I like what you said about Apollo and Reyna helping each other. They're my number one ship and I hope they become cannon. How do you feel about this ship? Are they good for each other ? Do you think it has the chance to become cannon?
Sorry for taking so long to answer btw. I already had a draft talking about this very thing and I had to rewrite it in a way that not only answers your questions but also gives my insight into the ship and the fandom’s (overexaggerated) reactions, if you don’t mind. You wanted my opinion, so I had to make sure it’s detailed enough and conveyed everything I had in mind. I wanted to write a post about these two for so long after all. I hope it’s a satisfying answer ^^
So here is my draft (with some modifications) :
Warning : don’t read this if this ship is your utlimate NOTP and/or cannot handle different opinions.
So, I’ve seen a few posts talking about how bad and horrible this pairing is and what I noticed is that it gets far more hate than it does deserve. It actually has so much potential and they both can be GREAT for each other even without overlooking the entire mortal/god issue. You might dislike what I’ll say, but I’ll say it anyways. At first, I disliked the ship with a burning passion too, but my fav character x my fav god appealed to me later on.
So, the first thing a certain part of the fandom seems to believe in is that Apollo, being bi, “is better off with guys” which is blatant bi erasure, guys. Apollo x Any-mortal-guy-he-had-the-slightest-crush-on doesn’t steer any outrage, their “mortality” takes the backseat and no one seems to mind. Yet the moment he’s shipped with a girl, this part of the fandom seems to *loudly* disagree. I really get it, LGBTQ+ rep is very much needed, and I’m tired of heteronormativity just as much as the next person, but guys, this is not “straight rep”. Dating someone of the opposite gender doesn’t suddenly turn the bisexual part involved “straight”. Bisexuals have every right to date any of the two (or more) genders (or lack thereof) they feel attracted to. Bisexual guys are a rare species in fiction, even rarer than bi girls, yet once we have one, we turn him gay. This is not different from the usual belief that bi girls “choose camps” at some point. But guess what? There is no camp to choose from. Apollo is and remains as bi as he was in all 3 previous book and will date the person he feels attracted to, regardless of their gender. Sorry if this came off as rude or preachy, but being bi myself, I just couldn’t help it.
The second thing held against the ship is Apollo’s godhood. It’s believed that once he goes back to Olympus, he’ll return to his frivolous ways… Seriously? After all the emotional maturation he went through in the last book? After all the whining he does over Daphne and Hyacinthus? This guy literally craves being loved and actually deserves it. And also, I do not think Reyna needs/craves an everlasting love story, or a promise of permanence alltogether. And no, I do NOT want her to face heartbreak or be used by a god for a few months and then thrown away. On the contrary, I believe she’ll get the most “serious” and emotionally poignant relationship in the entire books, BUT, not in the way most canon ships are. The fandom’s main problem with the relationship is that many seem to need each and every character to get into a happily-ever-after everlasting relationship that ride into the sunset, grow old and live forever together in elysium. They can’t stand seeing characters break up, much less characters entering relationships that have a slight “forbidden” flair, forbidden as in “Not gonna last forever, people, that’s some seriously rocky road you’re stepping in”. But what most forget is that Reyna is NOT another Annabeth. Her fatal flaw is probably independance imo. And hey, even in case she wishes for a long-term relationship, she does not seem to be the overly possessive and jealous type. You catch my drift right (and my craving for poly -or just an open relationship- rep) ? And you know, relationship or not, Reyna will always be Reyna. She’s not a princess in need of a prince, she’s a queen. She’s so aptly named. She’s complete all by herself. But guess what? She has the right to wish for a relationship, lasting or not. A relationship won’t won’t change her core or the way she is.
Now onto Venus’ prophecy. Reyna’s heart healing is gonna be a tough process. It won’t be through “someone saving/protecting her” but through being heard and helped and loads of sharing and caring and advice. And why tf not have the literal god of healing help her? Whyyy? xD
The third issue is mortality… huh? sorry? This issue is ridiculous for it can be mended through Reyna becoming immortal which is, mark my word, so going to happen because of Bellona’s bloodline prophecy. Reyna is an even better goddess than the actual divinities. She has all the required qualities, kindness, authority, bravery, brains, beauty, maturity, leadership, diplomatic skills. She has values the gods seem to lack of. And guys, that’s REYNA we’re talking about. Rick respects her far too much to turn her into another Annabeth ((and before you ask, yes, I do have many things to say about the way Annabeth turned in HoO)). I mean, he’s the one who said that she’s her own better half and he only ever speaks highly of her. Do you really think he left her relationship in last only to put her into another I-just-had-to-pair-everyone pairing like some other canon couples I won’t even bother to state? If anything, it’ll be the “power couple” of the whole series.. And honestly, it was pretty obvious she’ll end up with someone immortal or at least Someone "Important". Venus did not appear in person to give her a prophecy for her to end up with a legacy or a mortal. Meh. It was obvious (or so I hope) that her love story will be every bit as beautiful as..say, Psyche and Eros. And a god/mortal relationship is basically the entire sub-theme (or sub-plot name it as you please) of the books, yet never had one ever happened in-screen. So.. why not?
So to sum up these last few points, what I’m really implying is that Reyna’s not seeking to crush on someone and feel butterflies, she seeks companionship. She needs something akin to a confidante, not that cheesy romance most of the canon couples seem to involve. And a hormonal 17 yo teen CAN’T give her that, sorry. She needs, as stated in the prophecy, to HEAL her heart. She needs all the help she can get over her awful past, and grow into a better version of herself. Help in any shape or form. She deserves a happy ending, but her own ending involves her being happy in the first place, finding help, and a relationship is just going to be an external element contributing to that happiness, not the root of it. She deserves to be loved, adored, worshipped, and no, it doesn’t mean she’ll sacrifice her independant self. Quite on the contrary, she’s definitely one for being the ‘dominant’ of her relationship. Though I totally see why people wish for her to stay single. Relationships in MG/YA novels often involve females that unexpectedly turn from powerful role models to damsels in distress (this concerns hetero or heternormative pairings especially, not to say only.) which is frustrating and oh so wrong and it’s sole purpose is to stroke some very fragile masculine ego. So yeah, the fandom wanting her single is very understandable because after reading so many books were a relationship equates losing your strength and your independance, you unconsciously start to think that a relationship MEANS losing what makes you who you are to become another person’s subordinate. And hell, we have some examples in the Riordanverse, the most blatant being Percabeth (I know that Percy aka th masculine part is being subordinated and disrespected most of the time, which is just as wrong as the other way around, but some excrutiating “manly” stereotypes start to show up in HoO), so why not change the grounds? Why not stop making romantic pursuits the most important thing ever to the point where EVEN staying single is a mere rebellion against it? Why not treat it like.. idk.. a freaking normal concept that happens every once in a while and that’s all? Reyna dating someone is just that. Reyna dating someone. Not Reyna losing her identity. Not Reyna becoming someone’s ‘half’ *cringes and shudders with disgust*. Am I drifting off-side again? Very much, yes. Now back to the actual topic. Oh.. Reyna’s type seems to be another “issue”, right? Well guess what.. Reyna’s type is stated nowhere in the books. Headcanons =/= canon. Think about it, she was canonically attracted to two guys. Jason and Percy. And, hello, these two are everything but carbon copies of each other (I'm a Jercy shipper for a reason, buddy). They are exact opposites. Just because they both are heroic, loyal and “powerful” does not mean they are alike. So here, if she was attracted to both, that means she has MORE than just a type. And even if Apollo isn’t her type, that’ll only make it better. Because that’s one very realistic message the readers would get. You don’t have to end up with “your type”, if you ever have one. Don’t limit yourself to a few options when the world has so many different kinds of people to offer. Anyway, back to topic. Reyna is a not only a leader, she can also lend people her power. She’s like.. a human powerbase. And not only that, she can see/send emotions when sharing her strength with someone. That’s how she bonded with Nico in BoO. That means she sees the more emotional, inner side of people. Their emotions, how they actually feel, what they are like on the inside. Do you think a girl like her would be superficial and only focus on what appears on the outside? Pfffffft…Now that I’ve talked enough about Reyna, let’s talk about Apollo. Mythologically speaking, he has been known to be ridiculously attracted to independant people. Cyrene is the one that reminds me the most of Reyna tbh, and she eventually turned immortal. Even if their relationship wasn’t “eternal”, it still lasted for a long while before she ditched him for another god, Ares. Also, something I deem as very important, is that in most myths, he doesn’t “leave” his lovers. They do, they leave him (Cyrene, Coronis). That is, if he ever had his chance with them to begin with (Daphne, Cassandra). Or they die in a super tragic way or/and get turned into plants (Daphne again, Hyacinthus, Cyparissus, Dryopê). And a few more example, but let’s stick to the famous ones. Way to make your personality more complex and hard to grasp. Which makes me wonder.. why is everyone convinced that Apollo is an utterly ridiculous, idiotic and happy-go-lucky god with close to no wisdom? Like he’s arrogant, kinda annoying and self-centered, but definitely not unwise or stupid. Canon-wise, Piper even asked him, I quote, “are you sure you’re not the god of wisdom?”, he also was the one who taught Chiron, and one of his many domains is knowledge and according to some sources, intelligence. The guy can be very mature and wise *when* he wants. So all in all, he does deserve a break, doesn’t he? So even if these two might seem like opposites at first, underneath their differences, so many similarities can be found. Their backstories kinda overlap.
And, here, another one, remember the way he talked about Sally Jackson? Calling her one of the rare mortal woman who would treat a god like an equal, and seek their companionship instead of the privileges that come with dating a god? And how he would “hit on her for these qualities” if he still was a god? Okay now tell me, how can you call him “superficial” after reading that part? I mean..he has weird speaking manners and often come off as arrogant, but sometimes (very often) he does or says something that actually shows that he has a more mature side that needs and craves companionship above just youthful and good looks of some random mortal.And speaking about Sally Jackson.Don’t you think the stated qualities apply to another person? Yeah, that girl. Reyna. And.. you know, that won’t be the first pairing involving mortal/god dynamics. Remember Sadie x Anubis (oh and btw, I headcanon Sadie as 17 because I refuse to ship them with her being j u s t 13. It’s just..a big no) It’s an example that shows that Rick can write a mortal-god pairing. It’s not totally out of reach or god-awful. It would be, if rushed just to pair them up, or if they get struck by the OoC curse. But it won’t. Also, I feel like 2 books would be enough if they spans a long period (6 months/1 year) and if they get enough screen time. Don’t forget that most romance books are not series but just a story or max. a trilogy haha.And yes I freaking adore this ship if you haven’t noticed so far. It’s like, part of my top 3, hehe. I used to actually hate it, like deep hatred and judged those who shipped it xD, but I gave it a chance, and here I am loving it so much I want it canon xD.
