Are the God Hand now physical?

Metal_Bear_Rex

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Couldn't find another topic or post addressing this:

Are the other Members of the God Hand now physically present in the world since the barriers were broken?

Before the merge they could come into the world using materials present, such as Slan's use of troll intestines or Conrad's manifestation in the horde of rats, but what about now? Do they still yet have to use things in the mortal world to take shape, but perhaps can hold the form indefinitely?

Or have they just gained corporal bodies just like the many other mythical creatures have, and if so, what about Femto? Femto got his corporal body using the demon child as a vessel, but in doing so he was burdened with the demon child's own will, with the child taking the body over himself to do as he pleases every full moon. This would give Femto a handicap that the other God Hand do not. Wouldn't that mean Femto was short-changed here? :femto:
 
Hm, good question, i don't think that can be answered right now, since we haven't seen them for quite some time. I think you can't really compare them to the normal unicorn,dragon,troll stuff and you would need more than just both dimension overlapping, maybe the real world fully becoming something, well, different. But that's just my opinion. Would still be cool if they now hang around in Falconia :ubik:
Metal_Bear_Rex said:
but in doing so he was burdened with the demon child's own will, with the child taking the body over himself to do as he pleases every full moon.
Ah thanks, now i get it. Had my own theory about it, but that makes more sense. Never really understood the whole child thing
 

Aazealh

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Metal_Bear_Rex said:
Are the other Members of the God Hand now physically present in the world since the barriers were broken?

We've had an indication that they were coming into the world as was everything else when Fantasia came to be. However we don't have any confirmation beyond that.

Metal_Bear_Rex said:
Before the merge they could come into the world using materials present, such as Slan's use of troll intestines or Conrad's manifestation in the horde of rats, but what about now?

Those 2 examples are quite different actually. Conrad's shape forming from a mass of pestilent rats is more akin to Slan's silhouette being seen in the fumes of the fire during the heretic orgy. Their influence/presence is shown, but for a short amount of time, relying on outside help (the specters coming out of the rats), and they do very little.

When Slan manifested herself in the Qliphoth, the worlds had already started changing, and not only were they at the time in the Astral world (the Qliphoth), but in a place specifically attuned to Slan's affinities (see what she says about it).

Metal_Bear_Rex said:
Do they still yet have to use things in the mortal world to take shape, but perhaps can hold the form indefinitely?

Or have they just gained corporal bodies just like the many other mythical creatures have, and if so, what about Femto? Femto got his corporal body using the demon child as a vessel, but in doing so he was burdened with the demon child's own will, with the child taking the body over himself to do as he pleases every full moon. This would give Femto a handicap that the other God Hand do not. Wouldn't that mean Femto was short-changed here?

We don't have an answer to that for the moment, however it's not very likely (i.e. completely unlikely) that Femto was "short-changed". We'll have to wait in order to see how they are present in the world, though.
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
Just to be sure that I get it right; the worlds started to change/merge when Femto incarnated himself in the physical world right?
 

Aazealh

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jackson_hurley said:
Just to be sure that I get it right; the worlds started to change/merge when Femto incarnated himself in the physical world right?

Yeah, when he was incarnated (since he didn't do it all by himself). :iva:
 

jackson_hurley

even the horses are cut in half!
Yes of course! Bad formulation on my part :slan: but thanx! I almost got confused the they changed when Griffith became Femto, then thought back again at the Incarnation ceremony! Now it's clear.
 

Walter

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jackson_hurley said:
I almost got confused the they changed when Griffith became Femto, then thought back again at the Incarnation ceremony! Now it's clear.
It makes sense if you consider why it happened the way it did—Femto's incarnation brought a being of immense power from another realm and crammed it into a physical shell. The properties of the worlds began to break down. It began to melt the barriers between worlds. Also of note, Ganishka's transfiguration dragged up something from deep within the Abyss, essentially turning the worlds inside out once SK disturbed it with his sword.
 

Metal_Bear_Rex

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Rendarg said:
I think you can't really compare them to the normal unicorn,dragon,troll stuff and you would need more than just both dimension overlapping, maybe the real world fully becoming something, well, different.

Well in terms of power they can't be compared, yeah. The God Hand are higher spirits.

Rendarg said:
Would still be cool if they now hang around in Falconia

Actually I think it would be a very cool reveal to see them walking around Falconia in their human forms basking in their accomplishment!

Aazealh said:
Those 2 examples are quite different actually. Conrad's shape forming from a mass of pestilent rats is more akin to Slan's silhouette being seen in the fumes of the fire during the heretic orgy. Their influence/presence is shown, but for a short amount of time, relying on outside help (the specters coming out of the rats), and they do very little.


Aazealh said:
When Slan manifested herself in the Qliphoth, the worlds had already started changing, and not only were they at the time in the Astral world (the Qliphoth), but in a place specifically attuned to Slan's affinities (see what she says about it).

The appearance of Slan in Qliphoth and Conrad's awesome spread are the most prominent examples that really stuck out to me. One thing I always neglect to remember is that the worlds started to overlap at the Incarnation, so thanks for the insight.

Aazealh said:
it's not very likely (i.e. completely unlikely) that Femto was "short-changed".

You don't think so? He really does seem to have a disadvantage if the other members corporal bodies were acquired without a "catch" like Femto.
But of course...that too most likely serves a purpose to some end for the IOE that Femto or the other members may not be aware of.
 

Aazealh

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jackson_hurley said:
I almost got confused the they changed when Griffith became Femto, then thought back again at the Incarnation ceremony! Now it's clear.

Well the completion of the God Hand certainly set some things in motion, but we're explicitly told in the story that the world starting to change after Femto's incarnation.

Metal_Bear_Rex said:
You don't think so? He really does seem to have a disadvantage if the other members corporal bodies were acquired without a "catch" like Femto.

Who says they will? He received a body of flesh through a very complex set of events. They came into the physical world along with a lot of other things, but we don't know yet in what way. What we know is that the process was completely different, and thus it is pretty unlikely that they were embodied in the exact same way he was.

But anyway, even if that were to be the case, he was their vanguard. He came first and opened the way for the others. It had to be done that way, and serves a higher purpose than just their individual goals.
 

Aazealh

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Metal_Bear_Rex said:
:mozgus: I WAS SPECULATING AAZ JEEZ LAWEEZ :mozgus:

And? I'm telling you I don't believe events will unfold in a way that will present Femto as having been "short-changed". Does that hurt your feelings?
 

Metal_Bear_Rex

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Nah I was kidding around.

In any case I'm just saying it would appear he was. It wouldn't make much sense for any member(s) not being equals to the others.
 
The duality of Griffith & Femto is personally one of the most intriguing aspects of the world merger. We've seen that Griffith can apparently turn into his God Hand form at will. What will be the effect of that? Does this mean Femto's still susceptible to his host's body, like 'human' Griffith? What becomes of his persona? How will people respond if/when they see his true colours? Can he keep up the facade as Femto or will his dark side expose itself?
 

Truder

"I frown at Griffith's nipples" -Aazealh
Doc said:
Can he keep up the facade as Femto or will his dark side expose itself?

I don't think Griffith exists anymore, He turned INTO Femto. like a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly (except that Femto can imitate his former body). Femto kept his desire to own his own kingdom from when he used to be Griffith. You shouldn't treat them as separate entities
 
Truder said:
I don't think Griffith exists anymore, He turned INTO Femto. like a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly (except that Femto can imitate his former body). Femto kept his desire to own his own kingdom from when he used to be Griffith. You shouldn't treat them as separate entities

We shall we, won't we? Just to clarify, I'm not talking about the old Griffith here. He died at the Eclipse. Neo-Griffith and Femto are opposite sides of the same coin. There's an obvious disparity between the two, and that's something I'm looking forward to the story exploring. The cold, demonic form of Femto couldn't hoodwink the masses in the same way as 'human' Griffith could, and I'm curious as to how dichotomy will play out now they inhabit the same body. And if Neo-Griffith & Femto are exactly one to one, why would Griffith come to Guts to see if anything could 'move his heart' when the two of them had already been reunited back in Volume 3? Why would he stand there and address Guts like an old acquaintance instead of treating him with the same contempt that he did back then?
 

Walter

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Doc said:
The duality of Griffith & Femto is personally one of the most intriguing aspects of the world merger.
There is no true duality, though. It's merely a facade. Femto has been playing nice as his Griffith shell to win over the humans. It worked. His true form is still Femto. The merging of worlds (very likely) won't affect that. He was incarnated into flesh, so he's a very special case.

Does this mean Femto's still susceptible to his host's body, like 'human' Griffith? What becomes of his persona?
Not sure what either of these sentences mean...

How will people respond if/when they see his true colours? Can he keep up the facade as Femto or will his dark side expose itself?
Dunno, but his human allies are already in this pretty deep, accepting apostles and whatnot. And with the world the way it is, what choice do they have anyway?

Doc said:
Neo-Griffith and Femto are opposite sides of the same coin. There's an obvious disparity between the two,
If by disparity you mean that one is an act and one is the real thing... Then sure?

And if Neo-Griffith & Femto are exactly one to one, why would Griffith come to Guts to see if anything could 'move his heart' when the two of them had already been reunited back in Volume 3?
Because in volume 3, that was in the God Hand dimension with Femto in his astral or spiritual body. On the Hill of Swords, Femto was there in a fleshly body.

Why would he stand there and address Guts like an old acquaintance instead of treating him with the same contempt that he did back then?
He's pretty cool toward Guts actually.
 
Hey Walter,

How's it going?

Walter said:
There is no duality. Femto has been playing nice as his Griffith shell to win over the humans. It worked. His true form is still Femto. The merging of worlds (very likely) won't affect that. He was incarnated into flesh.

I accept that Femto is the one pulling the strings and that Griffith serves as an avatar for his will in the physical realm. However, I think there are nuances between the two, partly or fully created by the nature of Femto's host body, and the effects of this have yet to be fully touched on.

Walter said:
Not sure what either of these sentences mean...

Griffith is influenced by the demon's baby's instincts, e.g. protecting Casca from the debris, and there's the nature of the Moonlight Child to consider. 'Will he still have this behaviour in Femto mode?' is that I was implicitly asking.

Walter said:
Dunno, but his human allies are already in this pretty deep, accepting apostles and whatnot. And with the world the way it is, what choice do they have anyway?

Exactly, but it could cause a chink in their faith if they see that Griffith is a demon himself after posing himself as this white knight for so long, plus Guts & co. might need some help on the inside should they enter Falconia.

Walter said:
If by disparity you mean that one is an act and one is the real thing... Then sure?

Hrrrmmm.... kind of, but not quite.

Walter said:
Because in volume 3, that was in the God Hand dimension as Femto in his astral or spiritual body. On the Hill of Swords, Femto was there in the a fleshly body.

As Femto he's almost snickering at the sight of Guts and couldn't seem to care less about him being there - "His petty existence is beneath our notice". He's almost devoid of actual emotion. However, when he incarnates himself as Griffith, one of his first acts is to seek out Guts and see if there's still a connection between them. Having a physical body shouldn't suddenly change how he feels about Guts between now and then, should it?

Walter said:
He's pretty cool toward Guts actually.

Well this is Griffith we're talking about. He's generally 'cool' and otherworldly towards everyone and everything, but why approach Guts in this manner, if as I already pointed out, he treated him with a derisive tone as Femto.
 

Walter

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Doc said:
I accept that Femto is the one pulling the strings and that Griffith serves as an avatar for his will in the physical realm.
That's not a good analogy. The form you're calling Griffith IS Femto. This was made extremely clear for anyone with doubts in Episode 303.

However, I think there are nuances between the two, partly or fully created by the nature of Femto's host body, and the effects of this have yet to be fully touched on.
In other words, you have nothing to base the notion on. That's fine, but just say so...

Griffith is influenced by the demon's baby's instincts, e.g. protecting Casca from the debris, and there's the nature of the Moonlight Child to consider. 'Will he still have this behaviour in Femto mode?' is that I was implicitly asking.
His body is composed of that child still, so we can presume yes. Also, common sense should tell you that Miura didn't just write off a brilliant character conflict off screen with no evidence or hint. That's really not how he works.

Exactly, but it could cause a chink in their faith if they see that Griffith is a demon himself after posing himself as this white knight for so long, plus Guts & co. might need some help on the inside should they enter Falconia.
I think something like that is inevitable, and indeed what people have been postulating here for, I dunno a decade?

As Femto he's almost snickering at the sight of Guts and couldn't seem to care less about him being there - "His petty existence is beneath our notice". He's almost devoid of actual emotion. However, when he incarnates himself as Griffith, one of his first acts is to seek out Guts and see if there's still a connection between them.
Also, "His petty existence is beneath our notice" -- isn't too different from how Griffith treats Guts on the Hill of Swords, once he gets confirmation that his old weakness had vanished (when in fact, it had been replaced by another).

Having a physical body shouldn't suddenly change how he feels about Guts between now and then, should it?
When Griffith sacrificed his men, one of the main reasons he chose to do so was because his feelings for Guts were perceived as a fundamental weakness to him--the one impediment that caused him to derail from his path. He transcended that body into one composed of spirit. Then, through a ONCE IN A THOUSAND YEARS ceremony, is funneled back into a physical shell.

If I were in Femto's boots, yeah I'd want to check to be sure my one perceived weakness was still gone after all that hocus pocus.

Well this is Griffith we're talking about. He's generally 'cool' and otherworldly towards everyone and everything, but why approach Guts in this manner, if as I already pointed out, he treated him with a derisive tone as Femto.
The Griffith we see on the Hill of Swords is quite a bit different from the one we knew in the Golden Age. I think you will agree to that. So I don't really see why you're trying to make his form out to be some third iteration of Griffith's existence.
 

Aazealh

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Doc said:
We've seen that Griffith can apparently turn into his God Hand form at will.

More like Femto can show his true self at will.

Doc said:
Does this mean Femto's still susceptible to his host's body, like 'human' Griffith? What becomes of his persona?

The way you go about this suggests you're mistaken about how this whole Femto/Griffith thing works. You see, "Griffith" is the host body. Just that. A shape, a husk. When the Beherit Apostle absorbed the Demon Child's body during the Incarnation ceremony, it was changed, transformed. From its old misshaped self it grew into a copy of the body that was Griffith. Femto, who did not possess a physical body before that point, inhabits it. And yet the boy's ego still exists somewhere within it as well. It's not that complicated.

Doc said:
How will people respond if/when they see his true colours? Can he keep up the facade as Femto or will his dark side expose itself?

"Griffith" is the facade. That's the whole point of it. So if he shows himself as Femto really, what does it matter what people think? He only has one side when he's not doing his savior act.

Doc said:
We shall we, won't we?

There's nothing to see here that hasn't already been seen. What Truder said is pretty much irrefutable.

Doc said:
Neo-Griffith and Femto are opposite sides of the same coin.

Where'd that "Neo-Griffith" term come from? There's no "Neo-Griffith". And Femto plays nice while dressed up as the White Falcon while in reality he's evil and looks the part, that's all there is to your coin.

Doc said:
The cold, demonic form of Femto couldn't hoodwink the masses in the same way as 'human' Griffith could, and I'm curious as to how dichotomy will play out now they inhabit the same body.

Now that they inhabit the same body? What? See what I said above. Femto inhabits a Griffith body, that's all. There's no dichotomy here.

Doc said:
And if Neo-Griffith & Femto are exactly one to one, why would Griffith come to Guts to see if anything could 'move his heart' when the two of them had already been reunited back in Volume 3? Why would he stand there and address Guts like an old acquaintance instead of treating him with the same contempt that he did back then?

Haven't we had this conversation already? "Griffith" is Femto with a mask on. His behavior towards Guts does not differ significantly, and he explains to him directly why he came too.

Doc said:
I accept that Femto is the one pulling the strings and that Griffith serves as an avatar for his will in the physical realm.

"Griffith" serves as a body. A fleshly form for the spirit of Femto to inhabit. That's why it's called an "incarnation", because Femto took flesh in the form of Griffith. "Pulling strings", "avatar for his will", that's just you trying to get around the hard facts to try and picture things the way you'd like them to be. But it's wrong and you're not going to go anywhere with that.

Doc said:
I think there are nuances between the two, partly or fully created by the nature of Femto's host body, and the effects of this have yet to be fully touched on.

We've seen prime examples of the boy's influence on Femto/Griffith, and they are absolutely not what you're making them out to be. The boy acts like an outside presence, controlling the body without input from Griffith/Femto's mind. Absolutely nothing suggests that he influences Griffith/Femto's thoughts in a subtle way that makes him different.

Doc said:
Well this is Griffith we're talking about. He's generally 'cool' and otherworldly towards everyone and everything, but why approach Guts in this manner, if as I already pointed out, he treated him with a derisive tone as Femto.

You seem to be missing out on the fact that Griffith's behavior at the Hill of Swords was particularly infuriating to Guts, from his very appearance there, to his actions and everything he said, not to mention his parting words. That's really not so different from Femto's behavior in volume 3, no matter how hard you wish it to be.
 
Oy...this might be quite a difficult concept to articulate. Well first off, the event itself seems to indicate that each of the God Hand has carved out a piece of the world to establish as their domain just as Femto now has Falconia. What comes next is anyone's guess but it is definitely not going to be pretty. As for the Griffith-Femto debate. We must remember that every Apostle and God Hand was once human at one point in time. When Apostle's die, they normally revert to their human form like Wyald did. So do Apostle spawns and the creatures of Ganishka's army. Rosine's pseudo elves revert to slain human children. Daka turn into deformed versions of what they would have grown up to be if they remained human in the womb. Pishacha and Makara turn back into animals and whales. All this suggests that there is still a bit of human underneath that unworldly body. Hell, some Apostles even seem to have a humane side when you consider Irvine, Locus, Grunbeld, and even the Count when he could not sacrifice his only daughter.

There is no reason that the God Hand would be different. Femto displayed the old weakness to Guts that he had as Griffith. His first act was to rape Casca in front of Guts, specifically to hurt Guts. Someone who is beneath his notice would not warrant even that sort of act unless there was still a bit of Griffith's old self within Femto. Otherwise, Femto would have killed them both and be done with it. It would have even been prudent in fact, since the act gave the Skull Knight enough time to break into the Eclipse and was responsible for the existence of the Child.

One misconception people seem to have is that the Child was necessary for Griffith's rebirth into the physical world. I kind of doubt that. The Behelit Apostle simply found the dying Child on the way and cradled it in a moment of compassion (something that Apostle's are still capable of). It was happenstance, perhaps the same sort of happenstance that fits in to the larger flow causality, but I don't think it was for the purpose of Incarnation. By this I mean, that Griffith could have been Incarnated in the world without the Child, but he wasn't. As to whether that is Griffith reincarnated or Femto's mask. I'd have to say both. Griffith displays all of his human traits and does not display the cold demeanor of Femto during his stint as the savior. He behaves like the calm gentleman and even politely offers Guts and Rickert a place in his army on the Hill of Swords. He feels no guilt or care, but it seems that he has no malice either.
 
Walter said:
It is fundamentally different. Griffith shed his physical body to become Femto.

Griffith didn't shed anything other than cocoon. His body metamorphosed as can be plainly seen in the panels of him while he was in that egg during the Eclipse. The God Hand live on a deeper level than the Apostles but all of them were once human.
 

Walter

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Red Dingo said:
Griffith didn't shed anything other than cocoon. His body metamorphosed as can be plainly seen in the panels of him while he was in that egg during the Eclipse. The God Hand live on a deeper level than the Apostles but all of them were once human.
The God Hand do not have a physical body. Hence the function of the 1000-Year Incarnation Ceremony.
 

Aazealh

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Red Dingo said:
Well first off, the event itself seems to indicate that each of the God Hand has carved out a piece of the world to establish as their domain just as Femto now has Falconia.

Given what we've seen of them, it might be presumptuous to directly compare it to Falconia, since the imagery is more evocative of the astral world.

Red Dingo said:
We must remember that every Apostle and God Hand was once human at one point in time.

Depending on how you define humanity, it could be argued that they are still very much human in nature, even though they have transcended their original human selves through supernatural means.

Red Dingo said:
When Apostle's die, they normally revert to their human form like Wyald did. So do Apostle spawns and the creatures of Ganishka's army. Rosine's pseudo elves revert to slain human children. Daka turn into deformed versions of what they would have grown up to be if they remained human in the womb. Pishacha and Makara turn back into animals and whales. All this suggests that there is still a bit of human underneath that unworldly body.

See what I said above. Furthermore, the process by which someone becomes an apostle makes this easy to understand. It is the soul of the person that is altered as it receives evil power. It then impacts the physical body, transforming it into a monstrous shape. When the soul leaves the body, it reverts to its normal state.

Red Dingo said:
There is no reason that the God Hand would be different.

Except that Femto, prior to his incarnation, did not have a physical body. He was a pure spirit, like the other members of the God Hand. So it is actually quite different.

Red Dingo said:
unless there was still a bit of Griffith's old self within Femto.

Well there is pretty obviously a lot of the old Griffith in Femto, since Griffith was reborn as Femto.

Red Dingo said:
One misconception people seem to have is that the Child was necessary for Griffith's rebirth into the physical world. I kind of doubt that. The Beherit Apostle simply found the dying Child on the way and cradled it in a moment of compassion (something that Apostle's are still capable of). It was happenstance, perhaps the same sort of happenstance that fits in to the larger flow causality, but I don't think it was for the purpose of Incarnation. By this I mean, that Griffith could have been Incarnated in the world without the Child, but he wasn't.

It's misleading to say that Griffith was "reborn" into the physical world. That's not what happened. Femto, a new being born from the old Griffith and who was previously a pure spirit, was incarnated (received a body of flesh) in the material world as a new Griffith. The nuance is important.

And sure, the Beherit Apostle found the Demon Child by chance, but it's quite obvious (if only from the episode's very title) that it was preordained by the one pulling the strings of all these events: The Idea of Evil. Not to mention that the boy is clearly shown being transformed into Femto's new vessel within the "egg", so that he was used (and had quite the role) in the Incarnation ceremony is undeniable. Now, maybe it could have happened in another way, with someone else serving as the vessel. But it didn't, so I don't see why it matters here.

Red Dingo said:
As to whether that is Griffith reincarnated or Femto's mask. I'd have to say both. Griffith displays all of his human traits and does not display the cold demeanor of Femto during his stint as the savior.

Well then you are mistaken. You see, like I said earlier, Griffith was reborn into a different being: Femto. So his looks and behavior don't matter, as we know for sure that inside he really is Femto.
 

Lithrael

Remember, always hold your apple tight
Walter said:
The God Hand do not have a physical body. Hence the function of the 1000-Year Incarnation Ceremony.

What is it that we see happening to Griffith's body during his transformation to Femto? A diffusion of a physical body, replaced by an incorporeal one? And presumably he's able to interfere with Casca et al cause the Eclipse is an example of an exception to the rule, where the generally incorporeal GH both appear and act as though their forms were physical. Hence SK making his bid for an attack inside the Eclipse.

So though it looks like Griff is only changing physical forms, that's a misunderstanding of the exceptional nature of physical reality inside the Eclipse.

Red Dingo said:
Griffith displays all of his human traits and does not display the cold demeanor of Femto during his stint as the savior. He behaves like the calm gentleman and even politely offers Guts and Rickert a place in his army on the Hill of Swords. He feels no guilt or care, but it seems that he has no malice either.

I have never considered the charisma displayed by the incarnated Griffith to be anything but a tool. He is an ice-cold thing whose only concern is to get what he wants. Along those lines, he is playing a long game, and has no capacity, much less any reason, for getting emotional about anything at all. He presents himself as a force of nature would present itself. Acting like a saviour will get him what he wants so that's what he does. I do not believe for a moment that he feels any warmth towards, for example, the people he comforts by showing them phantoms of their departed loved ones. It's all part of, not exactly an 'act', but a persona that he has created on his road to his goals.
 
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