《Urban Wolf: On The Run》Self-Medication
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I walk over to the essential oils shop I had encountered in my first days of traveling within Halych. I find myself at the front door of the store again, with a sign that read ‘Belford Alternative Remedies’ in a highly stylized, near-cursive font. I walk into the store again, and stop to actually take in the atmosphere. It’s more popular than I’d ever have thought, but still warm and somewhat casual, with hand-written labels being the norm and a wall behind the counter full of substances in glass jars-the contents usually had the appearances of dried herbs and spices.
Though reluctant to put my faith in anything that could come out of an ‘alternative remedies’ store, I step forward to the counter, greeted by an employee wearing a custom apron and wearing some sort of handmade bracelet. “Do you have any…meditation aids?” I didn’t know what I was really looking for, but I wanted to try what I had done before in my dreams. I could at least hope it’d find me some sort of peace, however fleeting and temporary it may be.
“The most obvious traditional choice for that purpose would be incense.” I’d heard of incense before, though I don’t actually know a lot about it. Most of my impressions of it weren’t very good.
“I’ve heard some bad things about incense in particular.” I tilt my head slightly, putting my left hand in my pocket.
“Oh, yeah, of course there’s gonna be naysayers. Thing is, though, there’s not actually a whole lotta research actually done on incense’s health effects, and it’s not declared a major public health risk like tobacco products are.” As she speaks, the girl seems chipper and confident.
“Alright, so what would I need to get started?”
“You’d need the burner itself, some incense, and a lighter. You can get a pack of 50 sticks and a burner for about $40.”
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“Alright. I guess I’ll give it a try. Where are your burners?”
“There.” She points to a shelf near the front of the store, and I walk over, sizing it up. Upon a weathered wooden shelf were a variety of different trinkets, some looking like they’d fit in at a Buddhist temple or a church, others looking like pots hanging on chains, and a few others looking like hand-molded sculptures with glossy finishes.
All of these incense burners seemed far too fancy and eye-catching for me, and as I turn to the last section I exhale in relative relief. This section seemed to house more novelty-like incense burners, some looking like a gumball machine, others made as small statues to varying characters, one in particular having an uncanny resemblance to Mickey Mouse while almost more suspiciously not quite looking exactly like Mickey Mouse. This section was definitely far more my style, as I sweep my eyes along it more thoroughly until I discover a burner in particular that seemed just right for me. It’s a miniature log cabin with a hand-carved appearance and a chimney visible. I pick up the box and look closer, only to discover that said chimney apparently is where the incense smoke travels out of, giving it an impression of ‘authenticity’ when in use. I turn the box, looking for a price tag, and I find that it’s about $20.
I move back to the counter, and end up waiting only a little bit before the attendant comes back to me. “So, what sticks do I get for this?”
“Oh, that model. That one’s a bit of an oddball, let me get a pack of sticks for you.” She walked around from behind the counter and over to one of the other shelves, pulling out a box with red and white striping at the edges, and bringing it back over. “That burner prefers a special size of stick compared to the others.”
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As I look closer at the packaging, I discover that the burner actually comes with 10 sticks. “On second thought, this comes with 10 sticks already. I’ll just buy the burner and see if it works out for me.”
She frowns for but a second before immediately backpedaling to her more cheery demeanor. “Oh, okay.” She sets the other box aside as we move to a surprisingly modern-looking register, clashing with the much older look of the shelving. I hand her a $20 and end up with mere cents in change. “Wait.” She goes to the back, then coming back out with a white booklet titled ‘Incense Burning Basics and Safety’, handing it over to me. “Almost forgot you were a beginner. Have a look through that for the basic safety procedures.”
I nod in turn, turning to walk out… and pausing in place. I know it was probably one of the worst ideas I’ve had, but it was something worth investigating as an alternative. I walk back towards the counter to be greeted by the same girl as before. “Hey, do you have anything for stress relief?”
“Well, we do have smokable herbs. We have a variety of mixes, though most are more focused towards promoting lung or nervous system health.”
“And what’s the risk to using them?”
“I mean, we don’t use tobacco in the majority of our mixes, but smoke is smoke and most blends will likely gunk up your lungs to a moderate degree if not used in moderation. Though, it’s not like a lot of studying has actually been done on the effects of non-tobacco herb smoking, so it’s partially up in the air.”
On second thought, developing a possible addiction to two vices at once didn’t sound like such a good idea, though I’d be sure to come back and give it a try if things got worse. “Yeah, I think I’ll pass on that for today. Thanks, though.” With that said, I turn around and walk out, heading for the dormitory.
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The Unwanted Man
The date is 3rd February 2031, its been 10 years since the 'Rifts' came. People came out of these 'Rifts' and bestowed humanity with the 'system', a status panel where people could level up like in a game . Most of humanity was gifted with it, only the unlucky 5% of the world population was not gifted with the 'system'. Now ever since, rifts in the world formed and monsters that you would only see in fantasy came out. Goblins, Dragons and Demons all those type of monsters came out, people had to seal these rifts. People with the 'system' are able to level up by killing monsters from the rifts and are able to seal it, this people came to be known as Argonauts who ventured forth to the world beyond the rift. I am the unlucky 5% of the population that was not gifted with the 'system'.
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A worn journal with tattered green embroidery, found on the precipice of an obsidian ledge, overlooking the endless sea. A speculative and surreal micro serial, updated sporadically.
8 82That Guy Is Boring
Welcome dear Players!Those lucky enough to hear this message will now be transported to the Chessboard. Try to survive and reach the end of the game unharmed. As a gift from the Administration, you will not have to worry about the dangers of the Game for the first two days. Remember, The System of the Ancients was not meant to be fair, so expect to find injustice.Have fun and try not to die too quickly! [before reading] -> This novel is the English version of an Italian one. Some details may have been lost in translation.
8 146What the Green Bird Sees
On a lovely tree with vibrant leaves that welcome the dawning spring, sits a little green bird. Like all of the humans it watches, the small creature is just as ordinary yet just as unique. Some days, it spreads its viridescent wings to survey a rooftop. Other days, it puffs up its fluffy feathers and takes a nap. What lives has the little bird flown by? What stories has it witnessed? This is the tale of the little green bird's adventures, its journey through the skies. This fiction updates every day, with each new story involving a word with a beautiful meaning. Cover art credits to lx!
8 210The Gangleader and Me ✅✔ (Completed)
*¡NEEDS MAJOR EDITING!**~*~*~*"You parked your bike in my spot." He said with a slight glare and I rolled my eyes. "Do you see me giving a fuck if its your spot or not? I don't see your name on it, so what's the problem?" I asked as I looked behind him at my bike in the same spot and he glared at me. "You look new so I will just let that slide. But I need to park my bike at my spot, so get your bike out of my spot! Understood?" He spoke slowly and I rolled my eyes once more. "I am not moving my bike because I was here first and I saw the spot first. So I parked first and I repeat myself again.... I don't see your name on it so I will not move my bike to please you nor a soul. So good luck with that and I swear... If you touch my bike, you will regret it. Take that as a warning." "You're the one that will be regretting this later and take that as a hint." I heard him yelling and I smirked. "Hint taken, asshole." "Make sure, blonde."*~*~*~*Ashley Sky is the daughter of a millionaire and she's typical a badass, but kinda a nerd at times. She has two side, a good sweet side and the side which no one should mess with. So moving to a new town and attending a new school, she decided to play it cool. She placed her badass ways behind her and went with the flow. But everything went downward when she parked her bike at the wrong spot at her new school.Tyson king is the school main bad boy and player but he surely knows how to love a girl which is worth it. He's the Captain of the football team and the Gangleader of the Q's - Quest Gang which is currently one of the strongest gang in town. He has been looking for a badass bitch ever since senior year and he knows whenever he finds her, there's no turning back for both of them. What will happen when these two meet?*~*~*~*Book #1 of, Him and Me series.*~*~*~*
8 173Boxes of Boxers ✓
BakuIida shorts because I don't feel like starting another story but wanna write. • I'm a firm believer that Bakugou is aswitch and nothing will change that •[not marked Mature but contains foul language]Best Ranks:#1 in BakuIida
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