OH HELLA LAWWWWWWDDDD YOU LUCKY NICO YOU....! HOW? WHY? Oh my gaaaawd that's one good shit percy/jason/will you have there. Yep. Yep. Yep. High five! Answer me this. There has to be something "wrong" with him. Like seriously.. Even gods have flaws

Uhh.. something wrong with him?

everything is wrong with him, I look at him and then I look back at myself and go, “What the bloody hell is wrong with him, he chose a scrawny kid like me. He must be messed up in the head.” And he is.

In a good way though. lol

We’ll he overthinks sometimes, he gets worried when things don’t go as planned, but who doesn’t? The problem is he over-invests his emotions on people who just use him, it pains me to see his “friends” drag him along.

He’s a really nice person and people abuse him for being too gullible. 

How come you ship Reynabeth? I totally understand the whole Pipeyna dynamic which appeals to everyone (which the opposite personalities and drives), but what is it that makes you love Reynabeth???

OKAY SO prepare yourself for some tl;dr because I have a lot of feelings about this ship okay. I really like how Annabeth and Reyna parallel each other in the narrative - they are the literal representations of their respective camps (much more so than Jason or Percy, whose story arcs are more about self-discovery and admiring things about each other’s camps? A lot of this is by force of circumstance, but the point is, Jason no longer represents CJ, just as Percy no longer represents CHB, because they’ve got Greek AND Roman aspects. Reyna and Annabeth, on the other hand, are the unanimously agreed-on and de facto leaders of their camps). They are both fighting tooth and nail for their camp’s best interests and the burden of leadership is on their shoulders alone. As such, there’s instant tension between the two of them because they cannot engage as individuals - there’s too much obligation there.

When Reyna meets Annabeth, she’s instantly interested because she likes a girl who can take care of herself. She knows Annabeth is the leader, so she takes her aside to chat (and they spend quite a while exchanging their life stories, which isn’t really necessary if they’re just talking diplomacy and politics?). Annabeth identifies intensely with Reyna, she recognizes that Reyna has to put on a strong face because that’s what she does herself, and unlike Jason or anyone else under Reyna’s command, Annabeth is someone (perhaps the only person) who can truly understand the burden Reyna carries. Then the Argo II thing happens and the next time they meet, Reyna implores Annabeth to sacrifice herself to appease the angry Romans.

What happens next? Despite her common sense and instincts telling her it would be more prudent to sacrifice Annabeth, despite the fact that no one following the Mark of Athena has succeeded in that quest in CENTURIES and it’s essentially a fool’s errand, Reyna lets Annabeth go. From a single talk, Reyna already has enough trust and faith in Annabeth to do this. Even Annabeth is surprised - Reyna doesn’t really have a reason to trust her, not after centuries of Greek-Roman tension and Annabeth playing a part in burning down Reyna’s home back on Circe’s island and the fact that she would be turning down one of the only possible solutions to quelling her angry legionaries. So this implicit trust is based on a single interaction - a gut feeling. And it’s Annabeth alone that inspires this trust - not Jason, or Percy, who Reyna has worked more closely with and gotten to know better. Something about Annabeth makes Reyna trust her. It’s so small, but so significant. 

And Annabeth trusts Reyna deeply as well, and respects both her abilities and her duty to her people. She has one chance in Tartarus to send a message to the outside world, and she chooses to send a message to Reyna. She trusts Reyna to believe her, and to do what’s best for both of their camps. And she does - Reyna crosses the Mare Nostrum by herself on Annabeth’s word alone, pretty much sacrificing everything to do so (she essentially loses her leadership because she knows Octavian will take control of the masses; she loses her pegasus Scipio, who is probably her only constant source of comfort at CJ). To my thinking, this is just about the most romantic gesture anyone has ever done in the series? Which is funny, because I’m sure it was unintentional, but it still rings truer for me than any of RR’s actual attempted romantic scenes. 

And when Reyna sees the Argo II crew again? The very first thing she does is hug Annabeth. This is kind of a big deal - I don’t see Reyna touching anyone casually. Like, I get Piper hugging Annabeth when she finally gets out of Tartarus because they’ve had months to establish their friendship and their care for one another. But Reyna has known Annabeth for about a week, and they can break the touch barrier just like that. They’ve only spoken twice but they’ve somehow developed this unmistakable high regard for one another. It sort of reminds me of what I’ve read about Richard III and Saladin during the Third Crusade - about these great leaders on opposing sides who somehow still have the deepest respect for each other’s skills, integrity, and goals. They are warriors with honor and they feel in each other a kindred soul, even if they have different goals and their best interests may clash. It’s the stuff of legends, and I love it so much because this is a relationship that’s usually relegated to middle-aged male leaders, but is established here between two teenage girls. Annabeth may be the leader of the opposing camp but she’s also just about the first person Reyna can call a real friend, and that mutual trust is what makes them such a good ship. Plus they have UST like whoa.