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mariacallous · 10 days

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For nearly a decade, U.S. trade policy has been remade in the image of a single man: Robert Lighthizer. As President Donald Trump’s trade representative, he turned the United States away from six decades of support for a rules-based, multilateral trading system and toward a robustly nationalist approach. Lighthizer’s successor under President Joe Biden, Katherine Tai, has continued on the path he laid out. Even as most of Trump’s former officials have denounced him as unfit to be president again, Lighthizer has kept the faith—seeing in Trump, as many others do, a flawed vessel for some greater public good. He remains one of Trump’s top policy advisors in the 2024 campaign and would be set for a bigger job—likely Treasury secretary—if Trump wins in November. Lighthizer’s mission of transforming not just U.S. trade policy but broader U.S. international economic policy is just getting started.

Lighthizer’s influence was on full display last month, when Biden traveled to the headquarters of United Steelworkers, North America’s largest industrial union, in Pittsburgh, in the political battleground state of Pennsylvania. Following the visit, the administration announced plans to sharply increase the tariffs on certain Chinese imports that were first imposed, at Lighthizer’s urging, by Trump. This week, following a review by Tai’s office, the administration slapped a 100 percent tariff on imported Chinese electric vehicles and raised the rates on Chinese-made semiconductors, lithium-ion batteries, solar cells, steel, and aluminum. Tai has also launched a new Section 301 investigation—a 1970s-era tool of U.S. trade unilateralism revived by Lighthizer—into Chinese subsidies for the shipbuilding industry. More tariffs are likely to follow. And Lighthizer himself has been counseling Trump to devalue the strong U.S. dollar if he is elected in order to boost U.S. exports—advice that has been widely read as an audition for the Treasury post.

Lighthizer’s growing influence is a warning to U.S. trading partners—including the country’s closest allies—that the aggressive nationalism of Trump’s trade policies is not a passing phase. Instead, the United States has made a choice across both political parties to embrace an “America First” approach to international economic policy. The implications of that choice will play out for years, and likely decades, to come. That makes Lighthizer—following a career spent mostly as a voice in the wilderness decrying the U.S. embrace of free trade and multilateral rules—the man in the middle.

Lighthizer is an unlikely figure to have become the architect of the next generation of U.S. international economic policy. Born just after the end of World War II, he spent most of his career as a lawyer protecting the U.S. steel industry against foreign competition. Once the anchor industry of U.S. manufacturing, steel is now a rounding error in an economy dominated by information technology, a growing green industry, and the exploding international trade in services, including higher education and tourism. But the lessons he learned from steel—that U.S. trading partners engage in predatory practices, including by subsidizing production and dumping goods below their cost, that have stolen U.S. jobs and hollowed out manufacturing—have now become gospel for trade officials in both parties.

Lighthizer’s 2023 book, No Trade Is Free, is a searing indictment of the many decades of consensus on the benefits of trade liberalization. From Franklin D. Roosevelt to Barack Obama, U.S. presidents believed that negotiated reductions of global trade barriers would make the United States and the world richer and safer. Lighthizer always disagreed. But after a brief stint at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative during the Reagan administration, he fell into obscurity, resurfacing every so often at congressional hearings, most notably to warn against admitting China to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which happened in 2001. His book, written after Trump’s 2020 election defeat, is an “I told you so” to the U.S. trade establishment. Reducing tariffs and binding Washington’s hands through global trade rules was, he writes, “a starker, more indisputable failure than even I could have predicted,” leading to the loss of U.S. manufacturing, the stagnation of Americans’ wages, and a U.S. strategic position that has deteriorated sharply against China. But, he argues, the “political establishments of both the Republican and Democratic parties, under the influence of multinational corporations and importers, were unwilling or unable to recognize their mistakes.”

As Trump’s trade representative for the entire four years of his term—a rare accomplishment under a mercurial president—Lighthizer was able to turn the United States onto a different course. He slapped tariffs of up to 25 percent on steel and aluminum imports from much of the world, imposed similar tariffs on three-quarters of China’s exports to the United States, and strong-armed Canada and Mexico into a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. These moves were largely popular at home—Democrats rallied behind the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement over provisions that tightened labor law enforcement in Mexico and required more production in the United States. The Biden team has also kept the China tariffs in place, despite strong initial opposition from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

But Lighthizer is just getting started. What he envisions, in the simplest terms, is a United States that worries far less about being a stabilizing force in the global economy and far more about pursuing its own narrow economic interests. As Treasury secretary, he would have many more tools at hand to carry out that mission.

The key metric for Lighthizer is one that conventional economists rarely pay attention to: the trade deficit. The United States has run a deficit in goods and services every year since 1975, topping out at a whopping $951 billion in 2022, although trade deficits were much higher relative to the size of the economy in the mid-2000s. Most economists, however, consider the trade deficit to be a function of national savings rates—the necessary consequence of high U.S. consumption and low private and public savings—and therefore largely immune to government intervention on the trade side. Lighthizer disagrees, seeing the deficit as a direct transfer of U.S. wealth to competitors, most importantly China, that can be corrected through forceful government action.

He would make it a goal of U.S. policy to balance trade with the rest of the world, not just China. The implications are enormous. One tool, which Lighthizer has reportedly proposed to Trump, is a concerted effort to weaken the U.S. dollar against other currencies. Other things being equal, a cheaper dollar would reduce the prices that foreigners pay for U.S. exports, make imports more expensive for Americans, and help bring trade closer to balance. The dollar, however, has long been overvalued, partly because of its role as the global currency of choice; more recently, it has been soaring in response to a strong U.S. economy and conflicts in the Middle East and Europe that have sent investors running for the safe haven of U.S. assets. Details are scant, but Lighthizer appears to be envisioning a reprise of actions taken by U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1971 and Ronald Reagan in 1987: imposing or threatening tariffs on trading partners unless they agree to take steps to revalue their currencies against the dollar. Given the scale of global financial flows today—a multiple of the level of when Reagan wrestled down the dollar—the consequences of messing with the stability of the currency are hard to predict.

Lighthizer similarly envisions an overhaul of the U.S. tax system to promote the competitiveness of U.S.-based manufacturing. For complicated historical reasons, U.S. exports have long been harmed by the U.S. tax system. Europe and most other countries rely heavily on value-added taxes (VAT), from which goods and services leaving the country are usually exempt. U.S. taxes, on the other hand, are largely income-based, and such taxes are not reimbursable under global trade rules. A U.S. company exporting to Europe pays both U.S. corporate income taxes and the local VAT on its sales in Europe—which puts products made in the United States at a competitive disadvantage. Lighthizer wants that to end by making the corporate tax system “border adjustable” to emulate the advantages of a VAT. Such revisions would have to run a congressional gauntlet, however, and have failed in the past due to pushback from large U.S. importers such as Walmart. Expect a Treasury Secretary Lighthizer to make another run at it.

But Lighthizer’s favorite tool remains the one most clearly controlled from the White House: tariffs. Writing in the Economist in March in defense of Trump’s announced plan to impose sweeping new tariffs if he is elected, he argued that the United States’ “bold experiment” with eliminating tariffs “has failed.” New tariffs—at least 10 percent across the board, in addition to some higher, more targeted duties—are needed “to reduce America’s trade deficit and to speed up its reindustrialisation,” he wrote. “Experience suggests that this will succeed and that high-paying industrial jobs will be created.” His book suggests how far such an effort might go. Tariffs should be imposed on all imports “at a progressively higher rate year after year until we achieve balance.” In other words, a 10 percent minimum on all trade is only the opening bid.

He would further seek to eliminate an obscure provision known as de minimis—the value below which imports are exempt from customs entirely. With the 2015 Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, Congress increased that rate from $200 to $800, with the goal of eliminating costly paperwork for smaller shipments of consumer goods. The change happened just as international online ordering was taking off. Consider the Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein, which has grown from a tiny business in 2015 into a giant with at least $30 billion in annual sales that now controls nearly 30 percent of the U.S. fast-fashion market—without a single U.S. store or brand. Downloads of Shein’s shopping app rose from fewer than 3 million globally in 2015 to more than 260 million last year. The company’s business model involves shipping Chinese-made clothing directly to American consumers duty-free because of the de minimis exemption; shipping giants such as FedEx and UPS are happy to cooperate. Lighthizer argues that the provision gives many Chinese companies duty-free access to the U.S. market without requiring any reciprocity.

Lighthizer’s influence will remain, no matter who wins in November. Biden has tried to walk a line between promoting U.S. manufacturing and seeking common ground with allies, who fear growing U.S. protectionism—foreign concerns of which Lighthizer has long been dismissive. But in an election year, the Biden administration’s evenhandedness is disappearing. At the behest of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown from Ohio, a Democrat who faces a tough reelection battle in a Trump-leaning state, Biden has promised, for example, to block the proposed takeover of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel. The Japanese company has already pledged to honor all union contracts, move its U.S. headquarters from Houston to Pittsburgh, and not cut jobs or move production overseas. But U.S. labor unions remain opposed to the deal, so Biden has said he will block the takeover on specious national security grounds, a move that is sure to infuriate the most important U.S. ally in the Asia-Pacific.

The areas of common ground between Lighthizer and the Democrats are much deeper than most people recognize. Consider climate change—many Republicans, including Trump, are skeptical of the science and opposed to any government actions to reduce the use of fossil fuels. But Lighthizer strongly favors extra tariffs on carbon-heavy imports, a policy that the European Union is already rolling out and that is now being seriously explored by the Biden administration. Lighthizer favors a carbon border tax that would impose additional tariffs on emissions-intensive products—including cement, fertilizers, and aluminum—with the argument that to do otherwise is to benefit countries producing goods “using much more carbon than we would tolerate here,” he writes in No Trade Is Free.

Under Tai and an emboldened Labor Department, the Biden administration has also become more aggressive in using trade tools to sanction human and labor rights violators around the world. Lighthizer would go much further than that. In his book, he proposes that all imports should be blocked unless the exporting companies adhere to U.S.-level standards for environmental protection, labor rules, and worker health and safety.

The biggest target for each of these initiatives is, of course, China. It was the Trump administration that launched a U.S. policy shift on China, treating it less as a trading partner and more as a hostile adversary. Lighthizer, who played a key role in this shift, minces no words, arguing that China is “the greatest threat that the American nation and its system of Western liberal democratic government has faced since the American Revolution.” He cites as evidence China’s huge economy, almost the size of the United States’, which makes it a far more capable adversary than the former Soviet Union—let alone Nazi Germany or imperial Japan. Lighthizer would seek something close to a full economic decoupling; as a first step, he recommends eliminating China’s “most favored nation” status, granted by Congress in 2000 to permit Beijing’s entry to the WTO. That would give the president a completely free hand to slap discriminatory tariffs on China.

Few on the Democratic side propose to go that far. So far, the Biden team is trying to distinguish between strategic trade with China in products such as semiconductors and new EV technologies that may need to be restricted and most ordinary consumer goods, which can be traded freely. The administration’s strategies—circumscribed with the phrases “small yard and high fence” and “derisking”—still envision a lot of room for mutual gain in U.S.-China trade. But the more China comes to be seen as a threat, the more compelling Lighthizer’s comprehensive decoupling logic will become. Any form of U.S. trade with China is likely to enrich China, potentially making it a more formidable adversary down the road. In an election year, especially, calls for nuance in the U.S.-China relationship are likely to be drowned out.

But while the influence of Lighthizer’s agenda will grow and endure in both parties, the disruptions could be more modest than many observers fear. When Trump imposed his tariffs, the global trade system proved more resilient than once seemed likely, producing only a modest downturn in U.S.-China trade and small uptick in inflation. But there is also a growing danger that a little bit of U.S. protectionism suddenly escalates into something much more harmful. Lighthizer’s colleague-in-arms during the Trump administration, former Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro—currently in prison for refusing to cooperate with Congress’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack—wants the United States to demand tariff reciprocity across the board. Any country that refused to reduce its tariff on a product to U.S. levels—Europe’s 10 percent tariff on passenger cars would have to fall to the U.S. rate of 2.5 percent—would face offsetting tariffs. (The Europeans would then likely retaliate by offsetting the United States’ 25 percent tariff on imported SUVs.) The Democrats, too, are eager to slap an array of new tariffs on a host of clean energy products, including wind turbines and EVs; last month, Tai told a congressional committee that the administration would take “early action, decisive action” to protect the U.S. EV industry.

The growing popularity of protectionism in both parties suggests there is much more to come. If other countries respond in kind, which is all but certain, it is easy to envision the sort of damaging trade and currency wars that have not occurred since the 1920s and ’30s.

To be sure, there is no rule that history must repeat itself. The United States could simply be in the midst of correcting trade policies that went too far and too fast in the direction of liberalization, leaving some U.S. industries and workers vulnerable to predatory competition. A middle ground is certainly possible. But all the evidence suggests that the United States is in serious danger of heading too far and too fast in the opposite direction. Should that be in doubt, just take a close look at what Lighthizer—the most important figure in U.S. trade policy to have emerged in our lifetime—has done, is saying, and still plans to do.

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ramblingsofamaykr · 2 years

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I beat Elden Ring and all I wrote was this lousy essay.

The function of Elden Ring’s world, The Lands Between, shares superficial similarities to the Norse concept of interconnected but separated realms of existence. The Lands Between are a realm blessed by the Elden Ring, the Erd tree, and the Greater Will.

We presume several real-world realities in the following statements. The Erd Tree’s roots do not extend beyond the continent. Either by the differing environment of the ocean, the feasibility of such task, or the absence of desire to do so. “Across the fog to the lands between” (Elden Ring opening cinematic) suggests the realm to be physically accessible by the mortal world. Much like the trials of Anor Londo, the obstacles between the realm of man, to the realm of gods appears insurmountable by any not blessed by grace.

“This tiny golden aura is the grace of the Erdtree. But now it is all that guides you, or so I hear. You can see them, Can't you? The rays of grace, that guide you through your burden” (Melina, first encounter, when prompted with more speech option).

For the purpose of this article, we separate the concepts of Elden Ring, Erd Tree, Greater Will, and Marika.

Without contrary evidence we assume Grace to be a tangible concept which can be given and taken away by some functioning body of the Greater Will.

“…The age of the Erdtree began amongst conflict when Godfrey was lord of the battlefield. He led the War against the Giants. Faced the Storm Lord, alone. And then, there came a moment. When his last worthy enemy fell. And it was then, as the story is told, that the hue of Lord Godfrey's eyes faded.” (Elden Lord Crown Item Description).

This event describes the first recorded instance of the Tarnished, who Godfrey lead during the great migration/banishment from the Lands Between (Axe of Godfrey item description). The purpose of banishment appears to be of multiple layers and for different justifications. The deciding factor of accessing the Lands Between appears to be the presence of Grace within each person. Grace allows the transfusion of Ruins into power for any blessed by the Greater Will, and knowledgeable of the ability. To remove Grace and tarnish a denizen of the realm is to deny them the ability to live within the influence of the Erd Tree.

“In Marika's own words. My Lord, and thy warriors. I divest each of thee of thy grace. With thine eyes dimmed, ye will be driven from the Lands Between. Ye will wage war in a land afar, where ye will live, and die. Well? Perhaps that might serve you in lieu of a maiden's guidance.” (Melina at the Third Church of Marika)

When resting at Church of Pilgrimage

“In Marika's own words. Then, after thy death, I will give back what I once claimed. Return to the Lands Between, wage war, and brandish the Elden Ring. Grow strong in the face of death. Warriors of my lord. Lord Godfrey”

The Greater Will allowed substantially powerful beings to leave the influence of the Lands Between and grow even more powerful. Which would simultaneously serve as an eventual greater resource for the GW, but also a powerful entity which is not beholden to the Erd Tree.

If banishment occurred multiple times, Marika herself may have been responsible for the banishment of: Sir Gideon Ofnir, the all knowing, Fia the Deathbed Companion, Goldmask, and the Lonesome Dung Eater.

It is of great significance that Fia, Goldmask, and the Dung Eater each provide a new Great Rune to add to the shattered Elden Ring upon the successful completion of their quests. Their banishment and growth in power on first appearance would have been a boon for the Greater Will, but also a potential subversion of its desires.

What does the Greater Will desire? Consensus appears to revolve around the notion that the GW subsists off the strength of those within the Lands Between. The catacombs littering the Lands each show emaciated corpses cradled within the roots of the Erd Tree, nourishing it. Notably it is the lower castes of the Lands Between which are buried there. Some resurface as boss battles during the player exploration, but none are even within the power stratum of the demi-gods. FromSoft’s exploration of the end results of hierarchical separations of power always result in the lowest, and most populous groups being the most disenfranchised.

The relationship between the Erd tree and demigods suggests some metric of unaging was previously available to the sufficiently powerful of the Lands Between.

Before the Shattering the Lands Between themselves were an enforced component of the world order. A restricted, and impregnable world which only those blessed by Grace may enter. With the strength of ruins, and the reign of the Demigods, the allowance of access is similar to an invitation to Mount Olympus, or Asgard. The lowest of the low human enemy, which bears striking similarities to the naked and shriveled corpses of Lordran are referred to as lords. Their crowns cracked and chipped, and their fine robes reduced to threads, they still are the highest echelon of the lands without, but are the lowly in the Lands Between.

“A hooded cloak of vivid crimson. Worn by expatriates’ royalty. Increases vigor. Such cloaks were gifted to those who departed on journeys without specific orders, to faraway lands from which they would never return. In other words, the gift of a cloak made it easier for undesirable to be on their way. Roderika never once saw the guidance of grace.” (Crimson Cloak, item description)

Rodricka’s early questline is the latest depiction of Reah of Thorland’s tragedy. The noble-minded character is discarded in a socially conventional way due to a perceived issue. Reah was undead, and Rodricka was told by others that she “saw grace” and must journey to the Lands Between. Both were effectively sent on suicide missions. Both their initial faults lie within their adherence to their chosen faith. Reah’s practice of the Way of White sets her on the path of recovering the flame of kindling. A flame which, if used, allows the undead to offer more humanity to the bonfires, and aid the Age of Fire with their sacrifice. Rodricka’s party meets a similar end when presenting themselves to the lord of Stormvail.

"Everyone's...been grafted. Everyone who came with me. They crossed the sea for me. They fought, for me. Heh... Only to have their arms taken. Their legs taken. Even their heads...taken. Taken and stuck to the spider. Did you know? If you're grafted by the spider, you become a chrysalid. It's quite the lark, when you think about it."

"You're all on your own, are you? And heading to Stormveil Castle? Enticed by the one in the white mask, I suppose. Oh, you've come to be one with the spider? Well, that makes us two peas in a pod. But I don't have your courage. It's scary, you know. Having your arms cut off. Or legs. Or your head. I want to be like everyone else, but I'm just too scared. I'm nothing but a craven."

Rodricka at Stormveil Shack

Rodricka’s retinue was abused in a cruelness unique to the undying. Their functional limbs were chopped and fused to other creatures in a perverse parody of transferring ruins into strength. Their attempts to adhere to the expectations set by their homeland, and within the Lands Between set them on a path to destruction.

We have little reference points to establish what life was like for knights and lords within the Lands Between. Ruins, and castles occupied by banished knights and demi-humans litter the areas. Factions establish themselves in geographically significant areas. The wars before the Shattering establish the realms of demigods to be characterized by the ruling figure.

Stormveil is beset by rains and winds. Many knights are capable of the wind based ashes of war. The massive castle is one of the largest areas in the game, and at one point was fully manned and defended. The weeping peninsula and its grafted blade tell the story of a waring tribe who defended the southern tip of the continent. The Caelid wilds share this martial tradition but with a substantial influence by dragons. The Cathedral, Faram Azula architecture, and numerous dragon enemies.

Those entering the lands between submit themselves to a Demigod which matches their ability. Warriors remain in the South. Learned scholars journey to Raya Lucaria. The faithful to Lyndell. The faith militant to Mount Gilmer (A stretch considering the geographic location of Gilmer relative to Lyndell as a defensible area, now filled with religious blasphemers).

Pre-Shattering the motivation to journey to the Lands Between would be to establish oneself within the confines of the greatest institutions of their expertise. With each demi-god holding dominion over their realm, they each grew their strength in the interest of the Greater Will.

We have established the infrastructure of the Lands Between, as well as the population. What we review next is precisely why the Greater Will acted in its particular ways. We now know that the offer to journey to the Lands Between was once considered a great privilege. That it was impossible to journey without the presence of Grace. That the Erd tree subsists itself off the ruin empowered denizens who eventually die. That the Greater Will fought through espies for dominion over the Lands Between. The Outer Gods which were directly warred against had an ability to damage the Erd Tree. The Giant’s Flame, The Dragon’s Lighting and Fire. Over time new threats emerged as Scarlet Rot which could poison the tree, and the corrupting influence of Deathroot which would infest the tree with the curse of unlife.

We must consider then, why the Lands Between exist in their current form. Why precisely anyone would choose to live there. Runes and strength appear to be the main motivation. The more ruins one possesses the greater their power in the Lands. But offering power is not nearly enough to maintain sovereignty. The power given cannot be greater than the ruling power and must be revocable at any time. In essence, the GW adjudicates the world into a form which it can hold dominion over.

However, the GW is not infinitely powerful. Its prosperity comes not just from might, but the adherence to the laws of the Golden Order. These laws are what comprises the Elden Ring. The Law of Causality, The Law of Regression, and each great rune comprise a significant portion of the Elden Ring. For the Erd Tree to nourish itself upon the powerful dead two facts must be permitted. That beings can grow powerful, and that they can die. Thus the law of death, or ruin of death, or destined death is just as significant a shard as the others. These laws act in unison and cannot function as intended without each other.

For death to be a state different from life, causality must be true. For the Erd Tree’s nourishment, regression must pull toward itself the ruins and power of the honoured dead. These are universal laws. Laws which govern every aspect of the Lands Between. Growing in power, and ingratiating yourself within the Greater Will’s desires appears to be the only possible way to subvert the laws of the Elden Ring. Marika the Eternal is the only true immortal within the land as she exists as a catalyst for the Elden Ring’s power. For her children, and every other denizen she issues the warning.

“In Marika's own words. Hear me, Demigods. My children beloved. Make of thyselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord. Be it a God. But should ye fail to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken. Amounting only to sacrifices...” Melina, in the Capital Outskirts.

At the time of this speech Marika is now fully aware of the Erd Tree’s purpose. Anyone besides herself can fall from grace. Anyone but herself may die a destined death and have themselves consumed by the Erd Tree. Marika’s eternal life is not without consequence. It subverts the law of death, and the law of causality. For her to remain as the Greater Will’s catalyst, her death must be halted. Thus, the ruin of death was entrusted to her watchdog, Maliketh, who wielded it as a weapon that could kill the other gods, should they upstart.

Even the Elden Ring was subservient to its own laws. The theft of the shard of death and the first recorded murder of a demi-god, Godwyn the Golden caused the shattering. The law of death and regression determined that Godwyn must be consumed. Not out of malice, but an unbendable adherence to the laws of the Elden Ring. For one reason or another, Marika would not allow Godwyn to be consumed by the Erd Tree. By shattering the Elden Ring, she shattered every universal law of the Lands Between. Death would no longer claim anyone, so long as it might claim her golden son.

We know however the significance of Godwyn’s death to not be restricted to his body. His spirit was killed. The shell of his body, fully functional lacked the essence of a soul and subverted the Elden Ring by its very existence. Ranni’s bodily suicide to free her spirit must have come soon after the shattering, and not before. Marika’s shattering prevented true death for any and all within the Lands and cursed the entire realm into a state of languish.

The Demigods betrayed one and other for the sake of their own beliefs. Ranni to rid herself of the influence of the Greater Will. Rykard, to devour the entire world in a twisted bloody form of unity. Rhadogan for his war against the stars themselves. Melnia to safeguard her brother so his Haligtree might flourish unimpeded by the Greater Will. Moghwyn, and his worship of an outer god, and bloodthirsty desire for power. Renalla had long turned mad and whilst incredibly dangerous had trapped herself within her own endless desire to rebirth loving children. Godrick, an outlier, and distant relative is both described as an opportunist, and a lowly sycophant. It is doubtful that he would have every mustered the forces he had if the other demi-gods had not succumbed themselves to madness, or isolation.

The significance of the opening cutscene is different from the Souls affair. Dark Souls 1, and 3 took great aim to establish the major players of the game, and through the display, and the tribulations the player must encounter to face these gods, suggests a great difference in power. Elden Ring displays no god (Horah Loux=/=Godfrey), but those who may repair the Elden Ring.

In life, each garnered substantial ability which they introduce to the Lands Between. These outside powers are not obstructed by incompatibility as the very system which might go against them, the Elden Ring, no longer functions.

The significance of the default ending is that what is shattered can no longer be completely fixed. Cracks and imperfections have become the new order. The age of fracture occurs regardless of how many Great Runes you acquire.

That each alternative ending requires a mending ruin, or some sort of total destruction of the Elden Ring is on purpose. Each mending ruin integrates itself into the Elden Ring, and ‘corrects’ a fault of the Greater Will’s logic.

The Golden Order was created by confining Destined Death. Thus, this new Order will be one of Death restored…it will embed the principle of life within Death into Order… (Mending Ruin of the Death-Prince, item description).

Fia’s ending at a glance corrects the main fault within the Elden Ring, which is the simultaneous relationship between death, causality, and regression. Note however the principle of “life within Death”, where existence eventually regresses into Godwyn’s physical state of unlife. While free from the Erd Tree’s roots, we must consider the ramifications of the new order. Undeath has driven the Lands Between into madness. In a gentle manner, this mending ruin has fixed the Lands Between by eradicating potential hosts for the Erd Tree. It remains unclear if living in death will be akin to the skeletons and spirits we encounter throughout the game, the physical state of Godwyn’s body, or something new entirely. Comparisons to the Undead Curse obfuscate the differences in purpose. The ability to turn away from the Golden Order and revel in the new state of undying appears more similar to the Lord of Hollows ending from Dark Souls 3.

The Mending Rune of the Fell Curse is surprisingly similar in function. It mends the Elden Ring by inflicting defilement into the law of the Lands Between. Where Fia’s rune seeks to provide a new path beyond the consumption of the Erd Tree, the Dung Eater’s seeks to inflict the horrid act of defilement on as many people as possible. By integrating it into the Elden Ring, the new order will spread defilement wherever it has influence, and curse those people to a bodily death, with their spirits trapped eternally into the realm of mortals. The spirits are free from the Greater Will, but are eternally trapped by the Fell Curse.

GoldMask’s perfect order is one where the Elden Ring’s function is pieced together in a way that not even gods may attempt to change it (Mending Ruin of the Perfect Order). In doing so, Goldmask subverts the Golden Order by removing the Greater Will’s ability to alter itself. In doing so, he has trapped the state of the world into an order remarkably similar to the time before the shattering but does not remedy the issue of the Erd Tree’s continual sustenance. By removing the Greater Will’s control, Goldmask has trapped the Lands Between in a perpetual state, which now cannot change itself in any meaningful way. By removing the very ability of the Elden Ring’s alteration, Goldmask has restored the world into something akin to the times before shattering. Inadvertently, the Greater Will’s influence is permanently restricted by the Elden Ring, and likely will be dethroned by an Outer God.

Gideon is an outlier both in game and in story. His approach to learn from the histories and teachings of the Lands Between is as voracious as any of the Demi-gods. Were Demi-Gods still being produced he would have certainly stood amongst them as a terrifying black sheep of profane knowledge. He is also one of few character to reference Marika’s actions with the understanding that she betrayed the Golden Order. He acknowledges her disappearance and return to grace as a way to empower mortals with the ability to slay a god. His frightening ability (if you play anything beyond NG) to learn magical disciplines and heresies suggests a mind which fully comprehends and appreciates the intricacies and logics of all forms of magic (law), and in turn, the Elden Ring.

Were he to communicate his teachings to others rather than horde them, he would have realized the relationship between all things through the laws of causality and regression. He is an armchair general…a toilet seat scientist…an ignorant to the interactions his learnings have with each other. Had he appreciated the possibility that mending ruins may remedy or create a new order he may have yet lived.

His arrogance toward the player character dooms him. The man had need only explain himself to prevent his own death. To communicate the idea that restoring the Elden Ring would simply not be enough. To this end, I would suggest his ‘ending’ is the age of fracture. Despite himself, Gideon could not muster or appreciate the need for a mending rune.

Ranni’s ending is completely fucked sideways in every respect thanks to the English translation. Through improved translation we understand Ranni’s ending to be an expression of separation. As she claims dominion over the new order, she states that the player, and herself will journey beyond the world of mankind, and keep separate the powers of divinity. Her conclusion is similar to Goldmask’s but concludes with revolution, rather than restoration.

The Frenzied Flame appears to be the true opposite of the Elden Ring. Where law rules reality, the chaos flame consumes all. The ending is of destruction. One which may have implications for the Lands Without. Were we to suggest that the Lands Between to not be readily accessible, the Frenzied Flame would have to garner worshipers through ulterior, and subversive acts, which it is already accustomed to. Functionally, the ending may be the establishment of the world’s equivalent to a fire and brimstone hell. If the worst dregs of the world could be consumed by a ceaseless flame and no longer be a danger to those around them, a world as readily cruel as the usual Fromsoft affair would readily utilize it.

The Lands Between are the realm between mortals, and the cosmos. Where gods and mankind walk the same earth and create bonds together. Through this exposure there is an innate corrupting quality for both ends. Humans will covet the impossibly grand powers of their patron gods. The gods in turn will covet worship and the maintaining of their power. By their interaction the video game asserts the innate qualities of humankind and the divine are incompatible.

#elden ring #video games #analysis #send help #i hate this

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deafeningglittertyrant · 1 year

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dailynews9 · 2 years

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Why kill? Euthanisation of beloved walrus Freya divides Norway

Oslo : It was another good day for Freya , the 600 – kg walrus named for the Norse goddess of love, beauty and war , who had become a beloved and feel good international media sen sation , the frolicking mascot of the long summer of Oslo . Euthanisation of beloved walrus She had spent the day , Au gust 13 , diving from a boat mo ored to a marina pier , feasting on clams , and then resurfa cing…

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alliancepools · 2 years

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Are you seeing rough and worn-out surface layers in your swimming pool? It's time to give your pool a makeover with pool resurfacing. But choosing a suitable material is a difficult decision to make without proper research or personal experience.

Here is what you need to know before choosing the right material for pool resurfacing.

#pool resurfacing #pool resurfacing materials

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semcowa · 3 years

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Second coat of color bond.”Espresso Bean” #Basementfloor #waterproofingexperts #seamless #semco #xbondflooring #resurfaing (at Seattle, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKSziyRATTu/?igshid=t4ow0shuq50l

#basementfloor #waterproofingexperts #seamless #semco #xbondflooring #resurfaing

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anewsurface · 3 years

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From our family to yours!

(859)888-7043

[email protected]

www.anewsurfacenky.com#anewsurface

#anewsurface #bathtub resurfaing #bathtub refinishing #bathtub reglazing #happy father’s day 2021

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miltonbasildon · 3 years

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Miltons Bath Enamel Repair is a family-run cosmetic and hard surface repairs company in Basildon, Essex. We have over 200 5 star Google Reviews for our North London Office in Islington We cover all over London, Essex, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire The services we provide are: Bath Repair Bath Enamel Repair Shower Tray Repair Ceramic Sink Repair Bath Re Enameling & Bath Resurfaing Laminate Wood Repair Wood Repair Tile Repair Upvc Repair We can repair : Chips Cracks Scratches Holes Structural damage Rust damage Full bath, sink and shower re enamelling We have over 160 5 star reviews at our North London Office in Islington South London Office: Milton’s Bath Enamel Repair Essex, 4-20 Timberlog Close, Basildon, SS14 1PF

Website: https://miltonsbathenamelrepair.co.uk/basildon-essex

Address : 4-20 Timberlog Close, Basildon SS14 1PF

Phone Number: 01268 919077

Business Contact Email ID: [email protected]

Business Hours: Mon - Fri 8:00 am - 8:00 pm Sat - Sun 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

#bath enamel repair bath chip repair bathtub chip repair shower tray repair shower tray chip repair re enamel bath bath resurfacing re enamel

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miltonsbath · 3 years

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Milton's Bath Enamel Repair, Shower Tray Repair, Ceramic Sink Repair & Bath Re Enamelling South London

Miltons Bath Enamel Repair is a family-run cosmetic and hard surface repairs company in South London.

We have over 160 5 star Google Reviews for our North London Office in Islington

We cover all over London, Essex, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire

The services we provide are:

Bath Repair Bath Enamel Repair Shower Tray Repair Ceramic Sink Repair Bath Re Enameling & Bath Resurfaing Laminate Wood Repair Wood Repair Tile Repair Upvc Repair We can repair :

Chips Cracks Scratches Holes Structural damage Rust damage Full bath, sink and shower re enamelling

We have over 160 5 star reviews at our North London Office in Islington

South London Office: Milton’s Bath Enamel Repair 141 Lucey Way SE16 3UE

Website: https://miltonsbathenamelrepair.co.uk/south-london/

Address: 141 Lucey Way, London, SE16 3UE

Phone Number: 020 4538 0448

Contact Mail: [email protected]

Business Hours: Monday to Friday 08:00 - 20:30 Saturday 11:00- 20:30 Sunday 09:00- 18:00

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theamericanpatriotpage · 5 years

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Creepy Joe tapes keep coming back out of the woodwork, his own confessions sickening

~Anne

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ao3feed-wrightworth · 5 years

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From the Ashes

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/32dk9Hz

by InvaderHam

In a slightly different universe, two old friends meet at the Gates of Eden. A sword is given, questions are asked. Memories resurfae, but not quite as they used to be.

Words: 3573, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Good Omens (TV), 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright, Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth, Adam from Eden (Good Omens), Eve (Good Omens)

Relationships: Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth/Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Good Omens Fusion, Angel/Demon Relationship, POV Miles Edgeworth, Aziraphale!Miles Edgeworth, Crowley!Phoenix Wright, Angst and Feels, Scene: Garden of Eden (Good Omens), Lost Love, I personally not into the idea of Crowley and Aziraphale knowing each other pre-fall, But Phoenix and Miles gotta be long-lost friends in every AA AU I have, So I'm channeling all of the potential Angst Energy of omg my old friend is a demon into this AU, super melodramatic, But that's AA for you and then you add Demons and Angels into the mix..., Hobo Phoenix Wright, (Because that's what Crowley!Phoenix is most based on), This is basically what if AA1 Miles reconnected with Hobonick, So it's Emotional Repression to the max for both of them

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/32dk9Hz

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #wrightworth #narumitsu #ace attorney #Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

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ao3feed-narumitsu · 5 years

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From the Ashes

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/32dk9Hz

by InvaderHam

In a slightly different universe, two old friends meet at the Gates of Eden. A sword is given, questions are asked. Memories resurfae, but not quite as they used to be.

Words: 3573, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Good Omens (TV), 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright, Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth, Adam from Eden (Good Omens), Eve (Good Omens)

Relationships: Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth/Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/32dk9Hz This is an automatic feed of all new stories posted to the Miles Edgeworth/Phoenix Wright tag on AO3. Because of that, it is not guaranteed that Miles and Phoenix are the main characters in the story, nor the only ship. Please verify content upon clicking through to AO3.

#ao3feed #narumitsu #edgewright #phoenix wright #miles edgeworth

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fresh-outta-jams · 6 years

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Imaginary

Eunwoo x Reader

Author: Admin Mo Summary: What happens to your imaginary friend when you outgrow them? Genre: Some angst and many fluff

Word Count: 2.4k

1, 2

Masterlist

It’s hard to be in love with someone who can’t see you.

She had been able to see him once, but she had outgrown imaginary friends a long time ago.

He remembered the day he met her. It was her fifth birthday and no one had come. No one except him, the boy she made up. For a while, he was her only friend. The person who comforted her after nightmares and went to the playground with her. He was a replacement for a teddy bear, her security blanket of sorts.

But then she had started school, and met little friends. Her days of coloring and exploring with him had come to an end, and little by little, she stopped being able to see him. She couldn’t even hear his voice, no matter how hard he tried to get through to her.

An imaginary friend that no one could see didn’t have much use. He realized that very quickly. He wasn’t good for much. He couldn’t talk to anyone, couldn’t touch anything, couldn’t even tell anyone that he was still there, hanging on. And for a small imaginary child, something like this was hard to deal with. He had gone from being someone’s everything to being nothing at all. Not even a ghost. Just a faint idea tickling the back of her brain. And it broke his heart.

Most nights, he would sit next to her on the couch as she scrolled through her laptop. He watched movies with her, laughing when she laughed and crying when she cried. She had grown up so beautifully, her face full of fair features. Hair so soft that he could never stroke, and plush pink lips that he would never be able to kiss.

He had grown up too. He was taller than her. By a lot. He dwarfed her when he stood behind her as she looked in the mirror, praying that maybe she would catch a glimpse of his reflection, but she never did, her attention instead fixed on fussing with her hair or adjusting whatever dress she was wearing so she looked just right. He wished he could tell her she looked perfect just the way she was, but every time he did, she never heard him.

It was hard to watch her get dressed up and go out with boys that weren’t good enough for her. It was even harder when one of them stuck. He saw all of the red flags this new boyfriend she had chosen was flying, but for some reason, she didn’t. She was blinded by the butterflies in her stomach. So he rolled his eyes and went along with her. An invisible protector despite the fact that he couldn’t do anything if something went wrong.

Watching the girl he was in love with fall in love with someone else was the hardest thing he had ever been through. And, not for the first time, he wished that he didn’t have to suffer through this meager half-existence. He wished she had never thought him up in the first place.

***

“(Y/N),” her mother walked into the living room with that scolding look on her face, “I thought I told you to go through these pictures.”

“Ughhhh, Mom…” she whined. “I don’t want to. You’re going to end up picking out the ones that go up anyway, aren’t you?”

“No, you are. It’s your graduation party.”

“But-”

“No buts. Get in there and sort.” She pointed to the other room where the dining room table sat absolutely buried by every certificate, trophy, medal, and drawing (Y/N) had ever done, along with a couple hundred pictures her family had managed to assemble to put up for the party that was looming just around the corner.

With a sigh, (Y/N) sat at the table in front of the mountain of memories. He sat across from her, watching the way her face scrunched, his eyes sparkling. She was so perfect and she didn’t even realize it. There were hundreds of pictures here. Pictures from picnics and field trips, the Fourth of July and Christmas, Halloween and her preschool graduation and everything in between. He watched her sift through them, setting them in piles: to put up and not to put up.

Her mother returned, musing over some of the collection. She lifted a stack of drawings out of the pile and looked them over. Little scratchy crayon drawings that didn’t make much sense. Until one of them did. It was two little stick figures, one with her hair drawn into little pig tails, and the other with a head of dark hair and warm brown eyes. The childlike handwriting had dubbed him “Eunwoo.”

“Aww, Eunwoo. I remember Eunwoo.” Her mother tilted her head and smiled.

“Who?” (Y/N) squinted, trying to remember.

Eunwoo felt like a knife had twisted in his chest, sharp pain tearing through his imaginary heart. She didn’t remember him. After all of these years, he shouldn’t have been surprised, but it still hurt. The empty look in her eyes when her mother brought him up.

“Eunwoo. He was your imaginary friend when you were little. I guess you wouldn’t remember.” Her mother shook her head, handing (Y/N) the drawing that she had spent three whole hours making. “You used to talk to him a lot. Play with him.”

“Eunwoo…” (Y/N) murmured, trying to bring the image of the boy with the smiling eyes to her mind.

He reached across the table, letting his hand settle on top of hers, even though she couldn’t feel it. Eunwoo’s handsome features gave way to the softest smile, sadness causing his tone to waver and tears to well up in his eyes. “(Y/N), I’m here...Please...just…”

When the words came out of his mouth, he realized it had been a long time since he had heard his own voice. It had changed, he noticed. He was not the boy he had once been. He was older now. Her age. So much time had gone by since she drew the picture she was holding, since she had looked him in the eye and wished on dandelions with him.

“I miss you…”

***

(Y/N) zipped up the back of her dress with a little struggle. How Eunwoo wished he could reach out and help her, but every time he tried, his fingers phased through hers. So eventually, he just stopped trying, instead sitting on the cushion seat of her bedroom window.

“You look beautiful.” He told her, his words falling on deaf ears. “He’s a lucky guy.”

She fussed over her hair, scowling at the one piece that wouldn’t cooperate and settle into the place she wanted it.

“You’re perfect. You don’t need to fuss over the little things.” He shook his head, standing up and walking over to where she stood in front of the mirror. In another life, he would wrap his arms around her waist and never let her go. In another life, she loved him just as much as he loved her.

“Have fun tonight.” Eunwoo told her, letting his nonexistent hand skim over her shoulder. “I love you…”

She didn’t respond to the words she hadn’t heard, instead checking her phone and picking up her purse. She glanced in the mirror one last time, double-checking everything and smiling when she saw that she finally looked the way she wanted to. And then she was out the door. He sighed before following her, walking through the door until she was out of the house. And then he leaned against the wall, defeated as the only person on the entire planet that mattered to him went off to go on a date with a guy she was convinced was the love of her life.

He walked down the hall, filled with pictures of her childhood. He remembered every moment, every day as though it was yesterday. Sometimes, he felt like one of the toys from Toy Story, a play thing that his best friend in the whole world had outgrown. It was lonely when she wasn’t here. He went with her sometimes, but he found out the hard way that he didn’t like following her when she went on dates. Watching her smile and laugh at another guy hurt too much.

But the broken look on her face when she got home two hours later was worse. So much worse. Tears were streaming down her perfect cheeks and sobs wracked her chest. He stood in the hallway wide-eyed as she dropped her keys in the bowl and fought her shoes off. She stumbled into the wall.

Eunwoo looked her over for injuries, but there weren’t any. Nothing aside from a broken heart.

“What happened?” He asked, knowing he wouldn’t get a response. “What did he do to you?”

(Y/N) walked to the kitchen and pulled a little half pint of ice cream out of the freezer. Her emergency stash, Eunwoo realized. This meant only one thing. That boy had broken her heart. And in turn, his heart broke too.

He followed her up the stairs slowly, lingering in the doorway for a second before walking in. She swaddled herself in her comforter and pulled her favorite stuffie into her arms, wiping away the tears as best she could on the sweater she had changed into. She looked so sad, eyes puffy from crying, mascara smudged under them. Whatever happened couldn’t have been good.

***

Carefully, Eunwoo walked through the room and settled on the empty side of her bed. If he could, he would have pulled her into his arms and shushed her until she stopped crying. He just wanted her to know she wasn’t alone. Not like he was…

“It’s going to be okay. I promise. I love you so much.” Eunwoo found tears streaming down his own cheeks.

Why couldn’t you see he was right there? That you weren’t alone. You never had been. Every step of the way, he had been right by your side. It hurt him, knots twisting in his imaginary stomach. He loved you so much it was crushing him and you didn’t even know he still existed. Or that he had ever existed to begin with.

“Please just see me.” He begged, reaching out to your crying form. “I’m right here. I love you. I love you...I can’t...I need you to be happy again. Let me make you happy again. Just...let me love you…”

He begged the universe. He begged whatever forces were listening, whatever forces had let him live his invisible life to please do him this one favor and let him hold you. Just this once. He needed you to be okay.

You heard something in the quiet room. It was faint. At first, it sounded like your parents were listening to the TV downstairs, but the voice got louder. It was something like magic that was happening in your bedroom. A combination of your slowly resurfacing memories and the intense desperate wishing that was happening only a few feet from your side.

You blamed it on the bleary puffy eyes and the concoction of hormones that were coursing through your body. There was no way this was reality unfolding before your eyes.

There wasn’t anything to do but watch as the most beautiful man you had ever seen slowly faded into existence. He was tall with soft black hair and kind brown eyes. Tears streamed down his smooth tan cheeks and he looked at you with so much love you didn’t know what to do with yourself. Your own sadness came to a halt, replaced instead with confusion and then realization.

“Eunwoo?” You whispered, voice cracking as for the first time in a very, very long time, you said his name.

Immediately, he stopped crying and talking and went completely silent, wiping at his tears as he took in the look you were giving him. It was eye contact. Something he hadn’t made in thirteen years.

“(Y/N)...”

“H-how did you...w-where did you c-come from?” You wondered aloud, admiring every inch of him. This was not the young boy you created. This was instead a man, a tall, handsome, warm-eyed man.

“I’ve been here the whole time.” He whispered, his face falling. “I never left. You just...stopped being able to see me.”

“I’m so sorry.” More tears flowed from your eyes as the realization hit you that you had essentially abandoned your best friend, leaving him all alone for all this time. “It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s not your fault.” Eunwoo shook his head as his crying resumed too. “You didn’t mean it. It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay!” You shook your head, retreating into the blankets. “I l-left you all alone for...for so long…”

“Please stop crying.” He begged, a hand reaching out, but not quite touching you. He didn’t know what he would do if it actually worked. If he could actually...his heart raced at the thought. “I hate it when you cry.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” You apologized over and over, shaking with every breath you took.

Eunwoo couldn’t take it anymore. He reached out and to his surprise, he came in contact with your blanket bundle. More tears, happy ones this time, flowed from his warm brown eyes. He carefully unwrapped you from your fluffy shell and pulled you into his arms.

You surrendered to his touch, your limbs turning to jelly and your lungs burning for air, suffocated from all of the crying. As best as you could, you wrapped your arms around him too, squeezing as tight as you could. He was so warm and breathing and real, and he was here when you needed him, just like he always had been, even if you never knew it.

“I love you so much.” He murmured into your hair, pressing a long kiss to your forehead. “I have always loved you so, so much.”

“I missed you.” You replied. “And I...I love you too.”

His heart leapt, arms tightening their hold around your shaking form. “That guy didn’t deserve you. None of them do.”

“You’re right.” You wiped at your eyes, taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to make the sobbing stop. “The only guy I’ve ever needed has been right here all along.”

Check out My Book

Part 2

#kpopwonderlandtag #eunwoo #eunwoo imagine #eunwoo x reader #dongmin #dongmin imagine #dongmin x reader #astro #astro imagine #cha eunwoo #lee dongmin

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