How old is Persephone in Lore Rekindled?

Old 😆 All the fully developed gods and goddesses in LR, including Persephone, are old enough to exist outside of the scope of human comprehension of age. Hades is centuries old, Persephone is centuries old. Rest assured, she's not 19 lol though her general appearance and life experiences resemble that of a 23-26 year old, much of that is due to her living in the Mortal Realm for centuries prior to attending university in Olympus. It's never too late to go to college and learn new things ;)

oh almighty genericpuff is Apollo still bisexual in lore rekindled

This is kinda of random but why is Hecate short? I'm just curious because out of all the bad things in LO I liked how tall Hecate is and how she wore suits. ( she does look stunning in your version too )

I've found when it comes to character heights, it's really hard to discern what the actual intention was in their designs as Rachel's statements often contradict the actual appearance of the characters in the comic and how they compare to one another. For example, some people have stated Rachel revealed in her Patreon chit chat posts (or in FB groups, don't remember which) that Hades was unique for his height, being as tall as 10 feet, but as we see him in the comic, he's often closer to being 10 feet wide than 10 feet tall LOL (I don't think Rachel realized how big ten feet was when she said that tbh)

So in that regard, from a design POV it's hard to gauge if Hecate is actually that tall, or if she just appears tall because she's sometimes drawn at shoulder height with Hades (doesn't help that the character designs are always fluctuating), but also it's hard to say if one can be considered "tall" when standing next to Persephone who we know Rachel always draws disproportionately tiny compared to everyone else, to the point of outright infantilizing her.

TL ; DR: I had to pick a lane with the character designs and Hecate seemed more like she would realistically be closer to Persephone's height than to Hades (if Hades is someone who's supposed to be uniquely tall which I'm definitely trying to make him, he's meant to be a little over 6 feet tall in LR). And even Persephone's height is still around 5"5-5"7, so they're not even that "short", they just often appear shorter in relation to Hades. At least, that's the approach I'm going for lmaoo (my standard marker for it is that Persephone comes up to his chest / collarbone area).

Plus - though this is just my personal opinion - it's also just nice to have more characters around Persephone's height, not only to showcase how much taller Hades is compared to most people around him, but also to make her a little less singled out in the height department, as LO often made her absurdly small to the point of infantilizing her (￢_￢;)

That said, Artemis is taller than Persephone coming in around 5"9, and Aphrodite is meant to be quite tall (p much the same height as Hades!) and we'll be seeing more of her later on in the story, so fear not, there are tall girls to be found :'3 <3

can I give ur Apollo a kiss on the forehead

he accepts all the smooches (¯ ³¯)♡

I wanted ask about the family trees in Rekindled, if you'd ever put out a post on how everything is lined up. Who is who's parent, like is Eris a child of Zeus and Hera or Nyx and Erebus.

So in Rekindled, the gods aren't created through 'traditional' means like mortals are. While they definitely have relations with one another and some have been born from sexual interactions, it's the fusion of their powers and the elements assigned to them that creates new gods rather than, y'know, the mortal way of making babies. Thus they don't share any DNA that would make them blood-related, however they do share some similarities in how their powers manifest depending on who created their predecessors!

That said, here's the 'family tree' in Rekindled, with some info on how they were created!

(*note that not every god / goddess / etc. who will make an appearance in Rekindled is on this family tree, I'm just trying to avoid spoilers as best I can while also providing info; on the flipside, not everyone included on here will necessarily play a role or even appear in the story - including Hyperion and Theia - they're just listed for the sake of clarity and worldbuilding)

As for Eris, I'm not actually planning on including her much in Rekindled as her role in LO is already reduced to that of a McGuffin to explain Persephone's wrath. She absolutely deserves to have her story told but I feel like it would be better saved for something adjacent to or involving the Trojan War / The Illiad rather than forcing her into Rekindled where she already doesn't have anything to do with the rewriting of the Act of Wrath.

That said, in the spirit of answering your question, with how we've done it in Rekindled, she can technically be 'both' a creation a Nyx / Erebus and Zeus / Hera - given a physical form by the union of Zeus and Hera, but with traits passed down to her through their lineage that connects all the way back to the primordial beings. But a more sensible answer is that I'm honestly sticking with the Zeus / Hera version, as Rekindled is still retelling Homer's The Hymn to Demeter and so I try to use as much of Homer's source material as possible while taking elements from other poets as needed. There's loads of sources to choose from so I work with the ones that connect best to tell a coherent story, with a predominant amount of sources coming from Homer, Hesiod, and the Orphic hymns.

Hope that helps! Enjoy the totally-not-confusing family tree chart LMAO

do you see persephone and kore as two separate people or the same person but different personalities?

I can only say so much because I don't want to spoil, but the dichotomy between Kore and Persephone and whether or not they're two different people or different personalities of the same body and mind is going to be explored extensively throughout the story. I would even go so far as to argue that that conflict of Kore's internal self is the main plot aside from the retelling of the H x P relationship, and I say that because it also plays a role in how that relationship plays out in the end, it's the one constant throughout the entirety of the story from beginning to end. The Act of Wrath and the dynamic between Kore and her "wrath" was one of my favorite elements of early LO that also made it extremely unique, so I wanna harness and focus in on that more by writing more through the lens of Kore and Persephone as two warring sides. How they really relate to each other and what they can be called is up to them (and you!) to find out !

I'm interested in the outcome, because as much as Rekindled is obviously retelling LO, I'm also curious to see how well it stands as a standalone work ! I have no preference whatsoever in who finds enjoyment in Rekindled, though it was obviously made for the anti / unpopularLO community, I also just wanna tell a good story that's worth reading and if fans of LO also enjoy it, then the more the merrier 🤗💖

i just finished reading the whole comic to the most recent update. I was wondering when Zeus talks about how Persephone was created, is he somehow related to her or did him lighting everything on fire force Demeter to turn the flowers into a goddess? I hope that makes sense

The gods are not related by blood or DNA in Rekindled, more so through how they were created at the hands of others. Kore was created accidentally from the fusion of Zeus' lightning and Demeter's flower gardens, specifically flower gardens that were being used to create flower nymphs.

That said, you'll also sometimes see certain gods use terms like "Mom" and "Dad", but those are typically used by the gods who spend a lot of time around mortals in the Mortal Realm (which is why Apollo calls his creator Leto but Artemis calls her "Mom").

I made a 'family tree' a while back that lists some of the other interesting ways gods were created! It's not a full list as there are some gods I haven't revealed yet, there are also gods listed that are simply there for clarity's sake and not necessarily because they'll play a role in the story, but I hope it helps clear up any confusion as to how the gods are 'related'!

Please tell me there's no Hades x Hera affair in LR and Zeus is the only one who calls her bunny. If it's not a spoiler I'd like to know if I can comfortably stan LR Hera

Nah, that was axed about as hard as the Apollo SA plotline. Just zero reason for it to exist lmao

I don't wanna be a nitpick but I notice Rekindled Poseidon's eye scar isn't very consistent. One episode he has one scar and the other he has two.

I know the little details don't ruin the whole art but it's just a head's up!

(thanks for catching that anon, my sleep-deprived brain that week decided to reference an LO panel instead of Poseidon's previous appearance in Rekindled so I wound up giving him one scar when yes, he's supposed to have two LOL ima go not-so-slyly fix that nowwww)

Hey, normally I'm a lurker and really enjoy your long essays on lo! I don't know if this has been answered and admittedly I didn't look hard but are you going to fix the whole forever 19 thing within Rekindled? I know in Rekindled Persephone is hundreds of years old and said to be more of self sufficient young adult. But does the topic of 'body age' come up in Rekindled or do you have estimates of them for the characters?

Oh yeah, don't worry, Persephone's not 19 anymore LOL She's ageless and has been around for a long, long time. Hades is ageless and has also been around for a long, long time. Age just isn't a quantifiable measurement anymore for most of the gods at this point. Hades is "older" than Persephone in that his existence predates hers, but she's not an "eternally 19" teenager, she's a fully developed goddess who's been around for centuries herself :')

I just read your latest Rekindled upload and it's as awesome as ever!

But I was just curious because I didn't notice until today that your version of Thanatos doesn't seem to have wings (correct me if I'm wrong though!)

Is that because he doesn't use them often, or they're damaged, or for some other reason? Or does he just not have wings at all?

He actually does have wings, we see them in Episode 30!

As for why he doesn't use them as often, it really just comes down to the differences between him and Hermes as employees. Hermes is very eager to please and likes breaking his own goals and records which leads him to being a bit of an overachiever; whereas Thanatos is a "boss makes a dollar, I make a dime, that's why I poop on company time" kinda guy LOL Needless to say, he's not in a rush 😆

LISTEN I COME HERE TO SAY the way hades and persephone get along in your comic is so organic? it's so easy going and chill, i love it. they feel like real people getting to know each other. testing the waters of their personalities, etc

not to compare it to LO but im gonna bc in LO there's always this desperation (from rachel) in every pers/hades conversation to make each moment heavy with something (usually romantic or sexual tension) and its so exhausting. but in rekindled they're just chilling and connecting like normal people do and i really appreciate that!

so yes, the story's pacing is great so far and im eagerly looking forward to each new chapter !

AH THANK YOOOUUU ;-; <3

How long do you plan making rekindled? I loved Lo at some point, But now I cant get enough of your version!! And I wanted to know how did you come up with the darker back stories for Rekindled?

I have a semi-detailed skeleton of the plot with basically every story beat planned out, but I can't definitively say how long it will be as I haven't actually scripted every single episode out yet.

Not to mention a lot of the time my scripts will change from their original versions, by the time I get to an episode I've planned ahead for I've either thought of new ways to do it or don't like how it's paced so I change it. Case in point, there was a specific scene I had planned for the next episode and then wound up not liking the pacing because it was too fast so I moved it to several episodes away and restructured everything on the fly, took a whole new text document and scrapping sketches to figure shit out LOL I actually do have up until Episode 70ish scripted out in my documents with like, actual notes and dialogue for each episode, but I already have sooo many of those crossed out now because of how much I've had to tweak and change as time has gone on. This is why I plan ahead well in advance though, so that if I do need to make those changes, I can make them long before the episodes are even due to be drawn (and believe me, they get changed during the sketching phases too LOL).

What I can confirm for certain is that the current 'arc' we're in right now is definitely the bulk of the story. And that's not to say there isn't any content afterwards, more like the pacing just gets completely turned on its head in the last 30-40% of it where shit gets N U T S and just can't go back to the same energy that it was in the beginning. Without spoiling, there's a certain 'turning point' in the plot and everything after it isn't quite as long as the stint of story we're in now. This is mostly because the arc we're currently in is still establishing a bunch of stuff like the Underworld Corp, Persephone's schooling, etc. and once that turning point hits, it's basically all character development and focusing on the consequences of everything setup in the first arc.

I guess if I had to illustrate it, the story progression in the end will look something like this?

It's basically just this slow and chill climb that, once it hits that sharp peak, doesn't ever return to normal levels LMAO So I guess enjoy this part of the story while you can because it's the chillest it'll ever be w(°ｏ°)w And boy, I am EXCITED for that peak, but we have a long way to go before we get there. As for how long, well, I'm hoping I'll be able to have Rekindled's story wrapped up in the next 2 years, tops. Just depends on how the update schedule goes, and assuming the plans I have put down for the plotting don't change in any major way. I don't have as much of the latter half of the story actually scripted out yet so for all I know it could wind up being way longer than anticipated, but right now I have a pretty good sense of how the story beats will play out in relation to each other.

So it's kind of a wait and see thing, at least until I have every episode scripted out, and even then I won't be 100% sure because things are always being tweaked and fixed and changed on the fly! I'm guessing it won't go much longer than 170 episodes, give or take, but that's a very very VERY rough estimate.

Regardless, Rekindled still has a lot more story to tell, and I'm hoping y'all enjoy the ride with me <3

As for the darker backstories, y'all don't even know yet. Like... I've got stuff planned. Stuff that even Banshriek (my BG assistant) doesn't know about. Stuff that I keep buried very deep in Rekindled's episode documents that won't see the light of day until they have to be ripped out of the deep dark trenches of the characters' own buried secrets, and by that point, the toothpaste will be out of the tube, there will be no going back. So, again... enjoy it while it lasts. Because I don't pull my punches. And maybe even you won't be able to look at me the same way again once the final blow has been dealt.

Sleep well.

:)

I have no idea if this is intentional, but with how you've written Kore/Persephone, I very much get like,,, DID, specifically a very wrathful protector alter vibes from Persephone?? And I dunno, I have DID myself and my own protector whose very much determined in his rage to keep us safe, and it's very sweet to be able to see us in a piece of work for once and not have it be demonised. So even if it was completely unintentional, thank you!

Aww anon! This was sweet to read, and I'm happy to inform you that you're not the only one with DID who's relating to Kore's story in the comic! We have another reader in the community who's very outspoken in the Discord server and always speaking on their experiences with DID and how it relates to their analysis of Kore. So you're not alone in feeling that!!

I will say that while I didn't explicitly set out to make Kore a DID-specific character, I can certainly see why and how people with DID are relating to her and I think it's wonderful. I've been writing characters like Kore for years now, as a fan of the "alter ego" trope in media (and it's a big reason why I felt so attached to LO in the first place through the initial S1 setup of the AOW and Persephone being her "wrathful" side) and I've definitely had my own mental health struggles over the years that I think have certainly contributed to that (I don't have DID as far as I know, but I do have those mental "splits" in times of high stress that's almost similar to mania, so I'd be more likely to believe it's either just autistic meltdowns or MAYBE borderline personality disorder lol) Writing characters like Kore has always brought me comfort through personifying the processing of emotions and perspectives and conflicting thought processes.

So I'm glad Kore has brought you that same comfort 🥰

The only thing I will caution is that the topic of Kore and Persephone will get dicey at times. Kore will go through many ups and downs in the plot that will simultaneously be presented through Persephone. There will be just as many lovely moments to be had as well as ugly. Proper trigger warnings will be provided when necessary but much of their plotline will address some rather emotionally devastating stuff, to say the least LOL At the end of the day though I want to give them both a satisfying ending, so I hope we can all weather the storm together until we get to the light on the other side 💖

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you continue to find joy and peace in their story 🥰

I saw the ask someone sent about Leto and now I'm wondering, are you going to include Hephaestus? What are your thoughts on his portrayal in LO?

I am actually going to include Hephaestus, though it will be as a minor character just like in LO, and most of his role will be relegated to his affiliation with Aphrodite and Ares.

As for what that role will be, let's just say it's the more obvious inclusion that LO could have gone for but didn't for some reason ;0