Up High!

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So here's my take on the JGY vs NMJ question. And fair warning, it is a bit harsh to both of them but particularly to JGY because a) this post was originally just about him and b)... well.... all the cold-blooded murder.... and stuff

I'll be honest, both NMJ and JGY are way too extreme and unwilling to budge or listen imo. But if pushed, I would say NMJ is the less extreme one. NMJ is less extreme than JGY just based on what he asks of people. NMJ expects honesty and for people to own up to their actions. He takes it too far but you can still understand the basis of his thinking. JGY wants people to excuse his tendency towards murder because of what he felt at that moment. A little harder to swallow

NMJ's problem isn't that he's wrong but that he doesn't know how to mitigate himself enough to listen to JGY or take in other factors. He doesn't know how to explain his own reasoning back either. He is on the side of justice and ideals, almost naively so. He doesn't hear what other people are saying, doesn't see that reasons are important even if they aren't excuses. He needed to be more empathetic but that doesn't neccesarily mean he should have changed his opinion. Right theory, wrong approach. It's good to have a strong sense of justice but less good to let it overtake your rationality and ability to hear what others are saying

On the other hand, fandom tends to paint JGY as mild in comparison. Like this guy isn't one extreme or the other. He was just in the middle. I wholeheartedly disagree. JGY is the other end of the spectrum. Ideals and morals don't exist so he'll just do anything he wants. As long as his reason makes sense to him, it should make sense to everyone as long as he's given the chance to explain. Anyone who refuses to see his side is either being naive or arrogant. In that sense he is equally as unwilling to understand other people's emotions as NMJ was. JGY is a character that facinates me both with how well he's written and the varying reactions he draws from people. But sometimes its hard to find sympathy for him. Tbh he's off the rails and a bit delusional

And the truth is, neither of them could have changed these things about each other. There is only so much one person can do to change another. Did LXC's pleas reach either of them? Did NHS's? Did Qin Su or Su She's love change JGY? It made an impact, sure, but ultimately it was up to the two of them to do something about it. And while we acknowledge that NMJ was didn't think about JGY's point of view, I'd argue JGY was just as bad. He just could not understand why no one would show him the sympathy he thought he deserved, why NMJ would be angry at him for doing the things he did. In his mind, the world somehow owed him something and he refused to see it any other way. He could consider other people's point of view but he was just as bad as NMJ when it came to truly understanding

Do I think NMJ could have taken some time to understand nuances? Explained his own reasoning better? Oh absolutely. NMJ could have taken a step back on multiple occasions. But ultimately, he was also right. Or at least not wrong. The fact that he didn't approach the accusations he made correctly does not mean JGY is somehow the sympathetic party. Don't get me wrong, I hear what JGY was saying. I agree that there are things that people born into comfort and power wouldn't understand about the other side. That there are some things people feel they have to do because of their lack of security. But there are also some very basic hard truths that exist for everyone that JGY seems to think doesn't apply to him. You don't turn to premeditated murder when life gets unfair. You don't get a free pass on everything just because you did it for your dad. Desperation is not an excuse for abandoning morality. Or for murder. JGY should not have killed that jin guy. He should not have stabbed someone trying to help him. He should have taken at least partial responsibility for xue yang, at least enough to speak up and stop his father from allowing XY to escape or not helping him do it. But he'll never see it that way. In his mind, he never had a choice. In his mind, to choose to do the right thing is never an option. In his mind, people only don't understand his reasoning because they are arrogant and look down on him. The idea that he'd sound insane to literally anyone, that his motives are beyond the point of comprehension, doesn't truly register with him. To the bitter end he somehow believed LXC owed him love and understanding. To the bitter end he was unable to see why he would horrify people

Even people empathetic to JGY were disgusted by him in the end. WWX, LXC, NHS, LWJ, JL--all of them saw his POV but they still knew. In the end, there are things that you can do for recognition and to make yourself feel better and there are things that you can't. Lines are crossed by pretty much every character but JGY shatters the line between morality and monstrous with alarming regularity purely for his own gain and, here's the kicker, with no intention to stop. Because JGY doesn't truly consider other people's point of view either nor does he think he was completely wrong. If NMJ is one extreme, JGY is just the other side of the same coin. JGY didn't listen to others, didn't really try to understand how his crimes affected others, and wouldn't consider that he was in the wrong even despite knowing how despicable his actions were. He says he knows he was but the way he acted in the end showed that he still thought that his reasons were sound. That at least he had a reason. That's what made him especially dangerous imo