This is a procrastination blog for me and a knowledge hub for you.
Context
Gold Experience Requiem (also called GER) is the evolved Stand of Giorno Giovanna and is canonically the strongest of all the Stands in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. And even then, the only two Stands outside of canon to actually beat GER is The World Over Heaven and The World Ultimate. Despite its power, some people are confused on how it works in-depth. It's simple to understand like other memed-to-be-complicated Stands in the series, it's just the weird complex thoughts that get people confused most of the time. It could also be due to the poor translations Part 5 have had for years until recently.
The reference made in its name is from the Gold Experience album from Prince.
Explanation
GER's main ability, if we were to name it, is Zero Reset, or Zero Return if you go by the JoJo Wiki. Both terms are fine, it doesn't really matter which one you pick. If something changes in whatever object or concept (as in something like the concept of time), it will revert it back to its original state. This gives the result of the action never existing in the first place. I'll use some mathematical examples to start.
- If 1 is added to 0 and becomes 1, it will be reverted back to 0.
- If 1 is subtracted to 0 and becomes -1, it will be reverted back to 0.
- If 1 is multiplied by 2 and becomes 2, it will be reverted back to 1.
- If 1 is divided by 2 and becomes 1/2, it will be reverted back to 1.
Despite the example I just used, the first error people usually make is that they think reverting to zero refers to the numerical value of zero. This is not the case. By reverting something to "zero", it's more neutralizing things GER doesn't want happening and makes it where it never happened to begin with. Here's some more simple examples.
- If a parked car suddenly drives forward, it will be placed back in its original parking place.
- If a parked car suddenly pulls in reverse, it will be placed back in its original parking place.
The action taken doesn't have to be a physical one, it can also be mental or apply to something else within its reach. My following examples only use a conversion from a neutral mood, but it can affect all emotions with the intent to aid against Giorno.
- If one becomes motivated after being neutral, they will be placed back in a neutral mood.
- If one becomes angered or bloodlusted after being neutral, they will be placed back in a neutral mood.
Now I'll use a scenario where Giorno is being attacked to show how it would function then. With these examples, it should give a good idea on how it works in action.
- If someone pulls a gun out of its holster and shoots Giorno in the chest, the bullet would revert back it its original placement in the gun chamber, and the gun will be placed back in its holster. The attacker would be put in a position to before they attempted to shoot Giorno as if they never shot him. Giorno would remain unharmed.
- If someone had used Time Stop and punched a hole in Giorno's chest, the time user would be placed in their position before they stopped time, and the actions that were taken during the duration of stopped time were erased and never happened. Giorno would remain unharmed.
As you can see, these examples have basic functions of Causality Manipulation; yet I do want to address one thing that may mislead people. Yes, GER is aware of these actions in their performance, but Giorno would still remain affected by whatever effect before the nullification. GER doesn't allow Giorno to be immune to everything and anything causal, only GER can function as such since it is functioning outside of Giorno's consciousness. Giorno may be aware of the actions his Stand takes, but it does not mean he participated in the event of its reversal. Whatever happens to him before the nullification will happen, but will still be eliminated. I just wanted to clarify that Giorno himself isn't the immune party here.
Infinite Death Loop
With the basics out of the way, we enter the more complicated example of its ability. If you are killed by GER, you will enter an infinite loop of deaths in a series of alternate universes forever. This is usually the main source of confusion, but I'll take this through step-by-step on how I theorized this to function. I made a chart to explain GER's death shenanigans. It will visualize the effect and make it easier to explain.
As the chart follows, a death by GER is indeed a death, but it is also a loss that can be reverted. However, due to the death's occurance being the placement of the nullification, the victim is placed at the moment right before their death. In the chart, it is represented as a ball rolling on a downward slope where, after being thrown off, it is thrown into a "portal" that goes from the stage of death to the revival of the moment before death: at the top of the slope. This creates an infinite loop of rolling down this path with no end; or as Giorno defined it himself, "an ending without an ending".
What's also fascinating about the infinite death loop is that each death is different, as for its infinite length provides infinite possibilities to be killed. I find it to be a terrifying concept myself.
Weakness
GER is (for the most part) completely untouchable against causal beings, with some notable exceptions; exceptions include if its beyond a 3-D being, has a special counter to its ability (stronger Causality Manipulation, Logic Manipulation, that stuff), or has a speed ranking of Immeasurable and beyond. If it is acausal, Zero Reset has no effect on the individual, and if it can bypass GER's already exisiting physical strength, speed, and Life Manipulation abilities from its previous stage, then this hypothetical opponent will defeat Giorno. That's a simple as you can get for a weakness.
That concludes my explanation as well as I could give it. If this blog helped you understand the Stand's ability a little better, that's cool. If you want me to try to explain another Stand's gimmick that you don't understand, I wouldn't mind. I have all the time in the world and I know how most Stands function pretty well. Thanks for reading my mess of a blog.