#Dr. Shen's Log

[adragonthatwrites]

Absolutely loving your marine biologist cqms diaries and need to know the full Moshang backstory at once... Why do I see sqh taping programmable LED strips to himself with double-sided sticky tape so that he can 'talk' to Mobei Jun...

Thank you, glad you're enjoying it! As for the story behind MoShang... Sit down, grab a drink, because I am about to do a lot of elaborating!

So first off Dr. Shang Qinghua; he's a very renowned marine biologist, who specializes in Leviathan Class mer language and behavior (though his knowledge regrading the behaviors and linguistic abilities of smaller, coastal species is nothing to sneeze at either). He's the head of Leviathan Class mer study at one of Cang Qiong's facilities; a different facility from the one Dr. Shen Jiu works at, actually! He did spend time working with Dr. Shen; both in school, and during their internships, and during those time periods it was decided that those two should not be allowed to work in the same space as each other. Project Pisces is an exception.

One of Dr. Shang's most well known and well renowned achievements (aside from The Tank Incident which we'll get too) was his part in the illegalization of mer poaching, selling, and ownership. His study of mer habits and language assisted in the official classification of mers as Sentient Species, granting them rights against being killed or owned as pets. He also assisted in the seizure, rehabilitation and release of hundreds of mers previously being kept as pets or sideshow attractions.

Back to MoShang:

Mobei Jun, a category 2 Leviathan Class mer (Yue Qingyuan is a category 3; the first and currently only), was one of Dr. Shang's first subjects of study in his pursuit of proving mers capable of complex language. He was found caught in a fishermen's net and brought to Dr. Shang's facilities for both treatment and study. Almost all of Dr. Shang's knowledge of Leviathan Class behaviors, as well as mer language, was gleaned from his study of Mobei Jun over the course of several months' worth of treatment and rehabilitation. He spent hours and hours outside the mer's enclosure, speaking to him in English, Chinese, and even incorporating some sign language. He took direct responsibility over feeding, guiding and treating the mer, studying Mobei Jun's behaviors and responses to the stimuli around him.

He was able to identify complex, grammatical structure within the calls and sounds Mobei Jun made when interacting with him, though he wasn't able to reliably decipher these into a language (at least not one that would earn mers the rights of Sentient Species). His major breakthrough came in studying the bioluminescent patterns located on Mobei Jun's face, shoulders, chest, and across his back. He discovered that mer language is actually largely associated with these markings; words are formed via the flashing of certain markings in certain patterns over certain areas of the body, while the low, intense vocalizations Mobei Jun frequently made were generally associated with more broad emotions; for example hunger, irritation, curiosity, threat, etc.

Essentially; the markings convey words, while vocalizations convey feelings, as Dr. Shang put it his paper on the subject.

Actually decoding, understanding and then mimicking these individual words in order to have a proper conversation with Mobei Jun proved to be a bit more of a challenge, in large part because Dr. Shang, being human, had no markings of his own, and no ability to make the appropriate sounds to convey his emotions.

His solution to this problem was ultimately to pick up a flashlight and start turning it on and off over various parts of his body in an attempt to mimic the signals used to convey words. He was... actually surprisingly successful, and was able to engage in one of the very first human to mer conversations. Which mostly consisted of Mobei Jun asking what the fuck he was doing while Dr. Shang spammed a rudimentary approximation of the words for 'learn' and 'friend'.

Which finally brings us to The Tank Incident...

Near the end of Mobei Jun's rehabilitation, a few weeks before he was to be moved to one of their oceanic enclosures (a big pen off the side of the facilities that connects to the ocean itself), before being released back to the wild, Dr. Shang was walking alongside the edge of Mobei Jun's holding tank making observations about his sleeping patterns. It was very late and most of the lights had been turned out, and Mobei Jun himself had retired to the den built into his tank for sleep.

Evidently a feed bucket had been left out beside the tank and Dr. Shang wasn't aware of it, as he tripped over it and fell, directly into Mobei Jun's tank.

He would later go on to describe the experience as 'equal parts terrifying and thrilling.' Mobei Jun was naturally woken up by Dr. Shang's tumble into his tank, and emerged to investigate. The sound of his voice; echo-locating to see what exactly had fallen in his tank; was loud enough to make Dr. Shang's chest vibrate.

Dr. Shang had expected to die then; it wasn't common for mer's to eat humans, but not unheard of, particularly in Leviathan Class. Sentient though they may be, mers are undoubtedly much more... wild than humans.

Mobei Jun, on the other hand, had apparently recategorized Dr. Shang from food to a potential mate during their months of interaction, and took the opportunity of having the man within his reach to... finalize, that decision.

Dr. Shang has gone on record stating that the experience was 'not as bad as you'd expect actually! For one thing it's nice and narrow at the tip and he doesn't just shove it all in at once, so you have time to adjust. The smaller one's on the sides also help to distract you, and the fact mers also like to be penetrated at the same time they're doing the penetrating definitely helps too." (for more info on speculative mer reproduction, check out Sinn-Bee's MerLiu au, I took a lot of inspo from them ;))

Regardless, Dr. Shang quickly became very famous for his little... adventure. He is not however the first person to end up in such a situation; he's not even the first researcher, so he wasn't blacklisted or fired. He is the first to pull it off with a Leviathan Class though...

[adragonthatwrites]

AAAAAAH I love these drawings so much! It was a delight seeing them pop up in the chat and it's a delight seeing them now everyone go look at these pretty drawings and appreciate them!!!!

Some doodles made to bully @adragonthatwrites and their "Dr. Shen's Log" thread fic. (My designs don't necessarily match the intended vision for these characters, it's all in fun!)

[rafayelbiter]

yall seen this lil mf around..?? hunky baymax whwn i catch u hunky baymax👊

[trbl-will-find-me]

Every Exit, An Entrance (26/?)

There are two (and only two) possibilities: either she led XCOM to victory and they are now engaged in a clean up operation of alien forces, or XCOM was overrun, clearing the way for an alien-controlled puppet government to seize control of the planet.

She’d really like to figure out which it is, but asking hardly seems the prudent option. Read from the beginning on AO3

The first story breaks in the Buenos Aires press, a front page, side column feature about mysterious footage and documents depicting an attempted abduction in the city at the height of the invasion.

There are details from the leaked After Action Report, quotes from the aftermath of the initial attack, and follow up with survivors. It’s an article focused on the facts, backed up by a respectable bit of legwork, and blessedly free from the taint of sensationalism. It’s picked up quickly by the local news, and then the national. The wire services begin to circulate it shortly thereafter.

It’s a curiosity, not a headline, a reminder to the public that, despite the devastation, there were those who fought back, who did what they could to push back the incursion wherever the aliens appeared. It is a reminder that those who fought remain cloaked in intrigue, in governmental denial and official non-existence.  She wagers the story is enough to spark the demand for more --- nothing like a mystery to spark a readership’s curiosity.

Shen seems to agree, offering her a quiet nod of congratulations as the story continues to spread.

The game is afoot.

“Commander,” Central greets her as she steps into Mission Control.

“Central. Anything interesting?”

“Dr. Vahlen would like to see you. She has concerns about recent events.”

Her heart stutters.  “Could you elaborate?”

“She’s concerned the research team’s work may not be secure.”

She draws in a small breath and lets it out slowly. We still have time, she reassures herself. “Dr. Shen made it clear the intrusion didn’t impact weapons development work or interrogation logs.  That data is still secure.”

“Her concerns were more … academic in nature.”

The comment catches her off guard. “We won a war, and she’s worried about someone scooping her credit?”

“She’s of the opinion that the discoveries made over the course of the Invasion will lead to significant advances; she’d like to ensure her name, and the names of her people, are attached.”

She can’t say she’s unsympathetic. Academia has never been kind to women, particularly not to women in the hard sciences. She can’t argue Vahlen’s brilliance or skill in managing her department. They would never have survived the initial onslaught, let alone the full scope of the conflict, without the woman’s passion, dedication, and astonishing talent for assembling disparate scraps into a coherent analysis. There is no doubt in her mind that Vahlen is deserving of accolades; she had just hoped to keep their work out of the realm of ‘publish or perish.’

“Has Dr. Shen expressed similar concerns?”

“No, but he does have an updated timeline for global Firestorm coverage.”

“How bad?”

“Start of the second week of March.”

She cocks her head. “That’s not too terrible, given the past few weeks. The update should soothe the Council’s nerves.”

Bradford meets her gaze, but is silent for a beat. The meaning is clear: Don’t kid yourself, Lizzie.

“We can only hope, ma’am.”

She hopes none of the men on duty notice the way she tries to bite back a grin. “Keep an eye on things here. I’ll go try to reassure the good doctor.”

--

She is running out of time. The scouting team is due back within the day, and she is still empty handed. She has nothing of use, save for the confirmation that she should absolutely not eat any meat offered to her.

It’s not for lack of trying. She has been out and about with the crew every night til late, being regaled by their exploits.

They’ve made in-roads, certainly. There seems to be a budding, if mostly friendly, rivalry between the sharpshooters and their Reaper contemporaries. Thomas has already been slapped by no fewer than three of their allies. No one, however, has dared to partake of the cuisine.

But, if they have uncovered anything of use, they have let to mention it in her presence.

She may be without recourse.

It is late and she is freshly dressed from an all too brief showers when the knock comes at her door.

“In!” She calls.

Central’s hands tremor, but there is a light in his eyes. “I think I got your intel.”

“What? How?”

He settles on her couch. “Sally’s a known quantity to enough of Volk’s people. They let a few more things slip around her than they really should.”

“I’m listening,” she says, settling across from him.

“There’s a growing chunk of people who think Volk’s lost his way.”

“In deciding to work with us?”

“No. That thing that took Mox? The Reapers have their own, but officially, he doesn’t exist.”

“Why would ADVENT confirm? They gain nothing from it.”

Central shakes his head. “Not ADVENT. Volk. This thing shoots up their camps and slaughters their people, but he won’t hear talk of it, let alone addressing it.”

She furrows her brow. “Why?”

“Rumor has it this thing used to be one of them.”

She weighs her next question carefully. “Is it true?” He shrugs “Volk won’t talk about it with anyone, inside the Reapers or out. I’d say that gives the claim some weight, but I don’t have proof either way.”

She chews on her lip. “So, he lost one of his own and ADVENT’s using it against him. Now, his people are suffering for it and it’s wearing thin. Is that right?” “That’s the gist of it.” She can feel a grin spread across her face. “Dissent in the ranks. God, that’s gold. How’d you get it out of Sally?”

“Didn’t have to.”

“She volunteered?”

“Sort of. Might be fairer to say she runs her mouth if she’s playing a clean game of poker.”

“She know you overheard?”

“Who do you think she was playing against?”

She chuckles. “So, things are better on that front.”

“They’re stable,” he says. “Less shouting.”

“That’s gotta be a relief.”

He lets out a sigh, and nods. “I don’t know if things will ever really be better, not after what I did. But I’ll take whatever improvements happen.”

“Life’s funny, John. You never know what’s coming.”

He meets her gaze for a moment, and she realizes what she’s said. It’s a level of familiarity, of intimacy she wasn’t intending to inject.

But, there it is. She can’t quite bring herself to regret it.

“Yeah, Lizzie. I guess you’re right.”

-- There is a giggle and a knock at her office door. She sets aside the next batch of files to be released and locks her desk before responding to the summons.

Steph Royston stands before her, ruddy cheeked and pajama clad, a box in her hand.

“Ma’am! We’re gonna get Molchetti drunk off shitty boxed wine for my bachelorette! Come celebrate!”

She can’t help the chuckle that escapes her lips. “It seems you already started.”

Royston grins. “Bernard and I got into the gin. It’s gonna be a good night.”

“You are gonna be so hung over for your wedding.”

“It’s a good thing I’ve got til five o’clock tomorrow to pull myself together, then.”

Her eyes dart from Royston to her office door and then back. She has work to do, responsibilities to attend to. She can’t risk the momentum that’s begun to gather. She should stay in, should focus on the task at hand.

But it’s not every day that there is something to celebrate, let alone something as momentous as a wedding. It’s not every day she’s summoned from her professional duties to partake in some decidedly un-professional fun. It’s not everyday two people beat the odds to make a run at happily ever after.

Oh, fuck it, she reasons. You’ve never thought twice about stopping to grieve. Is death somehow more worthy than life?

“Alright,” she says. “Let’s go see you try to get Isabella to touch a drop of that stuff.”

Royston smirks. “Bernard thought I should put it in a bottle, but that seemed cruel.”

“So, you’re just gonna feed her box wine?’

“Oh, no. Devorah is.”

Looking back, she won’t be able to really explain the sequence of events that leads them up, up, and out into the cold of the Kansas night. She suspects the wine played a part, yes, along with the revelation that Hershel had gone her entire life up until that point without once having ever thrown a snowball.

There they stand, under silent January stars, beginning to shiver as the cold bites through their coats. There is snow in their hair and blood in their cheeks. Hershel cackles and lobs another wintery projectile at her girlfriend, who retaliates in kind. Steph sits on the ground nearby, and raises a toast to the moon before flopping backwards onto the powder.

When the cold finally wins out, when they can no longer tolerate the sting of the air on their skin, they stumble back into the base. Central catches her eye with a look of fond admonishment. She offers him a terrible wink, and Steph covers her mouth in a futile attempt to suppress her laughter.

“Commander.”

“Central,” she grins.

She’s asleep when he crawls into bed that night, waking only when he presses a kiss to her forehead.

“I can’t believe you broke protocol for that,” she says, quietly.

She snuggles closer to him. “Hershel had never thrown a snowball. It seemed important to fix.”

She feels his laugh deep in his chest. “Certainly, a moral imperative.”

“You ready for tomorrow?”

“Are any of us?”

She laughs. “Probably not.” --

They are gathered in Volk’s tent —-herself, Central, Shen, Tygan, Volk, and Kate Starling, Volk’s second-in-command—as the scouting team, newly returned from the field reviews their findings.

The news is good, better than she could have hoped for, really. Pratal Mox is being held in a nearby ADVENT detention facility, one that a skilled covert operative should be able to penetrate with little difficulty.

“That’s great,” Lily offers. “But the second we cut through the security protocols on that door, the whole region’s security grid will light up. We’d have to be in and out.”

“We’ll keep Firebrand on standby and arm everyone for a tough fight,” Central says. “It’s less security than we faced for Gatecrasher, and we still managed.”

The Commander nods. “Right, Outrider, you’ll take point---“

“Oh, so you’re sending one of my people to go rescue your precious Skirmisher. I hope this doesn’t turn out to be a waste of resources, Regan.”

She closes her eyes and draws in a breath, then opens them again. “Would the rest of you excuse Volk and I for a minute?”

The others rise and make their exits. Central offers her a small nod of encouragement.

“Volikov,” she says once she’s certain they are alone. “In twenty years, you’ve held ground. I’ll give you that. In your own little corner of the universe, you’ve traded some measure of your humanity to keep ADVENT at bay. I’m not here to pass judgment.”

“What we have now, though, is a chance to push back. To retake some of what should be ours. That means working as a team. You, me, the Reapers, the Skirmishers, anyone we can get on board. And if you can’t take your head out of your ass, play nicely, and support an alliance, then I will find someone here who can.”

“Are you threatening me, Regan?”

“I’m just saying that if you can’t act in the best interest of your people, I’m sure someone here can.”

“The best interest of my people? And what would you know about that?” “Only that you’ve got a chunk of your population who thinks you’re no longer operating in the best interest of their survival. Seems your boogeyman has too much blood on his hands for them to ignore --- unlike you.”

“You know noth---“

“I know your people are tired of you hiding your head in the sand, and pretending that you don’t have something stalking you. I know, when it comes to those things, you and the Skirmishers have more in common than you’d like to think. I know that all it takes is proof that someone else has a gun that’s every bit as good as yours, and a few whispers in the right ear.” She stands, and brushes a speck of dirt from her jacket. “You placed Dragunova under my command and, until such time as she expresses a desire to leave, she will remain under my command. We’ll get the Skirmisher back, and we’ll put a stop to that thing with or without your help. But when we come marching back here with her head on a pike, I hope you’re ready to learn how loyal your people are.”

Volk stares silently up at her; she wonders if he sees the way she shakes.

“You better make sure you know damn well what you’re doing.”

“You should take your own advice. It’s my show, and I’ll run it the way I see fit.”

She turns, and makes her way out into the dark of the night. She finds her staff, along with Starling and Dragunova, gathered around a nearby campfire.

“We’ll move in the morning,” she says. “Dragunova, you’ll take point. We’ll send Kelly and Thomas for any close combat concerns, and Zaytsev in the event of needing medical care en route back. Starling,” she continues, turning her attention to the other woman. “We’ll be in touch as soon as we’ve got Mox back. Thank your people again for me.”

Starling nods. “Understood.”

She falls in next to Central as they make their way back to the ship.

“And?” He asks, quietly.

“That did it,” she offers, voice barely above a whisper. “As long as I didn’t sign us up for more than we can really handle.” “More than we can handle?”

“We’re gonna have to kill the Assassin.”

“We were gonna have to do that anyway.”

“We don’t even know where she is.”

“We’ll find her.”

[rowanstories-blog]

The Adjustment

Lucian rolled his eyes yet again, setting a new record for number of eye rolls in a single car ride. Grace, sitting beside him in the driver's seat, set a new record for times she pretended not to notice her boyfriend's attitude. Both accomplishments were made in a tense silence as the car meandered down the streets, going seemingly on its own will as its inhabitants focused entirely on the matter at hand.

"Babe, I just want you to be-"

"Healthy, I know," Lucian scoffed.

"It's just a cleaning, there's nothing to be afraid of," Grace said.

"I'm not scared," Lucian immediately responded, the volume and intensity of his words calling the statement into question. "I just... I hate the scraping. Scree scree, like they're digging in your skull! And don't get me started on all the water and air tubes they stick up in your business-"

"Tubes in your business? Are you sure your last dentist was human, not some probing alien?" Grace asked, unable to resist the call to innuendo.

Lucian couldn't help but chuckle. "Okay, it's not that bad. But I still don't like it, it makes me feel like I can't breathe." He gave her a side eye. "You nose-breathers would never understand."

"That doesn't really have the same insulting ring as 'mouth-breather,' you know."

"I tried."

The silence returned, noticeably less tense than the one that filled the car minuted prior.

Grace put a hand on Lucian's, moving it from his crossed-arms position and bringing them both to rest on the seat divider between them. "You've got this. I know you do."

A smile formed on Lucian's face and managed to stay there for more than a passing moment, a great feat for his less-used facial muscles. "I guess I can do it. For you."

The car slowed and stopped, parking directly in front of the door to a large, remarkably unremarkable gray building. If not for the small gold and black sign reading 'EAST FALL DENTISTRY,' it could easily be mistaken for abandoned property. The graffiti along the walls certainly didn't help with that assumption either. Lucian noted that it wasn't even the cool kind of graffiti; it had color and flair, sure, but the lettering looked completely wrong. He couldn't tell if the letters were very bad English or a different system of symbols entirely.

Unable to delay his exit any longer without arousing suspicion, Lucian moved to slide out of the car. Grace's hand, still lightly resting on his, grabbed it and used it to pull him closer for a small peck. Lucian reciprocated with a kiss of his own, then made his way into the building.

Grace smiled to herself, rolling her eyes in amusement. "Men," she mouthed to herself, amazed by the continued existence of the male gender despite having a shared disgust of all things medical. With a final head shake, she drove off, leaving her boyfriend to fend for himself against the forces of medical establishment.

---

Lucian kicked a bit under his chair, watching the fish in an uncomfortably large tank as they ambled about in the water. He hated fish, and he hated waiting all the more. The only thing he hated more at the moment was hearing his name mispronounced, which, as luck would have it, happened just two minutes prior thanks to an apathetic receptionist.

The fish bobbed through the water, eyes glazed over. Lucian wondered to himself if their seeming non-interest in everything was due to contentedness or boredom-induced dread. He watched a specific silver fish, the most active of the bunch, as it made its way to a bubbling treasure chest beside some fake kelp and a hollow log. The treasure chest stood out as a very unrealistic addition to the otherwise natural-looking aquarium, but perhaps he was just uninformed about the number of bubbling treasure chests on the real ocean floor.  

As he considered how much money it would cost Animal Planet to edit out all treasure chests for the sake of publicly perceived realism, he noticed something stir in the hollow log. He got up, moving himself around the cylindrical glass, in order to get a better view inside.

Just as he did, a blur shot out of the log, directly toward the fish. Lucian had no time to process the event until the silver fish vanished from view, replaced with a trail of blood.

"What the-" Lucian said with a jump. He looked over at the receptionist, tapping away at her computer. "Are the fish supposed to eat each other?" he asked across the room.

The receptionist looked up, rolled her eyes, then went back to work.

He moved closer to the tank, looking into the log. Inside, a large fish face munched away on the small silver fish, sharp teeth slicing the silver fish into smaller bits with each move of its jaw. Lucian couldn't help but stare as the silver fish slowly vanished, flesh and blood sucked into the sharp-toothed mouth of the hidden log fish.

"Luck-ian Hay-wood?" a voice called.

Lucian looked over to see a short woman leaning out from the nearby doorway. "Loo-shen," he corrected, already at his quota for name corrections for the day.

"Right this way, Mr. Haywood," the woman said, gesturing for him to follow her into the medical labyrinth beyond the single swinging door.

He reluctantly followed, noticing with great annoyance that she made no effort to correct the pronunciation of his name. The two made their way through the array of halls and rooms, turning left and right far too many times for Lucian to keep track. He couldn't help but feel like they went in several circles, but each turn continued on into new territory. Despite every room they passed being empty, they continued walking, much to Lucian's annoyance.

"This room here," the woman said, gesturing into a room seemingly at random and after far too long.

He nodded and sat down in the chair, trying not to look at the intimidating number of sharp objects lying out around him. The woman went through the basics with him, asking about dental history, allergies, and far more that he simply didn't care about.

"The doctor will be in soon," she said after typing up some notes in the room's computer, grabbing her clipboard back from the counter.

"Wait," Lucian asked. "You're not going to look at anything?" It had been quite a while since his last dentist visit, but based on what Grace said and his own foggy memory, the first dentist would do some general checks, and the doctor-dentist came in after.

"Doctor Kan prefers to do the first appointment on his own," she said, not looking at Lucian.

"But-"

"He likes to build a rapport," she said, interrupting his next question with the answer. "He'll be in shortly." She left immediately after, not giving him a single moment to try and reply.

Lucian sighed, now alone with himself and his thoughts. His eyes wandered, inevitably noticing the far-too-sharp objects all around him. His empty mind taunted him with thoughts of the objects scraping at his teeth and inside of his gums. Once that lost its shock value, his mind moved on to the image of the sharp-tooth fish from earlier, leaping from the tank and biting at his fingers. He shook the thoughts away, hoping that the dentist would appear soon.

"Luck-ian!" a voice called out from behind as the door creaked open.

"Lucian," he corrected, turning his head. What he saw made him second guess his own eyes, if only for a moment. Out of all the things he expected his dentist to look like, 'ripped' was not anywhere close to his list. As the dentist swung around the back of the chair and towered over him, he couldn't help but feel like he was a co-star in the start to a porno.

"Luck-ian Haywood, good to meet ya," the dentist Dr. Kan said with a smack to the back of Lucian's chair. The tone of his voice made it sound like Kan was smiling widely, but the doctor's mask hid the lower half of his face. That was all that was hidden from view; the uniform Dr. Kan wore looked two sizes too small, and with ripped sleeves to match. Lucian couldn't believe that only the sleeves had ripped so far; the rest of the fabric looked like it could go with a single flex. "I'm Hunter Kan, and I'll be your dentist! So what brings you here, hmm?"

"My girlfriend said so," Lucian said.

"I hear that," Dr. Kan said with a laugh. "So no problems?"

"Not one," Lucian said, echoing his response to the woman earlier.

Dr. Kan fell into the office chair, somehow not breaking it from the momentum of such a muscular mass. He tapped away at the computer, mumbling to himself as he skimmed through the records. "So how was the wait? Not too long, I hope?"

"No," Lucian lied. He paused, thinking back to the waiting room. "Are the fish supposed to eat each other?"

Dr. Kan laughed. "Of course, it's the circle of life! What makes you ask, hmm?"

"A fish in the log ate one of the silver fish."

"Ahh, the Snakehead. Excellent hunters. That one makes us go through quite a few fish! You'd think they'd learn not to go near the log. I guess prey just isn't that smart." He shook his head as he spun the chair to face Lucian. "A shame, too. Hunting stupid prey must get boring."

Lucian mumbled a half-hearted reply, unsure of whether fish could actually get bored.

"Well, let's check out the teeth, shall we? The ol' chomper?"

Dr. Kan pushed Lucian's head back as the chair sank down. With one hand bringing the light above Lucian's head and the other on the tray of tools nearby, he instructed Lucian to open wide and close his eyes. Lucian didn't recall ever being asked to close his eyes before, but did as he was told regardless.

"Oh my, how dull!" Dr. Kan said aloud, seemingly to himself.

"Dull? Wh-"

"Don't talk while I'm checking this out, please. I'm not like other dentists; I won't ask you about school or vacation as I'm scraping away." He paused, his finger running along Lucian's lips and pulling them away from his gums. He tapped at some of Lucian's teeth with one of the sharp instruments, making him freeze up in response. After what seemed like eternity, the tapping stopped, and Lucian could hear Dr. Kan slump back in his seat.

"You came for a cleaning, right?" Dr. Kan asked. Lucian nodded, eyes still closed. "Look, I'll be honest with you, your teeth, they aren't looking good. I don't get how you eat anything with them, really. But it's nothing we can't fix," he added after noticing Lucian's changed expression. "It'll just be a bit more... intense. We'll have to use numbing agents and all of that. Or we could knock you out, if you'd like."

"Right now?"

"Preferably."

Lucian paused, thinking. He really didn't want to deal with more dentist work than he had mentally prepared for that morning, but he knew that Grace would judge him if he left the office without having anything done, especially since she had to drive him out of her way to get to the cheapest office in the area. "Okay," he decided. "I'd want to be knocked out, though," he added, noting to himself that he didn't have to masquerade as a brave soul without Grace around to impress.

"Excellent!" Dr. Kan said with a clap of his hands. "We'll get everything set up." He got up and started to leave, but turned his head back with a pause. "I think you'll really like our work," he said with a smile in his voice, before leaving Lucian alone in the room once again, giving him some space to mentally prepare for was was yet to come.

---

"I'm proud of you, babe," Grace said, sitting across from Lucien at their apartment's small dinner table.

"Mhmm," Lucien mumbled. He put one of the pills Dr. Kan prescribed for recovery into his mouth and forced himself to swallow it, grimacing the entire time.

"I mean it. I hope you understand now what happens if you don't go to the dentist for over a decade. Maybe now you won't need me to stay on top of it."

Lucien rolled his eyes, but nodded. The plastic surrounding his teeth made talking much harder than he expected, but thankfully Grace knew him well enough to understand him regardless. He pulled his veggie smoothie closer to him and put the straw between the plastic pieces, trying to find a good way to get his lips around the straw without crushing it.

"You've only got to wear the protection for a few days, right? That's not so bad. And your teeth will be so nice after!"

He gave up on his drink, letting the straw drop into the glass. He needed a diet anyway.

Grace got up, bringing her plate to the nearby sink. "And think of all the steak you'll be able to eat this weekend with your shiny new teeth," she said over the sink's water rushing loudly onto her dishes. "Just promise to not eat it all like the last barbecue, okay?"

He got up and kissed her cheek. He noticed just how nice she smelled, standing so close to her. He felt a sudden urge to give her a love bite, something he usually only felt in the energy of bed. He let himself go, rubbing the edge of her ear between the plastic pieces.

"Aww, you're so sweet," she said. "But I didn't hear a promise."

He shrugged, pulling away and pointing at the plastic around his teeth with a head shake.

"I know you can still talk in those, you hoe," she said, giving him a kiss on the lips.

He continued to tease her with a refusal to reply, following her to the couch in the living room. She fell over the arm of the couch in her usual position. Before he could think to resist it, a sudden urge made him jump up on top of her, holding her down and staring at her from above. His stomach growled.

"Ooh, is someone still hungry?" she asked, wiggling her hips under him.

Lucien felt an excitement rise from deep within him, something he couldn't remember feeling before, and yet something innately familiar. Usually he overthought any intimacy beyond handsiness, getting caught up on details and subtle movements, but in this moment, he felt as though his body could get exactly what it wanted without thinking about each step. Excited by this idea, he let himself follow whatever urge came to mind, focusing on the feeling of pleasure and thrill.

"Where is this coming from?" Grace asked at one point in their romp, clearly enjoying his newfound dominance as much as he was.

Continuing his non-vocal teasing from before, he instead gave a growl as he held her down. His stomach growled right after. He pushed the thought of food from his mind as he focused on just how fun and right it felt to follow the urges as they came. Perhaps this is what they mean by fucking like animals, he thought to himself as he did just that.

---

Three days came and went, and Lucien couldn't wait until Grace returned from work. He had the perfect steak recipe all set up for their backyard barbecue date together, and after three days of eating nothing but bits of smoothie, every mention of food made his stomach ache and jaw grind in anticipation. No amount of dominant sex could replace the basic biological need of eating, though it did help him pass the time. Plus, being so close to Grace during their encounters let him get breathfuls of her scent, which intoxicated him more than he ever remembered before. It seemed to make his urges stronger and make him feel even hungrier, though for what he wasn't entirely sure.

He still had a few hours before she got back, and as he waited, the performance nerves started creeping up on him once again. He hadn't actually gotten a chance to practice the recipe at all; what if he couldn't get it right, or it tasted awful? He hated the thought of failing or making something sub-par in front of her. He silently wished that the certainty he felt in the bedroom would help him here, but he couldn't help but think that wouldn't be the case. As he took his last prescription pill and forced it down, he came to a decision.

"I'll practice," he mumbled to himself as he pulled out one of the spare steaks in the fridge. "Just one, so I know it's good."

He started the grill in the backyard and got to work, seasoning and grilling the single steak. The smell was intoxicating, and his stomach growled yet again. He felt an urge bubble up from inside yet again, and he pulled the steak from the heat. Logically he knew it would still be rare, and he never really liked rare meat, but he found himself craving it more than ever before. A lack of food would do that, he guessed to himself.

Originally he planned to bring the meat inside and take the plastic teeth protectors off in the bathroom before eating, but now, staring at the steak sitting directly in front of him, he knew he couldn't wait any longer. He pulled off the protectors and let them fall onto the patio. He noticed that he hadn't thought to bring a fork or knife outside, but he knew that the walk to the kitchen to get them would be far too long. Using the barbecue tongs, he brought the steak up to his mouth, ready to pull and grind for that delicious bite. To his surprise, his teeth slid right through the meat, sending a bloody piece of steak directly into his mouth.

Ecstasy filled his body as the meat moved around his mouth, slicing into pieces between his teeth. He felt none of the resistance he remembered or expected from eating in all of his years prior. The ease of eating, combined with the overwhelming aroma of the steak, led to him being unable to hold back as he shoved the entire steak into his mouth. For a moment he worried that his urge had led him to literally bite off more than he could chew, but yet again he realized he had no need to worry as his teeth managed the mouthful with ease, sending the meat into his starving stomach.

Once he finished the steak, he knew he couldn't possibly stop at one. He pulled out another steak from the fridge, and another, and another. At first he forced himself to wait until they reached at least rare, but by the third steak he couldn't stop himself from pulling them off earlier and earlier, until he found himself eating them entirely raw. He expected a decline in flavor as they became less and less cooked, but instead, he found himself loving it even more. The blood and thickness of the meat filled his mouth and made him grunt with the overwhelming feeling of satisfaction.

Ten steaks later, he ran out of meat to consume. The feeling of pleasure and satisfaction wore away, leaving an almost painful pit in his stomach as the hunger returned. He needed more.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement. A squirrel darted into the yard, on its regular hunt for acorns. He recognized it as one that Grace regularly pointed out, calling it 'Neighbor Nutty.' As he watched it wander through the grass, he felt an urge, no, a need, bubbling up within him. The raw steaks were delicious, sure, but they were rather uniform in texture. It would be nice to experience something new. In a moment, the urge turned from thought to action. It was much easier than he expected, almost disappointingly so.

As Neighbor Nutty crunched between his teeth, he heard a scream from behind him. He turned to see a neighbor from the apartment complex, staring at him in horror.

"Luck-ian! What the fuck?" she shouted, holding her arms up in a sort of defense. "Have you gone mad, Luck-ian?"

He felt a pang of a new urge strike at every nerve inside of him each time the neighbor mis-pronounced his name. The urge spread like a fire, and he felt his muscles tensing, teeth clicking together as Neighbor Nutty slid down his throat.

She barely made it to the second step of the inside stairwell before he caught up with her, sinking his teeth into one of her legs. Just as he expected, they slid right through her flesh, leaving a crater right on her calf. She collapsed with a scream, still trying to climb the stairs using her arms and working leg. He ignored her struggle, continuing to rip pieces off of her, filling his mouth and throat with the hot flesh and blood.

A flash filled his vision. In instinctual rage, he leapt up above her and bit down on the back of her neck. The body beneath him went limp instantly, the blood pouring off of each step in tiny waterfalls. Her hand opened, dropping her cell phone onto the stair beneath it.

He picked it up, noticing it was open to the camera app. The thumbnail in the corner showed something that looked like him, so he tapped it, seeing the picture she captured of him in his final moments. His fingers ran along his mouth, confirming it as the truth. Between his lips were two rows of sharp teeth, the back ones his own sharpened to a point, and the front ones entirely replaced by pointed fangs. His entire face was thinner than he remembered, and as he looked around his body, he realized that he could see each muscle much clearer than before, as if they were straining against his skin. He turned the phone's camera to the selfie function and checked out his body, admiring his new teeth and blood-covered physique. Something deep inside said he shouldn't feel as good as he did about it, but the admiration for himself snuffed out that voice as quickly as it came.

He continued to bite and swallow chunks of the neighbor's flesh, clothes and all. As he did, he found himself annoyed with how little of a fight she put up. He thought back to the past few days he spent in bed with Grace, remembering the times during their romps when she playfully fought back against him, to make him work for what he wanted. Those times felt so much more satisfying than the others, and this felt even more satisfying still. A feast after a true challenge, he concluded, would be the most pleasurable feeling of all. He wanted it. He needed it.

His watch buzzed. He looked at it, and only then realized how much time had passed. Grace would be home soon.

He smiled, running his tongue over his wondrous teeth. Grace would be much more fun than the neighbors. He felt the hunger return, and he still didn't know if it was a hunger of lust or consumption. That didn't bother him, though. Either way, she would be a hell of a hunt.

[tech2guides]

League of Legends Tier List - LOL Tier List 2019

League of Legends Tier List: The Most Powerfull LoL Tier List for Solo Queue & Flex Queue 5v5 Summoner Rift and Tier List provides League of Legends players with Challenger Elo insight. which actually player can be played the Best by this "LOL Tier List" 2018. So you will be going to find out the best way and the List of the LOL Tier List which makes you to Get the best game that can give you more and more Pleasure for sure. LOL Tier List Explanation: There is the Two LEGACY and NEW LoL Tier List are the same champion as the current tier. But you will find the only the Differences is that the Listing formats that you will observe in this League of Legends Tier List. You will also check the different Tier system that will make you more knowledgeable and also gives to play better. If you want to know about these LOL tier list such as S tier, God Tier etc. You don't need to get confused because this is the guide which makes you super clear about the Tier List. These tier lists will make your work so easy that can be a benefit for you and also peoples are always getting confused while making and forming the tier list. so we have listed the different types of tier list which makes everything easy and awesome. S tier Ranking system is the New Uses ranking system is the actually displays the New Uses every champion and their role together also called S tier Ranking System. God Tier Ranking System: LEGACY simply use the Old ranking system FOrmats which means you will see same champions, same data, just displayed in another different way. There ate also Other navigates available they actually show other tier lists (3v3, Assassin, Bruiser, Mid Lane etc.) The Higher Ban will display the Highest Ban Rate Champions and also it just Cinatilns the Highest Pick Rate which is the ANither best Tiers of above S tier, God tier, and other LOL Tier lists.  

  LoL Tier List 8.5:

This League of Legends Tier List is just Up to date which you will Be going to See with all the Top Tier list that Includes many other Top Tier Alo will be there in this League of Legend Tier List Guide. Best Champion Picks/Bans that everyone can Rank in the Flex Queue for Season Rewards. There are also lots of much other Bonus league tier list such you may see for each lane and role and also Flex Queue & Solo Queue Tier List. Patch Changes Log, complete with Champion Tier List Guides which include n the below that you will see the best Tier which is listed below that you will able to see that can be the most Patch Changes Log, Complete with Champion Tier List Guides. For the More solution, you can also visit Reddit league of legends.

League of Legends Tier List 2019:

Follow the Below LOL Tier List which you will feel happy and which is also very useful for further Tire also has there are the Tire Categories which you will find in different Tier List. Each Tier List has its own Benefits to make the thing done very easy. If you are looking for the best tier list and you are not able to make the string tier list this is the guide for you. There the Different Kinds of Tier list that you can Simply Follow the below and the Tier list follows S - God Tier, B Good, C and Follows On. Just have a Look the Below various Categories Lists that are useful for you. All the Various Tier Lists in the Individuacategorieses are the Just you have to know and you don't need to Get confused in one to another. these League of Legends Tier List is always you just need to Follow without getting any Confusion. S: GOD TIER Janna Warwick Anivia Nami Swain Xayah Sion Gangplank Darius Jhin Ezreal Kha'Zix Rengar Zed A STRONG Shyvana Singed Jax Nocturne Teemo Twitch Fizz Sivir Kayn Swain Veigar Ahri Caitlyn Blitzcrank Lulu Brand Vladimir Varus Soraka Draven Vayne Xerath Bard Illaoi Yasuo Morgana Fiora Tristana Alistar Jarvan IV Evelynn Zac Katarina B: GOOD Kayle Cassiopeia Udyr Vel'Koz Ekko Talon Shaco Taric Kled Ashe Jinx Lux Master Yi Kog'Maw Xerath Volibear Sona Rakan Karthus Tryndamere Renekton Sejuani Garen Braum Miss Fortune Nidalee Olaf Zyra Camille Zoe Thresh Kalista Vladimir Lucian Corki C: AVERAGE Wukong Nunu Kindred Xin Zhao Brand Yorick LeBlanc Skarner Malzahar Twisted Fate Dr. Mundo Olaf Vel'Koz Riven Rek'Sai Rengar Orianna Urgot Zilean Camille Cho'Gath Shen Irelia Tahm Kench Veigar Ziggs Leona Aatrox Hecarim Kassadin Lux Graves Karma Lee Sin Viktor Ryze D: BELOW AVERAGE Morgana Aurelion Sol Vi Wukong Diana Malphite Amumu Rammus Trundle Maokai Jax Lissandra Jayce Twitch Taliyah Nautilus Fiddlesticks Syndra Gnar Zoe Miss Fortune E: WEAK Riven Singed Mordekaiser Karma Annie Pantheon Elise Akali Kennen Shen Rumble Ivern Ornn Tahm Kench Poppy Galio Azir Teemo Gragas League of Legends Tier List: The Rest of the LOLTier List you can check out here. When it comes to the League of Legends Tier List most of the people are always try to Find the best List to work best for them to Success. God Tier: Swain Sion Gangplank Darius Fiora Jungle Warwick Shyvana Kayn Kha'Zix Rengar Mid Lane Anivia Swain Ahri Xerath Zed AD Carry Twitch Xayah Jhin Tristana Ezreal Support Sion Janna Nami Lulu Brand Tier 1: Top Lane Singed Teemo Kled Illaoi Yasuo Renekton Nasus Camille Vladimir Jungle Jax Nocturne Master Yi Volibear Sejuani Jarvan IV Evelynn Nidalee Zac Mid Lane Vel'Koz Ekko Fizz Veigar Vladimir Yasuo Katarina Corki AD Carry Sivir Jinx Kog'Maw Caitlyn Varus Draven Vayne Miss Fortune Lucian Support Taric Blitzcrank Soraka Bard Rakan Morgana Alistar Thresh Tier 2: Top Lane Yorick Tryndamere Olaf Garen Trundle Riven Jax Urgot Cho'Gath Volibear Irelia Jayce Jungle Nunu Kindred Udyr Shaco Xin Zhao Skarner Rek'Sai Olaf Camille Hecarim Graves Lee Sin Mid Lane Cassiopeia Talon Lux Brand LeBlanc Diana Malzahar Twisted Fate Orianna Zoe Ziggs Taliyah Kassadin Viktor Ryze AD Carry Ashe Kai'Sa Support Sona Vel'Koz Braum Zyra Zilean Shen Tahm Kench Leona Lux Fiddlesticks Karma Tier 3: Top Lane Malphite Pantheon Maokai Shen Ornn Gnar Poppy Jungle Vi Amumu Rammus Fiddlesticks Elise Kai'Sa Mid Lane Aurelion Sol Annie Syndra Galio Azir AD Carry Support Nautilus Conclusion: This is the "League of Legends Tier List "  There are some Wukong, Gnar, Riven,��Hecarim, Irelia can play on the jungles and both Solid as well. for any Doubts and for more LOL Tier List do let me know in the comment section below. Read the full article

[bioware-chronicles]

Personal Log - Officer Osric Shen, Nexus Security

I never thought I would miss home, but floating out here in unfamiliar space, surrounded by strange stars and unfamiliar worlds, I’m really starting to get homesick. The Citadel might not have been the most exciting place to live, but there was a comfort in its familiar doldrums.

It’s the constellations, I think. I can’t find the constellations in the stars anymore.

The new Pathfinder ordered a bunch of biotic specialists resuscitated from cryostasis today. I’m a little wary about having a bunch of psychokinetic bombs walking around what amounts to be a construction zone - the nexus is far from complete, after all. Any one of those biotics’ implants goes haywire and the other arcs won’t be looking for Hyperion anymore; they’ll be looking for space debris.

Chief gave me an earful about keeping my prejudice in check, but I’m not sure I’m convinced. There’s a rumor going around security that the Initiative recruited “specialists” from less-than-reputable organizations. Last thing we need is to be stranded out here with potential terrorists lurking about. Who knows, maybe they’re why the Arcs lost contact with each other. Separating the human Ark from the others sounds just like something Cerberus would want to do.

Yeah, okay. Even I think I sound paranoid now.

I did notice something odd about one of those biotics’ records though. Can’t remember the name off the top of my head, but there were some curious inconsistencies between his recruitment profile and Dr. T’Perro’s psych eval. I chalked it up to cryo-shock on first glance, but the more I think about it, the more I think there’s something going on.

I’ll see if I can take a closer look tomorrow. Might give me a chance to chat with Lexi again too. Won’t say no to that.

To be continued...

[gizedcom]

National Geographic’s SHARKFEST Celebrates One of the World’s Top Predators and Highlights National Geographic’s Commitment to Protecting the Oceans

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–National Geographic is counting down to SHARKFEST — summer’s ultimate shark spectacular. Just TWO days away, the 8th annual SHARKFEST has more bite than ever with five consecutive weeks of programming across both National Geographic and Nat Geo WILD.

The network draws on SHARKFEST to underscore National Geographic Society’s 132-year legacy in exploring the farthest reaches of Earth and to highlight its commitment to shark and ocean conservation. To connect viewers to this work, National Geographic today launched its first-ever online SHARKFEST webpage (natgeo.com/sharkfest).

The webpage, which curates programming highlights weekly for the duration of SHARKFEST, also brings attention to the National Geographic Society’s ocean conservation programs, including its Pristine Seas project, and many of the Explorers who are working to protect sharks and their habitats around the world.

Founded in 2008 by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala, Pristine Seas has inspired the creation of protected areas where marine life can thrive while ensuring effective management for years to come. The project has helped protect more than five million square kilometers across 22 protected areas to date and works in support of a global goal to protect at least 30 percent of the ocean by 2030. Pristine Seas partners with country leaders, business leaders, NGOs and local governments and communities, which has established some of the largest marine reserves in the world.

National Geographic Explorers serve as some of SHARKFEST’s on-air experts, but there are many more whose shark research and conservation efforts are supported by the National Geographic Society. The work of these Explorers is featured on the new hub, including:

Naomi Clark-Shen: National Geographic Explorer, marine biologist and conservationist, Clark-Shen works to save sharks and inspire the next generation to be underwater environmental stewards. She runs her own shark and ray fishery research project, partially funded by the National Geographic Society, and writes for a children’s wildlife magazine for World Wildlife Fund.

Dr. Yannis Papastamatiou: Featured throughout this year’s SHARKFEST — within the specials Sharks of the Bermuda Triangle and 50 Shades of Sharks, as well as the series When Sharks Attack — Dr. Papastamatiou, a National Geographic Explorer, combines science and SCUBA to study shark behavior. He has studied the biology of sharks for 15 years; published nearly 50 articles on this topic; and has logged more than 1,500 dives.

Jess Cramp: A shark researcher and marine conservationist, Cramp is a National Geographic Explorer who is passionate about creating a safe haven for sharks and stopping the overexploitation of sharks and the degradation of the ocean.

Brian Skerry: A photojournalist who specializes in marine wildlife and underwater environments, Skerry, who is both a National Geographic Explorer and the 2017 Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year, shines a bright light on sharks. His work in ocean conservation has helped the public make better choices about protecting endangered species and creating marine-protected areas.

Dr. Austin Gallagher: Featured in SHARKFEST — within the special Sharks of the Bermuda Triangle — Dr. Gallagher is a National Geographic Explorer who uses science to show how sharks are worth more alive than dead. His research is focused on understanding the links between top-predator movement, health and survival, and he leverages these findings to catalyze conservation efforts in the ocean.

Daniela Vilema: An environmental communicator and educator, as well as National Geographic Explorer, Vilema is passionate about the ocean and its wildlife and works to change attitudes toward sharks and plastic pollution in the Galapagos Islands. Through outreach and education, she uses science, experience, exploration and fun tools to teach her local community in Ecuador the importance of ocean conservation.

Finally, the robust webpage is also home for all things sharks, including:

Related National Geographic magazine stories past and present

Downloadable SHARKFEST zoom links

A quiz to determine what kind of shark you would be!

Kids activities and content

Shark-related lesson plans

And more!

“Our yellow border is recognized worldwide for its unparalleled efforts in exploration, conservation and environmental stewardship,” says Courteney Monroe, president of National Geographic Global Television Networks. “For well over a century we have been a trusted source of science-first content; our annual SHARKFEST event is one way we can connect audiences to the wonders of the oceans and inspire them to share our commitment to protecting them and the 440-plus shark species which are vital to maintaining healthy ocean ecosystems.”

Beginning tonight and throughout SHARKFEST, National Geographic will air its National Geographic PSA to encourage viewers to help us save our oceans, and the network will roll out snipes and bumps directing viewers to the SHARKFEST hub.

The first week of SHARKFEST premieres include the following:

Sunday, July 19:

8 PM: World’s Biggest Tiger Shark

Monday, July 20:

9 PM: When Sharks Attack

10 PM: Sharks vs. Dolphins

Tuesday, July 21:

9 PM: When Sharks Attack

10 PM: Sharkcano

Wednesday, July 22:

9 PM: When Sharks Attack

10 PM: Secrets of the Bull Shark

Thursday, July 23:

9 PM: When Sharks Attack

10 PM: Most Wanted Sharks

Friday, July 24:

9 PM: When Sharks Attack

10 PM: 50 Shades of Sharks

About National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP)

National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between Disney and the National Geographic Society, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic’s media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children’s media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 132 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers … and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, storytelling and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

Credit: Source link

The post National Geographic’s SHARKFEST Celebrates One of the World’s Top Predators and Highlights National Geographic’s Commitment to Protecting the Oceans appeared first on GIZED - Breaking News Worldwide.

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[reneeacaseyfl]

Amazon’s Alexa Accelerator introduces its third startup class

A year to the day after Amazon revealed the companies selected to participate in the second annual Alexa Accelerator, a 13-week program that grants ten startups access to Amazon employees and mentors from the Seattle AI community and Techstars incubator network, the tech giant and Techstars today announced the third cohort.

This time around, Amazon and Techstars sought early-stage firms in health care, fitness and wellness, enterprise collaboration and productivity, property tech, and machine learning services verticals. (The first cohort honed in on games and interactive experiences, while the second cohort was largely focused on more practical applications, such as water conservation and accessibility.) Over the course of roughly six months, they narrowed down the list of applicants to nine companies addressing challenges in retail, management, education, gaming, and a raft of related segments.

“The 2019 Alexa Accelerator, powered by Techstars, offers another glimpse into how Alexa can make customers lives easier, more productive and more entertaining,” Amazon said in a press release. “[These] early-stage startups [will receive] the support they need to grow their network, gain traction, incorporate Alexa, and engage with investors.”

Companies selected to take part include:

Ambit.ai: Founded by Greg Lok, Ambit is developing a product that quantifies vocal patterns during team meetings and provides actionable insights and data on how communication behaviors impact team dynamics and business outcomes.

Anycart: Grocery planner Anycart — which was cofounded by Rafael Sanches, Silvia Curioni, Renato Peterman and Payman Nejati — lets users search for meals they wish to cook and surfaces relevant recipes, adding the ingredients to their preferred grocery delivery service cart and providing step-by-step video cooking instructions along with other recipes that can use excess ingredients. It’s amassed over 2 million installs and 1 million monthly active users to date.

Ejenta: Rachna Dhamija’s and former NASA engineer Maarten Sierhuis’ company aims to provide AI-driven remote care technology for the millions of patients living with chronic conditions.

Ex-IQ: Ex-IQ — the brainchild of Army Ranger and Delta Force Veteran Chris Donohoe and Darren Ward — turns digital documents into interactive audio files, allowing students and employees to highlight and tag written content and dictate notes via voice through a mobile app or an Alexa skill.

Midgame: Jason Shen’s and Wayne Gerard’s Midgame builds video game-specific interactive agents that allow gamers to keep track of in-game activities, query for specific insights, and log achievements hands-free using voice.

nFlux: Seyed Sejjadi, another NASA veteran, cofounded nFlux with Anton Safarevich and Danny Pena to create a system that ingests large amounts of unstructured data (like video) and generates contextual insights that can be queried through natural language. It’s already participated in the Alexa Fellow Fund at California State University, Northridge.

TogethAR: Former Amazon engineers Elena Zhizhimontova and Andrew DiLosa, who helped launch Alexa on Fire TV, are developing an AI and augmented reality technology that can enrich conversations by presenting relevant information and content pertinent to the topic of the conversation.

VoiceHero: Amazing Race Canada participant Joseph Truong cofounded VoiceHero with Jacob Chen to build out a suite of tools to launch and market voice skills.

YourIKA: YourIKA — short for Your Intelligent Knowledge Assistant — was cofounded by University of Waterloo AI Institute codirector Dr. Fakhri Karray, Dr. Shady Shehata, and Rob Henderson with the mission of transforming the way the world learns by using AI to solve the “most significant problems” in e-learning.

The 2019 program will take place between July and October, Amazon says, culminating in a Demo Day on October 15.

The Alexa Accelerator is a part of Amazon’s $200 million Alexa Fund, which launched in 2015 and which has contributed venture capital to more than 35 startups including Rachio, Vesper, Owlet, Adero, Ring, Sphero, Twine, and Hatch Baby. Amazon and Techstars invest an initial $20,000 in each company for 6 percent equity stake, with potential for an additional $100,000 convertible note.

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[velmaemyers88]

Amazon’s Alexa Accelerator introduces its third startup class

A year to the day after Amazon revealed the companies selected to participate in the second annual Alexa Accelerator, a 13-week program that grants ten startups access to Amazon employees and mentors from the Seattle AI community and Techstars incubator network, the tech giant and Techstars today announced the third cohort.

This time around, Amazon and Techstars sought early-stage firms in health care, fitness and wellness, enterprise collaboration and productivity, property tech, and machine learning services verticals. (The first cohort honed in on games and interactive experiences, while the second cohort was largely focused on more practical applications, such as water conservation and accessibility.) Over the course of roughly six months, they narrowed down the list of applicants to nine companies addressing challenges in retail, management, education, gaming, and a raft of related segments.

“The 2019 Alexa Accelerator, powered by Techstars, offers another glimpse into how Alexa can make customers lives easier, more productive and more entertaining,” Amazon said in a press release. “[These] early-stage startups [will receive] the support they need to grow their network, gain traction, incorporate Alexa, and engage with investors.”

Companies selected to take part include:

Ambit.ai: Founded by Greg Lok, Ambit is developing a product that quantifies vocal patterns during team meetings and provides actionable insights and data on how communication behaviors impact team dynamics and business outcomes.

Anycart: Grocery planner Anycart — which was cofounded by Rafael Sanches, Silvia Curioni, Renato Peterman and Payman Nejati — lets users search for meals they wish to cook and surfaces relevant recipes, adding the ingredients to their preferred grocery delivery service cart and providing step-by-step video cooking instructions along with other recipes that can use excess ingredients. It’s amassed over 2 million installs and 1 million monthly active users to date.

Ejenta: Rachna Dhamija’s and former NASA engineer Maarten Sierhuis’ company aims to provide AI-driven remote care technology for the millions of patients living with chronic conditions.

Ex-IQ: Ex-IQ — the brainchild of Army Ranger and Delta Force Veteran Chris Donohoe and Darren Ward — turns digital documents into interactive audio files, allowing students and employees to highlight and tag written content and dictate notes via voice through a mobile app or an Alexa skill.

Midgame: Jason Shen’s and Wayne Gerard’s Midgame builds video game-specific interactive agents that allow gamers to keep track of in-game activities, query for specific insights, and log achievements hands-free using voice.

nFlux: Seyed Sejjadi, another NASA veteran, cofounded nFlux with Anton Safarevich and Danny Pena to create a system that ingests large amounts of unstructured data (like video) and generates contextual insights that can be queried through natural language. It’s already participated in the Alexa Fellow Fund at California State University, Northridge.

TogethAR: Former Amazon engineers Elena Zhizhimontova and Andrew DiLosa, who helped launch Alexa on Fire TV, are developing an AI and augmented reality technology that can enrich conversations by presenting relevant information and content pertinent to the topic of the conversation.

VoiceHero: Amazing Race Canada participant Joseph Truong cofounded VoiceHero with Jacob Chen to build out a suite of tools to launch and market voice skills.

YourIKA: YourIKA — short for Your Intelligent Knowledge Assistant — was cofounded by University of Waterloo AI Institute codirector Dr. Fakhri Karray, Dr. Shady Shehata, and Rob Henderson with the mission of transforming the way the world learns by using AI to solve the “most significant problems” in e-learning.

The 2019 program will take place between July and October, Amazon says, culminating in a Demo Day on October 15.

The Alexa Accelerator is a part of Amazon’s $200 million Alexa Fund, which launched in 2015 and which has contributed venture capital to more than 35 startups including Rachio, Vesper, Owlet, Adero, Ring, Sphero, Twine, and Hatch Baby. Amazon and Techstars invest an initial $20,000 in each company for 6 percent equity stake, with potential for an additional $100,000 convertible note.

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[adragonthatwrites]

Dr. Shen's Log

Dr. Shen Jiu, Head of Research at Cang Qiong Facilities. Date 3, 6, 2024

Over the course of the week following our initial examination of ‘Yue Qingyuan’, we’ve tracked him along his usual migration route and periodically dispatched pods to observe his behaviors. For the most-part he travels at a steady, straight path at a depth just above 200 meters, though occasionally we have observed him diving to a depth of up to 700 meters. We have yet to directly observe hunting behaviors, though he was sighted with a half-eaten tuna. Most likely this is one of his preferred prey items, and the reason he travels whilst in the euphotic zone, despite obvious signs he’s capable of diving as low as the bathypelagic zone, or possibly even the abyssopelagic zone.

Yesterday, he surfaced near our vessel again, swimming alongside it and occasionally breaching to observe the deck. He’s remained beside our vessel for nearly an entire day, diving occasionally to swim at lower depths, but staying near them as he does so. In light of the… incident, it was decided ‘Yue Qingyuan’ was an individual researchers could comfortably enter the water with.

Before an in-person examination could be conducted, it was decided that a team of professional divers would enter the water with him and swim alongside and around him, similar to how divers would interact with a whale. One of the divers; Gongyi Xiao from Huan Hua Palace tours and rentals, was directed to attempt to make direct contact via touch, though to move back immediately if the mer showed any signs of irritation or hostility towards his approach. All the divers have been briefed on basic mer bioluminescent signals; including greetings, curiosity, irritation and threat displays.

Dr. Shang seems extremely optimistic about the project moving forward.

I have attempted to request he be removed from the project, however as he is currently the only available resource regarding mer language, it was decided he would remain.

The divers are scheduled to enter the water with Yue Qingyuan in approximately 4 hours. Assuming all goes well, a full-bodied examination will be scheduled shortly after.

End Log.

(Bonus Note: euphotic zone = sunlight zone. Up to 200 meters deep in the ocean. bathypelagic zone = midnight zone. Between 1000-4000 meters below the surface. abyssopelagic zone = abyss zone. Between 4000-6000 meters below the surface.)

Up next, a very special episode!

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[weeklyreviewer]

Amazon’s Alexa Accelerator introduces its third startup class

A year to the day after Amazon revealed the companies selected to participate in the second annual Alexa Accelerator, a 13-week program that grants ten startups access to Amazon employees and mentors from the Seattle AI community and Techstars incubator network, the tech giant and Techstars today announced the third cohort.

This time around, Amazon and Techstars sought early-stage firms in health care, fitness and wellness, enterprise collaboration and productivity, property tech, and machine learning services verticals. (The first cohort honed in on games and interactive experiences, while the second cohort was largely focused on more practical applications, such as water conservation and accessibility.) Over the course of roughly six months, they narrowed down the list of applicants to nine companies addressing challenges in retail, management, education, gaming, and a raft of related segments.

“The 2019 Alexa Accelerator, powered by Techstars, offers another glimpse into how Alexa can make customers lives easier, more productive and more entertaining,” Amazon said in a press release. “[These] early-stage startups [will receive] the support they need to grow their network, gain traction, incorporate Alexa, and engage with investors.”

Companies selected to take part include:

Ambit.ai: Founded by Greg Lok, Ambit is developing a product that quantifies vocal patterns during team meetings and provides actionable insights and data on how communication behaviors impact team dynamics and business outcomes.

Anycart: Grocery planner Anycart — which was cofounded by Rafael Sanches, Silvia Curioni, Renato Peterman and Payman Nejati — lets users search for meals they wish to cook and surfaces relevant recipes, adding the ingredients to their preferred grocery delivery service cart and providing step-by-step video cooking instructions along with other recipes that can use excess ingredients. It’s amassed over 2 million installs and 1 million monthly active users to date.

Ejenta: Rachna Dhamija’s and former NASA engineer Maarten Sierhuis’ company aims to provide AI-driven remote care technology for the millions of patients living with chronic conditions.

Ex-IQ: Ex-IQ — the brainchild of Army Ranger and Delta Force Veteran Chris Donohoe and Darren Ward — turns digital documents into interactive audio files, allowing students and employees to highlight and tag written content and dictate notes via voice through a mobile app or an Alexa skill.

Midgame: Jason Shen’s and Wayne Gerard’s Midgame builds video game-specific interactive agents that allow gamers to keep track of in-game activities, query for specific insights, and log achievements hands-free using voice.

nFlux: Seyed Sejjadi, another NASA veteran, cofounded nFlux with Anton Safarevich and Danny Pena to create a system that ingests large amounts of unstructured data (like video) and generates contextual insights that can be queried through natural language. It’s already participated in the Alexa Fellow Fund at California State University, Northridge.

TogethAR: Former Amazon engineers Elena Zhizhimontova and Andrew DiLosa, who helped launch Alexa on Fire TV, are developing an AI and augmented reality technology that can enrich conversations by presenting relevant information and content pertinent to the topic of the conversation.

VoiceHero: Amazing Race Canada participant Joseph Truong cofounded VoiceHero with Jacob Chen to build out a suite of tools to launch and market voice skills.

YourIKA: YourIKA — short for Your Intelligent Knowledge Assistant — was cofounded by University of Waterloo AI Institute codirector Dr. Fakhri Karray, Dr. Shady Shehata, and Rob Henderson with the mission of transforming the way the world learns by using AI to solve the “most significant problems” in e-learning.

The 2019 program will take place between July and October, Amazon says, culminating in a Demo Day on October 15.

The Alexa Accelerator is a part of Amazon’s $200 million Alexa Fund, which launched in 2015 and which has contributed venture capital to more than 35 startups including Rachio, Vesper, Owlet, Adero, Ring, Sphero, Twine, and Hatch Baby. Amazon and Techstars invest an initial $20,000 in each company for 6 percent equity stake, with potential for an additional $100,000 convertible note.

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[maureencarolina]

Smartphones addiction problem gives Amazon Echo and Google Home advantage over Apple

While investors pressure Apple to address youth phone addiction, experts are more optimistic about the voice-enabled smart speakers that Google and Amazon want to plunk into your living room.

At their most ambitious, Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home devices are meant to transform the way you manage your life and control your home, using artificial intelligence to put an ever-increasing range of capabilities at your command. But at their most basic, they simply allow you to spend less time tapping away on a screen. And as Apple’s current scrutiny underscores, that can be particularly important when it comes to kids.

Solace Shen, a researcher at Cornell who has studied children’s interactions with intelligent technology, says she sees a big opportunity for educational and entertainment content on these devices that doesn’t suck kids in in the same way that a smartphone would.

“Playing a game with an adult or another child using a voice-enabled device, you’re not focused on a screen, so the interaction encourages you to look at each other and pay attention to each other,” Shen explains. “That’s a unique advantage of these voice enabled systems. If they’re designed right, they can be unobtrusive, but speak up when needed.”

Both Google and Amazon already have a wide range of children’s content available, including trivia games, stories, and interactive question sessions with characters from the likes of Sesame Street or Disney. They also both have ways to set up profiles for young children with parental controls to easily monitor usage and what a kid has access to. And both companies have plans to keep expanding their offerings in the coming year.

“You’re going to see us invest heavily in expanding both the experiences and the content we produce for kids and families in 2018,” Raunaq Shah, a Google Home product manager, told late last year. “The reception to the features that we’ve launched so far has been tremendous and there’s really a huge opportunity for us to make the experience for kids and families even better.”

He highlights how the communal and public nature of these devices can allow parents to feel better about letting kids get comfortable with them — it’s hard to have secrets when everything you ask gets logged in a mutually accessible search history or can be heard out loud when you ask it. Plus, kids can be entertained or informed without the dopamine hit of notifications that come when you fire up a phone.

“If you watch a kid with the smartphone, all the bells and whistles are just so seductive and addictive,” says Marika Lindholm, sociologist and founder of ESME, a site for single moms. “With the Echo or the Home, there is the opportunity for much more listening and interaction.”

The barrage of notifications and social applications on a phone can cause anxiety and encourage a kind of digital relationship that just isn’t possible with smart speakers as we know them now. And there are early signs that when people use smart speakers, their usage becomes a substitute for time on smartphones: Two-thirds of people who use digital voice assistants use their phones less often, according to a new survey published by tech consultancy Accenture.

Lindholm has heard fears that kids could end up thinking of the assistants as real people and looking to them for things that they’d otherwise talk about with a parent. An amusing example of this can be seen in a short video by Brett Gaylor that documents his five-year-old’s son’s obsession with Google’s voice commands.

While Google’s Shah said that that video made him feel “warm and fuzzy” inside, some may see it as portending a slightly disturbing future. The idea that children could be taught so much by these new devices — especially when these assistants have so far proven that they often get information wrong — is a little scary. Meanwhile, studies have shown that young children see these assistants as “semi-animate” and some parents have complained that because you don’t need “please” or “thank you” to control the devices, it encourages bad manners.

Plus, YouTube’s struggles last year to keep disturbing content out of its children’s feeds could make some parents wary of placing trust in kid settings.

Ultimately, though, as with any other technology, the onus is on the parent to instruct their child on etiquette, set limits and moderate usage.

“You should model them to kids not as a toy or a reward or a god-given right to have,” says Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Harvard University. “You say, ‘This is a tool, this is what it does, here’s how you use it, and here’s how and when you don’t use it.'”

Like the other experts CNBC talked to, Rich feels hopeful about the future of smart assistant technologies and how children will interact with them. His 11-year-old son recently bought one of Google’s Home devices with his own money and Rich likes how the device can assist with random questions without always being in his son’s clutches, like a smartphone. Still, he acknowledges that, unlike with smartphones, there haven’t been any real studies yet to see what impacts these smart speakers could have on children.

“They haven’t been out long enough yet — I think the jury’s still out on them,” concludes Dr. David Greenfield, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, “But I do think the screened versions of them have potential to be addictive. So far, any internet based technology does appear to have addictive potential.”

The post Smartphones addiction problem gives Amazon Echo and Google Home advantage over Apple appeared first on Retailnewsfeed.com.

#amazon Smartphones addiction problem gives Amazon Echo and Google Home advantage over Apple posted first on http://retailnewsfeed.com/

[tiffanystocktonlove]

As Apple gets slammed for addictive smartphones, experts are optimistic about the Amazon Echo and Google Home

While investors pressure Apple to address youth phone addiction, experts are more optimistic about the voice-enabled smart speakers that Google and Amazon want to plunk into your living room.

At their most ambitious, Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home devices are meant to transform the way you manage your life and control your home, using artificial intelligence to put an ever-increasing range of capabilities at your command. But at their most basic, they simply allow you to spend less time tapping away on a screen. And as Apple’s current scrutiny underscores, that can be particularly important when it comes to kids.

Solace Shen, a researcher at Cornell who has studied children’s interactions with intelligent technology, says she sees a big opportunity for educational and entertainment content on these devices that doesn’t suck kids in in the same way that a smartphone would.

“Playing a game with an adult or another child using a voice-enabled device, you’re not focused on a screen, so the interaction encourages you to look at each other and pay attention to each other,” Shen explains. “That’s a unique advantage of these voice enabled systems. If they’re designed right, they can be unobtrusive, but speak up when needed.”

Both Google and Amazon already have a wide range of children’s content available, including trivia games, stories, and interactive question sessions with characters from the likes of Sesame Street or Disney. They also both have ways to set up profiles for young children with parental controls to easily monitor usage and what a kid has access to. And both companies have plans to keep expanding their offerings in the coming year.

“You’re going to see us invest heavily in expanding both the experiences and the content we produce for kids and families in 2018,” Raunaq Shah, a Google Home product manager, told late last year. “The reception to the features that we’ve launched so far has been tremendous and there’s really a huge opportunity for us to make the experience for kids and families even better.”

He highlights how the communal and public nature of these devices can allow parents to feel better about letting kids get comfortable with them — it’s hard to have secrets when everything you ask gets logged in a mutually accessible search history or can be heard out loud when you ask it. Plus, kids can be entertained or informed without the dopamine hit of notifications that come when you fire up a phone.

“If you watch a kid with the smartphone, all the bells and whistles are just so seductive and addictive,” says Marika Lindholm, sociologist and founder of ESME, a site for single moms. “With the Echo or the Home, there is the opportunity for much more listening and interaction.”

The barrage of notifications and social applications on a phone can cause anxiety and encourage a kind of digital relationship that just isn’t possible with smart speakers as we know them now. And there are early signs that when people use smart speakers, their usage becomes a substitute for time on smartphones: Two-thirds of people who use digital voice assistants use their phones less often, according to a new survey published by tech consultancy Accenture.

Lindholm has heard fears that kids could end up thinking of the assistants as real people and looking to them for things that they’d otherwise talk about with a parent. An amusing example of this can be seen in a short video by Brett Gaylor that documents his five-year-old’s son’s obsession with Google’s voice commands.

While Google’s Shah said that that video made him feel “warm and fuzzy” inside, some may see it as portending a slightly disturbing future. The idea that children could be taught so much by these new devices — especially when these assistants have so far proven that they often get information wrong — is a little scary. Meanwhile, studies have shown that young children see these assistants as “semi-animate” and some parents have complained that because you don’t need “please” or “thank you” to control the devices, it encourages bad manners.

Plus, YouTube’s struggles last year to keep disturbing content out of its children’s feeds could make some parents wary of placing trust in kid settings.

Ultimately, though, as with any other technology, the onus is on the parent to instruct their child on etiquette, set limits and moderate usage.

“You should model them to kids not as a toy or a reward or a god-given right to have,” says Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Harvard University. “You say, ‘This is a tool, this is what it does, here’s how you use it, and here’s how and when you don’t use it.‘”

Like the other experts CNBC talked to, Rich feels hopeful about the future of smart assistant technologies and how children will interact with them. His 11-year-old son recently bought one of Google’s Home devices with his own money and Rich likes how the device can assist with random questions without always being in his son’s clutches, like a smartphone. Still, he acknowledges that, unlike with smartphones, there haven’t been any real studies yet to see what impacts these smart speakers could have on children.

“They haven’t been out long enough yet — I think the jury’s still out on them,” concludes Dr. David Greenfield, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, “But I do think the screened versions of them have potential to be addictive. So far, any internet based technology does appear to have addictive potential.”

The post As Apple gets slammed for addictive smartphones, experts are optimistic about the Amazon Echo and Google Home appeared first on Retailnewsfeed.com.

#amazon As Apple gets slammed for addictive smartphones, experts are optimistic about the Amazon Echo and Google Home published first on http://retailnewsfeed.com/

[sherristockman]

All About Astragalus: the Many Benefits of This Oriental Oil Dr. Mercola What Is Astragalus Oil? Astragalus oil comes from the root of a plant known as Astragalus membranaceus, which has various names like Huang Qi, Bei Qi and Hwanqqi.1 It is native to northern China and the elevated regions of the Chinese provinces like Yunnan and Sichuan.2 A member of the pea family, astragalus was coined “Huang Qi,” which means “yellow leader” because of its yellow root. The plant also has a sweet-smelling yellow blossom and a hairy stem and grows best in sandy, well-drained soil, under the sun. The plant and its uses were discovered by a Chinese herbalist named Shen Nong nearly 5,000 years ago. He made a detailed record called "Shen Nong Pen Tsao Ching" (circa A.D. 100), which listed around 300 plants he discovered and served as a log of his research.3 Other varieties of astragalus can be found in Northern hemisphere countries with temperate climate like Mongolia,4 North Korea5 and Japan.6 Uses of Astragalus Oil Chinese medical history attributes the use of astragalus to strengthen and replenish "qi," the body’s life force and protective energy or more commonly known as the immune system.7 There have been no studies reported about the cosmetic use of astragalus oil, so for now, it’s best to use it for massages. Aside from oil, astragalus, particularly the root, can be made into other products like liquid extracts, tinctures, teas and creams (for topical use).8 Products that contain traces of the plant were proven useful in helping treat: ✓ Chronic weakness ✓ Fatigue ✓ Weak digestion ✓ Shortness of breath ✓ Bloating ✓ Ulcers ✓ Low immunity ✓ Heart failure ✓ HIV/AIDS ✓ Night sweats ✓ Nephritis ✓ Low adrenal energy ✓ Urinary tract infections ✓ Chronic colds, allergies or flu prevention For other astragalus products, consider the recommended dosage amounts: Tea/herbal decoction: Use 3 to 6 grams dried root per 12 ounces of water, thrice a day Powdered root: Take 250 to 500 milligrams, three to four times per day Capsules: Take two to three capsules (500 milligrams) per day9 Tincture and liquid extract: Take 2 to 4 milliliters (approximately 1/2 teaspoon to 3/4 teaspoon) three times a day Ointment: 10 percent astragalus applied to the surface of the wound only (do not apply on open wounds without the advice of a health care practitioner) Composition of Astragalus Oil The astragalus plant contains the following components: ✓ Polysaccharides ✓ Saponins ✓ Flavonoids ✓ Amino acids ✓ Trace elements ✓ Essential oils ✓ Organic compounds like choline, betaine and gluconic acid ✓ Minerals like zinc, iron, copper, magnesium, manganese, calcium, potassium, selenium and sodium ✓ Dietary and crude fiber ✓ Bitter compounds that increase the flow of urine ✓ Mucilaginous compounds that enhance immune response10 However, in a study conducted by members of the academe of the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran on another member of the astragalus family — astragalus maximus — they found a mixture of non-terpenoids, such as: ✓ Myristicin ✓ Phytol ✓ Benzaldehyde ✓ 3-methyl ✓ 1-dodecanol ✓ Acetophenone ✓ Pentadecanone ✓ 6,10,14-trimethyl Benefits of Astragalus Oil Should you use any astragalus product, such as astragalus essential oil, here are some of its potential benefits: ✓ Bolsters immune function ✓ Increases white blood cell count ✓ Helps stimulate production of antibodies ✓ Improves digestive health ✓ Improves overall function of the heart and cardiovascular system ✓ Promotes metabolic function ✓ Helps manage diabetes ✓ Promotes normal cholesterol levels ✓ Enhances liver and kidney function ✓ Assists in increasing bodily resistance to virus and bacteria ✓ Helps cure stomach ulcers through the inhibition of gastric secretions and reduction of gastric acid How to Make Astragalus Oil If you want to make an astragalus oil infusion at home, follow this simple method: Materials: Astragalus roots Carrier oil (serves as your base; popular choices include sweet almond, coconut and olive oil) Spoon for mixing Unbleached cheesecloth, muslin or fine gauze Double boiler or a crockpot Glass jar for storage Procedure: Combine the herbs and the oil in the double boiler. The ideal ratio would be 1 cup of carrier oil to every 1/4 ounce of astragalus. Heat slowly over low heat (140 degrees Fahrenheit) for six to eight hours. When done, strain the mixture and transfer it to a glass jar (or any container of your choice).11 Store your finished product for about six months in a jar in a cool, dark, and dry spot to ensure that the oil retains its aromatic and medicinal properties. Do not heat the oil in a microwave. This is not recommended for oral use.12 How Does Astragalus Oil Work? Astragalus products like teas and capsules are usually taken internally, while the oil is best used topically. This is what the plant can potentially do for your body: ✓ Help blood vessels to relax ✓ Lower blood pressure ✓ Helps stop fatty plaque deposits from clogging arteries so blood can move more freely ✓ Enhances body energy (astragalus is an adaptogen) ✓ Aids in decreasing acidity level in the stomach ✓ Reduce blood sugar levels Is Astragalus Oil Safe? Although there are no major reports about the negative effects of astragalus, it is best to avoid consuming the plant or the oil if you are pregnant, breastfeeding have undergone transplant surgery or any surgery, or suffering from the following illnesses: ✓ Autoimmune diseases ✓ Multiple sclerosis ✓ Psoriasis ✓ Rheumatoid arthritis ✓ Type 1 diabetes ✓ Systemic lupus erythematosus It is recommended that you consult a physician before using the plant orally, especially for children. While there have been no major reports about irritation from handling this plant, I advise that you take a skin patch test to determine any potential allergies. Side Effects of Astragalus Oil Even if there are no recorded incidents of the ill effects of astragalus, make sure to take note of the following potential side effects: ✓ Increased visibility of pimples and blemishes for people with acne, ruddy complexion or blood impurities ✓ Increased effects of some antiviral medications such as acyclovir and interferon ✓ Interference with actions of diuretics, phenobarbital, beta-blockers and anticoagulants ✓ Rise in growth hormone levels ✓ Allergic reactions (especially if you are allergic to members of the Leguminosae or pea family) ✓ Counteracting of the immune-suppressing effects of cyclophosphamide, a medication used to reduce the chances of rejection in transplant recipients

[adragonthatwrites]

Dr. Shen's Log

Dr. Shen Jiu, Head of Research at Cang Qiong Facilities. Date, 3, 5, 2024. Mission 2 report.

Progress on Project Pisces is going smoothly, despite some… interpersonal complications.

Dr. Shang has insisted on making several modifications to Alpherg’s design that were previously rejected due to budgetary constraints. However our success during the first mission has allowed for more funding to be secured for the project, and the adjustments have been made.

While Alpherg is still only capable of very rudimentary signals, it’s vocabulary has increased and Dr. Shang has installed a pair of mechanical arms to the sides and affixed lights to them, which allows for questions to be conveyed.

Apparently questions and confusion are communicated through markings located on the shoulders.

Shortly afterwards we launched again, and were able to locate and open a second dialogue with ‘Yue Qingyuan’. Dr. Shang was able to introduce himself using a rough approximation of his own name, in addition to my own. I did not approve this course of action, as my involvement in the project is currently strictly observational, and will remain so until the subject can be directly observed near the surface. I therefor do not see why my introduction to the subject was necessary.

In addition to this irritation, Dr. Shang used the pod’s newfound ability to ask questions to request permission to swim alongside the mer for an extended period of time, and spent that period of time attempting absolutely no form of communication. He has gone on record stating it would be ‘rude to jump right into it. We should at least take him out before we start poking and prodding at him.’

I am once again being reminded of why I was originally hesitant to bring him onto this project.

End Log (Bonus Log: Date, 3, 5, 2024

No-one understands the complexity of mer culture and language, nor the delicate techniques required to establish any form of proper communication and comradery with them! It’s like people think I just fell in a tank and all the secrets to Leviathan class mers and the ability to instantly become best friends with one of them was just fucked up into me through the ass. Well I hate to break it to you, but it did in fact take a lot of time and research and effort to be able to understand them on this level, and the only reason I was a Snack~ and not a snack was the result of a lot of effort put in BEFORE I fell in the tank!!!

Dr. Shang Qinghua.)

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