Acts of Contrition (16b/20)

[rawthorne]

Yunho freezes for a moment, eyes wide with surprise, and then he's pushing back, gently, trying to put some distance between them. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Is this how they moved in on Changmin, he wonders? Come to bed with us and we'll trust you?

Jaejoong sighs, darting in to rest his lip against a pale throat, speaking in

Comments

[rawthorne]

Wow. Amazing review. And you've raised very good points - points that no one else seems to have commented on before you. So thank you for that.

Now, as to the political context, you've grasped it pretty well, although I think you may be confusing Changmn's family story with that of the Emperor. What we wanted to show, more than the political situation, was how the upheavals affected the people in general and the characters in particular.

Changmin's grandmother reflects on the new regime resembling that of the former Emperor in that it's just as tyrannical. If you bear in mind that she used to work at court as a priestess, that already tells you a lot about how the populace regarded their ruler. Saviors need no propaganda or brutality to gain popularity and considering the Imperial Guard existed before as part of the same culture, it wouldn't be seen as an outside influence. Support would rally around these righteous men of war who have been deceived by their weak monarch just as much as everyone else.

I must say, though, we're both very impressed that you referred to loyalists. After all, every regime has its followers, no matter how heinous it may be in practice. So what happened to them? Well some are probably hiding in plain sight, pretending to tow the party line while inside they're seething. Others may be taking more overt action. Like, say, smuggle supplies to rebels.

Or hide in the deep jungle of a backwater planet, capturing and torturing Guard members while plotting another coup.

I will so no more for now, however. We do promise you that this will all be addressed and it will make sense, in due time. I know that sounds like a cop-out, but it's the best I can do without shattering the suspense.

Thank you again for the incredible review and please keep'em coming.

[cruel_disorder]

I knew I made some mistakes XD; *sigh* Yesterday I was too bogged down by essaying to reread chapter 15 so I think I'll do that before reading your next update (when it comes).

Somehow I made a weird connection between the princess and Changmin's grandmother~ ^^;
If that is the case, how is it that the tyranny of the Imperial Guard went unnoticed by the general populace? Changmin's grandmother, although a member of the court at the time and perhaps could be viewed as an 'insider' with perceptions of both factions, acknowledges that one is just as tyrannical as the other. So the Imperial Guard were seen as saviours, yes, but if their regime exhibit similar means of control/authority for at least two generations (I'm going by the timeline of CM's grandmother to YH/CM/JS) it seems unlikely that initial support could've remained intact for that amount of time. Unless their tyrannical behaviour somehow was kept secret and only those who were directly affected by it, like Changmin's grandmother (and perhaps YC and JJ), was aware of it? O_O; That makes things a whole lot more complicated~

So is that a hint that YC and JJ ARE loyalists of the previous regime? Yet wasn't the Emperor just as tyrannical as the force they are fighting against?

All this just makes me reaaally curious towards YC and JJ's true intentions and what will come of it~ :D Thanks for the detailed responses too! ♥

[butterflyweb]

It's all comes down to subjectivity, size, and essentially, propaganda.

The inner planets, those closets to the capital planet, where the monarchy was based, felt more distinctly the corruption within the system. Whereas on backwater planets such as Elysia, the monarchy's reach wouldn't have extended, and they would've known the absence of any government, rather than the tyranny of one.

For people like Changmin, Junsu, and Yunho, they've grown up in a world where the Guard is law and the only right way to see things. Think Russification, or even Americanization. The Guard is seen as saviors from a weak and ineffective monarchy, and to keep the general favor of the public, have most likely strengthened the Empire, uniting it under one banner through protection, structure, acts of good faith, and of course, the silencing of the monarchy's immediate court and more staunch supporters.

However, this is where those planets on the outer rim of the galaxy start to feel the effects. Unification means order, and in systems who have only been self-governed till now, the tightening grip of the Guard breeds resentment. And opposition.

Essentially, good and bad all comes down to which side you're on, or more likely, there's simply the lesser of evils. Who that may be, remains to be seen.

Hope this cleared some things up, or at least made some of the clues we left more apparent.

As far as Jaejoong and Yoochun...their own motivations for rebel action is yet to be touched on. But most definitely will be.

Thanks so much for reading and for your continuing interest!

[cruel_disorder]

Wow. That's stuff right out of a history class. =) I love it ♥ (well I should since I'm studying this stuff right now...)

Thanks for taking the time and effort to explain it to me. Much of my confusion was in not clearly understanding the structure of the setting - as in the motherland of the monarchy, how far the empire spread as well as the level of control exerted by either regimes of old and new. This definitely gives me more perspective into the story and I really really really cannot wait to find out what happens next.

♥ Much love!