#lo critic

[moony-2001]

The real-world impact of Lore Olympus

i.e. do your research Rachel

Trigger warning: racism, fetishization, appropriation, mentions of SA

Long post ahead

A while ago, someone told me that Lore Olympus was just a silly little comic written out of boredom. That it was made to be "funny". They told me that "[I] can't hope [for] an extremely [well-written] story when it was just made with the intention to make something goofy" and that if Rachel actually wanted to make something serious like I had, she would write a book and not a comic.

At the time of this exchange, it was past 1 a.m. and I was exhausted. I did not want to argue with this person and it simply wasn't worth my time or energy in the moment.

But looking back at that (mostly one-sided) interaction, I can't help but think that there is so much wrong with that point of view. Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion about Lore Olympus, whether good or bad. But Lore Olympus isn't just some silly little nothing comic about nothing important. It is a comic that actively appropriates and erases Greek Culture. It is a comic that has no respect for the actual stories that have been passed down over thousands of years whether by word of mouth or written text. It is a comic that perpetuates a false narrative and harmful stereotypes about characters or certain groups of people. So, no, it's not just a silly little comic.

Incorrect information

Here’s an example of what I mean:

When I was doing research for my post about the 10 year time skip, I looked up Leuce to reconfirm the little information I knew about her. Wanna guess the first thing that popped up about her?

A Lore Olympus Wiki article.

Okay. How about Minthe? Hundreds of pictures of her from Lore Olympus and a LO Wiki article as one of the top 3 results. Both character are horribly represented in LO and unfortunately there isn’t really any documented stories or records that can refute how LO paints them. Because of this, other characters in Greek Mythology like Leuce and Minthe, whose stories have little to no documentation, stand to suffer the most harm from deliberate misrepresentation on Rachel’s part.

Of course well-known and better documented figures in Greek mythology face slander as well. What about Thetis or Leto? How about Apollo? All of their portrayals in LO are HORRIBLE. I have seen people online absolutely drag them to filth not because they're upset about how the character is portrayed compared to their mythological counterpart, but because they have no knowledge of how they are actually portrayed outside of LO. They just assume that's how the characters are. Similarly, people who have either very little or no prior knowledge of Greek Mythology and Culture would look at the comic and go "Yep, sounds legit. It must be true." and go about thinking that what is portrayed in LO is accurate to what was transcribed thousands of years ago.

Creative interpretations and racism/fetishization within LO

Don’t get me wrong. Creative interpretations and artistic liberties can be great. When they’re done tastefully. I personally think if done correctly, a Greek myth spun in a modern way has the potential be very good. But that's not what we were given.

Characters like Minthe, Leuce, and Thetis (all nymphs btw) are portrayed as trashy tramps who put out and are used as a foil sabotage Persephone and/or her relationship with Hades. Compare that to Greek Mythology where in the Iliad, Thetis is very well-respected by the gods, particularly Hera. Unfortunately, other similar characters like satrys (and basically any character that isn’t a god) are usually portrayed as a low-class POC that can be easily exploited, manipulated, or used as a temporary villain/lover/pawn to “get back” at Persephone, our white-coded protagonist who can do no wrong.

Additionally, there is a clear race/class bias against characters like nymphs in LO. We see many cases scattered throughout the comic of gods like Hera or Aphrodite referring to nymphs as "trash" or "low class" or the idea that nymphs do not belong with gods being heavily implied if not outright said. I cannot tell you how often I've seen Minthe be called some variant of "cheap" by the readers of LO. Even Persephone (who created the flower nymphs) treats them with such disrespect. She frequently calls them some variant of "stupid" or "simple" like saying how they're not the sharpest crayons in the box even though she's the one WHO MADE THEM. However, it's so odd not really to note that nymphs like Echo, Amphitrite, or Psyche (who was previously disguised as a nymph) are not discriminated against. This is because they are liked or trusted by the gods they are around and ergo are often portrayed as the "good ones", which is a disgusting mindset to have.

We also see the fetishization of nymphs in the comic that is disturbingly similar to the fetishization of women who are Black, Asian, or Latina. It is a known fact that Hades has a flower nymph fetish. Not only is this implied in the comic, but Rachel stated it outright in an old Patreon post. Nymphs are also generally treated as sex-symbols, disposable, and as a lesser-than. Zeus frequently displays this behavior by abandoning nymphs he knocked up in the mortal realm.

For example, when Persephone finds out Apollo is dating Daphne, she isn't upset he's dating her friend. She's upset he's dating a flower nymph, beings that are generally considered to be "rare", "dumb", and objects of sexual desire. Ew.

Even on the Lore Olympus website (loreolympians.com) nymphs are regarded as "beautiful", "desirable", and "very exotic". And when they're not described in a sexual manner they're say it with me now regarded as "low class" or "workers" for some kind of god/goddess.

Final thoughts

So not only is the characterization of characters like Minthe or Thetis harmful to Greek culture and the stories that are so ingrained in their society, but it is also perpetuating harmful stereotypes about people of color and women who are confident in their sexuality.

Of course, the characters within Greek Mythology had their own issues. Zeus was a serial rapist, many of the goddesses deemed to be "feminist" by today's standards were actually horribly misogynistic looking at you Athena. But 1. that's just how things were back then (but that does not make it right) and 2. all of the good, the bad, and the ugly is still there in Greek Mythology. They're not denying how fucked up it is, but they're also not changing their history to better fit their own narrative or the narrative of the modern world. It exists, it happened, but now it is studied and called out by historians.

Rachel, on the other hand, is doing exactly that. She is actively changing the Greek's cultural history to better fit her fic's narrative. She is constantly sweeping things under the rug or going "No this is how it ACTUALLY happened". Lore Olympus is marketed as a "feminist retelling" yet somehow, it takes allllll the ugly parts from Greek Mythology (rape, incest, problematic age gaps, dubious consent, etc.), mixes it with a majority of the issues we have in the modern world (white feminism, rape-apologists/rape culture, grooming, fetishization of certain minority groups, etc.) and then amplifies the concoction to 20. Lore Olympus cannot be a "progressive, feminist, retelling" and also have characters that are morally apprehensive/come straight from the ancient myths. It does not work. In fact, IMO it makes all the problems from both eras worse.

News flash: actual cultures that are still thriving today are not your toys. They are not "made up". They matter. Do better.

#anti lore olympus #lore olympus #anti lo persephone #anti lo #lore olympus criticism #lore olympus critical #lo critic #lo critical #unpopular lo #unpopular lore olympus #appropriation #greek mythology #if anyone who is actually Greek wants to comment on this or share their thoughts please feel free #I'm not Greek but I have a deep love for mythology/Greek culture so this is just my take on things

[colateral-damages]

tried my hand at redrawing this panel to look more like LO S1 🫶 (credits to usedbandaid for og)

#lo #lore olympus #lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus #lord olympus art #redraw #lo critical #lo critic #lo anti

[apollomes-supremacy]

Lore Olympus Apollo redesign and his outfit for his coronation as an Olympian 👑

Still not over how Rachel robbed us of what could have been the best Apollo design ever due to her beautiful art style, but instead she decided to be "subversive" and gave us... that thing

#LOOK AT HIS CROWN!! #i should make an update on my AU #eh........ #maybe some day #anti lo #anti lore olympus #anti lore Olympus art #anti lo art #lo critic #lore Olympus critic #art #LO apollo #loresona #lore olympus redesign #lo redesign #mine #anti rs #anti rachel smythe #lo critical #lore Olympus critical

[genericpuff]

LORE | REKINDLED EPISODE 47 - A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

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A bit more of a chill episode after all the drama of the last few. Well, chill for everyone else but Alex. Poor guy.

Just a heads up that I'm a week away from the beginning of CONVENTION SEASON! I'm about to get even busier than usual, with a bunch of back-to-back conventions and expo's to attend, both for artist alleys as well as tattooing. I'm gonna try and keep Rekindled updated on its usual schedule as best I can, but if anything changes with the release schedule I'll let y'all know as best I can 🥰 Thank you all for reading!

#lore rekindled #lore rekindled update #lore rekindled comic #lore olympus au #lore olympus rewrite #lo critical #anti lore olympus #lore olympus critical

[leafspiritz]

i have this pet headcanon that imogen actually inherited relvin’s eyes (but tinted by the moon). and when liliana looks at her she’s seeing a little bit of both the people she left behind 🌙

#i forgot to post this here #but i drew this before this week’s ep and then lo and behold #my fav nuanced mother figure returned from the war #next time we will get her in the flesh trust me #also this one is dedicated to jack who puts up with all my liliana ramblings. jacky if u see this ur the best #imogen temult #liliana temult #relvin temult #critical role #cr #critical role fanart #campaign 3 #laura bailey #cr c3 #d&d #bells hells #fanart #digital art #procreate

[ghoulishceleste]

no Persephone from the lore Olympus version, threatening and bullying the working class does not make you a girlboss

#lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus #lo critical

[mythsandheather]

When the super problematic creator + their equally nasty project that’s stuffed with toxic messages, weird kinks and bad writing that you’ve been aware of for years finally starts getting open criticism on mass and you can finally voice your own frustrations and experiences without the fear of rampant harpy stans trying to hunt you for sport

#lo critical #lore olympus critical #lo criticism #anti lore olympus #anti lo #hazbin hotel critical #anti hazbin hotel #anti helluva boss #anti vivziepop #it has been so long #y’all don’t even know 😭

[vixxelle]

Lore Olympus is like if you put Greek Mythology in a pan, mixed it with your average Melanie Martinez songs, 13 Reasons Why, Euphoria, Twilight, and Riverdale; then burn it in the Wattpad Baker 1000, and try to cover up the absolute burnt monstrosity with one of those artificial pink frosting that tastes like battery acid and piss.

#raye rambles #lore olympus criticism #lore olympus #lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus #lo critical #lo criticism #anti lo #man I fucking hate this webtoon

[duxwriter]

And when she awakens from her wrath, to the world she screams, soaked in red

Inspired by the latest episodes of Lore Rekindled

#artwork #lore olympus edit #lore olympus critical #lo persephone #anti lore olympus #lore olympus persephone

[porcelain-rob0t]

LO persephone redesign bc i love making fun of this comic so like what if she was a silly nature-loving hippie girl

i just feel like the clothing she wears isnt consistent with a nature goddess, especially as a free-spirited college girl (also can she wear literally anything other than white or is the good girl in white x bad boy in black thing too important)

#digital art #art #my art #persephone #lo critical #lore olympus critical #lore olympus redesign

[moony-2001]

I mean… yeah. That’s because Persephone was never allowed to develop as a person/character. Not only was she not allowed to have a self outside of the image Demeter made for her (goddess of spring/barley mother mascot), she was also groomed from a young age. She had no personality outside of her abuser. All of Persephone’s relationships, dreams, and aspirations slowly changed from something she wanted to revolving around Hades.

If those aspirations didn’t fit into Rachel or Hades’ plans for her? Well, you could kiss them goodbye in as little as 3 episodes.

What happened to the apartment?

What happened to her education?

What happened to wanting to become a lawyer?

The fact that RS doesn’t realize that she’s dug herself into a hole with this one is sad

#anti lore olympus #lo critical #anti lo persephone #lore olympus #unpopular lo #unpopular lore olympus #anti lo #lore olympus critical #lo hate #lore olympus criticism #lo critic #lo critique #lo criticism

[madnessandentropy]

If you say a healthy relationship where the characters respect each other and are an equal level is "boring" you are an instant red flag to me, because every person who says this turns out to be a piece of shit that glorifies abuse and, if they are a creator, generally suck at storytelling as well

EDIT: Just to clarify I don't mean you can't enjoy toxic ships. I didn't get it across well, but what I'm talking about is fans who ignore blatant abuse and try paint it as a "spicy romance" and dismissing healthier ships/couples as "boring and vanilla". If you refuse to acknowledge a relationship is toxic and instead glorify/romanticise it while saying actually healthy ships are too boring then you are in fact a red flag

#thoughts #this applies to so many damn fandoms #vivziepop critical #helluva boss critical #hazbin hotel critical #spop critical #spop critisism #anti catradora #anti spop #lo criticism #lo critical #lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus

[apollomes-supremacy]

Anti LO community on Tumblr: 🥰😁🥳🫂💓💋

Anti LO community on Instagram: 😦💩😰🫠🤬🤨

#theyre more toxic than the stans lmao #random #anti lo #anti lore olympus #lore olympus critical #lo critical #lo critic

[genericpuff]

LORE | REKINDLED EPISODE 46 - STAY AWAY FROM HER

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No no you're totally a great guy Hades- 💀

Thank you all so much for reading! It's my birthday today, and I couldn't ask for a better community to spend it with <3

#lore rekindled #lore rekindled update #lore rekindled comic #lore olympus rewrite #lore olympus redraw #lore olympus redesign #lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus #lo critical

[carcinogenical]

Minthe fanart because she is the only character that isn't annoying AF in lore olympus . I am pro evil slut . Go away Rachel Smythe

#lore olympus #anti lore olympus #minthe #cinoart #lo critical

[clown-cult]

Being a Greek myth lover nowadays is way harder than one would think, y’all…

#I’m tired #stop it #greek myth #greek mythology #greek gods #hellenism #hellenistic #anti lore olympus #lore olympus critical #tbh this is critical of a lot #I mean a lot #but LO is certainly Exhibit A