Trope: Damsel in Distress (subverted)

  • The Ancient Magus’ Bride

    The Ancient Magus’ Bride

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    Chise Hatori was a child nobody wanted. Told by her own mother that she should never have been born and passed from one neglectful guardian to the next, the young girl has grown up feeling lost, hopeless, and emotionally numb. At age fifteen she sells herself into slavery, desperate for a home where somebody –

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  • The Barbarian’s Bride #5

    The Barbarian’s Bride #5

    We NEED more MEN to be NAKED in this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! god DMANAIT Anyway, very masculine as always. Talking dragons are interesting. We have a fucking C-section to do as well. I like the series at least and the author admits in this one they’re just throwing their fetishes out in this as well so. At least

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  • The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins

    The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins

    Join Taako the elf wizard, Merle the dwarf cleric, and Magnus the human warrior for an adventure they are poorly equipped to handle AT BEST, guided (“guided”) by their snarky DM, in a graphic novel that will tickle your funny bone, tug your heartstrings, and probably pants you if you give it half a chance.

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  • The Apothecary Diaries Vol. 01

    The Apothecary Diaries Vol. 01

    In the East is a land ruled by an emperor, whose consorts and serving women live in a sprawling complex known as the hougong, the rear palace. Maomao, an unassuming girl raised in an unassuming town by her apothecary father, never imagined the rear palace would have anything to do with her—until she was kidnapped

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  • This Is My Body

    This Is My Body

    A gripping, emotional, and darkly funny queer horror novel about family trauma and possession, for fans of Rachel Harrison and Catriona Ward. Single gay mom Brigid always thought that cutting ties with her extremist Catholic family was the best thing she could have done for her daughter, Dylan—and for herself. But when Dylan starts having

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  • Crafting for Sinners

    Crafting for Sinners

    A queer woman must fight her way out of a big-box craft store run by a diabolical religious cult in this gripping survival horror novel by Jenny Kiefer, author of This Wretched Valley The ratcheting tension and gut-churning terror will appeal to fans of The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

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  • A Guest in the House

    A Guest in the House

    After many lonely years, Abby’s just gotten married. She met her new husband, a recently widowed dentist, when he arrived in town with his young daughter seeking a new start. Although it’s strange living in the shadow of her predecessor, Abby does her best to be a good wife and mother, but the more she

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  • The 31st Consort Vol 2-3

    The 31st Consort Vol 2-3

    I really like the 31st Consort. The conceit is having a queen who stands as an equal no matter what, changing the patriarchal idea of demure women who only fight socially. She’s forced to live within this construct but still manages despite her headstrong nature. The romance is cute, but the political infighting is what

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  • The Apothecary Diaries Season 2

    The Apothecary Diaries Season 2

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    As per usual, I LOVE Apothecary Diaries. Maomao is the aroace KING we all deserve. I love that Jinshi is 100% a doting husband on her autistic ass. The mysteries up the stakes and Maomao gets involved in a national fucking incident while just doing her thing. In between the beginning and National Fucking Incident,

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  • Galatea

    Galatea

    An enchanting short story from Madeline Miller that boldly reimagines the myth of Galatea and Pygmalion. In ancient Greece, a skilled marble sculptor has been blessed by a goddess who has given his masterpiece — the most beautiful woman the town has ever seen — the gift of life. Now his wife, he expects Galatea

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Welcome to the Menagerie.

Here is where M logs their media activity. Partly because Goodreads is forgettable and keeping physical logs is harder. Sometimes M writes a lot. Sometimes M doesn’t write enough. It doesn’t matter. This is just a for-fun little blog so that M can remember what they thought about whatever they watched or read or played or. Whatever.


What is M?

I read. Voraciously. I have subscriptions to those book things on digital retailers. I consume books at nearly all hours. The hours I don’t spend reading? I’m writing. I’m drawing. I have a problem. I have a problem in that I love to read things that are in the same vein repeatedly. Book journals don’t work and as much as I text my friends screenshots of book passages, it doesn’t scratch the itch. Now I’m going to be doing… tiny… tiny book reports.


Truck-Kun Kill Count:


Books & Light Novels Read in 2025: 23/50
46%
Comics Read in 2026: 51/200
25%
Physical Owned Books Read: 470/809
58%


Menagerie Categories


Tagged in the Menagerie

Absolute Asshole NPC (93) Accidentally in Charge (43) A Fetish For Suffering (48) Can't Say No (76) Chekov's Gun (47) Childhood Friends (52) Curiosity Fucks You Up (79) Cursed (64) Damsel in Distress (64) Damsel in Distress (subverted) (91) Dangerous Reputation (89) Doting Husband (68) Everyone Loves MC (94) Evil Eyes & Big Heart (49) Fan Service (98) Grumpy x Sunshine (54) Hypercompetent MC (74) If You Love Them, Set Them Free (55) I Know a Guy (52) Last Minute Hero (106) Loss of Humanity (53) Main Character Coloring (75) MC's Skewed Metrics (76) Mean Boy (123) Mean Boy Love Interest (49) Modern Morals (48) Nat 20s (92) Not Actually Dead (80) Nuclear Revenge (70) OP Protag (92) Petty Revenge (45) Power of Friendship (78) Power of Love (74) Self-Sacrifice (69) Shock Value (47) Sympathetic Evil (67) The Moral is Community (62) Tragic Backstory (84) Twist! (59) Uniquely Skilled (90) Unreliable Narrator (56) Weird and Wacky On Purpose (80) Western-Style Fantasy (87) Wrong Place Wrong Time (65) Zero to Hero (81)


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