Oh no! I upset a Russian bot with my post about exercising my right as an American citizen to protest!
Now, I'm all about discussing things as adults, even if it's a touchy subject such as the current political state. But I will admit it is satisfying to see the opposition has nothing to contribute to the conversation. I wonder if it's because they know there's nothing but straws for them to grasp on to. 🤔
Challenge #03481-I193: Let's Dumb That Down For You
Despite multiple times being told NOT to do it, a Knomira ends up mixing multiple cleaning chemicals to "Clean their room properly." Ends up in an ICU pod with many in hazmat suits trying to clean the mess. -- Lessons
When she woke up, Iyn had the terrifying realisation that she was not breathing. She could glimpse the edges of some complicated machinery on her face and chest. She could not move. The screen above her eyes faded out from colourful blobs to a cutesy cartoon avatar.
"Welcome back," said a character clearly designed for children. "You've done some dangerous, dangerous things and had a BIIIIIIG oopsie. We found out that you were told not to do the dangerous thing, so these educational messages have been adjusted to your learning level!" This news was associated with a canned cheer from an offscreen audience.
Iyn wanted to scream. She wanted to throw things. She especially wanted to punch the too-cute cartoon avatar in the face. The thing that made it worse was that she was paralysed for her own protection.
“Even the most ordinary things can be made extraordinary simply by doing it with the right people”
“If you mention those hot pants once more Maggie, I am ending this phone call.”
Robyn looked to Taron who was further down the aisle looking at the baking items on the shelf, holding onto the trolley he had insisted they got. Robyn normally used a basket or a re-useable shopping bag, rather than a trolley but Taron quickly routed through his pockets for some change so he could pop a euro into the slot to free a trolley.
“Robyn, he has been at your house now for a week, surely you have seen some sort of hot pants style outer garments.”
Robyn ended the call with her friend and walked over to Taron. “You don’t need to put the icing in Taron. We will make our own.”
“Let’s keep it.” He said taking it from Robyn’s hands as she went to put it back on the shelf.
“Taron, we don’t need chocolate icing. We are going to make some vanilla icing.”
He threw the pot of chocolate buttercream back into the trolley. “So, then we do need it.”
Robyn looked to the phone that was ringing in her hands again. As they walked around the shop, Robyn’s phone had rung, her friend from Florida a little worried that she hadn’t heard from her in over a week. She filled the American in quickly and when Maggie had heard that Taron had arrived at Robyn’s house, she couldn’t help but utter the words hots pants.
“I am sorry. Don’t hang up on me again.”
Robyn followed Taron as he wheeled the trolley, rolling her eyes as he took random items from the shelf and put them in the trolley.
“Then let’s have a nice low-key conversation Maggie and a quick one. I need to stop Taron from buying the whole coffee section. Taron, we don’t need coffee beans.” She said as she put them back on the shelf, after he had put them in the trolley.
“Robyn?”
“Sorry Maggie, Taron is… Taron!” Robyn walked into him as he stopped. “We don’t need those coffee beans either! Sorry Maggie.”
As the bruising on his face had finally started to fade a little, when Taron grinned widely, it just made him look like a cheeky little boy up to no good.
“But coffee?” He said innocently.
Robyn grabbed his right hand. “Maggie I am going to have to call you back.” She ended the call and pushed the phone into her jeans pocket.
“Coffee?” Asked Taron again, laughing as Robyn sighed. “Ok ok! I am sorry!” He swung his arm around Robyn’s waist. “I will be good I promise. I promise.” He kissed her hair. “I will push the trolley and you can put the shopping in.”
Robyn looked in the trolley. “You do realise I live alone right? I don’t need most of this stuff and we only came in for the surprises for the cake.”
“So, we can’t put jam inside the cake?” Asked Taron.
“We can put the jam on some toast but not on the cake.” She walked back to the baking shelf. “We can put these icing shapes inside and sugar strands and this unicorn confetti.” She handed the items to Taron and he put them in the trolley. “Now follow me.” She walked him around to the sweet aisle. “Jellies can go inside as well as chocolate buttons, white and milk and popping candy.”
Taron took everything from Robyn as she handed them to her. “These will stick to jam.”
“Hence why we don’t put jam inside the cake Taron. When you cut the cake, all the stuff inside will tumble out and that’s the surprise.”
“I knew that.” He said as he pulled a packet of Jelly Babies from the shelf. “I just like jam on stuff.” Taron turned to look at Robyn. “You are going to put me in time out, aren’t you?” He said, her face not giving away anything except maybe a slight annoyance, but as she stood with her hands on her hips, his stomach flipped with those butterflies he had been experiencing all week.
“I don’t put kids in time out but there are consequences for unwanted behaviour.”
“Consequences?” He asked, stepping closer to her. “Such as?”
“No baking, head massage or cookies.” Robyn folded her arms over her chest. “Taron! Quit it!” He had reached around her and pulled three bars of chocolate off the shelf and they fell straight into the trolley behind her. “Jesus I should have had another coffee.” Robyn ran her hands through her hair and looked at him. “Do you want to sleep outside tonight?”
Taron chuckled. “You would never.”
“You think you know me Taron but really, do you? Do you?”
Another wonderful laugh filled his body. “I can go to your parents’ house.”
It was too hard to stay even slightly frustrated with him, especially when his eyes creased at the side and his beautiful dimples appeared when his smile filled his whole face or even more so when he initiated a hug so warm and tight, it made her smile wide.
“Can we keep the chocolate please? I absolutely promise I will be good and listen. I am sorry. You know I love you.” Taron stopped for a second when he realised what he said but quickly continued. “Today, so far, has been perfect and sometimes I just get giddy, maybe a little too giddy.”
“I like you giddy.” She admitted. “I like it because I have seen it when you are not giddy and I don’t like that so stay giddy Taron.” She moved away a little from him but her arms were still around his waist. “Always stay giddy.” Taron winked at her. “You’re such a fucking messer.” She added when his smile turned to a smirk, her own face giving into a smile as his eyes sparkled in the lights of the store.
Taron gave her another squeeze and a soft kiss again on her head. “So, what else does this cake need?”
They made it back to Robyn’s house in one piece, Taron being very well behaved and once again insisting he paid for the groceries. “To be fair, you only wanted about five things in here so let me pay.” He helped her to pack away everything too, both leaving out the ingredients to bake the cake with.
“Do you need the recipe book?” Asked Taron as he pulled his hoodie off with a little struggle as the stretch hurt a bit. He threw it on the couch and walked to the island where Robyn had moved her kitchen aid too so they would have more space.
“Nope. I know this recipe off.” She quickly tied her hair up in a loose high pony tail. “Ok so first things first, let’s line the baking tins.”
“First things first, music.” Corrected Taron. “Hey Alexa play The Script.”
“Ohh good choice.”
“I saw they were on your spotify library.”
“Good Irish band.”
“Right so baking tins.”
Robyn showed Taron how to line the first of the seven baking tins and he easily helped to line the remaining six with her.
“Pre-heat oven to one eighty.” She instructed. “And now we weigh all the ingredients.”
It was a baking partnership that worked very well, just as everything else they did together and quickly they had the all the cake batter mixing.
“That is a lot of cake.”
“We have a lot of cakes to make, which by way, what on earth are me and you going to do with a seven-layer rainbow cake?”
“Eat it?” Answered Taron slowly.
“A seven-layer cake?”
“Ok eat some of it.”
Robyn flicked some flour Taron’s way as she shook her head, only to feel something hit her arm. She looked at him but he had found something to stare at on the ceiling so she flung some more flour at him, the white powder leaving obvious traces on his black t-shirt.
“Are you really going to start this?” He asked, finally looking to her.
“Yes I am.” She replied throwing a handful of flour his way, Taron looking down as it hit his chest.
“You are really going to start this.” He asked again stepping closer to her, his own hand creeping into the bag of sugar beside him. “This terrible cliched scene of throwing flour at each other.”
“Why not.” She said cupping some more flour and chucking it at him, his right arm now white and dusty.
“Robyn…” He started but stopped when more flour hit the crotch of his jeans. “That was a low blow.” He smiled.
“No, this is a low blow.” She said taking three quick steps closer to him and landing a pile of flour on his head, fluffing his hair. “Feel like a head massage?” She asked.
“Do you?” He asked as he held onto her left arm and sprinkle the sugar in his hand onto her head.
Laughter, shouts and squeals filled the air as a full on flour and sugar war ensued, neither holding back, Taron taking advantage of his strength at one point holding Robyn firm around her waist as he buried his hand into the bag of flour and dipped his hand behind the neck of t-shirt, dropping the flour down her back. She managed to squirm her way out as and retaliated by dumping the whole bag of sugar over his head. Luckily Robyn knew where she kept the spare bags of flour and while Taron brushed sugar from his face, she pulled a second bag from the press and opened it quickly, getting two hands inside, flinging it towards Taron again.
“Shit where did you get that!”
“I shall never tell my secrets!” Laughed Robyn as she pulled two more handfuls from the bag but once again Taron grabbed her tightly and even as she tried to throw the flour at him over her shoulder, it mostly went on her, both in stitches as white dust filled Robyn’s kitchen, the kitchen aid and music still going in the background.
Lifting Robyn a little so he could walk, Taron managed to get to the bag of flour she had found and got his left hand into it. Robyn grabbed his hand, doing her best to keep it at arm’s length and while shaking his hand, Taron’s aim missed as went to throw it at her.
“Another bites the dust!” She sang as Taron let her go. She moved quickly to pick up the bag of flour, holding it in her hands.
He took two strides towards her and pulled on the paper packaging at the same time as Robyn threw the bag at him but with both of their hands on the bag, it went up rather towards Taron, flour spilling over the two of them like a shower of water. Robyn still had some of the ripped paper in her hands and took a step to throw it at Taron, but lost her footing and slipped on the flour on the tiled floor and fell hard onto the ground her left shoulder hitting the floor first before she lay flat in the white mess on the floor.
“Shit Robyn!” Taron got to his knees and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Are you ok?”
It wasn’t the answer he was expecting but Robyn started to laugh and laugh hard, her whole body shaking as she giggled. When she opened her eyes and looked at Taron, she laughed even harder, Taron quickly joining her as he sat back on his heels.
“Seriously though, are you ok?” He asked.
“Yeah I am good.” Robyn moved to sit up, rolling her left shoulder a little. “Ow.” She said quietly giggling a little. “That was karma coming to bite me for starting this.”
“This?” Taron looked around the kitchen. “This was fun. I enjoyed this.” He blew on his nose as Robyn picked up a pinch of flour from the floor and tossed it at him.
“Oh no your head.” Robyn gently brushed some flour from Taron’s forehead, his face wincing a little. “Probably not the best to have flour in there.” She said as, as she move his hair away, Taron closing his eyes as some loose flour fell down onto his face. “Are you ok? Lots of quick movements there. Your ribs ok?”
He opened his eyes and smiled. “I am good. Just a twinge.” He gentled rubbed his side and looked at the mess around them “This was my consequence for my behaviour in the shop, wasn’t it?”
Robyn chuckled. “No. This was just me deciding to be giddy. I saw the flour and just went for it. Knew you would play along and you played along beautifully. You are destroyed in flour and sugar.” She giggled again as she pulled his t-shirt away from his chest and let it bounce back, powder residue floating in the air.
“You are too.” Taron pulled his phone from his pocket. “This needs to go on the wall.” He moved so he was sitting beside her and with a bit of trouble as his hands were covered in flour, finally got his phone unlocked and opening the camera, switched it to selfie mode and took a number of pictures of the two. “We will print them later.” Taron pushed his phone back into his jeans. “You sure you are ok? You hit the ground pretty hard and that’s your sore shoulder.”
“Yeah I am good.” She rolled her shoulder again. “Ugh ow.”
Taron shuffled over to the fridge and pulled open the freezer. He grabbed a pack of frozen fruit from one of the drawers before he closed the door again. He moved back to Robyn and knelt beside her. “Here.” He placed the cold plastic on her left shoulder. “Ice helps right?”
“Yeah ice helps. Thanks Taron.”
“So you really followed through the cheesy movie moment huh?” He asked holding the frozen fruit.
“I saw an opportunity and I ran with it.” She answered enjoying how the cold from the plastic bag on her shoulder eased the slight heat of pain she felt.
“Ran wild with it Robyn.”
“Too be fair I did say we would start this when it wouldn’t hurt you too much the day we made the apple crumble when you started this whole thing.”
Taron grinned. “Yes that is true, I suppose in a round about way.”
“So it really is your fault that this whole thing happened.”
“You are going to try and twist it that way?”
“I am.” She enjoyed how he laughed, laughing herself as more flour floated from him as his body moved. “Are you sure you’re ok?” She asked again. “This hasn’t hurt you has it?”
“No I am good. No more than usual.”
“Well well well, what do we have here?” Taron and Robyn looked and saw someone standing behind the breakfast bar. “Robyn Quinn, what on earth have you and this beautiful man in your kitchen been up too?”
Robyn turned to look at Taron but he spoke before she did. “Claire?”
“Claire.” She confirmed.
Robyn had spoken about her best friend to Taron a lot as they got to know each other, so Taron didn’t need an introduction.
“I can go. You two look like you are in the middle of something.”
“Taron spilt some flour.” Said Robyn. “He’s quite messy!”
Taron chuckled with her and slowly got to his feet, holding out his left hand to help Robyn to her up, putting the frozen fruit on the island.
“Some flour?” Asked Claire as she walked to the edge of the island watching as Taron pulled her friend up. “Some flour? Robyn your kitchen is a state!”
“Meh.”
“Meh? What have you done with my friend?” Asked Claire as she watched the two try to brush themselves down. She had knocked on the door but as usual Robyn hadn’t heard, so she opened the door, letting herself in to see her best friend and the man she had teased her about over a week ago, throwing flour at each other laughing hysterically.
“Believe it or not...” Said Taron as he bent his head over and ruffled his hair, lots of flour and sugar falling to the ground. “Robyn started it.”
“My bad.” Robyn turned the kitchen aid off. “Our cakes might be over mixed now. Woops.”
Taron stood beside her and dipped his finger in the cake batter and tasted it. “Nope. All good.”
“So, you two have been up to all sorts then?” Asked Claire as she pulled a stool over to the side of the island that wasn’t covered in flour.
“This and that.” Replied Robyn, looking at her friend. “Claire this is Taron, Taron, Claire.”
Taron moved around to hold his hand out to shake her hand. “Eh no thank you. I shall wait until you are not covered in flour.”
Taron looked to his arms. “Yeah I might go and wash this off.”
“Oh no you don’t. We need to make this cake before this batter deflates.”
“Seriously?” Asked Taron as Robyn started to pull some large bowls from the bottom press and hand them to him.
“Yes, seriously Taron. It will take us five minutes to finish. You wanted to make the rainbow surprise cake. Claire you mind?”
“Not at all. You continue on. I am going to watch with great amusement.”
Robyn gave Taron another two bowls and he set them on the counter. She joined him with a weighing scales and turned to ask him to get her a spoon when she stopped. “I might just clean your head first Taron. Really didn’t think about that wound when I threw the flour.” Robyn took a clean tea-towel from the drawer and fully drenched it with warm water at the sink before squeezing the water out. She motioned Taron over to her and he did as she asked, allowing Robyn to gently wash the flour from his head, closing his eyes as it stung a little. “Ok that’s better. Just to be sure. Now cake.”
Claire watched on with grin as her friend gently cleaned Taron’s forehead, keeping her right hand on his left jaw and didn’t miss how she rubbed his left cheek with her thumb as she did so, Taron’s eyes on her the whole time unless Robyn hit a sensitive part of his forehead. Claire couldn’t wait to get Robyn alone so she could talk to her.
Quickly, Robyn weighed out the batter and divided it into the seven waiting bowls. She gave Taron the red, orange and yellow food colouring to mix into the batter while she mixed the other colours. They poured the batter into the prepared tins and popped them all into Robyn’s oven.
“Done.” Smiled Taron holding his hands up for a double high five from Robyn, which she gave him laughing. “Now can I go and shower? I am all itchy from the flour.”
“You’re itchy? You threw a handful down my back!”
Taron grinned. “Yes, I did.”
“Go. Go and shower. I will clean up here.”
“Oh no, I will help you clean up first.”
“Taron it’s ok. I can…”
“…. We made the mess together. I will help you.”
“Jesus you two are like an old married couple.” Claire said. “I am going to go and sit on that couch until this place is clean. You continue to argue over it.”
“Two of us together.”
It took Robyn and Taron fifteen minutes to clean up the kitchen, and when they were finished the cakes were ready to come out of the oven too.
“Look at the colours of those!” Smiled Taron. “Proper rainbow.” He helped Robyn to carefully take the cakes out of the tins and lay them on cooling racks. “Now I am going to shower, unless you want to go first.”
“No, you go ahead. I think Claire wants to have a chat.”
“Might take a few extra minutes then.” He said. He had a feeling he was going to be the main topic of conversation between the two friends.
“If you go through the laundry room, you can grab clean towels on the way to the bathroom. Just throw your clothes into the laundry basket in the bathroom. I will wash them with mine later on.”
Taron nodded and followed her advice, closing the bathroom door behind him.
“Is this his?” Asked Claire as she walked back into the kitchen holding Taron’s grey hoodie.
“Yep.”
“Have you smelt this? It smells divine. Although, you do have the real thing. You can always smell him.”
“Claire! At least wait until you hear the shower running before you start talking about him and no, I don’t tend to go around smelling my guests or their clothes.”
“Maybe not but you make flirty goggley eyes at him though. I saw the way you two looked at each other when you were cleaning his head.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.” Repeated Claire. “So…”
“And here you go with this whole ‘so’ thing. My mother did the same thing when we went to dinner.”
“You brought Taron to dinner at your parents?”
“My mam happened to walk in on us having breakfast last weekend and invited us.”
“And…”
“Ugh here we go again. And what?” Claire wiggled her eyebrows, while Robyn rolled her eyes. “So, men and woman can’t be friends now, no?”
“Friends? Friends who have a flour fight while laughing and giggling and just move so close around each other. Seriously, you two are nearly glued at the hip.”
“Whatever Claire.”
“Don’t whatever me Robyn. I see a spark.”
“No what you see are two people who finally feel free from their horrific experience and are enjoying their time together. It’s the first day I have heard him laugh like that. I mean I have heard him laugh but not like that, like for the first time, he doesn’t have the weight of who he is on his shoulders. He hasn’t stopped smiling all day. It was a very different story four days ago and it wasn’t like this last week when he arrived. It might look like all fun and sunshine and yeah most of the time now it is but it hasn’t been. It’s been fucking hard Claire and what you see might be a connection but it’s a connection that sprung from a shocking incident, one that still haunts us both, even though we talk about it every day.”
“You really saved his life.” Robyn nodded. “Seriously, though smell this hoodie. It’s gorgeous. Ok, ok! Sorry, sorry.” Claire walked around the island when she saw her friend’s eyebrows furrow deeply. “When you are not covered in flour, I will hug you. I can’t say I understand what you have been through because I know I won’t be able to but I can try to understand why you both have that connection. You’re friends for life Robyn, a life that he has because of you but I still believe there is a spark. Don’t roll your eyes at me. It’s there.”
“You know what I am going to say.”
“Yeah I do, so don’t. I am glad he came to see you Robyn.”
“Me too.”
“Seriously who are you and what have you done with my stubborn and pig-headed Robyn?”
“She is still here but has learnt it is good to let others in and share your problems.”
“I like him.”
“As does everyone else who has met him. Just my parents and Emma.” Replied Robyn.
“And me.” When her friend smiled sadly, Claire picking up on the change in mood. “Oh dear, what’s that smile for.”
“Just thinking about how quiet this place will be when he goes home.” Robyn stalled for a second when Claire pulled her in for a hug. “What about the flour?”
“I don’t care. You need a hug. Have you talked to him about it yet?”
“Nope.”
“Robyn has he even been home to his home and family?”
“Nope. He came straight to me from Florida.”
“I definitely like him.” Claire hugged her friend tight. “It’s not going to be an easy good bye is it?”
“Nope. I know it has to be done but we have this little bubble around us. Just us.”
“Want me to tell you what I have read on social media?” Asked Claire as she ended the hug.
“Nope.”
“No? It might be as bad as you think it is.”
“No. I don’t want to know. Taron’s publicist Lyndsey has told us not to look and I haven’t. When Taron goes home to Wales, he is going to make a press statement about what happened and ask for our privacy to be respected.”
“You’re going to be famous.”
“I am going to be slaughtered by his fans.”
“Or praised for saving his life. Taron is used to this stuff Robyn. You trust him?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then trust he knows what he is doing when he goes home.”
“I do.”
“Think you will get to go to a movie premier with him?”
Robyn laughed. “Not that I would ever want to but he has already offered.”
“What?”
“We made a deal in the 7/11 that we would have sing off but he is trying to back out. Saw the DVD’s of the musical society.”
“Scaramouche?”
“Yep.”
“Good he needs to be scared. I know he can sing, but you can sing Freddie.”
The girls laughed with each other.
“Robyn talk to him. If you are feeling worried about saying goodbye then you know he has to be too. Imagine how he feels having to leave this protective little home you’ve made for him. It’s Taron who has to go back into the press and media. I’d imagine it’s going to be a lot harder for him.”
Robyn nodded. Taron had already briefly approached the subject of staying with her forever and while she could somewhat hide in her home, Taron had to go back to work eventually and complete many promotional tours, more than likely being asked the same questions over and over.
“Shower is all yours.”
Both girls looked Taron’s way as he walked back into the kitchen, dressed in a black pair of jeans and a white t-shirt.
“Great. You be nice to him.” Robyn pointed her finger at Claire. “I am serious Claire. I will tell him what you have just been doing.”
Taron looked from Robyn to Claire. “What did I miss?”
“Taron, tea? Coffee?” Asked Claire as she pushed his hoodie discreetly across the island.
“Good girl. Just yell if you need saving.”
“And you’ll come running in your nudey nudes?” Laughed Taron.
“To save you from an interrogation, yes I would. Be nice and don’t touch the cakes yet Taron. We still have to make the icing.”
Robyn walked to the bathroom in through the laundry room grabbing two clean towels along the way, closing both doors behind her. Taron had thrown his clothes in the hamper like she had asked him too, along with the towels he had used and when she stepped under the water, she saw that he had fixed her toiletries so her shampoo was once again to her left. Without hesitation she switched them back. She could easily get used to it the way Taron had put it. Letting the water run over her face, Robyn sighed. Their day had been perfect and once Claire left; Robyn knew she was going to ruin it by bringing up the conversation of Taron going home.
I constantly need affection, hugs, kisses, to be recomforted and held. Most people don't understand my needs and that I have some needs basically like a little child's needs. People either think of me I am way too childish and weird, sometimes they even confuse my behaviour with romantic/sexual interest. If I am cuddly, want to sit on laps, hug and kiss cheeks, it's because I like you and I am being "myself" , not because I want to sleep with anyone or am really attracted to them... I wished people would understand my needs and don't have a bad view on me or misunderstand it with attraction. I am very complicated I know, but still - if you try to observe, listen and accept me after a time of analysis, you will always understand better.
I am just like a child, i need lots affection, like to be cuddly without sexual or romantic intention, I sometimes need help with adult responsabilities and similiar, I like to play with children games and draw mandala or use littlespetshop and kiss my stuffies and I have such a big fantqsy and creativity!
But still - just because I may have a child behaviour and needs - I am wise. My opinion should be considered as reasonable. You can give me responsabilities sometimes too and also opportunities. You should respect me like and adult and respect me like a child.
Respect first and more knowledge about me will come.
