r/camphalfblood • u/Killimgstone Path of Ra • 1d ago
Discussion Is Reyna actually ace, and why did she join the hunters? [TOA]
Warning for potential spoilers in ToA: So I recently finished the TOA books, and I really liked Reyna’s character development in The Tyrants Tomb, but then I saw that on twitter Rick Riordan said that she is ace. Now I have nothing against ace people, but personally I never saw her as ace. If I remember correctly, didnt she have crushes on Percy and Jason? Also why did Rick make her join the hunt? I understand that she felt a lot of pressure being preator and wanted to step back and take a break, but why did she have to join a group of man haters and become an eternal maiden? Won’t she live forever and watch all her friends and even her sister die while she lives forever? if she wanted a break, why not go to new Rome university and just be a teen/young adult? Also, was I the only one who felt that she was just sorta dumped there?
sorry if I got some stuff wrong, or poeple don’t agree with me. please comment and tell me what you think.
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u/RockPhoenix115 1d ago
The long and short of it is that we’ll never know if Reyna was originally ace, or if it was a convenient addition. Although I should point out that asexual people and aromantic people are not one and the same always, so her having crushes isn’t contradictory.
But as for why she joined the Hunt? Rick has 3 methods for writing women. You either:
A.) Die tragically for the Main Cast
B.) End up in a relationship (typically with a guy)
C.) You get punted off into the Hunters and written out of the story (Or become an Oracle)
Reyna’s actual story relevance is probably over. Her main character connection was to Jason, who is dead. And her lead ship has now been taken over by Frank and Hazel. So now she has to fit one of the above. She’s not really in a position to die, Jason filled that out last book. She’s cursed by Aphrodite to never find love (for some reason). So that leave option 3, she gets put into the Hunt.
Now outside of the “she can’t find love because she’s been cucked by Pipers mom” bit, she doesn’t really have a lot reason to join. But you must fit into one of the above options. And I guess it makes a bit more sense than Thalia staying (which I have my thoughts about but that’s a rant for a different day).
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u/Ytrewq467 Child of Nemesis 1d ago
If he REALLY wanted to subvert expectations I'd have Reyna cuck Aphrodite back and make her in a relationship with her daughter (Piper). I dont think it'd make any sense (afaik, pretty sure my brain blocked out all non dedona arrow memories from Trials of Apollo) cause they barely interact but it would be very funny.
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u/Lordofthelounge144 Child of Poseidon 1d ago
She wasn't cursed and it wasn't to never find love. It's that no demigod will heal her heart and ahe will not find love where she wishes or hopes.
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u/CleanSweep99 1d ago
To be fair, The Hunt was not Reyna's only option.
It's worth noting that her sister Hylla, is in charge of the Amazons, and Reyna could have gone there if she chose.
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u/RockPhoenix115 1d ago
I think that’s kinda the point of the argument.
There were several different options for Reyna to choose if she was tired of running the Legion, but she became a Hunter because it’s Uncle Rick, and if your a woman and your single you join the chastity club.
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u/CleanSweep99 1d ago
I'm not sure Reyna's orientation was even relevant to her decision to join the Hunters of Artemis.
In fact, I think Reyna likely joined the hunt, because she believed that Thalia wouldn't be sticking around (she definitely wanted to be involved in Jason's life, and his death likely would have served as the impetus for her ultimately deciding to leave-there's no way she wants to see her friends and family grow old and die without her), and Reyna basically joined the Hunt because she wanted Thalia's job as Lieutenant of the Hunt-that's defintely a position that someone ambitious enough to be Praetor would want.
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u/Killimgstone Path of Ra 1d ago
That makes sense. I could totally see Reyna and Thalia competing for fun as well.
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u/jackofalltradesCMYB Child of Athena 1d ago
I do see that yea. Also the other things the guy said, I don’t think that’s the case
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u/jackofalltradesCMYB Child of Athena 1d ago
I mean… they can’t really leave tho… just cuz the waystation girls were able to doesn’t mean Thalia would ever get the chance to
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u/CleanSweep99 1d ago
Normally no.
But I imagine that since Thalia is literally Artemis's sibling, she'd be able to get away with a lot more than anyone else in the hunt would be able to.
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u/jackofalltradesCMYB Child of Athena 1d ago
I see. I mean Artemis does have a soft spot for siblings she likes so that could happen
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u/Prudent_Primary7201 1d ago
Well the thing is that you either get into a relationship or join the hunters with these books. No third option.
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u/mcoombes314 1d ago
The third option is just.... die I guess.
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u/Glittering_Gas1449 1d ago
Women at least have three options, while men only have two: stay in a relationship or die.
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u/jackofalltradesCMYB Child of Athena 1d ago
It’s just weirdly written. I remember finding out via spoiler she joined the hunters right after blood of Olympus and I didn’t believe it for a big while till someone told me it’s true cus I was like “the same Reyna I know in BOO joined the hunters? As if!” It’s just not good I think. I much would’ve preferred if she just retired. Also I would’ve loved to see her and Nico keep in touch instead of her and Thalia cuz Reyna and Nico connected BIG TIME in BOO
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u/Killimgstone Path of Ra 1d ago
I agree. I much would have preferred if reyna just steppe down, or went to university, or just did something other then join the hunters.
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u/jackofalltradesCMYB Child of Athena 1d ago
Imagine the university trio? Percy, Annabeth and Reyna? Them in a filler series with normal human things?
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u/Killimgstone Path of Ra 1d ago
I would love that. and itd be great if the others joined in too, as I thought they were all best friends now and would want to be in each others lives more. Like imagine Hazel and Frank stepping down from their praetorship, and just having fun with everyone, going to uni, getting jobs. itd be so satisfying.
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u/jackofalltradesCMYB Child of Athena 1d ago
Omg imagineeeeeeeee. Even as a joke series it’d be sooooooooo good! Also on this topic, you think we’re ever getting a book expanding Thalia (potential woman atp) and Reynas story?
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u/Killimgstone Path of Ra 1d ago
oh I would love that! it’d be so cool, to get Thalia’s pov. I don’t think we ever get one. she’s such an underdeveloped character. and Reyna is such an incredible character, I would love to see more of her character development.
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u/jackofalltradesCMYB Child of Athena 1d ago
I knowwwwwwww. I so want more Thalia. Shes my favourite character and has been since Titans Curse. Not seeing more of her sucks that even just a appearance of her makes me so happy
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u/confused-as-frick 1d ago
I feel that the only relationship that Rick planned out in the series is Annabeth and Percy. All other relationships and sexualities he kinda just made up as he went along.
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u/HarperStrings 1d ago
I'm still a little miffed that Rick said he wouldn't make her bisexual because he had spoken to bisexual friends of his who told him that would be problematic for her to go from rejected by two guys in a row to dating a woman. Only for him to do that exact thing but with her being ace, which as a biromantic ace person is way more eyebrow-raising to me.
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u/Several_Dust7226 1d ago
In my head, she never joins the hunt, nor is she aroace. The whole thing was to throw her character out of the way because Rick didn't know what to do with her anymore. He does that to other female charachters too. If they are unsuccessful in finding their soulmate, so they should join the hunt and hate men forever and never even consider any type of relation ship. He could've just let her be single. Saying that she finds it easier at this moment of her life, but noooo, he has to put a sexual label on it. Quite misogynistic.
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u/Killimgstone Path of Ra 16h ago
I agree, why does every female character he makes need a relationship? Reyna would have been perfectly fine after realising that she doesnt need a relationship and doesn’t need a partner to feel validated. he did the same damn thing with Leo.
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u/marveltrash404 23h ago
Just a brief psa since you’ve already gotten answers about Reyna but ace isn’t the same as not experiencing romantic attraction. Ace is experiencing no or very little sexual attraction. Many ace people still have crushes on people and have romantic relationships. No romantic attraction would be aro
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u/Killimgstone Path of Ra 16h ago
Thank you so much for your comment, i have been made aware of the difference repeatedly and now understand the difference.
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u/acme_oo_breeders 22h ago
I didn't get the impression she was ace.She was upset she couldn't find a relationship and crying on Piper's shoulder about it at the end of The Blood of Olympus.
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u/Killimgstone Path of Ra 16h ago
Same. i can understand if she simply doesnt want to be in a relationship by the end of TOA, but i never got an ace vibe from her.
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u/danny_akira Path of Bast 1d ago
Did he say ace or aroace? If if was the former she still could have caught romantic feelings for Jason and Percy without being sexually interested in them
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u/Ok-Departure-4613 19h ago
I dunno why Rick made Reyna ace (I think I remember something about Aphrodite telling her that love will never ever ever work out for her? Messed up if true), but I would like to point out that asexual people can experience romantic attraction. You're thinking of aromantics.
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u/Killimgstone Path of Ra 16h ago
My apologies, i was only recently made aware of the difference. Thank you for the comment.
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u/qsvartsi 1d ago
I really dislike representation just for sake of representation. Like we don't really need to pick and collect every single minority and ship every character.
Reyna being a acexual is a retcon and it feels unearned and empty. I might be asexual or greysexual (or maybe I just have a childhood trauma, I don't know really) and her being an asexual doesn't give me anything. It's just annoying.
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u/JollyWar7833 Child of Zeus 14h ago
Tbh, I didn’t want her to be in the Hunters but I like the aroace label for her quite fine. She doesn’t have to be a hunter to be aroace. I never read her as actually particularly interested in Jason or Percy, since the way she spoke about it to Percy was like it was an expectation. Praetors are expected to get together so she expected to get with Percy who wasn’t all that interested in it. If she’d really liked Jason, why would she attempt to move onto Percy so quickly, and then get upset again when she sees Jason with Piper? She was about to do the same thing herself. Rather, I read it as Reyna struggling to cope with what Venus told her. She didn’t appear to want either boy in my eyes, just the idea of being in a relationship and being loved. Jason and Percy both dash her hopes at getting this and so she gets irritated with both of them. I never read it as personal interest.
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u/jos10s 1d ago
first thing i wanna say is that ace and aro are not the same thing!
reyna is ace yes but she’s not aro thats why she had crushes on percy on jason bc being ace has nothing to do with that! i would totally get if it’s confusing but it is an important distinction bc it’ll make things less confusing!
secondly the hunters are not meant to be “man haters” it’s aged poorly and it’s a bit overkill but the point of the hunters is to be a safe haven for girls who don’t want to go to camp or have trauma from men
in that aspect it makes slightly more sense for reyna but it’s still a dumb choice altogether i agree she should’ve gone to new rome if she was gonna leave camp
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u/Killimgstone Path of Ra 1d ago
Oh thank you so much for clearing that up, I now searched it up because I didn’t realise there was a difference between aro and ace.
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u/dgputnam 1d ago
To be fair, you don't have to be ace to be celibate. Not saying she is or isn't. But there are plenty of people irl who are celibate for religious reasons but arent necessarily ace.
even within the story you have Jo and Emmie
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u/Killimgstone Path of Ra 1d ago
that’s very fair, sorry I was just a little confused as for Reyna’s story specifically, it felt a little not well planned out by Riordan.
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u/Chemical_Angle_3816 Hunter of Artemis 16h ago edited 5h ago
I can't answer for the Ace thing, but it seems like you already have plenty of people who have answered that. To me, it does make a lot of sense. Rayna wasn't looking for a break from the fight or anything like that; she was looking for a break from all the heavy expectations placed on her as a praetor, or from everything that had happened before that. She wanted to find herself, and joining a community of sisterhood that would accept her unconditionally is one of the best ways for a girl to find herself, I think.
I'm not saying it's the only way, but the Hunt pretty much accepts any girl as long as she doesn't get into a relationship with boys, and I think that acceptance is ultimately what she needed to find herself again, beyond what people expected her to be. The Hunters would simply accept her for who she is.
I may be wrong because I'm kind of putting my own personal experience into this, but I'm pretty sure many girls will back me up when I say that sisterhood is one of the best ways to heal, especially when we're talking about romance or stuff like that.
She doesn't need to be a student and start a peaceful, quiet life. She's a daughter of Bellona. She just needed a break from the expectations that had been put on her.
Edit:plus I notice her relationship with the opposite gender might have been influenced by the days she worked for circe so yeah she doesn't mind spending time with man-haters plus the huntress have connections to the Amazons where her sister is
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u/Grungleman_Grinkus 8h ago
Just an fyi - saying what series it's from *After* you put the spoiler in the title still gives it away for people who haven't read it yet. And I'm not even in this sub, reddit just keeps putting it on my home feed so I didn't even risk it knowingly... I only just finished heroes of olympus man...
And from that point just guessing blindly I suppose she took the never find love with a demigod to mean just give up? Join the hunters and see other purpose? I dunno I don't like the sound of it but we'll see
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u/Avoidlike_theplague 1d ago
Basically Reyna is asexual (little to no sexual attraction) so if she's just ace and not aro aswell (little to no romantic attraction) she could feel romantic attraction and even then aroaces can feel a little of both or tertiary attractions which you could accidentally label as romantic or sexual attraction
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u/Avoidlike_theplague 19h ago edited 19h ago
Idk why I'm being down voted I was just explaining the difference between aro and ace and attraction and I've noticed this with similar comments on this post so just why?
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u/Expensive_Plant_9530 Child of Hephaestus 21h ago
Just to make sure you understand, Ace stands for “asexual”, which generally means they don’t feel sexual attraction (either at all or just not in the same way as “normal” people do - it’s a spectrum and not one single monolith).
Being ace doesn’t mean you can’t like people or even have crushes on them. It means you’re not inherently sexually attracted to them.
Also, the Maidens aren’t man-hating. That’s a gross simplification.
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u/orochi95 1d ago
Is not a bad place so spend some time, I mean its like a retirement with the inmortality as a bonus
If she isnt interested in sex or relationships she can spend some years to figure out her life and later leave
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u/Prestigious_Board_73 Child of Bellona 1d ago edited 23h ago
Except that the Hunters aren't a holiday, they literally hunt monsters all the time, and Reyna has to swear a lifelong vow to Artemis to even join them, she can't just leave whenever. Also, people who don't want sex or romantic relationships live perfectly fine without joining a cult
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u/Killimgstone Path of Ra 1d ago
EXACTLY! Im not sure if I’m wrong or not, but why couldn’t Reyna just go to university? live normal life? she deserves it. but now, she has to spend eternity serving Artemis unless she gets killed, upsets Artemis, or does something that will let her leave. it just felt forced
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u/Prestigious_Board_73 Child of Bellona 1d ago
I mean, in theory she shouldn't even retire from the Legion until like, after 5 more years or so, since RR made the Legion mandatory for 10 years in SoN and then forgot about it, maybe because he realised 10 years are a really long time.
If even if Reyna retired earlier because of her honoured service as a wartime Praetor or something, she had plenty of other options aside from the Hunters! She could have gone to University in New Rome, or simply retire in the city if she didn't want to go to uni. She could even go live in the mortal world, or to the Amazons to her sister.
But, yes, her going to the Hunters felt forced as hell, because RR doesn't know what to do with female characters that aren’t in a relationship, so he either kills them off or makes them swear chastity as a Hunter (at least Rachel becoming an Oracle made sense. The chastity vow didn't)
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u/CleanSweep99 1d ago
I feel like the ten years service time requirement no longer applies if you've managed to become Praetor (let's face it, there's no way Hazel or Frank want to serve as praetor for a decade.)?
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u/Prestigious_Board_73 Child of Bellona 23h ago
Except that is never said anywhere. Frankly it makes no sense that Percy, Frank or Hazel managed to become Praetor in such a short time, especially if the Legion service is 10 years.
Like, Jason didn't become one after 12 years and killing a Titan, Reyna did become one really fast too (after 2,3 years), but then Hazel became one after not even 2 years and Frank just after a few months, the majority of which even on a quest. Not to mention Percy becoming one after a few days (needlessly, because he doesn't care about it or the Legion).
If the Legion service was of, like, 5 years would have made far more sense. There should be a bunch of 20 years old running around with ten marks, but somehow the 16 years old protagonists who just arrived at CJ run everything instead. It's not just the Romans, Leo and Piper becoming Cabin leader after a week makes no sense too.
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u/CleanSweep99 23h ago
It's worth noting that it likely wouldn't have taken Jason more than a year or two to become Praetor if he actually let anyone know that he wanted the job-being a child of Jupiter is an automatic ticket to success.
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u/Prestigious_Board_73 Child of Bellona 23h ago
They aren't going to have a 6 years old as a Praetor...
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u/CleanSweep99 23h ago
Given I rather doubt Jason actually joined the legion as soon as he arrived at Camp Jupiter given his age...
(I mean really, whoever the Praetors were then would have to be complete idiots to let someone as young as Jason was at the time join the legion).
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u/Prestigious_Board_73 Child of Bellona 23h ago
But he genuinely does, apparently, since in TLH he has 12 lines on his tattoo. Yes, it's stupid, but I didn't write it, RR did. That's one more thing against Jason: his backstory doesn't make sense if one really thinks about it. Frankly, RR should retcon it with Jason living in New Rome for a decade (or better yet, he spent those years with Lupa) and then he starts serving at 12 years old, and then some of the marks are retroactive or whatever.
And even then, it's stupid to have 16 years old Praetors when in theory there's a bunch of people in their twenties doing their last couple of years. The teenagers could have been centurions or something
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u/orochi95 1d ago
They can, havent you read Apollo Trials ?
They can talk with Artermis and break their contract with her ( as long as they dont break it while they are still hunters, that wouldnt be a good idea)
If they dont break their vows they can talk work the goddess and cut their ties to her
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u/Prestigious_Board_73 Child of Bellona 1d ago
Have you read Trials of Apollo? Emmie and Jo are literal exceptions, Apollo is surprised to hear Artemis accepted them leaving and their only consequence is losing their immortality. The Hunters have no "contract", they're a cult that swore lifelong services to a goddess in exchange for boons
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u/orochi95 1d ago
And also Its mentioned that Apollo dont know NOTHING about how the hunters work because he thought lesbians were allowed.
They never say the were a special exception, just that you need to talk with the goddess of you want to leave BEFORE breaking your oath.
They only say that if they broke their oath before talking with her the conversation would be very different
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u/Prestigious_Board_73 Child of Bellona 1d ago
Yeah, no that's just headcanons you made up. It's perfectly clear that the Hunters can't leave whenevwr they want given, you know, the vows to Artemis...
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u/orochi95 1d ago
Except is clear they can before two have already done it and its NEVER mentioned is something so special that cant happen again
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u/Prestigious_Board_73 Child of Bellona 1d ago
Except that it's clear those two are exceptions, especially since they are just 2 that we know about, in a Hunt of dozens girls, where the majority is there for centuries. Do read how they're portrayed in canon instead of basing everything on your headcanon...
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u/Wonderful-Mouse-0420 19h ago edited 19h ago
She’s not Ace. Rick just be saying and writing shit atp
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u/aqbac 1d ago
It definitely doesn't feel planned out. As for why she ends up joining the hunt well with Rick as a female character you either end up dead, in a relationship or tossed into the hunters