Issues with Percy Jackson and Rick Riordan

Reyna

 Let me make one thing clear.

 I love Reyna. She is by far my favourite female character in all of Rick Riordan's books. Only Nico beats her in terms of characters I like most.

 But there's a few huge issues I have with her. I feel inspired so I'm going to go over those.

 Number one- I didn't know she was asexual. Reyna literally fell in love with Percy and Jason straight after meeting them (which sounds like sexual attraction, because how do you develop an emotional attachment to people days after meeting them?).

 I learned she was asexual when I heard from someone that Rick had announced she was asexual on Twitter. If this wasn't the case please notify me, someone else told me this because I don't have Twitter and if I did I would ignore Rick's existence anyway.

 That is JK Rowling level bad. She didn't even show signs of being asexual (I discussed the issue there with Piper in the previous chapter). All of a sudden, because Rick Riordan doesn't feel like he doesn't have 'enough representation' he makes Reyna ace, and doesn't even bother to mention it in the books.

 I'm not ace- probably- so I can't speak for ace people (though I do think I'm on the ace spectrum maybe) but I do know that probably is bad representation. Like, if you're ace, you cannot feel sexual attraction. Rick, this means Reyna cannot be sexually attracted to Percy and Jason, and once she's rejected she 'becomes' ace.

 Number two- she became a hunter.

 The Hunters of Artemis are awesome. They're badass girls who follow a strong hunter goddess and almost live forever and run around with bows and arrows.

 But Reyna gives up her position of Praetor, which she took years to earn, just to become a hunter of Artemis. It's fucking stupid.

 This implies that, if you're a girl, you cannot be happy single. You have to either join a (somewhat sexist) girls only group that are for maiden girls, or end up with someone.

 You can't just be happy by yourself, forming strong platonic relationships and developing an almost brother-sister relationship with someone and staying in a position of power.

 Reyna being single, happy single, and prioritising praetor and platonic/familial relationships (like rebuilding her relationship with Hylla, or getting to know Nico better!) would have been such a good message. Maybe, eventually, she could find love, but that doesn't have to be first priority.

 (By the way- with the no demigod will heal her heart, it might be a mortal. It might be a god, or a satyr, or someone like that. Or maybe, REYNA could heal her OWN heart by learning how to love herself, and then find a romantic partner to settle down with once she retires)

 Reyna could have been such a good role model for young girls around the world. You don't need a boy. You don't need any sort of romantic relationship. You can drink hot chocolate and spend time braiding hair and be totally single and still be a kickass warrior.

 But instead, Rick has to go ruin that, ruin everything by hating on everyone who thought they could see themselves in her, and change her character entirely.

 I don't understand. 

 Why was it such a bad thing for one character to end up preferring to kill monsters and take walks on beaches and make friends and work instead of having a romantic partner?

 Also, this implies you have to be aro ace to be single. You really don't. I'm not aromantic asexual, and I'm single.

 Or why couldn't Reyna be asexual and still be praetor?

 She didn't have to go run off with the hunters. She could still have been the leader of the Romans and asexual. You don't have to choose between being a good leader and being asexual (especially because you're born with one and develop the other).

 Reyna was amazing in Heroes of Olympus. Her character went downhill in the Trials of Apollo.