Äs Nödt FC [v1]: Face Your Fear

[Minerva]

http://album.tealmermaid.com/bleach/as-nodt-v1.png
This fanclub is for fans of Äs Nödt. If you like this character, please join!

Welcome to version 1: "Face Your Fear".
Linearts for our banner are by Kubo Tite.

Owner: Minerva

Members (05):


B. Haddrell
cindytea
igniz
LilyJay
Minerva



Members list was lost due to February 2013 forum hacking. Please rejoin.

Character stats:

Äs Nödt (エス・ノト, Esu Noto)

species: Quincy
gender: male (source: Kubo's Leipzig interview (http://bleach.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Chitamachii/Tite_Kubo_in_Germany_2013))
position: Sternritter "F" (the Fear)
ability: Fear
appearance: In addition to the typical all-white Sternritter uniform (including cloak), he wears a dark spiked mask over his lower face.
weapon: luminous spikes that are used to impale targets.


Omake:

Sternritter F:

http://album.tealmermaid.com/bleach/the-fear.png

[LilyJay]

Joinage, please :). I still quite like this creepy character.

[Minerva]

Welcome back, LilyJay! :glomp Glad to have you.

I really hope we see Äs Nödt again soon, but I suppose it won't be until the last battle begins. Or do you think we might get another glimpse of the SR HQ?

[B. Haddrell]

Please, I would like to join as well. :)

Äs Nödt immediately gave me the creeps. I prefer villains like him who are also dangerous because they are very intelligent. This and his ability to exploit the most private and strong fears of a victim makes him highly dangerous and at the same time also highly interesting.

I hope we will see him again and learn more about him. I mean, not just about his powers but also who he is.

By the way, I thought Äs Nödt is female but at you probably know by now, Minerva, Tite Kubo revealed in Germany that he is male.

[Minerva]

Welcome, B. Haddrell! :glomp Glad to have you. He does make such a great villain. I wonder if Kubo will humanize him in the end like he tends to do for every villain?

Yeah, I saw that from the interview. I'm so glad that issue is settled. Do you guys think we should link the interview in our first post? I'm sure there are still those who think we have "Äs Nödt-chan" there.

[B. Haddrell]

Someone who is just plain evil is boring. The same applies to a good guy who is just good. What makes people interesting is complexity.

I think Tite Kubo should give this villain at least some humanity hidden within this Quincy monster. It would make him less one dimensional and more of a person than just a menace.

Yes, I would link to the interview in the first post. It would be a good reference also in future.

[Minerva]

And linked! :elmo If we see any more info crop up in later interviews we can add those in as well. At least the most-debated issue about the character got answered.

Now to important things:

I am actually having a hard time figuring out what Kubo could do to humanize Äs Nödt. It's bad enough his appearance is in the Uncanny Valley, and the way he talks reminds me of an automaton; he seems inhuman. I don't think a cute pet or some-such would be appropriate for him.

What does he himself fear? That might be a good place to start. He understands the fears of others well enough to exploit them; what is he afraid of?

[B. Haddrell]

Something must have made Äs Nödt the way he is now. He seems to be inhuman but he is still a Quincy, a human being no matter that he might have sacrificed his humanity a long time ago.

By the way, I am not looking for excuses. There is nothing that excuses the crimes he committed. What I am looking for are explanations.

Oh, yes – that is a good start: What does Äs Nödt fear? All Quincies come from a tragic and violent background. To turn a Quincy into such a monster, it has to be something significant. One guess I have is having his own powers used on him and be forced to spill his most intimate fears for everybody to see.

No, a cute pet would not fit. But a nasty, dangerous one might. :p

[Minerva]

Yes! I think you're right; there is a huge tragic event in his backstory that caused this state. I don't think a mere dirty little secret would be sufficient in this case. Something happened to him. Kubo will draw it and we will all find him sympathetic; Kubo is so very good at that.

I wish we knew a little more about the SR. Are they still alive in the human sense? Or are they Quincy ghosts? Perhaps he survived one of the Quincy massacres, and that is our tragic event.

... He needs a pet cactus. Their spikes would match. :XD Or a hedgehog -- or would that be too cute of a pet?

[LilyJay]

Oh, yes – that is a good start: What does Äs Nödt fear? All Quincies come from a tragic and violent background. To turn a Quincy into such a monster, it has to be something significant. One guess I have is having his own powers used on him and be forced to spill his most intimate fears for everybody to see.
Good point.
Perhaps having a terrifying past or going through fear after constant fear, he no longer wished to be afraid and wished to inflict fear on others. It may be likely that his greatest fear is fear. To fear "fear" and yet be their power. Irony at best.
But that's a guess:rolleyes:.

... He needs a pet cactus. Their spikes would match. :XD Or a hedgehog -- or would that be too cute of a pet? I like the cactus XD.

[igniz]

Hello again, I'll rejoin please.

Maybe As Nodt family was chased by the shinigamis and he used to fear them a lot when he was a child. Then when shnigamis finally found As Nodt and his family, a powerful VR member showed up and the shinigamis were so afraid by his might they could not move. The young As Nodt was impressed by the power of fear, and developed an ability to make one with fear and turn it against the monsters he used to hide from.

[Minerva]

Welcome back, igniz! :glomp Glad to have you.

^ I think we need more info on the war between Shinigami and Quincy. No one has clean hands, from the sound of it. We definitely need more info on his ability and how it was developed. :wha That would probably answer a lot of questions about him.

[cindytea]

Please, I'd like to re-join~! My love for him has not changed a bit from the first time I joined~

I've also been quite intrigued as to what made him the fearsome psychological manipulator that he is now.. I've also had the speculation that something very traumatic must have happened to him in the past, most likely during the massacre between the Shinigami and Quincy.. Hope this and other questions will be answered soon enough..~

[Minerva]

Welcome back, cindytea! :glomp Glad to see more fans wandering back in.

How soon do you guys think we might see him again? I'm hoping for a peek at the SR HQ somewhere during all this once Isshin's flashback is done, like how we got little peeks at Las Noches prior to Ichigo showing up in HM.

[cindytea]

Hmm, that something to speculate.. I'm hoping maybe before the actual war starts, which is approximately close to less than two days away now.. . So yeah, maybe by the time the current flashback ends we might (and hopefully will) see the Vandenreich HQ before the battles start. After all, Kubo-sama did go to Germany close to two weeks ago to, apparently, learn more about the language and incorporate it into the Quincy. That could say that soon enough we might see the Quincy again.. I'll say (give or take) five chapters from now, or maybe sooner (since the flashback seemingly is coming to an end)...

[Minerva]

I'm hoping it will be soon, but "soon" could be any time between now and the end of the year with Kubo's usual pacing.

Kubo has to do something to humanize the Quincy a bit unless he really does intend to kill them all off. That means seeing something of how they interact with each other. Do you guys suppose Äs Nödt has any friends? Or is he just a loner looking for an excuse to kill off opponents?

[LilyJay]

Do you guys suppose Äs Nödt has any friends? Or is he just a loner looking for an excuse to kill off opponents?I don't know:eek:. I imagine he just sort of degrades people like Kenpachi did when he first appeared, but without all of the I love cutting people and whatnot. Or like Ulquiorra. They both appeared with a giant idiot:rolleyes:. But you can't really compare him to them because As Nodt is completely different.

[Minerva]

I would agree about the similarity to Ulquiorra at this point what with him appearing with Luchador Quincy. It seems an obvious parallel. I suppose they too aren't really friends, like Yammy being far more interesting in tagging along with Ulquiorra than Ulquiorra really wanting him there. So difficult to tell about personalities just yet. Surely there must be a tragic backstory somewhere though.

I kind of hope when Isshin's backstory is done, that Ichigo runs off to the SR doorstep for Quincy training. He always has to appropriately train whatever new powers he unearths. That might give us some peeks at their HQ.