Ok, first things first. This is in the wrong genre. It is through and through Science Fiction. It's literally a Bros/Sisters Before Everyone Else kind of story, except the leader isn't a guy, but a girl. With Giant Space Robots that will rip your body into shreds with g-force. And Various Background Proxy Wars and underlying plot.As someone who has completely read the raws 5 times over in the past year while following all of the author's updates (I'm literally on my 6th run guys and I'm STILL finding new things that I missed the first few times around), this is one of the best stories I've read in a long time. It has amazing character growth, characterization, character relationships, plot, action, emotional turmoil, setting, depth - I could go on. Madame Ru can make you laugh out loud one moment and cry in grief the next - truly, it's a story that sets itself apart and has become a unique existence. There's so much going on, but it doesn't detract from your understanding due to how well Madame Ru hides it in the background through foreshadowing and Chekov's Gun. Not only that, it has a female protagonist that doesn't suffer from the painful cliches that one would expect in a genderbender story - which, honestly, makes a lot more sense setting-wise (how can you not be able to hide your body's gender if you have something like Little Four and high science fiction medicine).Also the setting itself is really fun. It's a hyper futuristic intergalactic empire with Xianxia elements - mainly spiritual power, qi, and martial arts. Except instead of being something fancy like martial arts sects, it's been integrated into lineages. After countless years of development, they've become something akin to 'military arts' rather than just wushu, with a heavy focus on usability rather than just display. Madame Ru meshes the two normally opposite traits beautifully and without a seam - keeping the core of the idea and evolving it into a completely new existence.And Ling Lan. She's not your typical female protagonist either - she, so far, has been my most favorite that I've come across. She is neither morally righteous nor evil - her morals don't follow the path of 'for humanity', but just for the small, small group of people she cares about, the people who believe in her. Her path is of the heart, and she refuses to bow down to anyone - her Dao is Hegemony. There is nothing more satisfying than watching her grow from her original self to the current self and following the hardships she goes through. She will become the strongest, but at the same time, she isn't alone - she has her little partners that she cares for and grows along with. Yes, her goal isn't to be the single peerless god at the top of the world, but to bring those who put their trust and lives into her hands along with her. This, in itself, is already a highly unique trait within stories. Together we rise, divided we fall.Anyway, sorry, I'm a bit of a chatterbox when it comes to this series. It's by far my favorite and I hope it will get the attention and representation it deserves. Let's all keep on fighting, little partners! Until we reach the top :3c
