Playing to Win [Pod/Zen]

[kevna]

Siorreya - Green Amagetith

She whistled as she moved along, her steps sure and brisk. It had been easy enough to fine out where Podrell stayed. The woman she had asked for directions had looked at her funny, studied the knots at her shoulder critically before finally giving them to her. She paid the strangeness no mind, it wasn’t as if she was visiting him in the middle of the night. In fact, it was the wee hours of the morning, which seemed like a safe enough time of day to visit him.

Things had felt different between them since her illness, and she had allowed herself to get too complacent, too comfortable with him. That strange feeling she had felt when in his arms just weeks ago still plagued her, and she had seduced him a few times in an effort to overcome it. Ama’s rise hadn’t done anything to the feeling either, other than provide a short distraction from it. Her father’s visit had been a wake-up call. She had lost sight of the fact that Podrell was playing a game too, and her father’s visit a few days ago had reminded her that all men were liars, not trustworthy. She wanted to trust Podrell, and that scared her. It was time to step up her own game, time for the final plays, time to win and move on. The vote for Lord Holder was only a week away, and then he would be done with her. It was better to finish on her terms, not his. 

She had a plan, a fun prank to start off, and then a dare that he was sure to pass on. It would secure her victory, and his anger would do the rest. Push him away. Make it easier on her to avoid him. She stopped before the door, staring at, willing her hand to raise and knock. She didn’t really want to do this. Ama thought it was foolish. If her forgetful dragon liked him, then there really was a problem though, wasn’t there? It was proof of the danger. She took a breath and knocked on the door. She schooled her face so that it showed just the right emotions, a mix of nervousness, maybe a little fear, and embarrassment. It was hard, she wanted to giggle at the show, but not yet. She couldn’t ruin it too soon. She waited for the door to open.

“Hey, we need to talk… Do you have a moment?” Just the right level of intensity. She bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling.

Zen

[Zen]

Podrell

He felt scattered, the closer the vote got. He never felt scattered, he was always collected… almost always… until recently, until Siorreya. Podrell didn’t know how to sort out everything he was thinking, everything he was feeling, and it all just seemed to intensify with each day that passed, drawing toward the inevitable conclusion of his current state of limbo here at Mavros. He hadn’t put as much effort into winning as he had originally planned. He had spent far too much time with Siorreya, clearly. The visit from Nalyra a few days ago still had him paranoid. Had people really noticed or had she been put up to it, to get in his head? If so it had worked.

He didn’t know what he really wanted anymore, or rather he did, and he knew he could never have it. And even if he could, then what? Being with Siorreya was hardly a plan for the future. What else would he do? It wasn’t like the Weyr had much need for a glasscrafter and that wasn’t what he really wanted anyway. He didn’t know what he wanted if he lost his chance at Lordship and he was growing more and more concerned that he’d let himself get too distracted to win it. It would be his own fault if it slipped through his fingers, and then he wouldn’t have the Lordship or Siorreya. Shells but he really had made a mess for himself.

It seemed like they’d gotten closer while she was sick. They’d done so much talking… or, well, he had anyway. She had asked him things he had never imagined she would ask, mundane but personal things, things maybe he shouldn’t have told her exactly for this reason. He had wanted to avoid her after she’d gotten better, but as usual, his self control wriggled from his grasp where she was concerned. There was so little time left until the vote and then it would be over anyway, so what did it matter? Only it did matter. He should have been doing anything else but going to see her.

The knock on his door made him jump and he stared at it suspiciously for a moment before standing to see who was on the other side. Nalyra really had made him paranoid. He wasn’t at all expecting to see Siorreya, however, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight of her. She looked… oddly serious. Nalyra’s line of questioning came back to him and he hurried her inside so he could shut the door, “Of course, come in. What… ah… what is it?” He stood with his back pressed against the door as though he was expecting someone to come break it down and find them together at any moment. His brow furrowed as he looked her over, her serious features so unnatural for her, “Are you alright?”

kevna

[kevna]

Siorreya - Green Amagetith

She barely had time to note the widening of his eyes before he ushered her inside quickly, shutting the door and leaning against it. Was he… Ashamed? Worried they’d get caught and his honor questioned? Well, a little to late for that wasn’t it? Her brief spark of annoyance bolstered her spirit, which she needed now being face to face, hearing the… feigned concern. It sounded so real, shard it all.

“I…” Even the bolstering still made it hard, so she turned from him, rubbing her face. It was all part of the act. Her first play. “I’m-no. No, I’m not.” She turned back around; her lower lip gnashed between her teeth, and she looked at his face, but didn’t meet his eyes. She took another deep breath and looked down at her hands, which she placed over her stomach. “I’m pregnant, Podrell.” It was so ridiculous, could he even believe it? Would he even assume that it was his? She peered up at his face, wary for his reaction. At least that much was true about her performance. She kept telling herself it was just a harmless prank, she just wanted to see him dance a little. It was just the first play, that’s all. It was necessary. 

[Zen]

Podrell

She was acting so strange, it was hardly surprising when she admitted that no, she wasn’t alright. He finally moved away from the door, closer to her, the previous turmoil of thoughts whirling about his mind consumed by concern for her. He couldn’t begin to guess what could make her act like this. She looked up at him but didn’t quite seem to be able to meet his eyes, and when she finally admitted just what was wrong, it took him quite a while to form a response, because why would she be here telling him about it if the child wasn’t his?

After a stretched out silence, his mouth finally started working again, though his mind hadn’t quite caught up enough to form anything coherent to say, “I… are… you’re… but, I thought….” Finally a train of thought that made some sense. He was pretty sure he’d heard that riders had a hard time conceiving because of how often they went between, or something like that. So how had she? And… couldn’t she just get rid of it if she wanted? Did that mean she did want it? Or this was….

He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to make sense of what he knew and what she was telling him, things just not matching up. The conclusion he came to was that either she was lying, which was a new low, or she for some reason wanted to keep the baby she had somehow managed to conceive, which seemed far less likely. Why would she not be okay if she was choosing to keep it? His hand dropped from his face and he watched her suspiciously for a moment, feeling tense with irritation that she would ever think lying about something like that was a good idea, and feeling like a complete fool for believing her at all. “Do you think you’re funny?” he growled.

kevna

[kevna]

Siorreya - Green Amagetith

His reaction was better than she had expected as he stuttered, trying to comprehend what was going on. His grasping brought a small smile to her lips, and she quickly brought a hand up to cover the smile, smothering it. She felt the thrill of triumph, a satisfaction, because this time she had the upper hand. Hadn’t Podrell made Sio feel gullible once too often? She was sure there were lies she had believed that he had told, and now here she was able to get him to believe a lie she had told.

He rubbed his face, then his intense gaze landed on her again, the growing irritation in his face plain. His growled reply widened her smile under her hand, and she let out a muffled laugh, which she allowed into a full laugh as she removed her hand. She backed up, shaking her head, until her legs hit the bed and she plopped down onto it. “What? No, ‘I’ll help you support it,’ or ‘I’ll do right by you?’" She snickered, her hands moving behind her to support her as she leaned back. “Can’t have that can you, with the vote around the corner? Is that why you ushered me in like a married man hiding his whore?” Her smile didn’t falter.

“Maybe I’m just giving you practice for when the mundane living of Lordship is getting you down, and you take a mistress, only for her to get pregnant. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? I think I got your blood pumping.” She smirked.

[Zen]

Podrell

Her laugh was enough to answer his question, and confirm that he was correct. A disgusted sort of look passed over his features, “If you were actually carrying my child, then yes, I would help you with it. I don’t even know what that would look like with you being a rider, but I would figure it out. Shells, Siorreya, that’s not something you lie about!” It was more than just being caught in her little joke. There were some topics that were completely inappropriate to joke about, some places you just shouldn’t go, and that was one of them.

“Is that why you ushered me in like a married man hiding his whore?”

“No, that isn’t-” but he had spoken before he’d really thought about it, and he had hurried her inside, worried that people would see her, and that was… a decent comparison, wasn’t it? That’s not how he meant to treat her, but… shells. His gaze narrowed at her as she continued, talking some nonsense about him taking a mistress. “What in Faranth’s name are you going on about? I would never be so careless as a Lord. And just what would I need a mistress for when I’d have a wife?” But saying it, and saying it to Siorreya, felt… wrong, somehow. He couldn’t imagine wanting any woman like he wanted her.

Even now, while she seemed to be doing her best to insult him for no sharding reason. “Why did you come here? Just to call my honor into question and try to make me angry?” Hadn’t they been… enjoying each other lately? They still battled wills, argued and bantered, but he wouldn’t change that, it kept things interesting. This was different, though. For some reason she seemed far more mean spirited today. “What’s wrong with you? Have I offended you in some way?”

kevna

[kevna]

Siorreya - Green Amagetith

“Ah, the honorable Podrell. Oh really? What things are appropriate to lie about? You would know as a politician, right? Things like piracy? Tell me, what do you really think about piracy here at Mavros?” Her voice came out sharper than she meant it to, and her pointed dig wasn’t intentional either. It just burst forth, as if she wasn’t capable of holding it together anymore. She managed a breathless chuckle, trying to soften her words and make it seem like it didn’t bother her as much as it really had. The graduation feast had revealed his true colors, and she wondered what might have happened if Asirikai hadn’t danced them so close by Podrell to do so… Even still she had needed a harsh reminder like her father coming to visit.

She caught the way he cut off his denial at her whore reference, and it looked like wheels were turning in his head, as if he figured whatever lie he had been about to spin wouldn’t be convincing enough. Podrell might be a master liar, but he had played his cards in this instant and she had called him out on it. He seemed to segue with her, avoiding finishing his denial. Her jaw tightened and she felt queasy at the mention of a wife. That was sharding deadglow. She shook her head at the response. “Marriage doesn’t mean anything, it’s a piece of paper, not a bond. Straying happens once boredom sets in.” She waved her hand dismissively. Being bound to a dragon was as real to love and commitment as possible for a man, and even a woman. Maybe that’s why the idea of children never drew her. Because she feared she would hurt them as her father hurt her. As her mother had hurt her.

“Why did you come here? Just to call my honor into question and try to make me angry?”

“I came to play the game.” She didn’t just mean their game of truth or dare, which is why she didn’t specify it. Siorreya was watching him closely, was it working? Was he really angry? It was always so hard to tell with him. He kept her on her toes, and normally she enjoyed that about him, but in this moment she just wanted to know. Know with a certainty, what was running through his head.

“What’s wrong with you? Have I offended you in some way?”

She blinked, surprised by the question. Of all the things he could have said, she hadn't expected that. What was wrong with her was she had made a mistake, and she needed to rectify it now, before he used any perceived weakness to do what she had refused to allow another man to do to her. Break her. Her hissed, ‘You broke me,’ she had aimed at her father still hung in the air around her, the constant reminder that if one could do it, another could too, especially if she was foolish enough to allow it. There was something very wrong with her.

“Offended? Do I look offended?” She asked casually, trying to remain relaxed, to look at ease. “I came to play the game,” she repeated, shrugging again. “I have my dare for you.” She refrained from biting her lip, trying not to appear weak in any way. “I had to rush off so fast last-“She cut herself off, a small, actual genuine smile twitched at her lips for a breath, before she replaced it with an edgier grin. “I was late you know. But at least I have a good one for you now. You still pick dare, right?” The smallest corner of her mind wanted him to change his mind.

[Zen]

Podrell

He stiffened at her accusation, still trying to figure out just why she was acting this way. It had come out of nowhere. His brows rose in surprise and confusion as she brought up the piracy at Mavros, asking him what he really thought. He didn’t miss her emphasis on the word ‘really’ but had no idea just what she was getting at. What did that have to do with anything? “What are you talking about?” He was completely lost. “When have you ever been interested in my opinions on the issues at Mavros?” He honestly wasn’t sure if she really wanted an answer to the question or if she was trying to make some kind of point he was missing. She was acting so strange.

He didn’t know why it was such a blow to hear her dismiss marriage so casually. She was a dragonrider, it should make sense, right? Dragonriders didn’t marry, not that he knew of anyway. “Marriage means something to me,” he shot back, “And isn’t a commitment I would enter into with any intention of betraying my wife, especially in such a manner, boredom or no.” Once again he was reminded of just how impossible a future for them would ever be. They had completely different values at their core. How could they ever reconcile those differences to actually make something together? It didn’t stop him from wanting to try, as foolish as he knew it was. He needed to start letting her go, not continue to cling to her and what could never be.

The game? He let out a soft, humorless laugh. He could very well have asked her which game because it seemed like she had invented a new one in which she did her best to confuse and disorient him with nonsensical babble. “Tch. You tell me. With the way you’ve been acting, it’s like my very presence offends you. You’re coming quite heavy with the insults today and I hardly think I deserve it. So clearly I did something to upset you and don’t know what it is.” That’s what made the most sense, anyway. He had seen it happen before, a man stepping out of line with a woman in a way he didn’t understand and getting, well, this sort of treatment in return.

Her announcement that she had his dare ready had his jaw clenching in annoyance. He was hardly in the mood for this game right now. He eyed her suspiciously as she seemed to be giving him the chance to back out. That was odd too. “I didn’t know changing your mind was an option in our little game. I already made my choice. What’s the dare?”

kevna

[kevna]

Siorreya - Green Amagetith

“What are you talking about?... When have you ever been interested in my opinions on the issues at Mavros?”

“Nothing!” She threw her hands up, wishing she had had more control of her tongue. Just the idea of saying that she had overheard Podrell’s conversations and the way he had manipulated his words to make it sound like he agreed with everyone no matter what, sounded ridiculous and embarrassing. Confronting him and telling him he was a liar now just sounded childish, and like she cared a little too much. “I’m not interested. Just… forget it.” She muttered sharply, chagrined, and she brushed her long bangs she kept swept to one side back and away from her face.

Her eyebrows rose in surprise at the vehemence behind Podrell’s return. She had hit a nerve unknowingly on the marriage subject. Had he found a woman already, and was feeling defensive? She bridled at the thought, shaking her head. “People have a way of saying something and then doing the exact opposite, despite intentions. But the very best luck with that.” Her voice was a mix of sarcasm and mockery. She wondered if he really did mean it now, and what he would think of himself in time when her words proved her correct. They would, surely. His wife would get fat after babies, then she’d get white hair from the stress of raising the four or five children and their constant quarrelling his wife and he would engage in. She’d get wrinkles as she got older and have less energy, and suddenly seem a lot less exciting. Isn’t that how Gran’s marriage had turned out? It sounded all too right. Would her mother’s life have been that dismal life if she had successfully convinced G’der to remain with them?

“With the way you’ve been acting, it’s like my very presence offends you. You’re coming quite heavy with the insults today and I hardly think I deserve it. So clearly I did something to upset you and don’t know what it is.”

He was right. ‘Yes, you did do something. You made me feel something I can’t allow myself to feel.’ But she very well couldn’t tell him that. Shards, she could barely tell herself that. Would he mock her? Laugh at his triumph? Continue to manipulate her? “Or maybe I’m just being me, you don’t have to like it.” She huffed defensively, giving her best glare, running a hand through her hair with frustration. This wasn’t really how she had meant this conversation to go. She had meant to be light, and happy, and untouchable. Yet Podrell’s gaze made her feel touched and seen way too much. So of course, she lashed out. She was mad at him. She wanted to remain mad at him because that was an emotion she understood.

She ignored the barb, because he was right, she didn’t give second chances normally. She shouldn’t have here. It was out of character. She formulated the wording of her dare, making sure there was no way around it, while at the same time looking at her escape. He was between her and the door. It would make escape a little more difficult, but she was faster than him. Well… For short bursts at least, since his long legs could quickly overcome her. All she needed was the short burst to get out of the room. He wouldn’t dare tarnish his reputation by chasing after her in public. She took a breath. “I dare you to drop out of the Lord Holder vote and accept Maz’ru’s invitation to become a candidate.” She stood up, feeling vulnerable on the cot, warily waiting for the anger she knew would come, ready to leap around him and out the door, to escape the wrath. She started to move slowly, to circle him, trying to get to the door without startling him, as if he were a scared flit. Or an angry one.

[Zen]

Podrell

Had she ever been as confusing and frustrating as she was being right now? “You’re not making any sense!” he threw his hands up in return, because he couldn’t make heads or tails of her right now. Just what game was she playing? She was driving him absolutely crazy with this nonsense. Why had she even asked then? Was it just a point he had missed? He shook his head slightly. He couldn’t continue to wonder about it, he was never going to find sense where there was none to be had.

She wasn’t letting go of her opinion on marriage, it seemed, and mostly he just thought it was sad. “My parents haven’t strayed from each other. I told you about them, when you were sick…. Marriage may not be easy but having a lifelong partner is worth the work you put in to maintain it. I suppose that wouldn’t matter to you… you already have a lifelong partner.” He had never imagined being jealous of a dragon but for just a moment, he was. Amagetith had already claimed her heart.

He didn’t believe her for an instant when she refuted that she was only being herself. “You’re not being you,” he insisted, “In all the time I’ve spent with you since coming here, you’ve never once acted like this.” Why couldn’t she just tell him what was wrong? What was so hard about that? And why did he have to want so badly for her to confide in him when he should be distancing himself from her?

The dare she finally challenged him with had him staring at her for a moment in shock. Drop out? Become a candidate? With the vote so close? His doubts crept back in, how he wasn’t so sure he had done enough anyway, but he still wasn’t willing to give it up. It was the only chance he would ever have. Hadn’t he explained it to her? He had to see it through, to give himself that chance. He wasn’t sure just how he felt about it, his shocked gaze focusing in on her, “How could you ask me to do that? I might as well have dared you to give up Amagetith and… and be my Lady for all the chance that it will happen! I’m not giving up what I want most for your stupid game!”

Even as he said it, he knew it wasn’t exactly true, but he couldn’t give up his chance to find out, not when it was so close. He couldn’t have what he really wanted most anyway, and after how she’d been acting, how she’d treated him, he wasn’t so sure he wanted that either. “So I suppose that’s a win for you. Are you pleased with yourself, daring me to do something there’s no chance I would ever consider?” his tone was vaguely disgusted, as he still couldn’t believe she would stoop that low just to win a round of sharding truth or dare, especially after she had asked him why he wanted it and he had given her an honest answer.

Everything he’d been thinking and feeling before she’d knocked on his door coupled with everything she was saying and doing now just crashed into a wild mess in his head and left him even more confused, more frustrated, and downright angry about his entire situation. Why was she doing this? And if she was going to be so careless about his dreams, why the shell had he wasted so much time on her? He thought again about having a lifelong partner… and knew now more than ever that it couldn’t, shouldn’t be Siorreya. He needed a partner that would support him, not belittle what he wanted in some stupid sharding game.

She was moving around him, he finally noticed, seemed like she was trying to get to his door, and he thought that was probably about the best idea she had ever had. “Letting myself get caught up with you was a mistake,” he spat, hiding his own hurt over this entire ordeal with anger, “Congratulations on your win, Siorreya. I’m done playing your senseless games. You’ve been too much of a distraction for quite long enough.” He didn’t know what he could salvage in a short sevenday, but he was sure going to try, now that he wouldn’t be preoccupied with her.

kevna

[kevna]

Siorreya - Green Amagetith

They had never strayed as far as he knew. He didn’t know everything. “Don’t even think of comparing Amagetith to your standards of partnership. You’re idealistic view can’t even measure up. You could never understand.” She hissed vehemently, furious at the comparison. Human to human relationships were fallible, but her relationship with Amagetith was unerring and certain, and Podrell was a fool for even thinking there could be similarities. What was wrong with her? Why in the shells was she spiraling? She took a few unsteady breaths, trying to settle herself. He was right in part; she didn’t need anyone but Amagetith.

“Or maybe you just haven’t been paying attention.” She muttered, shaking her head, unwilling to admit anything. He couldn’t know her that well. Not that much time had passed, right?

“What?” She choked as she heard his next comparison, belittling her bond with Ama and confusing her all at once. His Lady? As if he would even consider that. Why in the shells would he have even said it? Siorreya gave a harsh barking laugh, mocking. “Your example is-is absurdly naive. Are you willing to die if you don’t get your asinine title? Because that’s what would happen to me if I lost Ama, everything about me would be ripped away. It’s not some mere fancy, some insignificant desire, it’s a bond. She is a part of me as I am a part of her.” Her tone was derisive and raised, thinking just how laughable his comparison had been, how utterly ignorant he was. Had he listened to her at all when she had described the way they communicated, their mind link? Obviously not.

“You suppose I won? I won Podrell, I don’t see why I wouldn’t be pleased about it. I discovered your weakness and exploited it. Isn’t that how politicians play their games? And don’t gripe to me about choice, because choice for you is there.” She bit out, her anger morphing to fury. He had plenty of choice. It wasn’t like she was asking him to jump off a cliff or stab himself in the gut. His disgust at her for beating him, using his own methods against him, was hypocritical. As if a woman couldn’t be a better politician. She had outwitted him.

She knew he’d be angry, that’s why she had dared it of him. This is what she had wanted. She was just as angry, which was good. But hearing those words felt like falling into the ocean mid-winter, and had her freezing in place, her face blank for a moment. “Yes, it was.” She agreed quietly, again shaking her head, a harsh angry smile on her face. “And yet you were so easily distracted from what you really want… Makes ya wonder if you have the passion to be Lord Holder.” She had met cruel blow for blow, and that was the last nail in the coffin, her reference derived from his expression of lack for passion throughout his Glass Craft hall experience that he had shared while she had dozed in her sickbed. She’d backed up to the door, turning and taking hold of the door, opening it, and moved to her escape.

[Zen]

Podrell

Everything was a new argument. Everything. “I didn’t even say that!” his point had rather been the opposite, that she didn’t need to find and work to keep a lifelong human partner because she already shared an unbreakable bond with a dragon. Though she was right about one thing, he certainly would never understand. Not how a rider’s bond with their dragon worked, and not her either. It seemed like she had come here to see him purely to pick a fight and he couldn’t begin to guess why. Was she just taking her anger from something else out on him or had he really done something to her? He didn’t think he would ever know at this rate.

He shook his head, rubbing his hand over his face again as she once more threw his lack of knowledge about dragons and dragonriders back at him. He hadn’t even exactly meant it like that, he just… wasn’t wording things well right now, which only ever seemed to happen around her. He was speaking without thinking, but it was hard to think when she was being so sharding confusing.

“Why does it seem like everything is coming back to me being a politician?” How many times had she thrown some jab about politicians at him now? Why was he even still trying to comprehend her erratic behavior? He was about convinced she’d just plain gone insane, and he was very over her constant insults and arguing when he had done absolutely nothing to deserve it as far as he was concerned. And since she wasn’t anymore forthcoming with a reason, he couldn’t imagine she really had one.

”Makes ya wonder if you have the passion to be Lord Holder.”

It felt like a physical blow, somehow, as if she’d punched him right in the gut and knocked the air from his lungs. Was she really throwing that at him? Something he had told her… something he had never told anyone. It took him a long moment to draw in a sharp breath that for some reason felt painful. Why had he ever cared about her? She clearly had never given a damn about him. She was already leaving. She really had just come here to start a fight, to insult him… to hurt him. He’d already wasted too much time on her, he didn’t need to waste anymore wondering at her motivations. Maybe she’d gotten bored of him and this was the last game she wished to play. He didn’t know, and he honestly couldn’t bring himself to care. It was for the best anyway.

There were so many things that came to mind, things he could say to try to hurt her back again, but he just… didn’t care anymore. He knew his own worth and if this was how she wanted to treat him, he didn’t need to grant her one more moment of his time or attention. If she wanted to pretend she had ‘won’ whatever sick game this was because he didn’t stoop even lower for a worse insult, she could go right ahead. He had far more important things to do. He turned away from her, offering her only a cold, indifferent, “Goodbye, Siorreya.”

kevna

[kevna]

Siorreya - Green Amagetith

“Yes you did!” She exclaimed. She felt tense all over and couldn’t help but run over his words again and again to make sure. He made her doubt herself, and she hated it. At least in this, after running the words through her mind, she was right. He had said he was searching for a lifelong partner, and then called Ama her lifelong partner. He had said it the way she had heard it.

“Why does it seem like everything is coming back to me being a politician?”

“Because I see what you are and I can play your game just as well as you.” Her voice was intense. Probably too intense. It hid her need to play this game all the way through. Her anger towards him for even putting her in this position. She should have sounded neutral. Well, it had come out as it had come out, hadn’t it? This had all gone so differently in her mind, and escape was the only relief she would get from everything they had said, and everything she had felt.

She was out the door, but she heard his goodbye. Devoid of emotion. She clung to that sound, the simple phrase. It would be her comfort. Because that’s how he felt toward her, devoid of any permanent emotion. How she had let him play so close to her, for so long, she couldn't fathom. He would lose himself in his goals, and she would flee back to who she had resolved herself to be. Unflappable. Happy. Untouchable.