surrounded by bungling incompetent fools for accomplices, but once I become the Emperor of Evil, I can just lock them all in Port-a-Potties and give them meals of Froot Loops without milk for the rest of their lives."
Bambi (in thought): "Oh, Rufus. One day it'll be my job to apprehend criminals like you. I hate it when you tell me about your work. I don't want to think about it."

Bambi and Rufus have also renovated the bathroom. It is connected to their bedroom and to Dungeon's bedroom at the moment, but they hope to build a second floor when they earn more money. Then Dungeon's bedroom and a new bathroom would be installed on the second floor and the current bathroom would become solely the master bathroom.

--

It's the night before Rufus' birthday. Bambi can tell Rufus is very stressed about it - he seems to equate being an overlord with having immortality and any aging is traumatic for him. So for dinner, she decides to cook the family a special meal. She's by no means an outstanding cook, but she figures she can try her hand at some goopy carbonara. She carefully places all the ingredients in the pot and begins to cook it on the stove. Baby Dungeon is waiting in the high chair (well, pounding and screaming in the high chair would be a more accurate description) and Rufus is preparing to beat himself in chess while the carbonara bakes to perfection. Bambi knows this will be a special meal. They haven't really had a family meal together. It's Rufus' night off, so they can actually spend time together tonight.

And then this.

Rufus begins hollering and Bambi shrieks in fright and in disappointment. She hadn't thought it would hurt to cook the carbonara just a little bit longer! Blasted cheap old stove. Now her house is on fire and the lives of her husband and child are at stake.

Dungeon, on the other hand, appears to be absolutely delighted by the fire. Maybe he and Daddy can have some father-son bonding when he's older by blowing things up. (And yes, the Sim Deity was so tickled by Dungeon's reaction to this dangerous and potentially fatal situation that she forgot to put the walls up.)

Fireman: "Don't worry, everyone, your hero is here to save you."
Rufus: "WHAAAAT?!?"
Bambi: "Aagh! Be careful where you're spraying that!"
Fireman: "Okay, the fire's out. Are you all okay? You need to be a little more careful with the stove."
Rufus: "Are you a real hero?"
Fireman: "Um...well, I did just save your lives, potentially."
Rufus: "....Very well. Out you go."

So...it's a little awkward for some time. The fireman leaves, but Dungeon is still wailing and pounding for food now that the fire is gone and can't distract him anymore. Bambi makes some much safer autumn salad, and the family sits down to a meal together after all.

Bambi: "Well...I didn't think cooking goopy carbonara would be that hard. I hope I didn't scare Dungeon too much."
Rufus: "Scare Dungeon? That flipping scared ME."
Bambi: "Fire scares you?"
Rufus: "No. That idiot firefighter hero. Do you suppose he's the hero destined to overthrow me? If he is, I can start preparing to eliminate him. I might have to take Dungeon with me to work. No hero would ever kill an overlord daddy right in front of his toddler son."
Bambi: "I don't think you have anything to fear, Rufie. The only thing that firefighter had over you was a fire extinguisher. If we owned one, you could've put out that fire much quicker."
Rufus: "...You really think so?"
Bambi: "Yes, Rufus. You're a brave and strong man.

Dinner ends and Bambi finds Rufus staring out their front windows. She knows he's thinking deeply. She comes behind him and gently squeezes his shoulder.
Rufus: "...I really am going to have a birthday tomorrow. It's...unnerving."
Bambi: "You'll get through it. I think you'll come out of it much stronger and much more ready to take over the world than ever."
Rufus: "Do you really believe that? Do you think I really have what it takes?"
Bambi: "Of course I do. You're brave and strong, remember? And stubborn as a bull. That's the man I fell in love with many years ago and that's the man you'll always be."
And unexpectedly, Bambi plants one on her husband.

Rufus blushes and can't hide the tingly feeling he has inside. Yes, sometimes he doesn't understand his wife and often he has far more important things to do pertaining to world domination than to attend to her little concerns. He'd originally wanted to marry Bambi just to have a trophy wife, someone all the other overlord-wannabes would cringe in jealousy for. But even today, if he looks deep down inside, he knows his feelings for Bambi. Rufus isn't sure he knows what love is, but this affection inside him must feel pretty close.

They go back to the bedroom and Bambi gives him "the look," the look he fell in love with so many years ago. It's a look that can make any overlord feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He sheepishly smiles back at her and she pulls him close. He's a lucky overlord. A very lucky overlord indeed.

And, well... I think you can guess what comes next.