Alyx Woodward (obsolete) @Alyx@computerfairi.es

and if that's NOT all you assholes' fault, in some way--because honestly I can't think of anyone else in town who'd have both the ability and the motive to do some kind of magical woo on us that would cause us lots of pain--then well you're always free to tell us that directly

stop being such fucking cowards and we'll start having nicer things to say about you and your shit

well

with that out of the way let's get back to routine

we've been on the receiving end of a lot of weird misdirected _rage_. and never gotten one solid hint that anyone involved, INCLUDING the authors of this fucking thing I'm working through right now, have changed their minds about Chara and the rest of us

so far as I know, guys, you all still fucking despise the lot of us and still think you have reasons to hurt us. and you know what? we're hurting, all right

all the fun's gone out of this. but we're not in this for fun

you know

I haven't any clue really what's been up with us. whether anyone we've known personally has been _involved_. got nothing to go on really

we've felt like it's been plausible to assume that these people who've collectively hurt us so many times have been making a kind of GAME of it all. having fun pushing us around

maybe because they feel threatened somehow

@Purranda 👍

bleh. real unhappy this morning

@tindall@cybre.space they're totally gonna do it too. TLJ existed in a fortunate bubble. for once the stars aligned

the next one will be awful, you just know it

and finally water gets eliminated and you get the allene. or something like that. I'm trying to do that in my head instead of writing it down (it's good practice for me!)

well, fun! the _Organic Syntheses_ article then goes on to show a whole bunch of reactions that allenylcarbinol has been used in.

one to file away for who-knows-when.

synthesis involves refluxing propargyl alcohol, HC≡C-CH₂OH, with paraformaldehyde (that's the insoluble polymeric form of formaldehyde, much nicer to handle than formalin), diisopropylamine, copper(I) iodide as a catalyst, in tetrahydrofuran. well!

presumably the diisopropylamine is a sufficiently strong base to strip the acetylenic hydrogen on the propargyl alcohol, which then coordinates with the copper(I). then this acetylide attacks formaldehyde (formed in situ from the paraformaldehyde)

oh uh lemme do _Organic Syntheses_ roulette again

(among other things it's kinda calming)

and the number is 4263!

http://orgsyn.org/demo.aspx?prep=v94p0153

wow, ok...a curious reaction, synthesis of something that looks like a valuable synthetic intermediate even though it's only a few carbons long, allenylcarbinol. so H₂C=C=CH-CH₂OH. a more systematic name is 2,3-butadienol.

allenes are funny creatures!

oh, forgot Biology class. we get a clip of the professor's introduction to her lecture here, giving Lomax and the other students a bright cheery introduction to the world of "Bacterica" [sic], which she later correctly names as the bacteria

(sorry, my eye goes RIGHT to little slips like that)

the biology prof mentions that without our symbiotic relationship with bacteria we would not even be alive and I'm sure this passage is not meant to symbolize a thing to us

finally at the most important page, page forty-two. surely this page will answer all the questions

of course it doesn't

(Chara, or Kara rather, arrived at the knowledge she was trans, at the age of forty-two, how's that for a coincidence)

https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-42

Lomax sighs, grumbles about not being able to think straight, and tries to slog through their course load. math, chemistry, language come and go, while Lomax's gloom deepens

Rodgers leaves Lomax standing there, very much lacking in assurance. "I need to...talk..." that's it

well I know THAT feeling

"look, I know this is scary and confusing"

then at the bottom half of the page, Prof. Rodgers (I'm sticking with the contention that he's Paul Rodgers's cousin or something) gets Very Serious[tm] and the frame goes purple for some reason and promises that answers are coming. in _private_. how reassuring!

then Rodgers grabs Lomax's shoulders (also reassuring!) and says, basically, "see me in extracurricular class" and walks off

page forty-one

https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-41

Lomax is out of breath, panting and drooling a bit as you do. they apparently made it to the parking lot of the school, because they spot Dr. Rodgers, whistling and getting into (or out of) their sensible compact car

so is it "Rodgers" or "Rogers"? I dunno if the comic knows for sure, haha

"MR. ROGERS [sic] I NEED TO TALK ABOUT--"

Rodgers instantly shushes Lomax, and says some words meant to reassure

dark brown topcoat and matching hat, pale pink tie, white hair, white beard neatly sculpted to a point. somehow I'm reminded of the character of Dr. Augustus Frost, from "That Hideous Strength", a little-known C. S. Lewis novel

Lomax stares blankly at the stranger and then makes a break for it. something about the encounter has scared the shit out of them

they run and run and run, apparently not stopping until they're out of breath and back at their school

like Chara, I too am dedicated to continuity :=D

so, page forty

https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-40

Lomax is strolling around King's Park and complaining of photophobia. "normally I like the sun but today it hurts my eyes" (remember they complained of their vision not being right after the whole, uh, pink lozenge henshin thing)

and then boom they accidentally walk into the back of a weird person who genuinely looks like the sort of weird guy you'd run into, in a toku show