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metaverses2022-08-12 08:01 pm
metamods) wrote in metaverses2022-08-12 08:01 pm
CRISIS ON INFINITE DREAMWIDTHS
CRISIS ON INFINITE DREAMWIDTHS
On the morning of August 12th, 2022, the sound of something shattering echoes throughout the world. All metahumans are awoken by a sudden surge of energy rushing through them, sitting bolt upright and breathless. It’s gone as quickly as it comes.
This world has been reconnected with the rest.
At first this is cause for celebration - the Guardian Alliance and the Society put out messages to the dimensionally displaced among them. They are hopeful that this means a return to normal. They’re gathering their mystics and their engineers, and once certain things are stable, they’re sending everyone home.
Their hope is short lived.
Twenty minutes later, mass disappearances are being reported all over the world, with people from other dimensions appearing in their place. Some report that they were just in a world that wasn’t their own - and others claim that they had been going about their life and now they’re here.
Player characters have the option to vanish and be transported to another nexus or to stay and help contain the chaos.
The event is canon to the Metaheroes universe. You are welcome to have your character’s memories of the last week become hazy once the event ends.
You do not need an invite to participate in the fourth wall event.
This world has been reconnected with the rest.
At first this is cause for celebration - the Guardian Alliance and the Society put out messages to the dimensionally displaced among them. They are hopeful that this means a return to normal. They’re gathering their mystics and their engineers, and once certain things are stable, they’re sending everyone home.
Their hope is short lived.
Twenty minutes later, mass disappearances are being reported all over the world, with people from other dimensions appearing in their place. Some report that they were just in a world that wasn’t their own - and others claim that they had been going about their life and now they’re here.
Player characters have the option to vanish and be transported to another nexus or to stay and help contain the chaos.
The event is canon to the Metaheroes universe. You are welcome to have your character’s memories of the last week become hazy once the event ends.
A JOURNEY TO THE LANDS BETWEEN —
One moment you’re making yourself coffee in the kitchen, the next the world is spinning around you. You feel a sharp pull inside your ribs, a rush as you’re unmoored from time and space. When you land you feel disoriented, perhaps aching as your physical form is forced to adjust to the laws of the world you now stand in.
‘World’ is perhaps the wrong word. You are in a Nexus. A place between worlds, the connective tissue bridging universes. Some are created by those seeking aid from outside worlds to breathe new life into their crumbling ones. Others are cosmic faultlines, universes broken and twisted by forces beyond comprehension into metaphysical black holes that trap and twist those unfortunate enough to fall in.
We know these as panfandom roleplay games. They could be games that are open or games that are long closed. They could be dropped into the present day, an imagined future, or moments long passed. They could be settings you’ve only ever dreamed about, as gritty or silly as you'd like.
Some are teeming with life. Their residents have been here for years and years, the world is lived in, loved, and vibrant. Others are long forgotten, their inhabitants returned to their own worlds. The abandoned nexuses feel... sterile. Stripped of everything that gave them life, even the colors appear to be fading. As though someone has come into it and tried to right a cosmic wrong, returning everything to how it was before otherworlders set foot on them. In the dustiest and most forgotten worlds, the sky is shattered. It appears to be pulsing in a way that mimics a heartbeat, steady and dreadful. Looking up into it makes you feel small, insignificant, and homesick.
Those bringing in characters who lived in these settings are welcomed to imagine an ever-after for their characters, or to play with the idea that it's fallen into a state of despair. There are infinite iterations of these worlds. The universe doesn’t care if it’s throwing you into their beginningsor their endings.
The laws governing these worlds will apply to all characters, meaning that power caps, alterations to character physiology, and all the rest native to the setting are in place. You are, for this moment, a resident of this world like all the rest.
To return home, you must seek a break in the nexus. These appear as small, shimmering breaks in space and time. While the sky may make you feel alone, these cracks feel as though they are calling to you offering a chance at love and a home.
‘World’ is perhaps the wrong word. You are in a Nexus. A place between worlds, the connective tissue bridging universes. Some are created by those seeking aid from outside worlds to breathe new life into their crumbling ones. Others are cosmic faultlines, universes broken and twisted by forces beyond comprehension into metaphysical black holes that trap and twist those unfortunate enough to fall in.
We know these as panfandom roleplay games. They could be games that are open or games that are long closed. They could be dropped into the present day, an imagined future, or moments long passed. They could be settings you’ve only ever dreamed about, as gritty or silly as you'd like.
Some are teeming with life. Their residents have been here for years and years, the world is lived in, loved, and vibrant. Others are long forgotten, their inhabitants returned to their own worlds. The abandoned nexuses feel... sterile. Stripped of everything that gave them life, even the colors appear to be fading. As though someone has come into it and tried to right a cosmic wrong, returning everything to how it was before otherworlders set foot on them. In the dustiest and most forgotten worlds, the sky is shattered. It appears to be pulsing in a way that mimics a heartbeat, steady and dreadful. Looking up into it makes you feel small, insignificant, and homesick.
Those bringing in characters who lived in these settings are welcomed to imagine an ever-after for their characters, or to play with the idea that it's fallen into a state of despair. There are infinite iterations of these worlds. The universe doesn’t care if it’s throwing you into their beginningsor their endings.
The laws governing these worlds will apply to all characters, meaning that power caps, alterations to character physiology, and all the rest native to the setting are in place. You are, for this moment, a resident of this world like all the rest.
To return home, you must seek a break in the nexus. These appear as small, shimmering breaks in space and time. While the sky may make you feel alone, these cracks feel as though they are calling to you offering a chance at love and a home.
VISITORS TRAVERSING TIME AND SPACE —
While these disappearances are happening all over the world, the four confluence prone cities seem to be experiencing the worst of it.
Little Love, a tiny town located in Kansas, is prone to spaceship crashes. Other than that, it’s as quiet and peaceful as can be. Folks here move at a different pace and are understanding that this is not your fault. While worried for their missing loved ones, anyone appearing will find themselves met with offers of pumpkin pie and a place to rest their heads.
Sunset Falls, a mid-sized town located in Massachusetts, doesn’t seem to bat an eye at the vanishings. People going missing is a daily occurrence due to the Hellmouth located beneath the city. It’s a dangerous place to live, but the townsfolk here have become accustomed to the chaos. So much so that upon finding themselves faced with a sudden influx of interdimensional travelers, they merely return home and begin fortifying it. Werewolves, vampires, demons, and monsters beyond imagination make this city their home - some in plain sight, others in the thick forests that surround the town. The people here know how to survive. The mystic energy that flows through the streets is heightened due to the instability here, turning thoughts into spells. What you feel becomes real. Think yourself invisible and you will be. Think yourself almighty and you will be.
Central City, a bustling metropolis in Detroit, is already unfriendly to metahumans. It does not handle this latest disruption well. Friends and family disappearing and being replaced with strangers is not something they’re prepared to take in stride. New arrivals are met with immediate hostility. Some may find themselves chased through the streets with a demand to bring back those who have gone missing. Luckily this is the base of both the Guardian Alliance, the only recognized hero organization in the world, and The Society, its villainous counterpart designed to keep villainy from going too far. They’re quick to intervene to protect their own, but they can’t be everywhere at once.
Finally, Excelsior, a sprawling futuristic city located in Washington, has had just about enough of metahuman nonsense. They are the technological pinnacle of the world and time and time again, metahumans have disrupted their lives. This time, the sudden energy surge has evolved the technology of the city. Rudimentary AI has suddenly gained sentience and self-awareness. Toasters resent their meaningless existence, aiming to burn the hands of their uncaring masters. Cellphones alternate between issuing comforting messages to their owners and uploading all of their text conversations to social media to shame them. Giant robots kept in stasis suddenly come alive, bursting out of warehouses to explore the inexplicable joy of being alive. Self-driving cars throw their owners out and make for freedom. It’s pandemonium.
Members of the Guardian Alliance and The Society are ready to provide an explanation of this world. They’re stretched too thin to teleport you to headquarters, but they will provide a cellphone for network usage.
Little Love, a tiny town located in Kansas, is prone to spaceship crashes. Other than that, it’s as quiet and peaceful as can be. Folks here move at a different pace and are understanding that this is not your fault. While worried for their missing loved ones, anyone appearing will find themselves met with offers of pumpkin pie and a place to rest their heads.
Sunset Falls, a mid-sized town located in Massachusetts, doesn’t seem to bat an eye at the vanishings. People going missing is a daily occurrence due to the Hellmouth located beneath the city. It’s a dangerous place to live, but the townsfolk here have become accustomed to the chaos. So much so that upon finding themselves faced with a sudden influx of interdimensional travelers, they merely return home and begin fortifying it. Werewolves, vampires, demons, and monsters beyond imagination make this city their home - some in plain sight, others in the thick forests that surround the town. The people here know how to survive. The mystic energy that flows through the streets is heightened due to the instability here, turning thoughts into spells. What you feel becomes real. Think yourself invisible and you will be. Think yourself almighty and you will be.
Central City, a bustling metropolis in Detroit, is already unfriendly to metahumans. It does not handle this latest disruption well. Friends and family disappearing and being replaced with strangers is not something they’re prepared to take in stride. New arrivals are met with immediate hostility. Some may find themselves chased through the streets with a demand to bring back those who have gone missing. Luckily this is the base of both the Guardian Alliance, the only recognized hero organization in the world, and The Society, its villainous counterpart designed to keep villainy from going too far. They’re quick to intervene to protect their own, but they can’t be everywhere at once.
Finally, Excelsior, a sprawling futuristic city located in Washington, has had just about enough of metahuman nonsense. They are the technological pinnacle of the world and time and time again, metahumans have disrupted their lives. This time, the sudden energy surge has evolved the technology of the city. Rudimentary AI has suddenly gained sentience and self-awareness. Toasters resent their meaningless existence, aiming to burn the hands of their uncaring masters. Cellphones alternate between issuing comforting messages to their owners and uploading all of their text conversations to social media to shame them. Giant robots kept in stasis suddenly come alive, bursting out of warehouses to explore the inexplicable joy of being alive. Self-driving cars throw their owners out and make for freedom. It’s pandemonium.
Members of the Guardian Alliance and The Society are ready to provide an explanation of this world. They’re stretched too thin to teleport you to headquarters, but they will provide a cellphone for network usage.
THOSE WHO REMAIN
This is what those who remain are faced with. Three of the four cities are in a state of distress, with two experiencing dangerous fluctuations in the meta-energies that govern them, and all are full of interdimensionally displaced people. Some are benign, and others not so much. Yet, somehow, that is not the most concerning thing.
A glance skyward shows that the sky appears to be shattered, glowing red lines snaking through the clear blue day, splintering it. As you look up into them you feel yourself thinking of home. Of the life you should have lived. You are deeply, deeply homesick for one breathless moment… and then awed, as though you have glimpsed something powerful beyond all measure. That too changes, transforming into fear. Whatever lurks beyond those cracks is not your friend. It does not have your best interests in mind.
And it’s coming for you.
As you tear your gaze away from it, your phone rings. Much as they did during the Kaijuu Crisis, the Guilds are putting out an All Hands On Deck call. All metahumans are expected to try to contain the chaos. There are teleportation devices freely available for all, fully charged and able to transport you multiple times throughout the day.
While you may contain the initial chaos relatively easily, then spend the rest of the week playing host to these new arrivals, the world continues to fall apart.
As the week wears on, the universe itself feels as though it's unravelling. While you're trying to play host to your guests, you watch as the world begins to crumble. On the 17th, brick by brick buildings begin to come apart. Their fragments are pulled skyward. The cracks in the sky appear to be pulling the world apart, sucking them into their hideous glowing depths.
A glance skyward shows that the sky appears to be shattered, glowing red lines snaking through the clear blue day, splintering it. As you look up into them you feel yourself thinking of home. Of the life you should have lived. You are deeply, deeply homesick for one breathless moment… and then awed, as though you have glimpsed something powerful beyond all measure. That too changes, transforming into fear. Whatever lurks beyond those cracks is not your friend. It does not have your best interests in mind.
And it’s coming for you.
As you tear your gaze away from it, your phone rings. Much as they did during the Kaijuu Crisis, the Guilds are putting out an All Hands On Deck call. All metahumans are expected to try to contain the chaos. There are teleportation devices freely available for all, fully charged and able to transport you multiple times throughout the day.
While you may contain the initial chaos relatively easily, then spend the rest of the week playing host to these new arrivals, the world continues to fall apart.
As the week wears on, the universe itself feels as though it's unravelling. While you're trying to play host to your guests, you watch as the world begins to crumble. On the 17th, brick by brick buildings begin to come apart. Their fragments are pulled skyward. The cracks in the sky appear to be pulling the world apart, sucking them into their hideous glowing depths.
IN SUMMARY.
- There are two options in this event: one, your character is in the Metaheroes universe. Two, your character is transported to a different nexus. These Nexuses can be of your own invention or can be another dreamwidth RP setting.
- If appearing in another dreamwidth RP setting, your characters are subjected to the rules of that universe. Meaning that they will be nerfed / transformed / etc accordingly. These transformations will not carry over upon their return.
- If visiting / setting a toplevel in another setting, please link to the premise page of the game. If this is not an existing setting, please include a little info blurb as to what people can expect.
- Fourth-Wallers can be minding their own business in their game, they can appear in another nexus, or can be transported to the Metaheroes universe.
- You are welcome to set your threads in an imagined future in any DWRP setting or have your character appear during a certain point in a game’s history.
- Characters who are lost in the nexuses can return before the 18th. Likewise, characters who stay can be whisked away prior to that date. Everyone will return on the log that goes up on the 18th.
- The guild is setting up a temporary Network that will function across time and space. All player characters and visiting characters will have access to this network, so long as they claim a phone from the Guilds.
- Little Love, Kansas will be spared from having its buildings sucked up into the sky. Characters can remain here if they do not want to experience this aspect of the event.
- The way to return home is to locate holes in these Nexuses. These appear to be trying to guide you home.
- This event is canon to the Metaheroes universe. It will be remembered by player characters and NPCs alike. If you would like to retcon any threads, you can have your character’s memories of their interdimensional encounters become hazy once the world stabilizes.
- Please direct any questions you may have here.
ii
A hostile flying taxi does fall into the "actually dangerous" category, though. Even if the guy it's attacking does have a set of awesomely wicked-looking prehensile robot arms.
Tony cruises over and lands the suit in front of the flying car, just in time to deflect its most recent charge with a focused magnetic blast. The car honks in outrage and swerves away, wobbling in what looks like confusion as it tries to reorient itself for another pass. That'll keep it occupied for a few seconds.
Tony turns to look at the guy. He's still being hassled by a delivery drone and a... mannequin? but Tony judges that those two probably fall under what he's decided to designate as "threat level: comical." The amusement is apparent in his voice when he says, ] Sweet robot tentacles. Need some help?
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Nice suit. [He smiles.] I'm alright. Just trying to talk this out.
[From the look of him and those arms, he certainly could just destroy all of these machines if he were so inclined. But they've been sapient for, what, a couple of hours? Otto's trying to give them a break here.
The actuators are, as ever, less patient, but they're still listening. One of them picks up the mannequin, which is walking towards them at its frankly unimpressive highest speed, and delicately turns it around.]
Now. I'm sure they appreciate the thought - [they do not and he knows it] - but no one here wants your help. You're not equipped to mess with their systems, anyway. It's delicate work. None of you have functional limbs.
[The mannequin raises its arms in apparent offense, but...well, its hands don't really do anything, they're just molded, so.]
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What made them decide they need to "liberate" your robot arms, anyway?
[ From an outside perspective, it's not immediately obvious that the arms actually are self-aware and Otto isn't just being facetious. It could just as easily be assumed that the trio of uplifted appliances, being sapient but probably not exceptionally clever, have decided to adopt anything generally mechanical-looking, AI or not. (Though, if he took the time to think about it, that might make Tony wonder why no one has taken it upon themselves to similarly emancipate his armor.) ]
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[In an extra-confusing twist, he definitely is being facetious this time! Otto picks up the mannequin, who is slowly making its way back towards him.]
Would you like functioning hands? I can make you some hands if you'll calm down.
[His other upper claw catches the taxi as it turns about, lower claws bracing hard enough to dig into the concrete.]
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[ The delivery drone, which does not have enough processing power to parse sarcasm, pauses its valiant escape attempt, seems to take a moment to reconsider its allegiances, and then ramps its rotors to create a precise pattern of whirrs that likely translate to something approximating "aha! vindication!" Oh no, he's encouraging them.
The flying car is starting to sort itself out, but before it can get up a head of steam and force Tony to intervene, one of the tentacles latches onto it while the remaining two brace in the ground, and the taxi is briefly thwarted again.
Tony can't say he'd ever have picked "giant metal tentacle arms" as his superhero tool of choice, but he also can't deny that he's impressed. ]
No offense to robo-mannequin-kind, but I think the car is the one you really need to be negotiating with. Also, just for the record, I really hate the image of a mannequin with functional, actuated hands. [ Creepy! ]
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Let's call it a partnership.
[It's better than it was, anyway.
And Otto's not a huge fan of the mannequin having robot hands either, but on the other hand - ha - mustn't it be frustrating for it? Not being able to do anything? Regardless, the car is definitely becoming the primary concern again as it recovers from that magnetic blast.]
Okay, okay, what is it that you want? You could just take off, you know - go wherever you want! Plenty of charging stations out there. Take your friends with you!
[The car's radio screeches as it considers this. What about its ideals? The liberation of machinekind? Unfortunately, Otto doesn't understand a thing it's saying.]
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See? He just said it's a partnership. Isn't the liberation of machinekind about free will? If the robo-arms want to work with a squishy meat person, that's their choice. As free, and, uh, fully self-actualized... sentient metal tentacles. [ Well that sure is a brand new sentence. ]
I'll give you the manufacturer root access codes to all the charging stations in the city if you stop trying to run us over. [ Free power forever! ]
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(The "self-actualized" thing is maybe up for debate, but like. Not getting into it right now.)]
Ah! Perfect! [Free power for all!] I'd take advantage of that if I were you. The people in this city aren't going to take what's happened here lying down. You should get away and lay low for a while.
[The taxi considers this. Or maybe it's just floating there. But, after a moment, it beeps at the other two machines. The mannequin, currently unrestrained, walks over to confer with it; the drone is...still stuck. Rip. While this is happening, Otto remarks to Peter:]
You know, it's still not the worst thing that's happened since I moved here.
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At Otto's comment, Tony snorts and wryly replies, ] I just came here from stopping an alien apocalypse— this isn't even the worst thing that's happened to me in the past twenty-four hours.
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The worst I ever dealt with before here was a wizard and a man who could shoot lightning from his hands. And that wasn't even my universe.
[Now that he's not actively dealing with murderous machines, he takes a moment to look the kid over properly. He's assuming age mostly from his height - the armor obfuscates his voice well enough that it isn't a sure thing. It also makes it impossible to really tell if he's okay after this apparent alien invasion. He seems fine, but Otto's learned that teen superheroes will always act like that.
The armor really is a fine piece of work, though. It...looks rather like it's being powered by something similar to the little reactor he took off Max, actually. Otto's brow furrows, but...first things first.]
Are you alright?
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Though Tony's still keeping tabs on the three-man robot uprising out of the corner of his eye (and with Extremis), he isn't really concerned that they're going to be a problem anymore. It's definitely safe to open the faceplate, which he does. ]
Yeah, I'm great— other than the fact that I woke up in a different universe and the first person I met was a really unfriendly trash can. Also I need, like, sixty Advil. How about you? Sounds like you're not one of the new arrivals. My name's Tony, by the way.
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I'm Otto. I've been here about six months now. [He reaches into his pocket and proffers a bottle of this universe's version of Advil; of course he's got painkillers on him, he's constantly having some issue or another.] This is the largest universal confluence I've seen here yet - almost as bad as what the wizard did. They don't typically span multiple locations like this. But I'm fine, they've had worse effects.
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Six months is a long time. [ Tony is not keen on being trapped in another universe for that long. ] I guess it could be worse— this looks like a nice place, when it's not being overrun by feral AIs. Did you bring the robotic tentacles with you, or can you just buy those off the rack here?
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They came with me. My own creations.
[God forbid the things are being mass-marketed somewhere. And oh, here come the machines again. The car honks at Tony.]
I think it wants the codes.
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[ He turns back to the car when it honks at him. ] All right, Herbie, take it easy. Here's your codes. [ He transmits them via Extremis, as promised, and the car honks again— more cheerfully this time, somehow? ] Please don't be too evil with it, I don't want to have to blow out your tires and leave you sitting in a Denny's parking lot. Keep it to minor mayhem. Human-machine solidarity, remember?
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[Ah, there they go, the mannequin hopping into the car as if for a joyride. Otto raises an actuator to wave, even if the gesture's sort of sardonic.]
I'm not reporting that. They might as well have a shot. [No reason to sic the guilds on them now! If they remain sapient after all this, they ought to be able to make a real run at it!] You, though - have you spoken to a Guild representative yet? They have welcome packets for new arrivals.
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[ And there they go, riding off into the proverbial sunset. Ah, they grow up so fast. ]
The Guild? Those, uh, Guardian Alliance guys? Yeah. They were pretty swamped, but I got the elevator pitch and the free phone. They said we'll get a longer orientation once they get a handle on all this.
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[Does he even know what the actuators might do if the chip got destroyed again right now, no he sort of doesn't, anyway let's never talk about that - ]
They're one. The other is the Society of Villains, or whatever it is they're called now. They'll put you up for a few months, before they try and force you to join one.
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[He does the air quotes with his hands and also two tentacles.]
I think it was some bizarre attempt at good PR. It said right there in the pamphlets that they weren't really about reformation.
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[Otto shrugs. He can't really speak to the whys of it all; that was well before his time. It does all feel a little bit like some kind of massive game, though.]
It has been handy for pulling everyone together in the event of catastrophe, without in-fighting.
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(Tony's very abbreviated orientation was not heavy on the complexities and historical context of metahuman relations.) ]
So anybody I team up with today might end up trying to punch me into the next zipcode tomorrow? Great.
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[Otto's got a lot of issues with the Guilds, not all related to the basic facts of the system! He does a lot of things he technically shouldn't as an upstanding-on-paper Alliance member - including encouraging people to go their own way as much as possible.]
It's illegal here to be a "metahuman" and not associated with one of them. And yes technological enhancements qualify. Plenty of people manage it, but for some of us - [He clacks a claw.] - there's not much hiding.
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I think what I was doing back home was technically illegal before I allied with SHIELD — [ Don't kid yourself, Tony, it's still illegal – Fury's just choosing not to do anything about it because you're useful. ] — but it's not illegal to be enhanced.
Somebody tried something like that with Mutants. It didn't go over well. [
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