#forbidden beast

[gear-project]

From @Pollo_pom on Twitter.

1. In GG1 Zato was in control for most part. And that's how he saw his shadow. (GGTML)

2. Eddie vying for his identity prior to his first death. (GGX-XX)

3. Eddie reforming his ego after resurrection. (GGXrd)

4. Eddie syncing up with Zato as a partner. (GGST)

[gear-project]

Today's Zato's Birthday (January 28th), so today I threw together some Art History on him.

(Full-Size view here!)

For an Assassin, he evokes something between a Flamenco Dancer and something out of H.R.Giger's designs!

It's also nice to note that as the series went on, Eddie finally got some consistency in his own design.

Happy Birthday, Zato (and Eddie), for a Dead Guy, you're pretty resilient!

Even if you don't have the emotions to react to something like this, maybe someday you'll get them back enough to remember how special this day is to you.

[gear-project]

I don't know how this could interpreted, but the God-Beasts series in the Night of Knives were clones of Eddie and Angra, right? Since Forbidden Beasts are essentially copies of their hosts when fully matured, what would this mean for the men that were turned into God Beasts? Did they go insane from the clash of their identities?

They were unstable genetically to begin with.  The God Series were more or less Gear mutations without a stabilized form left from the corpses of soldiers who served as their temporary hosts.

The host ‘explodes’ upon their birth, so even if they used humans as the base they were based on copied data from Angra and Eddie that was mere extracted DNA and not a full replica.

Functionally a Forbidden Beast can still work in synch with their host, as Eddie has proven with Zato, but that assumes their genetic 'base’ is stable and meets the parasite’s requirements.

Only certain subjects can become ideal hosts.

Just grafting genes from a compatible host on to the subject isn’t enough.

In other words, what you saw wasn’t anything resembling the inheritance process in true Gear Conversion.

What the God Series had wasn’t a true 'consciousness’, more like a command subroutine or an “If > Then” statement (less if using animal instinct).

If the last thoughts in a Soldier’s brain are to kill a target, then the parasite MAY inherit that thought, but not much else after that.  It would be impressive for an unstable creature to retain any sort of shape or organic functions in that state, considering the corpse source material.

Basically, copy-grafting DNA isn’t the same as culturing it, and Gears and Forbidden Beasts are no exception to that rule.

Eddie had to 'grow’ in Zato and take his eyesight in order to function, there was no shortcut in that process.  The same goes for true Gears.

[gear-project]

I was always wondering but, what's Eddie's personality and how did it evolve from the first game ? In Zato's Arcade intro in Xrd, he seems to like to do "cool stuff" and is kinda sad that he cannot talk with Zato in the dimensional prison so I was wondering how this little fellow was doing.

Eddie started out as an exact replica of Zato=ONE’s personality (understandable since he was born as Zato’s shadow).

As time went on and Zato died, however, he began to question his purpose in life and challenged all the things and elements that made Zato=ONE the person he was… so in a way he became a more rebellious “uninhibited version” of Zato’s personality.

Very wild, out of control, vicious, impulsive, and at the same time more reckless… he mocked all the things Zato stood for, often insulting Venom and Millia (and even Slayer) in the process.

But as the time came for Eddie to eventually die as his host once had… he mellowed out some and asked Millia to accept him for who he was and to remember his existence just as she remembered Zato.

Since their revival, Eddie appears to retain all the memories and emotions (as well as experiences) that Zato didn’t… which may have something to do with Eddie having a connection with Gear-like powers and being unaffected by the Backyard’s power of being able to crush and reformat souls like it did Zato’s Soul upon his revival.

Eddie realizes that Zato must re-learn who he once was and gradually helps him do so, which is why Zato spouts random words in his initial conversation with Slayer.

It’s assumed that Eddie has come to terms with being inseparable from Zato and the two appear to have an understanding, despite sharing the same body, as this revival appears to be Zato’s and Eddie’s second chance at redemption for their past sins.

[gear-project]

Are all of the Forbidden Beasts derived from the Six Forbidden Magics based on Gear technology or are Angra and Eddie relatively unique in that aspect?

The information we’ve garnered from the 666 Arcanum, specifically the information on the “6 Forbidden Spells” is sorely lacking.

We do know the general term for the ‘binding spell’ is called “Hi-Deigokutsuipo”, but the only “Kinjuu” known are Angra and Eddie.

Eddie is the only “confirmed” shadow beast to be created from “derived” Gear-Cell technology, according to the GGXrd Library, though Eddie himself may or may not exactly be a Gear in form, but something similar to an Anti-Gear Bio-weapon.

Since Angra is also called a “Kinjuu” (by Slayer) or “Forbidden Beast”, it can be assumed it is the same or similar type as Eddie, but that’s as far as the information on Angra goes.

Worth noting that Eddie now has a red marking on his chest that is something different from a Gear mark (like Sol or Justice) or a Valentine crest (like Ramlethal and Elphelt bear), he never had this marking until GGXrd.

[gear-project]

So are Zato and Millia no longer in danger of being overwhelmed by Eddie and Angra?

Zato seems to be functioning well with Eddie considering the revival, but at the same time, Eddie has already evolved past the need to consume his host.

Angra is still an unborn mystery, which I covered to some degree in the Millia+Rage tag.

[gear-project]

Has there been an in-story explanation as to why Angra hasn't manifested as its own persona like Eddie? Did Millia somehow gain control over it or is its incubation period different from Eddie's?

That is actually STILL up in the air!

Millia seems to be fine after so much time has passed, though her “battle stance” has changed to accommodate her hair which seems to be more weapon-like.

A few things you need to know about Angra is that:

—It is the 6th Forbidden Binding Spell, while Eddie is the 5th that the Conclave developed (of the 666 spells they researched). This means it is potentially a “heavier” curse than Eddie was.—It’s “birth” might possibly be the death of Millia if things get out of hand (as we saw when Eddie became self-aware, he literally over-exerted Zato’s body, while Zato struggled for control over his own body to prevent Eddie from killing Millia and Venom in the process).—It was initially “programmed” to expire at some point by the Postwar Administration Bureau (Conclave).  This was a means of cleaning up any potential biological mess they left behind.—Forbidden Beasts are considered the “natural enemy” of Gears on the battlefield, so it is programmed to attack Gears by nature, as Eddie confirmed when he confronted Dizzy at one point.—If anyone knew more about the Forbidden Beasts, it would have been Axus, but he was killed by Ky Kiske, so only Chronus is left.—Dr. Faust examined her and claims that even he cannot undo the curse at this point in time (as of 2181 though it’s been six years since then).—Slayer observed her hair at one point, though he makes no guarantees about her fate, he does not appear to be concerned about her as of yet.—Because of the symbiotic-like nature of Angra’s relationship to Millia, it might also be possible to “revive” her in a similar way as Eddie had should she die.

At this point, Zato=ONE has sworn to protect Millia so that she can survive the future conflicts… So because he has a clearer understanding with Eddie as a partner, it might be possible for him to “ease her in” to the curse.

Still, much has yet to be uncovered… and the future remains uncertain.

[gear-project]

When Zato and Eddie were resurrected, how come Zato lost all his emotions except his love for Millia, but Eddie still has all his emotions intact?

It has something to do with the Backyard, is all I can say at the moment.

Strong attachments seem to thrive while certain bits of data like memories don’t.

Eddie is closer to a Gear in composition so it’s easier for him to exist in the dense data of the Backyard’s structure without losing himself.