LCD The Second Coming of Gluttony

I really don't understand this concern over "Paradise addiction," especially from people like Maldong. It stinks of people thinking of Paradise as too much of a game, and not as its own, real, independent world. Paradise is facing existential threats that could end in the annihilation of humanity on the damn planet, and people are concerned when someone wants to throw themselves into that fight. to the point of making it sound like some kind of mental disorder???

Maldong, in particular, after his regrets, seeing his students and Earthlings in general do nothing but harm Paradise when they were brought to save it, should rejoice at having someone who takes Paradise seriously, fully accepts it as another world, and embraces that. Someone who treats life and death there as if they matter, even for Earthlings.

I mean, I would understand people just being concerned about his situation at home and wanting him to work things out on Earth for his own happiness. But this "addiction to Paradise" crap just feels too much like they're not taking Paradise seriously. Like they're treating it as a game, a day job, or at best a foreign battlefield away from home, and not as an entire world that has opened its doors to them and given them everything in return for their assistance.

As far as I'm concerned Seol could pack his bags and move there. Paradise is at least equal to Earth in every way. There's no particular reason he needs to anchor himself to the former, as far as I can tell.

...

That said, on a more personal note for him, I do think he's using Paradise to escape from problems he should resolve. I do think, that for his own health and happiness, he should reconcile with his family and live at least part of his life with them on Earth. I just think that, if he wants to also throw himself into Paradise, to even live in that world, then that's fine. There's nothing inherently wrong with even treating Paradise as home. He shouldn't use Paradise as an escape, and shouldn't fear returning to Earth. But it also shouldn't be considered a mental disorder to embrace Paradise.

And maybe they recognize that in him, too, and that's what they mean when they call him a Paradise junkie. Maybe I'm misjudging them. But the way they always say to remember that Earth is your home makes it seem less like they're focusing on his personal issues and more like they treat Paradise as a tourist destination.
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Author's letter is great. Love seeing that kind of involvement and interaction with readers from across the world.

 

You'd lose your memories from the time you entered Paradise, presumably, and that includes those you made on Earth. I guess you'd just find yourself suddenly months or years in the future with no idea what you'd been doing that entire time, just a big blank. Maybe some new friends helping you out financially or a really nice new job you don't remember getting. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the memory thing is ultimately irrelevant, because you're going to lose 'em all anyway. At most you'll want to have a place prepared for you back on Earth just in case, but, yeah...

As for Paradise' ending... If the place is doomed, it doesn't matter. That means you're going back to Earth. But it doesn't mean you shouldn't treat Paradise as a real world and contribute all you can to it in the meantime. I mean, that's the reason you were brought there to begin with: these people are fighting desperately for their continued survival and you're there to help. Treating it as a day job is... disheartening to everyone involved, at best. If you treat Paradise as your home, do everything you can to fight for it, and ultimately fail... well, that's exactly what everyone else should have been doing, too. You did it right. Did your best. You can be proud of that.

And if Paradise wins, I don't think that means the Earthlings all get sent packing. To begin with, I'm not sure it'll be possible to send them all home one-sidedly. By that time, the Earthlings are going to be powerful, aware that Paradise and other worlds exist, and no longer bound by the constraints they had on Earth. They'll probably stick around and maintain trade, if not look towards expanding in Paradise or even moving on to other worlds.

... and while it'll be harder, it'd definitely be possible for them to grow their power back on Earth if they were somehow forcefully expelled, and either return or go somewhere else. Seol himself was unknowingly training his magic stat for years before he fucked up and ruined all of his progress. On Earth. I could see the gods somehow revoking power granted through stat points and stuff, but nothing that was earned with hard work, or by consuming things like Seol's recent dinners. That belongs to them, fundamentally.

Paradise' interference with Earth has ultimately changed things for the Earthlings. Period. There's no going back to the way things were before the first Earthlings were brought over, and life on Earth and in Paradise is going to feel that change forever - unless the Parasites consume them all.

Barring deus ex machina from the author, ofc. "Okay, war's over, everyone's back on earth and perfectly normal human beings, because I said so!" ... I could see that happening, but I doubt it'll go that way.

 

Okay, I see what ya'll are saying about mixed memory. I get that, and I see why it'd be important to make memories on Earth unrelated to Paradise. ... I'm not sure it'll work very well, really, since I feel like everything they do will be slightly tainted with Paradise somehow. Their thoughts and actions. I mean, imagine Seol giving money to his family. Where did he get it? What was he thinking when he handed it over? Where was he going afterwards? Who encouraged him to go there, where did he get to know her? .... His memory will have more holes than swiss cheese, even when it comes to things on Earth that aren't too intimately related to Paradise.

I guess what really puts me off is that, yes, some people treat Paradise as a game. Seol has commented on this in the past. Others treat it as a gold mine to be exploited, as a tourist destination, or any number of other things. Very few earthlings are treating it as a serious battlefield upon which the fate of an entire planet is decided. Maldong has regrets because his students have turned out to be people like this, people who just see Paradise as something to be exploited for their own gain, getting all they can out of it before ultimately retreating to Earth.

Seol is not a battle junkie. He doesn't want to fight. ... Err. That sounds wrong after his berserker style, but try to remember the discussion he had when he returned from saving Teresa. He's scared of battles, scared of danger. He doesn't want to just casually throw himself into one battlefield after another. He does what he does because Paradise is important to him, because the PEOPLE there are important to him. Because, in a future he can barely recall, he had REGRETS. Deep, deep regrets. And he doesn't want to see things turn out like that again. He doesn't want to see people he cares about die,

When they say he's a paradise junkie, it doesn't feel like they're saying he's a battle junkie.

It feels like they're saying he's addicted to Paradise itself, as if he should remain detached and treat Earth with more importance. Treat Earth as his primary home and his foundation. That he shouldn't invest himself too much in Paradise. Shouldn't risk himself there too much or spend too much time there.

And to me, that's ... Not a great attitude for the supposed saviors of the world to have. It's more in line with those who just want to exploit Paradise instead of fight for it. It's the attitude of people who don't treat Paradise with enough importance.

The chief god of Paradise was eaten by a bug. A divinity carrying army leader was just killed by Seol. The ultimate goal of the war is the death of the Parasite Queen, consumer of said chief god. ... Somehow I really don't see this ending with Earthlings being weak enough that the gods can just casually expel them, and even if they can be expelled, I don't think stripping them of power will be an option. It's just totally unrealistic. ... and they could, as I said, just return or go somewhere else. The Earth has been "exposed" to the wider world now, so to speak. People have power, know how to use it, know how to grow it, and know that there are more worlds out there than just Earth and Paradise. The frogs have jumped out of the well. They're not going back in.

Victory or defeat, the Earth will never be the same again.

 

No, I straight up mean they treat it as a game.

The word "NPC" has been used on several occasions, and tells you everything you need to know about the mentality some Earthlings have towards Paradise.

....

Look, what prompted this most recent belief that Seol is a "Paradise junkie"? ... He asked Maldong if he felt sad Ian had died in Paradise. He felt confused. Dazed. Because Maldong wasn't quite showing the appropriate reaction to the passing of a long time friend. Maldong, on the other hand, sees a problem in Seol because he takes Ian's death hard. Tell me, honestly, which of the two is taking death in Paradise with an appropriate level of severity?

And, y'know, even if Ian retains some memories, he's going to be really screwed up by this "death". You've both just told me that, in multiple different ways. Death in Paradise is serious.

I'm with Seol here. All I see are people detached from Paradise. People that aren't taking the world or its problems seriously enough.

 

The Seven Sins don't grant power quite as much as you made it sound there. I said earlier that I could see them revoking strength gained from points spent in their leveling system, but ultimately MOST of the power Earthlings gain is through hard work. Training their bodies, their mana, learning new abilities. Especially abilities they learn on their own, without having them directly granted to them. A god taking that away would be no different than taking away your ability to ride a bike. The god didn't magically grant you that skill. You learned it yourself. It's part of you, and not some outside gift that can just be taken away.

And levels are mostly just a number. Classes just a name. Apart from the points gained and skills you forcefully learn, anyway. They're not really granted power with each level up.

But, yeah. I don't know how this is all going to turn out. I like your idea of a new seven virtues and Paradisians standing even with Earthlings. ... But however it turns out, I don't think just totally expelling the Earthlings, revoking all of their power, and essentially putting Earth back the way it was before they touched it, are really possible. Whatever they do, the Earth is different now.