Top 4 Jiang Yanli Survival Scenarios That Still Allow the Plot to Happen
HOT TAKE: JYL didn't actually need to die and the story would still be plenty crunchy if she hadn't. (Also, it is geographically implausible for her to somehow get all the way from Koi Tower to Nightless City unless she was faking her low cultivation this whole time and secretly mastered teleportation talismans, but that's not what this is about.) Below are 4 ways JYL could live that would still allow the major post-timeskip plot beats to unfold.
SCENARIO 1: JYL remains a widow and stays in Lanling as a member of the Jin household.
SCENARIO 2: JYL is married off to JGY after JZX's death (+ a spicier, alternate version of this)
SCENARIO 3: JYL ends up married off to NMJ after JZX's death.
SCENARIO 4: JYL remains a widow and returns to Lotus Pier.
With descriptions under the cut!
SCENARIO 1: JYL remains a widow and stays in Lanling as a member of the Jin household.
THE POTENTIAL: JYL in this scenario occupies a fraught position at Koi Tower; she has some sway as Jin Ling's mother, but it's unclear where Jin Ling stands in the line of succession. (She's also now trapped in JGS's household without a male guardian so. You know. That's great. 😬) JGY would strive to foster a positive relationship with her, I think; she doesn't pose a threat to him, and even if he has no personal affection for her, showing kindness to his sister-in-law is good optics and maintains the alliance with Lotus Pier. What are the ramifications of that? Maybe she becomes close with QS and help advocate for her marriage? (Maybe she then becomes close-close with QS later on, given that they'd both be terribly starved for physical intimacy.) Maybe she stumbles upon some of the secrets of the Jinlintai Murder Basement and becomes one of NHS's informants. Maybe she has no idea about the Murder Basement and is as shocked and appalled as everyone else when she learns about JGY's crimes and wonders how the hell she didn't realize any of this was happening. Good stuff!
SCENARIO 2A: JYL is married off to JGY after JZX's death.
THE POTENTIAL: Much the same as above, except now JYL has sealed her position as THEE Jin-furen once JGY ascends to Sect Leader and Chief Cultivator. She and JGY are connected with and presumably have developed some degree of fondness for each other, which makes the reveal of JGY's actions that much more dramatic! She's going to feel as betrayed and conflicted as LXC does, and is going to struggle when both her brothers end up in opposition to her husband. Does JGY persuade her to go with him to Dongying, or does he take her hostage as he does LXC? To what degree does proximity to JGY make her potential collateral damage for NHS? This is all very stressful for JYL, but it averts the terrible, horrible, no-good very bad accidental incest marriage with QS, so... winning!
SCENARIO 2B (CQL only): JYL and JGY marry after JZX's death, but had a whole affair going on prior to that.
THE POTENTIAL: There's this one chaotic group interview with a bunch of the CQL actors where they're like "HMMM IT'S PRETTY SUS THAT JIN LING LOOKS SO MUCH LIKE HIS UNCLE!! SHIJIE HAS SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!!" and while poor Zhu Zanjin was sitting there going "nooo stop it's not like that! it's a coincidence! ☹️" it had me like 👀because I love mess. My fave interpretation of Claudius and Gertrude in Hamlet is that they were always in love with each other and Claudius killed King Hamlet 1.0 so he could be with her (obligatory plug for Haider, my fave Hamlet adaptation, which has this precise dynamic and it's *chef's kiss*), and like... what if THAT'S going on. JYL can have an extramarital affair with far-reaching consequences, as a treat. Sorry, Jin Ling, but the revelations from Guanyin Temple just got THAT much more complicated for you to process.
SCENARIO 3: JYL ends up married off to NMJ after JZX's death.
THE POTENTIAL: Ohohohoho, this one might be my favorite one. The Jin clan (possibly at JGY's suggestion) marry JYL off to NMJ in an attempt to repair Lanling's relationship with Qinghe and get NMJ to stop wilding. NMJ and JYL hit it off (shared experiences include: being parentified at a young age, violently losing a parent to the Wen clan, a strong sense of duty, and chronic illness)... but NMJ does not, in fact, stop wilding, so JGY begins playing Turmoil. NMJ's increasingly volatile behavior would be even more terrifying for JYL than it is for NHS--she's not only worried about her own safety, but if the Jin clan deem the Unclean Realm unsafe for little JL, then JYL's not going to get to see her son. Once NMJ succumbs to qi deviation, JYL is widowed once again, and she's starting to wonder if she's cursed... until her brother-in-law comes to her with his suspicions about JGY. (She might even be the one to ignite the suspicions in CQL canon, since she's present for LWJ playing Cleansing for WWX and thus knows what it's supposed to sound like.) Now JYL is pissed, and even more worried about JL's safety. She keeps Qinghe afloat while NHS goes into his scheming flop era, and perhaps even suggests to him that WWX is the person to call if he wants his brother back. As NHS's plan endangers people JYL cares about--including her son! repeatedly!--JYL starts to question his methods and regrets not confiding in JC instead, but the die is cast at this point.
SCENARIO 4: JYL remains a widow and returns to Lotus Pier.
THE POTENTIAL: This isn't bringing the spicy melodrama the way the other scenarios are, but I do like the quieter change it means for her, JC, and JL. JC doesn't have nearly as much unresolved grief to work through with his sister still alive, and would be a better-adjusted person. He might, in fact, be even better-adjusted than JYL herself, who grieves for and loves WWX but cannot forgive him for killing her husband. WWX upon his resurrection would have to face the consequences of shijie's anger, and now they're the ones having a tearful heart-to-heart in a public space while JC frets. (And then they ALL get to deal with the golden core transplant fallout! Woo!) Plus, an unattached JYL would have the freedom to accompany JL to Lanling, so she's going to be closer with JGY and QS and be present for whatever the hell happened with MXY, so she is going to have some REACTIONS to certain revelations, let me tell you!
I would love to write any one of these, but I am the world's slowest writer, so if it's up to me, they will never actually happen. So fly forth, ideas! Be free! If you write one of these, hmu, because I'd love to read it!
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Crossovers and Fandom Fusions Pt.2 (only includes SVSSS/TGCF/WOH/Guardian)
(check pt.1 for other crossovers)
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The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System
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Hello, Neighbor!!! by Dragon_Scribe (M, 70k, bingqiu, LBH & WWX & SQQ, wangxian, SVSSS, canon divergence, demon WWX, found family, angst w/ happy ending, dimension travel, mystery, mind-control, love confessions)
🔒If Wishes Were Donkeys by NightOwl1 (M, 117k, WIP, WangXian, SVSSS, Time Travel Fix-It, Case Fic, Mpreg, Fluff and Humor, Dysfunctional Jiāng Family, Bad Parent YZY, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Period-Typical Homophobia, Crossdressing, LWJ and WWX Have a Breeding Kink, It's All The System's Fault, Post-Canon, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Warning: JGS, Good Uncle LQR, LWJ and WWX Are LSZ's Parents, Inappropriate Humor, Family Feels)
Chunshan by alittleliar (M, 62k, WIP, SQQ/YQY, SQQ/LBH, WangXian, SVSSS, Angst and Tragedy, Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Unreliable Narrator, Mental Instability, Grief/Mourning, Flashbacks, Canon Divergence, Non-Consensual Somnophilia, Found Family Dynamics, Reincarnation, Immortality, trash grandma sj, Gods, terrible but trying parent figure sy) WWX is mentored in the Burial Mounds by dismembered fierce corpse SQQ
The Scum Villain's Demonic Blessing by Hamliet (M, 81k, WangXian, HuaLian, BingQiu, XuanXuan, XiCheng, ZhuiLing, FX/MQ, MBJ/SQH, NYY/MF, SVSSS/MDZS/TGCF, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Unplanned Pregnancy, Mpreg, Romance, Reconciliation, Crack Treated Seriously, Potential Spoilers) a curse leaves all the canon shous, as well as a number of supporting characters, pregnant. Warning for realistic portrayal of morning sickness, bloating, and other pregnancy symptoms; several readers commented with their own gestational war stories.
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Tiān Guān Cì Fú/Heaven Official's Blessing
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🧡 The Red Ribbon by Xiao_Hua (M, 21k, WangXian, HuaLian, Canon Divergence, Ghost City, a bit of beefleaf, Immortality, Cultivation Partners, Juniors, XL and HC find a child who happens to be WWX, Fluffy wangxian, WWX is a Supreme Ghost King, First Time, TGCF)
Back From The Dead by Suibian_613 (T, 44k, WIP, WangXian, XuanLi, HuaLian, XuanXuan, XinQing, Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Supreme Ghost King WWX, TGCF)
echoes from across the void by Nilaic (G, 20k, wangxian, hualian, TGCF, adoption, YLLZ WWX, deaging, oblivious WWX, protective LWJ, BAMF WWX & LWJ, pining, dimension travel, WWX has PTSD, demonic cultivation, hurt/comfort, fluff & angst, families of choice, WIP)
let this soul be your whisper by merthurlin (T, 28k, hualian, wangxian, post TGCF canon, post first siege of burial mounds, canonical character death, canon divergence, found family)
Hua Xianle by Tiffany_Guinne (Not rated, 170k, hualian, wangxian, TGCF, canon divergence, not Jiang friendly, madam lan lives, WWX adopted by hualian, WWX with different name, overprotective hualian, hurt WWX, WIP)
Farmer's Almanac / 情雨濛濛 by Irrelevancy (T, 13k, YSH/WQ, WWX & WQ, hualian, wangxian, SL/XXC, TGCF, canon divergence, fix-it, humor, families of choice, sibling bonding, action/adventure, resurrection)
Atlas by etymologyplayground (M, 12k, wangxian, hualian, LWJ & HC, TGCF, getting together, friendship, grief/mourning, canon divergence, sexual content)
let these bones be the giver by merthurlin (G, 4k, JYL & XL, JYL & WWX, TGCF, bonding over food, jiang yanli's unexplored insecurity and anger issues)
For Whom the Bell Rings by DawnCloud (G, 24k, JYL & XL & HC, HuaLian, Yunmeng Siblings, Calamity JYL, Fix-it but not exactly, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, TGCF)
Where the Chaos Is by martyr_syndrome (E, 38k, hualian, wangxian, TGCF, post-canon, case fic, accidental voyeurism)
Demonic Cultivator's Blessing, or: Curse of the Bunny Gods by FayJay (E, wangxian, JC/NHS, TGCF, ascension, romantic comedy, matchmaking, genderflip, pregnancy)
Back From The Dead by Suibian_613 (T, 45k, wangxian, hualian, JYL/JZX, beefleaf, fengqing, TGCF, major character death, canon divergence, supreme ghost king WWX, canon-typical violence, BAMF WWX, WIP)
Song of Joy and Regrets by HelloKitten (Not Rated, 134k, wangxian, hualian, WIP, TGCF, Angst, Self-Harm, Child Abuse, characters watching their series, Time Travel Fix-it)
Get By with a Little Help (from My Friends) by SomeGoodSheith (T, 20k, hualian, wangxian, MXY/OMC, SL/XXC, TGCF, married hualian, married wangxian, hurt/comfort, reunions, multiple POV)
Black Flute Melody by English is my death (Lena013) (T, 4k, HuaHe, WWX & Everyone, Female HX, HX & HC Friendship, Short HX, WWX is a Calamity, WWX the Child of Two Calamities, hx and hc friends with privileges, BAMF WWX, Drama, Personality Breakdown, YLLZ WWX, Family Drama, Hurt WWX, Minor HuaLian, TGCF)
Intertwined by Tsukimiko_san (T, 4k, wangxian, hualian, major character death, canon divergence, no resurrection au, red string of fate, reincarnation au, sad w happy ending, ghost LWJ, TGCF)
Lan Jingyi and the Adventure of the Immortal Cultivator by litbynosun (T, 5k, JL & LJY & LSZ & OYZZ, crossover, TGCF, post-canon, canon-typical violence, minor injuries, ghosts, friendship)
The Remnants of our Struggle by Naamah_Beherit (G, 11k, hualian, WN & WWX, WN & WQ, WN & XL, crossover, TGCF, canonical character death, friendship, family, ghosts)
No paths are bound by CataclysmicEvent (E, 1.158k, hualian, fengqing, PM/SWD, beefleaf, LW/YSH, canon divergence, retelling, hurt/comfort, horror elements, internalized homophobia, major novel spoilers, graphic violence, torture, suicide attempt, implied/referenced suicide, slow burn, sexual content) Super long, super awesome, it follows the tgcf plot but spans the mdzs (and some svsss) lore and some of the plot too. The crossover bits are so worth it tbh
Narrative of Strength by MeltedIceAngel (T, 61k, WIP, WangXian, HuaLian, Canon Divergence, Adopt WWX, Found Family, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective XL, Protective HC, Adoption, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Serious Injuries, Angst with a Happy Ending, TGCF)
if we could change it all by silver__butterflies (T, 37k, HauLian, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Crossover, Wēn Remnants Live, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Attempt at Humor, JYL Lives, JZX Lives, POV Multiple, Post-Canon for TGCF, Spoilers for both fandoms, Fix-It, Happy Ending, BAMF XL, Fluff, Found Family)
Just pray to me. I’ll answer. by skeletonofaplant (G, 28k, WIP, HuaLian, WangXian, Canon Compliant, Crossover, Post-Canon, TGCF, gratuitous use of the word husband, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, 5+1 Things, (actually 4+1 but who’s counting?), Fluff, Humor, POV Alternating, Angst, But Only a Little Bit)
Not Only Gods Are Listening by dancing_pencil (Not Rated, 69k, HuaLian, WangXian, Post-Canon TGCF, MDZS Fix-it, Fix-It, Post-First Siege of the Burial Mounds, YLLZ WWX, Fix-It of Sorts, Crossover)
To heal and nurture by Aki_no_hikari (G, 11k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Memories, Married Couple, Domestic Fluff, Festivals, Healing, Trauma Recovery, Light Angst, but mostly this is wwx living all of his cottagecore fantasies because he deserves it, TGCF crossover) Wangxian, having retired to farm, take part in a nearby village harvest festival honoring Yushi Huang
Somewhere Sits an Empty Throne by Siamesa (E, 19k, WangXian, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, tgcf fusion, Gods & Goddesses, Ghosts, Romance, vengeance, Dark LWJ, Grief/Mourning, Explicit Sexual Content, Angst with a Happy Ending)
Crimson Spiderlilies and Silver Wraith Butterflies series by tinyfoxpeach (G/M, 1k, HC/WWX, TGCF crossover, Fluff, Morning Routines, Morning Cuddles calamity WWX, ghost WWX, POV Outsider Soft WWX, Soft HC, HC in Love, Established Relationship, canon divergence, angst, implied/referenced suicide & abuse, flashbacks, dark, YLLZ WWX)
Grim Grinning Ghosts by Theladyofravenclaw (G, 3k, Junior Centric, Ghost City, the juniors shenanigans, Gambling, slight mention of gore once they enter the city, but nothing very graphic)
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Word Of Honor/Faraway Wanderers
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What's in a name? by Anonymous (M, 3k, Canon Divergence, Not JC Friendly, WOH)
CH.1 of Tumbling Random Fandoms and Stuff by esama (M, 45k, WIP, WenZhou, Drabble/oneshot collection, WOH)
The Young Masters of Four Seasons Manor by gaotamao (G, 91k, WangXian, WenZhou, YeRong, Time Regression fix-it, WKX raises monstrous sons, Not Jiang Sect Friendly, No Golden Core Transfer, WOH)
🧡 A Song of Healing and Reunions by SilasSolarius (Not Rated, 6k, WangXian, WenZhou, XiangNing, WOH, YBY is LJY, Hurt WWX, Grief/Mourning, Presumed Dead Character Death, I'm So Sorry A-yuan, Healing, Nails of Seven Torments, Implied/Referenced Torture) (unfortunately this fic has been deleted, but you can find it on wayback here)
To Stop A Prince by fallen_ghost_star, GKoi (fallen_ghost_star) (E, 20k, WIP, WenZhou, WangXian, WOH, Canon Divergence, POV Multiple, Smut is gonna happen, trying for low angst)
Bad Liars series by (E, 28k, wenzhou, wangxian, WOH, post-canon, dark past, memories, developing friendships, trust issues, flirting, exhibitionism, jealousy, orgy, smut)
Our Scars Unveiled by cj_is_alright (M, 16k, WenZhou, WangXian, WOH, POV WKX, POV ZZS, WangXian and WenZhou becoming friends, Canon-Typical Use of Husband and Wife, Post-Canon Faraway Wanderers, Post-Canon, MDZS, Non-canon, Crossover, They are all overprotective of their respective husband, Fierce Corpses, Walking Corpses, Fierce Corpses show up in the Faraway Wanderers Universe, Drunk LWJ, Hurt WKX, Protective ZZS, Healed ZZS, WKX fights with a fan, they all have trauma, Implied/Referenced Sex, But only between the actual couples, the couples are just friends)
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Guardian
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The Human Realm Is Not Worth It by Ju_StADreamer (T, 150k, WIP, WangXian, WeiLan, BSSR/LY, Guardian, Time Travel Fix-It, Child!WWX, child!LWJ, Major character death in the first chapter, Friends to Lovers, Canon Divergence, Wise Child WWX, Shen Wei and Kunlan adopt WWX, No Yin Iron (it seemed important), Character Study, Angst Happy Ending, Not Cultivation World Friendly, Not Jiang friendly – but no bashing, I might as well say it: slight crossover with TMOPB, specific TW's in the chapters, Madam Lan's arc fix-it)
The Source of All Resentment by Aquamarinade (T, 41k, WIP, WeiLan, WangXian, Guardian, Crossover, AU, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Pining) Wei Wuxian approaches the mysterious subterranean Dixing Shen Sect seeking asylum for the Wen Remnants
i've finally found you again by HanguangMoon (G, 809, WangXian, Guardian AU, fusion au, LWJ and WWX are SW & ZYL) the MDZS characters are the Guardian characters reincarnated
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While I’m supposed to be studying for law school entrance exams, I keep getting ideas for an other MDZS SI/OC story, this time as a Jin.
Jin Xushào is Jin Zixuan’s twin sister (give JZX some close sibling bonds!). Since the yellow/gold is already there, she adds black and makes bees her personal motif. At first it’s ridiculed (bees visiting flowers symbolism would be more appropriate for JGS), until she proves that the previously thought feng-wang (bee-king) was actually feng-niangniang (bee-queen).
Since LanlingJin is, without a doubt, the most dangerous place for a young woman (I don’t doubt that the disciples very much followed JGS’s example in how to treat women), she very much attempts to arrange a marriage for herself to either NMJ or LXC (since JZX is betrothed to JYL, there’s no need to entertain the thought of marrying JC, and like hell would she marry a Wen, and she can’t be sure any of the young masters of the smaller sects under Jin aegis isn’t her half-brother, like Qin Su).
Here’s the first rough draft of the beginning.
I looked around Yiling, my nose scrunched in slight disgust.
It wasn't even that the village was dirty, exactly. It just wasn't what I was used to in Jinlintai.
The places I was allowed in Jinlintai were never anything less than sparkling, and Yiling was showing some wear and tear.
Why the Wen sect insisted the sect leaders' bring their families for the barrier renewal, I'll never understand, or why grandfather brought me and my brother along at all. We were six, it's not like we were going to be of help with the barrier renewal.
We weren't the only kids there, of course. All the major sects had brought their young heirs, from the fourteen-year-old Wen Xu to the four-year-old Nie Huaisang. It was like the most uncomfortable family reunion: meeting all those second- or third cousins that your parents expect you to get along with and then remember.
Let me give you some advice: do not leave your spoiled little brats under the supervision of just their nannies, who have already been browbeaten into submission by their little monster charges.
The elder boys had immediately started goading each other into demonstrating feats of strength, but given that the Wen was at least a few years older, he had won every challenge thus far, annoying the Nie. The younger Wen had immediately identified the younger Nie as a prime target and had started poking the four-year-old. My brother and the Jiang heir had gotten into and argument right away, which the older Lan and the older Jiang tried to mediate, and the younger Lan had become so overwhelmed that he'd resorted to biting anyone but his brother who came within biting distance.
I would have been surprised if the cacophony was not heard all the way back in Lanling.
I had walked out of what I'd dubbed the ”kiddie courtyard”, my nanny and my guard following behind. They would not reduce me to acting like a little barbarian, I'd vowed to myself.
Instead, I'd demanded to see Yiling, the first place other than Lanling that I'd visited.
And there wasn't much to it.
The residents had obviously tried their best. It wasn't like they had hundreds of cultivators visiting them all that often, spending their money whenever they stepped outside the large, barely maintained but usually abandoned estate* on the skirts of the town. Yiling wasn't a place with a thriving tourism, nor did they really have anything in particular to sell, so they must try to milk us cultivators for all that we have while we're here.
We stopped by one of the toy vendors to look at the rattle drums (A-Hòu would be insufferable if I came back without something for him). The vendor engaged my nanny in conversation, intuiting that while I'd have to like the toys, she was the one in control of the money.
Bored, I kicked the unseasonably early snow. This was a game I'd gotten lost in during my first childhood, if it can be called that. Pack the snow together with your feet, then stomp on it, and repeat ad nauseam.
I managed to scrape a respectable amount of trampled, wet snow when I caught movement from the alley behind the vendor.
It was a child dressed in rags, doing what I'd done, and laughing as he stomped on his own snow mound.
The child had no shoes.
His feet were red, but not bleeding.
That he was still alive, when it was just past freezing, and capable of playing... his potential as a cultivator must've been immense.
The quick calculations that went through my mind weren't really suitable for a child my age, but that's what you get for sticking a too smart child to a place like Jinlintai.
I made my way over to the child. ”Aren't you cold?”
The child looked startled, but then smiled. It was... it could not be a real smile, but I had trouble identifying what made it fake. ”Yes, but A-Ying can ignore it!”
”Does A-Ying like being cold?” I asked, frowning.
”No, silly! Who likes being cold? A-Ying said A-Ying can ignore it! Just breathe like-” he took a deep breath and probably did some cultivation, and let the air whoosh out of his lungs. ”-like that! Then you're all warm again! Mama taught A-Ying!” He grinned proudly.
”Where is your mama? Or baba?” I had to ascertain he was alone.
A-Ying shrugged. ”They left for a night hunt a long time ago and didn't come back. The lady at the inn kicked me out not long after.”
“Do you want to come home with me? I live all the way in Lanling. You could join my sect and be a cultivator,” I offered. Not the most eloquent offer I'll admit, but for a street rat? It'd do.
A-Ying thought about it for a moment. “Would I have food? And shoes?”
“Mn. Yes. And new clothes.” I went over what “pro-work” talking points I remembered. “My Lady mother would probably also say dignity in proper work, but since you're so little still, I think we can waive that.”
“I can work!” A-Ying stomped his foot indignantly. “I'll be the best worker you've ever seen!”
Inwardly, my smile widened. Hook, line and sinker. “We'll see,” I soothed. “What's you're name?”
“Wei Ying!”
“Do you know the characters?”
Wei Ying shook his head. “Nuh huh. Baba was teaching me, I think, but I can't remember.”
“That's okay,” I comforted him. “Then you'll be Yīng, as in sleet.” I held out my arm for the heavy, wet snow to land on. “This kind of snow is the best to play with.” And the easiest to mold. “I'll have to think about the last name. Or we could ask around if the inn lady knew the characters.”
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