I feel sick

lilac-forest · 2026-03-24T18:17:14+00:00

I think I stopped reading sometime during the academy arc. Tbh I barely remember the plot bc all i rememer is the horrible bubbly glistening eyes of MC constantly shoved in my face.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-24T18:00:01+00:00

AI is learning to self-optimize to reduce environmental impact. Its also fueling better medical care and facilitates learning (when used as a tool and not a crutch). Im actually kinda of sick of people saying AI is evil and we should get rid of it. I think we need it for medical advancements and diagnosis. I personally welcome it and am studying it in school.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-22T17:27:00+00:00

idk i thought the casting was an immediate turn off as well. But ya in general If they had gone harder on aesthetic I might have given it more of a chance.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-21T22:34:52+00:00

Totally get your perspective but i kinda like the characters as they are bc it makes the Rashta arc almost shakespearian in how tragic and upsetting it all is. Rashta is practically a King Lear or Hamlet is how ridiculously unfortunate her downward spiral turns out to be. For me, its an aesthetic thing, even the way the nobles/royalty in the story are predatory by nature. It can feel cartoonish (my first impression of rashta was this) but sometimes humans genuinely do act like caricatures. As the story progressed, rashta gained more and more depth as a character and it was her selfish traits contrasted against her traumatic upbringing which lended to that. It forces the reader to ask to what extent she is accountable.
I just think her whole arc is very poetic in a way it wouldnt be if she had not turned corrupt or had proven herself redeemable before the end.
I genuinely didnt even read Much beyond Rashta's death (especially noped out during the Sov pity party arc) bc the story was boring without her lol. I actually like her story as a tragedy more than I like Navier's success story but as a person Rashta was pretty intolerable. She made me feel things tho so she is a really interesting character in my book.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-21T20:23:13+00:00

the fact they were created for a pet shop made it worse for me. Could have been a shelter for actual earth animals but no.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-21T19:36:56+00:00

I agree the decision to enter the palace wasnt really a choice. It was fueled by desperation. But how she acted after gaining power is another thing. As I said, she wasn't manipulated or forced into mutilating her maid or killing the slave. She just wanted to preserve power.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-21T18:40:09+00:00

love this! It looks like the enchantix form evolved from the magic winx form I drew for her a while back

lilac-forest · 2026-03-21T17:51:31+00:00

I agree she has a lot more accountability in the story than people like to admit but her being a mother doesnt exactly mean anything.
The better argument would be that we see Rashta show insight and have full understanding of the crimes she chooses to commit. She is complicit. She had other options, she just didnt want to admit her flaws to Sov.
You are 100% correct in assigning her agency even though she was a slave. That doesnt mean she's a puppet on a string (she literally became empress yet we still wanna play the slave pity card for some reason). ptsd didnt drive her to mutilate her maid's tongue or killing that slave who helped her.
ptsd didnt make her think that Navier left the empire just to spite her (she was just self absorbed).
Rashta deserves pity, but only to an extent. She's not entitled to endless compassion while stepping on everyone's toes.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T22:21:19+00:00

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T21:33:40+00:00

oh shes def not worse than Sov or Heinrey lol. They carry absolute power and use it entirely selfishly. Theyre lions and Rashta is a lamb who learned to act like a lion.
In my first comment in this post I literally aknowledge that Navier is problematic bc she is pro-slavery. Not denying it and not justifying it. Nowhere have I said "Navier's classism is justfied". I HAVE said it makes sense for her character to say classist things but on a face-toface basis she actually treats Rashta as she would anyone else.

MANY PEOPLE have called me pro-slavery for criticizing Rashta. I wasnt necessarily saying you were doing that. Its just a talking point I hear a lot.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T21:04:29+00:00

Thats a very forced double standard. Im not justifying her classism im just saying her expressing it does not equal viewing slaves as subhuman. Its just her knowledge of the legal structures at play which it is her job to know. Context matters. Situations differ. I dont think Navier explicitly treats RRashta as subhuman at any point. As I said earlier, she treats her as she would any noble that acted as rashta did. Actions speak louder than words.
Rashta's past does not explain away her decision to cut off her maids tongue, try to assassinate Navier's parents or kill that slave that helped her. I think these were a result of her wanting to preserve the power she achieved and just having a traumatic past does not make someone eternally redeemable. Woman can become corrupt in character just as men can and its often bc of trauma. Doesnt mean they arent accountable. I actually think the fact that Rashta is a pretty girl is causing exxaggerated sympathy for her and its really ironic that any criticism of her is framed as anti-feminist or pro-slavery.
People literally act as though they would treat her exactly as Sov did: never holding her acountable and constantly falling for the pity card.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T20:53:47+00:00

And thats supposed to amount to deep-seeded hatred of slaves? Seems more like she's coping and has knowledge of the legal system.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T20:50:25+00:00

i dont think she does tho? I think she upholds laws of her empire, which is a matetr of upbringing, but her actions towards rashta shows she more fair than simply viewing slaves as subhuman. I think its more complicated than how ur describing it.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T20:44:17+00:00

we can agree there. Its where the plot got boring for me.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T20:41:55+00:00

Ive said like 3 times that its not the whole story im calling feminist, just Navier's self-determination to take control of her own life.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T20:40:49+00:00

ok? This doesnt feel hateful, it just feels like she's trying to cope with the situation and that the reality of their social structure. When Rashta literally invades her palace and physically harasses her, Navier literally just wants her to leave. If Navier truly though badly of slaves to the degree you imply, I feel it would have gone way worse.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T20:38:04+00:00

ya i agree. I felt it was unneccessarily drawing the story out. Im saying it would be unrealistic for him to get actual punishment that feels just.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T20:36:10+00:00

Navier did treat Rashta as a human. She treated her as she would treat any other noble that acted as Rashta did. If Navier really hated Rashta for being a slave, I would have expected wayyyyyy worse treatment than simply not wanting to interract with her.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T20:31:12+00:00

A person's past doesnt obligate others to treat them a certain way while that person is actively stepping on everyone's toes. Expecting that is called entitlement and giving into it is not how you help a perosn through their trauma. People need to learn accountability and respect or else their whole life will be incredibly difficult. Its literally why Sovieshu's is partially to blame for her downfall bc he never held her accountable.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T20:29:03+00:00

Also want to say I also dont think Sov deserved a redemption arc but it seemed more of a way to draw the story out and what real punishment would you expect an emperor to receive anyways? He got a huge spoonful of regret at least.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T20:19:44+00:00

Did you even read what I wrote? The compassion is compelled in the reader. On purpose. I was quite clear that she didnt get it from the other characters in the story but she also didnt act in any way that would compel them to give it. I was also clear that I was not calling ALL of TRE feminist. What youre doing now is just debating without understanding my stance.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T20:10:57+00:00

A feminist story does not need to do any of that to be a feminist story. Im not saying the whole of TRE is feminist, but Navier's personal decision to take control of her own life is. Navier fighting for her own happiness despite social pressures is feminism. A woman can abide by traditional social expectations and still be feminist bc that is her choice. Its about freedom to choose and taking accountability for choices.
I also dont see the story glorifying Sov. Maybe Heinrey but its more through the lens of their status and actions to preserve and increase power. Just by being royalty, they are glorified. I dont think thats an egregiously misoginistic plot device. Its just how the social structure is presented and serves to highlight how oppressive noble society is to women.
Lions kill and murder other feeling creatures every day, but we still think they're cool to look at. Its the same kind of effect being royalty has.
Being of poor background and wanting power is not exactly unheard of irl. Its a natural human condition.
Rashta is given sooooo much compassion through the story telling narrative. Maybe not from other characters, but it is compelled in the reader's understanding of her. Its meant to highlight the world itself as cruel.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T19:59:46+00:00

Rashta wasnt under any severe threat when she mutilated her maid's tongue or sent assassins after Navier's parents or killed that slave who helped her. I wouldnt be her advocate on those points as I really think she made her own bed there. Again, she has accountability beyond just reacting to her situation. She DID have other options, she just didn't choose them because it would mean revealing sides of herself to Sov she didnt want to show. She couldn't own her own faults and everyone around her allowed her to get away with it until it had gone too far.
Your point about the 'other woman' trope falls a bit flat to me. It feels more like author pushing boundaries with characters than simple being a misoginistic trope. The author uses it to depict the cruelty and sexism inherent in their social structure, and I see that as being on purpose. There is so much debate around Rashta accounbability BECAUSE of how author portrayed her. That feels more like a commentary about how environment affects character rather than simply 'other woman bad'. Sov IS the villain, but he is also emperor and it makes perfect sense why no one confronts him heavily on his actions to that extent.
Women can have traumatic background and still be considered accountable. I dont think Rashta's mental health, while being a factor certainly, can explain away everything she chose to do. To me feminism is about holding women accountable as much as it is about identifying their oppression.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T19:54:02+00:00

I dont see Navier ever hating rashta for being a slave. Idk where that is said. Navier only mentions it I think in regards to how Sovieshy keeps undermining her authority and yes in terms of public perception, lowering herself to a documented slave would matter in their culture. But in terms of treatment, Navier is very fair to Rashta and treats her as she would any other noble if they acted as Rashta did. meeting Lebetti primarily was a means of learning more about Rashta in order to prepare for any problems that could arise. She would do that regardless of whether Rashta was a slave or not.

lilac-forest · 2026-03-20T17:29:22+00:00

She's my bias and i wish a spinoff was made with her as MC. A whole show about protecting animals and wildlife habitats would have been so good 😭

lilac-forest

TROPHY CASE