#【 CLIMB THE CROSS

[staticgcne]

HE'S HUMMING A LITTLE TUNE. Whatever it is doesn't sound very much more than a haunting little thing.

[pxppinmolly-archived]

✔

Plot Stuff

Do I know your muse(s):  yes | no | a little | tell me about your muse

Setting: our verse | my verse | your verse | modern | alternate universe | other

Pre-established relationships? yes | no | depends on the relationship

Possible relationships: friends | classmate | co-worker | roommate | family, real or adopted | dating or blind date | married | friends with benefits | unrequited love | lending a hand | teacher - student | rivals | allies | partner-in-crime | enemies | protecter - guarded | business partners | spy - infiltrated | manipulator - manipulated | star-crossed | first meeting | other

I’m in the mood for: fluff | angst | horror | romance | humor | crime | hurt / comfort | action | supernatural | slice of life | crack | dark threads | light threads | any genre | multi-para | shorter para | one-line | any length | plotted threads | unplotted threads | other

Feel free to: message me ooc | message me ic | tell me your ideas | write a starter | answer one of my opens | send a meme | reblog this with your preferences - let’s find common interests!

We have like. So much going on- LKASJDF

Alright first of all - always down for main verse shenanigans going on! We also dabbled briefly in her Overlord verse and I’m always of course down with doing more stuff with that. Especially with how comfy and cozy Molly has been with Vox esp lately - whether Molly and Alastor are together or not, which they aren’t yet in her overlord verse I believe so. Wiggles fingers.

THEN we got the modern verse ball rolling briefly. I remember we had some discussions about stuff going on with that! If I recall they aren’t dating in that verse either and still have potential to just fuck around and find out. Explore more in the mystique of Molly’s crime family and trying to cover that on top of Edward trying to keep his serial killer...ness.. out of Molly’s eyes as well. LOL

AND ALSO the Bioshock verse which I would LOVE to do more with as well - I just love the setting man. ;__; That also again Molly’s family slowly climbing the ranks in Rapture as they make a name for themselves? The tides shifting and the tensions rising in Rapture with Fontaine and Ryan going at each other - hell yeah.

There’s also handful of stuff in my wishlist I feel we could do with them - I have nothing off the top of my head HOWEVER if here’s anything in YOUR lil wishlist you feel could fit with them I’m always all ears on it!

[snarkybluechristian]

Hazbin Hotel: Satan’s Plan Chapter 18

Meanwhile, the Egg Bois were passing the broken bits of the elevator up the ladder from the bottom of the shaft where the elevator had fallen.

Toulouse was giving orders diligently while Charlie watched on feeling genuinely impressed at the Egg Bois' organization. She was honestly impressed with Sir Pentious' minions' skills and cooperation. These guys had managed to accomplish more work then she or anyone else had done in such a short amount of time. Despite their clumsiness, they were highly efficient.

The work was going quickly until a voice called out of the elevator shaft.

"Hey, Toulouse!" an Egg Boi in the shaft called out. "I think you need to look at this!"

"What is it?" Toulouse called back.

"I don't know! Just get down here!" the Egg Boi replied.

"Okay, I'm coming!" Toulouse replied before turning to Charlie. "Will you please excuse me, princess? I have to help my clones."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Charlie replied. "Just don't get yourself hurt. Angel has told me about how easily you die."

"Oh, I can't die," Toulouse reassured her as the other Egg Bois moved aside to allow Toulouse to go down the ladder. "Every time I get hurt, I instantly heal and the piece of me that broke off makes another clone. The others become ghosts if they die since they're just familiars, but their dead bodies make more clones if you give them some time. That's why there are so many of me."

Charlie and Vaggie looked at each feeling absolutely disturbed before Charlie regained her composure and managed to say, "That is…good to know, Toulouse."

"Yep," Toulouse said flashing a large smile as he began descending the ladder. "I'll see you in a minute."

Meanwhile, Sir Pentious was standing to the side looking at the blueprints for the elevator. This hotel's model was older than his. The elevator box fit, but the whole damn contraption ought to be replaced. His own model would be much more efficient.

"Your majesty?" Sir Pentious asked. "Might I suggest replacing the elevator entirely? This model is quite old and I have a model that is much more efficient…"

Vaggie snorted.

"And what was that?" Sir Pentious asked showing his disgust.

"I know what you're doing," Vaggie said stepping over to Sir Pentious and summoning her spear. "You're suggesting putting in a completely new model as a way to screw us over somehow."

Sir Pentious scoffed in disbelief and said, "My lady, why in the hell would I do that?"

"Vaggie…" Charlie said.

"I know how contractors in hell work, Charlie," Vaggie spat back. "Unless you work for someone rich and prestigious, they will half-ass the whole thing and leave us in a worse position than before."

"You have nothing to worry about then," Sir Pentious retorted. "Charlie is a princess. Besides her parents, she has the most prestige out of anyone in Hell. It would go against my honor as a gentleman to do anything to harm her."

"See, Vaggie?" Charlie said trying to calm her girlfriend down. "Let's just give him a chance."

"If you say so…" Vaggie said putting her spear down. "But I'm watching you, snake."

"Whatever," Sir Pentious said rolling all his eyes at once. "Just please stay out of my way."

"Hey, boss!" an Egg Boi called out from the hole. "Could you come down here please?!"

Sir Pentious sighed dramatically and said, "Do I have to?"

"But boss, Toulouse is down there," Thryce protested.

"Oh," Sir Pentious said suddenly remembering. "Alright, I'll go down."

"I knew Toulouse was his favorite," Thryce muttered to Austen while Sir Pentious slithered down the ladder.

Sir Pentious slithered down the ladder as quickly and carefully as he could trying his best to avoid the debris and exposed wires of the shaft.

"Toulouse?" Sir Pentious asked. "Toulouse, where are you?"

"I'm over here, boss," Toulouse replied waving his flashlight around at the bottom of the shaft.

Once he was clearly in his sight, Sir Pentious hopped off the ladder landing on the ground with a thud.

Sir Pentious sighed in relief as he dusted off his coat and said, "Toulouse, what have I told you about being aware of your surroundings so that you don't get yourself in situations like this?"

"Don't worry about that, patron," Toulouse replied. "Look what Joey found."

Joey hopped around in place as he had that day when he was riding in the boss's death blimp, pointed at the wall, and said, "Yeah, boss! Look at this!"

Sir Pentious looked at where Joey was pointing and saw a safe in the wall. It was small, the size of one of the Egg Bois. It was the jackpot Sir Pentious had been hoping to find.

Sir Pentious smiled evilly and asked, "Toulouse, could you tell the Egg Bois to distract the princess for me?"

"What do you want them to do, boss?" Toulouse asked.

"I don't care," Sir Pentious replied. "Any kind that will keep them distracted. Better yet…"

Sir Pentious picked up Joey, threw him up to the ladder, and continued, "…Joey, come up with a distraction that you and the Egg Bois can do to keep the princess and the others occupied until Toulouse and I exit the vault. Someone of your distractibility should have no problems coming up with ideas. Can you handle it?"

"Yes, sir, Mr. Boss Man," Joey said climbing up the ladder.

Joey climbed up to the top and ran over to where Charlie was standing and talking with Delilah and Vaggie.

"Hey, guys!" Joey called out getting their attention. "Do you wanna hear a song?"

Meanwhile back in the pit, Sir Pentious was holding in his arms while he used a stethoscope to open the safe's lock.

"Are we in?" Sir Pentious asked impatiently.

"Just about there…" Toulouse said just before the safe unlocked. "And we're in."

The safe cracked open and Toulouse pulled open the door before Sir Pentious placed him on the ground to look inside.

Sir Pentious was astonished to see a safe packed with gold. The snake demon picked up a gold brick to see an apple insignia imprinted on it.

"Of course," Sir Pentious said taking a picture of the safe and its contents with his miniature camera gadget. "It makes sense that our king would stash his gold somewhere hard to get to."

"Can I see it, boss?" Toulouse asked.

Sir Pentious picked up a gold bar, handed it to Toulouse, and said, "Here, hide this in the work bag."

"Are you going to examine it, Patron?" Toulouse asked curiously.

"No," Sir Pentious said with a smile shutting the safe and scrambling the lock so that no one else would be able to tell they were there. "King Lucifer might want to see the gold for himself so I think it's best if we have one on standby. Besides, he may let us keep it as a reward after we're done with this whole mess. There are many machine parts I could purchase with this…"

"Or you could pay for an expensive wedding," Toulouse added.

"What was that?" Sir Pentious asked confusedly.

"Nothing," Toulouse said climbing on his boss's back. "Let's go back to the top."

"Right," Sir Pentious replied jumping to the ladder and anxiously trying to push Toulouse's comment out of his head so he wouldn't have to think about it. "I only hope that Joey and the others have managed to keep the princess and her associates occupied enough to not worry about our whereabouts."

"I wouldn't worry, boss," Toulouse said as his patron continued climbing up the ladder. "Joey is the most easily distracted of all my clones. I am sure he has found something to distract everyone…"

"Hush," Sir Pentious commanded as he stopped climbing.

"What is it, boss?" Toulouse asked quietly focusing his hive mind.

"There is something going on upstairs and I'm trying to listen to hear what it is," Sir Pentious replied. "It sounds like…"

"Singing," Toulouse said opening his eyes.

"What in the world are they…?" Sir Pentious paused as a terrible thought crossed his mind. "Oh, no…"

Sir Pentious pushed his slithering into overdrive as he slithered up the anxiously praying that the song was not what he feared

Unfortunately, as soon as he and Toulouse reached the top of the ladder, they heard the Egg Bois singing, "Every day that you think of her succulent vine is another day that you could spend becoming divine. Every day that you dream of holding her hand is a day you could be entering the Promised Land. You think it is your destiny to be her mate, but little did you know that it was far past too late…"

Sir Pentious and Toulouse climbed back onto the ground floor and yelled, "No, stop that!"

Sadly, the command fell on deaf ears as the transfixed patrons continued to listen to the Egg Bois sing, "Your desire for her body is like a flame, but you must know this love is a fruitless aim. You think it is the will of God to marry her when you could be seeking life beyond the barrier. You must continue to make your way not matter how much longing for her makes you gay…"

"Shut up!" Sir Pentious yelled slithering across the room and interrupting the performance only to be frozen in place by Alastor.

"What's the matter, Sir Pentious?" Alastor asked with a mocking smile. "This song is lovely."

"Yeah, and these Egg Bois have great voices," Angel added.

"Charlie, stop this!" Sir Pentious pleaded desperately to Charlie, who was standing there next to her girlfriend transfixed with her mouth hanging open. "Charlie! OW!"

Alastor let Sir Pentious fall to the ground with a thump.

"Shut it," Angel replied. "We wanna hear the singing."

"No, Joey, I command you and the clones to stop," Sir Pentious commanded to his Egg Bois.

"Okay, boss," Joey and the other Egg Bois said kinda sadly.

"Nah ah, we wanna hear," Angel said with a chuckle. "It was so juicy."

"I think we've heard enough of Sir Pentious's prose," Vaggie said since Charlie was still too stunned to speak. "We've heard 30 verses already."

Sir Pentious's eyes flashed in a panic as he asked incredulously, "30 verses?! What did they sing?!"

"You should know," Alastor said. "Your servants said their lyrics were based on your poems written about your unnamed secret love. Or should I say Queen Lilith?"

Sir Pentious's face flushed in embarrassment as he noticed Charlie's stunned expression.

"Do you want us to sing it again?" Joey asked.

Before Sir Pentious had time to respond, Crymini gestured to her phone and said, "Don't bother. I got the whole thing on video."

"You what?!" Sir Pentious yelled. "Delete that right now!"

"No way," Crymini said with a smile. "Besides, I've already uploaded it to HellTube."

"What?!" Sir Pentious, Charlie, Vaggie, and Delilah asked simultaneously.

Angel started cracking up. Alastor did the same while Nifty tried her darndest to suppress a smile.

"That's amazing," Angel said. "Does it have any views yet?"

"Let me check," Crymini said looking at her phone. "Oh, shit! It's got 1000 views already."

"Damn, 1000 views already?" Angel asked. "It hasn't even been 5 minutes."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sir Pentious shrieked at the top of his lungs as he swiftly slithered down the hall with Toulouse still hanging onto his back.

Delilah watched sympathetically resting her hand on Charlie's shoulder while Vaggie stewed next to her and the other demons laughed in the background.

[radioboots]

SWAP VERSE;; alastor

[ tw for heavy alcoholism !! ] 

&&. BASICS ;; 

SWAPS WITH: husk 

ALIAS: al, allie, smiley mcgrumpypants & other humiliating nicknames created solely to annoy him ( ooc; huskastor ? )

GENDER: trans man 

OCCUPATION: radio star ( formerly; in life ), bartender, front desk of the Happy Hotel ( currently ) 

MENTAL HEALTH: severe depression; alcoholism; mild dyslexia 

DEATH: 1933

POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES: humorous; honest ( to a greater extent than canon ! alastor ); sympathetic; easygoing; wise

NEGATIVE ATTRIBUTES: bitter; detached; rude; incredibly harsh; a complete shut-in  

&&. BACKGROUND ;; 

akin to the mainv, millicent doe spent his early years under his maternal grandparents’ custody, before he ran away to his father where he was genuinely loved & began a steady progress in healing

he climbs the ladder to being a well-known radio star, a career he passionately speaks his heart out surrounded with beloved friends, family & fans for the longest time until the dawn of the great depression

it began with a tough battle of tug-of-war to keep his career thriving, but he ultimately finds himself on the losing side & met with the overwhelming reality of how many people exploiting his weakening position with the desire to see him fall hard. he did not take the failure well at all. although he tried to retain optimism to keep family & loyal fans from concerning themselves with him, the deeply embittered millicent knew he couldn’t keep up the farce forever & opted to shut himself away, only ever coming out to slip into a speakeasy for a bottle of booze or ten

his only ‘ friends ‘ since then were the strongest of whiskeys to keep the feelings of worthlessness at bay

he drank himself to death in 1933

&&. FACTS ;; 

he despises the form he was reborn in. a prancey deer ? stuck with a stupid radio-voice ? no pain-free way to rid himself of this sickening grin ? get that shit outta here. he doesn’t utilize his form as much as he should for this reason.

one of the few abilities he has is the manipulation of shadows- only to a small extent, but still enough to fetch items out of his reach. 

anger has become a norm in his coping methods; he doesn’t know how express himself in ways that aren’t aggressive or profane & tends to brush off attempts of other’s befriending him ... who needs friends when ur a complete & utter disappointment got booze amiright

this isn’t to say he is completely incapable of expressing sympathy / forming positive bonds though, he isn’t really a malicious man at heart & does retain bits of his gentlemanliness. efforts in trying to be nice often come off as very clumsy & awkward due to decades of being a vulgar alcoholic shut-in

his profanities are filtered out with beeps; does it stop him from cussing his heart out ? absolutely f------ not. 

works for husk the illusion demon, who may or may not have been an old friend of his from life

he detests radios. gift him one & he’ll smash it right in front of you without a second thought. 

in spite of everything he is still very much capable of delivering an impromptu speech from the very bottom of his heart if the moment truly calls for it 

physical contact is still a big no-no. he can & will bite, punch, disembowel you with his bare hands or all of the above if his boundaries are crossed. it’s better if you stopped acknowledging him altogether, actually. 

he still enjoys the thrill of hunting every now & then ( deer specifically ), it’s one of the very few activities that allows him to grasp some sense of emotion other than self-loathing & bitterness

did i mention his failures left him with a deep-rooted inferiority complex ? he’s not one to lick up praises easily at least he tries not to, BUT he’ll slowly ease up if you do often & mean it-- OR !! specifically for the manipulative types: pamper him with words chosen with the most careful precision & he’s your sucker 100/10 

[staticgcne]

❛ A twink && proud! ❜

He does actually know this one!

[staticgcne]

@radiiosugars whispered a line !! more angst prompts ( accepting! ) 'lying is your first language, isn't it?' - Lucifer

     LAUGHTER  WAS  SUCH  a joy to indulge in.  It came so easily these days,  he found himself more  &&  more entertained by the hour,  it seemed.  The words spoken from the King felt oddly confrontational,  almost accusatory.  He wondered what had caused such a question.  Naturally,  he practiced little white lies every day,  there was even an art to lying by omission,  which he certainly had plenty of experience with.

        ❛  Oh,  what makes you think that?  Please,  your Majesty,  I assure you my native tongue is merely English like many others!  Of course,  I am also fluent in French,  if that is of any help to you.  ❜

     He wore a wide smirk,  hands clasped around the top of his microphone,  lifting one to peer at his claws like he had little better to do.  

[staticgcne]

@voxxcd replied to your post “❛ Ha-ha! No. I cannot believe only 22.2 percent...”:

presses x to doubt

❛  I believe I expressed the same doubts towards you, as did at least half of your voters! What is it about stones && glass houses?  ❜

[staticgcne]

@hazbinned whispered a line !! 100 nonverbal prompts ( accepting! ) 87﹕ sender  shows  receiver  evidence  of  a  lie  they  told . - FROM CHARLIE?

     OWLISHLY  BLINKING  EYES  AS  HE  LOOKED  DOWN  AT  THE  OFFERED  PROOF.  A news article,  or perhaps a running news show.  Claiming that he may or may not have  —  he had  —  ending a little disagreement in the entertainment district by physically tearing apart a group of four sinners for interrupting his wonderful evening out to stage theatre.  He may or may not have  —  he had  —  lied immediately upon his arrival back at home about his whereabouts.

        ❛  Well.  Seems I may have been caught  ...  red - handed!  ❜    Cue the little laugh track eminating from his staff.  Warbled as it may have been. 

     Did she expect an apology?  Probably.  But they had ruined his night!

        ❛  In my defense,  dear,  they were chattering nonsense in the middle of the show!  It was rather disrespectful,  so I solved their little argument  &&  made the experience freer for all!  ❜

[staticgcne]

@hellsirenqueen whispered a line !! TOUCH THE TAIL ( accepting! ) Caress with her own tail while walking by him.

     THE  FEELING  OF  SOMETHING  AGAINST  HIS  SKIN.  It drew a slight shiver from him,  unexpected as the gesture was,  &&  he was quick to look for who was responsible,  hackles raised in expectation of being able to start  &&  finish a fight.  Hair standing on end  ...  only to rather quickly force it back to being relaxed.

        ❛  ...  Your Majesty.  ❜    His skin still prickled with discomfort,  his eye twitched.  He could only force down so much frustration.  Edging just slightly away from her tail.  He didn't think she meant harm,  but  ...

        ❛  I did not see you there,  my apologies.  Is there anything you need?  ❜

[staticgcne]

@siempreminta whispered a line !! 100 nonverbal prompts ( accepting! ) 07 reversed - receiver wraps their arms around a hysterical sender to calm them

     HE  COULD  HEAR  THE  SOUND  FROM  VERY  FAR  AWAY.  The tell - tale cues of distress,  so sweet as it was.  High pitched hysteria,  really.  Was it panic?  Fear?  A result of a nightmare,  perhaps?  He followed the sound with a perked up ear  &&  eager eyes.  He spotted her quickly in the relative dark of hotel lobby.

        ❛  Oh,  my.  What seems to be the problem?  Dove,  yes?   ❜

     She was newer to the hotel,  he believed.  A lost little soul,  certainly,  sweet in looks  &&  behavior both.  A soft little sigh left him as he put a lengthy arm around around her small frame.  An attempt at comfort,  maybe.

        ❛  Why are you out here alone like this?  ❜

Nosy,  curious,  whatever you liked to call it.  Opportunistic.

[staticgcne]

@cannibalxroses whispered a line !! light / dark starters ( accepting! ) ‘  i’d like to stay like this for awhile.  ’

     WHO  WAS  HE  TO  DENY  HER?  Rosie was among his closest of confidantes.  Someone he well  &&  truly trusted.  Well.  About as much as he could,  anyway.  She was a refuge,  regardless of anything else.  He treated her as well as he knew how,  would happily take care of every problem she could ever need assistance with.  Whatever the cost.  &&  she helped with his,  few  &&  far between as they were.

        ❛  Of course.  I didn't quite mean to fall asleep here with you,  but if you prefer.   ❜

     He hadn't.  Spending time with her was a relief after the stresses of the hotel,  mostly revolving around the sheer effort of keeping polite.  Staying in good graces.  Exhausting.  He supposed he hadn't been sleeping well,  &&  the warmth  &&  comfort had gotten to him.  He at least trusted her more than enough to sleep nearby.  Whether the knowledge of that was  ...  nice or not was up for debate.  But he wouldn't think of that,  for now.

[staticgcne]

❛ I know something you don't know! ❜

No. No, he does not. But he can pretend!

[staticgcne]

@hellcab whispered a line !! light / dark starters ( accepting! ) ‘ You’re a sick fuck.  You know that?  ’

     A  GRIN  OF  PURE  SATISFACTION.  He didn't care about the words,  not at all.  Some strange sinner commenting on his choice of action was neither new nor very bothersome.  Crimson eyes travel over the other as he stood,  his newest victim a pile of viscera on the pavement.  He had every intention of recovering the body,  using it to his advantage.  Clawed fingers dripped with blood.  It splattered across his skin  &&  clothing.  He had already taken a bite of supple flesh as a sample during the fight.

        ❛  Oh?  Do you intend to join the poor fellow?  I wouldn't turn down a snack to save for later.  Or do you wish to share,  hm?  Perhaps I stole your meal?  ❜    He turned back to the pile,  reaching into the corpse to withdraw what he knew was the liver.  A delicacy on most.

        ❛  Please,  join in,  new friend.  I'm sure fresh meat appeals?  ❜

[staticgcne]

@rradiio whispered a line !! unprompted / plotted ( always accepting! ) " Boss, don't trust that damn fox. I know what he's really like, be on your guard around him. " - Husk

Alastor's right ear flicked towards Husk when he spoke. He had just returned from a short meeting with Kuwako, the very ❝ damn fox ❞ he had to assume that Husk meant. It made perfect sense that Husk knew of him, considering their realms clearly once intersected. Given that, evidently, Kuwako had been the one to send Husk in his direction in the first place. It was hardly a fact that bothered him; he had always liked the feline man, && now he never had to worry about him making some kind of escape where he couldn't recover him.

They do say to keep your friends close!

Alastor turned to face the ex - overlord, gaze trained on his face in clear curiosity.

❛ Well! Bold words for someone equally untrustworthy, hm? But I suppose it does take one to know one, right? So, tell me, my fine friend, what is it that I should be careful of? ❜

[staticgcne]

@televocation called in !! ( significant damage ) cont.

     Vox was nothing if not a liar.  Perhaps less talented now than ever,  given the way his own body liked to betray him.  With Alastor so attuned to audio,  paying such close attention to reverberation,  slight little dips in tone,  the distortion was easy to catch.  Like a fly to honey,  Vox proved to be just as reactive as Alastor wanted,  fueling his opinion that his method of return,  that his own clapping back was beneficial enough.

        ❛  Oh,  I am well - aware,  my old friend!  You were always the adaptive sort,  hm?  ❜    His intial interaction hadn't actually been on purpose,  truly,  not that he was going to admit that to Vox.  His appearance had startled him out of a thoughtful daze,  &&  he had lashed out rather quickly,  only to realise who the victim was.  He had calmly retracted himself as though he had been in control the whole time.  He hadn't done much to him,  but he could certainly pretend.

        ❛  Hm  ...  just for that,  you know,  I think I will stick around!  No more attacks,  since that won't do much,  clearly.  But you've been keeping me in sight so much anyway,  I might as well make it easy for you by being in arm's reach!  Or,  well.  Nearly.  ❜

     He took a short step back,  to be exactly more than an arm's length from Vox.  A smug little grin on his face.

        ❛  Since I have clearly missed so much,  shouldn't you be bragging about all that you've achieved?  Go on,  I am listening.  ❜

[staticgcne]

@tvvox whispered a line !! random dialogue ( accepting! ) “I often find myself questioning how you’re still alive.”

❛  I wonder the very same about you, old friend!  ❜

A quick && easy thing to shoot back, amusement on Alastor's face. Always a pleasure, truly, getting to be in the vicinity of the angry little television demon. Although the sentiment, on his own part, was all too real. It was a real wonder that the other hadn't completely fallen apart, as capable as he was of it. There was plenty of proof, with all his technical little failures. How long would it be until Vox wasn't very functional in the first place?

❛  You && I are very different, my dear. My survival has been all on my own. But yours has hinged on the support of others. I wonder what you will do when they all inevitably fall away? Will you be able to stand alone? Or will you need someone to catch you again?  ❜