Trope: Tragic Backstory

  • The Unbreakable Bladesong Druid

    The Unbreakable Bladesong Druid

    My greatest enemy has always been myself. Over the past few weeks, I’ve painstakingly put my broken pieces back together, from the dark mysteries of my past to the heart-rending conflict of my present. But just when I finally start to feel whole again, everything around me falls apart. Lallakai, the newly ascended Queen of

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  • The Twice-Scorned Lady of Shadow

    The Twice-Scorned Lady of Shadow

    I’m learning to embrace who and what I am, but there’s one thing I can’t face: the night Zak betrayed me. But even with the mysteries of our shared past hanging between us, I can’t turn Zak away when he asks for my help. Powerful fae are going missing, and when he tried to investigate,

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  • The Long-Forgotten Winter King

    The Long-Forgotten Winter King

    Everyone is keeping secrets. Zak won’t reveal what really happened between us ten years ago. Ríkr’s been hiding so much I scarcely recognize him anymore. But the biggest secret belongs to my parents, and it’s the one I’m most desperate to unravel. Finding out who they really were, and who I am, means solving their

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  • The One and Only Crystal Druid

    The One and Only Crystal Druid

    Ten years ago, I risked everything on a nameless boy. I came out the other side with a murder conviction, a prison sentence, and a minor case of amnesia. I forgot everything about that boy, and now I’m out on parole, just a nobody witch volunteering at an animal rescue and keeping a low profile.

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  • Be My Worst Nightmare

    Be My Worst Nightmare

    This third volume ends up going into another doll-dream situation, this one much more dire. Older brother bumps into a kid and starts mother hen-ing the guy, then it turns out the kid is a sex worker and has been sucking dick for attention. Needless to say, our bro ends up trying to save the

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  • A Wild Last Boss Battle Appeared!

    A Wild Last Boss Battle Appeared!

    , , , , ,

    Lufas Maphaahl rules the land of Mizgarz with an iron fist. Mankind stands no chance of prevailing against the most powerful being in the world and her army of loyal minions—until a band of heroes bests her in an epic battle, sealing her soul away for all eternity. But this is just another day in

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  • The 6th Loop: I’m Finally Free of Auto Mode in this Otome Game Vol 1-6

    The 6th Loop: I’m Finally Free of Auto Mode in this Otome Game Vol 1-6

    Harem Scale H: She can and will do things to help or save people to an insane degree, despite being constantly worried about dying. A: She is aware it is a harem game, however, she is not aware that the harem is hers now. R: You can’t see it but romance is a solid 3

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  • Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Party Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to an Infinite Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out for Revenge Vol. 1-9

    Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Party Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to an Infinite Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out for Revenge Vol. 1-9

    Harem Scale H: MC is sufficiently heroic but is kind of sadistic. A: Very aware of the women always being like That. R: Ignores all of it. E: Entirely for the male gaze. Just look at the covers. M: I got invested enough in the plot and the revenge stuff. A kid named Light is

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  • The Hitman Stans Vol. 1

    The Hitman Stans Vol. 1

    The best hitman of the underworld, Owaru Endou, leads a dark and secretive life, constantly bathing in the blood of his targets. However, his life takes a brighter turn when he becomes a fan of Kaori “Kaorin” Minaboshi, an underground idol from Rosaceae whose concerts Owaru always attends. Feeling that his hands and dirty money

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  • QQ Sweeper Vol. 1-3

    QQ Sweeper Vol. 1-3

    In human hearts, negative energy sometimes finds a place to dwell. This negativity can begin to take shape into monstrous creatures, which can only be dealt with by “Sweepers,” special people with the ability to banish them and bring peace. Kyuutarou Horikita comes from a long line of Sweepers, but most of his classmates see

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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: 25/50
50%
Comics Read in 2026: 80/200
40%
Physical Owned Books Read: 477/844
56%


Menagerie Categories


Tagged in the Menagerie

Absolute Asshole NPC (99) Accidentally in Charge (48) A Fetish For Suffering (54) Can't Say No (80) Chekov's Gun (51) Childhood Friends (52) Curiosity Fucks You Up (83) Cursed (71) Damsel in Distress (70) Damsel in Distress (subverted) (96) Dangerous Reputation (95) Doting Husband (69) Everyone Loves MC (98) Evil Eyes & Big Heart (53) Fan Service (102) Grumpy x Sunshine (56) Hypercompetent MC (78) If You Love Them, Set Them Free (58) I Know a Guy (56) Last Minute Hero (114) Loss of Humanity (58) Main Character Coloring (81) MC's Skewed Metrics (80) Mean Boy (130) Mean Boy Love Interest (50) Modern Morals (52) Nat 20s (98) Not Actually Dead (88) Nuclear Revenge (76) OP Protag (95) Petty Revenge (45) Power of Friendship (83) Power of Love (75) Self-Sacrifice (75) Shock Value (49) Sympathetic Evil (71) The Moral is Community (64) Tragic Backstory (89) Twist! (61) Uniquely Skilled (94) Unreliable Narrator (56) Weird and Wacky On Purpose (83) Western-Style Fantasy (95) Wrong Place Wrong Time (68) Zero to Hero (86)


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