Category Archives: Literature

The Neverending Reading List

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Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.

Charles W. Eliot

I have decided to start a project called The Neverending Reading List where I will be sharing my book collection with everyone via Instagram. The “Neverending” is a jab at avid readers, myself, who know full well we will never read our entire book collection(s), but we will die trying (and don’t even think about suggesting we get rid of books; thems fightin’ words). I have a few goals for this project, the main ones are to encourage reading, to share resources, and to have a bit of fun!

I’ll be keeping it simple. Take a photo of the front and back of the book, share it as a gallery, and put the book’s summary in the post along with where to find the book. Why only the summary? Because I want you to draw your own conclusions. Lastly, stating the obvious, there will be tags.

I’ll be posting these to my personal Instagram, MonriaTitans (pronounced Mon-Rye-Uh) because expectations are set for the MonriaTitans – WGS Instagram. And TitansMonriArt is, obviously, for art. The other reason I’m posting it to MonriaTitans is inactivity. Now I have something to post to it every day.

(For those who are new, and don’t know what WGS is, I host The Weekend Game Show (WGS) on Twitch with the mission to educate on different aspects of video game development so as to prevent another Cyberpunk 2077 scenario. Also, for empowerment and exposure, promote artists (which is what the MonriaTitans – WGS Instagram is for).)

Context before the warning: I have three Instagrams to keep things organized and from overlapping. TitansMonriArt is for my art, MonriaTitans – WGS is for the Artist Shout-Outs and educational posts with the purpose of empowerment through education and exposure, while MonriaTitans is the one I, jokingly, call my Rantstagram.

Warning: My Rantstagram has a similar theme to the MonriaTitans – WGS‘ Instagram; there are educational posts for the purposes of empowerment through education, but it has a little bit of everything: educational posts, inspirational quotes, product reviews, making fun of stupid people, politics.

If you’re trying to avoid politics, don’t go to this Instagram. There is a separate page listing the books in The Neverending Reading List so you can go directly to the Tumblr posts, and from there the Instagram posts, without having to scroll for them.

However, if you don’t like stupidity, but enjoy laughing at it, my Rantstagram is the place for you.

And if you’re still interested in checking out The Neverending Reading List Instagram Series and/or the Rantstagram in general, then back to our regularly scheduled program.

For transparency, the links to the books will be affiliate links. I am affiliated with Bookshop.org, whom I like to call the “Etsy for small business bookstores,” which brings me to my next goal for The Neverending Reading List Instagram Series; I want to make people aware of Bookshop.org, whose mission is,

To help local, independent bookstores thrive in the age of ecommerce. We work to connect readers with independent booksellers all over the world. We believe local bookstores are essential community hubs that foster culture, curiosity, and a love of reading, and we’re committed to helping them survive and thrive. Our platform gives independent bookstores tools to compete online and financial support to help them maintain their presence in local communities.

“About BookShop”. Bookshop.org. https://bookshop.org/pages/about

(When I did a Preview of the [Wordpress] post, I found the bookshop link above does not open into a new window. If it is the same for other platforms, I shall provide an update.)

The final goal is, obviously, to get more support for my work. If my link(s) is used to purchase books, I receive a commission. A win for local bookstores, win for Bookshop.org, win for you, win for me plus a win for the authors. And, for those trying to get away from Amazon, a punch at Amazon.

More transparency: I am an affiliate of Amazon as well; for those who don’t know, Amazon is the Etsy for everything on a, stating the obvious, grander scale. Many small businesses use Amazon as a platform to get their products seen to support themselves. If Amazon goes down, a lot of small businesses will go down with them. It is the small businesses I support, not Amazon.

In conclusion, I will be doing The Neverending Reading List Instagram Series on my, personal, MonriaTitans Instagram, with the goals of encouraging reading, sharing resources for the development of video games (and other things for shits and giggles), having a bit of fun, to gain exposure for Bookshop.org, and to share my MonriaTitans & WGS’ Bookshop in the hopes of getting more support for my work as well as support for the authors.

Well, these are all the updates I have for now. Thank you for reading!
May every decision you make in the future be in the spirit of fairness and may the rest of your day NOT go to $#!7.

The Weekend Game Show’s (WGS’) mission is to educate on different aspects of video game development so as to prevent another Cyberpunk 2077 scenario. Also, for empowerment and exposure, promote artists.

Please consider supporting by buying Monria Titans – WGS a Ko-fi!

Watch WGS on Twitch and YouTube!
See the Artist’s Shout-Out posts on Instagram, Tumblr,
and also in the Discord channel #artist-shout-outs!

Want to recommend an artist to shout-out?
Or to get one for yourself?
You must be a member of the WGS’ Artist Shout-Outs Ko-fi.
For more details on the Artist Shout-Out Criteria, click here.
And, no, tipping, in either Ko-fi, does not affect how many artists you can shout-out.

D&D Haikus

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I was scrolling through a D&D group on Facebook (can’t remember which one because I have joined so many) and someone posted a comment asking people to write a Haiku about their character; I wrote 3 for the post, but there’s going to be more to come.

Ria – Aarakocra
Are you scared to fly?
Here’s a big rock for you, dwarf.
Feel better now, friend?

Anja Sand – Halfling
You want to be an
idiot? Okay. That’s fine.
I’ll sit back and watch.

Adelaide Walter – Human
I will give you a
hand. But time is money. What’s
in it for me, hmm?

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Remember Me?

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© Copyright of ABC’s Once Upon A Time

A Once Upon A Time Fan-Fiction

Grey Areas

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Isaac catches Mim before she can hit the ground. The energy is absorbed by the glyph. Rumple holds Emma back when the glyph dims. Then everyone is blinded again.

“Oh, come on!” Kristoff cries out, rubbing his eyes.

Someone is lying in the third piece of the “pie”; a woman with long wavy hair in a glowing, translucent bodysuit. A dark blob flies around the glyph, slamming into the barrier frantically.

“Morgan.” Emma clarifies. “But what’s wrong with Dani?”

“MIM!” Rumple shouts, appearing next to her; Belle, Baelfire and Snow follow.

“Emma!” David says, embracing her.

“We’ve gotta get Morgan.” Emma declares when David lets go.

“Not with Dani going haywire.” Regina exclaims, but Emma charges in. “EMMA!”

“Are you okay?” Emma asks, turning Morgan onto her back.

“Dani’s lost their memories.” Morgan states, holding out a hand. “Help me up.”

“What?” –Emma pulls Morgan to her feet– “How?”

“For centuries, Dani’s psyche and mind have been bound to others.” –Morgan leans on Emma for support– “To suddenly be split, twice, caused a memory wipe.” –they look back when they hear a crash; Dani had slammed into the barrier again– “I was protected by the light suit.” –Ingrid runs over and supports Morgan on the other side– “Dani is just as scared and confused as they were when they were first born.”

“What can we do?” Emma asks as Dani slams into the other side of the barrier.

“Help her remember.”

“I’ve got her.” Elsa says to Emma. “Go help Dani.”

“Dani!” Emma calls and the blob stops in mid-air.

“Emma!” Snow rushes towards her.

“Do you remember why your name is Dani?” Emma asks, slowly approaching, Snow stopping next to Emma.

“Because,” a child’s voice responds, bringing everyone but Emma to a halt, “Dani works for a boy and a girl.”

“Blue needs to see this.” Morgan says to Anna.

“Why am I stuck in here?” Dani asks.

“Because we were bound,” –Emma moves forward, slowly– “and you and your aunt were bound.” –Dani stops moving– “This glyph separated us.”

“Why is everyone scared of me?”

“Because, prior to me, everyone you were bound to used your power to do horrible things,” –Dani begins to whimper– “but it wasn’t your fault.”

“I don’t remember.”

“It’s lying!” Blue declares, making everyone, but those who saw her exit the vase, jump.

“YOU!” –Dani appears behind Emma and Snow and slams into the barrier, trying to get to Blue– “You were always mean to me!” –Blue stands firm, glaring– “I never did anything and you were cruel!”

“You are darkness!” Blue snaps. “You can’t be trusted!”

“Dani saved my life!” Snow scowls, standing between them. “Multiple times!” –she looks down at Rumple over her shoulder, him kneeling next to Mim– “You never knew.”

Snow ran through the forest, leapt over fallen logs, climbed trees and swung on vines to get away from the Evil Queen’s guards. They had been chasing her for a while, but Mim’s training was working. She was beginning to lose them. Snow climbed as high as she could into one of the tallest trees and hid in the branches, putting the camouflage cloak Mim had given her to good use. The guards galloped away. Snow had to stifle a laugh. She waited fifteen minutes before jumping into the tree next to her. To think, travelling via tree tops used to be difficult! She ran out of tree when she arrived by the side of a river. She, slowly, descended the tree as she looked through the trees. Snow stops, then barrel rolls, dodging a fire ball.

“Why, hello!” Snow looked across the river to see Regina, donning her usual, scary looking black gowns.

Guards jumped in out of nowhere, but Snow heard them coming. She punched one in the throat, ducked, then low kicked another. Regina was stunned.

“Well, well!” Regina exclaimed, laughing when Snow threw a guard into the river. “Someone’s learned some new tricks!” –Snow ran back into the woods– “That’s not going to work!” –she appeared in a puff of purple smoke and blocked her path; Snow drew her sword– “And what makes you think that’s going to help you?”

“It summoned me.” –Rumple left hooked Regina in the face as the sword in Snow’s hand turned to ash– “Forget” –Regina’s memories are gathered into a small, purple marble– “We don’t need you knowing we were here.”

“Dani?” Snow asked and Rumple/Dani smiled at her. “How?”

“Not a good place to explain.” –they find themselves in an open field– “That’s better!”

“Is Rumpelstiltskin still… there?”

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Dani laughed, walking towards the closest patch of woods.

“How did you know where I was?” Snow asked, following.

“The sword mother gave you.”

“Why did it turn to ash?”

“Because it served its purpose.”

“Mim is definitely your mother.” –Dani laughed– “PLEASE start making sense!”

“That was a sword of light you were holding designed to summon me when I was needed the most.”

“It was linked to the bit of light inside you that you absorbed when you were created!”

“Exactly!”

“So,” –she jumped over a fallen tree right after Dani– “she gave me the sword, knowing Regina would find me eventually, in the hopes the sword would cause the two of you to disconnect!”

“Now you’re catching on!”

“A reason behind the reason and a backup plan for the backup plan.”

“Yeah… the disconnect won’t last much longer, however.”

“Why?”

“Not my body.” Dani answered, matter-of-factly as they stopped walking to look at her. “I can’t take control of him forever.”

“Technically, you’re sharing the body.”

“Eeeeeh…”

“What’s the catch?”

“When he’s in control, my aunt and I can see and hear everything. When I’M in control, he’s locked away. He will have NO memory of this. I won’t do that to him more often than I need to.”

“Why didn’t Blue trust you again?” Snow asked and Dani’s demeanor completely shifts to sadness. “I’m sorry.” –she gave Dani a hug– “You and I both know Mim will find a way to help you when she’s strong enough.”

“And, unfortunately, Rumple can’t know THAT either.” Dani stated. “He’s grown quite addicted to my power.”

“Mim was afraid of that.”

“Yeah.” –Dani pointed down a path– “That way will take you to a small village. Nice people. They’ll help.”

“Thank you, Dani.”

“No.” –Dani grinned– “Thank you.”

What do you think? Tell me in the comments!

Want to know what happens next? I’ll let you know soon!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Not Sorry, Blue

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© Copyright of ABC’s Once Upon A Time

A Once Upon A Time Fan-Fiction

Grey Areas

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“Did you get the wand to work?” Blue asks when she hears footprints in the woods.

The fairies set up the glyph on a flat field. It glows in the light of the moon.

“No,” Regina snarls as she pulls Zelena out from behind a tree, “but we found someone who can.”

“She cannot be trusted!”

“And no one knows that better than me.” –she holds up the arm with the cuff on it– “I altered the cuff. The only spells she can cast are the ones I allow.”

“That’s… acceptable.” –Blue eyes Zelena suspiciously– “All we have left is to figure out how to get Emma into the glyph, ESPECIALLY if she has succumbed to the darkness. Are you going to go get her?”

“We already did.” Snow announces as she and David walk into the moonlight holding Emma’s hands. “And she’s fine.” –Blue eyes them, stunned– “We weren’t idle.”

“What’s going on?” Blue asks, now suspicious of the entire situation as Emma enters the glyph, willingly.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.” Emma explains, shaking. “If staying here will keep everyone safe, so be it.”

“Noble,” Blue admits, “but if you already retrieved Emma, why do you still need Zelena to operate the wand?”

“For this.” Zelena cackles as she points the wand at the glyph.

“What are you…”

Anna jumps out from behind a tree and opens the vase, pointing it at Blue. She screams as she is liquefied and pulled into the vase. The rest of the fairies scream as they are suddenly pulled into the air by vines. All this happens while Zelena is altering the glyph. Emma spins around, watching every aspect of the change; every shape, every line. The center now looks like a giant pie, cut into three slices.

“That auta do it.” Zelena states as the glyph dims.

“All that’s left is enough magical energy to power it.” Regina concludes, taking the wand from Zelena as Henry, Robin, Lily, Maleficent, Belle, Killian, Will and Rolin come into view.

“How could you?” a fairy shouts from the tree branches.

“We’ll release her as soon as we’re done here.” Anna assures as Kristoff and Isaac walk up next to her. “I promise.”

“Where’d Elsa go?” Snow asks, scanning the woods.

Seconds after she asks the question, Cora, Rumple, Elsa, Ingrid, Mim a man and a woman surround the glyph. Baelfire stands behind his father, proud. Isaac moves to Mim’s back. Mim’s Yin and Yang choker’s glow is blinding. Everyone stands there in shock.

“Neal?” Emma asks.

“NOW!”

Six of them shoot beams of energy into the glyph. Zelena snatches the wand from Regina and tosses it to Mim. With it, Mim shoots an energy beam into the glyph. Zelena joins in. Then Regina a few seconds later after she recovers from the shock. Emma glows bright grey and seems to split into two people, but the second person shifts form multiple times or looks like a giant blob.

“It’s not enough power!” Regina shouts.

“Emma has to let go!” Mim shouts back, choker dimming a bit. “Emma, they’re still going to be here when you separate! You need to let them go!”

“Why would she be holding on?” Snow cries.

“They understand me!” Emma answers.

“And they still will!” Mim responds, choker a little bit more dim.

“You still have us, love!” Killian calls and Neal looks at him. “You won’t be alone!”

Mim puts up a barrier to block the explosion, but also to gather the energy from it and shape it into the form of a giant ball. She uses her hand to hold it in the air. She holds out the wand to alter the glyph, all while Emma stirs, turns onto her back and sits up. Everyone else is recovering from being blinded from the explosion.

“Dani?” Emma asks.

Across from Emma, lying in one of the thirds of the “pie”, lies a woman with black hair at the roots, but it fades from black to grey to white at the ends. Emma rushes to Dani’s sides at Mim struggles to hold the energy.

“She’s not breathing!” Emma shouts at Mim.

“You need to move, Emma!” Mim yells back, shaking; choker almost completely dim. “Get out of the glyph.”

“But…” –Rumple grabs Emma and as suddenly as he appears, they are outside the glyph– “What are you doing? Dani needs help!”

“Getting my…” –Mim makes a fist– “FAMILY BACK!”

Mim punches the ground and the energy flies down with it. The choker glows no more.

What do you think? Tell me in the comments!

Want to know what happens next? Click here to find out!

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Fire Vetoes With Fire

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© Copyright of ABC’s Once Upon A Time

A Once Upon A Time Fan-Fiction

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Chapter Twenty-Seven

“EMMA!”

Zelena uses smoke to move to Mim’s side before she can be trampled by the others.

“I’d bet my father’s sword you figured that out on your own.” Mim says, proudly when the cheer is done, beaming from ear to ear.

“Yeah.”

“Like I said,” –Mim looks at Maleficent– “Good instincts on that one.” –she turns back to Emma– “So, how much did we learn on our trip?”

“A lot!” Emma exclaims. “I am nowhere NEAR as frightened of my magic as I used to be!”

“Perfect.” –Zelena slow claps three times– “Any more instinctual remarks about fire?”

“It’s its own sub-element.” Emma answers as she walks towards the orbiting elements.

“And?”

“Morgan told me that magic is magic. Whether or not it is light or dark depends on the person wielding it.” –Mim nods, beaming– “Regina,” –Emma looks at her– “you’re a perfect example.”

“I think everyone knows THAT.”

“Back when you were known as The Evil Queen, fire was your go to element. You’re not that woman anymore and, yet, you still use fire.” –Emma grabs a hold of the hovering fire ball– “Fire is an in between.” –she looks at Mim– “Morgan says you would use the term ‘crossroad’.”

“I would.”

“Magic is just magic.” Emma continues, “How you used it dictated whether or not the magic was light or dark. But the fact that you used FIRE,” –Emma holds the fire ball out to Regina– “signified you were never too far gone. You were producing LIGHT the entire time.”

“What, so I was subconsciously crying for help?” Regina scoffs.

“Pretty much.” Mim finishes, “And, seeing as how fire is still your first choice, and nothing else, you’re still needing some.”

“How do you figure?”

“Anger, in itself, is a signifier.” –the elements and the pit disappear as if they were never there– “And fire is destructive, which anger usually leads to, either for the one holding onto anger or the one on the receiving end.” –Regina suddenly looks guilty– “And now we understand.” –Alex opens the door– “Now that Emma is here, we have work to do.”

“When are you gonna show us the library?” Henry persists as they are walking through the mirror to get back into Storybrooke, having finished explaining the separation glyph to Emma during the walk.

“That depends upon you and your partner.” Mim explains, looking at Isaac. “You have to be ready.”

“Are you moving Rumple and the Apprentice back to Storybrooke?” Belle asks as she is walking through the mirror.

“That happened a WHILE ago!” Mim laughs as she sits at a table. “Been wondering about putting them both in the hospital, though.”

“Why?”

“Magic may be keeping them alive, but it won’t do them any good if they aren’t getting any fluids or any other form of nutrition.”

“Good point.” Regina admits.

“Are we all in accord?”

“You’re asking us, now?”

“Now that we are all together, why wouldn’t I?”

“Does that mean you’re going to tell us the plan, now?” Killian pushes, squeezing Emma’s hand.

“I’m going to tell you how to make sure Blue doesn’t know the plan.” –Mim grimaces– “I see that woman again, I might strangle her.” –she looks at Regina– “But you are NOT going to like it.”

“If it has ANYTHING to do with Zelena removing the cuff, forget it.”

“THAT,” Emma injects, “I have to agree with.”

“I tried.” Mim says, apologetically to Zelena. “Fine. Next plan. Unless Emma vetoes this one, too, in which case, I have another one.”

“To be expected.” Snow says, proudly.

What do you think? Tell me in the comments!

Want to know what happens next? Click here to find out!

Chapter Twenty-Six: The First Lesson on Fire

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© Copyright of ABC’s Once Upon A Time

A Once Upon A Time Fan-Fiction

Grey Areas

Chapter Twenty-Six

“You have already seen what ice magic can do.” Mim continues, looking at Elsa. “All ice is is frozen water, which can only happen when the air gets cold enough.”

“Making ice an in between.” Belle declares from the doorway. “Or a sub-element.”

“Very good!” –a bit of water separates from the ball, freezes, then orbits the water– “Any other sub-elements come to mind?”

“Metal?” Lily asks.

“True.” –a bit of earth is turned to iron– “Oh, this is fun!”

“Steam.” Isaac adds. “Not oxygen, but it’s something water turns into when heated enough.”

“Do we have a better understanding of the world, now?”

“Of the four elements, yes.” Regina states. “What about light and darkness?”

“Ah.” –Mim grins– “If you are asking, the elements need to be explained more.” –the sub-elements rejoin their primaries– “Those who are deemed unredeemable are interesting individuals for their choice of element says a LOT!”

“Meaning?”

“Each element does something the others CAN’T.” Mim resumes, beaming proudly. “Water starts the process of life; the earth gives like a home; air allows life to live, but fire has an important feature.” –she moves fire out of orbit and hovers it in front of them– “Can we guess what that is?”

“It produces heat,” Zelena states, matter-of-factly, “which allows the water to become steam, air to not exist for fire can suck the air dry, and the earth to either dry out/and or burn completely.”

“That, too.” Mim agrees, looking to her right.

“Fire also produces light.”

What do you think? Tell me in the comments!

Want to know what happens next? Click here to find out!