Good! Once he's done, he really oughta give you an apology.

He'll learn, because it's important. It's not just about you, it's about everyone else he's around. I'm gonna tell him: Meow meow, meow meow meow!

He's confusing independence with cruelty, we can work through that after he's done kicking.

Yes, it's for you! Tell your son that I'm proud of him.

Once you see the whimsical surprise I'm making, you'll get it! Meaning you'll understand this but also you will literally be receiving it.

😚 Thank you for your forgiveness!

I'm not gonna be evil! I don't need to rule anything either, I just want to make crafts and share them. Wizard crafts. Now, smooch me!

You're rewarding me? Okay, it's your kingdom!

It's hard being hot and misunderstood, but that's how I need to be.

You just gave me another idea. I'm not saying what it is, but it's another gift. And despite your royal status, I will not be sharing any spoilers!

I'm keeping the first set of milkweed beetles simple. I just want to be able to stick them on walls and clothes.

I try, prince. The leaf is adjustable and spins around, but if that doesn't win them over, there's a catnip compartment.

While you're here, I made you a pen! It's peach-themed. It's also the controller for a cat toy that looks like a peach. Click and point it, and it displays a hologram that controls where the peach rolls.

One of my experiments seemed like it might've ruined the lab it was in, but all of the damage was temporary! I didn't need to fix a thing!

I'm building some milkweed beetles.

I'm gonna start transferring some of the maps I've already created into the game board; tomorrow, I'll work on some original maps for it.

Update: It wasn't finished, now it is.

I finished the game board. I had to stop myself from adding something else, so I'm locking it up for the next thirty minutes. If I still feel the urge to add that feature after the thirty minutes are over, I did not finish the game board.

Is she? I'll visit her first. And look at that - my tools are safely locked up. There's not a stray piece of any material in sight. Which means I'm starting my break...now!

Basically!

Offering kisses and compliments is a bother now? Someone tell the news! You'll help me focus. If anything, you're improving the quality of my work.

Yes, you did! And I can take a break!

Give me five minutes, and I'm there. I'll come back to this later.

Well, thank you! I should have the last version done tomorrow; I'm adding all of my smaller ideas to this version so that I can use the last version to make it practical.

Admirable? I'm just keeping myself busy!

The first version of the hologram game board is done, and I'm already working on the second version.

"I meant something regarding the instructions." He gives him a knowing look. "Two conversations." +

"If that continues, we might need to have another talk." Ted pours himself a generous amount, but not quite as much. He places the bottle back on the table. "You know what we're not doing yet? Watching a movie or cuddling. And I'm not messing up plans that haven't been made." +

While I'm at it, I'm going to try to find other ideas that I haven't made. Only the ones that seem like I should've made a version by now.

I need to make a hologram game board right now.

"You'll do great. They're the same thing, but RPGs have more drama and more actors. The improvisation isn't usually the problem anyway." He looks into the distance blankly, a thousand memories rushing to his mind in one cacophonous flurry. "It's following instructions." +

"I make games. All I need to do is think about a rule I've created for a game with a similar structure and change the context." He gets up and grabs a wet napkin for him. He hands it to him. "Above your mouth." +

"Obviously, my wizard's magic power recharges substantially whenever they kiss. But it also works if they hold hands." He speaks while emphasizing his words with hand gestures. "If they find a fountain and they kiss in front of it, that's an extra +10% healing. That's all passive." +

"My wizard is named Ted Kord. Short for Theodore Kord. He lives at the edge of the kingdom in a cave that he calls the Beetle's Nest. But it's very important to remember that it's titled a Nest and not a Cave because The Dark Knight has a cave, and they don't like matching." +

"You'll be happy to know that I do not want your life or your soul, and those are dreadful things to ask a person to give. If we ever get married, lacking either of those two things would create serious complications." He pulls him into a kiss. "But I'll take what you've truly offered."

"That's exactly what I'm saying." He places his mug on the table. "If you have something that you'd like to do for me, my dear prince, then I'll accept whatever you're willing to give me." +

He bursts out laughing. "It's better, it's much better now! You improved my mug, and the mug improves the quality of the hot chocolate inside of it. And it started excellent, so imagine how good this is to me." He takes another sip and shakes his head. +

"Hold on." He kisses the whipped cream off Rose's nose. "There." +

"We do have the entire day to be alone together." He eats a small bit of the whipped cream using one of his fingers. "Later sounds good." +

"You made me a cup of heart chocolate? That's so sweet of you, thank you." He sits beside him. "Tell me which cup is mine. I'd use my wizard powers to make sure I'm not taking yours, but I used up all of it freeing you from that curse." +

"Hi. Listen, I'm not a knight. I'm a wizard. I'm just borrowing the appearance of a knight to satisfy the conditions of the curse." He pretends to study him. "Gosh, I heard the rumors, but you really are handsome." +

Ted solved his share of problems for the day. He had to take calls. And then send messages. And then take other calls based on the replies to those messages. And so on and so forth. Once the process was over, he could fully appreciate that they had the whole day to themselves. +

"When you do come back to it, and I'm not even going to ask about it, the timing is completely your choice; you only need to talk about one reason at a time. If anything feels too difficult to talk about or you change your mind about whether it feels necessary to share, pin it or toss it." +

Anything for you.

I have a better bug for that. It returns to the location of its "nest" once daily. Hit the button on the nest, and it comes back immediately. It can be attached to anything that always needs to return to one place.

And practical for anything frequently used!

I'm working on bug legs and antennae that can be attached to any item to move it around. I'm using a laser pointer to control where the items move.

"Mess this up? You're beyond okay with me right now. If I didn't like you, I wouldn't tell you anything. I love you too, so I want us to be on the same page." He waves a hand. "Forget about telling me. The point isn't transparency, it's making sure you feel like you can talk to me." +

I promise!

Ted moves closer to him. "It's not that you can't talk about me. You just can't switch to the concept of talking about me or something that isn't actually a subject to talk about. Because it delays my ability to shift your attention after I cause that feeling." +