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Most of us Twstie fans headcanon that Twisted Wonderland is this eco-friendly, humanitarian world that is much more accepting than our world. Realistically, Twisted Wonderland is not a perfect world! There is classism (mages versus non-magical people), racism (humans versus fae), and much more we can come up with.

But why would Pride be something to celebrate?

I think long, long ago, being gay and lesbian was frowned upon. Maybe it was more of a class thing than a sex or religious thing. Maybe there was no such thing as being non-binary or asexual. Epel has shown there are preconceived gender norms.

For what could be many reasons, perhaps Pride in Twisted Wonderland is more of a celebration of acceptance than rebellion. Maybe it did start out as rebellion, yet it grew quickly into acceptance.

nasa employee: this guy hasn't interacted with humans in like 20/60 years should he really be giving interviews?

nasa employee 2: ehh just give him some media training and it should be fine

this is more of a silly one bc i just wanted to draw grace in a suit ^^

『Chantelle Merike』✧ 『Star of the Seas』

✦ 【Luminary Star Academy】

🦌

((worldbuilding LMAO, welcome to me bullshitting my way through biochemistry and cell signaling if something seems super inaccurate uhhh that's the magic part of the alchemy I'm describing /hj/lh))

Magic is made up of particles called 'estellions'. Fun Fact: 'Estelle' comes from the Latin word 'stella', meaning star. Scholars named the particle after this due to the old belief that wishing upon a star would work like magic - and grant someone their wish

While still a relatively new area of study, scientists have confirmed that estellions exist both as a part of genetic make up, and passively in the environment; they can be thought of almost as another element in the composition of air. One area of study that is very busy right now is learning how to quantify estellions in humanoids, and studying whether they proliferate over an individual's life/what prevents a high concentration of them as someone gets older

Although the characterization of these particles is not well established, we know that in the body, estellions are regulated by a negative feedback loop. As they are used/exercised by the casting of spells/use of magic, the resonance between particles is increased. This excited state results in the production of atramentiase - more commonly known as 'blot' - to form. These enzymes are the result of estellions being mutated by the environmental estellions.

Atramentiase in low concentrations is relatively harmless, however it builds up rather quickly in the body. This is why all mages are mandated to carry a magestone - as a health and safety precaution. The magical resonance is stronger between atramentiase and a mage stone than it is between atramentiase and healthy genetic estellions. This is because the mage stone is essentially so many concentrated environmental estellions that a crystal was able to form, causing a version of "active transport" to occur, where molecules in low concentration in the body move to a higher concentration in the stone. In other words. environmental estellions are attracted to other, higher concentrations of environmental estellions, like in magestones. Genetic estellions, their quantity and concentration dictate an individual's ability to wield environmental ones to supplement their magic pool. The more genetic estellions, the easier it tends to be for the individual to utilize the environmental estellions.

When a magic user casts a spell, they are using approximately 40% - 60% of their own estellions in relation to the composition of the spell. The rest of the spell is supplemented by environmental estellions. These environmental particles have often undergone several mutations due to being used by other mages, long lifespan resulting in the degradation of their composition, and other variables - in other words, they are not very bio-chemically stable. Upon introduction to the genetic estellions, anywhere from 5-75% of the environmental estellions are absorbed into the body. These foreign particles trigger an autophagic pathway, resulting in their breakdown. The residual magic is taken up by the genetic estellions, often mutating them, and the rest of the particle is disposed of like other cellular waste in the body. We don't know what factors impact the mutation rate or the uptake of environmental estellions yet.

The exception to this is when an individual uses their UM - they use 95-99% of their own estellions. Before they cast, environmental estellions still concentrate around their magestone like a normal spell, but far more of their estellions are exposed to foreign ones. This leads to more rapid blot build up.

There is a strong correlation between the amount of genetic estellions an individual has in comparison to the time it takes to metabolize 'blot'. Typically, the more estellions in someone's genetic code, the slower their system is to process out atramentiase. In other words, the larger someone's magic pool, the more likely they are to overblot.

Prof says we'll go over

how environmental estellions work more later this year, and in depth second year. For now we just need to know that they have a passive effect on nature as a whole, including abiotic components of an ecosystem.

The exact processes of blot to stone estellion pathways (during unit 2?)

what we know about overblot and the health associations (mostly due to prevalent circumstances)

--------------------- :P pretend this makes sense /lh

I know most of you have seen this already but @fluffle-writes @my-cursed-brain @distant-velleity @nemisisnemi @starry-night-rose @lumdays @theleechyskrunkly @elenauaurs

Shutting down federal bee labs threatens bees, beekeepers and the US food system

America’s bees and beekeepers are losing a valuable ally just when they need its help most.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to soon close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, a 6,500-acre agricultural research station in Maryland that is home to the nation’s premier bee research and disease diagnosis hub, the Beltsville Bee Research Lab.

The closure comes at a critical moment for bees. In winter 2025, many beekeepers lost over half their operations as pesticide-resistant varroa mites spread, bringing deadly viruses. The losses have led to low honey production, and soaring fuel costs have made shipping bees cross-country for agricultural pollination increasingly expensive, further stressing the industry.