Lore Olympus is finally over

Sorry I'm sick again but I decided to ramble on about the webtoon Lore Olympus that is finally ending. I don't say every thought I have cause we would be here al day and I didn't write a script. One day I'll learn.

[@prench]

sorry, she was cursed with WRATH at birth?? that's just like. sentience.

[@us3r003]

Lmao i love this comment

[@vividd8246]

don’t probably all of the gods have that???

[@cakefrosting6451]

LMAOOOOOO BAHAHAHA

[@alliu6562]

So basically the ONE THING I thought they did alright (allow Persephone to experience rage and anger, unlike most female protagonists of YA novels aimed at young girls and women, and with rage being one of the few ways she has agency in her life) they… basically said “nah that’s not actually her, she was cursed by it”???????? Like that’s so bad, it’s SO BAD, in a story that largely centers on Persephone’s lack of personal agency, the author. Takes away. Her personal agency. As a plot point. That goes nowhere.

[@AppleCore247]

Unrelated, but your profile picture is my freaking childhood man- BOBBY HD or something??

[@stridinghearts]

"the only way to get out of an abusive situation is getting married to a man. a very old man." LMAO????

[@seraphim108]

"feminist retelling"

[@tiginny60]

That's what I felt too. Like this feels very hating on the guy stuff.

[@user-dontdothemost]

@@tiginny60how because she said he’s way older than her which is true how is that man hating he’s getting criticized just like the other characters y’all always think someone’s just trying to hate on every man like a male character can’t take criticism

[@LesbianKimDokja]

@@tiginny60hes like 3000 years older then her and shes built like a mature 13 year old.

[@minty2900]

Correction: wealthy old man ☝️

[@Asuna35]

I wonder if Rachel had some issues with her mother and projected it onto Demeter because the Demeter slander in this comic was unbelievable.

[@jessnalulila5552]

Mother characters in general weren't well written in LO

[@malinasworld]

There’s def some projection going on in there… Like how Minthe’s body is insulted or compared negatively to Persephone’s on at least two occasions (I gave up on the comic pretty early on) and what do you know… The author is curvy too.

[@alexmoon066]

Hating on mother is such a nono for me. That’s the ultimate misogyny

[@seraphim108]

​​@malinasworld Minith also turned curvy on the latter stages of the comic, despite the "flat" jokes; Hera also turned curvy too, and I kid you not there are panels recolored and she looks EXACTLY LIKE. PERSE. And I do think the author projects onto perse a lot, Hades was based upon her biggest childhood crush, (whose a much older man) and the authors favorite book was Lolita + I think she used to be open about her k//nks? And sometimes, the writing comes off as very, marysu-y, like, how perse has pretty much no flaws besides "she's a push over 🥺" and later, when wrath was her flaw, it was shown to be a gift so not even technically hers? idk, weird

[@jessnalulila5552]

@@seraphim108 also Hermes was based on the author Rachel ex-boyfriend

[@pommyh3ck]

I'll never forgive what they do to Ares. He's the least problematic god, never SA anyone, the father of the amazonas and true lover of Aphrodite. And they make him a sexist creeper who make Aphrodite miserable???? Really it's seems the creator didn't MAKE ANY RESEARCH

[@bituinl]

Whaaa? Wait huh? You sure you’re not getting characters mixed up……bc I’m pretty sure that was Apollo, no? Also I also do know one version where I forgot his name but I think he sends humans to the underworld or whatever is also one of the least problematic God as well.

[@justtrying1952]

​​​​​@@bituinlNo. They're right, Ares never SA'd anyone and IS the father of the Amazon's. Apollo is done dirty here too (if your referring to him being the sexist one in the story, I believe they both where) in the actual myths he did rape Dryope (believe this is the only girl he rapes) by turing into a snake and getting her pregnant...also you could say the muses are his children, but not the Amazon's.And sending humans to the underworld...you'll have to be more specific as you have the God of death, Thanatos, you sends souls to the underworld. Charon, who leads souls down the river to the underworld. The one myth where Hermes leads humans to the underworld. Or the pjo one where Ares sends them to the underworld.

[@bituinl]

@@justtrying1952 the God of death also I’m confused on what you mean at the top.

[@justtrying1952]

@@bituinl I thought you were talking about the myths of Ares and Apollo and how the person mixed them up. But, then I realized you were talking about the portrayal of the characters in the story. The top I went over the myths, and how they are both portrayed poorly and insulting their original characters in this adaptation of them.

[@SylvanasWindrunnersStrap]

Yes! As a devotee of Ares and Aphrodite as a JOINT COUPLE that shit made me put the comic down for good, I couldn't stomach it, their love story is one of the best and incredibly feminist on it's own idk why she changed it :( (sidenote if anyone argues w this comment I can provide quotes from ancient texts abt ares' proto-feminism and his adoration of women in general)

[@MrGoblin1000]

The problemly with modern tellings of the Story of Spring is that they focuses on Hades and Persephone as a romantic couple. But the original myth isn't really about them, it is about Demeter being forced to watch as the men in her life treat her daughter as a bargaining chip. It is a story that countless mothers had to live through across history.

[@foureyesisafish7968]

So fun fact that’s largely because Persephone started more as Queen of the Underworld, with the aspects from Story of Spring largely being later additions. Hades and Persephone are a power couple in Greek mythology and this just happens to be their origin.

[@vincentknws]

Hades and persephone is an amazing couple in Greek mythology.

[@_.hybrids._1680]

You misinterpreted their story as well. Persephone is NOT a “sweet innocent flower girl.” She NEVER have been. According to the Hymn of Demeter, the oldest written telling of the story, Hades never even WANT to kidnap Persephone. The kidnapping was ordered by and planned by Zeus. Even Demeter never blames Hades, only ZEUS. The story goes out of its way to say that the only thing Hades has done is the pomegranate part, and even that is iffy because the only surviving written copy was destroyed at that part.

[@pandapower3076]

I know that media makes it look like it was just the males of the family doing it, but that not how it really went. Mothers and grandmothers were a major part of the betrothal process.

[@skipperdoodles3275]

Her wrath eyes make her look mega-stoned.

[@rilakkuma1640]

LMAOOO THATS SO TRUE

[@phrubz]

PLZZZ 😭😭

[@Christinavernon2382]

It really does!

[@becnimi]

LMAOOO

[@ajgameguy3674]

It will never not be weird to see Webtoon comics that were advertised on here SO heavy a couple years back are now falling off hard.

[@bituinl]

I remember seeing so many ads of webtoon especially lore Olympus. I still remember it vividly. After that I got many ads for Tapas, Lezhin and some other comic website

[@kimberleywilliams7802]

Probably because of the way webtoon is set up. Authors are encouraged to drag out their stories for close to a decade and because of this the story elements suffer greatly. They also pay so much attention to the art, that the actual story (what makes it readable) becomes shallow like they run out of things to write or they're trying to match the story to the art rather than the opposite. I don't think a lot of them know how to develop a good and consistent plotline. Edited: for readability.

[@melchior7346]

Tower of God still ON TOP

[@lulugoodnight2747]

Everyday I think about what happened to noblesse

[@seraphina1724]

True Beauty was never very good but the way the author had to drag it out and basically recycled the same plot line four times across 200 chapters was wild Edit: I actually think the first couple chapters were pretty good. They had personality

[@irenictea218]

My reaction was ‘It’s over? Good riddance.’

[@Kopiortys]

To all the fools

[@shiichan32]

finally

[@serenitysubs933]

Um just don't read it? You're acting like you're the one slaving away making comics every week.

[@wildfire9017]

@@serenitysubs933bro it sucks stop the cap

[@imfam0use]

FR FINALLY DAWG 💀

[@queenofmeme6068]

I also was kind of upset that Rachel made it seem like persephone's hair was some important character thing and just dropped the ball by the 2nd season and it's not explained further about her (RADICALLY) different hairstyles in the later seasons. last big scene she's in has a gorgeous long hair style, next one is a pixie cut with no warning, and then back to long! if it's to show passage of time, there are better ways of doing that.

[@joxiejoxie6457]

Thank you for saying this. I thought it was just me, but even her curl pattern changes from frame to frame without warning & it was such a missed opportunity.

[@caitlinmccloud7431]

@WarriorXena446 it was her “wrath eyes” it’s supposed to be her angry but after causing winter she just had them all the time and it was a meaningless visual in the end.

[@kchanuwu6775]

You guys know you can hold onto wrath longer than"being mad". The eyes represented the wrath part of her being after she becomes conscious of it. The hair thing is like an anime addition like her hair grows alot when she uses her powers... So she cuts it alot.

[@shiichan32]

hades looked different in each panel they all did

[@Sam.michael.9144]

That’s actually because she can kind of control her hair based off her emotions. But if it’s too strong then her hair goes out of control. But idk about her eyes

[@ParsletPage]

That ending sucks. You can tell they gave up on the plot a long time ago.

[@PastelKaiju]

@WarriorXena446 Or "Night to Meet You" where the whole story was spent the bond and relationship between FL/ML, just to have the male best friend to suddenly catch feelings, then they just gave up the romance or forced her to pick male best friend shortly after I don't remember.

[@lototheflo9640]

@WarriorXena446I thought it was on hiatus? Is it done?

[@ambercastillo7863]

​@WarriorXena446 WHAT?!? Noooo! She cancelled it?!? 😭

[@ambercastillo7863]

​@WarriorXena446 Actually I checked her blog and she said that she's taking Let's Play off of Webtoon because of pay disparity and she'll figure out whether or not she wants to do Season 4. She is also creating a videogame for it.

[@anirogD9]

​@WarriorXena446It's not Let's Play but Nice to meet you by Wishroomness

[@Oce.V]

I hate how the comic was advertized as a sort of feminist retelling when it's fuking not it's almost like a love letter to misogyny: - Glamorization of innocence and naivety and thus objectifying Persephone because of it. Because she's so unaware of how attractive and "sexy" she was (which was kind of the message I got when we saw Hades's POV and even Hares). Quite litterally the embodiment of born sexy yesterday. - Slutshaming characters like Minthe, Aphrodite mainly. - Putting women against each others for petty reasons like how Aphrodite got mad one of the three gods, frogot who, said Persephone was prettier than her (I know it's like an acutal thing that in the myth Aphrodite doesn't like being called second prettier to someone but I mean c'mon she's beefing with a 19y old and best thing to do to get back at the person who didn't do anything is to get her wasted). - Characters focusing their blame on the wrong person, or just yk the author putting most of the things on poor Demeter who was literally looking out for her child who was barely and adult and had very valid reasons for her to no want to marry a man who was to be in his 40's (He's like 2000y old but most theorize he'd be there). - Romantisation of grooming because a relationship between a 19y old and a 40y old is gonna be a huge power dynamic and imbalance. - Making most of the female characters fight over a man. - Very poor handeling of heavy topics like the SA of Persephone now I'm not saying the depiction of it when it happen wasn't clever it was actually beautifully sad. However it's how it was handled afterwards that bugs me, yes people can feel shame after such a traumatic experience and thus is why they wouldn't want to talk about it. But it confuses me why Eros ( whomst fucking turned into a background character ) didn't tell anybody or even Artemis because we saw many times Persephone trying to subtly bring up the subject but everytime the plot was like nu-uh. And the end of it being like "you're gonna tell everything because of magic or whatever" just felt so rushed. Also it bug me that Persephone just kinda became dick-obsessed while she was stuck in the mortal realm ? Like it felt so sudden and at first I wondered if her trauma cause her to be hypersexual but it didn't feel like it was the case here. I also doubt Rachel would actually give that kind of debts to Persephone plus she already slut shames characters who have a sexuality because they want to so imagine how poorly handled it could've been if it was hypersexuality. I think that's most of what I could remember from the comic which I haven't read after the trial because I was so over it back then

[@portobeIIa]

considering how persephone is 18 years of age, so like akin to a mortal in terms of knowledge, surrounded by these immortal gods that have been around for eons.... oh and just to make it all worse, she knows nothing of the immortal world, because PLOT, so she needs things constantly explained to her, tehee! so... it's not just infantilization, she's an actual for real Born Sexy Yesterday character. the fact that a Born Sexy Yesterday (aka the most anti feminism bs you could ever put in your story) was the choice on a FeMiNIsT rETeLLinG is beyond hysterical. like wow. If that's Rachels feminism, imagine if she was a mysogynist!

[@seraphim108]

I do kinda like how aphrodite got jealous of persephone, simply because it's really funny to me how the goddess of love unknowingly was the person who made two gods fall in love. That part of the story was also kind of captivating, but yeah, there could've been some better way to handle it that mightve been more akin to the original aphrodite.

[@crossiantjc]

Literally it’s insufferable

[@devo6448]

A "feminist retelling" is annoying as hell because it literally isn't feminist if you strip it down.... it was so disappointing; Like what part of this woman's whole life obsessing over a man is feminist? Is it because she cuts her hair short??????? THEY COULDNT EVEN ACCESS THEIR FULL POWERS WITHOUT A MAN WTF RAECHEL!!!!

[@vinxy7150]

Also, the fact that she retold the original myth - A story about the strength of a mother and the lengths she'd go for her daughter - into making the mother evil and abusive??? She entirely stripped away the empowering message of the original myth! The myth was ALWAYS about feminine power!

[@garlicbutter8733]

im pretty sure the original myth was about young girls getting married off to men, and how their mothers wouldn't see them. it was meant to bring comfort to the mothers and daughters to bring hope of seeing each other again, and i deeply appreciate it.

[@bituinl]

Plus getting her full powers with the help of a man is very feminist. If you’re strong you ask for help. It’s not like people can do everything themselves. Asking for help when you need it is healthy. As long as the person themselves know that they can at least do other things themselves.

[@bituinl]

@@vinxy7150you know there are many different myths so she probably choose that ver. There is no definite one tbh.

[@andpeg]

It would definitely fail the Bechel test. The fertility goddess’ powers originally only let men access their powerful life force, basically making woman a battery to men. Not only that, but how all of the gods’ insults towards women are all hella sexist and we’re supposed to view them in a positive light (Hades and his airhorn with legs comment towards Demeter comes to mind, even worse that Persephone knew about it and didn’t care)

[@CynicalCopycat]

They did my girl Demeter SO dirty. It is so incredibly ironic and infuriating how so many #girlpower "faminism" retellings often villainise her mother while painting her kidnapper in a favourable light.

[@Iron_Stigmata]

This. I want to see a retelling of the story but with Demeter as the primary protagonist.

[@Sushidogbat]

Ok I am mad of all the missing plotline. I was interested to see how Persphone deal with the aftermath of the assualt. Like you can't just brush off SA. Agree with minthe comment

[@FroggyCinema]

Minthe was in the wrong tho. She treated him like shit and, they weren’t dating, they were just friends with benefits. It was hades who wanted a real relationship

[@ren7684]

@@FroggyCinema And it was Hades who told her that he wanted that relationship with her when they decided to close off their relationship. They were not friends with benefits they were in an open relationship, I don’t think it’s accurate to call them friends at this point because it’s clear that they see each other as sexual partners solely. The only thing Minthe was wrong about was the way she went about it honestly but it’s understandable why she felt that way. Hades allows everyone to disrespect Minthe on the daily and literally does not defend her at all, everyone expects the worst out of her and they tell this to her face so she of course starts acting out if that’s what everyone acknowledges her for anyways. Not to mention the fact that he altered her entire life just to play sugar daddy and have her be completely reliant on him, he’s the one buying everything and he gave her a job without even asking her if she wanted it in the first place. He quite literally hired her just to have sex with her and once he saw Persephone and wanted to do the same thing with her he threw her out like trash. If I were Minthe I would be furious but I wouldn’t hit him, maybe sue him or hell I’d trash his company from the inside out but I wouldn’t put my hands on him.

[@FroggyCinema]

@@ren7684 open relationships? Lmao 😂 ain’t no one should get respect for that. Dude hades don’t derseve that, feel bad for him if anything. His girlfriend can’t even stand up for herself in the world of GODS. Be the queen of hell, oh right can’t do that because I have to relate to women not wanting to commit because they are stuck in the cycle of trauma abuse(idk I think??) It’s not hades fault

[@FroggyCinema]

@@ren7684 Hades is often treated poorly by Minthe. This toxic dynamic can be attributed to several factors: 1. **Manipulative Tendencies**: Minthe exhibits manipulative behavior, using Hades' feelings for her to her advantage. She often oscillates between showing affection and disdain, keeping Hades in a state of emotional uncertainty. This manipulation is a classic sign of emotional abuse, where the abuser seeks to maintain control over their partner's emotions. 2. **Insecurity and Jealousy**: Minthe's actions are driven by deep-seated insecurities and jealousy, particularly towards Persephone. Instead of addressing her insecurities in a healthy manner, Minthe projects them onto Hades, treating him poorly to mask her own feelings of inadequacy and fear of being replaced. 3. **Power Dynamics**: Despite his immense power as a god, Hades is emotionally vulnerable when it comes to Minthe. She exploits this vulnerability, knowing that his feelings for her give her significant influence over him. This imbalance in their emotional power dynamic leads to Hades being subjected to disrespect and mistreatment. 4. **Hades' Compassion**: Hades is portrayed as compassionate and empathetic, qualities that Minthe often takes for granted. His attempts to understand and support her are met with contempt and indifference, highlighting her lack of appreciation for his kindness and efforts to maintain their relationship. 5. **Minthe's Self-Destructive Behavior**: Minthe's self-destructive tendencies contribute to her poor treatment of Hades. Her inability to address her own issues leads her to lash out at those around her, particularly Hades, who is closest to her. This destructive behavior exacerbates the toxicity in their relationship. In conclusion, Minthe's treatment of Hades in *Lore Olympus* is a complex interplay of manipulation, insecurity, and emotional abuse. Her inability to confront her own issues and her exploitation of Hades' feelings create a harmful dynamic, leaving Hades mistreated and undervalued despite his genuine care and affection for her.

[@ren7684]

@@FroggyCinema Yeah see and that’s why you’re having such a hard time now, Poseidon is in an open relationship with his wife and they’re both happy and healthy with each other with children. I suppose they’re friends with benefits too right? And since you know everything about greek mythology clearly you should know that there’s multiple gods who are in open relationships should we not respect those either? They both didn’t deserve the treatment they got but it’s a cop out that one person who also impacted the relationship did not get any consequence or actual reflection on their actions. And also Minthe shouldn’t have to defend herself against gods she’s a nymph and they already look down on beings like her so even if she did stand up for herself they’d use that as ammunition to be meaner. Besides he’s a grown ass man not a fucking baby, he had no problem defending Persephone’s ass whenever he didn’t need to he could’ve easily defended her too. And you keep saying you have to relate to women but you really don’t, relate to the man child who uses Persephone as an ego booster to make himself feel like a big ole man and make his dick hard cause obviously he deserves all the time in the world to be coddled. Doesn’t matter that this man doesn’t take care of his kids or abuse his working staff, as long as he has Persephone there to stroke his ego with her “kindness” he’s a great guy.

[@Uncreative_Username]

Rachel CANNOT draw side profiles on her male characters

[@mauviewauvie]

i didnt want to say anything cuz its mean but UGH HADES IS NOT CUTE IR HOT

[@gwencatz2483]

Apollo's face at 15:00 🤣🤣🤣

[@Uncreative_Username]

@@gwencatz2483I’ma need whatever gas he took a hit off 🚬

[@pupuchurra3318]

rachel cannot draw period

[@peucev8166]

actually i could see the apollo being zeus' son reveal being shocking since all the male characters have the same face

[@peucev8166]

female characters too

[@astrobookwormsinger]

And the exact same body type. Curvy and big boobs and butt for women. Wide shoulders, narrow waist, some visible muscles for men. Wavy hair for both. Mix and match with colours and outfits. Done.

[@ketaminepoptarts]

the lore olympus art style is same face syndrome turned up to 11, its like the author is physically incapable of drawing anything other than those 2 specific body types

[@serenitysubs933]

Bro I kept mistaking the nymphs for persephone

[@BILLCIPHER8]

What annoys me is the colors of the characters. I don't know a lot about Lore Olympus so I'm not sure if the colors mean anything but like why is Poseidon green? Shouldn't he be blue like the sea? And same with Aphrodite, she was born from the ocean foam (I'm basing this off the actual mythology cause I'm not sure if it's different in LO) shouldn't she be blue as well? (I think a baby blue would've suited her tbh) and Zeus is purple too. For some reason. Even though he's the god of the sky and thunder. I guess you could say he's purple for lighting? The only two that I think makes sense is hephaestus being brown/orange due to his work and Demeter being green (but why the purple hair?) because of nature. But then why is Persephone pink? Idk I know this is really nit picky but the color choices just bug me for some reason. I guess they just don't fit the vibes I see from the Greek gods.

[@Me1ani3_Art]

I’m Greek and I have to say I hate what they did to persephone’s mother. When I first heard the story in history class I loved it. I saw it as a grown man taking a girl manipulating her and her mother is trying her best to protect her but no they made her into the bad guy here like I hate it😭 Edit: another thing, I just realised is they call it “a feminist retailing” and it’s the furthest thing from that the original story is much more feminist than this thing It reminds me of how they tried to rewrite Frankenstein, the modern Prometheus into “a feminist retailing” as well and it ended up being extremely misogynistic (yes, I’m talking about poor things) when the original story was extremely feminist on its own Like bro, it was literally written by a woman😭

[@kenyaaragon3944]

People fr say the creator meant to do every problem in the movie as commentary/critique and say "depiction doesn't equal endorsement" but the director said himself they meant to put the novel (which was lowkey way more feminist than the movie) and turned it into a "woman without shame". Idk I just see it as the biggest example of white feminism/ choice feminism in media.

[@bituinl]

Again. I mean there are different versions of the myth ya know? So I think there is no define answer. Also pretty things I think maybe you should try to watch it in a different perspective maybe read some stuff from different perspectives and or videos (because ik someone with a very interesting take on the story) it was a comment so. ┐(￣ー￣)┌

[@h3ad_3mpty]

@@bituinl Can you give me links to the other versions? Like I genuinely want to know more 'cause i'm quite interested in olympian gods

[@bituinl]

@@h3ad_3mpty oh! Well I only know this guy kzbin.info/aero/PL9QtT_u7JDM9_iuMdqup-BGac9e2-704I&si=3JSbwQRozv1f8-vm so I don’t have many other sources but I hope this helps more.

[@drendraleigh4722]

Agreed wholeheartedly. At the time when daughters belong to fatger and can basically be sold off or gifted to be married Demeter's determination​ to protect her daughter was important. Myth has cultural and political context tied to it. Making Demeter a bad guy for the romance is the furtest thing from making a feminist retelling

[@krillyj7486]

I stopped reading shortly after the SA scene because it felt like such a disgusting use of SA, it was literally used as a way to justify Hades being the main love interest because at least he wasn’t a abuser. As a fan of Greek mythology I was also horrified by how much they villainized the infamously bisexual god Apollo… in general this comic is just really gross ethically and kind of bastardizes Greek mythology, I hope people don’t take this as cannon mythology.

[@cup_of_tea755]

I mean.. original Apollo was very much a rapist. Most of the male gods were bisexual and also rapists since that was normal in ancient Greece. I agree though it's weird that only Apollo is villainised in the comic.

[@krillyj7486]

@@cup_of_tea755 yeah obvi all of the gods suck in some capacity, what I was getting at was that he’s the one god who is famously not straight which is what makes it interesting that he’s the one that is the most villainized

[@pixelraid5742]

Would’ve made more sense if Apollo and Persephone were a couple, but Apollo was cheating with other girls and guys

[@FireAlder2005]

@@cup_of_tea755 That's a common misconception. His relationships were actually overwhelmingly consensual, with only 3 out of 59 being noncon - and one depends on *which* version of the myth you're looking at (Psamethe. In one telling, Apollo rapes her. In another, they are a consensual couple but another man rapes her. Both versions lead to a son, who is torn apart by dogs. In the second one, Psamethe is killed by her father for having a child out of wedlock. In both, Apollo sends either a monster or a plague to punish the city. In the second, he does so and demands for Psamethe and her son to be honored properly), another one has a son who's father is directly contradicted by the same author (this is Creusa, from Euripides's play Ion), and one was written by Ovid (this is Dryope), a man notorious for writing the gods in a terrible light to; 1) justify his own horniness; and 2) criticize Emperor Augustus, who compared himself often to the gods. Ovid was exiled for writing poorly of the gods, and maybe even for having an affair with Augustus's daughter. A couple examples of Ovid writing the gods badly would be the Medusa myth - the one where she is raped by Poseidon (Neptune) comes from Ovid. In the original Greek version, she already was a monster and it was consensual. The second is Nicymene, and in Ovid's telling, Athena (Minerva) curses her into the little owl as punishment for intercoursing with her father (it was rape). In Hyginus's older telling, however, Athena turns Nicymene into the little owl and makes her her eternal companion. Media likes to focus on the bad things the gods were written to do. And yeah, it's because it's more Dramatic and all that. But the gods have their good qualities too. Some of Apollo's successful lovers btw include Branchus, Rhoeo, Cyrene, Admetus, and Manto, among many, MANY others. I have a whole list to keep track of them lol anyway sorry for the infodump but I like rambling about Apollo ^-^ he's so much fun and interesting and I'm annoyed media only ever makes him some version of a jocky fratboy obsessed with himself :( because that is Not him

[@cup_of_tea755]

@@FireAlder2005 Oh I wasn't trying to suggest that all Apollo's lovers didn't consent, I just wanted to say that an interpretation of Apollo as a rapist can be supported by the writing of the time. I also think that villainising him is quite overdone and if any God should be characterised as not caring about consent Zeus is right there. Since Apollo has quite a few consensual romances you would think he would be a popular pick for a romantic lead but he never seems to be.

[@seungfactory]

I hate how it's said to be a feminist retelling but so many women were unnecessarily portrayed in a villainous way just because they caused a threat to the relationship of hades and persephone. (hera, minthe, leuce, thetis, demeter and probably more) Not that women have to be heroic all the time for it to be feminist, I actually think a well written character has to have negative characteristics as well, but most of it felt so random. Especially when there's a literal rapist in the story that should be considered the biggest threat. (I also hate how Zeus was used as a comedic relief chracter)

[@nalalalalala9946]

I never liked how they wrote Zeus either. Like why was the writer actually trying to make him “ likable “ it was so freaking weird.

[@tomatosoup1304]

Yeah I hated how Zeus was written considering he's the most vile man around

[@cyberfaunix6920]

as much as i dislike this comic hearing "i dont like how hades is her love interest, hes creepy" is fucking funny considering that they are a real couple in Greek mythology, Lore Olympus just did a shitty ass job portraying them

[@empressofkingfishers8656]

I think the ""i dont like how hades is her love interest, hes creepy" thing is only for LO Hades... because he is a massive creep. the first thing he does is sexualize/objectify Persephone, acts like a sugar daddy, is way too old for her, dates her when she's his intern.

[@FroggyCinema]

@@empressofkingfishers8656dude he’s not a creep. What the hell? He just liked her

[@empressofkingfishers8656]

@@FroggyCinema YES HE IS LMAO???? A boss dating their intern is weird as hell. and did I not just say his immediate reaction to her was to objectify her? not to mention he was cheating on Minthe with Persephone. dude's a creep and looks old enough to be her dad. there's even art of him holding her like a child. I'm sorry you can't see how weird that is.

[@FroggyCinema]

@@empressofkingfishers8656 they were dating before she was his intern?? They met and flirted before that?

[@FroggyCinema]

@@empressofkingfishers8656 plus their Greek gods. You think that’s bad? They could have had Zeus impregnate his grand daughters. It’s Greek mythology, dosent have to be girl boss mythology

[@sinsuelo7390]

I actually hate how Rachelle writes every single god and goddess they really feel not like themselves, and she really doesn't know shit about the gods she writing, not of their duties, or their qualitys, like screamed of rage with Thanatos portraing I was already mad with Demeter and Apollo's character assesination but Thanatos, WHY IS HE TOUCHING PEOPLE one of his main qualities was the fact that if he touches anyone, god or mortal, they die, because he have the power to even kill gods forever, that's why his wife Macaria is a Dead Goddess, god damn it I hate every single character in this comic I swear

[@spaceylatte]

I've actually never heard of this specific detail before? Like he is death but I've never seen him be portrayed as causing death by touch, or having a wife? Edit: now that I've looked up I understand why he is zagreus's end ship in Hades the game. This seems super esoteric however, with only one inscription of her existence from a Byzantine source, and thus super past the classical Greek period.

[@stardust948.]

Cursed Princess Club was amazing! Wish it was more popular.

[@lototheflo9640]

Is it over??? I need to finish it. I loved cpc!!

[@greenstarlover1]

Can I have a summary? I'm curious about the premise.

[@rottenkittenparvo]

i dropped it long ago, what happened? how it ended?

[@barfslut]

Cpc is one of my favorite webtoons ever and the ending was just perfect 💗 MUST READ!!

[@rottenkittenparvo]

@@barfslut did Gwen end up with Frederick?

[@mofthemoth5755]

i didnt even process that they changed demeter creating winter to persephone creating winter and much of a wasted opportunity that is. Imagine how impactful it would have been if all the times Demeter was ignored it wasintentionally written that way and if it was something the readers could go back and see the setup and be like "Oh wow! I never noticed how ignored she was! In hindsight her going apeshit makes sense!". Imagine if Demeter got consumed by grief and sorrow which was amplified by her fertility powers and she got stuck in a slumber (kind of like how its shown Persephone did in episode 129) while surrounded by walls of ice and other stuff. Imagine like the tension of the other gods being like "shit. somethings happening in the mortal realm. What the fuck. I've never seen something like this before" or maybe theres an influx of souls in the underworld. I think itd be cool if it was introduced because a character accuses Hades of doing it and that's how Persephone and Hades find out about how bad it's going in the mortal realm. I'm just imagining what a good cliff hanger it'd be if after a few episodes of the characters investigating different gods and trying to find a cause, there was a cliff hanger that ended with "There's only one person left. Demeter" AND THEN THE READERS (who. supposedly dont know basic greek mythology/hj) COULD BE LIKE "OHHHHHHHHH THAT'S WHY SHE HASNT SHOWN UP IN 10 EPISODES". And then the finale or like final arc could be Persephone trying to reach demeter. Maybe like, in the snow, there's different obstacles and challenges that are supposed to mirror interactions or fights they've had in the past and Persephone can reflect on them and it can hint to the readers Persephone's at the center of Demeter's grief. Maybe as they keep going, characters that were travelling with them can't follow anymore because it's too hard or they get blocked off and even Hades himself gets blocked off eventually the closer they get to Demeter's body and Persephone's the only one left who can reach her and they have a heart to heart and Persephone through the obstacles and self reflection realises how isolated her mother's been feeling and idk instead of the therapy episode, we get this. They both open up and apologise to eachother and maybe Demeter opens more on her past trauma and how that affected her and reveals she's the secret fertility goddess and she did everything she did (even wrong things sometimes) because she was terrified of people finding out persephone's true power and abusing it. And the two reconcile and create spring and boom, the arrangement in the og myth happens. Also ideally, they discuss and acknowledge how co dependent hades and persephone are and try to work on and the finale ends with Persephone saying bye to hades and that she'll visit or send letters as she heads off to the mortal realm so her and her mom can make their verison of spring TOGETHER. idk. sorry for the mild rewrite. This is still flawed but the wasted potential is killing me

[@teetheminx5096]

Omg yes, all of this. This was literally my headcanon too in regards to Demeter starting winter. What a wasted opportunity

[@kimyugioh]

im gonna pretend this is canon and block out rachel's version lol.

[@thxwanderer]

This is why I absolutely love the video game Hades. Because they did Demeter so, so well!!! Her grief over losing her daughter is palpable and as you learn more of the story, you realize why it’s constantly snowing when you reach the surface.

[@Idontwantomakeupahandle]

Honestly I stopped reading fairly early on because I was more interested in Persephone telling Artemis what happened and that was seeming to be dragged out. I remember saying that I felt that that her attack was going to be handled poorly after and I hate how right I was.

[@manpreetparmar5801]

I'm on the same boat!! I stopped reading as well, when I realized they were gonna drag out the reveal. Looking at the comments, I honestly feel very validated. Because as pretty as the art style of the story was, the story in itself, just didn't work for me. Just morally. Also the characters seemed to share a single brain cell, casually.

[@Nikki_Midnight]

I agree. I related to so much of Persephone's story with that plot (almost perfectly symetrical experience happened to me) and it seemed early on at the time for me that it was a healing arc for her and the idea made me feel better and want to keep going. But it kept teasing resolution and then just dragging it out giving Apollo another "win" at hurting her and I realised how much worse, uncomfortable and shaken I was feeling each time it happened. I had to just stop reading for my own sake. In that moment I understood this was never going to be handled and resolved properly and had just begun feeling like it was only brought up to be trauma porn and to torture Persephone rather than give her any power or healing. Especially with it being completely forgotten about until the plot needs her to be knocked down all over again. Tbh I'm glad I stopped, and my only lingerig curiosity was sated with this vid and I'm glad to know my foresight was correct and I made the right choice

[@sophiemichel8045]

The artstyle carried the webtoon, let’s be honest. It may not be your preference, but the colour scheme and how everything was so cutesy and pretty with some nice contrast when darker things happened helped tremendously to keep this afloat

[@myst6387]

The art style was the only reason I read that webtoon

[@lmaosnek7072]

Ehhh I guess. It's very inconsistent and some scenes on character's faces are just- 💀💀💀

[@PhreakOutBigTime]

watching this with no knowledge is wild because the images are in chronological order but the style, the anatomy, and persephone's appearance is different every time

[@brownelia]

I swear to god I haven't read a single page of this comic but every time I watch a video I am EXTREMELY confused, like, sure, I'm all for characters changing outfits and looks in general, but it seems kinda disorienting here??

[@mrr___]

The facial structures are FOREVER CHANGING. The only reason we know who was who is because of the colors and even the colors didn't feel right

[@s1cklyheart208]

I stopped reading some time when Leuce came back. Fun fact! In the original myths she WASN’T just another copy and paste of Minthe. Sure,she was still a mistress to Hades but in general she had a different ending to her story. In one of them she actually dies and Hades gets to turn her into a tree. THAT could’ve been interesting…Persephone teaching Hades him an important part of her,and using it to immortalize someone. INSTEAD,Rachel adds her in JUST to make Persephone look stronger,despite the fact she literally broke into some random nymph’s apartment (if I remember correctly). I’m pretty sure that’s when I fully stopped reading the comic because it was so embarrassing to read Rachel’s incompetence as a writer. How I would’ve written her INSTEAD would’ve been for her to be an unknowing innocent and naive person,just like Persephone once was during the earlier chapters. And she technically does have a fling with Hades,but he was instead under Kronos’ control (or he could’ve just been conscious the whole time,idk,either one works kinda). She tries reconnecting with Hades but instead runs into Persephone. Obviously she isn’t aware that Hades and Persephone are together at this point so she’s a little dismissive. And when Persephone ACTUALLY gets to talk to her in a PEACEFUL manner…Leuce apologizes,and explains her side of the story,WITHOUT Persephone interrupting her. That is what I genuinely wish would’ve happened.

[@doodlefawn4742]

Persephone broke into Leuce/Thetis' aparrment, threatens her, then leaves a bunch of animals in her apartment 😭 like??? Persephone is the girl who sees anyone of the female gender even talking to Hades and gets angry. Like that one time to Hecate who pretty much RAISED HADES and Persephone says "We have to save my husband" AND IT TURNS OUT THE WHOLE THING WAS LEUCE BEING DELUSIONAL??? WHY WAS IT A PLOT POINT THEN???

[@s1cklyheart208]

@@doodlefawn4742 I can tell Rachel was trying so bad to give Persephone the “strong wife” vibes or whatever but dear god she screwed up badly…

[@roseystudio10]

The sucky part is looking back and recognizing this Mary Sue-esc personality given to her, she had a point where she was a little interesting, but then... Also, to me, her SA ended up being irrelevant a lot of the time and with LITTLE agency, and begins to feel more like either as a stepping stone for her and Hades' relationship, or a plot point to make her character more interesting for her lacking a lot as a character. It sucks because I waited SO LONG to see her speak up and tell her story despite the odds, I sincerely thought she was going to have a moment of bravery and coming forward despite it...and hopefully have other potential victims of Apollo come forward. But NOPE, have the r**ist come forward about it, because that way she wins, everyone wins, right? But that NOT what happens in real time, abusers don't just come forward like that on this kind of act. Also dude gets a slap on the wrist in the end after EVERYTHING, so...what kind of message is taught here...? Overall, it could have been something meaningful, until it got drowned in the fluff and romance, a plot point like this can be used for romances, but don't turn it into whatever Lore Olympus did here, do better if you are a writer planning to put SA in.

[@bituinl]

True. That’s not how trauma works exactly. Based on the things I read about it really affects the life of the person. They either become hyper sexual or avoid it A LOT I don’t know if this happens when they are young or something but I know that’s a thing. Also I’m pretty sure Apollo didn’t do that in any of the versions I’ve read and listened about? Or maybe I’m wrong or whatever. I do know in one version Zeus disguise himself as hades and got persephone pregnant? So that’s whack.

[@Aros4]

Its incredibly frustrating how many good concepts Rachel had going on and how she decided to just completely swipe them under the rug. Like there are so many character dynamics that were so interesting obviously Persephone and Apollo and how this started like a genuinely touching story about a girl working through her trauma and finding justice. Theres Hades and Minthe who were really toxic to each other and how this could’ve been a great opportunity to talk about trauma-bonding. Minthe and Perse both being women trying to find themselves in a world where theya re actively seen as nothing more than eye candy, I thought they could’ve been really good friends if they just didn’t make Hades the center of the Universe. It could’ve been a great story about healing, self-love, and redemption but instead they did- all that i guess

[@Thane3999]

What does it matter if it is realistic or not?

[@Thane3999]

​@@Aros4So you want to turn romance series about Greek Gods....into readers therapy session? Like Lore Olympus isn't good, but I don't think this one is inherently either

[@littlemrsmods7998]

I am SO sick of SA being treated as an inconvenience or a stepping stone in media

[@FallenAngel-qv8bz]

Oh that “Gift of Wrath” part probably pissed me off. Right next to the 10 years later BS.

[@fwnie]

I’m sure Persephone is the creators self insert 💀

[@r3iviathan]

brotha eughhhh

[@Raggiefoul582]

the resemblance is uncanny 🗿

[@becnimi]

That's why she's so unlikable

[@sallow_slytherins]

yep! and hades is supposed to be her celebrity crush, madds mikkleson. very normal 🙄

[@rikku7663]

that's what i been guessing a long time ago, cuz aint no way 😭😭

[@galaxy_whizard]

This comic is what made me realize that just because someone can make pretty art, doesn't mean they can write a good story...

[@galaxy_whizard]

But yeah, I stopped just after the trial because of how ridiculous everything was

[@laysmaxx5789]

Ive personally never found the art to be that good anyways

[@livvymaemurray9080]

It also had really weird pacing

[@lunarwvrld911]

Crazy how Lore Olympus was one of my first webtoons ever and as I grew older I realized how weird some things are

[@Gemita_nightmares]

Webtoon is a site used by minors, the reason why I left it. In addition, unfortunately well-written comics with good art are ignored and eliminated by their authors because they do not generate enough attention and earnings.

[@mithenerd]

at the end it just feels like they slapped a bunch of therapy terms in a sentence and said 'good enough'

[@chvbbi_bvnni]

This story derailed the original tale about about a powerful mother and daughter bond and instead retold to be about an oversexualized wattpad protagonist getting taken advantage of by an old man :/ I mean why does Persephone ALWAYS have to be the center of attention in every frame? Her clothes always tight, skimpy, or low cut....the constant shots of her body, the demonization of "manly" feelings such as wrath and jealousy, anything negative. Persephone is above all of that. Persephone can basically do no wrong. Any time a woman gains the slightest bit of independence and agency, it is quickly added it wouldn't be possible without a man. Or she's villainized. It's sickening how this narrative pushes a sexist ideal of women. It really is no better than most manga/anime...if not worse Rachel is still battling the internalized mysoginy that was perpetuated in our middle school/wattpad era.

[@doodlefawn4742]

From what I remember Persephone according to Rachel is supposed to be "unknowingly/unintentionally sexy" at all times which that with her naive personality is yikes

[@anonview]

I'm on Wattpad right now, and I've read better Greek myth retellings there. Not just the Percy Jackson kind, but really good myth-based or myth-inspired retellings from talented authors. It's a little sad that they aren't getting as much deserved attention as whatever this is.

[@meakimon]

Thank you. I never got far into this comic. It's nice to hear news of it's ending. Rachel seems to me, like an illustrator who wants to do comics. But doesn't look up references on how to get better as she works on it. Because I'm an artist that does comic, but falls into the "I'm just chaining together illustrations with speech bubbles." That might be one reason to why the fight scenes were so stilted. Rachel could have had the gods fight with who can dress the sickest and have the best poses. 😂

[@bituinl]

Woah do you have somewhere you post your comics? Also a fashion contest sounds awesome but for different categories since ya know fashion has different categories and one for just fashion in general.

[@meakimon]

​@@bituinl it's really not that good of a comic, but I thank you for asking. It's called shareen unleashed, and it's on my own website so I also have other lore stuff there. As for the fashion fighting I proposed, it was sort of meant tongue in cheek. Lore Olympus is over so the joke was pretty flat. The fighting would probably be like, how confident you are in your outfit and poses and it could translate to power levels. I really didn't think too hard on it, sorry. XD

[@bituinl]

@@meakimon wait. Link please? Also HONESTLY I don’t think hard while reading comments most of the time either so it could be a me thing. Or I was so excited about the idea I didn’t even notice. Also tbh I didn’t finish reading it bc I got lazy and honestly started reading other stuff ToT I wanted to wait for the chapters then I could binge but apparently I shouldn’t do that.

[@meakimon]

@@bituinl sorry, I don't think we're allowed to post links in KZbin comments? If you are curious, you can pop "shareen unleashed aora galaxy" should give you the weebly link. If you click on it, you'll come to my website. Link to the comic is in the navigation menu. Again, the comic is nothing to really get excited for, but thank you for your interest!^^

[@bituinl]

@@meakimon idk about you but I sent a link just fine sometimes if that’s what you’re wondering. So next time you need or want to send a link you can? maybe? Idk 🥲 either way thank you! I’ll be sure to read it. Also definitely take pride in your work. Making a comic is a great accomplishment! You’re doing something and that’s already awesome.

[@kyleman0122]

I cracked up so much when I saw a person posting the thumbnail of this vid on twitter and someone qrted it with the picture of WWII soldiers reading newspapers with "Hitler is dead" at the front page😭

[@ladysuperherolove]

kind of a shitty joke to compare the Holocaust to a bad webtoon tbh. And beyond being shitty, people comparing Hitler and the Holocaust to everything they don't like is so overdone it's just unfunny. Godwins law etc.

[@oops_i_did_it_again4383]

​@@ladysuperherolovetotally understand your perspective but I don't think that was the connection this person was making.

[@hera9668]

@@ladysuperherolove it was very funny actually

[@jellytunes]

@@hera9668based

[@cassopia]

Can we have more talk about how Hestia and Athena, two virgin goddesses end up being put in a fucking ship? It pisses me OFF.

[@caitlinmccloud7431]

Them and Hera and Echo. Both made no sense and the latter reminded me of Mr Burn and Smithers from the Simpsons. Worker in love with their…questionable boss. And I swear I thought Echo was in love with Daphne but that never happened.

[@cassopia]

@@caitlinmccloud7431 Those two make no sense yet in my eyes they're not nearly as bad. Unpopular take here but it's as bad as nuns being sexualized in fictional media. They're women who swore chastity also and yet people trample upon that.

[@caitlinmccloud7431]

@@cassopia I didn’t even think of them as nuns just a group of asexuals that banded together to set up an organization to like protect women from the gods. I was wrong in that guess. TBH Hestia and Athena were both such shitty characters I just lost interest in them, especially since they didn’t show up much. Like Hestia was bossy and fake nice and Demeter even thought she was an untrustworthy snitch. Athena is so alien from the myth I just couldn’t. I do remember a lot of fighting at their reveal because of “lesbian sex doesn’t count they’re still virgins” and of course “asexuals aren’t real” or “asexuals are secretly gay”. Honestly in the end it’s just another life style I don’t think the author really understands, which was probably why she had TGOEM disband in the end.

[@cassopia]

@@caitlinmccloud7431 NOOOOO I REMEMBER THAT. AND LIKE THE NSFW STUFF WTAF????? 🤢

[@foureyesisafish7968]

@@caitlinmccloud7431 on the “it doesn’t count cuz they’re two women” point, that has been an argument for Artemis being a lesbian, but Hestia and especially Athena are both KNOWN not to do sex. Worse? Athena’s most famous epithet COMES FROM HER BEING THE VIRGIN. Athena PARTHENOS, the virgin Athena. Yes, WHAT THE PARTHENON IS NAMES AFTER

[@Vivid_vi]

A mythos detail I'd like to add is the fact that historically, Demeter and Persephone (or at the time called Despoina, it's really complicated but it's something most agree on) outdated Hades as a god. And her oldest version was described as a dark mistress whose real name was forbidden. So I think it'd be interesting for future retelling (or could've been used to make this comic better) for Persephone to be older than Hades. Just a thought.

[@Smoothïllustrated]

I think I stopped reading After the wedding ? as much as I love the start of this series i really Loved the build up of characters and what at first felt like a slow burn romance with Hades And Persephone’s But then I realized No They are speedrunning Everything NOW!!! Cut to the wedding !?! and all the side characters Gets forgotten. And every nice sandcastle they sat up gets knocked down immediately. I guess im just a little bitter, this actually got so popular for what was only set-up to a good story. And after all these years is like Rachel and her editors mocked us for giving a hoot about this nice sandcastle they started on!!!

[@caitlinmccloud7431]

I can’t even with how the last chapter just jumped head first to the finish line and left a lot of questions unanswered.

[@Smoothïllustrated]

@@caitlinmccloud7431 I can understand the stress keeping deadlines by Demands but Slacking on the art, story and how to end it should not be happening with a popular Webtoon that got its own Book release… Great Vid btw 👍✨People can just listen to This and wouldn’t really Miss anything from LO

[@mangachick27]

Post "proposal" everything became a speed run! I will never get over Persephone ghosting Hades right after the wedding because she decided to keep Dionysus and how that all played out. That was literally such a huge trauma for Hades and they have basically half a conversation about it and everything is forgiven and Persephone gets no consequences and really changes no behaviors and now she's newly 30, married, with a baby now too!!!

[@Emma-gk3kn]

I agree on the side characters being forgotten. Like Aphrodite being depicted as mighty, willing to do anything for her family and hot-headed doesnt do anything about her kid and his GF going missing ? Poseidon could but removed completely and it wouldnt change a thing, same with Hestia who ended up having very little significance, and Athena, and even Hecate in the end of the series whose sole job is being some kind of event planner and/or secretary (that's a shame because she was so cool ! I still remember that scene when she wakes up and starts on her tapestry!)

[@silverbullet7691]

The pacing at the end drove me up the wall. Problems happened and were resolved in seconds, I didn’t like the Hera Echo relationship because they just basically told us they liked each other with minimal build up, (all my favorite creators keep doing that and it’s making me unhappy) nothing is given room to breathe and settle before the problem is resolved and we are yanked into a new situation

[@table2.0]

Cursed princess club mention!! Love that webtoon~ My experience with this comic is similar to yours, the trial made me really fall off the comic

[@midnights2631]

Cursed Princess Club is the best

[@gabrielamarroquinmorales853]

CPC was of my faves!! I creid at the end lol

[@empressofkingfishers8656]

I'm so sad CPC is over, it was such an awesome webtoon

[@table2.0]

@@empressofkingfishers8656 I’d love a sequel set in the future with Gwen as Queen and Fredrick by her side, maybe with kids, and seeing the world be more prosperous with curses being more accepted and helped

[@TheNameIsFa11]

Its suprising how many "feminist" stories take so much autonomy away from the female protagonist. They either make them so powerful that they have no character growth, or they make them rely on men or a love interest to be a cool and strong woman. Im not against love interests in stories but this is just ridiculous. Is it just me or did the ancient greeks have better "feminist" myths than what we have now? They werent much better than us but at least their female characters in myths had more independence.

[@FireAlder2005]

The true irony. Euripides, my friend, we salute you giving women Character

[@DocMarsTalesToAmaze]

@@FireAlder2005 it is quite surprising how relevant his plays are

[@kingofthemusicscene]

As a mythology nerd, I read 2 chapters of this webtoon and instantly got the ick. I don't think Rachel knows anything about the actual greek myths

[@satanspizza-dq6xf]

Fr, she just took names from the myths, and nothing else

[@sahana757]

The worst part of the end for me is that the last chapter opens on Hades’ POV. Persephone’s story told through the eyes of a man till the end

[@instinctfan23]

Am I allowed to say that the Supergiant game HADES has a better showcase of Persephone's and Hade's relationship then Lore Olympus?

[@judith9059]

YES!! I love Supergiant’s portrayal of them so much

[@ShyShy_999]

Better portrayal of Demeter to boot!!

[@instinctfan23]

@@ShyShy_999 Of literally any of the gods honestly, but since the video's focused on the relationship between Hades and Persephone I mentioned them

[@Murmarine]

Hades is just better. Period.

[@foureyesisafish7968]

Hades and its sequel are some of the best depictions of Greek Mythology out there.

[@kittymarch4203]

WAR IS OVER

[@sarahsab9]

I hate how much rachel was trying to make demeter bad. Girl was going all out because she wanted some shitty romeo and juliet story for hades and persephone... whats even worse is that in the original myth hades KIDNAPPED PERSEPHONE. i don't have anything against retellings but this was one i REALLY hated.

[@No-ci7he]

I’m really hung up on the “reveal” of Apollo being Zeus’ son- like of course he is??? It’s a well-known fact that he is Zeus’ son. There’s a whole myth about his and Artemis’ birth, and how many hoops Hera made Leto jump through to give birth to them BECAUSE she was upset at her husband’s infidelity. Why would that be treated like something shocking??

[@cosmok-1367]

Because Rachel relied on the fact the people who read her comic knew nothing about Greek Mythology so she could use that to change things around and make plot twists despite it never happening in the actual myths.

[@sarb05]

I remember I started reading this when it started out and was very deep in when I stopped coz it just felt like the mc was completely different from the begining in a bad way

[@roserainier5917]

Honestly the more I learn about Ancient Greek history and society the more I dislike modern “feminist” retellings of the Hades and Persephone myth. They all seem to miss how in Anciet Greece women had no say (on average) who their husbands would be and when they married they were often separated from their family and could be sent to different cities never to see their mothers/sisters/friends again. Demeter and Persephone isn’t a story of a mother preventing true love, it’s a story of a mother and daughter getting to stay family even after the daughter’s marriage- something that wasn’t possible for many real Ancient Greek women. It was a tale to give women hope. And Hades and Persephone’s marriage likewise was faithful and gave Persephone a lot of power (becoming a respected queen) because again it was supposed to give women hope.

[@Asuna35]

@17:15 If she was so desperate to include Hera, she could've made all three sisters count as the fertility goddess. Since their creator was a fertility goddess and all.

[@lulufan100]

I stopped reading after Demeter (I think?) trapped Hades in a bell jar when Persephone went to visit. I'm glad I did. I stopped liking Persephone as a character during the trial because it felt like she was trying to say what she did wasn't bad. I didn't think that made sense because she tried so hard to hide it AND she tried to help lost souls on the shore when she went to the underworld. I wish she would have come clean because unless those mortals were plotting like, world domination or mass carnage or something, she went way too far. There would have been a moment where Demeter pushed her to feign innocence as she had been before, showing the toxic side of her love and Persephone setting boundaries. They could also bring up other acts of wrath to highlight a double standard. The wrath thing made no sense because everyone feels that way sometimes and I doubt it came into being once Eris was born. That gift does not in any way excuse Persephone for doing what she did or Demeter for hiding it. I also don't like the time skip because everyone supposedly developed while we weren't looking. I would like to have seen Persephone grow and change instead of, look she's 30 now. She just became ruder and more set in the mindset that she did nothing wrong. I also hated the wrath eyes. They were cool to see when she would stand up for herself in the earlier chapters but now it just feels like her new default is jerk. The relationship with Demeter also upsets me because they could have worked through their pain together. Persephone was naive and Demeter was overbearing but they could have worked on fixing those issues in TEN YEARS. I'm sure it could have taken longer, but not even a little bit? It's like Rachel wanted a time skip but also didn't. I did initially like the relationship between Hades and Persephone but it started to feel surface level. I wanted them both to have a healthy relationship but I'm not sure thats what they ended up getting. The bonding over where they came from was supposed to strengthen their relationship but it didn't do anything in my eyes. Giving characters trauma doesn't make them good people, and while I feel awful for them both, they aren't worth rooting for. I'm not saying they should work through trauma in isolation, they could definitely do couples therapy. They could go alone with the intent of being better partners, too. They just don't make progress in a healthy way, they just feel more and more attracted to the idea of being together. I remember struggling to think of ways Hades loved Persephone from the start. I ended up thinking he just thinks she's hot and doesn't hit him so it must be better. With Minthe, I will say she deserved to lose the relationship and be talked about but not the rest of what happened. She was abusive and she needed to get a taste of her own behavior. It doesn't matter how little you think of yourself, it doesn't excuse regularly treating your partner like garbage. I didn't mind seeing her grow when she was on earth and I was glad she got away from her awful friends. The girl that was having an affair with Zeus was awful and she deserved worse than Minthe but last I saw, she had a kid with a human king and was doing just fine. Thanatos also ended up fine, too, and even if he isn't as bad as the other girl, he still deserved something. I'm disappointed in how the series ended up. Being based on myth doesn't mean you have to keep all of the main bits the same. The age gap is a huge issue people complain about so they could have made one of them older or younger. I mean, she changed the family dynamics to avoid incest and added Apollo's.. actions. I don't like media that tries to be feminist retellings by just making every female character a girl boss. The supposedly all powerful fertility goddesses literally need a man, what message is THAT sending? It could have been used to talk about generational trauma and overcoming old patterns, like how kids these days react with horror when they hear how their mothers or grandmothers were forced into marriages. It had such potential, and I remember being excited to see how the very messed up source material would be altered to today's standards. I don't doubt that Rachel faced a lot of pressure because of how popular the got, so I'm not surprised she dropped the ball in places. It will always be popular to hate on popular things, whether it's deserved or not, so I will give her props for keeping it going and ending it kind of. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. There are other, way better webtoons out there like Sweet Home, Melvina's Therapy, Ghost Teller, etc, that I definitely recommend

[@franciscorui]

To go with one point of your ramble - specifically persephone's action - ones intent can ultimately mean nothing in comparison to their actions. Sometime you majorly fuck up, and you have to live with it. You don't get instantly forgiven when you meant well kf what happened was to great. You have to walk with the sins in your back. I think if the story had gone with that it would've been better.

[@Daniela598]

Melvina's therapy is AMAZING, I'm glad you mentioned it at the end, definitely recommend it to those looking for a good horror story. Also, I agree with what you said about lore olympus, it could've been a decent retelling but in the end it's almost as if the author lost all interest in the plot and lost the general idea of what it was supposed to be. If you ask me, reading it felt like putting together bits and pieces of different, unrelated stories to make it seem like it was going somewhere but then it would take a completely different direction entirely forgeting those secondary lines of the story.

[@WaffaffleQueen]

If you read just one chapter later you would’ve read the worst proposal of all time

[@CureSmileful]

Great comment! I love that you criticised the story, but also have compassion for the author.

[@givemeadollar-k6o]

....

[@mikkiichann]

I thought this comic was GOLD when I was a teen, a few years ago I tried re-reading bc i lost track and... Gosh it was disappointing, to say the least. I started reading Lore Rekindled some time ago, and it's honestly so refreshing to see the characters *cofPersephonecof* act accordingly. Also the pacing and storytelling are MUCH better imo... definitely give it a go if someone hasn't read it yet!

[@emmalijewski8302]

one of the things that mad me mad about the ending was that Hera and Zeus got divorced because they could never because Hera is the goddess of marriage and swore on the river styx to stay by Zeus's side

[@doodlefawn4742]

Yep, then she got married to the nymph Echo after one (1) scene where they actually connect and we see them kiss from like 20 miles away. So she did an adultery as well. I have no doubt this was cause people were like wow Hera is kinda racist towards nymphs, like with how she called Minthe a mudsucker and trash.

[@redlikeroses1062]

I always was creeped out by the age gap. 19-2000?! Like what does Hades really have in common with a 19 yr old sheltered girl? Also she was infantilized AND sexualized so badly and it was super uncomfortable.

[@satanspizza-dq6xf]

Exactly! Like literally, she's like a toddler for him when we look at the age gap.

[@PlanetPudding]

I was also disappointed with Lore Olympus. But I don’t think Rachel is fully to blame. Numerous WEBTOON Original creators have spoken about WEBTOON’s predatory contracts like the creators of Let’s Play and Boyfriends. There’s this pressure for creators to meet insane deadlines for abysmal pay. They will pay you almost nothing while they pocket the profit off your work through physical books, marketing, merch, etc. Also WEBTOON pressures authors to change the story to what WEBTOON thinks is marketable. I think in Rachel’s case, she was trying to meet deadlines and was forced to turn the story into something that is nothing like the beginning.

[@Shawn45able]

idk why but reading the comic and going 'damn finally its over' and then seeing this review feels like a fever dream of what I felt. Good video.

[@WhimsicalGamerGirl06595]

Honestly, Persephone was a really likeable character in the first few chapters because she was portrayed as an actual person. Just a normal person trying to live her life the best she could even with bad things happen, the main one being Apollo. She just feels like such a Mary Sue in the later chapters. Like, cool, you're the queen of the underworld, that doesn't mean you can do all these things just because of your station. Also, this is just a me thing, but I just wished she didn't wear so much black. She looks amazing in everything, but I miss her light colors. (Also, I fricking love this video. I truly love the comic, but I love hearing people be actually analytical of the comic and not just praising it for the toxic views if promotes.)

[@growingsage]

Honestly this comic sounds like it had a lot of good parts, but did not mesh in a cohesive way. This could have been a comic that addresses generational trauma and how that affected everyones relationships with each other. It just sound slike she started off with a good plot thread, but drops it halfway for a different plot thread irrelevant to whats happening now.

[@MsAnubisia]

That's just the plot of the Hades game tbh

[@TheArtGremlin]

Romance webtoons can be good, but if you’re trying to juggle too many plotlines and other realtionships and loose sight of what was actually compelling ruins the story Edit: also I thought it was weird how they kept changing Persephones body shape, from a curvy girl to skinny to skinny with big boobs back to curvy and back to skinny with big boobs it really threw me off

[@bituinl]

Wait? Actually? Also what are some of your favorite romance webtoons?

[@TheArtGremlin]

@@bituinl Ooo I personally recommend of Swamp and Sea currently, seasons 1 and 2 are a pretty good slow burn story, s3 is just starting out and so far I’m not liking it as much as the previous 2 but I’ll probably change my mind once it’s fleshed out fully. It’s my personal favorite but it won’t be for everyone yknow?

[@bituinl]

@@TheArtGremlin owe I saw that but I only saw the picture on webtoon, but I’ll definitely read it! Also if you want some other good romance on webtoon I recommend I Thought It Was a Common Isekai Story (I’m pretty sure it’s named different on webtoon but I’m not 100% sure so I only have this title) warning it’s stressful but it’s really good imo. Oh but my all time favorite is Another Typical Fantasy Romance if you also haven’t read because I feel like you’d really really like this one. I’d say it’s a number one for a healthy romance, most healthy one I’ve ever seen. Anyways thanks for the recommendation I’m gonna read it now 🫡

[@aviedunn8909]

fr I hated how much persephone's body shape kept changing and how every outfit was just like boom tiddies in your face

[@princedonovaughn1182]

I'll forever be annoyed with their portrayal of Apollo in this series

[@nalalalalala9946]

Out of all the portrayals of gods and goddesses in this Webtoon, Apollo will ALWAYS be the one I was the MOST DISAPPOINTED WITH

[@brelonwy]

@@nalalalalala9946 For me, that was Athena. A badass and VERY much ace (probably aro too) character who....gets into a gay relationship but it doesn't count against her Eternal Maidenhood cause it's gay....completely erasing and ignoring an ace character and just making her looking like gray Hades.

[@nalalalalala9946]

@@brelonwy I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THAT OMG. Yeah I always saw Athena as both Aro Ace as well. It makes no sense how they made her lesbian when there are literally SOOO many other gods and goddesses whom have had homosexual relationships and tendencies that the writer could’ve picked from. One of those being APOLLO

[@FireAlder2005]

REAL a mutual in a discord server bravely read the comic and reacted to it in-server and we were all just sitting there and going DISGRACEFUL the entire time. We had a countdown to the day it would end and cheered when it arrived.

[@josefagomezschmeisser8356]

I dropped it a year ago but the weirdest twists is the fertility goddess being Hera is nonsensical

[@Kenzthekid645]

“Never apologize for being Sicilian “ bro what 😭😭

[@sillygoofy4700]

They did my girl mintie so bad😢

[@FroggyCinema]

She was abusive in the releationship lmfao

[@Birdyboys]

@@FroggyCinemaher boyfriend is controlling, cheating on her and barely stands up for her. She should’ve done more than slap him honestly.

[@FroggyCinema]

@@Birdyboys controlling? Bruh. All he wanted was to go public on their relationship. He wanted a real, relationship. Your trolling lmao this has to be bait.

[@andpeg]

@@FroggyCinemaRemember when he tried to use the party as a place to propose to Minthe in order to pressure her into marrying him?

[@FroggyCinema]

@@andpeg give me a break, ethier want to Mary or you don’t Defending Hades in *Lore Olympus* requires examining his character through the lens of modern storytelling and contrasting it with his traditional mythological portrayal. Here are several points to consider: 1. **Character Complexity and Depth**: *Lore Olympus* reimagines Hades as a multidimensional character, unlike the more static figures in ancient myths. This modern retelling allows for a nuanced exploration of his emotions, motivations, and vulnerabilities, which humanizes him and makes his actions more relatable. His relationship with Persephone is depicted with an emphasis on mutual growth and understanding rather than mere objectification. 2. **Age and Power Dynamics**: While the age and power disparity between Hades and Persephone is significant, *Lore Olympus* addresses these concerns by showing Hades' respect for Persephone's autonomy and agency. Their relationship evolves gradually, with both characters learning and growing from their interactions. Hades is often portrayed as being mindful of the power imbalance and strives to ensure that Persephone is comfortable and consenting in their relationship. 3. **Breaking Away from Traditional Myths**: The original Greek myth of Hades and Persephone focuses on themes of abduction and coercion, which can be problematic by modern standards. *Lore Olympus* shifts the narrative towards a consensual and emotionally supportive relationship, thereby reinterpreting the myth in a way that aligns with contemporary values of respect and equality. This reinterpretation offers a more empowering depiction of Persephone, who actively participates in her own story. 4. **Hades' Respectful Behavior**: Throughout *Lore Olympus*, Hades consistently demonstrates respect and kindness towards Persephone. Unlike the predatory behavior suggested in the counterargument, Hades is shown to be considerate of Persephone's feelings and boundaries. He supports her aspirations, listens to her concerns, and treats her with genuine care and affection, which contrasts sharply with the notion of him being a "creepy old man." 5. **Themes of Healing and Redemption**: Hades' character arc in *Lore Olympus* is one of healing and redemption. He is depicted as a figure who has endured his own share of pain and is striving to overcome his past. His relationship with Persephone provides him with an opportunity for personal growth and emotional healing. This portrayal underscores themes of second chances and the transformative power of love. 6. **Contextual Modernization**: The modern setting of *Lore Olympus* allows for a different interpretation of ancient myths, one that resonates with contemporary audiences. By placing the characters in a more familiar, corporate environment, the story explores themes of workplace dynamics, mental health, and personal growth in ways that are relevant today. This context helps mitigate some of the discomfort associated with the original myth's elements. In conclusion, while there are valid concerns about the age and power dynamics in Hades and Persephone's relationship, *Lore Olympus* strives to address these issues by presenting Hades as a compassionate, respectful, and multifaceted character. The modern retelling reinterprets the myth to focus on themes of mutual respect, personal growth, and consensual love, offering a more relatable and empowering narrative for contemporary readers.

[@HeyLeFay]

I still can’t understand why the author made Persephone actually 19 instead of like 190 or something. The other gods are like literally 1000s of years old, so having her literally be that young just feels so strange and just makes the age gap feel even weirder

[@antagonizingprotagonist8721]

Finally this mid "romance" will be off the top spot and other, better works can shine. I'm so tired of seeing it at n.o 1 every dang week

[@Steaaa]

Something irks me is that Lore Olympus turned Demeter into an evil controlling mother. Even if in the original myth Demeter is worried about her daughter because she was kidnapped by a god who conspired with his brother for that. And how some point out Hymn of Demeter, was most likely a story to comfort mothers who lost their daughters due to arranged marriage and how women in that time had no rights to refuse due to being treated like an object. And yeah, the hymn of Demeter was also a way to tell how the seasons were made

[@Pratt11]

I remember just how popular this shit was back then, my girlfriend fell in love with it but I didn't really see an appeal so I just read my Monster and Punpun, Later on in a few months, she was like “Just give me your manga volumes, I'm not in that anymore” with a frustrated look on her face and I didn't know why, but now I know lmao

[@I_draw_alot]

I have no clue why I read it for so long, it’s like a drug, you know it’s terrible but at the same time it’s addicting

[@kardamonn1115]

Hades has a weird trend of going after women in vulnerable positions I’m not saying that him or Minthe’s were both innocent in the relationship. They both had their issues but we can’t sit here and act like their relationship wasn’t full of power and balances just like Persephone and Hades. Hades was of a higher social status. He was her boss. He was the reason she had a home food money, not to mention, dealing with racist remarks from his family that he never once defended her on , I honestly think that the slap was assassination. He basically controlled her entire life, and she was being trashed by everyone around her for being fucking pissed off about it. Plus having a shitty childhood on top of it. Don’t even get me started on Persephone and Hades. They have every single power imbalance going. They’ve got pointless age power gap. They’ve got a money power imbalance probably status power imbalance because she’s just a daughter of a queen and he is a king. I don’t know, but it’s gross. He’s weird. He’s creepy. Persephone had so much promise and I hate that it was taken away. She was a naive young girl in a new place with little friends and here he comes. I hate the age gap so much cuz it’s so pointless large I’m not saying they couldn’t have one. Make Persephone like 500 or something. Significantly older than humans but still significantly younger than most gods jeez

[@satanspizza-dq6xf]

Exactly! Persephone could've been made to be like 500 or something, as you said, and she still would be considered to be young for a goddess; her being 19 is like, in terms of being a god and how they age, an infant, because if they all can live thousands of years, then a literal 19 year old is like a child for a god that's like 2000. The creator clearly didn't think about how the aging and process of gods growing up would affect anything, the social relationships, etc. How could any god look at a 19 year old goddess and think she's not naive, when he himself has been alive for like 106 times more than her? Gross. (I feel like what I wrote is kinda messy, and I'm sorry if that's the case. English is not my first language. I still hope that what I wrote is atleast somewhat comprehensible!)

[@drawingwithmadz]

I loved Lore Olympus, it was the webtoon that got me into webtoon, but after season 2 it kinda just became one of those “how NOT to write webcomics” examples for when I start my own comics

[@samspotz8r8s]

Minthe is still my favorite character. I had a so much fun following her! I never had any beef with LO, and following it happily up until the end, but my love of the series tapered off the when minthe’s plot line wrapped up

[@Elliot-qm3uh]

YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT DID 'I FORGIVE YOU' BETTER? GOOD OMENS.

[@Evanmix107]

Facts

[@Bo_XD]

I started webtoon for Cursed Princess Club too! So sad its ending :')

[@bjp1101]

Love love love your commentary as someone who used to read this when I was younger. Watching people talk about all the flaws I notice is so much fun

[@wolfspade1646]

Man kudos to yall getting this far in the story. I stopped after the court case LMAO. Can't believe it got so much worse after that. I'm SO disappointed they didn't continue building Minthe up after destroying her for the sake of a mary sue's comfort.

[@someone2447]

Thank god. It's been on the leaderboards far too long

[@egefegep7813]

Cursed princess club is my absolute fav webtoon, you have good taste!

[@Babygurl_Basil]

I remember LOVING this when it first came out, and I heard it was over and read it in 2 days. I literally skimmed the past 40 chapters bc it was SO repetitive, it dragged, Hades trauma was lame- the Apollo arc ended TERRIBLY. THIS WAS SOOO GOOD for about 150 chapters...and then it fell off. I wish i watched this video instead.

[@Grumpyblues]

I read the first trade of Lore Olympus after my friends raved about it to me, and man was I disappointed. It read exactly like bad 000's era fanfiction and it looks like it never got any better.

[@JustHale.y]

I kinda dropped this series during the trial... Persephone's character just took a 180 during this arc and she didn't feel the same. Glad I didn't miss much

[@peckneckanimations]

Blehhhh… I’m gonna go reread nevermore to cleanse myself

[@Juno_Skyes]

Omg, a fellow Nevermore fan! That’s one of my favorite comics on WEBTOON. The story, dialogue, and art are all fantastic. 😍❤️💫

[@peckneckanimations]

@@Juno_Skyes FRR! I adore nevermore

[@Tialovestea]

Omg I love nevermore

[@bituinl]

Some other good romance reads are Another Typical Fantasy Romance, A Way To Protect The Lovable You, Please Marry Me Again Husband!, and The Reason Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion if you haven’t read. I really like I Thought It Was a Common Isekai Story but that’s for a lot of stress and good romance, but so much stress.

[@greenstarlover1]

Someone recommended it to me a few months back, so I checked it out of curiosity. Less to say I binged in a couple of days.

[@Chimly_Stonefoot]

The trial was where I stopped reading this series myself. I’d just grown so jaded towards the characters and so bored with the story the trial just really put a final nail in the coffin for me

[@victorianeechan]

I'm so glad someone else pointed out how shitty the treatment Mint got was in comments

[@fx3176]

My gf at the time introduced meto this webtoon. I mostly read it cuz she said that hades reminded her of me.

[@Q33Rwitch]

Sounds like you dodged a bullet

[@fx3176]

@@Q33Rwitch u have no idea what happened hahahaha. My romance with her was so traumatic, my friends were traumatized for me

[@Q33Rwitch]

@@fx3176 dam, I’ll make sure to run the other way if someone mentions lore Olympus lol

[@fx3176]

@@Q33Rwitch definitely . Till now she's exploiting someone

[@SkylarThompson-mu1qs]

​@@fx3176Ig she was Hades

[@faroukshaaban1140]

Thank God this butchery is over. I’m gonna enjoy the true “modern retelling” of this myth…. Hades and Hades II.

[@isabellechong7841]

Tbh the minthe thing also annoyed me bc it seems like the author went for a “nymphs are a somewhat exploited underclass compared to gods” angle in her backstory, but then we were still supposed to be like “whoopee” when she got turned into a plant lol

[@blackgirlyellowsunvibes]

Thank the Lord!! It's finally over... Did Greek mythology dirty

[@aixaaa_1117]

i’m so glad i dropped it in 2019, as a history major who liked myths it gave me the ick, i was expecting more

[@6randpa69]

thank you for talking about Minthe and how much everyone hates her!!! I had to stop reading after that. I tried to explain that to a friend the other day and they got so defensive of the series omg

[@wander7812]

The only thing I know of this comic is the controversial plot of a almost-literal child making a grown man cheat on his future wife (who's supposely the villain for caring)

[@_jd_261]

Y'all stuck around wayyyyyy longer than I did, barely a few chapters in and what happens with apollo was what made me literally block her account. Not just that it happened, that it was done and dealt with in such a harmful way. Hearing about the rest of the plot doesnt make it any better, I'm glad it's finally over so I can stop hearing about it from people online. Let it die and be forgotten please and thank you for tthe video!

[@demeedee3247]

5:30 thank god I wasn't the only one who got absolutely icked when we found out Persephone was gifted wrath by Eris. I was so confused and let down because wrath is normal it's natural mostly with Persephone she's supposed to this goddess that can be really cruel and wrathful when she needs to be and we find out not only was her killing people an accident but her wrath something that people normally have in them was gifted to her?? I was so disappointed like it feels like Rachel just stripped something that was a very natural characteristic of Persephone. She can be sweet sure but that doesn't mean she can't also be someone who can be completely cruel, she needs that part of her because that's always been Persephone. But no she gotta be this sweet lady who can do no crime and can't even manage authentic anger because all her anger is probably also part of the wrath Eris gifted her.

[@belliepuff]

the shot of all the gods just sitting around doing nothing is killing me

[@Moretropes11]

I stopped reading around the time skip. My faves were Hephaestus and Minthe. They felt like characters Who had an actual story and felt like they were very dimensional compared to some of the characters who become super static as the story continued.

[@recon441]

I am sad that we didn't get to see more of Hephaestus

[@aglaelmelendrez86]

I’m bit sad to see the WEBTOON go. Because I saw potential in it’s growth. But the ending left me with more unanswered questions. Here is my list: 1 -How did Daphne got free from her tree from hibernation. 2- Like to see more Character development of Leto( Atriums & Apollo mother). 3- when Persephone was punished. How was Poseidon’ realm affected. Also see more character development. 4- see more of Daphne & Thanatos. Atriums & Hermes romance development. Where are their romance now. And where is their relationship going towards the future.

[@xsaratoninx]

A 2000 year old man WHO is also her uncle 😀

[@eggsaroni]

i had been trying to follow along with lore olympus for awhile as a fan of it. i dropped it for a bit, came back to reading it, then completely dropped it a bit after the fight with kronos after everybodys asleep. i just found the plot extremely messy and it was really hard to follow along the story and try to figure out what was going on. glad its over.

[@LolaLink]

My biggest issue is how many plot points weren't actually resolved from season 1. I was really interested in the secondary characters and their struggles. I was excited to see Persephone grow up and be her own person (I felt like a time skip was going to happen without her and Hades actually being together, but I thought we would see more of Persephone and Hades growing as people and meeting each other where they were both healthy and happy without a love interest. Then they could get to know each other organically and grow). I wanted Persephone to be a young adult in Mount Olympus, repair her relationship with Artemis, see Eros be happy, have Aphrodite become more confident, etc. All of the characters genuinely were presented as not perfect (regardless of the emotional abuse, it wasn't cool for Hades to emotionally cheat), but they all had room to grow and be better people. I wanted that story. I speed-read through the romance parts in chapter 1 to get to the other story. And at some point all of that stuff I was enjoying just disappeared. But it all just got thrown out the window and we were told "oh yeah, they're happy now". I dont mind if the likable characters were shitty, but I do mind that their shittiness is brushed under the rug. Also I'm sorry, I don't have *as* big of a gripe about the age gap as other people, but putting that aside? Hades has no personality outside of his relationships. It's presented as a flaw, but the "resolution" is Persephone Relationship is his personality. I would have liked the time skip to have happened because both him and Persephone realize they need to figure themselves out, that they are romanticizing an idea of the other person, and they aren't in a place to be together right now. Giving Persephone agency rather than "they can't be together for 10 years because external reason" would make it less creepy to me because it would be recognizing how problematic it is that the two are in different seasons in their life, and deciding it's not the right time. Then when they come back and are closer in maturity (Persephone living as an autonomous adult, providing for herself and maybe having a couple relationships herself), they could fall in love on a deeper level. As it is, it's incredibly shallow. Also, Demeter can be overbearing AND right. Like that's how a lot of toxic relationships function. It isn't all insanity, there is sanity mixed in there. It's why it's so insidious. It sucks it couldn't be portrayed with nuance.