#n.m.e

Concept Art for N.M.E, the First Disciple

N.M.E, the First Disciple - N.M.E is the result of an eldritch god possessing the BLU Scout, shortly following the release of the Shadow Blight into the world. Despite his title as the First Disciple, N.M.E appears to have the lowest rank amongst the Disciples and often has grunt work shoveled onto him by his colleagues. Although his claws and bat look threatening, he is surprisingly weak and can easily be overpowered by a well-trained mortal.

When the Shadow Blight fell over the world and plunged the Earth into the midst of an apocalypse, N.M.E was tasked with protecting the primary strongholds of the Disciples. N.M.E does so by laying numerous traps across Blighted territory, which will come alive once an unsuspecting victim becomes ensnared. These living traps will transport their victims to N.M.E's base, where they will be subjected to a rough battery of sadistic "games" in a bid to survive and escape, all while N.M.E watches from the safety of his control room. His fellow Disciples despise this, as they view N.M.E's torture sessions as a waste of time and resources that should be better spent searching for The Marker.

N.M.E's hands are coated in a thick layer of Nyctoplasm that have morphed his nails into jagged claws. Despite their threatening appearance, N.M.E's claws can't do much damage on their own and are only useful for infecting victims with the Blight. Because of this, N.M.E is barely tolerated by his more powerful peers, often being treated as a lowly Carrier - a monster whose only purpose is to spread the Blight. N.M.E's mistreatment at the hands of his peers is only amplified by his blase attitude towards the Disciples' goals. He has little care or regard for catching Cmedic, who's blood is needed for a ritual to summon the King of Ruin. N.M.E has been repeatedly told to deliver Cmedic to The Master should he ever be caught, but N.M.E has disobeyed these commands on more than one occasion, often resulting in him being thrashed by either Menteur or The Master himself.

When not subjecting victims to his SAW-esque games, N.M.E enjoys lounging about and pranking his fellow Disciples - though these "pranks" are extremely violent and often result in dismemberment. While the Disciples suffer no long-lasting damage from N.M.E's pranks, they nonetheless resent N.M.E for his dismissive behavior and delinquent antics.

Basically this is gonna be me ranting about some of my favourite songs from the Album “Duality” by Set It Off and why that band deserves more attention than I feel like it gets. I mean, everyone knows their song from this album: Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing, but that’s like - it? I’ve heard it played in Spencer’s and my friends will bop but then I’ll mention any other song and they are totally lost.

(Also don’t get me wrong - I LOVE Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. There’s a reason it’s such a popular song for them. It’s SO good. I just wish others would get clout too 🥺)

The band I would closest compare their style to is Fall Out Boy?? It’s very similar, now that I think about it... but since FOB came about 5 years earlier, their hits were really blasting around the time SIO was trying to break out, so I feel like they definitely missed a window to become much bigger than they definitely COULD be.

Regardless, I LOVE THEM.

I’ll definitely rant more about other albums at some point, but if anyone listens to these and wants to rant about the band more - COME TO MY DM’s. I LOVE this band and no one I know in person seems to know who they are 😭😭😭

Keep in mind that these are in no particular order.

Why Worry - Okay, this song is just - great. It’s got all of the angsty vibes that we want from this style of band. It has elements of the bitterness that one can feel when they’re told to just “take it easy” from people that simply DON’T understand what you’re going through at that particular moment.

But then it reminds you that the issue isn’t the part about relaxing, it’s just the irritation towards who it’s coming from. As the chorus encourages, just turn up the music and vibe on your own!! Whether it’s just for yourself or out of spite, it’s a great catharsis.

This, coupled with the bouncy and uplifting feel of the song and drums is just really fun and has a really good message!! It’s like - Hakuna Matata meets rock and frustration. It’s amazing and I love this song soooo much!! I can’t listen to it without dancing a little 😊

Bleak December - I don’t have much of a comment on it but the chorus is such a BOP, and the back-and-forth movement of the beat gives a really catchy mood to it!! Again, a song that I love to just dance around my room to.

Duality - This 👏🏻 Fucking 👏🏻 Song!!! Is SO AMAZING. The title track of the album, Duality is the perfect song for designing villain characters. It has all of the push-pull you need for designing a redemption arc, or just illustrates a cold perspective for an apathetic antagonist, all to a sleek and hip track.

I. LOVE. This. Song. Holy. SHIT.

This chorus too is just - the secondary rhythms in the background of the chorus are sooo cool, and of course - Cody’s vocals!! Some may say they’re nothing to write home about, but he just uses what he has and makes it so smooth!! I love it so muchhhhhh!!

I don’t have as much insight to this song as I do with Why Worry as far as lyrics, my further professional analysis for Duality is just AHHHHH GO LISTEN TO IT IT’S SO GOOD AHHHHHH PLS PLS PLS LISTEN TO ITTTTT.

Really, you won’t be disappointed.

My favourite thing about this album is that it tends to have a more upbeat feeling to it even though nothing is different about the style of lyrics or the overall energy of the group. Songs like Bad Guy and Forever Stuck in our Youth have acoustic instrument solos? It’s so fun!!

Sauron Likes to Mock Maedhros by trying to convince him that he's better off without Fingon