Saeren

Sorry if this sounds incoherent, I wrote this all at 2am in a burst of inspiration while my eyes were actively drooping.

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Nem and themes of change have been something prevalent throughout their entire character arc on bliss. The message that specifically sticks being the notion that, no matter who you are and what you have done, it is never too late to change.

To me, this is the central message of Nem’s arc on bliss — them learning to be better and to grow from the person they once were in Horizon.

At the start of Horizon when it was still just a duo, Nem himself said that he mostly disregarded the morality behind their actions, prioritizing themself and Dol9. During prog 4, Horizon assisted Brotherhood and fought alongside them. One of the notable moments from Nem during this being when he blackmailed Whatmax with Dol9 to gain energy for the villager trades. This is just one example of the mindset Nem had during this time, prioritizing himself, the typical mindset you adopt on servers like Bliss.

However, this changes when Mugm’s goal of breaking everyone’s gems becomes known and Nem becomes apart of the main opposing force, Horizon (under mostly Dol9’s influence) fashioning themselves as saviors, heroes. This is important because it places emphasis on morality and justice in a way that wasn’t at the forefront of Nem’s mind before.

As we all know, Horizon wasn’t very good at being the heroes they claimed to be, having an end justifies the means mentality and focusing entirely on their goal of killing LE single mindedly. While there were many internal issues in Horizon already, Silva’s gembreak was a turning point moment for Nem. Them gembreaking Silva was them crossing the line, Ragebait had many issues but they were swept under the rug because they seemed minor in the grand scheme of things. Killing is one thing, but them gembreaking Silva is what caused their strict hold on moral high ground to fall apart in the eyes of the server, one pair most of all.

Lezy’s conversation with Nem in his video was revealed to be a release of all the feelings he’s been penting up, him genuinely believing Nem is going to kill him and wanting to at least get everything off his chest. However, Lezy directly telling Nem that he was afraid of him, afraid that he was going to gembreak him just like they did to Silva if he stepped out of line, was what got Nem to pause. It’s what finally snapped him to reality and brought forth the realization that he couldn’t keep going like he was in Horizon, he had to leave.

After Nem left Horizon, they themself have described it as “going down the good path”, becoming a better person. It’s important to know that Nem never considered Horizon to be heroes, heroism to Nem being for the sake of others instead of oneself. The most prominent example of this type of mindset being Nem’s continuous assistance in the repairing of other gems, even saying himself when he was gathering materials for SOS’s repair rituals that it was for that reason. Nem knows and accepts the fact that they harmed people in the past but wants to grow past that by becoming their definition of a good person (I say their definition because no one truly can be a good person on bliss, come on).

It’s for this reason that when Mugm gets the gold gem and Hazel plans to form an alliance against him, Nem is there with her — for the sake of saving the server and being by their teammates side. However, it’s this tunnel vision on fighting Mugm that once more causes events to unfold that changes Nem. Namely, Shaun losing their gem to Mugm and Nem subsequently blaming himself for causing it. After Shaun loses her gem, Nem becomes guilt ridden, leading him to challenge Mugm in a 1v1 so no one has to get their gem taken again. In this duel Nem dies, he himself saying he could have fought longer but chose not to, because he was tired. However, Nem’s true feelings on the matter get buried, his suicide mission that he helped end early being reframed to a courageous act that put a stop to the absorption of gems, a noble sacrifice.

It’s here where Nem’s view of heroism can once more get reshaped, actions for the sake of others easily being able to be turned to sacrifice for the sake of others. Nem sacrifices himself (be it materially, emotionally, and in this case physically) so others can continue on.

Even after Nem loses Astra, the gem he has known to be his, he still has to help Shaun — despite his sacrifice her gem is still gone after all. He is by her side throughout it all, fighting alongside her against Pika so she can get heretic and no longer be gemless. But Nem goes about getting his gem back in a different way,

Namely divine intervention

The Path to Restoration is once more a sacrifice, a sacrifice of the self to be reborn once again. To go down the path in the first place Nem had to destroy all past physical attachments he had (everything in their echest). The trials he goes down showcasing his willingness, his drive — a defining trait of theirs. The Path to Restoration is so fascinating to me because it’s quite literally the manifestation (wait ! I know that one) of Nem’s view and mindset on change, something only achieved through tribulation. It’s only through trial can you say you’ve truly grown, after all without facing consequence, the message doesn’t stick. After leaving Horizon Nem has faced constant tribulations: Nezo, Zenith, Mugm, etc — that in Nem’s eyes have earned him the right to change, reinforced by the Path to Restoration.

Nem’s mindset can be explained easier with examples, namely his dynamics with Stormz and Wyll respectively. Stormz was someone that in the past, Nem hated. Nem held a grudge for the destiny incident and scoffed at the troubles Stormz went through, only tolerating him in TB era for Quakitus (ironic given the dynamics during recent times). However, this changed during Energy Games where the pair had to team together to fight against Pinity. Fighting by Stormz’s side Nem’s opinion on him began to change, recognizing that it’s been months and Stormz is no longer the same person Nem hated. He lets the grudge go, and when Stormz excitedly says he wants to team with Nem next season, Nem agrees (and isn’t that funny that they’re teaming next season, the biggest possible symbol of change, moving forward and wiping the slate clean). Later on, when Stormz tells Bunny Buddies he believes he’s undeserving of change, Nem clearly disagrees. Stormz only adding to this by saying the reason he can respect Nem now is because he left Horizon and is no longer who he once was, something Nem agrees with but also views of Stormz. In Nem’s eyes, Stormz has been through more than enough tribulation and consequence to have changed from who he was months ago, reinforced by Nem seeing it firsthand. He’s someone who properly felt the consequences of their actions and grew from it, something Nem can respect — even if Stormz himself can’t see it.

On the contrary, Nem very clearly believes Wyll is someone who has not learned from their actions and therefore hasn’t changed from who he once was, even if this is not the case. I highly recommend you read Deutane’s analysis on Wyll because it partially inspired this portion. Throughout Bliss, Nem has constantly been on the opposing side of Wyll and is therefore able to see the way he treats his opponents. His first impression of Wyll being him and Quakitus jumping him on his first day, definitely not making it easy for Nem to like Wyll in any capacity. A little time jump, but as you all probably know, honor is something that LE highly respects and views that only they truly have in comparison to the rest of the server. This is something that makes Nem hate Wyll even more, viewing him as hypocritical because of the way Wyll also utilized mega alliances in the past to get what he wanted when he was considered a weaker player without mythics at his disposal. In Nem’s eyes, Wyll simply turned his nose up at everyone else the moment Mugm handed him everything that makes him powerful today. To Nem, Wyll has earned absolutely none of the power he has. Wyll has faced no consequence for who he once was and was instead rewarded, how could Wyll have possibly grown from the person he once was. Nem simply can’t accept it, it doesn’t align with the worldview he believes in and therefore he simply doesn’t believe it. Wyll is a dishonest hypocrite who’s the least honorable of them all, it’s much easier for Nem to view him in this light — aided by the fact they’re on opposing sides.

Now that Nem’s mindset on consequence and change has been made more clear, here’s where I get to more recent events — mainly Lezy. Quaktius pulled and IOU on Lezy which was effectively infinite and turned him against all his friends, most notably Nem. With all that we have established about Nem so far it does make sense Nem’s mindset towards it, namely it being Lezy’s responsibility because he was the one who signed the IOU at the end of the day. Quaktius may be breaking them apart, but it’s Lezy who ultimately caused it, it’s Quakitus who blew up Bunny Buddies base, but it’s Lezy who supplied him the nuke. Therefore, despite most of his actions being out of his control, Lezy still has to face his consequence. With Quakitus providing him the opportunity, this time, Nem gets to be the one to provide it, Nem is the one in control. They said it themself, Lezy is their friend so it’s Nem’s choice on what to do with him. Nem is making Lezy undergo tribulation so that he can change, so that he’s once more someone who Nem can respect and call a friend.

Also, if Nem can get back at Lezy in the process it’s also an added benefit !

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